Chapter 17:
Return Of The Man
With The Machine Gun.
'Squall' awoke to find himself lying in a small, broken bed. He opened his eyes slowly. The smell of must and mold pervaded in 'his' nostrils. 'He' sat up immediately, gazing about a small, dirty looking room.
"...Not again... Please... Not again..."Squall thought.
It was happening again. Squall had 'entered' the mind of Laguna Loire.
"…What happened?" Squall thought.
Then he remembered.
"Oh man…the sorceress……We failed… and my shoulder…" He attempted to reach for his injury, but soon realized that he was subject to the movements of Laguna once again.
As Squall tried to think about what to do when he 'awoke', Laguna got up and started moving about the room. Suddenly, he heard small footsteps running up the stairs.
A little girl in a blue outfit came running up the stairs, calling to Laguna.
"Uncle Laguna! There's someone here to see yoo."
The little girl looked up at Laguna with bright eyes. She was only four or five years old, had light brown hair, and spoke with an infantile voice. Laguna thought she was adorable.
"Huh? Me? What's this person look like?" Laguna replied.
"He was wearin' funny clothes. He's tawking to Raine right now."
Laguna folded his arms, trying to think of who could be here to see him.
"It can't be… Ward? Or Kiros, maybe?" he thought.
"Hmmm? Is he at the pub?" Laguna asked.
The little girl answered quickly.
"Yup. That's why I came over to get yoo, Uncle Laguna! Am I a good girl?"
Laguna thought to himself for a moment, but then realized what she had just said.
"She did what?!" he thought.
"No, you're not!" Laguna lectured. "It's dangerous to be out there all by yourself. What if a monster comes and attacks you?"
"He's being awfully protective…" Squall thought. "…Whatever. I guess she is his niece… He's 'Uncle Laguna' or whatever."
The little girl hung down her head and rocked on the balls of her feet. She felt ashamed.
"…It's only next door. It's okay." she excused in a soft voice.
"It's still dangerous!" Laguna said harshly.
He looked at her for a moment. He gazed sorrowfully at her small head hanging down saddened by his lecture, and her tiny feet rocking back and forth…
He couldn't take it anymore. Laguna bent down, and smiled into her face.
"And since your such a cute little girl, the monsters will especially be after you!"
Laguna started speaking in an exaggerated tone, waving his hands around wildly.
They'll catch you and then they'll suck all your blood out! If anything like that should happen, Uncle Laguna's gonna cry…"
"Oh brother…" Squall thought.
The little girl looked happier now. She smiled a mischievous smile up at Laguna.
"I'll be okay." she said. " I'll just call yoo, Uncle Laguna! You'll come rescue me, right!?"
Then, as quickly as she had spoken, the little girl ran down the stairs giggling in a high pitched voice.
Laguna reached out to grab her, but it was too late.
"H-Hey! Ellone! Wait!"
Laguna ran down the stairs after her. She was quick for having such short legs.
"Ellone huh…?" Squall thought. "Sounds … familiar…"
Squall had been coming across a lot of things lately that disturbed him. Not the least of which was this 'dream' that he and the others kept experiencing. But he'd also been hearing about a lot of names and places that seemed strangely familiar to him, and it bothered him that he couldn't quite place a finger on where exactly he'd heard them before.
As Laguna ran down the stairs, Squall finally saw the rest of the house…If it could be called that.
Laguna entered a small area, which seemed to be the living room. Peeling paint was seen everywhere, broken furniture was strewn about the floor, and what looked like bullet holes revealed dry-rot inside the walls.
"What in the world… This place is a dump!" Squall thought.
Ellone stood by the dirty old coffee table near the wall. She was grinning from ear to ear.
"I waited! Am I a good girl?" she asked with excitement.
Laguna walked over to her, giving a knowing smile.
"Yes, a good girl." he said. Laguna rubbed her head playfully.
Ellone smiled back and fixed her hair after Laguna was finished.
Laguna walked over to the beaten-up dresser near the opposing wall, and started to write something in a little notebook.
"Dear Ellone's father and mother, Ellone's been a good girl today." he spoke aloud as he wrote. Then he turned to Ellone.
