Orphans. Orphanage. Those were the words that I had never associated with myself before. But then… there we were, getting admitted into an orphanage ourselves.

I didn't like it there. The orphanage was an utterly foreign place to me, and I was scared. I kept hiding behind Light the whole time the orphanage manager talked to us. I was fortunate to have Lightning by my side; she was the one taking the responsibility to talk to the adults, something I was still scared to do back then. I only listened to the man's explanation of the orphanage's rules and regulations.

I was horrified to learn that the orphanage only provided food for breakfast and dinner. No lunch. Moreover, they would also only cater to our school fees for the first year. The rest, we were left to fend for ourselves.

Sure, we still had quite a sum of our parents' money to use to buy the lunch. But nevertheless, we'd have to find our own money soon, somehow.

Then the manager brought us to our room, which was quite small and dark with its dirty window. We had to share one bed, and the bathroom only had cold water. The furniture was rickety, causing the whole atmosphere of the room to simply shout gloom. It was an utterly unfamiliar and unpleasant place; it was hard for me to imagine living in such a place for fal'Cie knows how long. It just… wasn't home. It didn't have the welcoming, warm and safe feeling of home.

But then again, I had no choice but to grudgingly accept our stark fate. I had to accept that our lives would never be the same again. We'd have no more luxuries, easiness and comfort that our parents used to provide… something we took for granted before. Now all that were gone, and a new life for us began: life full of hardships and discomfort.

I was so despaired then, not knowing why I should bother living under such circumstances anymore. I almost gave up… if not for Lightning.

She didn't let fate crush her. True, fate had pretty much destroyed our lives and took our beloved parents away. But Lightning refused to dwell on the ruins of our life; what's gone is gone. Instead, she focused on keeping what's left well. She refused to bow down to fate, with a degree of defiance bordering on rage.

As I cried in fear and despair in that orphanage room, Light hugged me and said the words that became something I held on to for the next difficult years. It was hope; something we simply need to proceed, to keep on living.

"Don't cry, Serah. No matter what happens, I won't let our lives end up this way. I'll change it; one day, I'll make things right. But for now, we just have to survive."

After a few days of administering, finally we had to go for our first day at the new school. I was so nervous, not knowing anyone in that school. Moreover, we were joining in the middle of the semester, when the other students had known each other for a while. We would be the total stranger… I'd never liked being the odd one out. I was so scared of how the first day would be, of how my classmates would treat me.

But at least Lightning was with me, and we walked to the school together. It wasn't a great start; our pink hair really stood out among all the blonds and browns. The moment we stepped into the school compound, everyone immediately stared at us. However, while I squirmed under all the stares, Lightning just walked calmly beside me. I held her hand tighter; and with her presence, I felt calmer. Especially because Light had cast her death glare to all those staring people, and then it was their turn to squirm and scurry away.

Lightning walked me to my classroom, opening the door for me and explained to the teacher about us as new students. He nodded and waved Lightning away. Right, Lightning had to go for her own class. I looked at her in fear, not wanting to be left alone in this classroom. Especially since every student inside was already staring at us closely.

However, there was no choice for Lightning but to leave. She looked at me worriedly upon seeing my frightened face, and gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Then she glared at the staring students and whispered 'I'll see you after school,' before leaving.

Trying to ignore the stares, I just walked to my table and sat down, already missing Lightning's presence and the feeling of safety she brings.

A few minutes later, the bell rung and the lessons began. The teacher asked me to go to the front and introduce myself. I was still nervous, and I spoke a bit too softly; but overall it went okay. Some students began to smile at me and they remembered my name. Afterwards, one of my new classmates even asked me directly.

"Hey, Serah, who was that scary girl accompanying you this morning?"

I was somewhat surprised and only managed to answer a few seconds later. "Oh, that's Lightning… my sister."

Honestly, I felt kinda amused when he asked me that. Was Lightning's presence really that intriguing? Then again, she was glaring so fiercely… I was sure she had left quite an intimidating impression.

I warned her not to look overly hostile when I met her again after school, but she just scoffed and ignored my advice. I pouted when she ignored me, but really—actually I felt happy that I have a sister to protect me as well as she did. Even though she was being somewhat overprotective.

The subsequent days at school went relatively fine. My classmates were still not so close to me, but I knew it was bound to happen since I was a new student after all.

