Final Fantasy VII: The Comfort Versus the Compassion

he suddenly looked back, realizing his lie.

"call me Kisagaru. sorry for that little lie back there. I wanted to figure out why he...."

he thought to himself for a second, but then looked up

"where were you headed? I might just be able to help you."

"To the heart of the problem, the capital building..." Lucian said as he saw the train stop.

Lucian stepped off, and looked up at the massive building, his hand on his blade. Lucian shrugged and reached for his book.

"We have a long ways to go."

Kisagaru stepped out, following Lucian, his blades protruding from his clothes.

"lead the way."

Lucian walked forward, putting his book away again. His hand using his grip as a rest as he walked forward. 3 gaurds stood at the entrance. 2 at the corners, and one walking in between. The one walking wielded a claymore, a two handed sword, as the other two held their assault rifles close. They watched Kisa and Lucian closely, any sign of threat would be met with immediate action.

Lucian drew his blade, the sign the guards waited for. The two with rifles started unloading their clips on the two, as the man with the claymore readied himself in case either made it through

Actually Mieli, no. That is my home, I have never traveled past this mountain range. You're on the northern tip of it, and my house is the midpoint between here and Gongaga. I would be more than honored to have you both as my first guests in my home. How does a place to rest and a nice hot meal sound?

Shinu turned to Vieve and smiled. Her persona attracted him for some odd reason. She was nothing like the way that Anthony described women. Not in clothing or demeanor, but he admired her fighting spirit. He was also rather attracted to her, but he wasn't yet sure if it was because she was the only woman he ever laid eyes on, or if it was just her. But he knew he'd keep her around, no matter what it took. What a night.

Will you two be joining me?

he jumped into the air, making the bullets pound into the ground beneath him. he landed not to far from the third gaurd, his blades drawn. he jumped passed him, the gaurd unable to see him. he landed behind the gaurd, and he fell forward. well, at least half of him did. the upper part of his torso fell forward, while the other stayed standing for a second, and then dropped forward, profusely squirting blood.

Lucian ran forward, using his blade to block the bullets that would have hit him, using his open hand to throw a fireball at the guard to his left, bursting him into a screaming ball of flame. Lucian thrusted forward, thrusting his blade into the chest of the final guard, a quick end to the three guards

Kyo looked up at the towering mountains as he got closer to them. It seemed like it would take ages for him to climb and cross them, and he knew there was another way to get around them or else Juno would be totally out of business. His only thought was that they must have dug or blown out a path through the core of the mountain range as it would seem to be the most wise idea for them to do. Kyo then walked back a few hundred or so feet and scanned to base of the mountain range to see if he could at least find a cave opening or something. And alas his search was not in vain because in the northwest he saw a opening within the mountains that looked big enough for a battalion of soldiers to get through and he headed towards the entrance to the path. As he got there the mountains seemed to grow even large, probably because they were smack dab in his face, he was glad that he didn’t have to climb them because by the look of it, it would take a few days or so just to climb to the peak and then a couple more to climb down it. Kyo then entered the man made cavern in the mountains

As Kyo entered the cave, he didn’t even need to light a torch or anything to help guide his way through it. Other than man made holes for sunlight, the cave was illuminated by huge crystals that seemed to glow on their own accord. Kyo had his thoughts that they were magical energy stored in crystals, also known as Materia. Kyo himself already had a quite few materia equipped on him but mainly status aliment materia, such as blind and slow. Yet he had a couple of support ones since he didn’t carry any potions to help heal his wounds. Kyo then started to make his way through, he knew he was wasting time by looking at the large crystals but any normal human would since it was an amazing site. Kyo then jumped down one of the edges that were near instead of making his way all the way around, it wasn’t far but if he could find any faster routes he would take them without hesitation. The path seemed to go on for ages but that didn’t surprise Kyo one bit, after all it is a huge mountain range. After a few more hours of walking Kyo finally got to the end of it and let out a huge sigh of relief. He was getting tired of jumping and then climbing over and over again. This was good exercise for him though but it wasn’t like he was in bad shape.


As Kyo walked out into the now evening sunlight, darkness soon would be approaching the surrounding area, All he saw was this huge dead tree surrounded by the mountains and a path leading out. He got an eerie feeling from this small area, yet he just looked at the dead tree as if it was entrancing him. He then snapped out of it and made his way out of the area. As he got near the exit of the mountains he saw a small sign and on it was printed a warning. “Beware of the…” he could make out the rest because it was covered in blood like something had finally killed the guy that was righting the sign for travelers. He then sighed, it probably was something that he could handle so he made no thoughts of turning back and finding a different route, because truth be told he didn’t want to go through the trouble of going through the cave again. As soon as he got rounded the curve of the path he found himself facing an immense swamp. And he groaned a little. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire,” Kyo said to himself shaking his head in his hand. He then walked into the swampy fields, at least the shot was straight through and not covered in any sort of trees, even though he wished it because even though it was in the evening the sun was still blasting him with heat. He then began to wonder why that sign was up, as he started to cross the field, because he couldn’t see anything that sounded like a threat and the swampy waters were barely up to his ankles. As soon as he stepped a few more feet though, he started to feel the ground beneath him move and the waters ripple. He then looked ahead of himself and the water was starting to rise up and also was the terrain beneath it, until it finally busted apart sending chunks of earth flying in all directions along with the murky waters. And what came out of it made Kyo only say a couple words.

