Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Ashes ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ A - All Readers ]

Ashes walked out of the cafeteria and began to make her way to her P.E. class. After going down the main hallway, she found herself adjacent to big steel doors and spray painted on the surface were the letters: P.E.
She pushed the doors open and found herself inside a huge arena. There was an indoor track, four basketball courts in the middle, two tennis courts located outside, and bleachers folded up against each wall. To her right were two white metal doors, each signaling the girl’s and boy’s locker rooms.
She began to walk over to the girls locker rooms, when the door opened revealing a woman in her mid twenties. She was extremely tall...perhaps five eleven with black hair that shone blue in the light. Her skin was fairly tan and Ashes concluded that it was natural, unlike fake tanning some girls these days had. Suddenly the woman turned her green eyes toward Ashes:
“Good afternoon, may I know who you are?” she inquired while adjusting her slick black and white addidas pants.
“I’m Ashes Strife...a bit early for P.E. but I...”
“Ahh my first student!” she exclaimed,
“My name is Subaru Mien, I’ll be your P.E. coach for the rest of the year.” she explained and flipped her black hair over her shoulder.
“You’re quite unusual, you know?”
“I know.” Ashes muttered and hoped to Hyne that she wouldn’t critique upon her looks.
“I love your hair, is it dyed or natural?”
“Natural.” she replied.
Subaru studied the girl and noticed that her interrogations were making her uneasy. She would bet that she had a hell of a day so far with some of these high and mighty rich kids.
“So...you have had a hectic day...right?” she asked noticing the stains on the girl’s tank top.
Ashes shrugged,
“It doesn’t matter...I’m used to it.”
Subaru’s heart melted as she watched the young woman before her,
“Its not your fault you were born this way.” the coach said as she wrapped an arm around the students shoulder in comfort.
“Thank you, but I have my own way to deal with them.” Ashes replied quietly.
The bell rang and Ashes knew that students would be piling in a matter of seconds.
“Well, if you need anyone to talk to, I’m here.” Subaru said before the first batch of students arrived. Ashes walked away from her coach toward the basketball courts and listened.
“Everyone once you come in, sit down in the middle of the gym.” Subaru explained, “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Students poured in and Ashes counted almost sixty people before the second bell rang. She sat next to the basketball pole away from the groups clustered among each other. She noticed the coach return with a clipboard along with papers. She began to call off names and each person either replied or raised their hands.
“Ashes Strife?” the coach called out later and found Ashes nodding to her.
‘Silent type...hmm.’
“Daemon Strife?”
“Here.” was the solid response.
‘Another Strife...I wonder if they are related... then again they probably are.’ Subaru asked herself as she checked him off her list.
Kyoko, Zephyrus, and Daniel were conversing quietly when they heard Ashes Strife being called out.
“Maybe we should watch over her?” Daniel suggested.
“Why...but look at her...” Kyoko began but was smacked upside the head by Zephyrus.
“I’ve given it some thought to what Daemon said and I think it would be a nice change for her if she had some friends.” Zephyrus explained.
Kyoko rolled his eyes then glanced over at Ashes who sat on the floor her silver hair all awry behind the rest of the freshmen crowd.
“Well it would be nice to have a girl with a nice figure to look at in the group...” he muttered and was smacked again.
“Hey!” he growled this time at Daniel.
“I don’t think it would be a good idea to court her Kyoko, besides...” he began and shut his trap while a bunch of juniors ran by giggling at them.
The group was drooling when Daemon returned and he raised an eyebrow at his posse.
“You guys are predictable: You see a girl and you drool a lake.” he muttered.
“Oh hey Daemon...” Daniel said as he lead his friend over to the opposite bleachers. Kyoko and Zephyrus took that as their queue and made their way over to the silver headed girl.
Ashes was surprised to find her brother in P.E. along with her, but then again the class varied from freshman to seniors. There he stood in his black gym shorts and white tee along with the rest of the student body except for the freshman's.
She noticed him glance at her and then return his attention back to his group of buddies. While the coach had the rest of the class run twenty laps, she introduced the freshman to the P.E. rules and regulations.
They were handed out student gym uniforms of black shorts and two white tees, with the college crest on them of two swords crisscrossed. After going through the gym rules and regulations, and with ten minutes left of the class, the freshman students were allowed to converse while the coach turned her attention to the dropping bodies of sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
Ashes settled down against the bleacher walls as she watched the students run by on the track when two sets of legs stopped in front of her.
“Hi.” the guy said cheerfully, “I’m Kyoko and this is my buddy Zephyrus.”
Ashes just stared at them as if shock had struck her nervous system,
“Umm...hi.” she managed to say. Kyoko laughed and Zephyrus punched him in the shoulder,
“Don’t mind him. He’s an asshole. What’s your name?”
