A/N
I am deeply sorry that this took so long with such a small chapter to follow, and sadly these keep coming out around this time of year due to my job and free time being so limited! Regardless, I will not stop working on this story no matter how long the delay between chapters. Also! I am happy to say I am working on a new story! Scandalize I know, but it was an idea I had while out in Louisiana. So, I hope when that chapter comes out, people will give it the love you all give to my story!
Valiant Hearts III
Chapter 7
Salvaging Hope – Rest and Rage
When they were told they would be staying in a penthouse, one would think of a spacious room that took up an entire floor with fancy furniture filling out the room's interior.
At least that is what Kairi imagined when she thought of a penthouse when Leon told them that was where they would be staying for the time being; however upon arriving to said living space, the redhead realized that she had let her imagination run a tad wild.
Once arriving to their temporary home, Tifa pushed open the door and walked in looking about the foyer with a raised weary eyebrow, Aerith following behind her tiredly as she did the same before stepping into the middle of what used to be the living room while the martial artist continued further down a hallway connected to the main room.
The living room was a large open space that was clear of most furniture aside from a single love seat adjacent to a two seater couch that sat in front of a brick fireplace that was cracked in several spots with one of its corners chipped off. While there was no debris around the hardwood floor, there was clear signs of rushed cleaning with trails of dirt and splinters along the floor.
Next to the living room was what must have been the kitchen, consisting of an over the counter bar made of cracked marble, having multiple chips and blemishes across its surface. There was an indention between a rusted stove top and a closet pantry where a fridge most likely would go.
Looking about the room as they entered, Kairi, Naminé, and Olette settled in the foyer looking exhausted while standing close together with Xion behind them, her eyes observing the trio of girls curiously.
Aerith swept her gaze over the living room with a frown before brushing her hand over the love seat and then waving the layer of dust off her palm.
"Well, it could be worse…"
Aerith was being optimistic, but as Tifa returned from down the hall with a drowsy sway in here step before stopped next to the brunette, she seemed to prefer to be realistic.
"This place is a dump."
The martial artist stood with her arms crossed next to her girlfriend as she swept her sleepy gaze over their… new living space, giving it a less than flattering once over before she feels a swat on her arm, causing her to jump slightly and glance over at her assailant.
Aerith was glaring at her openly before gesturing to the three girls who were trying to stiffen their giggles while Xion just observed the pair with a slight tilt to her head, causing the martial artist to back pedal with a wave of her arms and stutter.
"B-but of course, it.. uh could be way worse. Um… could be out in the freezing cold!" She glanced back over at the sorceress as if to see if she approves of her rephrasing, only getting a sigh and a shake of the head from her girlfriend. In turn causing the three girls, who could not take it anymore, to burst out laughing openly at the exchange.
All the while Xion kept turning her attention from the trio of Keybladers, and the pair of adults, Tifa crossing her arms over her chest and sulking while three girls tried and failed to contain their tired laughter as the sorceress let out a worn out sigh shaking her head with a hand rubbing at her temple, her head still hurting from the continued use of her magic even after the failure of the Sorceresses Pact.
Aerith knew she was going to have a splitting migraine the following day, but for now they needed to settle in and get some rest. Not only did the girls fight in Hollow Bastion's defense, but they had also just returned from a mission from another world.
They were no doubt physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted and running on fumes.
"Tifa, what rooms were down the hall?" The sorceress looked at her sulking partner with a hand still massaging her temple. She did not mean for her tone to be so short, but at this point, they were all exhausted and needed rest.
Thinking for a moment, the martial artist uncrossed her arms and gestured to the hallway.
"There's four other rooms down the hall. A master bedroom, two spare rooms and I think a bathroom with a walk-in shower is the last room. Not sure if the pluming still works in here, but we have plenty of room for us all."
With a nod, Aerith turned to the girls.
"Alright. Olette, Naminé; Xion, you three can take one of the spare rooms and Kairi can take the-"
"No!"
Three voiced rang out simultaneously.