"Right?"
Ellone raised her hand and answered with an emphatic "yup!", and ran out the door.
Laguna smirked at her playful antics. No matter how disobedient she was, he could never stay mad with her or lecture her for very long without Ellone making him smile.
Squall's state of mind was entirely different from Laguna's at this point.
"…How much longer is this going to last?" he thought. "How many more times will I have to listen to this moron…?"
Actually, Squall had become slightly used to Laguna at this point. But the confusion of what was going on was immensely frustrating.
Laguna ran out the door, following Ellone's lead. She was waiting for him on the porch to Laguna's 'house'.
"Ellone! Now's your chance!" Laguna encouraged.
"Cha-nce!" Ellone mimicked in her cute voice.
She started running towards the pub, just next door. Laguna watched her carefully, and then eased off as she went inside.
Laguna Loire put his hands on his hips and breathed deeply.
"…This is such a nice village…" he thought.
"…Speaking of which… where are we anyway…?" Squall wondered.
Laguna looked around, providing Squall with an ample view of the town. They appeared to be in the central square, with several homes and shops surrounding a cobblestone walk area. The simple design of the houses gave a definite small-town feel to the village. Squall could see green hills and forests not far off in the distance.
He was definitely nowhere near Deling city. This was much too rural.
Laguna stepped out into the street. He looked about cautiously, and noticed a rather large catcherpillar crawling out from behind a house.
"Damn things are getting bigger all the time…" he thought. "…I wish they would stay away from the houses…"
Laguna whistled, grabbing the monster's attention.
"Hey! Ugly! Come here…!" he yelled.
The monster seemed to take note of Laguna's 'challenge'. It screeched and crawled quickly over to him.
Laguna reached onto his belt clip and released his machine gun. He brought it up to carry with both hands, and pulled the trigger.
"…Might take a while to kill this one…" Laguna thought. "…He's a tough one…"
But the Catcherpillar fell dead with but a few shots. Laguna gazed on, surprised at how quickly he'd killed the monster.
"That's weird… Fells almost like I've got more… more power?"
Laguna was starting to feel strange. The sensation was familiar, and Squall knew what it was.
"…He can feel me. He knows that something's going on…"
Squall didn't realize it during the first couple of incidences, but now it made sense.
"Some of the battles I've fought like this… They've gone by too easy for some slack-off Galbadian soldiers to win as easily as they have… My junctions must be affecting Laguna… probably the same for Everyone else too…"
Squall had junctioned several stocks of magic to increase his strength and agility. It was fairly easy to do, but without the aid of a GF, it was probably impossible. Squall knew that Laguna didn't have a GF… So his GFs and magic supply must be acting as if they were Laguna's as well.
"Thank goodness he doesn't realize it…" Squall thought. "Who knows what would happen if he summoned one of them…?"
As Squall pondered over this, Laguna walked around the square. He'd forgotten that he was supposed to meet someone at the pub.
Laguna saw some soldiers standing guard near the entrance to town. They were Galbadian soldiers, posted on guard duty. Laguna walked up to them and smiled politely.
"Why are there more soldiers here?" Squall thought, realizing that Laguna wasn't in his heavy Galbadian uniform anymore.
One of the soldiers spoke up.
"You seem to have recovered fully. Perhaps its time you come back to the army?"
Laguna just eyed the soldier oddly without responding. He was a young guy, a lot younger than Laguna. Who was he to be telling Laguna when he should come back?
Instead, Laguna looked at the two soldiers, and then back at the catcherpillar he'd just killed.
"Com'on guys, you could kill some monsters, too…" he said accusingly.
The second soldier spoke up nervously.
"We're on watch for Estar soldiers. Screw the monsters."
Laguna rolled his eyes.
"Give me a break guys…"
Neither of the soldiers responded. They couldn't have cared less about this town or the fact that monsters were coming in on a regular basis. They were posted here to watch for enemy troops, and that's all that they were worried about.
