Chapter Two
AN: Here is the second installment of Crimes of Passion. I hope you like it! :)
Disclaimer: FFXIII plot and characters belong to Square Enix. OCs and everything else belongs to me.
"What's going on?" Lightning shouted as she raced out of her bedroom into the hallway. She whirled around the corner, beginning to climb down the stairs, and paused, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw the state of her living room.
Vanille suddenly came running down the attic stairs with Kiwi and Ripper at her heels as she cried, "What happened? Fang, are you okay?!"
"Wait!" Fang shouted at the sound of Vanille's voice as she turned to face the stairs. "Don't come down here if you're not wearing shoes. There's glass everywhere."
Vanille appeared behind Lightning on the stairs and gasped in horror as she realized that the window must have broken. She had no idea what had happened and she was worried about Fang, but she did not want the puppies to cut themselves on the glass. She immediately crouched down, scooping the small struggling dogs into her arms, and carried them back up the second floor. While it might have been better to take the dogs back up the attic, Vanille wanted to know what was going on as soon as possible, so she pushed them gently into Lightning's open room before shutting the door and returning to the stairs.
Lightning surveyed the disheveled room, her eyes drifting from the window to Fang, and muttered, "You're bleeding."
"I'm aware of that, thanks," Fang replied with a sigh, walking back towards the front closet. She pulled out one pair of boots for Lightning and a pair for Vanille and then crunched through the glass to hand them to each woman. "Put these on before you come in here. It's dangerous with all the glass."
Serah suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs, a blanket wrapped around herself because it was a cold night. "What happened? Snow is on his way down here."
"Someone threw a brick through the window," Fang replied hastily, glancing cautiously at Lightning and holding out the note that had been attached to the offending object. "Here. Read this."
The ex-soldier studied the message with furrowed brows. "Do you have your PMC?"
Fang shook her head. "I just came down here looking for a drink of water."
Lightning nodded and turned to walk into the kitchen. She picked up the house phone and quickly dialed the number for the local NORA Headquarters. When the dispatcher answered the call, she reported the crime and was assured that a unit was on the way. By the time that Lightning returned to the living room, Snow and Sazh were examining the broken window while Fang studied the footprints on the porch from the front door.
"What do you see?" Snow asked Fang curiously.
"Whoever it was came from around the side of the house like they started out woods," Fang replied with a frown. "That's how they left, too. There's only one set of footprints. One culprit."
"Did you see the note?" Lighting interrupted to ask Snow.
"We all saw it," Hope mumbled from where he stood in front of the basement door with his hand on Dajh's shoulder to keep the younger boy from walking on the broken glass.
"I should get a broom," Serah exclaimed suddenly.
"No. Leave everything alone until NORA gets here," Lightning commanded as she crossed the room to join the others in studying the window. "I want a thorough investigation. Whoever did this is going to pay for my window."
"It's a good thing I was down here when it happened," Fang commented, noticing that snowflakes were beginning to fall from the sky. "The prints might be gone by the time the other agents get here."
"Do you think this was supposed to be a robbery?" Snow asked with a frown. "Maybe they saw Fang and freaked out."
"They had to know I was here. I walked right by." Fang shook her head. "It'd be pretty stupid breaking the window if they were planning on coming back some other night. I didn't even know for sure anyone was there until they threw the brick. Besides, who'd rob a house in the middle of the night when everyone was home? There're at least four air cars in the driveway."
"I guess you're right." Snow noticed that Serah looked nervous and crossed the room to wrap his arms around her. "Don't worry, Serah. We're going to figure out who did this and catch them."
"I know." Serah hugged him tightly and nuzzled against him. "You'll keep us safe."
Snow nodded firmly.
Vanille walked cautiously through the glass and reached out to Fang, pressing her fingers just beneath the cut on the taller woman's cheek. "Are you okay?"
Fang nodded, smiling faintly. "I'm all right. Just a few scratches here and there."
The younger woman peeked at Fang's arms, frowning at the small gashes.
"It's from protecting my face," Fang informed her gently. "There's probably some glass in my hair, too."
"Let me check," Vanille insisted suddenly, grabbing Fang by the shoulders and pushing her down so that she could reach the top of her head.
"Careful, Vanille. It's glass," Fang warned, hunching uncomfortably because she could not lean against the nearby table, which was also covered in dangerous shards.
"I'm being careful," Vanille assured her as she picked a few shards carefully from her dark locks and dropped them onto the floor. "I think that's all of them. There weren't many."
Fang stood up properly and smiled before nudging Vanille backwards. Once they were no longer standing atop the shattered glass, Fang wrapped her arms around Vanille and pulled her close. "Thanks."
Vanille hugged her tightly around the waist, still feeling very worried about her. "You can never come downstairs for a glass of water ever again."
Laughing lightly, Fang kissed the top of her head. "I'm fine, Vanille. I'm just glad it was me down here and not you."
The younger woman huffed, snuggling against her.
There was a knock on the door and everyone froze, but Lightning could see the NORA patrol car in the driveway from the window. She immediately walked across the room and pulled the front door open, revealing two NORA agents standing on the porch. There were two more agents taking pictures of the quickly disappearing footprints and the shattered window.
"Hello, Agent Farron." The tall, redheaded agent exclaimed.
Lightning recognized the officer but could not place his name. "Hi."
The redhead smiled faintly before turning to the others. "Hi, Captain Villiers, Agent Yun, everyone else… I'm Agent Hash Young for those of you who don't know me. I know it's been a traumatic evening, but we would like to interview all of you and get as much information as possible so we can catch this guy."
"You should send some agents into the woods then," Fang suggested. "That's where he went."
Agent Young nodded. "I sent some agents to follow the trail of footprints when we arrived."
"You all squeezed into one car?" Fang asked with a raised brow.
"There's another car parked on the road. Who in this room actually witnessed the attack?"
"I'm the only one," Fang replied. She released Vanille, giving her a reassuring smile, and stepped forwards.
"I'll interview you first then. I want to get as much information recorded before you forget what you saw. Can you start from what you were doing right before the attack?"
