The First Day

Fang woke to a sharp knock on the bedroom door. She rolled out of bed and stumbled to the door. Lightning was there, already dressed for the day ahead.

"Uh…" She swallowed a yawn and did her best to look suitably alert. The faint smirk on Lightning's lips told her that she'd failed miserably.

"It's morning. Your training begins today. I expect you and Vanille in the courtyard in fifteen minutes." Lightning paused, and her voice took on a hard edge. "Believe me, you don't want to be late."

Fang gulped. "We'll be there."

She shut the door. Outside, sunrise was still a few minutes away. Lightning really was an early riser. But there was no time to waste. She and Vanille could not afford to be late. Who knew what Lightning would do to them if they were?

"Vanille, get up."

Vanille pawed at Fang's hands and tried to roll over. "Go away. It's too early. I'm still sleeping." Fang grabbed Vanille and dragged her out of bed. "Hey! What are you – oh! We have training now, don't we?"

"Yes, we do. And Lightning said not to be late."

"Ugh… it's so early." Vanille yawned. "Fine, let's get ready."

They got dressed and made it to the courtyard in exactly fourteen minutes and thirty seconds. Fang wasn't averse to waking up early – she'd gone on her fair share of hunts. But after Lightning's little test, she hadn't gotten the best night's sleep. Vanille was even worse. The redhead resembled a zombie as she trudged into the courtyard, barely able to put one foot in front of the other.

"You made it with thirty seconds to spare." Lightning didn't seem the least bit sleepy. "That's good."

Fang shrugged. "I didn't want to find out what would happen if we were late."

"A wise attitude. As part of your training, I expect both of you to improve your physical fitness. Skill and experience are both extremely important. But even if you know what to do, it won't matter if your body isn't physically capable of doing what it has to." Lightning pinned Vanille with a stare, and the girl snapped to attention. "Vanille, would I be correct in thinking that you let Fang handle most of the physical labour."

"Uh… maybe?" Vanille squirmed. Fang sniggered. Lightning glared. "Okay, fine. Yes, Fang does most of the heavy lifting."

"That changes today." Lightning towered over Vanille. "I can already tell that you don't have the temperament for a frontline fighter. But you're highly intelligent and cunning, which makes you ideally suited for offering support. Still, if something does happen to Fang, you need to be able to protect her. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. So today, we're going to go on a little run. Fang, you'll be up front. Vanille, I expect you to keep up. I will be at the back. If either of you even think of slacking off, you'll answer to me."

Fang and Vanille took a slow step back. Lightning's posture hadn't changed at all, but she radiated menace.

"Um… what do you mean?" Vanille asked.

Lightning went over to one of the racks of weapons and came back with a wooden practice sword. She took one step and brought the weapon around in a strike aimed at Vanille's head. The weapon came to a rest an inch from Vanille's cheek. Fang swallowed thickly. She hadn't even had a chance to react to the attack.

"Do you see this? I'll be using it to encourage you when you slack off."

Fang had a feeling that neither she nor Vanille would be doing much slacking off.

"Well, what are you standing around for?" Lightning growled. "Run! Fang, take us around the neighbourhood. I expect you to set a decent pace and to memorise the layout. Multitask."

Fang broke into a light jog. She knew Vanille wouldn't be able to keep up if she ran at full speed, but her sister should be okay with this. She'd barely taken more than a dozen steps before something jabbed her in the back. It was Lightning's wooden sword.

"Did I say to jog?" Lightning poked Fang again. "I told you to run!"

Fang shot Vanille a worried look. The redhead nodded.

"I'll be okay," Vanille said. They both knew it wasn't true.

But Fang didn't have a choice. She ran.

It wasn't long at all before Fang could hear Vanille struggling behind her. Not only was Vanille younger but also she'd never been particularly gifted when it came to things like running. Vanille's greatest strength had always been her mind. She wanted to slow down, but the thunderous expression on Lightning's face made it very clear that doing so would be a very, very bad idea.

