Forget Goodbye

 

Disclaimer: The characters in the story aren't mine. They belong to their respected owners, I do however take ownership over the plot of this story but not on the plot of the original story in the FFXIII game. Thanks... :)

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Forget Goodbye

Snow x Hope

Chapter 3: A Prelude to Violence

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

"I'll take care of you, I promised didn't I."

It was the remnant of a dream and Hope knew it was; he could completely remember the way Snow looked as he was being carried by the impossibly tall blonde. It was on that day that he decided that Operation NORA was and will remain unsuccessful. He promised himself that he would no longer let the past get in the way of the future. But that was exactly what had happened, he wasn't able to let go of the past which led to his decision to become a L'Cie to reclaim the sense of camaraderie and familial bond that once held the group together.

Decidedly admitting to himself that thinking about trivial things wouldn't be fruitful, Hope couldn't help but feel elated over the fact that he's on another journey despite the people he has to leave behind. Nobody could really say what is to happen, maybe save for a certain Fal'Cie, so the only way to get to the future is to move forward. With a smile on his face, Hope quickly jumped into the shower adjoining the room. The last claw of drowsiness had swiftly withdrawn from him as soon as the cold water hit his naked body. Frozen on the spot, Hope reached for the knob to adjust the water's temperature. When the water was finally at the right temperature, he let the warm flow of the water hit his body, relaxing his muscles.

It felt nice to just stay underneath the constant spray of warm water. He figured that it might be a while before he'll be able to just laze around like this as if nothing was happening. The shower didn't last as long as he wanted since the water was losing warmth. He had almost forgotten that he wasn't at his own house, but the fact that he had no change of clothes tipped him off real quick. Hope was about to walk out of the room with nothing but a towel around his waist, but the laid out clothes on the bed caught his attention.

"Guess they left this for me," said Hope in a low voice but bellowed out a loud thank you just in case the person was still around. The thank you was answered back by a "you're welcome" in turn by a voice he concluded as Snow's and Hope smiled a small smile as he changed into the clothes he was given. It didn't take long for him to slip into the given clothes; it was a simple pair of jeans matched by a solid black v-neck shirt.

Hope wondered where they could have gotten clothes that fit him almost perfectly since he tended to be the smallest out of their group of friends. He didn't have time to wonder about the trivial matter any longer since he wanted to get the necessary items in order before they left.

He probably wouldn't have needed items like potions or phoenix downs, but since Snow and Lightning are no longer L'Cie and have no way of using healing spells then those items will be necessary in case of emergencies.

Bounding on out of the house, Hope bid a quick farewell to Lightning as he made a beeline for the nearest item shop. He could have sworn he passed by Serah crying but made little notice of it.

Hope left as quickly as he arrived. He grabbed everything that was needed, paid for it, and ran back to the house to pack up needed items. He ran up to his borrowed bedroom but remembered that he really had nothing there that was his. Without skipping a beat, he sought out Lightning and asked for a pack and was given a small backpack that wouldn't hinder his agility but would be able to carry the items needed.

Packed and ready to go, Hope set the bag aside. Before Hope could even think about relaxing, Kirin appeared from out of nowhere. First like a tiny bubble from the ground followed by a ghastly glow until the bubbles popped and out came the cat like creature.

"Kirin!" yelped Hope in surprise and toppled back hitting his butt onto the floor. "What are you doing here?" asked Hope.

"I came here to say that I'll be going with you!" replied Kirin happily.

"That might be a problem," said Hope followed by, "it's bad enough that people know there's still a Fal'Cie out there, but for me to walk around with you would just so not be ideal."

"Well, I don't have to look like a Fal'Cie, how about if I change my form to look human, would that work?" asked Kirin.

"I guess that would solve the looking like a human part, but that doesn't explain why you would be coming along with us when Sazh and Serah isn't even going," said Hope.

This predicament left the two in silence. Each of them was thinking of a way for the other to come with, but before either of them could say something the door opened and in came Lightning. Hope panicked for a second since the former L'Cie might have seen the Fal'Cie but when he looked next to him, Kirin had assumed the shape of a human boy.

Boy might have been the wrong word to use; the shape Kirin assumed would be more of a young man in his early twenties rather than a boy. Kirin, armed with a tall stature to rival Snow's, jet black hair that looks slightly mussed up on purpose giving it that come hither feel, and a lean but not an overly muscular body caught Hope and Lightning by surprise.

"I didn't realize you had a friend up here," said Lightning as she cleared her throat obviously blushing which totally contradicted her normally stoic personality.

"Oh! Umm, well-" Hope tried to explain but the obvious confusion in his voice told Kirin that he didn't know where to start.

"I'm Kirin, Hope's new friend," interjected Kirin in place of the young silverette who looked like he'd have a nervous breakdown any moment now.

"I see, weird that I've never seen you around here before though," said Lightning in a soft voice. It was more to herself than to the two other in the room but Kirin heard just fine in any case. Kirin was about to amend to his previous statement but was cut off by Hope who suddenly spoke up.

