Chapter 30 - Lover's Spat and a Surprising Dawn

Translated by Mecorx and Pixel

It was nearly midnight. Kyrie was lying in the back seat, snuggled to her bag. It seemed she wasn’t sleeping.

“Is the fuel really coming?”

Kyrie suddenly said.

“I’ve arranged for it, but I’m not positive.”

“What happens if it doesn’t work out?”

“I’ll manage somehow, but there’s probably nothing we can do right away.”

“We have to go to Nibelheim, no matter how long it takes. We also have Arde’s request. You’ve forgotten, haven’t you, Evan.”

“That’s not it.” I quickly corrected. “Well, maybe.”

But there was no reaction from Kyrie.

“You told Tifa, and yet you told me nothing.”

The topic seemed to have changed. To a sensitive issue, at that. I braced myself for it.

“Evan. Tell me why.”

I searched for an answer. A good answer. And I thought. I couldn’t be doing this. It was a mistake I had made too many times. Just be humble and tell it to her, the truth.

“I was ashamed of having you find out about my preoccupation with my mother. Leslie and the others too.. But I wanted to tell someone. Especially then. I wasn’t able to bear the burden alone.”

“Hmmm.”

It was a halfhearted reaction. Then I understood. Tell me why you chose Tifa.

“Tifa was an acquaintance, but not someone who was involved. I figured it would be alright. But I know now. That I really just wanted my friends to know, especially you, Kyrie.”

“But I might have been angry if I heard it. Like, wasn’t it enough just to have me around.”

“I don’t think you’re that kind of a person, though.”

“Well, that’s a surprise. I’m shocked. When I heard things I didn’t know about you from Tifa, I lost my temper. I was so pissed off that I just ate and ate.”

When it comes to this kind of thing, we’re surprisingly similar to each other.

“In front of Tifa, I felt almost like a child. I’m no match.”

“I felt like that with Rufus ShinRa.”

“So, it’s a draw?”

“Are we? I thought that I couldn’t compare to Leslie, oh, and Fabio too, I guess. I always feel indebted to people raised in the slums

It was my first time talking about this. Kyrie quickly sat up in the back seat, and looked at me in the rearview mirror.

“Rufus, Leslie, Fabio. That’s three people. I have two. So, I win.”

Two people? One was Tifa, the other…

“I’m definitely no match for your mother.”

“That’s kinda different…”

“I know. Well, I don’t know. I want to know, that it’s different. A boy’s mother is a girlfriend’s worst enemy. That’s what Grandma said. But they can also be our best friends, she said.”

“Hey, Kyrie.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to ask you straight up, just so we’re clear… do you like me, Kyrie?”

Kyrie’s face disappeared from the rearview mirror, and the car shook for a moment. The next moment, something hit the back of my head― maybe it was Kyrie’s backpack― whatever it was, I slammed my chest hard against the steering wheel. The horn sounded for a moment.

Putting the cloth bag on the floor, Kyrie lay back down on the rear seats she occupied. She turned her back to me.

“Tifa told me I should stop you from going to Nibelheim.”

“Right. That’s how it felt. Although she didn’t say it to me directly.”

“That’s why I chose not to stop you. I figured we could just go together, so I packed in a big hurry.”

Again, the car fell silent. But it was a comfortable silence. Before long, I heard her breathing in her sleep. I adjusted the rear view mirror, so the rear seats were in view. There was Kyrie’s exposed back. I took the gun out of my shoulder bag, and prepared to keep watch for the night.

–

I had planned to stay up all night, but it seemed I had fallen asleep a few times. It was nearly dawn.

“Evan, are you awake?” Kyrie asked, still lying there. “Hear that?”

As I listened carefully, I heard the sound of an engine. It came closer and closer. Kyrie sat up in the back seat. I got out of the car, and looked up the main avenue. A small truck approached. The face of the man in the driver’s seat soon came into view.

“Leslie!?”

Kyrie seemed to have noticed too, and got out of the car. Leslie waved slightly as he passed us, and parked the truck. Then reversed vigorously, and stopped just before hitting our car. Those were some skills.

“You’d better hurry.”

Leslie got out and shouted to us, as we stood there, dumfounded.

“C’mon, open the fuel cap.”

“Where is it?”

“Move.”

Sticking his head in the driver’s side, Leslie took out the key, and went to the back of the car.

“Evan, over here, I’ll show you.”

“Sure.”

I quickly ran up to Leslie. There was a keyhole on the right, to the rear of the car. As he inserted the key and turned it, a panel opened.

“This is the cap. I have four fuel cans. Three will probably fill it. Put the other in the trunk. Lay out something under it.”

As I stood there fidgeting, Leslie went back to the truck, and came back with a fuel can.

“Go get the rest.”

Right― I answered blankly as I got the fuel cans from the truck bed. As I stumbled about in utter confusion with the heavy liquid-filled cans, Leslie was telling Kyrie how to put the fuel in. He seemed to have prepared a simple hand pump for us. I watched Leslie as I took a breather. His face was stained black in places. It looked like soot. His clothes were stained too.

“Who would’ve thought that you’d be together.”

Teased Leslie.

“Yeah, well.”

Kyrie answered, concentrating on the pump.

“Evan?”

