His Angel
Chapter 1
Everything has its place in the world...
Everything has its own time…
Everyone has a chance for change…
They just have to be willing to stand up and take that step…
They have to take a risk…
They have to live…
"Hey, get back here you little thief!" a man yelled in the market place as a young boy stole a piece of produce.
The child paid no mind to the man as he ran, pushing through the thick crowd of people. This kid in particular, had short shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes, his clothes tattered and worn from age.
"Stop that kid, stop him!" the man yelled.
"Move!" the kid exclaimed, shoving a few people out of the way, ducking passed others.
He ran right passed people, before quickly turning the corner and crashing into someone. As he looked up, he found it to be a young woman with dark hair and grayish silver eyes. It was her eyes that made him stop and stare, the sound of the man chasing him close behind.
"Grab that kid!" the man shouted.
On instinct, the woman grabbed hold of the boy's arm, quickly pulling him behind her as she leaned against the wall. Both of them then watched as the man ran by, running right passed them and down the street.
The kid slid down to the ground with a sigh of relief as the man left them, allowing him to relax. He just sat there as he pulled the apple out of his pocket, getting ready to take a bite. The young woman stopped him though, taking it away and holding it out of reach.
"Hey, that's mine!" he cried, jumping up and down as he tried to reach the apple.
It was little us though, seeing as she was taller than him, but he didn't stop trying.
"Listen kid, you really shouldn't be stealing things, alright? Now, why don't you go home?" she said, the apple still in her hand.
He didn't say anything after that, merely going and sitting back down on the ground. That's when she finally noticed his clothing. It looked old and torn, even his face was dirty looking and hair unkempt. She knew that look unfortunately.
"You don't have one…do you?" she asked, looking over his features.
He was young, maybe eight or ten years old if that. His choppy brown hair and blue eyes, they reminded her of her older brother who had died a few years prior. This is what hit her hard, pain pulling at her heart as she stared down at him.
"What's your name kid?" she asked, crouching down in front of him.
"Sky," he said quietly, glancing up at her for a moment.
"Well, Sky, why don't you come with me?" she asked, a small smile on her face.
When she said that, his face said that he was shocked. He had believed that no one would ever want him, yet here, was a girl who was willing to do just that. This woman wanted to take him with her, she was offering him home.
"I own a ranch in Kalm, I'm sure you'd love it there," she told him, watching his eyes light up.
"Really?" he asked, trying to contain his excitement.
She nodded her head in response, holding her hand out for him to take. It didn't take much thought though as he grabbed her hand, letting her pull him up with ease.
"What's your name?" Sky asked, turning his head to look up at the woman as they started off down the street.
"Me? My name is Tatsumi, Tatsumi Rikota."
Two Years Later
It had been two years since Tatsumi had made that trip to Midgar, the trip where she had picked up Sky and adopted him. He was nine years old now, while she was 20. In those two years, they had also grown very close, and he looked to her like a mother. Although, even with that, he would still caused trouble from time to time. Then again, he was still a young boy after all.
At the moment, Sky was running around on one of the chocobo's. He was driving Grant, one of the ranch hands stir crazy, going from place to place around the ranch and causing trouble.
"Get back here young man!" Grant yelled, chasing after Sky as best he could.
Sky didn't stop though, continuing to ride on the chocobo's back, and jumping over another fence. He was having so much fun that he didn't notice Tatsumi walking around the side of the shed, nearly running her over.
Tatsumi was so startled, that she dropped everything that she was holding, moving out of the chocobo's way.
"Sky!" she yelled, placing a hand on her forehead as she leaned against the shed.
Upon hearing her voice, he stopped the creature, a nervous look on his face as he turned it around.
"Uh…heh heh… Sorry Tatsumi," he said nervously, a nervous smile on his face as he dismounted.
"What have I told you about the chocobo's?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the young man.
"Not to drive Grant crazy with them?" he asked innocently, a grin on his face.
Tatsumi couldn't help, but to let out a small laugh at this. True, she had warned him about not over doing it with Grant, but that wasn't the issue. Many, many times, she had told him not to go running around on them like crazy. It could prove dangerous at times if one wasn't watching what they were doing.
"Listen, Sky, just be more careful, alright?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Alright," he said quietly.
"That's my boy," she chuckled, before ruffling his hair affectionately. "Just promise me that you'll keep away from the tree line, okay? Fiends have been about lately and I don't want you getting hurt," she said, turning back and picking her things up.
"I promise," Sky assured her, getting back up on his chocobo and heading to one of the corrals.
This left Tatsumi to continue on her way, going inside one of the two barns to tend to a few of her injured and sick chocobo's. Lately, there had been issues with fiends and a few other monsters running amuck around Kalm. A few in particular had been hiding out near her ranch and causing trouble. She'd actually lost a few of her chocobo's to them. She was only lucky that she knew how to fight, otherwise, she'd have lost a lot more than just a few of her chocobo's. She found herself irritated though, since SOLDIER's were supposed to have been to her ranch yesterday, getting rid of her problem.
"They never do anything fast," she voiced aloud as she cleaned out one of the stalls.
She kept at this for a couple hours, cleaning out each and every stall, before helping to groom some of the chocobo's. By the time that she was finally done with everything, the sun was starting to go down. That also meant that most of the chocobo were now inside the stalls and resting. When she stepped outside with her lantern though, she was met with an unwelcomed surprise. A few feet in front of her was a Kalm Fang, it's purple colored fur practically blending in with the oncoming darkness.
"Oh crap…" she breathed, staring it down as she stood there.
