Traverse Town
Third District - Kuro's House
Day 44
The knocking at his door startled him, enough that he awoke to his blade being called to his hand in a panic and his nostrils flared as he jumped out of his bed and jump-started his heart. His breathing was hectic and his body tensed.
Dusk's gentle snoozes at the end of the mattress were the first sign that danger was not present, yet the knocking continued regardless. Kuro's aggression simmered, and he walked cautiously towards the door. Eyes focused up and ready to attack. The knocking didn't disturb the Shadow Heartless, as they snuggled their small stuffed cow.
It's been a few days since he's gotten new neighbors in Traverse Town, and they've mostly kept to themselves. Kuro imagined it was to get accommodated to the new world's space and its rules. As well as getting them situated with living situations in the hotel in the Second District.
Biggs and Wedge shared room number three with its twin mattresses, Barret had his quarters in the second room with Marlene, with it being connected to room one where Tifa and Rinoa were situated. Nayo offered to stay in the house with all the clocks in the first district, saying that she needed the space for her equipment and her own living space.
Kuro wanted to allow them the space to get comfortable. He recalled the first few days of living in Traverse town being difficult to adjust to. Being under constant night is an adjustment that a few people would be comfortable with.
Kuro spent the majority of his time within those few days while they got comfortable just cleaning up his space and trying to get it presentable. After all, he had neighbors he wanted to interact with. Can't do that with a hoard of garbage in one's house.
The dozens of empty canned food and unorganized piles of books were an eyesore, considering he noticed how clean and proper Jessie's room was back on Midgar. So, most of the waking hours were spent melting down the cans into loose piles of metal with his flames and tossing the disks into a corner in the Third District.
The risen landing behind the currently destroyed mural of the once lovestruck dogs is the location of his pile. He would have to fix that statue eventually, which is why he was saving the metal.
A day was spent sweeping and airing out the room, which proved more difficult than he had originally thought. He nearly set the house on fire when the last thin line of dirt refused to be swept out into the street.
What took the most time in the days following the garbage cleanup was organizing his books into proper piles and placing them in a section of the home for safekeeping.
Which meant moving things out and throwing things away he didn't want. He originally wanted to keep the boxed stuff in their corner of the room for safekeeping, just in case the original owners ever came back to Traverse Town and wanted to get their stuff. He wasn't a thief, he never wanted to claim anything that wasn't his, he wouldn't want someone going through his things.
But it's been almost two months without them returning to the world, so he figured worst case scenario, he could apologize for the unasked borrowing of their clothes and would offer to wash them clean for them in exchange.
Having gone through the boxes of those who originally had this home to find what he wanted to take and what he wanted to store away, he kept a fur-lined hood jacket with a symbol of a crimson lion from the box labeled Leon, with the scratched out Squall, a left leg bag that held a bag full of small throwing knives from a box labeled Yuffie, a few silver armored bangles from a box labeled Aeirth, with a blue flight jacket with the logo of the letters H/W written in golden thread in the last box labeled Cid.
He threw them on hangers and placed them in the wardrobe of the small home. Packing the boxes on the floorboard of the armoire. Just in case.
But back to the knocking at the door. The last time it was knocked, it was a Soldier heartless attempting to barge on in while he was resting. He wouldn't be caught again.
Blade in hand, Kuro approached the door and opened it slowly. Peeking out of the crack. Ready to skewer whatever was on the other side. Standing in front of him was a still waking up Marlene, her eyes half-lidded and her lips smacking together before she belted out a loud yawn. She wore a blue nightgown, her rabbit plush tucked between her arms. Kuro's blade leveled with his thigh, a sigh of relief escaping his mouth. He shook his head and nodded towards the girl.
"Morning, Marlene." Kuro grumbled through his yawn.
"Morning, Kuro." She spoke in the middle of her own yawn, stretching out her arms before pulling the rabbit back to her body. "It's Wedge's turn to make breakfast and I wanted to come get you before we run out of hotcakes."
"Oh." Kuro muttered, his sword falling out of his hands before he dismissed it in a puff of purple smoke. Inches before it stabbed into the floor. He cleared his throat, grabbing the vest off of the coat rack, covering his bare chest as he buttoned up the front and walked out of his domicile. He followed Marlene as she led him down the steps to the Third District courtyard, and through the busted gates to the café back in the First District.
Kuro imagined spending some time trying to repair the broken gate, if nothing just to give him something to do. The smell of cooking dough and the sweet aroma of syrup filled the air as they marched together. Kuro shoved open the doors, walking into Avalanche Headquarters with Marlene at his side.
"Good morning." Everyone says in different intervals, some more excited for the day than others. A chorus the Heartless was not at all prepared for.
Kuro waved to the group awkwardly, walking over to the main dining room table and taking one of the plates he had stolen from the hotel's room service many weeks ago. Wordlessly lining up along the counter to get his breakfast. A stack of two cakes, several strawberries, and a small cup of yogurt. Kuro hummed in satisfaction, inspecting the meal with interest. The flat cakes were golden brown, spongey, and had steam rising above them. Wedge had heard his noise and worried that it was one of disapproval, grunting in response as he flipped another jack.
