First Impressions

I looked up at the dark sky, watching the rain fall around me. The tiny droplets of life fell against my face, and I closed my eyes, letting the water wash the dirt off my face. I let my tears flow with the rain, allowing myself to let all my pain and frustration pour out of my eyes. This was the only time I would cry, when the rain would hide me and protect me.

The rain drummed against the street, the cars, and buildings; a rhythm was beat that only those who stopped to listen could understand. I could hear that rhythm, though it was broken by the sound of cars splashing through the reservoirs that the downpour had created in the gutters. Back and forth, the cars drove, the sound of the engines growing and fading like a tide.

The street was not busy, and the cars came one or two at a time, so there were long pauses when only the rain could be heard, beating out its song to a world that no longer listened.

I opened my eyes as another car slipped by, the occupants hidden by tinted glass, and lowered my eyes. I knew my appearance was foreign to this city, and that I was probably being stared at; to make matters worse I was standing perfectly still and staring at a blank sky while being soaked to the bone. And with this realization, my body began shivering. Good job Kiyoko, now you're hungry, tired, and wet. Just what you deserve for standing in the rain all night. I berated myself for my foolishness.

I looked at my reflection in a nearby window. My shoulder length silver hair was plastered to my face, and my silver eyes stared back at me from a pale face. My long black coat was water-logged and my black leather vest and pants clung to my thin frame. My boots were also filled with water. All in all, I was a pretty pathetic sight at the moment.

Shivering, I looked around for a place to hide from the increasing downpour. I saw many possible locations, but the most inviting was a bar about seventy feet away. The lights shone through the rain and seemed to invite me to approach. I had nothing to lose at this point and, after checking the traffic or lack thereof, ran across the street and towards the glowing windows.

As I neared I could see that there were quite a few people inside. The dark sky was misleading, for it was only seven in the evening. The blurred windows allowed me to see outlines and colors, but not faces. Well, here goes nothing. At least it looks warm in there. Let's see how long they let me hang in there before they kick me out from my lack of funds. I thought ruefully. Taking a deep breath, I grasped the handle of the door and pulled, allowing the light and noise from inside to escape into the street.

I quickly slipped inside and shut the door with my back to the silence that fell from the inside. I could feel their eyes boring into my back, glaring at the disturbance I had created. I was once again self-conscious of my ragged appearance and the fact that I was soaked. I closed my eyes, and turned to face my audience.

There were four people seated at the bar, one woman behind the bar, a red dog-like creature laying off to the side, and a cat-like creature on the counter. I had no right to judge this group, but I couldn't help but come to the conclusion that they were an odd bunch.

The awkward silence seemed to stretch forever. I couldn't help but stare, for of the seated four, there was: a man wearing what looked like a black jumpsuit under a red cape with a golden claw-hand thing, a guy who looked like he was pulled out of some extreme sports competition, a girl wearing ridiculously tall yellow shoes and short shorts, and a guy wearing a mesh shirt under a beige jacket. At least the woman behind the bar looked normal, wearing a black vest over a white tank. I didn't even want to think about the other two creatures at the moment; I just wanted to sit and warm up before returning to the street.

Finally the woman behind the bar broke the silence, "Welcome to Seventh Heaven. You look like you could use a place to sit, so why don't you come over here where it's warmer. I'll get you something to drink, what would you like?" Her warm voice was inviting, and I couldn't help but feel some of the tension in my muscles relax. She motioned for me to come to the bar and take a seat near the girl with the yellow shoes. The girl in return nodded excitedly and jumped down from her seat.

"Umm, I'm sorry for coming in like this. I'll just sit over there," I pointed to the farthest table from the bar, "and I'm sorry but I won't be ordering anything. I just was looking for a place to wait out the storm." I started to inch away from the door toward the corner of the room. At the same moment though the girl in the shoes ran to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the bar.

"I'm Yuffie, and that's Cid-" Yuffie pointed toward the bar, indicating each person as she spoke.

"Yo!" said the extreme sports man.

"-Barret-" Yuffie continued, talking over Cid and Barret. The man in mesh called out, waving a mechanical arm.

"-Vincent-" Mr. Red Cape nodded slightly, his red eyes coldly staring at me from under a black fringe.

"-Tifa-" The woman behind the bar smiled.

"And that over there is Red XIII," Yuffie motioned to the red dog, "And the cat is Cait Sith." Yuffie finished excitedly. I felt myself being dragged to the bar by the hyperactive girl. After stumbling and almost falling onto the stool provided, I sat to catch my breath. I felt like a cornered animal, and felt all the tension that was recently released building once more.

The awkward silence returned, and after a good twenty seconds of sitting there biting my lip, I realized that the introduced occupants were waiting for me to return the favor. "Oh, um, you can call me…I mean…my name is Kiyoko." I finished hurriedly. I wanted nothing more than to run from the spot. I would rather face the rain than this strange crowd. The cat-Cait Sith- walked towards me, on two feet to my surprise, and bluntly asked in a thick accent, "Ya don't look too good, little miss. Ya sure ya don't need a drink?" I shied away from the strange creature, surprised at the fact that it could talk and that it was wearing a little crown.

"It's okay, Kiyoko. He won't bite." Tifa's voice rang from behind the bar. "Here," she placed a cup of black tea before me, "It's on the house. From your appearance I'm guessing you're going through a rough time." She smiled at me; her kindness seemed to have no limits. I thanked her in a quiet voice, overwhelmed by my present situation, and gratefully wrapped my hands around the warm mug.

"So, where ya from?" Barret's voice was ridiculously loud compared to Tifa's and I jumped at the sound. I also happened to be trying to drink some tea at the moment and the result was me spilling the hot liquid onto my already ruined clothes and my face turning a bright red. I did the only thing left to do: I put the cup down, slowly stood, and, taking a deep breath, lost my temper.

"Why the hell do you want to know! Why can't you just let me drink my tea, which now is all over me, and leave in peace? I'm not some stray that you can pick up and begin to pamper! Just leave me alone!" With this last outburst I thanked Tifa for the tea in a strained voice and turned to leave; only to find a very handsome blond in black clothing barring my way.

I hadn't even noticed him entering, and to add to my shame I didn't know how long he had been standing there. I felt like I could just die right there and then. I stared him in the face, not having much left to do, and was caught in his eyes. They were filled with Mako, which was unfortunate for me. Pain exploded from within me as she awoke.

I curled over in pain, holding my head as I fell to my knees. I could hear the voices of the others calling out to me, and I could see the blond kneel down and reach out to me, but that only made the pain worse as I fought to keep control over the seal. I felt my eyes roll up into my head as my consciousness slipped. This was just not my day.