Mine Is The Thirteenth Seat (Arknights/Final Fantasy14 SI)

[Caldon]

The Mobile City of Lungmen was a shining pearl on Terra, somewhat thanks to it being part of the country of Yen, but mainly because of the cunning mind of the Lungmen's Chief Executive who made it into the wealthiest city on the Terra in merely a few decades.

Its towering skyscrapers gleamed in the day as they reached high into the sky, its clear and maintained streets were used daily by the masses, and even rivers of crystal blue waters were running through the whole Mobile City.

Lungmen's citizens go through their day unperturbed by worldly problems as the city is being kept safe by its highly respected police force named the Lungmen Guard Department(L.G.D.).

But, such things are for the wealthy and healthy people of Lungmen because, despite the fact of it being prosperous enough to have its own stable currency, the city does not treat all of its citizens equally.

The great city has a place where all the poor and oppressed gather together. Homeless, abused, criminals, and most of all... the Infected.

Those Infected all live in the slums of Lungmen, awaiting their inevitable end.

And it is in this place, guided by either fate or coincidence, I seek to make up for the sins of a sundered past.

Because it falls now to me to Look, Learn and...

Remember.

----

"Rope! Leave some warm water for me, please!" I shout out loud as I bang on the wooden door of the bathroom.

"Hmm~." A humming sound comes through plain wood in response.

"Please."

"I'll think about it~."

...

Sigh.

Does she truly need to be so annoying in the mornings? Because if she is going to keep this up, then at this rate, I'm going to need to put a remotely controlled enchantment on the shower.

I don't want to go and create water that I will need to warm up with a fire spell... again.

While also making sure that the girl doesn't notice me doing it, after all, even 'Arts' that the people of this Star use have their limits, no matter how talented one is in their use.

But honestly, how much water does a young woman need in the morning anyway? I swear, sometimes the selfishness of the mortal races astounds me, though now I can't just judge them so harshly myself, now can I?

Still, this one here is being more than an annoyance as of late. The girl doesn't even say where she was, and instead, she just straight-up goes to shower first before I can say anything to her.

Hmm, yeah, maybe a gentle ice enchantment when someone gets into the shower before me? Oh, or mayhap the good old spark? Well, actually, a spark might be just a little bit to mean, so ice it is then.

Or may- oh, I hear that the water has stopped flowing.

"Are you done?" I ask after a moment and gently knock on the door. But worryingly enough, I cant hear a sound from the other side. "Rope, are you still in there?"

Yet, still, no answer comes.

"Rope?" I put my ears against the door, only to once again hear nothing, so my hand goes for the handle. "Are you alright? Should I come i- ah!"

I didn't even manage to complete my question before the door swung open, causing me to stumble forward and hit my head on something wet... and soft?

"Morning~." The cautus cheerfully exclaims with her oh so lively voice as my head lays in her bosom.

...

"You're still wet," I dryly note as I pull away from her and make contact with her silvery eyes. "You don't want to catch a cold. Towel yourself properly first, Rope."

"Really?" She looks at me with a deadpan expression before shaking her head, causing her chest-long purple hair to follow the motion, a slightly amused smile on her lips. "Sigh, here I am, dressed only in a T-shirt and shorts, and this all I get from you?"

"Yup."

"You're weird."

"I'm aware of that fact." I gently pet her head between her ears. "Who else would treat their patient in their own home?"

"You're not a doctor." She states plainly and, I roll my eyes at that.

"Officially, but no one cares about that here." My hands move and grab her by the shoulders. "And besides, helping people is all that matters to me. Hmm, good thing you're only half-dressed, please don't move too much."

As soon as I say that, my hands start moving down onto her arms an- "H-Hey, are you really going to do that now?"

"You didn't come back yesterday, of course, I have to." I answer plainly.

"You just want to touch me, don't you~?"

"... I don't date patients, Rope. Now hush, examination time."

"Awww..."

Anyway, where was I? Ah right, her arms. They are slender and fit, most likely because of Rope's specialization lines in stealing and climbing. But such a life meant that she hasn't eaten healthy for most of her life, as her slightly pale skin shows.

After being done with her arms, I move down to her abdomen, especially her left side, where I see the other reason for her current condition.

A small cluster of unnatural black crystals takes the place of smooth skin as if replacing it and growing from it.

Oriopathy is an accursed sickness, which is plaguing the people of this world for hundreds of years. It brings terrible suffering and division to the mortals, so much so that it would be unimaginable to our people.

