Disclaimer: FINAL FANTASY Type-0 belongs to Square-Enix. The "Catey" moniker was originally coined by a friend I'll call "Jack." This is a fanmade work created for fan purposes and to be enjoyed among the fans.
After Fall
When Cater woke up, she immediately noticed two things. One was that she was lying face down, smack on the ground. The other was that there was a boy lying unconscious right next to her.
Immediately, she remembered everything, how she was running late, running atop a ledge, and had to jump down to the ground in order to take her intended shortcut. But mere milliseconds after she was in the air, she realized her mistake before SMACK! She'd crashed into Eight and they were both knocked out in an instant.
Cater got up with a start. Eight was still unconscious, and nobody was around in the hall. What should she do? Help him? But what would that accomplish? Nothing but an eagerly wanting-to-be-spread rumor that Magic Gunner Cater was seen with ("Gasp!") a boy! And of all the boys, it was the non-blonde, non-weapon-wielding Eight. She definitely did not want that happening.
So she ran. She ran far away from the scene, the body, and the crime, and vowed to herself she would never take shortcuts again.
Looking at her watch, Cater noticed she wasn't knocked out for a long time. It was 4:37, she was out for thirteen minutes. The make-up test started at 4:40. With quick sprinting, she would get to the classroom on time, but that meant no more procrastinating reviews. She arrived and immediately began the test, which she was going to muddle through again.
The thought of Eight never crossed her mind.
After an entire hour of losing her brain to an information meltdown, Cater was more than relieved to be dismissed. The first thing she did was to look for her pals, who were currently with Queen. She had to decline their invitation to play lacrosse in favor of the make-up test, and for that, Cater felt bad. She managed to find the trio at one of the outdoor patio tables laughing and chatting merrily.
"Hey! You guys! Sorry I took so long!"
"Oh, Catey, it's you! Welcome back!" Cinque chirped.
"How was the make-up test?" Deuce inquired.
"They changed the questions!" Cater exclaimed. "How am I supposed to pass under a different set of questions?"
"They do that so that test-takers won't just memorize the answers," Queen explained. "It's not about getting the question right, but knowing what you need to do to solve the problem."
"Whoa, as expected to come from Queen!" The gunner said, with Cinque and Deuce nodding along. "I've never viewed tests that way before."
"Well, now you have a different approach to studying. I hope you three will use it as a motivation to try harder."
"Yes, Queen! We will!" The three younger girls all agreed.
"Oh! By the way, Cater..." Queen realized. "Have you seen Eight around?"
The gunner felt herself freeze, unable to move from her spot. Is everyone looking at me right now?
"I remembered I was supposed to ask him something, but after class was dismissed, I saw him dash out of the room. Must've had some other urgency to go to."
Oh gee, Queen, I wonder what the urgency was too! But fortunately, you asked the right person! Eight's in the north hallway lying like a vegetable because I FELL ON HIM and made him like that! Aren't you proud of me!
"Uh, nope, I don't think I know where Eight is either!" Cater feigned unknowingness and put her hands behind her head. "You know that boy, he's always going off on his own without even the slightest word! But hopefully he'll turn up for tonight. Eight's never absent or tardy, after all."
"Is that so? I see," Queen adjusted her glasses. "Hopefully you're right about his punctuality, Cater. It just doesn't seem like Eight to go missing out of the blue."
If he doesn't wake up soon, the president's gonna have my head!
"Well then, I need to get going. Deuce, Cinque, thank you for today. All of you take care, I'll see you soon."
"See you later, Queen!" Deuce waved as the eldest girl was readying to leave.
"We'll get together again sometime!" Cinque called. Once Queen left, the mace wielder turned her attention to Cater. "Hey, Catey! Guess what?"
"What's up, Cinque?"
"Queen told us that Ace and Mutsuki are dating! Now my curiosity is definitely proven true!"
"Heh, good for them! But wait, 'curiosity'? Shouldn't you just ask Ace if it's true or not?"
"I don't wanna~! He might get all embarrassed and not reveal anything~!"
"Speaking of which!" At mention of this, Deuce intervened. "Cater, we found this in the room while you were gone."
The flutist searched her bag and brought out a red apple. Her audience of two gasped.
"That's...the second time already!" Cater widenened her eyes.
"Looks like Catey has a secret admirer~!" Cinque nudged the gunner with her elbow.
"There's a note!" Deuce lit up as she handed over the apple, which was wrapped in a red ribbon with a white card attached.
"Ooh! What's it say, what's it say!" Cinque bounced as Cater wordlessly opened the card.
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven...?
Nah, you silly little cat. You'll always find a way to land on your feet. Be careful though, okay? Stay safe.
Somehow, Cater felt this wasn't the first major whiplash of the day.
"Eeeeep! That was so sweet!" Deuce commented.
"Wow, I'm so jealous of you, Catey!" Cinque squealed. "What did the message from the first apple say? Tell me tell me tell me!"