Leslie went back to the truck and called me. As I acknowledged him, I looked back at Kyrie and saw that she had stopped the hand pump, and was fanning her face with her right hand.

“I have a few things for you. First, this.”

He opened the door on the passenger’s side, and took out a roll of bills.

“I dunno why, but he says he was just messing with you. Then there’s…”

Now he stuck his head in the car, and took out two heavy looking machine guns.

“They’re the type that can’t fire just a single shot. Be careful, the bullets run out in no time if you get carried away. There are two more, but they’re mine.”

I cautiously took the machine guns. Leslie went to the truck bed, and took down a large, wooden box. It seemed really heavy. When he saw both of my hands were occupied with the machine guns, he went back to the car and took the key out of the fuel cap. He used it to open the trunk, and put the wooden box in.

“These are the magazines packed with bullets. They’re easy to use, you’ll figure it out right away. But I think you’d better practice somewhere.”

He then went back to Kyrie and replaced the key while checking on the refueling process. I carefully placed the machine guns on the passenger seat, and approached the two of them.

“Yup, you’re good. Anyway, I gotta go.”

Leslie quickly started back towards the truck.

“Wait!” I finally got a word in. “What’s this all about?”

“…I came to settle a score.”

Leslie laughed slightly, scratching the side of his nose.

“I talked with Marle yesterday after you left. Let’s settle things before our kid is born, I said. Then I went to see Corneo.”

“Settle…”

“I didn’t kill him. I don’t kill anymore.”

Leslie said without hesitation.

“I went there and asked for my old job back. I just wanted to wash my hands of it, but I went begging pitifully, telling him I couldn’t get by in these tough times, and boy was that fucker ever delighted. That sneaky bastard, he loves to see people miserable, and this was my first job. Fuel delivery.”

“You’re not seriously going back, are you?”

“Of course not. I set a fire before I left. The photos of Marle, and everything else was burned to cinders.”

Kyrie’s body stiffened as she listened.

“What about those machine guns? You didn’t get them from Corneo, did you?”

“After the fire started spreading, it hit me. That if you’re going on a journey, you’d be better off with guns. Then, I thought I probably ought to have some too. So I went back and got them.”

“Wow, Leslie.”

Those were the only words I could get out.

“So, Evan. I might need to borrow your place after all. The situation’s changed. Well, actually, I’m already borrowing it. I had to kick the door in. Marle’s waiting.”

“Of course. You’re welcome to it.”

I took the key from my pocket and handed it to Leslie.

“You have my thanks.”

“That’s my line…” I took the roll of bills that I remembered was in the car, and held it out to Leslie. “Here, use this. It was originally intended to pay for the fuel.”

“Thank you. This helps a lot.” Leslie took the money and put it in the back pocket of his trousers. “I’ll pay you back, as well as pay for rent. But then we’re even. In future, if you ever need anything at all, don’t think of it as a burden. Is that okay with you?”

“No matter what?”

“No matter how careful you are, or how much you pray, shit happens. Life is unpredictable. Anyway, I’m gonna go. You two have a nice trip.”

Leslie said, with a blatantly vulgar expression.

“I’m gonna kick you!”

“Oh, scary.”

As Leslie playfully turned his back to me and headed back to the truck, I shouted for him to wait. I didn’t think the issue with Leslie and Marle had been settled.

“There was a big guy at Corneo’s, right? He looked dangerous. Are you going to be alright?”

“If push comes to shove, I’ll use the machine guns. I’ll be sleeping with them from now on.”

Having said that, Leslie climbed into the truck without looking back, and started the engine. He honked the horn, and drove off toward Edge.

“I wonder if he’ll go back― to the other side. Even though he’d finally gotten out.”

“That’s not gonna happen. He has Marle.”

“…I guess you’re right. He probably won’t, will he? He’s got a baby coming too, after all.”

I nodded. I wanted that to be true. The pump made a sound to signal that the drum was now empty. I put away the pump, and stacked the empty fuel cans at the side of the road. I was sure someone would find some use for them. When I opened the trunk, other than the wooden box that Leslie put inside, there was a pretty old, frayed blanket. I laid out the blanket, and used it to cushion the unopened fuel can. Then I remembered the wooden box, opening it and taking out two magazines before closing the trunk.

“Should we get going?”

“Yeah.”

Kyrie went to the passenger’s side, and opened a door. But she just looked at me without getting in.

“Hey, Evan. What’s in this bag?”

She took out the somewhat large paper bag from the inside of the car, and held it out to me.

“I wonder. Check for me.”

She nodded and peeked inside the bag. She removed a letter and a parcel wrapped in floral design paper from inside the paper bag.

“It says “Thank you” on it.”

That’s what it said on the piece of paper. When Kyrie opened the package on the roof of the car, she found a loaf of bread as big as her head.

“It must be from Marle.”

“Looks like it. Looks yummy.”

“Let’s eat it later. Somewhere scenic.”

“Heh heh heh”

“What?”

“Somewhere scenic? To eat a loaf bread?”

“You want to eat it now?”

“He he he he.”

It was a monotonous laugh that sounded like something from a script. Then, she twisted around.

“We even have a car. We’re like the rich boys and girls from the plate.”

It seemed Kyrie didn’t quite understand what life was like on the plate. Pretty cute, I thought. I suppressed the urge to go to the other side and hug her, and got into the driver’s seat.