So I continue further, kneeling down and inspecting the cautus girl's left thigh. A quick look confirms that her thigh suffers from the crystals and even unnatural black lines that surround said crystals.

The same situation repeats itself on Rope's right ankle but to a lesser degree.

"K-Kyaa! Be gentle, alright?" She squeaks and moves her leg away for a moment before she calms down and stops squirming.

"Sorry, almost done." I take a last glance at the rest of her, but luckily, her infection hasn't progressed since the last time, so I find at least a little bit of joy from this conclusion. "And I'm done."

"Geez, took you a while, so can I now get dry and dress, doctor~?"

"Yes, but please, can I have the bathroom now? I have some business to take care of, and I would like to take a shower before I go out today."

"Ugh, fine, fine, you're no fun at all. I go to my room for now." She grabbed her clothes and a spare towel and walked out and towards the only extra room in the house.

But before she leaves...

"Rope."

"Yes~?" She says innocently without turning around.

"Rope." I repeat with a small knowing smile.

"Haah, fine." She turns around to face me, a smug smirk adorning her face once again. "But still, taking in someone like me into your home~?" She shows me her hand in which she holds at least a few hundred lungmen dollars.

My dollars.

"Hmm." I chuckle at the fact she managed to get them again without me being any wiser of it. "You are a good person, Rope."

"A good cat-burglar and thief, but you know that too." She looks to the side as she tosses me my money back, which I catch effortlessly, but not before I hear her mutter more under her nose. "And an Infected too."

"Rope." I say and catch her attention, her silver eyes meeting my own blue ones. "I promised, didn't I? I will cure you and everyone else."

There is a moment of silence between us, her expression unreadable.

But her soul shines with confusion and hope.

"Hah, you're truly are weird." She giggles lightly and walks away, leaving me alone.

I stay in this moment for a while before promptly chuckling quietly to myself. "Truly, I am aware of that. More so than you can ever imagine."

And like that, I enter the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.

----

"I'm going out now, so please do not eat the stuff I cooked for tomorrow, alright?" I said while standing on the kitchen's doorstep, watching as Rope ate her breakfast. "Made it for Christmas."

I watch with amusement as she stops eating her piece of carrot cake for a moment and raises a brow at me.

"You still didn't tell me what this whole 'Christmas' stuff is, you know that?"

"Ah, silly." I respond with a tone and look meaning to convey the obviousness of my answer. "It's Christmas."

...

"Whatever, I'll keep that in mind. Can I take some of the cash tho?"

"Sure, sure, ah, also, don't eat that cupcake." I point at the cupcake by the window.

"Cupcake?" She smirks dangerously and looks at it.

"Yes, today is the 23rd of December, after all." I glare at her. "It's her birthday today."

"A-Ah..., sure, no problem." She looks away sheepishly, scratching her ear. "See ya later then."

With a nod of acknowledgment, I move toward the door to the outside. While I'm already wearing my trusty, if slightly tattered, and oversized long-black coat with a hood, I stop and pull out of it a smooth red-dyed mask that covers the upper half of my face.

"Ah." I freeze right before the mask can find its way on my face, and I hide it back into the coat with a shake of my head and a heavy sigh. "Old habits die hard, I guess."

Four years and I still struggle to get used to this new life, as the memories of a mortal and immortal are so incompatible with each other that it makes it really hard not to go into the old ways of a better life.

Simple robes and plain masks are the simplest ways to show unity and a feeling of community with your fellows.

At least, once they were.

No, focus on yourself right now and stop thinking about the distant past, damn it!

I check my pocket quickly and...

Money? Yes.

Mask? For an emergency, but yes.

Useless aether crystal? Yes.

I gently grasp the small golden crystal that hangs around my neck as it shines briefly for but a moment and fills me with warmth.

"All is right in creation." With those words leaving my lips and a final sigh that alleviates my burdens for this moment.

I step outside of my humble home and walk into the sun-bathed streets of the Lungmen slums.

----

So, since my muse for my other fics is stubbornly refusing to return, I have managed to turn the Endwalker hype into something productive.

 

[Deveritas]

I gently grasp the small pink crystal that hangs around my neck as it shines briefly for but a moment and fills me with warmth.

Click to shrink...

Oh hey, Mitron. (Or maybe a soul crystal of another, non-convocation but also important Aumarotine?)

I'm not super familiar with Arknights, so instead of questions about that I'm instead curious if this is before, after, or instead of Eden.

 

[Caldon]

Oh hey, Mitron. (Or maybe a soul crystal of another, non-convocation but also important Aumarotine?)