"Don't knock it till you try it! It's my dad's recipe for wheat cakes! Minus the -uh- wheats. So, try it!" Wedge explained, shrugging as he served up Marlene a small stack of three and a bunch of blueberries.
"Smells delicious, Wedge. Thanks." Kuro clarified in a rumbling voice, grabbing one of the flapjacks, and rolling it up into a bunched-up handful before biting into it as he walked over to his seat. Sitting across from Barret, as he finished eating their meals. Kuro met Barret's gaze, nodding his head. "Hey."
Barret grunted back, rubbing his eyes with a pinch of his fingers. Marlene approached to sit beside Barret, who pulled out his seat for her and pushed it back toward the table as she settled in her seat. Kuro's eyes glanced over at the door as Nayo walked into the headquarters with her fingers tracing over her ears, fixing her glasses as she approached the food line.
"Morning, Wedgie." Nayo's voice sounded chipper and bouncy, her typically calm and analytical tone of voice was absent, replaced with this positive and energetic sound.
"Oh! Nayo! Morning. I got your plate here for you…" Wedge blushed as he fixed her a plate of hotcakes and a few handfuls of sugared berries. Something he neglected to give to anyone else, Kuro noticed. "With your favorite, sugar-coated blueberries."
"Aw, aren't you a sweetheart?" Nayo teased with a roll of her eyes and a short giggle. Wedge shook his head, waving it off with a nonchalant shrug.
"Just trying to keep morale up." He excused with a warm glow to his cheeks.
With a quick stare, the room muted into a darkened state, and the Heartless senses the heartbeats inside the two members of Avalanche.
Their pumping hearts were coursing as though they were amidst the heat of combat, with constant rippling from the center of their muted chests were intense rings of vibrant pink.
Which only seemed to get faster the longer the two stared at one another.
Nayo let out an awkward conversation breaking giggle, ducking out of the way and heading towards the dining room table. She plopped down beside Tifa, who was talking to Marlene about the world before getting verbally assaulted by Nayo.
Nayo spoke technical nonsense to Tifa as she had her coffee in a now sudden silence, Barret discussed what dreams Marlene had during the night and listened with intense excitement and complete attention, while Biggs harassed Wedge over not having wheat for the wheat cakes and not offering anyone else the sugared berries.
Kuro took great pleasure in the noise of the morning. The reality of a quiet, lonely day in Traverse Town thankfully becoming a memory.
Traverse Town
First District - Avalanche Headquarters
Day 45, 49, & 52
"So, you can only move the bishop diagonally?" Kuro dragged the bishop piece back and forth across the checkered tile, resettling it back into its original spot as he moved to fiddle with the tower piece. "And these move in straight lines as far as I want?"
"Correct. White takes initiative every round." Nayo noted, with a nod. Her hands moved to straighten her glasses before she tapped the top of the kingpiece with her index finger. "This piece is who you are aiming to get. Once the king is unable to move without getting taken off the board, it's checkmate."
"And the towers can't teleport?" Kuro shot a glance over at Dusk with a smirk, the Shadow's golden stare grew more agitated as the instructions to the game were made more and more clear. Which revealed how little either of the Heartless knew about Chess. "And the knights can't just kill all the pawns with a special attack?"
"Um-no. That is a negative on that ability." Nayo said with a befuddled chuckle. She reordered the pieces and placed them in the proper place. "That is not how you play the game at all."
"I like my way better," Dusk noted with a huff, crossing their arms over as they leaned back against the seat. "When the horsey piece could destroy all the pawns at once."
"Well, now we can play properly, Dusk." Kuro stated, as he turned to Nayo and moved a pawn piece forward. A2 to A3. Nayo moved her B7 to B6 in response, keeping her eyes on the board with an intensity that she held to destroy Kuro. "Ok, now it's my turn."
"So, you are to be our latest recruit?" She inquired, watching Kuro move A3 to A4 with a short nod, his orange eyes staring intently at the board. "I reviewed the tapes of Sector Seven before its destruction. I saw the kind of damage you were inflicting on the SHINRA Soldiers. The news continued to replay the devastation on all channels. I have to say, you did commendable work. We appreciate your efforts."
"I can't take all the credit for it." Kuro glanced up and watched as Nayo moved her piece from C7 to C6, nodding to her while deep in thought. He thought of how Jessie engineered the actual explosive and Barret helped lead the way. "Jessie is the one who built the bomb. Barret was a great help with leading the whole team with SHINRA. I just helped with the SHINRA goons."
"Jessie Raspberry, she has an art for explosive ordinance. She's been an important piece to our Avalanche team since she joined. She's also fairly pretty." Nayo spoke flatly, ending her speech with a devious grin as she cast a glance up at Kuro, a teasing glare in her eyes. Kuro flushed as he shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to underplay his embarrassment. "Isn't she, Kuro?"
"She's.. nice. She's a good person." Kuro said with a low tone, trying to downplay his shyness. To which Nayo started to giggle at the sight. Kuro's eyes darted up to meet Nayo's own, attempting to playfully provoke the Heartless. He leaned back in his seat, cheeks flushed and his heart racing in discomfort. "What?"
