And…chapter 6 is here. Yay. Er, well, this is right before the story starts moving into the main plot (i.e. bad stuff will start happening soon). Several big secrets are out, and now it's time for the characters to take all this in stride.

But first, let's take a look at the ones who so rudely intruded upon their property.

I also apologize for any typos in advance.

Ch. 6: Nil

It took me about two seconds to figure out what was going on, but that didn't mean I could really do much about it.

Somebody had just busted through our front door like it was nothing. If this were a movie or a family sitcom, I'd have fallen off the couch by now. Mercifully, reality doesn't allow that kind of drama crap in the midst of actual drama.

…Wait, did I say mercifully? Sorry, I must've gotten flustered in the midst of that – I meant cruelly. Hell, I'd have been freaking welcome to introduce my face to the carpet over what really happened,but no. The shock just left me frozen there like a human popsicle (never seen a popsicle, but I have eaten one. Damn, those things can be hard on the teeth sometimes), leaving me helpless against the arms of a stranger that suddenly locked around my neck and lifted me off the couch. Dear God, this person was strong.

"So this is where you were hiding!"

That voice startled me out of my frozen state. It was that same dude from those other two times! I guess this really was Ven's bodyguard.

But wait; didn't Ven say that there was more than one?

It took me another second, but then I eventually figured out that the guy talking wasn't the one holding me hostage. He was off somewhere to the left of me – where Ven and Gramps were. Judging from the sound of Ven's yelps and struggles and demands of "Hey! Let me go, damn it!", I assumed that he'd been caught by the other guy.

Somebody else was restraining me, probably the silent companion of his whose presence I'd sensed both times I'd run into the guy. Huh. He'd caught us, but why wasn't he saying anything? The strong, silent type, maybe? Funny, he didn't really strike me as much of a masculine guy. He was a bit too slender for that.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" I demanded. "What the hell are you doing here? You're trespassing! I thought I told you to get lost!"

"Oh, I definitely got a bone to pick with you, you little smartass," the first guard growled. "Play me for an idiot, huh? You're not even really blind, are you?!"

If I were free to palm my face right at that moment, I definitely would have. How delusional was this guy?

"See, this is why it wasn't hard for me to play you for an idiot," I countered irritably. "Of course I'm blind! What'd you think that stick was; a prop or something? That thing isn't a toy, idiot. And for the record, I really didn't see anything that day. 'Cause – you know – I'm blind. You're the one who took it the wrong way."

I probably just should've kept my mouth shut, but it felt good to tell him off and make him look like even more of a moron. He was only proving me right with every sentence he spoke. Besides, it's not really normal if I'm not at least a little bit pissed off right now.

"I told you to let me go, Terra!" Ven shouted angrily from the same spot. "Leave me alone! I'm not going back to that place; I won't! You'd have to kill me first!"

Man, he really must hate his family if that was really what just came out of his mouth.

"Sir, you have to cooperate without resistance," the guard named Terra said in a much more formal tone. "The Director has been worried sick about –"

"LIKE HELL HE WAS!" Ven roared, the sounds of his struggles increasing. "He doesn't give a damn about me; he just doesn't want to lose his stupid company! Get your freaking hands off me!"

"Don't be so unreasonable –"

"Shut the hell up."

Terra stopped talking, and so did Ven. In fact, the whole room went silent at my words. I didn't expect such a quick response, but hell, I'll take what I can get.

"Listen up, you bastards," I began in a low voice. "I don't know what's going on between you and your business, and I don't care who you are or how much money you guys have, but he clearly doesn't want to go with you. If you drag him away right now, you'll only cause a scene because this is a pretty small neighborhood, and everyone will hear you." My voice then went from low to downright guttural, which surprised me just as much as it probably did everyone else. "It's going to look like a kidnapping, someone is bound to call the cops on you once they see, and I don't give a damn about how quickly you'll get bailed out because you'll forever be preserved in the records of the law. So do him and all of us a favor and back off."

I honestly didn't expect that rant to work. These guys worked for a major company's CEO, and their employer obviously had a lot of money that he could use to bail these guys out of practically anything, and even have their criminal records wiped from the government's database. Hell, these guys could even sue me for obstructing their job of retrieving that CEO's son, and we didn't have the kind of money to fight against them in court. I was acting in way over my head here.

