Chapter 2: If this reality is real
"Hey, Serah!" Snow's voice called from downstairs as the guys came back and disrupted their conversation. "Come check out the clothes I baught. I want to see what you think." His loud voice continued to shout.
"Ohh, coming!" Serah chirped, jumping up off her bed and running out and downstairs, leaving the ex-soldier to her thoughts. Even though she knew she had no need to worry, she couldn't help it. These unpleasent feelings continued to grow with unease. Even if this was her reward, her gift to finally live and stop being everyone's worrior, she couldn't help but continue to hold the weight of the worry.
"Tch...for the first time ever, I actually want to see Lumina." Lightning chuckled, shaking her head before glancing at the mirror that sat above a beautifully carved dresser. She stared at her own features and perks. Her pink hair that stuck up in the odd place; it was certainly strange in this world, wasn't it? She noticed how the people stared at them, but she also noticed how different they looked. It wasn't huge differences, but obvious ones. Their hair was a lot more simple and bland. Their clothing wasn't showy or 'out there' either. But then something else crossed her mind: Johannes. Why was he helping them out of the blue? Was it normal nature for people in this world? No, it couldn't be. There must be a catch, right? Lightning knew she couldn't trust him. Even if everyone else fell into his trap, Lightning was sure to keep up her gaurd and protect them from their own blindness.
"Hey, Light!" Lightning was snapped out of her thoughts by Fang, who stood in the doorway with a smirk. "What're you doing up here all alone? Come down and hang with everyone." She strutted over, sitting beside Lightning on the bed. "Yeah, we do look strange, don't we? I never really thought it, but we always stood out, even inside our game. Maybe it's just how the game world is."
"Then..how do we know this isn't part of the game, too?" Lightning knew it wasn't the case, but she couldn't help but question the Pulsian woman's words.
"Because I can feel." Fang chuckled, looking at her hands. "I remember how it felt before. We could feel, but we couldn't, you know? The feelings we felt weren't our own, but a programme encoded into us. It wasn't real, but this? It's real alright."
"I see." Lightning chuckled. "Well I know what you mean, Fang. Anyway, lets go see everyone else." Lightning stood up, followed by Fang and they headed down to the others.
"Snow, you'll look the coolest." Serah chirped, hugging the tall, bulky man as he grinned his usual, stupid smile that would usually piss Lightning enough to make her throw a punch or two, but this time, she didn't feel that impulse. She cringed at it, but she didn't feel the need to hit him to the floor like in the game world.
"Please get a room." Hope sighed as the couple began to kiss. "Oh, hey Light!" He perked up as soon as he noticed Lightning walk in.
"I think it's worse here than it was when we were trapped in that game." Lightning grimaced.
"Yeah, I know." Just as Hope awkwardly said that, Serah and Snow's lips finally parted and Snow chuckled.
"Come on, guys. It's a blossoming romance. Leave us be, right? Besides, I was never able to tell Serah how much I loved her ever, but now, I feel like it's real for once. Like I finally have her." Snow gazed into Serah's eyes lovingly as he held her close.
"Oh, please." Lightning rolled her eyes just as Johannes walked in.
"Oh, you're all here?" Johannes smiled, setting down a box on the counter. "That's great since I have some things to talk to you about."
"Well, go on then." Fang leaned on him, her arm resting on his shoulder. "No need to take your time."
"Err..well, you see..." Johannes chuckled nervously, stratching the back of his head. "You'll all need to search for jobs, of course. I can't let you live here, completely debt free forever, you know."
"I knew it." Lightning glared. "You wanted money out of us all along."
"H-hey now" Johannes defended. "It's not like that. Yes, it's true I'm currently in a bit of struggle with paying off a few bills, but you're in just as much of a pickle as me, so I figured we could help each other. All you have to do is work and pay me a monthly paycheck and you can live here for as long as you want." The room fell silent for a moment befor Hope finally spoke up, being the mature young man he had grown into.
"I think that's pretty reasonable." Lightning shot him a stare. "Don't look at me like that, Light. He's offered us a place to stay and has already given us so much. The least we could do is earn our own money and go along with this. Besides, is it really so bad? I feel like we've got it a lot easier, especially since we're just starting out in this world."
"Hope's right." Serah nodded. "We wouldn't last very long at all if it wasn't for Johannes' kindness...even if it was a bit self profited at first."
"Yeah! Thank you, Mr" Vanille chirped. But Johannes was still a bit baffled.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'just starting out in this world'?" Uh-oh. Damn it, Hope. They all exchanged looks, unsure of how to reply when-
"Is that the wrong term to use?" Snow chuckled, walking over and patting Johannes' shoulder. "I think what the kid meant was, new to the world of money and living on our own." Nice save, again. Lightning let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, right. I guess you guys really are quite a mysterious bunch, huh?" Johannes let out a nervous chuckle. "But I'm sure you'll tell me more when you're ready."