"So dude, like… What's going on between you and Jessie, anyways?" Wedge slid his tower from H5 to A5, Kuro's low growl in agitation making the bigger man chuckle. Kuro tugged on the curls of his growing beard hair, glaring at the board. He needed to shave the beard down, the silver whiskers making him look about thirty years older. Wedge had the Heartless cornered on the board and would soon get his Queen with a bishop if Kuro decided to hit Wedge's tower with his own sister piece. Kuro hummed deep in thought, contemplating what to do. "Besides, you know, working together to ruin my sheets?"
"I am sorry about that. Honest." Kuro said with a sincere breath, unable to meet Wedge's stare as he moved his tower forward to take his opponent's unguarded bishop. Kuro shook his head in displeasure. "I… I didn't know what belonged to who. I wasn't thinking. Jessie invited me up to the room and then she started kissing me and grabbing me-"
"TMI, new buddy," Wedge chuckled, shaking his head as he took his queen to start darting around the board to pick off Kuro's pawns in a victory tour, starting with moving to G8 to G7, killing a pawn. "Let's just have you say you're sorry and it won't happen again. Still, I'm surprised. Never knew Jessie to just do something like that. I'm being grossly literal."
"What do you mean?" Kuro asked, taking a pawn and mindlessly moving it forward. H3 to H4. "She doesn't usually have se-"
"Jessie isn't the kind of person to do that kind of stuff. She's very adamant about separating her work from her personal life. That's why she hasn't told her folks-" Wedge began to speak quickly and immediately before he suddenly shut his mouth, eyes pulling together tightly as he felt a sudden weight on his chest. Her folks were now just a parent, the passing wave of Rowan's loss washing over the two chess players. Kuro's breath gets sucked out of his body, his eyes dropping to the board. They share a silence before Wedge finds it in him to continue talking. "Anyways, she's not the kind of person to be all in on the 'lovey-dovey.' She's a flirt but it's just a game, you know? For fun. She always says it's a liability to have a relationship right now. She must've needed a… you know, distraction."
"She wanted to just be a woman for the night, she told me that." Kuro noted with indifference, Wedge's eyes squinting in disgust as he tried to keep his composure. Something Kuro noticed immediately. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Whatever, dude." Wedge grumbled, with a pale hue to his cheeks. Trying to not let the sickness in his body show on his face. Kuro nodded and let out a sigh. Wedge glanced up at Kuro, seeing a look of introspection on his face, of some kind of struggle that he was keeping to himself. Wedge cleared his throat and sighed. "Go ahead, man. Ask away."
"She said to me that I shouldn't go 'falling in love.', because we are in dangerous work and we shouldn't be participating in some kind of relationship at all. If she doesn't want that, I'll respect it and not pursue it." Kuro grumbled, shaking his head as he replayed the night they shared again in his mind. The way she kissed him, the way she looked at him, the way she touched him. He turns his attention back to Wedge, a glistening look in his eyes. "Wedge?"
"Yeah, buddy?"
"Is she scared that I'm going to be a liability?" Kuro questioned, Wedge's lips pulled back into a weak half smile, pondering what the Heartless said for a moment before reaching to the depths of his wisdom to try and navigate this situation. "I don't want to be a burden…"
"I think she's scared she'll start to get cold feet when it comes to assignments if you and her were to be together." Wedge noted, sucking on the back of his teeth and getting Kuro's full attention. "She can't worry about you when we are going to always be in danger, dude. She's our explosive expert. If she is constantly worried about somehow accidentally hurting you and Light forbid anything were to happen to you, she'll never forgive herself. She has a big heart, she can't afford any heavy hits like that."
"That makes sense. She's protecting herself…" Kuro said with a withdrawn tone, eyes focused on the board. Kuro thought about what she said, about how she wanted to not be a freedom fighter for a night and just be a woman, and sex was a way to connect back to that human part of herself. That carnal desire reminds her of the joys of being a person. Remind her of the joys she was fighting for. "And protecting me, as well. Thanks, Wedge, I appreciate your support."
Wedge leaned forward and tapped the Heartless on the shoulder while he was deep in thought, gaining back a playful smile expression.
"Jessie is a great friend to have, my guy. Don't get me wrong. She really is. I just would recommend looking for a girlfriend outside of Avalanche if that's what you want. It'll be easier for you in the long run. Way less complicated." Wedge grinned, seeing the Heartless roll his eyes at the thought. "Keeps things simple between us, you know?"
"Like you and Nayo? Keeping things simple?" Kuro teased, seeing the big man get taken aback with a sharp breath and a stuttering sound muttering out of his mouth. Sounded like a motorcycle getting revved. Kuro grinned, waving it off, and staring at the board. Kuro shakes his head at the board and stares at his cornered King. Glancing up at her flustered Wedge. "I don't judge. I just think you both should be more honest about how you feel toward one another. In my opinion."
"Um- Thanks, Kuro. I think." Wedge said with a hesitant and awkward laugh. He cleared his throat before that awkward chuckle paved the way to a sincere grin. "Anyways, what do you like to do? When you're not making spooky creepy portals?"
