AN: Hello again, people! Finally managed to get the chapter done. Life's had a tough grip on me recently, but it is what it is. :)
Anyway, something important beforehand: I've felt like another sex scene (again), so this chapter contains one. If you don't want to read it, look out for the XXX signs: one is placed before the scene and one after, so you can easily skip this part if you want. Alright, so you've been warned! :D
Chapter Fourteen
"Alright, guys, we got another ten minutes before we have to go on stage", Sazh announced as everyone was assembled in their room for a few minutes of gathering.
"I'd say, we'll show 'em today who the destined winner of this thing is!", he said with a loud voice, grinning widely.
"I couldn't agree more, Sazh! My bets go on you guys, of course, and let me once more tell y'all how great it is to be back with you again!", Rygdea piped up, smiling at the others.
They returned the nice gesture, all happy indeed to have their sound technician back on board. He was the best, after all, and a good friend of them on top of that.
It had been a totally unexpected event when the man had stopped by at their studio a few days ago, announcing he'd returned from Pulse. Well, unexpected for everyone besides Sazh, who'd received a call from Rygdea days before that, but had kept this to himself so as not to ruin the surprise for the others.
Rygdea was indeed a weird, but wholly likeable guy. Six months ago, he'd decided to quit his job at the band to pursue his life-long dream of a professional military career abroad in Pulse. As he realised how "boring and overly structured" his new job was, however, he began to miss his home country and was quick in his decision to return to Cocoon as soon as possible.
And now here he was, back in his old position with the band, joking and smiling like he'd never been away, with his friends, who in return laughed and chuckled like, yes, he'd never been away.
They were only pulled out of their talking when the notification came for them to go to the stage. Receiving Rygdea's praising words among others once again, they quickly made their way to the stage. When the host called the band's name, they knew it was their turn to go out.
Fang widened her eyes for a moment when they entered the stage area and were greeted with a long, loud applause from the audience. The sight was amazing, to say the least - all those people, it looked so gigantic. They'd never played in front of what must be about sixty-thousand people tonight, so this was a big thing for them, a big step.
She looked around, following the course of the rows filled with people with her eyes, pleased to realise that there seemed to be no free places left. She smiled contentedly, only focusing her gaze on the host again as they'd reached the place where they were supposed to stand, spotlights immediately shining on them brightly.
"Aaaalright! Another welcome to Fighting Fate over here, people!", the host encouraged the audience loudly. He grinned pleased with himself as there was another loud applause filling the hall.
"Ladies and gentleman, the next contestant I'm pleased to announce tonight is the wonderful singer Jihl Nabaat!", the host continued enthusiastically after it'd become quiet again.
Only shortly after, the woman in question entered the stage, walking so much like the queen visiting her kingdom. She came to a stand directly beside the band, making a long bow to the audience.
Fang sighed inwardly as she glanced over to the woman, looking over her green-pink coloured dress. As the host said something, another applause followed, making Jihl smile that cold smile of hers as her eyes met Fang's.
The message was clear without any words added to it: I'll win this, I'm better than you. Jihl's smile widened a little before she averted her gaze again as the next contestant, a three-man-band called 'Crystallised', entered the stage and came to a stand beside the woman.
Though it'd never been said out aloud by any of the two parties, it was publicly known that there was a certain ... rivalry between Jihl Nabaat and Fighting Fate.
As for the reasons, it wasn't quite clear, not even to Fighting Fate themselves, but many suspected Jihl simply had a big problem with the fact that the group around Sazh had been constantly growing more successful and popular since their formation the year before and was now very close to kicking the woman from her place on the throne as Cocoon's most popular rock artist.
That was only speculation, though. It could also be that Jihl just hated Fighting Fate for no particular reason; after all, judging from the band's few encounters with the blonde, she was as likeable and kind as the devil himself, Fang thought and smirked inwardly. Yes, Jihl definitely seemed like someone who loathed people just because she could.
