A/N: Well! This is my first Final Fantasy story ever, so I'm still trying to understand the characters and their attitudes and all… I hope you enjoy, please.
Note: If you are going to Flame, please do it literately and gives some criticism on what I could do to improve.
Italics – Past , Flashbacks , Thoughts
Chapter One
Tick Tock, We'll Go Around the Clock
…and her world just fell apart
You know, there are sometimes days when you want your Math teacher to disappear through the floor to who-knows-where, the rain outside to stop falling down and for the sun to shine through with no care in the world, and for the little missing piece in your chair that's making it unbalanced to repair itself. There are days when you want school to never start in the first place to let you sleep in your dream wonderland, your bed to suddenly appear beneath you, and a fire to crackle warmly as you read a book by it, relishing the heat.
This was one of those days – for me, at least. Even though school had only been going for two hours at most and the sun had broken through to shine weakly down in relief, there was nothing more I wanted than to be home sitting on my white fluffy carpet in the messy living room, playing some video game or watching TV.
I think that's why I wasn't expecting anything to happen. I mean, sure, it was my birthday, but all of my friends were on class field trips and the ones who were present had projects to finish up. It was the end of the school year with only a week or so left until summer came, and I'm pretty sure I had a science project to complete for the next day… but I can't remember. It all seems insignificant now.
I was walking home a few hours later, rain pouring down onto my umbrella loudly as I jumped over puddles that were scattered everywhere you looked. My mom was making my favourite chocolate chip cookies and there was ice-cream cake in the fridge to celebrate my birthday, so I was eager to get home. If there is one thing you want to know about my family, it's that I adore them to death. Of course, they were quite embarrassing at times, but I could live it through – in truth, I would not trade them for the world.
My mom is the kind who you could rant to for hours straight only to realize it was a stupid thing, but she'd give you a smile and a hug to make it all better anyways. She works as a biologist, so she's constantly exploring some wildlife or plant life somewhere. I don't get to see her much, but she manages to make time for my father and me. I am an only child, and pretty glad for it.
My father, on the other hand, is as strict as you can get. Although his ability to tell great stories and cheer you up even when you think you don't require it makes up for it. He works as an accountant at some bank I visited once or twice a long time ago, and is home a lot more than my mom.
They are both wonderful.
The other thing that I love other than the rest of my family and friends are my games. I used to have a ton of computer and board games stacked shelves upon shelves in my closet. But a few years back, my dad introduced me to video games, which was quite a surprise for me – I've never thought of him as that kind of person. He played mostly racing games that I lost interest in soon after, so I asked for a Playstation 2 for Christmas and then bought a game called 'Kingdom Hearts' that came out a few years earlier – about one or two, I think.
I was eleven at the time and discovered my passion for roleplaying games.
After playing all games that I could find that sounded interesting, I decided to get to the root of Kingdom Hearts and discovered the Final Fantasy series. By the time, I was older, and managed to snag myself three of their games – Final Fantasy X, X-2, and XII. I did not particularly enjoy the last two, but replayed Final Fantasy X again and again. Kingdom Hearts 2 was out at the time as well, so I bought it and played.
Then a friend of mine who was sadly moving offered me a game called Final Fantasy VIII, knowing I was a fan. I shrugged and accepted, but put off playing it due to my school work. Finally, a few months later, weeks before my birthday, I dug it up and put it into my beloved PS2's hard-drive.
It still ranks number two after Final Fantasy X on my 'Favourites' list, even after playing both of them over and over. I now know a lot about the game, and though I do not understand the whole plot line of the game, I still love it to bits.
…
…The roads were slippery and in danger of being flooded on the day I was crossing the road, an imaginary smell of cookies in my mind and Final Fantasy VIII before my eyes, so I don't actually blame anybody fully for what happened. The only thing I wish for, though, is the chance to see my parents and friends again… to say good-bye, I guess.
Oddly enough, my whole mind was focused so clearly on my game that I was starting to feel dizzy from the pressure – as if someone was pushing it into my mind, so determined for me to absorb it – and I could see the car skidding dangerously close to me, the sound of its breaks squealing loudly only to fail, and the pain that blossomed from my side, only to spread throughout my whole body as I let out a pained cry, the only sound being able to hear now echoing the steady rain beats of the windshield in my mind.