Then again, if Ven's dad really was as big of an asshole as Ven had implied, he wouldn't care less about these guards and let them rot in debt and jail and hire some new ones. That didn't seem like too much of a stretch, but I didn't think it'd really affect the outcome much in either case.

So imagine my surprise when the pressure around my neck suddenly vanished. I rubbed the back of my neck to stave off the aching, and I heard the sound of a person being pushed away – I didn't know if it was Ven pushing Terra away, or vice versa. Really, either case would've made sense.

I still felt pretty suspicious, though. It seemed like they were letting us go too easily…unless my previous deductions had been true, and they really would be stuck in jail with no one to bail them out if they got arrested for attempted kidnapping.

"I hate smart kids," I heard Terra mutter under his breath as if I couldn't hear him.

"Not really helping with your self-esteem, is it?" I scoffed under my breath before I raised my voice to ask him a question. "So how do you guys know Ven, anyway?"

It took a minute for him to answer. "We're his bodyguards," he finally replied in clipped tones.

I laughed without humor at his response. "Oh, yeah? Could've fooled me. You're acting more like a retrieval squad than bodyguards. You're not that good at your job if you keep losing your client, are you?"

"Seriously, one more word out of you and I'll punch your stupid face in," Terra warned me harshly, though it sounded more like a threat than a warning. "I don't need any snarky comments from you."

"Vanitas is correct," my grandpa cut in sharply out of nowhere. Where the hell have you been this whole time, stupid old man? Were you just watching the magic happen a couple feet away from the action? "You are both incompetent at your jobs. I thought I taught you better than that, you fools!"

Whoa, okay, stop right here. Back up. What did he say about teaching these so-called bodyguards? Dear God, how involved had my grandpa been with this family anyway? It seemed like he knew practically everything about them!

"Don't tell me that you know these guys too, Gramps," I groaned.

"Too well, I'm afraid," he said, a dangerous edge to his voice. I could tell that he wasn't directing the tone at me, but I felt a chill down my spine anyway. I'd never actually heard him sound this upset before. This was a first…to me, at least.

"Grandpa was their teacher," Ven came in suddenly. He still sounded a bit disgruntled. "He taught them to be bodyguards in order to protect me wherever I went, but then that bastard got them to work for him, so now their only job is tracking me down and bringing me back home. They get paid to do that."

Okay, I was right. These guys were total assholes. They're never getting any sympathy from me. None! My rage flared up at that and I came up with about a hundred choice words I could use to insult them and their mothers in that moment (even before I realized that the "bastard" he'd mentioned was his father), but my grandpa beat me to it.

"You're disgraceful," he spat at them. "I taught you two to be bodyguards in order to keep little Ventus safe, and dragging this boy back to the one place he hates more than anything is now your paid occupation?! How dare you stoop so low, you shameful pieces of shit!"

I then heard the distinct sound of a hand striking skin – a slap on the cheek. It was immediately followed by another, slightly shallower slap, like the receiving end didn't have much skin to make that sound in the first place.

More than anything, though, I was admittedly kind of nervous. I'd never heard him use profanity before – at least, never when I was around him. Oh man, these guys were in for a lot of hurt. He can be plenty intimidating without the cuss words; I didn't want to imagine what would happen now that he'd spit one out.

"I know no amount of excuses will satisfy you, sir," I heard Terra say in a shaky voice, "but we had no choice. We needed the money! It's the only way that I can help Aqua!"

I blinked in puzzlement. Who was Aqua? That was a name I didn't recognize.

"Be that as it may, I'm still disappointed," my grandpa growled. "If you needed money that badly, you could have called me! I could have set up a job for you in order to receive hard-earned money!"

"We had no way to find you!" Terra protested. "Ever since you left, you cut off all contact with the Departure firm. We had nowhere else to turn but to your son!" His words cut off briefly before he continued, "And besides, we're running out of time! If she doesn't get treatment soon, she won't get to live life the way she deserves to!"

"Who is Aqua, anyway?" I blurted. "What kind of help does she need that can't wait?"

"Oh, it's nothing that serious," I heard Ven answer sourly. "It's not like it's gonna kill her."

No sympathy, no sympathy… "What?"

"She's the one who was holding you hostage, Vanitas," he continued, ignoring me. "Her problem is that she doesn't talk. She's a mute."

"Seriously?" Okay, I probably should've been surprised at that. I mean, a female bodyguard? A mute female bodyguard? That wasn't something you saw (bite me) every day.

