Final Kingdom

Chapter 10: Explanation.

As she thought through what she was going to say, everyone else at the table with her waited patiently.

"I suppose I had better start. This may take some time." Kaori started, looking down at her plate, trying to figure out how she could make everything understandable and yet take out a lot of the problems so she wouldn't throw all her troubles on them.

"I have had to be told some things, since I don't remember. When I was almost ten, I apparently found a magic mirror in my parents closet." Kaori said, pausing. "I somehow found out how to turn it on, and when I did, I was very stupid and touched it. It kind of sucked me through and next thing I know, I'm falling from the sky onto Yuna."

She took a bite of her food, and tried to gather thoughts for the next part, taking out bits and pieces.

"I started forgetting things very easily, like what my family looked like, and where I was from. Then I started getting the idea to become a Summoner. But along with becoming a Summoner, I started learning how to use black magic, white magic, sword techniques, even attacks from Wakka and Kimahri." She took another bite and finally looked up. No one was eating, just listening, though Rude was trying to look like he was eating, but he hadn't touched his food.

"I first received the Magus Sisters for Aeons. When I first summoned them, I thought that someone bad would happen to me, so I jumped back, and tripped and…I lost my memory." Kaori said, her voice getting very soft. "I woke up, and it was like I had lived her my whole life. No one could understand it. I knew exactly where all the Aeons were, and where we were going next. I even knew more spells than I recently had, simply because I thought I had lived here the duration of my life."

"So you still don't remember anything from your home?" Aeris asked, a sympathetic look on her face.

"No. Nothing more than has been told me." Kaori said, her voice barely audible. "It used to be that when I would dream about my brother, we would apparently talk to each other, since I always told someone about it, but now, I hardly even see him anymore. We came here because there was a chance that he might be here, but I haven't seen him anywhere, and also because we were told that the witch might be here.

"Then one night while I was sleeping, I saw all of you, and you were saying how you didn't know how you got here or where 'here' was. I paid close attention to the surroundings, so I could find you. When I woke up in the inn, I had forgotten about all of you, because Yuna told me more about what I had once told her about my brother, which took a very long time. Afterwards, I was really tired again, so I went to sleep, and saw him again, along with all of you. Soon I woke up again and decided that I had better hurry to find you before you left that spot.

"Yuna came with me, and after some searching we found you, in a manner of speaking. And you know what's happened since then." Kaori said, cutting the story as short as she could.

"How did you get here, other than through a mirror?" Tifa asked, not quite understanding everything she had said.

"I don't know. I apparently used to tell Yuna some of the stories that my mother told me, so I'll see if that explains it a bit for you." Kaori said, trying to think which one to start with.

"My mother used to tell me that there was once a girl that her mother had left, and her father didn't always know what to do, so even though she was so young, she was left to remember everything and do pretty much everything. Then one day she found a dog that seemed to understand her, and it knocked over a barrel of flour, and with its paw wrote danger in the flour.

"After that, she met a man she thought very weird, but in order to stay alive, she and her father had to go somewhere so she could stay away from that man, and her father, thought to have robbed a bank, from the police.

"The girls father when he learned about the dog, wished to be able to understand it, and the dog started talking to him. His daughter didn't believe him, but decided to go along with his game, and followed him and the dog to a shimmery spot in a forest.

"The dog jumped into the spot, and the father and daughter followed, not sure what they were doing. When they came out at the other end, it seemed to be a basement junk pile.

"During all of their journey, the girl found that the weird man was a wolf, and that she had started to love him. As the story progresses he saves her many times, and at the end, the girl finds out her mother is an evil witch, and for some time, doesn't remember her. The wolf proposes to the girl, and they go back to her world." Kaori finished, and started eating her food.

"That's really all I remember, but I had better get back to Yuna, just in case they need something." Kaori said, standing up and cleaning her spot.

"I'll take care of it." Reno said, grabbing Kaori's plate and his own, along with anyone else's that were done.

"Thank you." Kaori said, turning around and running off, embarrassed slightly but still wanting to get back to Yuna.

"She's a bit weird, but nice still." Tifa said, looking after her.

"Maybe most people in this world are. We don't know, so we shouldn't judge. Lets take care of this stuff, and go back and see how their doing, and see if we can get any answers about where we are, and how we got here." Reno said, picking up as many plates as he could, and taking them to the tray.

"Maybe we got here like she did. Through a mirror!" Tifa said, jumping up and running towards the door to see if Kaori was still visible. She wasn't.

Kaori's POV.

'Why is it that every time some guy does something nice for me, I have to get all nutso, and freak out?' Kaori thought, running into the room where Yuna was sleeping with her new baby girl.

Tidus was sitting in a chair, looking at both of them, and when she walked in looked up and smiled at her.

"Is there a name yet?" Kaori asked, walking up to the baby quietly.

"Leonita." Tidus said, taking her in his arms.

"She's so cute. Is Yuna doing okay?" Kaori asked, looking at the baby in Tidus' arms.

"Of course I am. I'm tough." Yuna said, startling them both.

"You did good." Kaori said, smiling at her, and looking back at Leonita. "She's so tiny!"

"It's a good thing to. She was painful enough." Yuna said, and then realized the look on Kaori's face.

