InsaneJournal

Current mood:	artistic
Current music:	"Yo Hanabi" by BeForU
Entry tags:	breakup fics, f/f, kairi, quistis, quistis/kairi, quistis/kairi anthology, riku, riku/kairi, riku/roxas, shoujo-ai, shounen-ai, subtext

Fic -- On Days Like This -- PG

Title: On Days Like This
Author: Rubyfruit Pixie
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Rating: PG
Summary: What would Quistis see in a student of hers, let alone one who doesn't see much in herself? (Takes place a bit after KH2)
Warnings: Mild profanity, but the f-bomb is dropped, so...
Pairing: Quistis/Kairi, brief mentions of Riku/Roxas, end of Riku/Kairi
Disclaimer: ...D00d, fanfiction. Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy and most worlds belong to non-me persons. However, this fic is mine.
A/N: Part of the Quistis/Kairi collection of fics, which take place after the events of KH2. Cut text is from "Do You Believe" by the Cardigans. This is, in fact, the first one (not counting "Mirror Eyes" which is old and sucky, therefore not counting) in the collection! This one is more subtext than anything. For now, anyway.



Was it the beginning or merely the beginning of the end?

Because Quistis got to Elysium Academy a year too late, she didn't know how everything worked. By Sixth Year, the battle lines between Elysium Academy and the other three sister academies have been drawn, and this was the start of Tenth Year. Because she'd gotten to the school a few years too late, Quistis had no idea how significant it was when she saw a rather angry redhead stomp into her classroom, followed by an equally downtrodden boy.

From what Quistis could see from her desk, "angry" and "downtrodden" were putting the respective moods lightly.

"I didn't know that you were one for school spirit, Kairi."

The boy spoke after a long and awkward silence. Quistis kept watching. So, the girl had a name. She checked the roster again. 'Kairi' did seem to fit the girl sitting by the window, trying to ignore those rather pointed words.

"I thought you had standards, Riku."

Quistis looked at her Tenth Year roster again. That name didn't show up. Maybe he was one of the upperclassmen, or even a lowerclassman. Social spheres were far too fluid for Quistis's tastes, but whatever kept the peace in a school whose student population ran in the millions. She took a peek over her computer monitor to see that Riku had gone, leaving Kairi alone...for now.

-------------

Because Quistis felt a sense of duty to the girl, she offered Kairi a ride home. As far as she knew, Kairi didn't live on campus, and walked the four miles from the Isle Elysium Academy for the Magical and Fighting Arts to the student neighborhood of Sunset Park. The ride was fairly quiet, despite Quistis's best efforts.

"...I don't want to talk about it," Kairi said, "I just...can't. Not now."

That made a lot of sense, and Quistis didn't want to pry any further yet. Kairi was no longer attached, and that was all that mattered.

"Maybe later?" Quistis asked.

Kairi nodded. "Sure," she answered, "Later".

Quistis smirked. 'Now, for the hard part.'

The slate-gray car stopped in front of a pleasant yet large-looking house, and Kairi slid out of the passenger's seat and waved.

Quistis nodded and drove further out of the student community, and eventually out of Elysium City completely.

That house was far too large for one person to live in, and Sunset Park wasn't exactly the safest place for a girl Kairi's age, no matter her abilities. Quistis sighed, paid the toll, and kept driving.

--------

Because Quistis was a smart Mistress, she did her research. The minute she got home, she headed to the basement, into the massive computer lab. It was there that the girls she'd either allowed to keep their intelligence or bestowed the gift of basic search engine skills upon were hard at work, looking for that all-important thing for acquiring new people to come into her service. That all-important thing called information.

Without it, Quistis did not know where she'd be. Possibly in the nearest mental institution left to rot, no thanks to Squall--no, Leon, as he insisted repeatedly. How annoying.

Quistis sat down in her usual leather chair while one of her servants brought over a cup of coffee. "So," Quistis said, "Do you have anything yet?"

Selphie nodded. "On Kairi? What do you need to know?"

Quistis smirked. "Everything relevant. Please, keep me posted until morning."

Selphie smiled. "Of course, Mistress."

