Yoshichao here with something I've been planning for ages. About a year ago, I created the plot and the characters for this story but I never became motivated into writing it. Then I began editing a story me and my friend were writing which takes place after this (see the Pirate Story on my fictionpress account) and I became motivated. Yay.
If you have read my other stories: No, Xalcus is NOT involved in this story (with the exception of being an anagram of one of the clan names). So be happy. Or be sad. Whatever floats your boat.
Anyways, enjoy~!
"WAAAAH! MUMMY, THAT LADY STOLE MY NECKLACE!"
The little Viera girl cried as Hikari dashed away with a diamond necklace in hand. While leaping up into the air and spreading her wings, Hikari put the necklace around her neck and smirked. It wasn't really her style but it could probably fetch a nice price on the market. That's all she really needed anyways; money and riches.
Hikari seemed like she was born a thief. Her Gria wings were a midnight black to mix in with the night and her sharp yellow eyes noticed every little detail. Along with her long pastel blue hair, two small yellow horns grew out of her head and curved inwards. She had a white lizard/devil-like tail that fit with her overall personality. She always thought she was extremely attractive compared to everyone else she knew.
As the teenage Gria flew away from the city known as Camoa, she looked around the area for her clan members. They had been robbing from the civilians of the city and she was simply one of the distractions. Surely they had escaped by now. After all, they were members of Clan Hellfire.
Clan Hellfire was a clan famous for assassination, stealing, poaching, and many other criminal offenses. Unlike a number of other clans in Jylland, Hellfire didn't have a Judge. Of course, they had no laws this way but there was nothing to protect them from death.
Although, they were Clan Hellfire. Professionals at their specialty and they haven't lost a member yet. The seven of them had been in it since the beginning. Sure, they were small but they had terrorized all over Ivalice in the last eleven years.
Hikari landed when she spotted a sparkle in the trees. She skipped along until she found a teenage boy that was at least half a foot taller than her wearing a black cloak.
"So, Dark," the Gria said with a smirk, tapping the boy on the shoulder, "What'cha get?"
The Hume boy, Dark, looked at her and smiled from under his cloak. He never took the cloak off so Hikari had never gotten a good look at the boy's face. "Just a chunk of Zincatite, Adamantite, and some X-Potions. I was unfortunate and ended up in a crappy neighbourhood."
"You found something good, didn't you?" Hikari questioned, "You can't hide that smile."
"Alright. I was gonna give it to you later as a small gift but . . ."
Dark grabbed Hikari's hand and dropped something gray and metallic-- no, two somethings-- into her hand. Hikari noticed it was a pair of earring.
"Earrings of the Dead," Dark confirmed, seeing the Gria's shocked expression.
"But I thought that really famous clan was the one with the only pair . . ."
Dark shrugged. "Well, I stole it off this guy with brown hair. He was sleeping at the inn. Maybe he's part of that clan."
Hikari was about to speak again when a female voice cut her off. "Oh, there you two are~!"
The Gria whirled around to see five others approaching. There was a Seeq, a Bangaa, two Viera, and a Nu-Mou. The Seeq had dark blue fur and typical viking clothes. The Bangaa was dressed in what looked like a white lab coat, baggy white pants, and a pair of goggles over his eyes. One of the Viera was dressed in assassin clothing while the other dressed in a dark blue sniper outfit. The last of the five, the Nu-Mou, had gray fur/skin and wore a dark green robe, holding a staff in his left hand.
"Looks like everyone has finished," Dark said, "We'll discuss everyone's rewards once we met back at the base."
"Right," Hikari nodded, suddenly gaining a leader-like tone, "Everyone go in your usual groups."
Everyone nodded and split into four groups, going their own ways but in the same direction. Hikari was in her own group and in the sky, flying to the west. She let the wind carry her as she took out the diamond earrings that already rested in her ears and replaced them with the Earrings of the Dead. She had longed for this pair for a long time. The girl had heard the earrings were said to be the keys to the Underworld and could summon the powerful Death Seraph.
But now that she had them, she didn't know what to do next. Sure, stealing was fun but the whole reason she stayed and remained the leader of her clan was to find out about who murdered her parents.
Eleven years ago, when Hikari was the mere age of six, she found her family murdered in the middle of the night. Before she could tell anyone, the newly formed Clan Hellfire had taken her in. She had always felt lucky they happened to be there that night.
Hikari was dragged from her thoughts when she saw the run down building below that served as their temporary hideout. She smiled and landed, ready to wait for the others.
~xxx~
Clan Hellfire sat around a table, laughing and chatting about trivial matters. If you were to walk in on them, you would think it was a regular group of friends. Of course, you would realize your mistake once you found yourself on the ground with many broken limbs.