But all I felt was overwhelming embarrassment. I couldn't believe it. I'd been held hostage by a girl. First I'm periodically shown up by a senior citizen, and now a mute action girl hands me my ass? A mute! A girl! That just bordered on completely unfair. Geez, I'm a lame excuse for a guy. Stupid blindness.

"Why's she a mute?" I asked to stave off my embarrassment.

"Heck if I know," Ven said bitterly. "All I know is that it was some sort of accident that traumatized her when she was little. I don't know the details, though. Terra just wants money to pay for her therapy."

Huh, that was interesting. I wondered vaguely what circumstances rendered her mute. Did she forget how to talk thanks to the trauma? Did she grow afraid to talk because of it? Go into shock? I couldn't help but think about her situation, and how…admittedly envious I was of her.

…

Okay, I must've hit a couple of the wrong buttons there, didn't I? Alright, before you call me crazy and even more insensitive than normal before coming at me with a baseball bat, let me explain myself.

It must sound pretty rude of me to wish I was mute, when Terra clearly makes it out to be really debilitating (and it probably was; I didn't know). Here's the thing, though – Aqua hadn't been mute for her whole life, from what I could gather. If her silence was trauma-induced, then she'd been able to talk before that. I've heard that people can even be born mute, though that was really rare – so much that I'm not even sure if that's true. Heck, if she'd gone mute when she was little, then she'd likely been doing her whole "bodyguard" schtick while being completely unable to speak.

In other words, being mute didn't really seem like it could inhibit you from functioning in life in a huge way to me. Of course, you'd need to have friends on hand that you can lean on from time to time, but it didn't stop you from doing what you loved – only if you let it. Words were wasted nowadays anyway. They don't do you much good anymore in this society, which is kind of sad, but it works for a mute. Actions speak louder than words, a picture's worth a thousand words and yours is worth a million, blah blah blah. There are so many things words can't convey that an image can in unfathomable ways.

Well, even though a mute person can come across as mentally challenged just because they can't talk, I think that it's heck of a lot better than being born blind. That's a no-brainer for me. When you're born blind, all that you have are words. Images don't exist in that eternal blackness – just words, words, and more words that don't nearly do a good enough job of portraying something and doing it justice. I've already explained how annoying all that is, so I won't repeat myself, but I'd give up my witty mouth and sarcasm any day to get a taste of seeing things that words alone couldn't describe. I'd be rendered speechless anyhow; I'm sure – in some way or another. Sure, we have music, but that can only be in limited quantities, because how would we be able to rely on the words we hear if our ears go bad from excessive indulging of pleasant sounds?

Even looking at both of our situations objectively, we're kind of similar and very different. We've both got disabilities – I can't see, and she can't talk. People won't expect much out of either of us because what they see as essentials to function properly in society and be accepted readily for it is not present in us. While I've done…er, diddly squat about my own situation, Aqua had gone and become a bodyguard for a rich kid (that happened to be my cousin). The way I see it (all these stupid sight puns are out to get me; I swear), she has a whole lot more going for her than me. Dare I say it – I'm practically outright jealous of her.

There's my reasoning. If you understand me, that's awesome. If you're still angry with me, well…that's kind of sad. Close-mindedness can only get you so far. And I don't suppose that you can be considerate about my whole blindness thing and forgo the bat for something…you know, less painful? I can't exactly defend myself from your assaults, remember. Have a heart. I've got one. It may be shriveled and dark, but I still have one, which is much more than some of you can even begin to say!

"Has Aqua agreed with your decision?" my grandpa continued just as harshly. Geez, old man; give them a little breathing room.

For the first time since Terra had opened his mouth, he started to sound nervous. "Well…she…"

"I don't know why I even bothered asking such a thing," he huffed in exasperation. "The answer is plain in everyone's eyes on both your faces."

I cleared my throat.

"Save Vanitas," he amended.

"You totally did that on purpose," I muttered under my breath. Are you trying to make me feel like a complete outcast, Gramps?

"In either case," he went on, "I won't tolerate you attempting to earn money in such an underhanded manner. Resign from your positions immediately."

There were collective gasps all around – and I'll admit freely; I was one of them. He was outright telling these two to quit their jobs? Just like that? Since when could my grandpa do something like that?

I started getting this real uncomfortable feeling that I didn't know my family at all.

