A/N: Thank you to Hououza, Peaceful Dragon Rose, Rin Seren, Freyjadour, and xYuna, for the reviews! All the characters do eventually meet up, but until then there is multiple storylines. This chapter doesn't switch though. Thanks for reading!!
Ps, the title of this fic has been changed... I'm terrible at making decisions.
'The Three Strangers'
FRIDAY MORNING
04: 30
Rinoa raised as shaking finger at Squall, her mouth opened, and yet she struggled to find the words she wanted. She continued to point at him for a few moments, and then looked at the others as if one of them might speak for her.
"You...you..." she stammered. "You nearly shot me!"
"He's been doing that a lot tonight," the strange girl muttered with a sideways glance to her blond friend.
"Don't remind me," he said folding his arms, as if the thought had sent a chill up his spine. Leonhart was a pretty good shot, but Seifer still didn't appreciate being in the way of his aim. But it was better than being smothered to death by a Bleak, at least a bullet would give him a chance.
"I haven't got time for this," Squall said turning his back on her. "Just go home."
Rinoa stared at him, just the fact that he was walking away, after nearly shooting her, angered her more that anything else. How dare he? Who the hell did he think he was? No one tried to hurt her and got away from it, and how dare he walk away without giving her an apology, or at the very least an explanation.
"Hey!" Rinoa shouted, before running forwards to confront him. "What do you mean, 'go home' like it isn't a big deal? You could have killed me! ... and don't get me started on the other weird crap that just went on back there."
Squall stared at her, slightly stunned that she wasn't scared of him. He didn't move, even though she was screaming in his face. His thoughts were elsewhere, as to why this seemingly uninteresting girl was so attractive to the undead. She looked pretty ordinary, one hundred percent human...at least he thought so. He wasn't strong enough to read her aura. He'd never been any good at that. Regardless of his wondering, it was clear that this girl was not going to back down. Had she done so, he might have forgotten her, chalking it up to be another odd thing that happened in his ever increasingly random life. But the fact that she was no longer frightened, just angrily demanding an explanation, made him think that perhaps fate had put her in their path for a reason.
"What's your name?" he asked. He saw her eyes flash with confusion at the question.
She stepped back a bit, the question catching her off guard. She had expected him to start shouting back at her, or begin walking away again, but it seemed that something of what she had said must have gotten through. It took her a second to calm down enough to answer.
"Rinoa," she said a bit uncertain, as if his question had been some kind of trick. Why did he want to know anyway? Maybe it was to distract her so that his friend could finish off the job of shooting her? She looked round at the blond man, but he was just stood with his arms folded, in such a casual way that he looked bored. He certainly didn't look like he had any murderous thoughts at present.
Squall thought about her name. It wasn't familiar. He hadn't heard anything of her before. If she had supernatural powers, then they must be newly acquired. It seemed unlikely that she'd be unaware of them... but then her shock at seeing Selphie appear out of thin air made him question. Magical abilities were closely guarded, and watched over by the supernatural community. Jealousy was rife, and no one wanted to let a neighbour become too powerful, and be left behind. It was a good enough reason for Rinoa to want to be off the radar so to speak, to live a near to an ordinary life as possible.
"What are you doing out here so late?" Squall asked.
"I don't know... I guess I just..." Rinoa stopped trying to explain. She didn't know why she had felt the need to go wandering though the town, instead of taking the taxi with her friends. Nothing she could say would make any sense. And even if she could think of something, why was it any of his business anyway?
"Perhaps she was looking for us?" the blond man suggested.
Rinoa turned to face him. Why would she be looking for them? She didn't even know them.
"No, I wasn't... why would I be?"
Seifer shrugged. He didn't look at her again, instead began shifting his belt around on his hips, Rinoa watched his hands skim over his gun, just in case he should think of using it. Her eyes lingered on him rather than looking back the man before her. They were carrying weapons, and had given her an opportunity to go home, and yet she was still firmly standing her ground. The only reason she could think of, was an underlying feeling that, these people were not the ones she needed to be afraid of.
"You haven't been looking for us?" Squall asked, sounding sceptical.
Rinoa raised an eyebrow at him. Why would it be hard to believe? Unless people regularly threw themselves in their way, just hoping to be shot. The strange girl, whose skin seemed to be glowing under the streetlamps, skipped towards them, as if she was dancing through the air.
"Squall, she doesn't know anything," she said, her head tilted towards her left shoulder, as she studied Rinoa with vague confusion. "I think she's lost. You should take her home. It's dangerous out... for a girl..."
Rinoa didn't know why, but this suggestion appeared to anger the man referred to as Squall, the one that had nearly shot her, and Rinoa took a few more steps away.
"I'm not wasting my time..." Squall began, facing the odd girl.
"Squall!" Selphie shouted, making Rinoa jump. Even Squall looked concerned, and Rinoa had the feeling that if the girl hung around in this company, she could probably hold her own pretty well.
"Don't anger the freak," the blond man warned, but he wasn't going to come any closer either. Out of everyone, he was the one Rinoa was less afraid of at the moment, but not enough to go any nearer to him.
"Shut up Seifer," the girl said, flipping the comment over her shoulder. "You're not helping."
Seifer laughed, and then walked towards Rinoa. She tried not to appear alarmed, but she had no idea what he wanted.
"I say we get her home. Squall, if she stays she'll attract more Bleaks, and we'll be here until sun-up."
Squall turned to look up the street, to where the sun would indeed rise in a few more hours. Seifer was right, as much as he hated to get involved with others and their problems, this girl couldn't be left here, and if she was then she'd only cause them more trouble.
"Fine."
Rinoa jumped as the strange girl took her hand, and then she watched the others come in closer and hold onto the girl also.
"Where do you live Rinoa?"
She had only just found the answer in her own mind, before she had the sensation of moving, as if travelling in a car. She didn't dare look away from the girl's eyes, afraid of the feeling, and worried that she might see something impossible. She had the strange idea that she was inside of a book, and they had just jumped out of the inked story and were waiting whilst someone turned the page. The odd sensation stopped, and she found herself alone on her doorstep. A streak of golden light fled down the road so quickly that she thought she had imagined it, then she fumbled in her bag for her door key, desperate to get inside before the internal questioning began.