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Soul crystals color

The color is more like salmon than Mitrons light purple(?), also as far as I know only conviction members get a soul crystal. Should I fix it and have it called salmon or is pink good enough?

 

[Deveritas]

Spoiler: Soul crystals color

The color is more like salmon than Mitrons light purple(?), also as far as I know only conviction members get a soul crystal. Should I fix it and have it called salmon or is pink good enough?

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Soul crystals color

I was running off of this imgur album. I guess I was wrong?
But yes, in canon the soul crystals were created by the Unsundered to commemorate and revive the other members. That being said, it was also possible that you'd made some other ancient make a crystal of their own.

 

[Caldon]

Spoiler: Soul crystals color

I was running off of this imgur album. I guess I was wrong?
But yes, in canon the soul crystals were created by the Unsundered to commemorate and revive the other members. That being said, it was also possible that you'd made some other ancient make a crystal of their own.

Click to shrink...

Turns out you were right all along, thank you for posting it.

 

[synnero]

I'm here for Arknights. And maybe learn some FF14 lores while i'm at it.

You see, i never had time or desire to play FF14...

 

[Caldon]

The sun shined warmly upon the streets of the slums, its rays banishing the darkness of the night as the new day dawned.

With daybreak, the slums were now teeming with life as its residents began their daily routines.

The workers went towards their jobs, and those left in their homes attended to their usual chores. All the while, the cries, and laughter of children echoed in the morning.

The light blinded me once I left the shadow of my home, and at the same time, I felt the life-sustaining radiance of Terra's sun on my hood-covered head.

The sun's warmth was quite comforting, even though Lungmen was currently in a warmer position than over a month ago. After all, it was late December, and as such, the days would get a bit cold sometimes.

I also stopped questioning why this world is using the same calendar that was in use in the world of my mortal life a long time ago.

I quickly accepted it as an odd but convenient fact of Terra.

What was harder to accept was the sheer disparity between the Infected and those who were not. And few things displayed it more transparently than in Lungmen.

Well, there's still Ursus, but I would like to avoid thinking about that country for now.

While Lungmen itself is probably the wealthiest and the most stable out of all the mobile cities that exist, it still has some pretty harsh policies against those unfortunate enough to contract Oripathy.

First and foremost, all Infected put into quarantine to the slums, with little to no regard for who they are or their social standing before. Once the infection is confirmed, there is nothing that they can do.

Such is the law of Lungmen.

Bleak homes, narrow streets without sidewalks, dark passageways, and general filth all around are what those people will find once they move to the slums.

Yet, despite it all...

I can see the people here smile and laugh as they go about their day as I walk past them.

Their souls, even if anger and resentment for their treatment stain them, they still shine with hope, love, and light.

It's... a heartening thing to witness, a small reminder that helps to remind me of the good that mortals have in them, that their lives are just as worthy of the right to exist as my brethren once were.

Then again, my human past might have made me a little biased towards such topics. After all, the person I once was has lived in a monotonous and plain world that only had stories about worlds like our Star and other ones, whereas here...

Zalak, Ursus, Cautus, Oni, Feline, Sarkaz, Sankta...

Those are only a few of the races that live here in this city, and much more still exist in other places and nations, all of them unique in their own ways.

A variety of people that could very much rival that of our Star and all of its shards combined.
Its diverse sentient races of Terra utterly dwarves the single race of the world of Earth, from the latter which the mortal part of my soul came.

It this a great shame, however, that the Terran's choose to create such segregation in this great city, but until I manage to devise a cheaply producible cure for Oriopathy, I'm afraid that this circle of hate and fear will one day escalate beyond the control of those in charge.

But I have more than enough time for that, after all.

"Now, where is my favorite Sushi-Man?" I mutter as I look around the stalls in the market.

The market in question was located in the middle of slums, roughly an hour on foot from my home.

And it was bustling with the slum's inhabitants like usual, hundreds buying and selling goods from dawn till dusk.

My eyes drifted between the stalls filled with dried meat, fruits, vegetables, clothing, toys, tools, and weapons.

I, however, failed to spot my preferred fish-selling stall. Still, I continued to walk through the market, checking all the spots where the fish seller would commonly put his shop up.

Where oh where could you have gone, my fishy friend?

My search lasted for a few more minutes before I began to feel a little dishearted at my lack of results. The market was huge, easily the size of a football field, and the number of people and stalls made the search that much harder.

By normal means, I would probably walk in circles for a long time before I'd find what I'm looking for, and that wasn't too desirable since I have a rather tight schedule for today, so...

