DISCLAIMER: This is a fanwork done for fun and Squeenix owns everything!

CHAPTER 1

INNOCENCE - PART I

"Ary, get up!"

An eight-year-old Aranea Highwind groaned as a certain someone was trying to shake her awake. She was definitely not a morning person so she turned to the other side of the bed, further away from her tormentor. "Five more minutes," she begged.

"Well, in twenty-five more minutes you'll be marked late when you get to school!" The voice of her six-year-old torturer said... wait...

"What?!" The silver-haired girl yelled as she sat up from her bed and whipped her head to the clock on her nightstand. The clock's hands showed it was 07:09, barely in time for them to get to school if they hustled it the whole way. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" She questioned as she sprang out of her bed, made for her closet, grabbed casual clothes as her elementary school didn't require a uniform, and bolted out of her bedroom in just a few seconds.

"I did! But you said five minutes when I tried three times ago and then-"

Whatever her little brother had to say, she didn't get to hear it as she was out of her room and rushing to the bathroom. She scrambled out of her pajamas and got into the bath to take the quickest shower she ever had. Five minutes later, she exited the bathroom fully clothed in a simple red shirt and white pants while she towel dried her still dripping wet hair. She ran back to her room, her little blonde brother now gone and hopefully waiting for her at the front door. She grabbed her school bag at her desk, mentally patting herself on the back for packing her school things last night. That done, she re-exited her room and headed down the stairs, rushing to the foyer to put on her shoes.

"Sis, what about breakfast?" Her brother's voice asked from the kitchen.

"No time!" She answered just as she put on her shoes. "Come on! We need to get out of here like your name, Short-Cake!"

"I didn't ask to be named Prompto, okay?!" Prompto Highwind, her blonde haired, blue eyed adoptive little brother, complained as he exited their dining room while carrying his school bag, while also already wearing a beige shirt, brown pants and, thankfully, his outdoor shoes. He was a little slim in her opinion as she honestly thought he was cuter when he was his chubby four-year-old self, but she apparently teased him too much about it and now he doesn't want to ever be fat again.

"Well, hurry up!" She complained as she grabbed his hand and left the house, hardly noticing the perfect spring weather as a gentle breeze passed through the street and round cumulus clouds drifting in the sky.

"Wait, we didn't lock the door!"

"It's fine!" She reassured, honestly thinking it was perfectly okay as the neighborhoiod they lived in was pretty safe and quiet. "And it's not like those two ass kissers have anything worth stealing."

Prompto gasped at her swear. "Ary! That's our parents!"

"Foster parents who hardly ever come home!" She scoffed while emphasizing the word foster. As she knew the genuine love of her real parents, she hated the Argentum couple with her very being, as they had practically abandoned them a few years ago and were still taking money from the Crown. Honestly, if it was just her, Aranea would have been fine living on her own while the infuriating couple simply forgot about her and leeched off the government's money. However, since Prompto was also under their care, their indifference completely pissed her off!

She had experience how it was to be fully loved by her parents and no longer expected to receive that same love, but Prompto had been handed to them as a baby! They had, at best, took care of them for a year before they started feeling it was a chore! A CHORE! In taking care of her adorable Short-Cake little brother! Just thinking about it pissed her off!

"Sis, look out!" Prompto suddenly yelled and yanked Aranea's arm backward, causing her to stumble mid-step.

A truck passed by in front of Aranea, the driver angrily honking his horn as it missed her by just a few feet. She only now noticed they were at the intersection that officially divided the suburbs to the busier part of their section.

"Geez Ary, didn't you see the truck coming?" Prompto asked exasperatedly.

"My bad, my bad. I was too focused on getting to school." She lied, not wanting to bring up their foster parents at all. She checked her watch to see how much time they had to get to school. "Come on! If we hurry, we might just make it and I don't have to get my first tardy mark!"

"Wait! Sis! Can't we slooooowwww doooowwwwnnnn?!"

"No time! I'm not losing to that damn Scientia!

- LINE BREAK -

"*huff* *huff* … Made *huff* it!" Aranea panted as she tiredly entered Classroom 3 - 3. She had seen Prompto off at the stairs since 1st and 2nd Graders had their classes on the ground floor while the 3rd Graders, like herself, had their's on the second. She glanced around the room and saw that most of her classmates weren't even in their seats and their teacher wasn't in the room yet. So while the school bell had rung, her attendance was still perfectly safe!

