Chapter 13: The First Love
A man stood in the shadows with his arms behind his back, his hand holding the other. He was wearing a black cloak and the hood covered his head. In front of a huge portrait, with a faint light shining through from the tall ceiling, he stared up at it for a long time.
The picture was only pitch black. There was no drawing or painting on it.
"You called me?" another man asked, his footsteps echoing. He walked into the large, empty room and grinned. The colors of his eyes were gray. He seemed about twenty years old. He had a black and red bandana and underneath it was his short red hair. He wore a black sleeveless shirt, a dark gray scarf, black fingerless gloves, brown belt, gray pants, and black boots. Around his left shoulder to his elbow was a large tattoo. It had pink flowers and in the background was a like a wave, which was in blue and white. There was a scar that looked like the letter 'Y' on his left cheek.
The man in the black cloak turned around. He had no face. Under that hood was like a night sky with stars that seemed to draw you in. "Keisuke," he said in a low voice, which sounded young, "Where is Chrysanthemum? I have not seen her for approximately a week now."
Keisuke smirked as he shrugged. "Who knows? Weren't you the one who set her free?" he asked, chuckling.
He looked back at the empty frame and still had his arms behind him. "Tell her to return here," he ordered emotionlessly.
"Gotcha," Keisuke smiled. He bowed and turned around. His body glowed in red and he teleported out of the dark room.
He reappeared in a wide shadowy area. The red Lifestream was flowing under his knees, moving slowly like an ocean's wave. He looked around, crossing his arms. There was a brighter red light shining out from the ground to his far left. He smiled and walked towards it.
-\\\\\\\\\\-//////////-
A white pigeon with bright pink eyes was on sale and unwanted by many. That was what the seller told Kiku and it was on a high price. It had been three days since she came into this town.
Kiku kneeled down at the rusted small cage that held the white pigeon. She felt attracted to it ever since yesterday. She had stared at it for more than three hours when she first saw it. Today, she would probably stare at it again for another few hours.
"Please, will you just buy it?" the old woman pleaded. She wore a long blue old dress, matching her blue eyes. Her gray hair tied back into a low ponytail. "Looking isn't for free, you know?"
She did not respond and gazed into the pigeon's bright pink eyes.
"Do you like the bird, Chrysanthemum?" Keisuke suddenly appeared right beside her.
"Oh, buy it for her, will you?" the old woman said, smiling.
For a moment, Kiku blinked twice. Then she turned her head to Keisuke. "Who are you?" she inquired.
He smiled with a light chuckle. "Keisuke," he said. "I'm also your family. We're not really related, but we share the same some sort of destiny."
"Keisuke?" she questioned as she stood up. "You're also an Undead?"
The old woman grumbled, knowing that the two probably would not buy the pigeon.
"Yep," he nodded, standing up as well. "I prefer my human form more than my Undead one." He glanced over his shoulder, feeling a familiar aura. He grinned and firmly faced where the person was hiding behind at the corner of the next building. "Hey, Chrysanthemum! I think you got yourself a stalker!"
Sephiroth backed away from Keisuke's sight. He found me out, huh. He thought, quietly stood still.
"It's just Sephiroth," Kiku said with a light shrug. "He's been following me since yesterday."
"You knew?" Keisuke asked, looking back at her. "You just let this 'Sephiroth' stalk you for two days?"
Sephiroth sighed. I'm not a stalker. It was all Lazard's idea. Sephiroth glanced out of the corner, knowing that the guy with the bandana was no longer looking this way. "He's an Undead too… huh?" he wondered out loud.
"He can stalk all he wants," she said. She spun around quickly and walked off.
He followed her. "Hey, wait for me, Chrysanthemum!"
The color of the Pink Town was starting to annoy Kiku. It was a pale color, made not to hurt people's eyes, it seemed, but it gave her a headache. She knew a place where there would be less pinkness. She had seen it once when she was wandering around aimlessly last night.
"…First love."
Keisuke looked at Kiku. "…Wha?"
She sighed, "What did your first love feel like? I'm curious."
He paused. It was pretty random. The two of them were walking pass some people on the road and one of them gave them a look when she mentioned about first love.
"Did you fall for someone?" he grinned. She did not say anything and only kept her eyes ahead of them. He chuckled. "Well… it really depends. If you like a stud, you'll go crazy for him. If he's a gentleman, the love won't last. Hah, that's just my opinion so don't take it seriously."
