I tried to write this chapter a couple of times, and had a bit of problems with all of them… The first one didn't work… The second chapter was on my school flash drive with my homework, which got stolen. I'm just going with the one that best suit's the rest of the fic, and hopefully, third time's the charm and the characters aren't too OOC. Going on a long camping trip didn't help in the late update of this, as I didn't have any time to edit it beforehand...

And of course, for the story the events in the plot change slightly to accompany the new changes. I find that the song theme for this chapter suits very well. Un Amico is Italian for 'A Friend'.

Themes are: Exitlude - the Killers; Some Other Time - Yoko Kanno (Ghost in the Shell OST), Un Amico - Ennio Morricone

x x x

Chapter 10: Un Amico

x x x

Eventually, the storm cleared away from the Legacy… The winds blew away, rain washed away the filth that it left behind, and the clouds had begun to disappear. And even though the damage was severe, outside the sun was shining, and heaven didn't seem that far away.

x x x

Outside, birds twittered happily in the trees, naive to the event that passed through the town not two days before. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of a large evergreen near a guest bedroom, shining directly onto the face of a snoozing girl. Her eyelids twitched and she made to move an arm over her eyes, when she rolled over and felt a fluffy feather-filled pillow against her cheek instead of her regular cotton one. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked down drowsily at the white pillowcase, then around the unfamiliar room. A small incoherent sound of bleary confusion came from her as she blinked slowly.

Memories of yesterday flooded Norma's mind, and she sat up quickly in panic as she remembered what had happened. "Wally!" She nearly yelled, her voice high-pitched as her frantic eyes searched her surroundings for a familiar blond. A huge wave of exhaustion hit her like a tram, making her head spin and expelling a groan from the girl.

The door opened and a girl walked in, her familiar flower headband holding back fair hair which caught the sunlight, making it shimmer. She walked over to Norma and held out an arm to push her back into bed, "Calm down Norma, lay down for a moment…"

"S-shirl?" Norma stuttered, laying back down and thoroughly startled by the girl's appearance. But… If she was here, then she heard her yell…?"

Shirley saw the frantic look in her eyes, and cast her gaze from Norma's face to the bed sheets. "It's fine, Norma… I already know."

The treasure hunter swallowed, eyes wide in a mixture of different emotions, "But… If you know then-? Where's-"

"Norma." Shirley interrupted with a stern tone in her voice, "You exhausted your mana; if you stay riled up then you'll pass out again. Calm down." Oddly enough, Norma seemed to quiet down, though the expressions running across her face were still reflecting all of the fears and concerns she was thinking about. Norma made to open her mouth and speak again, but Shirley shushed her, "Before you ask, only myself, Madam Musette and Jay know about Walter, so don't-"

This put a new wave of panic in her eyes, "What happened to him, is he ok-"Shirley pushed down the hysterical girl once more, "He's fine; he's asleep in the other bedroom, where Musette and I found you two days ago."

Norma looked outside the window, her expression now confused, "Wait, I've been asleep for two days?" As if to prove her point, a bird chirped a sweet melody as it flew past their window on tiny wings. "So the hurricane is over…"

"After leaving the Thunder Monument we couldn't come into the city with the storm happening, so we all stayed in the Oresoren village. I came back, and Musette called myself and Jay here. She found you both unconscious in the other room, and you're the first to have woken up." The blond explained, going through her mind at what her expression probably was when she saw Walter's still form on a bed, with Norma crumpled on the floor nearby.

Had the brunette been standing, she would have probably collapsed in relief. He was ok… Wally's still alive! She nearly giggled, for god's sake! Master Sven was probably laughing at her now, or trying to give her a pat on the back. Her eyes watered trying not to laugh, or were they tears of joy…?

Shirley looked towards the window, and found a chair to sit in, dragging it near the edge of the bed as she asked another question. "Norma…" She looked to the Ferines girl. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Her joyful expression disappeared, leaving one of guilt in it's place. "JJ didn't tell you…?"

"He said it would be best to hear it from you."

Norma looked down at the sheets her fingers were fingering nervously. JJ had kept his word about not telling anyone else… "It's… it's a long story." Norma quietly said.

Shirley looked over at the clock, "We're not going anywhere."

The brunette was silent for a while, then steeled herself and began her story.

x x x

Over the next few hours, Norma retold everything that had happened thus far where-ever Wally was involved. This time, she included just as many details as she had with Jay, besides that bomb that had resulted in their argument's end.

