Okay, this is my first fan fiction, so I appoligize for any mistakes. I love final fantasy IX and I've been working on this fan fic for some time now. For some reason, Blank is my favorite character. I don't know why, but he is. So I wanted to write a story about him. But don't worry the main characters of the game (such as Zidane and Dagger) do came into the story eventually. And I'm sorry if the first few chapters are slightly boring; it'll get better as the story moves on. I don't really explain much in the beginning either, so if you don't understand what's going on, don't worry...you will! Anywho, here's my fan fiction and I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter One
The Day We Met

Blank sat on the floor next to Marcus at the foot of Cinna's bed. The members of Tantalus had been staying at the Treno inn for the past few days, preparing for their latest play "The Touch of Revenge."It was now one o'clock in the afternoon; Cinna slept noisily in his bed, while Blank stared at him intently underneath his blindfold. Blank growled under his breath, and turned to Baku, who was sitting in a wooden chair across the room.

"Oh my god! PleaseBoss, can I just whack him with thehilt ofmy sword or something!"Blank impatiently asked Baku for the third time. "He's been asleep all freakin' morning!"

"No!" responded Baku. "And if you ask me again, I'll come over there and give you a good poundin'." Cinna had recently had surgery and wasn't sleeping well, so Baku decided to let him sleep in for once (A/N wow, Baku being sympathetic? Who woulda thought?).

Blank frowned. But with a sigh, he reluctantly obeyed. Cinna made a grunting noise in his sleep, sounding as if he was about to wake up, and Blank turned to Cinna's bed, hoping he would. But he didn't. He just rolled over on his side in a heavy sleep.

"Ugh, I can't take it anymore", Blank said as he leaned against the wall of the room.

"For once, I agree with Blank", Ruby said in that strange southern accent of hers as she walked into the room. "Cinna's slept long enough. Baku, we've got rehearsing to do, and if you don't wake him up, I'll gosh darn go do it myself!".

"Hear hear!", Marcus jokingly agreed.

"Yeah. Well put, Ruby". Blank did a double take. "Wait, you're agreeing with me?" he asked her.

Marcus chuckled. "Well, there's a first."

"And probably a last", Blank added, laughing.

"Agreed. That was a once in a lifetime thing", Ruby said to them.

"Well, it would have been if you hadn't just agreed with him about never agreeing again", Marcus stubbornly said as he and Blank started laughing harder. Making fun of Ruby was one of their favorite things to do. After all, Tantalus was a family, and what's a family without sibling rivalry?

"Oh, shut up, ya little brats!", she yelled at them.

"Ugh . . . Huh? What's with all the yelling?", Cinna sleepily asked.

Ruby sighed in relief. " Finally, that big oaf is awake."

Suddenly, Benero burst through the door into the room. "Oh, good. Cinna's awake now".

"What'd ya rush in here for, Benero? Is the inn on fire? Gwahaha!" (A/N corny, i know, but that's Baku for ya).Baku jokingly asked him, laughing in that weird way he laughs.

"Boss, if we're gonna be ready for this play later, then we really need to get over to the theatre and start rehearsing."

"That's what I've been trying to tell them for the past ten minutes!" replied Ruby.

"Well, what are you three buffoons waiting for? Cinna! Blank! Marcus! Get your lazyasses over to the theatre!" Baku yelled as he walked out the door with Ruby and Benero.

Marcus and Blank waited outside the room for Cinna to finish getting ready. Blank stood leaning against the wall with his arms folded, while Marcus sat on the floor next to him; neither one saying anything to the other. Marcus looked up at Blank, who was staring down at the floor with a vague expression on his face. The same blank expression that had won him over his name eleven years ago, when he first met Baku and the other members of Tantalus who were there at the time. Marcus thought back to when they first met Blank...

(flash back)

"It was last Monday that the ship docked at the harbor", the regent of Lindblum explained to Baku, who happened to be a close friend of Regent Cid. "The captain of the ship said that one of the members of his crew found the boy lying on the shore of the island they stopped at before they came here.The boy was unconscious at the time, and had many cuts and bruises on him, as you'll soon see. The crew member, being the caring person that he was, didn't want to leave the young boy all by himself, so he carried him back to the ship with him. The captain was hesitant at first about taking the boy with them, not knowing if he would be hard to care for. But once the captain agreed, they set sail back to Lindblum along with the boy."

Marcus, who was standing next to Baku, was beginning to grow bored with the regent's story and wanted to wander around the Grand castle; however, he knew if he tried to leave, Baku would not be too happy with him, and making Baku mad was not something he wanted to do. So with no way to escape, Marcus let out a loud sigh and continued to listen to what the regent had to say.

"It turned out", Cid continued, "that they didn't have to worry about taking care of him after all. Well, except for tending to his injuries. Anyway, he awoke the day after they arrived. When I saw him open his eyes while regaining consciousness, I have to say I was in shock. I've never seen eyes like his before. They were blood red, as if they belonged on some kind of demon. Even the cornea of his eyes are red. I've realized now that he doesn't like people to see his eyes; and, I don't know if I'm right, but I think he might be blind."

"Well…why don't you ask him?" Baku suggested. "And why are you telling me all this, all about this nameless boy you found?"

"I've tried asking him", explained Cid, "but he wont talk. And the reason I'm telling you all this
is . . . well . . . I was kinda hoping that maybe you'd let him be a part of Tantalus."

"What!" Baku and Marcus both exclaimed at the same time.