“Ashes.”
“Nice to meet you.” he said with a warm smile and extended his hand. Absently, she grabbed it and he pulled her up to her feet.
Zephyrus was about five foot nine with brown eyes and ash blonde hair along with a lean build.
“Are you in any way related to Daemon Strife? Its been the talk of half the school.”
“Does it matter?” Ashes inquired with a groan. One thing was for sure, she never wanted anyone to know that they were siblings because she knew that his status would drop if he was ever associated with her. It was like that through middle school and high school.
Zephyrus shrugged, “What’s your next class?”
“CTTA.”
“That’s cool; Zephyrus, Daemon, Daniel and I are going there next as well. Why don’t you join us?”
“I can‘t.”
“Oh come on. We won’t bite, plus we have decided it would be a great idea that you stick with us. You never know what could happen to you if you were alone...we saw what happened during lunch...” Zephyrus stated bluntly.
“Oh...but I really don’t think...” but she was cut off.
“Listen Ashes, we heard a different opinion on you and we decided its best you stick with us. Got it?” Kyoko said straight out, is gray-blue eyes narrowing just a bit.
“I agree with Kyoko on this one Ashes. Some people here are prone to attacking new students...especially ones like you.”
Ashes glanced at Daemon and Daniel who were making their way over to them. She heard the whispers behind her and the glares of girls that desired to kill her.
“Fine.” she answered. Kyoko rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm pulling her along with them to meet up with Daemon and Daniel.
Daemon was listening to Daniel when the rest of his buds came over bringing along a silver haired woman. His blue eyes widened and then resumed back to his stoic expression.
“Hey Daemon, I would like to introduce you to the new addition to our posse. After all it was your opinion that made us think it would be for best. You know...so she doesn’t get harassed by the rest of the student body.” Kyoko said.
Ashes turned bright red and looked away from her brother with shame. She expected him to say no when suddenly Daemon nodded,
“Ashes welcome to the group.” he said and turned away to walk off to the boys locker rooms.
“I’m sorry about that Ashes, he’s a bit cold at times.” Daniel said. Ashes only nodded and kept looking at the ground...
“Hey guys is it just me or are all the girls staring at us with death engraved in their eyes?” Zephyrus noted.
The boys including Ashes turned and Ashes almost let out a squeak as all the girls in the gym were glaring at her. She was so dead...she knew that her brother was popular and every girl wanted to be his girlfriend, lover, wife...whatever. She got herself in a bad situation...
‘Why me Hyne? Why do I have to be in their group of hot men? Why my brothers group? I could have been better off alone...’
Ashes was yanked out of her thoughts when Daniel escorted her gently by the hand to the lockers.
“Wait here we’ll be back out in a minute.” he assured her.
“I’m not worried...I can handle myself.” she retorted. One thing was for sure, she didn’t want to be categorized as a weak little girl, which she was obviously not.
The boys left and the couch walked over,
“I’m glad you found some friends. Your brother has a good heart to protect you.” Subaru said with a mischievous smile. She grinned when she caught the surprised look of Ashes,
“Oh come on, I’m not stupid and neither are half the students in the school. Some wonder if it’s true and some don’t.”
Ashes sighed, “Let them wonder. I don’t want to ruin my brothers rep.” she said and walked over to the doors.
Just then Daemon emerged and wondered where Ashes was when he found her alone near the doors looking at the ground, pondering obviously.
“Mr. Strife I suggest you keep her safe. I find it ironic that a girl would be worried about her own brothers reputation then her own self.” the coach said bitterly and walked away.
Daemon processed what the coach said and looked back over at his sister.
‘She was thinking of me before herself? Was that what she was doing all these years? Never once running to his aid when she got hurt?’ Daemon became angry and strode over to her.
“Do you think you will ruin my reputation if everyone knew you were my sister? I did give a damn about reputation!”
Ashes looked up in surprise and averted her eyes as his question hit her.
“Look at me Ashes.” Daemon said, “I said look at me.” He said with a bit more force and grabbed her chin to make her look his way.
“Never once would you have ruined my life and don’t ever think that again. All these years I wondered why you never asked for my help and now I know why. Your my sister and I want you to know that no matter what others think or what you think, I’m here and I will protect you like father has.” Daemon explained.
Ashes stood stock still and couldn’t believe what she just heard. He wasn’t what she made him out to be, he actually cared!
“Now come on, the others will catch up.” he said and she followed him out as the bell rang.
Atashi stood among her group of friends and glared at the form following Daemon out of the gym. She was an athletic young woman of platinum blonde hair and light shade blue eyes,
‘Watch your back freak...’