18
"Okay, just keep your eyes closed…" Lucrecia said softly as she wrapped a bandage around Riku's head, covering his eyes.
Riku was just quiet.
Sephiroth just sat down by the bed, his arms crossed as he watched.
Afterwards, Lucrecia got a black shred of cloth and wrapped it around Riku's head, covering the white bandage and then knotting it behind the head.
"What is that for?" Vincent asked.
"So that the light wouldn't seep through. He's still very sensitive to the light." Lucrecia explained.
Sora examined Riku's current physical state and he felt pity for his best friend. "He looks like a Ninja Turtle," he remarked to Kairi.
Kairi giggled softly.
Riku turned his head to the direction where Kairi and Sora were seated when he heard them talking. "Who's there?" he asked.
The two fell silent.
Sephiroth got up and went to Riku, clutching his shoulders gently. "Riku," he began.
Riku turned his head to where he heard Sephiroth's voice. "Yes?" he asked.
Sephiroth hesitated for a while before answering, "Can… can you remember daddy?" he asked.
Lucrecia smiled gently before turning to Vincent with a hurtful look on her face, "It's alright… he will remember everything when the right time comes. His eyes will eventually heal… but it might take a very long time." She explained.
Vincent's eyes widened at her. "How long?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Maybe years… he was poisoned by Mako and he wasn't able to handle it well…" she replied, bowing down her head.
"Wh… what about Samara?" Rufus asked. He was just standing by the doorway.
Lucrecia turned to him. "She's…going to be alright. Just shaken. Her eyes might give off some strange glows once in a while like Cloud's eyes…" and turned to Riku again. "Thanks to Riku for saving Samara. If it wasn't for him, she could've been dead by now." She said softly.
Rufus turned to Riku.
Squall and Tidus exchanged looks before the latter turned to Cloud and whispered, "You didn't tell this rich kid that Riku kissed his daughter?"
Cloud nudged him with an elbow. "Maybe after ten years." He muttered.
Riku bowed down his head. "What's my name?" he asked.
Silence.
Vincent slowly got up and just left the room.
Sephiroth turned to Lucrecia. She frowned slightly, "In time, Sephiroth… he will remember everything. He just needs some time to relax." She said.
Sephiroth nodded.
"So what's your plan?" Cloud asked him.
Sephiroth thought for a while before saying, "I'm taking him back to Destiny Island where he could relax… and I guess I'll stay there with him for a while… and take Kuja with me."
"Why would you even take Kuja with you?" Squall asked.
"Part of his punishment." Sephiroth replied with a silly smile on his face before helping Riku out of the bed. "Watch your step." He told him.
Riku nodded. "Are you going to help me walk, dad?" he asked.
Sephiroth nodded. "Yeah. Of course, son." He replied with a solemn smile on his face.
Samara was just seated on her hospital bed, staring into empty space as she held onto the Paopu fruit.
Tifa was just standing by the window with a soft smile on her face. "At least you're alright now..." she thought.
"Mommy!"
Tifa turned to the door when she heard her eldest daughter's voice. "Morrigan!" she greeted.
The green-haired woman rushed inside the room without closing the door to hug her mother. Tifa gently stroked her daughter's green hair, "You know, if your father sees that hair, he might force you to wash it out so that it'll be blonde again." She said.
"Ohohoho! Don't worry mommy. Maybe as long as I'm not wearing my green contacts, I guess daddy wouldn't mind… Ohohoho! Besides, I just came from a shoot." Morrigan explained before turning to Samara who was looking at her curiously. She smiled sweetly at her. "Samara!" she said as she approached her.
Samara did not even smile as if she was not able to recognize her own sister.
Tifa sighed heavily when she saw the blank stare in her daughter's eyes. "I'm sorry, Morrigan… she's been poisoned by Mako… but… her memory will come back sooner or later." She said.
"Yeah, I heard what happened so I came back here to Midgar as soon as I heard about it." Morrigan said softly before letting go of Samara and then examining the look on her face. She smiled gently and caressed her cheek. "Pretty, pretty little sis." She said sweetly before the Paopu fruit caught her attention. "Oh, what's this?" she asked.
