So people DO like this story! You have no idea how happy that makes me!
Just to clear something up, a reviewer asked me whether SeeDs were related to Gundam Seed, the answer is NO. SeeD was actually referring to the Final Fantasy VIII mercenaries' rank. Another reviewer also guessed the anime right, I was talking about Mai-HiME (or My-HiME)
"They just appeared in the lobby! I swear!"
"Just appear, you say. Forgive me if I find that unbelievable, just tell me what happened."
"Hey I really don't know! One moment the place was empty and then there they are!"
"I don't believe…"
"It's true! You think I attacked them or something? Look, they're all wet, but uninjured except for a few cuts and bruises! Besides, do you really think I'll attack the student council president?"
"Now listen here…."
"Am I interrupting anything?" A third voice came up, covered with frost.
"How did you get in here…Gah!" There was a sound like somebody's head being smashed on a hard surface, followed by another, and then two thumps as the first two speakers dropped to the ground besides the group. Apparently, it wasn't enough to knock them out, for although they remained on the floor they were groaning and shifting.
Leon's unfocused eyes followed the movement of heavy black boots slowly walking past the groaning figures, stopping not too far from his face. Their owner was a tall person, but other then that Leon couldn't see well enough. His mind was still foggy, his eyes were glazed, the room was dark, and he really wanted to go back to sleep. That and the person's dark clothing didn't help make it easier. Said person bent forward slightly to view them all with a critical eye "civilian…civilian…Destiny High students, which one of you, I wonder…." He himself was interrupted when another figure burst into the room, and he looked up with an annoyed look. The newcomer jumped out of the door's way when it was slammed open again, and a third person jumped in, closely followed by another. Four newcomers in total, and they were all dressed in the similar black leather trench coat.
"H-ey," the third person began in a rather, to Leon, cocky sort of tone "look who's here, things won't be as easy as Namine hopes, neh, Demyx?"
"You can't be serious! Organization XIII members! Why did she send me to do this job? Why do I constantly have to be the one going on missions deceptively easy but always end with another battle?"
"You two Nobodies again, you're truly becoming a nuisance." The first newcomer straightened up and held up a hand. Glowing blue-silver light drew together, forming what seemed to be a claymore. The second newcomer moved beside him, while the last two moved beside each other. The third, cocky one grinned and also raised his hands, resulting in red light drawing together to form two chakrams, one in each hand. They seemed to have fire attached to them.
The unreality of it all caused Leon to close his eyes.
XXXXXXX
"I really do not know what happened."
"We really don't! Believe the doctor even if you don't believe me!"
"I find it hard to believe the two of you." The three voices and strange murmuring, not to mention bright sunlight on his face, was what told Leon to wake up. He slowly opened his eyes, above him blue skies reached further then what he could see, a bird flew overhead, chirping happily.
Wait a minute.
Wasn't there suppose to be a ceiling above him?
Senses snapped back to him while memories of the bus ride crashed into his mind. He sat up quickly and looked around.
The first thing he noticed was the ruins. They must have been in a building, because there was still the floor beneath their bodies. Well, part of it at least, since just a foot away from where he and his friends – as well as cousin – lay; the floor was also in ruins. Not just messy-ruin, but ruin as in there was large holes and scorched areas, some of it ripped up and tossed aside. Where there should be walls were now planks of wood and metal stacked everywhere on top of the other. Broken glass and other random items littered the area. The ceiling was also missing. Simply put, the place looked like it had experienced a catastrophe, complete with drifting smoke and dripping water.
By taking a look around the surroundings, he also knew he should have been in the hospital ward. Sure enough, Dr. Kadowaki was there, as well as another student named Rikku, and the headmaster himself, Cid. Leon noted to his displeasure that the murmuring that had been going on was actually due to the large number of students that now surrounded the ruined area, staring at them and whispering.
"You're awake!" Rikku grinned; Leon ignored her when he realized something else.
The civilians, the people that were with them on the bus, were gone.
XXXXXXX
"Entrance fancy as ever, right, president?" A voice called, Leon said nothing as a girl with dark hair and chocolate eyes passed by them, cheerful as usual. Tifa Lockhart, one of the most popular girls in school. Beside her was the gentle Aerith Gainsborough, her best friend, and further behind them were her other friends, the mysterious Vincent Valentine and – he felt like stabbing his heart for daring to skip a beat – the quiet Cloud Strife.
Currently, the group held the record of being the strangest group of friends that ever existed.
Cid waved them away as they approached his office. Once inside, Cid closed the door and sat behind his desk. Leon and Sora took the seats in front of him, while Dr. Kadowaki stood at their side. Irvine, Selphie, and Rikku plopped down on the sofa behind them. Rikku spoke before Cid even opened his mouth.