“oh my fucking god!”

Out of the destroyed earth was a giant snake, well cobra to be exact. From what Kyo could see with his own eyes he estimated that the being was about 50 feet long, and the hood of its neck stretched out about 10 feet. Then Kyo realized what the sign had been meant for, but he didn’t except anything like this that is for sure. He was thinking that it would be like a small group of thieves or goblins, like he normally found around Mideel, but this that was in a whole entirely different category. Also from the looks of it he had no where to run so his only choice was to at least fight it to weaken it then run, because he didn’t want to stick around and become snake food for a 50 foot cobra. Kyo’s left arm immediately began to get surrounded with a green aura and he held his arm up, a gem shining brightly within his arm that was also releasing the green aura. He then quickly dropped his arm to where it was held out in front of him, his palm facing the giant creature. “Scan!,” he said loudly and closed his eyes and him and the serpent connected with a mental link and he figure out all its strengths, weaknesses, and any magical properties it had. Kyo then snapped open his eyes and did a back spring right as soon as the creature lashed out with its 4 feet fangs.

“So you are known as the Midgar Zolom eh? Hmmm guess I must be close to Midgar if your known by that name,” he said to the creature and ran at the creature, jumping up a few feet away from it, and landed a round house kick right in the side of the beast sending it sprawling a few feet for its immense size. The beast recovered quickly and lashed out quickly again, Kyo barely dodged the three attacks. He knew now that he mustn’t take this beast with carelessness. Kyo then quickly casted protect on himself, a transparent shield made from hexagons appeared before him and the creature tried to sink its fangs into Kyo yet again but the shield rebounded the attack and Kyo just grinned. He could tell that this made the beast mad and it swung its tail at the protect spell completely shattering its defense. Kyo was in shock that it could destroy it so quickly that he didn’t see the creatures next attack and its tail connected with his body sending him flying a about 10 to 20 feet. Kyo then got to his knees, his body was in immense pain from the last attack and it was with just one shot. He then rolled out of the way as the creature lashed its head out trying to bite him. This was a chance for him to get a good shot off as the creatures fangs got stuck in the ground. Kyo then ran at it and did an ax kick right on top of its skull, he could see the serpents body convulse in pain. Then the creature got its self free and then reared back and stood on its tail basically. Kyo couldn’t help but to stare at the snake towering about 50 feet above him. “Holy shit,” Kyo said and then snapped back into reality and made a run for it as the creature launched itself into the air. Kyo then looked up to see that it was directly above him, coming straight down, its mouth wide open. Kyo then rolled forward and took that into a hand spring which launched him far enough to get out of the way as the snake crashed right through the earth. This though made his clothes even more soaked.

Kyo then did quick turns in all directions, he knew the beast wasn’t done with him just yet. If it was like most snakes it would keep hunting its pray until it was either dead or out of its territory. He was still a few hundred feet away from the edge of the swamplands and so he tried to make a dash for it. But as soon as he took a step the Zolom immediately busted through the ground in front of him. “damn it, it must have been waiting for me to move to tell exactly where I was. Smart creature, it must have adapted to feel the vibrations of the water and ground around it,” Kyo said to himself. He then tried to run around it which he did but he forgot one very important factor. The tail of the Zolom, and the creature swung its tail around, turning its whole body and leg swept him. Kyo then fell flat on his face and rolled to the left just in time because if he had waited on more second it would have been the end for him. Kyo then sprang to his feet and made a run for it. He could see the bright green grass get closer and closer and then his view was hindered by green and blue scales of the Zolom. “god damn it, give me a break already,” Kyo was getting pissed because time was wasting for him to get to Midgar before nightfall. Kyo then ran up the torso of the snake and did a blade kick to its face when he got in range. This stunned the creature and made it land on its back with a hard fall. Kyo then landed on his feet and ran for the edging again and jumped out onto the dry grass. When the creature finally recovered from the blow it looked at Kyo and let out a huge hiss and flicked its red tongue a few times before digging back into the earth. Kyo just sat there, his eyes closed and breathing heavily just glad that survived that ordeal. He then raised his arm above his head and his whole body got covered in a white light and healed all of his wounds. “Okay, note to self, do not cross that swampland again unless you want yourself to get killed very easily and very quickly. If anyone kills that thing I will be hugely surprised because I bet it could take out a army easily,” Kyo said to himself standing up. He was now wishing that he brought another outfit along, because the air was getting colder and his clothes were completely soaked from head to toe. He then got up and continued on trekking towards Midgar. As soon as he got over a hill, he saw what looked like a farm of some sorts on the empty fields and in the corral he saw what looked like to be a chocobo.
“Now one of those is what I need right now, It would help me greatly,” he said to himself and made his way towards the farm. As he got closer his thoughts were confirmed, because in the corral was about 4 to 5 pure breed chocobos. Even in the dark evening sun their feathers were still a bright yellow and beak and legs were brown in color. Well their beak was a darker shade of yellow, but to Kyo it looked brown. Kyo then approached the house, the chocobos just watched him cocking their heads to the side. He then knocked on the door and got no response. He knocked again and finally someone came to the door. It was an elderly man but still looked fit enough to care for the chocobos. “Yes? May I help you?,” the old caretaker asked Kyo. And Kyo nodded to reply then spoke up. “Yes I was wondering if I may rent one of your chocobos, I need to get to midgar quickly,” Kyo asked him moving his damp hair out of his right eye. “Oooh I am sorry sonny, but those are just private chocobos that I am raising for someone else. I haven’t got up to capture some of my own yet,” he said to Kyo. Kyo then sighed in disappointment, he was hoping to get to midgar sooner by riding one of them, but that was just his luck. “Alright, well thank you anyways, at least I don’t have to cross another swampland like that,” he said to the man and he saw the old caretakers face turn into a face of shock and surprised.