Fang forced herself to push on, even as Vanille's footsteps and breathing grew more and more ragged. She heard a yelp, and she turned in time to see Lightning poke Vanille with the sword. There were already a few people on the streets, but none of them said a word. A warrior's training was a private matter. It was only to be interrupted under the most serious circumstances.

"You're falling behind, Vanille." Lightning jabbed her with the sword. "Don't you want to keep up with your sister? Who will watch her back if you're not there? Are you going to let some Viper stab her in the back because you're too slow?"

Vanille grit her teeth and did her best to ignore the burning in her chest. Ahead of her, Fang slowed her pace, and Lightning darted forward to prod Fang with the sword.

"I didn't tell you to slow down, Fang!"

"But –"

"Run!"

So Fang ran, even though she hated herself for every step that she took. And behind her, she could hear Lightning talking to Vanille, ordering Vanille to keep up, to push herself, to find that little bit extra she needed to keep going.

"One day Fang is going to need you, Vanille. Don't you want to be there?"

But eventually, not even Lightning's words or her sword could keep Vanille on her feet. She crashed to the ground, and Fang screeched to a halt. Vanille tried to get up, but her legs were like jelly. Fang moved to help her.

"Vanille."

"Do not help her." Lightning stepped between them. "Let her try again."

"She's my sister." Fang tried to shove past Lightning. "I'm not going to leave her –"

There was a blur of motion. Before she even realised what had happened, Fang's face was pressed into the dirt. Lightning had one booted foot on the back of her head.

"She needs to do this, Fang." Lightning pulled her foot back, and Fang rolled onto her back. "You've always been there to help her. But she needs to know that she can manage on her own. Out there – on the battlefield – you won't always be able to help her. She has to learn to help herself, and it is much better for her to learn that here than in battle."

Fang's jaw clenched, and she got back onto her feet. She would have tried to help Vanille again, but she wasn't stupid. Lightning had thrown her around like an unruly child.

"It's okay, Fang." Vanille stumbled back to her feet. "I can do this. See?" And then she began to hobble forward, clearly exhausted. "We can keep going now."

"Keep running, Fang." Lightning's eyes narrowed. "All the way to the house."

"No. Not with Vanille like that."

Vanille gave her a tired wave. "I can handle it, Fang."

"You can't handle it, Vanille! You can barely walk –"

"Fang, you are going to start running right now." Lightning's expression softened ever so slightly. "I don't expect you to keep up, Vanille, but I do expect you to try. Whatever happens, you are to make it back to the house without help. I don't care if you have to crawl. You make it on your own."

Fang's jaw clenched. Regardless of how badly her first attempt had gone, she was a heartbeat away from picking another fight. But Vanille gave her another tired smile.

"Just run, Fang. I promise I'll be okay. And Lightning is right. This will make us tougher."

With her jaw clenched so hard it hurt, Fang turned and began to run back toward the house. Vanille fell behind instantly, but Lightning seemed content to let her stumble back home. Instead, Lightning focused all of her efforts on Fang.

"Faster, Fang. I know you can go faster. Show me how fast you truly are."

The sword whistled through the air, and Fang upped her speed to dodge it. This was crazy. Another swing of the sword showed her that Lightning was completely serious. Fang had no choice but to run as fast as she could. But what was even crazier was that Lightning kept up, seemingly without effort.

By the time that Fang staggered into the courtyard, she was practically dead on her feet. She'd never run that fast for that long. Lightning watched her slump against one of the pillars that lined the courtyard and then tossed her a gourd of water.

"Stretch while you're still warm and then have something to drink. Once you've done that, I'll start teaching you how to use that spear of yours properly."

Fang focused on her breathing as she moved through her stretches. As she neared the last of them, Vanille crawled into the courtyard and then collapsed. Lightning sighed and carried the redhead over to a chair.

"Well done. You made it back. Stretch and have something to drink. Once you've done that, have a bath, eat, and then go to Aerith. I've spoken with her instructor. You'll be learning healing with Aerith."

