To: All Heroes

[makingfriends]

[Unlike his usual writing style, this letter is short, simple, and to the point.]

For anyone who looked through their files in the lab, how accurate were they? Did any of the details seem wrong to you? Maybe even made up? Even slightly?

I'm not asking for details on what was in yours. I just want to know if your information seemed right.

Ventus

[He's already talked about it some, all while remaining equally vague, but... he wants to be sure. Lacking as many memories as he does, he has no way of confirming or denouncing most of what he read -- and that's what scares him.]


[Action - for AU!Yuna]

[Not long after, Ven decides he needs some more time to himself -- real time to himself, not just retreated to his room in a house full of people, even if they are his good friends. It's sunset by the time he makes it to his secret viewing spot high up on the side of Aqures Castle, and he settles there on the overhang to watch the last light of the sun fade over the city.

Once again, he's dressed in his Time Mage clothes -- that black coat, the one Ira attributed to some "Organization;" Ven asked Rae to give them to him again, but was quick to ditch her shortly after. He's not in the mood to be patient with her well-intended lectures, and she'd freak out if she knew about this spot of his, even if he is fully recovered.

As for why he's wearing the coat... he's not even sure. Some small, desperate way of trying to feel closer to Terra, maybe -- it's the only lead he has left. That and snippets of a thorough report on his life, much of which he refuses to go back and read. -- even as his thoughts are wracked with uncertainty, guilt, and apology towards Aqua.

How accurate was his file? He wants to write it all off as a lie, but he can't. He could confirm that parts of it were accurate, far too accurate, and so trying to pick and choose what he accepts as truth isn't as easy as he wants it to be.]

Heh... [It's a flat sound, lacking both humor and cheer.] I keep telling myself I want answers... but every time I get them, I just...

[He looks down between his knees at the drop in front of him -- stories high -- and sighs.]

The Master was right. I really didn't belong outside yet.

[And we're right back to square one.]

Comments

[silencesfate]

My assigned Moogle, Kharon, he really wants me to lock mine. He hasn't explained why. But if I had to guess it's one of those "ignorance is bliss" situations. A lot of people seem unhappy.

With how uneventful my life is, I can't fathom why he'd be alarmed. I haven't given it a look.

-- Minato Arisato

[neverfirstclass]

I only peeked at mine before I closed it but it matches what I remember and what I was told. Honestly, I've had enough of people knowing my own future and I don't want to know it anymore. I'm tired of living in its shadow and being told it's inevitable.

-Cloud

[Being in Aqures Tosf and knowing there was nothing they could do was bad enough. He still wants to believe his own future, and Sephiroth's, can be changed.]

[mcduck]

[ The letter in the envelope is tiny-- As if someone had forced the Moogle to write it all on a tiny piece so as to save paper.]

I can say the files are very accurate. I've found things in this computer that only I should have known. [Said things may or may not include the code to open his money bin.] I would recommend getting it locked as soon as you can.

[whereishe]

[Yuna got his letter and instead of responding she went in search of her friend. She hasn't read her future but she knows of the horrors of her own file. She doesn't know what Ven read but she can tell how it's affected him. She doesn't want him to just reject it, it's part of him.

Her hands skillfully move across the handholds that Ven had shown her that day after the game. She slips once, just enough to hear Ven's verbal contimplation. She lifts herself up with a smile.]

Found you.

[She lifts herself completely over the edge, settling next to him without a comment. Yuna is back to clothes she's used to after equipping gunner once more.]

I'm sorry if you wanted to be alone... [She pauses trying to think of what to say, her gaze locked on the sunset.]

I think you belong Ven.

[makingfriends]

Minato,

So you're not worried? Even though there might be something important you forgot about?

Ventus

[makingfriends]

Cloud,

So it went into your future, too?

[Ven's didn't. It stopped at the point that he was brought here -- twelve years after he went to sleep -- but then, he hasn't met anyone from his life who comes from his future, so... maybe there is no future for him, not on file, until he goes back to make it. Something like that.]