Kuro chuckled as he grabbed his bishop -
"I mostly listen to music. I have a record player I use every day." Kuro said as he took his bishop piece and moved it from G3 to D6, taking one of Barret's bishops in the process. Marlene shook her head and huffed a little at the sight. Kuro grinned, glancing over at Barret as he stared at the board and rubbed his chin between his fingers. "So, you like to draw?" Kuro asked aloud as Barret tapped the knight and Marlene picked it up from its spot at B5 to A7, just as Barret suggested. The father-daughter team takes Kuro's black tower with their white knight. Kuro couldn't care less about the piece, as Marlene nodded her head.
"I really like drawing Moogles." She said with a grin as she turned to Barret. "Daddy says they are really cute!"
"Did he now?" Kuro asked, turning his attention to the Avalanche leader. "Are these moogles really cute?"
"They are little creatures. With poms on their heads." Barret explained, gaining a grin as he nodded his head. He reached over and jostled Marlene's shoulder with a fun shake. "They are pretty adorable. But not as cute as my girl here."
"Stop, Daddy." Marlene said before she turned to Kuro and smiled. "Where's Dusk? I wanna see if they want to play tag."
"I think they're playing with Angelo and Rinoa in the Second District." Kuro said as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back. Letting out a short sigh while he stares at the chessboard. Marlene got up, hugged Barret, and walked along. Throwing up her fist which Kuro wordlessly bumped while the two men focused on the chess game. Barret smirked, his eyes meeting The Heartless' own. "See you later!"
"Bye, sweet pea." Barret murmured as he continued to moon at the Heartless. "So, are you annoyed with having neighbors yet?"
"Not even a little." Kuro grinned as he let out a short laugh and a sigh of satisfaction. The reality of being around people, living with people, was more than Kuro could have asked for. "It feels nice to be around people. To laugh with people. To talk. It's great."
"Well, Avalanche is a close-knit group. These people are my family, we look out for one another." Barret said, leaning back in his seat as well. "We take care of each other."
"They're very lucky to have you." Kuro said genuinely, smiling at the older man with a sincere look in his eyes. Kuro shifts in his seat as he prepares to make a bold statement. "We all are grateful for you."
"Don't be getting all chickenshit and emotional with me, killer." Barret hollered with a hearty laugh, reaching over and tapping a closed fist against Kuro's shoulder. Kuro's smile breaks through and lights up the room. The comradery being shared had elevated his mood. "I've seen you get all wrathful out there. Can't have you losing that on account of going soft."
"I don't think that'll be an issue." Kuro stated, those orange eyes of his shining brightly, full of energy and life. "I got people I need to protect now, can't be losing that… killer instinct."
"Oh, indeed." Barret said, nodding in agreement. He slipped his glasses down the bridge of his nose, those intense eyes of his meeting Kuro's. "You Avalanche now. You're one of us. We look out for each other."
Kuro's heart leaped into his throat, his body shuddering as the weight of what Barret said suddenly pulled Kuro out of his head and back into his body. The Heartless nodded in agreement, his sight getting hazy and his voice getting scratchy. A wave of emotion rushed over him. A feeling of pride, a feeling of acceptance. To feel a part of something greater than himself.
"Thanks, Barret." Kuro muttered gently. The older man smirked, reaching out and patting the Heartless' shoulder. "That means a lot."
"You're welcome."
Traverse Town
First District - Avalanche Headquarters
Day 54, 55, & 62
"So, you start with a little oil," Kuro took a small bottle of cooking oil and sprayed the inside of the skillet. Rinoa nodded as she worked on shaving the skins off of some potatoes, taking a cheese grater to them and shredding them. "And then when it gets hot, add the potatoes to brown them?"
"After you mix in some flour, some onions and an egg, yeah. It's pretty easy!" Rinoa said, pointing the cheese grater at the Heartless and chucking. "I haven't made them in a while, it's nice to make an old favorite…"
The Heartless never had the opportunity to learn how to cook. He's read several cookbooks from cover to cover and loved the idea of cooking something. Particularly for someone else. One of the recipes often said, 'best enjoyed with friends' which crushed a lonely Kuro several weeks ago when the idea of friendship was not tangible.
Now? Now he wanted to learn how to cook for his friends. Even if the idea of getting close to an active oven or a stove sends him into a fight or flight. Mostly flight. Which made the Heartless laugh at himself, when he looks back on the dangers he's faced. He could fight off war machines and men shooting at him, but chopping vegetables for a stew had him losing his breath and overthinking the whole idea of cooking.
With Rinoa's turn to cook for the day, Kuro used the opportunity to watch her cook her meal. She was welcome to the company, especially one who she had the pleasure of meeting the first day they landed on Traverse Town.
Kuro watches the pan for the heat to start bubbling the oil from a more than safe distance, glancing over at Rinoa with a little smile. She moved so effortlessly around the kitchen, almost dancing from one station to the other with measure and grace he could never imagine.
"How did you get recruited with Avalanche?" Kuro asked, crossing his arms over one another as he leaned against the kitchen counter. Keeping the pan in his peripheral at all times. "Wedge and Biggs and Jessie are from Midgar, that's how they met Barret."