Vanille giggled. "That sounds great. I have a feeling Fang and I will be needing a lot of healing." She gave Fang a sympathetic look. "And at least, I'm not going to get whacked anymore today."

X X X

After a short break, Lightning sent Fang to get her spear while she took one from a rack along the edge of the courtyard.

"You know how to use a spear?" Fang had never seen Lightning handle one before.

"I was taught by the greatest spear wielder the Yun ever produced." A soft smile crossed Lightning's lips, but it was gone so quickly that Fang wasn't sure if she'd really seen it. "I'm not as good as she was, but I doubt there's a person alive that knows more about how the Yun wield a spear than me."

Fang leaned on her spear and fixed her gaze on Lightning. "You're not Yun, are you? You speak our language, and you know our ways, but I've never seen one who looks like you."

"No, I wasn't born a Yun. But as your elders have learned, the Yun have nothing to fear from me. I made a promise to someone very dear to me. I swore to help the Oerba, the Yun, and the Dia." Lightning raised her spear. "Now, Fang, show me what you can do."

Fang grinned. Now this was something she was comfortable with. Her fatigue melted away as she slipped into the familiar movements of the spear. The spear had not come easily to her at first. It didn't help that she'd wasn't properly trained as a child. Instead, she'd watched the warriors at the training grounds, imitating what she saw and improvising when she ran into problems. As she'd grown older, she'd managed to impress some of the veterans, who'd passed on a few tips and tricks.

Her spare time was spent honing her skills. But it was only in the past two years that she'd impressed the veterans enough for some of them to teach her in a more formal capacity. It was a side effect of being an orphan – a child normally learned such skills from their parents, but she had none to teach her.

But although Fang had improved remarkably over the past few years, Lightning was far, far better than her. The older woman moved with an unearthly sort of grace, still as a statue at one moment before moving with a seamless combination of grace, speed, and power. Her style was undoubtedly that of the Yun – Fang would recognise it anywhere – but there were a host of things that she did in subtly different ways.

Lightning was content to let Fang take the lead. As Fang attacked, Lightning blocked, parried, and dodged. She was letting Fang show her skills, and Fang seized the opportunity with both hands. She would show Lightning that she was more than worthy of being trained. After a while, Lightning began to push back, her spear darting out as quickly as a striking snake as she tested Fang's defence. In a sudden moment of clarity, Fang realised that she was being taught without a single word being exchanged.

A slightly awkward attack from Fang was mirrored by Lightning once, twice, and then a third time until Fang understood the corrections she needed to make, as well as how to properly defend against the attack. A mistake in her stance was exploited before Lightning showed the correct way to place her feet.

Despite the bruises she was picking up – she'd be dead if Lightning was using a sharpened spear – Fang couldn't stop smiling. She was learning so much. It was like Lightning had spent years watching her and learning her weakness, all so that she could get rid of them. Even better, Fang was beginning to understand why Lightning's style had so many subtle differences from the usual style.

Men had designed most of the spear forms. But women didn't have the same body structure as men. Their hips were usually wider, and their shoulders were usually less broad. Even their centre of gravity tended to be different. The style that Lightning used had clearly been designed by a woman.

"Enough," Lightning said at last. Fang was panting, and sweat rolled down her face. "Tell me what you think about our spar."

No one else had ever asked her something like that. She told Lightning some of the things she'd noticed and then added, "Why do you always ask me what I think about stuff?"

"Winning isn't enough, not if you want to be great." Lightning handed Fang some more water. "You need to understand why you're winning. Likewise, if you lose, you need to understand why you lost. A style, Fang, is solid. It is firm. But things change. Battles are dynamic, fluid. You must be able to recognise your own strengths and weaknesses so that you can recognise the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent." Her lips curled. "But you're very rough around the edges."

"Nobody taught me when I first started." Fang turned away. It had never bothered her before, but Lightning's technique was so polished… so, so perfect. "When I started, I was just another orphan. I didn't have any family to teach me, and nobody would take me on because I hadn't proved myself yet. So I watch and copied until I learned enough to impress a few people."