“You sur-survived the swamp, you survived getting eaten by the Midgar Zolom,” the old man asking him barely even getting the words out clearly because of the shock. “Uuhhhm yes I did, why?,” Kyo asked the man questioningly even though it was such a stupid question to ask to begin with. “Why!?! Well because everyone that tries to cross that swampland dies unless they are riding a chocobo, but you…..you did an unbelievable act, but I can tell that you did it because I can smell the swamp waters on your clothes. Just wait there I have something for you,” the old man said and went back in to his house. A few minutes later he came back with a materia in his hands. “here take this, use it on the fields around this house and a it should attract a chocobo for you. Normally I sell these things for a high price, but you deserve it,” the old man said to Kyo handing it to him. Kyo took it gratefully from his hands and pushed it into his arm, well really combining it with him. “Thank you, I am grateful,” Kyo said to him before bowing slightly and then turning to walk back onto the empty fields in hope to get his own chocobo. At least now he didn’t have to pay to rent one, but now he had to catch one which would prove to be difficult because those birds are faster than heck.

After he walked for about an hour or so into the field he decided that he would try and use the materia that the old man gave him. So he raised his arm into the air and brought it down again, his palm facing forward and a cry of a hurt chicobo rang out through the area. “very, very smart old man. You know your chocobos well enough,” he said to himself and just as the cry ended a chocobo came running along in the horizon. But as soon as it got close enough to see that it was a human instead of a hurt chicobo it stopped and cocked its head at Kyo, then immediately ran the other way. Kyo then grinned a little. “ooh no you don’t, your not going to get away that easily,’ Kyo said to it and then casted haste on himself and ran after it catching up with it pretty quickly. He then ran in front of it and stopped quickly and the chocobo clawed at the ground trying to stop and then turned around, but Kyo yet again intercepted it. After a few more times of doing this, the chocobo hung its head in defeat, and Kyo actually felt a little sorry for it. Kyo then walked up to it and scratched its neck. “don’t worry buddy after we get to midgar you can be free again, I just need you help right now,” and like that the chocobo nodded a little bit as if it understood Kyo. Kyo then straddled the bird and used its neck feathers as reins. “alright buddy, on word to Midgar. You do know where that is right?,” he asked the bird to see if it gave the same response. “Brawk!,” The chocobo said and began to run full speed in the right direction. Kyo was impressed on how smart this chocobo was, even though most chocobos were smart. He wanted to keep this one, but he didn’t believe that it was right too, this chocobo was wild and free and well he wanted it to be like that and not some tool for transportation even though they didn’t really seem to mind it after a while. Kyo then held on tight as they picked up some speed, the chocobo must have been holding some back for a quick and strong burst. He was glad that they were going past one certain town though, because he highly doubted that anyone in Kalm would want to see his face again.

After a an hour of running, Kyo finally saw what he was looking for and that was the huge gates the locked the city of midgar and the outside world apart unless someone wanted to get out to go to other towns for special occasions and such. Kyo dismounted the chocobo when they reached the gate and turned to face the bird. “go on, you no longer have to worry about me anymore,” he said to the bird and chuckled a little bit. The chocobo then nudged him a little with its beak and kyo gently petted it and then the chocobo ran off into the nights horizon. But now there was one thing that stood between him and Midgar and that was this giant gate. Kyo though already had a plan. He took out a strong but yet small dagger from his boot and then back up a couple feet. He then ran up the door at a perfect 90 degree angle and when he couldn’t run anymore he flipped and stabbed the dagger into the door. He was hanging about half way up the what seemed to be 20 foot gate. A normal dagger wouldn’t be able to penetrate the heavy steel door, but his was made with adamantium and when he was running up the door he heated up the blade with a fire spell so it cut right through it like a hot knife through butter. Kyo then kicked off the door into another flip and dug the knife into the door again. He then did this a couple more time until he was sitting on top the door, breathing heavily. “Okay hard part done, now time for the simple part,” Kyo said to himself. He then rested for a few minutes and then jumped of the door digging his knife into it, decreasing his speed of his decent until he landed softly upon the hard street below.

He then looked around to see if there was any guards, because if he was a guard and saw someone coming sliding down the door he would be all over the dude making sure he wasn’t some type of assassin or something. Kyo then sighed in relief when he saw that there was no one and then looked up at the huge building in the center of the city. It was the capital and biggest corporation of the city. The Shinra Company Headquarters. Kyo then walked on until he really got into town and looked at the big map in the street to see where he could find a train station to get to the building. “hmmm,” he said dragging his finger along the map until he found a train station and looked at the information box to see where it headed. “lets see here, City block A, B, C, aaah there we go Shinra Corp.” He said and then headed towards where the train was. When he got to the train station, he paid the toll to get on the train and sat down on his seat. He then closed his eyes and rested the back of his head on his hands and sighed softly. “well Kyo looks like you may get your answers after all,” he said to himself and he feel asleep.