"I am from a world which has this continent called Galbadia, and the Galbidian government decided they wanted to work with SHINRA to start fracking the planet for its Mako." Rinoa explained, pointing a thumb to herself. "I ran a little rebel group called the Forest Owls, and we did not want SHINRA on our planet at all. We organized to start working with Avalanche when we heard they wanted to root out SHINRA. They are a hell of a way bigger than us and more organized than us, so we sort of got sucked into their overall group. Boom. I'm now a member of Avalanche, leader of the Forest Owls Branch."
"Interesting. How'd you end up on Midgar?" Kuro asked, hearing the bubbling of the pan and making his skin crawl. Rinoa walked over and lowered the temperature, smirking at the Heartless before she walked over and poured the eggs, scooped and added flour then the shredded potatoes to a bowl and started mixing with a spoon.
"Well, as part of a mission to begin recruiting people for the cause, I was brought in to drum up support. The operation was a bust, guards were sent, and we got into the Gummi Ship and bolted out of there." Rinoa chuckled, arms crossing over one another as she smiled at the Heartless. "Then we landed on some no-name star and I found a bleeding, half-dead stranger with silver hair mumbling about pretty girls who attacked our leader."
"Alright, alright." Kuro grumbled with a good-hearted chuckle, shaking his head. "Not the best way to make friends, I get it."
"Oh, it's not that bad. I've seen much worse." She crosses her face from the right side of her forehead to just under her left eye. Cutting diagonally across her nose. "My… friend… Has a wicked scar from his scrap. No Hi-potion in time meant he was left with that gnarly reminder of his fight."
Her voice got higher and her smile spread effortlessly, as if the mere thought of him made her breath easier. Kuro didn't need to see the plume of her heart to sense her desire, she wore it plainly on her face.
"What's his name?" Kuro grinned, eyes aglow with interest. "This friend of yours?"
"Squall." Rinoa said, a longing tone to her voice as she said so. Kuro's eyes squinted, and his posture stiffened. "He was around in my world for a while before he disappeared a long time ago. I wonder what happened to him…"
Kuro's eyes went wide as he stood up immediately and grew a huge smile. That name sounded all too familiar. It was scratched out on one of the boxes back at his house. He raised a finger and pointed to the pan.
"Watch that! One second! I'll be right back." He ran out of the Café in a sprint, leaving Rinoa to mix the potatoes alone for a few minutes. Eventually, Kuro returned with a folded jacket under his arm and he kept that same grin on his face. "Alright. Here we go. I think he'd want you to have this more than me."
Kuro handed the collar fur-lined jacket over to Rinoa, who immediately recognized the roaring lion logo along its shoulder. Rinoa's heart fluttered, her hands trembled for a moment before she turned back to Kuro and threw her arms around him. He had Squall's jacket.
"Wow! Thank you! Thank you!" Rinoa shouted before she quickly adorned the jacket. Pulling it close to her body, the sleeves running past her hands a few inches, the hem of the jacket sitting around her mid-thighs as the collar hung loose along her shoulders. Even if he hadn't worn it for months now, it was nice to have something that belonged to him. Kuro chuckled, joining her in her joy. She flexed her arms and began to pose with the jacket on. "How's it look? Does it fit well?"
Kuro gave her a once over and nodded happily. She looked so ecstatic and relieved to have something that belonged to her friend.
"I think it fits perfectly."
When Kuro asked to learn how to cook so he could be of service eventually, everyone told him the best person to talk to was Biggs. Biggs, who more often than not spent time in his bunk relaxing and resting after a hectic few weeks of having to lay low on Midgar, was not surprised when Kuro was told to come to him for a few lessons in cooking. Biggs requested the Heartless to return to the café in the afternoon for a quick lesson on how to approach the kitchen without fear.
"You want to focus your dicing on the heel of the knife." Biggs explained, showing Kuro the red pepper, tearing out the core stem, and slicing the red pepper in half. "That's the sharpest part. You want to rock your arm kinda like a machine. Back and forth in slices. Go slow to get the rhythm down, then you get to go faster when you're more comfortable."
Kuro picked up a knife and proceeded to follow his instructions. As the knife was firmly gripped, an image of Frollo on the sharp end of a blade popped into his mind. The sound of Quasimodo's breath being sucked out of his body when he saw Frollo killed made Kuro's skin crawl.
The initial chop is crooked and sloppy, the Heartless uses the tip of the blade to slice into the pepper. Which made Kuro have to apply more pressure than he was originally ordered to do so.
Kuro groaned until he worked his hand eventually to get the rhythm of the knife correct enough to make passable strands of peppers.
Kuro's eyes wandered as he observed Biggs prepare for the lunch meal for the team. The headband was tightened and he took a knife and quickly diced up three orange and red peppers in the time it took Kuro to chop one, while also dicing up some green onions and tossing all of them into the oil-soaked pan to get some color and let the flavors get to know each other with a few pinches of some Midgar spices that burned Kuro's nose when he got a whiff.