I stopped, sighed softly, and closed my eyes.

...

And when I opened them, the world was bathed in light.

Every being, every object and even the very ground and air shone in its own radiant color.

Aether.

Even on Terra, it exists unnoticed by the masses who are utterly unaware that even the very air they breathe and the artificial ground they walk on is filled with aspected aether.

And I can almost see it all, its flow around the land and, most importantly, the souls of the living, with each soul having its own distinct color and feeling to it.

While I personally lacked the talent of someone like Emet-Selch who's "soul sight" itself allowed him to see the Underworld of our Star, searching for a specific soul in a market was a simple task for me.

A soul colored grey, calm and kind but not one that would shy from violence if forced to by outside factors.

"There you are." With a smile on my lips, I move towards the eastern end of the market.

I proceeded in the direction where I saw my query, all while observing the souls of surrounding people. And surprisingly, there were a lot more darkened souls here today than usual.

New arrivals? Or did something happen in the slums recently?

Anyway, I finally reached the spot where the stall should be-

"-ure that you're going to be fine, Jaye? No one has bothered you?" My ears picked the calm voice of a young woman, and then after I walked past some large stalls, I finally saw him.

Dressed in an oversized gray winter jacket, black T-shirt, black fingerless gloves that show off his bandaged fingers to everyone, this gray-haired and gray-eyed young Ursus man is named Jaye.

"Hmm, yeah, il be fine, Officer Hoshiguma." A lazy sigh followed. "So you're gonna buy some fish?"

Oh, he's serving someone now.

With a smirk, I move slowly through the crowd, a lighthearted plan already made up in my mind. A moment later, I stand unnoticed by Jaye behind the tall woman whose soul actually radiates a comforting yellow aura.

My hand reaches out towards her, the intent to make a sudden appearance behind her and surprise my fish-selling friend.

"Well, actually I-" I don't hear her finish, as my right hand gets caught in an iron-tight grip by the woman before I even get to touch her shoulder. "Who?"

"Ouch, ouch!" I yell out in pain and shock.

She swiftly turns around, her long green hair following the motion, and I am greeted with glaring yellow eyes.

"Ah, hello there, miss." I calmly meet her gaze with an apologetic smile. "Are you here to buy fish too?"

"Oi, Officer Hoshiguma." I hear Jaye call out in his usual lazy and sleepy voice right before I see him peek past the woman. "Ah, hey Doc, are you here for the fish you ordered?"

"That correct. I trust that you have managed to catch it, my friend?" I feel the pressure on my hand releasing, and I look back at the face of the woman who grabbed, her glare disappearing. "Apologises for scaring you, miss."

She shakes her head in denial and frowns slightly. "No, I should be the one apologizing, sir. Are you hurt?"

Ah, she's a kind one, and her eyes are quite pretty too.

"No, I think I'm fine, see?" I move my hand around without issues to demonstrate and put her at ease. "I wanted to pull a jest on my friend here. I shouldn't have involved you with it."

I also take a closer look at the lady in question.

She is fair-skinned and tall to the point that I question if my ears would even reach the top of her head if I pulled off my hood, her body is hidden by baggy black coat and cargo pants.

And out the right side of her head grows a somewhat long single horn the same color as her skin.

She's an Oni.

"Are you sure? I shouldn't have done that, but I felt something..." She almost mutters the last part.

"Miss, I'm fine. There is no need to worry." I state calmly and try to look at Jaye for help, which thankfully, he takes notice off.

"Officer Hoshiguma, can you please allow my client to get his fish since you're not buying anything?"

I watch with a small amount of amusement as this "Officer Hoshiguma" sighs and steps to the side, allowing me to approach the stall.

"Alright, if you are so adamant about this..." She pulls up her sleeve and checks her watch. "And I'm going to be late. Till next time, Jaye."

"And I'm once again apologizing for that, sir." She says while addressing me.

Now I'm starting to feel guilty.

"Miss, you're truly are too kind. Everything's fine, honestly."

"Ah, I see... In that case, please be careful in the future, sir." And with that, she leaves surprisingly quickly and disappears into the crowd.

Huh, an interesting person, this Hoshiguma is.

...

"So, you're gonna pay for this fish or not, Doc." Jaye's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, apologizes, my friend. Can I see the fish?"

"Yup, here ya go." With a swift motion, he pulls out a dead fish from behind his stall. "Freshly fished today morning."

And what a fish it is!

Golden scales, the size of a small child, this a great carp!

"Wonderful catch!" I joyfully proclaim at such sight.

