Disclaimer: Many characters belong to Square Enix, as well as many of the place names.
Remember: This story is basically a fanfiction of a fanfiction, based on "Ame ni Matte" by Lily Silver. The story design and set-up is based around that story. Also, her original characters used in this are Lorna Relson and Marshal Gray will be mentioned here and there. I recommend reading her story, for it is very good, and mine would make much more sense if you did.
Ok, guys, this is my first shot at a story, and the only way to get better is to practice. Please, stick with me, and I will do my best to make this story entertaining.
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Hana blinked slowly and sat up. It was still dark, so she was curious on why she had woken up. She then realized that her throat was very dry, and quietly slipped off of the couch. She had only lived in the house for three days, but already knew the floor plan very well. As a precaution, though, she felt along the walls until she found the kitchen. By then, her eyes had adjusted to the dark. She could make out the sink, and, just to the left of it, a cupboard. She thought that they wouldn't mind her using a cup, as long as she washed it afterwards. Crouching down, she pulled the doors open. The hinge creaked as the door swung to reveal its contents. Hana gasped.
On the top shelf, glinting wickedly in the faint light that came from a small window, were two guns. Next to them was another larger weapon that Hana didn't recognize. Suddenly, she wasn't so thirsty anymore. She quickly shut the cabinet and slunk to the floor with her back against it. Her heart was pounding, and her breathing was shallow. Thoughts raced through her young mind. Was this the reason the older two didn't want her in the house? Were they afraid she would discover something dangerous? All this time, Kadaj had never talked about him and his brothers. Yazoo wasn't very open for talking, either, and Loz rarely said a word to her. On shaky legs, Hana made her way back to the living room, and onto the couch. Shutting her eyes tight, Hana hoped that if she fell asleep, this would all turn out to be a bad dream.
And Hana did sleep. Not for very long, though. In a couple of hours, she felt something jostling her shoulder. Moaning groggily, she opened her eyes, staring strait into a pair of bright green eyes. Hana almost jumped in surprise, pushing herself into the cushions to create some space between her face and Kadaj's.
"You sleep like a rock," Kadaj said, now glaring at Hana. "Scoot! I want to sit." He pushed her legs off the couch and plopped down. Hana sat up and rubbed her eyes. Sitting on the table in front of her were two plates of bacon and eggs. Kadaj was already chowing down on one of them. With a blank expression, Hana stared at her food. Kadaj looked over at her. "Aren't you hungry?"
Hana came out of her daze and smiled at Kadaj. In all truth, she wasn't hungry. Not after what she had seen the night before (whether it was a dream or not, she still couldn't decide). She picked up a piece of bacon and looked at it before slowly putting it in her mouth. She chewed in silence. Just as she was finishing her first piece, Kadaj was scraping up the last of the eggs on his plate. Hana sat back and looked around, rather nervously.
"What's your problem?" Kadaj asked while stealing the other piece of bacon from Hana's plate. Shoving it in his mouth, he looked over at her. With a voice muffled from the food, he added, "You're all quiet and stuff."
"Uh?" Hana asked, again jumping out of a daze. "Oh, I-uh...I'm just a bit tired still."
"That's always your excuse!" Kadaj showed a small, angry pout.
"Yeah...uh...oh, never mind." Hana decided to do her best to forget about the previous night, even though she knew it would always be tugging at her mind.
"Whatever," mumbled Kadaj. He stood up. "Hey, let's go outside." He dragged Hana by the wrist towards the door. Hana didn't like being drug around, but she was getting more used to it every day. On their way out of the room, Kadaj stumbled right into Yazoo.
The teen stared down at the two with his normal, icy aloofness. Kadaj noticed Yazoo had his jacket on, and Loz, who was coming down the stairs, did as well. Kadaj opened his mouth to ask where they were going, but Yazoo spoke up. "Stay close to the house." Yazoo then answered Kadaj's unspoken question with, "We're going out."
Kadaj nodded. When Yazoo said they were going 'out', it normally meant they were going pick-pocketing and stealing to get the necessities they couldn't afford. Kadaj couldn't ever find the talent one would need in order to pull that kind of stuff off, so he always stayed behind. All four went outside, but only Loz and Yazoo left the front yard. Kadaj scrambled to the sop of the wall and waved after his brothers. It was a cold morning, and Kadaj seemed to have found a fascination in seeing the wisps of cloud his breath could make. "Hey, hey, look!" he shouted down at Hana. "Look, watch this!" He exhaled sharply, and a whitish puff escaped from his lips. "See?"
Hana giggled for the first time that morning. She made a face as if she was going to whistle, and blew out a long stream of the ghostly smoke. The two laughed and continued to watch their breath. After a few minutes, though, Hana was shivering in her thin clothes. Kadaj was still laughing, but his cheeks and nose were tinted pink from the cold.
Catching her breath, Hana sat down against the wall. She hugged her arms around her scrawny frame in an attempt to keep warm. Throwing her gaze up to the sky, she watched the gloomy clouds. Kadaj, who was sitting above Hana, leaned over and stared down at her. His hair swung around his face as he cocked his head to the side. "What are you looking at?" he asked sharply.