Kuro watched with great interest, a fist tucked under his chin as he was mesmerized by the intricate knife work, how effortless he was with the scrambling of the eggs into a bowl and adding a splash of milk with a mere glance and not measuring it out as Rinoa would.
Biggs grinned with pride as Kuro was captivated by the sight, that smirk painted on his face as he shrugged nonchalantly toward the Heartless.
"So, back on Midgar, I have this home for the orphans to live, kids who are growing up like me. It's called the Leaf House." Biggs explained, gesturing to the egg mix in his hands. "Made a lot of meals for those poor kids, and a lot of them were bad. If it were for their parents being dead, I'd say those few weeks of me being head chef might have been the worst thing to have happened to them."
"Were the meals that bad?" Kuro asked, leaning up on his elbows and watching Biggs work. He took the mix and poured it into the pan, stirring it continuously with the fork. Fold the eggs into the center of the pan with the onions and the peppers. Eventually, while the eggs were still runny, ended up pulling them off the heat to let the heat of the pan finish the cooking of said eggs.
"They were. Take a note. You are never good at everything the first time or even the second or third or eighth time." Biggs stated with a single breath, taking the eggs, scooping it onto a plate, and handing it to Kuro. Kuro thanked him under his breath and stirred over the eggs. He used his fork to smash the eggs and inspect the way the eggs were cooked. Making a mental note of the amount of time that Biggs had cooked the meal for, the look and texture that Chef Biggs had gotten. "But, give it time, give yourself grace. Be open to making mistakes. And you end up with a pretty decent plate of spiced eggs and peppers."
Kuro took a bite, a smile breaking across his face as he chewed. Biggs chuckled, scooping his plate of eggs and taking a bite. The chef shook his head, disappointed in the meal. The two continued to eat the eggs in silence, with Kuro finishing his plate before Biggs. Whose only disappointment was that Biggs had only made enough eggs for a sample.
"That was delicious, Biggs." Kuro noted with sincerity, dumping his plate into the sink. Biggs waved it off with a dismissive suck of his teeth, taking another bite and groaning.
"Eh, it's too runny. Next time it'll be better." The chef noted. Not that Kuro noticed the eggs were runny, only noticing the sting of the heat from the peppers and the onions that he ate and how perfectly fluffy the eggs were to him. Kuro noted Biggs' confidence and vowed to shelf some for himself when he decided to volunteer to make breakfast for everyone next week.
Kuro woke up extra early this morning to prepare for his turn to cook the daily meal. When he went to grab the flight jacket out of the wardrobe, he swore he could feel his hands tremble in anticipation and shiver with total anxiety.
He calmed himself with a few controlled breaths as he threw on the jacket and approached the front door of the café. He had watched Biggs and Rinoa prepare their meals for the last week or so and wanted to return the favor to the members of Avalanche.
A hand resting on the wooden door, finding the strength to finally get his bearings before steadily pushing it open. The empty room seemed to taunt him, a flashing image of him smashing tables and chairs for firewood flashing in his mind.
Kuro eased his breathing and continued towards the kitchen.
He just had to make some eggs, toast some bread, and cut up some fruit. It was going to be a very simple, very straightforward meal. He had seen it done a dozen times already. First was turning on the stove.
He turned the dial, the machine clicked, and a fire came out. The sight of the flames brought with it people screaming and the sound of wood crackling. The horse hooves thundering and the feeling of fire burning his legs. Kuro grounded his feet and flexed his calves to remind himself he wasn't in any present danger. He was at Traverse Town, he was safe.
He had set aside a dozen eggs for everyone and worked on cracking them into a mixing bowl. The white shell cracked with a tap against the counter, and he plopped it into the bowl. Crack and plop, crack and plop.
The crack of the eggs now sounded like the crunching and breaking of armor underneath his mighty blows. The sound of the yolk sloshing in the bowl brought to mind the sound viscera made when it hit the floor and the splashing of blood against the ground.
"Stop thinking about that." Kuro mentally chastised himself, stopping mid-egg crack and evening his breathing. He unlocked his jaw and tried to steady the heart rampaging in his chest. He stared at the egg in his hand, seeing how his hands trembled around it.
His fingers curled around the egg with such intensity and strength, that he swore he was going to crack it in his hand. For a brief instance, the egg's shell turned into a translucent crimson crystal, and a relaxing heat pulsing in his hand similar to the strumming of a dying heart. Kuro cracked and plopped the egg without a second to waste and needed a moment to collect himself.
"Are you having some trouble, friend?" Dusk's voice murmurs as the Shadow crawls into the room. Their golden eyes shone brightly in the dark. Kuro gave a weak smile, nodding his head towards the egg bowl.
"I've fought monsters and men, I've destroyed war machines and I've fought a man who used a motorcycle in ways I don't think they could be used. All that and I cannot crack a goddamn egg without thinking about the damage." Kuro absentmindedly called his blade into his hand, and suddenly it was as though his arm were made of stone. His tremors stopped. And it baffled him. "I don't know if I am uncomfortable by the violence that I've done… or I'm the most comfortable when I'm committing the violence. It's all very confusing."