Tifa approached them. "I'm… not really sure what it is…" she replied with a weak smile on her face.
Theodore stepped inside. "Morrie!" he greeted.
Morrigan turned to face her younger brother, "Theo!" she exclaimed as they embraced. After they had let go of one another, he turned to his mother, "Mom, Mister Sephiroth's leaving for Destiny Island. He's taking Riku with him and I guess he's staying there until he regains his memory back. Kuja's also coming with them." He explained.
Tifa blinked. "Oh… that's good to hear. Maybe Kuja can already bond with his dad too." She said with a smile on her face.
Morrigan, Tifa and Theodore continued to talk while Samara just continued to stare into empty space.
Cloud entered the room, interrupting the conversation. Morrigan smiled at him, "Hello Mister Strife!" she greeted cheerfully.
Cloud blinked upon seeing Morrigan, feeling a little intimidated by her height (she's unbelievably taller than him). "Oh well… she's a model and an actress so…" he thought silently to himself before nodding his head in greeting, "Hello." He greeted before turning to Tifa. "Rufus is talking to Sephiroth, Vincent and Lucrecia… so I guess I'll just have to return this to you." He told her as he showed her the pendant.
Tifa blinked and took it. "Oh… thank you, Cloud. Where did you get this?" she asked.
"Samara was wearing it." He replied.
She nodded. "It's hers, actually." She said with a smile on her face before turning to Morrigan, "Would you do me a favor and run to a jewelry store? Buy a silver chain long enough for Samara." She told her.
Morrigan smiled. "Sure, mom!" and left.
Cloud stepped forward to Samara, examining her glowing blue mako eyes. He raised an eyebrow. "Well… I guess she'll be alright. Just don't let her get flung off a wheelchair if you're getting her out of the hospital." He joked.
Tifa slapped his back with too much force that he almost fell onto the bed. "That is not a good joke, Cloud Strife." She snapped.
He just laughed.
"Hey, seems like you two are already laughing about some stuff." Aerith said as she entered with a basket of flowers.
"Oh, hi, Aerith!" Tifa greeted cheerfully.
"Just cracking Mako-related jokes." Cloud told her.
"No actually, he's blaming me for getting flung off a wheelchair several years ago when he experienced Mako poisoning." Tifa pointed out with a glum look on her face.
"And you even lied to me. You told me that I…"
"Alright, alright! Enough already!" Tifa snapped at him with a blush on her face.
Aerith giggled. "That's enough, you two." She said.
"Honestly, Aerith, you should tell your husband to stop insulting the First Lady." Tifa muttered to her with a mean smile on her face before flipping her hair and then took the basket of flowers and placed it by the window.
"You're beginning to act and sound like Rufus." Aerith and Cloud both said in unison.
Theodore was just seated by the window, sniffing the flowers. He laughed.
"Oh, it looks like Theodore likes those flowers. Thanks, Aerith." Tifa said.
"I figured those flowers could make someone happy." Aerith said with a sweet smile on her face.
As the adults continued to talk, Samara slowly turned her gaze outside the door when she noticed that some people were passing by.
It was Sephiroth who was assisting Riku in walking down the hallway.
Samara just stared blankly at Riku with the blindfold, and when they disappeared out of her sight, that's when she spoke up, "R…Riku?"
All eyes turned to her. Even Theodore stopped laughing and sniffing the flowers.
Tears fell from her eyes as she continued to stare blankly into empty space. "Riku," she said.
Tifa approached her and embraced her, "Oh, Samara, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Who are you? Where is Riku?" Samara asked.
Tifa's eyes widened. "Wh…what?" she asked.
Cloud just shook his head in frustration.
Aerith smiled sadly at Tifa as she approached her. "Tifa, don't worry… this will pass." She said softly.
Cloud just watched them quietly before deciding to step out of the room for a while. He saw Rufus seated by the door outside the room. "So you heard." Cloud began.
Rufus just nodded silently.
Cloud sat down beside him on the couch. "Have you informed Tifa about the JENOVA cells in Samara?" he asked in a low tone.
