C02

LOCATION: Principal's office, Darkness in Zero Academy
DATE: Monday, November 19th 2X60
TIME: 0904 hours

Naminé can count the number of times she's been in the principal's office with no hands.

By which she means she's never been in the principal's office—until today, that is.

Her attendance seems mainly for appearance's sake. The three adults in the room talk over her, about her, as if she isn't in the room with them. Not that she has anything to say, so she's fine with staying quiet.

"This was a blatant disregard of protocol from a level three operator—an OATS operator who's about to register for official government missions. This is the type of student DiZA is allowing to graduate?"

Every word Cecil says stings a little harsher than the last. Naminé hasn't had many encounters with him throughout her years at DiZA, but she's heard of the perpetually smiley director of external affairs. That just makes his harsh tone even more disconcerting.

"We can't expect any operator, much less a student, to know how to handle a situation like that. Hell, if anything, we're responsible for not identifying the root of the problem," Kain, instructor of OATS students, returns. "She did her best. The mission ended largely successfully."

"That's how you define 'largely successful'?" Cecil scoffs. "Two of the three field agents are in the hospital. One's still in the ICU."

"No one died."

"She's just in a coma, is what you're saying?"

Despite the fact that Kain's actually speaking for her, Naminé can't help agreeing with Cecil. This was no doubt an unsuccessful mission. The unknown, invincible enemy had easily struck down two members of the team, and it was pure luck that the remaining agent had the strength to haul'em out of there. The girl, Fuu, has been unconscious for almost three days. And with every passing second, Naminé knows that her odds grow worse, because the truth is, it's possible that she never wakes up—

"Naminé?"

She lifts her head, tuning out the taunting jeers of her guilt. Principal Wise opens his mouth to say something but then sighs, passing her a box of tissues. Confused, she looks down at her hands and realizes what's happening as a tear drops on her arm. Hastily wiping her cheeks, she endures the embarrassment clawing at her insides.

So childish, so unbecoming of a level three OATS operator at DiZA.

"Naminé, are you okay?"

Principal Wise's voice is unexpectedly soft, and Naminé feels a fresh wave of tears rising. But with three pairs of eyes on her, her self-consciousness reins in the waterworks.

"I'm fine," she says, trying to make sure her voice doesn't sound shaky. "Fine."

Principal Wise draws a deep breath. "Okay. Kain, please conduct an audit of Naminé's recent missions. Cecil, keep an eye on the field team and handle PR. Naminé, you'll write up an incident report for Cecil and Kain to review. And why don't you take two weeks off from missions and such? I'm sure you can use a break."

Naminé easily reads between the lines: she's on probation for two weeks. Internally, she balks at the thought of a tarnish on her pristine academic record. It's not fair, she wants to protest. Why did she get the mission involving a new enemy that doesn't respond to normal attacks? Why was she responsible for the newbie team that blindly charges headfirst into danger? How can they take away the only thing she's good at, the only thing she has to prove herself—

Fearing further reprimand if she continues to protest, she mumbles her assent.

Finally, she's excused from the principal's office and makes her way home. Thankfully, most people are already at school or work at this hour. She opens the door to her house, back to safety and warmth and a comfortable respite from unwanted intrusions—

"NAMINÉ!" Her dad's voice pierces through the still morning air of their apartment. "I woke up this morning and heard what happened! Is everything okay? Are you alright? You talked to Ansem, right? What'd he say?"

Naminé sighs—she doesn't want to deal with all this now. "I'm fine, Dad. Principal Wise was just...checking in."

"Are they doubting your skills? I keep in touch with some people in the OATS department, if you need me to talk to them—"

"Dad, no!" Naminé exclaims. She's already embarrassed that her dad used to teach at DiZA, though he shifted to research with the government a few years back. Plus she's 18, for god's sake! She doesn't need her dad doing everything for her. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll figure things out."

"But Naminé—"

"I don't want to talk about it," she hisses with a glare, noting her dad's visible flinch. She wants to attribute the grouchiness to her lack of sleep ever since the mission screw-up. But she can feel a part of her reeling with the thought that she isn't good enough, I'm not good enough, now Dad thinks I'm not good enough and I can't be bad at the one thing I might be half decent at—

She retreats to her room, shutting the door behind her. Dropping everything, she sinks into her bed with eyes closed, trying to remember how to breathe. What a morning.