Kyo then was awoken by the sound of the announcer coming on the speaker system. “Next stop Shinra Building,” Kyo then looked around and saw he was the only one on the train left. “Well know this is convenient,” kyo said to himself and then just sat back and waited till the train reached the building. It took the train about 20 minutes to reach the building and Kyo’s heart was racing. He wanted his answers, he wanted to know if mako could cure his curse, he wanted to be freed of it. When he stepped off the train to the entrance of the building he jumped back immediately. In front of him were two guys and surrounding them was the bodies of three dead Shinra soldiers from what he could tell. This wasn’t good because now the whole building probably was on alert and that would mean that none of the heads would be in the building now. Those two had ruined it for kyo, and now his journey was pointless.

“You fools, what have you done here. You ruined it for me now, everything is ruined. My hopes of being freed from my curse. The hopes that I had gone. None of the heads will be in the building now, and you both know that they have already been alerted because of your attack. I shall make you pay for ruining it for me,” Kyo didn’t even want to give them a chance to explain. He didn’t care if they wielded swords and guns he just wanted them to feel pain. Kyo then casted haste and protect on himself to help him fight the advantages that the two warriors had and he went into a fighting stance immediately. His eyes were glaring at them with such a hatred that no one could explain. “you will feel my pain right here, now prepare yourselves,” he said to them.

(3768)

Mieli was interested at the chance of having dinner with these two new people.

"I'm trying to make personal connections and I suppose a dinner in such a distinctive setting might benefit my cause. I should go."

"Hey man, that sounds great. I accept your invitation."

Lucian turned to see this new threat. This man too obviously had a vendetta against Shinra, and now a vendetta against Kisa, and Lucian as well. Perhaps this man was right and there was no point in fighting here anymore, but if all the head honchos have already left then a helicopter would have taken them out of the building. No helicopter has arrived yet tho.

Lucian figured the alarm would be going off by now, and that limited his already low time. This man in his way was another problem, another delay, and he had Materia, that would make him a bigger threat. Maybe he wouldn't have to hold back against this man.

I dont have time for this, I'm going to have to make this quick. Lucian thought to himself as he gripped his blade and entered his battle stance, His left hand clentched in a fist. Lucian bursted forward, using his blade and swinging it hard downward, pulling his left hand back for a punch in case the man dodged or blocked the attack

Kisagaru, turned around, looking at the man, gripping his blades. as he was about to attack, he saw Lucian burst forward. He stood there,w atching

I guess I'll wait and see what happens. but I'm not going to hold back if he attacks.

Kyo read for his attackers wrist and twisted it downward to block the blow of the sword, but he was oblivious to the fist that his attacker had drawn back and got nailed with the punched and it jumped him back a few feet, well really it hit the protect field but it was soon going to collaspe because Kyo hadn't really mastered using it. Kyo then, since he had the chance to for now, took out the lure materia that he had in and put one in that contained his main status spell that he used constantly. He needed to even up this fight a little more, even though he had haste on and protect they probably still out powered him. "lets see how you fight that which you cannot see," he said with a little grin on his face and shot a blast of magicial energy at the one who attacked him and as it drew near it became a cloud of black mist.

Kyo then turned his attention to the other man and ran at him at full speed, a bule trail that looked like shadows of himself followed in his wake. He then jumped up and brought his foot around in a roundhouse kicking to his head.

Lucian powered his firaga spell, creating an explosion in his hand that blew the smoke around them away. With the surrounding area clear Lucian could see the man and Kisa. Lucian jumped out of the crater created from the firaga and leaped at the man, his body over top of the man's, slashing his blade across as he gathered energy for another firaga in his left hand.

Kisagaru, still standing in the same place, put his hand next to his face, grabbing the mans ankle with ease as it connected with his hand. he spun around, bringing the man with him. he released his hold as he faced the buildings wall, making him go crashing through it.

"dont waste our time. stay out of our way or Ill make you see your feet at face level."

he drew his blades, and started to walk in the building.

"come on. you have to lead, remember."

Kyo got up off the clod hard cement floor of the Shinra Companys first floor. He then dusted of the dust and rocks that were on him and then walked over to the main doors. He knew that any moment they would be usting in through them, they probably were already at the doors. He then grinned a little and then turned around quickly and making his way around with a back kick and slammed his foot into the doors sending them flying into one of the attackers. He then stepped down the stairs, his protect spell shattering in front of him as if finally ran out of energy. He then just stared at the both of them, going into a defensive posture.

"Why are you guys even here, Why have you decided to attack and kill the people in this building? They have done nothing wrong. Or is it because of the mako energy, do you seek it for your own greedy self or have you came to destroy it. Why would you do that, don't you see that it is giving the people of midgar hope," Kyo said to them, finally giving them a chance to explain themselves.

"I have my reasons, and I dont feel the need, nor desire to share them with you." Lucian responded coldly.

Lucian could see his oponent was not ready for a fight against both Kisa and Lucian, and he had no real reason to be here. He believed the lies of ShinRa.

"Im giving you one chance, move, or die."

he cut through the doors flying at him, and ran behind the man, unseeable, and brought the blunt side of his blade on his back, making him fly through annother wall. he looked back at Lucian.

