Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Akirame Norwen ❯ Doença ( Chapter 20 )

(A/S *authors suggestion*: hehe... yesh! More songs for you to listen to to get "in the mood" of my chappies! For know, with these angsty, yet somewhat peaceful and happy chappies *18-....heck, all angsty-ish chapters*.... Switchfoot always does the trick. Never heard of them? They did practically all the songs for the movie "A Walk to Remember" *and yes, you should see that movie! It's soooooo good!!* Try their songs, especially "Let That Be Enough", or "Only Hope"...or even "Spirit". But... for those of you who might like a bit more... acoustic and rock-ish sound, check out Lifehouse, and their songs "Sick Cycle Carousel", "Wash" MUST HEAR!!! And "Breathing". All these songs are great, especially if you *spoiler* want to see things from Erik/*Riku's future* point of view. Well... enough rant, more review!

Chapter 20: Who prefers character development over plot?

Sitting up on the stairs was a shadowed figure. Jerdania had heard the two talking, and was now listening in as silently as possible. Not that she had been deliberately trying to overhear them, of course. She had been on her way to the bathroom when she glimpsed Kira practically carrying Erik down the stairs. Something had told her to hold back, wait and watch. And now... her conscience began to prick at her. "What if I overhear something I shouldn't know? What if something I hear makes me think of Erik differently... does it matter? Heck... I should benefit in the end." She thought to herself, and settled in.

Besides, what was Erik doing in his shorts? Maybe she should go ahead, walk down, and make the offer...

"Um... Kira?" Erik was talking. She'd stick around.

"Yeah Erik?"

"I kinda feel weird talking to you in my underwear..."

Kira gave a small laugh as if to wave it off. "Erik, you practically grew up at my house. Heck, my mom used to throw us in the same bathtub to save time and water. And then... you didn't have anything on." She teased.

"Kira, jeez. I'm older know. That changes things. Although it didn't change you in the least."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kira asked, getting defensive.

Jerdania tried her hardest not to laugh. This was getting good.

"Not your body... I mean, your body did change... I mean.. not that I care... well.. I mean... it is well... I..uh... what I'm trying to say is that unlike me, nine years didn't change who you are in the least. You're the exact same Kira, from what I can tell. But... those years went a lot different for me, and I'm not the same little kid anymore. I'm a different person now." Erik finally managed to get out after a brief moment of embarrassment.

Kira sighed and leaned back, crossing her legs, not minding when her foot brushed against his leg. She wanted the old Erik back. She didn't want him to change in the least. "Erik... do you think we could put some clothes on and go outside for a walk? Sound carries well in this house, and I don't want to wake anyone up."

Erik shrugged, thankful for the offer to get dressed. Now that he was up, he'd never be able to get back to sleep, especially after a nightmare like that.

Jerdania's eyes grew big and she quickly got up and slid back into the girl's room, barely avoiding being seen. When she turned around she bumped directly into Akirame and Kairi. "Oh... hi guys." She said, trying to not look like a eves-dropper.

"You were listening too, huh?" Kairi asked in a whisper, sitting on the edge of her bed.

Jerdania dropped her head. "Yeah, I was. I don't know why, though. Just... something told me to listen."

"Same here." Akirame whispered back, sitting cross-legged on the mess of blankets and sheets.

"You know, I wish Erik would just... get it over with and talk to us." Kairi said in a hushed tone, frustration evident as she fiddled with a piece of string she had found.

"No kidding. I mean, I don't want him to keep feeling like he can't trust us. There's got to be a way for him to loose all that fear." Jerdania sighed, sitting on her bed to join the others.

Akirame sighed and stretched out on her stomach, her eyes still adjusting to the dark of the room. It was practically pitch-black, minus the little night-lights that could be seen. She quietly wondered why two people would have such a big house. This lead her to think for a moment about her own home in Destiny Islands. Just a small, wooden (entirely, if not mostly) beach house, two rooms, one bathroom. Pretty small, but it was still home. She remembered how Riku used to live with them when he was younger, and how she and him shared a room. They got into fights, sure, but still... Riku always managed to be reasonable about everything. He taught her all sorts of things, like how to chase monsters (the nightmare-kind, that only little children have the ability to hear or see) out from under her bed by turning on the flashlight and waving it around to make the shadows go away.

