Background: Same Kyrie and same universe as, in order, deep breath The Sins of Two Fathers, Retribution Nor Redemption, Descendants of the Mundane, and Fool's Journey. I suppose this story specifically came from Fool's Journey (and Make 'em Smile, and This Mess... but nevermind), in one sense... but really, it was spawned by a theoretical conversation by a friend one late, late night. (And I still hate you. grin) It's set a few months after Fool's Journey, by the way.
Possible WARNINGS: You better believe this will likely contain a lot of foul language, "possible" weird sexual situations, relationships that are generally considered not part of the mainstream, plenty of violence, and a hell of a lot of screwing with the heads of readers and characters alike. If you've read anything of mine before, you probably know what to expect. It's gonna get dirty in here. Also keep in mind that this was thought up and written well before Kingdom Hearts 2 came out, so... yeah.
Ties that Bind and Tear Apart
Chapter 2
By Orin Drake
The journey to the train
station was unusually... usual. The laughter, the jokes, that back
and forth... it was all there and bright, as if nothing had happened.
Always great to forget for a little while... though they all had to admit
the biting feeling that it was just the beginning of something. Not
that it mattered on the way to Trabia Garden, anyway. The ride was
always beautiful, and the conversation never boring.
"And why are we going to
see Quistis?" John finally spoke up about the whole trip well after the
train had started moving.
Kyrie chuckled, amused.
"You waited that long to ask?"
"Wasn't important before
now." He grinned.
Well... fine. He had
a point, she supposed. She presented him with the video she'd brought
along, letting him inspect it himself.
"'SeeD Party'." He
repeated, curiously. He'd picked up what SeeDs were, over time...
but nothing clicked yet.
"It's just a few minutes
worth... but everyone's there. Selphie, Quistis, Irvine, Zell...
Cid, Edea... Squall... Rinoa..."
He couldn't deny the curiosity
of knowing what Kyrie's mother looked like, honestly. And seeing
Quistis as a teenager...
Rodger grinned as if picking
up his thoughts entirely. "Hey, we're in the fancy car." He
suggested, not entirely certain if Kyrie could take another viewing.
She took a deep breath,
pondering over it. Fancy, yes--but old, obviously. The car
had been equipped with VCR and screen ages ago, years later having disk
equipment added in an over-haul; but the older technology was never removed,
still working perfectly.
After a moment's thought,
she couldn't see any reason not to watch the video again.
It's wasn't as if there were painful memories there... well, not... many,
anyway. It was actually nice to see everyone having a good time.
It was just... unexplainably bizarre. "Well, I guess everyone should
have a chance to see Quistis."
"Score." John kept
under his breath.
Rodger chuckled, kneeling
to find the VCR slot. The machine instantly accepted the tape, letting
the lights dim slowly as the screen folded down from the car's ceiling.
As if a feature film were playing, there was a countdown from "3" before
the tape actually began.
John recognized Selphie,
alright. When she was younger, she was pretty knockin'... but Quistis,
on the other hand...
--Was interrupted by Irvine.
Rodger actually gave a little laugh at the other boy's expression, thinking
the same thing: Dammit.
The rest of the tape was
relatively enjoyable. Just people who knew each other, having some
fun... mostly. All was going well until he laid eyes on who he was
sure had to be the infamous Rinoa. John didn't recognize her because
Kyrie overly resembled the woman--he knew it because of some gut-deep spark
he felt when Rinoa appeared. It was something a little too eerily
similar to the reflexive instincts he'd learned to hone in Hell, when demons
were hunting him for a change.
The other two felt similar
reactions instantaneously. Something very... very integral
to... everything... had been felt. Experienced.
Something was happening.
Again.
It was enough to keep them
quiet for the rest of the train ride.
Arriving at the Trabia station,
the three of them stumbled off the train in a bit of a dizzy haze.
Whether it was from what they'd just experienced or due to actually wondering
about what the hell was going on, was generally ignored; the reason didn't
matter. Forgetting mattered. Ignoring was what
mattered--only for the moment. They couldn't very well worry Quistis,
a woman with enough on her mind.