The apple's recipient laughed nervously, as she could feel her heart racing. "I...still have that first one. The card, I mean. I'll go back to get it, and then I'll show it to you later tonight."
"Toni~ght?" Cinque groaned. "But can't we come with you? It's our room too~!"
"Sorry, you guys, I really need to take a nap. I'm dead beat from all of today, so is it okay if I go on alone for now?"
"We understand, Cater," Deuce smiled. "We'll let you rest. See you tonight?"
"And don't forget to bring the other card!" Cinque added.
"Will do. Catch you later!" Cater nodded as she ran off.
Arriving back at the trio's room, the gunner put down her rucksack and searched the nooks and crannies until she found it, the first card that came with her first apple, already devoured, of course. She didn't bother reading it, instead slipping it into the rucksack before heading to the bed and falling asleep as soon as she fell back on the pillow.
Cater woke up to blinding sunlight coming in from the windows. It took no wasted second to realize something was wrong here. Wasn't it only afternoon when she slept? And what happened to meeting Deuce and Cinque in the evening? The sun was only this bright in the morning, so Cater knew she didn't just "take a nap." She checked her watch: 7:34.
Either morning was the new nighttime, or she was late for class. Fortunately, she was still in her uniform, dirty and wrinkly from yesterday as it may be, so she grabbed her rucksack off the bedside table and rushed out to take the usual route.
Strangely enough, Cater didn't seem to feel the urgency or panic in being late, despite sprinting at her fastest. She was too lost in her thoughts, trying to figure out how was she able to sleep through to the next day. Perhaps she was more beaten up from the collision with Eight than she thought.
And on the mention of Eight!
When she arrived at the classroom, Cater was so in a daze that at first, she didn't notice the thirteen pairs of eyes all glaring at her at once. She snapped back to her senses, however, once twelve of them parted to reveal the lone pair of crimson eyes gazing only at her.
It had been a day since she last saw him, since that dreadful incident.
"Eight..." Cater felt her heart sank as she saw the forlorn boy. However, he said nothing and looked away.
"Cater," The girl turned around and was met by King. "Eight's told us a few things that perhaps you know about."
Immediately, she tensed up. "Wh-what things?"
"O~h, so you do know something that Eight's not willing to tell us!" Jack said with a sly grin. "What is it, Catey?"
Cater struggled to find the right words to say. "Th-that's... Because I-"
"We know that you body slammed the poor kid to the ground, oi," Nine interrupted. "But there's something only both of you know that you aren't telling us."
Panic was taking root, and too quickly. Cater tried to back away, but the six boys who were advocating for Eight stepped menacingly forward to face her.
"Well?" Trey smirked. "Are you going to tell us what it is?"
"How fitting that the girl who was so confident and down-to-earth honest is now succumbing to cowardice," Machina said listlessly.
"Eight has been too bothered about this incident," Ace explained. "He only wants to know one thing, and you are the only one who can give that answer, Cater."
"S-so if you know what happened, then-"
"We also know what you did, Cater."
Seven's voice made Cater turn around. Now she was met by the girls.
"You..." The gunner stupidly repeated what she just heard. "You know what I did."
"Yeah," Sice readily quipped. "You ran away."
The silence grew heavy and thick in the room, as the stares of the twelve interrogators grew more foreboding and intense. How many nails were in the coffin now?
"But I..." Cater honestly could not figure out what to say. "I didn't even tell you that!"
"Oh, Cater, you didn't have to tell us! It was written all over your face! See?" Rem smiled sweetly.
Not that she could check for letters on her face at the moment! But was it really that obvious? She could only stare in shock.
"How terrible," Queen's politeness was merely a mercy that concealed her furious wrath. "I asked you where Eight was and you said you didn't know. But you knew all along."
"It's not good to lie, Cater. Lying won't get you out of trouble, it'll only dig a deeper hole for you to fall in," Deuce advised.
Eleven nails were drilled painfully into the coffin. Thinking she had already survived the worst, Cater swallowed and decided to face her classmates.
"So..." She looked up. "What you want to know is..."
"Why did you run away?"
Everyone was suddenly directed to the boy who hadn't spoken a word since the start of the trial. Eight had a cold look in his crimson eyes, and it was aimed only at Cater.
"Eight..." The gunner was rendered totally speechless.
"You woke up first. I was still knocked out. And what did you do? You left me, alone in the middle of the hallway to be ridiculed and mocked for being so out of place. You were the one who knocked me out to begin with! Why didn't you do anything about it? Why didn't you take responsibility?"
Eight never raised his voice once, but the growing sternness in his tone coupled with the flaring crimson in his eyes were already hurting Cater both inside and out.
"No, Eight!" She was too afraid to speak. "I-I'm sorry-!"
"Apologies won't do anything. Now I know what your true agenda is, Cater. To step and push aside people for your own pride and glory."
No! Am I really...?
His diatribe was more painful than any wound or injury obtained from battle. It was worse that she absolutely couldn't do a thing about it. Cater stood frozen on the spot, unable to do anything but silently accept that every one of Eight's words made perfect sense.
