Title: Their First Meeting

Fandom: Final Fantasy I

Rating: K+

Genre: Friendship

Summary: How did Keme and Drusus meet before the Crystal Adventures in FF1? OC x OC friendship, pre-FF1.

Pairings: OC x OC (Drusus (Monk) x Keme (Thief))

A/N: I've been thinking about writing some backstories for each of my OCs in my FF1 file, so here is two of the four's! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in the FF1 fandom. I only own Drusus, Keme, Veles, Taika, and the "Boss".

ENJOY!

Their First Meeting

"STOP! THIEF!"

A young boy, about the age of 15, rushed through the crowds with loaves of bread tucked under his arm. A large grin was plastered on his face as the shop manager chased after him.

The boy's greasy blond hair that stuck out from under his green handkerchief swayed in the wind slightly. When he could hear the shop manager's voice becoming less and less audible, he slowed his pace.

He ducked into an alleyway, his chest heaving up and down as he held the bread close to him, just in case the man saw him.

He heard footsteps coming closer, and he could see the shop manager's shadow passing by the alleyway.

The footsteps became less audible, and the shop manager disappeared from view.

With a sigh of relief, he looked down at the bread he had stolen, a smirk on his face.

"Been awhile since I stole some food," he spoke in a quiet voice, grabbing one loaf of bread. He pulled out his knife and cut the bread into small pieces and took a bite out of one. He groaned at the delicious taste.

"This is my favorite bread from that stupid shop owner," the boy spoke after swallowing the bread, chuckling. "I should steal more from him tonight..."

After eating a few more pieces of the bread, he pocketed the rest of his food before looking out of the alleyway. As far as he could tell, the shop owner wasn't around, and he ran out of the area to safety.

"Drusus! Time to get up!"

Drusus groaned, sitting up in his bed. The first thing he saw was Veles up close, and the Monk jumped.

"Gah! Veles!" he cried, his heart pounding from being startled.

Veles shook his head. "My apologies, Drusus."

Drusus got out of his bed, putting on his black, ripped shirt and tying on his red headband. "So what's wrong?"

"Our boss wishes to speak to you," Veles spoke.

Drusus turned to face his Red Mage friend, an eyebrow raised. "Really? Why me?"

"According to him," Veles said, "he has a job for you."

Drusus' eyes were wide. "What? A job for me?"

Veles nodded. "Yes. Please be quick; I hate to see his anger when you've overslept."

Drusus gasped, realizing that he did oversleep. "Oh dammit…" he cursed under his breath as he rushed down the hallway. It didn't take him long since the Mercenary Group lived in a pretty small fort.

He found the door to the boss' room and after straightening his shirt and clearing his throat, he knocked on the door.

"Sir?" he called.

"Ah, Drusus," a deep voice called out. "Come in."

Drusus opened the door and spotted a man wearing white pants, a red tunic, and brown boots sitting behind a wooden desk. He was looking over some handwritten papers, which Drusus presumed to be help requests from the nearby village.

"Sir?" Drusus spoke up. "Is something wrong?"

The boss looked up at Drusus, a smile on his face. "I have a job for you. Here." He handed him a piece of paper.

Drusus took the paper and looked over it. It read, "Help! A thief in the village has been stealing my bread! Please stop the thief!"

Drusus nodded, understanding the situation. "Why are you giving me this job for me to do alone, sir?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I figured this will be an easy job for you," the boss said.

Drusus hesitated, still staring at the paper.

"Well?" the boss prompted, which snapped Drusus out of his thoughts. "What are you waiting for? Go on!"

Drusus nodded. "Yessir."

With that, he ran out of the fort and headed to the village.

The village near the Mercenary Headquarters was boisterous and crowded. People were everywhere, buying food for their families. None of them noticed the Monk walking by.

Drusus searched for the Bread Shop and after a few minutes, he found it. Near the shop, a middle-aged man was looking around frantically, his face drenched with sweat.

"Sir?" Drusus called, approaching the man.

The man yelped, turning with a knife. "St-stay back, thief!"

"Whoa," Drusus staggered back, his eyes wide upon seeing the knife. "You sent in a request for help regarding that thief...I'm here to answer it."

Recognition lit up the man's face and he lowered his knife. "I-I'm so sorry, sir!" he cried.

"It's fine," Drusus chuckled. "So, a thief has been stealing your produce?"

"Y-yes sir!" The shop owner nodded vehemently.

"What does he look like?" Drusus asked.

"W-well…" the shop owner whispered. "He has blond hair with a green h-handkerchief tied on his head…wore a green tunic, a-a-and he has a knife!"

Drusus' eyes widened at the last bit. "A knife?"

This is going to be harder than I thought…he thought.

"Yes sir! He once held me at knifepoint just to steal some bread!"

Drusus nodded. "All right. I'll see if I can find a way to catch him."

The man broke out in a smile. "Th-thank you, my good sir!" he cried, shaking Drusus' hand.

Drusus smiled. "It's nothing. It's a mercenary's job after all."

With that, Drusus left to search for the thief, a plan popping up in his mind.

The boy ran through the crowds, looking for yet another shop to steal from for his lunch. The smell of cooked meat and bread wafted through the air, and his mouth watered.