They could turn around
and go right back home... but while Quistis would never know, Vincent would.
Never was there a better security head for Esthar--not to mention his ridiculously
astounding ways of keeping track of whoever he wished to. He could
tell Kyrie what she bought, item for item, from a grocery store two months
ago... and she knew that from experience. It wasn't that she wanted
to keep anything from him, but... for the moment...
Silent steps took them to
Trabia Garden. John was still reeling from how similar the feeling
he'd gotten from looking at a mere video of a woman long since dead had
been to all of the wonderful bastard creatures in Hell. Rodger was
spending most of his time trying not to think about the vast amounts of
possibilities that he could never even come up with on his own, trying
not to imagine their terror. Then Kyrie, of course... she was surprisingly
numb to it all. Instinctually so, as if it were something she had
to distance herself from for the moment. For her own survival, maybe...
What broke their concern
to pieces was a most astounding thing. There, standing at the door
to the Garden, was none other than their old Assistant Headmaster; better
known as Ass-Istant Headmaster Evaan. He saw them. He
recognized
two of the three--but the third one looked like just as much trouble.
There was not a damned thing he could do about it, either. The students
were surrounding him, blocking the doors, weaving behind him. There
was no escape.
The mood suddenly went up
ten places. Twenty. Possibly into the hundreds. John
may not have understood the specifics, but he felt the shift in emotion...
and attention. He knew enough to prepare to be amused.
Kyrie lead the pack, walking
up to the man just as sweet as she could be (and drawing some curious looks
in the process). "Why hello there, Mr. Evaan." She drawled
slowly. Gently. The storm of deviousness underneath was palpable.
The man paled even more.
He seemed utterly convinced that they were going to kill him. Right
there in the middle of the stream of students, they were going to murder
him in cold blood and no one would be around to help him--
Instead, she did something
even better. She walked inside the doors with no more words, no more
glances, her gentlemen following her in a similar fashion. She knew
that,
beyond all else, would terrify him. And he damn well deserved it.
Well, that had graciously
brightened the mood. All the times they'd ever visited, he'd never
been anywhere in their sight. What glorious luck. It paid not
to announce their visit to Quistis.
"And that was..?" John inquired,
not really caring. Seeing the guy's reaction had been plenty.
"Our old Assistant Headmaster."
Rodger explained, feeling such a... glorious lightness to his step.
"He was an ass."
"And apparently still is."
Kyrie interjected.
"Bravo, then." The
half-demon's praise was... mostly heartfelt.
Arriving at Quistis' office,
the telltale sign that she was there was apparent: the door was closed.
Wasn't the most subtle of signs, but it did what it was supposed to do.
Much as Rodger would have
liked to have gazed at the woman while picturing her as a teenager...
"Maybe we should wander around outside for a bit."
Kyrie caught John's surprised
look, grinning. She supposed she understood her husband's hesitation...
with Zell on the video and all. "If you'd prefer. I'm sure
we won't be... too long. Then we may as well make a day of it and
bother Vincent."
"Sounds like a plan."
her husband grinned. "We'll be hunting Assistant Headmasters."
"Glorious." She agreed
with a light kiss and a quick hug.
"What about me?" John pretended
to pout.
She gave him a wink, smacked
him hard and audibly on the ass, then pointed to the other end of the hall
they'd just walked down. "You two have fun, hm?"
"Yes, Ma'am." The
helf-devil grinned brightly, trotting in the direction she'd sent him.
Rodger remained only to
shake his head and grin before following. It was almost a shame that
they didn't really care who saw them do what they normally did together.
Anymore.
After both boys had disappeared
back into the main part of the Garden, she clasped the tape in one suddenly
clenched hand and knocked with the other. She had a distinct knock;
hard, rhythmic, and constant. It let her aunt know who was there
right away so she didn't have to pretend to be working.
