"Tell me what happened,"
"T-The boys in my class were making fun of me and-and..."
"Again?"
The younger of the two sniffled, rubbing her eyes of tears. "Y-Yeah."
Sighing, the elder closed her book and left her place on the living room couch, instead walking towards her slightly bruised sister, taking her hand and leading her to the bathroom to attend to her small wounds. "Come on, Serah."
Serah let her older sister apply one last band-aid to her bloodied knee, before sniffling once more. Her tear-streaked face never failed to make Claire want to punch the lights out of those so-called "classmates" of hers. Honestly, not even her own classmates picked on her that much— then again, she was a freshman in highschool, teasing didn't really occur to her anymore, especially not with her cold personality. Serah was barely eleven, barely discovering how the world works and how society will always want to push you down. Claire had to make sure she didn't go through it alone.
"T-Thanks, sis." The pink-haired girl hiccuped, rubbing an eye.
Claire smiled. "Just tell me if you want me to take care of those guys, okay?"
Nodding, Serah looked up at her big sister, her blue eyes glazed with tears. "Sis?"
"Hm?"
"Can you...can you sing that song? The flower one?"
Inwardly, Claire regretted ever showing her that song. Sure, it was a cute thing to sing when someone got hurt, but it wasn't anything special. That, and the older teen hated singing. Nevertheless, the pink-haired girl nodded, squatting down to eye level with Serah and placing a hand on her knee, as if the words were magic potion to ease the pain.
"Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine
Heal what has been hurt
Change the fate's design
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine
What once was mine..."
Serah liked hearing her sister sing, even if Claire hated the sound of her own voice. When it came to making the pain go away, her big sister was always there to protect her, just like their mother. "I feel better!"
Claire hugged her younger sister tightly. "Good. Now, let's see what's for dinner, huh?"
Hopping off of the sink counter, the younger Farron happily skipped out of the bathroom, her tears no longer falling. The teen shut off the lights before joining her sibling in the kitchen, listening to her several ideas for dinner that night, just like any other night for the two sisters.
"I'm so sorry..."
No longer Claire, Lightning weeped quietly, alone.
Alone.
She'd gotten so used to that word over the years. Alone, Lightning had no one - ever since Serah had met that idiot, she'd been so comfortable with being in solitude. Cold, walls up, heart of steel, no one could ever get close and hurt her again.
"Oh, Serah..."
Now, her own flesh and blood was gone. How could this have happened? And to such an innocent, sweet person like her sister? Serah did nothing to deserve this fate. Traveling with Noel, protecting the timeline, all to see her again— how could this have ended with her demise?
Memories of helping Serah with her homework, tucking her in for bed, playing with her, fixing her bloody knees or elbows, singing her lullabies, everything came rushing back at her, almost as if attacking her.
This wasn't fair.
"How could I...let this happen..." Her voice was broken and beaten, unlike her usual firm and commanding voice everyone was used to. How long has it been since she's used a softer tone? She remembered talking to Serah differently from the others, she spoke with kindness and understanding, things she was lacking nowadays. How long has it been since she last sang to Serah? Busying herself with her work, barely batting an eyelash in Serah's direction— maybe Lightning deserved this after all. Maybe it was payback from the goddess for her blindness and arrogance towards Serah's predicament.
With a shaky breath, she took Serah's frail and lifeless body into her arms, despite the roughness of her armour, and held her close, tears falling ever so silently.
It wouldn't hurt to try, the warrior had decided then. Drawing another shaky breath, she started to sing, her voice broken.
"Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine
Heal what has been hurt
Change the fate's design
Scare what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine
What once was mine..."
Anything to bring back her flower.
I despise the ending to XIII-2! How could they have just killed off Serah? I feel so bad for Light...AND WHY IS HOPE LITTLE AGAIN