Chapter One

Chelise sat staring silently at a wall. Reno and Elena were fighting again... Kayne should be coming soon. She sighed. What did I get myself into by joining these idiots? She thought, rolling her eyes. There were footsteps behind her. She turned around. It was Kayne.
"It's been a while" he said, "I'm almost in first class now"
"I'm happy for you," Chelise said, looking back at the wall.
"What's wrong?" Kayne asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Nothing, I'm perfectly alright" Chelise said, shrugging his hand off.
"come on, we grew up together; I know when something is going on" he said.
"Nee-Chan... Died" Chelise said. She had always loved her older sister, but now she was gone.
"Oh, Chels, it's alright, she's watching over you" Kayne said comfortingly.
"You think?" Chelise asked.
"I know" said Kayne, smiling.
"Thanks" said Chelise, hugging him.

Fay woke up to a horrid banging sound. Apparently Barrett was angry about something again. She looked around, scrutinizing their pitiful little group, how were they supposed to stop Shinra and Sephiroth? She groaned as Nanaki stepped on her stomach.
"Ow" she remarked, but was completely ignored. Oh no, here came Yuffie, pretend to still be sleeping, she'll ignore you she thought, pulling her blanket over her head.

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'Well, at least the square is busy today...' Rain thought, setting up her stand in a small clearing.
"Hey, girl!" A gruff sounding man yelled, walking over to Rain and her half set-up stand. Rain looked up from putting on a piece of red cloth on a silver pole. But before Rain could properly greet him, he started speaking once more.
"I have heard a little something," he said, reaching Rain and her supplies. He stood tall, obviously waiting for Rain to question him. When she just kept looking at him curiously, he finally said,
"Well, do you want to know, or not?" He asked impatiently.
"Knowledge can be dangerous." She simply said, and went back to putting cloth on the bare poles.
The man just stood, speechless. He squinted at the side of her face, trying to get Rain to give in and ask what he wanted to tell her. But she just kept working, putting on heavy cloth to the poles and adjusting it. Finally, the man turned to leave.
"Girl, I will be back. And prepare to know what I have to say to you, whether you want to hear it or not!" Rain just looked at him from shifted eyes, still addressing the poles' need to be clothed. Once the man had waddled out of sight, Rain murmured,
"That is one crazy dude..." And all she could do was giggle.

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'What... happened' Ureshii thought awakening in a field of grass. 'Where... am I?' she continued looking around franticly. 'And why can't I remember anything?' she thought using her thumb and index finger to rub against her forehead.
She stood up and looked around, "Hey a town," she said, "maybe I can get some info on where I am."
She began walking until she heard something jangle. She looked down to see two katanas sheaved and attached to her belt. "Weird, why would I be caring around katanas?" she said confused.

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Two girls were setting up camp. One blonde, the other with pink hair. Their names were Sasaria and Ariya. Sasaria had the tent set up while Ariya got the campfire ready. "I'm almost done Sassi." Ariya said. Sasaria nodded. "Okay. The tent's done." she said.

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"Are you ready?" Rain asked the 7th contestant of the day.
"Yeah, sure. I'm ready." The contestant, apparently named Ureshii, politely said.
"Alright...One, two, three, go!" Yelled Rain, as she jumped into the air at Ureshii, already preparing to have Ureshii admit defeat.
'She sure does look fragile...I have to make sure I don't accidentally hurt her...' Rain thought quickly as she was just about to come down near Ureshii. Then, Ureshii was gone.
'Wha...?' Instinctively, Rain whirled around low to the ground.
"Ahhh!" Screamed Ureshii as she charged toward Rain with the practice katana Rain had given her. Rain feinted to the left, leaving Ureshii to run by her, unharmed. The crowd that had gathered was obviously into the fight, by the 'Oohhing and aahhing' they were doing. There was only the crowd making noise for a few moments, then, Ureshii made a movement.
"I am done." Said Ureshii nobly, standing up from kneeling the other way.
'She's done already?' Thought Rain. Ureshii and Rain walked over to each other and shook hands. Ureshii's pretty brown curls bounced joyfully as she started to walk away. Then, something compelled Rain to call her.
"Ureshii! Wait..." She called. Ureshii turned around on her heels and gave Rain a questioning look.
"Please come back later tonight. I wish to talk to you about something!" Rain yelled loud enough for Ureshii to hear. Ureshii nodded and smiled sweetly, then turned back around and melted into the ever-moving crowed. Rain walked over the where her stand was set up and drank some water from the creek nearby. Rain then saw how many tips she was getting in her jar on the red-clothed stand. She thanked each patronage, hoping they would come again.
"Hey, girl!" Rain looked away from the crowd's faces to see the big, gruff man walking toward her.
Oh goodness, crazy dude again... Rain muffled under her breath, as she sighed and rolled her eyes.