As expected, Quistis' door
opened only seconds later. She greeted her niece with a smile, stepping
aside and letting her in. "Where's your legion of followers?" she
asked with mock astonishment, closing the door behind.
It was the only case where
two people could ever justify being called a legion, she was sure.
"Outside... somewhere... doing Hyne knows what. Probably screwing
with someone's head."
The woman chuckled, taking
a seat in her usual place and indicating that Kyrie do the same.
"I'm surprised you care to miss out on that to see your dear old aunt."
So... here it came.
"Well, I... Irvine dropped off this video out of the blue this morning.
And I watched it. I didn't know if you wanted to see it."
She looked down at the cassette,
unconsciously biting her bottom lip. The tape... the writing...
She remembered that time... Selphie and her camera... and... and everyone...
"Or I can leave while you
watch..." Kyrie offered.
"No. No, please...
stay here." She assured. "Sit with me."
She felt more at ease with
her aunt's insistence to stay, somehow. She handed the video over
and relaxed, watching as several buttons were pressed to find the right
one that would get the panel to slide away from the television.
"Alright." Quistis
warned. "Here we go." When nothing happened for a number of
seconds, she finally gave up and handed the remote control over.
Kyrie grinned, taking charge.
For some reason, electronics didn't work very well for her aunt... no matter.
She pressed Play, and it worked. Wonder of wonders...
Instructor Trepe found great
joy in watching the insanely happy expression of an old friend. Selphie
always was the "perk that never quit", after all. Seeing herself
soon after, she really appreciated how much time had passed... wondered
where the years had gone... then she laughed when she saw Irvine being
the ham and the flirt, enjoying the sight of it again. "Is he still
like that?"
"He seems an awfully lot
more reserved now, actually." She paused the tape to bring up a point,
not wanting them to miss out on the rest. "You know, you ought to
come with us sometime when we get together with Selphie. Just us
without everybody else around behaving like lunatics."
Quistis grinned appreciatively,
remembering everyone having been there for Kyrie and Rodger's wedding.
They didn't quite reach lunatic status, but... it was a little crazy
with the food and the alcohol... and the drinking games... She'd
have thought everyone knew better than to accept her challenges.
"I should, actually. I think I'd like that. Then maybe Irvine...
eventually."
She'd known Irvine could
hold his liquor from plenty of old stories... but she doubted it could
equal her aunt's supernatural might. "He's pretty well off now, y'know.
Banking and all. We could convince him to take us all to an even
more expensive place."
This was still Squall's
child, right? "My aren't you wicked."
"I learned from my dear
old auntie." She assured, pressing the Play button again.
To Cid... and then to Edea...
To see the two of them together like they were back then... it was bittersweet.
For so long they'd fought Edea as a sorceress, never remembering where
they'd come from or who she was... and then to see her in the black dress
they'd known her in as children, beside Cid who had collected them to fight
part of the very thing he protected... it was confusing for everyone.
Even if it was over, it was still... confusing.
It was with an aching heart
she gazed upon Zell... but, as he noticed the camera (or, rather, as her
younger self whispered something about it to him), she couldn't help but
laugh at the bread thrown, Irvine mumbling some curse regarding angry blondes
under his breath into the microphone. Even after Ultimecia... they'd
still been kids, for a while. It wasn't until the rest of the world
elevated them beyond mere children that they found themselves... apart.
The video ended with Rinoa
and Squall... but Kyrie had closed her eyes at that point. She was
angled away from Quistis so it wouldn't be noticed; she just couldn't bring
herself to look again. If she did... she couldn't know what might
happen.
The elder woman sighed deeply
when the tape ended. There were... a lot of mixed feelings, there.
She supposed something like, "So, that's Rinoa" would have been
met with quite the emotional opposition... not that she cared to state
the obvious. "Sometimes I think those were different lives we lead,
back then. As completely different people."
The sentiment hurt her niece's
heart to hear. Even if she did see the truth in it. Unable
to fathom a response at that point, she swallowed and remained silent.
Quistis did continue, eventually.
