A/N: Hello everyone, I'm back from my break from writing and have decided to write another fanfic. Most of you may remember me from the previous fic I wrote, Lost Memories of my Love, but if not, then that's fine. Since Lost Memories, I think I've learned a lot from the experience and from all of your helpful reviews, so I hope Flying with Broken Wings is just as successful, or even more so. This fic is quite different to my other one. I hope the plot idea isn't too clichéd, but all the same, I hope you enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters of Final Fantasy VIII belong to Squaresoft.
DISCLAIMER UPDATE: Okay, so I've finally been directed to Val's story that I've been told is similar to this story. I suppose that my story has a similar basis, though I'm telling you now that it is very, very different, especially later chapters. So, credit to Val because technically, my story is aspired from her in a way. Thank you, and please don't sue :)

Flying With Broken Wings

Chapter 1 – Broken Hope

"You will do as you're told, young lady!"

Fury Caraway stood angrily in the doorway, his eyes flickering viciously with rage. For the umpteenth time, his only daughter had managed to somehow make him cross. He was beginning to get sick of the teenager's nature – he was beginning to realise that if he did not do anything to tame his already out-of-control daughter, then she would only do more to make him even angrier.

"Make me!" shouted Rinoa just as loudly as her father.

"All I'm asking is that you go out to town and buy some items," groaned Caraway, "It's not hard."

"If it isn't so hard, then why don't you go?" snapped Rinoa.

"I have a lot to organise," said Caraway calmly, "You know that an important man is coming over in a fortnight. If things don't go well, then you know that we will both end up on the streets."

The seventeen-year-old girl folded her arms and groaned, not wanting to admit defeat. She knew very well that this 'meeting' of her father's was rather important. He lost his job years ago due to some severe trauma when his wife, Julia Heartilly, died in a car accident. Julia's death greatly affected Rinoa just as much as it affected Caraway, if not more so. For years, Caraway remained jobless while Rinoa worked hard to earn money for the pair of them with her job at a local café. Unfortunately, her earnings alone were not enough, and even the money Julia earned as a singer that was left to them was running out.

During these years, Rinoa grew irritable with her father and developed a solid hatred for him. Her grudge that she held against him started so long ago that she forgot why she hated him. She wanted very much to just move out, but she had nowhere to go and hadn't enough money. Of course, she hated to admit it, but she still cared slightly enough for her father to live with him.

Rinoa eventually lost her mind with the great workload she had on top of school, so she had no time for friends or boyfriends, or virtually anything she enjoyed doing. That was probably the reason why she hated her father so much – he deprived her of her childhood and happiness. But nevertheless, she became sick of waiting hand and foot on her father that she soon forced him to get a job.

And that was what this upcoming meeting was all about. Some important person had recently moved into the city. Rinoa wasn't sure whom this person was, or what kind of job her father was getting, but she honestly didn't care. She just wanted to be a normal teenager again.

"Fine," murmured Rinoa. She relentlessly grabbed the money in Caraway's hand and quickly made her way out of their small house. On the way, she grabbed a coat from the back of her chair and left the house without another word.

The busy streets of Timber were flurried with people caught up in their own lives to notice Rinoa. She was once well known because she was a great singer's daughter, but soon after Julia's death, nobody really cared anymore. Rinoa was just another speck in the world, and she was somewhat grateful that nobody saw her anymore.

But the real reason why Rinoa hadn't any friends was because she had a very rare health condition. It was called 'Sorceress Plague', and it caused Rinoa to have uncontrollable fits at just about any time. During these fits, she would go into a trance-like state that made her body extremely weak so that just about anything could kill her. The condition made it difficult for her to breathe, as her lungs and heart would weaken to an extreme. In addition to this, she was unable to think straight and her senses were basically numbed.

She had this condition ever since she was five years old, but she did not understand that her fits were not normal. Her parents paid specialists to try and find a cure with their fountain of wealth, but still they couldn't find one. The only aid she had was a special retainer she was to hold at all times, and whenever she had a convulsion, she had to intake its content so her body would return to normal. The only problem was that if she were ever too weak, then it would be difficult for her to aid herself. That was why she always needed someone nearby just in case she failed to retain herself.

