SHOT ME DOWN: SHORT VERSION
Nooj and I were friends since childhood. We used to play together outside the Mi'ihen Highroad travel agency, pretending we were fighting in the Machina War of a thousand years past, he as a darkly uniformed soldier of Bevelle, I as a white uniformed defender of Zanarkand. I tried to turn the tables, to make sure that Bevelle lost, but I was always cornered, driven back into the little piece of land in front of the agency, that jutted into the ruin-filled sea. He would pretend to shoot me, to kill the weak summoner.
I was five and he was six
We rode on horses made of sticks
He wore black and I wore white
He would always win the fight
At sixteen, he joined the crusaders. He was happy there, until he fought in a huge battle against Sin. He was half crushed, and would have died, unless the Yevon clergy had not permitted the crusaders to implant machina inside his body, to keep him alive beyond his time. I was so happy that he had been given a second chance in the crusaders, that the captains thought highly enough of him to pay for such expensive treatment.
He healed, and rejoined the fighting corps of the crusaders. It was then that I joined as a training recorder. Being close to Nooj, I could see that he was noble, brave and strong, not just the overactive child I had known. I quickly fell in love with him. I told him one evening, just as the sun set on the sea. We reached the front of the agency, and I simply said 'I love you.' To my surprise, his reply was not a laugh or a grunt, but a kiss. From that first sign continued one and a half years of passion and rage, known only to us two, as relationships between recorders and crusaders were forbidden for conduct reasons. We would always meet in front of the agency, and just sit talking, kissing, watching the sun set into the ocean.
But we had many problems. I quickly grew tired of his constant morbidity, his way of keeping me out of his heart, not telling me what was ever bothering him or what he really felt. I hated him for being so cold. We argued, screamed about it, and I threatened to walk out many times, but I would always come back, weak and desperate to hold on to him. On the night when he received an admission to train for a newly created elite squadron- the 'Crimson Squad'- that he became completely self obsessed. We had our last screaming match outside the agency, and then we were finished. He threw an insult at me and told me that he 'didn't want to see my pathetic face again.' He walked off, and left me alone, lying in tears on the cold, wet grass.
Bang bang, he shot me down
Bang bang, I hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, my baby shot me down
From then on, I had to pretend that nothing had ever happened between us. I made friends with the other guys on Nooj's training team, and as I was assigned as recorder to their team, I had to act completely normal around him.
All the time when he was training for the squad, he was always noted for his bravery in battle, the way he would never run away, no matter what the challenge, no matter how powerful or dangerous the fiend. Some called him reckless, others called him courageous. I wasn't sure, until one night I heard a conversation between a chocobo knight, lieutenant Elma, talking with a recruit called Yaibal. She said... that Nooj was suicidal, a 'Deathseeker,' as they were called. Ever since the machina had been put in his body, he felt like he was alive beyond his time, only half-human, not entirely real. He never ran away from battle because... he hoped he wouldn't have to return from it alive. I didn't want to believe it, but I knew it made perfect sense. And I also knew the reason for his coldness when we were together...
I confronted him about it the next day, when I was recording a training mission He stepped out in front of a fiend without a weapon... I still loved him. I couldn't let him die. I killed the fiend myself, only to get shouted at. When I saw him at sunset in front of the Mi'ihen agency, he shouted at me again, insulted me, brought out all of the issues that were unresolved in me from our relationship. He laughed at me and told me I was weak, that- just like he could catch me easily as a child- he could shoot me down now, I was so weak, so dependant. Once again, he walked away, leaving me crying, alone, on the cold, wet grass.
Seasons came and changed the time
When I grew up I called him mine
He would always laugh and say
Remember when we used to play
Bang bang, I shot you down
Bang bang, you hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, I used to shoot you down
Then the Crimson Squad was destroyed, betrayed by Maester Kinoc. Gippal, Nooj and Baralai were chased by warrior monks, until they reached the Mi'ihen Highroad, and there I met up with them in front of the agency. After discussing what to do, it was decided that Yevon would not rest until were dead, and that we would be harder to track if we split up. He never spoke to me once, didn't even wave goodbye as he left.
Now he's gone and I don't know
Until this day, sometimes I cry
He didn't even say goodbye
Didn't take the time to lie
At sunset, he started to walk away from us. I followed Gippal and Baralai as they went in the other direction. A gun shot suddenly rattled the air and Baralai fell to the floor with blood pouring from his back. Gippal turned round only to have bullet buried in his stomach. I, too, turned, and saw Nooj pointing his gun at their twitching bodies. I gasped, and he turned his gun in a deadly aim at my chest... he squeezed the trigger... and...
Bang bang, he shot me down
Bang bang, I hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful song
Bang bang, my baby shot me down...