All three girls met Aerith's surprised gaze with determined looks of their own. With a slow smile, the brunette mage gestured to the hallway.
"Or you four can decide how you will separate the rooms." She should have known better than to try and separate the trio of girls, especially after what happened to Kairi.
"If ya don't mind… we'll try and fit into one room." The redhead stated as she began to move to the hallway before Tifa stepped in front of her.
"Kairi, the bed in the spare rooms aren't big enough to fit four people." Looking over the four girls, the raven-haired woman thought about it for a moment before looking at her girlfriend.
"Aerith, do you mind letting them take the master bedroom? The bed would fit all four of them and the spare room's beds can fit two at least." She said that last part off-handedly. Making sure to point out that the two of them would have a bed to themselves.
Aerith narrowed her gaze on the martial artist and sighed tiredly. Too worn out to really care.
"As long as we have something to lay down on and rest, I don't care… plus I think the girls deserve the master bedroom after all they've been through as of late."
For a moment, Kairi thought she saw a mischievous smirk on Tifa's face before it was suddenly gone, confusing the young redhead.
"Well that settles it then. Kairi, you and the girls get the master bedroom. Plenty of room for all of ya. Aerith and I will take the spare room across from the bathroom."
Aerith gave her girlfriend a suspicious look before shrugging it off. Whatever the raven-haired woman was up to, the sorceress was too tired to interpret it.
"Fine by me dear. Girls go on and get some much-needed rest. Tifa and I will see you in the morning."
Without another word, the brunette moved down the hall followed closely by Tifa; walking into the first spare room on the left in the hallway.
As the older women left down the hall, Kairi turned to the others and shrugged to them.
"Well let's get settled in, then shall we?" with a wave of her hand, she began to walk down the hall while being followed by the other trio of girls.
Walking down the hall to the door at the end, the redheaded Keyblader opened the door and let out a frustrated groan. Of course! This was why Tifa looked so impish before!
Upon opening the door, Kairi realized that this room was not just a penthouse suite, but also a honeymoon suit!
The room consisted of a massive hearts shaped bed that was made of a washed-out red wood, much like most of the furniture in the room, with somewhat worn out red sheets, easily able to fit at least six people as well as what looked like a personal bathroom adjacent to the bed passed a nightstand that was chipped on the tops surface offset to a dresser made of the same material as the rest of the furniture in the room with a single long rectangular window set into the far wall.
"Oh what the hell is this crap!" Olette had about the same reaction as the redhead.
"Aww how cute! It's even big enough for all of us." Naminé did not see a problem whatsoever.
Xion just stared at the large bed, knowing it was in the shape of a heart with red sheets, she was puzzled by her sister's irritation. Was there a threat she was not aware of?
Stepping forward into the room, Kairi dragged her hand over the hastily dusted dresser and continued to glare at the massive bed before letting out a defeated sigh.
"I am too tired to care." She muttered it, but with the slight nod from Olette, she knew the brunette agreed with her sentiment.
With a huff, the brute moved over the bed and tugged at the thick red blanket that covered the bed, causing a thin cloud of dust to kick up and fill the room.
"-ntle wind, come upon my will." It was whispered in the room.
A gust of wind filled the room and sent the dust streaming through the air and pushed the large window open, taking the dust with it.
Turning from the bed, Olette turned along with Kairi to see a rather smug Naminé as she dematerialized her Keyblade.
"Aerith taught me that one."
She was rather pleased with herself before turning to Xion with a smile and approached her excitedly.
"I could teach you what she taught me! She knows lots of different magic that you could use like you did with that combination of spells."
Her enthusiasm once again puzzled the raven-haired girl as she looked at the blond sorceress in confusion before glancing at Kairi as if looking for help as the redhead finished closing the window.
With a tired smile at the sight before her, the redhead simply nodded to the raven-haired girl. Seeing Naminé treat her sister no different than anyone else warmed Kairi's heart, if only other could follow her example.
Xion looked back at the blond with a puzzled tilt of her head before she nodded slowly.
"Yes."