Whatever the reasons for the woman's hostility - they'd probably never find out anyway - it had built up a rivalry that had made their past encounters always quite interesting, to say the least. Surely, this would also apply to the contest, as the blonde would undoubtedly try as hard as she could to win this event like she did the past two years.
Well, now that we're in the game, we won't go easy on her, Fang thought as she absentmindedly saw the last of the eight participants enter the stage, being greeted with loud applause like the others before.
After that, it wasn't long until the two groups for the contest were formed and the contestants were randomly picked to play the song they'd chosen for the evening. As chance would have it, Fighting Fate were the first to present their song.
They'd decided to go with "Blinded By Light", a song that was not only quite fast-paced and powerful, but was also very popular with the fans.
Once Fang began playing the guitar intro to the song, the nervousness inside her faded away as usual, and she was thankful for that as she briefly looked around and once again was amazed by the huge crowd of people that now intently gazed at them as the song picked up pace and her other band members started playing as well.
Still, Fang couldn't help but feel relieved once they'd finished the song and heard the crowd applauding and whistling enthusiastically. She looked over to her band mates and saw that everyone seemed to feel the same, especially Hope, who looked like he might faint from his stage fright any second.
The jury then evaluated their performance, and all three of them showed themselves content with it. As they went over to the part of the stage where the other artists waited with the host and sat down on the couch for the next contestant to play their song, Fang's gaze wandered about, and she couldn't help but roam the crowd again.
Despite not wanting to, she really wondered if there was this someone in the audience who had written these letters to them over the last weeks. If there was a person in this arena who was only waiting for the right moment to maybe take out a gun they'd smuggled past the controls and shoot at them since they'd ignored the writer's demands to cancel their participation in the contest.
But so far, everything had been smooth. It was certainly a good sign, as the best chance to shoot at them would've been right at their presentation a few minutes ago, Fang reckoned. Still, the evening wasn't over yet, so the woman's tension remained there for now as she tried to distract herself from the unpleasant topic again by imagining how Vanille would sit in front of the TV now, cheering for her.
"Hahaha, that was great! We totally won this round for us, man!", Cid cheered loudly as they entered their changing room after the show.
They'd indeed not only managed to make it to round two easily, but had also gotten over 44% of the votes in their group. Jihl, as the best voted participant of the other group, had only made it to 35%.
"And it's even better than that, if ya ask me, that nothin' happened concernin' these stupid letters", Sazh added, laughing happily as he took off the black vest he'd worn for the evening.
"Yeah. Seems someone was only bluffin'", Fang agreed with a smile, feeling relief washing over her. Sure, theoretically it wasn't said that the mysterious writer didn't plan to act later, after all there would be still three rounds if Fighting Fate managed to make it to the finale. But somehow, that seemed rather unlikely.
"Told ya", Cid commented nonchalantly, just as if he'd known all along. But in reality, he'd been as concerned about this as the others, even if he'd tried not to show it too much.
After everyone had finally changed and made it outside, they were picked up by limos to go home. As Vanille and Fang had had almost no time for each other during the last stressful weeks, the brunette incredibly looked forward to spending tonight and the whole day after that with her girlfriend. She finally had a work-free day tomorrow, and she would make good use of it.
XXX
When Fang eventually arrived at Farron's minutes later and was let in, she found she didn't have a lot of time to talk to the others, as she was quickly dragged upstairs to Vanille's room by the girl.
"Now I have you all to myself ... finally", the redhead sighed contentedly while closing the door behind them. Fang found herself smirking.
"Did ya have anythin' ... specific in mind, now that ya have me 'all to yourself'?", the brunette responded suggestively, unconsciously closing the distance between the two a bit.
"Oh, I don't know. It's quite late already, mh...", Vanille answered, making a thinking face, obviously oblivious to the true meaning of her girlfriend's suggestive remark. It made Fang smile as she shook her head a little.
"That's not what I meant, love...", the brunette clarified with a low voice, leaning forward so she could whisper right into Vanille's ear.
"I thought ... it's been quite long since we enjoyed ourselves a little together...", Fang breathed as her hands quickly snaked under the girl's shirt to touch her breasts through her bra while her mouth wandered down her ear and neck, leaving feather-light kisses in its way.