The conversation was mostly to herself... but open. "We had to be
strong, for... for everyone. For Cid... for the world."
"I can't imagine."
Kyrie admitted. It was true; regardless of what she'd been through,
she'd never had to face Ultimecia--the Sorceress, the insane power-wielder
who wanted to destroy time altogether. Not that she hadn't
been involved with insanity...
Her aunt nodded, slightly.
She saw the intentions behind the comment. "I think, deep down...
we all knew that Squall was the strongest amongst us. But it wasn't
fair." She looked away for a moment, trying to form her thoughts
into words. "We all broke him trying to fix him. Maybe that
was our real mistake... trying to 'fix' him at all."
What an odd turn of subject...
although, after Rinoa, almost anything was welcomed. "He appreciated
it... in his own way."
Quistis chuckled quietly.
"I suppose so. I just worry that it was too much pressure."
Zell was pressure.
She wanted to say... but didn't. Irvine and Selphie were pressure,
when they decided to side with Zell. You and Elle and Laguna and
Seifer... you were his saviors... "You shouldn't be that unfair
to yourself." She settled for. "Everyone did what they sincerely
thought was right... I hope." So it had seemed to her, anyway.
Even if some people did fall away from her parents' lives... as long as
they'd done so because they'd thought it the correct thing to do in the
situation, she could have a little bit of understanding. Had it been
out of hurt, out of some punishment... well, that would have been different.
They could all be blamed for something... all trained to kill, frankly.
Her aunt saw a look of pain
pass through her niece's eyes, getting the gist of her thought process;
ice cold eyes that she was quite familiar with, recognizing the emotion
only in hindsight from her memories of Squall. She got up and walked
around the desk, pulling the girl into her arms surprisingly easily.
Perhaps the lack of resistance was from shock... which wouldn't have surprised
her. "We were all killers, honey..." she admitted softly. "That's...
what we were."
It was an odd thing...
Not that Quistis had never shown her affection, certainly... but never
for... whatever reason was happening at that moment. Didn't matter.
She returned the hug, knowing her aunt needed it as much as she apparently
had. "You were fighters." Kyrie corrected. "Defenders
for existence."
She sighed and smiled a
little as she pulled away, glad for those words. It was a more eloquent
way of putting certain things that Zell used to say... before... things
happened. "Such misfits." She simplified jokingly.
"But you belonged together."
Her niece reminded her. She hadn't needed to watch the video to know
that. For a brief period of time... they were all they had to rely
on. And back then, it was in perfect trust.
It was just like Kyrie's
little family unit, wasn't it? All stumbling upon one another along
the way... Well, a little different. Which reminded her.
"Do you need more condoms yet?"
She chuckled. "I think
I can afford to buy my own truckload..."
"But you don't know where
to get them wholesale." The woman teased.
...Astounding. "I
don't even want to know."
The instructor smiled, shaking
her head. "Thank you for bringing that video. And did you need
lube with that?"
At that, Kyrie covered
her face in her hands and fought the urge to laugh and curl into a ball
and die at the same time. "Quis-tis."
The woman laughed quite
heartily at the reaction. "Didn't expect that one, did you?"
"Hyne, Quisty." She
replied, wiping tears of laughter (or so it appeared) from her eyes.
"Did anyone know you were so damn unladylike?"
"Only the right people."
She winked. "Am I to assume your legion awaits somewhere outside,
making all sorts of trouble?"
"Don't even bother to assume."
Kyrie assured, grinning. "Guess I better round them up before someone
dies... which reminds me, we saw Mr. Ass-Istant Headmaster at the door."
Quistis' mouth dropped open.
"You're kidding. He must have had a heart attack."
"Sure hope so." She
didn't bother hiding her animosity.
They'd been in the cafeteria,
scoping out the girls. Young girls. New, fresh, green
girls who didn't know who they were or who they were attached to.
It was... enjoyable.
It was... prompting John
to wonder. "This... 'arrangement' you've got... it's both ways, right?"
Rodger grinned at his "subtlety".
