Final Fantasy XIII 1. Lightning

_Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any of the Final Fantasy games or characters._

**The idea for this story has been swirling around in my head for a little over a year now and it was begging me to write it down. If you all enjoy it, I'll definitely continue because I have the entire story planned out in my head and it just needs to be typed out. I know it is cross overish, but like my other FFXIII story, **_**All is Fair, **_**I feel the story centers on Lightning and Vanille. I really hope you like it!**

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It was just before sunrise; Vanille's favorite time of day. An array of oranges, reds, and pinks were beginning to reflect off the clear blue waters of Besaid.

Glancing down, she watched as the ocean rushed around her bare feet, burying them into the sand as the water retreated. The beach just had a soothing effect on her soul and she loved nothing more than to be alone in the shallow waves during the early morning hours while everyone else in the village was still fast asleep.

Vanille allowed her eyelids to slide closed in an attempt to soak up the first rays the sun had to offer. Listening to the wind whip around her, Vanille opened her eyes and was about to head back to the village when another, less peaceful sound met her ears.

A short-lived, unfamiliar buzzing sound and then a loud splash in the distance could be heard to her left and she jumped in surprise. Her heart began to race in fear and anticipation and she could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. It was extremely rare for anyone to be on the beach this early and she had been sure she was alone. Sure, there were monsters in the ocean surrounding Besaid but they rarely could get close to shore because of the shallow waters.

Squinting through the semi-darkness, Vanille strained to see the source of the commotion. Cautiously, she waded into the water towards the sound and slowly a dark figure floating in the gentle waves began to take shape. As she approached, it quickly became apparent that there was something very wrong with this person...

Vanille broke into a sprint, jumping over the waves and crashing into the water towards the unconscious figure. As the sun rose and Vanille got closer she could see that the person was in fact a woman. After pushing through the water a few feet closer, Vanille eventually had to begin swimming to close the final feet. From this distance she could see exactly what was wrong with this woman.

Blood was billowing in the water around the woman, originating from a gaping wound on her abdomen. Vanille was close enough to see immense pain creasing the woman's pale face and for a moment the woman's eyes fluttered open and met her own. It was brief, but Vanille could feel the pain in those intense blue eyes as if it was her own.

As soon as the moment occurred, it was over and the woman passed out cold, floating limply in the waves before beginning to sink. Closing the distance between them quickly, Vanille reached around the woman from behind and lifted her head out of the water. She did her best to keep the woman's head from dipping below the waves by resting it on her shoulder and supporting her upper body with her own.

Vanille's heart was racing and she could feel the panic taking a hold of her. A million questions were running through her head. What happened? Who was this woman? How did she get here? Was she going to die?

She quickly lowered her head down to the woman's and could feel shallow breaths against her face. Not knowing what to do, Vanille looked around desperately for anything or anyone who could help her.

The beach was completely devoid of life despite the fact that the sun was entirely over the horizon at this point. So, Vanille did the only thing she could think of: she snaked her left arm around the woman's waist and began swimming towards the shore with her right. Instinctively she flinched when her hand came in contact with the thick red blood that was gushing out of the woman's stomach but it only made her more determined to get this woman to safety.

Growing up around water, Vanille was a good swimmer but she could feel her muscles beginning to tire. The woman had completely passed out and Vanille was struggling under her dead weight but she didn't know what else to do.

Just when Vanille thought she couldn't go any further, she saw figures in the distance filing onto the beach. Blitzball practice! Seeing the team in the distance, Vanille found her second wind and swam forward faster than ever, eventually finding sand beneath her feet. She planted her feet firmly on the ground, still submerged up to her chest, but relieved to be able to stand.

"Wakka! Tidus!" Vanille called out, frantically waving her free arm. Thankfully, they saw her within seconds and she breathed a sigh of relief as they came sprinting into the water in her direction.

It felt like ages before they reached her and Vanille was within seconds of collapsing herself when she felt the extra weight completely lifted from her arm. She looked up at Wakka and saw him staring at her in uncertainty for a moment, as if he was unsure whether to leave her.

