↤[The Sharpshooter of Radiant Garden]↦

    Eyes fell to the ground and he visibly shuddered. His face filled with horror and rage as he wrapped his arms around himself. “Fa-Father…he-he…likes to do that…pu-putting people in their pla-places…ev-even me-me…”

     His eyes fell to the ground before he launched himself into Braig’s arms, violently shaking. “He-He’s wh-why I-I have bruises…an-and burns…”

Its an odd position to be in, comforting another person, since they had been injured so greatly by someone they knew. See; he’s seen Xehanort a few times, and though threats had certainly been made, he hadn’t been hurt himself. It makes him wonder if Vanitas’s ‘father’ was a different version. 

     The boy glanced up to the other once more, the fear still in his orbs. His shaking is beginning to cease when the other’s hand gives his shoulder a squeeze. He wasn’t going to tell Father? Vanitas took a couple of deep breathes, trying not to go into panic mode. 

    Vanitas looked to the scars on his face and then he nodded slowly. Still, his nervousness showed in his voice as he spoke. “I-I see…wh-why did Father approach you…? Wh-Why did he have No Name to your throat…?”

“I...” His words trail off, and he looks upward, towards the sky, as if thinking back on the situation in question. “...may have made the mistake of letting my anger get the best of me, when things played out other than planned.”

    Vanitas froze instantly at the name. Fear is clear in his honey gold eyes and he takes a step back from Braig. Braig…Braig knew his Father’s name?! Panic begins to overtake his being and his sea salt ice cream falls from his hands. 

   He whispered in terror. “Ho-How…cau-cause of Void Gear? Oh-Oh no…no, no. I-I thought…”

   Vanitas is visibly shaking now. “Plea-Please do-don’t tell him…Plea-Please don’t…”

“Take it easy, kid.” A hand lands on the others shoulder, and gives a squeeze. “I’m not going to tell the old coot anything. Because its none of his business, and I’m not dealing with his presence if I don’t have to.”

   Vanitas saw the flinch and he frowned slightly, his golden hues shimmering with concern. Something about Void Gear was unsettling to the one eyed man and Vanitas quickly lowered the blade when he saw the other’s gesture. Had someone…with a Keyblade been the cause of those scars? That had to be it considering his reaction. 

    He decided that it was for the best him to dismiss Void Gear entirely. Void Gear disappeared into the Darkness and then looked up at Braig, innocently and worriedly.

    “Of course you can ask. What’s wrong…?” 

        “…Well…it’s…” How does he come right out and say it? There were, in reality, several secrets to tell. Vanitas nervously shifted his feet around before gazing up at the other. 

     Cautiously, the boy holds out his free hand and then summoned forth…Void Gear. It shimmered with Darkness as it was summoned into his hand, his gloved hands clutching onto the metal grip. “I’m a…Keyblade wielder. Have you ever heard of Keyblades before…?”

He couldn’t really help the full-body flinch that appeared at the sight of the weapon. Though different in appearance, it bore an ‘eye’ in the handle, bright and vibrant, that reminded him entirely too much of another blade that had been held to his throat in the past. His hands raise, and then, pat the air, as if suggesting for Vanitas to hold the weapon by his side, or dismiss it.

    “…Maybe a little.” Vanitas responds quietly. He takes a bite of his sea salt ice cream and his stomach hums in approval. The raven gazed up at Braig and then bit down on his lower lip. “…Braig…? Can I…tell you a secret?”

   Oh shit, he was bothering him at work! The raven haired boy’s expression fell, but soon his expression rose once again at the thought of them hanging out after he was with work. Vanitas smiled and then nodded quickly, clearly excited. 

   “I’ll wait at the fountain then!” He grinned, despite the marks on his face. He recalls passing by the public gardens and seeing the fountain with Braig. Vanitas ran off to the fountain. “I’ll see you there!”

“You’re fine. I’ll see you shortly.” And with that, the kid was off like a shot, leaving Braig to finish his work. As he stated, there wasn’t much time left, and before Vanitas had waited for long at all, the guardsman was walking up, hands tucked into either hip pocket. 

   Of course, if the boy had to tell the truth, he knew that he wasn’t alright, but Vanitas wasn’t going to admit it. Would Braig even believe him? Would Braig even be able to help him? That was the more important question. What Vanitas needed right now was some positive influence, positive attention. 

    “Yeah…I’m doing alright…” The boy mumbled, unconvinced of this. Vanitas then looked up at the other with his own amber hues and tilted his head. “Are you done with work…? I-I hope I’m not bothering you at work…”

“I’ll be off duty in about a half-hour’s time, but there’s nothing stopping me from chatting at the moment. Its dull now, thankfully, and dark enough that certain people know better than to try snooping around on the grounds.”

   Nothing was chasing the raven haired boy, rather, he had been looking for someone. That someone was the man that he stumbled upon, someone that he was truly happy to see. Vanitas smiled underneath his helmet and then rushed up to the dark haired man. 

    He was only gone for one week, one fucking week, and all he wanted to was be around Braig. Vanitas wrapped his arms around the other, pulling him into an embrace. Damnit, he had missed Braig.

    The visor disappeared from his face, revealing a black eye and the bruises on his face. Vanitas smiled up at the other. “I was…I was looking for you.”

    Vanitas looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry I was…gone so long.”

Should he be pleased that Vanitas was so excited at the thought of visiting with him? Really, the kid should be hanging out with others his own age, rather than a tired man like himself. At the same time...

   The next time that Vanitas saw Braig, it was a week later. The training was long and painful, but the only bright part of it was Vanitas imagining meeting up with the guard again. Once Father brought them back to the house, Vanitas was itching to leave and once Xehanort had fallen asleep for the night, the boy practically ran out of the house. 

     His body was aching severely, especially his face. He was fairly certain that he had some bruises and a black eye, but that was not what was on his mind. It was almost sunset, would Braig be off of work? Vanitas glanced over to the castle, dashing in the direction of the gigantic structure, wishing to see his friend.

The guard in question is perched atop one of the walls of Radiant Garden, hands resting on either knee. Its been a bit of a draining day; there was a break in by the two most notorious teenagers in town, who had almost made it into the Castle using a series of vines by a window. Those vines were scheduled to be clipped the following day, at least, to ensure there wouldn’t be a repeat performance of the fiasco in the future.

Still; the gunman is tired from chasing the red-haired one around. 

A sigh, and he stares out towards the main portion of town, where someone can be seen on the streets, dashing towards the castle itself. He almost gets up, ready to act as if he’d been alert all the time, but it’s only Vanitas.