The only thing that disturbed me was when I overheard some of them talking about me and Light. I heard the word 'orphans' and I still had a hard time associating that word to ourselves.

Moreover, I soon found out to my dismay that most students tend to stereotype those who were different, such as orphans like us... Those students figured that since orphans do not have parents to scold them, then they'd always be lazy in studies or get involved in bad things. And that was why the students kinda kept a distance from me and Light. But still, at the end I did manage to get a decent number of good friends.

Although… some remarks were really thoughtless. A boy once said orphans are lucky not to have parents to scold them. They can go wherever they want, all day long, without curfew.

Really…

Luckily Lightning didn't hear that boy's remark; because if she did, I'm sure that boy would've gotten a black eye.

Years passed. Our life was still riddled with hardships, especially since the orphanage subsidies had run out. But we found a way to sustain ourselves. It was Lightning's idea, actually.

During that first year of school when the fees were still subsidized, Light pushed me to study really hard with her. I had always been one of the top students, so Lightning suggested that I apply for scholarship. I thought I wasn't good enough, but to my pleasant surprise I managed to get it. And that year, Lightning got a scholarship for herself too. So with that, the problem of our school fees was settled.

And since then, we basically sustained our life that way. I excelled in my studies and managed to keep getting scholarships. However, while Lightning was also one of the best students in her class, but she excelled more in sports. Especially in running. She was the fastest runner in school, so the track-and-field club immediately took her in. They wanted to train her so she could win competitions for the glory of the school. And Lightning, she agreed to go through all those exhausting training sessions and competitions just because of one reason: winning those competitions granted her prize money.

We used the money to buy our lunch and other necessities, but sometimes the need to skip meals still arose. Not me, though; Light always insisted on giving her share of food to me. Even though she was the one working hard for the money.

Lightning really trained hard. Sometimes I would see her on my way to the school gate after dismissal: sprinting around the school, with her trainer yelling at her to run faster. She even managed to study while training, like that time when I watched her doing push-ups with her eyes closed, reciting a whole list of history facts for a test. On other occasions I would spot Light being called out from her class by the trainer. He would just poke his head into her classroom, yelling 'Lightning, it's time!' then whisked her away for another competition. She would return a few hours later, when school was about to be over—limping and exhausted, but victorious nonetheless.

I was worried for her well-being, but Light ignored my worried protests. However, since I was also busy with my own studies to retain the scholarship, I didn't pay much attention on Lightning and her feverish training. I took it for granted, I didn't really notice it… that Lightning really was the one working the hardest.

As about the orphanage, it didn't take long for us to realize that we can't study there. It just didn't have the atmosphere of home, so we only spent as little time as possible there. After school, usually I would not go to the orphanage immediately. No, I would just stay at the library with my friends and study there. Only during those times could I feel like a normal child, studying with her friends together. Only during those times could I forget the fact that I was actually an orphan.

But then again, eventually my friends would go home one by one. They would say that their parents are waiting for them, cooking dinner, et cetera. I would just smile and wave them goodbye. I had always been the last one to leave the library. But I did not go back to the orphanage, no. I would go to a nearby beach to continue studying there, enjoying the breeze and the sound of the waves. Only when the sun began to set would I go back to the orphanage to finish my homework.

Same went for Lightning. She was usually busy with her trainings, but after they were over she wouldn't go back to the orphanage. She didn't like it there, too. However, unlike me who preferred the beach, Light would go to the nearby forest. She'd climb a tree and study there, high up on the branches, where it was quiet and peaceful. She liked that place simply because of one reason: she wouldn't meet anyone there.

Because unlike me who managed to get many friends, Lightning was quite the outcast. It wasn't just because of her intimidating appearance; it was also because she was always so busy that she had no time to socialize. Busy with her trainings, busy with her studies… basically, busy sustaining our ramshackle of a life.

I know Lightning does have a kind heart—I know that far too well. Sometimes she was even too kind that it had forsaken her own well-being. But other people ostracized and judged her based on her silence and seriousness, without even trying to get to know her first. Hell, they did not even have the slightest idea on what kind of struggle Lightning had back then.

That was why Lightning opted for quiet places, where she wouldn't be confronted with wary or mocking glances. She hated people who looked down on her just because she was an orphan—her natural reaction was to distance herself from things she dislikes.