"I'm fine. Take her to Yuna. Hurry!" she ordered Wakka and he nodded, still speechless which was not like him.

The large red headed man didn't hesitate for another second. He picked up the pink haired woman in one sweep of his giant arms and began to run back to the beach, hopping gracefully over waves in order to speed up his progress.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Tidus questioned, placing a steadying hand on Vanille's arm before they turned to chase Wakka back to the village.

"I'm fine. I don't know what happened. I was standing on the beach… and this woman… just appeared all of a sudden…Do you think she'll be okay?" Vanille asked, trying to catch up to Wakka but finding it difficult due to her shorter legs.

"I don't know…That wound looked pretty bad… Where did she come from? I mean, there's nothing but ocean for miles…," Tidus wondered aloud as they reached the beach. As soon as she was free from the pull of the ocean, Vanille sprinted to catch up with Wakka, leaving Tidus panting behind her.

"Hey, wait up!" Tidus called behind her but Vanille's adrenaline was back and she needed to know if this woman was going to be okay. It was incredible how a morning that started off so peacefully could turn so terrifying in a matter of seconds.

Vanille quickly caught up to them, keeping pace with the large man as they maneuvered through the forest paths to the village. Vanille couldn't help glancing worriedly up at the woman in Wakka's arms and cringing as her head dangled limply over his bicep.

Once they reached the village, they burst into Yuna's hut to find it vacant. Wakka scanned the room with his eyes and then snapped his attention to Vanille. Internally making a decision, Wakka gently set the woman down on the bed, revealing the blood smeared on his large arms, before turning to the much smaller red head.

"You're a much better healer than me. I'm gonna find Yuna or Lulu. Do what you can," Wakka told her and turned, running back out of the hut. Tidus, who had just reached the door of the hut, was yanked by Wakka right back out again. If there was anyone who could find Yuna, it was him.

Attempting to catch her breath, Vanille turned her attention down to the unconscious woman, panicking slightly. She had no idea what to do. Sure, she was a pretty good healer, but this was beyond anything she had ever attempted to heal.

She did the only thing she could think of which was put her hands over the wound on the woman's stomach. If nothing else, the pressure would hopefully slow the hemorrhaging, but she jumped back as if she had been burned when a small moan of agony escaped the woman's lips.

It obvious this wound was life threatening, not to mention this woman was in a great deal of pain. She had to at least try and heal her, so she gently placed her hands on the wound once more. Closing her eyes, Vanille focused all of her thoughts and energy on the wound. Every ounce of light she had went into trying to heal this woman that she didn't even know. At first nothing happened, but after a moment she could feel the blood no longer flowing freely between her fingers and the edges of the wound starting to come together. Gritting her teeth, Vanille could feel sweat building on her brow and her power already weakening.

Looking down between her fingers Vanille could see the wound was only slightly smaller but more importantly, the bleeding had slowed significantly. Breathing heavily, Vanille tried to regain her composure to make another attempt when the flap to the hut flew open.

Yuna rushed to the bed side and without a word gently moved Vanille to the side and began to heal the severely injured woman. The former Summoner's power obviously surpassed her own and in a matter of moments the wound had shrunk to a quarter of its original size.

Taking a calming breath and standing up straight, Yuna glanced sideways at Vanille.

"I can't do much more than that. She'll be okay but we're going to need to bandage this up…," Yuna told her while rinsing her hands in a bowl of water before grabbing some bandages from a nearby drawer. Vanille breathed a sigh of relief and looked back down at this strange woman who had remained unconscious almost the entire time.

Yuna undid the buckles on the woman's sleeveless jacket, which was for the most part intact save for the blood stains. Then she pushed the torn brown turtleneck up to give herself more room to work. The former Summoner expertly began cleaning what remained of the wound and applied the bandages.

As Yuna finished wrapping the wound, she turned her concerned bi-colored eyes to the red head next to her. Vanille knew that Yuna was just as tired, if not more so, from healing the woman, but that wasn't going to stop the questions.

"Vanille…What happened?" Yuna asked quietly. Vanille knew everyone wanted to know how this woman had got here but she had no answers for them. No boats were scheduled to arrive in Besaid today and the nearest island was Kilika and that was miles and miles away.

