Blood Red Petals
By: ChibionO

Disclaimer: Do you think that Squaresoft would just give Final Fantasy to me for free?!

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The early morning birds chirped among the treetops as the wind whistled through the late spring leaves. My dark hair blew around my face and I brought a hand up to my hair, running my fingers through it. A nearby river sparkled in the sunlight and a frog croaked. I strained my eyes and spotted a blue frog. A red stripe ran from its head to its back. The frog looked about nervously. The forests south of river near Cosmo Canyon was always heavily populated by these amphibians, but never had I seen one so vividly colored. I walked towards it and held my hand out. It jumped into my hand and fit comfortably in my palm. It was about the size of a baseball. It croaked worriedly and its eyes darted around. Closer examination revealed the deep green of its eyes. I opened my hip pouch and it jumped in. I walked away from the riverbank and towards a tall oak marked with a symbol of a cross. It was my 'secret hideout'. The tree was hollow, but too tall to see the hollow center. On one of its roots was a bush. I pushed it aside to reveal a hole. I crawled in and easily fit. It was about twice the size of me. A small light at the end of the tunnel gradually grew larger as I neared the exit. I pushed aside some vines and stepped out of the tunnel, shaking some moss from my hair. I opened my eyes and soothing light green vines that lined the walls of the oak calmed me. A loud chittering attracted my attention to my feet. A small raccoon pawed my legs and shrilled. I knelt down and patted its head.

" Hey Kippy. How was your sleep? I brought back a friend, but no eating it, understand?" It nodded and sniffed at my hip pouch. I opened it and the frog jumped out. It took one frightened look at Kippy and frantically hopped away. Kippy cocked its head and chittered, confused. I scratched its chin and it whistled happily. Satisfied, it walked back to its nest. I walked over to my homemade bed (which was a mattress in a large hole next to Kippy's) , and took out my Naginata (Naginata: a Japanese polearm weapon) and began to polish the blade. The frog hopped over and croaked. Its eyes watched my every move. I put down my weapon and scooped up the frog.

"Maybe you're my prince charming, come to rescue me from this boring life," I wondered aloud. The frog croaked and bobbed its head as if saying yes. I put it down and sprawled down onto a soft bed of moss with my legs in the air. I propped my head up with one hand and gently stroked the frog on its head. It closed its eyes in bliss and croaked softly. I leaned over and planted a kiss on its lips. A warm breeze blew around me and I closed my eyes. The lips of the frog slowly changed form to fit comfortably on mine. Strong arms embraced me and I gasped. I couldn't believe what was happening. I opened my eyes while my lips were still being caressed. What I saw almost took ten years off my life.

A fine smooth face loomed in front of mine. A shock of red hair topped his head and was messily held up by a pair of sunglasses. His eyes were closed, but when they opened, it revealed bright green pupils that widened in surprise. Kippy ran over and chattered angrily, as if scolding a pair of naughty children. I pushed him away and he reluctantly let go of me. I gasped and Kippy climbed into my lap, running his paws over my body to check for wounds, clicking with worry. I ran over to a small pond in the middle of the hollow and ran the water over my lips. The man stared at me and I noticed that he was wearing a blue suit. Shin-Ra. The hated word automatically ran through my swimming thoughts.

"Who are you? Why are you here? What have you done with my frog? You work for Shin-Ra, don't you?" I asked all at once.

"Woah, woah, slow down," he said. " I'll answer your questions one by one. Yes, I do work for Shin-Ra, why I'm here is confidential. As for your frog, I am your frog, and my name? I am Reno of the Turks."

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~ Hey my faithful readers! How was this little prologue? Surprising, wasn't it? I wrote this story 2 years ago, but never had the chance to submit it. As for the 'luv triangle' thing, I'm not telling! XP hee..hee.. suspense is good.. I~