"Guess I cant blame them too much…" Laguna thought. "Estar's got everyone up-in-arms nowadays… everyone's scared… That bitch of a sorceress isn't going to stop at anything…"
"What?" Squall thought. "Estar? Sorceress? …No one's heard from that country in years. They closed off all communication with the world 17 years ago… And what sorceress is he talking about?"
Laguna walked away from the two uptight soldiers. He walked towards the bridge leading out of town, and came across another couple of young troop standing beside it.
One of the soldiers gave a wry smile to Laguna.
"You think that Estar soldiers are really comin'?"
Laguna wasn't sure himself, but he tried to be encouraging.
"That was two years ago, right? They would've been here by now."
The soldier looked at Laguna with an uncertain gaze.
"But… you never know what a country ruled by a sorceress could be up to…" he reminded Laguna.
Laguna just patted him on the back and started to walk off. He then heard the other soldier speak up.
"Well, I've been here for two years. And boy, is it boring." He said. This soldier was ready for some action. Rookie troops never got sent to the front lines.
Laguna turned back and responded.
"It's a heckuva lot better than what Estar soldiers do. They kidnap little girls, you know? I think they're lookin' for a successor to Sorceress Adel, the ruler of Estar."
The soldier nodded is head in agreement. Laguna continued.
"If they come back here again, I'm sure it'll be for Ellone this time…" His voice trailed off, and Laguna turned away from the soldier. The thought of losing Ellone made him somewhat upset.
He suddenly came to though, and put his hand to his chest triumphantly.
"Hah! But they gotta go through me!" he said proudly.
The soldier just waved Laguna off and started to head out for a walk. Laguna thought he heard him mumble something about 'rambling on…' and 'idiot', but he just shrugged it off.
Suddenly, Laguna remembered why he'd steped outside in the first place.
"Aww…Crap! Someone was waiting for me at the pub! I gotta go!"
Laguna ran up the street to the pub doors and walked in slowly. He wasn't sure who was waiting for him, but he felt bad for making whoever it was wait so long.
"God, I'm absent minded…" Laguna scolded himself.
"No argument here." Thought Squall.
As he entered, Laguna heard a familiar voice, lecturing someone harshly.
"…you understand Ellone? Now go to your room and play."
Laguna saw a woman with long brown hair, wearing a white sweater, chastising Ellone for going outside alone. He stood there as she walked back to the pub counter, frustrated with Ellone's disobedience.
Ellone turned around to Laguna and spoke softly.
"(I got in twouble.)" she whispered.
Laguna smirked.
"(That's cause you broke your promise. Too baaaaddd…)" he teased.
The woman looked up. Her wide eyes narrowed as she glared at Laguna.
Laguna gulped.
"Laguna! Use proper English when speaking to Ellone!" she yelled from the counter.
"… heh heh… looks like I got in trouble with Raine too…" Laguna thought.
He looked down at Ellone and whispered.
"(I got in twouble)"
"(Tooo baaaddd!)" Ellone whispered back, mocking reproach.
They both laughed into their hands, thinking that Raine hadn't heard them. She rolled her eyes as she cleaned a glass behind the counter.
Suddenly, a tall, dark skinned man walked into Laguna's field of vision. He wasn't wearing a Galbadian uniform, but Laguna recognized the long braids and knowing smirk all-to-well.
"It's been a while Laguna." The man said.
Laguna looked on with disbelief.
"Kiros!" he said excitedly. Laguna bent down to Ellone and pointed at his friend.
"He's Uncle Laguna's friend, He dresses funny, but he's not a bad guy."
Kiros smirked at this comment. He was dressed rather oddly, in a crimson colored uniform, plated with chest armor. He looked quite out of place in the small village.
Ellone looked at Kiros with an interested stare.
"Yoo dress funny, but you're a good guy, right?" Ellone mimicked.
Raine stared at Laguna for a moment. He seemed to be at a loss for words. She laughed to herself at this.
"For being such a loud mouth all the time, he chooses now to be quiet… That man is so frustrating…" she thought.
Finally, she spoke up.
"Aren't you going to talk to your friend?" she urged
Laguna blushed slightly at this. He had already kept Kiros waiting for a long time, and now he didn't know what to say. He walked up to the counter, next to his old friend.