She dragged her tired legs through the room, some of the other kids eyeing her curiously with how sweaty she was, but she ignored them in favor of moving to her seat. As she reached the last chair in the front row, the one next to the window, she collapsed into her seat and she rested her head on the table, using her arm as a pillow.

Astrals did she hate school! She hated it for pretty much the same reason every other kid hated it! It was just so boring and had too many rules! Still, she sucked it up, made her attendance, and did her school work properly. Mainly for two reasons though.

The first one being that she wanted to be an example for Prompto. Since their foster parents didn't give a moogle's ass about them, it was now up to Aranea to be the grown up. Pushing him to study while she was lazy obviously wouldn't work. If she left him alone, he'd probably not even care about the littlest of things and only do his hobby, which was taking photos. So, she could only push him to be diligent with school by doing so herself.

"Highwind, here's the morning's handout." And just as she was thinking about it, the irritating and perfectly enunciated voice of her second reason for going to school spoke up from the seat next to her.

Aranea glared and looked to the chair beside her's and saw a dirty-blonde haired boy wearing white long sleeves and black slacks, while his green eyes hid behind a pair of square spectacles. This was Ignis Scientia, a high-born of Insomnia, the epitome of rules, conduct, manners, and everything she stood against simply because she believed people like him had to have a stick up their butt!

Oh, and he was also her counter-part as a class representative, which was to be expected from her rival in everything. Oh, but he won't be for long! She'll beat his ass and break their stalemate soon, proving that she's better than him and his pampered way of life!

"... Thanks, Scientia." She managed to say without growling too much and snatched the paper from him, careful not to wrinkle it too much.

"You're welcome, Highwind." He told her, his lips twitching for the briefest of moments before his face became expressionless and resumed reading the book on his table.

'Argh, that face of his really pisses me off!' Aranea silently raged, trying very hard not to stomp her feet. Thankfully, she didn't have to stew with her feelings for long as the teacher soon arrived and Aranea gave her focus to the class.

- LINE BREAK -

"Tell me again why I'm helping you," Aranea asked as she carried a stack of boxes that reached all the way up to her chin from her stomach.

"You're not," Scientia replied, carrying his own equally tall stack of boxes. "The teacher asked you to."

The bell had just signaled it was time for lunch, which Aranea was looking forward to as she had skipped breakfast. Unfortunately for her, the teacher was suddenly called for a meeting and he had asked the class reps, namely the two of them, to bring down the boxes to the faculty room.

"And you couldn't carry these yourself four-eyes? And here I thought you were a gentleman," Aranea complained. The boxes weren't heavy and it wasn't that bothersome of a task, but they were carrying them in an elementary school at lunchtime! 3rd and 4th graders were now littering the hall, tempting Aranea with the smell of their lunch boxes. She was finding it hard not to imagine her own lunch box which would just make her hungrier, so she decided she'd distract herself by talking with her rival.

"Would that I were able." He retorted to her, making her scoff at his wording.

"Seriously, does everyone in your house talk like that or is it just you?"

Scientia raised a brow at her, his expression confused. "I beg your pardon?"

"Like that! You talk like you're from a thousand years ago!"

"There is nothing wrong with the way I speak. Eloquence is the cornerstone of language, after all."

"Sure, if you want to sound like you belong in a museum. What's next, you're going to read Bard Avon for me?"

"You mean Lord Avon. And he was an earl."

"Whatever! My point is that he's ancient! What, does talking like that make you feel more grown up?"

Scientia was now furrowing his brows at her now and opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything else, they rounded a corner and a familiar shade of yellow crashed into him at full speed. Two bodies fell backwards and landed on each of their butts, while the boxes Scientia was holding scattered everywhere along the corridor.

"Prompto?" Aranea blinked as she recognized the tuft of blonde hair as her little brother.

"Ow... Oh hey Ary." PromptoPrompto said as he looked up to her.

"Don't just 'oh hey Ary' me. What are you doing here on the second floor?" She questioned, putting down her boxes and helping her brother get up.