"Man, I must be hungry today!" he commented to himself with a chuckle.

When he passed an alleyway, something caught his eye. He stopped and turned back, peeking into the dark space.

A piece of mouth-watering, well-cooked meat sat in the middle of the alleyway. Its aroma made the boy's stomach growl. He grinned. "Jackpot!"

He walked towards the meat, licking his lips, imagining the delicious, savory taste…

Suddenly, an older boy with a red headband and a black shirt jumped out from the shadows, his Nunchuck in hand.

"WHOA!" the boy cried out, grabbing his knife and slashing at Drusus with lightning-fast reflexes.

Drusus ducked and swung his Nunchuck at him.

The boy jumped back, and he felt his back touching the wall. "Oh dammit…" he whispered, realizing that he was cornered.

Drusus got closer to the boy, his Nunchuck ready to strike him down.

"Surrender yourself, or else!" Drusus growled.

The young thief held his hands up. "Whoa, take it easy man! I was just looking for food."

"So you steal from others?" Drusus asked, raising an eyebrow.

The thief sighed, putting his hands behind his back for Drusus to tie them. "Okay, okay, you got me. At least jail is better than living in the streets."

Drusus eyed him when the boy said the last bit. "You…live on the streets?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So?" Drusus tilted his head. "You're homeless?"

"I…" the boy sighed. "Yeah…"

Drusus gulped, looking the boy over. Clearly, his clothes were filthy, and his hair was greasy. "I can see that. How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

Drusus's eyes widened, realizing that the thief was quite young. "Damn…" he whispered under his breath. "Where's your parents?" he asked.

The thief gulped down a lump in his throat. "They're…they're dead."

Drusus' eyes grew wider. "Oh…"

Silence reigned the air before the boy spoke up again. "So, you gonna arrest me?"

Drusus, to the boy's surprise, shook his head. "No. I can see why you're stealing; you're an orphan and homeless."

The boy stared at him. "Wait…you're letting me go?"

Drusus sighed. "I…guess?"

"Sweet!" The thief cried out, a smirk on his face. "Thanks, man!"

Before he could take a step, Drusus stopped him. "Wait."

Warily, the boy stared at him. "Yeah?"

"I…" Drusus sighed. Now that the thought popped up, he had to make a decision for this poor boy. Stealing for a living could get this kid killed…

"I was wondering..."

"Yeah? Spit it out!" the thief cried out impatiently.

"I hate to see someone as young as you living and stealing. I'm worried for your safety."

"Seriously? I can take care of myself."

"But one day, you could get yourself killed."

The boy stayed silent, having no idea how to respond to this.

"As I was going to say," Drusus continued. "Want to join the Mercenary Group?"

The boy's eyes widened. "This is a trick, isn't it?"

Drusus shook his head. "No, no, I'm being honest here. As long as you work with me and others, you can get food on the table."

The boy grinned, and he fervently nodded. "Yeah! I could live with that."

Drusus smiled. "Good. I'm Drusus, by the way."

"Keme," the boy introduced himself. "Nice to meet you, Drusus."

Drusus smiled. "Now, let's go to your new home."

"S-SIR!" Taika the White Mage screamed as she burst through the door of the boss' room.

The boss got up from his seat, his eyes wide. "Taika? What's wrong?"

"D-Drusus! H-he's back, but..."

"And? What is it, Taika?" the boss pressed.

Before Taika could answer, they heard Drusus calling out, "Boss?"

Taika gulped, and she ran off.

Drusus walked into the room with a filthy boy alongside him. The boss' eyes grew even wider.

"What the—DRUSUS! Who is this?!" the boss yelled.

Drusus gulped down a lump in his throat. "Well, I—"

"Name's Keme, the Thief!" Keme proudly introduced himself. "I'm here to serve you!"

"KEME!" Drusus exclaimed.

The boss growled. "A THIEF?! GET OUT!" he yelled.

"Boss…" Drusus spoke up. "Please, he's just a boy."

"But he's a thief! He stole from others and—"

Sir! Please! He's just a child!" Drusus cried out, which shocked the boss. "He steals because he's homeless and an orphan! He didn't have a choice!"

The boss stayed silent. He stared at Keme, then at Drusus. "I…" he whispered.

"Hey," Keme began. "I won't steal from anyone again if it means that I get food. I'll do anything—anything—for you, if I get some food."

The boss continued to stay silent for a few seconds before he nodded. "All right, all right—but on one condition!"

Keme stared at the boss in the eyes, ready for whatever conditions he would give him.

"You will NOT steal from others again. Understand?"

Keme nodded. "Yes sir! I promise."

Drusus smiled, happy that the boy could at least have a place to sleep and eat.

The boss nodded. "All right…Drusus?"

Drusus stepped forward. "Yes sir?"

"Give the boy a bath. He needs it."

Drusus nodded. "Yes sir." He turned to Keme. "Come on, I'll help you bathe."

Keme stared at him, his face red from blushing. "Oh come on. What am I, five?" he complained.

Drusus sighed. "Just...follow me."

The two walked out of the boss' room.

This was the start of a good friendship.

Constructive criticism is welcomed!

Beta reader: h34rt1lly