Final Fantasy XIII: Cursed Past
Chapter 12 of my Final Fantasy XIII story, enjoy.
Reviews
ziel101: Yeah, Hiroshi is a bastard, well, he's no longer a major character so he's gone for a while.
Whistlewind Wolf: Yup he is pretty bad, you know you've actually given me a good idea.
The Light to all Fears: Thanks, glad you are enjoying it, yeah I always go for the unexpected. Trust me I know what I'm doing.
pinkfrostedsprinkleddoughnut: Thanks, glad you are enjoying it.
The Warrior12: Yeah I know, trust Fang will be showing up, she does have an important role in this story.
Lightarcana: Yes, Hiroshi has been dealt with for quite some time, Lightning and Hope are coming together now shouldn't be much longer to wait.
Beloved Nightmare Union: Yeah, I actually never intended Lightnin to fight back in that chapter as I wanted Hope to be able to play the hero, and I have to tell you that you are actually right, she was, multiple times.
Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII belongs to Square Enix.
Chapter 12: Unfortunate Truths
It was Saturday 7 APW, At the Estheim Residence Hope was sitting on the sofa, watching as his mother paced, trying desperately to think. Bartholomew Estheim and Nora were heading to Eden due to a late business meeting, it was too late to arrange things so that Hope would come along but Nora was hesitant at leaving him home alone. Hope sighed, he had told her he would be fine but she hadn't listened. Bartholomew shook his head as he sat next to Hope, he had agreed with Hope that he would be fine but even then Nora couldn't help but worry. Just then the phone rang; Hope picked it up and stepped out of the living room to answer it.
"Hello?" He greeted, wondering who it was calling at this time.
"Hi Hope," It was Vanille, he smiled, "Hey, what's up?"
Vanille giggled, "I was just calling to ask you that?"
Hope sighed and told her, "Mom and Dad are going out, Mom however is hesitant to leave me at home alone, can you believe that?"
Vanille giggled again and then seemed to be distracted by something; he could hear her talking to someone in the same room as her.
"Hmm, what? That's a great idea Fang," She said and then came back to the phone, "Hope can I talk to your Mom, I've got an idea."
"Wait, what is it?" He asked, Vanille told him and he smiled and agreed. He headed back through to the living room and gave the phone to his mother, telling her it was Vanille. Hope smiled as he saw his mother listen to Vanille and, from her expression, agree with Vanille's idea. Vanille planned to invite every one of his friends over for a sleepover, that way his parents could leave and he would be able to stay at the house without Nora worrying.
So, about twenty minutes later there was a knock at the door and Nora went to answer it. The awkwardness between Hope and his father was as thick as ever and neither could even make eye contact with each other. They could hear the muffled conversations as Nora returned with the people who had arrived. She walked into the room with Fang and Vanille.
"Hey Hope," Vanille greeted with a smile, Fang also smiled and nodded in greeting. A few minutes later there was another knock at the door, Nora answered it again and saw Snow and Serah, along with Lightning and Noel.
"Hi Mrs. Estheim," Snow greeted, smiling.
Nora smiled and nodded, "Snow, Serah, good to see you again, where's the others?"
Serah answered, "They couldn't make it, they all had to work late." Nora nodded and then turned to look at Lightning and Noel.
"And who are these two?" Serah introduced them, "This is my sister Lightning and our friend Noel."
"Nice to meet you," Noel greeted, Lightning nodded politely in greeting. Nora welcomed them and stepped back to the let them in, she looked carefully at Lightning.
'So that's the girl my son has a crush on,' She thought to herself as she closed the door behind them and led them through to the living room. After leaving them to their own devices Bartholomew and Nora left, heading for Eden.
Hope smiled, "Well, you guys know where everything is, except for you two," He said, referring to Lightning and Noel, "C'mon I'll show you."
He showed them around while the others made themselves comfortable in the living room. The others sat relaxed with the TV on, Fang and Vanille were making out in the loveseat. Snow and Serah sat on the sofa; Snow had his arm around her. As they sat Serah looked up at Snow.
