NightRain0: Yay! My first Final Fantasy fic! It's for my friend Amy who says that there's no love for Kadaj! So as a Christmas gift, I'm writing one for her! Btw folks, this is not a yaoi fic (Amy would kill me if it was…). Anyways, I don't own any of the FF characters which show up here!

Something To Live For

Prologue (Asano's POV)

The planet Earth, it's a shameful excuse for a planet if you ask me. Ruled by a corrupt government, we citizens live in constant fear and terror. Suicides, murders, you name it, I've seen it all. In fact, I have yet to get through a day without seeing anyone die. As for me, I continue to live in this dismal world, why? Sometimes I question that myself…

My name is Hotaka Asano, but everyone calls me Asano around these parts. Although life here was very harsh, suicide and death are not options for me. Because I have something to live for, and that was what kept me going.

It was sometime in the winter when I first saw him, don't ask me for the date though because remembering meaningless stuff like dates is overrated. My kid brother, Hiroshi, and I were on our way back home when we spotted him. To be exact, it was Hiroshi who spotted him. I, on the other hand, would have walked straight on and would have ignored that half-dead person near the alleyway.

"Onii-chan (big brother)," called out Hiroshi. "There's someone there."

I peered into the alleyway and sure enough, there was someone there. A half-dead and half frozen someone that is. He was about my age, maybe seventeen or eighteen? I dunno, and I didn't really care that much. What caught my eye however was the guy's silver hair. I doubt that anyone could have been born with silver hair. Was he one of the…maybe not.

Anyways, after the last few incidents I had with helping strangers from the streets, I decided that it was more trouble than it was worth. This one looked like a spoiled brat to me, which makes helping him a definite no! If there was one thing I didn't need, it was a spoiled brat to look after. I was about to leave when Hiroshi grabbed my arm and pulled me back. It was that "you-have-to-help-look" again…

"Onii-chan," he whimpered. "He's gonna die if we don't do something."

"I don't want to," I replied without thinking. "He's going to die soon anyways."

Then the silver-haired man let out a moan and twitched a bit. Dammit! Stupid kid! Why didn't you stay dead? This made Hiroshi kneel by the man's side and look at me with his "Onii-chan-please-help-look". I normally can't stand taking orders (I prefer giving them), however, when it comes to my little brother…it seems that he's the only one who can give me an order and still walk away without bullet holes through them.

With a sigh, I walked over to the silver-haired man and took a look at him. The guy's insides weren't really…well, inside of him, so I kinda stuffed them back in and used a spare piece of cloth to bandage the wound. I'd get a doctor to look at him later, but at the moment, I think he'd be fine (I hope). Anyways, I leaned him against my shoulder and proceeded to drag him back to our home.

"Thank you Onii-chan!" chirped Hiroshi as he trotted along besides me and my burden.

I said nothing and we continued to walk on in silence. As the pure white snow began to descend upon us, I began to think a bit about how this event would play out. I was sure that this guy would be more trouble than the others. Also, I was pretty sure that if one of us was to die during this fiasco, that someone was most likely me…

"Dammit you," I said to the unconscious burden. "Why didn't you die sooner…?"

NightRain0: Hoped you all liked it! Please R&R!