Fang nodded, glancing quickly at the others. "Will Agent Danow be taking care of the other interviews?"
Agent Young nodded. "I know you say you were the only witness, but we need to cover all the bases if we want to get a good idea of who might have done something like this. There are a few different possibilities. Someone could have been trying to rob the house and then panicked when they saw you, or it could have been someone who knows you and wanted to scare you."
"Someone definitely wanted to send us a message," Fang replied, motioning to the brick on the floor and the note that had been left on the table. "It says '3 NORA agents living under one roof? You're making my job too easy.'"
Agent Young frowned. "Then this was obviously premeditated. I'll make sure someone is stationed on the street for a few days in case the perp decides to come back."
"Thanks." Fang sighed. "So, I guess you wanna hear what happened."
He nodded.
Fang retold everything from the moment that she had reached the bottom of the stairs until the moment she had read the note. She also offered advice on where she thought the perpetrator would have gone once he ran into the woods, since she frequently took walks in the forest behind Lightning's house and knew the area well. Agent Young took avid notes while Fang was speaking, asking important questions where he felt it was necessary. When he was finished, he joined the other agents to hear what evidence they had found.
It did not take long for the NORA agents to collect the minimal evidence, test the living room and the porch for prints, and interview everyone in the house. Once the other agents returned from an unsuccessful hunt in the woods, they bid everyone goodnight and left. Agent Young remained for a short while to suggest a few different companies that he though could fix windows on short notice before he also left.
"We've gotta cover up the window and clean up this mess," Fang commented, sighing.
"I'll get a few brooms." Serah placed her hand on Fang's shoulder, smiling sympathetically. "You've been through enough tonight, Fang. Why don't you just go back to bed?"
"Yeah, we can take care of this," Snow assured Fang before turning to Hope and Dajh. "You boys go ahead and go back to sleep, too. We can handle this."
Sazh nodded toward his son. "Go back downstairs. I don't want you getting cut."
"Okay, daddy." Dajh looked upset that he had to leave, but he complied, and Hope followed him down the stairs.
"You sure?" Fang asked the others. When the nodded, she wrapped her arm around Vanille's shoulders and began to tug her up the stairs. "Come on. Let's go back to sleep."
Vanille pouted, touching the bandages that the paramedic had used to cover the scrapes on Fang's arms. "Are you gonna be okay, Fang?"
"I'll be fine. I promise." Fang smiled and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Let's just put this behind us until morning. NORA'll take care of it, and since so many of us work with the agents on the case, we'll be updated as soon as they find anything."
"I just hope they catch them quickly," Vanille pointed out, frowning. "I don't want you to get hurt again."
When they reached the second floor, Vanille quickly opened Lightning's door to let Kiwi follow them up to the attic. Once their bedroom door was open, Kiwi ran to his large doggy bed, made himself comfortable, and snuggled drowsily into the cushions.
Fang laughed lightly. "I wish Kiwi was older already. I could've sent him after whoever did this. Right now he's just a little puppy, too small to really help. He doesn't look like he cares much about what happened either."
Vanille giggled lightly. "I'm sure he cares, Fang. He doesn't want you to get hurt."
The older woman grinned. "Still, at times like this, I can't wait until they're grown."
"Don't listen to Fang, Kiwi," Vanille told the dog as she tugged away from Fang to crouch down in front of him. "You should stay a puppy forever. You're so cute this way. You're my favorite little doggy in the whole wide world!"
"You like him more than Ripper?" Fang asked curiously as she slipped into bed.
"I like them equally. They're both my favorites," Vanille replied as she kissed the top of Kiwi's head and stood to climb into the other side of the bed. She immediately snuggled close to Fang, rubbing her fingers gently across her cheek. "I wish you didn't get hurt."
"It's just some scratches," Fang replied gently, turning her head to press her lips to Vanille's hand. "I've gotten deeper cuts trimming roses."
Vanille smiled faintly and pressed her face into Fang's shoulder. "I still get worried about you, Fang. If anything ever happened to you, I don't think I could live without you."
"Nothing's gonna happen to me," Fang assured her, kissing her temple. "We're meant to be together, Vanille, so nothing's gonna split us up. I promise."
"Good." Vanille kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Fang."
"Goodnight."
They were silent for a long time, but both women remained awake.
After a while, Fang ran her fingers through Vanille's hair, murmuring gently, "Can you promise me something, Vanille?"
The younger woman raised her head seriously. "What?"
"I don't want you here alone until we sort this out," Fang exclaimed with a worried frown. "I know you're stronger than you look and I shouldn't underestimate you, but it's the same for me, Vanille. If something ever happened to you, I couldn't go on."
"Nothing's gonna happen to me either, Fang, but I promise I'll make sure I'm not here alone." Vanille snuggled closer, hugging her tightly. "If everyone else has to leave the house, I'll come to NORA Headquarters. I'll bring the dogs, too."
Fang laughed lightly. "Good. We can keep them in Snow's office if anyone complains."
Xxx
When Fang walked into the Troth NORA Headquarters the next morning, she was surprised to find many of the agents crowded together over a plate of toast and fruit. Everyone was eating and chatting, though the grave looks on their faces made it apparent that they were discussing cases.
"Hey, Agent Yun! I know you're a newbie here, but do you want to join us?" Agent Karolyn Sovina shouted, smiling pleasantly.
Fang shrugged and joined the group with her usual roguish grin. "Sure. Thanks for the invite."
"I figured it was time for you to get to know everyone," Agent Sovina exclaimed before everyone began to introduce themselves. When Agent Sovina noticed the tribal tattoo on Fang's arm, she raised her brows in appreciation. "Wow. That's nice. Where did you get it done? Probably somewhere on the old world, right?"
Fang opened her mouth to respond but stopped. It occurred to her that no one really knew that she was from Gran Pulse and they might treat her differently if they found out the truth. She considered lying or giving an ambiguous response, but then she realized that she was not willing to hide herself.
"No. I didn't come from the old world," Fang explained quickly. "I'm Gran Pulsian. I got these tattoos when my tribe made me a hunter."
Agent Sovina's eyes widened and then she began laughing. "So, you're saying you're from Pulse? Good one."
