Prologue
(Very, very loosely based on _Random_Encounters_ by......someone :)
(Psst.... This is yaoi)

I do not own any characters in this story, only minor changes I felt had to be made.

Prologue

"Why am I the only one who feels this way??" Zell thought glumly.

"First, we're sent to kill our surrogate mother, and not expected to feel anything. Then, our own Garden Master tries to kill us. Another Garden tries to kill us. Some of us were blasted into Outer Space. Rinoa goes crazy. We fight another Sorceress. Then, we compress time to kill the Ultimate Sorceress. We don't even now why she's so evil, either. Then, we go home, and _noone_ realizes we saved this earth's past, present and future.

"Nobody even seems to be affected the way I am, though. Well, they wouldn't. They have things to look forward to. Squall has Rinoa. Irvine has that ....Selphie.... (shudders), Cid has Edea, By some strange twist of Fate (Or Fan-Fic Author) Quistis has Seifer, and Fujin and Raijin have.... each other.....(shudders again). All I have to look forward to is hot dogs. Damn.

"Everyone might say 'Well, you have parents!' Not my real ones. As much as I love 'em, I'm just... I.... I'm..... confused." Zell thought silently, as he felt the tears forming in his eyes. He took out his frustrations on his punching bag, busting it at the seams, then dove into his bed, crying.



Chapter 1: The Ninja

"Man, they don't remember me at all, do they?" Nida said as he quietly prowled the Garden Grounds.

"Well, almost done with unusual bug duty!" He exclaimed as he heard someone uncontrollably sobbing in one of the SeeD dorm rooms.

"Man, when a SeeD's up at 1:00 in the morning, crying, no less, something's gotta be wrong." He mused, as he went up to the door and rapped lightly on it. Getting no reply, he slipped in quietly, and blended with the shadows in the room.

He saw Zell Dincht. Looking like Ultimecia in {that time of the month.}

"Zell!? Carefree, Happy-go-lucky Zell!?!? And he's depressed. This has got to be serious, he thought grimly.

"Uh, Hi, Zell." Nida said sorta, embarrassed.
"How the hell did you get in here? Rather, WHEN the Hell did you get in here??? And what's with the Ninja suit???"

Seeing as how he had intruded on Zell's privacy, he felt like he should.
"To answer Questions 1 and 3, I'm a Ninja. And for Question 2, well, about a minute ago."

"When did you become a (gulp) Ninja?" Zell said slowly, finally remembering his last name. It was Kisaragi, a family famous for that stuff.

"When I was about, 8 years old. As Headmaster Cid said, I don't stand out much, so I found an occupation I can use it for."

"Oh. Ok."

"Anyways, what's wrong???"

"Just a couple of recent battles is all."

"Sphinxaur, you mean??? Perhaps Krysta??? Maybe... Griever???" Nida said with a smirk starting to form(kinda like Yuffie, n'est pah?)

"You.... you had to be there to know those names. You bastard. Why didn't you tell us???" Zell demanded.

"I was that incessant shadow." Nida said as the whole smirk enveloped his face. "Headmaster Cid sent me to check up on y'all everywhere ya went. That's why the Garden was never placed elsewhere than where it was when ya got off." Somehow, the smirk got even bigger. (Kinda like his Ego???)

Zell was too shocked to say anything back. He simply stared at Nida, and his eyes moved from Nida's face downward, admiring the way the bodysuit accented his muscles. As soon as this sunk in, he pushed that thought out of his head,
and looked at the ground.

"Well, what's wrong??? Stressed??? Pissed??? Come on, tell me. I'm an open book." (Gawd, he sounds like Yuffie)

"You'd be disgusted with me."

"I would?? Really???"

"I think. Rather, I know."

"Well, I really can't think of anything that would make my opinion of you drop. If you know what I mean, Zell Lockeheart."

That last sentence just did something to Zell. Memories flooded his mind, like a sponge soaking up water. In the orphanage. The Matron calling him.
"Zell Lockeheart!!" she would say in a sweet voice. And suddenly Zell remembered something else, too. Nida. Always trying to be sneaky. Hell, Irvine didn't remember him. He must have been good. Ah, yes, Nida was Zell's friend growing up.
He never actually stayed at the orphanage, just small visits to play with Zell. Whenever Zell mentioned him, everyone blew him off as an imaginary friend. Suddenly, Zell felt alot better.

"Ninjy??"

"Yeah, Zell?"

"Pull up a chair. If you're sure you want to hear."

"Go on, I'll be fine."

"Well, it started a long time ago......"