Disclaimer: All of the characters in this chapter belong to me, but Edge and Shinra belong to Square-Enix.
A/N: Well, I wrote this at about 1 am, so it's a little bit distorted by tiredness, which I am too tired to fix right now. Of course, a little bit later in the morning, I'll wake up tearing my hair out about it… but for now, here it is, please enjoy!
Chapter 1:
Shinra's bastard
The dank cave reeked with a salty, bitter tang. Its blackness seemed to extend beyond its mouth, to engulf the group of people that stood just beyond it. Thin tendrils of darkness leaked into the sunny air. It was a monster that slept with its mouth gaping open, invitingly, waiting for any prey to walk in.
One woman waited to do just that. She stood at the very mouth of the cave, looking as though she had just emerged from its depths.
Her long black hair was bound into a rope that swung down her back. It was a stark contrast to her skin, which was deathly pale in some places, and fiercely burnt in others. Her clothes must once have been black, but had faded to a ragged grey through long hours of travelling on foot, pounding worms into dirt. Occasionally, the grey was interrupted by a splash of crimson, and punctured by little dots.
The katana she had strapped to her side was in similar condition, and the crowd of people surrounding her gazed at in horrified fascination. The most frightening thing of all was her eyes, which roared back at the cave, identical pits of terror.
The woman cocked her head, a fleeting, birdlike movement, and swung to face a cowering woman nearby.
'My price is—'
'Wait, please,' the nervous woman whispered. 'I must know: are you the one they call Yuki?'
The pale woman sighed. 'Yes, of course I am… What, you thought I was in disguise or something?' She turned back to the cave entrance, shaking her head irritably. 'If I was in disguise, I would've killed you by now. Good thing I'm not, huh.'
Ignoring the gasp of fear from the crowd, Yuki's eyes flickered back to the cave entrance. 'You said it was a high-level fiend, right?'
'Y-yes,' a man said. 'It escaped from Shinra's labs.'
'Then my price is 10,000 Gil.' The man's face fell, but he agreed quietly. Silently, Yuki nodded to them all and wove her way into the darkness of the cave.
The smell was almost overpowering. It curled around Yuki as she walked in, burning her nose, an ever-present guide and shadow. Trying to ignore it, she reached her hands out to feel her way along the walls, knowing that her eyesight would be of no use. She found she could touch both sides of the cave easily, and that the roof was not far above her either. Well, at least there would only be one area she would need to explore.
Her footsteps echoed in the hollowness of the cave, sounding among gentle patters of water. Somewhere in this darkness, beautiful things must be forming.
As she walked, Yuki tilted her head forward, trying to hear any noise that might be coming from the fiend itself.
Then, all of a sudden, her hands and feet hit the air at the same time. The ground ripped itself out from under her, and quickly she tried to relax her body and spread herself out, knowing it would make the fall less painful. Without time to even scream, she plummeted down, into the waiting blackness.
When her feet hit the ground, she found herself in a chamber lit with odd light from huge, gleaming stones that ringed the chamber. Seemingly out of nowhere, the light poured out in fountains of colour, lighting the walls and ceiling in a splash of natural art. The noise from the water sounded louder than ever in Yuki's ears, and as she scrambled to her feet, she realised that the water was running inside the stones- swirling in whirlpools that rebounded the colours and lights, and reflected them into every corner of the chamber.
It was not all beautiful. The smell of rust and salt grew and was magnified in that room. It came from the figure sitting in the centre of it. Small and hunched, it played with a smaller stone, watching the light refract off it. Bones lay around it, and it giggled to itself as it swung to face Yuki.
She raised her eyebrows. 'Oh? I thought I was here to exterminate a fiend. You just look like a washed-up crazy man.' The figure laughed again and threw the stone at Yuki with deadly speed and accuracy. Without time to block it, she was forced to draw her katana. She sliced it in two, but the pieces did not stop. They cut into either side of her face, before rushing on to embed themselves in a wall.
Surprised, the woman touched her face gently, and pulled her hand away to peer at the blood that flowered there.
'You underestimated me!' The man sang the words in a falsetto voice, rolling his eyes in a mock expression. 'They all do, in the end!' His sweeping gesture included the bones that lay on the floor.
Yuki shrugged, feeling a little angry. She had thought the villagers overestimated the idiot. Obviously they had not. She held up the blade, and smiled humourlessly.
The sword gleamed in the lights, a captivating myriad of colours. Yuki had called it Smoke, after the fire she had scavenged it from years ago. The blade was hers now as much as it had ever been.
The man lunged at her, so she sidestepped quickly and turned Smoke in a sweeping motion designed to bite into his shoulder and through to his heart. He stopped it with a tiny, well-made dagger, and attacked back, darting towards her neck. She dodged by dropping down to the ground and stabbing Smoke at his heels, feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline as she saw the blood spatter on the ground. Instantly, he tried to bend down rather than stabbing at her back as she had thought he would and she reached high, arching Smoke until it bit into his neck.
As he lay on the ground, dying, she stood over him.
'You weren't any good. Whatever tests they performed on you had greatly enhanced your speed and strength, but you never had training. Actually, it was a bit of a fluke on my behalf too. If you weren't so short, and so stupid as to bend down, I could never have gotten your neck like that.' Then she eased his suffering.
Grabbing a mobile phone, Yuki dialled a number.
'You did the job?' The voice on the other end was deep and heavy with authority.
'Done,' Yuki said. 'Where am I going next?'
'Apparently, there are a couple of assignments around Edge. Shinra executives are bugging me. Don't kill Rufus, just the others. The police are on high alert for you too, so stay around the back end of town. There are a couple of assassins out to get you, too.'
'Not surprised. Why I ever work for you, Lee, I do not know.'
'Someone will meet you in Edge.'
'OK. See you later.' She hung up.
The crowd of people drew back as Yuki emerged from the cave carrying the corpse of the man. She sighed, and held it out to them. It had been a clear day, and the sunset was a vibrant red as she collected her payment and smiled.
'Nice doing business with you.'
Then she left, to walk the long miles of the road to Edge.
Thank you for reading! Please rate and review, it's just an opening chapter, so it is quite boring right now, but it gets better, I… promise (well, hope.)