Author's Notes: HOLY SHIT! I hadn't even noticed how long the author's block had kept me from this story! Let's hope I can fix some of that. And now I've managed to give Nida both Nomura and Tetsuya. Lol.

Memoriam: Chapter 2

"Squall!" the auburn haired man had shouted as Squall rushed out of the store. It hadn't stopped Squall from running though.

How could it, Nida wondered, considering Squall had just seen a ghost?

"What the hell is going on here?" the man demanded of Nida and Kiros.

"That is what I would like to know, Tetsuya," Kiros agreed, looking pointedly at Nida.

"I do believe I have been mistaken for someone," he said, holding his hands, now freed from their burden, before him. "None the less, it seems I have offended our customers. I beg your forgiveness."

"Fuck that," the auburn haired man snarled, "He's not from here. Squall could easily get lost out there."

"Then we should get extra help looking," Zell said, trying to break the tension from what Nida could tell. "Please, Kiros, would you assist us? It is about closing time anyway."

"Of course."

"And you, Tetsuya?"

Nida nodded. "Before we go, his name was Squall, correct?" Nida asked, as if he hadn't already called the man by his name.

"Yeah, and I'm Irvine. But enough pleasantries, can we find him before he gets hit by a car?"

Nida nodded and bowed slightly to Irvine and Zell. "Then by all means, lead the way. Kiros, would you be so kind as to remain here, deal with the stock, and watch out for him in this immediate area? You know how to reach Zell and myself if it is needed."

While the older man did give Nida an odd look, he did silently agree.

"Then, gentlemen, shall we?"

------

Once he'd gotten himself well and truly lost, or as lost as he intended, Squall flopped down onto a bench, glaring down at the concrete under his feet. Maybe he had overreacted. There was always the chance that someone looked a bit like Nida. After all, the eyes were wrong, the hair, the whole manner about him. He'd never seen Nida in traditional Japanese clothes either. He'd always said they were too loose on him, after being raised in European style clothing.

Then again, there were the burns, and the tone of his voice. Even the reaction Squall had seen for that second in his eyes, when Squall had called him a bastard. The pain, and acceptance all in one second. Yes, that had been Nida, and it hurt to see him alive. More than hurt, it made Squall want to kill him. How dare the bastard be alive, after all of the people he had hurt, after he had hurt Squall.

And then there was Seifer. He knew, Squall was sure of it. After all, Seifer had been the one to bury Nida. How could he not know that the man was still alive? How could he lie to the world about that? When Squall got his hands on Seifer, he was going to throttle him for lying like this.

"His number is third on the speed dial," a voice said as a cell phone was held out in front of Squall.

Squall looked up in shock at the hand, at the arm, at Nida. In a moment he was standing, his fist sore, and Nida on the sidewalk before him, hand on his cheek.

"Is it really that offensive that I suggest you call Seifer when you obviously intend to chew him out?"

"So it is you," Squall snarled. "You bastard..."

"You've already done that one," Nida said, slowly working his way to his feet. "Though with less violence. Your running out really upset everyone."

"I upset everyone? Do any of them know you're a murderer?"

Nida sighed and turned away, "That man, Irvine, really cares for you. Is he the one Seifer was talking about?"

"Seifer..."

"He was at the cemetery the other day. I went to speak with him."

"Figures."

Now Nida was sitting beside Squall on the bench, and neither of them really said anything. Squall looked again at Nida, and began to notice what he hadn't before. Not only were his eyes another color, but there were small wrinkles developing around his eyes. On top of that, there was a sense of heavy fatigue all about the man, and Squall almost felt pity for his former lover. Almost.

"I didn't mean the things I said."

"Which ones?"

"That I didn't love you. That I was working with him. All of it. I needed you to run, fast and far. It was the only way. If I broke your heart, then I could go, draw him somewhere else and deal with him on my own. There wouldn't be a risk to you any more. One more life left behind because of him. It would have amused Rei to no end."

"And the explosion?"

"A miscalculation," Nida admitted, his fingers going to his neck for just a moment. Like the rest of my life."

Again there was silence, and together the pair watched the sun as it began to set.

"Was that Kinneas? That Irvine?"

Squall nodded. "He went to school with you and Rei."

"I remember him. He liked to play cowboys. Always thought he was a little lady's man, so seeing him with you was a bit shocking."

"What, can't I have a boyfriend with you gone?"

Nida chuckled. "No, I'm just amused it is him. To think he is... Well, I suppose I should have seen it coming, but sometimes this sort of thing is a surprise."

"Like you being able to find me now?" Squall asked, finally getting to one of the things that was bothering him. How could Nida have found him so quickly?

"While Tetsuya does not know you, Nida remembered that you had this odd tendency to run west when you're angry. Good to see that the memories of a ghost weren't completely useless."