"Alright everyone," Hikari said, standing up. The other six eventually went silent and let her speak.
"Our heist in Camoa was extremely successful. Let's decide on our next place of attack. Suggestions? Tzewil?"
The Bangaa of the group spoke. "Well, I think we sshould target Moorabella. There'ss been a population boom reccently sso I heard the town iss going to be very bussy."
The Viera sniper took this moment to speak. "I recommend Graszton. There's the infamous Brightmoon Tor and its treasures there. I think we could take on the challenges there. Besides, the city is pretty close so we can get lots of valuables easy."
"I agree with Melonie," Hikari said, "I've been curious about this Brightmoon Tor thing lately. All those who agree say "Aye"."
"Aye"s were shared. Hikari could pick out six different voices. He looked at the Nu-Mou, who had been silent.
"Zhequre? Do you have an objection?"
The Nu-Mou looked up. "Hm? Oh, no. It's just that I might not be accompanying you anymore. My wife has grown ill and the children need someone to look after them. Besides, I think I'm getting too old for all this."
Hikari felt a ping of sadness. Zhequre had always been like a father to her. It would be sad to see him go. Although, he was getting old. He looked the same eleven years ago whereas many of the others were either teenagers or kids.
"It's okay, Zhequre," Hikari said with a warm smile that felt odd on her face, "You've been with us a long time. You should be allowed to leave if you feel it necessary."
"Are you sure?" the old Nu-Mou asked, "I feel responsible for many of you . . . Although, you're all grown up now. I suppose you can all take care of yourselves."
"That's right!" the Viera assassin said cheerfully, "We're not defenseless children anymore. You deserve to have a peaceful life. All who agree say "Aye"!"
There was a chorus of "aye"s throughout the room and Zhequre looked like he was going to cry.
"Th-Thank you . . . You all take care of yourselves. If you need me, feel free to visit Targ Wood."
"Would you like me to escort you there?" Hikari asked. She had never done anything particularly nice to someone but she hoped this would be the first and last.
"No, I'll be fine," Zhequre assured, standing up. Everyone said their good-byes and he left the building, beginning his two to three day trek home.
A short time later, Dark spoke to the members of Clan Hellfire, "Now that a member has decided to leave, it has become our duty to eliminate them. They know about us and they're a citizen. The man is not allowed to live. Any volunteers to take him out?"
Hikari was surprised when everyone volunteered but her. How could they be so eager to murder a friend? Then a horrible thought entered her mind.
They would kill him.
"Dark-kun, let me do it!" Hikari called out, getting everyone's attention. If she went, she could make sure Zhequre was safe. "The man knows our secret; he's not allowed to roam freely among the men who hunt us. Please let me have the honor of spilling his blood over the earth!"
Dark smirked under his cloak. "Alright then. Are you sure you can do it? You won't let him live? Remember, he may be old but he's strong. He can control monsters and use powerful magicks."
"Killing him should be nothing for the leader of Clan Hellfire," Hikari said, hoping her lie doesn't show.
The Hume boy stared at her for a long time. "Alright then," he said eventually, "Be sure he's dead then return to Graszton. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Hikari said. Her mind thought the opposite as she picked up her personally made katana and left the building.
~xxx~
Hikari didn't have to fly too far to find the old Nu-Mou. The man wasn't even at Camoa yet. He seemed quite shocked when she landed in front of him.
"Ah, Hikari," Zhequre said after composing himself, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be heading towards Graszton?"
"The clan wants you dead!" she replied, getting straight to the point, "I volunteered to be the one to kill you just so I could make sure you got home alive."
To Hikari's surprise, the Nu-Mou didn't seem shocked about the news. "Yes . . . I suspected they would do this when I left. They want me to keep quiet and the only way to guarantee that is to silence me for good. It's good to see your heart is still pure."
Hikari almost laughed. She'd killed dozens of other people. Her heart wasn't pure at all.
"Hikari, do me a favour, alright?"
Hikari mentally agreed THIS was the last nice thing she did. "Uh . . . Okay. What is it?"
"Get away from that clan. Your parents--"
Zhequre didn't get to finish what he was saying. He let out a gasp as an arrow pierced his back. He fell to his knees and eventually collapsed completely. Hikari dashed over and swiftly but carefully removed the arrow. She fished an Antidote out of her pocket when she realized he had been poisoned.
"Dammit . . ." Hikari muttered, forcing the liquid down Zhequre's throat. They must've sent Melonie to finish the job if I couldn't.
Once the small bottle was empty, Hikari did her best to lift up Zhequre and fly to Camoa. Arrows shot past her and her shaky flying, coming close to piercing her wings. Using all her strength, she flew to the city, rented a room at the inn for the ex-Hellfire member, and set up a request at the local Pub for a clan to escort the Nu-Mou to Targ Wood.
