Xeno Casino
By : Tsubasa Caligrapher
Chapter 1
Disclaimer : I don't own the game Xenosaga. I'm too happy to make an excuse this time.
A/N : Oh and I forgot some of the minor character's names so I will just make some up ok ? And some of the characters might be a little OOC but it's an AU story so that's ok ... right ?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an old house, secluded from the rest of the world, a young girl looked longingly at the passing-by ship.
" Daddy ! Daddy ! Look over there ! " yelled the little brown haired girl excitedly.
" What is it Shion ? " asked an aged man, dressed in half-decent clothing.
" It's the Durandal Cruise Ship ! " she said, pointing to the large but elegant red ship.
" What was that sweetie ? " he gripped his head, fighting to stay up but failed.
" Huh ? Daddy ! What wrong ? Jin ! Where are you ? Something's wrong with daddy ! "
" NO ! " She yelled, sitting up and covered in sweat.
" Oh my god. It was just a dream. Just a dream. " Shion reached out for her water next to her and drank a couple of sips, but it didn't help at all. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was only 5:00 in the morning.
" Uhhhggg. Now I can't even get back to sleep. Might as well get an early start on the day. " and she got out of bed. She turned on her desk light and went to the left side of the room, where her closet and drawers were.
" God. Another day at Vector High. I hate these damn uniforms. But they seem to look better today. " she remembered something that just brightened up her day, even though it was just another day of school.
She got her clothes and went towards the bathroom. After taking a nice, long shower, she brushed her teeth and put on her uniform.
First, she put on her dark stockings. Followed by her outer-edged indigo and tan miniskirt and her tight fitting, similarly colored, t-shirt. She then pulled on her short top jacket and she was almost done.
" A few last touches, -" she looked in the mirror. She pulled out a gold and blue stream of lace and carefully tied it into a bow on her neck, right over her silver necklace. Then she combed her hair, especially the right side, but it always seemed that that side would just stick up in it's spiky, gravity-defying, shape.
She sighed and gave up on that. She gracefully spun together a braid on the left side and clipped it with a small sapphire pendent. She layed the braid over her shoulder and worked on the other side. She ignored her mussed-up hair and combed a strand of hair on the top of her head to the right and clipped it with an aquamarine pin and let her long hair flow back behind her.
She put on her round glasses over her emerald eyes. Shion winked at her self and happily said, " - and Perfect ! " she walked out and into the kitchen. She looked at the clock on the counter and saw that it was only 7:00, still one more hour for a nice breakfast.
The kitchen was the only thing modern in the entire house because it belonged to Shion, but the rest of the house was traditional styled, thanks to her brother.
She started making her special, curry. After about 15 minutes of preperation, she left it to heat and went out to the library. It was connected through the living room so she just had to open the door and yell, " Hey Jin ! Time for breakfast. "
" All right. " and by the time he got there, she was already serving it.
" Hey, why don't you get a girlfriend ? "
" Why do you ask that ? "
" Well, when I think about it, your life seems pretty sad. You still live in the same house as your sister, you eat you little sister's cooking, and your choice of career is being a librarian for crying out loud ! And it's even connected to our house. How sad is that ? "
She then looked him up and down.
" And do you own anything else besides that kimono ? " she said, referring to the black and white kimono, with a dark red sash. Jin has been wearing that thing for as long as Shion can remember.
" You should stop talking and hurry up and go to school. " Shion looked down at her watch and saw that it was already 7:55.
" Fine, I'll see you later Jin. " she put on her tan sneakers and ran out into town. She stopped at the local bus stop and said, " Sector 26 please. "
As she sat on the bus, Shion thought about her dream again.
' Why do I keep on having these dreams ? That was almost 10 years ago when dad died. But that was long ago, when we were still on Old Miltia. Now me and Jin already moved to Second Miltia. Ohh, hey, there's Allen ! '
" Hey Chief. "
" Hey Allen. " when she first moved there, she qualified in the Second Division already, the class for advanced students. And, she was the boss. That's why she wore blue but the rest of Second Division either wore red or green.
Everyone just thought she was ok, but none of them even knew her. Then one day, she heard about Allen, the loner. He never used to talk to anyone until Shion finally talked to him and found out that he was a pretty nice guy. And he even invented the nickname, ' Chief ', to seal the deal and to finally become friends.
" Hey Chief, I wanted to ask you - "
" Oh hey. We're already at school. " she cut him off and all he could do was sigh.
" Hey Shion ! Hey dude that always hands out with her ! " the voice came from her bouncing and energetic friend, Miyuki. She was also from Second Division, sporting a red uniform.
