[KH/FF] Treachery of Fate: Blood and Betrayal

Chapter 74

More evacuations were completed that day, and before you knew it, you were back at home again by sunset. The same went for Wednesday, and in order to speed up the process due to anxious civilians, Rufus had some of his men take in evacuees to various worlds as well. You saw the marvel in Zack’s eyes at seeing the SOLDIER troops, noticing that Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis held the same glint—even Cloud who took furtive glances every now and then.

Once the moon emerged, and everyone went to sleep, you created illusions for you and your brother before sneaking out. Both of you took the liberty of conducting night patrols with Akinori, and Akito covering the east, west, north, and south regions of Hollow Bastion respectively—energized by coffee and chocolate—for those two days.

By 4AM Thursday, Akinori took on his dragon form and you rode him back home. The feeling was exhilarating; wind running through your hair, the fresh breeze of night—all your problems seemed to vanish under the stars. Just for a moment, you closed your eyes and leaned against the back of Akinori’s head, letting memories run through your mind.

“Everyone in line E, please move to the front,” Yuj waved to them with a grin, Maqui checking them off as they boarded.

It was finally sunset once more, and the last handful of evacuees shuffled into Gadot’s airship, sighing in relief they were finally getting a chance to leave. He and Lebreau came down the ramp, Snow and you greeting them once they had reached the bottom.

“Thank you SO much for all your help,” you bowed,” it means a lot.”

“Any friend of Snow is a friend of ours,” Lebreau smiled. “You sure you don’t need us staying here? It’s really not a big deal.”

“Yeah, we can kick ass better than even,” Gadot looked around,” Hope.”

Maqui and Yuj burst out in laughter and you rolled your eyes, shaking your head. “Like I said, I already have enough stubborn people helping me. I don’t want you to get dragged into this mess either, you’ve already done a lot.”

“Yeah, leave this to the HEROS,” Snow grinned, jabbing a thumb at himself.

“If you ask me, [Name]’s the only hero I see here,” Gadot rolled his eyes, causing Snow to pout.

“Okay! Everyone’s on!” Maqui said, looking around to make sure.

“Guess we’ll see you after this is over kiddo,” Lebreau ruffled your hair. “Throw in a punch for me ‘kay?”

“You got it,” you nodded.

Later that night, you waited once more for everyone to fall asleep, playing with silver lights in the dark, the patterns and shapes they made illuminating your room like diamonds. Since there weren’t any civilians, Wasurete said it was pointless to continue night patrols. When he knocked out around 11PM, you snuck into his room, and looked for the puzzle, mentally cursing when you couldn’t find it. Upon exiting, you heard coughing, and you noticed Riku outside on the wooden platform in the backyard.

Quietly, you approached him, and gasped when noticing that the puzzle was in his hands. He turned around in surprise despite his coughing fit and you tackled him onto the grass, removing the delicate bamboo box. As soon as he sat up, you smacked the back of his head with a huff, in return having him give you an irritated look, about to open his mouth when you cut him off.

“Don’t you dare,” you hissed. “I said not to touch it, and what do you do? You TOUCH it!”

“[Name],” Riku stood,” it’s just a puzzle. I don’t see what the harm is if all it’s supposed to do is uncover a message.”