Hana moved her eyes to focus on Kadaj's face which, because of her position, seemed to be upside-down. "It's going to rain again today, I think," she answered softly. For the first time, it finally got through to her just how strange Kadaj looked. Hana wasn't sure why the silver hair and oddly shaped pupils were just now registering in her mind. A hint of aggressiveness that Kadaj always seemed to have was clearer now than it ever had been. Suddenly, Hana couldn't look at him anymore, so she lowered her line of sight to the ground in front of her. Again, Kadaj had a bit of a view down the back of her shirt. The black mark was just barely visible under the collar and through the girl's hair. Kadaj shifted so he was lying on his back along the top of the wall. Hana pulled her knees up to her chest. The two sat in an eerie, silent tension. Hana began tugging on the frayed edge of the leg of her jeans, and she was chewing on her bottom lip. "Hey," she said uneasily.
"What?" Kadaj spat bitterly. "Why can't people just talk? Always taking your time..."
"I...well..." stuttered Hana, now twisting her fingers furiously into the denim around her ankles. She took a deep breath before spilling out, "How'd you get to look like you do?" After hearing what she said, she realized just how stupid the question sounded.
Kadaj's eyes narrowed, and he clenched his teeth. "None of your business," he hissed.
"Oh," sighed Hana. She closed her eyes, realizing that she had upset him. Something cold landed on her toe. She opened her eyes to see what it was. A small, slowly disappearing speck of white was on the tip of her big toe. She looked up to see that Kadaj was sitting up and holding his hands out, palms to the clouds. Small specks of white were floating down and settling on the ground. Neither of the two children had seen snow, being locked up in labs almost all their lives. Hana jumped up and flung her arms out. Laughing, she spun around in circles, then fell to the ground. The tension from before had been forgotten. "What do you s'pose this stuff is?" she asked Kadaj.
The boy was still sitting on the wall with his hands outstretched. He flinched as a snowflake landed on the cheek that wasn't covered by his bangs. He looked over at Hana, eyes bright and flashing with curiosity, as he said, "I dunno...it's weird, isn't it?" Hana nodded, and Kadaj jumped off the wall. The snow only continued to fall harder.
When they were both shivering, Kadaj went inside, dragging Hana along behind him. He ran upstairs to the bedroom. When he came back out, he was dragging a blanket. Sitting on the floor in front of the window, he wrapped it around his shoulders and fixed his gaze on the scene beyond the glass. Following Kadaj's example with the blanket she had been using to sleep with, Hana sat next to her friend. They watched the snow fall. Occasionally, one of them would say something just to break the silence, but the conversations never lasted long. Almost an hour floated by until the weather calmed down. As soon as it seemed alright, Kadaj ran outside again. Hana did her best to keep up, and had skidded to a stop when Kadaj halted on the sidewalk, just beyond the wall.
"What? What is it?" Hana asked frantically. She was jerked awkwardly when Kadaj pulled her behind him as he hid behind the wall. Ha jabbed a finger in front of his mouth, telling her to hush. Scooping up some snow off of the ground, he did his best to pack it into a ball. He raised it above his head.
Loz rounded the edge of the wall and, just as he spotted Kadaj, something came hurling at him. He ducked, but was too late. He got a face full of snow. Kadaj was clutching his stomach with laughter. Loz wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket. "Hey, scum!" he yelled, aiming a fist at Kadaj.
While the eldest and youngest brothers fought, Yazoo walked past in the direction of the house. On his way, he caught sight of Hana, who was standing back from the scuffle. Hana looked up and caught Yazoo's watchful eye. The cold look stung her, but she was determined not to let it get the best of her. She noticed that Yazoo was carrying a bag of groceries in each arm. Running up to him, but avoiding the fight, Hana held out her arms in an offer to take one of the bags. Yazoo shook his head in a gesture meaning to tell her that her help wasn't necessary. Hana shrugged and followed him into the house.
When they got into the kitchen, Yazoo set the bags down on the small counter. He turned around, and was about to open the cupboard to begin to put away the food, when he saw Hana standing in the doorway. She stared at him innocently, smiling. "Do you need something?" Yazoo asked.
"Nope," came Hana's reply. She didn't leave, but instead, walked quietly up to him. She waved her hand towards her. Yazoo, confused, bent over as she had intended. Hana smiled and raked her hands through his hair. Her finger slid easily through the silver strands and caught little flecks of snow on the way. "You had that white stuff in your hair," Hana said, clarifying her action. "It looked funny."
Yazoo nodded and stood up. "Thank you for getting it out," he replied. "You've got a bit, too." He reached up and brushed his fingers over her spiky brown hair, and the melting specks fell away. He looked at her face. She was smiling up at him so brightly; he couldn't help but smile as well. Something inside tugged at him. Yazoo had always been somewhat jealous that this girl was stealing away so much of Kadaj's attention. He knew Loz felt it too, even though he wasn't quite as close to their little brother. But now, looking at Hana standing in front of him, he was almost sorry for being jealous. How could he be mad at someone so young and cute? He didn't know that she had found one of their secrets, that's how.
Hana turned and left the room, going back outside to make sure Loz and Kadaj were alright. Yazoo made sure she was safely away before opening the cupboard. He started placing the newly bought food on the shelves below the three, very real weapons.