And Lightning was alone for so long.

If there is one wish I have… it would be for Lightning to have someone other than myself to understand her, to accept and love her for who she is.

Our life may seem horrible that time, but I did share some good times with Lightning, too. Since she was busy, I didn't get to see her often. But those rare times I did manage to spend with her, those were the happiest times.

On holidays, when she didn't have any training schedule, she would take me for a swim at the beach where I usually studied. She would carry me piggyback style, then run and jump off the low cliff into the sea with me clinging to her. It was kinda scary, but I knew I was safe as long as I have Light by my side. So I just laughed happily as we broke through the water surface together, almost gulping seawater at that.

I'd look for sea shells then. I used to hope to find pearls, and one day I really found one. Well, I thought it was. When I showed it to Light, she laughed at me—because what I thought as a black pearl was actually just a marble. I threw the stupid thing angrily into the sea.

If she was having training during the holidays, I would come and pick her up once I was done with my study. We would walk home together, and Light would sometimes buy us ice cream. We didn't have enough money to buy one for each of us, so we had to share. But I didn't mind sharing an ice cream with Light—it just felt good to walk beside her under the scorching summer sun, taking turns to get a bite of the ice cream.

But even when it was not holidays, Light really cared about me. Whenever I was sick, she would stay by my side, never leaving me alone. Even at nights, she would lie down beside me; allowing me to snuggle to her and find comfort in her presence.

And she refused to sleep whenever I was ill. No, she would just lie down beside me, hugging me. I kept telling her to sleep, but she was stubborn. I had to admit, though… it was really comforting to find her still awake and hugging me in the middle of the night, if I happened to wake up because of the headache or fever.

Then one day, we received a pleasant surprise. Because of our outstanding achievements—me in studies and Light in sports—the school offered us scholarships, plus a dormitory room that was much bigger than our orphanage room. And we were allowed to stay there for as long as one of us was still studying in the school, and excelling in either sports or academics. We accepted the terms and conditions without a second of doubt.

The dorm room quite resembled an apartment, although it was still not so spacious. It only had one bedroom, a bathroom, plus a central room containing a big table and two chairs, as well as a small sofa. Food, we had to get them from the dorm's kitchen. The food wasn't particularly nice, but it was free; so that was one good step.

Since then, our lives got much better. It settled into a more comfortable pace, and I was happy. I would wake up first in the morning, yawning tiredly and shook Light beside me to wake her up. Then we'd prepare for school and go together. Our class years were different, but we did have one lesson in which our classes were combined: Physical Education. I kept looking forward to it, because that was the only lesson where I could see Lightning.

And to be honest, I always felt really proud whenever I see Light in action in those PE lessons. She ran the fastest, the farthest. She tackled the yearly standard physical test without even breaking a sweat, while I practically wheezed my way throughout the whole running test. But she was there for me; she ran beside me, encouraging me to keep going. Although she could've actually finished the run a lot faster by herself, but she chose to run with me. And I was grateful for that, since I'd never had very high stamina. With her presence there, with being able to hear her voice and see her face…that was enough to keep me running. And again, I would feel extremely proud whenever my friends cast an admiring glance at Light, or sometimes even envious glance as they see her escorting me.

However, after school we would separate. I'd go to the library to study, Light'd go for her training. After all, we still did not like our dorm room enough to spend much time there. Nope, afterwards I would still go to the beach to study while Light go to the forest. But at night, Light and I would return to our dorm room and finish up our homework. We would sit on the dining table together, and I really enjoyed those times. It was my favourite time of the day. But actually, I just like every time I can spend with Light.

Once, Lightning fell asleep in the middle of doing her work. I giggled when I looked up from my homework and saw her head already lying face down on the table, fast asleep. With her hand somehow still holding the pen, by the way. I knew she must be tired; she just returned from a running competition that day. I let her sleep for a while, but then woke her up. She wasn't really pleased.

At nights like that we would just talk about our day at school or some other trivial stuff, things that randomly came into our mind.

Like that one day when I asked Light to help me do my homework, and it turned out to be quite an amusing convo that I still remember till now.

It began when I saw her already finishing her homework, while I still had two more sets to finish. So I asked her help.

"Light, please, can you help me do my art homework? It's nothing much, just drawing something based on a theme!" I asked her hopefully.

