A/N: Since I don't know how but always managed to forget about the oh-so-mighty disclaimers in almost all of my stories. Yeah, I'll just write the sad truth in this rewritten first chap.
Enjoy and don't forget to review!
Disclaimer: I own everything in this fanfic! ==" Except Reno and the other original characters, places and everything which showed up in the FF7 compilation…sucks.
The brunette hummed a tune while her right hand busily stirred at what looked like scramble egg in a pan which she was holding with her other hand. She looked over her shoulder and called out to the middle aged man, who was flipping through pages of the monochrome newspaper in his hands, while he sat behind a mahogany dining table. "Dad, breakfast is ready. Say hello from me to mom, kay. I'm going first."
"What about your breakfast?" The man with golden-brown locks, almost auburn under the lights, poked his head out of the papers and watched as his daughter hastily fiddled with the knot on the back of the red, frilly apron she was currently wearing.
"Nope, I'm late. I'll eat on the way." The apron was finally thrown to the chair behind her as soon as it no longer hugged her slim waist. Midnight blue, sailor uniform which hung right above the start of her skirt, accented her curves as the short skirt and knee high socks made her legs look longer, not that she wasn't tall enough.
Her height was taller than most of the other average girls that she knew, roughly about 5'5 when most of the girls in her class was 5'3 or shorter.
She took a quick glance at the watch which was ticking impatiently on the table behind her, and immediately regretted her actions. She was definitely going to be late…again.
"Study well." The man said as he turned his attention back to the news in front of him.
"Yeah, yeah. Got it." She rolled her eyes at the comment before snatching a two level bento box and sprinted towards her house's exit, clumsily wearing her shoes in front of the door before heading out.
The door was pushed open as wind rushed through her own golden-brown hair which went curly below her nape and naturally fell in front of her left shoulder. "Fuck, late again!"She cursed and mentally slapped her forehead before turning to the one storey flat beside her house.
The brunette rapped at the poor door bell impatiently and paced in front of the waist level, black gate as no reply came.
After deciding that the young owner of the house would need more disturbances to be woken up, she turned her head around, searching for any unwanted spectators and let her hands slipped behind the dark green, poor excuse of a post box. She felt her skin trailed along the dusty, rusting metallic surface before snatching it out of the dirty, hidden exterior as soon as her fingers met with a smoother, uneven plane.
The key smelled as bad as the post box, which was attached to the wall beside the gate. She cringed at the stench of dust, rust and something saline (which she doesn't want to know where it came from) and pushed the waist height gate open to its sides.
As soon as enough space was open for her slim form to slip in, she dusted her fingers against her skirt and sprinted to the mahogany door. "I'm coming in." The brunette excused herself before inserting the keys, which she had just collected without permission, into the key hole and opened the door as it gave a satisfying click with a little twist of the small, metallic object.
"Kei, wake up!" She screamed after walking through the hallway and barging in to a boyish room.
"C'mon, I really need your help!" The brunette strutted to the bed at the furthest corner of the room, ignoring her conscience which was currently screaming for her to clean up the chaotic space.
The queen sized bed was occupied by a man who was lying on his sides, or more likely, a pile of limbs tangled up with soft green covers. To the wall across the side of the bed was a study table which was buried by document and papers on top of it, and between the bed and the table were mountains of unorganized magazines which looked like it could crumble down with a little pressure from any direction. Half of the content of a trash bin, beside the table, were out of its place. Crumpled paper ball, boxes of snack wrappings and empty cans loitered through the middle of the room, as if its container had been spilled and hastily cleaned up, except the garbage which was beyond arm's reach.
The only organized thing in the room was a shelf beside the foot of the bed, which was lined up by three rows of shonen jump magazines, one row of random trophies and medals, plus another which was filled up with random comics.
The teen hastily crept up to the bed and pulled the binds out of the window above the raven haired, still sleeping man. Sunlight immediately shone to his face, the man protested with a groan of annoyance and shifted to his stomach, burying his face into the pillows.
"Wake up, dammit!" She violently shook her cousin's shoulder and immediately let go, once the man flipped to his back and propped himself with both of his elbows.
Kei rubbed his half lidded, brown orbs, before he squinted and turn his head around to find the identity of his rude intruder. "Sei…ra…?" He drawled sleepily and tried to push his eye lids up, but apparently failed and let them droop down again. "Whatcha doin here? I'll be there in another minute for dinner."
Before the man was able to pull the tangled covers up from his limbs, to his chest, the brunette had grasped his bigger wrist and whined. "No, its still morning, you have to give me a ride to my school, please. I'm late!"
"What?" He propped himself up again and shouted with his sleep induced, out of tune voice. "They won't put you on detention if you came late once or twice."
