Xenosaga Fan Fiction ❯ 30 Kisses ❯ Nostalgia ( Chapter 20 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
It was the first time they'd been in the Encephalon since Miltia fell.

Helmer had been an excellent military commander but obviously was clueless on how to raise children. He gave them free run of his house, access to the both the public and military archives and took care of their physical requirements and medical needs, but didn't have any idea on how to keep them out of trouble. The Encephalon had been a measure of desperation on his part.

Rubedo dove right in. His happiest memories had been created in the virtual world and he wanted to reclaim as much of that time as he could. Nigredo was just as eager. Although previously he had been indifferent to the experience, being continually bed-bound due to his wounds had made him hungry for any form of entertainment.

It had been a relief to finally be able to walk and run around, even if only in his mind. However, when he finally found Rubedo again, it was clear that the excursion hadn't been quite as profitable for his older brother.

"It isn't right." Rubedo said, glaring at the broken down fence.

"What isn't right?" The black-haired boy stared at the cottage his brother had created. It was a homely sort of place, with a stone-wall fence, flower-filled garden and stone steps. Nigredo thought it was rather nice and couldn't see the problem with it.

"It's all wrong." Rubedo began to point to various aspects of that he found displeasing. "The fence is supposed to be of white pickets. There was a lawn, not a garden, and a swing on the porch. This thing doesn't even have a porch. And here-" He grabbed Nigredo's hand and led him inside. "No piano. And this room looks nothing like Hers."

The emphasis he placed on the last word alerted Nigredo to the issue. "You're trying to recreate Sakura's home?" He had never spent that much time with Mizrahi's daughter; he couldn't remember how her house had looked.

"Yeah, but none of it turns out right." He ran his hands through his red hair. "Every time I fix something, something else changes."

"That's no surprise. The cottage was a creation of her mind. You're obviously not the same person, so you shouldn't expect to be able to make it exactly the same."

"But-I wanted-aaargh! I just wanted to hang on to something of hers. There's nothing else left." Nigredo contemplated reminding his older brother of Sakura's 'little sister', but decided that was the last thing Rubedo wanted to hear about at that moment.

"Stop trying so hard. Think of this as your cabin, not hers." The red-haired boy opened his mouth but the other one overrode him. "Besides, don't you think it would be rather painful, seeing this place just as it was when she was still alive?"

"I guess so . . . it's just . . . this is where everything happened. Where she learned the piano, where she told me about her sister." Another shift of shoulders. "That porch was where she-" He cut himself off with a jerk of his head.

"Do you," Nigredo hesitated for a brief second before sitting down on the ground. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah . . . I think so." Rubedo curled up next to his darker counterpart and began.