"Hey Snow, I don't know if you've noticed but Light is acting a little differently lately…" Snow smiled and finished the sentence, "Yeah, and it's mostly around Hope."
Serah smirked and raised her eyebrows suggestively, "Do you think she…"
Snow laughed, "Yeah it's possibly, best not to say anything though, unless they really need help getting together."
Serah nodded, her smirk becoming playful. Finally Hope, Noel and Lightning returned and everybody gathered in the living room. They had called out for pizza and when it arrived they ate and engaged in casual conversation about school and things like that. Lightning was lost in thought; she glanced at Hope, who had ended up sitting next to her on the sofa.
He's a lot different now from when I first met him,' She mused, pondering the strange stirring in her chest when she looked at him, 'He's a lot stronger now, when did this strange feeling start, could I possibly,,,'
"Light, are you okay?" Hope asked, noting her distant look, she started and replied with a quick "I'm fine."
She prayed he didn't notice the blush that crept up on her cheeks. Finally, hours later they all got ready for bed, everyone who hadn't already seen them were shocked by Lightning's scars, visible on her shoulders and arms due to her tank-top.
"Lightning?" Hope breathed.
Only Fang's expression didn't change, she knew the story behind those scars, she knew about the torture Lightning had endured.
Lightning shook her head, "Don't ask, I don't wanna talk about it, okay."
The others reluctantly agreed and laid out the sleeping bags and stuff before settling down for the night.
They were awoken hours alter by the sound of screaming, Hope jumped up and looked around, the others were all clambering out of their sleeping bags, in shock. Finally they saw the source of the screams, it was Lightning, she was still asleep but she was thrashing around in the sleeping bag, obviously in the grips of some nightmare. Almost instantly Serah was at her side and shaking her.
"Light, Light, wake up!"
Lightning jerked awake, her arm held out defensively, and then she saw Serah and sighed.
"Serah, I, the others…" Serah put her hand on her shoulder, "It's okay, I'll explain."
Lightning nodded and stood up before leaving and heading through to the kitchen. Serah rubbed her eyes tiredly and turned to the others. Only Fang wore a knowing expression, the others were confused.
"Sorry about that guys." She said meekly, she sighed and then explained, "Lightning disappeared, a few years after our parents died, she came back two years ago, after the war ended, ever since then…she's suffered from horrific nightmares."
Snow opened his mouth but Serah shook her head, "I wanted to help her but…Lightning, you know what she's like, she actually had her room soundproofed, so I couldn't hear when she was having nightmares, she hates accepting help from people."
Vanille lowered her head and then asked, "So, you think these nightmares, have something to do with the war, Lightning, was involved in the war?"
Serah nodded, "I'm afraid so, but she won't say anything."
Fang nodded, she also knew the real reason Lightning wasn't talking about what happened, due to her being part of Caius' division in the war she was bound by a Secrecy Clause in her contract that kept the actions of that division in the shadows. As Serah continue to explain what she knew Hope slipped out and headed through to the kitchen.
He found Lightning leaning on the kitchen counter staring out the window, a half-drunk glass of water lay in front of her. He walked over to her, noticing she was trembling.
"Light, are you okay?" He asked.
She turned to face him and gave a weak smile, "I'm fine, thanks…Sorry, I just…"
Hope shook his head, "It's fine, I'm just worried about you."
Lightning nodded, "I'm fine really, thanks Hope."
Hope smiled, "Listen Light, I'm not gonna pretend to understand what you're going through but…I'm willing to listen if you have anything you wanna talk about."
Lightning sighed, 'There's that feeling again, why do I always feel it around him, and his offer?'
That's very kind of you Hope, I'm fine, but I will consider it." She replied with a smile and she quickly downed the rest of her water before they headed back to the living room, the others were still awake and looked up as they walked in.
"Sorry about disturbing you guys, let's just, get back to sleep," She said, Serah looked up at her, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Lightning nodded and the others relaxed, they all lay down and drifted off back to sleep, all pondering this new mystery about Lightning.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.