The next day was as though nothing had happened, Xehanort had Vanitas and Ventus fight each other before breakfast and Ventus won like it was nothing as usual. But Vanitas was determined to get stronger, he skipped breakfast (which he had never actually gotten around to eating his dinner last night either, and summoned the unversed for a bit more practice instead. He turned on some 3 Days Grace to fight too and went to town on some Bruisers for a little over an hour before collapsing in the sand to catch his breath. When he opened his eyes again Ventus was standing over him, looking concerned.
"You didn't eat breakfast, Vani..." He trailed off, looking down at his other half.
"Don't call me Vani, I'm not your friend," Vanitas growled half-heartedly as he stood up and brushed himself off, "How is it that when you were surrounded by all these unversed you failed and split into two entities, yet I can fight them but can't fight you?"
"I dunno," Ventus shrugged, "Maybe I'm just better at fighting single enemies than you and your better at fighting groups. I'm only one enemy so when we fight you use the wrong tactics."
It actually made a lot of sense, Vanitas always fought as large a group of Unversed as he could, getting the strongest minions he could and summoning as many as possible so he could practice dodging, blocking, and attacking from every angle. But he never focused on just one to move around that Unversed in particular, so all of his moves were based on defense and counter, instead of offense. Therefore he could only beat Ventus by defending and countering and outlasting him, which obviously wasn't going so well.
"I could train with you, if you like," Ventus cut off Vanitas' train of thought.
"You would help me figure out how to kill you?" Vanillas looked at him with a glare that said 'surely even you aren't that stupid.'
"I would if it made you happy... your part of me, right? So if your hurt, then I'm really just hurting a part of myself. How can I truly be happy when you're not?"
Vanitas had never thought of it that way. Would killing Ventus hurt him? No, if they were that connected, Vanitas should feel happy when Ventus did, and Vanitas was never happy. He was always angry, jealous, or sad. They were indeed two sides of the same coin, but they weren't so connected that they should cross to the other side and change each other. Ven just felt sympathy because that's what good guys felt, people who are happy sympathize for those who aren't, and people who aren't happy envy those who are. It was just balance. With that thought in mind, Vanitas just shook his head.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, not that you need help sleeping in that comfy bed of yours."
Ventus looked hurt, "You know, it's not my fault you sleep in the basement! If you didn't always rebel against the Master, he would let you sleep upstairs too! You're always being mean and rebellious and he told me you sleep downstairs because he's scared you'll try to kill us in our sleep! You never come to dinner with us and Master puts all that work into making a nice little dinner to send down to you in your room and warms it up for you and you don't ever even say thank you! Maybe if you would stop victimizing yourself-"
WHAM! Vanitas punched Ventus in the mouth, how dare he suggest that Vanitas chose to be treated this way! Vanitas wasn't allowed at the dinner table, he was never given the chance to sleep upstairs, and maybe he did mouth off a lot, but Xehanort would NEVER be afraid of a weak child like him! God! He was just so full of rage he couldn't even process everything that had pissed him off in that moment, he punched Ventus again and again although after a moment of recovery Ventus was blocking every single one.
Then the pain came, Ventus had started hitting back and busted Vani's eyebrow. Vanitas felt the blood run down the side of his face and practically roared as he tackled Ventus to the ground, pinning him and punching the shit out of him. Though really to anyone standing a couple feet away, all this drama was really just a petty sibling fight.
Ventus kicked Vanitas off and tried to stand up, but Vanitas jumped to his feet and grabbed Ventus' wrist so hard both thought it might break, he dragged his other half violently towards the castle, not caring that Ventus was tripping and stumbling along as he went. He dragged him inside and down the stairs to his room, throwing him inside and locking the door as he entered.
"Oh yeah! Master loves me soooo much!" He yelled as he picked up the foil wrapped plate in the corner, "He puts so much work into making me dinner because I'm an evil apprentice who refuses to eat with you guys!" He ripped the foil off to reveal some stale crackers and a raw fish head. "Yeah this took so much work to make! It's the scraps of your dinner along with the crackers neither of you wanted! This is what I eat every fucking day you dumb shit!"
