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The Sins of Two Fathers	By : wickedorin Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 687 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
"The Sins of Two Fathers" and the general overall
concept of "The Sins of Two Fathers" is completely copyright Orin Drake
1999-2005, as are the characters Kyrie and Rodger and some more random
people that don't matter as much. The characters Seifer Almasy, Squall
Leonhart, Quistis Trepe, Ellone (Leonhart?), Laguna Loire and Rinoa "The
Great Big Bitch" Heartily (biased? me?) are copyright Squaresoft, as are
the terms SeeD, gunblade, Trabia Garden, Griever, and probably a lot of
other stuff I forgot to mention. Hell, if you played the game, you
know. Enough said. Oh yeah, and there are plenty of spoilers
everywhere for everything. That about covers it.

        Background:
To be completely honest, I had no idea this was going to turn into a serious
story. I started writing is as a free-for-all squickfic yaoi fan
fantasy, but it got so out of my control that the characters are actually...
endearing. What have I done?! Ah well. Lesse, there's
a real obvious homosexual relationship, but they don't really do anything
in this chapter, so... oh, there's language. You know me, I like
my nasty language, so look out. Angst, I love putting angst everywhere.
That's about it for now. I will warn you, though, that FF characters
actually don't make up a lot of this story, especially not in the beginning.
I will make it up to you all some day. Enjoy.

The Sins of Two Fathers

Chapter 3

by Orin Drake
        She woke to the smell of
frying bacon at the very beginning rays of morning. So this is
where it all goes wrong, she thought with a wide stretch.

        Tossing her feet out of
the bed, the rest of her body almost followed until she straightened her
back to sit up. This was it. This was the day. And by
the look of the sad bit of light that came in the window, it was damn early.
Too damn early for anything to be awake. She needed to catch two
trains, though. Sleep was a small sacrifice.

        A glance at the clock made
her realize she could technically sleep another hour. No one had come to
wake her up, after all. But, she was up. And it was
probably best not to try and rush out of the place. Her parents may
not appreciate that.

        Another stretch and she
was standing. With a half-awake marched step, she walked to her closet
and rolled the door open. And just what was appropriate to wear?
Hell, she hadn't even packed yet; this last realization made her cringe
a little. Not that she would need much, anyway. Her parents
lived so close, and they could always just mail stuff to her. The
mere act of forgetting to pack, of all things, just gave her a bit more
annoyance than she hoped to have this morning.

        Screw it. She
thought. I'll pack after breakfast. She grasped hold
of her newest, darkest black jeans and pulled them on, glad Garden regulations
were still quite lenient on attire. She had no idea what she'd do
if she had to wear anything other than jeans. What a nightmare.

        Now, as for a shirt... she
scanned the closet, seeking something both appropriate and... not too
appropriate. Running her hands along the sides of her hanging clothes,
she found something suitable almost instantly by touch alone. It
was an old shirt, but it fit quite well; sort of a frosted, silky fabric
in incredible cobalt blue, with three little sapphire-ish buttons down
the front. Long sleeved and collared, but far from too terribly fancy.
It gave her just enough form to be well in the range of appropriately dressed.

        Using the full-length mirror
on the inner door, she took stock of herself. Not so bad, really.
Black and blue clothes, brown hair, and red eyes; she was a walking bruise.
And hanging there, more or less just below her belt, was Griever.
Not the most flattering location, perhaps, but there was no way she was
getting the chain shortened. It just wasn't right.

        Securing her gunblade to
her leg (as you never know what dangers await you at the kitchen table),
she walked to the bathroom and splashed her face a little. No sense
in feeling lethargic until she was in class, was there? Getting a
satisfactory response to the cold water, she dried off and walked downstairs.

        "Hey, now. You don't
want to look too good your first day, do you?" Seifer joked from the stove.

        Kyrie threw her head forward
and "mussed" her hair with her fingers, then snapped it back up.
"Better?" she offered.

        That was how Squall drove
him wild. But he decided to keep his mouth shut about that in front
of his daughter. "Come to think of it... no. I suppose it isn't."
He glanced up to greet the said wild-driver, having walked in behind her.
As Squall passed Kyrie, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

        She closed her eyes for
a moment, savoring that unforced touch. It felt so... natural.
She'd never tire of that. It lasted only a moment, just a supportive
touch before passing, but it was incredibly special. This was the
morning. This was the day. She ran her hands through her hair
and tried to feel hungry.

        Breakfast almost felt a
little... forced. The breakfast itself--bacon, eggs, toast, hash
browns and orange juice--was utterly spectacular, and Kyrie said as much
several times through it. "Sure, now that I'm going away, it's time
for a proper breakfast." She joked as well, gaining a response of
only a dull glance between her parents. It wasn't so much uncomfortable
as it was... different. A difference they seemed to be preparing
themselves for. As though her departure would force them to take
on completely separate lives altogether.

        There was a momentary silence
after their meal, of which Kyrie was truly starting to get concerned about.
It wasn't like she was going away for good. But... admittedly, it
was different. Things were changing. But she sure as hell wasn't
about to dwell on that. "I... still have to pack." She announced,
almost sheepishly.

        Seifer grinned. "Weren't
so prepared, huh?"

        Squall seemed not to have
heard him. "I've got some special Garden tags to put on your suitcases
before you get to the station. They like to run all their baggage
on a separate train."

        Oh, lovely.
His daughter thought. "I hope this doesn't mean I wind up without
luggage at the end of the line." She'd traveled by train with her
parents enough to know you didn't always get your bags at the most appropriate
times.

        Seifer dismissed the thought
with a motion of his hand as he rose to clear the plates. "They've
gotten a lot better about that. At least, so they say."

        "If you say it, then I believe
it." Kyrie commented, giving him a little help. It wouldn't
be so bad not to have dishes and chores to accomplish for a while.

        "That's why you're my favorite."
Seifer winked.
        One last long look at her
room... until the weekend, anyway. She'd be back in just a couple
of days. It still felt so final, though. So... total and completed
already. She shrugged the feeling away, closing her suitcases.
Just two. She'd probably only need two. For now, anyway.

        With a deep breath, she
lifted her luggage and walked slowly down the stairs. One more glance
into the empty kitchen. One more casual walk into the living room.
She reminded herself once more that this was not final, but it was
hard to think of it as anything else. For all intents and purposes,
she didn't live here anymore.

        Squall walked back from
the car and held the door for her without a word. There was a sense
that she needed to bear the burden of her suitcases on her own; for now.
It was like a miniature right of passage. A symbolic sending off
by her parents, a symbolic "going off" on her part. How strange it
was to walk out the door with suitcases. Stranger still was the feeling
she got when she stepped off the porch and onto the driveway; almost a
melancholy elation. Off into the world: back in a few days.

        Seifer waited by the car,
opening the trunk when she approached. She imagined he probably had
the same look on his face as she did. She couldn't really trace any
of the emotions, but they were all there. Everything she was feeling.
It became way too weird to think of emotion at that point in time.
She simply threw her bags into the trunk and got in the back seat.
Too much. Now it seemed too real. Too emotional. Too...
mushy.

        There was a silence all
the way to the station as she reclined and blanked out. It was a
silence of sadness, as though she were already gone. But there were
also glimmers of hope in it. Too hard to explain. Too hard
to understand. She'd never been away from them before. This
moment alone was so... strange to live through.

        I'm going to miss their
laughter. She thought suddenly, for no reason at all. Squall
didn't laugh often, but when he did... it was just a good laugh.
An incredible laugh. And Seifer's was so loud and contagious.
She wasn't sure she'd be hearing any sort of pleasant laughter for a long
time, where she was headed.

        Well, that wasn't true.
There was Quistis. She had a laugh that was far from feminine.
It wasn't disgusting or anything, nor did it contain snorts, but it was
just... unladylike.

        She wiped her thoughts of
such things. It's not like she wasn't going to be relatively close
by, under the watchful eye of an old friend. It's not as if she couldn't
go back for visits every couple of weeks. Or more, depending.
She wasn't going away for good, or really even for a long period of time.

        That didn't change the awkward,
almost unbearable silence. It was sad and proud and happy and lonely
all at once. And it was really starting to get on her nerves.
But there wasn't a lot to talk about. The drive was half over by
the time she would even have attempted a last conversation, so there wasn't
much point to it. It just kinda... sucked.

        Pulling into the train station's
parking lot, her heart began to speed up. Whether it was the adrenaline
of the "great adventure" ahead, or simply because she was thinking of how
long she'd get lost in Trabia Garden before anyone would realize she was
missing, she couldn't have said. Maybe it was the feeling of being
too late to turn back. Maybe she didn't want to. Either way,
she saw both of her parents take large, stabilizing breaths before they
got out of the car. A strange thing to bear witness to.

        Squall opened her door without
a word, just waiting close by for her. Almost as if he were trying
to protect her on the last leg of their journey together. Maybe those
thoughts were more accurate than she knew, but the time to think on that
was not that moment. She had a train to catch.

