My Vietnam

5 August 2014

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This is a FFVII fic by klepto_maniac0. I own no concepts and no characters except the ones you've never heard of, which means they're ones I've made. I freely admit I will take liberties with the FFVII canon because this is an alternate universe fic (in case you haven't figured that out already.) That's why some details are different, some events are ignored, and some people don't exist or act in a different capacity. Ain't fanfic fun?

"My Vietnam" (henceforth shortened to MYV) is a continuation of "Put Your Lights On" (PYLO), but it is not necessary to have read PYLO before reading this story. Whenever PYLO-specific events are referenced, the pertinent chapter will be indexed in the author's note.

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With respect

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To Toriko, the most annoying thing after the Rocket Incident was Reeve insisting that she stay with his family for a few days. Toriko didn't have anything against the Tuestis, but they were so damn weird around her. Too bright, too solicitous, too cheerful. Too confused about how to treat her when she came back bloodied and battered. She was fine, but they never believed her no matter how often she told them. She was tempted to take Reeve up on his offer to shut him and his family up—

"Oh, don't be so uncharitable, Toriko. They're only worried about you. You know how worried they are."

Rufus was in the hospital. No two ways about it, he needed quiet lying-down time to fully heal from the beating he'd taken. Materia did a lot, but it worked better if a person was healthy and Rufus's vitality was less-than-optimal for his age range. Toriko was surprised until she realized that he only exercised for vanity and had very little in the way of real endurance. Reeve tried to make Toriko go to the hospital too—"In case you need to talk to somebody," he kept saying—but Toriko politely refused every attempt. One, she wasn't injured. Two, if she did feel like talking, there were few people who would actually be able to give her solid advice.

So to get Reeve off her back, she went and visited the men of the Seventh at the Garrison. Of course, 'talking things out' was not the only reason she had for going.

After the bombing three years ago, visitors were detained in a blast-proof waiting room while the SOLDIERS or servicepeople they were waiting for were summoned. Toriko had bypassed this annoying procedure until Sephiroth's disappearance, but about half the time the grunt in charge of admission waved her through anyway, most of them being familiar with her weekly sparring schedule. This time, however, a pockmarked individual who couldn't be more than two years her senior cited that "procedure had to be followed" and refused to allow her to pass. Toriko considered pulling the "do you know who I am" card, but there wasn't any real point; he was technically correct.

Nevertheless, Toriko smiled when Captain Dulles showed up, looked at her, then looked at the rookie with blue lights strobing from his eyes.

"You're new," he said in a low voice that nevertheless made the private go pale. "So I'll let this slide. But the Little Miss does not wait. Ever. You got that?"

"B-b-but—"

Ahh. This sort of simpleminded protectiveness was something Toriko could stand and appreciate. Dulles took her back to his office, which was in the barracks set aside specially for SOLDIERS.

"I read a bit about what happened in the papers," he said to her. "They said you got kidnapped, but..."

Toriko shook her head. The large part of her emotional processing had already happened. She was alive, Rufus was alive, and most importantly, no one had seen her destroy the opposition beyond all expectation. But Captain Dulles could know the truth because he would never believe that she wouldn't fight, not after being her sparring partner off and on for a year. In fact, his double-sword technique had helped hone her own.

"Glad you're alright," he said, patting her on the shoulder. "What'd you want to talk about?"

Toriko meant to ask about Zack, but instead she said, "Is it... Alright, that I don't feel bothered?"

Dulles's face tightened. It hit Toriko then that being a SOLDIER had probably frustrated some deep-seated paternal instinct that the man had, because he looked at her with a mix of sadness and anger that was very much like the expression Reeve and even Rufus had after the incident.

It pissed her off.

"Everyone gets through it differently," he said, at least keeping his voice professional. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

So Toriko told him. There was no point in lying, but Toriko was still surprised to see how stunned Dulles was when she told him about her materia usage. His thoughts were turbulent with horror and a growing sense of discomfort...

...which somehow made her feel better, though she wasn't sure why.

"Am I weird for not being bothered?" She asked, partially because she knew it would make him uncomfortable.

"Well... I gotta say that you're handling it better than a lot of people in your shoes," said Dulles. "Most girls wouldn't be so calm."

Aaaand there it was. Toriko suppressed the surge of irritation with some effort and changed subjects, though not as far as Dulles was concerned.

"Well, I don't think Zack would like it if I lost my cool. Speaking of which... Where is he?"

"...no one told you?"

"Told me what?"