Ventus looked at the plate in horror, "Where's the rest of it?"
"THERE IS NO REST OF IT!" Vanitas threw the plate at Ventus' head, "THAT'S ALL I GET EVERY DAY! CHICKEN BONES AND FISH HEADS AND THE MILK AFTER IT'S GONE BAD! THAT'S IT!"
Ventus flinched and looked at the food now on the floor, "No... No I've seen him prepare a nice meal and cover it in foil, then he puts it in the oven to warm it and gives it to me to bring down or brings it down himself..."
"Yeah well he probably makes himself a freaking snack then sends me his garbage because this is all I get!" Vanitas growled.
Ventus' eyes snapped back up, "Well you shouldn't expect a great meal to just be delivered. I have to clean and set the table and help cook sometimes, you just fight unversed then lock yourself down here! You could at least come to the table and have what we're having! Maybe wash the dishes afterwards!"
Vanitas grabbed his collar and lifted him up only to shove him into the wall, nose to nose.
"This is how Xehanort held me when he told me the first day I was alive, he told me that if I ever went upstairs without him specifically inviting me that he would wring my neck and eat me for dinner!"
Ventus looked frightened, and Vanitas knew he should stop, that he had had the same look in his eyes a dozen times before when Xehanort had held him to the wall and yelled at him and beat him just like this. But there was a sick satisfaction from seeing the smug happy face look the way HE felt for once, and he felt powerful being the one reducing Ventus to this fearful state instead of being the one afraid.
"Every time you tell Master about us fighting and he comes to "talk to me" or whatever the hell he tells you to give you a sense of justice, this is what he does! He pins me up here and yells at me and beats me!"
Now Ventus was crying. Big, sloppy, wet tears were rolling down his cheeks as he sobbed, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I didn't mean-" But Vanitas cut him off again.
"What?! You didn't mean what?! You didn't mean to imply that I like it down here?! That I enjoy being in my own filth all day?! That I don't want to be loved like you are?!" And suddenly Vanitas was crying angry tears too, "You don't think I see him train you? He corrects your stances and shows you moves and gives you pointers! And then he expects me to beat you?! I have nothing but what you learned before we split and a bunch of unversed to practice on! I want him to treat me like his actual student like you! But he won't! Because he hates me!"
At some point Vanitas had let go of Ventus' shirt and was slowly backing up, curling down into a fetal position.
"He makes you meals and teaches you how to read and he watches movies with you on the couch and holds you to his shoulder! When you cry he defends you and comforts you and what about me huh? If I cry he says I'm weak! He beats me until I stop crying and tells me to be stronger! I've never watched a movie at all! He's never patted my back let alone held me! You think I don't want a hug every now and then!"
Vanitas was curled up now, sobbing into his knees so that Ventus couldn't even really understand what he was saying anymore. But despite the fear that had filled him only seconds prior, Ventus now just felt sorry for Vanitas, who had never known love just like Ventus had never known pain or fear until now. Well today was a day of firsts, so he stooped down and held Vanitas' head to his chest.
"It's okay..." He whispered, stroking the black spikes, "I love you... even if Master doesn't... and I'll teach you everything he taught me... and... and... we can run away... we'll run away where he can never hurt you again," Ventus stumbled through the sentence, not sure what else to say to a crying person, he wasn't used to being the comforter; but he knew Vanitas needed it and he really did want Vanitas to be happy.
"R-really?" Vanitas looked up at Ventus, seeing him in a whole new light. He wasn't just a naive brat that wanted the world to be a good place, he really was a heroic figure who would give up his own comfortable life to make the world a good place.
"Yeah really... as soon as we get the chance, we'll run away..." Ventus continued to comfort Vanitas and hold the crying boy to his chest. Little did either of them know this was the last time they would see each other for very long time.
A/N: Poor Vanitas, he just wants to be treated like a decent human being... and Ventus is just a sweet little baby. I always loved how he never gave up on Terra, so that's how I wanted him to be with Vanitas. But all this happened before Birth By Sleep so the next section will be moving into the realm of the game. Stay tuned as I am bored and will probably write more before the day is out... no promises though.