He'd also always been there when she had nightmares or couldn't sleep. Always offering a hug, then holding her hand as he walked out of the room with her into the living room with a flashlight and blanket, and there they'd snuggle on the couch until they fell asleep. It never failed to work, not even once.

She silently wondered if he had learned to be that way from his real parent(s), or her mom... or if he had just been born with a kind and gentle heart.

Suddenly she found herself craving that loving, innocent affection. It caused her heart to painfully flare, and she buried her face in the blanket to keep from crying. She didn't need to cry. Everyone grows up. But... why did she miss it so much? Wasn't Riku still the same, still just as close as when her mother had given him his own house when he turned sixteen? She had come over to see him every day, even spending practically her entire summer there. How her mother had come into possession of the roomy two-bedroom house never occurred to her. But for some odd reason... that house was familiar the first moment she and Riku had stepped in. When she had stepped in and took the first step on the grungy carpet, a face quickly flashed in her mind. She wished so hard that it hadn't evaded her just as quickly.

"Akira, are you asleep?" Kairi's voice asked her.

"No... just thinking."

"Hmm.... about Erik? You've been quiet the whole time we were talking!" Jerdania whispered.

"Actually... for some reason, I started thinking about when me and Riku were little. I really miss that." The tears wanted desperately to come out.

"I know. I miss playing Pirates and House and stuff like that."

"I don't miss being little at all." Jerdania firmly said.

"Why not? I think being a kid is the greatest!" Kairi asked. Kairi was still a little kid in a lot of ways, mostly her enthusiasm and uncanny ability to work with children, making her a choice baby-sitter.

"I hated being a kid. I used to be clumsy and a dork! I had braces... and looked weird." Jerdania answered, her voice humorous.

"You were not! I thought you looked adorable with braces." Kairi responded.

"Kairi, you think everything is cute." Akirame said, now propping herself up on her shoulders.

"Do not! I hate bugs and crabs and lobsters." She said, sticking out her tongue, even though no one could see it.

"Whatever. Well... I'm going to see if those two are gone yet. Then we can go talk to the boys." Jerdania said, getting up.

"Ah, don't. I don't wanna talk to Sora and them this late at night. They get weird when it's late, you know?" Kairi said, flopping on her back. "Besides, I'm tired and I'm going back to sleep."

Jerdania sighed. "Well, what about you Akira?"

"I don't really want to talk to Irvine or Sora.... just let me know if they're gone, `cuz I feel like getting some water." She responded, her heart still trying to prompt her into waking Riku up and reliving a day of their long-past childhood.

Jerdania slumped her shoulders and quietly opened the door.

Erik walked quietly into the room and stole over to his bed. Trying to silently sift through the stuff he had dumped on the floor, he found his pants, and was now searching for his shirt. While running his hands over the floor, he brushed against something thin, smooth and cool. Trying to see with the moonlight, he lifted up the lily he had picked earlier. Strangely enough, it looked like it had just barely been cut from the garden. Erik thought for a moment, trying to remember why he had picked it in the first place, and realized he hadn't a reason at all. Perhaps he would give it to Kira. It would make her happy, wouldn't it? He placed the flower's long stem in his pocket and found his tee-shirt. Then again... he could tease her by going without it on.... wouldn't she want to see exactly how the years had "changed" him? Erik quickly shook his head. What in the world would give him a perverse idea like that? Maybe it was how late it was. Most boys he knew did get pretty ditzy at two in the morning. Except for Riku maybe, who always managed to stay cool and level-headed. The thought of Riku having a sugar rush was unimaginable. Quickly getting up, he quietly laced up his shoes and walked out to meet Kira, who was waiting for him on the stairs.

