Chapter 4 – The Stranger

Kako wandered back to the school after lunch. She had a vague idea of catching a class with Yuffie later that afternoon, but really she wanted to see if she could get a look at the new guy. She had heard about a stranger at the school and the rumor was that he was very cute but kind of mysterious. She loved a mystery.

She walked into the school and wandered the halls looking for Yuffie's class. She passed the room in which she had sparred with Reeve earlier in the day and stopped when she heard the clash of swords. She quietly opened the door and slipped inside. A small group of students lined the walls, watching the two opponents spar in the center of the floor. She smiled over at a girl she knew and leaned up against the wall with her arms crossed to watch.

She recognized one of the opponents as a student at the school. She knew his name was Sezo; he was an above average swordsman, but she had beaten him a few times. His opponent, however, was someone she had never seen before. "So this must be the new guy," she thought to herself.

She watched as the stranger circled his opponent. In his sword hand he carried a type of sword she had never seen before; it had two long curved blades instead of the usual single blade. In his off hand he carried a short dagger that he held hilt forward so he could use it in a spinning backstab counter move. His movements were cat-like; his feet hardly touched the ground as he circled the room, always facing his opponent. Sezo made his move, lunging at the stranger with his blade but connected with thin air when the stranger spun away from his thrust. As he spun his opponent came around Sezo's exposed back and planted the dagger between his shoulder blades, stopping just centimeters from skin. Sezo recovered and turned to face his opponent, bringing his sword up to block an overhead swipe aimed at his throat.

Kako watched transfixed by this strange new man. He was tall and slender and wore a tight fitting black leather vest that showed the outlines of his muscular body. He looked to be about 17, perhaps older. She wasn't sure. He had long silver white hair that reached to the small of his back and swirled around his face and shouldersas he spun and lunged. His face was a study in concentration; he had pale blue eyes that flashed in anger when one of Sezo's thrusts caught him off balance. His strong muscular legs were covered by leather chaps that he kept in place with straps across his thighs.

She couldn't take her eyes off him. There was something about him that fascinated her. It was more than just good looks, she thought to herself. He was obviously a skilled swordsman and she had never seen a sword like his before. No, there was something about the way he moved, the way he carried himself, which interested her. He was very different from the other boys she knew. She glanced around the room and saw that she wasn't the only person fascinated by this stranger.

He seemed to know that she was watching him. He flashed a smile at her as he turned to dodge yet another attack. Or was it just her imagination. She felt her face flush and looked down at her feet in embarrassment. When she looked up she found that the match had ended with the stranger the victor. Sezo extended his hand in an offering of peace and congratulations. The stranger took it and shook with a firm grip and a quick nod. He turned and walked over to a chair where he had thrown his gear. The room emptied slowly of its audience, the students filing out in twos and threes chatting about the strange new man and the moves they had just witnessed. Tifa lingered, watching him with fascination. He felt her eyes on him and turned to look over at her.

"What did you think?" he asked.

"What? Oh, . . . it was . . .," she shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him. She had never felt at a loss for words before.

"That good, huh?" he said with a smile.

She pushed away from the wall and walked over to him. "Are you a student here?" she asked.

He stopped what he was doing when he heard her question and thought for a moment before answering.

"Not really. I just dropped by to see how I stacked up against some of Midgar's finest," he answered with a sly smile.

She chuckled at his arrogance. "And you think that Sezo is one of our finest?" she asked.

"Isn't he? Well that's encouraging," he said with the same sly smirk. "And who would be your finest then . . . you?"

She wasn't going to walk into that trap. She smiled and turned to walk out of the room. He rushed up behind her and pulled on her arm, turning her back to face him. His closeness excited her and she breathed in sharply as she found herself looking directly in his eyes. Up close she could see that he had a strong, angular face, but those eyes . . . they seemed to look straight through her into her soul.

She pulled her arm out of his grasp and stepped back away from him with a quizzical look on her face.

"Come on, lets play," he said softly.

She hesitated for a moment. The invitation was a tempting one but she wanted to make him work a bit harder for what he wanted. She smiled at him and shook her head.

He watched her think about his offer. She really was quite lovely, the spitting image of her mother with her large shining burgundy colored eyes, but with her father's blonde hair.

"How do you know my mother?" she asked. "Wait, did he say that out loud?" she asked herself. She saw his eyes flash for an instant as her question registered and quickly return to normal. There was something about his pupils . . .

"I don't know your mother," he answered quickly. He struggled to regain his composure. Her question caught him off guard. He needed to be more careful around her.

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two. Kako attempted to cover the moment with an innocuous question.

"I've never seen a sword like that one before. Where did you get it?"

"It belonged to my brother," he answered simply. He turned and picked up the rest of his gear and walked out of the room.