Lucetific - AU - Luceti Storm Draft

[seikilos]

Title: A Chance To Protect Luceti
Fandoms: luceti, Tales of Legendia, Persona 3
Genre: Gen
Rating & Warnings: PG-13 for violence
Words: 3861
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the above fandoms.
Summary: During a fierce storm, Grune and Ryoji need to protect Luceti--but first, Ryoji needs to become something else.
Author's Notes: One of my big regrets in Luceti is actually sending Grune on the draft that took place during the giant storm. I really, really wanted to have her team up with Ryoji, but ultimately I decided that it had been long enough since her last draft that she was due for another one.

Then I ended up not doing much of anything, thereby wasting both my opportunities. v___v

So, this fic is my attempt to remedy that. I suppose it could be considered the final part to "A Chance Rescue" and "A Chance Visit." Pretty much, I took the scenario that Snarky wrote up for Ryoji on the village post and basically ran with it. I had a lot of fun writing this one (doing fic from Grune's point of view is always a great thought exercise), and I think it turned out fairly well overall. So yup!

Walter sprang into the air with a yell of "ZelDelQues!" As he shot a double wave of energy at the remaining droid, Grune finished her own eres.

"Brilliant Lance."

Weakened by Walter's iron eres, the droid couldn't possibly stand up to the high-level spell. It shattered, sparking machinery spraying in all directions. Grune looked about for their next target, but her garden was empty for now. She spared a moment to regret the damage to her flowers, but only one, because Walter was talking.

"Damn it. . . . Where the hell are they coming from?" He wiped the rain from his forehead.

"Hmm. . . . I wonder."

"I wasn't asking you," Walter snapped.

She blinked. "Oh. Who were you asking?"

". . . Never mind!" He stalked away. "I'm going to check out front."

Grune didn't follow. She had been trying to remember something for a while now; the last two attacks had disrupted her concentration.

It was a good thing she had Walter to help her protect their home. They made a very good team. She wished Norma hadn't had to go away to fight for the Malnosso, but she was protecting the village in another way, so it was all right.

I think . . . I'm going to do my best to help protect everyone. I can do that.

. . . Oh! Grune straightened up. That was right! She and Ryoji were going to work together to help Luceti. She needed to go find him right now. And maybe Walter would want to join them, too.

She headed inside, moving not quickly but purposefully. It took her a little while to find her journal, but not long at all to call Ryoji on it.

"Hello, Grune-chan!" Ryoji chirped in response to her hail. He seemed to be inside, maybe in his room. "How are you holding up? The weather is pretty incredible, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes, it's very exciting!" she agreed. It would be easy to get distracted, so she made sure to ask her important question right away. "Ryoji, do you want to meet up so we can protect the village together? I think everybody needs our help now."

Ryoji's smile went strange for a moment and he paused. Then he said brightly, "That's a good idea, Grune-chan. Why don't we meet in the square and see where we can help?"

"All right," she said, but she leaned forward as she did, trying to see his expression. It was too small, though, and so she just added, "I'll see you soon. Goodbye, Ryoji!"

"Goodbye, Grune-chan!" He waved.

She closed her journal and stood up to get ready to go. It was only as she was putting on her raincoat again that she understood what had been bothering her.

Maybe Ryoji's voice hadn't been bright. Maybe it had been brittle instead.

*

When she went to tell Walter where she was going, he didn't seem very happy.

"You're supposed to stay here, not go running off wherever you feel like," he told her sharply.

"Don't worry. I'm just going to get a friend," she explained, because he didn't seem to understand. "We'll be right back and then we can both help."

"Fine," he gritted. "Your friend had better be able to pull their weight, though—it's bad enough fighting in the middle of a storm without having to babysit."

"Ryoji will do his best," she assured him. "We both will."

Walter sighed hard. "Just go get him already."

"All right. We'll see you soon!" she called cheerfully, then let out a small "oh!" as a sudden gust of wind nearly knocked her off her feet.

