Koinu: Okays. Update time! -smiles- man I love this story, really, I do! Its so much fun! Well, enough about how much I like to write. Timefor you to read the chapter people!


The Amarimono

Chapter Two


Liz's body ached all over- Loz's hadn't held back when he attacked her the second time. But it wasn't the pain that awoke her, no, she simply… awoke. She didn't sit up suddenly, gasping for breath, or even open her eyes. Her mind just started registering things again, for the most part.

She tried to move, to sit up maybe a little, but in return for her attempt at movement her body was wracked with more pain. She cried out, unable to stop herself, but her throat was dry and she barely made any sound at all.

Almost immediately after her small outburst, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, pushing her back almost sympathetically. Pressing down on her bare shoulder.

My jacket! She sat up again, ignoring the burst of pain and the hand that tried to stop her. Her jacket was the only thing hiding her Geostigma from the world.

"Your going to hurt yourself…" Yazoo's calm voice broke through her panic, and Liz allowed him to carefully push her so that she was once again leaning back. She winced as a rough surface brushed against the stigma that she had on her back. But she tried her best to ignore it.

She opened her eyes, yet closed them again, shutting out the suddenly light. It was bright out there, too bright. But why was that? From her glimpse of the sky she had seen that it was dark. It was night.

She heard Yazoo's quiet chuckled, and open her eyes again, but slowly this time, yet the elongated pupils of her eyes still became small slits. As soon as she could do so without her eyes being in pain, Liz looked around, ignoring the face right in front of her. Oh, so it was the trees, which were glowing with a white radiance, that made it as bright as day even at this time of night.

And she was positioned so that she was sitting with her back to one of the trees. Very clever of them, putting her in a position where she would be cornered even if she stood.

She turned her attention back to the person before her, and was startled to find that it was Kadaj. Yazoo was on her right, carefully examining her sai, while Loz was standing on her left.

A pang of fear went though her. She was surrounded.

Her fear must have shown, because Loz took a step away from her and his stance relaxed. He was showing her he wasn't a threat. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you…"

Yazoo nodded in agreement. "Your Geostigma is bad… how long have you had it?" A change of subject, to distract her and make her calm down a little.

Liz took a deep breath to steady herself, but only replied to his question with a shrug. "Don't know really know, don't really care. There's no cure, so I don't give a rat's ass about it. Which means the rat gets to keep his ass." She laughed dryly at her own joke, and she heard the other three join in.

But suddenly, Kadaj's hand was on her wrist. He pulled her arm towards him. She winced, and tried to pull away, though she was weak.

"I won't hurt you… not on purpose." Kadaj said softly… sincerely. Liz stopped fighting him, and he pulled at her arm again, twisting it slightly so he could better see her infected skin. He traced a gloved hand lightly over her Geostigma, until he reached her wrist. "What is this…?" He turned it over, so the tattoos were clearly visible.

This time Liz snatched her hand back, using her other hand as well. She clutched it to her chest, her left hand covering the markings.

Kadaj frowned. Straightening from his previously stooped position, he tried to keep himself from becoming angered at the girl in front of him. She was helpless, and scared. "I already saw what it said. L-I-Z, and then Amarimono." He narrowed his eyes. "Just who are you?"

Liz didn't meet Kadaj's gaze, didn't look at any of them. "I'm Liz… Liz Amarimono…"

Kadaj shook his head. "That's what it says on your wrist. I want to know what your real name is."

Liz's shoulder's slumped, and her head fell to her chest. "That's what I call myself… It's what I've always been called... I don't even know if I ever had a real name…" She felt a tear slide down her cheek.

Loz came over to her and kneeled down at her side. "Don't cry…" He whispered, gently wiping the tear away from her face.

Liz chuckled slightly. "Yeah, cause that's your job…" She could hear Kadaj and Yazoo laugh lightly, and even Loz laughed nervously.

Instead of getting angry he just brushed it off. "Exactly."

Liz smiled slightly, closing her eyes and leaning back to rest her head on the tree. The pain was still there, but it was lessening now. She breathed deeply, and everyone was silent for a long time.

Finally, it was Yazoo broke the stillness. He took one of Liz's sai, examining it closely. "What's the point of these things? Once you get in close enough to use them, you might as well just use hand to hand combat."

Liz cracked one eye open to look at him. "I have my ways. Now can I have those back please?"

"No." He answered bluntly.

She opened both eyes and turned so she was facing him. "And why not?"

"Because we don't trust you."

Liz blinked a few times. "Well, I don't trust any of you… so I guess we're even…" She sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them. "But I'm still weaponless, outnumbered, and probably outclassed by every one of you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Kadaj said with a laugh.

Liz looked up for a second, momentarily locking eyes with the young remnant. He had to be her elder by a good two years, if not more. "Is it still considered flattery if it's the truth?"

