It was a busy day at the Golden Saucer. There was a big chocobo race today, and dozens of upper-class citizens had taken the cable car up to the amusement park. As the sun began setting, fireworks were loosed every half hour to keep them entertained before the main event.
So, no one noticed her. She didn't even seem out of place. She wore black leather pants, and a blue silk poncho that covered her entire body above her thighs. She leaned against the cable car building on one shoulder, scrolling through the contacts on her phone. The crowds passed by her without a single glance. She wasn't glance-worthy. Brown hair, medium height, not particularly well-endowed…maybe the scars. They were noticeable, but you had to actually look at her to notice.
She cracked a smile, as her phone rang, and lifted it to her ear.
"Hey, sweetie. About time you called. I thought you had chickened out…Yeah, it was a pun…Okay, meet you there." She closed the flip-phone, and joined the crowds bound for the golden buildings.
She stepped out with a group of excited young girls wearing over-done race hats with colorful chocobo feathers and flowers. She followed them halfway to the indoor racetrack, then separated as swiftly as she'd blended in. She entered the very empty theater, and took a seat in the back. They had discontinued their usual play, and replaced it with a more popular selection. The only one that the brown-haired woman knew. She sighed and leaned against the back wall, and laced her fingers behind her head, and silently mouthed the words along with the actors.
It wasn't long before her phone rang again, but there were so few people in the auditorium, that she didn't even have to leave.
"Oh there you are, pumpkin…Well, do you like sweetie better?" She laughed and twirled a loose bang between her fingers. "Fine, I'll leave the nicknames to your real sweetheart. Ready to go?" She laughed again, and hung up. Then, she stood up and clapped as the play ended. The actors seemed surprised at the sound, and bowed politely.
"Great show, boys! But you better clear out." She placed a ticking bomb at her seat, and casually exited the back door. She took a sharp left, and a wall of flames expelled from the curtains leading to the theater. The security raced for the burning theater, and the woman slipped away in the panicked crowds like a ghost.
She reentered through the back doors of the chocobo stables, and raced along the stalls. She looked back and forth at each of the startled birds, intent on finding a single one. She skidded to a halt, and threw herself against the doors. The label read 'Blue Chococbo. 5500 gil'. And the stall was empty.
"They put you up for sale, hmm? Guess that's what happens when you don't pay for rent." She backed away, and hurried for the race track. The race seemed immune to the chaos. Those who had put in their savings for a chance to win big at the day's race did not want to simply get up and walk away with empty pockets. Spectators were in a commotion, but desperate to see the outcome of the race.
The woman cussed under her breath. She'd hoped that a fire bomb would have caused a little more disturbance. At least the guards were busy.
The chocobos were rounding the corner, 'wark'ing and 'kweh'ing. They weren't as stupid as their riders. The woman ran to the edge of the stands, receiving many loud protests on how she was blocking the view. She pulled herself onto the edge of the fence, balancing precariously for a moment, before launching herself at the rider and chocobo in first place. She threw the rider off, promptly taking his place in the saddle. The blue chocobo screeched, and skidded to a halt.
"Calm down, boy!" She yelled. "It's me! It's me!" The bird stomped its feet, feathers rising back and forth in apprehension. Finally, it swung its neck over its shoulder so it could see her. The feathers on its crest rose high.
"Kweh…?" It chirped.
"Yeah- wark!" She replied, smiling. Chocobos had the best memories. The bird flapped its wings and reared up happily, almost tossing the woman off. "Haha, okay, okay! Calm down. Now, let's get you out of here." She pulled the reins, leading the bird towards the exit. Coffee cups and popcorn bags were being thrown at her, but she just stuck her tongue out at them and urged her chocobo into a run. She was an expert at winning those bets. The guards weren't prepared for a speeding chocobo, and the bird and rider easily leapt over them and continued through the parting crowds for the exit.
The blue chocobo hesitated at the pipe leading for the exit, as it had never taken such route of travel before. But it was loyal to its rider, even though she had been missing for months now, and finally dove into the tunnel at her command. They were thrown out in the main plaza, with a group of guards awaiting them. But these guards were different than simple bouncers.
They wore distinct violet uniforms, and glared at her with glowing blue eyes. The woman tossed herself off the side of the bird before they could remove her forcefully. Once she had their attention, she expelled her poncho outwards by lifting her arms, and revealed a pair of sturdy swords on her belt. She smirked at their expressions of initial shock, then realization. But they had realized too late.
She unsheathed her blades, and ran at them. She hit the first one with the bottom of her hilt, crushing his nose and sending him straight to the ground. She spun, and flipped her sword into a backwards grip, stabbing the SOLDIER behind her in the thigh.
As she tugged that blade free, she lifted her leg and kicked the approaching man in the stomach. He stumbled back, gasping to recover his suddenly lost breath, and by then, she had reached him again.
He finally lifted his own sword, parrying her lenient strike to his leg that was meant to disable him instead of kill him. But she still had a free sword, and it was taking both of his hands to keep her first attack at bay. She ducked low, allowing his blade to whistle overhead, then lept forward and kneed the man in his already sore chest, snapping ribs and his sternum. Finally, he fell over. He coughed out a mouthful of blood. He would live though.
"Traitor." He coughed. The woman sheathed her swords.
"Whatever." She said. "Define me however you like. Good luck trying to catch me though." She slung her legs back over the bird, and led him towards the cable car. There was a startled cry, and another chocobo was expelled from the pipes, leaving a trail of pink feathers. The woman groaned aloud.
"Please, don't tell me you really picked that one?" A black-haired man led the pink chocobo over to her, and the bird hissed, and snapped its beat in her direction. "Ugh."
"What? It's the only one big enough for two."
