Final Fantasy Short Stories (+more)

(FFXV) Crime in Lestallum 1

"Stop that thief!"

Rose sprinted down the streets of Lestallum, glancing back at the two hunters chasing her. She smirked to herself and grabbed her whip from her belt. She spotted stacks of boxes alongside the street ahead of her. As she began passing them, she flicked the whip, hooking the barbs into the bottom box and yanking it free. The boxes fell across the street, creating an obstacle for the pursuers.

Rose took the opportunity and darted down a side street out of their sight. She then used her whip to grapple up to the rooftops. She paused to catch her breath, staring down at the beautiful golden pendant hanging from her neck. She grinned, her green and brown eyes sparkling with delight.

"Totally worth it," she mumbled to herself.

"Where'd she go?!" a voice cried.

"She's got to be close by!" another shouted.

Rose peered down at the streets, watching the two hunters scrambling around trying to find her. "Idiots," she muttered.

She ran and jumped to the next roof and continued above the town streets until she made it to her apartment building. She made sure no one would notice before leaping onto her windowsill. She stepped inside her room and sighed in satisfaction, slipping off the necklace and stashing it into one of her many drawers. As a thief, Rose had stolen goods hidden away within the confines of her room.

She stretched her arms above her head. "Another easy theft. These hunters are so stupid. Well, better get changed before someone sees me."

She swiftly stripped herself of her thieving clothes and hid them in the back of her closet. She got dressed in her normal, simple clothes, put on her glasses, and snatched up her cane. Feeling a bit hungry, she wanted to grab a bite to eat and scout for anything else that caught her eyes.

She quietly exited her room, went down the hall, and descended the stairs. The owner of the apartment building was currently in the small lobby, going over some papers behind the counter. When he noticed the girl, he smiled.

"Hey, Rose. Heading out?"

She paused but kept her head forward, not looking at him. "Yes," she answered with a smile. "Just gonna grab some lunch."

He set down his papers. "Need any help?"

She chuckled. "I'm fine, thank you. I've been living here for nearly two months now, I think I've got things memorized."

"Alright, have a nice afternoon."

"You too."

Rose kept her cane in front of her and approached the door. She reached her free hand out, pretending to fumble a bit with finding the handle before leaving the building. After years of practice pretending to be blind, she'd become great at the act, fooling everyone she met. It was the best way to hide her secret identity.

No one would ever suspect a blind girl to be a thief. Plus, with her different-colored eyes concealed, her most incriminating feature was obscured. Nearly everyone knew that the thief was a female with one green eye and one brown eye, so her eyes were the one thing she had to keep hidden if she wanted her identity to stay a secret.

Along the way, Rose picked a few pockets for gil to pay for food. Soon enough, she was seated at a restaurant, enjoying a tasty meal.

~~~~~

"Who ever would've thought we'd be hunting down a thief?" Prompto asked.

"Not me," Noctis replied simply.

The four boys had gotten word of a troublemaker in Lestallum. They had been asked by the hunters to investigate since previous attempts at subduing the target had failed.

"From what we've been informed of, our culprit is a female who's pilfering numerous goods from the residents," Ignis explained. "The thief is said to be uncatchable."

Gladio crossed his arms. "Definitely not your run-of-the-mill bandit."

"Guess we should see what we can find out from a few residents," Noctis suggested.

The four split up and asked around about the thief. The only information they could get was that the thief was a woman with a green eye and a brown eye. They met back up to discuss what they'd learned.

"Seems our thief has one very incriminating aspect," Ignis said. "She appears to have heterochromia."

Prompto tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Hetero-what?"

"She has two different colored eyes," Gladio explained for him.

Noctis rested his hands on his hips. "Shouldn't be two difficult to track her down then."

Ignis nodded, pushing up his glasses. "Indeed. We need merely examine the eyes of anyone suspicious."

And so they did just that. The four walked the streets of Lestallum, scanning people's faces as they went. There were sometimes people with EXINERIS masks or sunglasses on. The group would stop and request to see their faces. But they still couldn't find anyone with nonmatching eyes. They ended up putting their investigation on pause to get a quick drink and take a break.

"No wonder this thief is said to be uncatchable," Noctis complained, tired of wandering around. "We can't even find a trace of her."

"Hold on." Everyone froze at Ignis's command. "Look at that young lady over there."

They all followed his gaze to the girl at a table. She had short, spiky, black hair and wore dark-tinted glasses that covered her eyes. But they also spied the cane leaning against the chair next to her.

Prompto looked at Ignis. "Seriously, Iggy? That's just some poor blind girl."

"Can't hurt to have a chat with her though," Gladio added.

The four went over to where Rose sat. She saw them coming but pretended to be oblivious, all while continuing with her meal.

"Excuse me," Noctis said, hoping to get her attention.

Rose paused, but kept her head down. "May I help you?"

"We would like to have a quick look at your face, if you don't mind," Ignis told her.

She frowned slightly. "I'm terribly sorry, but I don't like for people to see my eyes. I feel far too many silent stares and it makes me uncomfortable."

"Sorry for bothering you," Prompto apologized.

The girl chuckled lightly. "I think I understand what's going on. You must be searching for that thief."

"How could you possibly know that?" Gladio questioned, still as skeptical as Ignis.

"Well, I only assumed that's why you wanted to see my face," she explained. "You're trying to track down the thief, correct? I'm sorry I can't be of use to you, but I'm afraid my lack of vision renders me pretty useless."

"It's alright," Noctis replied. "We understand."

They turned and began walking away when they heard her say, "Good luck."

Once far enough away, Ignis hummed in thought. "What's up, Iggy?" Gladio asked.

"That girl..." he muttered. "Something definitely felt off about her."

"Really?" Prompto questioned. "She seemed fine to me."

"I'm with Iggy on this one," the shield admitted. "I got a strange feeling from her."

Noctis sighed. "We can't worry about that right now. Once our job is complete, then we can always go back and have a talk with her. We have a thief to find first."