        Each parent took a bag for
her, walking close behind like two bodyguards as she followed the signs
to the luggage area. There were the occasional glances here and there
from people who recognized one of them. No doubt many wondered who
she was. No doubt more wondered what Seifer was doing there.
But, luckily, no one approached. No one outright stared.
That was a nice change of pace.

        She felt a little reluctant
to give her suitcases to the pimple-laden boy who was loading the baggage
train. He was certainly as old as, if not older than, she was.
But she'd had plenty of time to feel a hell of a lot older. He did
seem like your average, stereotypical "nice kid", though. So long
as he didn't lose her things, she'd choose to continue to believe that.

        With the train to Esthar
right across the way from the luggage run to Trabia, they didn't have far
to walk. And Kyrie could see the Trabia line take off from the station,
with no bags fluttering out the back. That was somewhat comforting.
The mood had become almost unbearable, though. Herself, she was slightly
numb. Thoughts flew through her head; all of the distant, stupid,
and very likely possibilities of her future at Garden. Her parents
sat close to one another across the seat aisle from her, seeming to find
comfort only in being able to stare at people walking by. Another
weird moment. Another changing moment.

        It didn't take long for
the call for the Esthar train to sound obnoxiously on the speakers.
It had startled Kyrie out of yet another imagining of the interior of Trabia
Garden, complete with monsters of all sorts and the carcasses of several
disappeared headmasters. It occurred to her, as they walked up to
the train itself, that she ought to write some of this shit down.
It could make money.

        "Nary loading!" the conductor
called. Train lingo meaning, "We're leaving quickly due to a lack
of passengers."

        A fast good-bye. That
didn't seem right. But, neither did a long, slow one. It'd
already been too drawn out. And it had started to wear on nerves
and emotions.

        This wasn't really a good-bye,
though. It was a... see-you-later. "I guess it's time."
Kyrie suggested quietly.

        Seifer nodded. "Better
get going."

        She took a deep breath,
and just one moment to close her eyes. Here goes. So it begins.
"I love you, Father." She said, wrapping her arms around him.

        Seifer hugged her back,
squeezing her almost hard enough to break something. Almost.
"I love you too, sweetheart." He squeezed again, then reluctantly
let go to kiss her softly on the cheek.

        She returned the affection
and turned to Squall. "I love you, Dad."

        Surprising her, he wrapped
his arms around her before she even had the chance. Was that a little
emotion she'd seen on his face? It was hard to tell, but she was
pretty sure it was. "I love you too, Kyrie."

        It figured, didn't it.
The one time her name didn't sound like some far away storybook place,
and she was leaving. But it didn't matter. She'd be back soon.
She hugged him hard and forced herself to pull away, kissing his cheek
first.

        She saw it then, as her
parents forced themselves to pull back. They did love her, and they
hated to see her go. She was sorry for being such a prick, but she
decided now was not really the time. "Take care, dammit." She
decided upon.

        "We will." Squall
tried to raise his voice above a whisper. "You call us tonight, though."

        "I will." She promised,
seeing the conductor wave her aboard.

        "And don't take candy from
strangers!" Seifer tried his hardest to grin insanely.

        "Take candy, gotcha."
She joked, unable to do much else. The train was getting ready to
leave, so she waved as she was ushered in. "I'll call!" she yelled
over the whistle as the train set to move.
        How fucking weird
it was to be on a train without her parents. Not so uncomfortable,
though. The cars were far from full; in fact, the seats next to her
and the ones across the aisle were completely vacant. So, taking
advantage of such a rare opportunity, she stretched out a little.

        No one talked to her, or
hardly looked at her, the entire way there. It was under an hour
ride to Esthar, so it wasn't so unusual for passengers to keep to themselves
on the shorter trips, especially when they were used to the commute.
She didn't have the energy to make small talk with strangers, anyway.
She was trying to conserve all conversation for Laguna. She'd be
needing it.

        It was quite the pretty
ride, despite being on the Esthar plains. The continent itself resembled
nothing of the major city; it was bare and harsh where the city itself
was a masterpiece of engineering. Seeing the peaks and plateaus in
the distance was a marvel, though. It had always been, for her.
Just the wonder of what may live on those mountains. Or, better yet,
underneath them. Maybe she was just a little monster obsessed.

        The ride was over almost
before it began, in her mind. She must have zoned out entirely.
Ah well, it was practice for Laguna. She tried not to grin at that,
but it was quite the task. In just a few minutes, she'd be trying
to get away from him, most likely. Although it might be a great deal
of fun to just stay throughout the day and see how many millions of conversations
he could have with himself, she did eventually need to make it to
Trabia.

        As the train slowed into
the unloading dock, she stretched. Sure she could take a nifty moving
sidewalk right to the Presidential Estate, but what's the fun in that?
She checked the clock as she stepped onto the platform and noted she had
plenty of time to wander. Not that she ought to, of course.
But maybe a little shopping wouldn't be so bad. At least one stop
before Laguna. It'd help prepare her, anyway.

        Esthar Station was the most
massive place she'd ever encountered. She'd thought it a world all
its own when she was younger. It still seemed to be so as she walked
into the shopping wing. Of course, Esthar Station used to be Esthar
Airstation, which would explain the incredibly high ceilings and the vast
amount of space. After the new airstation was built, they turned
the former one into the train station and a plethora of shopping malls
that bled into the rest of the city, creating a metropolis. It was
a fun place, to say the least. And, luckily, within walking distance
of the Presidential Estate, which was more or less in the heart of the
city.

        She checked her pocket for
her security keycards. Couldn't get in to see Laguna without them.
Luckily, she was worried for nothing. She knew Esthar was a pretty
damn safe place, regardless of the size. But she felt, no matter
the circumstances, she could never be too careful. Then she looked
down at her side and smiled at her gunblade; she'd nearly forgotten it
was there, it felt so natural. That would probably keep thieves at
bay. Kept a few people from looking at her for too long, as well.

        Casually, she wandered into
the shop she'd been in every time she'd visited before. It was simply
a women's specialty clothing store (there was no secret that it was mainly
affordable fashion for transsexuals), but somehow she felt drawn to it.
Not to it, truth be told, but to the man behind the counter. As she
walked past the blue plaque with gold letters reading "Cloud's Shop", she
took a breath of the familiar. It always smelled the same.
Of silk, velvet, cheap shoes and just a hint of perfume. Her parents
took her to visit her grandfather every year, and in the period away she
would completely forget what the place smelled like (not that she thought
of it often). But when she returned, there it was, familiar as always.
Strange that a clothing store she saw once a year would matter at all to
her.

        "Ms. Leonhart!" she heard
from the back of the shop, near the dressing rooms. Certain enough,
it was the owner, having noticed her already. She waved back, just
glad to see a familiar face. Upon every visit since she was old enough
to notice, she'd been amazed that he hadn't aged a day since she saw him
last. This time was no different. Same spiked blond hair, same
friendly manner, same laid back fashion sense.

        Sure, she didn't know him.
But she sort of felt she did. Now that she was on her own, it seemed
only natural that she stop in on her way to "total freedom". She
had very little interest in this type of women's clothing, however; her
visits seemed to be more out of tradition later on than actual need.
But Cloud always seemed to find her something interesting, as though he'd
been saving up all year just for her.

        Taking note of the clearance
section that never failed to look exactly the same as it did on all previous
visits, she walked up to him. In some ways, it felt odd to openly
converse with a complete stranger, knowing her name or not. But again,
she couldn't deny this terribly strong feeling that she knew him.
Or perhaps, in the least, that she felt safe with him.

        "My goodness." Cloud
stated, stepping back a moment to take her all in. "You've grown."
He took a moment to gaze into her eyes. The first time he'd seen
them, he'd felt violently ill. It was just that he hadn't seen eyes
that deeply blood red for... quite some time. They were still as
crimson as they'd always been, but glitteringly so, like living pools of
blood. The excitement of being a little more free and able to do
more or less what she wanted was obvious. "And what can I do for
you?"

        "It's a tradition."
She responded, just a little more gittily than normal. Somehow not
being accompanied by anyone was quite the enjoyable freedom.

        "So it is." Cloud
smiled, indicating for her to walk with him to the other side of the store.
"Alone on this trip?"

        "Stopping by to visit my
grandfather before I head off to Trabia Garden." She responded, stopping
along side him.

        He riffled through a few
of the coats before he continued. "Ah, congratulations. You
must be excited to escape your leash." He grinned, fully knowing
she was enjoying every last taste of the freedom of being alone.
It was no secret from him that she was the President of Esthar's granddaughter.
Nor was it who her parents were. He went back to searching through
the coats on the rack.

        "So far so good."
She watched him wander through the various shades of fabric, wondering
what it was he was looking for.

        At long last, he murmured,
"Aha..." and pulled a belt of all things from somewhere in the center of
the rack. "I was saving this for you."