Dulles's eyes darkened. "I'm really sorry," he said. "But he was on the last mission with your father."

"Good, so he knows that much, at least," thought Toriko. Aloud she went, "Oh," in a small voice.

"What sort of mission was it?" She asked after a few beats of silence had passed. "No one...tells me anything."

"I wish I knew," said Dulles sincerely. "All I know is that it was supposed to be a walk in a park, and it went wrong. Really wrong."

Toriko bowed her head. Mentally she scanned Dulles's thoughts for his last conversation with Zack, which wasn't hard since it was floating topmost on his mind.

"Hey Cappy, I'm going on a mission with the General. Got any tips?"

"For what?"

"Well, you know... Dealing with him. I don't know him as well as the rest of you guys... Is there anything I should do, or not do...?"

"Don't be an idiot."

"Ha, ha."

"He hates waiting, so always be ready to go. Make sure you've got the right gear. Where are you going?"

"Some little mountain town called Nibelheim."

Toriko nearly smiled. A name. She had a name.

"Did anyone tell his girlfriend?" Toriko asked, lifting her head.

Dulles shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "Long brown hair, green eyes, right?" When Toriko nodded, he said, "She hasn't been around. But I'm not surprised, she didn't come up to the Plate much. She's a B, only gets up here with a work permit."

"Oh," said Toriko again, but this time she was just surprised. B, short for below-the-plate, more colloquially known as "slumrat"; this was the population that lived underneath the glittering Plate System that Midgar was known the world over for. All Toriko knew of it was that it was a dirty shantytown not unlike the back alleys she'd grown up in. Up until now she'd forgot it even existed.

"Shears had a point, I guess. But I have other things on my mind. There will always be poor people, but only one Father."

"Well, someone should tell her," said Toriko. "What's her name?"

Dulles shrugged. "Zack never told us."

"Why?"

"Said she asked him not to. She's cagey. Lotsa B's are like that, not that I blame them. It's never like the Company gave them a good deal. Or even a fair one."

They talked a bit before Toriko bade him farewell and went back home. At the moment, Reeve was permitting her to live by herself, but she silently groaned at the inevitable barrage of "invitations" that he'd soon extend. It wasn't good for her to be alone, he'd insist, she'd feel better around other people...

"How are you doing? How are you feeling? You wanna talk about it? UGGGH."

There was nothing to talk about. Yes, she still smelled blood occasionally. Yes, sometimes she had nightmares. But Sephiroth had lived through similar experiences and risen above without anyone's help, so she could too. Toriko was not going to disappoint him.

When Toriko got back to the apartment, she heard noises from within. She slapped her forehead.

"I gave Reeve that keycard to shut him up, I didn't expect he'd actually use it! This is the last straw, invading my privacy like I'm some sort of mentally unstable crying-for-help cutcase—that's it, I'm not going to be polite. I'm going to tell him to get out, and—

"No, no, no. He might insist. And if I resist, then he'll just start looking at me more closely. I need to maintain as much freedom as possible.

"Ughhh, maybe I should just stay over at his house for a week. I'll just spend most of my time with Meryl and Rose."

Battle plan formed, Toriko reached for the door. She heard a shuffle on the other side and something about it made her hesitate.

"That's not the sound of a hard sole on a marble floor... It sounds too soft. Muffled. Like my shoes."

It took Toriko only a moment to decide her next course of action. Twice now she'd crossed paths with AVALANCHE and made them look fools, and it wasn't like her address was private. Toriko took the stairs up to the penthouse garden, which was fortunately deserted. Every resident had a locker up here, usually filled with things like tablecloths and soda pop for parties. Sephiroth's locker had sparring weapons and a length of rope with a grapple that could be hooked around the wrought-iron rail and used to lower oneself to the ground. Toriko secured the grapple and drew a knife from her skirt. Her blood was pounding in her ears, her breath ratcheting up despite her best intentions.

"There won't be anyone to see me. I don't have to worry about pretending to be weak later."

The best defense, Sephiroth had taught her, was an overwhelming, devastating, crushing offense. And after being shot at and set on fire multiple times, Toriko could see the wisdom in his words.

Her balcony wasn't far below, and in truth, she could have dropped from the garden and onto the rail. But it would have been loud, and Toriko wanted every chance to study the situation. No more running wide-eyed into dangerous situations.

"Especially because it's my own life on the line now..."

