~*Chapter Two*~

Justice and I walked to my house almost in complete silence. Usually, we weren't the two kids you'd always see hanging together. We would feel each other out a bit, but then completely ignore each other. He was almost always with his own friends from Balamb Garden, and I hung around my sisters. Once, I saw Justice with Yoshiro….but just once.

"Hey…" Justice began.

"What?"

"How old is your cousin?"

"Kanotsu?" I thought for a moment. "Well…I think he's 19. I don't know."

Justice looked at me skeptically. "You think?"

"Yeah." I brushed some hair from my eyes. "My aunt found Kanotsu about ten years ago when he was about eight or nine…during that little disagreement with the three Gardens, and SeeDs were stationed in Esthar. I know you probably don't remember but…anyway, she went to each Garden to find information about him, but all she discovered was that he was born January 4th in Winhill. She adopted him and renamed him, and just five years ago she enrolled him in Balamb Garden." I smiled. "My mom told me Kanotsu has a natural talent for the gunblade. But I've never met him, though. Which is surprising, because I go to Garden too…you know that…"

"Yes, I do." Justice sighed. "I was hoping he knew how to shoot a gun. Then he'd be able to help me."

"You need all the help you can get, Justice Kinneas." I grinned. Justice frowned at me, then smiled. "I've seen you before. You couldn't shoot your way out of a paper bag!"

That made him mad. Justice narrowed his eyes. "When you insult a man's sharpshooting, you've gone too far!" I took off at a run with Justice on my heels. "C'mere!"

"No! You really think that I'd --"

Suddenly, I bumped into someone and fell on the ground. I looked up at the person I collided with. "Oh, I'm really really reaaaaally sorry!" I apologized.

The man looked me over carefully. I stood there, awkwardly. "I've seen you before." He said after a minute.

"Excuse me?"

"Origin Leonhart?"

Justice walked up behind me. "Who's that?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I'm Origin." I said, ignoring Justice.

The man extended a hand to me. "I'm Kanotsu."

I looked at him in disbelief. Then I shook his hand, realizing it was extended to me. "Wow. Hello!" He looked at me in an amusing manner. "Oops…sorry. It's just so…good to see you."

"It's nice to see you, too. Actually, I've seen you around Garden with no idea you were my cousin."

"Me too…Hyne, it's so cool to match your name with your face."

"Hey! What's goin on here?" Justice piped.

"This is Kanotsu." I said, introducing my cousin to Justice. "Kanotsu, this is Justice Kinneas. My friend…sort of. He's staying over tonight."

Justice grinned. "'Sup?"

Kanotsu looked at him the same way he looked at me. "…hi."

"So…did you meet Jaira and Nikola yet?" I asked. "And where's Aunt Ellone?"

"My mom is at your house. I saw your sisters, but I've yet to meet them. Your mom sent me out to look for you."

"Oh. That's good." I nodded. 'I've yet?' I admire those grammar skills! "Welp, shall we get a move on?"

"Yes, lets." Justice grabbed me by the arm. "Is your cousin all right in the head?" He whispered.

I punched him lightly in the head. "Justice! That's not nice to say. You never know…when you finally get into SeeD, he might save your butt."

That shut Justice up.

Kanotsu followed the two of us as we speed walked home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Justice! Where were you?!"

The three of us walked home to my mom, Jaira, Nikola, Zell, Aunt Ellone, Aidan, Justice's parents, and his little sister, Iari (who was enveloped in a book and not really paying attention to anything). His mother, Selphie, was livid.

"Hi, mom." Justice sat in a seat at my kitchen table.

"I asked you a question!" Selphie looked at me. "Origin, where'd you find him?"

"I was hangin' out when he came running. Aunt Selph, he wasn't any trouble. I swear it."

"Well, thanks for watching him." Irvine said, casting a glance at Selphie. "We should really get going."

"Irvine, why not stay awhile?" My mom asked him. "It's really no big deal…"

"No. I'm sorry Rin, but we've got some stuff to do. Especially since the whole parade thing is being organized at Garden…"

"Parade thing?" I sat next to Justice. "What's that? I haven't heard of any parade."

"Balamb Garden is holding an inauguration for the new Commander. And a parade was the perfect way to welcome him…or her. We don't know who it is." Irvine smiled. "The information's sort of classified."

"Hey, I would imagine that." Jaira piped up. Nikola sighed and stepped lightly on her foot.

My mother looked at Kanotsu for a quick second. "Who is this handsome young man?" She asked Aunt Ellone.

"This is Kanotsu." My aunt walked up to her son and smiled. "Where in Hyne were you anyway?"

"Nowhere in particular."

I noticed that my cousin was really…well, austere in his appearance. His eyes seemed to be devoid of emotion, and he was as straight as a board standing there. I actually wouldn't be surprised if he was the new Commander. Sure has the discipline.

