IX – Ghosts

Disclaimer: I don't own any FF8 character. But I own Kyte Foda and all Temera characters.

A.N.: Here we go! This is something I tend to call "key chapter", as it explains a lot of things. Besides, I'm going to introduce some new characters. Hope ya like it.

"So you are from Balamb?" Motioning them to sit down in one of the adjoining rooms, the priest handed them some cups of tea. They seemed to have ripped him out of work, as there still were ink and paper lying on the desk next to them. "We don't get to see a lot of wanderers up here in the North. Normally, only people who live here or have relatives living here even know about it."

"Well, it seems like we once lived here, ya know." Raijin tried to explain. "Ya know, I can't remember actually, but my sister Fujin says it's our hometown."

Again, the priest glanced at the young woman sitting on the bed in front of him. The silver hair and red eye. "Fujin, right. Your sister has good memory. It's been about ten years now."

"So you already know them?" In an instant Seifer's attention was back to full alert. "We are looking for more information about what was before Balamb. Can you tell us?"

"I can." Eyes and hands still calm, the priest took another sip from his own cup. "But I'm not sure if I really should. It's… quite complicated. And I might have to say some things you probably won't want to know."

"Acceptable." With the heat of the tea slowly bringing back life inside her, Fujin finally looked at him. "You tell. We listen."

"You haven't changed Fujin. Not at all. Still talking in one word sentences." He smiled shortly, then leaned back against his chair. "But there had been times when you had talked in normal sentences. Do you know anything about your family?"

"Negative."

"Not much of a surprise. Your father died when Raijin was two years old. That was shortly before your mother gave birth to you. She was a real beauty, but also really shy. Her house was further up the mountain's slope and only few people came to visit her. The path was to narrow and often snowed under. Her name was Aresa. Aresa Kazeno."

She tried to remember the name, to link it to the pictures inside her head, but the memory didn't want to return.

"Aresa was a really sad woman. You father's death was some horrible experience to her. Furthermore, most villagers left her alone after your birth. I guess the reaction to your looks hasn't changed, has it?" When she shook her head, he sighed deeply. "Humans… I'll never understand why we keep blaming others for things they aren't responsible for. Your mother tried to keep you from going to the village. Whenever you came here, you came to this church. You said it was the only place where you could be safe. We talked and played a lot, though you may not remember. You and Raijin always hid behind the benches and I had to look for you. It was fun to have children in the church."

But it wasn't fun to tell her the rest of the story. Again, he took a nervous sip from his cup. "Your mother hated being lonely, but she never blamed you. She loved you. Both of you. But it couldn't cover her sadness. Well, and then, he came to our village."

"He?"

"The stranger. His name was Kyte. He never gave us his last name. He didn't even have to. He married your mother only four months after he came here, so he was Kyte Kazeno to us."

Feeling the shivers inside Fujin, Seifer decided to take her place in asking and answering. "Long, light brown hair, blue eyes? Tall?"

"Exactly. He was one strange guy. Always polite and neat from the outside, but I heard a lot of rumours. One day Aresa came down to our village again. Her visits had become a rarity, but it wasn't hard to notice it wasn't her fault. She had bumps and bruises everywhere. Word got around Kyte was battering her, maybe even more. Fujin didn't come down to the church, either. I was worried and one day I decided to go look what's wrong up there in your house."

He hesitated, felt the siblings' gazes on his skin. It nearly made him shudder. "I knocked and Aresa opened the door. She was more than nervous, almost afraid. I heard Kyte in the back. He was raging, probably responsible for the fresh bruises on her face. I asked her why she stayed with him, even though he battered her like that and she just claimed it had been "an accident". He had definitely scared her to death. Well, and then she shut the door, left me standing there with nothing. No answers, no goodbye, nothing. A few weeks passed. No visits, no signs of life, nothing. I took two other villagers with me to go and look for her and…"

"And what?"