But all the things in your past were accurate? You're sure?

Ventus

[makingfriends]

[This letter takes a little longer than usual to come back -- because Ven's been wracking his brain trying to remember where he heard that name before. It's familiar, but not the creepy-nagging-deja-vu familiar, like Riku's name, Sephiroth, and a few other things were. Huh...

...Well, anyway. In the meantime,]

Thanks, I did. There were just some things I'm not sure about, so I guess I was hop wondering if she got some of it wrong.

So nothing was off? Even a little?

Ventus

[no1]

[ It's not a topic he wishes to elaborate upon in detail, so the letter is brief, too. ]

Ventus,

I was not aware of the majority of the information my file entailed, and I have no proof to claim it was indeed true.

-- Ace

[silencesfate]

There's really not a lot of important things I've been through, so no, I'm not worried.

Have a lot of people gotten upset at what their files had in them?

-- Minato Arisato

[needsteaplz]

Ventus,

Strangely enough, a lot of information the file about me was true. I didn't find much regarding my future but its details about my past are too accurate for my liking. I don't feel comfortable sharing it this way and would rather bring those up on my terms.

Are you alright from reading your file though? If you don't want to talk about it over letters, I'll be home tonight.

-Saori

[makingfriends]

[As wrapped up as he is in his thoughts, Ven's utterly unaware of an approaching presence until Yuna pops up over the edge -- which makes him jump, but fortunately nowhere near enough to risk falling.]

Yuna!

[For a moment he's entirely surprised -- but no, of course, she's the one person who knows about this spot, isn't she?

He doesn't object to either her presence or the way she sits beside him; he doesn't answer right away, either, returning his troubled stare to the skyline. It means a lot that she would say that, and he wants to believe it -- he did believe it, does believe it still, the part of him that's resigned to playing a role in fate, but... That doesn't change that he could have done some things differently. Better.]

I don't know. [It's not an argument; he sounds genuinely unsure.] I just... I made a lot of mistakes. If I'd listened and done what I was supposed to, maybe I...

[He's quiet for a moment. He's still not sure whether he wants to go into it, but... Yuna's one of those he's most comfortable with at this point, and if she sought him out, she's probably guessed what this is about. Plus, she knows Aqua. That makes her more entitled to know about what's been bothering him the most.]

...I'm... I'm missing a lot of my memories. It's never been a big deal, but... Jessie's file -- it filled a lot of 'em in.

[makingfriends]

I'm not sure. I haven't talked to many people about it. But if they're accurate, I can understand why they would be.

[His concern kind of flipped from "nooo don't let anyone read about the Keyblade" to "oh did I really do these terrible things while possessed," so. That's why accuracy, not privacy, is the bigger issue at the moment.]

But after what happened with our memories a few months ago it's not very surprising that Jessie would know so much. I just don't know how she knows things that even we don't remember.

Ventus

[makingfriends]

Ace,

Were they things you'd forgotten about? Or maybe things that happened around you, but you didn't know happened in the first place?

Ventus

[Also vague, but... it's hard to go into without going into it completely, and "I just learned that I was physically possessed by my evil other half while I was also battling him in my head and apparently he used my body to beat up two of my friends so yeah I'd really like to know if that's accurate" is going one or two or maybe fifty steps too far. All things considered. Not currently fond of the idea of discussing his extreme amnesia, either.]

[no1]

Ventus,

Both, and I suppose this might require some clarification. The Crystal of my world removes our memories of the dead, so there were parts I knew I would not be able to recall. However, there was also much more new information written with such detail, it truly worries me to know somebody with similar knowledge is now our enemy.

Why do you ask?

-- Ace

[makingfriends]

Ace,

It's kind of a long story, but my file has parts of my life I don't remember very well. [Or at all.] It seems to know a lot about something that happened recently a while back, but I don't have any way of proving it right now, either. I guess it's not impossible that it happened, but if anyone else's information is wrong, there's a chance mine is, too.