"go. Ill take care of him. do what you came to do."

"Fine." Lucian said as he charged forward running up the stairs cutting down the guards and soldiers in his way leaving a trail of blood when he finally got to the elevator.

As the elevator opened Lucian gripped his blade, something was coming, he didnt push the button. The door opened and Lucian fired a Firaga spell into the area, burning the soldiers to a crisp, but unfortunately breaking the elevator. Lucian would need another way up.

Ah now that’s what I wanted to hear Mieli. I have never had anyone other than my godfather Anthony in my house with me. I’ll cook something fresh for the both of you. I can’t promise that it will be good though, I’ve only cooked for myself before.

Vieve and Mieli didn’t seem to care in the least. Shinu already knew that Vieve was hungry, she had outwardly expressed that already. Suddenly, Shinu’s curiosity was sparked by his new acquaintances. He was skilled in so many areas, but understanding other people was never one that held much importance to him. This would be his chance to see how different or similar he was when compared to other people. They both seemed to be his age. He was really surprised by all of these thoughts, he couldn’t believe how much of a conversationalist he must have longed to be. He immediately wondered what Mieli was talking about when he said he wished to enlighten others as he had been enlightened in the past. He said he was a student of someone, but the name fell on deaf ears when they hit Shinu. He would know who in the world was supposed to be recognized by name and certainly didn’t recognize this name. What in the world was Mieli so enlightened about, and what was he trying to enlighten others about? The same things? Different things that he was learning? What was his whole deal anyways? Shinu didn’t understand a lot of these things about Mieli. He didn’t understand why anyone would want to travel either when they could be perfectly happy at home. Then he turned his attention to Vieve and couldn’t help but smile.

Shinu caught himself, and hurriedly turned away and walked back towards his home.

Let’s get going then, just follow me.

His thoughts carried him away again as he thought more about Vieve. He didn’t really understand his attraction to her early on. Well he really didn’t understand attraction anyways, she was the first person he was ever attracted to. She was nothing like the women that Anthony would talk to him about. He always described them as wearing blouses and dresses that Shinu could only imagine didn’t look like the clothes that Vieve had on. In fact, they looked more like the clothes that he and Mieli were wearing than the way he imagined it. She was still so cute to him though. He did catch himself staring into her eyes when they briefly spoke, aside from the fact that Anthony taught him it was polite and customary to do so. But the brownish green hue of her eyes really drew his eyes to hers and he was making it a point to not try to look so hard next time. She was also the smallest person he’d ever encountered, and when his arm was around her, he really did feel like he was a grown man for sure. Vieve seemed to fit so perfectly in his arms, and he knew from now on, he’d always secretly want to put her back there. He had to shake these thoughts of Vieve though. No way would someone like her want to stay and live with Shinu in his home. She seemed too free spirited and gone with the wind to ever consider wanting to stay tied down with him and live a relaxed life. He would shake it off, surely he wouldn’t long for company that bad.

When he started to finish his stroll back down the mountains, he broke his thought once more and looked down upon his land. It was so beautiful under the softly radiating moon and brilliant set of stars that offered such a brilliant gray and midnight blue hues of light that kept his property lit up even at night. The evergreen grasses were shining a sparkling color that resembled that of Vieve’s eye color. This made Shinu even hesitate for what seemed like an hour, but really transpired all in two seconds. It was still long enough to make Shinu turn back to look at Vieve, and when she smiled back at him, he hurriedly spun his head back around as if it were on a swivel to avoid an imminent blush. He just kept walking and looked to the right at his makeshift barricade to stop the cows from rushing out again. For a second Shinu tried to think of anything that could be out of place with his environment. Surely it wasn’t little Vieve or Mieli, neither would care for a cow, he could tell. He stopped moving, knowing he was running the risk at this point of these two thinking he was off of his rocker, but he had a quick epiphany. He smelled the air, and noticed something was slightly off. He could tell something different was in the air, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The cows seemed to have adjusted and so he was fine with it. Perhaps Mieli would have the answer for him, but he had plenty of time to ask while the food was cooking. He didn’t know if he should allow them to be in the house without him, whether or not that was rude, so as he was passing his garden, he thought it would be nice to ask for their help in brining in some of the necessary ingredients. He stopped as he approached his highly heralded garden, and then turned back to Mieli and Vieve.

Hey, would you two mind doing me a favor? I’m going to make some deep beef vegetable stew. I’ll just need a few tomatoes, potatoes, and some carrots. Would you two mind helping me out?

Vincent didn’t seem to care too much for picking vegetables, but would do what he needed to do to get the dinner that awaited him. Tokin up gave him the munchies and now he had a free opportunity to solve that problem. He picked two potatoes.

Vieve seemed to not mind at all, but more like she was hoping Shinu would ask. She made her way into Shinu’s pretty garden before he even could ask her for two tomatoes. She jumped in, carefully frolicking and smelling flowers, all while being careful not to damage anything. She seemed to really enjoy the flowers, and had such a beautiful smile on her face while she was amongst them. Again, Shinu was captivated by Vieve, and especially by her smile, and watched her until he noticed Mieli saw him looking at her, and he put his head down back into the carrot picking he was supposed to be doing. When Mieli and Shinu rose to their feet and back out of the garden with their vegetables, Vieve looked up and smiled, taking the hint that she should get her tomatoes and hurry up.