Vanille couldn't help but agree as her eyes immediately went shut at her girlfriend's skilled treatment. And she was right on top of that; since their first time, which had been almost four weeks ago, they'd really not found the time or will to indulge in this activity again, thanks to the massive amount of stress on Fang's end.
Needless to say, Vanille was more than willing after such a long time of absence between the two of them. She opened her eyes when suddenly, the kisses stopped and Fang retreated.
"I mean ... if ya want this", the brunette whispered, her eyes sparkling in a mocking manner as she stared into the redhead's already clearly lust-filled emerald hues and her lips formed an impish, almost mean smirk.
The girl momentarily raised an eyebrow when Fang spoke before she saw her facial expression and understood. Oh, she was teasing again. But two could play that game, Vanille thought as a small, but definitely slightly wicked smile formed on her lips when an idea hit her and she slowly, carefully led Fang backwards to the bed before sitting her down on the edge.
Fang, on the other side, just let Vanille do whatever she wanted, smiling in anticipation when her girlfriend made her sit down on the bed. She immediately lunged forward to grip the girl's hips and pull her closer to her when the girl managed to make a few almost shy steps backwards, only just so evading the brunette's grasp.
"Not so fast", the redhead spoke in a playful, uncharacteristically seductive way. Fang couldn't help but arch an eyebrow in question, but was quickly given an unspoken explanation when the girl made another step backwards before she started to move to a slow, somehow primal rhythm, which perfectly fit her 'dance' as she began to roam her own body with her hands.
Jade eyes intently followed them as they wandered over her curvy hips, then down a little before going straight up again to her breasts, stroking over them before swiftly wandering down to the hem of the shirt. Vanille smiled seductively when their gazes met and she saw the raw want in Fang's eyes. Pleased with the reaction, she quickly pulled her shirt over her head and threw it away.
The guitarist gulped at this, as the action immediately led a burning hot feeling right down between her legs. But this was only the beginning, and Vanille seemed to be intent on torturing her a bit as her small hands promisingly landed on the front clasp of her bra only to be pulled back again after a moment.
Fang was visibly disappointed, and it made Vanille grin with satisfaction as she made a turn in her strip dance, her hands slowly, so slowly venturing over her perfectly formed buttocks as she was with her back to the woman.
Finally, when their eyes met and she saw the desperate want in the brunette's gaze growing by the second, she decided to show some mercy and peeled off her bra.
But it was only to give Fang a short break from the torture, the quiet before the storm, since the girl then slowly neared the brunette, carefully taking step after step. She stopped when she stood right before her sitting girlfriend and put her hands on her shoulders.
Fang, obviously taking this as permission to go on and undress Vanille herself, quickly reached forward again to touch the redhead. Surprise overcame her when her hands were mercilessly slapped away.
"No touching ... yet", the girl said in a strict tone, smiling at the hurt expression it evoked in Fang's face as the woman placed her hands back on the bed behind her in silent obedience, leaning back on them with her hungry eyes focused on Vanille.
"Good", was all the reply she got before the girl resumed her dance, trailing her hands up Fang's thighs, then her chest - not missing her breasts - and shoulders before landing on either side of the brunette's face, softly holding her.
When the girl leaned forward dangerously close so they could feel the other's breathing on their faces, Fang's eyes went shut in anticipation for a kiss that wouldn't come. No, Vanille seemed to be having way too much fun barely grazing her lips over her girlfriend's before retreating with a smile.
"Damn..", it slipped the desperately turned on brunette out as she opened her eyes and locked gazes with her torturing girlfriend. It made Vanille momentarily feel sorry for her, and so the girl quickly straddled her before starting her rhythmic movements again, moving her hips, now directly on top of Fang.
But this wasn't an act of mercy at all for the tanned woman, no, far from it. It only tortured her more, and when she deeply inhaled and caught the girl's sweet scent, mixed with her arousal, she felt like she was close to losing her sanity. Etro...