She didn't meet any enemies on her way to the square. It looked as though everybody in the town was doing a good job stopping them. It made her smile and hum a little song, even though the howling and moaning of the wind in the trees tried to take her voice from her. It tried, but it couldn't stop her from singing.

When she reached the square, Ryoji was already there waiting for her. His hands were in his pockets and his face was turned up to the dark grey sky, and—he didn't have a raincoat!

She was already unzipping hers as she hurried up to him. "My, Ryoji, you're going to catch a cold if you stand out in the rain like this!"

Even if Ryoji smiled at her—that same strange smile—he didn't seem to see her right away. "I won't, Grune-chan. I promise." Only once he had spoken did he focus on her, and he held up his hands. "No, don't, please keep it. I'd feel terrible if a cute girl got sick on my account."

She paused, neither putting the coat back on nor continuing to take it off. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. . . . I won't need it with the way I fight."

Her hand came away from her zipper. Now she had no trouble seeing Ryoji's expression. He looked serious, the same way he had at the big meeting, and he looked a little sad.

What was wrong?

"Grune-chan." Ryoji's voice was quiet—so quiet, she needed to step closer to hear him over the storm. "I'm going to have to change to help protect the village. Right now, this . . . this isn't what I really look like."

"It isn't?" she asked, a little surprised. Nobody on the Legacy could change what they looked like. Ryoji's magic must have been very special.

"No, I—" Ryoji's voice caught. ". . . I look very different from this. A lot of people find me frightening. Please don't be scared, though—I don't mean you any harm." He swallowed. "I promise."

Gently, she reached out and took one of his hands in both hers. The rain ran over their hands together. "I won't be scared. You're my friend, Ryoji. No matter what you look like, you're still you. That won't ever change."

Ryoji laughed, then. It wasn't anything like the light and cheerful sound she knew. "I . . . I'm not so sure about that. But, thank you."

He pulled his hand free of hers and took a few steps backwards. For just one more moment, he looked at her.

"Well . . . here I go."

Light flashed to the sky, as bright as lightning. Grune couldn't help closing her eyes; when she opened them again, Ryoji looked very different.

He was tall, even taller than Dhaos or Daisy, and his clothes were different. They were all black now, except for . . . was that a mask he was wearing? She couldn't tell. He was wearing a lot of shields around him and he had found a long sword, too. And. . . .

She stepped closer to him and reached out her hand, trying to touch the ribbons of sparkling blue light that rose around him. She giggled as they flowed past her hand.

"Grune-chan . . . ?" Ryoji's voice was deeper now, and he sounded confused and uncertain.

"It's so pretty!" she exclaimed. "How do you do it?"

"It, ah, it just happens," he answered. He took in a breath and stopped. Then he asked, "You don't . . . mind that I look like this?"

She blinked in complete bewilderment. "Why would I mind?"

". . . Never mind." Ryoji couldn't smile, not in this shape, but she knew he was wearing one anyway. "Let's go protect everyone."

"All right! Charge!" She pumped a fist in the air, and after a moment, Ryoji copied her.

"Charge."

She giggled again and reached for Ryoji's empty hand; he flinched slightly but let her take it.

"Let's go help Walter," she suggested. "He's working very hard all by himself."

"That sounds like a good idea. He'll probably appreciate the help."

After a moment, Ryoji very carefully curled his long fingers around hers. His hand was much larger than before, and so their hands didn't quite fit together properly any longer, but that was all right.

They walked hand in hand for a little bit—Ryoji tried to shelter her from the wind and rain with one of his shields—but they hadn't gone very far at all before a large knot of droids and Shift Hunters appeared from the forest.

Grune let go of his hand and took four quick steps away from him to begin casting. But Ryoji hesitated. The Shift Hunters seemed to decide that was because he didn't know how to fight and raced up to him with ragged-edged growls.

