Author's Notes: Well, this is just an explanation of why Kiri acted the way she did towards Caden.

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own the rights to Final Fantasy. Dammit. Bet you the people who do are loaded.

Chapter Five: An Overrated Commodity

Kiri awoke from her nap and rolled over checking the clock next to her. Eight thirty. Perfect. She could take a shower now and be at the bar in a little over an hour. She liked the bar. She liked the bar very much, especially on days like today. After all that stuff with Caden, getting good and drunk, and then 'doing the dirty deed' as Catten so eloquently phrased it were very much in order. He loved her. She stopped for a moment to consider it. True, she loved him back, or thought she did. Love was an overrated commodity. Isn't that what her mother had told her?

Shaking her head she dragged herself out of bed and walked into the bathroom, turning the water on in the shower as hot as she could stand it. Now on her train of thought she couldn't stop the memories. She had been what four when it happened.

Flashback:

Young Kiri walked down the stairs to get a glass of water from the kitchen. She had not registered the sound of conversation at first but the moment she did, she realized that the man with her mother could not be her father. Squall was not due back from the mission he was currently on for almost a week yet. Besides this man did not sound like her father. Silent as the wind she slipped up to the living room where she saw her mother with a strange dark haired man. She wondered what he was doing there and was going to go in and ask her mother when the man leaned in and kissed her. She expected her mother to fight back, but when she deepened the kiss Kiri simply returned to bed to ponder what she had seen.

End Flashback

Kiri shook her head and grabbed her favorite vanilla scented body wash. She finished washing her body and hair, then turned off the water and stepped out of the shower wrapping herself in a towel. Right then someone chose to knock at her door and she groaned to herself. She ambled over to the door and opened it, startled when she found Caden on the other side.

"I…uh…forgot my gunblade. I'll come back later." He muttered turning away his cheeks a faint shade of pink.

"Hold on Caden. I'll grab it for you." She sauntered back into her room and grabbed the gunblade feeling Caden's eyes on her body. She shuddered slightly. She didn't love him. She couldn't because love wasn't real. As long as she remembered that she could resist the look in his eyes, keep him from getting to her. He took the gunblade and walked away, and Kiri closed the door and started getting ready.

Clothes, hmm, what to wear. She grabbed a pair of her ripped jeans and pulled them on, and added a black halter top. She pulled her hair half up, the top half in a messy bun. Noticing the time, she added some black eyeliner, and grabbed her purse. She began to walk out of the room, then ran back in and put on black heeled strappy sandals. Checking her appearance once more in the mirror she ran out the door and to the parking lot.

She found her car in the opposite corner of where she had sworn she had parked it, and jumped in to the tiny silver sports car. She wondered for a moment if she should have invited Catten or someone because at the end of the night she did not plan on being able to drive. She merely shrugged however and pulled out of her parking spot.

It did not take long for her to arrive at the bar, and within an hour, Kiri grew tired of the music they had been playing and stopped dancing, focusing on getting good and drunk in the meantime. She was semi drunk already when she was tapped on the shoulder by someone. It turned out to be Alec Date, a transfer to Angel Guard from Balamb Garden. He was going through some retraining and would likely become Angel Guard in a month or so. He was her brother's age at 17, and in Kiri's opinion very attractive with his bronzed skin, black hair, and striking grey eyes, "Why are you here?"

She was surprised, but answered quickly enough, "Drinking my troubles away. Makes them go away for a night, getting drunk it does."

"You have troubles?"

"Love is my trouble. It's an overrated commodity, that's what my mother taught me. Course she didn't know what love was. Claimed she loved Dad, but then she wouldn't have had an affair would she of. Told me the day after I caught her, 'Kiri I love your father dearly but he's just not here for me. Love's an overrated commodity anyways.' Yep that's what she said." Alec looked startled at the news Kiri had shared, and the bitterness lacing her tone, but was silent as she continued, "Dad knew, course he did. Nothing got past him. Asked him about it too. He said he had never had a use for love until he met my mother. Said no matter what he wouldn't leave her, even though it hurt him to stay, it would hurt more to be without her. Decided then to avoid love. It's dangerous stuff." She lapsed into silence nodding to herself.

Alec placed one arm around her waist, keeping her from falling over. She had drunk quite a lot during her speech, and it was beginning to show. He was unprepared when she spoke again, "Caden though, he jumps straight into love. He seems to go looking for it, and he thinks he has it even when there's no guarantee. Takes guts buddy. Always liked that about him. He has guts. Looks too. Don't think I've ever told him that but he got more than his fair share of good looks. Mmm Hmm, you did too. But love, yeah, he thinks he loves me, I used to think I loved him, but I can't take that no. Don't need any distractions. Going to catch that bastard who killed my parents. Dad was going to confront my mother, and he stopped him. Stopped him dead yes he did."

Kiri finally stopped, considerably drunker then she had been at the beginning of the night. Alec checked the time and found it was nearly one. He threw some bills onto the counter, and scooped Kiri up, carrying her out of the building and placing her in his car. He started it up and drove home. He had always wanted to get to know the beautiful young woman better, ever since first seeing her at Garden, and this night had given him his chance. This would have to be discussed in more detail tomorrow.

Author's Notes: Wow, this one is interesting. Probably because I wrote it at two in the morning. Just review already.