FFXIII - Broken - Ch 3

"Hey, what's wrong, Light? You look terrible…"

"Hey, Akada… It's nothing, I just had a fight with my sister."

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah… Didn't I tell you?"

"No, I thought you were an only child."

"Oh, I guess I never really did tell you about my family, but that doesn't mean you can come prying about it."

Akada ran after the Lightning that was now storming away.

"Oh, c'mon, you can tell me Light!"

"Oh shut it, Akada."

--

Serah sighed, cleaning up the broken picture frame.

She heard footsteps and watched as Hope came into the room.

He took a minute to take in the room. Pictures lay busted on the floor, a dent in the wall, and the table had been pushed into the wall.

"What the hell happened here, Serah?"

"This. This is why we hide things from Lightning."

Hope helped Serah up from where she was squatting.

"You mean, Light did this?"

"Yeah, this morning. I'm surprised you didn't hear her."

"What happened?"

"She slept in my room last night, and she saw a picture of our parents this morning… Then we got in a fight because I told her that it wasn't her fault…"

"Hm, that's too bad."

Hope brushed the dust off Serah's shoulder as they walked into the kitchen.

"So, Hope, have any breakthroughs on the l'Cie yet?"

"Not yet, but I think I'm close. Just like you did, all l'Cie return from Crystal Stasis, but I'm not sure if they can return a second time… Fang and Vanille had already been Crystallized once before… I thought maybe I'd head up to the Library later to see if I can find anything else on the l'Cie."

"Yeah, I have to go out later, so we can go together. But, how would you feel about coming with me to go… well let's say, do a favor for Lightning?"

Serah smirked.

"Why do I feel like Light, isn't going to like this 'favor' you speak of?"

"Oh, whatever, she'll thank me later."

"Or kill you."

"What's the difference?"

--

Lightning stood at the Bodhum Train Station, it was seven, if she hurried, she could make it home for dinner.

Lightning sighed and walked in the front door of the apartment, and walked into the dining room.

There sat Hope and Akada, and she could hear Serah in the kitchen.

"Hey, Light's home!"

"Yeah, and now she's going to kill her sister."

Hope laughed.

Lightning gave him the death look and he stopped.

--

"Serah, what the hell?! I told you to drop it!"

"Oh, c'mon Light, you finally get a chance to have fun for a night! Just let it go! And you were wrong, he was excited to come over." Serah did not even look up from her task as she hurried from the stove to the sink, and back again.

"Him wanting to come has no relevance to the fact that I told you not to invite him!"

"…and if you were going to invite him, you should've told me… I look terrible…" Lightning mumbled.

Serah stopped, "What did you just say? You wanted to impress him, huh?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I just got off work, I'm all sweaty and tired. This wasn't the time to do this. You could've waited until I took the day off."

"I would if you ever took the day off."

"You know what? Fine, but you'll pay for this later."

--

After the dinner, Akada found Lightning out on the balcony of their apartment.

"You're sister is a good cook, I'm gonna need to work off all the food I ate."

Lightning scoffed, "Maybe if she was half as good at being a sister as she was a cook, I'd appreciate it more."

"What are you talking about, Light?"

"Nevermind, Akada."

"No, c'mon, tell me."

"Fine, I've had to raise my sister since I was fifteen, and she's been being such a brat lately."

"So, you're parents died, I take it?"

"Yeah… What's the story with your parents?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't know where they are, or even if they still 'are' anymore."

"What happened….?"

"Back when I lived on Gran Pulse, we were on the verge of war for many years. My father served in our militia, and my mother tried to help them in any way we could. My sister and I would just sit and watch helplessly as our childhood crumbled beneath us."

"I…I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Light."

"So, you had a sister too?"

"Yeah, she was only a year older than me. But I have no idea where she could be now. I don't know if she was killed in the war or if she escaped like me…"

"I see… My parent's died un unknown causes… They never found their bodies. I knew they were dead that first night they were missing… Serah didn't accept their death until at least a year later… She thought our mother and father would one day just run back in and fling their arms around us. Needless to say, that never happened."

"I see… You know, me and you are a lot alike, Lightning."

"No we're not. You're from a tribal group on Gran Pulse, and I'm the orphan of a wealthy couple in Bodhum, Cocoon."

"Yeah, but we both have a sister we love, and we're both orphans."

"That's not that much."

"Oh really? Then I can name more. We're both Guardians, we both like ramen, and we both fight for what we believe in."

"Then how come you left your family on Gran Pulse?"

The comment stung Akada, and he felt the burn in his heart. He quickly stormed off the balcony, and with every step Lightning hated herself more and more.


Why did I say that? Why would I say something so heartless? I know that I'm supposed to be a strong fearless leader, but the old me would've never said something like that to someone who was only trying to comfort me.

Lightning stood up on the balcony railing. She stared down at the river below, and she thought to herself, If I jumped, would anyone care? Serah has Snow now, and she doesn't care about me anymore. And Akada obviously hates me, and Hope and I just fight all the time now…

With that thought, she stepped off.

She fell…

Farther and father…

Until she felt her self connect with the sharp rocks and water…

Lightning faded from the world as her vision went black…