explaining | [Voice]

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[Voice]

Man.

[A pause.]

Has anyone ever gotten that sudden rush, where you remember a whole lot of something all at once? Or you think you remember all of it, but then there's pieces missing...

Hahaha wow I'm dizzy. Okay, sitting down.

Um- well all right, I won't beat around the bush. Nami, Zack? Buffy? Draco? Meryl? What about anybody from home? Luke, Asch?

I don't need help, I'm all right to get to the village myself, but a friendly voice would be nice to listen to for the walk in. Maybe some conversation while I catch my breath. Ah, how about- hm. Your first day here in Luceti; how was it for you?

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[ ... yeah. She'd sort of thought so.

She sighs, far more heavily this time. ]

Then ... I think we'd better meet. ... do you have time?

I can make some.

Can you meet me later tonight? Ten o'clock, in front of Seventh Heaven? [If he goes to Good Spirits, he might see someone familiar- no, he definitely will, because he knows everyone who staffs the bar. He'd rather not be distracted, especially if Xion's news is going to be exceptionally bad.]

.... okay. I'll see you then.

[ A beat. ] I'm sorry to do this so soon... but... I had a feeling you'd want to know.

[ Finally, faintly: ] Bye.

[ She shuts the book. She'll meet him that night, and spend the entire interim wondering if she's made the right choice. ]

[True to his word, Guy is in front of Seventh Heaven at ten sharp. He'd actually arrived fifteen minutes early, to pace around and think about whether or not he really wanted to go behind Luke's back first thing.

Nope, that feeling is still there. Even if Luke doesn't want him to know, Guy deserves to know. As his friend.]

[ Her feelings, strangely, are much the same. Worse, perhaps, because of the fact that she'd betrayed his implicit wishes once before. He'd never explicitly told her not to tell anyone what happened to him after the fact; but he was a very private person, and she knew it.

But this is Guy. If anyone deserves to know, it's him.

So she emerges from the dark, somber but ready, trying not to startle him by way of avoiding coming too physically close. ]

Hey.

Hey.

[Guy would say she looks well, but actually she looks pretty miserable. And the way she just morphed in from the shadows was a bit creepy too.]

Want to skip the pleasantries and get down to it, or should we settle down with something to drink first?

[ The benefits of having darkness-associated powers.

After a moment, she shakes her head. ]

No. I'd rather stay outside. I don't want anyone to overhear. ... um, unless you really wanted something. [ Slightly awkward, but. She's trying. ]

I'm all right.

[They should probably get away from the main street then; Guy gestures her over to an alley between buildings. It's darker here, but sheltered enough so that they won't be interrupted or overheard unless they can see the person coming first.]

Okay. [He pauses.] You're sure you're okay telling me this? I can keep it from Luke, if you need me to. Pretend I don't know.

[ She'll follow his lead, quietly, eyes on the road for the most part. Eventually, she just shakes her head. ]

It's just... this is so familiar. And you don't remember. [ She smiles, a gentle and sad thing. ] It's not your fault. But when it happened, you were there for everything.... I think I'm just being selfish. I don't want to be alone.

[ Finally she looks at him. ]

... I'm okay. Luke ... I think, if he could get away with it, he would never tell you. He wouldn't want to make you sad, or ... burden you. He's always like that... [ She brushes her hair back behind her ear. ] ... but I still believe the people who care about him deserve to know.

[ She's silent, then. Steeling her courage. Her will. Her gut, really. Thinking about it makes her sick, even now. Watching him fade, dissolve away, had not been the hardest part. It had been the moment immediately after, when he was just gone, when there was absolute nothingness where his warmth had been. In that moment, she'd wanted to die too.

Hence why there is emotion in her voice when she finally speaks. She banks it enough for her words to be clear, but they are tense beneath, fraught with her pain. ]

... he died. You were with me when it happened. Watching him... fade away.

[Fade. ...right. The mechanics of it are simple enough, but Guy is immediately unsettled. Luke is Luke, replica or not, but there isn't even a body afterwards to bury-]

How did it happen? [Something burning hot and angry stirs deep in his stomach. If it was someone in the village...]

... he got sick.

[ Her voice is wretched. ]

The Malnosso.... they made him--

[ She stops. Breathes in, slowly. ]

They took him and forced him to use his hyperresonance. Over and over. ... I guess it was too much for his body. He just... he just started dying. It took months...

[ ... the way she breathes in is a little too even. Forcing back her emotions is a huge effort at this point, but she doesn't want to cry. Not over this. Not when it's already all over. ]

[Guy's fingers clench around the sword's hilt at his hip and make the metal and leather creak before he loosens them, taps his fingertips against the end. Calm down, Guy.]

I see.

[Focus on Xion instead.]

...and you were there with him through it, huh. Thanks- thank you.

... he didn't tell me for a long time. I had to confront him. [ Her smile is so sad. ] It was hard. It was one of the hardest things I ever did. But it was worth it ... to be there for him.

[ She sighs out, some of the emotion ebbing away. ]

It's funny. Back then... back then, you didn't know, either. I found out before you did, and ... at that time, I wasn't brave enough. I thought Luke needed to be the one to tell you what was happening to him.

But since it's over now... I know he wouldn't bring it up. But I still thought you should know. Best friends should know these things about each other, right...?

[ Axel... Roxas. ]

[Guy sighs, turning away a bit and scuffing a hand through his hair.] I'm of the opinion they should. I'm glad you told me, at least; Luke gets that, that friends should share these things with each other, but for some reason he never seems to understand that it applies to him too.

[ He doesn't feel worthy. He doesn't feel good enough. She knows these things; she feels them too. It's one of the reasons they're so powerfully drawn to each other, that understanding. ]

... he never wants anyone to worry. [ She smiles, suddenly, sweet but pained. ] He tries so hard to hide when he's hurt, and only helps everyone else... I just end up worrying more, since I don't always know what he's thinking. [ She brushes her hair back behind her ear. ] ... I hope he won't be mad I told you.

Oh, Luke's not going to know you told me.

[Guy doesn't have a problem keeping things from him, the hypocrite.]

[ She's silent for a long moment. ]

... I used to keep secrets. A lot of secrets... I thought it was better if no one knew. Even my best friends. But in the end... it didn't help anyone. It only made things hurt worse.

[ A beat. She can't tell him what to do, or not do. And it is true that Luke would never have said a word. But secrets between friends... best friends... she's learned from experience they do no good. ]

I need to get home. It's late. [ She gives him one last smile. ] Goodnight, Guy.

Night, Xion. Sleep well.

[Guy watches her leave; it looks like she actually melts back into the shadows, but that's probably just because it's night, and her coat and hair are dark enough to blend in. The smile slips off of his face once he's sure that she's gone.

She's a sweet girl, but in quite a few ways she's exactly like Luke.]

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