"But sir –" Terra began protesting, but my old man was having none of that.

"I won't be repeating myself, young man," my grandpa interrupted. "You heard me clearly. Now go on!"

"But what about Aqua?!" he cried. I could hear the challenge in his voice. "How else can she get help?! You can't make me do this, sir! She can't live if she stays like this forever!"

My heart skipped a beat at those words, and rage built up in my chest way too quickly for me to keep it at bay. For the first time in a long time, I completely snapped.

"Who the hell gave you the right to decide what lets a person live?" I snarled in the general direction of Terra's voice. "Huh? Why does it matter so much to you if that chick can't let out a peep? I may not know what expressions are on your faces right now, but I can already tell from the conversation that she doesn't care whether she can talk or not! I mean, look at yourselves, Goddamn it! She's got the same job as you, right?! She managed to become a bodyguard even though she's a mute! You can see that! What gives you the right to say that she can't live because she can't talk?!"

"Don't talk as if you know her, you asshole!" Terra shot back defensively. "You have no idea how she ended up this way in the first place; how the hell would you understand why I'm doing this?!"

"I don't need to know her to sympathize with her!" I snapped back. "And I don't need to understand why you're doing this to go against it! Yeah, she's a mute; she can't talk; she can't go without another person being there to act as her voice! I get it! But for the record, disabilities don't make lives impossible, you idiot!" Again, I shoved the white cane I had held tightly in my hands in his direction. "And I can sympathize with her because she's like me! She can't talk. I can't see. We've both got problems. But do you see us keeling over and dying? If what you're saying is true, I should've died the minute I was born!"

I stopped here to catch my breath, but it was just as well since Terra chose that moment to gasp, "You…what? The minute you were b – you were born blind?!"

"Surprise," I said bleakly.

"There's…there's no way. You couldn't have –"

"Just saying; I'm not lying," I pointed out.

"It makes no sense! How were you able to make it for so long?"

Sweet Lord; this guy was even more ignorant than Ven when it came to the workings of society. I couldn't tell if it was ironic or just plain stupid.

"Help," I said like it was obvious (which it totally was). "I had help. Since I can't see, I can't do a lot of things out in the real world without getting funny looks or rude comments. I can't see them, but I know I get them because I'm not deaf." I sighed. "I have no concept of color, and I can't see people's faces. But I still get around in other ways." I lowered my cane and sighed. "And so can she. She can write, give you expressions and gestures, and whatever the hell else she can do to communicate without talking. Get her a teleprompter if you want, and don't force her to change who she is right now. She's a mute, but she needs to do the best she can to work around it. I do that; I just choose not to do anything on my own." I ran my free hand through my hair in annoyance. "And besides; no one is trying to cure my blindness, because I can do just fine without seeing. I had my old man there to give me a hand. Give your friend a chance and she can get by, too. It's not like she's helpless."

Everything was quiet, and it honestly wasn't all that surprising. That was probably the longest I'd ever spoken at once in any given amount of time; they must've been pretty shocked at how long I'd run my mouth this time around. I was pretty surprised myself, but it was kind of too late to take back all that stuff now.

Then there was a sudden shuffling of feet and the creaking of the front door. It was only one set of feet, though, and I wondered which one of them wasn't moving, but I found out pretty quick when a pair of slender arms wrapped around me from behind in what was an unmistakable hug. It was gone before I could even react, and after another series of footsteps and the sound of the door slamming, all I could do was feel for the couch frame and brace myself there.

"Um…" I shook my head once. "What just happened?"

"Well, how should I put it," Ven mused, his tone still a bit sour from our little encounter with his "bodyguards". "Aqua hugged you."

She did what?!

"It was her?!" I exclaimed. My face felt hot all of a sudden. Was I blushing? Oh God, I think I was! This was not good! "What the heck?! Does she normally go around hugging strangers?!"

"You know, I think that was actually the first time she's hugged anyone," he said. "It's kind of weird. I've never even seen her hug Terra like that before."

Yeah, okay; they were close. I had that figured out about the moment my grandpa started chewing them out. But still, if she and that Terra guy were that close, she surely must've given a hug to him at some point, right? No way she'd be going around putting her arms around the neck of some complete stranger for the first time.

Argh, I was thinking too much about this. "Okay…let's forget about that for now. Those guys are gone; now what do we do?"