"You bet." Snow smiled his goofy smile.
"Hey, you know...how do we even get jobs?" Sazh asked. Of course, he was right to do so since none of them had a clue.
"You guys really are clueless." Johannes sighed, rubbing his temple. "Well, alright. First of all, you'll need to go and look by going into town. However..." He scanned over Vanille, Hope, Dajh and Serah. "how old are you?"
"I'm 18"
"19!"
"I'm 20"
"And I'm 6" Dajh finished with a bright smile.
"Alright. Well the young one will need to enroll into a primary school." Johannes informed. "You can do that by going into the school and asking for enrollment forms and sorting it out from there. I'll help you with that." He then turned his gaze to the other three "You three can go into college if you wanted to. In fact, you all could, assuming you want to. But it might be harder for those under 20 to get work."
"That's alright. College sounds fun!" Vanille chirped.
"I'll be alright, since I'm 20 anways, right?" Serah asked. She wasn't really sure her age at all. None of them were since they had been thrown and pulled through time. Their programmed data was all they knew, but there was no officiall ages after the events of the first game, so they stuck to that for now and what little data they could remember. Serah was completely guess though.
"Well, do what you like, missy. Since you're cute, it might be easier for you." Johannes chuckled, but Snow did not take lightly to him hitting on Serah.
"Hey, that's my fiance." He warned.
"Sorry. You did say so already, but I had forgot." He chuckled nervously for the millionth time. "What about you, lad?" He turned to Hope.
"Me? Well I hadn't really thought about it." Hope remembered how he had been the leader to somethnig great once. The feelings he felt then, if you could call it feelings, were next to nothing. But he did like the thought of being a leader and guiding people. And of course, he had to work hard for that, if he remembered correctly. It involved a lot of work, and that was at a young age. Since he was already 18, he'd have to knuckle down. "Alright. I think I'll go to college and study something, but could you show me what kinds of things to look for?"
"Of course. My oldest nefew has been there for a while, so I'll gladly help you out too."
"That's great and all, but what else?" Lightning spoke up.
"What do you mean?" Johannes' eyebrow peaked slightly.
"I mean what else do you want from us? Surely that can't be all."
"Lightning, come on. He's doing so much for us." Snow reasoned, patting Lightning on the shoulder. "Lay off, okay?"
"No, you lay off." She shook Snow off. "I can't just simply accept he's helping us out of the kindness of his heart when he already admitted to seeing us as a way to pay off debt at first glance."
"Lightning, what's this really about?" Serah huffed, her hands on her hips. "Stop being like that! We're finally getting a chance to really live and you're already shooting down the people helping us." Lightning felt herself sink a little as her younger sister yelled at her. It wasn't so great when Serah's anger was focused on her, and she had never experience it before.
"No, it's okay." Johannes chuckled. "I guess it's fair since I was only looking out for my own problems at first. And besides, it's good to judge. Being too open and accepting of people can get you in a lot of trouble in this world." Lightning blinked at him, a little shocked.
"'It's good to judge'. I remember you telling me something like that once, sis." Serah smiled. And indeed, Lightning remembered too. In that time when she had finally saw Serah again after all that time.
"Yeah...whatever." Lightning crossed her arms across her chest and turned away.
"So, it's settled then." Snow laughed.
"Since you guys seem pretty hopeless, I should ask now, but do you know how to cook?"
"Of course!" Vanille chirped. Her, Fang and Serah were known as the cooks, and they still remembered many skills programmed into them. "I've made a really good behemoth steak a few times."
"Behemoth steak?" Johannes scratched his head.
"U-uh, she meant steak." Serah covered, smiling nervously. "Us girls have it covered. No need to worry."
"Ah, so you're not completely hopeless then." He chuckled "That's a relief."
"Why don't you let us cook for you tonight since you've showed us such kindness?" Fang offered.
"Well my nefew is staying at mine tonight, and he's a fussy eater, you know." Johannes rubbed his chin.
"Not to worry. We've got it covered." Vanille smiled.
"Alright then. When you're ready, just come on right over. You can start searching for jobs tomorrow now." Everyone nodded and agreed while Johannes left them.
"Alrighty then. Looks like we've got our first dinner date" Snow laughed.
"Yeah, it'll be fun cooking for someone for the first time." Serah smiled. "I'm a little nervous though since this really is the first time it's going to be real..."
"Yeah, and he didn't know what a behemoth steak was, so I don't think their food is the same to ours."
"Don't worry. We'll make it great." Fang calmed the two girls down. "So let us three go and get started, shall we? We'll see you lot later." She waved and the three of them left.
Lightning let out a sigh and fell back into the sofa, rubbing her forehead.
"What's up with you, sis?" Snow asked annoyingly.
"I don't trust him, that's what." She snapped.