Kiros finally said something.
"You seem well." He said simply.
"Yeah… you too." Laguna replied. He felt somewhat nervous talking with Kiros… How long had it been exactly?
Finally he thought up something to talk about.
"Hey, how long has it been? You know, our grand escape from Centra?" he said
Laguna and Kiros put their hands to their chin, thinking.
"Centra… so that's where we were last time…" Squall thought.
Kiros thought a moment. 'Grand escape'?
"That was… One would usually call that being chased out."
Raine, who was listening behind the counter nudged Laguna's arm playfully.
"I thought so…" she said accusingly.
Kiros continued.
"Well, I would say about a year or so."
Laguna nodded.
"I was bed ridden for over 6-months. It seemed like every bone in my body was in pieces."
Raine chimed in.
"I nursed him back to health."
Kiros smiled at her.
"Thank you, for taking good care of Laguna." He said. Then he turned to Laguna.
"I was able to recover in about a month or so. Ever since then…" he shrugged his shoulders. "…I've been searching for you."
Laguna looked surprised at this. Searching for him?
"Why?" he asked.
Kiros shrugged is shoulders again.
"After leaving the army… well, just killing time I guess. Life's pretty boring without you as my entertainment my man."
"That's a harsh thing to say." Laguna replied, half-joking. "I've been living a productive life here."
Raine laughed a little. She turned to Kiros.
"I think I know what you mean though." She said.
Laguna glared for a moment at Raine. She gave him her 'oh, you know I'm just kidding look', so he wouldn't feel too bad.
"Well, since you've been out for about half a year," Kiros started. "…What do you wanna know?"
"Hmmm…" thought Laguna. "What's ward up to?"
"How's Ward doin'?" he asked.
"Ward quit the army, too. Luckily, he found a job, and he's working pretty hard." Kiros replied.
"What's he doin'?" Laguna said.
"He's a janitor down at the D-district prison."
"Wow… " Laguna replied with amazement. "Can't picture him moppin' floors, but I'm glad he's doing well."
Kiros added on last thing.
"Oh, and he never got his voice back. You could basically tell what he wants from his facial expressions."
Laguna was silent at this.
"That was partly my fault. If I hadn't grabbed the wrong map… we would've been able to get out of there without getting attacked by those Estar death-machines…"
Laguna sighed.
"Ward… I'm just glad you're doing well…"
He then turned his thoughts to something more personal.
"…I wonder if he's heard anything about Julia…?"
"How's Julia doing?" Laguna asked nervously.
Kiros looked at Laguna oddly.
"I don't know…" he said.
Raine's ears perked up at this.
"You mean Julia the singer?"
Laguna started to squirm. He didn't want to talk about Julia in front of Raine, but Kiros noticed, and saw an opportunity to have a little fun.
"That's right. Laguna really admired her and always frequented the night club."
Laguna jumped the gun, and became defensive right away.. . though Kiros hadn't actually said what happened between his friend and Julia.
"Shut up! So what if I did!?
Raine ignored Laguna's outburst. She wanted to know more.
"Julia use to sing at a night club?"
"No, she didn't sing. She just played the piano." Kiros replied.
"Then, the first song she released was 'Eyes on me'?"
Laguna calmed down a little now.
"H-How does that song go?"
Raine looked at him oddly.
"You don't know?"
"Well, you never let me hear it!"
Raine blushed.
"I didn't know that you listened to music… The song's about being in love… I really like it."
Kiros then remembered something.
"Heard she recently got married."
"Oh yeah!" Raine said. "To some army general, right? General Caraway or something?"
Squall would have completely ignored this, had Laguna not kept thinking intensely about it, but the mention of general caraways name piqued his interest.
"General Caraway… Married Julia? …But… that would have to mean that Rinoa was… No. It couldn't be. General Caraway is old and Julia's about the same age as Laguna… Way to young to have a child that old… right?"
"I'm not too sure." Kiros said. He saw how uncomfortable Laguna was getting, so he tried to put the conversation to rest.
Raine didn't get the hint.
"I read in a magazine that her true love went off to war and never came back. General caraway comforted her while she was feeling down. That's how they got to know each other."