"Now hold on just a minute," Regent Cid interrupted just as Baku was about to say something. "I know he doesn't sound like much; but before you make up your mind, at least let me tell you that he's a very good actor, and he's stolen from probably every guard here without most of them ever noticing. So either he's an exceptionally talented thief, or I need to work on my security. I'd noticed him stealing from them, but I didn't say anything. To be perfectly honest, I was quite entertained by it; seeing a six or seven year old boy out smarting castle guards. Especially since he steals blindly; even if he's not blind, his eyes are always closed."

Cid paused for a minute to study Baku's expression. He looked as if he was paying attention, however Cid still wasn't sure if Baku would agree to take the boy or not.

"Baku please, give the boy a chance. I really believe that he would be helpful to you. I don't know what else to do with him, and I think he'd be a good addition to your crew."Cid waited for a response from Baku, but got none; Baku just stood there in front of Cid, staring at the floor as if pondering what he should do.

All was silent, with nothing but the sound of the guards' clanking armor and sky-borne air ships in the back round. Marcus stared at baku intently, knowing by the look on his face what he was thinking.

"I can't believe you're actuallyconsidering letting this freak join Tantalus!" the twelve year old boy complained.

"Well, I can't believe it either," Baku replied slowly. "But I am."

Marcus just glared at his boss, then sharply turned his head away in displeasure. Marcus didn't like change, he never had. Every time Baku tried to accept someone new into Tantalus, Marcus would try to think of every reason he could as to why Baku shouldn't. He didn't want to have to get used to having a total stranger around.

"Okay, Cid. Bring the boy here and let me see him. And Marcus, if you ever glare at me like that again, I'll give you the worst beating you've ever had."

At hearing this, Marcus stepped backand reluctantly obeyed his boss. Cid summoned his wife, Hilda, and asked her to bring the nameless orphan down to them.

When she returned with the boy, the first thing Baku noticed was that he was exactly as Cid had described. He kept his eyes closed at all times. It was as if he thought, if he opened them he would die or something else terrible like that would happen. He and Marcus were both in shock by the huge gashes and bruises he had all over his fragile, six year old body. He had crimson colored hair, and was wearing red, denim pants with a white T-shirt that was way too big for him.

Baku walked over to the boy, who took a few steps back, knowing that someone was approaching him. He kept his eyes closed with his head bowed towards the floor as Baku examined him. When Baku touched his arm, the boy flinched, quickly pulling his arm away.

"Calm down, boy. You don't have to be afraid of me," Baku tried to relax him. Baku guessed that the boy was probably in a lot of pain from his injuries, despite Hilda doing her best to treat him. Even though he couldn't see his eyes, Baku could tell that the boy was insulted by him thinking that he was afraid. "Well, the lad's got quick reflexes, so he would probably be a good fighter," Baku said to Cid."You said he's good at thieving?"

Cid chuckled slightly. "Oh, he's very good at thieving. I can guarantee you of that."

". . . Alright then. We'll train him a little and see how things work out."

"Oh, thank you Baku!" Cid turned to face the boy. "Did you hear that? This guy's gonna give you a home."

"Hmph," the boy exclaimed, unsatisfied.

"Grr. . . That little bastard!" Marcus jumped in. "He doesn't even wanna come with us, Baku!"

"Well, I don't care what he wants. He's coming whether he likes it or not." Baku looked at the boy sternly. "Marcus, head back to the clock tower. I'll deal with your attitude and the fact that you just called me by my first name later."

The nameless boy snickered at hearing Marcus get scolded.

"What are you laughing at!" Marcus yelled at him.

"Sorry. I was just enjoying hearing you make an idiot out of yourself," the boy replied, shocking everyone.

"You can talk?" the regent asked (A/N it's a stupid question, if you ask me, since he had just heard him talk). The boy didn't reply.

"You little bastard!" Marcus continued to yell at the orphan.

"Is that the best you can do?" the boy teased. "Being called that doesn't phase me anymore..." As he said this, the boy's face lost all form of emotion. It just went 'blank.'

"Marcus, I told you to leave!" Baku interrupted with a loud yell. "Now go!" he ordered. Marcus shrunk back and slowly walked away, heading back out of the Lindblum Grand Castle towards the Theatre District. Baku turned back toward the orphan and sighed. "Apparently, I'm going to have to deal with your attitude as well."

Later that night, after Baku had brought the orphan back to the Tantalus hide out and gave Marcus his punishment, he and the other members of Tantalus sat around in the main room with nothing to do.

"So, Marcus, I heard the new recruit showed you a thing or two about smart-mouthing back at the castle", Cinna, who was nineteen at the time, teased Marcus.

Marcus replied with a "humph" and angrily looked away. "He's all talk," he tried to convince them.

"Hmph, That's what you think," the orphan replied from the other side of the room. "I'm more than willing to prove you wrong anytime."

"Oh yeah!" Marcus stood up as if ready to fight there and then.

The orphan didn't answer; he just stared at the floor blankly, the same blank stare that baku had noticed about him from the beginning.

"Blank!" Zenero said suddenly.

Everyone turned to face Zenny ( that was his nickname).

"Say what?" Cinna asked.

"Well, he needs a name doesn't he? I think that's what we should call him."

"Blank?" the orphan said in confusion.

"I like it," Baku added.

"Why?" the boy asked.

"Well, it just seems to fit you," answered Zenero, Baku nodding his head in agreement.

"Blank . . . ," the orphan, who was now known as Blank, said slowly.

(end flash back)

"Cinna, are you almost ready?" Blank yelled through the door to Cinna, waking Marcus from his day dream. "We're gonna be in major trouble with Boss if we're late."

Cinna hurriedly rushed out of the room. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go." And the three of them left for Treno Theatre.

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So, how did you like the first chapter? I know it was probably too long. I don't know about you, butI don't like reading stuff that's that long. Heh, oh well. I hope you didn't mind. Please review and tell me what you thought!