Lightning raised her eyebrows. "No. Why should I be doing your homework? Besides, you know I'm not very good in art."

"Aww, please, Light? I still have another set of homework to do, y'know! And I'm already so tired… I want to sleep ASAP! So please, sis? Help me?"

With that, I threw her my best puppy eyes. "Pretty please?"

"No," Lightning growled through gritted teeth, trying to avoid my puppy eyes. But I know her too well. She was actually close to agreeing, all I had to do was just to throw out one last tactic…

Assuming my most forlorn face, I said, "Oh, okay then… it's fine if you don't want to help me, Light. It's okay, really. I'd just have to draw it myself and sleep a bit late tonight. Say, around 3 o'clock. That'd mean I only get 3 hours to sleep today. Lack of sleep, lack of concentration. Lack of concentration in class, unable to understand the lessons. Then I'd get low grades. Then I'd have to sleep late again trying to catch up, but that will only repeat the whole cycle. At the end my studies would drop and—"

With a groan, she finally grabbed the drawing paper and a pencil, before throwing me her irritated glare.

"Alright, alright, fine! Geez, you're getting awfully good in taking advantage, aren't you, little manipulator?" she grumbled. "What am I supposed to draw then? What's the theme?"

I grinned happily at her. See, mission accomplished.

With that, I pulled out the art worksheet from my bag. "Um, wait, let me check… The theme is… 'Cute'!"

Lightning dropped the pencil.

I smiled innocently at her shocked expression, somehow already expecting such reaction.

"Serah, did you choose that theme by yourself to irk me?" Lightning asked, obviously annoyed. I giggled upon seeing her reaction.

"Nope, our teacher chose it for us!"

"Don't tell me the boys have to draw 'Cute' as well."

"Hehe, nope. Boys are drawing 'Cars'."

Lightning grumbled, picking up the pencil from the floor. "I'd rather do 'Cars'…"

She stared at the empty drawing paper for a while, then lifted her hands up exasperatedly.

"You know what, Serah, I change my mind. No way am I doing something as absurd as 'Cute', I don't even know what to draw under that theme in the first place! I mean, seriously, what is this nonsense of a theme? How come you're asking me to draw this… crap?"

"Aww, come on, Liiiight… please! Just draw anything, anything that is your interpretation of cute! Or you can just refer to a magazine and draw the first thing that you think is cute!"

I clasped my hands together to beg her, and Lightning didn't get enough time to avoid my puppy eyes this time. I giggled as she sighed in annoyance, knowing I've won. I grabbed a random magazine and passed it to her.

Shaking her head in dismay, Lightning started flipping the magazine's pages for inspiration of 'Cute.' Grinning, I went back to my own work and secretly sighed in relief when I saw her finally stopping on one of the magazine's pages and started drawing something.

Twenty minutes later, Lightning looked up and said, "Done."

I beamed immediately. "Wow, thanks a lot, Light! Love you!"

With that, I bent over to see what she had drawn.

And my jaws dropped.

Because Lightning had drawn a baby Behemoth.

"Light! What the hell were you drawing? How is that even cute?" I protested, frowning as I stared at the monster again. True, it was a baby and not as scary as the adult Behemoth, but still!

"What?" Lightning drawled, scowling too. "That's the 'cutest' thing in that magazine I could find!"

I threw a glance at the magazine's cover for the first time and groaned. Written in bold, was the magazine's title: Cocoon and Pulse: Feral Creatures Edition. How could I not check the title first before passing it to Light?

"But, Light! This behemoth is most certainly not cute! I mean, it looks so… monstrous!" I protested again, trying to get the message across to Light.

Lightning seemed fed up. "Look, I've already drawn the main portion of your stupid homework for you, missy. You are in no place to protest! Besides, you can always add on some stuff to the drawing to make it 'cuter' yourself. Color it with your 'cute' colors, doodle some flowers, rainbows, ribbons… what else? What else is cute?" she demanded, clicking her fingers impatiently at me.

I was just opening my mouth to answer when she cut me.

"…but if you dare tell me you are cute, I'll puke."

I was stunned for a while, but then I found my tongue again.

"Gosh, Light, that's super mean! How could you say that, you meanie!" I protested angrily, throwing my exercise book to her head. She caught it effortlessly, laughing at me.