The red head told Yuna what happened, but the confused expression remained on the former Summoner's face.

"Well, you did a good job to stop the bleeding, Vanille. I always prefer healing over a sending… I guess we'll just have to wait until she wakes up to find out who she is and where she came from. Until then I guess Tidus and I are sleeping at the inn," Yuna continued with an exhausted sigh. After a moment, she stood up slowly and Vanille looked up at her friend.

"I'll stay with her," she told Yuna, glancing down at the pink haired woman and then back to Yuna. Nodding her understanding, Yuna stepped out of the hut, the flaps falling back into place behind her.

Vanille slowly turned her eyes to the motionless woman in front of her. Unsure of what to do next, she let herself really take in the woman's appearance.

It was the first time she allowed herself to really look at her. Her soaking wet pink hair clung to her face and accentuated a strong jaw line. The woman was wearing strange clothes that almost looked uniform-like with a shoulder guard on one side as well as a cape. Underneath her legs seemed to be a holster of some kind because a red handle to some kind of weapon was sticking out.

Vanille's eyes drifted along the exposed skin of her arms and legs and, aside from the wound to her stomach, there were no other cuts or bruises of any kind. This seemed strange to Vanille but she didn't dwell on it.

Wet bangs obscured the woman's pale face and before she knew what she was doing, Vanille was gently pushing the soaking locks out of her face. A small moan made her jerk her hand away and she jumped up to give the woman space. She was beginning to wake up and Vanille stared wide eyed down at her, watching every movement the woman made.

"Fuuuuuck," was the first word that escaped the woman's lips as she lifted a gloved hand to her stomach before she dissolved into a coughing fit. Looking around, Vanille found a pitcher of clean water on a small table and rushed to pour some into a cup for her.

Her dark eyelashes fluttered open and those ice blue eyes appeared from underneath once again. Vanille approached her cautiously holding the cup of water with both hands.

"H-here's some water," Vanille murmured nervously, offering the cup to the mysterious woman.

Those piercing eyes stared into hers for a moment before reaching her hand out slowly and accepting the cup. A grimace marred her features as she struggled to sit up, but Vanille only hesitated a second before slipping an arm under the woman's back to assist her.

Vanille wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do but the woman didn't object. She helped her up and the woman took a long drink from the cup.

When she was finished, Vanille held her hand out and took the cup from the woman, refilling it before turning back to the stranger. She handed it to the woman and she sipped it much slower this time.

"Where am I?" the woman croaked, glancing around her cautiously, seeming to take in every detail around her before resting her eyes once again on Vanille.

"The island of Besaid…I'm Vanille…I...uh…found you," the red head replied nervously, gazing back into the woman's eyes. All her green eyes were met with was a blank stare then a look of confusion from the pink haired woman. She looked away from Vanille, bringing a hand to her head, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Vanille looked at her sympathetically; it was obvious that this woman had no idea where she was or really what had happened. She wanted to comfort the woman but was unsure how, so she attempted to find out more about her.

"What's your name?" Vanille asked, doing everything in her power to ease this woman's mind. The woman looked up blankly and paused before responding.

"I don't remember…," she replied, but it seemed as if there was more she wanted to say. She winced a little as she shifted on the bed, and Vanille instinctively reached out to help her again but stopped just before making contact. The woman, going back to a blank face, waved away Vanille's help, showing that she was fine and leaned against the wall.

As she was adjusting, Vanille had caught sight of a necklace hanging from the woman's neck. She cautiously reached out and not sensing any resistance, carefully held the pendent in her fingertips. Upon closer inspection, she could see it was a bolt of lightning. Unsure if she was overstepping some invisible boundary, but wanting to help the woman in any way she could, Vanille spoke gently.

"Would it be all right if I called you Lightning?" Vanille asked hesitantly, not wanting to cause the pink haired woman any more strife. The woman, once again, broke eye contact, staring off at something invisible to Vanille. After a moment of silence, the woman finally spoke.