I think… I think it was the last sound I heard as my eyes closed, the red and black still swirling in my eyesight, forming taunting, odd shapes.
Then there was nothing.
I don't know where I was or how I came to be there, to be lying on my backside that was sprawled on cold pavement only seconds before, staring openly into darkness billowing in a veil around me. There was no light, no warmth, and no movement… only a searing cold and a feeling of eerie calmness.
Then a door appears. A white, richly decorated door that reminds me of Kingdom Hearts and I attempt to turn and swim towards it, failing the first few times. Finally, I manage to turn the golden doorknob silently and enter the room beyond. There are… clocks. So many clocks, all ticking, on the floor on the walls on the ceiling… cuckoo clocks, digital, carved ones… there is every type of clock in here!
Then the noise comes. Oh, the noise. It's so terribly loud, the ticking echoing in my mind… I recall putting my hands to my ears to block it, but it fails, and the sound only gets louder and louder and louder…
Faces. There were faces flashing in my mind's eye. Faces, voice, sceneries… but they went by so fast! I can't recognize them… wait, there's a woman with a captivating face wearing an exotic dress, a man with brown hair in a black jacket facing away from me. There's a girl in a yellow dress – she's bouncing up and down, but I can't see her face. There's a tall figure in a cowboy costume, and a woman with a whip clutched tightly in her hands. A boy with a tattoo on his face throwing punches at the thin air, and a girl with black hair and a blue knitted top.
Blood. There's lots of blood and screaming— I can't take it anymore, I have to get out – out, out out.
It stopped. It stopped because I suddenly knew who they were. It stopped because I suddenly knew who they were and did not want to believe it.
The voices stopped. The clocks stopped. My breath stopped in my chest. Was it… was it because I understood, or was it because of the boy? Was it because of the boy with black hair and small glasses and a charming smile on his face as he stood across from me holding his hand out for me to take?
I could see his face. I could see his face clearly enough to notice the pitying and mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes and his mouth forming a word.
Later.
Without thinking, I took the one step needed forward and clasped his cold hand in my warm ones as the boy not a year older than me disappeared with a smile.
I was falling. Falling, speeding, whirling… down to where? To nowhere?
---
---
I awake to find myself with a headache and staring at lights. Annoyingly bright lights, might I add. I am lying in a bed, that is obvious enough. There is a small green cabinet beside it and a breeze is above me, coming from what I guess is a small window. There are white walls, a white floor, a white ceiling and a white door.
My stomach lurched. I was in a hospital.
"Yes, yes, she will be fine, don't worry about it." The voice startled me as it echoed from the room beyond the door, and I clutched the bedsheets tighter. "She should be awakening soon… no, I still haven't found a record of her… Of course. Good-bye." There's a sound of a phone clicking into place and the doorknob turns a few seconds later as a middle-aged woman comes in with a clipboard in hand, her black hair tied in a messy bun on top of her head.
My stomach lurches again, but this time in wary recognition. Where have I seen her before?
She hasn't noticed me watching her, if her mumbles are anything to go by. The words "operation", "stitches", and "blood loss" are too much for me to bear and I let out a small whimper, snapping the doctor's attention from her clipboard to me and she hurries over, quickly checking over the machines I've just noticed are connected to me.
…What happened?
"You are finally awake, dear. How are you feeling?" She finally asks in a motherly tone a few seconds later, handing me a glass of water to drink. I do so gladly and attempt to shrug, but wince as pain sears up my side.
The woman shakes her head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. There are still injuries, and Hyne knows how you managed to survive…" I blink in confusion to her as she bats some of my hair away from my eyes.
"Sur…vive?" I murmur, staring at her blankly. She sighs and pats my arm under the sheets reassuringly.
"The building, love. It's a blessing that some of our students managed to get you out just as it collapsed." I stare at her again, and I have a feeling my face is paling by the second. The doctor winces slightly as she notices.
"I'm Doctor Kadowaki," she offers, and something in my brain clicks.
School.
Home.
"Do you remember your name?" Dr. Kadowaki asks hastily, and I slightly nod, my eyesight focusing and un-focusing slightly.
Game.
"Where am I?" I question suddenly, ignoring my burning throat. She gives me a slightly strange look but answers nonetheless.
"You're in Balamb Garden's Infirmary." She pauses as my eyes widen. "Do… you remember where you're from? It can't be Balamb… nobody recognized you there when we asked around… dear, are you alright?"
