Author's Notes: Kidd might just have bitten off more than he can chew in this one. ^_~ Oh, BTW… WHY DOES FFNET CHANGE THE FORMAT OF MY STORY??! AFTER I PAINSTAKINGLY FORMAT IT FOR BETTER READING IT CHANGES THE FORMAT!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG???! T.T
@Elven Goddess: WHOO-HOO!!! highfives Yes, I myself refuse to believe that Luc is never coming back. As a matter of fact, after I upload several of my other fics, I will go on to write the Suikoden 4 fanfic forming in my mind. By a Suikoden 4 fanfic, I mean what I think would be cool to happen in Suikoden 4. Woot!! Hail all anti-Luc/Sera even if we support different couplings for Luc!!
@Fate: ^-^ That's very nice of you to say. I'll try very hard to maintain and improve how I write. Thanks!!
@Aria: WHOO-HOO!!! highfives Another anti-Luc/Sera fan heh, you're more of just anti-Sera, ne? ^-^ I'm not planning to pair Viki with Luc… I have a fandom of my own for Luc. Hehehe…
Disclaimer: Suikoden is not mine. cries I mean, I would NEVER have killed off Luc and invented Sera!!
Who Is The Mysterious Magician Luc?
Chapter 4: Regrets
It has been about 3 weeks since Kidd started the investigation. Inspired by Sanae's offhand comment, Kidd decided to write to several people who knew him. These people included Sanae's parents, Freed and Yoshino Yamamoto. He also wrote to the informer from Radat, Richmond. He also sent a letter to Marlowe, the historian and to the chief of the Warrior's Village.
Yoshino and Freed's letter was the first to come:
Dear Mister Kidd,
Greetings!! I, Freed Yamamoto wrote this letter regarding Master Luc, to share my memories of this magician I knew from the Alliance Army.
Master Luc was very aloof; he hardly spent time with other people, although I seem to remember him getting along with two other boys about his age. One was the Dragon Knight Futch and the other was the ninja, Sasuke. Master Luc was very powerful. I remember Master Shu saying, his abilities were more helpful than we realize. Master Luc was also very intimidating for a young man; he acted very mature for his age.
On behalf of my wife, Yoshino, I would write next what she thought about him. She says Luc is quiet but he seems to be a very nice young man. She says that he sometimes went to the laundry area to get some fresh air. And he's very conscientious about his clothes—he takes very good care of them.
Signed,
Freed Yamamoto
Oh so now I know that the True Wind Rune Bearer was very careful with his robes… Kidd scratched his head. What does that say about him?.. Or maybe I'm just over-analyzing here…
Marlowe wrote back as well. The letter was very informative, but a little boring. It merely stated Luc's role in the wars and gave what Marlowe knew about Luc's background. Not exactly what Kidd was looking for…
Kidd let out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a grunt. Things have been slow lately… He has interviewed every single possible person in the castle who could tell him about Luc. Most of them were even less helpful than Lilly.
Kidd made another complaining sound.
"Sssh!!!" Eike shushed him, giving him a sharp look. "If you cannot be quiet, you should leave the library."
"Sorry," Kidd muttered. He lazily fixed the papers on his desk, for lack of anything better to do.
"EXCUSE ME!!" A woman shouted. She was outside the library yet her voice carried clear into the silent room. Eike looked scandalized.
She burst in the library, her red hair streaming behind her. "LUC, LUC!! WHERE IS HE?? I'M HERE TO BEAT SOME SENSE INTO HIS HEAD!!!"
"Please calm down," a swordsman behind her said, scratching at the brown locks that fell over his face. It was obvious that he felt ill at ease with their current location.
His fiery companion gave him a burning look. "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!"
"Please, observe proper behavior in the library!!" Eike hurried over to the couple, his normally pale face red with suppressed rage.
"I don't care where I am, I just need to find our friend!!!" The red-headed woman snapped at the librarian.
"Please… stop making a scene…" the swordsman pleaded.
Kidd watched the scene, feeling a lump rise up his throat. Why do I have the very bad feeling that this is my fault?? The informer pushed his chair away from the desk, got on his feet and walked towards the group.
"Is something the matter?" Kidd asked them.
"Get back to your seat, this problem does not concern the other patrons." Eike told him.
"Hey, you are a detective, aren't you??" The woman tilted her head, appraising Kidd.
"Yes, Miss—"
"Would you happen to be Kidd, the one who wrote us about Luc??" The woman demanded.
Kidd's eyes widened. "Yes, I—"
"I am Tengaar." The woman introduced herself. She grabbed the swordsman by the arm and pulled him beside her. "And this is Hix, my husband, Chief of the Warrior's Village."
"Pleased to meet you," Hix said when Tengaar pinched his arm.
"T-t-the, pleasure is all mine…" Kidd stammered. "I… I was wondering why you never wrote back…" What are they doing here, IN PERSON??!
