A/N: I know most of you are probably waiting for chapter 4 of Return To Me, and I'll get to it eventually - I haven't even started it actually, forgive me, but this has been nagging me for a long while and I'm excited for this fic – as I actually planned out the plot! This chapter is just a set up of what's to come basically, it will get a lot more interesting I promise!
Enjoy and review!
Reviews fuel my motivation to keep writing, keep that in mind. ;P
Welcome to Adulthood.
x
Her sister clutched to her black blouse tightly, tears streaming from her tiny eyes producing a surprisingly large amount of tears. All she could do was hold her sister close while they lowered the casket of her father into the ground. Claire herself did not shed a single tear then - deciding she had to be a rock for her sister. With no family left she knew that what little teenage life she had, would have to end right here and now.
The funeral was long and painful, people stared at the two of them with pity and Claire hated it, what would their pity bring them? It wouldn't bring her father back, nor would it bring back her mother. When it was over Claire walked her sister back home and sat her down on the couch. The house seemed a lot bigger now that it was just the two girls.
"Serah..." Claire caressed her sisters arm, "we're home."
Her younger sister looked up at her with swollen red eyes, "Home is where dad is though..." she said through sobs.
"He's not here anymore." She felt bad for saying it as her sister's face contorted with pain, "Don't worry Serah, I'll... do anything I can to give you a good life. Like dad did."
"What about school?"
"I'll pay for your schooling. I don't need it." A small attempt at a reassuring smile surfaced.
Thankfully her sister bought it, "I love you, Claire."
"I love you too Serah."
The next day the young girl dropped out of High school and looked for work, only one place would take her due to her young age of 15, the Guardian Corps. Claire had heard rumours about them; apparently they were the reason the town was as peaceful as it was, and they were understaffed.
Even though Claire was so young they eagerly took her in, saying that they could mold her into the perfect soldier. This was when Claire gave way to Lightning, and her emotions became something of the past. The change at first scared her little sister, but she too could understand the need for the change. In a line of work like that one would need a fake name.
Although, Lightning was more than just a fake name. She was a whole new persona, and a persona who was openly embraced. Because of Lightning she was quickly able to grasp the concepts the Guardian Corps were trying to teach her. Stealth, strength, speed, cunning, and understanding. She excelled in her training and was quickly put on the line of duty.
It was nothing dangerous though, just things to get her used to the idea that she would indeed have to kill people, and that this work wasn't to be taken lightly. Lightning was all too used to the idea of death though by now. Having lost both her parents already death wasn't as scary to her, whether it be by her own hand or not. It was just something that came natural.
xxx
"Claire!" Serah ran up to her bed with a huge grin plastered on her face, "Wake up, it's your birthday."
Lightning groaned, she had been up late last night sorting through paperwork at the base. Lately that was all they had her doing. Where did all this paperwork come from anyway, and why was it always pushed on to her last minute? She rolled over away from her beaming sister and pulled the sheets over her head, "I don't care."
"Come on, I made you breakfast!"
She rolled back over to look at her sister who now decided it was apparently a great time to administer the age old puppy-dog eye look, "Serah, that's not going to work on me."
"Oh, so now that you're 21 you've grown immune?" It was evident her sister knew that Lightning was just being difficult.
She scowled and turned to look over at her alarm clock, "It's 8 in the morning, how can you be awake at this time on a Saturday?"
Serah laughed at her cold tone, "Not all of us stay out 'till Midnight and work all day every day."
Lightning had to admit she had a point. Lately all she had done was work her ass off, but it was for her. Now that Serah was engaged to that oaf Snow she had to save up money for the marriage, for them to pay off their mortgage, (as well as her own) for their honeymoon, and for Serah's university fees and none of these things were going to be cheap. Plus it wasn't like Snow was going to be a big help in paying for these things, his job as a grocery store clerk wasn't exactly bringing in a ton of gil.
Nevertheless Lightning pulled herself out of bed, "Fine, I'll be out in a bit." She motioned for Serah to leave and got changed into some jeans and a black t-shirt. She really didn't care if her hair looked good, it wasn't like she planned to leave her humble abode anyway.
She descended down the stairs and entered her kitchen / dining room area to be welcomed with the warm scent of chocolate chip pancakes, milk, and some toast. Lightning would be lying if she said she didn't love her sister for her amazing cooking skills. Lightning herself seldom treated herself to a nice breakfast like this. Usually it was just a bowl of cereal or a muffin or something that could be eaten on her way to work.
Her sister must have picked up on her amazement as she made her way to give her a tight hug, "Happy birthday Claire."
"Thank you." She gave her sister a small squeeze and sat down at the table to begin eating her lovely homemade breakfast.
As much as the idea of a quiet little breakfast between her and her sister sounded, it rarely was a reality. Serah liked to talk about very personal things and usually it was when Lightning was distracted with food. That way she couldn't run away. "So, have you got yourself a boyfriend now that you're 21?"
She was expecting something personal, but not this so instead of replying calmly with a quick scoff she ended up coughing on the little piece of toast she was in the process of swallowing, "Serah!"