"I asked about you," she glanced at him. She was tired and not feeling engaged in this conversation. "How did you feel towards your first love?"
Another moment of silence, but longer. "I'm still in love with her," he finally said, smiling.
They made a turn to a large lake that was sparking. It might take more than thirty minutes to walk around the lake. People were smiling and playing around the empty space under some big pink trees. Kiku noticed some couples holding hands and wondered if it was normal to do that with anyone.
"I heard from an experienced woman say that first love never works," she said. "Why are you still in love with your first?"
He rubbed his chin, thinking. Experienced woman? Who's that? He wondered. "Well. It's because she tries so hard not to fall for me. She may be a bit bitchy but I just want her to return my feelings." He laughed cheerfully for a second. "She's just… became really special to me ever since I met her."
"I don't really understand that," she said. She stopped walking and looked at the water.
"Of course you don't," Keisuke said, putting his elbow on her right shoulder. "You did just wake up, remember?"
She silently pouted. "I… liked to feel what its like," she softly said.
"But why all of the sudden?" he inquired. "…You did fall for someone, didn't you?"
"Not really," she said, crossing her arms. She thought about Sephiroth but thinking how annoying he was, it had nothing to do with liking him. "I'm not sure if I even like him."
"Hehe," he snickered. "Why don't you try going out on date?"
She looked up at him. "A… date?" she asked.
He nodded. "Uh-huh. If you feel something funny in your chest, that's love."
"It sounds too simple," she said. She did not understand it even more. It was just strange.
"Hey, some things are simple," he said, patting on her back. "Go for it. I'll be rooting for you."
"You're going to sit back and watch me?" she questioned. She would feel rather embarrassed if he was with her while she was asking some guy on a date.
"Alright, I won't," he smirked. "You must be the shy type then, huh?"
She looked away from him with an irritated expression. "I don't know about that," she said. It was not as if she were shy. It was called privacy.
"I actually came to see you to tell you something," he told her. "But I'll wait until you're done. Good luck!" He gave her a thumps up and hurried off, his black scarf flying behind him.
She stood silently as she watched him leave her sight. "Weird person," she thought out loud. "Why did he have leave now though? Am I supposed to start asking that man right away?"
Sephiroth was behind one of the big trees. He thought this was a waste of time. These 'enemies' to the world did not seem to be serious about anything at all. At first he thought since the two of them were Undead, they might talk about something that could give him a clue. As if. They already knew that he was following them.
"Sephiroth," Kiku walked up to the tree where he was standing behind. "Can we talk?"
"No use in hiding," he mumbled to himself. He walked to his right and turned to the white haired girl.
"Let's go on a date."
He stared at her, expressionless. He was not smiling or frowning. Just expressionless.
"Only for an hour," she quickly said, looking at him in the eye. "I want to test it out. The weird feeling in my chest."
"…Why would I do that?" he questioned, shaking his head.
She thought for a second. "We're enemies, right?" she asked. "If you go on a date with me for an hour, I will answer three questions you want to ask of me or my background. Anything would be useful to you and your friends. After the date, that is. Sounds fair?"
That got his attention, but he hesitated. "…Alright, fine," he agreed. "Where do you want to go?"
"You're the man here," she said, glaring up at him. "You decide."
"I actually never had been on a date before."
"You're boring," she hissed, sharply looking to her right at the lake.
He gave her a bothered look. No one ever called them that before. Genesis and Angeal might have hinted it before though. "Then you think of something," he said. "You're the one who asked me out on a date first."
"True," she sharply looked back at him. "I never went on a date with anyone either anyway. It doesn't have to be an hour because you might bore me to death. Let's just take a walk around the lake."
"Alright," he nodded. "A simple walk is fine."
"Okay," she glared, unsatisfied.
The two of them begin walking around the lake. They were quiet for a long time. He only walked beside her about a foot away. She was confused about the feeling in her chest. It just felt emptied. She hated not feeling anything. She looked at the other couples who were holding hands.
"Hey, hold my hand," she demanded, holding it up to him. "It might trigger something."
He sighed heavily. He slowly reached for her hands and touched her fingers. He looked at her and she looked back at him with an upset look. He grabbed her hand and let them swing between them. "Trigger? What are you trying to achieve by doing this?" he inquired. He overheard their childish conversation about first love, but why was she so interested about it?