"Ready to go?" She whispered, dressed in jeans and a shirt like him.

"Yeah, let's go for a walk. But we'll have to make it short. Riku usually gets up around three or four to walk around aimlessly and think about Hyne-knows-what."

Kira smiled at the joke and began to descend the stairs, her heart racing at the idea that she was actually going to get to spend time with someone she had wanted to see for years. She tried not to give a girly squeal as she opened the door and the two walked outside into the strangely warm night. The streets were devoid of people, giving them absolute privacy. "So, where are we going?" Erik finally asked, letting the cool breeze clear his mind and eyes.

"A place that should really help bring back memories. Just ignore that house over there. That isn't the one you lived in, if that's what you're thinking." She informed him, turning him away from staring at the abandoned mess.

"But....no.... I remember specifically I lived across the street from you... this can't be right. I know I lived there. Why else would it be such a mess?" Erik said, furrowing his brows. Hadn't she mentioned something about living across the street from him earlier that day? Or.... maybe his mind was a little foggy from the medication.

"No...you didn't. If you think you could handle it, I can take you close to where you lived." She said.

"What do you mean, `close'? Did I live in the backwoods area or what?"

"No.... I was too young to really understand, but after you left.... I can remember that someone said something about a crime there, and they blocked the road to get there." She said, sweeping a strand of hair out of her face, biting her lip.

Kira stopped for a moment at the curb at the intersecting roads, considering whether to walk towards Erik's old house, or towards her first planned destination. "Erik...do you think you really want to see your place? I went with a friend one time out of curiosity... the place is a nightmare in its own right." She warned him, not wanting to see the hellish mess again. The investigators had done nothing to clean up the mess left behind by the unsolved and forgotten crime.

Erik stood beside her and thought for a moment. Why couldn't Red be with him right now instead of Kira? Red was the only one who would understand.... he had been with him through all the times Kira hadn't even looked twice. "I...I don't know. Did you have something planned?" he asked, trying to find an alternative to making a choice.

"Sorta... nothing big though."

"I'd rather do what you had in mind... considering this may be the only time you see me again for a while."

Kira didn't want to hear that. She wanted him to stay.... she'd have to find a way to convince him. Nodding, she grabbed his hand and ran around the curb to the right, leading him as fast as she could past the dark windows and orange streetlights. Her lungs seemed to burst and she had to slow down, even though Erik seemed capable of running a whole mile without stopping. He wasn't even breathing hard. Erik smirked at her evident weakness. He had always known that somehow, she would grow up to be an out-of-shape wussy with an athletic body, but no endurance.

Kira quickly got her breath back and now tried to walk as fast as possible, wanting to get to the dirt path leading out of town. Erik pondered her resilience and determination. She was quite spirited, just like always... but now it was more mature than just seeming rebellion. However, the further she led him from the house, the more concerned he was that they weren't going to have much time. "Um... when's the part that we start talking or whatever?" he asked, noting that she had now started into bit of a jog, and that they were now in the section of town where the group had first entered.

"In just a moment. Sound caries way too well in this town, so I'm taking us somewhere quiet, someplace you'll really like." She said, now rushing again down the dirt path that led out of town, bordered on both sides by a white post fence that seemed to be made to keep chocobos and whatnot on the other side, rather than teenage kids on the unpaved road.

She suddenly stopped in the middle of the path. On one side was the small "forest" of cottonwood trees, and on the other was a field of wildflowers and grass that didn't seem to end until they reached the mountains. "Hmm... what do you like better, Sir Erik? Forests or fields?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"Well, my doting slave..." he started, teasing her back.

"Slave?!"

"Yes...I said my dear, doting slave, your lordship prefers the solitude of the forest at midnight, for he much enjoys the protection of secrets the trees provide."

Kira rolled her eyes and lightly punched him in the side before gracefully jumping the waist-high fence. "Wow, you can jump pretty high." Erik said, now straddling the fence and climbing over, finding it difficult to use only one hand.