"I think she's serious," Agent Kent argued gently, elbowing Agent Sovina gently.
"No way. She can't be serious." Agent Sovina studied Fang carefully. "You're really from Pulse?"
Fang nodded, unsure whether or not she should smile.
"Where did you grow up?" Agent Sovina asked, clearly interested.
"In a village called Oerba. It's a bit south of here, not that there's anything left," Fang replied with a shrug, altering her story slightly. "I met Captain Villiers while he was on Gran Pulse. When I moved here, he gave me a job."
"I guess that explains the accent. I was wondering where you were from." Agent Sovina smiled. "Well, I know there has been tension between Pulse and Cocoon forever, but I think it's really cool that you're from here. If you know the forest really well, maybe you could start a new branch of NORA and teach some of the agents about the creatures here. I've heard some really frightening stories."
"Now there's an idea," Fang replied, smiling as she considered it.
"We don't need any help from a Pulsian," Agent Morriz grunted in his usual crabby tone. "I can't believe you're even allowed to work here. You people are responsible for us being down here in the first place. Look what you did to Cocoon."
"Don't listen to him," Agent Sovina intervened, rolling her eyes. Lowering her voice, she exclaimed, "I bet he's the only one that feels that way. It's not so bad living here."
Fang smiled vaguely. "Well, thanks for inviting me over for breakfast, but I should probably get back to work. It was nice to meet everyone."
The agents waved as she turned away, and she could tell that some were sincerely glad to have met her and others were not. She did not blame them for the remaining hard feelings between the people of Cocoon and Gran Pulse, but she hoped that in the end they could smooth out their differences.
When Fang returned to her desk, she noticed Lightning hunched over paperwork and frowned. "How much of that stuff do you have? I wouldn't have pegged you as someone who let it all go until the last minute."
"I do a lot of patrolling. It's more important," Lightning replied with a shrug.
Fang took a bite of the apple she had snagged from the breakfast table and mumbled, "You didn't want to eat with the others?"
"No. I have too much to do," Lightning grumbled.
"Well, you're cheerful this morning." Fang sighed and sat back in her seat. "How come you didn't get your paperwork done when you made yourself all fancy to come back to work?"
Lightning narrowed her eyes. "I got some of my work done then, but I still have more."
Fang leaned forwards against her desk, giving Lightning a knowing look. "I dunno why you won't just tell me where you really went. I know you didn't come here."
"Leave me alone. I'm working."
"Fine." Fang chuckled as she stood up and turned away. "I'm gonna go check with Snow and see if they found out who was at our house last night."
Lightning glared. "Fang, it's my house."
"That's what I said," Fang replied with an amused look. "I'll be right back."
By the time that Fang returned, Lightning had finished her paperwork and was waiting impatiently for her. "What took you so long? We have to go."
"Snow told me. There's another disturbance." Fang grabbed her jacket. "Tell me it's at the same house."
Lightning shook her head. "It's another abandoned house."
Fang frowned thoughtfully. "D'you think we'll find someone else holed up there?"
The ex-soldier shrugged. "What did Snow say about my house?"
"They don't have any leads yet. There wasn't much evidence to go on."
Lightning pursed her lips but did not respond.
The two agents walked to the air car quickly, and they were silent for the entire trip other than Fang murmuring directions. Lightning told her several times that she knew where they were going, but Fang did not seem to be listening. They reached the second abandoned house in record time, and Lightning parked the air car around the corner.
"Are you ready?" Lightning asked.
Fang nodded firmly, opening her door and creeping out of the air car. As she edged slowly toward the driveway, which was surrounded on either side by a row of tall trees, she kept on her handgun at her waist. "Keep your eyes open. I'm not good with this thing."
Lightning snorted in agreement.
Fang peeked around the trees, looking up the driveway and studying the area surrounding the house. "I don't see anyone around, but I've got an idea. Stay here. You'll know when you need to come out."
There was no time to protest as Fang lifted her gun with two hands and pointed it in front of her. She crouched slightly as though she were trying to hide and immediately moved around the corner, walking up the driveway. As she continued moving, Fang made a show of peering around the yard and trying to look in the windows.
"Are you looking for something, agent?"
Fang smirked faintly, turning to face the same man who had pulled a gun on them the last time. "Fancy seeing you here at the scene of another disturbance call. What exactly are you doing in these houses?"
"I'm not doing anything." He narrowed his eyes. "You chased me out of the other house, so here I am."
"I think I'll take a look inside." Fang narrowed her eyes. "Turn around and put your hands behind your back. You're under arrest for trespassing, among other things."
"I don't think so," he informed her coldly as he turned around to run. With a gasp, he jumped in surprise.
Lightning was standing right behind him, her weapon aimed at his chest. Her voice was powerful as she commanded, "Put your hands behind your back."
He complied, frowning. "I've got that gun permit. It's right in my pocket this time."
With a roll of her eyes, Lightning grumbled, "You're still trespassing and you resisted arrest."
Fang pulled the man's hands together before cuffing him. "I'm going in that house."
"Me, too. He can come with us," Lightning replied as she took one of the man's arms and forced him to walk in front of her.
"Wow. You're a strong one," the man grumbled, eying Lightning with a frown.
Lightning ignored him as she forced him up the path to the house. The doorknob turned without protest, so she pushed the door open with her fist and shoved the suspect inside. Fang remained behind her, keeping her eyes open for anyone else who might be working with the trespasser. Together the two of them searched the house, clearing each room. Ultimately, the entire place was empty.
"You had every right to search this house, since it's town property, but I told you I wasn't doing anything in here." The trespasser laughed.
"You're coming to the NORA Headquarters with us. I'm not convinced that you weren't doing anything here," Lightning told him firmly.
He shrugged indifferently. "I didn't do anything, but I can't stop you from wasting your time."
"What's your name?" Fang asked the prisoner.
"Pilot Jackson, but people call me P.J." The burly man tilted his head, sneering. "Have you heard of me?"
"Nope."
"Well, you'll know my name pretty well soon enough." P.J. smirked coldly. "That's a promise."