But that was just the problem. Nobody wanted to be around her. All the kids at school were either afraid of her or found her condition funny, so they often picked on her. Yet none of her naive classmates understood her condition; they automatically thought that the Plague was contagious. And because it was a rare disease, they all thought of Rinoa as some kind of freak. Nobody knew about the Sorceress Plague until after her mother died, because with her mother alive, her family had the money to pay to keep her condition stable. Now that Julia was dead, they could only afford enough to pay for the retainers and that was the end of it.

Rinoa didn't care what everyone said, of course. She never let her classmates get to her. She was stubborn by nature, so it was expected that she bit back when somebody harassed her. Most of the time sheappeared to be happy and easy-going, but she had to mask the pain she felt on the inside – she had weaknesses and wasn't afraid to show them, but her emotional pain was much different.

But she had one friend and one friend only, and that was enough for her. As long as her best friend Min was on her side, then Rinoa could easily withstand the slings and arrows everyone had to shoot at her. The only problem was that Min had moved away before the summer … so now, Rinoa was all alone.

Why did you have to die, mom? Rinoa thought miserably. When you left … everything was starting to go wrong. It seems that it's just getting worse every day. She sighed out loud. But I'll stand up tall, I guess. I'll be strong to the very end. Just like you.

The summer day was warm in Timber, but not as warm as it should have been. Rinoa was grateful that it was finally summer vacation – it meant that she had one less thing to worry about. She was also glad that she was allowed to have a little bit of a break from work … her manager knew about the workload Rinoa had to carry and let her have a two week vacation. She was grateful that she even managed to find a job with her health condition.

Rinoa pushed open the door of the small grocery store and was greeted with the sound of the bell aloft it. She was hoping the store was air conditioned, but apparently it wasn't. Taking her time, the girl browsed around the shelves and carefully picked out the items on Caraway's list. The store was empty, and Rinoa felt no pressure to make haste.

"Oh, hello there, Rinoa," said Watts, as Rinoa approached the counter with her basket of groceries in hand.

Rinoa smiled weakly at him in return. Watts was the son of the man who owned the store. She called him a friend, but in her heart she knew that he was only her friend out of pity. She supposed she should have been thankful for a friend, but the fact that Watts was only nice to her because he felt sorry for her wounded her a little on the inside.

She knew … the way he talked to her, the way he flinched whenever she so much as shook his hand, the way he looked at her sometimes … it was just plain obvious. And it seemed that the only times he so much as looked in her direction was when she came by the store and he happened to be working there. He would just ask like he didn't know Rinoa in school, or anywhere else, for that matter.

"So how're you today?" asked Watts casually.

"Fine," answered Rinoa, handing him a crisp fifty-gil note.

"That's good," said Watts, adding things up on his cash register. He put Rinoa's money in the register and returned her change. "Have a good day."

Rinoa stared at the change in her hands, re-counting the money in front of her. "Uh … Watts, you gave me too much change. I'm only supposed to get six gil change, not fifteen."

"Oh, don't worry about it," shrugged Watts, "It's the least I can do."

Rinoa frowned. "No, I don't want it."

Watts looked slightly taken aback. "Please, take it. I … I know how it must feel. Keep it for yourself, your dad doesn't have to know about it."

Rinoa sighed with a forced smile, and clasped the money in her hands. She knew that the two of them would argue pointlessly if she didn't agree. Besides, he was just trying to be nice to her, wasn't he? She should have been grateful that someone even acted like they cared. "Thanks," she said finally.

"Don't worry about it," said Watts. "Have a good day."

Rinoa nodded, keeping the smile on her face pasted on until she left the store. As she stepped out, she let out another disdainful sigh, shoving the leftover money into her purse. Pity … that's all he's acting out of, she thought coldly, I don't want his pity. I don't want anyone's pity. Why can't people just like me for me? I hate this stupid plague … it's taking everything away from me…

She continued down the street with bitter thoughts swirling around in her mind. As she was only a couple of blocks back to her house, Rinoa glanced at her wristwatch and found that it was only four o'clock. Dinner wasn't until another two hours, and she didn't even care if she was late or not.