"I've been in gymnastics forever, it seems." She said, confirming his suspicions. Just like her...

Now on the other side, Kira began to lead him again. He smiled at the irony. He was with a bandaged hand and had just tried to overdose himself... and here she was, rushing him out into the woods. Of course, it was only possible due to great knowledge of magic potions and the such. He shook his head. He couldn't imagine how people would manage to live in a world without magic.

Kira stopped after a while and pushed aside some bushes in front of a huge tree to reveal a giant gap in the bark, large enough she could squeeze through. She turned to look at him. "Come on in! There's a whole bunch more room than you would think."

Erik sighed and bent down to shuffle in. She was right. The empty hollow seemed to go through the whole tree. In fact, there were strange, glowing mushrooms that grew in the organic walls like shelves, illuminating the hallow with a blue glow. Several fireflies *difference `tween them and pyreflies is that fireflies are much smaller, and are exactly like the normal kind you find in the eastern states, like Ohio* slowly drifted about in the air like strange floating embers. The hollow wasn't empty, either. There were a couple make-shift benches, a rug made from grass and a bean-bag chair someone had managed to drag out from their house and shove in. Erik decided to take the bean bag chair after quickly picking it up and shaking it to make sure it was clear of spiders and bugs. He then dropped it and sat down. Kira smiled at his gesture. "We still, I mean... I still use this place everyday, except in the winter, but I always clean it out as soon as the snow is gone."

Erik raised his eyebrows and looked around a bit. The place was unexpectedly tidy. He could remember a few things about coming here when he was young... but nothing much, just a couple glimpses of Kira when she was just a "five-and-eleven-tenths"-year old. "My birthday is June 1st!" She would brightly tell questioning strangers. If they gave her a bit of candy or a quarter, she would expound a few details about her mommy taking in unwed, pregnant girls and helping them raise their children and getting them jobs and homes of their own.

Kira unexpectedly walked over and sat at an angle on his lap so she could see him. Like she had hoped, he didn't seem to mind too much, and was trying to make it feel more like a friendly joke. "What you thinking about?" She asked, wanting to have his whole attention.

"Hmm... just about you when you were little. I keep remembering you saying that you were "five-and-eleven-tenths" old.

Kira rolled her eyes and laughed. "I didn't understand fractions, I was just a kid!"

"Whatever. I bet that you still say that you're "fifteen-and-one millionth-old!" He joked, grateful when she rolled off his lap and snuggled close to him on the bag.

He remembered that after he recovered enough from his father's tormenting verbal and sometimes physical abuse, he would run... across the street to Kira's house. Across the street... for sure, it was across the street.... but it didn't seem to make that much sense now. Wouldn't people have been able to hear his screaming cries or his father's bellowing voice? The whole idea completely unnerved him. She wouldn't lie to him, would she? He was so sure...

"Erik, look.... what was up with when you got those hysterics while your buddies were fighting?" Kira asked.

"Hysterics? It was a flash-back."

"Ahh... you have that problem a lot?"

Erik was feeling a little uncomfortable, and he sat up in the formless bean bag, casting his eyes downward. "Depends."

"Like....on what?"

"What's triggering them. This is the worst they have ever been. I'm willing to bet that as soon as I get out of this town, I'll be peachy again."

Kira looked up and bit her lip. "Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Erik....do you think it would help...if you talked to me about what happened to you as a kid?"

Erik sighed. Sooner or later he knew someone was bound to start wanting to be his best friend and carry his burden... without the faintest idea of what they were getting into. At the same time, there was no way he wanted to go another step anywhere without dealing at least with few, easy issues. Maybe it was about time that he got rid of some of his problems, and what better company could he have than Kira? "I think... I could handle talking a little about it." He sighed.

Kira gave a toothy grin before tightly hugging him. Erik wrapped his arms around her and held her for a moment.

"Well Erik, I'm glad that you trust me. You can go ahead and tell me anything."

Erik squeezed her and finally let her go. Only question was... were to start? "Hmm... Do you remember the time I broke my arm?"