All three of them were silent for a moment. But then Kadaj burst out laughing. "This is getting us nowhere! We're sitting here, waiting for you to do something, and you're waiting for us to do something." He folded his arms over his chest. "You're pretty much our sister, so…"

"So what?" Liz suddenly snapped. "We have completely different views, we are nothing alike…"

Loz suddenly pulled her to her feet. She barely came up to his shoulder. "Just because we're different doesn't mean we have to be enemies."

"Yes." Yazoo stood on her other side. "You're still our sister, even if you are different. In fact, I don't see how I could be any more different from my brothers, but we are still family."

"But if you wanted…" Kadaj stood directly before her. "We could be your enemy."

Liz shook her head, almost sadly. Strands of her silver hair fell in her face, but she made no move to get rid of them. "I'm sorry…" She mumbled. "I've never had a family before… and I've never been close to anyone…" Her legs gave way, but Kadaj seemed to have been expecting it, seeing as he caught her gently in his arms. Tears once again escaped Liz's mako colored eyes, and she sobbed quietly into Kadaj's chest. "I don't know if I can be your sister, but I don't want to be your enemy…"

Kadaj gently lowered her to the ground. How did he react to this? What could he say to stop her tears? "Its okay… you don't have to be either…"

Liz closed her eyes, and her breathing became even. "Thank you nii-san…" She mumbled before sleep claimed her. "Thank you…"

Nii-san… she had called him her big brother. Kadaj was filled with an emotion he hadn't ever felt before. Was it pride? Or maybe love? Did he love this girl the way he loved his brothers? And he found that the answer was yes. He hadn't meant to have feelings for her, but it had happened. Maybe mother had willed it…

He looked to his brothers, and saw that they were gazing at her in a similar way.

"She's right though… she is nothing like us." Yazoo's nimble fingers gently brushed away some of the silver strands obscuring her face.

Loz sighed. "She fell apart when you started talking about family…" He gently took Liz's wrist, turning it so he could see the markings. "Her past must have been pretty bad."

Kadaj nodded. "Yeah…"


When Liz awoke again, it was daylight. She rolled over onto her back, and found that her jacket had been draped over her. She threw it off, sitting up and rubbing her temples. She took a single look around, and spotted Yazoo sitting with his back to a tree not too far from her.

"Morning…" She yawned, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Where's-"

"Kadaj and Loz went to take care of some business. I'm going to leave as soon as one of them returns." Yazoo interrupted before she even got the chance to voice her question.

"Oh…" Liz laid back down, gazing up at the sky. "So your on watch-the-girl duty, eh?"

Yazoo got up and strode over to her, choosing to stand at her head so that she was forced to look up at him. "You could say that."

Liz smiled slightly. "Oh, so you want to be here with me?"

"Someone has to keep you from doing something stupid." Yazoo chuckled.

Liz gave him a withering look. "Thanks…" Sarcasm dripped from her voice.

"Your welcome." Yazoo turned and walked off.

Liz sat up and looked around once more. Yazoo wasn't in sight.

Probably went to check something else…

The half remnant stood, and took a good look around, memorizing the layout of the area. She had never been here before… A short distance away from her was a small body of water. She stretched, and felt some dried blood crack and fall away from her back.

I…need a bath… Liz came to the conclusion quickly. She made her way to the pond swiftly, and hid behind a tree as she stripped down completely. She laid her clothes out on the ground neatly before jumping into the cold water.

The water's freezing temperature woke her up immediately, and she gasped as she resurfaced, though quietly. She swam around for a few moments before nearing the shore again. The bank stopped abruptly, so it was deep even on the edge. No slowly sloping ground.

Suddenly, she dunked her head under the water. She got close to the bottom of the pool, and held herself there, counting out the moments she was under.

43…44…45…

Without warning, a hand reached down, gripping her own wrist tightly. With a sharp movement it pulled her up.

"Hey!" She gasped and pulled her wrist away as soon as she had broken the surface. She submerged herself again, the water coming up to her shoulders.

"What were you doing?" An angry Yazoo glared down at her. "Trying to drown yourself?"

Liz scoffed. "Why would I do that when it would be so much easier to just piss one of you guys off?" She rolled over and started to swim away, her back facing him.

Yazoo stared down at her, observing her Geostigma. It was worse than they had thought. Instead of just running along her arms, it also covered the majority of her back, and even made its way down to her right thigh.

He frowned, and reached down suddenly again, grasping both of Liz's arms and pulling her out of the water, ignoring her complaints. "We need to bandage this." He said flatly, with no room for argument. Pushing down on her shoulders, he made her sit on the ground while he went and got a first aid kit.