        She stared at his find.
Plain black leather with an even more plain silver buckle. It was
still very, very nice. It looked genuinely ancient, like it was very
old but very well cared for. It even had the smell of old leather,
the well-worn crinkles in the surface and so forth. Very well done
fakery by an obviously expensive designer. Strangely enough, it went
perfectly with her gunblade scabbard... and then she met his eyes for a
moment, curiously. Grinning ever so slightly to show she wasn't completely
serious, she inquired, "Who put you up to this?"

        He appeared puzzled at first,
then looked down at her jeans. He, too, realized how perfectly the
belt matched. It looked as though it had been made as a set, really;
the belt just had a much more aged look about it. "I guess someone
just has similar taste." He smiled politely.

        She nodded, satisfied.
An extra belt was always useful. And a fashionable one, in her case,
certainly wouldn't hurt. "How much do I owe you?"

        Cloud took hold of both
ends of the belt and spun it in the air almost unconsciously, then laid
it with a light smack in her hand. "Consider it a gift." He
just couldn't get those red eyes out of his mind.

        She tilted her head, her
hand slowly clamping around the leather. "Are you sure about that?"

        "Yes, of course."
He smiled. "I get... enough business, here." He grinned in
a nearly suggestive way.

        She laughed softly.
"Well... alright. Thank you. I guess I'd better get going before
Mr. President sends someone to find out why I'm late."

        He nodded and waved as she
walked off. When she was out of sight, he sighed to himself.
She'd grown up in front of his eyes. How long would it be before
he had to disappear again and find something else to do for a while?
It would be much longer before he'd see someone else with those eyes, he
was sure. It'd been so long already.
        The distance from the shopping
center to the Laguna's "palace" seemed quite a bit shorter than usual.
Maybe that was because there was no Squall trying to dodge the attention
of guards that may know him, and no Seifer trying to hide from the entire
world. She didn't think such a thought in a negative way, but it
was the truth. Occasionally a guard would stop and stare for just
a moment more than they would at a "normal" person, no doubt seeing the
pendant or the gunblade at her side. But she didn't mind, really.
She was proud of whoever/whatever the hell she was.

        Things hadn't changed much
in a year's time. Except the flower beds outside the estate were
all torn out. No doubt some very interesting story behind that, but
she doubted she'd have the time (or opportunity) to ask. Without
a word, a polite smile on her face, she presented her level 3 keycard to
the uniformed guard outside the main entrance.

        He turned the card over
and tapped it against his glove. Then he moved it back and forth,
noting the genuine hologram. Finally, he placed it in the slot behind
him, and the door beeped as it opened.

        Why is he even here?
she wondered behind that same flat, polite smile, taking her card back
and pushing the door open herself. And doesn't he know he's paid
to hold the door open, too?

        It didn't matter, really.
It was a nice day. Why ruin it with the obvious questions?
She walked down the hallway into the room that held the elevator chamber.
Level 7 card in hand, she swiped it through the slot and was immediately
let through with a casual mechanic "ding". Not so bad. She
was nearly there without problems.

        She got out on the seventh
floor and walked over to the left, down an eerily lit hallway to the second
lift; the one that would actually get her to Laguna. Fumbling with
the last keycard, she was interrupted by a shrill whistle from behind her.
With a smile, she recognized him right away as he bounded toward her.

        He stopped and looked at
her silently with a returned smile on his face, then hugged her.
She was quiet, sweet, and perfectly willing to interrupt Laguna should
she need to. He liked her. A lot.

        "Good to see you too, Ward."
It was true. Regardless of not being able to talk, she and Ward had
had a great many conversations with facial expressions when she was still
young enough to have not been required to pay attention to her grandfather's
rantings.

        After another giant squeeze,
Ward released her with no permanent damage. He smiled again and indicated
it was time to use her keycard.

        She did so, the lift dinging
and opening without hesitation. As the doors closed and the tiny
mirrored room began to move, Kyrie made small talk. "How've you been?"

        Ward expanded his arms and
shrugged slightly. Translation: "Okay. Pretty good."

        As much as she did appreciate
her grandfather's constant chatter, she also found the utter and simple
silence just as comforting. "Bag yourself a girl yet?" she grinned.

        The towering soldier put
his hands on his hips and shook his head. Translation: "Indecent
question. And none of your business."

        "Is that a 'no', then?"
she continued to tease.

        He shook his finger at her.
No translation necessary. He then held his hands out to her.
Translation: "And how are you?"

        "Good." She answered
honestly. "Maybe a little nervous, but good."

        The lift dinged again, indicating
that they had arrived at the proper level. Ward gave her the thumbs-up
("Good luck!"), and another hug.

        "I bet I'll see you again
soon." She assured him, stepping off and giving him a wave.

        Ward waved back and gave
another thumbs-up as the doors closed. He assumed she needed quite
a bit of luck to get out on time to catch her next train.

        Taking a deep breath, she
turned and walked down the hallway. If she remembered correctly,
it was right, left, right. If she didn't... then she'd be really
late on her first day. Luckily, as she witnessed Kiros strolling
in the hallway, she was reaffirmed.

        He glanced at his watch
before he greeted her, his voice a little softer than usual. "Kyrie,
nice to see you. And you're a bit early on top of that. That may
be helpful."

        She grinned. "That
was the intention. Should I be warned of anything?"

        "Nothing out of the ordinary."
He responded with a heavy sigh. "I'm just back from my break.
We'll both have to sit through this."

        Kyrie didn't bother commenting
on that. There was no use, really. One thing was certain: keeping
up would require a severe burst of caffeine.

        Kiros read her mind.
"Coffee's on the table."

        With a Ward-ish thumbs-up,
Kyrie stepped on the pressure sensitive unlock and walked through the opened
door. It was literally like stepping into another universe; the energy
that the room gave off was pretty intense. No doubt all of it came
from Laguna. Kiros joked that he could power the whole planet, had
they only a way to hook him up to it.

        There he was. She
could feel his eyes dart to her as though they were pure beams of
energy. "Kyrie!" he raced out of his chair to greet her.

        Oh boy. Here we
go. She prepared herself as best she could as the lightning flash
that was her grandfather approached.

        Laguna hugged her tightly,
already starting to talk a mile a minute. "It's great to see you!
You've grown up so fast. You're such a beautiful young lady.
You remind me so much of Raine already. And sort of my son, if I
only knew him better."

        Kiros slapped his own face
with the palm of his hand and held it there, his eyes closed in agony over
hearing all of this. Kyrie gave him a look of sympathy that he felt
rather than saw, and turned back to her grandfather.

        "What will you be studying
first?" Laguna asked, indicating for her to sit with him at the conference
table.

        "World history and politics."
She responded, making herself comfortable and casually forgetting to mention
the fact she was also being forced to take algebra. How she hated
algebra. It was, however, kind of nice to know that she didn't
have to do hardly any talking at all for the next... however long she was
kept there. Screw the train.

        "Wow, world history."
Laguna began, sitting back and getting comfortable to ramble. "You'll
probably get into all of the wars and everything. I'm probably even
going to be mentioned. That's quite a strange thing, me being mentioned
in a history class. I never thought the day would come. Kind
of odd, don't you think so, Kiros?"

        He only murmured something
along the lines of "yeah". It was hard to tell. His hand was
still against his face, his eyes still closed. This was going to
be a long day. Hyper in the morning meant twice as hyper in the afternoon.
Sympathetically, he indicated the coffee decanter to Kyrie.

        She suppressed a grin as
best as she could, nodding slightly. She loved her grandfather dearly,
but sometimes he talked himself stupid. Literally.

        "And what after that?" Laguna
was eager to open up more conversation.

        "I'm not sure yet."
She admitted. "Maybe different forms of combat." She graciously
accepted the steaming cup from Kiros as he poured himself yet another helping.

        Laguna seemed to take that
particular moment in time to see her brand new gunblade. "My goodness.
That just looks lovely on you. I haven't had a chance to see it yet.
But I helped my son track down the man who made his. Of course, he
was dead, but his son was still alive..."

        The conversation (or the
informal speech, you could say) continued upward and onward. Kyrie
was certain she wouldn't remember a damn thing they were talking about
anyway. Just listening to Laguna was a drug-like high. The
coffee really did help her to understand what he was saying, though.
The "Am I going too fast for you?"s were met with a casual shake of the
head. Though she could easily have promised her first born to him
without having caught it. At least the passage of time stopped existing
for what seemed like a good chunk of history condensed into an instant.

        So this is time compression.
She thought, trying very hard not to laugh as she sipped at cup number
two.

        "I think she's already late
for the train, Laguna." Kiros finally interrupted without bothering
to be terribly polite about it.

        Laguna's face fell.
"Oh." He looked at his watch, to the clock on the wall, then back.
"Yes. Well, you better get going, then."

        She almost felt badly about
that. It was true that she had to be leaving, but she didn't want
to go on a down note. "But I'm sure I'll be back around to visit
more often than usual."

        Her grandfather's eyes lit
up again with their usual gleam. "I hope so."