"Yup."
Alright, interesting...
"Then why haven't you brought home another girl?"
The brunette leaned in,
keeping his voice low. "You can't tell her this. I mean, at
all."
John's award-winning grin
shone brightly. "Understood."
"Well, besides the fact
that no other chick has been able to look me in the eye while she was in
the same room... she's... everything." He admitted with no shyness.
There was no grand, romantic, breathy admission, either--just plan and
simple truth for what it was. "All I ever wanted, even when I didn't
know I wanted it. Definitely all I need. And now that I know
I can have anything else I want... I find I don't want it quite as much."
He grinned back. "Not that I wouldn't take advantage if something
sweet came along... What about you?" he turned the table suddenly.
Like for like, after all... John had taught him that. "All that time
away can't really be in Hell, can it?"
The half-devil very nearly--right
on the verge, so close he could feel it coming--blushed. He
managed to avoid it with a plethora of other thoughts suppressing the response,
but... it was too close. "Actually, uh..."
Rodger's joking expression
turned into a wry smile. "You love her, huh?"
He seemed quite taken aback
by his question--if not shocked. Scared. Numb. For once,
totally without response.
The brunette crossed his
arms and chuckled. "It's okay. I'm not jealously obsessive.
I mean... we've known each other long enough, here."
"Y-yeah... I know that,
but..." he swallowed, not quite knowing where to go from there. "I
mean... I haven't... I've never really..." For someone who hunted
the very demons in the core of Hell, he seemed quite flustered. "This
is a first, and... well..."
Aaaaahhh. Poor
boy was not only still a little nervous about their situation... but he'd
never been so full-blown smitten before. Hell, maybe more by the
reaction... Yeah, he could understand that. Instead of calling
the half-devil out and making him even more flustered, he decided upon
a much more interesting topic of conversation. "Well, then.
You'll have to help me arrange a decent birthday present for her."
John had never been so glad
for a change in conversation--although... Much as every molecule
of his being, as much as every last spark of his soul wanted
to flow with that new line of discussion... something had to be clear.
Goddammit, he'd never counted on his fucking heart turning against
him. "You have to know, though..."
Rodger needed only to nod.
It remained unspoken because it didn't need to be expressed in words.
John was not his competition, they both understood that. Kyrie was
not the kind to compare in those ways, either; she seemed to be of the
understanding that love and lust could be experienced in a million different
ways, none detracting from any of the others. They'd never literally
have a three-way marriage, but that mattered only in legal titles.
The half-devil was really the only other guy Rodger had felt that comfortable
around. It was also true of John; hell, he was a little sexual deviant
regardless, but he never felt pressured or threatened in the Leonhart/Kinneas
house. It was always... good. Perfect. With plenty of
exciting "extras".
"Now, about her birthday."
John sat back, feeling completely at ease again. So long as they
all knew what needed to be understood... all was well.
The brunette gave a quick
look to the room to make sure there were no "spies". "I was thinking
something a lot cooler than a stripper inside a cake. I just don't
know what."
"There's not much cooler
than that." The other boy teased.
Rodger tried to force his
grin into a glare, but it was hard. Guy really was a smartass.
Just as he opened his mouth to suggest ideas, he caught a glimpse of Quistis
approaching from the far wall... a very out of breath-looking Kyrie behind
her. Either she'd been sprinting, or laughing really hard.
He suspected the latter. "Ssh. We've got trouble."
"Acknowledged." John
played along. The two of them waited until the "ladies" could definitely
be seen, then stood as if they were gentlemen.
Quistis noticed their odd
change in behavior, a good-natured smirk on her lips. "Hello Rodger,
John."
"He-llo, Quisty."
The brunette blinked rapidly in a mock innocence.
"Hi." The half-demon
greeted, knowingly keeping a softness to his voice and a glitter in his
eye.
Luckily, Quistis was a bit
smarter than that. "So you've both seen the video, too?"
