Ienzo
Summary: Ienzo's story, from when he was a child to when Radiant Garden was taken by the Heartless. A story of betrayal, friendship, love, adventure and tragedy. Eventual Ienzo x Lumaria (MaruZeku!) And others.
Thanks for the reviews! Love you all :)
Disclaimer: Square Enix owns Kingdom Hearts, along with Disney.
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With a scratch of his head the child glared at the fork in the path ahead of him. Two choices, left or right? How was he supposed to choose? This was not like the paths in the garden…you could choose any path you wanted and eventually you'd end up back at the manor…but here…it was different. He had no idea where either of them went.
With a decisive nod, he went right. To hell with the left path. It could 'die and freeze' as Lerryn said. He wondered where his sister was, but he had a funny feeling he wouldn't be seeing her for a while.
With a sigh, he began to walk again, feeling exhausted already, but knowing that sleep wouldn't get him anywhere.
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Ten-year-old Ienzo sat idly on the wall in front of the academy, a frown on his face. He swung his legs, kicking his heels against the lemony coloured bricks. A few of the students waved at him as they left the school, their extra-curricular clubs having ended. So…he'd been waiting almost an hour, then.
Fantastic. The frown deepened, but within moments, the two boys he'd been waiting for came sprinting around the corner.
Lumaria skidded to a halt in front of him, dragging a sorry-looking Edym behind him. The green haired boy's face was red and blotchy, and Ienzo hopped down off the wall, turning to the twelve-year-old.
"What did you do this time, Edym?"
Edym just sniffed, but Lumaria answered his question for him. "Silly idiot only went and fell off the roof of the play park. I had to take him to the hospital in case he'd broken something…"
"I didn't do it on purpose!" The smaller of the two stomped his foot, and Lumaria laughed. "You're such a dork, Ed…"
"Leave him alone, Lu…" Ienzo murmured, but he was smiling. The three boys wandered down the high street, chatting idly, the sun beginning to set behind them, casting long shadows. People hailed them, and at one point an older girl walked with them, talking to Edym, until she left to find her boyfriend. Then, Edym brought up the topic they'd all been avoiding for the past week.
"So…Lu…when do you have to leave?" Ienzo flinched and looked at Lumaria. His best friend, the first person who'd been nice to him without having to be, was leaving soon. His six months of living here were just about over, and he'd have to go back to school in some other place.
The brunet avoided his gaze. "A few days…" he mumbled. Ienzo's heart sank. In a week, Edym would go back to school too, and whilst he'd still be here, he wouldn't be able to pick him up from school. Despite the black-haired boy's fervent denial of the fact that he absolutely did not need to be babied, he actually quite liked it when Lumaria, plus Edym if he was on school holidays, picked him up. He liked the attention he got from his school friends for having older friends outside of the academy. He laughed inwardly. That made him sound so arrogant. Oh well. He was arrogant.
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Seven o clock found him sat on his bed, having been dropped off at the Home half an hour previously, half an hour after his curfew of six. He'd been subsequently grounded for the next week, something he was absolutely furious about. He'd be missing Lumaria's last few days in Radiant Garden, and he'd cried, kicked, screamed and pleaded, generally behaving like a six year old. So, now, he was not only grounded, he was confined to his room. The worst thing was, he was highly embarrassed. At least he didn't have a room-mate to bug him. Once they hit ten, they were allowed their own rooms.
Thank the gods for that.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He wasn't supposed to have it, but Lu's cousin had bought one for him as a goodbye present when she'd left to attend some college last year, insisting that she didn't mind as long as he kept it secret. He wasn't stupid. If someone here found it on him it would be confiscated. Kids under twelve weren't allowed a phone. He pulled it out, knowing who it was from already. It wasn't like he had many contacts.
hope we dint get u in trouble! xx
Ienzo rolled his eyes. They knew he'd be in trouble when they'd dropped him off…he glanced up, listening for footsteps, before typing out a reply.
I'm grounded for a week.
He left off any sort of friendly addition, since he was definitely cross with them. They'd had fun though, Lumaria had bought them all ice cream from the corner shop, and he hadn't been able to come back to the Home with it. It didn't matter in the end, either way he'd have been grounded…Ienzo sighed. Crap Children's Home, with its crap rules, its crap food and its crap care-workers. Now there was an irony. Care-workers. Yes, they cared…about their pay checks…
The phone buzzed again. With a slight smile, he picked it up again.
ouch! sorry…ur still coming out with us tomorrow, right? xx
Ienzo rolled his eyes. What part of grounded didn't Lu get? Not that it mattered. They'd been planning on going to the beach with Chi, who'd promised to drive them, since it wasn't a school day. Lea and Relena, Relena's younger sister Ali, and Linnet were all going, too, so Ienzo wouldn't even be the youngest for a change. With a frown he typed his reply.
