2
Lucian woke up to a white room, with nurses surrounded by her, fascinated by her forehead. She possessed no symbol on it. She looked to her side, and there stood a priest, chanting prayers, blessings, and sutras in Latin. She gasped as she knew that she was an outsider in a new world. She clutched at her neck, and noticed that her necklace was gone. The necklace of jade that her father gave to her - the last thing that he gave to her before he was killed - was gone.
A man pushed the nurses and priest away from Lucian as she looked up. Lucian was scared to death, which was needless to say. She was still trying to get over the initial shock of her mother and sister being gone.
"I am letting her out. Just get away from us, and if anyone sticks their hand in her face again, I will not hesitate to kick your ass." The man said.
The man was a guy that looked in his 20's, from what Lucian could see, with tousled black hair, and a green trench coat with medals and other such things on them. He grabbed Lucian, who now was dressed in white silks, and rushed her out of the hospital. He walked past the guards, who started chasing after him, and jumped in his car, throwing Lucian on the seat.
"Where are you taking me?!" Lucian forcefully asked. "Who the hell are you? Where am I?! And where is Mom and Lennia?" She had a flurry of questions that she wanted to ask.
"Wait a damn minute! I am in a pursuit right now, so chill the fuck out!" the young man said in a harsh tone, as he began to speed even faster than he was going. He was already at 80 miles an hour. The cops were steadily following him, but as he began to overrun the engine even more, they were long gone. A helicopter was following them, but he took an assault rifle and shot at the helicopter's camera until it went out. Soon, the cops lost them, and they turned down an alleyway. The man parallel parked his car next to a brick building, marred by graffiti. He unlocked the door and walked up several flights of stairs until he reached his door. His door was filled with marks and painted symbols, and it was so tainted that the real color of the could not be seen. She walked into the apartment, and she noticed that she was the cleanest thing in the place. Her virgin white clothes were the brightest thing in the junky and smelly apartment, which reeked of garbage, alcohol and weed. The walls had holes in them, and they were a dirty olive green color. She gagged for a moment, but then she looked at the man. She could finally see his entire face. His hair was about shoulder length. She was startled by his handsomeness. She gasped as he circled her.
"Would you like anything to drink, m'lady?" The man asked Lucian in a gentle tone to his rough voice.
"No thank you." Lucian replied back.
"Then, sit down, so I can answer your questions that you had in the car."
Lucian reluctantly sat down, on a dirty red couch that the stuffing was coming out of. The man sat down in a matching chair, that was in worse shape than the couch.
"My name is Shinjiru. I am the owner of this little ghetto apartment, and the person who let you out of the hospital. The world you are in is Chuuten. You'll find things out soon enough about the people here, as I am having company tonight. We may even go out somewhere. Let me inform you of your situation. You screamed and passed out, some people called the ambulance, they put you in the hospital. You were out for about 3 hours. A priest came an supplied you these clothes. They had been searching and messing with your forehead for the longest time. I saw it when you woke up, and I decided that I would get you out. I went to the desk, but they denied me, saying that they wanted you to stay so they could do further investigation on you. I would be damned if they did that shit to you, so I decided that I would let you out. I pushed all of those assholes out the way, and you know the rest."
Lucian was not as scared as she was when she entered this world, quite the contrary. She felt safe with Shinjiru. He was so nice for taking her into his place, even if he did not have much.
"Where are they? Where is Mom and Lennia?" Lucian asked, tears welling from her eyes.
"I have no clue where they are. I can only hope that they are both safe." Shinjiru smiled sweetly at Lucian, which seemed to contradict how tough he was. Lucian felt herself blushing, but she turned her head quickly.
"I know you aren't tired, but you should take a shower. Refresh yourself. I have some clothes for you," Shinjiru stood up and walked down a hallway. He turned a light on in a room and turned some water on. He went into his bedroom and took out a T-shirt, some pants and a belt.
"There is a towel in the bathroom for you. I'm not a peeper, and there are no windows in there, so you should be just fine." Shinjiru told Lucian.
Lucian was still a little shaken, but felt a little better. She stripped off her clothes and walked into the running water of the shower. She loved the way the water felt on her. She then thought to herself, about her predicament, he sister and mother, and Shinjiru. He was so kind, so sweet. She never knew anyone so kind in all her years. She couldn't love him yet, she had just met him. But she could befriend him, and be as helpful as she could to him. She saw Shinjiru as the brother she never had. Her time in the shower seemed so short as she was out very soon.
