-1Eto…
Summary: Albel Nox is a 16 year old Japanese boy living in the United States. After his parents died at age eight, he was put into an orphanage instead of sent back to Japan to his grandparents due to a mix-up of papers. He ran away from the orphanage not long after he turned 14 and found his parents' apartment. He moved in there and got a job at a party store. Unfortunately, his boss, Vox, found out that he was a minor living alone and is holding that above him for sex. Albel cannot go to the police because they would send him back to an orphanage, so he is stuck in his hellish life. However, will his life get better when a mysterious stranger named Cliff enters his life, or will things just go from bad to worse?
Category: Star Ocean III: Till the End of Time
Genre: Angst, drama, romance, tragedy. Yeah, the norm.
Rating: M/NC-17
Couples: Vox/Albel, Cliff/Albel
Warnings: This will have nothing to do with the game. That's all there is to it. Deal. Rape, torment, swearing. Yeah, more of the norm.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Ocean III: Till the End of Time. I am working on getting a copy though.
A/N: Heh, this is pretty funny, because I actually created this storyline a long time ago to write with a friend, but she twisted it to her own purposes. So I had to sit here and remember what was the original version and what was the version created by my friend. That was difficult. I hope you all enjoy this but I may have to drag some OC's in. They'll be kicking and screaming, but it may be necessary. I hope not, but we'll see. Onward!
PS: The name is because I don't have another one. I can't think of one, so if you all do, let me know, k?
Albel looked up as the store door opened to admit a person wearing a long trench-coat with a hood covering his face. Albel couldn't tell anything about the person because their entire body was covered by the trench-coat and the hood. Used to seeing many 'different' people in the store, this did not bother Albel in the least.
The person walked around the store for a bit before picking up what they wanted and coming to the counter. Albel looked down to see that the person had picked up a large pack of condoms. Again, used to seeing these kinds of things, Albel rang the purchase up.
"That would be $5.99." (I have no idea how much condoms cost…;;)
"What? That's fucking expensive! I want to speak to the manager!" the man demanded.
"I'm sorry, but that's not possible…The manager is currently out." Albel said quietly. It was true, Vox was out.
"Oh what the fuck…" The man threw a ten dollar bill onto the counter. "Man, Fayt really owes me for this." Albel took the bill and gave the man back his change.
"Thank you for your purchase, please come again." Albel stuck the condoms into a paper bag and slid it over to the man.
"Yeah, I may just do that." the man grabbed the bag and left the store. Albel sighed. The psychos you get sometimes…
As it turned out, the man did come back. Several times, in fact. About the third or fourth time, he told Albel his name.
"I'm Cliff, by the way."
"I'm Albel." Albel responded.
"I know that. It's on your nametag, ya know." Cliff stated, pointing at the nametag.
"Oh…right." Albel nodded.
"You're a real quiet kid. What's up with that? Aren't most kids loud punks that hate their parents nowadays?" Cliff asked.
"I wouldn't know, sir." Albel replied, shrugging.
"No, no. Call me Cliff. If I wanted you to call me 'sir', I wouldn't have told you my name."
"Ah, gomen." Albel apologized.
"Oh, so you're really Japanese. I thought so with your eyes being black and all, but you don't have an accent, so I was confused." Cliff said.
"My parents and I moved here when I was two. I don't really remember Japan." Albel stated, looking up as the door opened and Vox walked in. "Um, will you be buying anything today, sir?" Cliff blinked at the sudden fear that was in Albel's voice and looked back to see Vox walking up.
"Eh, no. Anyway, I'll see you later then." Cliff waved slightly to Albel and left the store after pulling his hood over his face. Vox waited until Cliff had left to round on Albel.
"What the hell was that? Flirting with a customer, are we?" Vox approached Albel, who backed away slowly.
"N-No, sir… He's just a regular…" Albel whimpered as Vox grabbed his rattails and pulled him closer.
"You really were flirting. You whore!" Vox threw Albel backwards into the wall and turned, walking to his office. "I'll deal with you later." Vox said, slamming the office door shut. Albel whimpered again and stood up, beginning to wash down the counter.
Outside the store, Cliff shook his head, a dark look on his face. The man then turned and walked away from the store, a plan forming in his supernatural mind.
Albel sighed as he walked into his apartment building, happier than normal. Vox was going to be away, visiting his family for a few weeks, meaning that Albel would be left alone. He walked up the stairs to his apartment to find that someone was waiting for him.
"Who are you…?" Albel asked, suspicious.
"It's me, Cliff." Cliff answered, pulling his hood down. "I just came to see how you were."
"How'd you know where my apartment was? I never told you…" Albel walked up to his door and unlocked it.
"It's amazing how few Albels there are in this city. I did a search for your name and found that your last name was Nox. I then did a search for anything in the name of Nox and found your apartment. As well as an interesting fact that you failed to mention." Cliff answered, starting to walk inside the apartment after Albel to find the door closing in his face.
"You can't come in here. It's a mess."
"Yeah, right. You strike me as the kind of person that never lets his place get messed up. Now come on, let me in." Cliff wheedled.
"No. I'm serious, this place is a mess. Maybe another time-"
"I know what he does to you. And it isn't right." Cliff cut Albel's comment off. Albel stared at Cliff with a horrified look. "I know that you'll deny it, but I also know that you hate the way he treats you. I know that you long to go to the police, but doing that will land you right back into an orphanage, am I right?"
"…Come in." Albel stood aside and opened the door for Cliff to enter. "Just stay in the living room, ok?"
"Not a problem." Cliff nodded, stepping into the living room and sitting on the couch. Albel walked out of the room and there was the sound of spraying before Albel came back into the room with a Febreeze bottle. "Hey, Albel, wanna know a secret?"
"Like what?" Albel asked, opening his window.
"I'm not human."
"I had a feeling, since you were all covered up every time you came in during the day." Albel responded.
"Can you guess what I am?" Cliff asked, leaning back on the couch.
"Vampire, right?"
"Well, I'll be damned. Heh. Since you know, you think you could stop spraying that crap? It smells horrible." Albel looked back a Cliff and sprayed the Febreeze at him, sending the vampire into a coughing and spluttering fit.
A/N: I do not own Febreeze either! Please R&R!