"It's my fifth time, since the last three weeks." Seira sighed and blurted out to her now silent cousin. "C'mon, please. I'll make your favorite for dinner." She sat on the bed and pleaded with all her might; wide eyes and all, which resembles of an innocent child's.
"Make that twice." Kei sat upright and ruffled his raven mane, finally awake and trying to tame his bed ridden locks.
"If I make it in time today." The brunette reasoned, trying to fulfill circumstances which would still profit her much, despite the current situation she was in.
"Okay, okay, now off! Don't want me to drive you with this attire." He placed a foot on the tiled floor and flinched at the cold surface which met his skin.
Seira stood up and let her older cousin by three years to remove himself from the confinements of his bed, ignoring the fact that he was only wearing a pair of black boxers and white undershirt. She was practically used to it, after more than three years of waking him up to go to school together and now, waking him up every evening for either dinner or any of his afternoon class. She wasn't really a morning person to begin with, so without the help of her mother for the past month was really getting on her routines.
"Be quick, I'll wait outside." With that, she left the grumbling man and made her way out of the house with a smirk plastered on her face.
"Use this." The brunette, who was leaning against the front entrance's door frame, heard her cousin's voice behind her and a helmet was forced down to her head before she was able to turn around.
"Why don't you use it?" She whined as she adjusted the humid headgear on her petite head.
"It's suffocating in there, besides, I'm the one who'll get killed if something happens to you." Kei walked pass her and opened his front gate, before going to a passage beside his house and came back with a silver bike straddled between his thighs. "Once is enough, Sei." He shuddered as he remembered the memory of his uncle two years ago before making his way outside the gate and igniting the engine to life.
Sei sat behind him and gingerly wrapped her arms around her cousin's waist, while the loud roar of their ride covered the brunette's stifled laughter. She still remembered the day of their first accident with the bike, they had fallen off in the middle of the road when a cat suddenly jumped from an alley and Kei lost control of the steers. She escaped with a few scrapes and bruises and no stitches at all, thanks to her cousin who took most of the damage to his own body. While the owner of the bike, who protected her, got a broken left leg, stitches on his arms and a dislocated shoulder which was already bad enough, even before her father added a punch on his bruised cheek and busted lips.
"No one saw you using the key, right?" The raven haired man shouted over his ride's loud, buzzing engine and snapped his cousin out of her reminiscing trance. "I don't wanna see my house entered by burglars who doesn't even have to barge in!" He added jokingly.
"No worries, there wasn't a single soul!" She shouted back against his back and impatiently tugged at his black T-shirt. "Can't you go faster? I'll never make it in time at this rate."
"No, don't wanna take the risk." He shot back annoyingly,
"Promise I won't tell dad. See, the road is empty." She reasoned again with an innocent grin plastered on her face and waved her index finger at the empty road.
Kei sighed in exasperation and resisted the urge to scratch the back of his head, a gesture which had been with him whenever he was confused between anything.
Since the first time that they met, three years ago, he had learned that he could never decline the brunette's wishes and requests. And now, even though he couldn't see the puppy look which she was certainly giving behind him, he could still hear the expression through her voice, thus making a decline impossible as long as he was still conscious. "It's not like your dad would believe me, if he found out." Was all the grumbled protest that he could muster, before following the brunette's order without further resistance.
"Thanks, Kei!" The brunette hopped from the bike and immediately ran towards the white building that they've stopped in front of, not forgetting to throw the headgear which had restrained any free movement of her head, to her cousin's unprepared hands.
"Don't sleep in class!" Kei shouted to his retreating cousin, after fumbling with the helmet which he barely caught.
"Not helping!" She turned around and stuck her tongue out at the teasing male, turning back around after almost stumbling backwards over her own moving limbs.
Seira panted and cursed as she hiked through the fourth flight of stairs. Why the hell should her class always be on the highest floor? The highest floor was usually reserved for seniors who were facing their last year in school, but her class last year had somehow gotten into it, thus making this her second year residing on the damned floor.
She could never fathom why, but even though she had done this tiring routine for years, every morning, she could never get use to it. Wherever her class was, she would always curse her way up in annoyance through the stairs. It was probably her psychological state who refused to go to school this early every day, lucky Kei who doesn't have to go through this again.
The brunette couldn't resist the urge to let out a sigh of relieve as soon as her foot stepped on the narrow hallway where her class was located and took big steps towards her destination while ignoring the burning lactic acid spreading through her leg. The bell had rung when she was still halfway through the torturous stairs, so why bother to rush if you're already late, she just hoped that her pregnant teacher isn't in one of her infamous mood swings today.
"I am so sorry Mrs. Kenny. I promise this will be the last time." Sei immediately bowed her head down in apology after pulling open the door sideways. Not even bothering to save a glance or two to see the condition of her class.
Silence greeted her, instead of her teacher's usual lecture about punctuality and torrents of questions seeking for her reason for coming late again today.