"Its like I said! No matter what you think, I really don't know how the ward got like that! Dragging me up here definitely won't help!"
"I'm aware by now that neither you nor Dr. Kadowaki know what happened," Cid replied. "However, we might have someone who does." He looked at Leon and Sora, then at Irvine and Selphie.
At that, Irvine and Selphie looked at each other, unsure, and then they looked back to the front in order to catch Sora's and Leon's eyes. The message was obvious; they would not believe what we have to say. It seemed as if they all shared the thought, so it was Irvine who shook his head "no headmaster, we do not know what happened. I woke up; I saw the hospital in ruins. I remember nothing"
"What is your last memory?"
"We were riding on a bus…"
"And we fell asleep." Selphie interrupted, strangely determined to keep the issue quiet. There was a silence, followed by Rikku's loud exclamation.
"This is amazing! We're getting a live mystery at our school! The Newspaper Committee is going to have a field day! I can see the headlines: Student Council President shows up in Hospital Ruins on the first day of school…"
"Karmia" Cid spoke softly, but firmly.
"Okay fine, can I go now, headmaster?" Barely waiting for an answer, the cheerful blond slid off the sofa and slipped out the doors. The occupants of the office stared at the door before Cid let out another sigh.
"Very well, all of you are dismissed. You may get your schedules and dorm room keys from the front desk. However, I'll like to speak with you" – He gestured to Sora – "regarding some last-minute touch-ups for your enrollment." The rest of the group stood up and gave a respective nod before going out and following Rikku out the door. Once they received all their papers and were outside, the girl turned back to them.
"So what happened? Don't give me the excuse you used just a while ago, because I can tell you're lying. Did you really trash the school? How did you get here without getting caught? Who was that new kid?" She shut up when Leon gave her the look. "Okay, fine, I won't ask. Rumors can always provide me an answer anyways, no matter how unreliable. No doubt that little stunt is going to be the most talked about topic for the year. See ya later." She turned and took a left when the group moved for the right corridor.
Selphie stared after her, and then turned to Leon "she's right, you know," she said as they all moved to their dorms. "The rumors constantly associated with you are going to reach its highest point now. This isn't exactly the best time for it, considering that your cousin is here and bears the name Leonhart as well!"
Irvine shrugged as they turned another corner "that might not be a bad thing. In this school, association with Leon would score him several points with the fans." The others agreed. Leon ignored them, glancing instead at his papers to see his room number. The first day was usually to unpack and reacquaint oneself among the student body. For Leon, however, it also meant the Student Council meeting. At lunch, and it happened to be in half an hour.
Now let's see if his luggage has arrived safely to the school, as he himself hadn't.
XXXXXXX
After seeing his luggage at his room, and seeing his dorm mate had already unpacked and left (meaning he still haven't met him), Leon went onto the elevator and pressed the number to the highest floor. The doors were closing when a hand suddenly shot through between them, and the doors reopened to reveal a boy with silver hair and green eyes.
"Riku Amoru," Leon acknowledged. His external vice-president gave a lazy smirk before stepping in, allowing the elevator doors to closed.
"So, are you going to explain to me how you managed such a grand entrance to the school?" The boy asked. Leon didn't even bother looking at the other boy when he answered.
"No."
"I thought not, how you talked your way out of it with Cid is beyond me. Seifer's going to have a fit that you went unpunished."
"His opinion is none of my concern."
"Leon, you and the others arrived at the school without authorized clearance, had an unauthorized person with you, completely destroyed the Hospital Ward, and managed to get away without punishment. This is going to be on the school newspaper for a while."
"So I've been told, and the unauthorized person is my cousin, just so you know." The elevator stopped, and the doors opened with a ding. Deeming the conversation finished, Leon stepped out.
The two climbed a small set of stairs up to a large room. A sign proclaimed 'Student Council', and under it, the names and ranks of what made the school governing body. The Student Council Meeting Room was actually in the sole tower-like structure of the school, the highest physical position to be in. With large windows and air conditioned, complete with rather luxurious office supplies, there was no doubt the school had a large budget when it came to the Council. One of the few things Leon appreciated. He opened the door and stepped in.
"President Leon," Aerith's lips turned up into a smile, "and external vice-president Riku." Both boys gave a polite nod to their Treasurer, who was already sitting at her assigned chair, arranging the flowers on the table. Chestnut brown hair and emerald green eyes were the right colours for someone like her, who had a love of nature and gain delight among flowers. With her soothing manner and gentle smile, she was one of the few people Leon could say he liked.
