The only thing louder than the music blaring through the speakers of Tifa's restaurant was the sound of laughter that seemed to echo through the building.
Jasmine entered the restaurant with Ventus, half expecting to see just her family. However, she was greeted to something more: all her friends from back home.
Naminé was the first to greet Jasmine. The smaller blonde, who was dressed in a white romper threw her arms around Jasmine, causing the much taller young woman to almost fall forward, and squeezed her tightly.
"It's good to see you too, Naminé," Jasmine said after she released her best friend.
"What took you so long, Sis?" Sora wrapped an arm around Jasmine and led her to the lounge area where the rest of her friends and family sat. "We thought you'd leave us and never come back."
A dark thought crossed Jasmine's mind and she instantly felt guilty. She offered Sora a kind smile and sat down in the booth with her friends. "No," she said. "I was always going to come back. It just took me a while."
Jasmine had an inkling that there was going to be a gathering but she hadn't quite expected it to be this big of an affair. All her friends from school (Sora, Riku, Kairi, Naminé, Tidus, Selphie, Roxas, and Olette) showed up as did her friends from SOLDIER (Ventus, Aqua, Terra, Axel, Reno, Rude) as well as her teammates from Noctis' group and her family came out to celebrate her homecoming. In honesty she felt a bit uncomfortable (as she hadn't expected such a turnout) but she did appreciate all her friends and family coming out to see her.
"You look so fit," Selphie said observantly, poking Jasmine's well-toned right arm. "You should definitely take me to the gym with you."
Jasmine chuckled. "Actually I got these arms from climbing trees," she told Selphie. "One of the places I went to – I can't say exactly where – was this jungle and I had to do a lot of climbing."
Sora's eyes widened. He loved hearing stories about Ventus and Jasmine's travels. Being a curious soul, he always had to know more and more about life outside of the island. "You were in the jungle? What were you doing there?"
"I was on a mission," she replied. "But where I was, there were a lot of predators like leopards and stuff in the area so sometimes I would sleep in the trees…and pray to God that the spiders wouldn't kill me first."
While the group continued to ask Jasmine questions about her journey, Riku sat on the outskirts in silence, taking the scene in.
Jasmine hadn't changed much since he last saw her, save for a little more weight loss while gaining a bit of muscle but there was something very different about her. She seemed like she was tired, not outwardly but he could tell that there was something definitely weighing her down that had her on edge. She looked like she was hiding something too, which he could believe given the nature of her job and the fact that she went away on a mission doing who-knows-what. She just looked so worn out even though at the party she was trying to convince everyone that she was okay.
But Riku knew better.
Or at least he hoped so.
He hoped that at least he was still able to read her, even if it was only a little bit.
"That jungle was a mess," Ventus chimed in, adding to Jasmine's story. "It's so dense and hard to move around. Plus there's a ton of predators lurking about. It's more stressful than exciting honestly."
"I know," Jasmine's laughed. She pulled up the hem of her skirt lightly and revealed four large claw marks halfway up her thigh.
Kairi, Sora, and Roxas stared in shock.
"What happened?" Roxas asked, concern completely taking over.
"Oh," Jasmine put her skirt back into place. "When I got to the jungle, this leopard was stalking me and tried to kill me when I was falling asleep. The locals called her Sabor. Fortunately this is the only real damage. When she heard my gun go off she ran away."
Naminé's face paled upon hearing the story. "Really Jasmine? A LEOPARD?"
Jasmine shrugged her shoulders casually, trying to downplay the situation even though it was quite grave. "I was expecting wild animals so I prepared for that. But still, I'm happy to be out of there."
"You said you went to a desert city, right?" Selphie asked, dying to hear more of the story.
"Oh yeah, I've been to this one city a few times," Jasmine replied, remembering Agrabah like it was yesterday. "It was actually one of the more pleasant trips."
"Except for the time that the castle guards mistook you for the princess," Ventus joked.
Jasmine shook her head and sighed. "They really weren't that smart."