She walked out, and she saw some food on the table. Shinjiru was in sitting in his chair, watching his black and white TV. She looked tomboyish in the red T-shirt, the black jeans with the belt, and her short hair. Shinjiru only smiled and looked out the window at a raven that had landed on the window sill, pecking at the window. Shinjiru picked up a house shoe and threw it at the window, scaring the raven away.
"There is some food for you on the table. I would eat it if I were you, because if you don't eat it by the time my friends come over, they will eat it. They are base-heads like that," Shinjiru glanced at her and then started watching the TV again. Lucian could do nothing more than do as Shinjiru said, and eat the food. It may not have been much, but it did taste good. She was content where she was, even if she was in one of the worst places in the ghetto.
*§*
"She is here, my lord. She has come to this world." A lady with a purple- floor length ribbon tied around her eyes walked up a flight of stairs to Sephiroth, shirtless, sitting in a white, ivory throne, sipping the reddest wine, the color was reminiscent of blood.
"Oh really. Then I suppose she is oblivious to what is going on," Sephiroth replied to the maiden as she stood next to him.
"Find her. If she is supposed to be here, in this heaven, then she may as well spend as little time as she may in Chuuten." He suggested, finishing off his wine and putting it on the sterling silver tray as the woman was sent on her way.
Sephiroth was now alone. He sat, thinking to himself, still enjoying his newfound power. He knew that she was there, he could feel her spirit. But he desired to have her next to him.
And her name was...
*§*
It was 7:00 that evening, and Shinjiru received a phone call saying to come to a bar. Shinjiru told Lucian to be ready by 7:45, so they could leave out and arrive there by 8.
Lucian got in the car and felt relaxed. She had not felt this relaxed since she had been in Chuuten. She let the window down, and felt the cool, wonderful air hit her face. This air smelled of Earth, not of Mako like it did in her home world. People were dressed up in their best as they walked into clubs, restaurants, movie theatres and other fine places. She smiled at the relaxed way of life that she saw, which was an exact opposite of what she had seen in big cities such as Midgar and Junon, even in the areas of the wealthy. Even the poor had something to look forward to. They were able enjoy even the small aspects and rewards of life. Even Shinjiru, who lived in one of the worst ghettoes in the town, had happiness traveling to a bar which he loved, with his friends, able to party, drink and otherwise get sloppy. This time, Shinjiru was able to take a friend with him.
Shinjiru saw the people dressed in their finery, and grew jealous of them. But he had his friends, his bar, and now, this beautiful girl sitting next to him. Her short hair was blowing across her face, which he found attractive. He did not know her long enough to even get close to her in a lovers' kind of way. He did love her, but he would not allow himself to be her boyfriend, not just yet. Those things took time. He remembered a relationship that he was in that did not end as happily as it began, but he did not want to get into much detail with that, for fear of what happened in that relationship could happen to Lucian.
They arrived at the bar, called Red Hell. It was called Red Hell just for the reason that many people were shot in this bar, and it was the site of many rival gang battles. Even the owner was a psycho, and he owned an AK-47 assault rifle, not afraid to use it on anyone who got too out of control or began to mess with him and his friends. Shinjiru walked into the bar, keeping a tight grip on Lucian. She looked around, curious about her surroundings. When her and Shinjiru walked into the bar, she heard choruses of whistling coming from most of the bar, along with comments like, "I would like to make her bed rock" and "is that shin's whore?"
Shinjiru sat down with Lucian as she looked at the amount of TV's, Alcoholic Drink posters, labels and logos, and models all over the bartender's area. She saw the bartenders, a woman with dirty blonde hair and large breasts dressed in a rather scanty outfit, and a larger man, who looked to be 6'5" and 270 pounds with a black goatee and a bald spot on his head, who was wearing a bloodstained T-shirt saying "Guns don't kill people, I kill people." It fit his demeanor very well. He seemed to be a no-nonsense man, who looked as if he would break someone's neck in just one swift move. He looked around and saw Shinjiru and Lucian.
"Hey, man! How's it goin' shin'?" The man asked.
"It's just fine, Damon. And have you had to shoot anyone this week?" Shinjiru asked sarcastically.
"I didn't, though I wanted to." The large man called Damon replied.
"Who is this beautiful girl?" Damon's wife, Miranda, asked Shinjiru. "I saw you come in with her, and the hard-dick chorus started whistling."
"This is Lucian. She is shy, so be careful with her." Shinjiru replied to Miranda's question as Damon handed him a beer.