"Read him his rights, Fang," Lightning interrupted.
"I was hoping you'd forget all about that." P.J. laughed. "Then I could've walked right out the door."
Xxx
The Troth Main Strip was located directly in the center of the Town of Troth, and it encompassed the largest street in the town. The area was heavily populated with stores and restaurants year round and also hosted many venders with market stands during the warmer months. Although Troth was a small town, almost everything the residents could possible need could be found on the Main Strip. However, two particular residents had traveled down the entire strip that freezing morning without any success.
"I guess we should find somewhere to get lunch," Serah mumbled, defeated.
"Don't give up, Serah. We're gonna find the perfect dress. I'm sure of it," Vanille told her friend gently, placing her hand on her shoulder. "We'll find it right after lunch. I can feel it."
Serah smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Vanille. Thank you so much for everything you've done to help me and for putting up with how upset I've been."
"It's no problem. I completely understand." The Gran Pulsian woman smiled faintly. "I know you want the most perfect wedding day in the world, Serah, but it's gonna be amazing even if you end up marrying Snow in a paper bag, 'cause at the end of the day you get to go home knowing you two are gonna be together forever."
"I guess you're right." Serah laughed lightly. "Maybe I should just buy the next dress that fits me?"
"Only if you love it," Vanille replied with a grin. "But you've gotta stop looking for the perfect dress. Find a few that you like and ask the owners if they'll hold them for you so at the end of the day you can choose which one you really want, okay? If you see another dress you like better later, you can always buy that one and return the others if there's time."
"You're right." Serah gave a hopeful look. "I love shopping with you. You have such a positive attitude."
"I always try to stay positive," Vanille replied with a grin, looping her arm through Serah's and tugging her around the corner. "Come on. There's gotta be a good restaurant close by."
Serah nodded, glancing over her shoulder and searching for somewhere that she wanted to eat. "Do you like seafood?"
Vanille tilted her head curiously. "You mean like fish?"
"Exactly." Serah nodded.
"I liked the fish they caught in the streams near our village." Vanille shrugged. "Where do you think they got the fish for this restaurant? There aren't any big rivers or lakes nearby."
"There must be one somewhere," Serah murmured distractedly as she scanned the street. She suddenly flinched.
"What's wrong?" Vanille tried to follow her gaze.
Serah took her friend's arm, whispering quietly, "Look at that man over there."
Vanille looked and a nervous frown covered her face. Half a block down the street stood a man wearing loose jeans and a black hoodie with the hood pulled over his face. His hands were in his pockets, but it was clear from his posture and the wrinkles in his shirt that he was very muscular and imposing. He was looking in their direction and he moved suspiciously as though he were trying to remain out of sight.
"We shouldn't stare at him," Serah whispered, tugging on Vanille's arm. "Sorry. He just startled me a little."
"Who'd be dressed like that during the day? It's not even snowing," Vanille murmured, frowning. "I'm so used to going places with Fang that nothing usually scares me. It's a lot harder now that she's working and I have to be on my own sometimes."
"Weren't you ever on your own in Oerba?"
"I was always on my own during the day, but that was different." Vanille smiled nostalgically. "Oerba was my home. I lived there my whole life. It was really small, too. All the villages around us knew we were a hunting village, 'cause sometimes they had to trade with us for food when there were shortages, so no one ever wanted to attack us. Fang always said I'd be really safe as long as I never went in the forest, but I never felt afraid going out to pick flowers on my own."
"It's nice that you could feel so safe. I always felt that way when Claire was with me. She was my big sister and she was always really strong. I knew she would never let anyone hurt me."
"And now you've got Snow to protect you, too," Vanille pointed out, grinning.
Serah nodded, laughing lightly. "It's really nice to have people to protect you, but I want to be able to protect myself, too. I've been taking self-defense classes with some of my co-workers. Do you want to come sometime when I go back? The classes are really useful. We just learned how to throw someone off if they're pinning you down."
"Maybe." Vanille shrugged, giggling. "It might be fun to surprise Fang next time she gets on top of me."
Serah flushed faintly. "R-Right. Ooh, do you want to go to that restaurant over there? It looks really nice."
Vanille nodded. "Sure. That looks okay."
As Serah was turning, she happened to glance over her shoulder and gasped in surprise. She immediately grabbed Vanille's arm and ducked into the building, pulling the other woman with her. Once they were out of sight, she pointed out the window.
"Look, Vanille! It's the same guy standing across the street. Do you think he's following us?"
Vanille followed her gaze and frowned. "I dunno. He's not looking over here."
Serah bit her lip nervously. "Let's just stay inside for a while. If he doesn't know we're here and he is following us, he'll just go away."
"If he saw us come in here, he'll probably just way. Then we'll know he's following," Vanille commented.
"Vanille, don't say that." Serah hugged herself. "Aren't you scared?"
Shaking her head, the Gran Pulsian woman smiled reassuringly. "We don't know he's following us. Let's just get something to eat. He can't hurt us in here."
"Right." Serah bit her lip and nodded. "I bet it's a coincidence anyway. Why would someone be following us?"
"Exactly." Vanille nodded encouragingly before turning to the hostess. "We'd like a table for two, please."
"Of course. Right this way."
Xxx
"That was a really good lunch," Vanille exclaimed cheerfully as she walked out of the restaurant. "I never had that kind of soup before. It was really delicious."
"I'm glad you liked it," Serah replied with a cheerful smile.
"So, what store do you wanna go to now?" Vanille asked as she took out a map of all the bridal boutiques and dress shops and instantly eliminated all the stores to which they had already gone.
"I don't know." Serah sighed in exhausted. "I think I really will just buy the next dress that fits me. I'm getting really tired of all this shopping, and I have so much else to do. As soon as people start responding to the RSVPs I need to give the reception hall a final number of guests. Do you think Hope will need a plus one?"
"I dunno. Does he have a girlfriend?" Vanille asked curiously.
"Snow said he was asking him for advice on how to impress a girl he's taking to a dance," Serah replied with a smile.
"He should ask Fang," Vanille replied with a warm smile. "She always did the most romantic things for me."