I heard some shifting of movement before Ven continued, "Well, I sure as heck won't be going back to that place. I wouldn't go back even if you paid me."

Well, duh, because why the hell would a rich kid be paid anything in the first place? You probably have more money in your pockets right now then I ever had in my entire life, you spoiled little brat.

"Well, how about we eat, then!" I jumped involuntarily at the sound of my grandpa's voice. "The food's probably a bit cold now since we've been talking for so long, but I'll heat it up again in a moment."

Hearing him talk like that again after all this made me want to slap myself. Geez, Gramps; how can you suddenly act as if what just happened never happened? Just when I finally feel like I had you figured out, you go ahead and pull the wool over my eyes again.

…Damn it; I hate all these sight puns!

"And of course, my little Ventus, you're welcome to stay with us for the time being if you'd like," my grandpa went on as his voice moved toward the kitchen. "You and Vanitas can share rooms."

He did not just suggest that so casually in front of me. "Are you out of your freakin' mind, you geezer?!" I screamed in utter mortification. "That sounds all kinds of wrong, and I only have one bed, damn it! Where the hell are we supposed to sleep?!"

"Well, you have a pretty spacious bedroom, my boy," he said matter-of-factly over the clanking of plates and beeps of the microwave. "There's plenty of space on the floor for you."

Okay, now he was pushing it. He was kicking me out of my own bed?!

"C'mon, you can't be serious, Grandpa," Ven protested. Finally, he's actually agreeing with me! "We can't sleep in the same room; it's too weird. I'm totally okay with sleeping on the couch; it's a folding one, isn't it? I can sleep on that just fine if I have a blanket and a pillow. Vanitas can't sleep on the floor anyway; it's gonna be too uncomfortable for him!"

I wanted to punch something. This kid was patronizing me. No doubt about it; he was flaunting his wealth in my face! Don't talk like this in front of me, you little –!

"Ohh, come now," the old man chided as more plates clattered and a pleasant ding came from the kitchen. "You two are cousins; it shouldn't be a bother to either of you."

I swear; I don't think this man knew anything about teenage guys, especially ones that were related. I wanted to break something so badly but the only thing I had on hand was my retractable white cane, and if I broke that I'd be in major trouble.

"Listen, Gramps; we only learned that we were related about fifteen minutes ago," I said irritably, "and two teenaged guys sleeping in the same room when they barely know each other just isn't right!"

Not to mention I didn't want this bumbling weirdo that was my cousin messing with any of my stuff. I'll admit that I'm a pretty possessive guy, so if you touch something that's mine, you're dead meat. Being blind won't stop me from kicking your sorry ass for being snoopy.

"Excuses, excuses!" my grandpa scolded me. "Well then, if you insist on sleeping separately, then you must give up your bed for your cousin!"

"You're kicking me out of my own room?!" I yelled incredulously. "What the hell, old man?!"

"Hey, c'mon; we don't need to do that, Grandpa," Ven cut it frantically. "I don't want to steal my cousin's room; it's not fair! Look, I want to sleep on the couch. I really want to know what sleeping in a regular bed feels like."

Damn it; quit patronizing us, you jerk!

"I hate you both," I exhaled under my breath so that they wouldn't hear.

"Huh?" I felt a strong arm slinging itself over my shoulder. "Did you say something?"

I brushed the arm away roughly. "Knock it off," I growled. "I'm going to bed."

I extended my cane and made my way to the hall.

"H-hey, Vanitas, aren't you going to eat?" Ven called after me worriedly. "Where're you going?"

"My room," I said shortly as I continued walking. "I'm not hungry right now, so you enjoy your food. I need to think."

Awful ending is awful. Blegh, sorry. College work is finally getting to me; I'm starting to lose the energy that fueled my motivation.

If I told you that about half the people in this chapter are gonna die eventually, would you believe me? And how'd you like the new characters? (They're not technically new, but this is the first time they've been addressed by name.) Think you'll like them?

Also, no offense meant to mutes or (again) blind people. Sorry if it bothered you readers in any way. Man, Vanitas turned out preachy here. I think this is actually another one of my vent chapters.

Well, I'll be back with the next chapter…someday. Later, guys!

(I also just adopted one of XionTheBlackRose's stories, so I'll be busy with that, too, eventually. And there's something about this chapter that bothers me…I don't know what it is for sure…if you find something wrong with this, please point it out. Thanks in advance!)