"Alright, alright, don't throw things around. At least you get the idea, right? Just doodle some random stuff."

I was still pouting, but actually I was happy. Lightning smiled, and I always like seeing her smile. Too bad she didn't do it much.

I finally began laughing too, and pulled the drawing paper towards me to scrutinize the baby behemoth again. Alright, from this distance, it was actually kinda cute… I would just add on some things to it, like Light suggested.

Then a thought flashed through my mind that I can't help but giggle and say it out loud.

"Y'know, Light, your attitude is actually just so similar to mine."

Lightning gave me an exasperated look. "Seriously. What is this attitude of mine you say is similar to yours, really?" she sighed.

I tilted my head innocently. "Cute, of course."

I think the pencil cracked in Lightning's grip.

"I. Am. Not. Cute," she growled, stressing each word. I burst out laughing upon seeing her expression, and I did not manage to stop laughing even when she threw me her death glare.

It was when she threw me a tantrum that I finally forced myself to stop laughing at her.

"Stop laughing. You continue this two seconds longer and I'll draw a bloody human corpse in that behemoth's jaws. And I won't care how you are going to explain the cuteness of that drawing to your teacher tomorrow."

"Alright, alright, sis! I stop laughing now, see? Thanks for the drawing, by the way!" I giggled, blowing her a kiss.

Lightning just grumbled and said, "You'd better not ask me to do this kind of nonsense again in the future."

I laughed. And that, that's exactly what happiness was to me back then. Sitting with my sister, just being with her without any worries in my mind. Because even though Lightning may act all cold and aloof, I know she has a soft side too. And whenever I'm with her, it feels like everything is gonna be alright.

A/N: Gah I'm so sorry, guys D: I actually wanted to write more in this chapter, but I simply didn't have the time. With 'O' Level exams being just a few months away, school is going berserk. So I'll still continue with the flashback in the next chapter, I'll tie up everything there ^^ bout Light entering the GC and all~

Aside from that, my friend ClaireAlpha actually asked me how I get all these ideas... I just want to answer her question, but you dont have to read this if you dont want to. I'm not sure if I can explain it properly, but one thing is certain: those ideas did not come overnight.

I basically started this fic with a very general outline, based on things I like and wanted to see in the game. For example, LightxSerah's past and more fighting :P Then I just developed the plot from there, like Barthandelus as the main enemy and stuff. After that, everyday I keep my phone/notebook nearby so I can jot down every random idea I get. I transfer them all to a document in my computer, arranging them based on chronological order. Because sometimes the idea I get is actually for the later chapters :P After I've got sufficient ideas, I would start writing out the chapter itself.

Haha, so that document is basically a 77-page motherlode of ideas xD Some I already used in the fic, some I decided to exclude, and some are planned for the next chapters. I have to admit, sometimes I would write half a chapter before realizing that it doesnt fit in well with the rest of the fic. So I'd remove it, and start writing all over again. But although I remove some, I never delete any idea. I just leave them there in the document, along with the 'discarded' chapters O.o

For some of those ideas, I got them right as I am writing the chapter itself. May call it luck :P For some others, I have to specially sit down and rack my brain to create 'em. Quite fun actually, just fantasizing bout Lightning, Vanille, Fang and all those awesome people :3 But some ideas just come from everyday's life.

Like, that time I was having a compulsory 3-day camp at school. They trained us to march (for dunno what purpose) and it was just super boring to stand still for hours in ranks in the school field. I started daydreaming then, imagining how cool it would be if Lightning, Fang and Vanille suddenly fall from the sky and start wreaking havoc amidst the ranks of students xD I would bow down and worship them :,) Hehe, but the point is, this random daydream actually became the basis of that chapter 29 in Sunleth Waterscape, where Light, Fang and Vanille attacked the PSICOM post for info regarding Zalera :3

Another one would be... well, I was walking to school in the morning. Here the sun does not rise till 7, so the surroundings were still somewhat dark. Dark blue, actually. Then I walked past an empty field covered in tall grass, and started thinking: should a fight happen and someone get seriously injured in this dark field, it would be so difficult to find her body amidst all the tall grass. Especially if it's raining O.o Ha, try guessing which scene it turned out to become xD

So, ClaireAlpha. Hope that answers your question, buddy :P