"Impatient?", Vanille asked, playing coy. As if she doesn't know already, it cursed through Fang's mind, but all she managed to do was nodding up to her girlfriend, who was still busy touching herself in the most intimate places, making it impossible for the tanned woman underneath her to form any coherent sentence at all.
"Mhh...", it escaped Vanille's mouth as she made a thinking face as if considering what to do next. The moment didn't last long at all, as her hands swiftly moved back and loosened her hair ties before snaking down, stopping at the buttons of her skirt.
Fang couldn't have hidden the hope in her gaze even if she'd wanted to. It only made it so much easier for her girlfriend to torment her, though. Not that it would've been hard otherwise.
"You want me to ... take that off?", the redhead then asked with a low, seductive voice, playing with the waistband of her skirt.
Hadn't all of the blood in her head already wandered somewhere further down, Fang would've probably both marvelled at and wondered about this absolutely wicked but also definitely sexy as hell side to her girlfriend she experienced for the first time tonight.
But with the current state she found herself in, all the response she could muster was another firm nod up to the redhead, followed by a husky "yes".
The once again so sincerely desperate reaction of her horny girlfriend made a delightful shiver run down Vanille's back as she complied to Fang's wish and removed her skirt.
When she saw the brunette gulp again and was reminded of the strong want she herself felt inside too, almost boiling over, she knew she soon had to end this little game. Part of her regretted it, but she'd had good fun, and considering how madly turned on Fang on the other side looked, it was only fair to relieve her.
Still, she couldn't help but stroke over her own body once more, so painfully slowly and deliberately that Fang balled her hands on the sheets behind her to fists in an attempt to restrain herself. She also failed to keep the gasp from escaping her mouth when the girl's hand snaked into her panties, gently and sensually touching herself while her eyes closed and she threw back her head in pleasure.
It only lasted for a moment, though, and Fang almost jumped in surprise when the girl on her lap pulled her hand from her panties only to place her wetted fingers on the brunette's lips a moment later. It was an invitation Fang eagerly took without thinking twice, quickly opening her mouth obediently to suck her fingers clean.
And finally, after so many minutes of torture, the guitarist neared her release as Vanille took her fingers from her mouth while shifting and removing her panties with her free hand. The girl once more started her rhythmic movements on top of Fang, only for a moment though before she abruptly stopped and leaned forward to the ear of the woman underneath her, breathing heavily into it.
"Touch me, Fang. Now", she finally spoke the words the woman in question had been waiting for for so long. The words that in an instant released her from the invisible shackles Vanille had put her into minutes ago.
And indeed, this was all Fang needed as her hands swiftly lunged forward and gripped the redhead's hips, pushing her naked body down towards Fang's still fully clothed one. Barely a moment had passed when one hand already left its position again only to draw the redhead into a long overdue kiss that was so charged with heat and need that their teeth clashed with a force.
Just as Vanille snaked her own hands up Fang's chest to start undressing her blindly, she was taken off guard when the woman under her suddenly gripped her and threw her on the bed in one swift motion before withdrawing from the kiss just as swiftly.
Their gazes met for a moment, and a seductive smile of her own found its way on Fang's lips as she quickly, impatiently tore off her clothing and carelessly threw it on the floor. Vanille could only watch, taken aback by the beauty and eroticism of her sexy girlfriend.
When finally the last garment had been discarded, the woman placed herself back on top of the smaller girl, marvelling at the feeling of their overheated naked bodies finally touching skin to skin.
They only took a second to dwell in the moment, though, as both of them felt their impatience grow by the second, only to be fuelled further by Fang's hands that occupied themselves with groping the redhead's breasts roughly, yet not in an unpleasant way, judging by the initial soft moan that left the girl's mouth at the treatment.
But Fang wanted, needed more. Their gazes met, and she knew Vanille felt the same, her gaze almost screaming it out loud to her girlfriend. No, she wouldn't wait any longer.
And with that, Fang shifted a little before a tanned hand swiftly wandered down her lover's body, stopping briefly when it'd reached its destination. Their lust-filled gazes hadn't left the other's, and the brunette shot Vanille a feral smile before quickly driving two eager fingers into her tightness.