There’s always going to be more time for enjoying the garden Vieve. You are welcome here any time. Same for you Mieli.

Shinu nodded as they went inside, and the three all set their vegetables down and washed their hands in the sink in the kitchen. Shinu walked them out of the kitchen, back by the front door.

Ok, I suppose you two would like the grand tour? I know it’s not much, but it is mine.

After Mieli and Vieve nodded in agreement with the potential tour, Shinu started them off by the front door.

Well this is my favorite part of the house, the couch right there in front of you. It was my mother’s and this shirt of mine is made from the very fabric that used to cover the couch. My mom loved it, and so I honor her with this shirt, always covering my heart.

Shinu had to stop and take a moment, he had never needed to outwardly speak about his mother before, and it broke him down a little bit. To minimize the hurt, he continued on to the kitchen.

There’s not much to say here, except the kitchen is where I stay during the winters and keep warm with the stove. That over there is where I eat, but I could hardly call it a dining room. Let’s continue on to the bedroom.

Shinu’s bedroom must have shocked Mieli and Vieve because of how incredibly neat it was and business like. He had a small desk with all sorts of charts and diagrams. He was obviously very keen on staying in tip condition physically. He mapped out his workout routines for everyday of the week and his eating schedules right next to it. He was eating on a strict diet, and had everything he needed right in his own front yard so to speak. The desk itself was finished off with the finest of natural oils that could be found buried deep in the caverns of the mountain range. It gave off a maroon gloss that seemed as if it were repainted every day. It sat about four feet off the ground, and an old soft tinted oak rocking chair was stationed under the desk that Shinu used when he would sit and write. There were countless stacks of paper from finished and unfinished manuscripts, and all sorts of poetry. Vieve was the first to say something about Shinu’s bedroom and appropriately asked about all of the stacks of papers that occupied Shinu’s organized clutter that was his workspace.

Well, from left to right, you have finished to unfinished manuscripts. There are plays, novels, and short stories amongst them. My favorite of which is titled Spira’s Forgotten Legends, and it’s yet to be finished, but I like the way it’s started. On the right panel, those are collections of poetry, ranging from emotions to love. Don’t ask why, but love seems to be the easiest thing for me to write about.

He just turned the attention away from his desk after that and took notice of his bed. It was a rather simple mattress, but it was very noticeably sizable. It was bigger than a modern day king size bed, and was very soft. It was covered by a black sheet and had one very large black comforter that was more than enough to cover the entire bed. There was also two pillows with matching black pillow cases, but Shinu never used the second one unless he was sitting up thinking about something. The bed made the bedroom look so much smaller than it was, but the bedroom would be clearly bigger if the bed were taken out. In the back right corner of the room, was a small restroom with a large bath tub that was four feet wide and seven feet long. It was Shinu’s best friend after long days of training, and was probably one of the only tubs large enough for him to fit his six foot plus frame in. He would soak in there for hours on in during some nights, and even fell asleep in the tub on numerous occasions. Soaking in the water was one of his favorite parts of the day, a true reward for the toll he put on his body throughout the day. Another nice thing about his restroom was the lighting at this time of night. The bathroom had one window that must have been aligned at a wonderful angle, because the most precious beam of the moon’s gentle glow would slither in through it and cascaded off the ground and onto the mirrors and sink. It illuminated the entire restroom without being too bright. When Shinu woke up in the middle of the night and had to use the restroom, it was the perfect amount of light to easily see what he was aiming at, yet just soft enough to be gentle on his freshly opened eyes. He wouldn’t even have to be pissed about turning the lights on to piss because there was no need. He couldn’t even remember ever turning the lights on in the bathroom in the first place. Either it was bright outside, or the restroom was brightened by the natural rays of the sun that found they towering even over the highest peaks in the mountain range.

The way the mountain range affected the sun’s rays was yet another thing that Shinu appreciated about his property. The lines from the rays escaping the size of the mountain range onto the lush green fields always made Shinu excited to do his resistance conditioning training. He would wrap one hundred and fifty pounds of stored beef from the freezer onto a rope, and then tie that rope tightly around his waist. He would drag this weight behind him as he sprinted through the lawn and slash through the rays of light that rested on the ground, zigzagging through the grass to step on all of them at least once. It certainly made his everyday training a bit more exciting and challenging without having to feel like it was more of a chore. He would then drag this meat up to the tip of the highest point in the range, and leave it there for storage. It was constantly snowing there, and below freezing so as to preserve the meat. It was always a brutal scale that Shinu had to conquer, but it was always rewarding when all he had to do for fresh meat was climb up to retrieve it.

Shinu then showed them the way back out to the two in one room that acted as his kitchen and his dining room. There was a small table that could seat four if one was creative enough in setting out all of the food and the plates. Typically, this wasn’t something that worried Shinu since the table was always set for one. For two years after Anthony’s death, Shinu would set the table for two like he did when he was a kid and Anthony would be the one cooking. He used to sit in the same spot and still look at that chair, expecting Anthony to sit there one day, but it just never happened. Eventually, he got over it and decided that there was no point in hanging his head on his death, and just move on and be happy like Anthony would want him to be. He still trained, ate, and tried to learn the same ways he did when Anthony was around, and his condition as a person would be the way that he could honor him instead of moping so much.