"Hmm. 200 LMD."

"G-Gah!" I almost choke when hearing that.

That's like triple the price I expected!

"T-That's quite a lot. Why such a high cost?" I ask after a moment of calming myself.

Jaye simply shrugs. "It ate a lot of my bait before I caught it."

I blinked.

"This one fish has escaped you multiple times?"

"Yup."

I sighed. Well, that one will cut into my budget more than I thought.

"Fine, I'll take it." Still, nothing to do but to accept this with a graceful smile. "Ah, and by the way, who was this woman? You called her an Officer, right?"

"Oh, yeah, that was Officer Hoshiguma from the L.G.D." He says as he takes the money for the fish. "She sometimes comes to the slums and checks on me. I'm not sure why."

"Oh, that's interesting. That woman did seem like that kind of person to me, kind and caring, while also quite strong."

"Doc, why do you always read people like that?" He raises an eyebrow.

After a moment, I reply simply. "I'm just saying out loud what I'm seeing, nothing more."

"Ha, alright then. So do you want to buy some more fish?"

I shake my head.

"I'm sorry, friend, I still have some things to buy for today."

"It's fine. Guess I see you around then, Doc."

With a wave of hands, we both said our farewells and parted for the day.
After all, I still really needed my money for the usual things this month, but my patient put quite the dent in my financials, and it's not like I began earning more out of nowhere.

That Zalak girl could try to be a bit fairer with what she pays for my services, in all honestly.

----

The Ends of the Earth.

A decidedly odd name to choose for a bar out of all things, but I can praise the young ones for their imagination all the same.

I only wish I didn't need to walk for more than two hours to reach this place, which I could just fix with a snap of the finger, but... I do enjoy watching the souls of the passerby.

Even if I did again see more of those darkened souls.

Also, I am not going anywhere inside this bar. I'm choosing instead to wait around the corner of the street. I would rather avoid any confrontation with the bar's landlord.

That beak never knows when to stop talking. What happened in the past wasn't my fault.

I chuckled.

Focus, there are still things left to do.

"Late." Came a calm voice from behind me.

Red, like always, heh?

"I'm awfully sorry, my visit to the market took up more time than I had planned." I turn around to greet the owner of the voice. "I do hope you're not angry with me, miss Texas."

I am greeted with the sight of a young and slightly shorter than me, dark-haired Lupo girl with amber eyes looking at me. She wears a snow-white hoodie with black highlights, red belts hand around her waist and torso, a short black cape on top of it with her Penguin Logistics badge pinned to it, short black pants, dark fingerless gloves on her hands, and she's also wearing dark leggings.

She holds a black traveling bag in her right hand.

And, of course, she's chewing on a pocky stick.

"Twenty minutes?" She raises an eyebrow at me before noticing my bag.

"My favorite fisher wasn't in their typical spots."

"Hmm, it's a big fish." She states plainly.

Miss Texas is a quiet and calm person that enjoys sweets.

But her soul is dull red, and it reminds me of a wild and untamable tempest waiting to wreak havoc and death.

It is a confusing sight to behold, but if I were to take a rough guess on why I would say that the girl had a harsh and unforgiving past.

"So, you have the money?" She asks as she puts her bag on the ground.

"Ah, about that..." I scratch the back of my head, slightly embarrassed.

"Can we talk about a discount?"

She just stares at me in response.

XXXX

So, I don't know how to feel about this chapter. I'm trying to make some simple worldbuilding without too much exposition or monologues while also trying to make it somewhat realistic. There will be two maybe three more chapters (including another character's PoV) before we hit the start of Arknights canon.

 

[Dkaepa]

Interesting, I don't know the lore of arknights and ffxiv but it looks interesting.
Good work.

 

[synnero]

I... don't think i ever caught the MC's race? It bugged me more than it should.

Anyway, short chapter, but a little more insight into the MC and how he sees the world. Are you sure that's not some weaker form of soul sight, whatever that is?

 

[Caldon]

I... don't think i ever caught the MC's race? It bugged me more than it should.

Anyway, short chapter, but a little more insight into the MC and how he sees the world. Are you sure that's not some weaker form of soul sight, whatever that is?

Click to shrink...

I'm going to make a interlude from Rope's PoV which should explain the MC's race and how wierd he seems.
Yes, the MC can see souls with ease, but he's not anywhere near the level of Emet Selch, the mc can't see the Underworld like he did.