"That would explain while your style is a little… awkward." Fang winced, but Lightning pressed on. "Don't be ashamed. That isn't your fault. You've done a lot with what you've got. But your style is flawed. As your tutor, it is my responsibility to correct those flaws." She took up a stance. "Watch closely. We'll go through each of the basic forms to make sure that you've got them down properly."

They worked on the basic forms and techniques until Fang's arms felt like they would fall off. Lightning demonstrated and then walked around her, pointing out flaws and making corrections. She even offered a few words of praise when Fang managed to correct a particularly subtle mistake. It made Fang glow with pride to be acknowledged by someone like Lightning.

As noon approached, Fang's stomach gave a loud rumble. Lightning's lips twitched in amusement, and she called a halt to the training session. Some servants came with food, and the pair of them ate together on a table set near the courtyard.

"How can you not be more tired?" Fang gulped down some water and then struggled to eat in a semi-civilised manner. She wasn't the strongest or fastest warrior in the village, but she was no slouch, and Lightning had kept up easily. "Are you even human?"

There was a long, long pause.

Fang gasped. "No way… are you… l'Cie?" She'd met a few of them in the past. The fal'Cie of Gran Pulse had gifted some of their elite warriors with powers capable of driving off whole squads of Vipers. But Lightning didn't have a l'Cie mark on her, although it could have been concealed by her clothing.

Lightning put down her spoon and fork. Her eyes burned into Fang's, and Fang got the sense, once again, that Lightning was looking right into her soul and seeing something that not even Fang was aware of. "No, I'm not a l'Cie." She smiled thinly. "I'm something else."

"Something else?"

"There are powers greater than the fal'Cie, powers that not even the Maker can command." Lightning chuckled as Fang paled. Her eyes twinkled. "You know, you're remarkably gullible."

"What?" Fang squawked. "You were joking? You had me worried there."

"Was I joking?" Lightning gaze hardened, and her mouth settled into a frown. Then she smirked. "You tell me."

Fang stared. This teasing side of Lightning was completely at odds with everything she knew about the woman. What had happened to the person that had forced Vanille to run until she collapsed, the same woman who had swung a wooden sword at Fang's head all the way home? It was equal parts fascinating and frustrating. "But you do have powers, right?"

"You could say that." Lightning flicked one hand out. Sparks crackled over her fingertips, and one of the training dummies in the courtyard exploded. Little bits of wood and straw rained down, and there was a large scorch mark on the ground.

"You didn't use that when we fought."

"Power is useless if you don't know how to use it properly. I've fought – and beaten – people who were stronger than me because they relied too much on their powers and not enough on their wits." Lightning lowered her hand. "And I'm your tutor. Killing you during your first day of training would be the opposite of useful. Besides, it's not like you have powers."

Fang went back to eating her lunch. Lightning was right. She would do anything – even become a l'Cie – if it was to protect Vanille. But unless that happened, she was far better off learning how to use a spear. "What else can you use apart from a spear and a sword?"

Lightning's reply came in the form of a knife that she drove into the table between two of Fang's fingers. In the instant that it took Fang to jerk away after registering the attack, Lightning had completed four disabling or deadly blows: one at her throat, another at her eyes, a third at her temple, and a fourth at her chest. She'd pulled each strike just before it could do any harm, but her point was very clear. Lightning was good with a knife.

"You have got to teach me how to do that." Fang sucked in a deep breath. "I didn't even see you move."

"Later." Lightning stood. "We've worked enough on your body for the moment. Now, we will work on your mind. Have a bath and then meet me in my study." She watched Fang ease herself back onto her feet. "You may have an hour to bathe."

The bath was a blessing. Fang took her time and then went to meet Lightning in her study. Several books were already open on the pink-haired woman's desk. She hesitated at the doorway. Were they going to be reading something difficult? Fang hoped not.

"What are we doing?" Fang did her best to hide her nervousness. "I thought we would be talking about strategy or something."