It was a simple answer; but filled the room with shocked surprise. Kairi and Olette exchanged stunned glances as Naminé's smile brightened.
"Oh that is wonderful! I can show you all kinds of spells and incantations that we could try and combine together like you did before, it will be such a fun experiment."
Both Kairi and Olette just watched the exchange with open disbelief. For the redhead, she just witnessed her little sister finally say something to someone other than herself, granted, Xion did look to her before responding to the blonde's enthusiasm; and for Olette, she was just shocked to see how easily Naminé could talk to the raven-haired girl after all they've seen her do to their allies.
She was dangerous… But Kairi said she was not a threat to them, and she trusted the redhead's judgement without any uncertainties…
With a sigh, Olette looked at the small sorceress for a moment before a small smile softened her features as she watched her excited girlfriend go on about magic before Kairi stepped over to them with a worn-out smile and rested her hand on Naminé's shoulder.
"That can wait, for now we need to rest and recover whenever we can, we don't know if and when the Organization will attack again."
With a pout, the blond Keyblader nodded and looked back at Xion.
"Well when we get some rest and some free time, we can discuss what kind of elements you prefer, and we can go from there."
Once more, Xion looked over at her sister, again deferring to her judgement, causing Kairi's smile to grow as she nodded to the raven-haired girl passed Naminé's shoulder before Xion looked back at the blonde with a small nod.
Naminé smiled happily before she was spurred forward with her excitement and hopped forward out of Kairi's grip to pull Xion into a hug. Causing the docile girl to tense up in the blonde's embrace.
Olette let out a tired laugh at the sight of her blonde girlfriend hugged the typically emotionless girl, whom had a rather panicked look on her face as she looked at Kairi.
'If they keep talking magic, then she better get used to Naminé snuggles…' the brunette thought to herself in amusement as the blonde mage let go of Xion and turned to Kairi with a sweet smile before wrapping her arms around her waist and hugging her too, only instead she fully kissed her on the lips, causing the redhead to tense before settling into the kiss and returning the embrace.
It lasted a few seconds, before the daring blonde let go of the slightly panting redhead with a satisfied smirk.
This caused Olette to gape at the sight.
'She is taking up after Aerith way too much!' the brunette mentally exclaimed before storming forward and pulling Naminé back away from Kairi, who was still trying to catch her breath.
"Oi! No fair, she was totally vulnerable! That was cheating little witch!"
With a quiet giggle, Naminé turned on Olette with a sly smile, causing the duel-wielder to step back suddenly while Kairi watched with a hand pressed against her lips.
'She just had to surprise me like that when I was exhaling…' Kairi kept her fingers pressed to her lips as she watched Olette practically jump away from Naminé as the smaller girl followed after her.
'How is it she is the most naïve yet the most forward?' the redhead pondered to herself before she turned away from her girlfriends and took note of Xion's curious gaze, accompanied with her signature head-tilt.
"D-don't worry Xion, it was just a kiss, umm… Nothing dangerous or threating at all."
It felt weird to have to tell her sister something like that… in fact, it would be weird to have to explain to anyone that a kiss isn't a means to case someone harm. Regardless, Xion nodded and turned to watch what the other two Keybladers were doing just in time to hear a yelp that sounded more like a squeak that then fell into a fit of giggles.
Kairi turned her head to see that somehow Naminé had managed to outmaneuver Olette and had her pinned to the bed beneath her and was tickling her sides mercilessly.
"S-stop it yea lil witch!"
The brunette laughed between words as the small blonde giggled evilly while she kept on her ticklish assault, making the much stronger girl weak with laughter.
"Make me you brute!"
The sight brought on a nostalgic feeling to the redhead as she remembered a time like this when she walked in on a remarkably similar situation in this fashion.
Stepping forward, Kairi moved to pull the smaller girl off Olette and to her feet with a pinch of her cheek.
"Okay you two, no more fooling around. We need to get some rest and be ready for whatever comes tomorrow."