        "I promise to try, anyway."
She assured him kindly. He meant well. Certainly one of the
most kind hearted people she had ever met.

        "That's all the assurance
I need." Laguna stood up and held his arms open expectantly.

        Who was she to deny the
President of Esthar? She stood and embraced her grandfather.
"Take care of yourself, huh Grandpa?"

        He smiled at being called
the closest thing to "Dad" he'd ever heard. "Always! And you
too, Kyrie."

        "And you take care of yourself.
And him." She winked at Kiros.

        He felt too tired even to
acknowledge the action, but he did nod slightly. "It's my job, dear."

        "Do you need to be walked
out?" Laguna was genuinely concerned.

        Kyrie looked again at poor,
drained Kiros, and shook her head. "I remember the way out, luckily."

        "See you soon then."
Her grandfather gave her another quick squeeze.

        She returned it. And
then she knew when to get the hell out while she still could. "Talk
to you guys later." She said with a wave, on her way out the door.

        As she heard it shut behind
her, she took in a breath of the stale air on the outside. She hadn't
bothered to see what the time was, herself. It didn't really matter.
There were lots of trains headed for Trabia through the day. She
wouldn't have to wait longer than half an hour.

        Keycard in hand, she went
back to the seventh floor and the main elevator. As she passed her
card through, she was stopped at the door by the arms of a rushing Ellone.
"Oh, do you have to go already?"

        Kyrie was dazed for a moment
before she returned the hug. It seemed like Elle had just appeared
out of nowhere. Apparently it'd been a busy morning for her, as well.
"I'm afraid I'm already late. A couple more minutes won't matter."

        Elle pulled away and smiled
warmly. "Well, just a couple, then. It's good to see you!
I hope Laguna didn't keep you..." she trailed off, realizing that he was
most certainly the reason for her tardiness. "Well, I'm just glad
you stopped by."

        Kyrie grinned. "It's
just orientation, anyway. I'll probably make more appearances now
that I have to travel back and forth to see everyone."

        Ellone nodded happily.
"I hope so. It seems like I blinked and missed your childhood!
How are Squall and Seifer?"

        "They're both well."
Kyrie responded more out of instinct than honesty. She was quite
thrilled to have told the truth, though. "Probably pretty lonely
now." She joked.

        "Probably having the time
of their lives." Ellone returned with a giggle. Seriously,
but not quite filled with hope, she inquired, "And when are they going
to come here for a visit?"

        What a question. But,
Ellone knew of the "situation". "Not a clue." Kyrie responded
honestly. "But I bet I could get them to sometime soon."

        "I hope so." Her aunt
sighed softly. "I haven't seen either of them in a while."
She paused, eyes cast downward. "Oh, well, you ought to be going.
Just tell them I said hello, would you?"

        "I will, Elle." She
promised.

        "Take care." Ellone
rained blessings upon her, drawing her in for another hug.

        I've never been hugged
so damn much in my life! Kyrie kept to herself. "You too."
She responded, spinning them both so that their places were reversed.
She waved to Elle as the doors closed and the lift descended.

        Squall was so right about
coffee. It got things done. Or at least made you feel like
you'd gotten things done. Illusion can be just as good as the real
thing. Stepping off at the bottom, she made note of the time.
Almost eight o'clock. Shit. She thought at first.
But then, if she could make it to the station by or just a few minutes
past the hour, she could catch the next train to Trabia without waiting.

        Let's see what this coffee
can do. She walked quickly out the door, past the confused looking
door guard who swore he'd seen her before but wasn't sure from where, and
jogged back through to the trains.
        She checked the clock above
the doorway to her train car again. Nine-thirty. Damn.
She was supposed to be in Trabia Garden at nine. Preferably
up to an hour before. She had managed to catch the eight o'clock
train, but the fact remained that she was late. Ah well, she
went back to reading the newspaper. She'd be there in a matter of
minutes, anyway.

        Apparently there wasn't
much going on "in this part of the world", either. It was quite a
bit cooler than Pandora Wake, her previous home, but nothing she'd needed
to pack especially for. She stopped reading and looked up, thinking
about that. Her "previous home". How odd. Glancing back
at the paper, all she found were sports scores, light rain, and a human
interest story about something she wasn't interested in. She skipped
it right away.

        Folding the paper, she glanced
at the other possible reading materials in the front of the car.
Again, she was almost completely alone on this leg of the journey.
Must not be travel season. Or all students but herself were already
there. She didn't doubt it.

        There was a tabloid or two,
but no interesting reading. Nothing intelligent. Not that she
was much in the mood for drawn out explanations of the universe or the
latest advances in science, but this candy sweet "no news is good news"
shit had to stop.

        With another glance out
the window, she realized it didn't matter. She saw the station right
ahead; and, behind it, Trabia Garden. It was still a pretty good
distance from the station itself, but it was massive. It towered
above all other buildings in the area; possibly all other buildings on
the continent. Her visions of getting lost in the bowels of the building
weren't so far-fetched after all. How comforting.

        As the train stopped, she
noted that at least she knew where to go. She couldn't possibly miss
her destination at this point in time. Once inside, she could panic.
Until then, all she had to do was walk toward the object.

        The streets themselves were
almost deserted. Must be a Garden town, alright... her thoughts
sounded as she saw a couple of closed night clubs along what appeared to
be the main street. At least, it wound directly into Garden.
Judging from the path she took, it was a damn nice town at least.
For the most part, she tried to keep her eyes only on the dome of the massive
building she was headed for, but when she'd look off to the side or when
something caught her eye, she was greeted by several well-to-do businesses.
She made absolutely certain to make note of the music store and the bakery
as she passed them. Those were the most important things to remember
about a new town.

        In reality, the Garden must
have been about four blocks from the train station. It seemed like
twenty, but this was a new place. When she crossed the final intersection
crosswalk, she stood at the entrance for a good, long time. There
rose before her a threshold to decide to pass through, if you will.
Obviously, she didn't really have anywhere else to go. And nothing
better to do. So far so good; she was up for the challenge.
Grasping the silver handle on the glass door, she breathed in that final
outside freedom.

        The place was indeed incredibly
huge. Just plain amazing. The entrance room alone must have
been the size of a medium sized passenger ship, as she felt she could see
people moving all the way to the horizon. Just unbelievable.
She had no idea the place was so immense. Two stairways seemed to
go up forever on either side, and a fountain three times her height echoed
with trickling water in the middle. It was incredible.

        Just as she was about to
wander around and get herself lost, no doubt, she heard a soft voice behind
her. "Kyrie?"

        She turned and stood face
to face with none other than Instructor Trepe. "Hey Quisty."

        Her aunt grinned.
"You look like you've found a lost city or something."

        "I feel very much like that."
Kyrie admitted. "This place is... incredible."

        "And you're not even inside
yet!" Quistis giggled. "I thought I'd better show you to your room
or Squall will be terribly distressed."

        "Somehow I think it takes
a lot for him to get 'distressed'..." she halfway mumbled.

        "You are such a smart girl."
Quistis remarked. "I bet they already miss you." Never having
had a child of her own, it was nice to spend time with Kyrie. She
was already grown up and should the need arise, she could just hand her
back to her parents to deal with. It was so much easier being a teacher
than a parent. Well, usually.

        "I wonder if they're tearing
each other's eyes out by now..." Kyrie pondered humorously. "That'd
be a good family photo."

        Quistis gave her a lopsided
grin. "None better than when Seifer was crossing his eyes and no
one noticed for years."

        Kyrie laughed with her on
that one. Seifer had never lived that down, and the portrait in question
was "hidden" deep inside one of his lower dresser drawers. Her laughing
caused Griever to lightly chime against one of her buttons.

        Quistis noticed, quietly.
She was a little stunned to see the pendant anywhere beyond Squall's neck.
But then, these were quite different circumstances, weren't they?
His only child going off to Garden, it was probably a farewell gift.
"Well, let me get you to your room. Oh, and one more thing..."

        "Yes?" Kyrie pressed, following
Quistis around the fountain and down the long hall between the two stairways.

        "You are late, young
lady." She grinned.
        As the door opened, she glimpsed
her bags on the bed, already waiting for her. "What service."
Kyrie commented.

        "All of the rooms are much
nicer than anything we ever had." Quistis admitted, following
her in. "Every room has a computer console and a closet."

        Kyrie's curiosity was piqued;
she located the closet on the left and opened the door, instantly feeling
an almost gravitational pull. "Are all of the closets this big?"

        The instructor smiled widely.
"Well, for some reason larger closets come with these 'special singles'."

        That was hard to believe.
"This whole room is mine?" She'd just assumed the second bed hadn't
arrived yet; there was certainly room for it.

        Quistis nodded. "I
can play favorites if I want to."

        Awe. Total and utter
awe. "I'm indebted to you." Kyrie joked.

        "Yes, you are." Her
aunt grinned. "But that can be worked out later. Check out
the bathroom."