Kaori was sitting there, wondering if she would ever be able to find someone she wanted to be with, and wondering if she would ever have any children.

"Do you want to hold her?" Yuna asked, motioning to Tidus to hand Leonita to Kaori.

"Can I?" Leonita asked, though a scared look was on her face.

"Of course." Yuna said, smiling when she realized she was probably scared she would drop her, or hold her too tight.

"Ooh! How cute!" Tifa said, running into the room and up to Kaori and Leonita.

"I want to thank you for your help today." Yuna said, looking over at all of them as they walked into the room.

"You look tired." Aeris pointed out, coming to sit next to her and act like a mother to Yuna. Yuna just smiled at her attempt to cool her down with a wet rag.

"So how many children do you have?" Cloud asked, looking at the bundle of blankets in Kaori's arms.

"Two." Tidus answered.

"Where's the other one?" Reno asked, looking at Kaori.

"Back home. We couldn't bring her with us." Tidus answered again, looking at everyone, trying to figure out what they were all doing here.

Kaori looked up in time to see Cloud and Reno both jab Rude in the ribs, she could only guess it was because he was so silent.

'I wonder…' Kaori thought, then looked at Yuna with a mischievous look in her eyes. Yuna caught her gaze, and without anything having to be said, seemed to realize what she was thinking.

"Rude, would you like to hold Leonita?" Yuna and Kaori both asked at the same time, each trying to either stop a smile or hide it one way or other.

"No." Rude said, barely having time to say it before Leonita was shoved into his arms. "Uh…"

Everyone in the room laughed, seeing how uncomfortable he was. When it seemed like he wouldn't hold her any longer, Aeris came over and made sure that he didn't just drop the baby then, and took Leonita from him.

Kaori looked at Leonita again, and realized that she looked a lot like the little girl in her dreams.

As Kaori watched, she also realized that they still didn't know anything about her brother.

"Yuna!" Kaori said, startling everyone, running towards the door. "I have to find Dustin!"

"Kaori! Wait! You shouldn't go by yourself!" Yuna called after her, though it was in vain.

"What's going on? Why does she have to find her brother?" Tifa asked, looking after her, standing next to Cloud.

"Because she has a feeling that something bad is going to happen to him, and she hasn't seen him in nearly a year. Also because she's had dreams where they talk." Yuna said, still looking after her.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Reno asked, not sure about her ability to take care of herself, though he felt that way about a lot of women.

"Oh sure. She's got her weapons, and she knows how to summon, but I'm not sure what she'll do if she does encounter the witch, however unlikely that is." Yuna said, sitting up and taking Leonita from Aeris.

"Witch?" Cloud asked, his interest now focused on Yuna.

"Yes. It's said that she brought back sin, along with trying to take over every world that was ever made." Tidus said, sitting next to Yuna.

"And no one is going after Kaori to make sure that she's okay, even if she does encounter the witch?" Tifa asked, starting for the door.

"There is also a parable. That the only way to beat her, is to get two strong spirits, twins, and two others that are willing to fight, and loose their lives, as well as seven from this world." Yuna said, her eyes watering from what else she knew, though was not going to say. "That's what makes me worry. That she's one of the ones that is supposed to die for the cause."

When Reno heard this, he hardly took any time to make sure he had his stick, and went after her. He was either going to help her find her brother, or help her if she found the witch.

"Reno!" Rude said after him, though he was ignored.

Kaori's POV.

She had to find him! She had to. She had searched for so long, and still hadn't, but now he was supposed to be here. Maybe this time she would find him.

Wait!

She stopped, hardly daring to breath. Was that him? Had she finally found him?

'It is him!' She started running again, this time tripping over herself to get to him as fast as possible. 'Maybe now I'll be able to get home, and learn what I still don't know'

"Dustin!" She screamed, almost to him now. He barely even acknowledged her, turning towards her, then away from her and walking again.

'What is going on? Has he lost his memory to? Can he not remember me?' The thought pierced her. 'No! It can't have happened. But then, why haven't I been seeing him in my dreams, like when I first got here, and up till a couple months ago?'

She didn't want to believe it, but she knew she had to face reality. Something wasn't right.

"Kaori! Stop!" She heard behind her. Reno? Why is he here?

"Dustin! You have to remember me! I've looked so long for you!" Kaori said, finally catching him.

He turned to look at her, though seeming to look through her.

"I don't have to do anything, except what my mistress tells me." Dustin said, casting a large spell that Kaori didn't even know existed.

The last thing she knew, her brother had disappeared.

Then there was darkness, with Reno's voice calling her back.

"Kaori!" Reno called, kneeling beside her. When he realized that she hardly knew him right now, he picked her up and took her back to the inn.

"Oh my goodness!" Yuna yelled when she saw Kaori being carried in. "What happened?" She got up off the bed, so Kaori could be set on it. She instead brought a chair over to the bed, so she could be there when she woke up.

"Her brother, I expect." Reno said, breathing hard, having run about three miles to catch her, and then carrying her back, running the whole way, as fast as he could.

"No…" Yuna said, realizing what this meant.

Her brother was under the control of the witch.

A/N. Sorry for having taken so long to put this up, but I've really been having trouble with this. Just a warning, the next chapter is going to skip several years into the future. Otherwise this story would never end. I hope you enjoyed it. Review!