"Oh my. When my shift is up, I'll have to introduce you to some people. You also need some different clothes, hon, so I'll show you what I got. Whadda'ya say?" Miranda smiled at Lucian.
"Thank you." Lucian said softly.
"It's okay, sweetie!"
*§*
After the shift ended, Lucian was hanging around with Miranda as Shinjiru and Damon were talking.
"You do realize that she has no symbol on her head, right? She could be dangerous. Are you sure that you know what you are getting yourself into, shin'? This is religious now. You know that it says that in the good book," Damon warned Shinjiru of Lucian.
"I just want to keep her safe for that mere fact. Not only is she pretty, but I just feel strangely attracted to her, as if we have met before. I felt obligated to take her from those damn idiots at the hospital before they tried to kill her," Shinjiru explained to Damon.
"Lucian is something special, but nonetheless, she is still dangerous. I am not a religious person, but I know not to screw with the god that we have. He's a bad cat. And I don't think he wants you to mess with what is his. Lucian is something special in everyone's eyes. She sticks out like a sore thumb. She's that diamond in the rough. As good as this world may seem, she is even better than what this entire place has to offer. You have to trust an old friend on this one. Don't let yourself fall in love with her. If you do, you will suffer. He will come to get you." Damon rationalized how he felt about Lucian while pointing up to the heavens.
"You're right. I guess I should do what I have to, and keep that unspoiled angel safe." Shinjiru gave in while glancing at the laughing Lucian, dressed in Miranda's clothes, and the smiling Miranda, looking as if she had a sister.
3:00 AM came, and Shinjiru and Lucian waved goodbye to Miranda and Damon.
"Next week, man?" Damon asked Shinjiru.
"You know the procedure. I'll be seein' you." Shinjiru waved as he got in the car with Lucian.
Lucian felt a happiness that she had never felt in her last world except with her mom. She felt serenity and safety, even with someone she did not even know, and he was in the ghetto, and was tantamount to a convict. Lucian expected to spend the time with him until she went back to her other world, if she ever did. It may not have been the best life, but to her, it was paradise.
Little did she know, there were plans made for her. And they were divine plans, an intent made by the highest divinity. All she could do was wait. Wait to die, wait to live. Wait for an conclusion, that would slowly come, but was really fast approaching.
Lucian woke up to a white room, with nurses surrounded by her, fascinated by her forehead. She possessed no symbol on it. She looked to her side, and there stood a priest, chanting prayers, blessings, and sutras in Latin. She gasped as she knew that she was an outsider in a new world. She clutched at her neck, and noticed that her necklace was gone. The necklace of jade that her father gave to her - the last thing that he gave to her before he was killed - was gone.
A man pushed the nurses and priest away from Lucian as she looked up. Lucian was scared to death, which was needless to say. She was still trying to get over the initial shock of her mother and sister being gone.
"I am letting her out. Just get away from us, and if anyone sticks their hand in her face again, I will not hesitate to kick your ass." The man said.
The man was a guy that looked in his 20's, from what Lucian could see, with tousled black hair, and a green trench coat with medals and other such things on them. He grabbed Lucian, who now was dressed in white silks, and rushed her out of the hospital. He walked past the guards, who started chasing after him, and jumped in his car, throwing Lucian on the seat.
"Where are you taking me?!" Lucian forcefully asked. "Who the hell are you? Where am I?! And where is Mom and Lennia?" She had a flurry of questions that she wanted to ask.
"Wait a damn minute! I am in a pursuit right now, so chill the fuck out!" the young man said in a harsh tone, as he began to speed even faster than he was going. He was already at 80 miles an hour. The cops were steadily following him, but as he began to overrun the engine even more, they were long gone. A helicopter was following them, but he took an assault rifle and shot at the helicopter's camera until it went out. Soon, the cops lost them, and they turned down an alleyway. The man parallel parked his car next to a brick building, marred by graffiti. He unlocked the door and walked up several flights of stairs until he reached his door. His door was filled with marks and painted symbols, and it was so tainted that the real color of the could not be seen. She walked into the apartment, and she noticed that she was the cleanest thing in the place. Her virgin white clothes were the brightest thing in the junky and smelly apartment, which reeked of garbage, alcohol and weed. The walls had holes in them, and they were a dirty olive green color. She gagged for a moment, but then she looked at the man. She could finally see his entire face. His hair was about shoulder length. She was startled by his handsomeness. She gasped as he circled her.
"Would you like anything to drink, m'lady?" The man asked Lucian in a gentle tone to his rough voice.