Shirley didn't say much during this time in terms of her, but was very curious about how different the male Ferines in the bedroom one room over seemed to be compared to her previous encounters. Though he treated her much differently than the Orerines citizens and even the other Ferines because she was the Merines, the point was still there.

Norma sighed when her story was finished, and looked down at the plushy comforter covering her legs.

Shirley over at her with a solemn expression. "Norma, why didn't you tell any of us? You know we could have helped you."

Norma's eyes shut in guilt, "Yeah, well… I didn't know what you guys would have thought about me harboring someone who's tried to kill us in the past. It isn't as bad for you since Wally was practically your bodyguard and wouldn't harm a hair on you."

Shirley nodded and a small smile lit her face, "Yes… But you know, I did the same thing when I was the Merines and tried to bring a second Cataclysm. Yet you have all stuck by me."

Norma looked up and gave her a smile, "Well, you're nice, Shirl. Just a bit shy, and quiet, but mostly nice. Wally… He's none of those things." Her smile grew larger as an image popped into her mind. "Plus he wouldn't look nearly as cool as you did in that dress."

Shirley blinked, and her cheeks grew red in trying to keep from laughing. "N-no… I don't think he would…" Norma burst into laughter at her facial expression, before the blond calmed down and continued. "Still, from what you've told me, Walter sounds… a lot more relaxed then he did, and more friendly too."

The brunette's smile gradually disappeared, "I wouldn't know about relaxed… He's been on edge since I found him a week and a half ago. Yeah, he doesn't act all high-and-mighty anymore, but he's still uptight whenever I start to pry."

"Not many people like others being nosy about their personal lives, Norma." Shirley stated.

"Yeah, well… Well…" Norma couldn't think of a proper rebuttal for that line. "…Well, ok. But still, he could stand to be a little more open with me!"

Shirley gave her a stern look. "Norma, not everyone is so open around other people as you. I'm sure you have a few secrets that you would like to keep to yourself."

Norma immediately thought of her teacher Sven in all of his goofy glory, and how she had reacted when she had heard about his passing a year and a half ago. Distraught wasn't even close to what she felt. "…Yeah, I guess you're right about that."

Shirley looked out the window nearby. "…Besides, even when I was at the village Walter didn't say a word about himself. He was always silent in those regards. Of course, I always thought it was stress-related, though I didn't think of those things much after Stella passed away."

Norma winced at the mention of her older sister, that radiant older girl who gave her life to save the capital city of Gadoria, and whom Senel had been in love with. She hesitantly looked up at the younger girl, "Speaking of which…"

Shirley gave Norma a smile, "Don't worry about me, Norma. I miss her… but I've also learned to let go of the past and start living my own life."

Norma let out a breath and grinned back at her, "I'm glad to hear it, Shirl!"

x x x

The two girls chatted with each other for a little while before they both heard a knock on the door downstairs. Rose, a shy and clumsy girl with glasses too large for her face, was the only maid of the household, and also the one who went to open the door. The door nearly blasted open from the person on the outside, and a loud voice boomed, "BUUUBBLES! WE'RE HEEERE!"

A quieter and more sarcastic-toned voice was nearly overwhelmed by the thudding footsteps of the other running up the staircase. "You stupid bandit: have you no respect or knowledge of common courtesy for others' homes?"

The footsteps thudded closer until a redhead blasted by the door, grabbed the edge of the doorway and stopped himself. He then pulled himself into the doorway and grinned wildly at the two girls, "Bubbles, you're awake!"

A shorter figure walked into the doorway behind Moses, his large violet eyes crinkling as he smiled at the brunette, "Good to see you awake, Norma."

Norma was about to say something, clear happiness on her face when the older redhead tackled her with a hug. "Ack! Little tight there, Red!" She gasped as the tanned arms withdrew.

"Sorry 'bout that." The redhead rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Jay rolled his eyes before turning his gaze onto Norma. "It's good to see that you're awake. How do you feel?"

Norma shrugged, "Tired, really. And antsy to get out of bed."

Jay nodded at her and turned to Shirley, "I take it she told you already?"

Shirley nodded, and Norma's jaw dropped, "You mean… you've all been in on this!"

"No, Shirley didn't know a thing about Walter. And I made sure that Moses would keep quiet about it as well, per our agreement." Jay responded.

Moses glared at the shinobi, "Hey! I may just be a bandit, but I'm a man of my word and I never go back on my promises!"

