"Tifa, make room, your big sis is here!" I said, bursting through the doors of the Seventh Heaven bar.
"Uhh...Mura, wh...what are you doing here?"
"You don't wanna see me? ME, the sister you haven't seen in ten years?" I said dramatically, faking tears.
Tifa sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ten years already? Feels like you just left yesterday. Your annoyance tends to carry through the years." I sat down on a leather-covered barstool and snapped my fingers to her. "Cola please. I am beat!"
"Wait...don't tell me you walked here!"
"Er..no, of course not! I um...I took the bus!"
"Fine," Tifa muttered, "you get ONE free cola while you're here. But you pay for everything else, and double for beers! I know how you are with alcohol."
I sniffled. "You're so heartless, sis! You know I need my beer!"
Suddenly the door creaked open, and a man with blonde spikey hair walked pastTifa blushed.
"Hi, Cloud."
"Oooh, somebody likes spikey-hair!"
Tifa elbowed me in the ribs. "Ha-ha-ha-ha, what are you talking about, sis?"
"Well obviously I'm-"
She elbowed me harder, and I choked on my words.
Then the "Cloud" boy said to Tifa, "I'll be in my office," and he slipped past us without saying a word to me.
"Hey! That's just rude, man! Have some respect!"
"Mura, it's okay. Cloud's just being shy."
"Wait, Cloud...I recognize that name...wait, wasn't he the guy who used to like you when we were young?"
"Er, uh, maybe-"
"But then didn't you say he started dating the dead chick?"
"She has a name! It's Aerith, and yes, he did."
"But then she died, and now he's milking it up and using YOU!"
"He is not using me! He runs a delivery service, I run 'Heaven, and it's a team effort!"
I rolled my eyes at her. "Yeah right. I'm gonna give that punk a lesson!"
"Wait, Mura-!"
But it was too late. I pulled open his door, slammed my cola on his desk, and told him what I thought of him, straight up. "...and lastly, you're a jackass! In fact, I'm gonna make that your new nickname. Jackass!" I started walking out, but then realized I'd forgotten my cola, and went back in and snatched it.
Cloud was paused, hands still on his keyboard, face confused. "Who let her in here? Who are you anway?"
"Oh, you son of a bitch!" I slapped his face and walked out of the room, sipping my cola angrily. Then I plopped down on the living room couch and kicked my feet up on the coffee table. "I feel much better! Aren't you glad I did that, Tif? ...Tif?"
She slipped out of Cloud's room, pushing the door closed behind her, and I could tell by her hard footsteps that she was upset. "Why? Why did you do that?"
"Hey," I said, shrugging, "the truth had to be said. And the truth hurts sometimes."
"Do you know how long it took for me to pass you off as a drunken customer? Ugh, you're always messing everything up!"
I stood up slowly, my face in a state of shock. "Fine! If you don't want me around that bad, I'm leaving! See ya in ten years! Oh, and by the way, I already stole a six pack of cola!" I slammed the door behind me, and threw my cola can to the ground, smashing it with my foot. "Mom doesn't want me around, Dad doesn't want me around, Tifa doesn't want me around...Well why don't I just die then?" Taking deep breaths, I sat down on a bench outside. "Y'know what I need? I need a beer."

"Outta the way!" I shoved people aside as I stomped through the crowded bar and up to the counter. "Gimme the strongest stuff you got."
"Uh, are you sure? We have some pretty intense drinks here, m'am..."
"Oh, trust me. I need it."
The bartender slid a bottle over to me, and I popped it open and gulped it down in one swift movement. "Ah, refreshing. Got any more?"
He looked at me, flustered. "Y-you...most people pass out on the first sip!"
I shrugged. "I have a very high alcohol tolerance."
Six drinks later, I was starting to get a little woozy. I slapped some money down on the table and started walking out of the bar, tired from all the beer. "Hey," I asked a random by-stander, "is there an inn around here?"
"Uhh, yeah. There's a motel two doors down."
"Thankssss, I mean," I said and burped, "thanks."
"Um, sure. No problem."

I kicked open the door to my hotel room. "Ahhh," I said, sinking into the bed. 'I really don't care how itchy the blanket is right now, I just need...need...' before I could finish my thoughts, I was passed out, the lights still on and the fan spinning fast.