"You've been mistaken for a princess before?" Selphie's eyes widened. It was like Jasmine was living a real life fairytale.
"Once. Her name is Princess Jasmine – which is part of the reason why I started asking people to call me by my last name."
"They really do look alike," Ventus confirmed, "at least enough to cause confusion at first glance. They both have really long black hair, darker light brown skin, and kinda similarly shaped eyes. Jasmine's just a lot taller, has different colored eyes and isn't quite as dark skinned as the princess is."
"Wow," Sora fell back and stared at Jasmine in awe. "You live the kind of life people write stories about. I know it's tough and all but it still sounds amazing."
"It's definitely interesting…" Jasmine trailed off. "I'll say that much."
"So are you coming back to school with us in the fall?" Sora asked, hopeful that the answer would be "yes".
Jasmine shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry but I won't be back. At least not now. I tried doing the SOLDIER thing and school but it wasn't working out. I'll maybe try again in the spring or fall of next year."
Deflated, Sora sank in his seat.
Jasmine took the time to study the boys. She hadn't said this before but she had noticed that a lot of them (including Roxas) looked a great deal more physically fit since the last time she'd seen them. This was especially the case with Riku. Stealing a glance at Tifa, Yuffie and the others, Jasmine secretly wondered if they had any training since she left the island. And if so, then for what? She'd only seen people bulk up that quickly in SOLDIER.
Frowning inwardly but keeping her façade up, Jasmine made a mental note to do some research when she got back to the apartment with Noctis.
Vanitas knew that he wasn't an angel.
He knew that he had his own reputation and body count to consider when it came to SHINRA. That's in part why he was such a feared member of the organization.
However, there were still a few people who could cause even him a fair amount of discomfort (even though he would never dare show it). Yazoo, Loz, and Kadaj were definitely on that list. But ranked even higher on that list was his uncle, Master Xehanort, and his uncle's other right hand man: Xemnas.
Vanitas sighed heavily as he entered into a small hotel room in the middle of the Third District in Traverse Town. For starters, he hated the theatricality of his uncle (a simple office back on Hollow Bastion or even Radiant Garden would have sufficed) but he knew better than to argue with him on his methods. After all, Master Xehanort had a reason for everything.
When Vanitas and Stella entered the room, they were immediately greeted by Master Xehanort, who was sitting at the desk on the far right side of the room. Xehanort was accompanied by one of his right hand men, Kadaj who smirked as soon as he spotted Vanitas.
The younger SHINRA member cringed inwardly. He absolutely despised Kadaj and his teammates. They were perhaps the most vile and disturbed men he'd ever met. Still, Vanitas knew it would be wise to keep his thoughts to himself.
"It is good to see you, Nephew," Master Xehanort greeted in an almost sincere fashion.
Vanitas reached out to shake his uncle's hand, taking a seat next to him at the desk. "Where is Xemnas?"
"He should be here any moment." Master Xehanort stared at his nephew. "You look well."
"As do you," Vanitas said absently. "To be honest, I'm surprised that you wanted to meet here of all places – especially when the base is on Hollow Bastion."
Master Xehanort leaned back in his seat. "This is true. But Traverse Town has…a lot of promise."
Before he could say anything further, the door swung open and everyone looked to the doorway. In walked in a tall, tan/orange skinned man with silver hair almost reaching the middle point of his back with large, deadly, orange/amber eyes. Like the others, he wore a dark suit and he entered with, what appeared to be, his own bodyguard.
Vanitas narrowed his eyes when he saw that Xigbar had been the one to accompany him but tried to hide this. Ever since Jasmine escaped from Vanitas' mansion several months ago, something had been slightly off about the older SHINRA member. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but he knew that Xigbar wasn't quite the same.
"So now that everyone is here," Master Xehanort cleared his throat. "Now we can get to business. As you all are aware, we usually meet at Hollow Bastion with the rest of our members. However, for this mission I wanted to keep things as low key as possible."
