Megumi-chan: Back with the third chapter in less than a day. ^^ I'm on a roll! Yay~
Claim: I own Mei and any other original characters that may appear.
Disclaimer: I don't own Zack, Cloud, Materia or anything pertaining to FFVII. Square Enix does.
~*~Log III: Leaving~*~
Soft sunlight spilt through the crystaline window, sleepy golden rays brushing along Mei's sleeping face as her eyelids twitched slightly before sliding open, and she sat up slowly, hair swishing against her back as she rubbed at her eyes and yawned.
Footsteps reached her ears from downstairs, and she frowned for a moment before remembering that Zack and Cloud had shown up last night. Smiling gently, Mei got out of bed and brushed her hair, bangs falling back into place as she walked down the hallway, peering into Cloud's room, as it was the closest one to her own, being right across from it. The blonde was still sleeping, which meant that Zack was downstairs.
Heading down the stairs, Mei glanced at Zack just as he turned around, and he flashed her a smile. "Good morning." he greeted, and Mei raised an eyebrow, hands on her hips as she returned the greeting.
"'Morning." she said before peering around him and blinking. Turning to stare at him, she frowned slightly. "Do I even want to know," she threw her hand back to point at the mess on the stove, "What that is?"
Zack grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he looked away, trying to look deceptively innocent. "I was trying to make breakfast." he answered innocently, and Mei stared at him, blue green eyes betraying no emotion, face blank. Zack shifted uncomfortably. Slowly, the smaller girl's lips parted.
"You're an idiot." she said simply before her lips twitched into a smile, and a slender hand rose to her mouth to stiffle her laughter as her eyes slid shut. "Y-you don't cook toast on a pan, you moron!" she cackled, managing to point towards the toaster in the corner, "You use that."
Zack blinked. "Right. I knew that." he responded, and Mei rolled her eyes before clicking her tounge and pushing him out of the kitchen.
"Sure you did. Now out, I'll fix breakfast. See if you can wake up Cloud or something, 'kay?" said Mei with a bright smile as she removed her hands from Zack's shoulders and turned, back facing him as she began to clean up the mess from the pan and washed it off with water. Zack stared at her for a few moments before turning and heading back up the stairs.
Smiling, Mei placed breakfast on the table, consisting of toast and eggs, as well as three glasses of orange juice. Looking up, the smile widened as Zack came down the stairs, supporting Cloud, who stared at the ground with glassy mako eyes. Frowning slightly, Mei reached forward and brushed pale blonde locks out of the younger boy's face.
"Is there anything that might reverse the mako addiction?" she asked, and Zack shook his head.
"No, it has to fade on it's own." he said before grabbing a few pieces of toast and eggs and beginning to eat. Turning her gaze away from the blonde, Mei began to eat as well before rising from her seat.
"I'm going to look around outside the house, okay? Don't go anywhere." she said in a teasing tone, though she was completely serious. If Shinra was still after the two boys, the last thing she needed was for them to be seen in broad daylight- at least in such garishly obvious clothes. 'Note to self: Buy new clothes for Cloud and Zack.' she thought before heading out the door.
Walking away from the house and turning around, Mei noted in happiness that the house was still cloaked by the materia, though it wouldn't fool the Shinra soldiers for long if they decided to come this way. Mei frowned. 'We might have to use the tunnel...' she thought, biting her lip as her hands clenched into fists. She stood there for several moments, brown bangs covering her expression as she stared at the ground.
Blue green eyes flickered and blinked as a faint buzzing sound reached her ears and she looked up, eyes narrowing as she scanned the area for the source of the noise, muscles tensing. The buzzing became a low, choppy hum, and her eyes widened as she whirled around, eyes snapping towards the sky. A helicopter was approaching from the distance. Mei grit her teeth, fingernails digging into her palms.
"Shit!" she cursed before turning and all but darting back into the house, slamming the door behind her as Zack looked up in surprise.
"Mei?" The brown haired girl didn't answer for several moments before she looked up, blue green eyes narrowed. "What's wrong?" he demanded.
"Shinra." was the only thing she said before darting up the stairs quickly and then coming back down a few minutes later with a large backpack. Pulling Cloud up from his seat, she handed him to Zack as he stood up, and then handed the black haired boy the backpack. Grabbing his hand, she jerked him down the hallway. "Follow me."
Zack stumbled after her clumsily, wondering just what the hell was going on as Mei released his hand and kicked away an old table and a rug, sending the old furniture into the opposite wall, where it collided with a tremendous crack and splintered, spraying woodchips on the floor. Blinking, Zack stared at Mei's back as she bent down. 'Since when was she that strong?' he thought, staring at the now destroyed table.
His attention was drawn back to his childhood friend as she pulled up a large trap door that had been disguised as part of the floor and looked up at him, gaze impatient. "Stay on the steps, don't move until I get back." she ordered, face grim as she watched Zack head down the stone steps and disappear into the dingy gloom before she shut the door and moved the rug back over.
Stepping out of the house, Mei removed the materia, house flickering back into sight as she tensed, feet spread apart for proper balance as she clenched her hands into fists, eyes narrowing as her face became neutral.
Staring at the ground, Mei heard the click of guns being loaded before she looked back up, gazing indifferently at the Shinra soldiers in front of her as she blinked slowly. "Yes?" she asked quietly, voice subdued.
"Do you know the whereabouts of Cloud Strife and Zack Fair?" questioned one of the soldier's in a monotone, and Mei looked up, gaze serious as she replied,
"No."
Deliberately, one of the soldiers moved towards the house, gun raised. Quickly, Mei darted in front of him, arm extending as her fist connected with the soldier's face, and he fell to the ground. Lowering her hand, she shifted into a defensive position, bringing her fists up as she said, "You're not going to get them. I won't let you."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Zack looked up as the trap door opened once more, and Mei leapt down beside him, pulling the door shut with one arm before turning towards him, a strained smile pulling at her lips. Staring at her, he frowned as he spotted dark red blood spilling down her pale arm like crimson paint on a canvas.
Noticing his gaze, Mei blinked and covered the wound. "It's just a graze, don't worry. It looks worse than it is." she said brightly, and Zack gave her an unsure look before shrugging. Leaning down, Mei grabbed a lamp and lit it, bathing the narrow passageway in front of them in pale light. Zack glanced around and whistled.
"Wow. Since when was this here?" he asked, and Mei glanced over her shoulder, flashing a tight, weak smile.
"Father built it before he..." she let her sentance trail off, and Zack nodded. Smiling gratefully, Mei walked forward, footsteps echoing off the concrete walls as she held out the lamp, shadows cast along the wall like fleeting ghosts that flickered with each movement of the tiny flame within the lamp.
Halfway through the tunnel, Mei paused to pull out her phone, dull silver paint glittering obscurely as she dialed several numbers and held it to her ear. A smile lit up her face as the person on the other line answered, "Hey, Claire? Yes, it's me, Mei." Mei glanced back at Zack and Cloud before continuing, "Something came up, I'm using the tunnel- no, I'm not in any sort of trouble....what's that supposed to mean?" Mei laughed, "Anyway, I've got two others with me, so is it okay if we stay with you for a while? Until we can get a hotel or something? Thanks Claire. I owe ya one."
Mei snapped the phone shut and pocketed it before holding up the lamp once more as Zack blinked. "Who was that?" he asked curiously. Mei turned and grinned, half of her face bathed in the shadows of the tunnel.
"A good friend of mine."
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Ending Notes: Yay or nay? Review, please. ^^