"Sorry," Tengaar smiled apologetically. "We wanted to arrive as soon as possible but we had to fix some things in our village. And our children insisted on coming with us, but of course, we couldn't bring them along so we left them in the care of our friends."
"M-master Hix, Mistress Tengaar…" Kidd began. "I didn't expect that you would come here, a letter was all I requested—"
"It's okay," Tengaar waved a letter and handed it to Kidd. "When we heard that Luc was doing something that was not very good, we had to come personally. He'd listen to us, wouldn't he, Hix?"
"Umm," Hix looked unsure. "Perhaps."
"He would," Tengaar insisted. "So now, we need to talk to Luc. Where is he?"
Kidd was looking down at his letter to the couple.
To: Master Hix, Chief of the Warrior's Village and Mistress TengaarGood day!! I am Kidd, Budehuc Castle's Informer. I am currently doing an investigation regarding the magician Luc.
I have heard that you are familiar with him, as a matter of fact; you have known him from the Rebel Army of Toran and the Alliance Army of Dunan.
I am aware that once you were allies. In the Grasslands-Zexen area though, Luc is better known as the Destroyer. He sought to destroy all the True Runes—the ceremony could possibly destroy the Grasslands and the entire world.
In the face of these recent events, I launched an investigation to learn about Luc's past. I would appreciate any information you may be able to give about him from that time you spent together.
Thank you.
Kidd, Budehuc Castle
And then, he realized it. Oh no… Kidd looked up at the couple. Tengaar was tapping her foot impatiently and Hix was looking at him expectantly.
"Look, Kidd, I don't want to rush you, but can you finally lead us to Luc?" Tengaar asked.
Kidd bit his lip. I never told them… I didn't know how to… I just assumed they would probably have heard by now… They don't know yet… That Luc is dead…
Kidd cleared his throat. "M-mistress Tengaar… Master Hix… I apologize that I haven't made myself clear. The ceremony Luc wanted to perform… we were able to halt it. But… in the process… Luc passed away."
Tengaar's jaw dropped. "What??!"
Hix was equally surprised. "What??!"
"Luc… he died." Kidd said.
"But, but—that's ridiculous!!" Tengaar cried. "Luc is immortal!!! They said so!! Didn't they Hix? He has a True Rune how can he die, it's not possible!!!"
"They say… That he used the True Wind Rune too much and that drained the life from him…" Kidd murmured.
"HIX??!" Tengaar turned to her husband, tears streaming down her face. "Did you know that such a thing could happen to Luc??!"
"No, Tengaar!!" Hix exclaimed. He had a hand against his forehead, as if his head ached and he had a distraught look on his face.
"I am sorry…" Kidd whispered.
"THEN WHY??!" Tengaar shouted at Kidd angrily.
"Pardon?" Kidd's eyes widened in alarm. The woman was angry, very angry—AT HIM!!
"Why did you bother writing to us??!" Tengaar shouted. "Why now?? After you lot killed him??! YES, KILLED HIM!!!"
"My allies were only acting for their survival!!!" Kidd shouted back at her. "Why are you blaming us??! If Luc didn't do that crazy thing of his then we wouldn't have gone against him!!!"
"You don't even know him!!!" Tengaar screeched. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!"
"Tengaar, calm down…" Hix said holding her by the shoulders and restraining her. Although it was obvious that he was restraining himself as well.
Kidd looked over his shoulder. Everyone in the library was staring at them. Eike had cowered behind his desk; the temper of the red-haired woman obviously scared him.
"You write to us now, for your investigation," Tengaar spat, as if she loathed the word. "But you didn't care to let us know what was happening when something could still have been done… When Luc was still alive…"
Kidd looked down at his feet, Tengaar's words made him feel ashamed. "I'm really sorry…"
"You're an informer," Tengaar said. "You could have done so much more. You knew how to reach Luc's old friends. You could have at least let us known what was happening to him before you killed him. Mister Richmond would have done so… But you…"
"Tengaar, that's enough." Hix told her.
"I don't understand why Luc did that…" Tengaar continued still. "But he would have a reason. He's not crazy. How dare you…"
* * *
"How is she?" Kidd asked.
"She's resting now, Apple is talking to her." Hix replied. He stole a glance at his wife sitting on the bed and closed the door after him. He tilted his head slightly at Thomas. "Thank you for letting us use the room."
"It's no trouble," Thomas said, fidgeting uneasily. He had heard of what transpired between the warriors and the informer. Who in Budehuc didn't? "I-if there's anything else you need, please just let us know." He then took his leave, relieved.
Kidd tugged at his blue jacket, his eyes shifting guiltily. This is all my fault… stupid investigation…
After giving Kidd a piece of her mind, Tengaar had stormed out of the library. Kidd had stupidly told her that Viki and Futch actually fought Luc face-to-face at the Ceremonial Site. Tengaar found the teleportress and the warrior didn't just scream at her, she even gave Viki a slap on the cheek. Miss Viki is probably still crying about that… Viki tried explaining herself to Tengaar but between the two of them, Tengaar was obviously better equipped to win a verbal battle. It was lucky that Futch left with Sharon (and Belle, Kidd notes) a few days ago, or else Tengaar would probably have done something worse to him. Apple finally found Tengaar and calmed her down, although Tengaar also gave the strategist a red welt on the cheek before Apple managed to appease her.