"Oh, seriously? The man's doing us a favour." Sazh threw his hands in the air, gesturing the the house itself. "We can finally enjoy life."
"He's the type of man that see's people that look like they need help and exploits that, using it to his own advantage. I don't like that."
"Light..." Hope sighed. "I know you have your issues with him, but give him a chance, at least. Don't ruin it for us all because of a 'feeling' you have. We're not in that place anymore." Lightning frowned, unable to think of a good response. It was true that she wasn't in that world anymore, where she was programmed to know these things. It was different now, so she couldn't argue with Hope.
"Fine."
"Trust Hope to get her to agree." Snow chuckled, patting his shoulder.
After a while of sitting around and chatting (and putting on some casual clothes) they headed over to Johannes, where the girl's were busy cooking.
"Oh,, hey!" Johannes welcomed. "Come meet Yuki." Sat in the living room was a young boy with messy, brown hair and unfocused, hazel eyes. He sat there quietly, not even paying attention to their entrance. "Yuki, come say hello."
"..." The timid boy stood up and walked, standing in front of them. He stared at them for a few moments, not saying a single word.
"Hey, Kid." Snow grinned, about to pet the young boy's head before he pushed Snow's hand away.
"No, don't touch me." He said coldly before going back to his spot and sitting down.
"Uhh...ooookay." Snow shook his hand through the air a few times, unsure of what the kid's problem was.
"Tch, I like him already." Lightning chuckled.
"Oh, you're here! Food is almost ready" Vanille waved a spoon over her head with a smile.
"Good thing too! I'm starving!" Snow fist pumped the air, earning him the rolling of Lightning's eyes.
They sat around, just talking until the girl's finished cooking and preparing. Even Lightning was getting hungry at this point, feeling her own stomach rumble and growl. It had never done that before either, so it took her by shock. Hunger was something non of them had dealt with before, but luckily for them, they didnt have to wait long since the girl's had finished and set the table.
"Come on, guys." Fang called and within a heartbeat, Snow was at the table, followed by the rest.
"This is great!" Johannes chirped, munching away, along with the other's. Serah, however, noticed little Yuki was sat there, his food untouched.
"Hey, Yuki. Are you okay?" She asked, rubbing his back a little since she was sat next to him.
"..." He didn't reply and simply continued to stare at his plate.
"Yuki, you know if you don't eat, you'll make everyone worry. You don't want that, do you? You know people can get mad when they're worried." Serah's words loomed over the young boy and he picked up his fork and slowly began eating. "Is it good?"
"..." He noddded his head, blinking a few times and eating more. Johannes scratched his head, unsure if that had really happened.
"You're good with kids, huh, Serah?" He chuckled. "I can never get tha boy to eat his food"
"Is that so?" Serah frowned, looking at the young boy. "I do hope we don't have that problem often, Yuki." The young boy looked a little scared, shaking his head at Serah. "Good boy" She chirped, patting his head gently.
After dinner and cleaning up, they sat around in Johanne's living room for a while.
"So you'll be going to school together, it seems." Johannes said to Dajh, who was more than excited.
"Yay! You hear that, daddy? I'm going to school"
"Heh, yeah. We'll need to sort that all out tomorrow though." Sazh chuckled, followed by a nod from Johannes.
"Yeah, I'll help you with that tomorrow, don't worry. The rest of you, do your best to look for work. Hope, since you want to go to college, you come with us too and we can sort you out on our way."
"Alright" Hope agreed, followed by a loud yawn from Dajh.
"looks like someone's getting sleepy" Sazh chuckled, patting his sons back as he snuggled beside him.
"Alright, lets head back" Lightning stood to her feet, followed by the rest and headed to their place. They all fell onto the sofa in the living room while Sazh took Dajh up to bed right away since he was too tired to stay up any longer.
"So, we're going to be working soon. It's finally real, huh?" Snow chuckled.
"Yeah. It'll be a challenge, but I'm sure we'll manage." It was quite for a moment, everyone slowly becoming aware of the reality.
"This is real." Serah sighed. "Really real. I'm happy, but I also feel worried."
"Yeah, but that's okay." Vanille smiled, sitting up from her spot on the floor. "We'll make the most of it and do our best. We deserve it, after all."
"She's right. But that aside, I'm beat." Fang stretched her arms above her head, yawning loudly. "I'm hitting the sack and you lot should too. Busy day tomorrow." She left the room, followed by Vanille and Snow after he planted a kiss on Serah's lips.
"Alright, well I'm heading off too."
"Yeah." Lightning, Serah and Hope followed shortly after. It was their first night in this world, so it wouldn't be a surprise if any of them slept at all.
AN: I'm not sure if the ages are 100% accurate, but I did look it up online. Thank you all for the lovely reviews and a special thank you to the one's who's come here from my Lumina page :3 Sorry for another rather boring chapter, but things will pick up in chapter 3.