A dear friend of mine was shot with a
poison arrow. I've cured the poison
but the Nu-Mou needs an escort to
Targ Woods. He should be resting
at the local inn. Please help!
~ Anonymous
Reward: Anything you desire
Hikari figured that was good enough. She would figure out how to deliver the reward to the clan later. For now, she had somewhere she needed to be.
Graszton.
~xxx~
Even though she was still a few dozen minutes from the sea city, Hikari landed gracefully in a meadow to rest her wings for awhile. If Melonie had been the sniper in the woods, there would be no doubt Clan Hellfire knew about her betrayal and planned to kill her. Somewhere in her mind, she hoped his wasn't the case and they would take her back. She was their leader, after all.
As she walked, she began to spot monsters. Hikari unsheathed her katana and began to slay them, one by one. As time passed, she noticed the number of monsters seemed to increase. Mere antlions were being replaced by wolves and drakes. Eventually she discovered she was surrounded, Floating Eyes attacking from above and a variety from the ground.
Hikari believed this was her clan's way of payback.
~xxx~
"Kupopo! Hey Jacob, this seems like a good job! Come see, kupo!"
Sevraq the Moogle gestured for his Hume partner to come look at the post. The Moogle had met him in the town of Graszton and requested to start a clan with him. The two were searching for their first job as a small clan.
The black haired Hume looked over at his partner and walked over. His chocolate brown eyes scanned the request Sevraq found.
On my way to Graszton, I saw a
beautiful young Gria walking along
nearby. As I was going to work up
the courage to speak with her,
monsters seemed to appear from
nowhere and attack her! She seemed
like a good fighter but the hoard of
creatures seemed endless! I would
help her but I have no physical training
whatsoever. I request a clan rescue her
and possibly get me and audience with
the young lady.
~ Marnot, Pride of Fluorgis
Reward:
~ 2000 Gil
~ Birch
~ Hero Tonic
Jacob blinked and thought about it. He was training to be a Solder but he wasn't too experienced. Sevraq was a Chocobo Knight. Unfortunately, he didn't have a Chocobo right now.
"I dunno," the Hume mumbled, "It seems like there's alot of monsters . . ."
"Kupo, but think about it this way," Sevraq began, "All we really have to do is get her to this Marnot person, kupo! It shouldn't be too hard."
"True," Jacob said absently before smiling and making his decision, "Alright! Let's take that one!"
If the two knew what lay ahead, they certainly wouldn't be smiling.
~xxx~
The Hume and the Moogle trekked out to the area the Gria was spotted in. Sure enough, they found a petite blue-haired lady fighting off at least a dozen monsters at once. Jacob at once thought of leaving her, not liking the idea of confronting monsters head on.
"Remember," Sevraq said, "All we really have to do is help her escape. Fighting isn't as important, kupo."
Jacob willed himself to remember that but he knew he probably would have to spill blood before this mission was over. And it would probably end up being his own.
Once the Hume snapped out of his mental predictions, he noticed his partner riding a Red Chocobo.
"That was fast . . ." Jacob mumbled.
The Chocobo Rider just shrugged as the Chocobo slowly approached the monsters, who seemed oblivious to everything but the girl.
"Choco Meteor!" Sevraq called. The powers of the Red Chocobo summoned meteors that hit a number of the monsters, who became aware of the presence of the other two. About half of them began to attack Jacob and Sevraq, the other few continuing to attempt to assault the Gria, just to get slaughtered by her katana.
"Jacob!" Sevraq hollered, the boy ready to run back to Graszton, "Take the lady back to Graszton, kupo!"
"But what about you?"
"I'll be fine, kupo!" the Moogle said with a smile, attacking the monsters with a mixture of Chocobo attacks and his personal lance.
Jacob nodded and ran over to the Gria, who seemed to be getting a bit tired. When he approached, she snapped at him as if he'd done something to tick her off.
"What?"
"Um . . . I'm gonna help you escape, okay?" Jacob said shakily, watching as the lady annihilated each coming monster.
"Piss off!" she scowled, swinging her katana in such a way that cut Jacob's arm while piercing a Bloody Orb. Jacob gasped in pain. He was right; his own blood did end up getting spilt.
"Please, I'm new to this clan thing," the Hume protested as he put pressure on the wound with his opposite hand, "Someone requested I find you and--"
Suddenly, the girl seemed interested. She smiled in a way that reminded Jacob of the antagonist in a movie that fools the heroes and almost gets away with killing them.
"Well, since someone requested my presence, I might as well give them what they want. I'm not one to refuse such an offer. Graszton, right?"