"What? I was just asking." Her sister grinned at her taking a sip of milk.
Lightning groaned, "Why are you so hung up on my love life?"
"I think lack of love life would be a better way of putting it. Sis, you really need some love in your life!"
She snorted, "I need no such thing. What I need is some Gil to pay for your needs."
Serah crossed her arms and glared at her sister, it wasn't quite like her own glare but it was still very frightening to anyone outside of the Farron family, "For once in your life can you just focus on yourself instead of me? Ever since-"
Lightning cut her sister off but to no avail, "Serah-"
"No Claire, you listen to me. Ever since dad died all you've done is think about me and help me. While I do appreciate all that you've done for me I think it's about time you move on," Serah's voice raised to the point where she was almost yelling, "so I order you to go out tonight and have fun for once! It's your day off and I have Snow. I don't need to be baby sat on your birthday."
Deep down inside she knew her sister was right. It had been many years since Lightning did something for herself, everything she did in some way shape or form was connected to Serah. That didn't mean she didn't like it though, she loved taking care of her sister and that wasn't about to change just because the younger Farron scolded her.
She finished her breakfast and made her way over to the sink, "Fine. I'll go out tonight.
Her sisters face seemed to brighten up immediately, but her own scowl only deepened. There was no avoiding this, Serah would ask her questions tomorrow, "Good! Maybe you'll bring home a guy, you know I haven't seen you bring anyone home in ages."
"I will not be bringing a guy home." She shot her sister a quick glare and continued washing the dishes.
"Alright alright, I get it. A woman then?"
A light flush coloured her cheeks and now she was thankful that she was facing away from her sister, "No woman either."
"Oh come on sis!" Serah prodded, "You have to have someone you like, anyone!"
"I don't like anyone." She growled and moved to begin drying the dishes.
"Don't be like that. You know, Snow has some hot friends. I could totally hook you up."
"Serah!" Lightning whipped around to give her sister her scariest glare which even caused her sister to flinch, "I don't want to sleep with any of your sad excuse for a boyfriend's friends. Don't you have something to do today?"
The younger sister crossed her arms jutting her lip out slightly at Lightning's harsh tone of voice, "I guess I have to go study. I hope whoever is crazy enough to end up wanting to be with you softens you up." And with that her sister left her alone.
Lightning sighed, that had been a more eventful morning than she was prepared for. All in all though, she did enjoy her breakfast – even if her sister decided now was the perfect time to pry into her personal business. She didn't have time for a lover, they'd only get in the way.
The remainder of the day would be spent doing paperwork just like any other day, but come 7:00 she figured she should probably get ready to go out. She had no idea what she was expecting to do. Probably have a few drinks alone and then head back to crawl back into her bed. It really wasn't anything new.
Even so she changed out of her jeans into a more form fitting pair and replaced her t-shirt with a coral blouse, rolling up the sleeves part way up her arms. She brushed the knots from her hair, applied a bit of makeup, grabbed her purse while donning her jacket and shoes and made her way to Lebreau's bar. It wasn't an uncommon thing for Lightning to make an appearance there. In fact, she quite liked drinking from time to time, but lately she had been so busy working she hadn't been making her usual after work detours.
Lebreau didn't miss her little short-term absence, "Heya Light! Long time no see."
She nodded at the bartender, "Work's been busy. Whiskey please."
"Looking to get drunk, are we?"
"Serah told me to 'go out and have fun for once' so I guess I should probably drink something stronger than wine."
"Well here's something strong then." She passed Lightning her drink and watched the pink haired girl down it with a straight face, "You're a natural, Light."
"I guess." Lightning let Lebreau refill her glass and downed it as well. She was beginning to feel a bit less tense, maybe Serah was right. She was more stiff than she would have thought.
Lebreau topped her up again and watched the woman down yet another glass, "Do you just want to buy the bottle?" she said with an arched brow.
"Sure, may as well." She fished out the gil from her wallet and exchanged it for her bottle. This was going to be a long, long night. She could already feel it.
Just then a unfamiliar woman took the stool next to her. Was she new in town? Lightning had never seen her while she was on patrol, nor when she made her trips to the bar after work. The woman definitely did not look like she was around New Bodhum anyway. She had never seen anyone who presented herself so... proudly.
"I'll have what this bucket of sunshine is havin' over here." The woman gestured towards her. Her strong accent took Lightning off guard.
Slow to respond due to her slightly intoxicated state she scowled at the stranger, "Are you making fun of me?"
"Not in the least, just sayin' you have good taste in alcohol." The woman grinned at her and raised her glass, "Cheers!"
Lightning clinked her glass with the exotic woman and sipped her beverage. There was something about her that didn't seem... right, "Thanks, I guess." She looked down into the liquor feeling slightly awkward. This was not like her at all. She shook the weird feeling away and looked back up to the woman beside her, "Are you new to the area?"
"What makes ya think that, love?" The woman began to smirk at her, something Lightning could tell was not an uncommon thing.
