Author's note: I don't own the Final Fantasy Characters (Much as I'd like to.) They're Square-Enix's, I'm using them for fun and not for my own personal gain, alright? Gin, Willow, and Rene are the properties of Steph, Nicky, and Serena respectively. (bless their little gamer girl hearts.) Alright. looks around. they gone? Sweet sets up his bootleg Cloud bobbleheads and Tifa Bobble….y'knows...

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Cloud Strife groaned as he rolled over in his bed, the incessant brapping of the alarm driving him insane. He pulled the pillow over his head, trying to ignore the noise. Then the pounding on his door started.

"Cloud, mom wants to you to stop crying and get up or else we're going to be late for school! C'mon!" Cloud groaned and rolled out of bed.

"I am NOT crying!" He called out, finding his clothes and shrugging on his bathrobe. He hated getting up so early. He opened the door, a cold blast of air greeting him as he crossed the hall to the bathroom, finding it pleasantly warm. Not so much so once he hopped into the shower. Dammit, Gin had taken the all the hot water. He gritted his teeth and cleaned up as quick as he could, toweling off and dressing in his black t-shirt and jeans. He looked about for his contacts, and not finding them, he sighed heavily and put on his glasses, stepping back into the hall.

He nearly jumped back in the bathroom, seeing his little sister waiting the hall for him.

"Holy crap Gin!" He clutched his chest. She just looked at him.

"Come on Cloud. Yeesh, I just want to go get this over with." She walked off. Cloud followed after her, ducking into his room for a couple moments to get his keys and wallet. After that, he headed out the door, waving goodbye to his mother, who was on the phone. He smiled a little as she waved back. He slid into the driver's seat of his car, Gin waiting the passenger seat, holding her satchel. He sighed.

"Good morning to you too Gin." He said as they pulled out of the driveway.

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Midgar High, the only raised school in the school district. People wondered why they built it like that, but it certainly was an impressive sight. The track and football field put beneath saved space for the city, and the supports kept the school proper from crashing down on the sports facilities. One would call an architectural feat if one wanted to draw attention to it. The students mostly thought of it as a glorified prison from them. A fortress of learning from which they wouldn't escape. Cloud parked in the student lot beside the school and the siblings made their way up the ramp to the main entrance. A group of cheerleaders and prominent seniors cheered and howled, causing Cloud to sigh and Gin to cringe a bit. The welcome unsettled the both of them, though Cloud's eyes scanned the welcoming committee for a familiar face. And then he saw her. The outfit she was wearing, it fit her slim form. He loved it so much on her, and the colors really complimented the pink bow she was wearing. Aeris Gainsborough, one of Midgar High Cheer Squad. Gin almost dragged him by his arm down the runway.

"Enjoying the view bro?" She deadpanned as they entered the main hall. Little did they both know that a set of eyes watched them enter. The deep green flickered past, lingering on Cloud. With a toss of his platinum hair, Sephiroth watched the retreat of Cloud, ignoring the roar of the other football players as more freshmen arrived.

"Some day Cloud, you'll be mine…" He thought, his thoughts wandering…

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Cloud had left Gin to find his own friends. This was not a good idea. Leaving one's sibling to their devices, especially on the first day of school, was asking for trouble. She wandered into the Commons hub of the school, weaving through the press of students. With yelp as she tripped over a stray book bag, she stumbled into the person in front of her and felt them stagger forward. She quickly regained her balance and so did the person in front of her. He idly ran a hand through his blonde hair and slowly turned around, his white button shirt and slacks dripping with juice from the drink container he was holding.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" He said coldly, a quartet of other students flanking him.

"Name's Gin, and who the hell do you think you are?" She replied in the same tone, her hands balling into fists. The kid in white laughed.

"Oh, she must be fresh meat, asking me who I am." The others laughed as if on cue He stopped as they did, "I'm Rufus Shinra, the principal's son. And my….associates here, are about to show you how we deal with fresh meat. Tseng, Rude." With a snap of his fingers, a long, black-haired kid in a suit and bald, sunglassed freak in matching attire advanced on Gin.

"Ah crap…" Gin thought as she did the only sane thing she could do at the moment, she bolted.

"Buggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbugger…" She mutter as she ran for dear life through the crowd, Rude and Tseng hot on her heels…