"I would be okay with that," Lightning spoke slowly, as if trying to search the far corners of her mind for anything that would tell her where she came from or who she was.

Vanille felt a sharp pain in her chest as she saw just how lost Lightning looked. She couldn't even begin to comprehend what it must feel like to be in a strange place and not remember who you are, not to mention the huge injury she sustained. Vanille was really at a loss for words but she felt like she needed to say something to comfort this woman.

"I don't know how you got here, but I promise that I will try and help you find where you belong," Vanille told Lightning confidently, giving her a warm smile. The pink haired woman met her eyes and Vanille couldn't quite read her emotions, but Lightning nodded. She set the cup on the side table and, with a lot of wincing, lay back down on the bed.

"Are you hungry?" Vanille asked politely, having no idea the last time the pink haired woman had eaten. Lightning nodded and just as Vanille turned to leave she heard the woman's low, feminine voice.

"Vanille...?"

Vanille turned around just before reaching the flap to the hut and looked back at the mysterious woman, giving Lightning her full attention.

"Thank you," her voice was soft and Vanille just smiled and gave a small nod in response before stepping out into the morning sun light.

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Vanille stepped out of the tent and released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Looking down, she could see the blood that still stained her clothes and skin. It was a wonder the woman was still alive with the amount of blood she had lost. This thought made Vanille shiver a little; she didn't want to think about that.

Gathering herself, Vanille made her way through the village to the group of people who had gathered outside of the temple, a large stone structure that was no longer used for worship but as emergency shelter. As she approached she could see the familiar forms of Wakka, Lulu, Tidus, and Yuna talking in hushed voices.

When she was close, they seemed to notice her presence and immediately halted their previous conversation.

"Did she wake up? Who is she? Is she okay?" Wakka was the first one to ask what everyone was wondering. The large man had cleaned the blood off of his arms and changed out of the stained Blitzball uniform from the morning.

"Yes… she's awake," Vanille told them, shaking her head sadly before continuing, "She doesn't remember anything…not even her own name."

For some reason it was really difficult for her to say this, but she quickly looked back up at them, regaining her composure. She could see their shocked looks and the skeptical one Lulu always seemed to wear.

"How could she have gotten here?" Tidus asked the other question that was tugging on everyone's mind. Lulu folded her arms and looked around at them and Vanille could see Vidinia, her and Wakka's son, hiding behind her dress.

"She probably knows more than she's telling you," Lulu accused, and Vanille was surprised by how bothered she was by the dark mage's comment. Vanille was about to respond angrily when Yuna cut in quickly.

"You should get cleaned up and take a rest. You must be exhausted from healing," Yuna told her softly, looking at her sympathetically.

"I told her I would get her something to eat," Vanille told them simply. The truth was that was extremely tired from the morning's events, but she didn't want to leave Lightning alone in a place that was completely foreign to her. Vanille began to turn around to leave but then remembered something, so she informed them,

"Oh, and call her Lightning."

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**There it is! Let me know if you think I should continue! All feedback is welcome!**


	2. Fog

_Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any of the Final Fantasy games or characters._

**Wow! Thank you all so much for your kind reviews! Because of you all, I've decided to continue this story. Enjoy!**

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Lightning lay there completely still for a moment, her mind too full of new information to process it all at once. Now that Vanille had left to get her some food, she was completely alone in this small, crude wooden structure.

Despite her calm exterior, Lightning's brain was working a mile a minute. Should she try to escape? Seemed like a risky idea considering she had no idea where she was, but considering that Vanille had said this was an island, she probably wouldn't get very far. Not to mention the people here obviously meant her no harm. They had healed her and no one was keeping her hostage, so there didn't seem to be an immediate threat.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to clear her mind so she could think rationally.

First, where was she? Obviously, someplace she had never been before. Nothing was familiar to her, nor could she place the woman's accent. Frustrated, Lightning ran her hand through her hair and could feel the grittiness on her scalp…sand? So, she was somewhere near a beach. Vanille had said she was on the "island of Besaid," but Lightning had never heard of that name before or she just couldn't remember if she had.

Hitting a wall, Lightning tried concentrating on something else.