Maybe a bit of a walk would do me some good, thought Rinoa. She took a detour, still clutching her purse and the bag of groceries tight in hand, and set a course for her favourite place in the world – Obel Lake. It had been a good eight years since she last visited that lake. She just never had the time or the heart to go back to that place since her mother died.

Ten minutes passed while Rinoa made her way to the lake, but it seemed like a lot less than that. The comforting feeling that nature gave her overwhelmed her senses as she approached Obel. She smiled, walking up to the lake, the blue water shimmering in the sunlight. She sat down on the soft green grass by the edge and stared into the serene water.

Me, and mom … and dad's place, thought Rinoa, I remember it like it was yesterday. We'd all go down here and have picnics and have fun … I would run around collecting flowers and mom and dad would sit around and just talk. I miss those old days. Now it's like we've all forgotten those days…

Rinoa sighed, looking deeply into the lake, staring at her reflection in reverence. She was only seventeen, but she felt much older. Her pale complexion and thin figure was normal because of her health, but she liked to think that she inherited it from her mother. Her placid chocolate-brown eyes glimmered behind the few strands of dark hair wisping around her heart-shaped face with the wind. She was wearing what she usually wore – a blue, sleeveless dress, which from the back reached her ankles. She wore matching blue arm warmers and a black ribbon was tied around her left arm to symbolise the mourning of her mother's death.

Minutes passed, and Rinoa simply sat there in revered silence. The summer breeze teased her skin and whipped some strands of her hair around her face, leaving some clinging to her moist lips. She sighed as she neatly put her hair back in its place. She looked up into the sky, which was turning a harsh orange.

Better go back home, thought Rinoa.

She gathered her belongings and stood up, straightening her back. She walked away from the lake, not wanting to leave at all, but swore to herself she would come back soon. She felt safe and happy sitting at the lake. Maybe she had no friends, but she knew that the lake would always be there for her…

Rinoa had walked a good ten metres, her mind drifting away from her body. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her from behind and another tightened around her throat fiercely, grasping at her neck tightly. Rinoa's heart thudded uncontrollably in her chest; fear jolting down her body as her mind quickly came back to her. She felt the bag of groceries slip out of her hand and drop onto the ground. She heard the sound of metal flipping, and looked slightly to her right without turning her head to see a silver knife pointing right at her, only inches away from her neck, the blade gleaming dangerously in the sunlight.

"Give me all your money," murmured a low, masculine voice behind her.

Rinoa slightly trembled and gulped, finding her throat dry. "N-No," a voice very much unlike her own said.

With the silence she was met with, Rinoa only assumed that her offender was dumbfounded with her response. Horrified with her own actions and even with those that were coming, she quickly took the opportunity and jabbed whoever it was behind her with her left elbow with as much force as she had inside of her. Her elbow was aching with the blow she exerted, but she tried to take no notice of it.

The grip around her neck slightly loosened, and Rinoa attempted to break free from the attacker's grasp. She felt the chain at her neck snap and slip from its home, but she acted as if it didn't happen. She swivelled around just in time before her attacker could strike with his knife. As she spun around, she was able to take a glimpse of her attacker.

He looked no older than Rinoa, but undoubtedly, he was much taller than her. His chestnut-brown hair was scruffy, some strands falling into his face and slightly hiding his enticing stormy blue eyes. A heavy scar extended from his forehead in a diagonal direction down to the bridge of his nose. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a white, feathery collar over white a shirt, black leather pants with more than one red belt and black leather boots. Around his neck was a heavy-looking chain with a great lion as its pendent, and for a brief moment, Rinoa thought she recognised it. He was also wearing a rather crestfallen expression on his face, but even that expression couldn't disguise his ruggedly handsome features.

For a split second, Rinoa and her attacker's eyes locked together, though it seemed much longer than that. A sweeping feeling crept down Rinoa's spine, as she looked deep into those deep blue eyes. They were like a never-ending ocean … she felt like she could drown in them at any second…

Rinoa quickly snapped back to reality when it looked like her attacker was about to advance on her again. Before he could do anything, a panicky feeling rose inside of her, and she did what any normal girl would do – she kicked him right in his sacred area.