After seating Mieli at the table, and attempting to sit Vieve, he started to get everything ready to cook. Vieve wouldn’t allow him to do everything, so she was in the kitchen, maneuvering around him trying to get to the big pot. Shinu attempted to tell her where it was, but his efforts were in vain. She shushed him and continued to search through drawers, probably more curious as to what he had then actually finding his largest pot for the stew. Shinu just took his vegetable cutting knife out and set it down on the counter so he could rinse all of the vegetables to prep them for the stew. He gently rubbed the tomatoes, knowing how sensitive they were. Tomatoes were always susceptible to bruises when Shinu first began learning to cook. He had all the strength in the world, but he really lacked touch and finesse. So he gently ran the tomatoes under the water and then set them on top of his homemade cutting board. He then started to peel the potatoes with fine precision, getting the thinnest layer of skin without wasting too much potato, and running it under water simultaneously by holding his hand under the water as he peeled them. Last was the carrots, and he did the same as the potatoes in cutting a very fine layer off of the top while holding it under the slowly running water. He then slid the waste bin over to his cutting area and looked back at Vieve before he proceeded with the cutting.

She was prancing back across the kitchen, holding the pot in her right hand. She was very petit, the pot looking bigger than it ever had from Shinu’s perspective. It looked much bigger in her little hands as opposed to his. She filled the pot with a little bit of water and then smiled at Shinu. He blushed and turned around quickly again and focused his attention on his cutting. The first thing he did was throw away the carrot and potato shavings and then started with the tomatoes. He sliced down vertically, and then horizontally, making a perfect cross in the tomato. He held it together and spun it at a forty five degree angle and made the same precise cross, now splitting it into eighths and then repeated the process, dicing it quickly with fast precise swipes. When he looked over the shoulder he could see that Mieli and Vieve were watching him cut the vegetables and so decided to step up his showmanship. He slid a carrot over, a much easier target and then pulled out Nuraki. He sliced down quickly and then rotated the hilt a full three hundred and sixty degrees and made another slice, followed up with his right hand dicing up the carrot into mere shreds with the cutting knife. He was too embarrassed to look back and see their reactions, so he repeated the process with the second carrot. Then he snatched up a potato with his right hand and tossed it straight into the air. With Nuraki in his left hand, he sliced it in half with the most precisely level swing he could have executed. The potato did not change its course, and fell back on the board, meeting the already picked up cutting knife and was sliced and diced finely on impact. He repeated this with the second potato, another perfect execution and fine dicing of the potato for sure. He wrapped up the cutting with repeating the process of the first tomato on the last one. He cupped the sliced vegetables in his hand and put them into the boiling water, allowing them to mix in with one another. Shinu stood over the pot watching the chopped vegetable cook and tumble over the top of one another, bubbles rolling up to the top and then popping, falling back in with the rest of the water. With the repetitiveness of the water, Shinu was lulled into watching before he realized he should add some of his homemade tomato sauce and spices. He added in the proper amount, and then an extra pinch of spices before putting them back up in the cabinet. He turned back to his guests awaiting him at the table and sat down to accompany them while the food was cooking.

After about thirty minutes of patience, allowing the food to cook over well, Shinu stood up to retrieve it. He reached up to the highest shelf in the cabinet and pulled out a special bowl for Vieve. It was red, and the very bowl that his mother would use at the table according to Anthony. He never felt that he had done enough to deserve to eat out of this, and though the only thing he knew about Vieve so far was that she was a little thief in need of food, he still wanted her to eat out of it. It was at this moment, he decided he would try to stay with Vieve, even if it meant that he would have to leave out of his metaphorical bubble and leave out of his comfort zone. For Mieli and himself, he recovered two black bowls, both the same size as the red bowl Vieve would eat out of, and rinsed all three out in the sink. He served all three bowls to the fullest and placed them in front of their respective recipients. Shinu smiled and sat down, ready to eat as much as the other two it seemed like.

Well, I just want to thank you two for joining me, and being my first company, and I hope that yall enjoy the food as much as I enjoyed making it.

Soon, there was no more talking between the three acquaintances, each was buried in a taste sensing nirvana from the hot fresh vegetable soup. They would occasionally look up at one another, but would only nod approvingly of Shinu’s great efforts in the kitchen. This was one of Shinu’s favorite meals personally, and so he knew that Mieli and Vieve would enjoy it as well. It was the perfect blend of natural herbal spices and the freshest vegetables available. Spoonful but spoonful, Shinu was very routine in the way he approached his eating habits. He would scoop at least one piece of each vegetable on each spoonful and then blow gently so he could cool the soup to the perfect temperature to not burn his tongue, but provide a warm sensation tickling his throat and caressing his digestive track all the way down.