The Secretary, Kairi Hadyne, was talking with the Public Relations Manager, Rinoa Heartilly, and could spare no more then a wave and smile. Seifer Almasy, Head of the Discipline Committee, gave them a welcoming sneer. While Leon could tolerate the girls to some degree, it wasn't as much as he could with Aerith. Yet those two were capable people, doing whatever jobs they were assigned to the best of their ability. Kairi also happened to be an old family friend, and while not exactly friends the two of them used to grow up together. She had played with them when they were younger, when Sora used to live in the same neighborhood. When Sora's family moved away, they just drifted apart, for Sora had been the one to keep the two of them together. Perhaps now, with Sora here, he was going to end up seeing the younger girl more frequently.
Rinoa was a different story. He met her at a ball, and from that day on events pushed them together. From an off-comment Zell had made, the girl had improved his character a lot. Sadly, it wasn't enough, for the two of them were too different. In the end, they decided to simply remain friends, though occasionally she liked to flirt with him a bit, and in rarer times he responded.
Seifer, on the other hand, was his rival in the group. His vice-presidents aside, Seifer was the only one who could really get under his skin. His long-time rival and arch-enemy, their anger and hatred towards each other was legendary among the student population. In the past, it had been even worst, when he was starting to get together with Rinoa, and in one rather famous fight the two of them had given each other the mirror scars on their faces. Funny how some of the students saw everything as predestination for the two of them being together.
It was Rufus Shinra, internal vice-president, who was the next person to speak. His voice was soft and cultured, smooth like honey but with a tint of poison. A voice that Leon never trusted, therefore placing him as the Internal Vice-president instead of Riku's position. Where Seifer got him hot with anger, Rufus made him cold with unease. His name didn't help that much either; the Shinra family was a well-known name in the criminal empire. How many times, had the police come to the school to ask him questions about his family's dealings and affairs? As he grew older, the number had only increased. The heir was starting to take responsibility before he succeeds his father.
It sounds unsettlingly similar to Seymour Guado; the boy who just recently graduated a few years back. Right after he graduated and reached legal age, he had started taking over his father's large business. Not before he was trialed for killing his father first, though he had been found not guilty, despite alarmingly solid evidence from the prosecution.
"Now that the president and external vice-president have arrived, we shall begin the first Student Council meeting."
XXXXXXX
"….Finally, this is your room. You'll be sharing it with a dorm mate, or if you prefer room mate. Lunch is in a few minutes, but we're not harsh on you being there. Classes won't start till tomorrow, so you have today to get used to being in this school; any questions?"
"No, thank you." The teacher smiled and left, and Sora entered his room. His dorm mate wasn't inside, so he unpacked quietly. Selphie and Irvine had already told him that he was welcome to sit with them during meals, and he was more then grateful. It was still strange for him, to suddenly be thrown into this school without warning.
Actually, he did have his warnings.
He could still hear his father's voice, telling him to go to Destiny High.
He could still remember his mother's smile, telling him he was to return to his birthplace, and reunite with his cousin and former childhood friends.
Then the words got stranger.
His mother started telling him stories about fictional creatures and how heroes can defeat them.
His father started talking about fate and destiny, all with a sad look on his face.
Together, the two transformed Destiny High into a setting as their new influx of fairy tales and epic battles got strangely out of hand. The urging for him to go willingly to the school also increased.
He didn't want to at the time, considering he already had his new friends and place at school. From what he remembered, his cousin was a cold, uncaring individual. He ended up still looking forward to seeing him again. He remembered Leon's frown and constant glares, but he decided to ignore them. He could still hear his own voice telling his parents he was interested in seeing Leon and attending Destiny High with him.
He could remember his mother's relieved smile and his father's happiness when he finally told them, and he remembered more clearly what happened next.
His father, killed in the hit-and-run incident.
His mother, now in a coma.
No suspect found.
Warm arms around him, red hair the colour of fresh blood, telling him that he must go to Destiny High. Another voice cried and cursed with him, asking the first figure how they could do this to Sora, to him. The first voice telling Sora that they were sorry, but they too must leave, and let them meet again in Destiny High.
Sora let out a bitter smile; he couldn't even remember the red haired boy's face, or his crying companion. He wondered whether the one who comforted him was a student in the school. It struck him odd that he never knew anyone with such red hair, and yet the person held him like family. He had been planning to ask Leon whether anyone in their family had such hair, but recent events had pushed it to the back of his mind.
Perhaps some other time.
Until then, Sora thought as he finished unpacking and moved towards his window, I can always try to see if anyone had such red hair. Who knows, maybe the person isn't even a student here, just someone with connections. He stared out at the beautiful gardens and courtyards, watching the occasional groups of students walk by, catching up with each other about the latest gossip. Sakura petals drift by his window, according to his mother's stories, Destiny High has a way of making their cherry blossoms blooming forever except when winter came, and only if there was snow. There was some sort of significance in those trees around the school, he couldn't remember that story.