John's teeth seemed to have
become... sharper, all of a sudden. It gave Kyrie quite the amused
expression, anyway. She interrupted a plethora of dirty possibilities
by speaking for them. "They saw."
"Not that you aren't looking
particularly lovely this afternoon, Instructor Trepe." Rodger tried
his luck.
"Your fault is your father."
The woman quipped.
Rodger feigned a pout, but
his wife just about fell over with laughter. She was already pleasantly
giggly with her aunt's comments earlier. It was just too hard to
hold in.
"Been sharin' the rum?"
John teased.
"Sssshhh." Quistis
winked. "While it's good to see you all, I'm sure you've got better
things to do." She exchanged the mildest of looks with Rodger--in
on the birthday plottings as well (the look having said something along
the lines of, "Give me a call at your earliest convenience").
It was only a matter of luck that Kyrie was in the process of wiping tears
of laughter from her eyes yet again, hopefully not seeing a thing.
"Now, off with all of you. Enjoy the rest of your day."
"You're kicking us out
to get work done?" her niece feigned a great deal of personal pain,
finally having composed herself.
"Deal with it, kiddo."
Her aunt joked. "But I do appreciate it. Feel free to come
back... at some point."
Kyrie grinned. "Will
do, Quisty." With a hug and a series of waves (especially from the
boys), they left... with no further signs of the poor Assistant Headmaster.
What a shame.
Walking into the train station,
Rodger was hit with the idea that they'd actually have to decide where
to go next. While he didn't mind venturing into Esthar... there were
concerns. "You sure we should go see Vincent... now?"
Kyrie took a very deep breath,
still uncertain of the issue herself. He was asking if she wanted
to involve the man in the mystery currently surrounding them. Yes,
of course, on one hand... but on the other, he'd been burdened quite enough.
John... still got the shivers
about that guy, sometimes. He'd learned that the freaky man was pretty
much considered family, though. Like Cloud, only... so much scarier.
He really hadn't a clue as to how Kyrie had gotten so close to either of
them... or how, "rumor had it", she and Vincent had... well. In their
house.
--Stricken with the idea
he considered the house partially his own, he didn't hear the girl's question.
He did, however, feel her elbow. "Mm?"
"I asked what you thought."
She repeated. "About heading to Esthar."
He shook his head, focus
back in his hands. "I don't understand enough about it to worry...
yet. I get the feeling that I will."
"Helpful." She joked,
pausing to think for a moment. "We can always just... drop in, I
suppose. Fun to be annoyances."
Rodger knew the truth behind
that sentiment. She was going to act completely normal and see if
Vincent noticed anything was off. It was their dance--if he called
her out on it, she'd talk to him. If not, she'd assume all was "well"
and they'd deal with it on their own.
His eyes met John's searing
blue... but found only a shrug on his shoulders. Hey, he was as worried
as anyone... but he knew a hell of a lot better than to try and convince
Kyrie not to follow her instincts, wherever they may lead. The two
of them had her back, just in case.
It turned out to be strangely
one of the emptiest days in Esthar by the way things at Esthar Station
had gone. Almost no one was there; the rush and the bustle nearly
didn't exist, making it both extremely pleasant and very eerie. Still,
not having to knock people out of the way or plow through crowds during
the noon rush was a nice thing.
Even the usual guards along
the walk to the estate were thinned out a bit. Kyrie was quite sure
that she'd heard a reason for it at some point in time... but it escaped
her, obviously not having been all that important. No matter--it
made the whole idea of visiting that much more pleasant. Especially
when they had the opportunity to sneak up on Vincent from behind in the
hallway...
He turned. Everyone
paused. John, Rodger, Vincent and Kyrie, all having stopped dead
in their tracks as if having seen their own ghost hovering in front of
their living selves.
It was his claw, all of
a sudden--it was like it'd been when she'd seen Rinoa. Only, this
time, all she could think of was that odd dream she'd had the night when
they'd...
It wasn't a dream.
Came instantly to her mind. And, unfortunately enough... she couldn't
deny it.
It was a shared reaction.
For all of them.