Before Jacob could question how she knew that, the Gria spread her wings, wrapped her arms around Jacob's torso, and flew into the sky. The Hume felt nauseous as he watched Sevraq get smaller and smaller as they flew towards the ocean city.
~xxx~
When Hikari heard someone had requested she be found, she expected it from a member of Clan Hellfire or someone she once terrorized. But the name "Marnot" drew up a total blank.
"Yeah, he said something about spotting you along the road to Graszton," Jacob said. The two were now sitting at a table in the local Pub where, thankfully, no one recognized Hikari from previous attacks. The Hume boy showed Hikari the request, who read it over before mentally confirming it wasn't from anyone she knew.
"By the way," Jacob began, staring at the wooden table, "I never got your name. My name is Jacob."
"Hikari," the Gria said flatly while scanning the room. She didn't see anyone she recognized. Maybe Hellfire expected her to die in that monster attack?
The two sat in silence for awhile before Jacob spoke up again. "Um, should we-- err, you meet with the client now? Sevraq-- ah, that's my partner, found out someone with the name Marnot was staying at the local inn."
"Splendid idea," Hikari said, standing abruptly. Time to find out if it was an alias or some creepy desperate old man. Either way, she might be able to loot a few valuables off of him. Or her. She shivered at the thought of it being a female for some reason. Before listening to Jacob's reply, she headed for the door and walked innocently towards the inn nearby. No one attacked her along the way.
Hikari stopped in front of the inn and looked at Jacob, who had followed her there.
"Stay here, got it? Good."
She entered the inn, leaving the Hume alone outside.
~xxx~
It had been a few minutes since Hikari entered the inn and Jacob was pacing around outside, having no choice but to wait. He nearly screamed when a Black Chocobo landed in front of him, the rider laughing when he stumbled back.
"Kupo! Sorry, Jacob!" Sevraq said with bubbles of laughter, "I thought you would've seen the shadow!"
"It's okay," the Hume sighed, breathing slowly to calm himself.
"Is she meeting with the client, kupo?"
Jacob nodded and as if on cue, Hikari walked out of the inn with the rewards listed on the request. She shoved them onto Jacob and stretched her arms.
"Well, that was boring," she announced, not bothering to tell them she had knocked out they guy named Marnot and stole some spoils of her own, "I'll be off now."
"Wait, kupo!" the Moogle called as the thief turned to walk away, "Would you like to join our clan? We are fairly small but . . ."
Hikari had to keep herself from bursting out in laughter. She was the leader of the biggest rogue clan in the land of Ivalice. She didn't need to join some petty newbie clan. She was better off solo.
Before she could decline the offer in the harshest way she could think of, a thought crept into her mind. If she was alive, Hellfire would expect her to be alone. However, if she was with some unknown group, they wouldn't suspect a thing. Besides, once she was done with them, she could rob them and be done with it.
Hikari swivelled around and gave the two her warmest smile. "You're Sevraq, right? I, Hikari Amethystine, accept your offer to join Clan . . . Uh, what is your clan name?"
The two seemed to go pale faced. Jacob was the one to respond.
"Uh . . . I don't think it has one. We couldn't think of anything. Do you have any ideas?"
Hikari began to think of an ancient language Zhequre had taught her. She thought of the word that meant "hell" and mixed up the letters . . .
"Lascux," she blurted, naming the first anagram she could think of, "Clan Lascux. The word means "pure" in this ancient language I was taught."
To the thief's delight, the two bought it. "Yeah!" the Moogle agreed happily, "That's a good name, kupo!"
"It has a nice ring to it," Jacob said with a smile. Hikari coughed to cover for a laugh. The two were playing along with her plan. All she had to do now was get them away from this city, train them, get revenge on Hellfire, and abandon them after they've served their purpose.
You're such an attractive little genius, Hiki-chan~, she thought to herself, following the idiot boy and the overstuffed teddy bear to the Pub, ignoring their cheerful chatter.
Well, that was fun. And now, I ask you, the readers, on what to do next. :) Basically, you can give me ideas for missions and such since my creativity is limited and I usually use overused plots and ideas. Yeah.
And so you know . . .
Kun = A way usually used to address male friends (can be used for females as well) in Japan.
Chan = A way usually used to address females or children in Japan.
Lascux = Xalcus (I know I'm so creative)
Hiki-chan is pronounced Hik-eye-chaan
Sevraq is pronounced Sehv-rack
Zhequre is pronounced Zeh-queer
And some Xalcian trivia/vocabulary . . .
Zhequre = Murder in Xalcian
Sevraq = Friend in Xalcian
Thanks for reading (if someone [other than Tanya] is reading)!