"Really?" Serah asked skeptically. "She told Hope that if he was choosing between a romantic dinner and a movie, he should choose a movie because it means more making out."
Vanille giggled. "Fang always talks like that, but she really is romantic."
"Snow is, too." Serah sighed happily as they turned a corner. Lowering her voice, she asked "Do you think that guy is still behind us?"
"I dunno," Vanille replied with a shrug.
Serah risked a look and her eyes widened with horror. "He's following us, Vanille. He's only a block behind us."
Vanille bit her lip nervously. "Are you sure it's the same guy?"
"Yes, I'm sure. What if it's the person who broke our window?" Serah cried nervously.
"Maybe they don't wanna hurt us," Vanille told Serah with a frown. "Maybe they're just trying to scare us, so we just have to keep walking until we find another store and go inside quickly."
"Where are we?" Serah asked as she peeked at Vanille's map.
"I'm not really sure, but I think we're far away from the air car," Vanille replied with a frown, glancing over her shoulder. "He's walking even faster."
"What?" Serah gasped, beginning to panic. "This can't be happening, Vanille. I can't die right before my wedding."
"You're not gonna die," Vanille told her gently. "We're gonna get to a store and I'm gonna call Fang. She'll come get us."
"What if he follows us into the store?"
"He can't hurt us in front of a lot of people," Vanille replied firmly.
"What if he does?" Serah protested. "He's got his face covered. He would walk right in and shoot us and then run out."
Vanille's brows knit with worry. "Maybe you're right. What should we do?"
"Hey!"
Both girls jumped and looked over their shoulder. The man was closer now, and he was waving his arms wildly.
"Hey!"
"What is he doing?" Serah gasped. "Vanille, we have to get out of here."
"How fast can you run?" Vanille cried quietly.
"Hey! Stop!"
"I don't know, but we're about to find out. Why did I wear heels?" Serah gasped.
"Hey!"
Vanille glanced over her shoulder in time to see the man in the black hoodie sprinting toward them. With a shriek of surprise, she grabbed Serah's arm and shoved her forwards. "Run, Serah! If we make it to the end of the street and go around that corner, we should get away."
"O-Okay," Serah replied as she broke into a run.
The two girls tore around the corner as quickly as they could, aware that the man was not only following them but shouting at them.
Serah looked over her shoulder and cried in fear. "Vanille, he's faster than us."
"Just keep running!"
"But he's catching up!"
"Stop looking at him! It'll slow you down," Vanille cried.
Serah squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and then resolved that she would not look back again. As she focused forwards, she noticed that there was another woman in front of the two of them. She was running even faster than both of them, her long strides carrying her around the corner so fast that Serah only noticed that she had long blonde hair and a slim physique.
"Ah!" Vanille suddenly shrieked.
Serah glanced over her shoulder and stopped running with a gasp. "Vanille, are you okay?"
The Gran Pulsian woman was on the ground clutching at her ankle. "I'm okay, Serah. Keep running. You have to get away."
"No, I'm not leaving you here," Serah replied, biting her lip nervously as she watched the black-clad man whirl around the corner. "We're just gonna have to fight him."
Vanille nodded gravely, ignoring the pain in her ankle as she sat up.
They watched the approaching man with narrowed eyes so that he would know that he could not harm them, and Serah stood up to show him that she would defend her friend if necessary. However, he ran right past her and raced around the corner without a word.
"W-What just happened?" Serah asked, looking at Vanille with wide eyes.
"I dunno," Vanille whispered nervously.
The man suddenly came back around the corner, startling both women.
"Are you all right?" He asked as he pulled down his hood, revealing a handsome young face with black skin and honey-colored eyes. "I'm sorry I scared you so badly. You just happened to be everywhere I was tracking her all day."
Vanille shifted uncomfortably. "Who?"
"The woman in front of you. You didn't see her?" He shook his head, sighing. "I'm a bounty hunter. I can't tell you anything about her if you're not involved, because it's better that you don't know, but she missed her court dates and I had to get her back there."
"But you lost her?" Serah asked suspiciously.
"Yeah. She's really fast." He frowned, taking a step closer to Vanille. "Are you all right? I can help you. My air car isn't far from here. I can take you wherever you need to go."
"I'm okay now," Vanille lied cheerfully. "We're gonna keep shopping for a while."
"Are you sure? I could take a look at your ankle. It looks swollen."
"I just twisted it. It doesn't even hurt anymore," Vanille replied with a pleasant smile.
"All right." He gave her a curious look. "Sorry again for scaring you two."
"It's okay," Vanille chirped. "Good luck finding that woman."
"Thanks. Have a good day."
When the bounty hunter disappeared around the corner, Serah and Vanille waited silently for quite a long time before Serah asked quietly, "Do you really feel okay, Vanille?"
"I don't know if I can walk," Vanille admitted quietly, "but I didn't trust him."
"Me either," Serah replied with a frown as she stood up and reached down to help Vanille. "Come on. We should be able to make it to a store. Then I'll call Sazh to come pick us up. He can drive us to our car and I'll drive it back."
"That's a good idea," Vanille replied with a grateful smile as she wrapped her arm around Serah's shoulders and allowed the younger woman to help her limp away.
Xxx
Fang pulled into Lightning's driveway and parked the air car. As she glanced out the windows and the rear-view mirror to make sure that she had left enough room for everyone else, she thought about how difficult it would be for everyone to get out of the driveway in the morning when both Vanille and Sazh had jobs. It seemed likely that in the future she, Lighting, and Snow might have to begin to carpool with each other to avoid moving so many cars each morning.
Fang pushed the door open and climbed out, locking her car before she turned toward the house. There was still no glass in the window, but they have covered the hole with brown paper and cardboard while they waited for the repair company to send someone to fix the damage.
"What could someone have against all of us?" Fang mused with a sigh.
As NORA agents, it was easy to make enemies. While Snow had been an agent for the longest and Lightning had a list of enemies that most likely spanned farther back than Cocoon's fall, Fang could not think of anyone living in the small town of Troth who could have a problem with all three of them. Up until recently, there had not even been many arrests in the mostly quiet town. The only person that she could think of who might have something against at least two of them was the man who called himself P.J., but he was still in custody. If he was responsible, they would find out soon enough.