What a long night! First I get waken up in the middle of the night, and then my cows break through the barricade that I helped Anthony build inexplicably. I have to get out of my bed in the middle of the night and chase the damn cows all the way through the mountains. Bertha made me push her fat behind all the way back down the mountains! Then I had to make that twenty yard trek with that big ass jagged boulder beating up everything from my forearms, wrists, to my biceps, to my chest, digging into my body almost breaking my back. Then I had to go back up the mountain, and I get Nuraki stolen from me the very first time I leave it out of my sight. Turns out to be some pretty girl that just wanted a free meal, she was going to sale Nuraki! As if all that weren’t enough, I get to meet up with this intriguing guy, comes in riding a chocobo, overlooking my property, using proper talks and speaking of studies and what not. I don’t know what he’s about, but I suppose I never will if I don’t find out. All of this, to think, goodness, all of this happened because of something in the air I think. There’s no other reason that explains my cattle’s irrational behavior. But what could it be? How the hell would I know anyways? I couldn’t even figure out what was in the air on a daily basis before tonight. Something is rather fishy, and I don’t like it one bit. Mieli has to know, I don’t think Vieve does. Besides, Mieli was talking about setting out to enlighten people across the world, so perhaps, just maybe he can enlighten me as to how I can help my cattle. If things really go my way, maybe I’ll get to travel with him and Vieve someday.

Excuse me Mieli, it’s good to see that you are enjoying your meal, but there is something that I am dying to ask you.

I suppose there’s not going to be any better time than now Shinu, I can’t guarantee that I’ll have the answer you seek, but I can promise your question will not fall on deaf ears.

Vieve just kind of giggled to herself at how Mieli and Shinu interacted with one another. They were so proper, and kept a strong hold on mannerisms, even though they were clearly all similar in age, and young twenties for that matter.

Well Mieli, I do believe that you saw my cattle freaking out tonight, for no obvious reason. I have looked around, it isn’t anything in the ground, and there were no tracks, no sign of anything that could have caused it. The only thing that was brought to my attention was the fact that something has changed in the atmosphere. I smelled something that these nostrils have ever taken in before. You seem to be a rather scholarly man, please tell me that you can educate me on tonight’s phenomenon.

Shinu and Vieve both got quiet, apparently Vieve wanted to hear the answer to, and so all eyes were on Mieli, the floor was all his.





4125

"Well Shinu, specific answers are only possible after a certain amount of inquiry. I can attempt to tell you what is going on in the world, and then we can theorize how these events relate to your cattle, but you'll have to listen for awhile as these things may take a long time to say.

All life is really one co-related experience what happens to one of us will inevitably effect the rest of us. Have you ever heard a theory of weather stating that extreme climatic phenomenons like hurricanes and tornados are an effort to balance out the weather? I'm sure you have as it is the most dominant theory explaining extreme and abnormal weather.

Well this same concept applies to all the planet and our eco system. Your original question was what happened to your cattle, well to answer this, we will have to focus the scope of our inquiry to events related this planet and its inhabitants.

In order to use our mechanisms call them the plane, automobile, or hot oven we need energy. Where else can we get energy but from the planet? A process of effecting the world we are a part of and how it effects us, is obvious when we do things like capture wind, create fire, and mine coal.

Unfortunately the planet is effected in degrees, the more energy it will give to us, the more we must take from it.

Things like capturing wind and creating fire are relatively small gains, and they do relatively little harm. However mining coal takes produces more gains and on the flipside does more harm.

Leading you towards the answer of your question, it is time for me to speculate rather than simply educate. What do you think would cause the most harm to the planet, and what do you think would yield the greatest gain?

Do you think it could be from abstracting the greatest source of life from the planet itself that makes all things happen, winds, fires, waters, stones, and even animal and human life? Why I think that might be the case.

Have you heard of the speculation of mako energy? Well if you haven't, I suppose you've lived under a rock half your life. It was a new energy source being studied by the Shinra corporation to power its metroplex Midgar.

Now thing why I am I talking about mako energy? Because what it really is is spirit energy under a saleable name!

Now I promised I would answer your question about your cows, and here it is! The Shinra have begun a process of effecting the spirit energy in the lifestream, and this change in the lifestream has effected your cows. Why think back to our theory of co-relation, and think about how spirit energy willl force a reaction.

The latest reaction to the lifestream was the episode of your cows sensing a change in the environment they live in. I don't mean to trouble you, but if something is not done about mako energy, I'm afraid not only your cows, but this whole planet will be in danger reacting in even more serious ways."

Forgive me for a moment, but I think I should have stayed under that rock of mine. Mako energy, is just the name, for spirit energy that comes from lives of human beings? Are they killing people for this energy? Or using dead bodies?

Mieli gazed upon Shinu with a look of obvious disappointment.

The sword theif Vieve looked apalled by Mieli's remark as if he was saying "you couldn't steal from someone who was born under a rock and quite possibly yesterday.

I see you have much to learn. Spirit energy comes from dead bodies, but only in the way of leaving a body which has just died to return to the lifestream and be used as yet another resource to make life happen.

It's this idea that spirit energy is reused by the planet to make life happen that things like reincarnation and nutrition are possible. However I doubt these things are possible because there is no necessary connection between spirit energy and personality or that any dead consumable has any spirit energy left in it.

Anyways digressions aside, spirit energy, or this force that we know to make all life possible is being used up in a way it was never meant to be. If it all is used to power our machines and never return to the planet for life and its happens. Not only ourselves but this planet and any possibilty of life on it will cease to be or die!

I don't know myself whether or not mako energy is being used yet, but this behavior or your cows seems to me a sign that this is the case. Perhaps if we went to Gongaga we would find some answers."

This all sounds rather disgusting I have to say. How can people be so dispicable? And you think Gongaga will help? Well I suppose that's not too far....

Shinu faded back and waited to get Vieve's reaction.