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omness-yamarik · 5 years

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Yakuza 13 Epilogue: Ephemer

Summary: Approximately 7 years after Xehanort’s death, Ephemer is acting up.

Word Count: 2250

When Ephemer showed up on Sora’s doorstep with a duffel bag, Sora knew there was trouble. And that was even before the words “Hey Sora, I’m gonna be living with you now,” came out of the boy’s mouth.

Sora knew Ephemer was a good kid. But he also knew that his younger brother had a mind of his own and did things his way, which often put him at odds with people. He was also driven by whims, and so could easily change his mind about things, which frustrated them. He had his issues, just like everybody, and currently, those traits were causing him to fight with his family more often.

“Did your parents say you could?” Sora asked as Ephemer walked in.

“Nah, but I don’t need them.”

“Ephemer, unless you’ve gotten emancipated since the last time I saw you, you need their permission to stay here. Go home.”

“Why? I don’t want to go! I want to stay with you, Sor. And I’ll be good! I’ll help clean the house and I’ll look after the kids and I got my license finally so I can go run errands if you need! Please, Sora, please? Please let me stay?”

Internally, Sora crumbled. How could he say no to his little brother when he was begging like that? But he knew Roxas and Xion would be worried, and that Ephemer was probably just mad over something small. With Ephemer, he might not even be mad at his parents at all, and just wanted to be around Sora. He’d always been rather attached to his older brother.

“If your parents say so, then fine.”

“I told you, I don’t need their permission.”

“And I told you, yes you do. Now either call them or get out.”

“Can’t I at least stay for dinner?”

“Does Xion know you won’t be home for it?”

“But Kairi’s cooking is so much better!”

“Does Xion know, Ephemer?”

“No.”

“Call them.”

“Don’t wanna.”

Sora sighed. This was a total stalemate. There was one trump card he could use though.

“Alright fine, but just so you know, I’m also inviting Van and Ven over for dinner tonight.”

“What?!” Ephemer and Vanitas had long since accepted the fact that they would never get along, and happily avoided each other as much as possible. On those rare occasions they were stuck in the same place, they both pretended the other didn’t exist. But it tended to get a lot harder when they were having dinner together, especially since if it was at Sora’s house, he tended to seat them next to each other.

“It’s my house.”

“Ugh. Fine. I can put up with Vanitas. But this means I get to live here, right?”

“It means you can stay for dinner.”

“Soooo-raaaaaaa!”

“Why don’t you go upstairs and see if the kids want to play?”

Ephemer huffed a sigh, then got a suspiciously innocent look in his eyes that Sora suspected meant that Ephemer was going to try and get Sora’s kids to help him with his plea. As soon as he was out of the room, Sora heaved a heavy sigh of his own, and went back outside to sit on the porch. He didn’t have to wait long.

The last time Ephemer had run away like this, he’d heard Xion coming to pick him up and had made a break for it, giving them the runaround until Roxas reminded them all why he had been the captain of the thirteenth squad of the Yakuza 13 by hunting his son down and catching him. Therefore, Sora wasn’t surprised when Roxas came on foot.

“How far away did you park?” he asked.

“Only a block,” Roxas replied.

“What happened this time?”

“He told Xion he wanted to stop taking karate and she told him that was okay.”

“Oh, Ephemer, Ephemer, Ephemer,” Sora said, shaking his head.

“I really don’t know what to do. If we try to support him he gets upset, but if we push back he still gets upset.”

“Well don’t ask me. You’re the one with the psychology degree.”

“That doesn’t mean I can magically solve any and all behavioral problems, Sora,” Roxas sighed. “If it were that simple, I would have achieved world peace by now.”

“I suppose,” Sora acknowledged.

“So where is he?”

“Upstairs with the kids. He’s staying for dinner. He also decided he’s going to live here, but I have an idea about how to deal with that.”

“Which is?” Roxas raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

Sora grinned. And while Sora had a wide variety of smiles of his own, this grin was 100% Vanitas.

Ephemer was in a good mood. Sure, he was stuck next to Vanitas at the table, but he was gonna get to stay at Sora’s. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his parents: he did. They were pretty awesome overall, but they weren’t as cool as Sora. And it wasn’t that he hated his little brother: he didn’t. Mickey could be a pain in the butt with the way he was always following Ephemer around, hoping for some attention, but Ephemer was touched that Mickey looked up to him so much. But Sora had always been his favorite brother. And it wasn’t as if he loved Sora any more than the rest of his family: he just didn’t think it fair that he got to spend so much time with them but so little time with Sora.

It was also nice to spend time with his nieces and nephews. Ephemer had really enjoyed drawing with Gula and Invi earlier, and he’d had fun watching little Aced’s reactions when Kairi had played peekaboo with him. He loved Sora’s family.

It wasn’t like Ephemer was planning to stay forever. He’d go home when the school year started again, because having a license so that he could drive to school was useless when he didn’t have a car, and so he still needed to catch a ride from his mom.

But throughout dinner, Ephemer kept noticing a few things that made him worry. Like how Sora kept rubbing his eyes. Maybe he was really tired from overwork? And cousin Ventus looked older somehow. Probably all that time he’d spent in veterinary school. And Vanitas was chiding Gula and Invi about their eating habits almost as much as Sora and Kairi. When had he gotten so responsible? Not to mention Vanitas’s latest choice for hair dye was back to his natural brown, which Ephemer couldn’t remember ever seeing before. It made him look unnervingly similar to Sora. But then, after dinner, now that was when things got REALLY weird.

Normally Vanitas had to be reminded not to get too smoochy with Ven, but tonight, there was just some mild cuddling. So mild it almost made Ephemer wonder if they’d broken up again, even though that was supposed to have been over years ago. Ephemer was about to ask about it when the doorbell rang, and Kairi let his dad in.