The girl moaned out loud at the action and her hips bucked at the welcomed intrusion, pleasure already engulfing her completely as her skilled lover started up a rough, relentless pace.
Though Vanille felt her thoughts quickly fading away into nothingness with every thrust, it did still manage to get through to her that she'd actually wanted to dominate Fang more, even after letting her touch again. That, obviously, hadn't quite gone as intended, but she knew Fang well enough that she could've actually guessed this outcome, had she not let herself get so distracted by her lover's stunning beauty.
But it was too late; her girlfriend had taken over the lead now, much to seductive, devious Vanille's dismay. She let out a long moan when Fang hit a particularly sensitive spot inside her, and when the woman leaned down to caress her breasts with her tongue, it suddenly hit the redhead that now was a perfect opportunity to try and take back the lead she still felt was rightly hers for tonight.
And so she gathered all the power she could muster and grabbed Fang to swiftly roll them over. Even though the brunette was by far the physically stronger one of them, it worked smoothly, probably also thanks to the woman being caught off guard by the girl's action.
Though surprise was evident on her face for a second, Fang quickly managed to regain her composure, showing itself in the smirk conquering her face a moment later as she sat up and shifted a little so Vanille comfortably straddled her hips before resuming her thrusting motions inside her.
Obviously, the redhead could've anticipated that reaction as well as she silently cursed herself inwardly at the failed attempt to swiftly take the lead from her lover while her hips bucked against Fang's hand of their own accord, silently urging her on.
"That ... wasn't-ahhh ... supposed to-", Vanille panted between moans, "-go this way", she finished, followed by a gasp when Fang's other hand groped a breast.
"Oh? How was it supposed to go then, love?", was the brunette's cocky reaction, both at Vanille's difficulties to get out a sentence in her current state and at what she figured the girl had meant.
What Fang didn't know, though, was that with her cheeky remark, she'd unknowingly spurred her girlfriend on to try and take her lead back once again.
Only this time, Vanille's 'plan' to do so was much more solid, as the girl simply, plainly reached down between their bodies and swiftly pushed two fingers into Fang before the woman even had the ghost of a chance to realise what was going on.
The brunette couldn't keep the unexpected moan from escaping her lips as she suddenly felt Vanille inside her, wasting no time and starting to move her digits in and out, taking Fang as hard as she could.
"Wanna ... have ya lead back- ugh ... huh?", the older woman panted, picking up her own thrusts' intensity and speed to show she didn't intend to give in and let her lover succeed.
Vanille's eyes narrowed in fake anger as she locked gazes with Fang, who still managed a smug smirk despite her already audible panting indicating she was getting more worked up.
But the girl certainly didn't let herself get irritated by the dark-haired woman's cocky behaviour, and so she put her free hand on Fang's shoulder, all the while thrusting deeper into her to show she was up for the unspoken challenge.
The tanned woman's eyes went shut for a moment before she forced them open again while her own free hand wandered to Vanille's cheek and held her softly, yet strongly.
"Alright, love ... I ... won't go easy on ya", she managed to get out before drawing her lover into a deep kiss which swallowed both their moans as they continued their work, both eager to bring the other to her high first and win their competition.
Admittedly, Fang had an advantage since she'd started pleasuring Vanille first, but the latter put a lot of effort in evening the odds by catching up with her. Judging from the brunette's moans, which gained more and more intensity, it seemed the redhead was pretty successful, though she, too, felt herself constantly and quickly nearing her peak as she wildly rode the tanned woman's digits.
Fang was intent on winning their little competition just as much. She knew it would be tough, though, and as she already felt herself dangerously close to her orgasm when her walls contracted more and more around Vanille's digits, she was well aware she had to do more.
So she adjusted her hand position a little and was now able to barely rub over Vanille's clit while thrusting. When she then put more force behind her movements and moved her free hand down from Vanille's shoulder to her breast to tweak her nipple, she knew she was doing it right, as the girl's sounds grew louder and more erratic in response.
