Quistis, Who Loved A Man

written by:
KawaiiKaoru

summary:
(AU) Years after his father's death, an infamous demon seeks revenge. The story Quistis, who loved a man...

pairings:
Seiftis

rating/warnings:
R : violence

disclaimer:
I don't own (or rent) any of the characters.

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Quistis, Who Loved A Man- Chapter One: Dangerous Woman
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Quistis entered the small, rundown bar like she had been doing every night for the two past weeks. Ignoring the various cat calls, Quistis plopped down into a barstool and set Save the Queen down on the counter with a thud! A few people snickered and raised their eyebrows at Quistis' choice of weapon. Maybe they didn't think a woman was capable of handling a whip that powerful. But they were wrong; Quistis was a licensed Demon Hunter, this is, she hunted down those dirty, nearly invincible semi-human animals called demons for a living. She and her whip were a deadly combination.

Or maybe they thought Quistis was a dominatrix.

That couldn't have been further from the truth...Quistis was nearly a vigin. She had made love once, if it even counted, with a handsome clerk at the grocery store. It lasted no more than a few minutes, and the experience left Quistis with a huge disinterest for sex. It was just something that was not a part of her lifestyle.

Talented Demon Hunters had been in high demand lately. It seemed like Gaea was suddenly overrun with the dirty things.

/// demons : chemically enhanced human beings, with strength, speed and magical skills far exceeding that of a human ///

Creating demons was considered unethical and it was outlawed. However, some of the most powerful people owned small armies of demons, to use as their hitmen.

Quistis was the most requested and powerful Demon Hunter in Galbadia. She had a demon kill count of 48, almost a record. She lived her life alone and never stayed in one place for long, much like a vagabond.

"Quistis," Therin, the bartender, greeted, "The usual?"

She nodded, somewhat forlornly.

"What's the matter?" Therin asked, "You don't seem too upbeat today. But then again, you're never really upbeat. As a matter of fact, you're one of the gloomiest-"

"Therin!"

"Right-o! So that's a margarita on the rocks for the pretty lady?" Therin joked, shaking some concoction up. He stirred it a bit and dumped the contents of a shaker into a thick mug. It looked like a mix of green and red rotten stuff. He pushed it to Quistis.

"This isn't a margarita, Therin," Quistis pointed out.

The older man replied, "I know- I know! But it tastes great! It'll loosen you up, so you can have some fun tonight. Maybe you'll even get lucky."

Quistis smiled, and took a sip of the stuff. She tried hard not to gag, but she spit the thick stuff out of her mouth back into the cup.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Quistis exclaimed, standing up. The usuals and a few tipplers stared at her.

Therin scowled. "It's called the 'Colorful Blitz'. My own creation. It's supposed to give you a little shock, but-"

"Therin, that was more than a shock. It's- It's just gross," Quistis replied.

"Well, gee, that's polite."

"No, that's the most disgusting thing I've ever-"

"Come on now, don't you think that's a little harsh?"

"But it was really, really-"

"OK! I get the picture. It's gross, it's disgusting. I know, it tastes like crap. It's the most-"

"Aw," Quistis teased, "Don't be so hard on yourself. It wasn't that bad."

"Psh- wha- then- why- you- STOP THAT!" Therin shouted. Onlookers giggled and chuckled.

Quistis replied, "Uh, Therin, can I have that margarita on the rocks now? For the pretty lady...?"

Therin obliged somewhat reluctantly. He served the drink with a cold shoulder, but a warm smile from Quistis melted his icy behavior, and once again he was pushing free drinks to his new favorite usual. He couldn't help but like the small blonde, even though she was much more powerful than she looked. Though she didn't show it very often, Therin knew that Quistis had a very soft side, and she was very capable of love. He had tried to set her up six times out of the thirteen days she had been to the bar, all attempts failing miserably.

A dark skinned man entered the bar, with two larger men behind him. His presence seemed to shush the whole place, though he was physically very small. Quistis straightened herself and turned to look at the intruder. He's certainly not a usual. Turning back around, she took a cool sip of her margarita. The man sitting next to her stood all of a sudden and fled.

"Excuse me, miss, but you need to move," one of the larger guys said.

Quistis replied, "Teh! You need to learn how to treat a woman." Therin was no where in sight. Probably hiding behind the counter. Old geezer, I'll get him...

"I don't need to learn nuthin'," he said, "but you need to learn how to do what you're told."

"My father died along time ago, Brainy," Quistis spat, "So you can find your ass another chair."

'Brainy' rose his arm in an attempt to hit Quistis, but the smaller, dark skinned man placed a hand on his arm and stepped forward to Quistis.

"Dear lady, my greatest apologies for Jeck's behavior," the small man said, "May I ask your name?"

"Quistis Trepe," she replied honestly.

"Something tells me you're not being truthful," he said.

Quistis took one last drink of her margarita, before setting it down with a bang. She placed her hand on Save the Queen. What happened next happened in a blur.

"Something tells me you're a demon," Quistis declared flatly, as she swung Save the Queen dramatically, causing it to crack in the air. Another flick of the wrist, and Brainy was down. The other thug had time to run, but Quistis caught him on the back, causing him to topple over. He crashed over two chairs.

"Care to take this outside, Miss Trepe?" the little man asked.

