/Claire Farron(Lightning)'s POV

Setting: A random apartment complex, Buffalo, New York; 8:25am

Out of all of the places that i imagined myself being in...i have to be blunt, Buffalo City never made the cut, in my mind. I'll make that very clear...it never crossed my mind, not for a second. Yet here i am now...lounging in a decent apartment, polishing my gunblade, watching The Price is Right, at the same time. For some reason, that is solely what i like to watch in the morning, out of the 400 other shows i could be watching instead. But hey...it's better than watching some crummy sitcom, like Married with Children...or Maury.

Today is a very different day, however. It's my good friend, Shadow the Hedgehog's birthday. Normally, he doesn't like celebrating his birthday...ever. But at the very least, i'll get the chance to spend time with him. Out of all the people i met here, in this city, Shadow was the one i've grown the closest with. I haven't seen my other friends Snow, Hope, Vanille, Fang, my sister Serah and Sazh, since the completion of my recent game, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. We went our seperate ways...and i didn't really have anyone close in my life, that was nearby until i moved here 3 months ago. Long story short, as of now, Shadow is my best friend.

I got up extra early today for the occasion, mainly because i plan to treat him to breakfast and give him his birthday gift. What is it, you may ask? Well, you'll find out soon enough, now won't you? I will say this though...i didn't buy it. I handcrafted it myself, with material i found near Mount Kilimanjaro a month prior. I'm sure he'll like it, as i know that he wanted something like it for some time now.

Regardless, i'm all set and ready to go. All that's left is to wait until Shadow gets here. And judging from the low-toned mumbling that i hear, near my door, he's already here. He also seems very upset and cranky. I've gotten use to that. As you know already, he doesn't like his roommates. I'm actually good friends with them...however, i understand why Shadow feels annoyed with them. Why he hasn't moved in with me yet, i will never know.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

I hear the door knock. I knew it was Shadow. I walked towards the door and opened it. When i saw him...he was pretty annoyed.

"Goodmorning, Claire..." Shadow says in a mellow tone. Yes, my actual name is Claire. I only share that to my closest friends. Shadow is one of them. And i can't stand him being mellow on what's supposed to be a happy occasion.

"Goodmorning, Shadow!" I say with a warm smile on my face. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you. It means a lot."

"Why are you so mellow, this early in the morning?"

"Take a wild guess..."

When he said that, i knew that he was referring to the usual suspects: Bayonetta and Disgust. Don't get me wrong...They're nice people. They like to joke around with Shadow a bit too much however, and in result, he gets very pissy with them. I tell them this but...they just don't want to listen. Again, i don't get why Shadow hasn't moved into my place yet. I just don't get it.

"I see..." I say, in an awkward tone. "What did they do this time?"

"They woke me up early, rendering me in a very cranky mood. I had to deal with Disgust's stereotypical attitude and Cereza's sexual toying. I didn't want to deal with it, especially since they apparently have the entire day planned for me, so they say."

Now that was unexpected. I'm not talking about Shadow's complaints about them of course, but the fact that Disgust and Bayonetta actually have plans for him, for his birthday already. It kinda sucks, especially since i originally had plans of my own for them. However, i can be flexible. After all, it is his birthday. I wan't him to get as much enjoyment out of this day as possible.

"Mind if i ask you something?" I say very anxiously.

"By all means..." Shadow says in a very mellow tone, yet again.

"I originally planned stuff of my own to do with you, like treating you to breakfast..."

"Go on." He says with curiosity...and hope.

"However, since Bayonetta and Disgust have already made plans with you, it would be selfish of me to take you from them today."

"I thought i knew you better than that..." Shadow says very disappointingly.

"Which is why, i'll be tagging along with you guys. You'll need someone to keep you sane, right?" I say with a warm smile.

"Hmph! I suppose." Shadow says to me with a immediate smirk on his face. He rarely smirks, even around me. I knew then that he was happy that i was coming along, although he didn't show it much, other than the slight smirk. Regardless, i'm glad that he's glad.

"Good." I say very firmly. "Let's go back to your apartment then. I know you don't want to right now, but i'll lend a hand into attempting to setting them straight. Hopefully, it'll makes things easier for you today"

"Thank you, Claire. You're a real friend. And i don't say that so carelessly."

"Same to you, Shadow. I'll always have your ba-

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

We were both startled from the blood curdling scream that emerged out of nowhere. It came from Shadow's apartment, which can mean one of a plethora of other situations. I had no time to think of that however, as i became very urgent in finding out what happend, as quickly as possible.

"Come on, Shadow!" I shouted at him, as i raced towards his door and opened it with full force. What i saw next was...utterly humiliating. Shadow was shaking in anger of what he witnessed, and i felt...utterly humiliated. None of that mattered however. It's Shadow's birthday and i won't be damned if he has a bad day because of his own roommates. I need help him to assess the situation...and quickly too. I'm starting to get hungry.