Kiros forgot Laguna's discomfort for a moment. He knew who that soldier was.
"…So she didn't wait for the soldier to come back…?"
Laguna could take any more. His eyes widened and he yelled.
"So what! Who cares?! As long as she's happy, right? That's all that matters!"
Laguna, trying to avoid the topic anymore, turned around and lowered his head to speak with Ellone.
"Ain't that right Elle?"
Ellone had been listening in on the whole thing. She could tell what Laguna was talking about, so she decided to put her two-cents into the conversation.
"Uncle Laguna and Raine are…" she started excitedly.
"Ahhhhhhhh!!!" Laguna interrupted. He got up and looked around nervously.
"OK. Enough talk about this!"
"Thank you…" Thought Squall.
Despite how uncomfortable Laguna was with talking about Julia, he really did miss her.
"Oh well… fond memories I guess." He thought.
*--------------------------PLACE MARKER BONUS!---------------------*
(Sick of reading right now? Take a break, and find your spot right here when you come back to the story! Oh, and for the bonus… Here's a game tip. Laguna has 3000 gil, which you can spend on items that will be added to Squall's inventory. But if you want the money… too bad! It won't transfer over. You're better off buying some expensive healing items or something… )
Laguna, Kiros and Raine all stood silent for a moment. Squall was left alone to his thoughts.
"…Hold on." He thought. "If Laguna took six months to recover… It's been a year since they were in Centra? …But we just 'saw' it happen earlier today… What is going on? Where am I?"
Squall's frustration was intense. Suddenly, Laguna acted as if he noticed it again.
He and Kiros eyed each other oddly.
"I think the faeries are here…" Laguna said.
Kiros felt something odd as well, but he wasn't quite sure what Laguna was referring to.
"…Faeries?" He started. Then he remembered. Back in Timber, when they had all felt an odd sensation coming over them. Laguna or Ward had said that it was 'faeries' or something when they reached Deling city.
Whatever it was, he felt it now.
"Yeah I guess so…"
Kiros remembered the seeming increase in power that they had all received when they felt this way. But none of them could explain it. It just seemed to happen.
"Then work today should be a cinch." Laguna said.
"I'm looking forward to the battles." Kiros replied.
Raine had spoken with Kiros somewhat earlier, explaining Laguna's 'Monster patrol' job. Kiros said that he might join Laguna in that today.
Laguna nodded. He was still wondering about the faeries.
"I know there's something here, but I don't know what it's saying…"
"It's saying 'get me out of here'!" thought Squall.
He shook the thoughts away and tried to focus on the task at hand.
"Well, lets talk later. Time to do some work."
"…OK." Kiros replied, slightly confused.
"So, what's your plan?" Laguna asked as he started towards the door. "You're gonna stick around here for a bit, right?"
Kiros turned to look at Raine.
"Would that be okay?" he asked.
Raine shrugged her shoulders.
"You work for what you eat. If that's fine with you, you're more than welcome."
Kiros nodded, agreeing with her.
Laguna nudged him and they walked towards the exit.
"Well, have fun at work. I'll have lunch ready." Raine called out as they left.
"Come back soon, okay?" Ellone cried.
Laguna waved as he shut the door. He and Kiros started towards the bridge leading to the outer parts of town.
Before they crossed over the bridge though, Kiros stopped Laguna.
"Laguna… I have a simple question… What exactly do you do here?"
Laguna sighed with impatience. He wanted to get started quickly.
"It's like this. All the working men in this town were sent off to war. The only ones still left in town are old people, children, chocobos, dogs and cats. And I'm sure you've noticed, but the monsters have made their way into town." Laguna pointed back towards the square.
"This here town took real good care of me. So basically, I want to return the kindness."
Laguna smiled proudly now, and bumped his fist into his chest.
"You're lookin' at the monster hunter of Winhill!"
"Winhill…So that's where we are. …Isn't that southwest of Timber?" Squall thought.
Laguna continued.
"So as of today, you'll be my assistant. We're to patrol the town up to the town entrance! If we see anyone in need along the way, we help them! That's our basic duty."