"Say, that reminds me!" Suddenly, Cinque was right at the gunner's side. "Catey! You haven't shown me what that first card says! Show me show me show me!"
The extreme out-of-place-ness of Cinque's query was enough to release Cater from her frozen bonds. Relief flooded over her as she reached into her rucksack for the white card that she had slipped in earlier. Paying attention only to her best friend, Cater revealed the message on the card.
You looked like an angel, I swear.
The way you sailed through the air... I could relive that moment over and over again if it meant just seeing you.
I knew you would come. I just knew you did.
"Wait," Cater realized in alarm. "This isn't what the card was supposed to say. There was a different message when I first read it!"
But then she looked up and saw Eight. Who no longer had a look that could glare daggers, but a look of surprise, fear...and embarrassment.
And then it hit her. It all suddenly hit her. With all the pieces suddenly fitting together and making sense, Cater started to feel her head spin.
...I saw him dash out of the room. Must've had some other urgency to go to...
An epiphany. Cater had never felt an epiphany this immense before.
...Hopefully you're right about his punctuality, Cater. It just doesn't seem like Eight to go missing out of the blue...
Realization was hitting her like a pile of ten thousand bricks.
...He might get all embarrassed and not reveal anything...
The final nail was hammered into the coffin.
...Looks like Catey has a secret admirer...
And she suddenly felt like collapsing.
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?
Nah, you silly little cat.
You'll always find a way to land on your feet.
Be careful though, okay?
Stay safe.
When Cater woke up, she immediately noticed two things. One was that she was lying face down, smack on the ground. The other was that there was a boy lying unconscious right next to her.
Immediately, she remembered everything, how she was running late, running atop a ledge, and had to jump down to the ground in order to take her intended shortcut. But mere milliseconds after she was in the air, she realized her mistake before SMACK! She'd crashed into Eight and they were both knocked out in an instant.
At that moment, she heard a groan. Eight was awake and already trying to stand up, but by the way he struggled, it was clearly futile. He had a back injury, all right. And all because she fell on him.
She knew what to do this time.
"Eight! Hey, Eight! Are you okay?" She scurried over to him. "C'mon, let's get you up. Gimme your hand!"
Speechless, the martial artist did as such. After three swift counts, the gunner tugged until Eight was pulled up and his arms instantly locked around her shoulders. Cater ignored the stunned look on the boy's face and put her hands on his shoulders to keep him in place.
"Okay, now let's stand up! Can you do that? One, two, three!"
The girl had absolutely no proper way of helping the boy stand up, so after a few stumbling moments, the latter was finally on two feet, albeit at the cost of his tolerance for pain.
"Eight? Eight! It's okay! You're okay now, you're okay!" Cater called over the boy's gasps and winces, figuring that talking to him would distract him from the pain.
"C-C-Cater!" The martial artist stammered. "Y-you didn't have to help me, really-"
"And what, just leave you here?" The gunner shook her head. "I couldn't do that! Not when you're injured! That'd leave a really guilty stain on my conscience, you know!"
"I-if you say so, then thank you. But don't you have somewhere to go right now? A make-up test?"
Cater looked at her watch. It was 4:42.
"The test can wait..." She mused as smiled to herself. "Now come on!" The girl quickly slung one of Eight's arms over onto her shoulder, and then put her other arm around his. "We gotta take you somewhere! The medic wing?"
"Uh, no, my dorm would be fine. Just a back injury. Don't want to draw too much attention after all..." The boy suddenly looked down.
"Ah-! You're right..." The girl quickly copied suit. "Listen, Eight... I'm sorry. I was the one who jumped. And now you're injured because of me."
"What?" Eight turned his head sideways to look at the crestfallen girl. "No, Cate, I should be the one who's sorry! If I just caught you in time, then none of this would've happened!"
Cater kept her head bowed to hide the sudden flush creeping on her cheeks. "Y-yeah, I remember that..." 'That' referring to "I'll catch you!", the last words she heard before going unconscious.
Eight cleared his throat. "Well... At least by my getting injured, I broke your fall somewhat. Think about it. You would've been more injured if you went plunging straight for the ground!"
Or would I always find a way to land on my feet...?
Cater just had to laugh at the thought.
"Hm? Cate? What's up?"
"Oh? Nothing. Now why are we still standing here? Let's go!"
"Right! Bed rest it is!"
The two of them were laughing as they limped their way out of the corridor. And Cater noted to herself, perhaps there was a reason she took shortcuts after all.
She had no idea.
Dreams can do strange things to you, right? (I hope you realized what the plot twist was.) Confrontation was written at 4 in the morning to ensure surreal authenticity, so in my defense, it was intended to get more nonsensical by the end! Hahaha!
Yes, the title is a pun off Final Fantasy XIII-2. Welcome to the foray of my OTP! Consider this my inaugural piece into the fandom, also to serve as the beginning of beginnings. As a last hurrah, let me just say that the times (hour and minutes) picked were not coincidential, but fully intentional. Here's to finding out why. Cheers!