Norma seemed to grumble to herself quietly before she started to speak, "So only the four of us know about it?"

"No one else..." Jay responded.

"...Save for Madam Musette." Shirley added.

Norma let out a small breath she didn't know she had been holding, "Well goodie. So, what now?" She leaned back against the headboard covered with pillows as she stared at the ninja seriously.

"Now, we discuss what other events may have been missed from three days ago and so on." Jay started, and motioned for Shirley to start.

"Well, when you and Jay were not at the meeting, we waiting for a bit before continuing without you. Curtis and Isabella told us that they had stopped a fight in the park between two bandits, Geit and an unfamiliar blond man. When they had discovered the blond was really Walter, he ran away. We all went on to discuss why he may have been here, and also that the Village of the Ferines had alerted me about a possible Orerines intruder in their village earlier that day." Shirley said, then passed the figurative baton on to Moses to continue.

"Well, next day we all left after 'lil Harriett asked us to get a special drake for Will, so off we went to the lightning place in the Quiet Lands. We went and tried to catch the thing, but then a really big and black dragon came an' attacked us. We defeated it, but soon afterwards Will showed up and gave Harriett a big lecture an' we tried to leave. But a hurricane was goin' on when we got back up to the top level, so we took the duct to the Oresoren's village and stayed there for the night. 'Kay Jay, your turn." Moses rambled.

Jay spoke next. "We all returned to Werites Beacon, when Madam Musette called both Shirley and I to her home. She had found both you and Walter unconscious. While you were fine, he still had internal injuries, so Shirley healed him and we brought the others in the group to the house. Madam Musette told them about finding you unconscious in the upper room from where you was taking shelter the day before from the storm. She didn't say anything about Walter, but Will checked on you and concluded that you had collapsed from mana exhaustion, but from what he couldn't guess." He waited for Shirley to speak up next.

"Afterwards, we also heard about something happening at the Waterways from Will, about how the flora was beginning to wither because of the black mist, and we left to go there. We were separated, and found Will in a bottom room with black mist everywhere, and he was with… what seemed to be a copy of himself. It was a darker copy however: it looked darker, surrounded by black mist and it's skin was pure white. It seemed to be made up of just monochrome colors, and ended up attacking us. We defeated it, and the black mist in the area withdrew and disappeared. We returned, and that evening Will and Harriett made up."

"The next day, we all went about our business, and you had woken up." Shirley finished, playing with one of her braids.

"So the black mist problem is getting even worse?" Norma asked aloud. "Well that isn't good, but at least Hattie and Teach are getting along now."

"The black mist is a troubling problem… However, I have also heard rumors of dragons becoming more and more numerous in the areas around Port on Rage and the forests near the mountains." Jay commented.

"Sorry, but dragons sound pretty bad compared to mist at the moment…" Moses spoke up, a troubling expression on his face. "That dragon me and my boys fought a week ago was a lot stronger than the ones we fought before. I'm willin' to guess the others are just as strong."

"You're probably right." Norma said, wincing at the thought of how bad it would be if a dragon came into the city and attacked someone, especially if none of the Fun Bunch was around to help. "But then again, there are bandits in the city along with some leftover soldiers from the Holy Rexalian Empire. If something were to happen in the city we could fend off a dragon, right?"

"I'm not sure… It's possible that a single dragon could be fended off by the town's forces, but with the large amount that have been spotted, I have a feeling that if one were to attack the city, more would follow." Jay said, his brows stood up from the dresser he was leaning against.

"Well in that case, I'm gonna go get my boys battle ready in case an attack comes outta nowhere." Moses stated.

Jay gave the bandit a shocked look, "I'm surprised that you can come up good ideas, Moses. Did you hit your head this morning?"

"Ha. Ha. Ha. You're a funny guy, Jay. You may be smart but you ain't gettin' any taller-" Moses started sarcastically, about to ruffle the younger's boy's hair.

Jay jumped back and glared daggers at the redhead, "I'd rather be smart and short, then big and stupid!"

Moses shrugged, "Aww, now why'd ya have to say that, Jay? Now you're hurtin' my feelings!"

Norma and Shirley grinned, and the brunette cackled to herself, "Aww, they even bicker like siblings, don't they Shirl?" Shirley nodded, and the two girls laughed at the indignant expressions that both gave them (though Jay's held more horror).