'_Okay, but how did I get here?'_ she thought to herself. As hard as she tried she still couldn't remember anything before being in the water. She definitely remembered the intense pain in her stomach, but not how she acquired the injury. Lightning moved her hand over her eyes and thought harder. Vaguely, she could remember seeing the woman swimming towards her. Then, everything went dark. The next thing she was aware of was something warm on her forehead and opening her eyes and seeing the red head once again.

Thinking of Vanille calmed her down a little because she could sense that the red head truly wanted to help her, but could she be trusted? At the moment, Lightning had no reason not to trust her, but why couldn't she remember anything? It was a if there was a dense fog settled in her brain and no matter how hard she tried to cut through it, it remained, obscuring her memories. It was incredibly frustrating and frankly it was pissing her off.

The stress and confusion, not to mention, pain were beginning to overwhelm her once again, so she let her eyes slide shut. There would be no rest for her though. Almost as soon as her eyelids closed, a cool breeze drifted through her room, brushing across her face.

She didn't have an opportunity to enjoy the sensation because, out of nowhere, a searing pain shot through her head. Her hands immediately flew up to her forehead on instinct in a feeble attempt to ease the pain. It ripped through her skull; feeling like it was tearing her brain in half. Through the pain an image of a beach pushed through the fog and flashed across her mind; an intense sunset painted the horizon and a strangely shaped building sat on top of the water.

As soon as the image appeared, it was gone, replaced by pain once again.

It was unbearable… she couldn't control her body. Before she knew it, Lightning could feel herself falling and then everything went blissfully dark.

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The first thing Lightning became aware of was something cold and wet on her forehead. Forcing her eyelids open, at first everything was blurry but after a few blinks the world came into focus. Forest green eyes appeared in her vision and the rest of Vanille's face soon followed.

"Hey, there," Vanille's soft voice drifted to her ears almost in slow motion. The red head was smiling down at her, but Lightning could see the slight crease near her eyes betraying her worry.

Now that she was more fully awake, Lightning could tell that there was a cold towel on her forehead because Vanille was now gently removing it. She could feel a dull ache in her skull and her abdomen felt a little sore, but she would be okay.

"How are you feeling?" the red head asked, setting the towel down on the side table before turning back to give Lightning her full attention.

"Better," Lightning replied shortly. It was obvious this woman wasn't a threat but it didn't feel natural to trust anyone too completely given her circumstances at the moment. She still was adjusting to being in an entirely foreign place; it made her feel so vulnerable and being at the mercy of other people didn't feel quite right either.

"Good. I was worried…when I came back you were passed out cold on the ground," Vanille informed her as she stood up. Her words reminded Lightning of the excruciating headache and, more importantly, the vision of the beach she had seen. She couldn't remember what the beach looked like here, but she had a feeling it was a different from the one in her vision. This piece of information gave her hope because if it wasn't this beach then it must have been a memory. If it was a memory then maybe she could figure out where she came from.

"I got you some food. I hope you like it," Vanille continued, approaching her with some odd looking fruits, tearing her away from her thoughts. Lightning observed them suspiciously for only a moment before sitting up slowly; she really wasn't in any position to turn down food. Underneath her wound her stomach felt hollow and the talons of hunger were beginning to claw at her insides as well.

"Thank you," she replied, grabbing a yellow fruit and biting into it. Surprisingly, it was really delicious. She made short work of that one before moving on to some of the riskier looking ones.

Vanille looked pleased with herself and simply watched her as she ate, sitting down on the floor beside the bed. Lightning didn't really feel self-conscious with the other woman staring at her, but it did feel a little strange having someone watching her that closely while she ate.

As she chewed, Lightning took in Vanille's appearance out of the corner of her eye. She had bright red hair in two pig tails with bangs swept across her forehead. Her eyes were a deep green set against her pale face. Lightning's best guess on her age would be early twenties, possibly late teens. Her attire consisted of very little: a pink top and skirt with some kind of pelt as well as various bracelets and necklaces decorated with beads. Lightning had to admit the woman was rather attractive. This realization made her quickly look away. She shouldn't be thinking things like that right now.