"None of your business," she said, turning her head away.
There was another long silence. Kiku could not think of anything else and silently held his hand. What was she trying to achieve by doing this? Her friend told her about first love just after she was released from her long slumber. It was the first thing she learned about and she was very curious about it. She wanted to experience it once.
Her head blanked out as she recalled back to yesterday when her friend came to check up on her.
-\\\\\\\\\\-FLASH BACK-//////////-
Kiku was sitting on top of an abandon rusted pink building, looking up at the dark green sky. She had just come back from staring at the pigeon and was resting until it got darker.
There were footsteps behind her and Kiku knew who it was. Good evening, Chrysanthemum. A voice echoed in her head in a cheerful voice. Her voice sounded like an older woman.
The white haired girl smiled. She didn't turn around because she knew woman was using her ability so people would not see her. Good evening, Devi. She greeted back in her thoughts.
A chuckle ringed in her ears. I haven't been away that long and you got yourself a stalker? She asked.
Across ten buildings away, Sephiroth was hiding himself.
She shrugged. He can follow me as long as he wants. She blinked. Hey, Devi, what are you doing right now? She asked.
Well… she said. Just making more Image Weapons really. That's my only job that I was given. I decided to take a quick break and see how you were doing.
Kiku smiled. Thanks.
Feeling lonely? She teased.
I had always been. She replied. She quickly changed the subject. Yuffie should be heading your way sooner or later. When she does, please take care of her in my place. She's too reckless.
Alright. The woman said. Sorry for leaving to soon. I should head back before anything explode without my supervision.
Kiku slightly nodded. Come talk to me again later.
I will, my mistress, Chrysanthemum. The voice faded away.
"…Mistress, huh?" she closed her eyes, enjoying the cool wind.
-\\\\\\\\\\-END OF FLASH BACK-//////////-
Sephiroth let Kiku's hand go and she snapped out of her mind. "We already walked around the lake," he said.
She glared at the ground and slowly at him. "My god, you're really boring," she said.
"On to business," he said, crossing his arms. "You promised me three questions, right?"
She nodded. "Yes, even if you were so boring."
He rubbed his chin, thinking. He had to make sure he carefully chooses the limited questions he was given. She waited, staring at the lake. "What is the red Lifestream?" he questioned.
"It's called the Deathstream, I think," she replied, her eyes still on the shining water. "That's what I was told anyway."
Deathstream? He thought. "Where did it come from?" he asked.
"Me."
"Why are you here?"
"He freed me to work for him," she said.
He paused. "Can't you give me more detailed answers?" he asked, glaring at her.
"Your questions are already up," she glared back at him with her right eye. She turned around. "I guess I should get going then."
"Wait," he said. She kept her back towards him. "Let me ask you a general question."
She sighed, "What is it?"
"Will you still be in town tomorrow?" he inquired.
She turned back to him. She thought for a minute before answering. "I think so," she nodded.
"Let's go on another date."
She stared up at him, surprised. For a second there, she felt a throb in her chest. Was it because he asked her for another date? She was not sure. It was too quick to feel it since she does not know how it felt like. Keisuke did not describe it for her either. "You still have more questions?" she asked with disbeliefs.
"Of course," he replied. "One hour of the date for three questions."
She sighed and looked at him with an uninterested face. "You're really boring though," she said. She mind as well try it again to see if there was a weird feeling. "I'll go with you anyway, but you'll have to think of a place where we would be going to. You know, since you're asking me out this time."
He was unsure where to even take her.
"What, you don't want to anymore?" she asked, upset again. He looked like he had no idea what to do. She stomped the ground with her heavy boots. She did not want to go with him if he was like this.
"I will," he said, assuring her with a smirk. "We'll meet here again at noon, when the sun is directly above us."
She nodded, "Okay, but if you bore me again, I'm only answering you one question."
Sephiroth was going to protest but she teleported away. He stood there and sighed deeply with a bit of frustration. "How am I going to make this less boring?" he wondered out loud, brushing his hand through his hair. He paused and looked at his hand, the one that had held Kiku's warm hand. Even though he was wearing gloves, he could still feel her little hand.
Maybe he should ask Zack for advice for the second date.