Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! It means so much to me! And I'm super glad that people are enjoying this story. ^.^

I know it took a bit more time than I wanted to bust this bad boy out, but I hope you enjoy it! Starting to get more into the story now.

So without further adieu, here's chapter 3!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They belong to the SquareEnix


Sashaying her hips to the music, arms in the air, Fang just lost herself to the music. She loved to dance, and tonight was no different. She just wished that Vanille could come with her and Lightning.

Wait, where was Lightning? The green eyed amazon stopped dancing and scanned through the crowd. She finally spotted her pink haired friend by the bar speaking to a brown haired man. "Looks like someone's getting some action today." She murmured to herself. " Atta girl, Light."

And Fang once again got swallowed up in the sea of the dance floor, letting the rhythm of the music take control.


It was as if time stopped, and it was only them in the club. Why was he here? What was he doing here? Lightning just stared at the silver haired man. She never thought she'd ever have to see this man again.

Finally getting a grip on herself, she shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him. Turning her attention to Noel, who was trying to hide his laughter, she gave him the same look, but much worse. "I already met him and that's enough for me." Turning on her heel she began stomping away, intent on finding Fang and leaving. So much for a nice evening out.

As she surveyed the dance floor as she stormed off, she felt a hand grip her shoulder. Turning around quickly and snatching the offending appendage, she glared at the intruder.

"Ms...Ms. Farron!" The man seemed like he was out of breath.

Lightning released his hand, and watched him shake it. She had squeezed it tightly. Crossing her arms, she tapped her foot, and waited for him to speak.

"I-I...I..." The noise of the music was loud and she could barely hear the man, let alone his stammering.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance and looked away, still hoping to catch Fang in the crowd.

The man leaned in a bit closer, and she took a step back, surprised at his proximity again.

"Can we go somewhere more quiet?" He yelled.

Lightning backed a way again, and shot a glare at him. His eyes seemed to be pleading with her, like he was feeling guilty. He should be. He's lucky I don't punch him right here and now. Feeling a bit of pity for the Director, she nodded her head in agreement, and followed him through the crowd.


Hope led the pink haired woman outside the club and immediately took a deep breath. He felt stuffy and hot inside. And the crisp night air helped settle his nerves. He turned a corner and led them into the alley just next to the club. Facing the pinkette, he almost winced at her gaze. That woman could practically kill someone with that look.
She just glared at him, with her arms crossed and a very annoyed look on her face. Hope decided its now or never.

"I-I..." He sighed. "I wanted to apologize for this afternoon. I don't know what came over me. That wasn't me, at all even. The work week has been so stressful, and I haven't had enough sleep. Plus with news of the rui-"

"Hope." He blinked at her voice, cutting him off. Realizing he had just been rambling, he held his hands up, palms out as if he was surrendering.

"Look, Ms. Farron." He sighed. "I just want to say sorry."

She was still giving him the same look, his eyes pleading at her. He caught her eye twitch, and thought she must be pondering his apology. Shifting his weight, he waited in silence.

The woman sighed and nodded her head. "Alright, I'll shrug it off as an accident."

He exhaled, not even realizing he was holding his breath. He smiled at her, thankful she had forgiven him.

"But I'm not accepting the job." She fired back at him.

He had to quietly chuckle at that. "I don't blame you, Ms. Farron."

"Lightning."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "What was that?" He noticed her lip twitch to his question, visibly annoyed.

"You can call me Lightning."

"Well, Lightning, care to start over?" He grinned and held out his hand. Watching her, she hesitated before she clapped her hand in his, firmly shaking it. He saw the corner of her mouth curl up in a slight smile. A very slight smile. His eyes roamed up to her eyes, and he couldn't help but admire the crystal clear blue. I guess Noel was right. She is hot.

"Oi! Look what we have here."

They both snapped their attention to the source of the voice. Hope saw four men heading towards them. And they did not look friendly. Instinctively, he threw his arm out in front of Lightning, pushing her out of harms way. He ignored the huff she gave him.

"Well, if it ain't the Director of the Academy. Mr. Hope Estheim. Just the man we were looking for." The taller of the four grinned wickedly at him. "An' he's got a pretty little girl with him." Shit, more anti-Academy thugs.

Hope's eyes scanned the men, noticing each held a weapon. One a knife, a crowbar, another with a knife, and the man who seemed to be their leader, carried a gun.
He clenched his teeth, body moving into a fighting stance. "Whatever this is about, leave her out of this. If you're looking for me, I'm right here." He stared them down, silently wishing that he told Noel where he was going.

The leader just laughed at his response. "Oi! But that'd leave a witness, and we can't have that." And then the man made a signal and Hope just stood his ground as they charged at him, preparing for a fight.

He didn't get a chance to though. He blinked as the woman behind him shoved him to the ground and watched her charge into them. She avoided the first man's attempt to slash at her, and immediately countered with a kick to his hand, knocking the blade down. Pivoting on her heel, she grabbed another thug's arm and flipped him over her back, forcing him to land hard on the cement with a grunt.

Hope was captivated by her movements, still sitting on the ground where she pushed him. It was like watching her dance. The way she dodged, ducked, kicked, punched-it was mesmerizing.

Hearing a loud cry, he snapped out of his reverie and saw one of the four men holding a knife, coming right at him. Hope rolled away, narrowly dodging the knife. Jumping up to his feet, he caught the man unaware and elbowed the thug in back. The man staggered forward and Hope swung his leg and kicked the man to the ground. He finished him off with a blow to the head, knocking him out. Then he heard a click behind him.

He turned around slowly and his eyes widened at the sight. Two of the four men were unconscious on the ground and Lightning was pointing the leader's gun right at him. The leader was visible shaking, holding his hands up in the air in surrender.

"Who sent you?" Lightning growled.

"I-I don't know!" The man whimpered back in response.

"Tell me who sent you. Why are they after the Director?" She emphasized her question by cocking the gun.

"Miss I told you! I don't know! We's just get orders and we do them for the money. We don't asks questions. Please miss! Don't kill me!"

Hope shook his head. The man was pathetic. One minute he's cocky and sure, the next he was crying like a child. "Lightning, I think he's telling the truth." He called out to her.

"Tch." Was her only response. She walked up to the man, still pointing the gun at him, and knocked him out with the butt of it.

Hope could only stand in awe. This woman just took down three armed men like it was nothing. Watching her turn towards him, she put the safety on and unclipped the magazine before throwing it to the ground.

"You should call the police. I'll go look for my friend inside. She's a cop." He watched her turn to leave like nothing even happened. She was calm and collected, not even panting or showing any strain from the fight.

"Lightning! Wait!"

She stopped in her tracks and looked at him. "Hm?" She hummed.

"I think a position just opened up in security."


And there's chapter 3!

Hope you liked it. This was my first time ever writing a fight scene, so reviews and comments on it would be welcomed.

Anyways, hope everyone had a great Spring Break (if you have one) and I'll post the next chapter up soon!

Ciao!