        Kyrie responded immediately
to the suggestion, walking in and flipping the light switch. "I get
my own shower?"

        Quistis looked almost as
delighted as her newest student felt. "If you'd rather use the public
ones..."

        "Don't even joke about taking
this away, Quisty." She took a deep, cleansing breath, then shut
the light off. This was good. This was damn good. It
paid to have friends and family, indeed.

        The instructor smiled widely
at her, pleased that everything was falling into place. "Have you
had anything to eat this morning?"

        Kyrie's stomach instantly
jumped at the question. She had eaten, and quite well.
But that had been hours ago, and she'd had to full-out run the last few
yards to the train just to catch up with it and throw herself inside.
Besides, on her usual schedule it'd be about time for lunch. "I would
appreciate seeing the cafeteria." She decided upon.

        There was a different sort
of gleam in her aunt's eyes; she was very much pleased by the decision.
Perhaps she had plans. Or, perhaps she just wanted a conversation.
It had been a while. Wordlessly, she indicated to follow, and lead
her way down the hall and to an elevator.

        As they trekked onward,
Kyrie didn't feel quite as awkward being late. It didn't seem like
anyone else was doing anything important, anyway. Most of the students
seemed to be just hanging out in the halls or riding the lifts with abandon.
Here and there she witnessed large circles of card players, inventing new
rules as they went along.

        "I know it probably won't
thrill you, but we can eat lunch together a lot more often now, if you'd
like." Quistis suggested, taking the last turn in the third floor
hallway before the cafeteria. "I know you probably don't want to
be around an old maid, though." She added jokingly.

        "Oh, I don't mind old people."
Kyrie couldn't help but smile at the end of that. Damn, she wanted
to say it deadpan to see a reaction, too.

        "I don't know where you
got that sense of humor." Quistis teased. "But if you call
me Quisty in class, you will fail."

        "I'll try very hard to remember
that, ma'am." Kyrie solitude halfassed. She was certainly not
disappointed by the size of the cafeteria as they entered; it appeared
just as large as the entrance room on the first floor, with a slightly
lower ceiling. Tables upon tables and several lunch counters as far
as the eye could see; and these were not cheap tables. They made
the place look like a really big coffee house of sorts, with four to six
seats per round table and a silver napkin holder in the center.

        Quistis stopped and seemed
to stare at a boy who was sitting by himself in the nearest corner.
Then her lips quivered into a smile, and she silently suggested that Kyrie
follow her over.

        "Rodger?" Quistis called
politely as they approached. The kid at the table looked up from
obviously zoning out and stood up so fast he nearly knocked everything
over. Clumsily, he caught the edge and set it back down. "Yes,
Instructor Trepe?"

        Quistis: Matchmaker Extroirdonaire.
"Sorry to interrupt, Rodger. You just looked a bit lonely.
I thought I'd introduce you to another new student."

        Kyrie held back a moment
to look him over. Tall, slender, faded blue jeans and a t-shirt that
looked like it was actually black once upon a time, red-brown hair that
just barely reached his eyes in the front of his face. Not a bad
looking guy at all. When Quistis looked back to her expectantly,
she stepped forward and offered her hand. "Kyrie Leonhart."

        It almost looked as though
Quistis flinched a little. Maybe she did. Maybe she was expecting
something else or nothing at all. Didn't matter now that everything
was out of the way, did it?

        "And you'd be Rodger."
She continued for him.

        "That's my name."
He smiled a little nervously. The Instructor was watching him, after
all.

        She quickly took care of
that, however. "Well, I think I'll leave you two to chat without
a crusty old woman around." She smiled and waved as she was already
walking away.

        Rodger just stared at his
new lunch companion, looking her over. As she looked back, delicately
making friendly mockery of the way he was inspecting her, he finally realized
his manners. "Oh, I'm sorry. Please sit down."

        She did so, eagerly.
Seems Quistis was at it again. Only this time she had done this to
family.
Lucky, lucky her. What psycho had she introduced her to?

        Rodger sat down as well,
not too terribly disappointed with Quistis' choice thus far. No,
he hadn't asked for it or indicated he needed company, but he took what
he could get. "So, your last name's Leonhart?" he began curiously.

        She nodded, carefully watching
him. Sometimes this didn't begin well. It certainly never ended
well. Most of the time they knew of Seifer (who didn't?), and the
events of the past. Then there would be a big discussion about what
a traitor he was. She didn't want that to happen. She held
no shame for her father but his own.

        But, thus far, he only nodded.
"As in, Squall Leonhart?"

        Here it came. But
she was ready. "That's right."

        He surprised her by smiling.
"Hey, then our parents went to Garden together. I'm Irvine and Selphie
Kinneas' son."

        To her own surprise, she
mirrored his smile slightly. "Yes, I've heard of them. How
are they? I was going to call my parents later..."

        "Yeah, well..." he trailed
off, obviously uncomfortable. "They're kind of... separated now.
My dad's got a wandering eye, and Ma's not too happy about it."

        She did not mean to let
that grin through. She really didn't want to wind up offending this
guy who seemed so nice and, for all intents and purposes at this point,
pretty genuine. "Sorry." She apologized, trying to wipe the
amusement from her face. "I heard about that part, too."

        He let go of a halfway amused
smile, himself. "It's kinda famous, yeah." He cleared his throat,
feeling almost guilty that he was finding it so funny as well. "And
how are your parents?"

        She didn't know how he felt
about Seifer. She assumed he'd probably taken his parents' stance
and held the entire topic at arm's length. They hadn't completely
abandoned Squall for choosing Seifer, like Zell had. But they didn't
exactly want to talk to him or anyone else involved any time other than
holidays, either. A generic answer would suffice. "They're
well. A little strange since they noticed their daughter was going
away, but well."

        He felt glad to be able
to relax a little. "Yeah, I know that feeling. My mother wouldn't
even let me out the door until she inspected all of my bags. Had
to make sure I had enough socks and stuff."

        She smiled, remembering
the train earlier that morning. "I'm surprised mine let me go at
all."

        Rodger allowed himself one
more quick up and down glance before deciding it was alright to completely
relax around her. "Gunblade too, eh?"

        She patted the side of her
precious weapon lovingly. "Quite an addictive toy."

        Something about her voice
very nearly drove him to blushing, though he couldn't quite put his finger
on why. "Sounds like it's a lot harder than it looks.
There aren't many experts."

        "And what's your specialty?"
she inquired innocently.

        He grinned proudly.
"Rifle. But I can do pretty well with a pistol, too." It was
one of the better things his father had passed onto him.

        They were interrupted momentarily
by a rather burly woman in a hair net setting trays down in front of them.
She didn't really so much as acknowledge their existence, but at least
she was careful not to spill anything. That was enough. Two
relatively edible looking sandwiches with a side of chips and soda that
neither of them recognized. The woman walked away without so much
as a word and left them to their meal.

        Quite astoundingly reappearing
out of nowhere, Quistis wandered right next to them. "Just checking
in on you two." She said innocently. "And decided to warn you
about the food."

        "Poisoned?" Kyrie asked.

        "Oh, well, that's a given."
The instructor joked. "But more importantly, no matter what you order,
I feel I should tell you that it all tastes like pork." She shuddered.

        That was less than appetizing.
"Quality food, then." Kyrie could barely suppress the urge to ask
if she could call in for something. Every day.

        The instructor smiled.
"I have to eat it too, you know." There was very little pause before
she changed the subject entirely, seeing as how it appeared she was at
least partially successful in her efforts to introduce two loners to one
another. "I'll be seeing you two around, I'm sure." She turned
and walked away before either of the teens could feel particularly awkward.

        There was still a little
awkwardness lingering, however. Understandable. The two of
them stared in silence at their food for a moment. "I guess you know
her better than I do..?" Rodger asked, turning over a green chip with the
tip of his finger.

        Kyrie was already busy checking
under the bread. It looked turkey-like. It smelled turkey-like.
But she couldn't help but smell just a little pork, too. She smirked;
at either Quistis' mind control tactics or the kitchen staff. Either
way. "Yeah. She was kind of like the... stepmother figure in
my youth."

        "Stepmother?" he found some
amusement in that, opening his soda. May as well try it before condemning
it.

        "Well, my 'real' aunt was
more the motherly, feminine figure. Quistis was... just a bit of
a slightly below evil stepmother." She took a deep breath and bit
into the sandwich. "But she's still Auntie Quistis when I want something."

        Rodger laughed. "What
a family... how is it?" He still hadn't gained the courage to actually
drink
the soda.

        "Porky." Kyrie grinned.
"Actually, more like turkey. But I swear there is a little
pork."

        She certainly wasn't "charming"
in the sense of what most men may find delightful about a woman, no.
But she was a lot of fun to talk to, he thought. "Nothing crunchy
in there?"

        She turned the sandwich,
took another bite from the opposite end, chewed and swallowed. "Not
yet. What about that drink?"

        Rodger shrugged. "Smells
like... vitamins or something..."

