Final Kingdom

Chapter 12: Recuperating.

He was really worried. This had never happened before. If she didn't wake up, what was he going to do?

'This is all my fault.' Dustin thought, sitting at her side as he had for the last week and a half.

People had come and go almost the whole time, but for the last couple of days, they had left them alone. He was glad, but he wished she would hurry and wake up.

"I had hoped that when we got to see each other again, then it would be with both of us conscious. But I guess now that won't happen for awhile." Dustin said, talking to her still form. "You just better not die on me."

When he said this, she moved. It was very slight, but it was more than she had done the whole time.

"Can you hear me?" Dustin asked, leaning forward and grabbing her hand. "Can you… understand me?"

This time she didn't respond, but behind him Dustin heard someone cough.

"Is she doing any better?" Aeris asked, holding her bag over her shoulder.

"I think so, but maybe it's just wishful thinking." Dustin said, not facing her. He couldn't. He still had his pride and there were tears in his eyes.

"I wish we could stay longer, but Cloud and Reno found our way home. Apparently it should stay there, but we don't dare travel it very much. We don't know when it will close up." She said, setting down her bag and walking over to bid Kaori a farewell.

She gently kissed her cheek, and Dustin's as well, and turned to leave. Everyone else had already said goodbye, but she wasn't going to, then heard him right before she left.

"Well, if you're ever in New York, look us up." Dustin said, standing up to leave for a minute.

He walked outside and watched them all leave, and went back inside and got some cold water, and went back to Kaori's side.

"You talk too much, you know that, don't you?" Kaori asked, her eyes still closed, and it sounded like she was struggling to say that much, but it made Dustin's heart soar.

"Are you back with me now?" Dustin asked, trying to accept it if it was all just a dream of his.

"I think so." Kaori said, then opened her eyes and looked at him. Her look was a little sad. "You don't really think that I would leave you willingly, do you?"

Dustin leaned forward and buried his face in her hair. "No. But I thought hearing that would bring you back faster."

"I've been around for a couple hours, but I wanted to sleep. And you kept interrupting it with your talking." Kaori said, turning her head towards him, since she could hardly move and couldn't put her arms around him.

"I'm so sorry Kaori. I didn't mean to. I tried to get you to leave so you wouldn't get hurt, but you were so stubborn. I tried to stop, so many times, and to take control again, but she found me soon after I found leads on how to find you." Dustin said, and Kaori could feel tears on her skin from him.

"It's not your fault. You did your best, but the reason I never left was I couldn't. I remember you, but I have amnesia, and it's been really hard. I've been trying to remember everything, but I'm thankful that I told so many other people a lot of what happened before, or names even, because then they were able to help me. But I also still remembered so much about you. Not always. I forgot everything about you at first, and you kept coming to me in dreams, but I knew that you were special to me, and I had to do all I could to get you back." Kaori said, pulling back from him so she could look into his face.

Dustin smiled at her, pulling her in for another hug. "Well then, I'll have to refresh your memory. We were born on the nineteenth day of august, 1990. Our parents' names are Virginia and Wolf. We both are half wolf, though mom and dad can't figure out how that works, since mom is human and dad is only half wolf, like us." Dustin went on to explain everything else, how they grew up, how Kaori found the mirror, and how she went through, how Dustin left shortly before that, and came back to help her.

By then end of his recounting history she was crying. When Dustin realized it he quickly wiped her tears. "Hey… don't cry… you may not remember, but I hate seeing you cry…" Dusting said quietly, cleaning off her face. Remembering something, he reached into his pocket. "I brought you something. This used to be one of our most prized-though shared-possessions." He handed her a broken locket, and when she opened it, it held a picture of her parents together, and a picture of her and Dustin together. She sat looking at it for a minute more, and started crying again.

"What's wrong?" Dusting asked, grabbing her in a hug again. He had always had a strong sense of protection over her. When he had seen her crying, it had always made him want to cry with her. Though maybe that was just because they were twins.

"I remember when this was taken. I remember mom and dad…" Kaori said between breaths. She sat in his arms a minute longer, then unable to contain her excitement any longer, stood up to find Yuna. She staggered for a minute, and felt like she would fall. Someone caught her, strong arms, but when she looked up, expecting to find Dustin, she found a face she didn't recognize.