"Bringing you your lunch box." She blinked at his answer and her eyes shot open as she realized she did forget to grab her lunch box from the kitchen! Luckily, it seemed her little brother was watching out for her. 'Phew! Good job Short-Cake!' She silently praised him.

"Alright, where is it?" She asked, eager to get her hands on her lunch.

"I believe this is what you're looking for?" Scientia answered while Prompto was looking around for her lunch. The Highwind siblings turned to him and Prompto winced at the sight while Aranea's face turned into one of horror.

"My lunch!" The elder Highwind wailed.

Scientia was still sitting on the floor and on top of his head was Aranea's red lunch box, the food inside scattering all over the boy. His hand moved and gingerly picked up a rice ball that was on his shoulder, likely the only thing that had survived the catastrophe... and bit into it!

"... A little salty but its alright," he commented idly and continued to eat the last rice ball.

"Y-You bastard! Stop eating my lunch!"

"Ah, apologies. Here," he extended the hand holding the rice ball towards her. At seeing it's half-eaten state, she was all of thinking twice if she really wanted it that badly. At her hesitation though, Scientia raised a brow then resumed eating the rice ball while Aranea could only grit her teeth, still not sure if she wanted it with her rivals drool all over it.

"S-Sorry Ary. Sorry, Iggy. It's my fault." Prompto piped in, clearly feeling ashamed as he looked to the floor.

"I-Its fine Short-Cake! It's not a big deal! Besides, its four-eyes fault for not looking where he was going." Aranea tried to reassure her brother.

"While I don't agree that it was solely my fault; there doesn't seem to be anything that would leave a stain on me, so there is no harm done, Prompto." Scientia pitched in as he picked up the lunch box on his head and started brushing the food off of him.

"But sis, what are you going to eat for lunch?" Prompto asked with worry.

Despite how hungry she felt, she waved her hand to dismiss his concern. "Its fine, its fine. I'm not that hungry."

"B-but you didn't even have breakfast..."

"I said its fine. You don't need to worry about me." Aranea insisted... only for her stomach to growl in protest at that exact moment.

Prompto frowned even deeper at her and Scientia snickered! - He actually broke his facade and snickered at her! - Aranea was helpless as her face flushed, getting embarrassed in front of her rival. She wished the ground would open up right now and just eat her up.

"Ary you should take my lunch." Prompto offered, but Aranea immediately shook her head.

"Denied! The little brother doesn't have to worry about his elder sister!" Aranea declared. No matter how hungry she felt, she'd prioritize her little brother before herself.

"But-!"

"If I may make a suggestion?" Scientia interrupted with his expressionless face, finally clean of food, and getting up from the floor. The lunch box was in his hand, filled with the wasted food. Aranea couldn't help but look at it sadly as he handed it back to her. "Since I've already eaten part of your lunch, I would like to share mine in return."

"Denied!" Aranea refused, acting on her first instinct. She refused to recieve pity from her rival.

"You do remember we have P.E. for our afternoon class, right?" Scientia argued, "Since you've already skipped breakfast, I doubt you'd have the energy to perform later."

"Ugh," She groaned. She did forget about that and now Prompto was looking at her with his 'DO IT' look. Coupled with her growling stomach, she decided to swallow her pride though she felt more like swallowing a bug. "F-Fine," she forced the word out in a mumble.

"Sorry we're such a bother, Iggy." Prompto apologized to Scientia.

"It's fine. I'm sure Noct isn't always easy to deal with as well." Scientia replied and began to pick up the boxes around the corridor.

"Don't talk about me like I'm just some troublesome puppy!" Aranea complained, putting her wasted lunch box on top of her own stack of boxes. Then she turned to her brother and pointed back towards where he had come from. "And you should get back to that best friend of yours before he starts getting lonely!"

"Kay~" Prompto about-faced and waved them goodbye. "See you later sis, Iggy!"

Aranea watched her brother dissappear around the corner for the stairs and picked up her stack of boxes again. She really felt unsatisfied about what just happened and her growling stomach just made her want to throw a tantrum. However, she decided she'd rather suck it up than look any more pityful in front of Scientia. His snickering face popped into her mind and she swore she'll get even with him for that... Maybe she could get her revenge by eating a bigger portion of his lunch than him... She looked towards him and saw that he had picked up the last box and the two of them simply resumed their task.