"Light, Kirin wants to go along with us," said Hope suddenly that it sounded more like a slur of words instead. It took Lightning a second or two before she completely deciphered what Hope had said and a quick no stomped on the request just like that.

"I can fight too," said Kirin, "so I can go with you guys."

"Look, this isn't like a camping trip and you won't be able to just head back when things get hairy," said Lightning a bit miffed at the sudden request. Kirin couldn't very well say that he was a Fal'Cie and that combat is nothing for him so he challenged Lightning to a sparring match instead just to prove that he can handle himself. Kirin would just have to make sure that he only show a little of his prowess in the arts of combat, just enough to let him in on the trip.

Lightning agreed just as quickly. She didn't trust the young man since the timing was just too much of a coincidence to be taken lightly. She thought that the young man might be connected to threat that is looming over their heads.

Clad in nothing but a tight fitting black shirt and camouflage pants, Kirin let Lightning lead the way to where they should spar. Since it was obvious that the bedroom wasn't a proper place, Lightning led the party to the outskirts of the town just where it was safe for the spar to occur.

Of course, it wasn't as if there would be that much of a damage to the surroundings since magic was out of the question. And it wasn't like Lightning could use magic anyways. Kirin would have been more than capable but using them would only arouse more questions than needed.

"So how do you want to do this?" asked Kirin.

"First to the ground loses, no weapons, got it," said Lightning. Without a hitch in the beat, Lightning made the first move and attacked straight on. The first punch was easily dodged by Kirin and it looked like he wasn't even trying. Hope sat at the side lines both amazed and nervous.

The punch was followed by a sweep that Kirin saw coming but didn't bother to dodge. It looked as though Kirin would have fallen, but he caught himself on one hand and did a back flip to avoid from falling on the floor.

Hope was amazed with the other's flexibility and the way he moved seemed like a dance rather than a defensive maneuver.

Lightning, on the other hand, was not amused and only increase the intensity of her attacks. She kept up a slurry of attacks, but every single one of them were either blocked or dodged by Kirin. Lightning, finally getting winded, slowed down a bit on the attack but made sure that each hit carried a bit more strength behind it.

Light used her prowess and agility to attack Kirin with a three step combination. She used a punch head on as a decoy that Kirin slapped away followed by another sweep that Kirin dodged by jumping up, but right when he was in mid-air, Light kicked high up from her crouching position that caught Kirin by surprise and sent him sprawling a couple feet away, and ultimately getting knocked down on the ground.

Hope, while on the sideline, saw that Kirin could have easily gotten away from the kick but chose to ignore it since he knew that showing too much too soon would cause suspicions to arise.

"I lost," stated Kirin lamely.

"You were holding back, you didn't even try to land a single punch," said Light in reply.

"So you'll let me go right?" asked Kirin.

Lightning nodded in reply and helped the young man up. Hope cheered in joy as his new so called friend was permitted to tag along. Lightning then excused herself saying that she'll get her items in order so that they can leave soon. After all, it was in their best interest to leave before the sun starts to go down so that they can cover more ground.

"So uh, why this look?" asked Hope as he looked up at Kirin and smiled.

"Oh! You mean why I took this form?" asked Kirin to clarify the question to which Hope nodded to. "" The thing is, I really do look like this."

"Huh? I thought that your other form, the cat thingy was your real form?" asked Hope in his confusion.

"Yeah, that is also me," stated Kirin then he started to explain that since the Creator had made him separate from the human and the Fal'Cie he had abilities that each of them had separately. It meant that Kirin was both a Fal'Cie and a mortal. He is able to switch back and forth and shift through either of his form anytime.

"So does that mean that you're not really a Fal'Cie but like something else altogether?" asked Hope.

"I guess so," said Kirin while in thought, "I've never thought of that, I always assumed I was just both a Fal'Cie and human at the same time but I guess I really am just one of a kind."

"Maybe that's why you weren't destroyed with the rest of the Fal'Cie because you weren't really a Fal'Cie to begin with," offered Hope for explanation.

"Yeah!" cheered Kirin. He then flopped down on the ground sitting Indian style with his legs crossed and arm crossed as well. Hope giggled at the other's cheery disposition and sat next to his new found friend.

"So why did we have to go through all of this when you could have just followed us without anyone knowing?" asked Hope of his new found comrade.

"Well, I figured that if I tried to pop out and Lightning or Snow was around then that might be a problem," stated Kirin calculatedly.

"Oh! That does make sense! So if you came along then popping out of nowhere would be the least of our worries!" said Hope excitedly.

"Yeah, I just wanted to see this thing through to the end," said Kirin. Hope nodded in understanding then ushered his new friend with him so that they can finally meet up with Snow and Lightning since the two were bound to be waiting for them. Hope led the way sprinting ahead while Kirin walked leisurely a few steps behind.

Kirin sighed and picked up the pace and all the while thinking…

"I wonder if my vision will come to pass…"

To Be Continued…

A/N: Thanks for reading! By the way, I'm so sorry that this one is so late. I planned on finishing this chapter like a month ago but something in the plot changed so I had to do a re-write for this chapter then school got in the way so it's really late… Anyway, thanks again!