Once she had eaten all of the fruit she could possibly fit in her stomach, Lightning glanced over at the red head in order to address her. There were a million questions fluttering around in her mind, but she debated which ones would get her the maximum amount of information.

"How did I get here?" she asked suddenly. Lightning realized that she probably sounded rude or ungrateful but social etiquette seemed less important at the moment. Vanille didn't seem bothered by her bluntness and answered her question promptly.

"Honestly, I have no idea… I heard a noise in the water, I followed it, and I found you. My friend Wakka brought you here and Yuna and I healed you as best we could," Vanille told her, shrugging helplessly. She seemed just as frustrated with the lack of answers she could provide. Lightning was not familiar with any of the people she had just mentioned but made a mental note to repay her debt to them for helping to save her life.

"I should check your wound," Vanille told her after a moment of silence. Her hands hovered over the wound for a moment, asking for permission with her eyes and waiting for Lightning to object.

"I'm fine," It was only partly a lie. The wound still hurt, but she felt that there were more important things to be done. She swung her legs deftly over the side of the bed and felt her feet come in contact with the floor.

"You really shouldn't move around too much…You might aggravate the wound…," Vanille told her uncertainly, glancing worriedly at her abdomen. Lightning appreciated her concern, but she wasn't going to find out if that vision was a memory of where she came from or just an image of this beach unless she got up and looked around. Plus, something else on this island may jog her memory.

Gathering her strength, she put weight on her feet and could feel the pain already rearing its ugly head as she used her abdominal muscles to stand. As soon as she stood, a wave of nausea hit her and the dizziness caused her to stumble for second.

Vanille was at her side in an instant, placing a steadying hand on her arm. The physical contact wasn't unpleasant but it made her feel weak to need help simply to stand. She couldn't remember anything and she had no idea who she was, but she did know that she hated feeling weak.

Lightning didn't notice the warm feeling in her stomach at first, not until it began spreading to her limbs and clearing away the dull ache in her head as well. She looked down at her stomach to see Vanille's hand there, immersed in light. Vanille was healing her.

After a few moments Vanille removed her hand and the light disappeared. Immediately Lightning missed the warm feeling but she didn't have a chance to dwell on it too much because now Vanille was the one who looked a little shaky on her feet.

It was obvious that this woman was a very skilled healer but it appeared that the effort had drained her energy. Wanting to return the favor as much as she could, Lightning guided the red head to the bed and gently nudged her into a sitting position. She sat down as well and watched Vanille carefully, gauging her level of exhaustion.

"Are you all right?" she asked after a moment. Vanille's eyes had slid closed, her eyelashes fanning across the dark circles beneath. Her skin looked a little pale but Lightning didn't know if that was her normal skin tone or not.

"I'm okay… just a little tired," Vanille admitted and Lightning felt a slight weight on her shoulder guard. When she turned her head to look, she was somewhat surprised to see Vanille's head resting there.

Lightning didn't want to disturb the woman because it was apparent that she had depleted most of her energy healing her, so she waited patiently. As she sat there, she was able to really take in her own appearance for the first time.

She could tell immediately from her garb that she was a soldier of some kind based on the shoulder guard, cape, and weapon strapped behind her legs. Reaching her right hand underneath her legs, she felt the handle of the weapon and carefully pulled it out slowly, trying not to disturb the red head.

Then she had the strangest experience. On pure instinct, a flick of her wrist transformed the weapon from a gun into a sword. It was as if it was an extension of her own arm, but she had no idea what this weapon was called or why she had one.

So, distracted was she that she was actually a little startled when she heard Vanille's voice next to her.

"Is that… a gunblade? I've only ever heard about them…I've never actually seen one before…," Vanille wondered aloud, staring at the weapon with a mixture of amazement and curiosity.

"I think so," Lightning replied, and without thinking she flicked it back into a gun and holstered it as if she had done it every day of her life. This only strengthened her theory that she was some kind of soldier. Maybe, she was an escaped prisoner of war? Perhaps, she was hurt on a mission and left behind? There were so many possible explanations, each one more far-fetched than the next.

