***AUTHOR NOTE*** I decided to do a Final Fantasy XIII story about Lightning and her whole backstory. Hope you guys enjoy :)

My name is Claire Farron. I've been Lightning for a long time. When my parents died, I had to be strong, for Serah. I through away anything that would make me weak. I cut those parts away. It all started in first grade.

"Claire!" a voice taunted. "Claire!"

"Sh-shut up!" I yelled. Tears swelled in my eyes, blurring my vision. I wanted to stop them. Am I this weak?

"Haha!" the boys taunted. "Aww! She's crying!" they howled in malice. "Claire! Claire! Claire!"

"Shut UP!" I roared. "Claire Farron disappeared long ago! I'm Lightning!" The tears were gone. I was filled with a new emotion: rage. I threw myself at the lead boy. He always picked on me. I punched very part of him that I could reach. I pulled his blonde hair, until he screamed for mercy. I stood up and took a defensive posture. I calculated the odds I had of winning, as the boys cornered me.

"Lightning, huh?" the main brat snarled. "What a stupid name!"

Lightning, it strikes once, and then disappears. It cannot protect, only damage. The boys drew nearer. I was up against the wall. Then, I did something that they'd never see coming. I plower right into the ringleader. I knocked him down, and punched him in the stomach. The other boys ran to fight me. Pow! I kicked one in the face and sent him sprawling on the ground. I grabbed the other kid's wrist, and threw him into the wall.

"Are you gonna stop this, Snow?" I asked the main child. "If you don't want to, I got more where that came from!" I snarled.

"Mercy! Mercy!" he gasped. I put my foot on his stomach. Sadly, a teacher saw this.

"Claire Farron!" she said in an outraged voice. "Come with me right now!" She grabbed me by the hand and dragged me in to the school. The smooth, stone walls made it feel chilly. I looked into classrooms, where students learnt. They looked at me, as Teacher dragged me along. I saw my sister, Serah. She looked at me with a face full of shock. I was pushed in the principal's office. It was more like his lobby, for those waiting to be punished. I took a seat in one of his comfy armchairs. He had paintings of the fireworks festival that they put on every year. They were beautiful. They still couldn't get rid of the feeling of dread that I felt as I waited. The principal is a hard man. He grills you for hours on what you did. The office door opened, disturbing me from my thoughts. The principal walked out with a tall man. He had blonde hair, and a very kind face. He looked familiar. The principle broke off when he saw me.

"In here again, Claire?" he asked.

"It's Lightning! Don't call me Claire!" I said, glaring at him.

"Oho!" the other man exclaimed. "Feisty, this one! You'd make a great soldier for the Sanctum." he told me.

"I'm Lieutenant Amodar!" he said, extending his hand. I shook it.

"Nice to meet you, sir." I replied. He looked so majestic in his soldier's garb. I wanted to be just like him. So proud, so regal.

"If you ever need me, just come to the Guardian Corps office! It's in south Bodhum." he told me, slightly bowing his head. "When your older, you might even want to consider joining." he smiled, as he walked off. He seemed so nice. Maybe I should join.

"Now, Claire-" the principal started.

"Don't call me that!" I snarled. I got up off of the chair and left the room, slamming the door.

"Get back here right now!" he said angrily. I started to run down the narrow corridors of the school. I ran and ran. I stopped to catch my breath.

"Aha!" he said, catching me by the arm. "What would your parents say if they saw your behaviour today?" he asked me in a stern voice.

"I don't know!" I shouted. "When they come back from the dead, then I'll ask them!" I scowled at the principle. He faltered under my intense glare.

"I-I'm so sorry." he told me gently, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Sorry doesn't bring back the dead!" I shouted. The bell rang. Kids started to fill the halls. They looked at me and the principle, and chatted eagerly.

"You're dismissed." the principle told me. I walked to the front of the school, and waited for Serah. She came bounding up to me, her pink hair bouncing. She was two years younger than me, but already a beautiful young girl. Her blue eyes glimmered with kindness, her smile brightened up the day. She was the only one who could make me smile or laugh. She wore her school uniform in just the perfect way. Skirt was not too short like some of the whores in fifth grade. She wore her tie, too. I had my shirt unbuttoned halfway, and you could see my black under shirt. I took off the school shirt, and skirt. I had a pair of shorts under it. They were black shorts. Around my neck, I wore a necklace. It was a locket with a picture of Mum and Dad. We both looked more like Mum. We had her pink hair, her nose, and her smile. The only part that we inherited from our father was our eyes. Blue like the ocean. Serah liked to joke that I inherited his lack of humour.

"Hiya, Lightning!" she said, hugging me. I patted her head awkwardly. She really idolised me. I had to be there for her. I was her parent now. I would protect you, Serah, from all of the things that would hurt you. I don't ever want to leave you behind like our father did. Those were my thoughts for the rest of my life. Our father left our mum when Serah was born. Mum was devastated, but she still tried to take care of Serah. I usually was the one there for her.

We boarded the north-bound train to North Bodhum. People looked at us weirdly. Probably because I was only in first grade, and me and my sister were riding a subway train by ourselves.

"Where are their parents?" I heard a woman ask her boyfriend. I looked at her, my eyes filled with dislike.

"It's rude to talk about people," I told her, narrowing my eyes. "If you want to know, come and ask me, I doubt your boyfriend knows the answer."

"What!" she gasped. I smiled.

"To answer your question, they're dead." I told her. She looked away and stayed quiet for the rest of the ride.

"The train is now arriving in North Bodhum. Passengers with a North Bodhum ticket, please exit." a pleasant female voice said.