Title: Thrice-Blessed
Author: RenoxRayne
Chapter­: 1, Greetings and Salutations
Summary: Pretty much the backstory of my own little personal muse and Reno, the object of my fangirl obsession. . Its cross-fandom with Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy... but, ya know... Kindgom Hearts is pretty much a crossover with Final Fantasy anyway.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the main character, Rain. Final Fantasy is a product of Square Enix, while Kingdom Hearts is a join production of Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios (Buena Vista Games.)

Rayne new how it must have looked to the townspeople of Nibelhiem as she walked the streets at night, appearance hidden by the black hooded cape. She knew well the stories of the man who'd come before, destroyed their town and nearly destroyed the planet on numerous occassions... Sephiroth.

His very name struck fear in the hearts of all on the Planet, good, evil and otherwise. And dressed as she was, she knew exactly how she looked to them all. Like the Sephiroth clones that had come before.

Rayne wouldn't have it any other way.

There was no room in this world of theirs for an experiment like her, at least Sephiroth, Genesis, and the others could fit in easily. At least they were created with purpose, research behind their creations. Rayne, however...

"Ya know, walkin' around town, dressed like that... you're startin' to turn heads."

The voice took her off guard and instantly she summoned her two Chakrams, half-twisting, half-flipping to get away and face the one who addressed her. Her glowing green eyes traveled his tall, lanky figure, the boyish expression on his face, the markings beneath his eyes. Even in the night she could see the blue suit he wore. A Turk...

"Hojo can't have me back... you'll have to take him my corpse," she threatened, her accent like nothing he'd heard before. Before he could reply, she tossed her Chakrams, their jagged edges threatening to cut him in two. He may not have had time for a retort, but like instinct his electro-mag stick deflected one, and with a wave of his other hand his Barrier Materia reflected the other.

"Haven't ya heard? Hojo's been dead for years," he began though he didn't advance any closer. Her Chakrams returned quickly to her palms as she prepared to toss them again if she needed to. "Gone with the rest of Shin-Ra."

"You are a Turk... I am no fool to that."

He smirked.

"The Turks are under new contract, yo. Where have you been?"

The man moved closer, but her eyes seemed to be in another world entirely. His eyes, his voice... his very mannerisms. She looked down to her weapons and back up at him. "Axel?" A puzzled look came over his face before he smiled and shook his head.

"Reno."

A brisk wind blew, but she didn't even flinch. Neither did he, but his reasons differing from hers. They stood in silence for a few long moments, Reno fidgetting. He was one for action, act first, talk later. Just why exactly was he even talking to her anyway? "Axel your boyfriend?"

"Shut up."

She turned her back, beginning the head back towards the mansion. Over the years, it had gathered many beings, experements especially. Rayne had been no different... though her experiences... those were another story. The Chakrams in her hands disolved into a bright glowing green mist that seemed to rise into the sky.

What the hell?

--

"So, girl. You never gave your name before."

It was the voice from the night before, the man. Reno. She hadn't expected to see him again, nor that any part of their conversation would have stuck with him. "Don't you have work to be doing? You are a Turk and all."

"Hey... I asked first."

He lofted a cocky brow, and settled back on the well in the town square of Nibelhiem. He didn't look at her, but followed her gaze past it to the mansion. She glanced down at him, and felt a tugging at the corner of her lips but quelled it quickly. Sighing in submission, she returned her gaze to the mansion.

"My name is Rayne..."

"Just Rayne?"

It was her turn to flash him a quirked brow. "Just Reno?"

"Touché," he glanced up at her, noticing the hood and the glow of her eyes once more. He knew where that glow had come from. He'd seen it many times in his life, always attributed to the same thing... Mako cells. "So... why the get-up? Can't imagine many people talk to you wearing that."

Thank you for stating the obvious, Reno.

"Maybe I don't want to be talked to."

She knew his retort before it even left his lips.

"Why?"

The heavy sigh that left her lips caused another smirk from the seasoned Turk and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you always ask so many questions? I thought you Turks were all action, no talking."

He paused, thinking about that. She, again, did have him there, and on a question that he didn't readily have an answer to. "I may be in uniform, but I'm not on duty." That slang of his was irritating, but brought around a sense of nostalgia as he used it. It reminded her so much of... him.

"Then you're here on business."

"Was here on business. I finished it yesterday."

Rayne nodded, and hopped off the tower brushing off her black robe. A lock of dark brown hair fell forward into her face, her closeness to Reno allowing him to spy the tone of her skin; a rich caramel color. "Why are you still here?"

"Before I answer that... lets make a deal. I answer a question, you have to answer one of mine. Deal?"

She didn't see any problem in that.

"Fine."

"Ooh, goodie. In answer to your question, I am still here because I found a point of intrest that I can't seem to take myself away from until I figure it out. I don't like being in the dark." He answered truthfully.

This seemed to satisfy the elusive girl, at least for the moment."Why were you here then?"

"Ah-ah... one question at a time and I believe its my turn." Reno turned fully towards her, one hand in the pocket of his suit as he leaned on his opposite elbow against the old wooden well tower. "From what I've guessed, you live in the Shin-Ra mansion."

"So?"

"So... why? Aren't you afraid of the ghosties and whatever scary things the townsfolk picture there?"

Rayne cracked a smile, amused with the question. She didn't like her fate, but she'd accepted it. "I am the ghosties and scary things they picture there. They fear Hojo's madness, and as a creation of such... I do believe I have inherited that property, right?"

Hojo can't have me back... you'll have to take him my corpse.

Suddenly, that line made more sense now than it had before... but how? He hadn't heard of any rogue experiments. The Turks hadn't been sent after any... so why leave this one undocumented, unregistered... and completely out in the open?

"My turn for a question."

Her gentle voice broke his thoughts and he wondered by the tone in it if perhaps she was just happy to have someone to talk to. "Alright, shoot."

"You said the Turks were under new contract... what happened to Shin-Ra?"

Reno only smiled as he heard her question and looked past her towards the approximate direction of Edge and the Ruins of Midgar. "I could tell ya, but I'd rather show ya." He turned and climbed up on top of the well and extended his hand. "Do you trust me?"

--

Rayne looked up at him from where she deftly held onto the edge of the clock tower in Twilight Town, her legs dangling. The Dusks were drawing closer, soon they'd eliminate her all together. A quiet demise to a mistake... She should have never crossed through the door.

Her fingers were slipping, and with no where to go and no way to redistribute her weight, she closed her eyes and quietly murmured a prayer. Perhaps she would return to the Lifestream... though not of the world she was from. It wouldn't be so bad would it? She didn't belong in Midgar anymore than she belonged in this strange place.

"Take my hand!"

The Dusks disappeared with a poof of white mist as two red and silver Chakrams tore through them like they were nothing. "Go on, all of you!" He yelled at them, the remaining ones obeying as they slinked away.

"Do you trust me?"

In all honestly... she didn't. But there was something in those bright green eyes and kind face that said that perhaps the situation was different as it presented itself. She quickly gave him her hand, and he lifted her up and onto the platform once more. "Name's Axel."

"Axel?"

"A - X - E - L..." He began before pointing to his head. "Got it memorized?" She smiled, her heart still beating out of her chest as she refused to look down. Perhaps there was hope for this place yet.

--

"Do you trust me?" Reno inquired again, but this time was met with her hand, clad in a black silk glove. He easily lifted her light form up and she adverted her eyes from his.

"I could tell you... but I'd have to show you."

((A/N: Here's the end of the first chapter, hopefully I can get some good feedback on this, so I know whether to start a new chapter or not. Its my first time actually writing my muse into my stories rather than just drawing inspiration from them.))