"Go on," Xemnas urged gently.
"I'm sure that you all are aware that I've spent a great deal of time here in Traverse Town. The outer "worlds" – as our friends from SOLDIER call them – are different than the other cities and countries," Master Xehanort continued. "They seem to be lost in time, in different eras. We've seen this in Deep Jungle, The Land of the Dragons, Traverse Town, and many more. But there's something here in Traverse Town…something special that I feel needs looking into."
"Which is?" Vanitas asked curiously. Truth be told, his uncle hadn't given him much information on why they were all called here. He knew that Master Xehanort had been spending a lot of time in Traverse Town, exploring the three districts, but he didn't know why.
"I'm having the scientists test out a few of the plants here. They have…unique properties and potential."
Vanitas closed his eyes. He was here for one of his uncle's science projects?
"What's so special about these plants?" Vanitas asked, his words laced with annoyance.
Master Xehanort smiled, a deadly grin pulling at the corners of his lips. "I will explain that soon, Nephew. But more of that later. We need to make sure that SOLDIER steers clear of this area. I don't need them to interfere with my plans, especially since they're in the early development stages."
Vanitas immediately envisioned Jasmine. The last time he'd seen her, he helped her steal something from one of his own members of SHINRA. No one knew about this of course (as he'd taken care to cover his tracks) so he wasn't worried about being discovered. He was however, concerned about what her next steps would be.
"I don't think we have to worry about them too much," Kadaj told the group. "We're unstoppable."
Although Vanitas would love to beg to differ, he decided to keep his mouth. He knew that Jasmine was out there somewhere, preparing for whatever Master Xehanort was up to. If it was one person who could stop them all, he believed it would be her.
Master Xehanort smirked. "Well that's all for now. Look out for information in the next couple of days on what your assignments will be. Dismissed."
Vanitas rolled his eyes. All of this could have been done in a phone call. Instead his uncle had to drag everyone out to this Godforsaken "world". In theory, Vanitas should have been used to his uncle's theatricality but still, at times even he was surprised by how over the top he could be.
"Vanitas," Master Xehanort called out as everyone began to leave.
Vanitas and Stella paused before they could get out of the room. Coolly, Vanitas glanced over his shoulder. "Yes?"
"Don't fail me," Master Xehanort said simply. "Your part is…crucial."
Not liking the way Master Xehanort looked at him, Vanitas turned away after giving him a nod. 'I wonder what he's got planned this time.'
Jasmine entered the apartment, taking off her shoes in the entryway. As she leaned against the wall for balance, Noctis locked the door behind them.
"I think I'm going to take a shower and just head to bed," Jasmine informed Noctis. "I'm pretty tired and we have to be down at SOLDIER early tomorrow morning."
Noctis nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him.
Jasmine was supposed to have been back yesterday but she called yesterday evening and informed him that she had indeed arrived, but that she was going to see her family first. While Noctis had to admit that he was a bit annoyed (or rather disappointed in reality) that she didn't come home when she originally said she would, he was just happy that she was back.
"How was the mission?" He asked, following her as she headed towards her bedroom.
Jasmine stopped once she passed by the living room area. She and Noctis hadn't had much time to talk about much of anything when she got back. In fact, she spent more time with Prompto and Gladiolus than her own roommate. But seeing as things were still a bit rocky with them, Jasmine kept her distance – especially since she'd had a run-in with him on one of her missions.
"It was…tough," Jasmine replied cautiously, taking a spot on the sofa. She figured that this wouldn't be a quick conversation. After all, they hadn't quite cleared the air before she left. Things wouldn't be any different now. "I went to a lot of new worlds. It was…hard but…"
"But?" Noctis lifted an eyebrow.
Jasmine allowed herself to smile a bit. "But…it was amazing," she said, her voice almost in a whisper.