"She was dead. She had hung herself. Kyte was gone. Same as the two of you, just that your personal belongings were still there. Kyte was gone. He had left and we didn't hear of him anymore. We thought you two were…dead."

But they weren't. Maybe that was why Foda had been surprised to meet them at Balamb Garden. After all, at least Fujin was easy to remember and recognise, Seifer thought with a frown. "Can you show us the house?"

"Of course I can." With the story finally finished, the priest put his empty cup back on the table. "But we should wait until dawn. It's much too dangerous out there in the dark. The slope is quite tricky. I'd advise you to go to sleep now, but you'd have to sleep on the benches."

"Acceptable." After a last sip from her cup, Fujin got up again and left the room.

"Yeah, we're training to become Seeds, ya know. We'll just see it as some sort of training." In his usual frantic manner, Raijin rushed out of the room to follow his sister. No way would he risk getting his shin kicked again because he had been too slow.

When they had both left the room, Seifer turned to the priest again. "You think Aresa really hung herself?"

"You think it was Kyte?" When Seifer nodded, he sighed deeply. "Honestly, I'm not sure what to think about the whole mess anyway. She wasn't suicidal, as long as her children were there. There are so many things wrong in that story. I have put it aside for a long time. And I'm not exactly happy to be confronted with it now. Here." A sad smile on his lips, he handed him a few woollen blankets. They will keep you warm. I'll wake you up tomorrow."

"Thanks." He was almost out of the room, as the question popped up inside his head again. "Ah, by the way, we didn't even ask you what your name is."

"I'm sorry. Damon. Damon Shura. And now go to bed. It's getting late."

>>>

By the time they all were awake again, dawn had already passed. Still the lands outside looked all icy and cold. Only the snow's glitter in the sunlight warmed it up a bit. "Can't imagine we've been living here, ya know." Raijin mentioned with a look outside the window. "It's so cold here."

"That's just what your father said, but Aresa loved the snow and its glitter. Same as Fujin." With a deep sigh, the priest sat down on one of the benches. "Your father was a stranger, too, but most people here loved him. He was a friendly man. Calm, sometimes strict, but always a man of honour and justice… so exactly the opposite of Kyte. No one ever understood why she stayed with some beast like him."

"Beast?" In an instant, Fujin's attention was back to full alert.

"Yes, beast. Some of the villagers' children – there were only few of them – called them "the beauty and the beast". It was more than ironic." Again, he risked a look outside the window. We should go now. The weather won't always be that nice and I don't want us to get into a blizzard."

>>>

He had been right about the way up the slope being more than just complicated. In fact Seifer doubted if any of them had been able to get through the snow without lots of training. They had had their Seed training and the priest… well, he had been living there long enough. But what was even worse than the snow, was the looks of it. White. White everywhere. Without Damon, they could have searched endlessly. "How do you guys manage not to get lost up here? Everything looks the same here."

"For strangers, yes." The thought drew a smile from him. "But you don't have to worry. I'll guide you there and back again. We can stay as long as you want. And as long as weather stays friendly. If we get into one of those nasty blizzards, we're as good as dead."

"Wait." Immediately, they all froze. In a mix of confusion and curiosity, six eyes glared at Fujin. "Up there." She didn't even know what she was pointing at, but something inside her told her there was more than just trees and snow to their right. "Behind. What?"

"So you know about it?" Stunned, Damon followed her gaze through the trees. "That's Sapphire Lake behind the trees, but you can't see it from here. And I can't remember anyone has ever shown you. It's a tricky one and a lot of people drowned there already. Your mother was strictly against even telling you that there was a lake near your house. She never allowed you or Raijin to even get near it. How do you know about it?"

A good question, she had to admit. Another part of the puzzle. But the lake would have to wait. "Go there afterwards. Bad feeling."

A.N.: Ah, okay, I see, I've already put in some new questions, but I just can't do differently. Just my style I guess. Well, I hope you liked that chapter. Next one will be up next Saturday at the earliest, as I'm going to London next Monday. See ya next week.