School. Home. Game. Car. Game. Game?
"…No," I choke, still sorting through my thoughts and hoping she would buy it. It appears she does, because her eyes widen and she lets out a small 'oh my'.
"I'll call Headmaster Cid here. Maybe he'll figure something out…" She tells me and hurries out the door. Numbly, I nod, slowly feeling myself fall back into unconsciousness.
School. Home. Game. Car. Game. Game.
Balamb.
Balamb.
Balamb Garden.
Realization finally hits me and my breath catches in my throat. I'm Kira Lanning, my voice echoes loudly in my mind. I'm Kira Lanning. I'm not a day over than thirteen years. I managed to get run over by a car, and I've suddenly found myself in a video game.
The last thing I manage to see is a strangely young-looking Cid Kramer enter my room.
---
---
You know, for someone who has just found herself in a video game and possible dead in her real world, I take this quite well. …I'll probably throw a fit later, though.
I wake up a few hours later feeling a little better, and take some time to sort through what has happened.
Both Headmaster Cid and Doctor Kadowaki looked younger than I would imagine, so it's possible that I'm a few years before the actual plotline happens. But then, why am I here? Who's the guy I saw, and when I can I see him again? What did he mean by 'later'? Will he explain everything to me?
…And who the hell is the person staring at me through the crack in the doorway?
I raise an eyebrow at the boy, who's face sheepishly disappears only to enter fully into my room, scratching the back of his head. He has a bandage around his forehead, and what seems to be a healing black eye.
"So, you're the unlucky kid who was brought here?" He questions, peering at me in what I deem a rude way. I narrow my eyes.
"And who are you?" I question as loud as I can, taking in his blond hair, baggy pants, blue t-shirt and mocking smirk. He looks to be my age as well, but you never know.
His smirk widens and he crosses his arms. "Seifer Almasy," he introduces, watching as I take in his appearance critically.
Waaaiiit a sec. Seifer? This is Seifer? I silently compare the Seifer I've seen in the game and the kid standing before me. Now that I think about it, they do look quite familiar…
Oh my.
I manage to choke back my laughter, instead trying to smile slightly. "I'm Kira." I pause slightly. "…Do you need something?" He shakes his head and we just stare at each other in a 'what-now?' way, which is thankfully interrupted by Dr. Kadowaki, who comes bursting into the room.
"Seifer!" She all but yells and I can see him wince. "What did I tell you about disturbing my patient?" She rants on for a few more minutes and I watch in amusement as she chews him out. To think, this guy is gonna be…
He coughs suddenly and points a finger to me, which stops the woman effectively. "Oh!" She cries and pushes Seifer out the door, who gives me one last look and a smirk before the door clicks shut behind him. I have a feeling I'll actually like him…
"Well now," Dr. Kadowaki announces as she walks over to me and sits at a nearby stool. "How are you feeling?" She asks to which I shrug, thankfully with no searing pain this time.
"As if I've just been run over by a car," I answer half-truthfully, to which she smiles slightly and shakes her head.
"You should be recovering soon. I'd say a few weeks. You'll be back on your feet in no time!" She encourages, but otherwise stays silent as I stare blankly at the wall across from me.
"Do you…still not remember where you're from?" She asks, and I shrug again. Sighing, Dr. Kadowaki pats my arm in the way that reminds me of my mother.
"You are oddly calm about it," she remarks, and I smile sheepishly.
"It's probably just shock," I suggest, and she gives me a look. "I'm pretty sure it'll hit me full-force sooner or later." Shaking her head, she straightens my bedsheets and walks to leave the room. "I'll check up on you in a few hours. Just call if you need anything, alright? Oh, and don't try to move."
I nod and watch as leaves, then quickly try to wiggle my head to look at the window above me. It's getting darker, so it must be nearing nighttime, right?
Right.
My last coherent thought before I fall into a dreamless sleep is that I should probably get to know some people here, seeing as I'll probably be staying here for a while.
As in four years or so while. I roll my eyes. Wonderful.
Then it's darkness again.
a/n: okay… I'm not exactly sure if that was good or not, but I am still trying to get the hang of the characters… please notify if you have any concerns. I'll be putting more description on Kira and her situation in the next chapter, which should be coming soon!
Otherwise, review please!