Why is everyone so quiet today? Her class had always been one of the most difficult ones to handle, especially during homeroom where they could chat without bothering about the teacher's incessant, pointless speeches.
"Sei!" A hushed whisper finally distracted her from her own thoughts and she slightly tilted her head towards her friend's direction. "It's not Mrs. Kenny, it's the vice principle!"
Her friends would have certainly doubled over in laughter at her expression, if their vice principal wasn't glaring daggers at them. Seira's eyes widened in shock and mouth hung open for awhile before she snapped and straightened herself out of her stupor.
Jade orbs immediately stared at a pair of stern hazel eyes and she visibly rolled her eyes in anticipation of the incoming scolding.
"Seira Howard?" The stout male called out, she could already see a vein popping out of the corner of his wide temple even before she spoke a word. His hands lifted up the black, thick rimmed glasses that he wore at the bridge of his nose while the other ran through the rare, shining, grayish hair which settled on top of his round head.
"Yes sir." She replied lazily. It wasn't like this was the first time she was scolded by the old fashioned vice principal, she was used to this and never missed the chance to make him more pissed. He wasn't one of the teachers who could really affect her grades after all, so why bother the good student get up. A lot of students and teacher also didn't like him, adding the reasons for her to despise him after the fact that most of the useless rules were made by him.
"I am sorry to disappoint you, but I'm here to tell the class that Mrs. Kenny will be taking her maternity leave starting form today onwards and you all should study by yourself for her periods today. Thanks for reminding me to ask how many times have you come late this month?" The gross looking man said as he wiped his wide forehead with a handkerchief from his pants pocket.
"5 times, sir." She replied begrudgingly this time, eyes wandering around her school's fat covered vice principal. How could a person live with a body like that? Full of flab and excess sweating. She could see the buttons of his white shirt, struggling not to pop out underneath the russet blazer which barely hugged his whole round, swollen belly. His black pants couldn't even fit his belly; it was secured with the help of a brown leather belt beneath his basket ball like tummy.
"Meet me in my office, in another ten minutes." The brunette made a face and mimicked the middle aged man's face as soon as he walked past and wasn't facing her anymore. "Seira Howard!" The male suddenly shouted, shushing her class's giggles at her act and her own disgusted face.
"Yessir?" Sei smiled innocently and slightly tilted her head in mock confusion as she turned around to face the mad man.
"Don't try to escape, if you're not there in another ten minutes. I'll double your detention."
"Yes, sir." She replied boringly and made her way to her seat, right in the middle of the class, as soon as the lard ball excuse of a vice principle shut the door behind him.
"Way to go, girl! You should see your face just now, priceless!" One of her male classmate, the one who had had the courage to whisper (to the whole class) and alerted her earlier, strolled to her desk and greeted with mirth. "I've seen you came late and got scolded by him for more than ten times and he never called your parents?"
"He called, but my dad doesn't really care if I came late as long as I don't skip school or fail classes." The brunette shrugged and opened her two leveled bento box as soon as she had hung her bag on the hook beside her messily decorated (scribbled) desk.
"Your dad never changed, huh." Another brunette, with straight, chocolate locks which flowed down to her waist, showed up beside the male and ruffled his dirty blond, spiked locks in amusement.
"Stop that! Took me hours to fix this every morning." He whined and petted his locks back and sideways, returning the stray strands to its original angle.
"Yeah, he never really changed his principles about school." Seira smiled at her childhood friend and said with a mouth full of rice and her meal.
"Study what's important, enjoy school life but don't hang out with weird guys." Both of the smiling female said in unison and broke into a fit of laughter as the whole class turned their attention at them.
Fifteen minutes later, the brunette rapped at the beige door and slid it open as soon as she heard a word of acknowledgment from inside. "Excuse me, sir." She had come five minutes late on purpose of course. Her school had always worked this way since she first joined at first grade. If your teacher calls you to meet them during lunch break, find them before lunch break ends and then they'll really appreciate you. When the book store said that your book is going to be ordered and delivered tomorrow, come back in a few days if you're lazy to bug the receptionist by returning everyday and asking for your book that was supposed to be in your hands yesterday.
"So, what's your reason today? Just say it, I'm all ears." The old, ludicrously, fat man propped his elbows on the mahogany desk, he was sitting in front of, and rested his triple layered chin on top of his intertwined fingers.
"Actually sir, my mother is currently eight months pregnant and had moved to live with her mother for a while. I'm left to do all of the house works, so I kinda slept late with all the home works from school, thus preventing me from waking up early." Seira explained monotonously like someone who had been practicing a speech for hours, minutes in her case, and finally got the chance to say it out loud. "You can call my dad if you don't believe me." She added after a few moment of consideration.
"If school assignments are your reasons this time, then you shall finish all of your home works due for tomorrow after school, today."