The front door suddenly opened and Serah poked her head out. "Oh, Fang, it's you. I heard an air car in the driveway and thought it might be Snow."
"Is something wrong?" Fang asked with a frown.
"No, nothing's wrong." Serah shook her head firmly. "I was just going to ask him to get the mail for me."
"I can get it," Fang offered.
"No. I think you should come inside." The younger woman frowned. "Vanille fell and twisted her ankle today. She's okay, but I think she was waiting for you to come home."
Fang frowned, concerned, and walked briskly toward the door. "Is she upstairs?"
"She's here." Serah stepped out of the way.
As she quickly removed her coat and boots, Fang scanned the room and spotted Vanille lying on the couch with an icepack on top of her ankle. She was watching Hope and Dajh play video games on the television. Although she did not look uncomfortable or upset, Fang wanted to make sure that she was all right immediately, so she did not waste any time moving across the room.
"Vanille, what happened?" Fang asked worriedly as she appeared beside the couch.
The younger woman twisted to look at her and smiled gratefully. "Fang, I've been waiting for you to come home!"
"Are you okay?" Fang asked gently, crouching in front of her and studying her ankle. "It looks like this was a pretty nasty fall."
Vanille nodded, frowning nervously. "Serah and I thought someone was following us. We were really scared, so we started running. Then I fell down."
Fang's eyes widened. "Was someone really following you? Gimme a description and I'll go like for them right now."
"I dunno if he was or not." Vanille lowered her voice, not wanting Hope or Dajh to hear. "He ran right past us after I fell down, but then he came back to ask if I was okay. He said he was a bounty hunter and he was chasing some other woman who was running in front of us, but I dunno if he was telling the truth or not."
Fang ran her fingers through Vanille's hair. "He didn't try to hurt you, did he?"
"No. He offered to give us a ride in his air car, but I didn't wanna go with him because I didn't know whether or not I could trust him."
"Good." Fang leaned forwards and kissed her gently. "Is your ankle really swollen?"
Vanille nodded. "Serah gave me some medicine, but I can't really walk still."
"Maybe you should see a doctor," Fang suggested as she carefully lifted the ice pack to look at her injury.
"I'll go tomorrow if it doesn't get better overnight," Vanille promised.
"I'll take you," Fang offered. "I've got tomorrow off."
"Really?" Vanille asked excitedly. "I thought you'd only get weekends off after a while."
"I thought so too, but it turns out they can't make us work more than a certain amount of hours," Fang replied with a grin. "That means I can take every Sunday off or I can choose another day if I want."
"That's really exciting, Fang. We get to spend even more time together!"
Fang laughed lightly.
"Can we go upstairs for a while?" Vanille asked quietly. "I wanna lie on the bed."
"Sure we can." Fang picked up the icepack and handed it to her. "Hang onto this for a second."
Vanille gave a nod, looking confused.
Fang suddenly slid her arms underneath Vanille and lifted her slowly, holding her in her arms bridal style. "It's a good thing you're so light."
The younger woman giggled, wrapping her arms around Fang's neck. "I thought you said I was getting heavier."
"I was lying," Fang replied with a teasing grin.
"I knew it!" Vanille poked her in the shoulder. "That's mean, Fang."
Fang smirked playfully. "What do you expect? You don't let me play pranks anymore. I've gotta have fun somehow."
Vanille laughed and snuggled into her arms.
Fang carried Vanille up both sets of stairs and set her down carefully on the bed before she helped her put the icepack on her ankle. "Do you wanna watch some television? I know we don't have one, but I could go out and get one."
"We don't have a lot of money, Fang," Vanille protested with a smile. "Just come sit with me."
With a smile, Fang nodded and joined her girlfriend on the bed. She scooted closer, wrapping her arm around the younger woman's shoulders, and murmured, "So, it sounds like you had a pretty adventurous day. Did you find a dress?"
"No, but when we got back, Serah went on another dress website and found one she thinks is perfect." Vanille smiled, relieved. "She called the store and they're gonna hold one for her to try on. She's going Monday. I'll go with her if my foot's feeling better."
"I wish you were going tomorrow so I could go," Fang mumbled. "Between bounty hunters and squatters, there's a lot to worry about these days."
"What d'you mean?" Vanille pouted up at her.
"Remember how Light picked this town because she was done with society and wanted to live away from people?" Fang asked with an amused smile.
"Yep. She said we couldn't even come visit at first, but then Serah talked her out of that," Vanille replied with a grin.
"Well, it turns out the town's not so little anymore. People have been moving out of the city pretty steadily, pouring into the towns all around it," Fang explained. "The population of this town has actually doubled since Lightning first came here, and there're more people coming in every day. It seems like the more people there are, the more crime there is, too. Just today we had another two robberies, which Light's convinced were related to the first one we investigated."
Vanille frowned faintly. "What did they rob?"
"Stores. The robberies usually happen at night, but they're not reported until early in the morning. The perpetrators have been picking the locks so the alarms don't go off." Fang shook her head. "That's not the worst part though. There've been a few violent crimes, the kind of stuff that we never even had nightmares about in Oerba."
"Murders?" Vanille asked nervously.
"No, none yet, thankfully. Other stuff," Fang sighed, hugging her more tightly. "I'm not gonna go into detail, 'cause I don't want you to think about it."
"Okay." Vanille sighed and nuzzled against her.
Fang kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna change out of my work clothes, okay?"
Vanille nodded, pulling away from her. "Do you ever get assigned to the violent crimes? Did you put someone in jail? Maybe there was a case that you, Lightning and Snow were all involved in."
"That would make sense, but there are no cases all three of us have worked on." Fang stood and crossed the room, opening the armoire and changing into something more comfortable. Before she removed her pants, she pulled a knife out of her pocket and set it on the shorter dresser next to the armoire.
The younger woman shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "That's your hunting knife."
"I feel more comfortable with it than with a gun, not that it'd win against a gun unless I was really close," Fang explained.
