An officer and her son.
Disclaimer : I do not own Final Fantasy XIII and I never will.
Cadet Hope Estheim had just been transferred to a new squad, And with it a new commanding officer Sergeant Lighting Farron.
Needless to say the 14 year old cadet was not looking forward to it, he was still a greenhorn after all and to have the most stick and gunho person as an officer was not something he was looking towards too.
"Why me??" he sighed, for you see Hope joined the army not because he was soldier material. It was due to the fact he needed an income and a place to stay, His Mom had passed away when he was still young and having a father that doesn't give a dam about you didn't help either.
Needless to say days turned to weeks and weeks to months, as time went on Lighting and Hope seemed to get along well, much to Hopes surprise she did have a softer side, maybe it was due to the fact that he was the youngest member of her Squad and she felt and older sister's responsibility towards him.
In front of the rest of the Squad he did all the formalities but when they were alone she would ask him to "Can the formalities". In time she became more of a mentor and mother to him.
Lighting was reading a letter in her hand, the squad had new orders and would be shipping out soon, and the sergeant had a worried look on her face. She had summoned Hope to her office.
Hope entered and did the usual greeting since he knew she did not like being formal,
But this time he noticed something different. She handed him some papers,
"Please read it and your being transferred out" she informed, "But Light why??" he said with a look of hurt and confusion in his eyes,
she had been after all a parental figure to him and this was the equivalent of being told by a parent "Get out of my house!" for no apparent reason.
"Just read it and sign, or do you have a problem with those orders cadet??!!"
She was being formal this was not like her at all and he knew something was off. Nonetheless he took his transfer papers and signed them with a feeling of hurt and confusion.
3 days later when Hope was at his new post on the back lines, he received news on Lightning's Squad,
they had been sent behind enemy lines and did not make it back. "Killed in Action" Was all the report said.
Then he realized why Lighting had him transferred out of her Squad, It was due to the fact she knew they would not be coming back.
This was her final gift to Hope the son she never had, for she really did love him like a son.
And like all mothers would do for their children, she died to protect him.