Noctis took a seat across from her on the opposite sofa, watching her face and studying her expression. He'd never seen this side of Jasmine before. She was struggling to maintain her cool but he could feel the excitement welling up within her. Her eyes were wide with discovery, as if she'd stumbled upon something not of this world and she looked so much like a child in this moment. It was refreshing to see this side of her, almost amazing in fact. But still, there was a danger to her new sense of adventure. And they still had much to discuss.
"I suppose it's safe to say that I can't ask what you were doing in Niflheim," Noctis stated in a more serious tone.
Jasmine's expression darkened, her childlike demeanor gone within a flash. Instead, she gave him a semi-smirk, a mischievous look in her eyes. "You can ask, but it doesn't mean that I can answer."
Noctis sighed. He expected this but he hadn't expected her to be so curt about it. She looked at him almost as if to say, "You should know better than to ask". Still, at least he asked. "The least I can do is say thank you," he said after a brief pause.
Jasmine shifted in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest and turning to look in another direction. "You don't have to say thank you, Noctis. It's not like I would let you get hurt if I could help it."
The air became heavy again, this time for a different reason. The feelings and thoughts Noctis tried to bury since their blowout began to surface, causing him to become uncharacteristically flustered. He glanced at the roses sitting on the table between them that he had purchased for her and closed his eyes. He wondered if time had caused things to smooth things over for them.
"Do you still have the ring?" Noctis asked finally.
Jasmine, almost as if snapping out of a daze, raised her right hand, revealing a heavy platinum ring on her middle finger. The ring, a gunmetal gray with row of small red crystals Jasmine had never seen before, had been given to her by Noctis the night before her trip. He made her promise to always wear it and keep it safe. "Of course," she replied confidently. "Although I have to admit I don't know why you gave it to me. Isn't this yours?"
"It belonged to my father," Noctis announced.
Jasmine reeled back, her jaw almost dropping. She was wearing the king of a king? "Why did you give this to me? To keep it safe?"
"It's a good luck charm," Noctis explained quietly. "Legend has it that the rings of the kings had special magical properties that keep all those who wear them from harm. Plus, it's said that those who wear them gain the knowledge of all the previous kings."
Her hand now shaking, Jasmine stared at the ring again as if she'd never seen it before. When he gave her the ring, he failed to explain its deep history. And when she looked even closer, she realized that the crystals on the ring must have been the Caelum crystals – the very same jewels that people in Noctis' country were fighting for.
"I thought it would bring you good luck," Noctis explained, finally answering her questions.
Shaking her head, Jasmine slipped the ring off her finger, feeling a very strange sensation when she removed the item. She immediately felt cold and drained for a reason she could not understand. Still, despite the feeling, she held it out for Noctis. "You should take it. It doesn't belong to me. Besides, I'm back now. I don't need it anymore."
"No," Noctis said firmly. "I want you to hold onto it for a little while longer."
Frustrated with Noctis' stubbornness, she rolled her eyes and slipped the ring back on her finger. "Fine, but I don't plan on having this thing for much longer."
"Believe me, I'm going to take it back eventually," Noctis told her as he stood up. "Just not now."
Noctis walked past Jasmine but stopped before she was out of earshot. "By the way, I know Ventus lives in this building now."
Jasmine's stomach dropped to the floor but she refused to look as bothered as she felt. "When did you find out?"
"Last night," Noctis answered. "Tseng told me that Ventus was the one to pick you up yesterday and that he was staying here now. I put the pieces together after that."
Judging from Noctis' harsh and disapproving tone, Jasmine knew that he wasn't pleased about this. "Yeah, I stayed at his place yesterday and got some rest. I didn't think there would be a problem with it."
"We were expecting you," Noctis stated.
Knowing that Noctis was right in this situation, Jasmine apologized. "I'm sorry. I'll be more mindful next time."
"Thank you." Noctis began to walk off when Jasmine stopped him.
"I know you're not comfortable with Ventus," Jasmine called out.
Noctis looked over his shoulder. "I have no problem with him. Ventus is a member of SOLDIER. Plus, he saved your life."