Toriko sent her thought ahead, guessing roughly where the apartment was. There was only one person inside and to her surprise, it was a familiar mind. Feeling foolish, she went back downstairs and opened the door with her own keycard. No one was inside that she could see, but there was a box in the middle of the living room floor. The glare off the floor was annoying, but when Toriko narrowed her eyes, she saw a wooden box inlaid with brass designs on the corners and hinges. She had two others, both from the same sender.

"Careless," said a dry voice she hadn't heard in two years.

Toriko looked up at the spiral staircase. Her sensei walked down, looking essentially the same as she had the last time Toriko had seen her. She was still short, still fit, and wore her hair in a long braid that went down past her hips, tied with a red ribbon. Though dressed in loose Continental clothes, she still moved like a battle-ready kunoichi. Toriko noted the imprint of shuriken, knives, and a garroting wire, and knowing Nanashi-sensei, she had three or four pieces of materia that were just weak enough to escape the Shin-Ra's confiscation guidelines.

"What if that box had been a trap?" Nanashi asked.

Later Toriko would not know if she'd been irritated or just thoughtless when she threw her skirt knife at Nanashi's head. Even at top speed, Nanashi stepped aside and coolly observed as the eighteen-inch-dagger thudded into the wall. Neither of them said anything about the fact that Toriko had thrown to kill.

"I saw your picture in the paper," said Nanashi. Toriko stiffened, bracing herself for the usual questions about her mental state, but all Nanashi said was, "Good to know keeping up on your training."

"Well, it would be a shame to waste all our time together," said Toriko.

"Hn." Nanashi wrenched the knife out of the wall, dislodging chunks of plaster. "How many?"

"How many?"

"Enemies. Kills."

Toriko exhaled. "It... Wasn't a good fight."

"I'm not a samurai, I don't care about 'a good fight'," said Nanashi, coming down the stairs. "You lived. And I want to hear how."

So Toriko told her. Nanashi was impassive, but Toriko found that her teacher's thoughts were both impressed and disappointed. It took a certain pragmatic ruthlessness to turn people against their comrades the way Toriko had, but her inability to finish the enemy was going to get her killed someday. Nanashi told her as much out loud, which made Toriko actually, strangely feel a bit better.

"I did cut someone's fingers off," Toriko said. "So he couldn't shoot at me."

"He still had his other hand, didn't he? Finish it properly next time."

"Yes, Sensei," said Toriko, feeling strangely pleased. It took her a moment to realize that Nanashi was telling her exactly what Sephiroth would have.

"A performance review is not the main reason I'm here," said Nanashi. Seating herself at the kitchen counter, she said, "I have gifts from your aunt and a message."

"I thought as much," said Toriko. "What's the message, please?"

"She wants to see you," said Nanashi. "She's not doing well."

"She's never doing well."

"She's on her deathbed," said Nanashi bluntly. Toriko's blood chilled, her breath freezing in her chest. "She can't even walk right now."

For no good reason Toriko thought of her mother's dragon-headed cane. It was a beautiful piece, carved out of dark rosewood and housing a slim saber that was as flexible as a whip. Seishi didn't know how to fight, but she was more than willing to draw and kill, or at least maim. Unconsciously Toriko smiled.

"We leave tomorrow morning."

Toriko started. "What! Sensei—"

"Oh?" Nanashi gave her a hard look. "You aren't thinking of not going, are you?"

"Of course not! I will go!" The idea of not seeing Seishi again hit her like a punch in the heart. "It's just sudden, that's all. I have to figure out a plausible reason to go... And without Turks following me. They've left me mostly alone since Father disappeared, but after what happened on the last trip out of Midgar, the President will want to keep an eye on me."

"Reeve, too. God only knows what he'll think of me taking a trip after this!"

"That's assuming you come back here."

Toriko looked at Nanashi, her eyes slowly narrowing.

"Your father is dead," said Nanashi, her voice direct and without any particular emotion. "There is nothing for you here. Meanwhile, your aunt needs you and there are things that only you can do in Wutai."

"Like what?"

"Run the business."

Toriko shook her head. "I have no skill in that arena."

"You'll learn."

"It wouldn't do anyone any good," said Toriko. "I'll go back to Wutai for Auntie, but I must return here."

"Why?"

Toriko chewed her lip. She'd thought of contacting her mother and Nanashi briefly after Sephiroth had disappeared, but the idea of them helping her was so ludicrous that she'd never once mentally rehearsed what she'd say to them if the opportunity arose.

"Do I tell them he's alive, or...?"

"I... I just have to," she said lamely.