Her attacker staggered for a moment, trying very hard to hide any pain that might have shown on his face, and cursed under his breath. Rinoa ceased this opportunity to make a getaway, and quickly picked up the bag of groceries. She broke into a run, hoping that her attacker would not come after her. Rinoa ran as fast as her legs could take her, not looking back at all. But when she was halfway toward Timber, the fear in her was drained completely out of her system. She stopped and contemplated on her actions.

What am I doing? she asked herself, I just attacked somebody.

It was self-defence, you idiot, said another voice in her head. That guy could've done anything to you.

I should've just given him my money, thought Rinoa; I was all worked up about how I didn't want Watts' pity in the first place.

Letting the latter of her thoughts get the best of her, something in Rinoa's mind made her turn around and walk back to find her attacker.

What are you doing! a voice inside her mind yelled at her, that guy would kill you when he sees you!

Rinoa ignored her inner voice, but still, she couldn't help but wonder why she was going back anyway. She thought for a moment about her attacker … he was rather good-looking. But it was more than just that, the most haunting part was his deep blue eyes. For that split second their eyes locked, she just knew that his eyes were definitely the window to his soul … it was like she could see right past them. She could tell that this young man had seen many things … many horrible things…

Rinoa could finally see someone again. He was on his knees with his eyes closed, as if deep in thought. Even with his eyes closed, Rinoa couldn't help but get sucked in by his striking appearance…

Stop checking your attacker out, snapped a voice in Rinoa's mind.

She quickly shook the thoughts out of her head. She stood for a moment, wondering whether she should approach him or not. She watched as he stood up and opened his eyes, putting his knife away. Again, her legs started walking on their own up to him. She tried to stay at least three feet away from him, although she couldn't tear her eyes away from his deep blue eyes…

"Um … here," she said softly, holding out the change Watts had given her.

The guy in front of her stared right back at her, quite amazed that Rinoa had returned. His innocently bemused expression quickly fogged up when a look of coldness replaced it.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," said Rinoa quietly. "Please take it. I don't want it."

Before he could say anything, Rinoa quickly thrust the money into his right hand and turned away so he could not see her face. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and tried to flush it out as she walked in the other direction in a hurried pace.

He watched her walk away, sheer amazement in his expression. The coins in his hand were warm from the girl's tight grasp around them. When she was out of sight, he looked down into his hand at the loose change.

What the hell was that?

He was only trying to get a bit of money. Indeed, he did get it, but he didn't expect to get it this way. He had run away from home for the umpteenth time, and didn't plan to go back for a while. He usually had a lot of money whenever he left home, but this time he had stayed away for much longer than usual. Naturally, he ran out of money. But he wasn't ready to go home yet, not ready to face his father again, so he needed money badly.

Father … would he even call that man 'father'? True, he might have given his son his name … the name Squall … but Squall refused to take his father's surname, Loire.

Squall and his father only recently moved into town, and like hell he hated it. He never even wanted to come, but Laguna, president of the Estharian army, found it necessary that his son come along with him wherever he went. Laguna was much a man of his work and it – it was required that he moved around a lot, hence taking his son with him. But Squall hated moving around all the time. He just wanted to move back to Winhill, where his older sister Ellone lived.

Ellone wasn't really his sister, but the two of them were close enough to be called brother and sister. Squall and Ellone grew up together, until his mother Raine died. Laguna was never home, he was always on business trips, to spend time with Squall and Raine. He wasn't even there when Raine was about to give birth to her second child … and it was then that she died. Neither the child, nor mother lived, in fact.

Squall was naturally in a devastated condition. Raine died when he was eight years old, and since then, Laguna had to take Squall with him wherever he went. But Squall hated his father with a fiery passion … he hardly even knew his father, nor did his father know him. Laguna was not there by Raine's side in her darkest hour. Laguna was not there when Squall needed a father. Laguna took Squall away from his only friend, his sister. And as he grew up, he held all these things against his father. If it weren't for the fact that Squall always had haunting dreams of Raine saying things like 'Please don't hate your father' and 'I want you to love your father', then Squall would have ditched Laguna by now and ran his own life.

So of course, it was natural that Squall ran away from home all the time, to avoid seeing his father. It was usually after they had arguments that he would just get up and leave the house and not return until he cooled down. Laguna soon got used to this and just relinquished trying to stop Squall from leaving the house. But this time … Squall found it hard to cool down. This new town reminded him so much of Winhill … nearly everywhere he went, something about his home would pop up.