Ryoji's sword flicked out twice, only twice, and the two Shift Hunters fell to the ground with their heads cut cleanly from their bodies.

A few seconds later, she spoke the ending of her spell: "Bloody Howling."

Two droids were caught in the dark vortex; they were both badly damaged. It took Ryoji no time at all to finish them and then he was able to disable a third droid and protect her from the ones that were left.

By the time she was able to finish casting her second spell, Absolute, the battle was over. Pierced by her ice spires, the final droid sparked and collapsed into a pile.

Grune looked about to make sure nothing else was coming to attack them, then turned to Ryoji. "My, you're very good! Thank you for protecting me."

For a moment, she thought Ryoji hadn't heard her over the gusting wind. He was simply standing still, looking at their unmoving enemies. She was just about to repeat herself when his head lifted suddenly and he said, "I'm glad I was able to help you. And your spells were so cool, Grune-chan!"

She beamed. "Thank you!"

"Now we should go help Walter-kun," Ryoji said, which was good, because she had forgotten where they were going for just a little moment.

As they resumed walking, though, it was her turn to be quiet for a bit. She could feel something . . . different in the air. She hadn't noticed right away—when she had been fighting, she had been too busy casting her eres, and before that (had it been there before?), she had been distracted by looking at Ryoji's new shape.

It was quiet now, though; even the wind was between gusts. And so—she could feel the cold. It wasn't like the wind or the rain. It was the feeling of no warmth at all, or ever again. It was the feeling of stillness. Of the end.

I shall play the melody of the end. . . .

". . . Grune-chan?"

She blinked once, then again. Ryoji was a few steps ahead of her, looking back. He sounded worried.

Had she stopped walking? Why would she have done that?

She could still feel that strange feeling, but so he wouldn't worry, she smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I think I got a little distracted."

"It's all right." Ryoji reached out a hand. "Here—oh, look out!"

A howl rose over the wind and his words. Grune began casting and they were fighting once more.

Their return to House 34 was slow. They could never go very far before they were attacked, and every time they fought, that strange feeling of emptiness grew in the air. And after every battle, it took Ryoji longer and longer to answer her. His voice became different, too. It lost the light and gentle tone she knew. Soon, Ryoji wasn't speaking very much at all.

The part that made her worry, though, was when his style of fighting changed. He stopped being careful. His destruction of the droids and kills of the Shift Hunters became less and less clean.

Then, not far at all from their destination, they were attacked by three groups of enemies, one after the other.

She was nearly finished casting Brilliant Lance when Ryoji changed. She saw a Shift Hunter run straight for him and she pulled the energy to herself faster and faster, trying to save him, because he had two droids before him and she couldn't call out a warning.

The Shift Hunter leapt upon him with a growl—and with an answering growl, Ryoji seized it by a leg and yanked it from his back. He dropped his sword; it landed in the mud with a heavy thud. Then, Ryoji took the thrashing, clawing, biting beast in both hands and tore it apart.

Grune could only watch as the Shift Hunter's blood soaked the ground with the rain, as pieces of its body pattered to the ground around her friend. Ryoji reached for a droid, and at last, she was able to release her eres.

"Brilliant Lance."

The droid in Ryoji's hand shut down from the force of her spell, as did another one in front of him. She didn't hesitate, but immediately threw herself into the next spell.

From that point on, she pushed herself as hard as she possibly could. She cast quickly and with all her strength, trying to destroy the enemies before Ryoji could. Because when he remembered who he was, she didn't want him to think he needed to bear the burden of their deaths alone.

She tried to speak to him only once, in a brief break between the waves of enemies. Ryoji had just destroyed another droid; though it would never work again, he was still crushing the remaining pieces in his hands, his fists tight.

She stepped towards him and called, "Ryoji!"

His masked head swung around, tight and fast, and he snarled.

She stopped. ". . . Ryoji?"