And it's only Monday.


LOCATION: 20 Carnation Street, Hollow Bastion
DATE: Monday, November 19th 2X60
TIME: 2025 hours

"SORA, YOU LAZY BUM!"

Sora's eyes fly open. He leaps up from bed, head darting around. Recognizing the familiar surroundings of his bedroom, he sighs in relief and falls back onto his mattress, dozing off once more.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

"...what?" he groans, crawling out of bed. The moment he opens the door, Kairi bursts into the room with her arms crossed. "Hey, Kairi, what the hell?"

She looks around with narrowed eyes, and Sora gets the sense she's judging his room. Hesitantly meeting her stern gaze, he hastily grabs his dirty clothes within arm's reach and tosses them in the laundry hamper.

"Sora, do you know what time it is? Why're you asleep?"

"It's called a nap, duh. I know it's—" He squints at the digital clock on his nightstand. "6 PM!"

"That clock's been dead for months! Didn't I tell you to get new batteries?"

"Erm, right."

"I'll just get you an electronic one." Kairi makes a quick note in her phone and then returns her judgy stare to him. He's almost immune to it at this point, having grown up with her constant nagging. The only thing is, now his conscience sounds awfully like Kairi.

Listen to what I'm saying! Conscience-Kairi exclaims. I mean, what the real me is saying!

Okay, okay. Time to tune into her rambling.

"...past 8 PM, so are we still going shopping or what?"

Sora makes a face at the last (and only) statement he heard. He's pretty sure he wouldn't voluntarily sign up for shopping with Kairi. She continues speaking. "To pick a gift for Riku's birthday, remember? We talked about this last week."

The part about birthday shopping for Riku sounds familiar—but his birthday's in December, right?

"C'mon, Kairi. We've still got a month. And it's Riku, for god's sake. I could get him some of my coupons."

"Those things only worked on our parents when we were kids, moron! I have no idea why you still give them out."

"Hey, you used one a few weeks ago! Remember that horror movie we watched?"

"You ran out halfway through!"

"Kairi, I was gonna pee on myself. That was some next level scary shit. And you know I don't like horror movies!"

"...then why'd you come, moron."

Kairi mumbles the last part, as if talking to herself but he can still hear her. "Cause of the coupon! Hey, I take promises very seriously."

Kairi pauses, brows furrowed as she contemplates...something. He waits for her to speak, but the silence stretches on so he speaks up instead.

"Well, I need to pee—"

"Let's grab something to eat," Kairi declares. "I'll wait outside."

Before he can respond, Kairi steps out of his bedroom. She didn't even give him a chance to refuse! Not that he minds hanging out with friends or getting food. But Kairi's abrupt executive decision-making is a little strange. Something feels a little off, but he can't pinpoint what. He quickly gives up on the whole endeavor, since interpreting social nuances has never been his strongest suit. Eventually, people usually get fed up with him and tell him what's wrong.

Hurry up, I'm waiting! Conscience-Kairi reminds.

He quickly washes his face and changes clothes, entering the living room slightly more presentable. Kairi eyes him as he approaches.

"What?" he prompts.

"Is this new?" she asks, tugging at the hem of his jacket.

"Yeah. I bought it last week. What, does it look weird?" He's always relied on Kairi's fashion expertise, having accepted the fact that he isn't and probably will never be fashionable.

"It looks good," she says quietly.

Internally, he does a little happy dance for making a Kairi-approved clothing purchase before following her out of the house.

Sora's original plan had been to grab something from the diner since he's tight on cash. Kairi, however, insists on a 'well-balanced meal' so she drags him to a nice sit-down restaurant. He complains about money enough that Kairi finally offers to pay for him, aw yeah, free food always tastes better. They're quickly seated, but the end of the dinner rush suggests it might take awhile before their food is served. Sora impatiently drums his fingers on the table, trying to think of ways to distract himself from the wait.

"Where's Riku?" he asks.

"At a seminar, I think. Shouldn't you know? You guys live together."

"I don't keep tabs on him."