        "Ah, every lunch an adventure..."
Kyrie murmured, trying a chip. "At least these are good and normal."

        "I'll be living off of these,
then..." he swore, trying one himself.

        Brave as Kyrie may be, her
appetite just wasn't up to par in the first place. She couldn't finish
more than half of her sandwich and about 1/3 of her chip pile before courageously
trying that soda. She swallowed several gulps before the full reality
hit her. "It tastes like vitamins, too."

        As Rodger opened his mouth
to comment, the PA system chimed in three tones. A gruff, masculine
voice instantly followed. "There will be a Garden-wide assembly in
the Assembly Hall in ten minutes. Please be in your seats
and ready in ten minutes." Another three tones, and silence.

        "Oh, assembly." Rodger
cheered under his breath with sarcasm.

        Kyrie sighed raggedly.
Now it was in the hands of the gods, she supposed. She could just
see being introduced to the entire school, in the middle of everyone.
Probably with the best intentions, but that is indeed what the road to
hell is paved with. She wasn't really in the mood to deal with assholes.
She'd already been spoiled by a rather civil discussion with Rodger; reverting
to the normal human contact was an awful thought.

        "Well... would you like
to walk together?" he braved the question delicately, glad to be done with
his meal.

        "Sure." She responded,
pushing her chair back. "It's a good excuse not to 'mingle'."

        Rodger chuckled at that,
standing. "Do you play cards?" he tried.

        She suppressed the urge
to tease his efforts at conversation. "Not really. Not among
crowds, anyway."

        He nodded, walking beside
her to the double-wide student escalators. It was just easier and
faster than taking a lift to the second floor during an assembly call.
Maybe he was starting to be glad Quistis had intervened in his privacy.
He wasn't certain, yet, but... then he caught Instructor Trepe by accident.
She was standing on the "bridge" just above the escalator and to the opposite
side of the "landing platform", looking down at them with a satisfied smirk
on her face.

        Kyrie looked up to the same
sight a moment later, feeling the eyes on her. She responded with
a delicate smirk of her own, and a wave. She'd have responded with
a joking flip of the bird, but this was a school.

        "You must be a favorite."
Rodger joked.

        "I sure hope so."
Came her instant and honest answer. Hell, if I get my own room,
what else can I get?

        Like everything else about
the place, the Trabia Garden Assembly Hall was absolutely incredible.
It looked like it very well could have gone up forever, a stadium worth
of seating and a huge platform which could just as easily be used as a
stage for any quality of theater. There was even a chandelier in
the center of the room, although it was made of steel and waved banners
of various team winnings. It wasn't one of those tacky eyesores,
though. It really looked like a piece of art.

        Seeing students file in,
Kyrie felt just a little claustrophobic. The seats were still damn
close to one another, despite having arm rests. She wondered, with
a grin to herself, if they had cup holders, too.

        "Hey, where are you going?"
Rodger asked, lightly grasping her arm. He pulled his hand back almost
right away, not quite sure if the physical contact would be met with, well,
violence. She just had that... air about her.

        While the touch had caught
her off guard, the question drew more of her attention. "To... sit."
It seemed obvious enough.

        "Oh." He responded.
"I, uh... well, I thought we might sit together. I mean, you're the
only person I know."

        She was certainly not used
to invitations like that. But she wasn't about to deny her suspension
of reality. She nodded and followed him. Might be nice to actually
sit with someone who appeared to want to sit with her.

        They chose somewhere near
the top of the room, just far enough away from the platform to be comfortably
in range of the speaking, out of range of the staring, and right on the
aisle. Damn good seats they'd snatched from the latecomers.

        As the hall filled up to
nearly 95% capacity, Kyrie became astounded that so many students could
possibly fit in the Garden. It had proven even bigger than she had
last thought it to be, as all students were required to live (for the most
part) on campus. Maybe it wasn't so bad. It was unlikely she'd
see most of these people for more than one class.

        Just as the last students
were settling in, a glimpse of the Headmaster could be caught. He
was a large man with quite a bit of weight on him, dressed in a business
suit. It looked very much out of place for a Garden. But
who am I to judge? Kyrie thought with a well hidden grin.

        The lights in the hall suddenly
went down. Not all the way, but certainly enough to shush the conversations.
Spreading his arms, the Headmaster boomed without the need for a microphone,
"Welcome, students. I am Headmaster Immorein. You may refer
to me as such, or as Sir."

        What a joy.
Kyrie commented mentally.

        "It is a privilege
to be in Garden." He continued. "But it's also an honor to
have all of you here. I certainly hope you will all consider being
only the best of students for your teachers. Their work load is quite
immense at the moment, since so many students have qualified and succeeded
in attending this year."

        Placing his hands behind
his back, he began to walk around the stage a bit, appearing "casual".
"While I do require each and every one of you to take your education completely
seriously, I do not expect that to be the entirety of your day. Therefore,
each of you have instant access into the Training Grounds via your student
keycards, located in your desks as you go back to your rooms."

        A murmured rush of excitement
roamed the hall. Headmaster Immorein paused for it, then continued
with his feet together and his back straight. "I require discipline,
however. No one should spend all of their time in one area.
Everyone ought to have a little of each part Trabia Garden has to offer.
It is the newest of the Gardens, so the facilities offer plenty of space
and amenities. Our Library, for instance, has a number of reading
and reference rooms. I expect all of you to spend at least some time
there."

        By this time, both Kyrie
and Rodger were growing bored with the man's banter. Wasn't everything
he said a given? Apparently they weren't the only ones having trouble
paying attention; looking across the way, they could just make out some
others slumped in their chairs, sleeping.

        The Headmaster seemed to
notice as well. And he intended to do something about it. "And,
most importantly..." he paused, taking a deep breath to shout, "Pay attention!"

        Several students actually
fell out of their chairs. Kyrie placed a hand securely over her mouth
so the sound of her laughter wouldn't reach "Sir's" ears.

        Once more, the Headmaster
walked around the platform, taking a good look at the flock, new and old.
"Knowing that... you may go."

        Most of the students were
still a little too stunned to have realized what had been said. Kyrie
and Rodger looked at one another and decided it was best to get out while
the getting was good and relatively open. Not trying to look too
eager, they maneuvered around the steadily increasing stream of other students,
out the door.

        Back "on the outside", the
two of them exchanged glances. Kyrie was the first to comment, "That
was surreal."

        Her companion agreed with
a chuckle. "I hope it doesn't get much worse."

        On cue, the PA system chimed
again. "Will all students with the first letter of their last names
falling between the letters 'A' and 'K' please report to the auditorium
within ten minutes. All students with letters 'A' through 'K' beginning
their last names, please report to the auditorium for continued assembly
in ten minutes."

        "Damn." Rodger grunted.

        "Lucky you." Kyrie
commented as seriously as she could manage.

        "You'll get your chance
when I'm done." He grinned.

        "I sure hope it's another
jubilant speech about being a good student." She murmured.

        Whatever it was, he didn't
look forward to it. More boredom, how wonderful. "Hey, um..."
he began shyly. "Can I... walk you to your room?"

        There was an undeniable
shock taking hold of her at that moment. Truth be told, she'd never
in her life had a boyfriend. Or really even a friend. Her efforts
were left to combat, puzzles and trying to suppress rage that wasn't her
own. But now someone had asked if they may accompany her to her room.
Someone who very willingly had lunch with her, and still wanted to be around
her. "Sure."

        Wordlessly, they strolled
the escalator and the long student hallway until her turn-off. If
she'd thought that entire assembly had been surreal, it was nothing compared
to leading (for all intents and purposes) a complete stranger to her
room. First of all, the fact that he asked. And second
of all, the fact that she agreed. It was so damn... odd.

        She stopped somewhat suddenly,
almost having passed the door to her room. Rodger couldn't deny the
fact that the doors down her wing were a bit further apart than the ones
in his. It wasn't important at the moment, though.

        "This... is it?" he asked
quietly.

        "Yeah." She answered,
still feeling weird to say the least. "This is mine."

        122, 122, 122...
he burned the room number into his mind. "Well... uh... I guess I'll
see you after assembly maybe..?"

        Wow. Stranger and
stranger. "Sure. Yeah. At least I bet we'll pass one
another on the way."

        That wasn't entirely...
settling. But it was a good enough answer. Why he felt the
need to attach himself to her, he didn't really know. But it seemed
right. And she'd hacked down his defenses pretty quickly, on top
of that. "Alright, well... I'll see you."

        "Yeah." She answered.
"I'll see you. And thanks."

        He nodded and walked away
before the blush got a chance to visibly spread over his face. While
he hoped she wouldn't think it rude for him to have rather suddenly darted
off in the opposite direction, he wasn't sure he could handle her knowing
he was blushing severely. I didn't seem... proper.

        Kyrie grinned as she glanced
at his back, moving rather swiftly away from her. A shy boy.
Sweet.