Nanashi studied her until Toriko squirmed, and even her thoughts revealed nothing more than "I know my student is hiding something from me, but why?" Just when Toriko was about to suggest making tea, anything to break the silence, Nanashi said, "Open the box. There are things you'll need for our trip."

Grateful for something to do, Toriko complied. This brass-inlaid box seemed to be a companion to the others she'd received; in fact, they would nest inside each other perfectly. To date, Toriko had received a beautiful child's furisode she'd never had the opportunity to wear, a set of poisoned kanzashi, an iron-ribbed fan, a koto she still played every now and then, and two sakabatou in sheaths covered with red chirimen silk instead of lacquer. Toriko had no idea what would be in the box, aside from the fact it would be very traditional, but the sight of what lay inside the lid stopped her dead.

"Oh," was all she said. 'Oh' was wildly insufficient.

"That was the last kimono your mo—aunt ever wore as a geisha," said Nanashi as Toriko stared at the lavishly dyed silk. "And it was her favorite. You're going to bring it back and wear it for her."

Toriko glanced over her shoulder. "Then why did you bring it all the way—"

"Da Chao only knows," said Nanashi. "But she was very insistent on you having it in case something happened in the meantime."

Toriko's face tightened. She looked back at the kimono and sighed deeply, touching the soft, beautifully maintained silk. Dyed in a technique that had been lost since the War, maple leaves of scarlet and orange spilled from a tree whose branches had been embroidered in real gold thread, with occasional gold accents glittering like dewdrops from leaves on the sleeves. The bottom of the kimono was dyed blue-on-blue, with scarlet leaves dropping into the still surface of a pond and creating ripples that almost seemed to move. Every color seemed to burn against a rich black that rivaled the night sky.

"That's not the only thing in the box," said Nanashi.

"It's the only thing that matters," said Toriko softly.

"That's the past. Your aunt has gifts for your present and future also."

Toriko looked at her strangely for a moment before carefully taking the kimono out and setting it aside—on the couch, not the floor. She took out the beautiful maru obi, which was an almost solid gold and tastefully embroidered with red and white maple leaves. Toriko started the moment she saw Seishi's real present.

"Oh," she said again, but this was an entirely different 'oh'. This was not a sound suffused with aching wonder. It was definitely a 'this is nice, but I really, really do not want this' sort of gift.

"You've outgrown your sakabatou by now," said Nanashi. "It's time you had real blades."

"I... I have real blades," said Toriko. "But these... They're too much for me. I couldn't use something so fine."

"Weapons are meant to be used, not admired," said Nanashi. "Test their weight."

Slowly Toriko lifted the pair of katana out of the box. These katana were in lacquered sheaths, as lustrously dark and smooth as oil, mother-of-pearl designs wisping like smoke over the polished wood. Toriko looked at the hilts, which were traditional ray skin wrapped with silk, and then at the tsuka, which were a fair bit more elaborate than her sakabatou. These were fancy openworked pieces, like nobility had. Toriko knew from a very long time ago that traditionally, only ancestral swords had such...elaborate...tsuka...

She looked more closely at the hilts. Two different snarling foulanders on each. They looked familiar...

"I know I've seen this before. When? It was when I was a small child... This is an ancestral crest, or a representation of one—"

The faces on the foulanders were very ugly. Toriko remembered seeing carved statues of them in temples, usually with deities who represented Hell and the Underworld. Seishi had spent a lot of time praying to those gods, begging these vengeful divinities to punish the people who'd brought her so low. Sephiroth figured large in these prayers, but equally large had been...

…

…

Toriko gasped aloud. She spun around, staring at Nanashi, who was now smirking. "These are the ancestral swords of the Shusaku family!"

"Yes they are."

"How did Mo—Auntie get these?!"

"Your aunt made the late Lord Shusaku give them to her," said Nanashi, now grinning openly. "On pain of revealing their relationship to the public. He blustered, but seeing as he had no children to pass the swords onto..."

"...I am technically the only child of the main Shusaku line, as the Lord never formally divorced Mother when he threw her out of the house. It would show up on the register. I wonder what he told everyone..."

Toriko knew very well how the theft of the noble life had rankled Seishi for years. Lord Shusaku was fabulously wealthy and very influential, and if Seishi and Toriko had taken their rightful places in his family, there was a good chance that Toriko would have been one of Princess Yuffie's formal playmates. And from there, the possibilities would have been dazzling.

But of course that hadn't happened. Toriko hadn't thought about her mother's ex-husband in years, but here was proof that Seishi had finally triumphed over one of the worst experiences in her life. She could just imagine her mother cackling her crowlike laugh over these blades and that made Toriko smile. She still wasn't sure about using these—for one thing, they were too long to hide under a skirt—but she did like the idea of having them.