Laguna motioned for Kiros to follow him, as he started running across the bridge. Kiros followed in suite.
Across the bridge was a little dirt road, and further down was a small house with a large field of grass beside it. Laguna pointed out several other things to Kiros, showing him around Winhill village.
Eventually, they came across some Bite Bugs and Catcherpillars. Laguna and Kiros prepared to kill the monsters.
"…I see what you mean about the monsters, Laguna." Kiros said. "…They're pretty big too. You're lucky that these are the only kind that hang out around here."
"Yeah." Laguna replied. "…Well, let's see if the faeries can help us out today…"
Kiros started slicing through the fat skin of the Catcherpillar. He cut quick and sharp with his Katal wrist-blades.
The Catcherpillar was almost dead. In a last resort measure, it spewed silky web from its mouth at it's attacker. Kiros blocked his face from the sticky substance, and attempted to remove it from his body.
Laguna was busy with the bite bug. It keep darting around quickly, attempting to spray Laguna with its toxic poison. But for some reason, no matter how many times it sprayed, Laguna wasn't hurt or affected at all by the toxins. He finally made a clear shot at the Huge insect with his machine gun, and killed it with only a few bullets.
Kiros had finally gotten the webbing off from him, and killed the Catcherpillar.
After dusting themselves off, Laguna and Kiros examined the dead monsters.
"So…. Didn't that seem a little easy?" Laguna asked.
"…Yeah. I mean, I felt like I was moving faster, hitting harder… I don't know what this means… but if its anything like before, than I guess it'll go away pretty soon, right?"
"I hope so…" Squall thought.
"Well, might as well take advantage of it while we can!" Laguna said. "Let's keep moving!"
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After killing a few more monsters, Laguna went into a flower shop just down the small dirt road. He wanted to say 'hi' to the old woman who ran the flower shop.
As he and Kiros entered, the old woman recognized Laguna immediately. She walked over to him and smiled.
"It's been quite some time now since you've recovered from your injuries." She said.
"Thanks to everyone in town!" Laguna replied. This particular woman had helped a lot with the medicine that Laguna had needed.
"This here town must be quite dull for a young lad like yourself. Perhaps it's time you returned to Deling city." The old woman lectured.
Laguna was a bit hurt at this, but he knew that she was just looking out for his best interests.
They spoke with her a bit longer, and then returned to their 'patrol'.
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Laguna and Kiros started to keep track of how many monsters they'd gotten rid of. After about twenty battles, they'd finished off nearly 34 Catcherpillars and Bite bugs. Usually Laguna only got around to killing about eight or nine. Fifteen if he was having a good day.
Eventually they worked their way to the outskirts of town. Laguna was quite pleased with their work.
"Alright! Our first patrol complete! We're to report to the commander and assistant commander."
Kiros eyed him oddly.
"Commander…? You mean that woman at the pub?
Laguna turned around, glaring at Kiros. He'd hit a soft spot now, and Laguna wasn't taking it very kindly.
"Her name's Raine. Raine, OK!? She saved my life." Laguna spoke as if Kiros had just insulted his honor somehow. But he soon relaxed and continued speaking normally.
"And they assistant commander is Ellone.
Kiros wasn't going to let Laguna off that easily. He wanted to know what Laguna really thought about Raine… but he knew that asking him straight forward wouldn't get him and answer. No, the only way to learn anything about Laguna was to see how he reacted.
"She seems like a really nice person. But easily taken in by a hotshot."
Laguna became indignant at this.
"A hotshot?" he said.
"Fine Kiros, you wanna play it hard, we'll see how you handle the second patrol…" Laguna thought.
"OK, let's step up our patrol a notch. Assistant Kiros, let's come up with a plan after we get back to the base."
Laguna eyed him knowingly. He wasn't gonna insult him and get away with it that easily.
Laguna looked around. He still hadn't figured out what the quickest way back to the town square was, as there were several paths leading into that part of the village. He took a different one each time, but always forgot to keep track of how long it took.
He noticed a door open to one of the shops in the area, and he looked to see who was coming out.
"Uh-oh…" He thought.