        Inside her "apartment", she
checked the wall clock. Just past lunch time for her parents.
She wondered if she ought to call right now; they'd probably be worried
sick until she did. Or at least wonder where the hell she was, and
whether she actually got there or not. Of course, they may have gone
out to lunch. Sometimes they did, but not often.

        Why spend time wondering
when you can know, after all. She sat on her bed and picked up the
phone, dialing 9 for the outside extension. Getting the satisfactory
click, she rang her parents.

        Three rings... four rings...
they were probably out to lunch, alright. Then to her surprise, she
heard the click of someone picking up, and the very end of a lust filled
scream. It didn't take a genius to know what was going on.

        "Uh... hello?" Seifer said,
trying to mask his voice.

        She smiled widely.
"I'll call back later..."

        "No! No, no, we were...
just..."

        "Yeah, I don't need details.
You dog, Father." She added, feeling particularly playful
after lunch with a "gentleman".

        Seifer chuckled. "You'll
have to... wait a moment or two to talk to your dad... he's... out."

        She really didn't know whether
she should be laughing or feeling repulsed. Her father was joking
about sex. Sex she'd just heard the end of (it was so very like him
to pick up the phone during the end, too). That would probably drive
some teenagers to shriek "ew!" and the like. Most certainly with
the fact they were both males. Her, she just made an agreeable sound
and continued. "You're living just fine without me, then?"

        "Oh, I wouldn't say that..."
Seifer began.

        There was a bit of rustling
behind him, and a whispered, "Who is it?"

        "You want to talk to your
dad?" Seifer said loudly, his mouth away from the phone as he was already
handing it over.

        Kyrie giggled darkly as
she heard Squall's embarrassed moan, then Seifer's laughter. Seemed
like the two had loosened up quite a bit already, didn't it?

        "Hey... Ky." He tried
to get himself used to the nickname Seifer had always used. It was
strange, but completely sincere. "How is everything?"

        "Who'd you have to bribe
to get me this room?" she asked outright.

        Squall made an amused cough.
"Quistis may have helped there. I think you might even have her for
a class or two."

        Kyrie was glad for that.
Someone she knew. And Quistis of all people. She knew she wouldn't
have it any easier that way, certainly, but it would be a hell of a lot
more fun.

        "Make any friends yet?"
Seifer giggled in the background.

        It was sort of a sarcastic
comment, but she understood it. Neither of her parents had made friends
easily, and it was still a big joke between them. "Actually, I was
at lunch with a guy."

        "Oooohhh!" the two of them
commented as one, both with the phone between them.

        "Quistis at work already."
Seifer mumbled.

        She grinned inwardly.
It was amazing how well things went over the phone compared to actually
being there. "I think you may recognize his parents. Selphie
and Irvine Kinneas."

        "Shit." Seifer commented.
"He spawned."

        Squall laughed, almost uncomfortably.
It was cruel... but it was funny. "I hope their son was civilized."

        "More so than I expected
from your stories..." Kyrie trailed off, reliving the lunch. "Well
spoken and intelligent."

        Seifer chuckled. "That's
not Irvine's son."

        She let herself laugh.
"I wonder if he'd say the same about me and Rinoa."

        There was a hush on the
other end. It was still a very touchy subject. "Good point."
Squall said at last.

        Somehow that was incredibly
funny. She could barely catch her breath as she was certain her parents
were exchanging looks. It was beyond comedy, it was sick family history.
When she finally stopped giggling, she continued, "So far so good.
No random shootings or anything."

        "Good." Squall announced
seriously. "And the food?"

        "Uh..." she tried to come
up with a word for it. "Meaty."

        That's when Seifer lost
it to laughter. She just knew Squall was glaring at him. She
could feel the glare over the phone. She added, "Well, that's
the best description I can come up with."

        "Doesn't seem like the food
has changed much." Squall commented, feeling almost sick to his stomach.
One can only take so many hot dogs. Except Zell. For all they
knew, Zell had finally died of a hot dog overdose, or blood loss trying
to get one directly into a vein. Somehow that made him smile quite
widely.

        It was a question he only
asked out of politeness, next. He didn't get along with his father
well, but he knew Kyrie seemed okay with him. "How's Laguna?"

        She smirked, knowing full
well it was forced manners. "Oh, he's good. He's the reason
I was late this morning."

        "I told you that you should
have... waited to see him..." Squall trailed off, not entirely into the
conversation.

        Kyrie immediately sensed
the "trouble". "I guess I'll be going, then..."

        She heard a light smacking
sound and a humorous "Ow!" in the background before Squall spoke again.
"That's alright."

        "Did you two always fuck
like this when I was around?"

        The question was so point
blank that Squall lost all coherent thought at that moment. His daughter
certainly had a variety of... interesting aspects. "Not... often."

        "I figured that much."
She tried very hard not to make any further comments. No double meaning
stick-up-ass jokes or anything. It was tempting, though.

        "What's that supposed to
mean?" Seifer joked.

        As she opened her mouth
to make another sarcastic quip, the PA system interrupted with its goddamn
three chimes. "Will all students not already in the assembly hall
please report directly there. Will all students not already there
please report to the assembly hall."

        "I guess I've been called
away." Kyrie commented. At least that seemed to mean that this
assembly wouldn't take too long. She hoped.

        "I suppose you'll want to
be a good student and obey." Seifer announced innocently.

        "All I've ever dreamed."
She mumbled. "I'll call tomorrow. Really."

        "Damn well better."
Seifer agreed. "We love you, Ky."

        "And I love you, too.
The both of you. Really. I mean that." She overcompensated
on purpose. She had Squall's deadpan sarcasm down.

        He noticed. "We'll
keep your room open and some chili in the fridge."

        "Sweet." She couldn't
help but smile at that. "Talk to you later, guys."
        She didn't spot Rodger on
the way into the hall this time. She assumed she'd meet up with him
later, of course, but it would have been nice to wave to him at least.
To see a look of terror on his face, maybe. Ah well. Such is
life, so she thought.

        Lucky for her, the seated
audience was very well spread out this time. She had no need to sit
next to anyone. And, perhaps by some instinct, no one sat all that
close to her.

        A man who was clearly the
Assistant Headmaster stepped onto the stage; the same suit as the Headmaster,
the same tie, but this man wore glasses and was about half the weight of
the "real thing". There was no lighting cues for him, only the clearing
of his throat, over and over.

        Kyrie instantly disliked
him. Maybe the Headmaster had some sort of merit somewhere, but this
guy... this guy looked rather... sleazy.

        "Alright, alright!" he finally
yelled over the conversation. "I am Assistant Headmaster Evaan."

        Giggles responded to that
statement. As Kyrie was sure happened every time he introduced himself.

        "Silence, silence!" he called
out again. Finally getting most of the attention, he placed the green
folder in his grasp on the floor to free his hands. Predictably,
he placed them behind his back like the man he was all too obviously trying
to emulate.

        "You were all assigned only
two classes this quarter. This is because we want all students to
be able to go at their own pace. If you think you can take more next
quarter, you are welcome to schedule it. Some students have taken
up to eight courses at a time on various schedules."

        Oh joy. Eight.
She thought, trying not to make her poisonous glances too obvious.

        "Each of you will be receiving
a portfolio this evening in your mail boxes." He reached down to
pick up the green folder, showing it off. "These are very important.
Eventually these will be used to schedule your classes and keep your grades,
goals, and requirements. So tonight I want you all to arrange your
lives
by arranging your portfolios!"

        He waved the green folder
around again though it were a starting flag. "Classes start tomorrow.
Don't be late. The rest of the day is yours to explore, so long as
you accomplish this task. Now you may be dismissed."

        Short, but not short enough.
Far from sweet. But to the point. Kyrie darted out as fast
as she was allowed with the stream of people in front of her. She
could already sense a little... chaos.

        "Kyrie!" Rodger called, seeing
her wading through the river of students, all rushing out of the Assembly
Hall like it were blazing with the fires of hell.

        She waved him over and waited
for him to maneuver through a bunch of gallaxy-like masses of girls; the
kind of which always liked to make themselves a nuisance in hallways.
"That sucked." She commented right away.

        He laughed, nodding.
"Yes, it did." Then he took a deep breath, deciding to just go for
it. "Uh... what are you planning to do now?"

        She grinned. "Go back
to my room and," she tried her best to mimic the tripe she had just been
forced to endure, "Arrange my life by arranging my portfolio."
She left him hanging intentionally, waiting to see if he'd press the subject.
When he didn't, she invited, almost under her breath, "Would you like to
join me?"

        His eyes widened considerably.
"I... may I?"

        "I'm not a slut, though."
She joked evenly.

        He cursed himself for blushing,
even though none of the people around him seemed to notice. "I didn't...
I wasn't..."

        "Oh, I know." She
assured. "Call this... the trial by fire method of friendship."

        How... interesting.
"What do you mean?"

        She smiled, albeit thinly.
"Bluntly? I'm seeing what it takes to scare you off so I don't wind
up wasting time and effort on you if you're just going to bail on me later."