"Heartless don't do these things, Kuro." Dusk explained, waddling over to the counter and jumping up onto it. Dusk is very careful to not displace any ingredients. They stood eye to eye with the orange-eyed man as they crooked their head towards him. Kuro rested the blade against the counter, rubbing their hands over their throbbing skull. "We don't do acts of service, or care about others. We seek and we destroy."
"I care about you." Kuro noted, before nudging his head towards the empty café. The thought of them filling the room made his face break out into an effortless smile. "I care about them. And yet… I killed Frollo and my only regret was that those three watched me do it. Killing those SHINRA guards was difficult at first, but it got easier. So much easier…"
Kuro's words grew softer as he spoke, his eyes staring off endlessly while he pondered the gravity of what he had said. How easy it was to kill a person, a human being.
"I don't know what to say, Kuro." Dusk shrugged with genuine confusion before they rolled their shoulders and crouched down into a quadrupedal stance. "But I think your Heartless half is having issues with your heart-heart. And I can't help you there."
"What do you mean?" Kuro asked, crossing his arms and staring at the Heartless. "Don't you have issues with your heart-heart?"
"I don't know what my original self is like, Kuro. I don't know if I had a family or friends, or if I even existed in any sense. I could just be a manifestation of the Dark before you grabbed me." Dusk ran a claw over their head, their antenna bending and springing back into place as their paw moved to their neck. "But that's the situation. My thoughts, my sense of identity came the moment you came. I don't have a past to dwell on. You told DiZ that you recall some things from your original self. This means that the heart is slowly remembering something and that your current self is also trying to make sense of what they are remembering as well. Maybe the deviance from the original heart and your current self is what is causing such issues. The heart is remembering what it used to be and it is trying to rationalize the choices that you, Kuro, have been making. And that is what is causing conflicts with what you are feeling right now."
"I don't know if I'm going against the grain or with it, Dusk. I do what I think is right. Me, Kuro." Kuro muttered with a twinge of annoyance. Gnashing his teeth together. He leans back on the counter and grips the edges of it with a focused frustration. He bit his lip, recalling the depths of his dark mind being illuminated by that radiant beam of light. "I've been having these weird feelings lately. These images pop up in my… mind. They highlight these things like Friendship… Desire. Things that don't feel very… Heartless. Quite the opposite."
"Maybe you need to see DiZ again? Maybe he could help?" Dusk suggested, shaking their head before grumbling. "This might be the only time I wish Ansem was here. Just to give you some context over what could be happening in your body."
"Well," Kuro shrugged, pulling his hands off of the counter and folding his arms. The images of Ansem's own orange eyes, silver hair, and tan skin flashing for a brief instance, how short of a time they two shared. "He's dead, so that's the end of that. The one person who would get it is killed by Sora, leaving me here to figure shit out for myself."
"Are you… disappointed?" Dusk asked, Kuro then moved over to continue cracking the rest of the eggs while he continued to speak. He shook his head, the thought of being disappointed in Ansem's demise was quickly shelved.
"No. He needed to die, he was dangerous. He was evil. I think I'm just… It would have been nice to have another who knew what I was going through. Give me some advice. Maybe teach me how to navigate being Kuro and…" Kuro added a few dashes of Midgar spices as he continued to mix the dozen eggs. Kuro stopped mid-swirl and huffed. "I feel like I'm two different people." Kuro grumbled. Shutting his eyes. "I'm me, and I'm him. And I'm not so sure who I need to be focused on getting to understand better."
Dusk could offer no more words, only silent company as Kuro finished adding the eggs to the hot pan, toasting the bread, and chopping up the fruit to continue preparing for breakfast.
Avalanche gave a review that said the breakfast was good, brought down only because the eggs were overcooked. Kuro noted that criticism with an appreciative attitude, as it was an excuse to get back to the kitchen and practice for the next time he was tasked to make breakfast.
Traverse Town
Third District - Kuro's House
Day 65
The rapping at the front door became a part of the Heartless' morning routine that jump-started the day proper. He's found most days he even has been waking up before the knocks, as if his internal clock has been properly adjusted to the cycle of being awoken to a member of Avalanche every day. Kuro began to walk over to his wardrobe to find something to wear today, and on cue, the knocking started up once again. Kuro grinned, getting it down to nearly the minute as he threw on the light blue flight jacket and tugged on the lapel. He threw open the door to find not Marlene, but -
"DiZ?" Kuro mumbled, hands falling to his side as the bandaged man stood at attention in front of the door. DiZ glared at Kuro with his good golden eye, looking over the Heartless with a flat expression on his face. "It's been a while."
"Did you get the rest you needed?" DiZ inquired with a stern stare. Kuro's eyes bounced to the floor, feeling as though he was being shamed for relaxing in his home. Kuro gathered himself and turned his attention back to DiZ. He answered the question with a short nod. "Excellent. Then we can continue to work together toward the destruction of Organization Thirteen. But first, we need to-"
"I've been curious, DiZ. What exactly is the point of this conflict with the Organization?" Kuro leaned against the doorframe and shrugged his shoulders. His eyes glanced over the bandage man and to the landing behind him. Wondering who was in charge of breakfast today. "I've been to a few worlds now, and the worst thing I've seen outside of the world's issues is SHINRA. We should be focusing our resources on them. They've destroyed multiple worlds from what I've heard, they have a literal army at their disposal. I think that should be our priority, not this Organization."