"I've never seen you before is all."
"And I'm assuming you've seen every gal around town then?" She was avoiding the question, even Lightning could tell.
She downed the remainder of her glass to fight off her growing annoyance, "I suppose I haven't. I'm just trying to make small talk."
The stranger chuckled, "I got ya, I was just playin' with ya sunshine. Suppose you could say I'm new to these parts."
She allowed herself to relax slightly, "Where are you from then?"
"Ya ever heard of a place called Oerba?" She nodded, "I'm from 'round there. Decided to move out here for a little excitement. Oerba's great and all, but it's a little small compared to this place." She sipped her drink, "The sea's really beautiful too."
Maybe her first instinct was wrong about this girl. She wasn't half bad, but there was still something telling her that there was something off about her. Was it her exotic appearance, the way she presented herself, her way of managing to get under her skin? She couldn't put her finger on it, but in her intoxicated state she didn't really care either.
"You're right, it is really pretty here." One thing that Lightning Farron wasn't good at, was maintaining conversation. After several long moments of silence she checked her watch. It was 12:42, not good. She had work in the morning and she could not afford to be late. She was already going to have a killer headache because over the course of her conversation with the Oerban she managed to down the entire bottle. Great.
She stood up and felt the woman's eyes follow her, "It was nice talking with you, but I have to get some sleep before work."
The woman nodded understandingly, "Nice chattin' with ya too sunshine. Good luck with your hang over!"
Lightning groaned, "Thanks." Her hasty exit was followed by the weird woman's booming laughter.
She had no idea how she even managed to get home in one piece. Her stride was nothing like the usual confident and sure thing it usually was. She was actually staggering all over the place like a drunk idiot – which at the particular moment she was. Nevertheless she was able to find her way home. Thinking ahead she filled up a glass of water and grabbed some pain killers and set it on her bed side table. Then she fell on her bed and passed out.
xxx
Just as she had predicted she had a killer headache in the morning and thanked herself for actually bothering to get some pills and water. All she remembered was that she had spoken to someone at a bar last night. Did she speak with Lebreau? That was probably it, she didn't know many other people and Lebreau was the only one she knew who would actually be at the bar. Although a nagging feeling told her she had spoken to someone much more than just the friendly bartender. She quickly dismissed it as she entered the shower to wash the smell of alcohol from her body.
Amodar said he wanted to speak with her today, so she wanted to get ready quickly. While she'd love to spend awhile in the shower letting the hot fingers of warm water wake her body she stepped out as soon as she was clean, no time for relaxing, and no time for a nice breakfast either. She grabbed a muffin after she finished climbing into her uniform and was out the door within a heartbeat.
There was nothing like the feeling of walking into the base and feeling all the eyes of the recruits look up to her with respect and awe. A feeling she did not take lightly as it could change with any screw up. Even though Lightning had never been on a big case she was still well looked up to; she got all her work done efficiently and well.
Lightning ambled passed everyone and knocked on the door to Amodar's office; it was a rare event that she was ever called into his office. Had she done some paperwork wrong or something? Maybe it had something to do with her taking up more shifts... she hoped the man didn't want to deduct her work time – or worse send her on vacation.
He opened the door with a slight smile, "Good morning Farron."
"Sir," she saluted her officer.
"At ease soldier," he held up his hand and then motioned for her to take a seat in his office. Thoughts of what this could possibly mean ran wildly through her usually calm mind. Taking any time off work would be disastrous, and Amodar's face gave no clue as to what this could be about.
He took a seat at the other end of the desk and clasped his hands together in front of him, looking Lightning directly in the eye, "So you turned 21 yesterday didn't you? Congrats."
"Yes sir. That's the reason why I requested the day off, Serah asked me to."
"I thought so. The workaholic Lightning Farron wouldn't take work off for any other reason," he laughed at the mere thought of the pinkette taking time off. In all his years of having her work under him he had never seen her take time off unless it had something to do with her sister, "I didn't call you in to ask you to take your vacation time, so you can relax." When she visibly did so he continued, "The reason I did call you in was so I could talk to you about a case that's come up."
"About the rise of drug use?" she enquired. She had heard about it, who hadn't? You'd have to be blind to not see at least one high guy in the east end of New Bodhum. She rarely went there as her work mainly had her in the more open west district.
He nodded, "That's the one. Our informants have brought to our attention that there may be a large drug trade going on right under our noses. It's concerning to think that we haven't caught wind of it yet. I want you to take charge of this one, Farron, now that you're 21 I think you can handle a little hard work."
"Thank you sir; I wont let you down!"
"I'm sure you wont. You're going to have to go undercover to find their base. Once you do, I'd prefer it if you didn't go in alone, but do as you see fit. I have faith in your judgement."
"I'll do my best." This was the first time she had ever been entrusted with something this big, she had no intention of letting him down. Although, that was only half the battle, the other half had to do with telling Serah about her new case... she wouldn't be happy knowing her sister was going to be involved in taking down a huge drug trade.