"Another time. First, I'm going to be teaching you about human anatomy. Later, I'll send you with Vanille to learn more about healing. But first, I want to teach you anatomy from a warrior's perspective." Lightning gestured at the other chair at the desk. "Now, sit down and start reading. If you have any questions, ask me."

"What will you be doing while I read?"

Lightning frowned at some papers on her desk. "The elders and I are discussing some important matters. There are certain… issues that they want me to write about."

Fang sat down and took a deep breath. She was not going to panic. She could handle this. But the longer she looked at the book, the harder it was to appear calm. Fang wasn't stupid, but the orphanage had always been very busy, and she hadn't wanted Vanille to think less of her. It was silly because she knew how much Vanille loved her, but her little sister had always been better at anything involving books or scrolls or machines. It was like Vanille had been born knowing all those things while Fang had been left to muddle through it on her own since no one at the orphanage had the time to teach her and she was too ashamed to ask Vanille for help.

She'd hidden it well over the years – she was clever, if not in the way that Vanille was – and she'd rarely had much reason to read anything complicated. Fang could read – but only barely. And now, staring at all the letters on the page that were put together into words she'd never even heard of, it was all she could do not to panic. Her breathing quickened. She had to calm down. She just had to break the words down into sounds, but Lightning was right there. The other woman would definitely notice if Fang started saying the sounds aloud.

Who would want an apprentice who couldn't even read properly? Fang closed her eyes. Things were going so well, and she'd been so sure that Lightning would be focused on making her a better fighter. She hadn't even thought about something like this.

No.

She could handle this. She could. All she had to do was go letter by letter. She could sound it out in her head and –

"You can't read properly?" There was genuine amazement in Lightning's voice, and Fang turned, a lie on her lips. But she couldn't lie, not with Lightning's eyes locked onto hers.

"I…" Fang swallowed thickly. "No, I can't."

"I see." For a moment, Lightning's expression was completely inscrutable. Fang imagined a hundred different scenarios, all of them worse than the last. She and Vanille would be thrown out onto the street and – "Okay." Lightning took the book about anatomy and closed it. "We'll start with something simpler then."

"You're… you're not mad?" Fang hated how small and weak she sounded. She was supposed to be a warrior, not a frightened child.

"I'm surprised, but I'm not angry." Lightning sighed, and for an instant she seemed impossibly weary. Then her shoulders straightened, and her voice took on that firm, implacable tone that Fang had already gotten used to. "Really, I shouldn't be surprised. You and Vanille grew up in an orphanage. I know how those places are. They try their best, but there are so many orphans to look after."

"You're not going to get rid of me and Vanille?"

Lightning shook her head. "No. What kind of tutor would I be if I got rid of you over something like this? I'll just have to work on your reading as well." She patted one of the books. "There's a lot that you can learn from books." Fang's gaze fell until Lightning reached out and tilted her chin up. "Listen to me. You aren't stupid. I'll work with you on your reading until you can read every book in this house."

"Really?"

"Yes." Lightning took out a pad of paper and a pen. "We'll start off with the alphabet. I want to see exactly how much you know." Her gaze softened. "Fang, if you don't understand something, ask me. I won't think less of you. I know that I can seem… cruel, but I only want what is best for you and Vanille."

"I know." Fang knew that now. Only someone who cared would have treated her so kindly. But why did Lightning care? What had she and Vanille done to earn that kind of devotion? There had to be something she was missing.

"All right, Fang. Let's begin."

X X X

Fang only became aware of Vanille's return when Lightning left to speak with some of the servants about a private matter. Vanille slipped into the study and wrapped her arms around Fang. Despite how futile it would be, Fang was sorely tempted to hide all of the evidence. There were dozens of sheets of paper scattered around with letters and simple words written on them.

Lightning had been incredibly patient. And no matter how many times Fang stumbled over the letters and words, she'd never lost her temper. Instead she continued to encourage Fang with small smiles and interesting quotations from books she'd read.

"You never told me," Vanille said, pressing her face into Fang's hair. "I would have helped you, if only you'd told me."