After she found her voice, she quickly looked to Dustin, pleading for help with her eyes. She looked back at the stranger when she was in Dustin's arms again. "Thank you." She wanted to ask who he was, or what he was doing here, but decided against it.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concern on his face. Kaori could see him struggling, though she couldn't figure out why, or what he was struggling with. When he quickly looked at Dustin, then back to her, she realized he was trying to figure out who they were to each other.

"Yes, thank you. I'm Kaori. This is my brother, Dustin." Kaori said, struggling to stand up on her own, and when she gained her balance, to step away from Dustin, but he held on tight.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is A.J." He said, bowing down like Kaori suddenly remembered someone doing in a movie she had watched once.

"Who are you?" Dustin asked, a stern look on his face. Kaori looked at him in surprise. He was using a voice she hadn't thought he capable of. Almost mean.

"I just told you. I'm A.J." A.J. said, bafflement in his voice.

"No. I mean, what are you doing here? How do you know the owners of this house?" Dusting asked again, stepping in front of Kaori.

Kaori could tell that he didn't like this guy, but she also didn't want him acting like this.

"Dustin. What's going on with you?" Kaori asked, trying to step around him, but being stopped again.

"I think the lady wants to be let go." A.J. said, his face clouding over.

"What going on in here?" Cloud asked, coming into the room and up to all of them.

Kaori spoke up first. "These two are being idiots. Dustin's gone all possessive, and A.J. is trying to be nice, though I understand Dustin is making it hard."

Dustin looked at Kaori quickly, the mean look leaving his face when he looked at her, but she saw that for a split minute when he looked back at A.J. the look was back. When he looked back at her, he tried to evaluate what she wanted, and quickly stormed out of the room.

Kaori looked after him, knowing that she had hurt him, and tried to walk after him, only to find herself falling again.

'It seems I haven't quite healed as much as I thought. Though what there is to heal from I have no idea. The only thing that's changed is Dustin coming back. No big deal.' Kaori thought, once again being caught by A.J.

"Thank you." Kaori said somewhat distantly, still looking after Dustin.

"My presence has caused you distress. I shall take my leave." A.J. said, motioning to Cloud to take her so she could still stand.

"No." Kaori said quickly. She didn't know why, but she didn't want him to leave. She did want to find out what was going on with Dustin, but she should be able to find that out quickly.

A.J. looked at her for a minute, then led her to the doorway. "It seems you want to find your brother. I shall help you, then find my sister."

Kaori strapped on her sword and guns, so if there was a fight, she could help. She may not be much help right now but with her determination she could still help.

He led her outside, where they were able to see up on the hill leading out of the village Dustin and someone Kaori didn't recognize.

"I suppose that's your sister?" Kaori asked, nodding towards them.

"Yes." A.J. said, puzzlement in his voice. "She usually doesn't go near people she doesn't know unless you drag her. Mother gets so frustrated with her."

"I can understand that. I… think I used to be the same way… I'm not quite sure…" Kaori said, looking after them.

"How… how can you not be sure about something in your own life?" A.J. asked, looking more confused than she had ever seen him, and more cute as well.

"I summoned my very first Aeon and was surprised at the size, even though I had seen a few before. I jumped back, thinking that it would land on me, and fell over a rock and hit my head hard. After that… I hardly even remembered where I was, or anything that I had done before.

"Then Dustin came along and was controlled by the Witch. She made him attack me and it nearly killed me. As it was, it put me in a coma for several weeks, and after that the doctors said I wouldn't be able to move again. I was paralyzed. But I started coming out of it. I had lost all my ability to fight, or summon, but since then I've reacquired that strength and have used it as much as possible.

"You wouldn't believe all that I went through, but I can remember now that my father always said that I had my mothers determination, and his will to do either what had to be done, or what I wanted done. I guess… without it… I would still be paralyzed and wouldn't have Dustin back." Kaori explained, sitting on a rock.

A.J. sat through it all, hardly moving. She seemed so young and innocent, and here she had gone through more than he or his entire family had ever gone through.

"I don't even belong in this world." Kaori said, half to herself.

A.J. nearly jumped away from her, he was in such deep thought, he had forgotten she was there.

"Well. Lets go get them." Kaori said, standing up.