For a moment, he stayed fixed to the spot, tense, still, waiting.

And then the remains of the droid dropped from his slack hands and he spun around, turning his back on her.

"Grune-chan . . . I-I. . . ."

"It's all right," she said softly. "You must have been surprised, that's all."

She reached out to lay a hand on his arm, but it seemed he was able to sense her movement, because he all but fell trying to escape her.

"No! Don't, I'll—"

Another growl. They were being attacked again.

This time, Ryoji picked up his sword.

When these enemies were defeated, she listened for more, strained to hear above the storm. She stood where she was, swaying and lightheaded from using so many high-level eres and from the oppressive sense of the end. It was suffocating now—so much fighting—

It was gone and there was only the rain.

Just barely, she saved herself from stumbling to the ground. It had stopped. Why had . . . ?

She focused, and there, on the ground, on his knees in the muck and looking so small and lost was Ryoji in his human form.

The toe of her boot caught on the ground as she began to walk towards him; she righted herself. She was so tired, but she didn't stop moving until she was standing before her friend.

She bent down and held out her hand. "Here. Let's go home."

Ryoji didn't move. His head stayed bowed and he stared into the ground. She was just about to speak again when he finally moved.

He didn't move very much at first. If she hadn't been looking carefully, she'd wouldn't have seen it at all. But he raised his eyes to her hand . . . and for a moment, that was all. Then he looked left and right, at all the broken machinery, the bodies of Shift Hunters scorched by eres and ripped into mangled lumps.

Ryoji slammed both his hands against his face.

Immediately, she dropped to her knees in the cold and clinging mud. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her. He was tight and curled up and shaking; he bent his head to press it against her neck, and his hands fell down from his face to clutch at her rainjacket like a child might.

She cradled the back of his rain-slick head in a hand. She thought he might be crying.

"It's all right, Ryoji," she said softly. "It's all right. It's all right."

Finally, raggedly, he answered: "It's not all right. Grune-chan . . . l-look at what I did. I did that—I was. . . ." He gulped and she felt him shudder in her arms.

". . . Let's go have a nice cup of tea," she suggested without letting go of him for a single second. "We can get you nice and dry and clean. All right?"

Another shiver went through his body. The rain beat on her raincoat, loud in her ears. It was so loud, she nearly missed his answer.

". . . All right."

She bent her head to press a kiss to his soaked hair. "Let's go inside now."

Despite her words, she couldn't stand right away; Ryoji wasn't letting go. But eventually, he did.

The moment they were both on their feet, she set an arm around his shoulders and drew him against her side. He didn't put his own arm around her in return, but he did huddle against her a little.

It wasn't very long at all before House 34 came into sight, and not much longer still until they saw Walter. He was dragging the body of a Shift Hunter that was missing its head into the road. He looked up when he noticed them coming and he didn't seem pleased.

"Where were you?" he demanded once they were close enough to hear him over the storm. "I just spent the entire time you were gone fighting these things alone. You said you were coming back!"

"Ryoji and I were over there." She pointed backwards with the hand that wasn't cradling Ryoji close. "We were protecting the road near the house."

Walter relaxed—slightly. ". . . Fine. But you could have at least told me your plans." His gaze went to Ryoji. "What's wrong with him? Is he hurt?"

Ryoji raised his head from where he had been staring at the ground again. He was wearing a smile, but it was nothing like the ones he always gave her. "I . . . I'm fine—Walter-kun, right? I'm just tired. That's all."

"Ryoji was working very hard," she added. She wanted Walter to know that—but she wanted Ryoji to know it even more.

Walter looked him over, frowning. Finally, he said, "He must have been. I'm barely saw any of the Malnosso's monsters the entire time you were gone."

She looked to Ryoji at that. He was still smiling, but she couldn't miss the way he had drawn into himself a little more at Walter's words.

"I was only trying to protect Luceti," he said, but he sounded so weary.