Not supposed to, but I think I can get away. See you at ten…x
This time, he deigned to put the little 'x' on the end, just because Lu was endearing. He received a reply straight away, but he knew exactly what it would say, so he left it, returning the phone to his pocket.
He was halfway through his mathematics homework when there was a knock on the door. He growled an irritable "What?"
"It's me, Ienzo, honey…I've brought you dinner, since you missed it…"
"Come in, Ness, the door isn't locked…" The big woman squeezed through the door. It was always awkward, since the boy had positioned his furniture differently, meaning the door only opened part way. He'd be told off for it when someone other than her checked on him, eventually. Little pest. She put a plate of chicken nuggets and chips on his desk. "Chips are salted and I left off the veggies, cause…well it's not like you'd eat them anyway."
"Thanks, Ness!" Gratefully Ienzo accepted the plate and began eating with gusto. He was starving, since he'd been sent to his room before dinner had been served. Abandoning his work, he grinned at her.
As she watched him fondly, Ness let her mind wander. She didn't know why she was so attached to this specific child. He was bitter, and sarcastic, and definitely had a nasty temper. Although, he'd gotten much better since being accepted to that academy…he'd made friends, something he'd never wanted, nor seemed to need before. The older boys, the apprentices, looked after him with gentle affection, and he'd even made some other friends, although she wasn't sure she liked the tall brunet boy with the intelligent eyes or the boy with the wild green hair that always seemed to be hyperactive. She knew that, when Ienzo went with them, he always ended up in trouble. Still, if he liked them, and they liked him, then her opinion didn't matter. At least he was having fun, something every child should be allowed to do.
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It was early…so early that the sun wasn't fully up, yet. But if Ienzo had any hope of escaping without anyone catching him, he needed to be out before the shift changed and the night monitor was replaced by three care-workers. He knew from experience that there was a camera in the stairwell, and, however dozy the night monitor was, they wouldn't miss movement this early. So…he had to avoid the stairs.
It didn't matter. He didn't need the stairs.
He crept towards the room at the back of the corridor. It was painted black and had a poster of a handsome gothic man in a trench-coat on it. Normally, anything left on the outside of a door would be defaced, but the warning on the door was frank and to the point. The girl who lived here was the oldest in the home, and she was one of the scariest people Ienzo had ever met. He looked at the sign appreciatively.
If you touch my stuff, or go in my room, I'll murder you in your sleep. Faylinn xx
Underneath, bizarrely, was a smiling face, yellow and bright on the black card the message was on. None of the kids doubted her words. Idiots.
He slid into her room, which was dark, black curtains drawn over the window that otherwise might have let some light in. Ienzo knew that Faylinn kept her room immaculate, so he had no problem navigating his way towards the window.
Until she flicked the light on. Ienzo froze and turned to face her, a sheepish grin on his face. She was sat up in her double bed, the black covers drawn up to her waist. Her arms were slung across her knees and she wore a serene smirk. "Normally I wouldn't mind guys walking in here unannounced when it's dark…but I'm afraid you're a little short for me…"
"And you're too ugly for me." Ienzo retorted. They grinned at each other, having traded the usual insults. Ienzo bit his lip. "You gonna tell on me?" Faylinn nearly always caught him creeping through her room. The first time he'd tried, she freaked and started throwing things, until he started shouting right back. She'd been tickled by that, and had consequently tolerated the younger boy. Sometimes, if she was in a bad mood, she reported him and he got grounded. Which inevitably led to more night-time excursions.
"Hmm...depends. What you sneaking out for?" She grinned ferally at him, her blood red pyjama top making her dark irises even darker.
"Well…Lu got me grounded but it's his last week at Radiant…and we're going to the beach later. I don't want to miss it…"
"That Lumaria boy? I see…I'll let you off then. Only because I used to hang out with his cousin."
Ienzo thanked whatever God was listening that Radiant Garden was a fairly small community.
"Now begone, small annoying. I need beauty sleep."
"Lots of it." Ienzo shot back immediately as he disappeared out of her bedroom window, clambering out into the branches of the oak tree that was conveniently next to it.
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Well now. There's another chapter for y'all. I liked writing this, and I loved Faylinn. She was a spur of the moment addition, and I'm glad I went with it. SO MANY OC's in this story now….oh well. I don't expect she'll reappear again, except in passing. She isn't a relevant character. She sort of reminds me of me.
Next chapter on its way :)
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