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'Well that was fun, and maybe she'll be kind enough to let me stay the night, that way I won't have to stay at the inn.' Ureshii thought as she smiled happily anticipating the best.
'Kalm ain't so bad after all,' she continued as she rounded a corner. She was just aimlessly wandering around like she usually did.
'Though, I hope she doesn't ask for a background...' she thought, 'I don't really know anything about myself other than my name...'
"Ureshii Kusabana," she whispered, "Who am I?"
Then she realized that late after noon was upon her. "Maybe I should stop by that girl's place now. What was her name? Oh yeah, it was Rain or something of the sort," she said as she began heading back to Rain's stand at a quickened pace.

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Chelise again stared at the wall, a feeling of dread settling in. Kayne had left, and she now felt alone, oh so very much alone despite all the people surrounding her. She broke down sobbing. What am I thinking? nobody needs me, nobody cares, might as well get it over with now, we're all going to die someday she thought getting up and making her way down to the room shared by her and Elena.

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"Ow," Fay groaned, yuffie was kicking her.
"Wake up" yuffie chided.
"Leave me alone" muttered Fay, turning over.
"You better wake up soon or I'll sick nanaki on you" said yuffie.
"Hey!" shouted nanaki angrily "what am I? Your pet?"
yuffie giggled.
Fay threw a kunai, just barely missing yuffie's head. "I said leave me alone" she said furiously, her eyes glinting evilly.
Yuffie screeched and hid behind barret.
"Serves you right" Fay muttered, laying back down and pulling the blanket over her head once more.

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Ureshii arrived at Rain's stand yet again to see her and "crazy dude" in an attempted conversation.
"Sorry sir, I'm closing my stand, you have to leave me alone now," Rain said annoyed.
He grumbled and walked away.
"Who was that?" Ureshii asked quizzically.
"I'm not sure," she responded, "But anyway, could you help pack up? We can talk at my house, it's near the inn."
"Ok..." Ureshii responded as she walked up, 'great, just where I want to be, near that musty old inn...'

~later~

"You are a lot tougher than you look," she said as we sat down in her bed room. Her room was white with a big painting painted on the wall of two chocobos.
"Thanks, I really didn't know I had it in me." Ureshii responded embarrassed.
"What do you mean?" Rain said confused.
"I didn't know I was that good, that's all..." Ureshii said a little embarrassed.
"How do you not know you're that good?" Rain said confused.
"Well, it's a long, yet not so long story," Ureshii responded.
"What... does that mean???" she said confused.
"Well, you see I have amnesia," Ureshii said quietly. An awkward followed.
"Oh..." is all Rain said. She glanced at the clock to see it was getting late. "It's getting pretty late, do you have anywhere to stay?" Rain asked.
"Does the inn count," Ureshii asked dumbly.
"You can stay the night if you don't mind sleeping on the couch," Rain said calmly.
"Really! Thanks!" Ureshii responded happily.
Ureshii awoke early the next morning to footsteps outside.

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"wake up!" yelled barret loudly in Fay's ear.
"DIDN'T I TELL YOU FREAKS TO LEAVE ME ALONE!?!?!!?" screamed Fay angrily.
"Get up, please." said cloud. "we're heading to Kalm....."
"Kalm?" asked Fay "why Kalm?"
"It's just where we're heading, so deal with it...." said yuffie, still hiding behind barret.
Fay got up, mumbling something about yuffie and pushing people off of cliffs.
"She scares me" whispered aerith.
"Me too" whispered cloud back.