Thankfully, there weren't any more accidents on their journey to the teachers lounge and back to their classroom. Scientia went for his table and revealed a rather large black lunch box for one eight year old. Before he could sit down however, Aranea grabbed him by the hand and started dragging him out of the classroom. They headed for the stairs but instead of going down to the ground floor, Aranea led him up.

"Do we really need to eat here of all places?" Scientia questioned as Aranea once opened the door to the roof.

"I just don't want any rumors to start flying just because we're sharing a lunch box." She replied and he rolled his eyes at her but didn't say anything.

Like most school roofs, there was a tall wire fence the separated people from the ledge. Here and there were long metal benches that would have been used by the people that preferred the outdoors, but they remained empty. The early spring breeze gave off a cool wind, but the sun still shine at its peak and the other kids preferred to spend their lunch inside the cafeteria, their own classroom - or the more popular outdoor location - under the shadow of trees in the school garden.

"Hurry up four-eyes or lunch will end soon." Aranea hurried, dragging the bespectacled boy to the nearest bench.

"We still three-quarters of an hour though." Scientia argued as he sat down next to her.

She didn't let him waste any more time and had him open his lunch box, and Aranea swore that the aroma was some kind of attack because it just smelled so good! There were several servings of meat, fish, vegetables, and rice that it normally would have made Aranea wonder if he was going to eat all of it alone, but the scent blew away her mind and her stomach was beginning to take over. The food was simple like teriyaki and fried fish, but the fragrance definitely spoke of their quality.

"Before you begin," Scientia started to say and Aranea had to resist strangling him for stopping her from eating when the food was right in front of her. "Please do tell me how they taste. That way, I'll know how to better enhance the next bunch."

Aranea nodded to his words, not really minding them at first before she realized exactly what he said. "... Did you just say 'better enhance'? Does that mean you cooked them yourself?"

"Of course?" Scientia tilted his head with a look of confusion at her question. "I was experimenting with the different types of marination, oils, and cutting style. There's apparently a lot of ways you slice and dip meat, so I'd like to know which combination would work best."

Instead of clearing his confusion, Aranea stabbed her fork into lunch box, retrieved what looked like roasted anak meat and bit into it.

'Ngh, so tender!'

"It's alright. Feels a little oily."

She jabbed into the lunch box again, gaining a fried nebula salmon this time.

'Oh Astrals, this is so good...'

"This... yeah, this is a little chewy..."

Once more, her fork moved, obtaining a piece of rolled omelette with daggerquill bits.

'Fu- Aaaaaahhh!'

"Mmmm... Oh this is pretty good."

Aranea continued to eat while her thoughts and speech were completely out of sink. The food was simply so delicious but there was no way she was going say that out loud. Scientia didn't seem to mind, however, and simply let her be while occasionally taking bites out of the lunchbox himself. From the corner of Aranea's eyes though, she could see his lips form into a genuine smile. She thought it suited him more than those twitches, smirks, or the fake smiles that don't even reach his eyes... Although, she couldn't be sure if she was just seeing things as she was far more preoccupied with eating more of his lunch rather than looking at his face.

'Damn, this means I have to work hard on cooking too...' Aranea idly thought, rising to the challenge of her rival and made a mental note to try her hand at cooking for dinner once school finished.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This seemed a lot longer when it was connected with the prologue lol.

Welp, I'd like to write more Aranea scenes but when I wrote this in one document with the Prologue plus Ignis' parts it just seemed more complete so I just stopped there. In hindsight, I should have given the P.E. scene to Aranea but it feels like a pain having to work around what I've already typed.

So yeah, Ignis' POV is probably gonna end up longer -6 to 7K words PROBABLY- where as Aranea's is just at 3.6K. In my mind, the prologue belonged to Aranea, so that brought the count up to 5K so it seemed pretty even until I split it up. Whoops.

In any case, I might be able to finished Ignis' scene by tomorrow. Maybe. Ugh, writing kids is just sooo hard. More so since I wrote Ignis as "smart" so I have no idea just how his varied his diction and grammar should be, not to mention that he comes from a noble house and High Society has a different standard in the way their children talk.