Chapter One: Little Girl Lost

Razydia Rothguard was lost.

Totally and completely lost.

She cleared her throat anxiously and huddled closer to the remains of the plane. It had crashed, leaving her stranded…somewhere. Just somewhere, she didn't know where. She hoped that wherever the hell she was, she was somewhere near Midgar, but she didn't think it too likely. Oh no, she thought. That would just be far too convenient. Trying not to cry in frustration, Razydia clenched her fists and considered her situation. Everything was always better when lined up in order and placed in front of her. Her mind worked better that way.

"Okay," Raz whispered aloud and began to think.

The plane had crashed an hour ago, leaving her stranded.

She had no cell service.

She had no food, but plenty of water.

She was freezing cold.

She had to use the bathroom.

And hell -- she had to face the facts -- there was no one coming to get her.

And just to top it all off, it was raining. Raining.

At that exact moment, the wing-tip she was hiding under collapsed partly. Just enough to dip forward and pour ice cold water all over Raz.

"God. Damn. It," she said slowly, trying to keep her complexion even as she stared into the dismal downpour. A strong, unusual urge of carelessness overtook her then. Figuring it didn't matter whether she was under the damn airplane or not, Raz got up and stepped out into the rain. She stared up into it, on the edge of hysteria, and screamed wordlessly into the pounding droplets, stamping her feet and swinging her arms like a child.

But who cared? She was in the middle of God-knows-nowhere, and she was probably going to die either of starvation or of hypothermia from the damn rain. There was no one to see her. No one to hear her. No disapproving family members. No one to point and whisper, "That's Razydia Rothguard, daughter of Halledor Rothguard, corporate business owner of Rothguard Industries. She was in a plane crash, and ended up losing her mind. Sad story, that. She used to be such a professional, controlled girl …"

Soon Razydia's mouth filled with water, and she had to stop screaming, as good as it felt to do it. Spitting the water out, she stared at her hands, allowing the rain from her dark hair to drip down and mix with the tears cascading down her cheeks. She reached up and touched the tear-rain mix curiously. She had never cried before. Never, ever. It wasn't permitted in her father's household. As he had always said, "It's bad enough I didn't get a son, but to have a daughter who whimpered and cowered would be even worse than having no child at all…"

So Raz had learned not to cry. Had learned not to show any emotion whatsoever. She had learned to be all business. Just like her father wanted. But who was there to see her now?

In spite of everything, Raz sunk to her knees and allowed herself to cry and cry into her hands. Her situation was hopeless, and if her father was lucky, she would die long before he even thought to worry about her being gone.

"Damn, damn, damn, damn," she sobbed, adding in a few other, more colorful curse words into the mix.

"Um, hello?" A voice called loud enough to be heard over the roar of the surrounding water. "Miss?"

Raz leapt up, surprised. She jumped back even further when she found herself face to face with a young man with red hair. "Who the hell are you?" she hissed at him, her mind already calculating what he could be capable of. She could tell he was lean, even under her baggy clothing.

He was slouching, his hands in his pockets, and staring at her with an amused expression in his green eyes. "A little lost, are we?"

Raz wanted to smack that expression right off his pretty little face. "You think this is funny?" she snapped challengingly. "You think --"

He waved her off and shrugged. "I try not to think too much, actually." He tapped his head with one finger. "Hurts the head, ya know?"

"No, I don't know," Raz retorted, pressing herself further under the half-broken plane wing as the guy advanced toward her. She wished desperately that he hadn't seen …

"So what was all that about? The screaming? A temper tantrum, eh?" he smirked and stepped even closer.

Damn.

"No, I was not having a tantrum." Raz pushed herself against the rubble, finding she could not back up any further. Closing her fingers around a palm-sized, dull chunk of debris, she decided that if need be, she would attack him and run.

The young man broke his gaze from her face and glanced around her, at the plane. "You crashed?"

"Yes. This is my private plane."

"Or at least what's left of it."

"It's just a few scratches!" Raz defended before biting her tongue as he raised an eyebrow at her.

Razydia flushed red and looked away, feeling stupid because she knew full well the wretched state her beloved plane was in.

"Whatever," the young man chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm Reno, by the way. Reno Kiribani. And you are … " He looked at her for her name.

Raz glared, pursed her lips, and didn't say anything. She shouldn't even be talking to him. She needed to compose herself, grab some supplies, and get the hell out of there.

"You know," Reno said, stepping closer, his head tilted to one side. "It's usually polite to exchange a name for a name, rather than a name for a look that could kill. And what is such a look doing on such a pretty face, eh?"

Raz tried not to blush and pondered whether she should take that as a compliment or not. She decided to play it safe, distract him while she thought of a way out. "Do you always compliment strange women you meet in the middle of nowhere?"

"Only the ones who are standing screaming into the rain like a nut." Reno offered her a grin that she had to restrain to return. "Yes, well, I was slightly frustrated. It's all fixed now."

"Yeah, sure it is." Raz frowned at him and shifted sideways slightly, considering how fast he might be able to run. She knew she was fast, faster than most people she knew, but she didn't exactly know this … this Reno person. If he caught her, she would have her back turned and wouldn't be able to -- "Uh … hello?" Reno waved a hand in front of her face. "Did you hear me or were you too busy spacing?" "I was neither listening to you, nor spacing," Razydia huffed, offended. "I said," Reno repeated, dramatically showing how exasperated he was by rolling his eyes, "do you want to head back to my place. It's not far from here." Raz's eyes lit up defensively. "If you think that I am some other girl you pick up and bring back to --"

"Wait, wait!" Reno exclaimed, cutting her off. "Let's get a few things straight right now. One: I do not pick girls up unless I either ask them, or I'm drunk, and that is only on occasion."

Raz could tell by the way he smiled to himself that he was lying about the "not being drunk a lot" part. She suppressed further aggravated remarks and waited for him for finish.

"Two: that all came out wrong. I didn't mean to ask you back to my place, but the place I'm staying at which is an INN, for God's sakes." Before Raz said anything, he added with amusement, "And three: what makes you think I would ever want to pick up a bitchy, uptight chic like you?"

Raz fumed wordlessly, as true as his words were.

"So don't flatter yourself, dear." Reno grinned at her and took off into the rain.

"What makes you think I would even want --?" Raz cut herself off. It was no use. She had to think quickly. Go with this strange man or remain here and most probably die of starvation. Considering her options, she felt that there only was one. And so she took off into the rain after Reno Kiribani.