"Hear that, pinky? You're fat." The woman couldn't jump away fast enough for the bird to rip out a lock of hair. The two began walking briskly towards the cable car. They had gotten through the first half of their plan, but now had to perfect the getaway.
"Nice distraction, by the way, though I still had to knock someone out on my way here." The man said. The woman shrugged.
"Would you rather have stormed the place all alone?"
"It was your idea in the first place." He reminded her, his almond eyes glistening playfully. Then they narrowed and became serious. "Okay, you have to stop with the nicknames." The woman rolled her eyes.
"Yasashi getting jealous? Fine, I'll stop…Kaito-chan." The Wutanise man groaned.
The chocobos were reluctant to enter the cable cars. Almost as reluctant as the woman operating it was. But when the two riders produced swords, she seemed more than eager to send them along.
The doors sealed shut, and the gondola began its descent. The brown-haired woman crossed her arms and closed her eyes.
"I hate doing that- threatening someone like her with a sword. To them, it's scary as hell, but to another swordsman, it's a stupid little taunt." She smiled at him. Kaito. The ninja from Wutai who had both loved and hated her. Died twice or more(she had lost count), but always found his way back. It had still shocked her when he appeared again, but it wasn't a bad thing. They had been enemies before, but that was a loose definition. Comrades in arms was a better term now. It helped when they had the same enemy. "Still as rebellious as ever." She added. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You're one to talk, Hai-" A sharp look caused him to bite down the rest of the name. "Sorry, I forget you don't go by that anymore…little miss ex-SOLDIER." She smiled up at the ceiling.
"That has a better ring to it, doesn't it?" Kaito shrugged, massaging the thick scar on his shoulder.
"I guess…Wait, for real, what am I supposed to call you?" She fixed her glowing turquoise eyes straight ahead, half closed in thought.
"I don't care. It changes every time someone asks." Kaito nodded, unsatisfied.
"Anyways…You know, this is going to be our last adventure together."
"But they're so much fun." She protested with an exaggerated whine.
"You're right- Yasashi's getting jealous. It took me long enough to get her to like me, I don't want to lose her." The brown-haired woman stepped forward, made a fist above the man's heart, and knocked on his chest. Her knuckles made contact with metal, and produced a soft ring. He moved her hand away with a smile.
"Yeah, well, she can still take it back, you know?" Suddenly, the gondola gave a violent lurch, and began rapidly accelerating down the wire. "They cut us off!" Kaito yelled in surprise.
They had to act quickly. It would only be a matter of seconds before they crashed, and consequently exploded outside of the city of Corel. For Kaito, time slowed down. But for the woman, time seemed to stop. She snapped a glowing yellow orb into one of her swords, and stabbed the glowing blade through the roof of the gondola. A lightning bolt erupted from her arm, snaking into the wires of the machine. She kicked the emergency brake in, and they reactivated. An awful screeching came from the wire, and sparks threatening to light the entire machine on fire.
The gondola gently stopped beside the platform, and the doors opened with a calm 'ding!'.
Kaito was clutching the wall, with spread arms.
"Wha…What just…?" The woman pulled her sword from the ceiling and dropped onto a knee, catching her breath. "Hey, you okay?" She nodded, and swallowed.
"Overdid it a little. Whoo, that startled me." Kaito helped her to her feet, then onto her chocobo. From there, they exited, as calmly as ever, and the awaiting passengers moved to the sides to let them pass. Dissent murmurs followed the two, until they kicked their steeds into a run, away from the continuous fireworks.
They hurried through Corel and into the badlands, kicking up clouds of dust as the ground became loose and dead underfoot. They took turns glancing behind each other, to make sure that no one was following them. As the sun set, the path behind them was as open as the path before them.
They slowed their exhausted steeds down, but urged them to continue going until they reached Kalm. It was a long trip, but they were sturdy animals, and the ex-SOLDIER and Kaito wanted to sleep with a roof under their heads.
The sky was never pitch black unless you were in Midgar. As they walked to Kalm, the sky was both violet and navy, dusted with massive constellations and skipping stars. The town itself was lit up as if it were mimicking the sky above. They unsaddles their chocobos and let them free in the stables, and finally returned to the inn. The innkeeper had even gone off to bed, so Kaito used his key and entered the back door and into their joint-room.
A woman jumped to her feet, glaring at them. The brown-haired woman sighed.
"I'd hoped you'd gone off to bed." She said, but the wutanise woman continued to stare at Kaito. "I'll leave you two to be." She went through the back door and into her own, half-sized room. The walls didn't block out the sounds of a lover's quarrel next door, but eventually it quieted.
Her door opened and Kaito entered.
"We're leaving first thing in the morning." He said. She nodded.
"She can't stand me."
"She thinks it's weird how you're so friendly to me." He admitted with a shrug.
"Of course it's weird." She agreed. "Your girlfriend's the only one with a shred of common sense." He nodded. "Where will you guys go?"
"She likes it here…but we may check out Gongaga." She smiled.
"Lots of monsters, but the people are kind."
"So, what about you Hail-" He sighed. "Please tell me what to call you." She frowned at the floor.
"Fine. How about Jayn."
"Jayn?"
"Yeah…It'll be my alias." Kaito shrugged.
"Then…bye, Jayn." He left and her eyes followed him. Then she pulled out a worn, waterstained piece of paper from inside her shirt. She unfolded it, and read the familiar, yet very distant name on the paper.
It had been years…
"Bye."
A/N~Hello again
It's been a long wait, and after about 20 tried on chapter 1, I settled with this. If you haven't already, I suggest you read Before the Crisis, or at least the final "prologue" chapter.
In about 3 chapters, I'm hitting the main ff7 storyline. Like Before the Crisis, it'll follow a parallel storyline, connecting with the main party on often occasions.
I hope you like it, and tell me what you want to read in future chapters.