Still, this little success was equally helping and condemning her since she of course couldn't prevent herself from getting increasingly turned on by her girlfriend's moans, pants and gasps. In fact, her little action had not only brought Vanille closer to her edge but had also pushed Fang almost over it.
One might consider it dirty play, but when their lust-filled gazes met and locked once more like so often before tonight, Fang leaned forward to reach Vanille's ear. "I'm- I'm close, Vanille", she moaned into it, and it wasn't even a lie. Not at all.
And that did it. Vanille, immediately moaning back and digging the nails of her free hand into Fang's back hard, making her groan, desperately rode the brunette's fingers as she felt herself tensing up and clamping down around the woman's digits deep inside her.
She was so caught up in her own moans washing over her during her high that she almost didn't catch that Fang, too, had clamped down tightly around her fingers and was moaning as well while little shudders uncontrollably ripped through her body.
Steadily, they slowed down their movements inside each other until they eventually stopped and their gazes locked as they removed their hands from the other's core. Still panting a bit, they found themselves smiling lovingly, only now realising nobody had won their competition since they'd come at the same time.
But still, there was one thing Vanille had to address. Her eyes narrowed a little as she deeply looked into Fang's jade hues before her that seemed so innocent right now as the woman in question gazed back at her with a quizzical expression. "What?"
"You cheated!", the redhead blurted out, playfully smacking a tanned shoulder. "Don't think I didn't notice you did that on purpose, moaning into my ear how close you were!", the girl complained, and it was kind of cute how she tried to appear madder than she was.
But Fang only shrugged her shoulders coolly. "Didn't know you set any rules for this, love", she only stated nonchalantly, grinning widely.
"But I have a feelin' you didn't terribly mind this little ... rule infringement, yeah?", the woman continued devilishly.
Vanille couldn't keep the light blush from claiming her face as she momentarily looked away from her love. "Yep, just as I thought", Fang responded to the silent admission and placed a soft hand on the redhead's cheek, stroking over it.
The girl locked eyes with her again, smiling deeply before she had to yawn unexpectedly. The brunette chuckled, "Bedtime?"
Vanille only nodded, shifting to get down from Fang, and jumped off the bed to go and prepare for bed.
XXX
Minutes later, they were done and lay down together in the girl's bed. It was no double bed like Fang's, but the brunette said she didn't mind, adding it only made it more cosy for them.
They lay together closely and had almost drifted off to sleep when a thought crossed Vanille's mind. She had to know. "Fang?"
"Yeah, love?"
"You didn't tell me about the event tonight. I mean, you know I watched on TV ... but I was wondering if something happened about the letters, you know? Something we didn't get to see on TV", Vanille spoke softly, turning around in Fang's arms to lock eyes with her in the almost dark room.
She could see a hint of a smile on the brunette's face as she shook her head. "No, everythin' went just alright. Guess all the panic was for nothin' and someone was only tryin' to scare us"
Vanille nodded contentedly. "Good. I'm glad you're safe.", she whispered, giving her love a peck.
"Me too. And I'm happy to be here with ya", Fang agreed softly, once again feeling the relief she'd felt earlier this evening when they'd all realised nothing had happened at all.
The brunette put her arms back around her girlfriend's waist when the latter turned to press her back against her front again.
Exhaling deeply, contentedly, Fang breathed a good night into her love's ear, receiving an approving squeeze before her last thoughts for tonight quickly faded as sleep overcame her.
"Mornin' guys", Fang sleepily greeted the Farron sisters when she and Vanille entered the kitchen in their pyjamas.
"Morning", it came back from the pink-haired women in unison, who already sat at the table, enjoying breakfast. When Lightning looked up from her newspaper and her gaze met Fang's, the latter noticed something was off.
Not only had the older Farron's look something about it that could be best described as a mix of amusement and annoyance, but also Fang didn't miss how Serah desperately stared at her own newspaper to try and avoid meeting eyes with anyone at all.
