A/N: Okay, you asked for it: a Leblanc-centric chapter. If you haven't noticed by now, I've been trying to keep the mood a little lighter in the past few chapters, because the next one is gonna be a bit of a doozy. Soundtrack for the last chapter was "Anything Goes for Leblanc!" and "Chocobo", by the way. XD Somehow I forgot to mention that before. I bow my head in shame. Looking at the oh-so-spiffy epigraph below, we see that the soundtrack of choice for this chapter is…! "Real Emotion!" Though that's not all. "Luca" and "Kilika" were used as well. It's worth noting that Nooj is a little more personable than he is in-game, and that I attribute this fully to his youth and possession of all of his limbs. I'll shut up now.
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I don't ever plan to rely on you
Even if by chance everything should go wrong
You'd come anyway and try to save me
Though from time to time it's an upward climb
All I know is that I must believe
'Cause the truth I'm seeking
Always was inside of me
And when I find the world of real emotion has surrounded me
The many things that you taught me then
Will always be enough to get me through the pain
Because of you I am strong enough to know I'm not alone
And if I find the real world of emotion has surrounded me
And I can't go on
You are there the moment that I close my eyes to comfort me
We are connected for all of time
I'll never be...
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Leblanc always had a certain fascination with the Guado. These normally reclusive people would come down to Luca in the heat of the summer without fail, every year, to watch their Glories dance in the water, always a little more reserved in their cheering than everyone else was. In her limited contact with them, they always came off as so… taciturn. Taciturn, but tantalizingly mysterious. And their hair! If she had so much as five gil for every time she wondered how those strange, malleable strands felt, well… she'd be one wealthy girl, and then she wouldn't have to use up all her opportunity on picking their pockets.
As much as she liked them, everyone was fair game. They had to be. Pay the rent or be booted out to a life in the streets like some animal. It was as simple as that. It had been like this for a while. Never even knew her parents, thanks to Sin. Big surprise there.
Her proud nature got her fired from her last job— that was three months ago— just because, as her merchant employer found out very quickly, she didn't exactly react well to being told what to do. Never had. She got by on the kindness of others until she turned about eleven. She was fifteen now: old enough to be thoroughly disgusted by the idea of taking charity. If stealing was what it took to live securely, what was the problem?
Even if security sometimes did mean paying for rent before food.
Getting caught wasn't even an issue. She was just that good.
Today's mark was also a Guado. She prowled up slowly, clad in her best; everybody expected a thief in rags. He stood alone on the side of the bridge near the blitzball stadium, arms folded morosely on top of the railing, looking out at the water. She thought his hair and clothes were a little unusual, from what little she could see here behind him, but it didn't matter. Money was money in the end, after all!
Target sighted: the bulge of a wallet beneath the fold of his back pocket. The approach was slow at first, building up momentum the closer she got until she made out the little tie that held up the man's twisted, ropelike ponytail, almost there, almost there, hand at the ready and prepared to bolt they collided—!
"Ooh! So sorry, love, I didn't see you there," she blurted hastily, not even looking up at his face, "I'll be off, then!"
She took only one step before fingers closed tightly around her wrist. Immediately she whirled on him, snarling, "Get your hands off me this instant!"
And then she stopped, taking a good look at his face, and frowned in momentary confusion.
A human man grasped her arm. Well, a boy, really, not much older than she was. He looked like he could be about five years her senior, though, with that solemn look on his face. He certainly was handsome, anyway. But he looked so sad to her somehow…
"Give me my wallet," he told her, a kind of dispassionate irritation to his tone.
Leblanc tensed, trying to pull away. His grip was firm. "I don't have anything!"
The boy tugged her in close, and the look in his eyes suddenly had her rooted to the spot. She thought she almost felt a chill prickling up her neck.
"…You don't look like you have to steal to eat. Why are you doing this?"
"That's none of your business," she spat. "I do what I want. Now let. Me. Go—"
Her stomach picked that exact moment to groan indiscreetly. The stranger looked confused for a second, then relaxed a bit. Not enough to release her wrist, but the aggression in his posture disappeared, in any case. His gaze flitted down to the source of the noise for a second, then back up to her face. She sneered cheekily up at him, desperate to salvage the tatters of her dignity, turning red in spite of herself.
"Well, I… guess you were wrong about me, love."
He studied her for a long moment. Leblanc could practically taste him violating her personal space, but at the same time she knew there was some small possibility that the heat in her face wasn't just from embarrassment.
He had blue eyes.
Finally, and with no small amount of caution, he released her. It seemed likely that he'd catch her the second she tried to run away, and even if she wanted to— and she did, didn't she?— she was beginning to doubt her ability to force her legs to move.
"Come with me."
"And just where are you taking me?"
"I'll buy you lunch."
"You can't."
He stopped. "Why?"
"I have your wallet," she replied, smiling sweetly.
"…What's your name?"
"It's Leblanc. And just so you know, I don't need your help."
"You need my money," he retorted.
She glared silently.
"I'm giving it to you this way. So give me my wallet."
Masking her wounded pride over obeying him, Leblanc tossed her head. "And who are you, love?"
He hesitated, then spoke.
"Nooj. A Crusader."
"Nooj," she echoed, appraising the sound on her lips and in her ears for a second. "Hmph. Fine. If you're so insistent on having my company, who am I to refuse? But I hope you realize that I can't pay you back until I'm rich and famous, love. And you better believe that I will, so don't you dare disappear on me!"
There was just a flicker of amusement on his face, then.
"…I'll look forward to it."
Leblanc stared at him for a long time, then burst into giggles. Nooj frowned.
"What?"
"Oh… It's nothing, love. Nothing at all."
fin