"I don't either, but I generally know where he is. It's called being a good friend, Sora."

"And now I know, so I'm a good friend too. You always know everything—that's why I ask you."

Kairi scoffs halfheartedly, crossing her arms and turning towards the side, but the lifted corner of her mouth gives her away.

"You like being a know-it-all, huh?" He can't help teasing her.

Kairi shoots him one of her infamous glares. "You mean I'm smart."

"Yeah, that's what know-it-all means."

"You moron!"

As they continue with their playful bantering, Sora feels a growing sense of relief. Things feel a little more normal. He never really thinks too much about planning his words, especially with friends. He shouldn't have to watch what he says, right?

The arrival of food distracts Sora from his thoughts—and oh god, of course Kairi is always right and picks a restaurant with food that smells and looks so good that he almost doesn't want to dig in. But he does, and it's even better than he can imagine.

Is this what heaven is like?

"So, nothing important from check-in?" Kairi asks.

It takes Sora a moment to come back to reality. "Huh? Oh, nah. Squall's super busy, so he said his piece and let us go."

"Did you and Riku grab food afterwards?"

"Yeah, we went to that restaurant with the pool table and played a few rounds. Oh, guess what? This girl was trying to get Riku's attention, at one point she basically threw herself on the pool table! Riku was so awkward, he asked her to move so he could take his shot!"

Kairi laughs aloud. "He's always so serious. I wonder why he's so against dating? I think it'd help him loosen up a little."

"That's what I told him! I mean, it's not even hard for him—he's got all these girls trying to get his attention."

"What? He doesn't tell me any of this," Kairi says with a sly grin.

"Probably doesn't want you getting jealous," Sora smirks.

"Why would I be jealous? It's not like I like Riku or anything."

"No, I mean, just in general!" Sora explains. "Like we shouldn't be jealous of randos taking up his time. Cause the team always comes first. He's told me that before."

"Right. The team."

Kairi averts her gaze and takes a sip of water. Sora is the worst with silences, so he does the one thing he's good at: talk. Or more like ramble.

"I mean, it's always been the three of us. We've known each other since forever, and you guys are my best friends. Sure, who knows what'll happen in the future, but I know I can always count on you guys. I wouldn't give you up for anything."

After a pause, Kairi sighs. "You're right. We're best friends, and nothing is worth giving up what we have."

Is this the crux of her problem? Growing pains and anxiety about the future? Growing a little more confident, Sora gently knocks his hand against Kairi's. "Hey, likewise. The team always comes first. You can count on me, you know? I won't ever change."

"...of course. Thanks, Sora."

Despite her words, Kairi's smile doesn't quite reach her eyes—Sora can tell from their decade-long friendship. He wants to ask what's wrong but finds it hard to broach the subject with her constant deflections. So he goes along with her changes of topic and before he realizes, they've finished their meal.

"Well, Selphie wants to hang out," Kairi reads from her phone. She snorts. "Cause she's stuck on-call for tonight."

Sora snickers. "You two gonna do a girls-only sleepover or something?"

"Correct, you're not invited. I'll see you tomorrow? Think of something to get Riku!"

"Coupons aren't a bad idea!" Sora declares as he reaches over for a customary goodbye hug. He doesn't miss the flinch on Kairi's face, which she quickly hides as she pulls in for a quick embrace. Before he can ask, she dashes off in the opposite direction, presumably towards Selphie's house.

Sora sighs. The problem with Kairi is starting to bother him. He should just confront her, as is his M.O. for situations like this, but he can already hear Conscience-Kairi advising him otherwise.

Do you want me to stomp your feet into hell again?

If possible, he'd like to preserve his toes.

Thinking about Kairi having a sleepover with Selphie reminds him of his last all-nighter when their team was on-call, which he spent gaming with Riku all night. Which reminds him, he can always hang out with Riku. And—Riku! Of course, Riku has the answer to everything! He can give an unbiased opinion as to whether Kairi's acting weird, and if he agrees, he probably knows why. Riku should be home by now...

Sora heads back and indeed finds Riku lounging on their couch. "Hey. How was the seminar?" Sora greets, taking a seat beside him.

"Boring. Where'd you go?"