Kairi said this as she glared playfully at the blonde and brunette. Naminé pouted harder as she concealed her smirk while Olette lay sprawled out on the bed panting to catch her breath from all the laughter.
"What… did… I do?"
Olette had done nothing wrong other than let the little sorceress get the better of her! She was definitely exhausted if Naminé of all people could overpower her.
With a shrug, Kairi turned around and fell onto her back, landing next to Olette on the bed with a sigh before sitting up to pull her black Organization coat off and tossing it the floor and to work her boots off her feet to let them breath, the sheets were thick enough to keep them warm after all. Leaving her in her combat outfit aside from her boots, and with a glance at the other two girls, they followed suit and took off they coats and shoes.
One continued sulked and folded her coat on the far end of the massive bed with her boots sitting on-top of them while the other was lazily tossing her belongs off the side of the bed in a pile.
Naminé still pouted over them and moved to the opposite side of the redhead and hopped into the bed, cuddling into Kairi's side while Olette did similar, wrapping her arm around her arm possessively.
Effectively sandwiching Kairi in between the two girls.
In any other situation, she would have wiggled free of the pair of arms wrapped around her, but given the amount of stress that came about these passed days… She was simply happy to have both of them with her and well.
But Kairi immediately took note of someone missing.
Looking up, the redhead spotted her sister standing at the foot of them watching them.
After observing the trio, Xion looked down at her own coat and began to pull it off like her sister did, only… she did not have clothes underneath her coat.
"No no no! Don't take that off!"
Kairi shot out of the bed, out of the other two girl's grip, and caught Xion's hand as she was halfway done unzipping her coat, looking at the older girl in confusion, the middle of her chest visible between the unzipped coat.
Reaching up, Kairi re-zipped up her coat and pet her head.
"No clothes under there means you gotta keep it on, okay Xion."
Like the older sister she remembered being, she explained to the younger girl while slowly pulling her to the bed and with some effort, she managed to lay back down on the bed with Xion on her right side between her and Naminé, wrapping her arms around her little sister, while Olette resumed her previous position with her arm wrapped around Kairi's arm, trying to not openly glare at the smaller girl while tightening her hold on her girlfriend and closing her eyes and passing out immediately.
With a giggle, Naminé snuggled into Xion's back and wrapped her arm around both her and Kairi with how close she was to them before closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep to the beat of Xion's heart as they all laid under the thick red blanket that covered the bed, the combined body heat of all four of them kept them warm.
All the while Xion remained stiff and tense, not sure what to do with herself as she was now squished in between Kairi and Naminé. Looking up from her position against her sister's side, the raven-haired girl's gaze met identical blue eyes filled with so much yet not overflowing.
There was kindness, affection, and warmth, but not only that, but there was also a tension behind her eyes. Worries, doubts, and a sliver of darkness. Something that seemed almost alien in the redhead's gaze.
Before Xion could ponder it more, it was gone.
Smiling tiredly down at her sister, Kairi continued to look into her eyes, they were no longer filled with an emptiness void, but rather a curious light that flickered and yearned to know more, something that truly gave her hope for Xion.
Leaning down, Kairi laid a kiss atop her sister's head before closing her eyes and letting her exhaustion take her into much needed rest.
"I will always be here for you… From now on."
It was barely a whisper, nevertheless, Xion heard it and for the rest of the night, she would think over what those words mean as she lay awake while the other girls slept soundly.
Xion would not sleep, she had countless things to consider, so many new experiences that needed to be sorted through.
But most importantly, she would watch over the trio in the event that a threat appears and attack them. Kairi had said they needed rest, Xion would ensure that they are not interrupted by anything.
She would not sleep until she knew for a fact that there was nothing that could threaten her sister.
"I… will be here… for you too."
Xion's whisper seemed to echo into the room for no one to hear while she continued to listen for any possible intruders or disruptions in the night as she felt Kairi's heartbeat against her.
-Valiant Hearts III-
Flopping onto the bed, Tifa let out a tired laugh to herself as she lay on the rather smaller bed, compared to the master bedroom's honeymoon suit.