"You're probably in a lot of danger at work," Vanille mumbled sadly. "Why couldn't you be something nice and safe like a jewelry maker?"
Fang laughed lightly as she closed the armoire and carried her knife to the bed, sticking it beneath her pillow. "Vanille, if I were a store owner, there's a chance I'd be getting robbed right now."
"But maybe no one would throw a brick through your window." Vanille crossed her arms. "I don't wanna be in danger. I want a nice, quiet life."
"A quiet life sounds boring," Fang replied with a grin as she pulled Vanille into her arms. "But I've been thinking about the future, and I do want a different life than this."
Vanille glanced up at her curiously. "What d'you mean, Fang?"
"I'm not sure I wanna stay a part of NORA in the long run," Fang explained quietly. "Don't tell Snow. I dunno exactly what I'm gonna do yet. I just know that I thought this would be a lot like being a hunter. Our main jobs in Oerba were getting food and protecting everyone. I thought this would be the same, but it's not. The danger of hunting was real, but it's different fighting animals, especially if you need to eat. I knew that everything I killed would provide food and make tools for our village. This is different. People are after each other and I'm after them. I don't like it as much as I thought I would."
With a frown, Vanille ran her fingers through Fang's wild hair. "Then what do you wanna do? You can't be a hunter, not by yourself."
"I know." Fang shrugged. "I dunno what I want to do. Maybe we could move out into the woods and grow our own food and I could just hunt for the two of us. We don't really need electricity. We could sustain ourselves fine."
"What about heat in the winter?" Vanille asked with a grin.
Fang shook her head. "I dunno. We could have a wood stove like in Oerba."
"I like our life here," Vanille murmured with a sigh. "Having power and heating and especially running water is really nice."
With a faint smile, Fang mused that she should probably stop chasing the dream of living in their village again. "All right. I'll find some other job I'm good at and we can stay here."
"Fang, I don't want you to be unhappy," Vanille insisted. "We'll compromise. We can build our own house and live close to the forest, but we can also be close enough to here that we can visit our friends whenever we want and I can open a jewelry store."
"That sounds good," Fang murmured, though in truth she really did miss village life. The rules had been so much clearer, and because of her position as a hunter, she and Vanille had everything that they needed.
"Good." Vanille leaned up to kiss her cheek. "If you want we could even travel a bit and see if there are any other Gran Pulsian tribes around. Somebody has to have survived, right?"
Fang brightened at that idea. "That would be really nice. I bet Serah would let us keep our stuff here if we went on a short journey."
"We can go after the wedding," Vanille promised, glad because she could see that Fang was sincerely pleased by the suggestion.
"It's a date." Fang grinned and leaned closer to Vanille, snuggling against her. "Now, let's just rest for a little while. Moments like this are still my favorite."
Vanille smiled nostalgically and hugged Fang close.
Xxx
In the middle of the night, Fang walked down the stairs for a drink of water and found Lightning sitting in front of the television. Her features were drawn and exhausted, but she was focused intently on the news.
"Did something happen?" Fang asked curiously.
Lightning shook her head, glancing over her shoulder with a frown. "I was thinking about the brick."
"What about it?" Fang asked as she took a seat on the couch.
"Either someone was trying to scare us or they wanted to distract us from something else," Lightning opined, narrowing her eyes. "If they're using this as a distraction, it must be something big."
"I'd say." Fang smiled wryly. "The whole house is riled."
The ex-soldier frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know anyone who would have something against all three of us."
"There was no forensic evidence, so unless they come back again, we'll never know who it was." Fang shrugged and stood up to walk into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder. "We can't live in fear, so it's better not to think about it."
"I'm not afraid," Lighting told her with conviction. "I'm just angry."
"I can relate," Fang replied as she returned with a glass of water and took her seat for the second time. "I dunno why he'd have anything against Snow, but you don't think P.J. was behind this, do you? We saw him for the first time that morning."
"It crossed my mind, but I don't see the connection," Lightning replied with a shrug.
"I don't yet, but I'll find one if it's there," Fang assured her as she took the last sip of her water. As she stood, she suggested, "Get some sleep, Light. The mystery'll still be there in the morning."
Lightning scoffed.
"Goodnight," Fang told her with a playful look.
"'Night."
As Fang was walking up the stairs, she was sure that she heard Lightning speaking to someone, and her brows furrowed suspiciously. However, when she snuck back down, she found Lightning sitting alone in the same spot.
The ex-soldier turned to look at her, her brow raised expectantly. "What?"
"Nothing." Fang's narrowed eyes scanned around the room for a moment before with a shrug she walked back up the stairs. "See you tomorrow."
The second that Fang's back was turned, she heard the murmurings again, but there was nowhere for anyone to hide. She was exhausted and it had been a long day, so she wrote it off as her imagination as she walked back up the stairs.
Xxx
A few minutes later, Fang shut the attic door gently behind her and slipped back into bed. When Vanille stirred, she smiled apologetically. "Sorry. I just went downstairs for a second."
"To get water?" Vanille gasped nervously. "Fang, that's how you got hurt last time."
Fang smiled faintly. "Don't worry, Vanille. I don't think someone would break the window again. They were sending us a message. If they wanted to get inside and try to hurt someone, they would've done it."
Vanille did not look comforted. "I know you don't want me to be here alone, Fang, but eventually I'll have to be. Sazh is gonna get a job, Hope's going back home at the end of the week, and Dajh will be in school."
"You and the dogs really can come stay at the office," Fang reminded her gently, brushing her hair out of her face.
"That'll be so boring," Vanille replied with a pout.
"No, it won't. You can sit at my desk and make jewelry all day," Fang assured her.
Vanille chuckled lightly before sobering. "Do you think I should get out my knife? I know it's in the closet somewhere. Serah and I were okay today, but what if there was real danger?"
Fang shook her head. "Do you think you could use the knife against another person? And are you 100% sure that they couldn't get the knife away from you?"
"I dunno," Vanille admitted with a sigh.
"Then you're better off without it." Fang wrapped her arms around Vanille and hugged her close. "You could try a frying pan though."