"Won't anyone be looking for these?" Toriko asked, turning the blades over with new interest.

"Unlikely," said Nanashi. "The new Lord Shusaku is one of those... 'New' Wutaiese. He turned the ancestral estate into a hotel," she said, her voice dripping with contempt.

"Mother owns a very 'new' ochaya," said Toriko mildly.

"There's a difference between building your own business and putting your ancestors on display."

Toriko looked back at the swords. She knew just enough about metallurgy to know that these were fine weapons, made with steel that was probably better than Sephiroth's Masamune. Not that that meant she'd be able to cause more destruction any time soon, but it was nice to have something...nice. Really nice. Toriko tested her thumb on the blade and was pleased at the near-painless sharpness of the cut. Absently she was aware of her pulse speeding up.

"Let me make a few calls," said Toriko, setting the swords down reluctantly. "And pack."

'Calls' was deceptive. Toriko went to visit Rufus in the hospital. He looked incredibly bored when Toriko arrived, but he did make a nice picture, bandaged with healing salves and dressed all in white. Toriko decided she liked him slightly banged up; it made him look humble.

"Though it's humility I like on him, not the harm."

"You can speak freely," he said, gesturing. "We're not bugged."

"That's nice," she said, intending to do no such thing. "Rufus, I'm going to take a trip."

"A trip? Where?"

"Cosmo Canyon," she lied, figuring it would be easy to go just a bit further after she crossed the ocean. "I want to scope out their college program. And they have wonderful hot springs. I'd like to relax in them after all..this."

"I don't disagree," said Rufus. "I'd go with you, but the doctors don't want let me out out just yet."

"Why? I thought you had a clean bill of health after the materia applications."

He shrugged, which was far too nonchalant. Something was up. Toriko considered asking, but she had other fish to fry and Rufus was a grown man. He'd take care of himself.

"In any case, please tell the Turks not to follow me," she said. "It's an unaffiliated territory and I want minimum Company involvement. You know that things can be...tense."

"I don't want you going to Cosmo Canyon alone," said Rufus. "It's far away, AVALANCHE-Beta is probably there, and without Turks, you're a sitting duck."

"I took care of myself pretty well."

"You panicked," said Rufus, looking at her with a certain piercing gaze that only blue eyes could manage. Toriko bristled, but inwardly winced as she remembered her erratic dashing inside the rocket. "If you want to go to Cosmo Canyon, I'm sending Turks with you."

"I really don't want to be followed right now," said Toriko. "I need some time alone."

"Well, you're fourteen and you're not going to get it."

This was an unexpected roadblock. Toriko contemplated making Rufus do what she wanted, but he was too smart to realize he'd made a totally illogical decision later. Time for something else.

"What if I was staying with family, then?"

"Family?"

"My family in Wutai."

Rufus looked at her consideringly. Toriko suppressed an annoyed sigh. She really hadn't wanted to give up that information, but Rufus had always proved to be more sensible than she thought when given the truth.

"If I'm not careful, I'll tell him everything."

"My aunt is sick," she said. "I want to see her. After Father, I just..." She swallowed. "I need to spend time with her. I asked you about Cosmo Canyon because I thought you'd be more okay with that, but..."

"These are the relatives who threw you out?"

"No, this aunt was the nice one. She always looked out for me."

"Hmm."

"Rufus... Please."

He folded his arms. "I really don't like you going alone. You're taking a Turk."

"Can I at least choose which Turk?"

"If they're free," he said. "Who were you thinking?"

"Rude," said Toriko. As Rufus blinked, she said, "He's not heading up any active investigations, is he?"

"He isn't now," said Rufus in a certain tone, which made Toriko smile inside. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow."

"Is your aunt that bad off?"

She nodded. Rufus nodded back slowly, digesting this information, before looking at her with a strange, intense look in his eyes.

"You are going to take care of yourself, aren't you?" He asked in a voice that was half concern and half command.

Coming from a man on bedrest in the hospital, Toriko nearly laughed. But his concern was real, and he was the only one (aside from Sensei) who didn't doubt her or pity her. Toriko patted his hand.

"That's why I'm going," she said.

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a/n: Aaand into the next arc. Which is going to be...awkward.

I made a Pinterest board about fashion in the PYLOVerse. The link is on my profile and also here at www. pinterest whathostudio / pylo-verse-clothing-and-miscellany/

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