"Oh dear, what are you laughing about? Does it have to do with giving the girls the bigger room?"
Tifa looked up from the bed to see Aerith walking towards her in a huff before she sat up to pat the spot on the bed next to her, prompting the brunette to sit next to her as she smirked and shrugged.
"I don't know what you mean."
With a tired sigh, the sorceress sat down next to her girlfriend and leaned her head onto her shoulder while snuggling into her before going still as Tifa wrapped her arm around her shoulders to share their warmth.
After a moment of silence passed, Tifa began to feel Aerith's shoulders trembling before she heard the quiet sobs escape the sorceress's lips, causing the martial artist to turn fully to her girlfriend and embrace her as she openly cried into her lover's embrace.
"Aerith?!"
Tifa did not know what caused this to happen but she was sure it had to do with the girls in the other room, specifically their redheaded adopted daughter that had recently died and returned to them. She could piece that much together as she heard Aerith whispering Kairi's name between sobs.
Tightening her hold around her Girlfriend, Tifa did just like Aerith did to her when she collapsed during the debrief before, reassuring her that she was alive and well in the other room safely… as safe as any of them could be in a cavern of ruined buildings.
Slowly but surely, Aerith's sobs began to subside as she clung to Tifa like a lifeline while the raven-haired woman cradled her and continued to whisper comforting words to her; before long, the crying had stopped and the sorceress sat back with her arms still tight on her lover's coat.
Her green eyes were brimmed with red from all the tears and Tifa leaned forward to kiss away the stray ones and taking Aerith's face into her hands to wipe away any new ones.
"She is alive, and she returned to us… She has Olette and Naminé with her, as well as that Xion girl who she herself assured us that she was on our side, and as we saw, is incredibly powerful. Kairi is as safe as she can be."
With a slow nod, Aerith slowly let go of the martial artist's coat and reached up to wrap her arms around her shoulders before leaning in to kiss her hard.
Enjoying the kiss, Tifa wrapped her arms around her lover to hold her close and leaned back to lay onto the bed on her side, pulling the sorceress down with her, before leaning out of the kiss and pulling the still trembling woman into her arms and slowly massaged small circles into her back as she continued to hold her close.
"Kairi is alive, and there is hope again."
Aerith's voice was slightly hoarse from her sobs, but Tifa pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head before nodding slowly, cradling her lover in her arms as they finally let exhaustion take them into dreamless sleep.
-Valiant Hearts III-
In a fit of rage, Xigbar shattered the medical tank he was inside of once his wounds were sealed and his missing arm was reformed. The green liquid soaked the floor as he fell to the floor and vomited the portion that he had to ingested while in the tank to regenerate his body.
Gasping for air, the sniper dragged himself to his desk and reached up to pull himself to his feet, soaking the many documents and notes in the liquid he was covered in.
"Rats… those vermin! Taking my creation!"
Xigbar growled in anger when he slammed his newly formed arm into the top of his table, the nerves that were freshly formed and took time to function properly.
Slamming his arm down onto the table again, the scar faced man felt his arm's new nerves kick in and caused him to roar in pain before collapsing in a heap on the side of his desk, panting heavily from the pain and the new amount of air filling is lungs instead of the green fluid.
"Vermin… Filthy, worthless trash!"
His incoherent raving continued as he clad himself in a new coat and reached for his fully formed Arrowguns combined into his Sharpshooter.
A portal leading to that frozen hell opened in front of him, fully and completely intent on his own vendetta against the insects from Hollow Bastion.
"I'll take care of this myself! Kill them and get that defective experiment back! SO I CAN RIP IT APART MYSELF!"
Stepping through, Xigbar cold of the pathways between worlds, feeling none of it as his wrath overwhelmed his own nerves and even his logic filled mind.
All the while, idly flipping a pair of dice in his hand, Luxord smiled to himself outside of Xigbar's laboratory before pushing off the wall and turning down the colorless halls of the Organization HQ.
A smile full of wickedness was plastered across his face as his gamble was slowly turning into his favor.
End of Chapter 7