"Heh?" Was all she could muster out while train of curses ran through her brain.
"You're dismissed. Don't forget to place your books on my desk when you're done." He waved a hand of dismissal and returned to the papers which were stacked neatly on his desk. "And don't try to run away, I'll make sure by any means that your books are here today." He added without diverting his attention from the papers below his big nose.
The brunette just sighed and exited out of the room after a small dispirited 'yes sir' escaped her lips. There was no use to fight him after all, it would just be a useless waste of energy and she preferred to use it on other things like finishing her assignments…NOT. It was her free period now and she would enjoy it with her friends.
She would certainly just stay back for an hour maximum and do whatever she could finish of her assignments. It wasn't that the old man would really check her book. He would just flip through pages and see if she had really done anything.
Oh god, an extra hour in school instead of hanging out with the others, couldn't this day get any better.
Half an hour had passed after the supposed to be glorious bell which marked the end of school. And here she was, yawning for the thousandth time over her unfinished home works and trying her best not to let her head fall and bang it against the hard desk, in her empty class.
The others had headed out after some persuasion from her that she would certainly come over in another hour or so. She was sure that no work would be done with her friends around, all of their chatting and jokes would certainly distract her and made her talk all the while instead of doing her work.
Sei finally rested her head on top of her sprawled arms on the table and stretched her mouth as another yawn escaped. She never knew that house chores could really take your time and energy, no wonder her mother could always manage to sleep early after an afternoon nap.
"Five minutes." The brunette mumbled to herself and let her eye lids drop. She had never managed to sleep for long in school, except during classes. So this evening would be the same like the usual, right?
Sei couldn't help but shiver and let out an unlady-like sneeze as cold air crept to her body, beneath the thin uniform, which wrapped her slim frame.
She rubbed her damped eyes, from the impact of her body's hard reaction against the cold and literally froze when an uncalled voice reached her ears, too near for her liking. "Yo, you awake?"
The brunette frantically forced her eyes open and tried to recognize the smooth, yet masculine voice but all she could take in was a blur of black, white and red. And the obvious strong arms which were under her back and knees.
She actually still took her time to squint and try to focus her vision, despite her self defense's alarm which was blaring inside her head. And when her jade orbs finally managed to see a redhead, with a pair of…riding goggles? Perched on top of his forehead, instead of his unnaturally widened eyes which were staring back at her with equal shock as her jade one's and red crescent tattoos on his cheekbones. The first thing which she managed to do was actually connect her fist with the unknown man's said tattoo, instead of her voice which was desperate to escape from her throat.
"Lemme go! Pervertjerkassholekidnapper!" The panic girl shouted all at once, unable to chose which suited him best after several more jabs and protests from the redhead.
"Yo, stop! I haven't even done anything to you-" The disoriented man shouted back with equal panic with the brunette and finally fell when a sharp elbow on his abdomen took the air out of his lungs.
"Don't even think of doing anything that you're planning to!" Seira was now beyond panic and had moved on to a whole new level of desperate. Anything which could be used(flailing limbs)to put distant between her and her abductor was put to use, ignoring the fact that her skirt and shirt had ridden up, exposing a good portion of her undergarments and fresh flesh which weren't covered by it. Thank god she was using tights, decreasing her level of embarrassment as soon as she realized her wild actions.
"Calm down, ba-girl!" He amended, afraid of triggering anything dangerous which hadn't been unleashed by the alarmed teen who had scrambled away from him, immediately after he fell and dragged her on top of him in the process.
"W-who the hell are you and what do you want?" She screamed again before pushing herself further away, eyes widening and silence befalling her not long after.
"Patience, I'll explain." Reno narrowed his eyes and began to explain despite the lack of attention from his frail looking assailant, who was starring curiously at her legs, as if she had never saw one in her life. "Found you in Midgar." He concluded his so called explanation and stared incredulously when the brunette suddenly slapped her leg, hard. "Yo, what's wrong with you?"
"I can't." Sei started, uncertain of what had just happened while the redhead who had stood treaded closer with caution, making sure that he was not too close if she suddenly decided to lash out one of her limbs again. "I can't move my legs." She said slowly, as if still in fear that the thing she said would bit her back.
"Nah, probably just over worked. You don't have a scratch on you, except for your bloody clothes." The redhead shrugged and said casually, despite the look of horror which had crept on the brunette's face.
"B…lood…?" She looked down and it took her for awhile to recognize the crimson stain across her dark blue uniform. A hand immediately covered her mouth, the only source of her bile to escape as a wave of nausea hit her abdomen, triggered by the distinct metallic odor of blood when she looked down and involuntarily brought her nose to the source of the offending stench.
And the next thing that occurred went as fast as she realized that she had passed out. Her body giving out beneath her, some ought to censor curses and darkness that took over.