"Ugh…" My eyes flittered open, and after panning my eyes frantically around the unfamiliar room, I remembered where I was. I got up, smoothed down my hair, and checked the clock on the bedside table. It was two in the morning, and I had a pounding headache from the alcohol I'd consumed last night. "Damn, I always forget how bad my hangovers are." The headache pulsed through my sore body, and I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. The woman working the nighttime shift look at me oddly for checking out at such an "irregular" time, but I just sighed and paid the bill.

Edge was very peaceful at night. The sky was sprinkled with stars, and the streets were dim enough that they wouldn't hurt my eyes. I walked all over town, just breathing in the city air. I was used to this; getting kicked out of an apartment, wandering the streets at night, staying at an inn for a month while I got back on my feet. The only thing different was that it was my sister kicking me out instead of that fat, gray-haired slob in his forties I used to call my landlord. Before I knew it I had landed myself in the shady part of town. The buildings were boarded up, and people seemed to stay in the shadows, leaving me to walk carelessly in the middle of the road. To my left, a couple of children hid behind a fruit cart. If only I hadn't been hung over. Then maybe I would've been smart like them and hid too when I heard the sound of gunshots coming from around the corner. But, me being me, I continued shuffling on down the road, unaware of what was in the alley I was step in.

"Hey! Hey you!" A couple of gruff men started walking towards me, and I backed away slowly, not wanting any trouble, especially tonight of all nights.

"Uhhh…" 'Oh! There's six of them,' my drunken mind pointed out to me. I reached into my bag and threw the six-pack of soda onto the street. "Okay. I gave you what you wanted. There's enough for each of you, so, I'm gonna go…"

One of the men burst out laughing. "She's drunk; she'll be an easy fuck."

"Oh, you bastard," I shouted to him, still backing away, but angered at his words.

At my name-calling, the man charged forward at me, sword pointed at my stomach. I pushed down on his back, flipped over and pulled out my rod, pressing a button and letting it pop out into all its five and a half feet of aluminum rod. I slammed it against the man's ribcage, and he fell to the ground in pain. I stomped my foot on his neck, leaned down, and said, "Now, could a whore do that?" But of course, by that time the other gang members had started attacking. Even when I was drunk, however, I was a good fighter. I kicked my way out of the center, broadly missing a bullet to my head, and started moving around the circle, swinging the trusty rod, until a man began attacking from behind, and I dropped it in my loosened grip.

Good thing I'd worn my brass knuckles.

My fist connected with his nose, and blood spurted out, propelling him backwards. The other men were easy to take out, one by one punching them and kicking them to the ground. Well, except for one. He blocked my punches and evaded my kicks, the bitch! "Grrr…" I flung myself at him, throwing out punches like mad, until—

Bang!

Pain shot through me like an arrow to the heart. I screamed, trying to find the source of the pain, only to find a shiny silver bullet in my shoulder. And now that I was I weak, the men got up and started attacking again. A fist smashed against my jaw, and blood splattered across the pavement. 'I'm gonna die,' I thought to myself, vision turning red as a blood vessel broke, 'I'm gonna fucking die, right here, right now.'

"Hey! What's going on here? Get away from her!"

'Oh great, I'm dead aren't I?' Someone started shaking my shoulders. "Agh!" I clutched my left shoulder, breathing erratic and clothes soaked in the red liquid.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Holy…they shot you? We have get you to a hospital!"

"Hell no! Tifa would kill me!" I shouted at…well, I didn't really know who. I wiped blood away from eyes, and saw a young man there, dressed in SOLDIER attire. Navy blue, almost black bangs covered his face, and emerald green eyes shone behind them. In fact, he was kinda… 'Now is not the time, Mura!'

"Tifa? As in Lockhart? She has a missing report out for her sister…are you Mura Lockhart?"

'Missing…person report? But she didn't want me around!' "Please don't make me go back! She made it clear she didn't want me staying with her, but I was only sticking up for her because Cloud was liking her then dating Aerith then liking her again and then he was just using her and I was trying to protect her because she deserves better than that and—!"

"Miss Lockhart, er, Mura, at the very least let me take you to the police department!"

"F..f…fine…" And that's when I blacked out.

"I have to admit, I thought she was kinda crazy at first; I mean, she just got shot and she didn't want to go to a hospital. But…she was so cute when she was unconcious. Carrying her was almost fun."

"Man, you do realize that makes you sound like a stalker, right?"

"Hey, don't get any ideas! It was like a cute kitten kind of thing, not a hot babe kind of thing."

My eyes flew open. "Did someone just insult my looks? And did someone just call me cute? And where am I?"