Since Vanille had healed her, Lightning felt much better; certain movements caused a twinge of pain to shoot to her stomach but overall she felt good, restless even.

She wanted to go explore this new world and maybe she would remember something. It was obvious that she was not from around here or Vanille would have recognized her, but maybe something would cut through the fog in her mind.

Standing quickly, Lightning felt a slight pain in her stomach but nothing unbearable; this woman really was a good healer. She pulled the brown turtleneck down over her bandages and buckled up the stained jacket in preparation to leave. When she was finished she glanced down at Vanille and immediately she felt guilty. It was apparent that the red head had had a long day and all because of her. Vanille had used every ounce of strength she had to heal her and Lightning felt indebted to her. Despite this, the red headed woman smiled tiredly up at her.

"Would you like me to show you around the village?" Vanille offered, and Lightning met her green eyes with what she hoped was a stoic expression. Of course, she wanted to look around and try to get her bearings, but there were more pressing issues at the moment.

"You need rest," she told the red head simply, folding her arms, doing her best to appear authoritative. It seemed her attempt didn't work because Vanille gave her a tired, but happy smile.

"You're here for a couple hours and you think you can boss me around?" Vanille teased lightly and as much as she tried to stop it, Lightning could feel a small smirk curve the corner of her lips.

"Yes," she told her simply before glancing around and wondering aloud, "Is this your home?"

"Nope. It's my friend, Yuna's," Vanille's smile never wavered as she replied. Making her decision, Lightning sat back down next to the red head and watched as her eyelids became droopy again.

"I think you may be right…A quick nap might do me som…," Vanille's words drifted off and Lightning felt the weight on her shoulder once again. Sleeping like that was probably not only going to leave the woman with a creak in her neck, but also a strange imprint on her face from her shoulder guard.

Glancing down, the bed they were sitting on was stained red in some spots with what she assumed was her own blood, so she didn't want to lay Vanille down there. Coming up with a solution, Lightning reached up and around herself with her free arm, careful as to not wake the red head and removed her cape after a few seconds of fumbling.

After spreading the red fabric out as much as she could on the bed, Lightning gently wrapped her arm around the woman's torso, while supporting her head with the other. This way she was able to carefully lay Vanille down on her cape without waking her and then Lightning lifted the woman's legs and placed them on the bed as well.

Satisfied, Lightning continued sitting on the edge of the bed staring at nothing in particular. Now that she was alone with her thoughts, she did her best to organize them once again. She tried going over every thing again to make sure she hadn't missed one detail.

So, she knew that she was on an island named Besaid, but as far as she could remember (which wasn't much) she had never heard of this place. Vanille didn't recognize her so she must not be from around here, not to mention she was dressed much differently. Based on her outfit, she must be some kind of soldier or mercenary. Vanille found her in the water, wounded…

Remembering the other woman was there, Lightning glanced over her shoulder to check on the red head. A weird feeling tightened her chest as she gazed at Vanille, sound asleep on her cape, her red bangs shielding her face. She didn't dwell on the mysterious emotion too much, she must just be grateful that this woman had saved her life. She felt indebted to her.

Once again, Lightning attempted to focus on trying to remember anything, anything at all. Every thought seemed to lead to a dead end and she just felt like she was going in circles trying to piece together anything. She shifted her focus to the vision of the strange beach from earlier. Lightning closed her eyes to more fully recall the image and the waves and the strange building appeared before her mind.

She was almost certain that this was not the beach she was found on, which could only mean it was a memory from where she came from, but there was not much else she could deduce from this fact. Maybe, she should ask Vanille about it… she may have some insight where a building like that would be.

As she was thinking this, the flap to the hut rustled open, startling Lightning out of her thoughts. A woman, about the same size as Vanille and just as scantily clad, entered, and stopped short when she spotted her there. Subconsciously, her hand drifted to the handle of her weapon, just in case. Lightning eyed the stranger, erring on the side of caution in case this woman was a threat, especially since she spotted two handguns holstered to her hips. She watched the woman's eyes, which were two different colors, drift past her to Vanille and for a moment the woman tensed up. The woman probably was just as wary of Lightning as she was of her, and perhaps thought she had harmed the red head.