~later~

they walked into Kalm and made their way towards an inn where Fay immediately went to sleep on the floor of their room.
"Don't worry, she does that all the time" said yuffie starting to drag Fay towards a bed.
Barret stared at yuffie, looking confused.
"Now she scares me even more" said aerith.
Vincent sat down on one of the beds and started staring into space.
"Goodnight," said tifa, laying down on one of the beds.

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Chelise sat on the floor, a knife poised to her chest. She was going to do it, leave this world.
"Goodbye everyone" she muttered, closing her eyes and drawing a sharp intake of breath.
The door burst open.
"Chelise, what are you doing?" she heard Rufus ask.
Chelise looked up, dropping the knife.
"sousai-sama" she said, surprised.
"I need you to do something for me" Rufus said.
"w-what?" Chelise asked.
"There is a group of people who continue to rebel against us, I need your help to stop them. Join their little group and help me bring them down" he said.
"A-alright, why me?" Chelise stuttered.
"Because the rest of the Turks are well known by these people" said Rufus.
"where are they?" asked Chelise.
"Kalm." said Rufus "we'll stage an attack on the town and sneak you in there, but from that point on, you're by yourself."
"Alright, when do I leave?" Chelise asked.

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Gosh, she has amnesia?! Wow... Thought Rain. I don't know if I could I ever live like that... Rain continued thinking, trying desperately to fall asleep in her bed. But Ureshii's presence bothered Rain...There was something about her...That was...just...different. I certainly do like her...I wonder where she lives...? And how she got skilled at fighting, without even remembering a thing about it.
"Uh." Rain grunted as she rolled on to her stomach and pulled the covers over her head. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Right now, I just need to forget about her and fall asleep...And I swear I need to try to avoid the that dude...but I still wonder what he wanted to tell me...Aw well, it will have to wait... Rain thought dreamily, as she started drifting off into what would be a disturbing sleep...

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Ureshii stood outside, it was daybreak the sun hadn't completely risen yet, 'Hmmm, I wonder if anything different is going to happen today, Rain is still in bed, and why am I so awake this early in the morning?!' she thought loudly in her head as she looked around at the few people walking around. 'I think I'll go sit down,' she thought as she started to head towards the inn, it was the closest building to her. 'I'll just relax here until things start happening.'
"There you are!" said a voice from her right.
"Huh? Oh it's you Rain," Ureshii responded happily, "Why are you up so early?"
"I was about to ask you the same, let's just say I couldn't sleep very well," Rain said calmly.
"Want to join me?" Ureshii asked Rain.
"What were you doing?" Rain asked.
"Resting against a wall," Ureshii responded.
Rain raised an eyebrow, "Meh, why not," she said as she shrugged.
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Kakan stood outside of calm with his friends Kat, Kayne, and small army of infantry.
"So when do we start, and how do we start?" Kakan asked.
"We start when Chelise arrives," Kat responded.
"We start it by..." Kayne started but then paused to think.
"Blowing something up?" Kakan asked seriously.
"Blowing something... what? Why would we do that?!" Kat responded loudly.
"It would be effective," Kayne said smirking.
"Whose gunna do it?" Kakan asked.
"Infantry, duh!" Kayne responded.
"So... what are we blowing up?" Kat asked.
"Who's blowing what up?" said Chelise coldly.
"Look who's finally arrived," Kakan turning around to see Chelise standing behind them.
"Shall we commence?" asked Kayne blandly.
"As soon as I enter the inn, you can start the raid," Chelise said starting to walk ahead.