--------

Because Quistis couldn't help herself in a situation like this, she listened carefully while Kairi talked with a few friends. Hers was, after all, the loudest voice, so Quistis could easily say that.

"What's the point?" Kairi asked, "I guess I'm the girl guys ask out before coming out of the closet. After all, what guy's gonna want a girl who could easily kick his ass, literally?"

The other girls laughed at this, but Quistis had the misfortune to watch Kairi in action. The red-haired girl wasn't speaking in jest.

Kairi grinned. "Besides, I'm not really all that girly. Or pretty. Or any of the other thing guys look for. And I'm supposed to be some kind of princess now, too? What kind of princess is able to name the different kinds of fighting styles that incorporate a Keyblade, anyway?"

The three girls loudly expressed their disagreement, with the ringleader, a petite, blue-haired girl saying, "No way! You're smart...and witty...and...and..."

Quistis looked up and then went back to feigning interest in her computer screen. What was the girl's name...Adria.

Adria was the perfect plant to put in this school. Quistis sighed. She simply had so many plants, girls she'd long since bent to her will and put back into so many schools between here and Radiant Garden that she could barely remember which ones were sent to which location.

Back to Kairi, again. "Because smart and witty are what all the guys are looking for," she said sarcastically, "Right."

Quistis sighed, then wondered why she was doing this again. What did she see in someone who saw so little in herself? Why was she trying so hard to acquire Kairi when she saw no value in herself whatsoever?

She hit the play button and watched the video of Kairi in her Hand-to-Hand Combat class and remembered. Quistis nodded. This was why. Sure, Kairi lost in this video, but Quistis wasn't particularly interested in winners. Winners were boring, and their pride made them fall too quickly.

Quistis wanted a challenge, and in Kairi, she found one that was finally suitable.

------

Because Quistis was a very patient person, she waited until Kairi spoke at last. Her gentle prodding finally paid off.


"Twilight Town Academy," Kairi said, "What the fuck?"

Quistis nodded. The way Kairi said the name of the rival academy sounded like it made her sick just forming the words in her mind.

Kairi scoffed. "Riku's new boyfriend is from Twilight Town Academy. Why the fuck? Aren't there guys here? Wait, I know why. I guess he figured that I'd be broken up if I saw him walking down the hallways arm-in-arm with someone else."

Quistis sighed. "Don't you have a friend who goes there?"

Kairi said, "Olette and I are different. No one cares what Princesses of Heart do, let alone Darkness Containers. I...I just..."

Quistis said, "Keep going, you're almost there..."

"What Riku sees in someone like Roxas," Kairi said at last, "I'll never know. Certainly more than I've got, that's for sure..."

As Kairi went on, Quistis noticed three very important things about both the words and the girl.

The first thing was that Kairi wasn't particularly attached to the boy himself, at least not romantically. The second, which was never explicitly said, was that Kairi was more than a little embittered by her Princess of Heart title and the instability that came with it. The third, and most important thing was that despite the whole 'saving-the-worlds' thing, Kairi was still a sixteen-year-old girl carrying the weight of the worlds on her shoulders while trying to deal with her normal life as well.

That, to Quistis, was a crime against humanity, sending children to fight the eternal battle of Good against Evil, especially when Good wasn't all that good and Evil wasn't necessarily evil.

"And," Kairi said, "Wouldn't you know it? Not even an hour after Riku dumped me, I get fifty different text messages and a hundred emails from nearly every girl from little tiny Eighth Years to University, all expressing how sorry they are and how dumb Riku was, and how they'd love to be the rebound girlfriend." She scoffed at the very thought.

Quistis asked, "And you, Miss Kairi, are too good for something like that?"

"Yep," Kairi answered, "I'll wait for a week or two to start that dating thing again. Half of a power couple and all that. You understand, right?"

Quistis nodded, understanding the annoying details of the whole dating scene quite perfectly, and thought that Kairi deserved better than to stay in such a cruel and bothersome place.

Because Quistis only wanted the best for Kairi, she decided at that moment to take her away from the harsh scene completely. Now she had an idea. She had the means, she had the power, and now she had a higher reason to use it.

Because Quistis honestly was saving those girls, and Kairi would be rescued next.

~End~