 

[Ascandas]

Well, the color of Texas' soul makes sense to me. Given that it's heavily implied she was part of the mafia at some point and a fearsome hit woman for them. For all intents and purposes she's Wolfgirl John Wick. I am not even exaggerating, that's how feared she was and still is among them. Also I've gotten into Arknights recently and to see you making a story out of it puts a smile on my face.

 

[Caldon]

Chapter a bit raw.

XXXX

A few weeks earlier.

The puddle splashed when she ran over it, droplets flying in all directions and soaking the bottom of her rundown shoes and her black stockings. The old and weak lamps of the slums did little to illuminate the road she ran on this late evening. She dodged all the passersby in her way, either by running around them or by squeezing her slim figure. And none even tried to stop her.

But.

Her breathing was starting to lose its rhythm.

Just how much longer would that guy keep following her?!

"Please, wait!" A shout rang out from behind her. Again.

She only took his wallet, for crying out loud! And yet, this guy is somehow managing to chase after her for ten minutes straight. As if she kidnapped his child or something!

The guy was walking too casually, too carefree in the slums, and with how it looked like he was wearing a black robe, he seemed out of place here.

Some rich guy being weird or showing off in the slums.

"Please!" He called stubbornly once more, and from the amount of turmoil in his voice, it was almost tempting to give the man his wallet back if only to get rid of him.

Then her stomach grumbled, and she quickly changed her mind.

If someone is willing to chase after her for so long, then, at the very least, it means that this wallet must be worth a damn lot. Hell, if she got as lucky as she thinks, there might be enough money in here to maybe last her a whole week!

She dodged another group of people standing in her way, and she continued running forward, all the while looking for a promising alleyway to lose her pursuer.

Even if she wasn't born in Lungmen, she lived here long enough to know the slums well enough to plan an escape route whenever she needed.

And soon enough, after having to jump over some trash left on the street, she finally saw an opportunity as she recognized where she was exactly. The second alleyway on the right is where she was sure of her chance to lose that annoying guy.

She ran into the dark alleyway, grabbed and tossed a few dumpsters behind her to slow down the pursuit. Then, when she reached the dead end, she pulled out her trusty hook and threw it all the way to the roof of a building.

Luckily, she always had a long rope, just in case, and it landed perfectly, and she began climbing the wall.

CRASH!

"Ow ow ow!" She looked behind her, where she saw the guy sprawled on the ground, looking up to her. "Stop!"

"Sorry!" She shouted back at him, smirking proudly at her victory as she went back to climbing. "A girl got to eat somehow."

With some shouting and a little bit of muscle ache, she reached the roof, where she unhooked and hid her tools.

"Phew, that was a lot more exhausting than I thought it would be." She walked away slowly, the rooftop of the building connected with some other neighboring homes.

"Now, to check out the prize." She pulled out the stolen large brown wallet and began to rummage through it.

A mere moment later, a large smile found its way on her face.

"Jackpot!" She screamed as she pulled out over two thousand Lungman dollars. "Oh, I am so going to eat tonight! Ah, might even get a room in a hotel or inn for the night."

"Huh? And this is...?" She pulled something else and was marveled for a moment by the object's beauty. "Ah, now... now I can see why that poor dude was chasing me for so damn long."

In her hand, she held a small golden stone that seemed to somewhat glow in the dark, a few shiny points connected by threads engraved on it.
And the longer she handled it, the heavier it appeared in her hand.

Spoiler

"A gem? No, something else, maybe? Damn, that really is a pretty thing." Then she shrugged, pocketing it. "Oh well, at least it may sell well in a pawn shop, I guess."

It might serve as an emergency when the money runs out, after all.

"Now, only a few minutes of jumping through rooftops, and I am going to eat good tonight." She giggled a little, taking her time jumping from building to building. "What will I eat first? Some meat? Maybe veggies? Or... maybe I'll buy a cak-" She never finished, as a noise rang from behind her, it was the sound of air sucked out by something.

"Wha-?" She turned around and saw that it was the guy she stole from, a pair of glowing eyes below the hood glaring at her. "Shit!" She cursed and bolted away from him.

How the hell did he get behind her?! Did she rob some mafia guy or an Arts user?!

"Stop, please stop!" And he went again to shouting.

Okay, Rope, you got this! He's still only screaming at you. You can easily get awa-

???

She lost control and hit the floor.

"Fuck! Fuck!" She cursed, getting up on her feet- "Shit!" Only for her to fall down again, her limbs refusing to listen to her when it mattered.

She swore she could see tiny yellow sparks dancing on her hands.

"I-I'm really sorry!" She felt a push from behind, and she quickly found herself lying on her back, her eyes blinking rapidly. "I really didn't want to use this."