"I'm sorry," Kidd apologized for what seemed to be the hundredth time.
"I am sorry about Tengaar's behavior as well," Hix said. "She is normally a very nice woman but her temper sometimes gets the better of her. She's very emotional… she can't help it…"
"I understand…" Kidd said. "You were Luc's friends, and I shouldn't have talked about him like that. Mistress Tengaar is right, I didn't know him…"
"It's just hard to believe that Luc would do such a thing with no good reason," Hix explained. "He's no saint and he can be mean sometimes—but he was pretty harmless…"
"So I heard…" Kidd smiled faintly.
The door opened. "Come in Hix," Apple smiled, her left cheek still slightly swollen. So are her eyes, Kidd noted. "And you too Kidd, Tengaar is ready to talk to you. She promises not to shout this time."
Hix entered and Kidd followed him. Tengaar smiled sadly at Hix, her lower lip trembling and her swollen red eyes filling up with tears. Hix sat on the edge of the bed and encircled his arms around her.
"Oh Tengaar…" Hix hugged her and stroked her hair. Tengaar clung tightly unto him, sobbing.
"I was just so sad… It was so unexpected…" Tengaar drew the back of her hand across her eyes, wiping away her tears.
"I'm sorry," Kidd said again.
"I know you are…" Tengaar told him. She forced herself to smile. "If you want, we can still help you with your investigation."
"You are too kind," Kidd shook his head.
"Nonsense, we did travel this far, we might as well be of help," Tengaar said. "So it's about Luc right…
"They've all probably told you about what an arrogant, snobbish little prick he was."
Apple nodded, one corner of her mouth quirking. "Who could forget that about him?"
"And he exasperated everyone," Hix added.
"Have you heard of Blue Lightning Flik?" Tengaar asked Kidd.
"Oh, have I ever!!!" Kidd exclaimed excitedly. "H-he was from the Warrior's Village, right??"
Hix nodded.
"He never came back though," Tengaar mumbled, pouting. "Anyway, Mister Flik is, for the most part, a laid-back, easy-going individual who particularly respects women and children. However, Luc can get a rise out of him every so often. Out of him and his friend Viktor."
Kidd's ears twitched at this. "Viktor??! The man who fought Neclord??!"
"Yes. Luc exasperates everyone." Tengaar said. "I, for one, was always arguing with him. I'm older than him but he refuses to listen and gets annoying. Hix doesn't even bother to argue with him, since Luc can be very difficult."
"Nevertheless, he was our friend," Hix said.
"I wish things could have been different…" Tengaar sighed.
"You're not alone…" Apple reminded her. "You have to believe that I didn't find it easy to plan against Luc…"
"I suppose… little Meg and Millie would be heartbroken as well if they knew…" Tengaar mused, fresh tears forming in her eyes. "I wonder how they are…"
"Probably, missing their 'big sister' as well." Apple patted Tengaar on the back. "Stay here awhile? It's not often I meet old friends again…"
"We can't." Tengaar told her. "We'll leave first thing tomorrow."
"Our children are missing us terribly," Hix said. "Heaven was very understanding about it. You have seen her, haven't you? Our eldest daughter…"
Apple nodded. "She was just a baby then."
"She's already twelve years old," Tengaar smiled proudly. "She looks like Hix and she's as kind as he is as well… But she was very sad when we said we had to leave for a while…"
"Very well, I can't ask you to make your children unhappy." Apple hugged Tengaar and Hix. "I'm very glad to see both of you again. Now, rest, you have a long journey ahead of you tomorrow."
"Thank you," Kidd said. Hix and Tengaar tilted their heads in acknowledgement then Kidd left.
Author's Notes again: Who doesn't adore Tengaar/Hix?? =O kicks anyone who says "Me!!" or any such variations.
Next Chapter Preview:
A mischievous little smile graced her pretty face. "Okay, I'll let you interview me. But—let me see the notes you have gathered first."
Kidd frowned. "The investigation is top-secret until I see that I have enough accurate material to publish. I am not doing anything to jeopardize the credibility of this project about Master Luc; how can I betray the trust of people who helped me, like Sir Futch??"
"But I knew both of them!!" She flipped her wavy light brown hair over her shoulder. "Here, I'll prove it."
Kidd examined the badge she dropped on the table. "Hmm… Dragon Knight, 9th Rank… Futch—" Kidd goggled at her. "An old girlfriend??!"
She turned beet-red and snatched the badge from him. "Being an informer doesn't mean sticking your nose into other people's business without discretion!!!"
*Who is she?? ^-^ Make a wild guess…*