"Well, it's nice for you to be here at last, Kanotsu. Little did we know you attended Garden." My mom smiled softly at him.

"Little did I know I had family here." He bowed slightly in return. "Excuse me…" Then he walked out.

Nikola grabbed Jaira and I by our arms. "Let's go upstairs…" When we wouldn't move, she jerked our arms. "Now?"

"Oh…" Jaira and I said, smiling fakely. We knew that when Nikola wanted to leave, with us no less, she had something to say. "Excuse us."

We ran upstairs to Nikola's room. It was the farthest from the stairs, so if anyone came to check on us they wouldn't hear a word. I sat on her bed and smoothed out my hair. Nikola locked the door and leaned against the wall. "You know….I find it hard to believe that we didn't even recognize our own cousin in Garden."

"Well…we've never even seen pictures of him." Jaira mentioned. "How would we have known?" She sighed. "And I've only seen him once or twice…which I hardly remember. Probably Garden has him stationed all over the world, since he's such a good SeeD."

"He's so serious…" I looked down at the floor. "When I first met him…there was this whole…feeling I got from him." Nikola looked at me. She was always thoughtful when we had our serious talks. It was her responsibility as oldest sister. "It was…power. Almost like when I see pictures of Dad."

Jaira stabbed her index finger in the air. "But what I don't get is that why Aunt Ellone never sent us pictures or anything. That's weird. Like….like….."

"He was under some sort of protection!" Nikola stated. "That makes sense. I mean, what other reason would there be to not tell us about Kanotsu?"

"I don't think he's under protection. Isn't that a bit much, you guys?" Nikola nodded after thinking about my comment for a moment. I sighed. "He reminds me of Dad. The power that I saw in his eyes…was beyond me."

Suddenly, the door opened, knocking Jaira to the floor. "Oh…sorry, Jaira." Aidan smiled from the hall.

"I'll live. Don't worry about it."

He moved over to Nikola's huge bay window. "Look out there." I helped Jaira up as Nikola walked over to Aidan, putting a hand on his back. The two of us squeezed in and peered out at the sky. It turned into one of those sweet moments in time where everyone is so thoughtful and quiet…

"Wow! I've never noticed that before." Jaira pointed at an unusually large star in the sky.

"That's 'cause it's never been there." I whispered and stared into the black twilight. Then, I glanced over at Aidan. There was a mixture of awe and worry in his face. I knew that this star was only half the reason he came up here. His parents' constant fighting probably got to him again…I felt really bad. This must've tore him apart.

"Hey…is that Kanotsu down there?" Nikola asked. A figure was stabbing the air with a shiny, silver gunblade. The expertise and accuracy in him could fare against twenty people.

"I really can't tell." I grinned. "Hey, I'll go check." Deciding to surprise my sisters, I opened the window and started to climb out on an impulse.

"Are you insane?!" Nikola yelled.

"Possibly."

"Look, it doesn't even really matter, Origin. He probably wants to be alone…"

"Just keep the window open for me, ok?" I turned around so I was facing Aidan, then I lowered myself out the window. There was one of those fence things on the walls of our house, so it was fairly easy to climb down. I hit the ground with a soft thud and ran over to the figure. "Hey, Kanotsu!"

But it wasn't Kanotsu.

"Y-y-y….." It was Tsuyoshiro -- known to everyone as Yoshiro -- Almasy. Oh Hyne strike me dead here and now… "Sorry." I turned and started to walk back towards the wall.

"Hey, you don't have to go just yet, do you?" I froze in my tracks. "I mean, I saw you climbing from the second story in your house…did you have something to say?"

"No, er…not really. I thought you were my cousin."

"Oh. Well…" he held his hand out to me. A sweet gesture…his clear, green-bluish eyes gazed into mine, and I felt my heart melt. "I guess I could walk you back to your…wall."

I grinned and slipped my hand into his. "Hey…why were you out here so late?"

"My mom is coming to visit tomorrow from Winhill. She hates it when I practice…so I'm just getting my kicks in now. And I love the view from this part of Balamb…it makes it easier to think when you have something nice to look at."

"Oh…"

"That's why I was hopin' you'd hang around…"

I felt my cheeks flush and my stomach twist…compliments usually did that to me. "Well…here's my wall." Before I got a foot off the ground to climb back up, Yoshiro grabbed my arm.

"Wait!" He smiled. "Is there a name behind the face?"

"Leonhart. Origin Leonhart." It's been hideously overused, but at the moment it seemed to be the most dramatic way to introduce myself.

"Oh…you're Squall's daughter. I know you. I really respect your parents…they're amazing people."

"Thanks," I replied.

"…well, I really have to go." Yoshiro smiled warmly. "I guess I'll be seeing more of you, then?" I nodded, and he began to walk away. "OK! Good night…Origin."

"…bye, Yoshiro."

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