"No thank you." Lucian replied back.
"Then, sit down, so I can answer your questions that you had in the car."
Lucian reluctantly sat down, on a dirty red couch that the stuffing was coming out of. The man sat down in a matching chair, that was in worse shape than the couch.
"My name is Shinjiru. I am the owner of this little ghetto apartment, and the person who let you out of the hospital. The world you are in is Chuuten. You'll find things out soon enough about the people here, as I am having company tonight. We may even go out somewhere. Let me inform you of your situation. You screamed and passed out, some people called the ambulance, they put you in the hospital. You were out for about 3 hours. A priest came an supplied you these clothes. They had been searching and messing with your forehead for the longest time. I saw it when you woke up, and I decided that I would get you out. I went to the desk, but they denied me, saying that they wanted you to stay so they could do further investigation on you. I would be damned if they did that shit to you, so I decided that I would let you out. I pushed all of those assholes out the way, and you know the rest."
Lucian was not as scared as she was when she entered this world, quite the contrary. She felt safe with Shinjiru. He was so nice for taking her into his place, even if he did not have much.
"Where are they? Where is Mom and Lennia?" Lucian asked, tears welling from her eyes.
"I have no clue where they are. I can only hope that they are both safe." Shinjiru smiled sweetly at Lucian, which seemed to contradict how tough he was. Lucian felt herself blushing, but she turned her head quickly.
"I know you aren't tired, but you should take a shower. Refresh yourself. I have some clothes for you," Shinjiru stood up and walked down a hallway. He turned a light on in a room and turned some water on. He went into his bedroom and took out a T-shirt, some pants and a belt.
"There is a towel in the bathroom for you. I'm not a peeper, and there are no windows in there, so you should be just fine." Shinjiru told Lucian.
Lucian was still a little shaken, but felt a little better. She stripped off her clothes and walked into the running water of the shower. She loved the way the water felt on her. She then thought to herself, about her predicament, he sister and mother, and Shinjiru. He was so kind, so sweet. She never knew anyone so kind in all her years. She couldn't love him yet, she had just met him. But she could befriend him, and be as helpful as she could to him. She saw Shinjiru as the brother she never had. Her time in the shower seemed so short as she was out very soon.
She walked out, and she saw some food on the table. Shinjiru was in sitting in his chair, watching his black and white TV. She looked tomboyish in the red T-shirt, the black jeans with the belt, and her short hair. Shinjiru only smiled and looked out the window at a raven that had landed on the window sill, pecking at the window. Shinjiru picked up a house shoe and threw it at the window, scaring the raven away.
"There is some food for you on the table. I would eat it if I were you, because if you don't eat it by the time my friends come over, they will eat it. They are base-heads like that," Shinjiru glanced at her and then started watching the TV again. Lucian could do nothing more than do as Shinjiru said, and eat the food. It may not have been much, but it did taste good. She was content where she was, even if she was in one of the worst places in the ghetto.
*§*
"She is here, my lord. She has come to this world." A lady with a purple- floor length ribbon tied around her eyes walked up a flight of stairs to Sephiroth, shirtless, sitting in a white, ivory throne, sipping the reddest wine, the color was reminiscent of blood.
"Oh really. Then I suppose she is oblivious to what is going on," Sephiroth replied to the maiden as she stood next to him.
"Find her. If she is supposed to be here, in this heaven, then she may as well spend as little time as she may in Chuuten." He suggested, finishing off his wine and putting it on the sterling silver tray as the woman was sent on her way.
Sephiroth was now alone. He sat, thinking to himself, still enjoying his newfound power. He knew that she was there, he could feel her spirit. But he desired to have her next to him.
And her name was...
*§*
It was 7:00 that evening, and Shinjiru received a phone call saying to come to a bar. Shinjiru told Lucian to be ready by 7:45, so they could leave out and arrive there by 8.
Lucian got in the car and felt relaxed. She had not felt this relaxed since she had been in Chuuten. She let the window down, and felt the cool, wonderful air hit her face. This air smelled of Earth, not of Mako like it did in her home world. People were dressed up in their best as they walked into clubs, restaurants, movie theatres and other fine places. She smiled at the relaxed way of life that she saw, which was an exact opposite of what she had seen in big cities such as Midgar and Junon, even in the areas of the wealthy. Even the poor had something to look forward to. They were able enjoy even the small aspects and rewards of life. Even Shinjiru, who lived in one of the worst ghettoes in the town, had happiness traveling to a bar which he loved, with his friends, able to party, drink and otherwise get sloppy. This time, Shinjiru was able to take a friend with him.