        His stomach tightened.
Perhaps he'd underestimated her friendship quota. He waited until
they were well into the dorm hallways before he decided he wanted to know
the answer. "How many people stayed?"

        Her slightly sadistic smile
showed absolutely no sorrow over anything that might have been. "You'd
be the first. Besides my parents, of course. But they don't
have much of a choice. Imagine the scandal if I were given up for
adoption."

        Considering her general
attitude, maybe the response wasn't much of a surprise in the end.
But it was a little jarring.

        "No pressure." She
laughed, lightly tapping his side with her elbow.

        For some reason, that wasn't
exactly what he was feeling. He wasn't sure what he was feeling,
but nervousness was in there somewhere. Pressure, though? Nah.
Not really.

        Room 122. She tapped
the unlock code into the panel and the door whooshed open. She entered
immediately, standing aside for her newfound companion to follow.

        At that moment in time,
he wasn't sure he should. It was far from appropriate. It was
far from feeling right... well, that wasn't true. It shouldn't
have felt right. But he went in, anyway.

        Kyrie flipped a number of
light switches on, not quite aware of exactly how the room looked, herself.
She hadn't had the chance to explore, yet. Let alone unpack.

        "Shit..." Rodger commented,
immediately covering his mouth. "I mean, uh... well, you have your
own bathroom."

        "Neat, huh?" she grinned,
placing her suitcases by the closet door to remind her. "I am immune
to bad language, by the way. I consider them... highly descriptive
words."

        "Oh, good." He replied.
"I couldn't really hold them back if I wanted to." A skill not so
remarkable that his father had passed onto him.

        Even she was still a bit
surprised by the place. She knew she had a desk, but she didn't notice
how nice and new it was until she was staring at it in full brightness.
"Uh... have a seat." She suggested. Herself, she took the bed.
It seemed the most appropriate spot. Especially considering there
was no other furniture in the room save a chest of drawers.

        With a swallow, Rodger pulled
the chair out and sat across from her. How would he start this conversation?
"So..." he began, but stopped short as soon as he looked up. His
gaze was met with her sharp eyes, ready and waiting. "You know what
I'm going to ask, don't you?"

        She knew alright.
It was time to be confronted about Seifer. "Yes." She kept
it simple.

        "It's not like that."
He tried to convince her. "I just... don't know a lot about it.
I don't want to insult your family or anything."

        Kyrie was silent.
Maybe it was true. Maybe he did have good intentions. Even
after she'd revealed her trial by fire method, he'd stayed. She supposed
she could give him the benefit of the doubt to find out for sure.
She sat next to him on the edge of the bed and met his eyes calmly.
"Okay, shoot."

        It came out pretty quickly,
like he'd been wanting to ask for quite a while. "Are they both still
living together?"

        "Yeah." She kept it
short, waiting for the bomb to hit.

        "Good. Good."
He paused, trying to think of something nice to say. About anything.

        "I don't suppose your parents
are thrilled that I'm here with you." She interrupted.

        He shrugged lightly.
"I don't know where my father is, actually. I haven't seen him in
a while. But Mom... Selphie... she's okay with it. She said
there's no reason why we can't... you know."

        "Get along." Kyrie
finished hollowly. "Sorry. I've heard stuff like this before
is all."

        "Yeah, I imagine."
He paused, shifting uncomfortably. "She... kind of wanted me to tell
you, though... that she knows where Zell is."

        Ah, Zell. Many a fond
memory she'd heard. But he broke Quistis' heart and wanted nothing
more to do with anyone that supported Seifer. He'd disappeared shortly
before she was born. "So how's he doing?"

        Rodger sighed. From
what his parents told him, it'd been bad blood all around for a very long
time. He assumed Kyrie, having lived with the former Sorceress' Knight
nearly all of her life, knew all about it. "He's alright, I guess.
He's back in Balamb, working as a mechanic. His mother died a few
weeks ago, though."

        Kyrie was silent.
She didn't know what to say. But she felt that Squall at the very
least ought to know where Zell was. Not that they would ever talk
again, but it was one of those things she felt he would like her to tell
him no matter how much it could hurt. They were really close once.
As were Zell and Seifer, but that was kind of different. Especially
near the end. "Would you like to meet for dinner at, say... seven?"
she asked suddenly.

        Rodger looked at her as
though she were trying to pull some cruel practical joke. But the
eyes that met his were sincere. "S-sure. Here?"

        "If you wouldn't mind."
Kyrie agreed. She had plenty to do until then.

        "You're going to call home,
aren't you?" it wasn't really a question. More of an assurance.

        "They'd want to know this."
She murmured. "And then we can forget over something that smells
like pork."

        That made Rodger smile a
little. "Alright. Seven it is."

        Kyrie nodded and watched
Rodger get up, wave, and walk out. What a wonderful day, her
sarcastic mind stung. In truth, it was a hell of a lot better than
she had expected. And that was mostly thanks to Rodger. Amazing,
in a way. He not only stuck around, but he hadn't said a damn bad
thing about her family. That was kind of odd.

        She wanted to wait a bit
before she called. Whether it was to consider what to say, or more
just because of her compulsiveness to get everything put away, she really
didn't know. A combination of both things, most likely. She
took her sweet time unpacking, rearranging, and making notes of things
she would more than likely need to buy to make the place more "homey".
Like soap that didn't smell like sulfur, first of all.

        By the time she'd even thought
about calling her parents again, she'd been through every last inch of
the place. All things put away, all hidden things exposed, noted,
and rearranged. She even heard the sliding of papers into her mailbox,
but waited until the footsteps were far enough away where she could open
the door without conversation.

        "Oh, portfolio." She
commented. Hers was a blue folder. So there, Evaan.
Flipping through the pages revealed that the booklet was really nothing
more than forms. Practice forms, official forms, extra forms.

        She glanced at the clock,
halfway amused. Quarter to six, already. She had no clue how
she'd actually managed to waste that much time. But at least everything
was done. And, obviously, now was the time to make that call.
She wasn't quite looking forward to it, but she knew she had to do it.

        With a heavy sigh, she sat
at her desk and picked up the phone. She smiled slightly as she vividly
pictured the Headmaster questioning her outside calls, dialing.

        The middle and end of a
yawn before an actual voice answered. "Hello?"

        She took a preparatory breath.
"Hey, Dad. I didn't disturb anything, did I?"

        Silence. "No, Seifer's
taking a shower, and I was reading. Is something wrong?"

        What a question. "Yes
and no. Not here. I'm good."

        The tone in her voice concerned
him; something from the past cornered him like a psychic impression.
He just had a feeling about the impending conversation. "Go on."

        She knew it'd be painful.
But she'd try to make it as dull that as possible. "I'll just say
that it's about Zell. You tell me if you want to hear more."

        He sighed. "Yeah.
Everything."

        Kyrie took a deep breath.
"Rodger said Selphie 'sort of wanted me to know' that he's been in Balamb
for a while now. He's a mechanic there. His mother died a few
weeks ago..." What more was she supposed to say? "And that's
all I know."

        There was a dead silence.
Right as Kyrie was about to question if her dad was still there, he grunted
softly. "Did you tell Quistis?"

        "I couldn't possibly."
She answered. She didn't know Quistis extremely well, but she knew
enough to understand that Zell had done some pretty permanent damage to
her emotional balance. He'd completely abandoned her for just keeping
in touch with her parents.

        "Probably better that way."
Squall agreed.

        "I'm sorry, Dad."
She apologized honestly. "Didn't want to say anything, but I thought
you'd want to know."

        "I do." He assured
gently. "I do, really. It's just kind of sudden." There
was another long pause. "What are you doing tonight?"

        What an odd question
to ask your daughter. Well, when she didn't usually do anything.
She knew what he was after, though. She was almost sorry she wanted
to answer truthfully. "I'm having dinner with Rodger."

        Another long, somewhat awkward
pause. "When are you coming to visit?"

        Regardless of what had just
transpired, she laughed. She couldn't help it. "Friday, if
I can. To spend the weekend." It was only two days away.

        "Good." Honest enough.
"I guess I better let you get ready for your big date."

        It was strange to hear Squall
tease her playfully. It just didn't seem like him. She was
glad for any interaction, though. "Yeah. Gotta get all whored
up."

        There was a surprised chuckle
on the other side. "Not too much, Ky."

        Natural. Already it
sounded natural. That was so nice. She almost didn't want to
hang up at all. "I won't. Not too much. And I'll have
a weapon."

        Another quick laugh.
"Take care, now."

        "I love you, Dad."

        "I love you too, Kyrie."

        "Tell Fa-- Seifer that I
love him, too. If you tell him anything."

        One short pause. "I
will. Goodnight."

        She hung up first, a little
dazed from the conversation in general. It was weird. And she
was in a whole new world now. She had a little over an hour to get
ready for a late night dinner date in a Garden cafeteria. How romantic.
How... devastatingly romantic.
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The Sins of Two Fathers