DiZ's expression grew more fixed and agitated the longer Kuro spoke, his hand tightening into fists behind his his best to keep a level head. DiZ let out a short breath, trying to keep the spike of rage from showing on his face. He had to bring Kuro back into the fold and do so quickly. And what better way to do so than to use his unusual empathy towards the worlds to then guide him towards DiZ's crusade once more?
"Kuro, the Organization has ulterior motives that I am currently trying to understand. They are very dangerous, Kuro. I believe they are up to something disastrous, something even worse than these SHINRA idiots are capable of. But we need to act fast." DiZ noted as he glowered at the Heartless, whose orange eyes held a look of disinterest that made the older man's irritation grow. DiZ softened his voice and slouched his shoulders, trying to sell the image of a man who is groveling. Trying to appeal to the Heartless' more noble intentions. However droll and misguided DiZ believes they are. And if he wanted so desperately to play the hero… "There is a girl they have been keeping in their Castle, this Castle Oblivion. Someone I'm trying to save but I need help getting the pieces in place. She needs someone who can truly help her… and I think it could be you."
Kuro glanced over at the bed, seeing Dusk begin to stir away and awake to join him at his side. Their claws scratched at their huge eyes and adjusted their antennae to their correct form. Kuro's eyes crossed over to DiZ at the mention of a girl being targeted.
"They've gotten someone captive? In Castle Oblivion?" Kuro inquired in a low voice, seeing how DiZ presented himself as worried about this girl. Then the name of the location sounded so familiar. "The Castle, wasn't Sora just there? Why didn't he save her?"
DiZ saw the concern in his eyes, with his back stiffened and his posture was corrected. A part of him wanted to laugh at the circumstances of Kuro's question. Sora's attempt to save Naminé was one of such unusual circumstances. That White Witch's control over his memories caused him to become just as DiZ wanted Kuro to be. Obsessed, directed, and dangerous. DiZ kept his expressionless face, even if he felt as though he was elated at how easy it was to get Kuro back into the fold. Must be the naïveté of being such an unusual anomaly.
"Sora is currently indisposed of, at the moment. He tried though. The kind-hearted lad." DiZ explained, gently nodding his head. The Keyblade wielder was currently having his memories being rearranged and corrected, due to some issues that Naminé was responsible for. However, Riku had gone to address the darkness in his heart, and Naminé could not stay in the Castle. Not with five members of the organization being eliminated by both Riku and Sora. Which left DiZ to deal with the remaining eight. "So, I am currently in need of a hero."
Kuro's eyes squinted, the weight of DiZ's statement weighing heavily on the Heartless' mind. Kuro glanced over at Dusk, then back to DiZ. Kuro agreed with a nod, pivoting off of the frame and meeting DiZ's stare. Kuro's sense of urgency to help reminded him of his attempt to try and save Quasimodo and Esmerelda a short while ago. His attempts to continue to break even meant he was to continue to play the part of the Hero. And what was more heroic than saving a damsel in distress?
"Let me say goodbye to my neighbors. Let them know I'll be off-world for a bit. I'll be right back." Kuro said before he jogged out of the house and down the stairs, heading to the First District. DiZ watched him go, unfurling his hands and easing the tension in his body.
DiZ, at the very least, took great satisfaction in the fact that Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo are all dead. Cut down like the wretched monsters that they are. Or were, DiZ noted with great satisfaction. The original six had their members cut into half, which left Dilan, Braig and Ansem. As the remaining traitors, DiZ was anchored to being the root of their destruction. The members beyond the initial six were simply collateral, as they shouldn't have existed in the first place in DiZ's mind.
The mere thought of his protégé made his blood boil. His eye grew wicked and his throat constricted. He heard a shuffling and cast a devilish stare at Dusk, whose eyes focused on the bandaged man in great interest now.
The Shadow could feel the intensity of the hatred and malice that DiZ harbored towards his student, enough so that the Shadow's more primal instincts drew the Heartless closer. The smell of actively burning wood, the stink of sulfur, and the allure of intensified darkness was astounding. DiZ chuckled lowly, staring down at the Heartless.
"Don't be afraid, little one." DiZ smirked, that fiendish yellow eye glaring at the Heartless. "You aren't the subject of my ire. Be grateful for that."
Kuro arrived shortly after, walking towards his wardrobe and grabbing the brown vest and adorning it over his simple white long sleeve. The throwing knife bag strapped tightly along his thigh, and the silver bangles were placed along his wrists. Kuro finished the outfit by grabbing his black messenger bag to run along his chest and adjusting the Avalanche Jolly Roger belt buckle before he returned to DiZ's side.
"Well, let's get started." Kuro said, hands leveled at his sides as DiZ summoned a portal and led Kuro on through. Dusk follows shortly behind him. DiZ straightened his posture, walked on through the portal and prepared for Kuro to meet the White Witch Naminé.