"She was exhausted after healing me, so I let her sleep," Lightning preemptively answered the question the woman had yet to ask. As an outsider to this place, the last thing she wanted was to get on the locals' bad sides.

The woman seemed to accept her answer and entered the dwelling completely, still somewhat cautious.

"I'm Yuna. Vanille told me that I should call you Lightning, is that right?" the woman spoke, settling herself onto a wooden, cushioned couch across from her.

Lightning nodded in response, remembering Vanille mention her name as one of her rescuers, so she relaxed a little.

"You look like you're feeling better," Yuna noted, and Lightning could feel her bi-colored eyes drift to her abdomen.

"I am," Lightning replied simply, before looking over her shoulder at the sleeping woman on the bed. The red head looked so peaceful cuddled into her cape and Lightning got a strange feeling seeing her like this. It certainly wasn't an unpleasant feeling but it felt a little foreign to her, but so did everything.

"Vanille is becoming quite the healer, but it still takes a lot out of her," Yuna commented, smiling affectionately at Vanille's sleeping form. For some reason, the other woman's words made her feel guilty for putting undue strain on the red head.

"She also said that you have no memory of who you are or how you got here," Yuna's voice brought her back to the present and she turned to look at the woman across from her. Now, she was getting to the point and Lightning met her eyes directly searching to see what her intentions were in bringing this up.

"I just want you to know that you are welcome to stay in Besaid as long as you need to. I've talked to the owner of the inn and she has agreed to let you to stay there for the time being. I can take you there when you're ready," Yuna informed her, giving her a warm smile.

"Thank you… will she be all right?" Lightning asked, unsure of how to respond to such kindness and curious about Vanille's well being. Carefully standing up so as to not wake up the sleeping red head, Lightning turned to take one last glance at her.

"She just needs some sleep. Tidus- my husband- and I were going to sleep at the inn, but I'm thinking we'll just crash at her place since she seems to have taken ours hostage," Yuna commented, shaking her head in mock dismay at the unconscious Vanille.

"You ready to head to the inn? It's still early but I'm sure you're still a little weak from your ordeal," Yuna guessed and Lightning bristled at her use of that word, but she could tell the brunette didn't mean any harm by it.

Yuna exited the hut, holding the flap open for Lightning to follow, so she did. Unused to the bright sun, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light, but when they did she saw that it appeared to be sometime in the late afternoon.

Lightning trailed closely behind the shorter woman, noticing the stares she was getting from the towns people who had stopped what they were doing to watch her every movement it seemed. It took less than a minute to reach the inn, but it felt like much longer because of the people watching her and, truthfully, her wound twinged with pain. This was the most moving she had done since her injury and it reminded her of just how lucky she was to be found by a healer.

"Here it is. Try to get some rest. Vanille or I will come by and check on you tomorrow morning to see how you're doing," Yuna told her with a smile and deeming her services no longer needed finished with, "It was nice to meet you, Lightning."

Lightning nodded appreciatively, and without another word Yuna left her there. After watching the woman's retreating back for a moment, Lightning decided to enter the inn. A woman at the front desk, greeted her with a smile of recognition but her eyes were wide with curiosity as well.

"You must be Lightning! Welcome! Yuna told me to expect you. You can sleep on any of the beds you like. Can I get you anything?" the woman was extremely polite but spoke in a nervous rush as if they didn't get many customers.

"I think I'm just going to sleep," Lightning told the woman shortly, but she really didn't feel up to a full blown conversation. As she walked back to the beds she picked the first one she came to and sat down, removing her boots, gunblade, and leg pouch before stretching herself out on the mattress.

Lightning stared at the ceiling, fully expecting her mind to keep her up all night straining to remember anything. But against her will, only one thing floated to the surface of her thoughts before she drifted off: the image of Vanille snuggled into her cape.

* * *

**There's chapter 2! I hope it lives up to your expectations! Let me know what you like and what you don't. It really helps me as a writer. Thanks!**


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