And look where his leaving home got him now. He thought that the girl at the lake looked like an easy target, but he was easily proved wrong. She was the first person since he got here to have hurt him physically.

No, she didn't hurt me, no way, he thought, pride racing to his mind.

But why did she come back to him? Was she dumb or was she kind? He didn't expect it at all. It actually seemed like she cared about him. Nobody cared about him anymore… nobody would ever bother to look twice at him. So what was it about this girl that made Squall Leonhart think so much?

He didn't want to admit it, but when he saw her face, her peaceful brown eyes and that innocent expression, he thought that there was something about her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was like she had some kind of aura around her, because she was actually quite pretty.

Oh Hyne, think with your head, Leonhart, snapped a voice inside his head at this thought. He usually wasn't one to even think about girls … so why was he thinking about some stranger whom he was trying to mug in the first place?

So some stranger cared, big deal, thought Squall. What does it matter to me anyway? I have the money, don't I? It's not my problem that she's dumb enough to actually turn around and give it to me…

She was either a very nice person, or a very dumb person. He couldn't decide which one. Something inside of him told himself to go after the mysterious girl, and for a split second, he was very tempted to follow her. But what would he say? He wasn't good with words at all. In fact, he despised people all together. Why should he go after somebody he didn't even care about? What was he going to do? Make friends with her?

Squall laughed bitterly to himself. What was the point of making friends? In the end, you're always alone – that was his motto. Friends … there were no such things as friends. Not to Squall, anyway. His 'friends' always wanted something from him. Everyone always wanted something from him. It was hard to trust anybody … if he got his hopes up too high, the fall when they were crushed would always be painful. That was why he had no hope, no friends. Everyone wanted something for nothing.

That girl didn't want anything from you, a voice inside Squall's head said, She was being nice because she wanted to be nice, not because she wanted something. Just like Sis…

Whatever. Squall quickly brushed off the thought. He didn't want any expectations of anyone. The encounter with the mysterious girl was just a page of his life; it was time to move on. He didn't need another person to worry about. There was already enough of that at home…

Home … is there even such a place?

He sighed and looked at the money in his hand again. It was enough to buy him dinner. He quickly stuffed the coins in his back pocket. But it was then that he remembered holding a silver chain in his other hand. It was the chain that he managed to rip off of the girl when she tried to escape. Perhaps she didn't notice that it was gone when she decided to come back.

Squall smirked. Oh well, more for me, I guess.

He lifted the chain and examined it to see how much it would have been worth. He was sure that the chain alone was sterling silver. He found that there were two rings hanging on the chain. One was a solid gold ring with diamonds encrusted in it. On closer inspection, the words 'Fury and Julia' were carefully engraved into the gold.

Julia … I bet that's her name, mused Squall. And Fury … I bet that's her boyfriend. This ring must be some kind of stupid trend people these days do for their stupid teen relationships.

Squall looked at the other ring. For one fleeting moment, Squall's heart almost stopped. It was a silver ring in the form of a lion. But it wasn't just any old lion … it was Griever. He recognised it right away … because he had the exact same ring, and a pendent of Griever too. He looked at the Griever ring on his own finger and compared the two, only to find that they were exactly the same.

How did she get this? That was the question running through Squall's mind. Only he and Ellone knew what Griever was. There was no way anybody else could get a ring like this, because Griever was his. It didn't make sense … unless this girl was more than she appeared to be…

Probably a coincidence, thought Squall, as he put it into the pocket in his jacket. I should just forget her.

But try as he might, Squall couldn't bring himself to forget that girl … the girl who possessed something of great importance to him, but most of all … the girl who bothered to look twice at him, to care about him.

A/N: So how was that for a first chapter? This is my first shot at an AU fic, so I hope it wasn't too bad of an attempt. I hope me drabbling on about this Sorceress Plague thing isn't too boring, but if you got bored of it and skipped those paragraphs, I'm basically appropriating Rinoa's being a sorceress into a disease so it's more 'contemporary'. I'm not so good with first chapters hehe...Reviews would be much appreciated :-) Oh and I think I will post the second chapter right now … I have a strange habit of posting the first and second chapters of new fics at the same time :-P