DISCLAIMER TIME!

Derin, Xedrin, and Victoria are © me

Sora, Kairi, Riku, and other related characters are © Square Enix, Inc.

All Final Fantasy characters are © Square Enix, Inc.

"You are pathetic! Worthless human, you will forever exist in darkness! You will never find the light, for your sins bind you to this forsaken land!"

"No! I have redeemed myself! I have proven worthy of the light! You lie!"

"You thought you could be forgiven for what you've done? Too much blood was shed on your account! You belong here, worthless cur!"

"NOOO!"

---------------------------------

"No!"

Derin sat bolt upright in his bed, drenched in cold sweat.

"The same nightmare. That same godforsaken nightmare."

He had been having the same dream for the past few months, and he wondered what it meant. He had committed many terrible crimes in the past, but he had redeemed himself when he saved the world from his former superiors. That dream had haunted him ever since.

He shielded his eyes from the bright light of the sun, early in the morning.

"Well, time for another day of torture."

Derin hated school, just like any other teenager did. His only real reason for going was so that he could see his friends. To him, that day was like any other. He got out of bed, showered, grabbed a pop tart from the pantry and ran out the door.

He took his usual route, the same route anyone else would take walking to school. He got to a certain point on the sidewalk, and stopped.

"Three… two… one…"

On cue, three large high school jocks stepped out from behind a corner and walked towards him.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't Derin the Dweeb."

Derin let out a loud sigh and looked up at them, as they easily stood at least half a foot taller than him.

"What do you three clowns want?"

The jocks laughed.

"We still owe you payback for what you did to Seifer."

"Yeah, he's really pissed at you. So we're here to even it out a little."

Derin smirked.

"I don't see how you're going to do that."

The middle jock growled at him, and then threw a punch straight at his head. Derin easily stepped to the right, and then grabbed the jock's arm, and heaved him over his shoulder, leaving a large imprint of the jock in the pavement. Then, Derin dusted off his gloved hands, and left with a satisfied look on his face.

"I always wanted to do that."

He got to school, and immediately headed for his locker. It wasn't very far away from the main entrance, which was convenient for him in case he had to leave in a hurry. Once he was done, he headed for homeroom. He dashed in the door just before the tardy bell rang.

Derin looked around the room a little, seeing as this was his second day of school, and he never introduced himself to anyone the day before. He quickly spotted his seat, right next to his old friend, Roxas. As soon as he sat down, the teacher walked in and class began.

(A.N.-I'm gonna skip the boring school day routine, up 'till lunch.)

He walked into the lunchroom and spotted Roxas waving to him. He wasted no time in getting to the table and sitting down.

"Hey man, what's up?"

Derin smirked at his life-long friend.

"Beat the shit out of Seifer this morning. Had fun moppin' the floor with his face!"

"Yeah, he's been causing trouble ever since day one at this school. It's about time someone put him in his place. I would've, but I'm too lazy."

Derin looked over the other people that were grouped around them, and Roxas smacked himself in the forehead.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot. Derin, this is my cousin, Sora," he flicked his thumb at a brown-haired boy next to him, who waved a "hi" at Derin, who simply waved back, "this is Kairi," he pointed to a red-haired girl next to Derin, who waved.

"Hi there, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too."

Roxas continued, "that guy next to her is Riku," he pointed to a light blue-haired guy next to Kairi, who simply waved, only really moving his hand and two fingers, "these two are Olette and Hayner," he flicked his thumb to his other side, towards a brown-haired girl, who smiled warmly at Derin, and a blonde-haired guy, who waved slightly, "and lastly, that girl over there," he pointed to a blonde-haired girl a few seats to Derin's right, "is Naminé."

Derin looked over at her, a little confused.

"Is she always this anti-social?"

Roxas shook his head.

"No, not usually. But she's a little shy, and won't say 'hi' or introduce herself until she gets a little more comfortable around you. Don't sweat it; she's always been like this."

Derin looked over at her again, before turning back to the group, not really into the conversation anymore, his thoughts constantly drifting back to Naminé.

-------------------------

Derin walked back down the usual path to his home, still thinking about Naminé, finding it odd that he couldn't seem to get her out of his head. When he got home, he was surprised to find that the door was unlocked. He walked inside, and gasped when he saw the inside of his house. Bits of porcelain and broken glass lay on the floor, and there were several blood splatters on the walls and floors. He walked into the kitchen, and was horrified to see his mother, lying dead in a pool of her own blood. There were several stab wounds on her chest and throat, and her wrists were cut. He fell to his knees, tears forming in his eyes.

"No… no, Mom, please."

But it was too late for his plea, for she was already dead. Then, when he felt her hand, he found it was surprisingly warm, which meant to him that she had only died recently. Suddenly, he heard a gunshot coming from his parents' room. He quickly dashed up the stairs and into the room, and found his father lying dead on the floor, a bullet in his head. Then, Derin looked up and saw the criminal who caused it all. He was a large, bulky man with a rugged chin and broad shoulders. The man saw Derin, and pulled his gun.

"You should've stayed in school kid."

But Derin wasn't afraid of the man, and rage was all that he showed on his face. The man fired a shot at him, but nothing happened. Derin was not affected by the bullet. The man fired again, only to get the same result.

"What's this, you some kind of mutant, kid?"

The man backed away from Derin, dropping his gun in the process. In Derin's hands, a large, pink scythe with a green handle appeared. Derin slowly walked towards the man, a look of hatred in his eyes.

"You killed my parents."

The man began begging for his life.

"Please, no! Don't kill me, I beg of you!"

Derin did not stop.

"You cannot be forgiven for your crime."

"No, please, don't!"

"Therefore, you must die."

"NOOO!"

The only other sounds heard were the sound of steel cutting through flesh, and the last, agonizing scream of the criminal before he died.

Suspenceful, ain't it? Yep, Derin has now become sumthin other than what he was before. Reviews appreciated, flames shall be used for fireplace.