Ephemer lowered his head, uncomfortable. Roxas was probably angry at him. He knew he was being troublesome. But he also knew that Uncle Terra had been pretty bad once, and Vanitas had been troublesome his whole life and Roxas had put up with that, so Ephemer didn’t think he was that bad or anything. He clenched his fist slightly, ready for an argument.

“Alright Van, time to go,” Roxas said, and Ephemer blinked, confused. Why was his dad here for Vanitas? Unless…

“Just a minute, babe,” Sora said. Why was Sora responding to a comment addressed to Vanitas?

“Oh thank god,” Vanitas said with a sigh. “My eyes were starting to get really sore.”

“Heh, nice pun. Sore Sor, eh?” Sora said. Only that was something Vanitas would say. Had they all switched on him? But that was impossible. “Though frankly, I outdid you, like always, since my eyes were watering all through dinner.”

“Yeah? Well my eyes-”

“Knock it off, you two,” the person Ephemer had been assuming was Ventus said.

“Besides, you can’t complain when it was all your idea,” the person who might not be Sora added, getting in the last word.

“Says the one who complained about high heels after coming up with the plan to crossdress that one time,” the other twin replied. “Speaking of which, after your failure to pass as a girl, I’m surprised you managed to make such a convincing me.”

“You failed just as badly. Also, I am a very good actor. I even made a living as one for a while there, remember? Got scouted for movies but turned them down because I don’t need any nosy paparazzi hanging around. Not to mention the burden it would have put on all you guys.”

“Bull. No way you got scouted.”

“Did too.”

“I thought I told you two to knock it off!” the person on the couch who might not be Ventus said.

“Plus I really would like to hurry up and get home, Van. Nyan still hasn’t been fed,” the person at the door- Roxas? Ventus? Ephemer really didn’t know- said.

“Alright, give me a minute, babe. I wanna go say goodnight to the kids,” Sora said, and stood up.

Ephemer was very confused. His mind could not process what seemed to be going on.

“By the way,” the person who might not be Ventus said, unwrapping his arm from around whichever of Ephemer’s brothers he’d been sitting with to lean forward and fold his hands. “I’m impressed. There were even a few moments when I forgot you two had switched, and I raised you.”

That was it. Ephemer had had enough.

“What is going on here?!” Ephemer exploded. “Are you-” he pointed to his dad and Ventus. “Which of you is my dad?”

“I don’t know, Ephemer, which one do you think is Roxas?” Vanitas asked. Or was it Sora? He looked like Vanitas, and his expression was Vanitas’s, but he’d been talking like Sora earlier, and Ephemer’s head hurt.

“Sora, give him a break,” the one in the doorway who he’d thought was his dad but now he thought was maybe Ventus said.

“Alright, alright. As I said, I did want to remove these things anyway,” Vanitas said, then reached up to his eyes. After a long moment, he lowered his hands and lifted his face to show eyes that were slightly reddened but distinctly blue. “By the way, dad, I know we used to cuddle a lot when I was little but man it is weird cuddling with you as an adult.”

“Wha- what- why?” Ephemer asked.

“Because it’s fun to mess with you,” the person Ephemer had assumed was Sora said as he removed contacts of his own to reveal yellow eyes.

“So this was all your idea then,” Ephemer snarled at Vanitas.

“Nope,” Vanitas sang, smirking. “As much as I’d love to claim this bit of devious geniusness, this one was all my dear little bro’s.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m the older twin,” Sora interrupted.

“Well, whatever you were trying to do, it didn’t work, so-” Ephemer began.

“Are you sure it didn’t work?” Roxas- Ephemer was now certain it must be his dad on the couch and Ventus at the door- asked. “You don’t even know what we were trying to do.”

“It doesn’t matter what you were trying to do, because it didn’t work! I’m staying with Sora!” Ephemer yelled.

“Yes, but if you stay, when you wake up tomorrow, how will you be sure the person sitting at the table is Sora and not Vanitas?” Roxas asked calmly.

“And the next time your dad comes to collect you, how will you be certain it’s not me coming to pick up Van?” Ventus added.

“I- I-” Ephemer stammered. How would he know? Before today, he would have been certain he’d be able to tell, but they’d had him completely fooled. Sure, he could always watch for romantic interactions, but he wouldn’t put it past them to up the ante on him. At the very least, he could definitely see Vanitas kissing Kairi to act the part. And Kairi deserved better than that. Plus it might make Sora feel insecure, and-

“Alright, fine. You win,” Ephemer grumbled. He sighed and got up.

“I’ll go get my stuff,” he said, unconsciously addressing the person at the door.

“Are you really sure you want to come home with me and Van?” Ventus asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Do it,” Roxas said with a grin.

“Ugh, please no,” Vanitas complained.

Ephemer didn’t stick around for any more of that. Blushing scarlet, he rushed up to grab his duffel and say goodbye to his nephews and niece. He almost collided with Vanitas who was going to do the same as he careered down the stairs, but luckily he was able to dodge before he caught any cooties.

Roxas and Ventus were both at the door, keys in hand, when he returned.

“Okay, not funny,” Ephemer said.

“It is to us,” one of them said.

“I actually wasn’t trying to be mean. Sorry, Ephemer,” the other said. “Let’s go home.”

Ephemer sighed. They had him completely. He didn’t want to inconvenience everyone like this. He just wanted time with his brother.

“Fine. But you’re gonna be the one to tell mom I’ll keep on practicing karate.”

“You can tell her yourself, or else Sora’s not gonna have you start babysitting for him.”

Babysitting for Sora? Things were looking up. He did have to go home, but maybe there was a small victory to be had for Ephemer after all.

#kingdom hearts #KH #kh fanfic #Yakuza 13 AU #y13 au

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