"That doesn't matter," Jasmine argued. She remained on the sofa and refused to chase after Noctis for this conversation. She had sensed it for quite some time now. With Ventus living in the same area now (and their friendship stronger than ever), Jasmine knew that she had to address this now. "I can't understand why he makes you so on edge. He's a good guy. You should want a guy like that in your corner."
Noctis was well aware of Ventus' background. Sure enough, the blond received nothing but praise in SOLDIER. After all, he was a high ranking member, had a 100% mission success rate, and has an extensive medical background. Plus, he was generally a pleasant person. But still, there was something about Ventus that bothered Noctis – and he only noticed it when he was around Jasmine.
"It's not that I don't like him," Noctis groaned, struggling to find a way to articulate how he felt. "You two…I just don't understand you guys."
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "What's to understand? We're friends. Yeah we're close but that's all there is to it."
And yet, Noctis still wasn't convinced it was as simple as that. He wasn't that experienced with women himself, but he'd seen enough with Prompto and the women he involved himself with to notice when there was something slightly off about a "friendship". Still, he didn't have any proof that Jasmine and Ventus were anything more than friends. But regardless, he was going to keep an eye on them.
"I'll take your word for it," Noctis said finally before he went on his way.
Once Noctis was out of earshot, Jasmine exhaled. Between Sora and the others, Vanitas, and now Noctis, the men in her life were really starting to take a toll on her.
"What is it with these guys? Ugh." Jasmine laid back on the sofa and pulled a pillow over her face.
Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm glad to see everyone. I'm honestly so overwhelmed by the amount of support you guys give me and this story. I just hope that you guys enjoy it as much as I love writing it.
This story is going to have a lot going on (new characters, new plots, references to other stories) and I hope I can deliver. What did you guys think of the new chapter? Right now there are a lot of loose ends that haven't been tied up and our characters are all struggling in their own way to make sense of what's going on. How do you feel about Noctis' relationship with Jasmine as well as him loaning her his ring? What do you think the future holds for Sora and the others?
hopefuldreamer1991: I'm so glad to be back and I'm so glad that you guys liked the first chapter. I can't say exactly what it is the boys are doing but they are doing something. And yes, Jasmine and Ventus have a "situation" going on.
Meyoume: Can't say what it is yet but it's something for sure!
GUEST: Yup! The wait is over!
Pinkdinosaur: Gotta love the boys. Roxas wasn't in the first chapter but he'll be around for sure.
Guest: Exactly. All of the younger characters are entering their first year of university, and the others are in their sophomore year. Gotta keep some things the same after all but everything is going to pick up quite soon.
relena soulheart: Thank you! I'm so glad to be back! I hope you enjoy the story and liked the new chapter!
Nolumosthesun: You'll be finding that out in the near future. I have something big surrounding all that.
longTimeReader: I know! It's been well over five years since this story started. I can't believe how fast time flies. I'm thankful for readers like you who've stuck with me through all of this.
Guest: I mean haha this is Yuffie after all. She's a trained fighter. It'll be some time before the boys get to her level. I hope you liked the new chapter!
Sookdeo: I agree. While they sort of patched things up, they're nowhere near solid. They've got a lot of growing to do. Oh Riku knows to a certain extent, but then again not everything is shared with Jasmine's job and her plans. And it's true. Jasmine understands that running away isn't for the best. Eventually she'll have to deal with her problems head on so running away, while it will buy her time, won't end well in the long run.
animechick247: I'm glad you're excited for the story! It means so much to me! As for the boys, you'll see what they've been up to quite soon. I really hope that you like the story and I'll get to work on the update soon!
Skeleus: I hope you liked the chapter!
BelowtheFire: thank you so much for the compliment! I'm just happy that you like it as much as you do. I'll be working on the new chapter ASAP.
Okay guys. Let me know what you thought of this chapter and I'll see you all at the next one. Take care!
P.S…and we'll be seeing some new faces too.