Rufus nodded with a stiff look on his face. "But the rest of the world shouldn't know. The media is already having a holiday with all the strange things that had passed." He explained before turning to Cloud. "What about you? You're going to Destiny Island too?" he asked.
Cloud shook his head. "Nah. I'll stay here. Besides, this is the City where Sora is born. I think it's about time he gets familiar with this place…" he replied with a slight smile on his face.
"I see." Rufus flipped his hair. "Well then, maybe you are interested in taking a job in my Company?" he asked.
Cloud just blinked. "Huh? Like what?" he asked.
"Say… External Vice President?" Rufus asked with a sly smile on his face.
Cloud thought for a while before saying, "How much is the pay?" he asked.
"Your starting pay is 500,000 Gil. Is that fine with you?" Rufus asked.
Cloud's jaw dropped. "But… why me?" he asked.
"I figured that my executives should be someone that I could trust." Rufus said before patting his shoulder, "I also would like to thank you for saving my daughter's life." He said with a stiff look on his face, although in his eyes, Cloud could see that he was grateful.
Cloud nodded and smiled slightly. "Alright. 500,000 Gil is fine with me." He replied.
Riku turned his head back towards the Sector 1 Hospital's direction even though he could not see anything. He thought he felt someone touch his cheeks from behind him.
Sephiroth stopped walking. "Anything wrong?" he asked.
Riku just kept quiet and bowed down his head.
Sephiroth looked back at the hospital with a curious look on his face before shrugging. "Let's go. Gotta reach Destiny Island before it gets dark. It's hard to travel by sea if it's already past sunset." He told him before they proceeded to walk going to the Parking Lot.
On their way to the car, Sephiroth saw that a purple convertible was parked beside his black convertible. Morrigan was seated on the driver's seat of the purple car and was talking to someone on her mobile phone. When she saw Sephiroth, she smiled cheerfully at him and then told the person on the other line, "Yes, I'll be canceling photoshoots and Press Conferences for the next three weeks. I'm taking a vacation with my parents. Besides, my sister is sick, I have to take care of her, 'ayt? Okay, bye," and hung up before turning to Sephiroth. "Hello, Uncle Sephiroth!" she greeted.
"Hello, Morrigan." Sephiroth greeted with a slight smile on his face. "Has your father seen you already?" he asked, wanting to know Rufus's reaction when he sees his daughter with green hair again.
Morrigan giggled. "Heehee! Not yet. I'm doing an errand for mom. I have to go to the jewelry store and buy some chain for Samara's necklace… then I'm going to the hair salon to have this green dye rinsed off my locks before I face daddy. Heehee!" she explained with a sheepish look on her face.
Sephiroth laughed at what she said, "Good idea, Morrigan." He told her with a wink. She, then, turned to look at Riku. "He must be Riku, the guy who saved Samzy?" she asked with a sweet smile on her face.
"Yeah. But… I don't think he can recognize anyone right now…" Sephiroth said with a hard tone, but he was still smiling slightly as he patted Riku's head.
They were interrupted when they heard some excited woman's voice greeting them, "Hey!!!"
Morrigan and Sephiroth turned to Yuffie who was approaching them with Kairi and Zack following from behind her.
Sephiroth frowned upon seeing Zack.
Zack just ignored him.
"Oh, Riku, how are you?" Kairi asked, approaching her friend.
Riku moved away from her and hid behind his father.
"What's wrong with him?" Zack asked.
"Mako poisoning." Sephiroth replied simply.
Zack just nodded with a skeptical look on his face.
"So… where's Vinny?" Yuffie asked curiously.
"He's… with my mom. I think they're talking to Squall and Tidus." Sephiroth told her.
Yuffie blinked. "Squall?" she asked in confusion.
"Leon." Kairi and Sephiroth both corrected in unison.
Silence.
"Oh! Teeheeheehee! I see!" Yuffie said with a sheepish look on her face.
Kairi was eyeing Riku with a sad smile on her face. "Well… I guess you can't remember me…" she just said softly.