"Yeah, sure Kruen," Quistis replied. She followed him out of the bar, giving a smile to a shaking Therin that said 'I'll-be-ok'.

"Before we continue, I beg of you: how did you learn my name?" Kruen questioned.

Quistis answered, "I was hired to kill you."

"By whom?"

"Oh come on now, Kruen. You know the rules."

"Yes, I do. But I don't play by them-" He lunged at Quistis, connecting a punch to Quistis' jaw.

As he struck, Quistis grabbed his shirt collar with her left arm. Though she stumbled from the blow, Quistis managed to push him back with some force. With her right hand, she swung Save the Queen and it struck his face. Angry red welts appeared, and blood began to flow from them. Kruen touched his fingers to cheek.

"You'll pay for that."

"I don't think so," Quistis replied with a sinister tone. A black cloud formed over Kruen's eyes. Thank Hyne for the Blind spells junctioned to her whip. He groped around, searching clumsily for Quistis and trying to strike her. Quistis smiled at him. So stupid! She cracked Save the Queen.

Once...twice...he was down.

She didn't want to do what she about to- she walked over to him and wrapped her faithful whip tightly around his neck. Kruen opened his eyes and tried to force Quistis off of him, but she was straddled over him. She twisted the whip and Kruen's airholes were blocked off. She saw the life go out of his eyes...That look she had seen so many times before.

She unwrapped her whip from his neck, and pulled something shiny out of her pocket. It was the blade of a knife. Save the Queen had been modified so that a blade could be attatched to the end of it if Quistis desired, and it would still work properly. So Quistis attatched the blade. Closing her eyes, Quistis swung the whip in the air. It whistled. She reopened her eyes, and Save the Queen hit Kruen on the neck, causing blood to gush out of a deep wound.

One stroke, two...

Kruen's head was completely detatched from his neck. Quistis caught the end of her whip in her hand and took off the blade, stuffing it back into her pocket, blood and all.

Quistis looked to the bar. Therin and a crowd had gathered outside. She gave them an apologetic look, throwing an extra sorry look to Therin. She had to leave now, but she didn't really want to. Timber was such a nice, cozy place...These people had just seen her commit a murder- like hell she would be able to stay. But she would miss Therin. In the short time she had known him, she had become attatched to the old man. He reminded her of...

She walked away, clutching Save the Queen closely to her chest. Dusk settled over Timber, and whispers of a dangerous woman floated around the town.

-- ** --

In the bathroom of the train, Quistis sat. A few people had banged on the door, and Quistis didn't blame them. She had been in there for all of thirty minutes, waiting for her hairdye to dry. She rinsed her head out in the small compartment, bumping her head on the faucet every time the train lurched. When she was done, Quistis looked at herself. Red hair framed her face. It was a softer, more brownish shade of red, nothing bright, so she wouldn't stand out. She also put on her glasses. For her last job, she had worn contacts, so it would be better if she wore her glasses. She looked at her appearance in the mirror.

She walked out of the bathroom. A line of people was waiting.

"Hey, where'd the blonde go? How'd you get in? Oh- get out of my way, I need to pee!" a rather irrate lady said, shoving Quistis roughly out of her way. Quistis rolled her eyes and sat down in her seat.

"Excuse me," a steward called from the front of the car, "Is there a Tracie Samson on board?"

Quistis rose up and waved her hand, giving the steward a big smile. "Tracie Samson, right here!" she replied cheerfully.

-- ** --

"Well, Jackie, you've certainly done well for yourself," Quistis said, taking a seat across the bulky brunette woman. They were in Jackie's private car, and it was rather fancy. Quistis almost didn't want to touch the shiny seats of the booth. But she did, and a steward brought water for each of them. Quistis took a small, ladylike sip.

"Yes, I guess I have. So what's with the name Tracie?"

"I don't know. Sounds like a red-head name, ne?"

Jackie shrugged. "Sure. I've got another job for you, Quist'. It's going to be tough."

"Shyeah, that's what you said about Kruen," Quistis snorted, "I killed him with a Blind spell. Give me someone challenging."

"I've got you a challenge, hun. His name is Isaac Cassidy-"

Quistis spit out her water. "Isaac Cassidy? You mean that pompous asswhole running for President of Galbadia?"

"The one and only."

"He's a demon?"

"You bet," Jackie replied, "and apparently, he's a dirty one. Seventeen killings in his neighborhood, all killed in similiar demon style. The current mayor of Deling is requesting a very skilled Demon Hunter to stop the killings. He doesn't have any idea who the demon could be, but my investigators say Cassidy is somehow connected to them. They're almost certain that he's a demon, a powerful one at that. I'm sure he runs under a different name, though. Who better to stop him than the Soft Assassin, great killer of demons?"

"You still sell me under the name 'Soft Assassin'? How corny do I sound..." Quistis asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Very. But it suits you. You are an assassin, and you're soft-"

"Soft?"

"Yes. You show a very unusual amount of reluctancy to kill. I would almost think you didn't like hunting demons."

"But I do so love it!" Quistis teased, "So...Isaac Cassidy, huh?"

"Does he present a challenge?"

"Tch! Don't make me-"

Just then, the train stopped, throwing Quistis and Jackie out of their chairs. There was a crash, and the door to the traincar was opening.

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END Chapter One
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Please tell me what you think. Should I continue?