"I didn't want you to think I was stupid." Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes, and Fang blinked them away. "Things were tough enough, and you were always smart enough for the both of us."

"You're smart too, Fang, and you've got nothing to be ashamed of. I know that you can get good at reading. You just have to practice. It's like all that physical stuff for me. I know I'm not very fit compared to you, but I can get better if I practice." Vanille grinned. "We can help each other – that's what sisters do, isn't it?"

Fang nodded. Some people would have said those words just to make her feel better, but Vanille meant every one. "Yeah, we'll help each other out." She paused. "How… how long were you standing by the door?"

"Oh, long enough." Vanille giggled and took a quick look around to make sure they were alone. "I never thought Lightning could be so… so gentle. She was really nice to you."

"She was."

Lightning cleared her throat. "I'm not a complete tyrant, you know."

Vanille gulped. "Uh, hi. I'm back."

"I can see that. How was your session with the healer? I trust you learned a few things."

"I did." Vanille gave a quick summary of what she'd learned before she launched into a cheerful spiel about how good Aerith was at fixing people. "I don't know if I'll ever be as good as her – she's a natural. But I can already think of a few ways that I'd change some of the potions and poultices to make them better… but I should probably wait until I've learned more. I mean it has only been a day. I might poison somebody instead of curing them." She grinned. "But Aerith is lending me some of her books so that I can study in my free time."

"Good." Lightning patted Fang on the shoulder. "Are you ready for some more exercise?"

"I think so." Fang was feeling much better about her reading, but it would be nice to get back to something familiar. "What did you have in mind?"

"Vanille, get your binding rod."

They headed over the courtyard. Lightning pointed to some of the training dummies and targets.

"Show me what you can do with that binding rod of yours."

Vanille shrugged and got to work. After she had demonstrated her ability to grab and ensnare things of different shapes and sizes, Lightning asked her to stop. The blue-eyed woman reached into her pocket.

"Do you know what this is?" Vanille shook her head. "It's a mana-drive."

Fang straightened. A mana-drive was a device that let normal people use magic. She'd never seen one up close before, never mind actually used one. But why would Lightning have one? She had her own powers to rely on.

"That is so awesome." Vanille rubbed her hands together. She didn't know how to build one, but if she could get a closer look maybe she could throw something together. "Can I see it?"

"No." Lightning's lips curved up at the edges. "But if you can take it from me, I'll let you have it." Vanille lunged forward, but Lightning twisted away and held up one hand. "You didn't let me finish. You have to use your binding rod."

Vanille's hands tightened around her weapon. Fang could practically see the thoughts swimming around in Vanille's head as she took stock of the situation and ran through all the different scenarios she could think of. From the frown on her face, Vanille had already come to the same conclusion as Fang. It was not going to be easy.

"To make things a little easier," Lightning said as she drew a large square in the dust with a wooden practice sword. "I'm not going to leave this square."

"And I can really have the mana-drive if I can get it from you with my binding rod?"

"Absolutely."

"Get ready then." Vanille swung the binding rod around. "Here I come!"

Fifteen minutes later, and Vanille was struggling to hold her binding rod up. Lightning, meanwhile, didn't even look winded. Vanille had put an admirable amount of energy into each attack, but Lightning had dodged with inhuman grace. She had jumped, ducked, and twisted around every single attack, the mana-drive held in the palm of one hand.

"You need to think ahead more, Vanille." Lightning ducked beneath the binding rod's wires and then jumped to the side. "Don't try to just catch me, think of where I will be after I dodge. It's like those board games people play – think several moves ahead. If you force me to jump, aim your next attack for where I'll be when I jump. If you force me to dodge to the side, aim for where I'll be when I'm dodging."

"I'm trying." Vanille huffed. "But you're too fast."

Lightning leaned back to avoid another attack. "True, you do need to work on your speed. For now, however, I'll make things a bit easier for you. Fang, take those practice spears off the rack. You can help. But you're not allowed to step into the square. I want you to practice throwing a spear."