Of course, it's an Arts user! Way to go, girl!

She felt a grip on both of her hands and a weight crashing on her stomach, and when her sight returned to normal, she felt utter terror as the same pair of sapphire glowing eyes were now a mere breath away.

"Let-ah, me go!" She stuttered out a cry as she again lost control for a moment.

"Stop struggling! You will only hurt yourself more!" The man shouted at her with... concern in his voice?

Liar.

"Let go!" She struggled again, and once again, her body refused to listen.

What is happening to her?! A paralyze Arts?

"I'm sorry, but..." With her hands released, her first thought was to grab her knife and stab the guy... but again, her hands were utterly refusing to listen. "... you have left me no choice."

"H-Hey, listen b-buddy if it's about the mone-"

"It's not about the money, girl." He interrupts her with a voice so sharp that it freezes the blood in her veins. Then it abruptly softened. "I am truly sorry for this, but if you only took my money, I would have let you go."

Oh.

"But you happened to take something so much more important than that."

Oh no!

He starts to move his arms around her body. First, he checks her hands, then the inside pocket of her long jacket, finding nothing his hands move even lower-

"Creep! Pervert! Rapist!" She shouts in fear as his hands move ever closer to her pockets.

She won't go empty-handed, not today, damn it all! She refuses!

She notices the man freeze for a second, his hand staying a bit too long on her abdomen for her comfort before he reaches into her lower pockets. From the left pocket, he pulls out his wallet with the money still inside, and then she hears him sigh in what must be disappointment before he goes for the right pocket.

"L-Look, you got the money, so why not just let me go, like, r-right now?" She still tries, tears threatening to lose out of her eyes as her voice shakes.

At least let me sell this gem! I want to eat something for fucking-

She sees the gems golden glow in the man's hand as he holds above her, envy and anger filling her as she glares at the man.

"Now," The man whispers as he looks from the gem to her. "What should we do with you?"

"Let... me go?" She asks hopefully, a strained smile on her lips.

...

The man sighs again, his free hand going towards her head, and unable to do anything to stop it, she closes her eyes and prays.

At least be quick about it. Please.

But there is no pain, and she still can feel herself breath, and... why is he patting her head?

"What... what are you doing?" She opens her eyes, only to see the man pull his hand away and step off of her stomach, then crouch to her side.

"Well, about that, because I was a little bit panicked about your little stunt, I might have overdone it with the paralyze thing." He states calmly before scratching his head. "You might stay like this... for a few hours if I leave you right now."

"H-Hours?!" She screams at him, anger taking over fear. "Do you not know how to control yourself!?"

And to her surprise, he actually looks away from her in shame.

"So, what now?" She asks after calming down.

"Now, well." She sees him pulling down his hood, then moving his hand near his face. She holds the urge to shriek as a small flame burst out of his hand, illuminating his face.

A cautus.

The man is of the same race as her, his skin fair, brown hair same as his ears. But it's the eyes that catch her attention the most as those two sapphire orbs seem to shine so brightly... but they seem somehow off as if there was some weird pattern of sorts on them.

Wierd. Pretty, but wierd as hell.

"I'm going to take responsibility."

"Kyaa?!" A short shriek was all she managed when she suddenly found herself in a bridal carry. "The hell are you doing with me!"

"Be at peace, as I said. I'm taking responsibility for you." She felt his shrug and saw his apologetic smile. "Leaving you here would do poorly for your health, after all."

What is he implying?

"Oriopathy tends to make the weak suffer so much more."

"How?" Her heart sunk when she knew that he recognized her as an Infected.

"Oh, this is simple. I am a doctor." He pauses for a moment. "Of sorts? Also, it's easy to guess, besides sensing the stones under your clothes. Low body weight and pale skin are also two obvious signs of it, especially when you're poor."

What does that even mean?! 'Of sorts?'.

"So what, you're are going to take care of me or something? After I stole your stuff?"

"Seems about right."

Unbelievable.

"I don't believe you. Why would you even offer help to someone like me? You're dealing with organs, don't you?" She accused him.

"I don't think people would want organs from the Infected." His bright eyes stared at her. "I am simply helping you because I am able to."

"Yeah, sure."

"You do not need to believe me once I help you, then you will be free to go or to return for further treatment." After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he asked her. "What is your name. I'm afraid I didn't ask that earlier?"

She rolled her eyes at him because that was all she could do.

"Rope. Call me Rope if you must."

"Rope? Heh, I'd say it suits you, miss Rope."