"West, huh?"

Nida smiled faintly, just like he used to when Squall would say something mildly amusing, or when he was playing a trick. To be honest, Squall wasn't sure which was true right now, but he hoped for the former. Either way, though, it meant that something of his Nida was still left in this man. And that thought alone made it hard for Squall to keep from leaning in to kiss him. So he didn't try to hold back.

Unfortunately Nida's hand came to rest on his shoulder, holding him back, and the older man shook his head sadly.

"Don't. If you do that, you'll get it in your head that something could be like it was. And nothing can ever be the same. Understand?"

"Nida, I..."

And then Nida was on his feet, waving towards something out of Squall's line of sight. The younger man turned to see Irvine and Zell rushing over in their direction.

"How?"

"I called Zell when I caught sight of you. Now, come and greet your boyfriend. He looks anxious."

No sooner was Squall on his feet, than Irvine had Squall caught up in a tight hug.

"What the fuck was that? Running off like that? You don't know this place, you could have gotten hurt."

"I'm not a kid," Squall grumbled, pushing Irvine away from him.

"Thank you, Tetsuya, for your help," Zell said, panting slightly. "Sorry this all happened."

"It is no problem, of course," Nida said, his voice getting distant and almost formal to the point of being painful for Squall. "I must insist that you return with me though. All of you look as if you could stand to have something relaxing to drink, and I do believe Kiros will be rather cross with me if I allow you to get away without a cup of his favored tea."

"Hey, are you okay?" Irvine asked, looking towards Nida, and Squall winced when he realized the older man was already developing a bruise.

"Quite fine," 'Tetsuya' chuckled, "I accidentally caught our quarry off guard, and received a wonderful reward for it. This will teach me to catch people in such a state in the future. Now, shall we return, before Kiros calls to nag me to death?"

Irvine chuckled nervously, and Zell agreed wholeheartedly. Only Squall was left with a bad feeling as he followed the trio back towards Nida's store, unsure what to do about this whole situation.

------

"What was all of that about?" Kiros asked after the group had left after three whole pots of tea and many cheerful conversations due to Zell.

"What was what about?" Nida asked, carefully cleaning out one of the small, handle-less tea cups that had been used for the drinking.

"You know exactly what I mean," Kiros said, leaning against the counter of the back room, a dish towel held in his hand as if he intended to smack Nida with it. "Why did that Squall kid call you a bastard? And the whole time he was here after you found him, he was a bit tense. So spill it or I knock you on your damn ass, Nida."

Nida chuckled and continued about his task. Leave it to Kiros, normally so diplomatic and polite, to get right to the heart of things when he wanted information he felt privy to.

"He was the one Rei was using against me. He saw me, recognized me easier than I would have expected, and flipped. After all, I have been dead all of this time."

Kiros rolled his eyes and set to drying the cup as Nida set it aside. "Right. More complications to the whole situation. We could really use the old bait around when we're hunting the beast. Except, you know, the complications involved."

"Do not worry," Nida said, becoming totally serious as he set about cleaning the teapot. "Squall doesn't know why I'm here, or what our purpose is. And in three days, Irvine will be returning him to the east coast. After that, we'll set about luring Rei out of hiding. We know he's here. All we've got to do is find him."

"You still sure you want involved in this?"

For a moment Nida hesitated. This was the only time in the three and a half years that they had known each other that Kiros had ever offered him a way to back out of the situation. Of course, the moment passed quickly, and Nida nodded, patting the place just inside the loose folds of his kimono where the now familiar weight of the gun waited.

"More now than I ever was sure in the past."

"Alive or dead?"

"For a man like him?" Nida was honestly surprised that Kiros had to ask after all of this time.

"He is still human, and there is still the court system."

"True on the latter only, and they can't handle something quite like him at full strength. No, I'll go with the same answer now as I did when I sought you out in the first place. Breathing is all he needs to be when we hand him over to the cops. Half-way between alive and dead is probably the best bet. But closer to the latter than the former, considering it didn't slow him down last time."

"Then it's set," Kiros agreed, pushing away from the counter. "You know, with how long this job is taking, it's going to cost you a lot more than the old price."

"To see Rei Yamamoto caught, bloody, and set for death, I don't care what price I have to pay," Nida admitted. "Besides, I'm more than willing to pay for the best. Like I said, I sought you specifically."

Kiros chuckled and reached across Nida's chest to turn off the water, at the same time a mischievous smirk coming to play on his lips.

"Flattery, as you well know, will get you everywhere Nida."

"Tetsuya," Nida corrected.

"Whatever," Kiros said before pulling a more than willing Nida into a kiss.

After all, Nida was more than willing to pay whatever price was asked to be rid of Rei. Didn't hurt that the price was something so pleasant either, even if it wasn't Squall.