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"Huh? Oh it's you Rain," Ureshii responded happily, "Why are you up so early?"
"I was about to ask you the same. Let's just say I couldn't sleep very well..." Rain said calmly, remembering the terrible nightmares that had her in a cold sweat all night.
Ureshii! No, you can't go in there!! The fire...the fire... Those were the words that still echoed fiercely in her head.
No! Nobody can be alive after that! Ureshii, don't go! But Rain couldn't reach Ureshii as she raced inside the burning building. No! You'll kill yourself! It's suicide...But Rain knew that in that nightmare, that it was too late for Ureshii...
Rain suddenly came back to reality, and was grateful for it. But looking at Ureshii now...well, that wasn't such a grateful feeling...

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Well, aren't they all high and mighty...? Thought Kat coldly, while sneering at the backs of Chelise.
Ugh, why couldn't there have been somebody else...Those noobs... Kat continued thinking, just mad that Chelise was selected to help lead the raid.
Such a jerk..."always the greatest" Bleh! Kat thought, staying behind the group so nobody could see her face and expressions. Kat spat at the ground and then glared into the cloudy sky above.
Screw them...This is about the raid, and I just need to focus...and not on Chelise... Kat thought while releasing a long, relaxing sigh to help calm her down.

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"Rain," Ureshii said calmly as they sat against the inn.
"Yeah?" Rain responded.
"You seem troubled... what's wrong?" Ureshii said looking at Rain through the corner of her eye.
"I seem troubled? But I'm fine!" she responded as calmly as possible.
"If you say so... but if you want to talk, I'm here," she responded softly. 'There's something on her mind that's troubling her, but I shouldn't butt in," she thought as she noticed two girls entering town. 'Their new,' she thought.

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"Good they've entered town, you guys ready?" Kakan asked, 'I hope nothing goes wrong, we don't want to hurt innocents, at least I don't think we want to...' he thought.
"The dynamite is set up and the infantry is ready," Kat responded.
Kayne was standing up starring at the town, 'I wonder if he's thinking,' he thought.
"They've entered the inn, let the raid commence," Kat said raising an arm to signal for the dynamite to be lit.
'Let's do this,' Kakan thought as he stood up and waved to the infantry to ready.

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"Mmm, thanks." Rain replied sweetly. "I don't usually have that comfort anymore..."
"Oh, that sucks..." Ureshii replied, obviously disgusted with the idea.
"Hey...what do you think those people are doing over there?" Rain asked Ureshii, as Rain pointed to a group talking quietly.
"I don't know. Maybe they're getting ready for a surprise party...?" Ureshii guessed, giggling as she said it.
Typical Ureshii...So optimistic and nice... Rain thought, while sighing out loud.
"Something tells me they're not..." Rain said, noticing the annoyed looks on the faces of the 2 boys and the especially ticked look on the girl's profile.
"I know, I was just kidding..." She said, shrugging it off. "But then...what do you think they ARE doing?" She asked innocently.
"...I have no idea..." But I don't like the look of it... She finished in her head. She didn't want to worry Ureshii, but looking at Ureshii's face, something told Rain she already expected something similar to Rain's idea...

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Oh man...I hope this goes as planned... Kat thought worried, while raising her arm signaling to light the dynamite. I don't want to hurt any innocent people... Then Kat noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see 2 girls leaning against the wall on the other side of the inn. This wouldn't have bothered her, except the fact that they were staring at her group and muttering to each other.
Ooohhh, this isn't going to go well... Kat thought more worried than ever before. I don't know what it is, but I know this isn't going to end well...

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Chelise waited impatiently. Just blow the damn thing up already so we can get this over with she thought. She motioned to Kayne to come.
"What?" asked Kayne?
"I don't trust her" Chelise said eyeing Kat suspiciously.
"Oh come on, she's my friend if that gives you any bit of ease" said Kayne.
"I still don't trust her" spat Chelise.

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Fay woke up to people muttering.
"Good, you're awake" said Tifa walking up to her.
"What's going on?" asked Fay.
"Barret thinks there might be some Shinra infantry outside of town" replied Tifa.
"Oh, we can take care of them" said Fay ready to fight.

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BOOOOM! The force of the explosion almost knocked Chelise off her feet.

"Are you sure blowing that up was the best way to start the raid?!" Kat screamed.

"Not really sure, but I'd better hurry up" said Chelise running towards the inn