"Don't worry, Kairi. His memory will eventually return but it will take some time…" Sephiroth said with a hard look on his face.
"…a lot of time." Zack added while eyeing the boy.
Riku just bowed down his head.
"And Samara?" Yuffie asked, turning to Morrigan with a smile on her face.
"She's in suite 1501. It's in the Children's Ward." Morrigan replied as she started the engine of her car. "Well, better get out of here fast. Adieu!" she waved goodbye to them before zooming off… and almost hitting Zack.
"Hey!" Zack exclaimed.
"Sorry, sir!" Morrigan called out before laughing.
Zack just snorted while shaking his head in disbelief. "Reckless driver…" he muttered miserably.
"I'm taking Riku to Destiny Island so that he could rehabilitate himself. Kuja's also coming with us as part of his punishment for almost wrecking the Planet and putting Samara and Riku's lives in grave danger." Sephiroth said before reaching for his pocket to get the keys.
"Really?" Kairi asked in awe.
"Yeah but don't worry, we'll be returning here when he's already okay." Sephiroth said reassuringly. Kairi just nodded. "Alright." She said softly.
"Well, I guess we'll be going upstairs now. See ya 'round, Sephy!" Yuffie waved goodbye to him before taking Kairi's hand and led the way to the entrance of the hospital. Zack followed after them, not even bothering to bid Sephiroth goodbye.
Sephiroth began to search for the keys in his other pockets, but couldn't find them. "Dammit! The keys must be with Vinny…" he muttered miserably before reaching for his mobile phone to call Vincent.
Cloud was seated outside Samara's hospital room with Rufus, Squall and Tidus.
"Thanks for the help, you two." Rufus told Squall and Tidus.
"Eheheh. No problem, Prez." Tidus replied with a cheerful smile on his face.
Squall shrugged. "Well, I guess it's time for me to go back to the Garden now… and fly back to Balamb. We'll have a lot of cleaning to do." He told them.
"What about you, Tidus?" Cloud asked.
Tidus thought for a while. "Well… my homeland's really been destroyed by that girly-man… and it might take a while before we could rebuild it so…" he began.
"I'll send over some of my crew to inspect it and help you with the reconstruction." Rufus told him.
Silence.
"Really?!" Tidus asked in awe.
"As a form of thanks. Also to Balamb, Squall." Rufus said reassuringly even if he had a stiff look on his face.
Tidus laughed joyfully before giving Rufus a friendly hug and patting his back like they're buddies. "Wahahahaha!!! Thanks a lot, Ruffy! You're such a good buddy! Maybe sometime you could join me and the others in a party?" he asked happily.
Cloud eyed Rufus warningly to be kind to Tidus. Rufus just laughed lightly before pushing Tidus away from himself and then flipped his hair. "Alright, alright. Don't get too close to me. You smell like the sea." He said with a mocking tone, but he had a facial expression that told them that he was only joking.
"Theodore," Tifa said.
The little boy with strawberry-blonde hair and crimson eyes turned to his mother with an inquiring but cheerful stare.
"I'll just go to the cafeteria with Mrs. Strife, alright? You want anything?" she asked.
Theodore just shook his head. "No thanks, mom. I had a chocolate bar before coming here." He said with a smile.
With that, Tifa gave him a kiss on the forehead before leaving the room with Aerith.
Theodore just remained seated by the bed, staring inquiringly at his twin sister whose eyes were still staring blankly straight ahead. The Paopu fruit was still in her grasp.
He just sighed heavily. "Samara, please talk to me… I hate seeing you like this… it's like you're a zombie!" he told her frankly.
She just lowered her gaze to the Paopu fruit but did not answer.
The door slowly opened and there was Sora with Kairi.
"Oh, hey guys," Theodore greeted with a sad smile on his face.
Sora shut the door before approaching Theodore. "So, what's up?" he asked.
Kairi stared pitifully at Samara's present state.
Theodore got up from where he was sitting and flipped his hair. "Still the same, Sora. Though it's been a week already…" he said softly.
"Yeah. Riku can't even recognize me! I guess it's the same with Samara." Sora told him with a disappointed look on his face.