"Oookay ... what is goin' on here?", the brunette inquired suspiciously as she and Vanille sat down.
"What do you mean, Fang?", Vanille wanted to know, oblivious to the Farron's odd behaviour.
The tanned woman had already opened her mouth to explain when Lightning coughed, beating her to it. "Well, uhm ...", the policewoman started, briefly looking over to an already blushing Serah, then back to Vanille and Fang.
A rare, amused smile found its way on the older Farron's lips for a brief moment before she continued. "We noticed you guys were quite, uhm, loud last night. Good for you, I don't have to work early today, but for the future I - we - would appreciate it if you kept it a little more ... silent", Lightning explained, trying to remain as emotionless as ever as she fought against the smile that threatened to conquer her face once more.
It was dead quiet in the kitchen for a moment. Serah, blushing madly, tried to hide behind her newspaper while Fang only sat there, her mouth hanging open for a second, and Vanille looked like she could die from embarrassment, her face incredibly reddened.
But Fang wouldn't be Fang if she didn't recover quickly. "Well, thanks for tellin' us, Light! Guess we'll try - can't promise anythin', though. Our sex is just too smokin' hot, ya know", she winked suggestively, immediately earning herself a punch on the shoulder from Vanille and a facepalm from everyone else.
"Oh Etro...", was all the comment Lightning managed to make at Fang's utterly embarrassing remark as she got up and fetched herself another cup of coffee, shaking her head.
"Sorry, it's just the truth", the brunette added, unable to keep her cheeky mouth shut.
"Fang!", her girlfriend desperately whined from beside her, tugging at her shirt for her to stop.
"Alright, alright, I'm already stoppin' - was just teasin' y'all anyway", the guitarist chuckled and let the topic go, much to everyone's relief and gratitude.
Later that day, Lightning sat at her desk at Bodhum's police department, doing paperwork. It was the usual stuff she did almost every day these days. It was mostly boring, but much safer than patrolling the streets.
But since her promotion half a year back she didn't have to do that anymore, and though there was more action in the streets, the older Farron knew she could be thankful for her safer and better paid job at the desk.
And besides, sometimes she was even allowed to help the detectives with their work when there was a case to solve. It happened rarely, but maybe she would be one of them one day? The ambitious woman did not only hope, but fight for it every day, giving 110%.
Lightning was pulled out of her thoughts when the phone rang. "Lightning?"
"What is it, Rodger?", she answered her colleague.
"I'm putting someone through who says he has an anonymous tip of some sorts. Would you talk to the person and see if this is any useful?"
"Sure, put them through", the woman agreed. This was part of her job as well, sometimes at least. Most of the tips given, especially anonymously, couldn't be called helpful, though, so she didn't expect much when Rodger put through the caller.
"Good afternoon, Officer Claire Farron, Bodhum Police Department. Is it correct that you have an anonymous tip for us?"
"Yes, that's correct", the voice answered, and it made Lightning's ears prick up immediately at the artificially high voice, as she realised the person obviously distorted their voice with a program.
And somehow, that felt fishy. If you wished to stay anonymous, police had to respect this and wouldn't ask for your name. But to even conceal your voice seemed overly paranoid, as if the caller feared they would try to recognise him or her through their voice sooner or later.
"Okay. Is this concerning a case we're already investigating?", the woman inquired politely, pressing the record button on the phone unbeknownst to the caller.
"No. I have acquired information of someone being in possession of illegal drugs", the unknown explained.
"I see. Can you tell me where you assume the drugs are kept, and by whom?", Lightning inquired further.
"Yes. I'm talking about the band Fighting Fate. Search their private room in their studio here in Bodhum and you will find the drugs.", the caller explained and hung up without another word.
Lightning gulped. Fang's band? Drugs? If this were true- ... but she didn't know yet. They would investigate this tip, of course, and the policewoman already hoped, not only for Fang but also for Vanille, that this was not true.
She had a strange feeling in her stomach when she picked up the phone again to inform her superiors of the new information they had to look into. As this concerned drugs, probably, they'd most likely send someone out even today to look into this.