He tapped Kiros shoulder and motioned for them to get moving. But it was too late, the shop-keep saw him and started yelling.
"…The hell!?" the old man called out. "You've recovered! Now get outta here!"
"…Man, they hate me…" Laguna thought, remembering that he hadn't found favor with all the townsfolk.
Kiros gave him an odd glance as they started back to the pub, but Laguna shook his head, signifying that he didn't want to talk about it.
Kiros and Laguna walked a long ways before talking. The air was dead silent around them as well, which didn't help.
Finally, they came to a large, fenced field, with the path going right through it. Someone had put a 'Chocobo crossing' sign up on the side of the path.
Finally, Kiros couldn't take the silence anymore.
"Hey, Laguna… Are you doing this patrol thing every day?"
Again, Laguna became infuriated at Kiros' comment.
"Thing!? What're you callin' THING!?"
Kiros sighed. Laguna hadn't changed one bit since he'd `last been with him. Always overreacting and getting emotional…
"Weren't you aiming to become a world traveling journalist?" Kiros asked. "You've heard of Timber Maniacs, right? I had a talk with the chief editor. He said he's interested in any article related to world travel."
Laguna's eyed brightened as he remembered his old aspiration. He'd still been writing all the time he was in Winhill, but there was no one anywhere near the town that could publish anything.
"That's great!" Laguna replied.
Kiros smiled, glad to see that Laguna hadn't given up on his dream.
"We should go talk to him sometime."
Laguna's excited expression turned into one of disappointment.
"Y-Yeah…" his voice trailed off slowly.
They walked along a little more, until they reached the flower shop again.
"Um… It'd be ok if we stayed here a bit longer, right?" Laguna asked nervously.
"You need time to gather more material?" Kiros said. Laguna nodded.
"This seems like a really nice town. You're going to write about this place first, aren't you?" Kiros asked.
Laguna looked shocked at the very idea.
"No way," he replied. "Can't make this place famous. Too much publicity and you get all those tourists and stuff."
Laguna sounded nervous as he said this, as if he was hiding something.
Kiros knew what it was.
"I guess Laguna has changed a little… He'd never want to settle down in a small town before…"
"You're afraid someone might come and take Raine away? Laguna, you've changed man."
Laguna turned his face away. He didn't expect Kiros to understand the way he felt about this town…And about Raine. Besides, it was embarrassing to have your best friends read you like an open book.
Laguna quickly tried to change the subject.
"Hey I see a monster!!!" he yelled. Laguna ran off towards a loud rustling in the bushes ahead.
"…You have changed, man…" Kiros thought.
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"Okay, okay… so it was just a little Chicobo…" Laguna said as he and Kiros walked up to the pub doors. "But I had to check it out, right?"
Kiros laughed and gave a wry smile.
"Sure Laguna." He said.
Laguna entered the pub and looked around. He was surprised to find that no one was there.
"They must be upstairs." He realized.
He lead Kiros up the wooden steps near the back of the bar, which led to Raine's apartment. As they walked up, Laguna heard to voices speaking.
Laguna stopped in the middle of the stairway. He heard Raine mention his name, and immediately assumed the worst.
"Eh… they're talkin' about me…" he thought. He motioned for Kiros to be quiet and follow him downstairs again.
"(What?)' Kiros said in a harsh whisper.
"(Girl talk …lets come back later.)" Laguna excused.
Kiros looked oddly at Laguna. What was he talking about?
"(Com'on!)" Laguna said.
Kiros narrowed his eyes and stood firm.
"(Something inside me tells me to listen.)" he whispered.
Laguna hung his head with embarrassment. But he wanted to know what they were talking about as well.
They heard Ellone speak up first.
"Raine… Aren't yoo gonna marry Uncle Laguna?" she said in her innocent voice.
Raine was arranging the bookshelf near her bed. Her back was turned, but they could tell from her voice that she was flustered by the question.
"A guy like that?" she said nervously, trying to think up excuses.
"He was carried in here crying like a baby, and I was the one who had to take care of him…" she said. Her words were pretty harsh, but she sounded unsure.