His mother always had a vivid imagination, he thought with a smile. A whole flower drifted away from its branch, carried away by the wind.
XXXXXXX
The wind carried the flower away from the school building to the centre of the garden. It briefly touched the palm of the highest angel's hand, before finally falling, landing into a real, human palm. The human smiled, bringing the flower closer to his face and studying it. He sighed, leaning back towards the tree, still holding on the flower. The blond didn't move even when he felt the other person arrive behind him, leaning on their own sakura tree.
"Sakura flowers have always been a symbol of beauty in, and yet it is also closely associated with samurai." He continued when his companion remained silent. "To this day, they have remained a popular symbol of Japanese culture. Most schools tend to have them, and Destiny High is no exception."
He fell into silence then. His companion, seeing that he had sprouted his random trivia of the day, got down to business.
"You didn't tell me that the Keyblade Master was Leon's cousin."
"That makes a difference how? He's still the Master, being Leon's cousin doesn't change anything, and from what we've got I'll say Leon doesn't even know what is going on."
"How can you be so sure?"
"We have their ways, besides that, there was Nobody interference under the Witch's orders." That caught his companion's interest. "No, she didn't interfere herself, or had any of her nobodies do it. She hired a mercenary to follow a certain bus that the Keyblade Master went on, along with Leon and his friends. Therefore, when the Heartless attacked, the mercenary disposed of them quickly. It didn't stop the bus from crashing into the water, though, but reports say a brilliant light was seen. Based on the way Leon acted, he didn't know what was happening. Before you think that's over," the taller boy threw the flower into the air, catching it quickly. "Things got even more interesting."
"I can tell, with their arrivals being in what was left of the hospital."
"Yeah, guess what was responsible, nobodies. Not just any nobodies, but Organization XIII and Namine's Nobodies. Judging by the scorch marks, Axel should have been there. The fact that nobody heard anything, and that the Keyblade Master's group was unharmed, add the suspicious large amount of extra water involved, Demyx should have been with him. He must have created a dome or something to protect the group and muffle the sound. Based on how some of things were destroyed, reports say there must have also been a large and straight blade present, something like a sword, or claymore."
"Saix."
"Most likely, though we could be wrong."
"Was there any civilians involved?"
"Besides Rikku and Dr. Kadowaki? Yes, there should have been, but it appears that Axel and Demyx removed them from the school. Meaning that the Witch should have arranged their memories, and saw where they're supposed to be. Axel and Demyx would have most likely dropped them there. The fact that they're able to do this shows that in the fight, Axel and Demyx managed to win."
"It was two against one, that can't be that hard."
"No, there was another."
"What do you mean?"
"The scene indicates four nobodies, two we know, the third we can guess, but we don't know who the fourth one is. No evidence of a fourth weapon, unless we've completely missed it. It can't be Namine's other two Nobodies, one would have ended the fight much sooner, and the other would definitely leave evidence."
"Another Organization member?"
"Hopefully not, Namine only has four nobodies with her, Xemnas has eight. That, and high-level nobodies are not that easy to come by. Anyways, that's what I've got to tell you so far. Unless you have anything to say about your enemy?"
"No movement or major physical change."
"…do you mean to say he's mentally torturing you again?" Just like that, he could feel the temperature drop several degrees. The blond boy looked at the flower in his hand, then back up to the sky "life is usually seen like these flowers, short, but beautiful. You cannot let this go on, because how long do you seriously think you can take this?"
His companion shifted, then straightened and took a few steps away. He knew he probably shouldn't have brought that up, but if anything happens he had to know. The last thing they need was to be caught off guard. He heard his companion's footsteps stop as the boy gave him a rather off-topic reply "there is a myth, did you know, regarding said flowers. The reason why they are born white as snow, but turns pink as time goes on. It is believed that under every sakura tree there is a corpse, and the flowers feed on the blood to gain its pink colour. To obtain such beauty, sacrifice is needed."
"That depends on how much you must sacrifice, Cloud."
The beginning scene for this chapter was inspired by the Final Fantasy VII movie Advent Children, when Kadaj comes into talk with Rufus about how he hates lies and leaves bloody Turk identification cards.
I chose Leonhart for Sora's name simply because I don't believe Kingdom Hearts ever provided us a last name. Plus, it makes the association of the two clear when Sora meets the other characters. As we'll soon see, the name is going to cause some trouble.
And yes, one of the mysterious people from the first scene in the last chapter was Cloud. I thought it was obvious with the Sephiroth hint. Question is, who's the other one? Considering there's plenty of blonds here.
Last names are usually anagrams of the character's voice actors. (Example Karmia is Marika)