"Do not!" The two said in unison. The laughing continued until the three visitors finally left, one to his caravan, one to the village full of Oresoren and the last to attend her duties as an ambassador of the Ferines.

x x x

Shortly after her friends left, Norma found herself very bored. Musette wasn't around, and Walter was still unconscious. Her only company would have been Rose, who was often busy cleaning up the messes she made when she was a bit more clumsy than usual when cleaning. Even if she wasn't, the girl was too shy for her own good, stumbled over her words, and was generally anti-social.

Frowning, she got up slowly, swaying and nearly falling over when she stood up. With her hand dragging along the wall, she walked into the library where she looked over the numerous amounts of books in the room. She looked around for something interesting before plucking a book off a shelf labeled fiction and plopped down into a plush chair. Opening the book, which looked well-worn, she began to read.

By early evening, she had devoured quite a bit of the story before looking up at the clock. It was almost 7:00, and her eyes were beginning to close. She was too tired to even eat anything. She set the book down on a table nearby and walked out of the room. She began to walk back towards her room, but stopped. She looked back towards the bedroom at the end of the hallway for a long moment, then sighed heavily to herself. She turned in place and walked the other way. She might as well check to see if it was awake.

x x x

It was pitch black outside, and the only light in the room was from the nearly-full moon filtering through the window, opened just slightly for fresh air to waft through the house. Books that had previously been strewn on the floor had been collected and were stacked neatly on a dresser nearby. Off to the side was a plush armchair, where a girl was slouched in deep sleep.

In the center of the room, a figure stirred in his sleep, tangled blond hair falling out of his closed eyes. A hand twitched, and he slowly murmured something under his breath as he rolled onto his side towards the window. A few minutes later, he sighed quietly in his sleep, and his eyes fluttered open.

The first thing that Walter was aware of when he first awoke was that it was nighttime, and he was in a room he didn't recognize. When he went to sit up, a lingering throb in his chest made him grimace and stop. That was the second point. Third, as his bleary eyed adapted to the night, he noticed a girl sleeping in a chair on the opposite side of the room. Her very slight snoring made her hair flutter in her face.

He blinked, and remembered all that had happened a few nights ago, but to him seemed like earlier that day. He remembered enough that he had punctured a lung because he tripped over a stack of books and his already broken ribs broke even more, stabbing him. ...He'll never be able to live down the idiocy of that life-threatening injury for the rest of his life.

He groaned at the memory and brought a hand to his hair, brushing it out of his eyes. What else…? He remembered little fragments for the rest of the evening's events. Him struggling to his feet and hobbling over to try and apologize to Norma while enlisting her help to heal his injury. Sliding against the door. Her red and teary eyes looking into his face with immense shock and worry. Helping him back to the other room. Then…

He said something. He couldn't remember what, but he knew he had said something to her before all of his senses shut down as he became unconscious. It was something important and probably damaged his 'jerkass' reputation or persona that he had adopted permanently, but it just wasn't coming to him.

Walter sighed softly, and looked over to the window. The cool breeze ran through the room before slipping through a small crack in the door to waft through the rest of the house. The fresh breeze was nice, but… It was getting cold in here. He shivered as the wind hit his bare chest, warm blankets absent. He tried to get up again, but his chest burned until he just gave up and settled into his sitting position. His head resting against the pillows, he looked over at the girl in the chair across from him.

The Ferines didn't speak to her to wake her up, as a normal person would. It was too late in the evening, and he didn't want to wake up the other occupants in the inn by doing so. Not to mention, odds were that it wouldn't wake her up. So he did the next best best thing.

He started throwing pillows at her.

Even if he was used to martial arts instead of using weapons, he still had good aim when it came to throwing objects, even if they were pillows. The first one hit her smack dab in the face, which made her flinch in her sleep and she curled tighter in the chair she was in. "Nnngh, no punching… Don' wanna pillow fight… Zzzzz…"

Raising an eyebrow at her mumbling, Walter continued throwing pelting her with pillows until he was down to one pillow he was currently leaning against, and she was nearly invisible from the amount of pillows piled on top of her.

Thoroughly aggravated at the girl's heavy sleeping, he struggled out of the bed hissing at the burning his chest was experiencing. Clenching a hand against his chest, he stood up, his other hand holding the corner of the nightstand next to him in a tight grip. He wobbled in place, slowly coming to the window next to the girl. He closed it a bit roughly, and appreciated having the room seem a bit warmer already from the breeze's absence. He looked at the girl next to him, and irritated at her continued sleep, took a pillow from her lap and smacked her over the head with it.