"Walter, can Ryoji borrow some of your clothes?" she asked. "He needs something dry to change into."

Walter blew out a sigh. "He should have worn a raincoat if the rain was going to bother him—but all right. We're outnumbered badly enough as it is without losing anyone to sickness."

"If it's too much trouble, then it's okay—" Ryoji began, but for once, Grune wasn't going to let him go on.

"You'll feel better when you're all warm and dry," she said firmly. "Walter doesn't mind, so you should get changed."

"Well . . . if you're sure. Thanks, Walter-kun." Ryoji smiled again. It looked a little better that time.

Walter looked away, down the road. "I'll come get you if we're attacked again." He glanced back. "You do have some fight left in you, don't you?"

"I . . . think so, yes," Ryoji answered. ". . . I'll do my best."

"Then hurry up and get inside." Walter resumed dragging away the dead Shift Hunter.

She guided Ryoji the rest of the way to the house. Once they were inside, she slipped off her boots and rainjacket and told him, "You should go sit by the stove in the kitchen to warm up. I'll get you some clothes to wear."

"Thanks, Grune-chan." Already, Ryoji looked a little better. His steps weren't quite as heavy as he crossed the living room to do as she suggested.

She went into Walter's room and found some clothes in his closet. (My, his room was very different from hers.) That done, she took some towels from the linen closet and brought everything to Ryoji.

While he was getting changed in the bathroom, she went to do the same in her room. Her dress had gotten a little muddy from protecting the village, and from kneeling down with Ryoji. It was a little damp, too, so it would be nice to wear something fresh.

When she came back to the kitchen, Ryoji was waiting for her. She couldn't help but smile when she looked at him. He and Walter were about the same height, so the clothes fit him all right, but they were very different from what he usually wore. And his hair was sticking up all over from the towel.

She giggled and crossed the room, absently stretching out a hand to smooth down his hair as she passed. He jumped a little at her touch.

"You're going to look just like Senel," she told him while she filled the kettle at the sink.

"Senel?" he asked, pressing a hand against the top of his head.

"Yes, that's right. His hair is always very messy."

She went to put the kettle on top of the stove, then found some sugar cookies and set them on a plate. She sat down in the chair next to Ryoji and held them out. "Here."

"Thank you." Ryoji accepted one—but then he only held it, his gaze seemingly trapped on the cookie.

Grune watched him curiously. Wasn't he hungry? She always was after working hard. She was about to ask about that when he spoke.

"Grune-chan . . . you've seen what I am." He raised his eyes to her, but only for a moment. "Why aren't you afraid of me? I could have killed you back there. I might have, if the fighting had gone on much longer."

His words were so strange that she just couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "Why—it's because no matter what you look like, you're still Ryoji. You're still my friend."

". . . And what if I forget that we're friends?" For that question, he kept his head bowed.

Even if he couldn't see it, she smiled for him anyway. She reached out to cover his free hand with hers. "Then I'll just remember for both of us."

Ryoji looked up then, and though his eyelashes were damp, he wore the smallest of smiles. "Thanks. I-I'll do my best not to forget." Finally, he took a nibble of his cookie. ". . . Say, Grune-chan? Have you ever met Minato?"

She thought about that. "Hmm. . . . I don't think so."

"I'll have to introduce you when the storm is over." He took another bite. ". . . I think you'd get along."

The idea of making another friend was always enough to bring a smile to her face, but—she thought this friend might be extra-special.

"Is Minato one of your friends?"

"Yes, that's right." The sweet and gentle look that appeared on Ryoji's face filled her heart. "He's my dearest friend."

The kettle began to whistle on the stove as she said, "Then I can't wait to meet him. I'm sure we'll be wonderful friends." She glanced over her shoulder to share her smile with him. "Just like you and me."

She waited to see his smile—sure and unwavering at last—before she turned her attention back to the tea.

"Yes," she heard him say softly. "Just like that."