It stood there growling her, its fang showing as it mouth pulled, snarling menacingly. That left her to stare back at it, her hand twitching as she chanced a glanced around her. Her eyes caught sight of Sky not too far away, playing with a small chocobo in a nearby corral. It was now or never.
"Sky! Run!" she yelled, quickly turning and ducking out of the way as the beast lunged at her. "Now!" she yelled, doing her best to keep a decent distance between her and the beast.
Right now, her job was to keep this thing away from Sky, keep him safe. So, as Sky tried to get the chocobo inside, Tatsumi kept the wolf busy. Unfortunately, this one wasn't the only one, others soon coming out to join it.
"Oh no…" Tatsumi whispered, watched as more came to stand before her.
Her swords were merely yards away on a work bench, the wolves the only thing between her and getting to them. Even with the sound of an oncoming SOLDIER vehicle in the background, she knew that she couldn't wait, even more so when she heard Sky cry out.
"Sky!" she screamed.
The sound of his voice made something inside her snap, sending her passed the wolves and to her swords. She wasn't going to allow herself to lose anyone else, especially not Sky, he'd become too precious to her.
"Hold on!" she yelled, rushing forward as she cut down the beasts in front of her.
She then ran toward the corral, a sword in each hand.
"Help!" Sky cried out.
He was on his back on the ground, trying his best to fend off the wolf. He let out another cry though when it bit him in the leg, tearing right through his skin.
"Sky!" Tatsumi cried out, jumping over the fence and throwing the wolf off of him.
She dropped her swords on instinct, grabbing him instead and pulling him against her as he cried. She then pulled him out of the way as one of the wolves tried to get them, rolling over and getting clawed in the back. It was her turn to cry out now as the beast raked its claws down her back, scarring the delicate skin.
After a few more moments though, someone drove them off, the sound of a sword slicing through one of the wolves meeting her ear. The beast yelped in pain as the person cut it down, killing it.
"Are you okay?"
Tatsumi looked up when the man asked this, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"We would be if someone would have gotten here when I put the damn request in," she said in irritation, wincing when she tried to sit up.
"Yeah, about that… I just got back from a mission and your request was one of the older ones that hadn't been filled yet," he told her nervously.
Hearing this made her temper flare, causing her to forget about the pain that was currently in her back. She merely stood, holding Sky in her arms, before pulling the tiny whistle from around her neck and blowing it. A moment later, he best chocobo Strider came running toward them, stopping a couple feet in front of the two.
"Go find Grant," she said, placing Sky gently on Strider's back, before sending them off.
Luckily, she knew that she wouldn't have to worry about Strider, since he was a very capable chocobo.
After the chocobo was out of sight, Tatsumi picked her swords back up, holding them tightly in her hands.
"I've had enough of this…"
Then, before the young man could say anything, she attacked the beasts. All he could do was stand there in shock as he watched her. He knew that she was hurt and yet, she was fighting back viciously against the monsters around them.
T
"Are you sure you're okay?" the man that Tatsumi now knew as Zack Fair asked her.
"I'm fine," she muttered.
"Look, I still don't understand why you called someone down if you're that talented," Zack expressed honestly. "I mean, it's just a waste of money in my opinion."
"Look, Zack, I wasn't putting the money out there for me. There's more people in this area than just me and Sky," she told him. "I called you out here because I can't protect my ranch, along with everyone else in this village."
"I understand Ma'am, you have your son to worry about," Zack said, catching her attention.
"You really think that he's my son?" she asked curiously.
"Am I wrong?" he asked, worried that he might have insulted her.
"No, not necessarily. You see, everyone else thinks that he's my little brother," she explained.
"So, he is your son then?"
"In a way, yes. I adopted him two years ago while in Midgar," she told him, looking fondly at a picture sitting on the table.
It was a picture of her and Sky. She had her arms hanging around his shoulders as she stood behind him, her chin laying on top of his little head, Grant taking the picture for them. It was her favorite. She also had another one sitting on a shelf. In that one, he was riding around on one of the large chocobo's in the corral, laughing away to his hearts content. He really was such a happy boy.
"He must be a happy kid," Zack commented, looking at one of the pictures.
Tatsumi nodded her head in response.
"He is," she said with a soft smile on her face.
With Sky in mind, she stood from her seat, walking over to the stairs.
"If you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to check on him," she said, before walking up the stairs.
She just walked down the small hallway, walking passed her room and to Sky's. His door was still open a crack, allowing her to push it open without any problems. Once she was inside, her eyes found him laying on his bed asleep, his leg propped up on a pillow.
"Sky…" she whispered softly, walking over to beside the bed and sitting down.
He didn't stir as she sat there, his mind deep in sleep. He was still the same boy that he was two years ago, but at the same time, he wasn't. He was still Sky in every sense, yes, but he was also her Sky. He was Sky Rikota now, the loveable little boy whom she cared so much for now. In a way, it was like he was a part of her, taking up home in her heart to stay.
"I love you," she whispered softly, brushing a bit of hair from his forehead as she leaned down and kissed it. "Goodnight kiddo," she whispered, before getting up and leaving the room.
She went back downstairs, finding Zack looking at another one of her pictures.
"What are you doing?" Tatsumi asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs, startling him a bit.
"Oh, sorry, just looking around I guess," he said.
She gave him a small nod, before going into the kitchen.
"Would you like something to eat Zack?" she offered, opening the fridge and grabbing a few things. "I realize that it's a bit of a ride back to Midgar."
Okay everyone, this is my first attempt at a Sephiroth story so be nice. Anyway, I hope that you like it and will continue to read this story as I begin writing further. Also, remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts and ideas on this story. Thanks everyone! Also, check out my PROFILE for others stories that you might like. :)