" Hey ! My name's Alle- "
" Well I don't care right now. Shion, could you test something out for me ? "
" Hmmm, I'm sorry Miyuki, but not this time. I don't really have any spare time. Sorry. "
" Oh well. It's ok, I'll find somebody else ! " she said excitedly and sped off, looking for another guinea pig. Shion remembered some of her previous inventions. Taser rods that shocked the users, giant knuckles that turned on their owners and many other things that malfunctioned.
" Come on Allen, we must hurry before Miyuki comes back. "
" Right behind you chief. " and they rushed off to their class.
" Whoo ! Finally ! School is over ! Bye you guys ! Have to go off to my first job. "
" Ok, Chief. Hey, you're working at the Moby Dick Cafe right ? Me and Miyuki might swing by later k ? "
" Sure you guys ! But you better compliment my cooking ! " she joked as she ran off. She left the school campus and ran towards the right. She crossed the town mascot, a giant bunnie and ran up the stairs behind it.
She ran past the publishing agency where she used to do a couple of little jobs before she learned how to cook and tried out for her favorite hang-out.
As she ran up one last set of stairs and was about to enter the cafe but then a couple of men blocked her path.
" Whoa there ! What's going on ? " and she saw the owner coming over.
" Hey Mr. Johnsen, what's going on ? "
" Well Shion - oh please put that over there - I'm sorry but I'm moving my cafe. "
" To where ? "
" Oh, you know that Durandal Cruise Ship right ?
" Well yeah ! Of course I do ! Wait ... don't tell me ! You got hired over there ! "
" Well, yeah. Hmmm. Wait ! I got an idea ! Why don't you come join me ! "
" What are you talking about ! Of course ! But you know I can't. Doesn't it go from port town to port town ? "
" Well yeah. " and Shion saddened, but he wasn't done yet.
" But not for awhile. "
" What do you mean ? "
" It's stopping here for a couple of weeks to host their annual gambling tournament. And more people are coming than ever so that's why they hired me ! So, you still interested in working part-time for me at the Moby Dick Cafe ? Well, the on on a cruise ship anyway ? "
Shion thought but realized it was a no-brainer. " Of course ! I'll come by tomorrow ok ? "
" Yeah. Go to the docks tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Tomorrow's Saturday right ? So no school ? "
" Yup. I'll just check in with Jin and I'll be there ! " Mr. Johnsen nodded happily and went back to instruct the movers. Shion skipped happily to the bus stop and ran home.
" Hey Jin ! I'm going to work on the Durandal Cruise Ship ok ? " she screamed as she ran into the library.
" Sure. " he anwered calmly.
" Sure ? That's all you can say ? Can't you show some enthusiasm for once ? "
" Well, no. And I don't have anything else to do but stay home anyways. Go enjoy your life. You're only 16 so go have some fun. "
" Wow. I almost think you are kind of cool now. " and she ran upstairs to do homework.
" It's ok Shion. I couldn't have done it as good as mom herself. "
After 9:00, Shion was dressed in her pajamas and was about to go to sleep.
" Goodnight mom, dad. " she said to the picture on the desk. She snuggled up to her bed and fell asleep within minutes.
When her alarm clock rang at 6:30, she sprang up, even though it was a Saturday. She took a shower and brushed her teeth once again. Then she detailed her hair like the previous day, putting on her glasses again also instead of her contacts. She pulled a tight pink shirt with decorative hearts on it. She pulled on a maroon mini skirt and pink sneakers. She pulled on a pink sweater and grabbed a fruit bar and ran out to the train station.
" To the docks please. " and she stared out the window until the bright red ship appeared.
" Whoa. That looks so complex. Hmm, finally got a challange... wait. That's not why I'm here. Whoa. Who the hell is that ? " as Shion neared, she saw a mysterious figure, dressed in a bodysuit and hiding behind a barrel, obviously up to no good.
" Sn...snak..snake...Cha...charm...charmer...what the hell does that mean. " then she realized that s/he was carrying a capsule on his/er back and when she squinted, she saw a DANGER sign on it.
She started to panic when she saw even more writing.
" Nano machines... " she worded out. Now she knew that there was real danger. She remembered that she saw someone on T.V. that was wanted and used the alias, ' Snake Charmer ' .
She also read up on a special case of nano machines that spreads poisen throughout the air, undetectable. Silent but deadly. Shion had to find a way to stop this criminal.
" What a way to start my new part-time. Oh well, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. "
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, how is chapter 1 ? Remember our dear friend Snake Charmer from the first episode ? Please review and I will update soon !