Liz sat obligingly, but had her arms crossed over her chest. A show of defiance. "I've dealt with it so far by myself…"

Yazoo returned with the kit, sitting behind her. "Yes, but…" He traced his fingers over a tendril of the stigma that was going up her neck. "This is one of the worst cases I have seen…"

Liz's sharp intake of breath and how she recoiled away from even his lightest tough told Yazoo everything he needed to know. With a few deft movements, he used some rubbing alcohol to cleanse the infected areas. Liz winced again.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I don't mean to cause you pain."

"It's okay…" She winced again as Yazoo began his bandaging. "It's all for the best…"

Yazoo nodded as he slowly and meticulously covered the black spots with clean, white bandages. Liz only cried out once when he accidentally put too much pressure on a particularly bad spot on her lower back, but other than that she was quiet.

"There, I'm done." Yazoo tied the bandages in place and stood up.

"Thank you…" Liz mumbled her gratitude while reaching over and grabbing her shirt. Carefully, she pulled it on over her head, letting it settle over the bandages that were more like a second skin. Yazoo turned his back, allowing her to dress in peace.

Maybe they aren't all bad… Liz placed a light hand on his shoulder. "Really, thank you. I don't think anyone has done something that thoughtful for me in a long, long time…"

"Maybe you just don't let people get close enough to help…" Yazoo voiced quietly. He felt Liz's hand withdraw from his shoulder. He must have spoken the truth.

He sighed, looking at her over his shoulder. She seemed to be a completely different person than the one they had cornered outside of Edge. That girl had been full of fight, with quick reactions, even if she did make some stupid mistakes. But this girl… it was as if she were a mere child, forced to grow up too quickly.

Yazoo shook his head. What was he thinking? "I better check up on Loz." He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and pressed a few buttons before putting it to his ear.

Liz peered at him. He had been so kind… but his last words had stung… It's because it's the truth…That's the exact reason why no one ever helps me…Because I don't let them…

But why had he changed the subject so quickly? Had she done something that made him uncomfortable? Or had he, in his process of helping her, almost forgotten about checking in on his brother? She sighed. Either way, it was still her fault that he was acting this way.

Finally, after the third or forth ring, Loz picked up his phone. Yazoo almost sighed with relief. "Hello Loz. Did you find her?" A pause while Loz responded. Yazoo's brow furrowed; that wasn't the news he had been hoping for. This time he did sigh. "Well, you know what to do…" Another pause, then Yazoo flipped the phone closed, stowing it back in his pocket.

"He's alright… right?" Liz inquired. No, that was a stupid question, she had known even as she voiced it. Of course Loz was okay, if he wasn't then Yazoo wouldn't have replied in such a way as he had.

Yazoo merely nodded. "Yeah, he's okay. Now all we have to do is wait for Kadaj."

"What about me?" Kadaj walked calmly towards them, raising an eyebrow after noticing Liz's bandages. He didn't have to speak for Liz to know what the young man was thinking.

Was it really that bad…?

"So…?" Yazoo seemed wary of saying too much in Liz's presence.

Kadaj had no such qualms. "They said that they dropped it from the helicopter when they were running from us."

"He's lying." Yazoo said bluntly. "We know they have her."

"Who?" Liz questioned, feeling left out. Already she felt as if Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz were her siblings. It was strange, that she wanted to be part of their plan. "Who has mother?" Her eyes widened in realization of what she had said.

Kadaj turned to her, tilting his head to one side. "My, aren't you smart?"

Her hands clenched into fists, her knuckles turning white from the strain. "Just tell me…" Her gaze flickered around the area. Her sai were placed close to where Yazoo had been sitting when she had awakened. She could get there before him, right? "Or must I fight you to get the information I want?"

Kadaj laughed, while Yazoo looked at her skeptically. "If you really must know…" Kadaj smiled, and the way he did so made the smirk a sadistic one. "It was Rufus ShinRa."

"ShinRa…" Liz recoiled from the name that still haunted her in her nightmares.

Yazoo frowned. "What, you know him?"

Liz's brow furrowed. She had never really known Rufus… a few meetings with him perhaps, but she didn't know him very well. She sighed. "His father was my creators employer, does that count?"

This time it was Kadaj's turn to frown, and his almost angered scowl unnerved Liz. "Your… creator?" He questioned, his voice low.

Liz waved it off; fake nonchalance to keep Kadaj and Yazoo from seeing how much the subject really upset her. It hurt to delve that far into her past. "The same man who made him." She felt it was taboo to mention Sephiroth's name. "But that is old news… it happened long ago. No need to speak of it."

After that they no longer asked anything of her past.


Koinu: I believe Yazoo may have been slightly OoC, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that. So far there have been no flames for this story! Woo-hoo! Oh well, I wouldn't really mind flames, I think its fun to read how pathetic people like to try and make me feel bad. -laughs- Well, review please!