69

How did you get this number?
I can't get my head 'round you
Of course you're not coming over
Snap out of it
You're not making any sense

— Psychobabble, Frou Frou

Prologue

The first time I met Arnaud Desai, I didn't even know his name. All I knew was that I was, essentially, having a near death experience.

By near death experience, I mean I was exhausted and cranky and guilty. Grime and dirt covered my clothes. A wound in my shoulder bled profusely.

My hands slipped on the Four Point's grip, but I was wearing sweat-slick rubber gloves. I was lucky I didn't drop it.

I felt eyes on me. That was my warning: I could feel somebody staring at me.

What I should have done was throw my shuriken at the goddamn sucker.

What I did was throw my shuriken at a completely different sucker.

One of them managed to shoot Tifa in the leg. She went down, but she went down hard.

Punching and screaming and fighting, that long gorgeous hair flying all over the place. At her first scream, Cloud and Aeris turned towards her, their eyes wild. I watched Cloud fight his way towards her, even as Aeris began rifling for her most powerful Restore materia. Hell, even Barrett and Red were freaking out— Barrett was shooting randomly at Shinra soldiers, and Red was practically tearing another one's lungs out with his teeth.

She was the perfect distraction.

I never knew Tifa held us together so much.

I managed to hit up everybody for Materia. I even stole Materia from the Shinra soldiers.

Didn't manage to grab that Restore— Aeris couldn't seem to let go of it. She had gone sort of manic, casting Cure on everybody.

But it didn't matter. I had what I needed, and now it was time to run.

As I sped off our little battlefield, heading north, I could still feel those eyes, watching me.

A year later, that feeling would be all too familiar.

TBCMarch 14, 2006