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Chapter Two

The Graceful Assassin

There was a moment of stillness. The only sound was that of rush of wind as the fal'Cie flew spastically overhead. The bodies of soldiers were strewn everywhere, creating a circle around the two dissidents, but they didn't stir.

"Both of you! Put your hands up!" a voice shouted from off in the distance.

Lightning and Marluxia turned in the opposite direction of the gate and saw that another squad of soldiers was running toward them, their guns trained on the pair. "You're under arrest!" the one in the front screamed.

"Time to go," Marluxia said smoothly. He grabbed Lightning's arm and dragged her away, pulling her toward the edge of the circle and out of the line of fire.

"Wait!" Lightning objected, but he was already running, moving across the street where the taxi had dropped her off just minutes ago. "You can't just—"

He ran on, keeping Lightning in tow, weaving through streets and checking over his shoulder every so often to see whether the soldiers were still pursuing them. Every few steps Lightning could hear their voices behind her, shouting about submitting or they'd shoot. Finally her pink-haired captor rounded a corner and stopped to catch his breath.

"That should do it," he remarked. "Glad we got out of there in time."

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Lightning snapped as soon as she had the breath. "Do you blow up military weapons and run away for fun?!"

"Not for fun," Marluxia answered. "But I do it."

As Lightning trained her gaze on him, seething, he laced his fingers together behind his head and spun around so that he was facing away from her. "Ahh, glad we got out of there. We seem to have escaped the worst of it."

"Do you know what you're saying?" Lightning demanded. "Look at me. Do I look like a convict? Do I look like a delinquent? I don't know who you think you are, but I am a member of the Guardian Corps, and your little stunt is sure as hell not going to get me any prestige points with my commander."

Marluxia swiveled to face her again. "Guardian Corps… The military, is it? Why did you join in the fight, then?"

"I wanted to make sure that thing didn't harm any innocent civilians," Lightning muttered, staring at the ground. Her hand went to her chest, covering the spot where she knew her l'Cie brand still marred her skin.

"Is that so?" His blue eyes seemed to be burning a hole into her. "You thought they'd consider you an enemy either way too, didn't you?"

"What?" Lightning exclaimed. But he was already turning away again, a sarcastic smirk playing on his pale lips.

"Hmm… Are you going home? I need a place to crash," Marluxia said casually.

Lightning was about to snap at him again, but just then she came to a realization: Her apartment was the only place she had to go. She couldn't return to the military and Amodar, not when she had the l'Cie brand and the mech incident on her record. There was no way around it. If she went back, they would end her no matter what she said.

"Why don't you have anywhere to go?" Lightning growled.

"Well, I can't tell you that." Marluxia stared back at her levelly. "But I will say that my work makes it complicated."

"I suppose," she muttered. "As long as you promise to behave yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He grinned back at her. "Lead the way."

Thanks to the little race they had run with the soldiers, they were now close enough that they could walk to Lightning's apartment with little trouble. Lightning stayed at least a few steps ahead of Marluxia, resolving not to say a word to him until they got there. But even that didn't deter him. He was with her right up until they reached her front door.

The pink-haired man walked right through the door and into her living room before she could even take the key back out of the lock. "Mind if I take a rest?" he asked.

"Not before I get some answers," Lightning replied coldly. She wrenched the key out of the door and stalked after him into the living room. "Why were you at the military base this morning? And why did you attack that machine?" she demanded.

"Hmm, so you're not the type to make tea and entertain visitors," Marluxia observed, sprawling out across the futon next to the window. "To answer your question, that is classified information. My boss does not allow anyone to disclose things related to work."

"So you think," Lightning began to recapitulate, pointing a finger at him, "that I'm going to let you stay in my apartment, after I just saw you run away from a military patrol, while you harass me about how I'm not allowed to know anything else about you."

"That's not how it is," Marluxia protested.

"That's how you're making it." Lightning glared at him.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know as long as it's not related to my work," he answered.

Lightning shook her head and turned away. She knew he didn't mean that literally, but she wasn't in the mood for games.

"I'm not kidding. Ask away," Marluxia called as she stormed into the kitchen.

Lightning spent the afternoon avoiding her own living room as Marluxia proceeded to sleep there. She wondered why she was letting him stay in her apartment, giving him some sort of safe haven, after he'd driven them both out of the military base area and Lightning out of her own work. She figured she'd let him get off too easy this time; she was letting him take advantage, and decided she wouldn't tomorrow.

In the meantime she took her phone out of her pocket and set it on the counter in the kitchen while she made some coffee. She flipped the TV on and saw that in the latest news, a fal'Cie had broken into military property and severely damaged the buildings. The report mentioned that the whole facility was now on lockdown, but it didn't say anything about her and Marluxia attacking the machine at the gates.

Whether her phone rang while she was preoccupied, she didn't notice. And so she hardly expected the door to burst open and a familiar voice to break the silence.

"Lightning?"

Lightning rushed through the living room to the front door and found her sister standing there. "Serah?" she asked. "How did you get in?"

"I know where you keep your extra key," Serah said, but she didn't smile. "Who's that?"