"A frying pan?" Vanille raised her brow, perplexed.
"Sorry." Fang laughed lightly. "Saw it in one of Serah's movies."
Vanille smiled at Fang's amusement, but ultimately a nervous look settled across her features.
"Don't worry, Vanille," Fang told her seriously, touching the side of her face and looking into her eyes. "If anything else happens, I'm gonna protect you. You don't need a knife when you've got me."
Vanille smiled warmly, sincerely comforted even though she knew that Fang could not be with her at all times.
Xxx
Lightning looked up when she heard a noise behind her. She smiled faintly as she realized that it was just Ripper padding down the stairs. The dog paused beside her chair, barking once before he jumped into her lap.
"Quiet. People are sleeping," Lightning mumbled as she closed out of the web chat on her laptop and shut the screen. The ex-soldier patted the puppy's head and sighed. "Who do you think through the brick through the window?"
Ripper barked again and licked her face.
"You have to be quiet," Lightning scolded with a frown.
A strange noise sounded by the window. Ripper's tail stood up straight and he barked again, but Lightning silenced him by covering his mouth with her hand.
After waiting a moment, Lightning set the puppy down on the couch and told him firmly to stay. When she was sure that he would not move, she crept across the room and lowered the cardboard away from the window, leaving nothing but a brown paper screen between herself and the outside world. A person stood in front of the screen, casting a dark shadow through the brown paper. It was impossible to see anything but a silhouette, but the shadow lifted its hand as though to touch the opaque screen.
Ripper suddenly snarled loudly, causing the silhouette to flinch and sprint away.
Lightning immediately ran to the door, throwing it open and shutting it behind her so that Ripper could not follow. Snowflakes rained down on her, filling her eyes and making it difficult to see. The footprints that had been left behind were quickly filling up with snow, so Lightning sprinted around the corner in time to find a black-clad figure disappearing at the forest line.
The ex-soldier dimly registered the barrel of a gunblade as the shadowy figure crouched behind one of the trees. Instinct threw her onto her stomach before the small pop filled the air. The shot would have went right through her leg if she did not move out of the way.
Lightning remained on the ground until she could no longer see the perpetrator or the gun. When she thought that it was safe to move, she raced into the forest, searching for signs of the escaped attacker, but all that she could do was wander in circles as the snow swallowed up all the evidence. Soon she realized that she could not track the perpetrator through the woods in those conditions, so she scoffed and stomped back into the house. She did not bother taking off her boots as she ran up the stairs. By the time she reached the attic, she assumed that she had woken half the house anyway, so she knocked loudly on Fang's door.
"I'm coming in!"
Fang was already sitting up in bed rubbing her exhausted eyes, and Vanille lay next to her, still asleep.
"Put warm clothes on," Lightning snapped. "The guy who threw the brick came back. I just chased him into the woods."
"What'd he look like?" Fang asked, instantly alert. "Do you know who it was?"
"All I saw was a black hoodie. It was snowing too hard and he shot at me."
"Are you all right?" Fang studied her.
Lightning nodded impatiently. "We have to go now. Get up."
"What do you need me for if he got away?" Fang asked, adding humorously, "Want me to interrogate the trees?"
"You're a hunter, right?" Lightning crossed her arms. "A tracker?"
Fang nodded as she immediately understood. "I'll get my coat."
"I'll see you downstairs," Lightning replied as she stomped away.
"What's going on?" Vanille asked quietly, her eyes still closed.
"I'm gonna go with Lightning for a little while, but I'll be back soon." Fang leaned forwards to kiss her cheek. "Stay here, okay? Kiwi's sleeping right now. If he starts barking, that means something's wrong."
Ripper suddenly ran in through the open door, whimpering.
"Now they're both in here, so you're extra safe," Fang assured Vanille gently.
"Fang, they're too little to protect me," Vanille replied with a faint smile.
"They can still bark if something's wrong, so make sure you're paying attention to them," Fang told her gently as she climbed out of bed.
With a sleepy nod, Vanille mumbled, "Be careful, Fang. I worry about you."
"I will be."
Xxx
Lightning led Fang into the forest, indicating where she had lost the shooter. "He went that way."
Fang nodded and crept carefully into the woods, ducking under the branches so she would not disturb them. "He went this way. Look at all the broken branches. He's obviously not used to forest travel."
The ex-soldier followed quietly behind. "All the footprints disappeared. Damn snow."
"It's not his fault, Light," Fang joked. "He was sleeping upstairs."
"Ha ha," Lightning replied, deadpan.
"Look. Your shooter cut his arm right here." Fang pointed at a twisted branch with a bit of blood on the end. "He must've been looking behind him while he was running away. He thought you were still after him."
Lightning nodded, gripping her gunblade as she surveyed their surroundings.
"Looks like he was in a big hurry. I guess he was pretty scared you'd catch him," Fang commented idly as she crept between the trees. "That's good to know."
"He should be afraid of me. If he breaks me window again, I'll find him and kill him myself," Lightning exclaimed loudly, hoping he was close enough to hear.
"That's good. Let's make him even angrier at us."
Fang moved swiftly through the forest, her ears pricking every time Lightning took a step behind her. Though the trained soldier was quiet enough that most others would not hear her steps, they were quite loud to Fang, who had spent most of her life learning to listen to the quietest forest sounds.
"The trail ends here," Fang exclaimed as she and Lightning stopped in front of a dark road. "Look at the way the snow drifted. He had an air car waiting here."
"Maybe he's working with someone," Lightning suggested with narrowed eyes. "If it was two people or a group, then it would make more sense that they would want to take down all three of us."
Fang nodded thoughtfully. "Let's go back to the house. There's nothing else we can do now."
Although she nodded, Lightning clenched her fists. "I'll get him next time."
"Just be careful," Fang warned. "If he shot at you, he's dangerous."
"He didn't shoot to kill," Lightning argued. "He just wanted to injure me so I couldn't catch him."
"You don't know that," Fang cautioned. "Maybe he's just a lousy shot."
Lightning rolled her eyes but conceded. "Maybe."
"Either way, we have to report this. Do you wanna call or should I?"
"I'll do it."