Faith Crisis (fanfiction)

[zerrat.livejournal.com]

Username: zerrat
Class: Monk
Title: Faith Crisis
Summary: Kimahri finds himself torn between emphasizing with the desperate protection of the Crusader’s plans, and his long-standing faith in Yevon.
Characters/Pairings: Kimahri
Word count: 505
Rating/warnings: G, no warnings.
Additional Notes: Written for the airship_lounge prompt, 'machine'. Kimahri was quite difficult to write, as he is very sparse in his narrative, and very blunt.



Kimahri Ronso is troubled, when he first hears of the joint operation between the Crusaders and the Al Bhed. It is a mad hope. It reeks of desperation, a final resort. Many are angered by this disregard of Yevon’s teachings. They see it as an invitation for Sin’s wrath. The world sees it as betrayal. Kimahri is no different.

In spite of the betrayal, Kimahri feels conflicted. Few humans notice the difference in his bearing, but when they begin their journey toward Zanarkand, Yuna looks at him in askance. Kimahri senses her silent questions, but does not speak his mind. It is a conflict that he, and he alone, must resolve in his heart.

On one hand, Operation Mi’ihen is betrayal of faith. On the other, it could be an end to sacrifice. Kimahri knows that a balance must be reached, for the Operation begins soon, and Yuna’s path will take them into the heart of the storm.

Such a balance is difficult to reach.

Leaving Luca behind them, Kimahri weighs his conflict in his mind. After Yuna’s near abduction, his mistrust of machina, and the Al Bhed that use them, has only become deeper. Like many Spirans, the Ronso people are brought up in the ways of Yevon. Many of his clansmen consider themselves to be the sacred guardians of Zanarkand. It’s an honour that the Ronso hold dear.

This honour binds their actions just as the ice binds Mount Gagazet’s passes in winter. Yevon’s rules are complex. Do not use machina. Respect the Maesters and summoners. Love Yevon. All of Spira obeys, lest the wrath of Sin and Bevelle be brought down on them.

All, it seems, but the Al Bhed. The Crusaders, the long-vowed protectors of the people, have joined them.

Kimahri wonders, then, as he looks out over the dusty highroad. They see the faces of Crusaders passing them by, filled with hope. Determination. The damage that Sin has wrought upon the landscape is a reminder of all they have lost, and all that is at stake. It is the reason Yuna journeys. It is the reason Kimahri follows.

A guardian is not about Yevon. It is about protection. It is about seeking an end to the pain. He sees this reflected in Auron’s eye and skepticism, in Lulu’s bitter anger, in Wakka’s moments of quiet pain. The summoner sacrifices, because it is the only alternative. The Operation is no different. It aims to end the cycle, by any means necessary.

It is naught but a different path to the same solution.

Kimarhri nods to himself, then, as he watches Yuna speak with the Zanarkand blitzer as they stay at Mi’ihen’s travel agency. There is no more conflict in his heart, now. Kimahri sees, now, and he hopes. Operation Mi’ihen is a chance to see finally Sin gone from the world, without the sacrifices of a summoner. For Yuna’s sake, Kimahri hopes those condemned Crusaders and their contraband machina succeed.

Like all mad hopes in Spira, this is not to be.