"Grabbed some food with Kairi. Hey, wanna game?" Sora proposes, grabbing a controller. Riku sighs but wordlessly reaches for the other controller and turns on the game console.

Yes, that's step one! Despite Riku's 3C appearance (Calm, Cool, and Collected™), he's actually super competitive and never backs down from a challenge. They quickly pick their characters for 1v1, and from there, it's a good half hour focusing on the screen and good-natured gibing.

A few rounds in, Sora decides to go for it. "So, what's up with Kairi?"

"Hmm?" Riku's barely paying attention, carefully considering which character to choose for the next round.

"You know. Don't you feel like she's been acting kinda weird lately?" Sora makes sure to keep his tone casual, hoping the conversation will fly over Riku's head and he'll answer on autopilot.

And...it works! Riku snorts, finally settling on his default character choice (classic Riku). "Even you noticed? Guess that means she really isn't trying anymore."

"Yeah." Actually no, Sora has no idea what's going on. "So, what's her deal? Does she need us for backup while she beats someone up?"

Riku cackles. "That's ironic, coming from you—wait." Riku finally focuses his attention on Sora. "You have no idea what's going on, do you?"

"What?" Sora hopes he doesn't sound too panicky. "What do you mean? I mean, of course I can tell she's acting weird!"

"Right, but...oh god, this is insane. You have no idea, do you?"

It's a little frustrating when your best friend openly laughs at your ignorance. "Well, I'm trying to figure that out. That's why I'm asking you! C'mon, man. Just tell me!"

"Nope," Riku immediately responds. So much for being bros! "I mean, it's not my place. You're gonna have to ask Kairi, or figure it out yourself."

"C'mon! The team's keeping secrets now?" Sora tosses the controller aside. Riku shrugs and turns off the game console, apparently content with his winning streak (10-1, that goddamn overachiever). "Riku!"

"Sora!"

"Why would she tell you but not tell me? That makes no sense."

"..."

"We tell each other everything, don't we? At least I do. Did I do something wrong?"

Riku sighs tiredly. "Look, it's not your fault. Believe me. That's all I can say, just...give her some time, and some space. Once she figures things out, I'm sure she'll tell you."

Riku's vague words aren't very comforting. Thinking about the ridiculousness of the situation gets Sora worked up, his fists clenching and unclenching unconsciously.

"You two suck!" he declares, jumping onto the couch. "You know, at this rate, I'm just gonna ask her. And if this blows up in my face and she gets mad at me, it'll be your fault."

"What? It's all your fault anyways."

"Well you could've helped me fix things, but instead you're being weird and dodgy. So it's also your fault now."

"What? That doesn't make sense."

"So does! You're an accomplice!"

Suddenly, Sora's phone rings. He's a little confused why Squall is calling—why does their captain need to reach him now?

"Sora where are you?" Squall demands when Sora picks up.

"Uh, at home, sir."

Their captain's unusually strict tone puts him on edge. Even Riku notices and raises a brow. Sora mouths their captain's name and sets his phone on speaker.

"What about Riku? Do you know where he is?"

"He's here with me. Sir, what's going on?"

A long pause. Squall sighs.

"I'm going to tell you something, but you have to let me finish before doing anything, okay?"

"What, sir?"

"...it's Kairi. She's in the hospital."


A/N: Yay for chugging along with the plot (although a lot of this was taken from my first post of Legacy). Though our leads have yet to meet, I promise they will very soon!

If you don't recognize some of the adult characters in the first scene, I'm using FFIV characters (tbt lol) because it's actually the only FF game I've played. I try not to use OCs because I'm so bad at picking names and making good OCs—though I guess these stand-ins are kinda OOC and essentially OCs sooooo *shrugs*

Thank you for the reviews for C1 and the warm encouragement! I'm excited to finish setting things up and get more to the storytelling, so look out for more original writing (aka not just repost from Legacy) coming up! I'm always very happy to hear from readers what they do or don't like about the story, so please leave a review with any thoughts you have! I promise to reply to every one of them. :) For now I have some more spare time so I'm aiming for weekly updates on Tuesday (U.S. time). Otherwise, I hope you're enjoying the fic so far and have a wonderful day!