Theodore turned to Kairi. "Who's with you here?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, just my mom and dad. But they're outside talking to President Rufus." She replied before the Paopu fruit caught her attention. She examined it and noticed that there was already a bitten part.
She recalled that Kuja forced her to take a bite out of the fruit and then he threw it away to threaten her that she will be alone forever if nobody else takes a bite out of it.
"Has Riku gone off to Destiny Island already?" Theodore asked.
"They're in the parking lot. I guess they're going to do some packing at home first and then they're off." Kairi replied.
But something was bothering her.
"…he's way too important to me…"
Kairi turned to look at Samara's eyes.
"…he's one of the few who could understand me."
Remembering those words from Samara when they were hiding in the cave, she realized why the little girl had reacted the way she did in the reactor when Kuja threw the Paopu fruit into the hole. She smiled sadly at Samara with tears in her eyes before hugging her. "Oh, Samara…" she whispered softly, surprising Sora and Theodore.
Tears fell from Samara's eyes. Kairi withdrew from her friend and stared into her blue eyes. "I know, Samara… I know," she said softly before getting the Paopu fruit from her and then turned to Theodore and Sora. "I'll be back in a jiffy!" she told them before rushing out of the room.
"Kairi, where are you going?!" Sora asked, going after her, leaving Theodore and Samara there.
Theodore looked back at his sister and saw the sad smile on her face. She was looking at him as her tears continued to fall. He blinked, somewhat confused because of her current actions.
"Theodore," she began.
His crimson eyes widened at her. Finally, she could remember. "Samara!" he exclaimed before hugging her. She returned the embrace, but this time, she was already sobbing helplessly. "Theodore!" she said with a shaky tone.
Vincent handed Sephiroth the keys. "Here you are. And make sure Riku's wearing a seatbelt." He instructed.
"Yeah, yeah. Kiss mommy for me. Bye." Sephiroth mumbled under his breath while rolling his eyes. He opened the door to the front passenger seat and helped Riku get in. He buckled the seatbelt for him before closing the door. On his way to the driver's seat, he stopped when he heard Kairi's voice yelling, "Wait! Mister Sephiroth!!!"
Sephiroth and Vincent both turned to the two youngsters running towards them.
"What's wrong?" Vincent asked with a curious look on his face.
Kairi and Sora stopped running, and after catching their breaths, the former spoke up, "Whew! Glad to know you haven't left yet! Ha ha!" she said weakly while still panting.
"Sephiroth unlocked the door to the driver's seat and opened the door. "What do you want?" he asked before he got inside and shut the door again. He started the engine and buckled up.
Kairi went over to Riku's side with Sora right behind her. "Riku," she began.
Riku turned his head to the direction where he heard the voice but he did not say anything.
Kairi smiled weakly at him. "H…hi! I… I don't know if you can remember me but… anyway, that's not important. I'm Kairi… and Sora's with me right now… and…" she reached for Riku's hand and placed the Paopu fruit on his palm.
Vincent's facial expression softened upon seeing the Paopu fruit.
Sephiroth just smiled unbelievably while shaking his head in disbelief, turning to Vincent and winking at him. Vincent just smiled weakly and turned and walked back to the hospital.
"It's a goodbye gift… you can eat it if you're hungry." Sora told Riku.
Riku just kept quiet as he used his other hand to feel for the Paopu's texture.
Kairi and Sora both turned to Sephiroth who was eyeing them curiously. The two just smiled goofily at him. "Eheh… bye! Have a nice trip!" Sora said before stepping away from the car.
Kairi waved goodbye at Sephiroth before she moved away from the car too.
Riku bowed down his head, still feeling the Paopu fruit. "…star…?"
"So you will never be lonely again…I'm giving it to you."
He heard his own voice from the back of his head saying those words… but they quickly faded off from his attention.
"Where are we going, daddy?" he asked curiously.
"We're going home first… then we're heading for Destiny Island." Sephiroth replied with a slight smile on his face as he drove the car into the highway leading to the place where the Valentine Mansion stood.