"What if I hit you?" The practice spears were blunted, but they would still hurt.

"Then I don't deserve to be your tutor. Consider this an exercise in teamwork. Work together, and you might – maybe – get the mana-drive. Last night you got in each other's way. Do better this time. You have fifteen more minutes."

"Okay, let's go, Fang!" Vanille took several deep breaths. "We can get that mana-drive!"

They didn't get the mana-drive in the allotted time. They didn't even come close. But they did learn some very interesting things. The two of them were a natural team. All the time they'd spent together meant that they barely had to a say a word to communicate. They also learned a lot about planning ahead.

Simply put, Lightning was too fast to hit with any kind of straightforward attack. Not even a spear thrown with all the force Fang could muster got anywhere close. But the more they planned ahead – the more they tried to anticipate Lightning's movements – the closer they got. Not that they got very close at all.

Fang's already huge respect for their tutor went up even more. Lightning was unbelievably fast and agile, and she seemed to have a sixth sense for what they were doing. She could have sworn that Lightning had dodged some of their attacks without even looking. Fang needed to learn how to do that.

"All right," Lightning said. "That's enough of that for today. So, tell me what you think you could improve on."

After discussing what they'd learned, Lightning offered her own suggestions. Apparently, both Fang and Vanille had certain tells – little quirks in their behaviour – that gave away what they would be doing before they did it. A skilled opponent could use that to predict their attacks. To Fang's surprise, Lightning even spent time going through techniques with Vanille.

"I didn't get a chance to do it today, but I'll start going through some forms and techniques with you, tomorrow Vanille. The binding rod is a tricky weapon to use, but you seem to have a knack for it. Who knows, maybe you'll even become good enough to take the mana-drive from me next time."

"You're letting us try again?" Vanille asked, eyes gleaming with the thought of getting the mana-drive.

"Of course. But before you can catch me, you might want to practice on someone else." Lightning waved Fang over. "This way both of you can train. Vanille, you can work on your technique. Fang, you can work on your ability to anticipate attacks and dodge."

Vanille cackled. "So I have to catch, Fang? Do I get a prize?"

"In a way. Tonight, how much dinner you get is directly related to how good you are with your binding rod."

"Oh…" Vanille turned to Fang with renewed determination. "I'm sorry, Fang, but I'm really hungry." She lifted her binding rod. "Um… good luck, I guess."

X X X

"Ouch." Fang winced as Aerith dabbed some more cream onto one of her cuts. Vanille had been absolutely ruthless. Still, it had been good training. Fang had been pushed to the limits of her speed and agility to dodge all the binding rod's wires "Can't you just heal this with your powers?"

Lightning shook her head. "Aerith needs the practice, and you need to get used to fighting with cuts, bruises, and other injuries. You won't always have a healer with you when you go into battle. And even if you do, they might not have the time or energy to heal you."

"I'm so sorry." Vanille scratched the back of her head. "I thought I had to catch you if I wanted to have any dinner."

"I never said that." Lightning smirked. "And technically, your skill with a binding rod was related to how much dinner you got."

Contrary to Vanille and Fang's belief, Vanille's ability to catch Fang with her binding rod – which she had done several times – was not directly related to her dinner. No, Lightning had opted for something that was somehow kinder yet infinitely more devious.

Lightning had taken their dinner and put it all in tightly sealed containers that she hung from some of the training dummies. Anything that Fang and Vanille wanted to eat, the redhead had to grab with her binding rod and bring back to them. Vanille had risen to the challenge, and Fang had a feeling that she'd be bringing her binding rod to the dinner table more often. Why ask someone to pass the salt when Vanille could grab it with a binding rod?

The strange thing was that Fang didn't think Vanille's skill had increased that much. It had, after all, only been one training session. What Lightning had done was give Vanille confidence in the skill that she did have while showing her what she needed to work on to improve. Lightning had forced Vanille to the very limits of her skill without pushing her too far. It was, Fang realised, the exact same thing that Lightning had done with her when it came to the spear.