Ventus

[damn_juicebox]

Ventus,

I hope you are well since our last meeting. From what I can judge, the details of my file were accurate, and eerily extensive. Was this not the case for you?

~Rukia

[She's not that upset about her own file. But there's someone else's she wishes she hadn't read.]

[makingfriends]

[There's a half-hour delay to this response, because Ven had to think on it. Does he want to talk about it? Maybe, maybe not. He's having a hard time reading himself right now, which is weird. He's not sure what he wants -- besides his best friends, and a chance to clarify and apologize where needed. But at present, that's out of the question.]

Saori,

Yeah, I'm OK. There was just some stuff in mine that I didn't know about. I'm not even sure if it's true, but if everyone's saying theirs was right, I guess it has to be.

I don't know if there's much to talk about, but I'll think about it. Thanks.

I'll see you tonight.

Ven

[He won't be home until a little while after dark, but he won't try to avoid her when he does get back.]

[makingfriends]

Rukia,

I'm not sure. I didn't see anything that was definitely wrong, but there was a lot in there that I don't remember. Or I guess you could say that I'm not even sure if it happened in the first place?

Sorry if that doesn't make much sense. It's complicated.

Ventus

[damn_juicebox]

Ventus,

Could it be that your memories were tampered with? Is there someone here who can verify the truth of your file's details? If you would like to speak with me further about this, perhaps we can meet at a local café of your choice.

~Rukia

[makingfriends]

[slkdj THAT IS THE FIRST TIME ANYONE HAS HIT THE MEMORY THING ON THE HEAD how did you do that

shoot

give him a minute to think on his response

he hasn't been forward about this before]

Rukia,

Do you know the cafe across the street a few doors down from the weapons shop? I think it's called The Chocobrew. If it's OK, I can meet you there.

Ventus

[Not that he doesn't trust his moogle, but... this is just One Of Those Things.]

[damn_juicebox]

[Honestly it was a lucky guess, since her mun is canon blind. So memory tampering sounds like the most logical solution to her.]

Ventus,

I will be there shortly.

~Rukia

[Laying down her pen, she turns to her Moogle. And asks for directions. She's still learning the ropes of this place, and hasn't been there before. But if it's next to a weapons shop, then a visit is most certainly in order.]

[makingfriends]

[Lucky, indeed. Or unlucky, since you're probably about to wonder why his canon is only rated E10+.

Rather than writing back, Ven just heads out to the cafe in question. He doesn't bring Rae with him, but it isn't hard to shake her off; he just asks her to make sure she gathers all his mail in his room so he can get to it as soon as he returns. Since he's off the doctor's orders now (finally), she doesn't try to follow him, either.

He arrives at the cafe minutes later, staring up at the glowing sign in idle thought. His usual cheer is gone, leaving him looking and the atmosphere around him feeling rather flat in comparison.]

[damn_juicebox]

[Rukia somehow managed to get their first. She knows where the library is, thanks to her friendship with Robin, so once she realized the café was located in the same district, she had little trouble finding her way.]

[The shinigami is sitting at a table, ankles crossed and feet barely reaching the ground. A mug of hot tea is set in front of her, and its twin is placed in front of a vacant chair. It seems she took the liberty of buying Ventus's tea for him. As she waits, she idly leafs through a book her friend suggested for a basic understanding of the city's history. She hasn't made much progress just yet, but hey, it's better than nothing.]

[Because of this, she hasn't yet noticed Ventus's arrival, but she expects he'll show up soon.]

[makingfriends]

[It takes him about half a minute to notice her; once he does, he heads inside, offering a small smile once he's at the table.]

Hi. Um -- thanks for coming. And sorry if my letter was kind of...

[Vague. Abrupt. Confusing. Any of the above.]

[damn_juicebox]

There's no need to apologize. It's all right.

[She smiles kindly; he needn't try to explain himself. Learning about himself in such a way would shake anyone, even Rukia. She swings out her leg to push against the opposite chair, inviting him to sit.]