She moved around the room, trying to avoid Ellone's almost-knowing glance. She made up more reasons why she shouldn't want to marry Laguna.
"His crude way of speaking…" she started. "I don't know if his aspirations as a journalist are realistic… Every time I try to have a serious conversation, he avoids it… I can't stand his snoring, and he talks in his sleep…"
Raine would have went on, but she felt like she was being to harsh. Besides… Ellone didn't buy one bit of it.
"But he's really nice!" She argued. "I really, really like him!"
Raine looked at Ellone pleadingly. But Ellone wouldn't give up.
"Raine, Uncle Laguna, and Elle should all be together!" she said stubbornly.
Raine was about to reply, but she thought she heard the stairs creak. She glanced over towards the barred railing.
"Yikes!" Laguna thought as he and Kiros both ducked. "…That was close."
Raine didn't notice them, and continued her conversation with Ellone.
"But you know…' she began. "I think what he really wants to do is travel all over the world. I don't think he has it in him to live in a quiet country town like this one. Some people are like that…"
She paused as she thought about Laguna leaving one day.
"…Ouuu, it makes me so mad."
Ellone was confused.
"…You don't like him?" she asked sadly
Raine finally gave in.
"I feel the same as you Ellone."
Ellone, pleased with Raine's response, pulled herself up onto the couch in the center of the room. Her tiny legs dangled over the edge.
Raine and Ellone smiled at each other for a moment. Then Raine heard the stairs creak again.
"Oh!?" she exclaimed.
Laguna realized that he was about to be caught this time, so he thought quickly. He came running up the rest of the stairs as fast as he could, huffing and puffing as if he'd just came in.
Ellone jumped off from the couch and cheered.
"Yea! Yoo're back!"
"I came back in a hurry!" Laguna exclaimed.
Raine eyed him oddly. She felt like he was hiding something.
Ellone giggled.
"Report to the commander!" she instructed.
Laguna walked over to Raine and stood at attention.
"Here's my report on today's patrol and monster extermination!" he began. Laguna placed his hands behind his back.
"Including Buchubuchus and Bunbuns that assistant commander Ellone oh-so-hates… I've exterminated 35 monsters!
Raine looked pleased. That was a lot of monsters.
"Alright! Thank you."
She looked at Laguna for a moment. He did seem pretty tired.
"Well, shall we eat before you get started with the next patrol? I'll call you when it's ready, so just wait in your room. You seem pretty tired. You should take a quick nap."
Laguna nodded and smiled. Then Ellone cried out.
"Let's eat, let's eat! Let's eat together!" she said. "Yoo're joining us too, right Mr. Kiros?"
"Kiros smiled and bowed in his odd way, placing his right hand over the other and lowering his torso. Raine laughed at this.
"We have me and Raine and Uncle Laguna and Mr. Kiros!" Ellone said happily. She started down the stairs, skipping along.
"Okay then." Raine said. "Just go for a nap, and Lunch'll be ready soon."
Laguna and Kiros said goodbye and went off.
Upon reaching his room, Laguna started acting strangely.
"Time for a little break…" he said. "Shall we rest up a bit?"
Kiros noticed Laguna's downtrodden expression.
"Hm? What's the matter?" he asked.
Laguna looked up at his friend and sighed.
"I get scared sometimes." he started. "Scared of waking up somewhere else… Scared of not seeing Ellone…"
"Scared of not seeing Raine?" Kiros added.
"What happened to me?" Laguna said. "I feel… What is this I'm feeling?" He sighed heavily again, hanging his head.
"Oh please let it be this room when I wake up! Please let me be in this puny bed when I wake up!" Laguna said.
Kiros didn't understand. For as much as Laguna was the same, he'd changed just as much.
"Laguna, you've changed." he said.
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End Chap. 17
Okay, let me make one thing clear here…
I STAYED UP UNTIL 12:30 am WRITING THIS CHAPTER!
*Sigh*
So I hope you guys liked it. I hate writing Laguna scenes, but I work really hard on them any way.
I dunno what the next chapter is gonna be called yet. Its too late for me to think anymore… I'm just gonna fall asleep right… here….
(Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…)
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