She was looking over Lightning's shoulder at the sleeping figure on the futon in the living room, probably getting all the wrong ideas already. "Serah, look, some weird things happened this morning at work, and—"

"That's not an answer." Serah was on the verge of using her teacher voice, something Lightning wanted to avoid at all costs. "Are you involved with him? What haven't you told me, Lightning?"

Oh, God. Lightning rubbed her forehead, exasperated. "Serah, it's a long story," she said. "It all happened just this morning. Come in."

Her sister stormed through the entryway and walked straight into the kitchen, throwing herself down in one of the chairs. Lightning followed her and picked up her cup of coffee. She was in no mood to play hostess, especially with her sister and Marluxia there, but she handed Serah another mug anyway.

"Thank you," her sister said. She said nothing more—only looked pointedly at Lightning.

"I went to work this morning, or at least I tried," Lightning said. "I don't know if you've seen the news since then, but there was a fal'Cie that showed up there and started running into things. The whole place went on red alert, and I was at the gates."

Serah's expression was transformed in a matter of seconds. "A fal'Cie?!" she gasped, nearly spilling her coffee. "You weren't hurt, were you?"

"No, but it's mostly thanks to him." Lightning tilted her head toward the living room, where Marluxia was still passed out. "They sent out this huge military warmech and started firing on civilians, and then he showed up out of nowhere and started fighting it. When the fight was over, he just dragged me out of there and then asked if he could stay here. I haven't gone back since. The news says the place is in lockdown." Lightning shook her head.

"You're letting him stay in your apartment?" Serah asked, dropping her voice. "A complete stranger? Do you even know his name?"

"I had no other choice, Serah," Lightning said. "And I know his name. It's Marluxia. I'll tell him he has to leave tomorrow."

"This isn't like you, sis," Serah said, standing up. "Tell you what. I'll come stay with you for a few days. It doesn't seem… like a good idea to be alone with him in your apartment all the time."

"I'll be fine, Serah. I promise." Lightning crossed her arms. "After all, I have weapons, if I need them."

Her sister's smile looked pained. "Lightning…" she said simply, gazing at her sister.

Lightning sighed and averted her eyes. She wished she could tell Serah what had really started all this—the fact that she'd become a l'Cie. But she couldn't tell anyone that. She could barely admit it to herself.

l'Cie, l'Cie, l'Cie.

"I'm going to come and check up on you every so often," Serah decided. There was a note in her voice that told Lightning she couldn't argue. "That's what sisters do, right?"

"I guess it is," Lightning sighed. "But I'm fine, Serah. I promise."

"Do you?" Serah asked hopefully. She opened her mouth to say something else, but then pursed her lips instead.

"What?" Lightning asked. Then she turned in the direction that Serah was looking and saw that Marluxia was sitting upright on the futon in the living room, his chin balanced on his fist. He was looking right at them with a knowing smirk on his lips as he stood up and walked into the kitchen.

"How long have you been—?!" Lightning demanded, but Marluxia strode right past her. He extended his hand to Serah.

"Are you related to Lightning?" he asked. "Nice to meet you."

"Um, you too," Serah said, shaking Marluxia's hand delicately. "Did we… wake you up?"

"No. In fact, I didn't hear you come in," Marluxia said with a smile that told Lightning it was a total lie. He must have heard everything they'd said about him.

"Well, I—" Serah began just before her phone started to go off in her pocket. She glanced down, embarrassed, and pulled it out. "Oh. I'm sorry, you two—I have to take this. It's Snow," she added to Lightning.

"Right," Lightning answered in a tone that said more, Whatever.

As soon as her sister had left the room, Lightning turned her back on Marluxia, crossing her arms. She wanted to blame him for starting this weird tension between her and Serah, but in the back of her mind she knew that wasn't really the case. Was it a coincidence, the fact that that flying fal'Cie had showed up at the military base just days after she had encountered a different fal'Cie, and found that brand on her skin?

Serah seemed to sense something, but she didn't seem to understand what exactly was going on. She had called Lightning that morning asking her if she was okay, and now here she stood, trying to convince her sister that it was okay for her to come and stay in her apartment for a few days.

"Your sister looks a lot like you," Marluxia commented to Lightning's back. Lightning didn't reply. He added, "Her hair is the same color."

Lightning shot him a look over her shoulder. "Speak for yourself," she finally muttered. Then, "What did you do with your weapon, anyway?"

"It is merely out of my hands at the moment," Marluxia answered. "I will call it back if necessary, but not here."

"Look—" Lightning began, but Serah returned from the next room then, snapping her cell phone shut in her hand and forcing Lightning to cut her sentence short. She slid her phone back in her pocket and addressed her sister and the pink-haired man.

"I just got a call. I have to go now," she apologized, "I'm sorry."

"That's no problem," Marluxia said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll—I'll be back tomorrow," Serah stammered, her eyes flickering back and forth between Marluxia and her older sister. "See you later, Lightning."

"See you," Lightning muttered under her breath. She watched her sister dash back toward the door, at the same time glad Serah wouldn't be around to pester her anymore and ill at ease around the now-conscious Marluxia. After the door had slammed shut, she shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"If only I could go back to work," she muttered.