Oi, where did this miss suddenly come from?

"Mine is Halma- no, sorry old habit." He corrected himself quickly. "I'm named Aman."

"... huh, okay."

"What? Don't look at me like this. It is my parents that had a thing for naming us with names that started with A."

"Us?" She quickly catches on to the word.

"Ah, this is... well, we can talk about it later."

Like that, they ended their conversation until Aman carried her to his small home in the slums.

There he would actually work on reversing the effects of his Arts on her, give her a foul-tasting concoction. He even presented her with a carrot cake when her stomach grumbled.

And after all of that... she quietly left through the window.

With the money, she stole from him still in her pockets, as he never asked for it back.

Still, what a weird guy.

----

The present.

The fork clanged against the empty plate as a young Cautus girl sighed in utter boredom.

Her sweet piece of carrot cake, gone, eaten, and now safely stored in her stomach. So she just went and grabbed another slice.

And another, then another, and another.

Until there was nothing more of it left in the tiny fridge.

Not the healthiest breakfast to have so early, but at least it's filling.

She sighed again.

She wasn't hungry, neither was she cold or dirty. Quite frankly, it felt nice not having to worry for the past few weeks about such things. The last time she felt like this was...

Ah, yes.

That was when she was but a young girl still living with her parents in Rim Billiton, well, before they kicked her out on the streets to fend for herself.

And honestly? She did not hate them, not anymore, at least. But eventually, with some time, she did come to understand where her parents came from with their decision. With simply too many mouths to feed and her being the oldest, the choice was obvious.

And they even cried while they pushed her out the door, genuine regret on their faces!

...

Now she soured her mood.

She got up from the table and moved towards the kitchens cabinets, where she opened the upper right one. There she reached the usual spot-

"What?" Only to find that instead of money, there was a small gift box with a note.

"Dear Rope, I hope that you will enjoy this small gift from me. Happy Christmas." She read the note aloud before opening the box.

Inside, she found a small necklace.

Silver chain with a tiny crystal-like hook-shaped pendant attached.

Pretty. But, she would still like some money.

She then looked at the cupcake, a sigh escaping her lips.

"That brother of yours, was he always so weird?"

XXXX

Apologies for taking so long, work has been pretty stressful this week so I hadn't really the chance to write much. Oh, and also Endwalker is finally out!

 

[synnero]

"I'm going to take responsibility."

Click to shrink...

I... want to make a joke here, but i somehow can't come up with anything. Instead i'll just give prop to MC for following through. I still did chuckled a bit when it's Rope that went "eep" at it.

"That brother of yours, was he always so weird?"

Click to shrink...

I'm missing something... I thought MC is living along (not counting Rope)?

 

[Caldon]

I'm missing something... I thought MC is living along (not counting Rope)?

Click to shrink...

He is, but the interlude was only about how they(MC and Rope) met and where they are now, so there is a lot of context missing. This is because I'm trying out to write a story that starts from a certain point and then explains as things go along.
The plan is to have interludes/chapters explain things that happened in the past because the story starts very close to the Arknights canon.
Also, the MC's race and looks should really make it easy to recognize who the sister is.

I... want to make a joke here, but i somehow can't come up with anything. Instead i'll just give prop to MC for following through. I still did chuckled a bit when it's Rope that went "eep" at it.

Click to shrink...

Heh, to be fair, the MC as stated in an earlier chapter, is able to view the souls of people so he knew with who he was dealing. So, while Rope is a thief, she is still a good person and he saw no issues with helping someone who was hurting... and who he may also have overdone the paralyze spell...

 

[Shnail]

Mc is Amiya's brother? Neat.

 

[Ascandas]

Hey Caldon, after punching the evil possession out of her how likely is it that The MC will give Talulah a hug? Because she needs more of those.

 

[synnero]

Hey Caldon, after punching the evil possession out of her how likely is it that The MC will give Talulah a hug? Because she needs more of those.

Click to shrink...

MC has soul sight, so he'll see it. Punching it out of her though might be a bit more challenging than just going up and decking her. I don't think he knows exorcism...

 

[Zweibach]

"Yes, today is the 23rd of December, after all." I glare at her. "It's her birthday today."

Click to shrink...

Mc is Amiya's brother? Neat.

Click to shrink...

Huh, I thought he was talking about somebody on the FFXIV side but Dec. 23 is indeed Amiya's birthday.

 

[Caldon]

I don't think he knows exorcism...

Click to shrink...

Maybe not... but Ascians have their own way to deal with bodies...