This time, Norma grimaced, and held her head as she drowsily came out of slumber land, "Alright Teach, I'm up! I'm up!" She said to the person next to her, rubbing her eyes and trying to wake herself up.

"I only wish you were a bit easier to wake up, Beatty. And you'll get a kink in your neck sleeping like that." The voice made her freeze in her actions, and her head whipped around to look at him so fast he felt the breeze of her hair whipping past. The man standing beside her was wearing a pair of pajama pants, and was hunched over slightly with a hand against the windowsill, the other holding the pillow which smacked her. His blond hair was almost always covering his eyes, but during this rare time the tangled mess of hair was shifted out of his face, allowing her to see his tired blue eyes gazing back at her. And he wasn't unconscious anymore.

He was awake. He was better. He was ok.

"Wally!" She nearly shrieked, and pillows were scattered across the floor as she caught him in a tight hug. The blond gasped in both surprise and pain as she stuttered quickly into his chest. "Wally, you jerk, don't ever friggin' scare me like that again! I was worried, you jerkass, I didn't even know if you were ok or not and… and... Oh Wally, I'm so glad you're ok!"

"Ghh… Beatty, my chest still hurts, you know." He gritted out. The girl had nearly bowled him over when she had seen him awake, and now he was struggling to ignore the burning feeling him his chest and keep from toppling over from supporting both of their weight.

Norma nearly jumped back, and Walter hunched over a bit, dropping the pillow and holding his chest. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean…!"

He looked at her frantic expression, but noticed that the moon made her face light up. Her eyes were shining. "…You're crying." He stated bluntly.

"...Eh?" The brunette stopped and blinked, a small drop of water just beginning to escape her eyes. A small pause later, her mind caught up with her and she felt the small drop begin to fall down her cheek. "…Oh. You're right…" She went to wipe the water away, but as she did, more tears ran down her face and her shoulders started shaking slightly. "I-I can't really stop… I just…" Her voice sounded tense, ready to break the more tears that ran down her cheeks.

Walter's gaze remained steady on the crying girl, and he brought his arm from his chest to her, gently pulling her to him for a hug. This seemed to make the girl shake even more as she leaned her head against his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her form tightly, and he let his head rest against hers as she cried.

Her voice broke as she continued, "I j-just… I was just scared… You're my friend Wally, I… I d-didn't want you leaving me either."

His brows furrowed slightly. "Who left you?"

"M-my teacher, Sven… He taught me all I know, and he was looking f-for the Everlight. He… H-he passed away. I didn't even say…" Norma cried, sniffling as she continued. "I was s-so afraid you'd do the same thing."

The blond thought about what she had told him. That would explain why she was so vehement on finding that legendary treasure. And from how scared she was about his injuries, he guessed she was very close to this Sven character. That notebook that had gotten them into this mess, that was also a notebook she said her teacher gave her.

It didn't necessarily push aside the fact that Norma was afraid of him leaving. That she was deathly afraid that he would die and she'd be alone again. Even though he'd never let that happen... part of him couldn't help but feel happy because someone cared about whether he was around or not...

He bent his head down and spoke softly into her ear, "Norma. Calm down, I'm not going to leave. I have no intentions of dying again…"

She sniffled, but her crying had stopped for the most part. Her cheek brushed against his chest as she dared to look at him. Her face was tear-streaked, her eyes watery and a few strands of her hair had stuck to her wet cheeks.

Walter looked down at her and gave her a small smile, before wrapping his other arm around her and leaning his head against hers. "I'm not going anywhere." Silently, he made a pledge to both her and himself. Norma had saved his life... And he was going to return the favor and protect hers, no matter what cost. ...I promise.

x x x

Aaand I'm ending it here. Hope you enjoyed it, because it was a real pain in the ass to write.

Also, the format went really wonky when I tried to submit it as a story-document to edit and post... Did that happen to anyone else?

Reviewer Corner

Shiroi Iyasu: Well the story's speeding up a bit... Plus I like conflict, so the plot's moving again!

Ranchdressing: Anticlimactic... Yeah, it probably would! :laughs: And if Norma learned the spell Resurrection around her story arc in the game that'd be really ironic. But really, I imagine Resurrection as a very powerful healing spell. A team member is knocked out, yes, but you can't heal a dead person, case and point being Stella... But no, Wally isn't dying yet. I have too many plans for him!