Shinjiru saw the people dressed in their finery, and grew jealous of them. But he had his friends, his bar, and now, this beautiful girl sitting next to him. Her short hair was blowing across her face, which he found attractive. He did not know her long enough to even get close to her in a lovers' kind of way. He did love her, but he would not allow himself to be her boyfriend, not just yet. Those things took time. He remembered a relationship that he was in that did not end as happily as it began, but he did not want to get into much detail with that, for fear of what happened in that relationship could happen to Lucian.
They arrived at the bar, called Red Hell. It was called Red Hell just for the reason that many people were shot in this bar, and it was the site of many rival gang battles. Even the owner was a psycho, and he owned an AK-47 assault rifle, not afraid to use it on anyone who got too out of control or began to mess with him and his friends. Shinjiru walked into the bar, keeping a tight grip on Lucian. She looked around, curious about her surroundings. When her and Shinjiru walked into the bar, she heard choruses of whistling coming from most of the bar, along with comments like, "I would like to make her bed rock" and "is that shin's whore?"
Shinjiru sat down with Lucian as she looked at the amount of TV's, Alcoholic Drink posters, labels and logos, and models all over the bartender's area. She saw the bartenders, a woman with dirty blonde hair and large breasts dressed in a rather scanty outfit, and a larger man, who looked to be 6'5" and 270 pounds with a black goatee and a bald spot on his head, who was wearing a bloodstained T-shirt saying "Guns don't kill people, I kill people." It fit his demeanor very well. He seemed to be a no-nonsense man, who looked as if he would break someone's neck in just one swift move. He looked around and saw Shinjiru and Lucian.
"Hey, man! How's it goin' shin'?" The man asked.
"It's just fine, Damon. And have you had to shoot anyone this week?" Shinjiru asked sarcastically.
"I didn't, though I wanted to." The large man called Damon replied.
"Who is this beautiful girl?" Damon's wife, Miranda, asked Shinjiru. "I saw you come in with her, and the hard-dick chorus started whistling."
"This is Lucian. She is shy, so be careful with her." Shinjiru replied to Miranda's question as Damon handed him a beer.
"Oh my. When my shift is up, I'll have to introduce you to some people. You also need some different clothes, hon, so I'll show you what I got. Whadda'ya say?" Miranda smiled at Lucian.
"Thank you." Lucian said softly.
"It's okay, sweetie!"
*§*
After the shift ended, Lucian was hanging around with Miranda as Shinjiru and Damon were talking.
"You do realize that she has no symbol on her head, right? She could be dangerous. Are you sure that you know what you are getting yourself into, shin'? This is religious now. You know that it says that in the good book," Damon warned Shinjiru of Lucian.
"I just want to keep her safe for that mere fact. Not only is she pretty, but I just feel strangely attracted to her, as if we have met before. I felt obligated to take her from those damn idiots at the hospital before they tried to kill her," Shinjiru explained to Damon.
"Lucian is something special, but nonetheless, she is still dangerous. I am not a religious person, but I know not to screw with the god that we have. He's a bad cat. And I don't think he wants you to mess with what is his. Lucian is something special in everyone's eyes. She sticks out like a sore thumb. She's that diamond in the rough. As good as this world may seem, she is even better than what this entire place has to offer. You have to trust an old friend on this one. Don't let yourself fall in love with her. If you do, you will suffer. He will come to get you." Damon rationalized how he felt about Lucian while pointing up to the heavens.
"You're right. I guess I should do what I have to, and keep that unspoiled angel safe." Shinjiru gave in while glancing at the laughing Lucian, dressed in Miranda's clothes, and the smiling Miranda, looking as if she had a sister.
3:00 AM came, and Shinjiru and Lucian waved goodbye to Miranda and Damon.
"Next week, man?" Damon asked Shinjiru.
"You know the procedure. I'll be seein' you." Shinjiru waved as he got in the car with Lucian.
Lucian felt a happiness that she had never felt in her last world except with her mom. She felt serenity and safety, even with someone she did not even know, and he was in the ghetto, and was tantamount to a convict. Lucian expected to spend the time with him until she went back to her other world, if she ever did. It may not have been the best life, but to her, it was paradise.
Little did she know, there were plans made for her. And they were divine plans, an intent made by the highest divinity. All she could do was wait. Wait to die, wait to live. Wait for an conclusion, that would slowly come, but was really fast approaching.