Dinner tasted better that night than it had in a long time. The highlight of the meal came when Vanille, in one of her little flights of mischief, tried to snag Lighting's food. The warrior smiled and then vanished in a flash of movement. She reappeared next to Vanille. Smiling, she took the sweet bread that Vanille had been saving for desert and cut it in half.

"That was very foolish." Lightning ate her half of the sweetbread. "Don't you think?"

Vanille gulped and nodded. "Uh… yeah."

Lightning ruffled Vanille's hair. "Next time, wait until I'm distracted."

Later that night as Fang and Vanille lay in their beds, Vanille yawned and then laughed.

"Today was interesting, wasn't it, Fang?"

"It was."

"It was really tough to begin with, but I learned a lot. And… Lightning isn't as cold as she seems sometimes. I think… I think she's really quite friendly on the inside."

Fang thought of the gentleness in Lightning's voice as she'd helped Fang with her reading. "I think so too." She closed her eyes. "I really like it here, Vanille."

"I like it here too, Fang."

They were happy – at least until Lightning came to wake them up in the morning.

X X X

Author's Notes

As always, I neither own Final Fantasy, nor am I making any money off of this.

Chapter three has arrived! I still haven't said exactly where and when Lightning has come from, but it should be getting clearer by now. As much as Fang thinks Lightning was joking around with her, Lightning was telling her some of the truth. Fang just doesn't have any way of realising that it's the truth.

In this chapter, I wanted to go over what kind of tutor Lightning would be. If she seems cruel at times, it's because she knows exactly what's coming. She has absolutely no intention of letting Fang and Vanille go out there unprepared. They were always going to be great – Lightning wants to make them even greater.

I must admit that there is a certain amusement to having Lightning teach Fang and Vanille more about how to use their weapons. From Lightning's comments, it should be clear who taught her how to use a spear – it was an older version of Fang. Likewise, Lightning knows how to use a binding rod from spending so much time with an older version of Vanille.

With regards to Fang's problems with reading, I know there isn't any real canon support for this. But I wanted something that could help Fang realise just how committed to helping Lightning really is. There is nothing more frightening than having that kind of vulnerability exposed, and there is nothing more reassuring than receiving help to fix that vulnerability. Obviously, Fang isn't stupid, but she did grow up in an orphanage and spend most of her time learning how to fight and hunt. I don't think it's at all unrealistic that she might have a few problems with things like reading since it wouldn't exactly be a priority.

Fang growing up an orphan also explains why her spear work needs a bit of polishing. No one would understand her strengths and weaknesses better than Lightning, and think of how scary this Fang will end up with Lightning already taking steps to fix problems while introducing her to a fully realised version of the style that an older Fang uses? Yeah, she's going to be pretty scary. I also couldn't resist adding a little bit of humour with Vanille's exercise. I've always thought the binding rod is a kind of hilarious weapon. I mean, it's useful and all, but it seems a bit awkward to use. Oh well, Vanille wouldn't be the same without it.

For those of you wondering why there isn't a huge amount of Fang/Lightning romantic goodness, don't forget that things are a bit different here. Fang is fourteen. That alone would make things awkward. And as things stand, this Fang isn't yet the Fang that Lightning knows. It makes things a little bit strange, especially for Lightning. As Fang's gets older however… well, we'll see how things go.

I also write original fiction. Most of my original stuff is fantasy. If you like fantasy with plenty of atmosphere, action, and strong female characters, check out The Last Huntress, I'm sure you'll love it. If you're in the mood for fantasy with a more 'old-fashioned' feel, then take a look at The Burning Mountains. You can find links to everything in my profile.

I've also released my newest original story, Durendal. It runs to ~80,000 words, making it the first novel-length original story that I've made available to the public! It's a coming-of-age story and a Western with elements of science fiction. If you've enjoyed my other stories, I know you'll love this one. You can find links to it in my profile. If you want a paranormal Western with a good sense of humour, you might want to check out The Gunslinger and the Necromancer.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.