A/N: Ah, Devil's Trill! My baby! The first four chapters are the exact words from an rp made by my fellow writer Mentaru and myself, so if its a little odd at first, I apologize. I am a HUGE Kadaj fan, and I thought that his character needed to be used and/or fleshed out a bit. I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. PLEASE REVIEW!!!! Oh, and the italics at the beginning is Denzel as our little narator! Marlene got to do it last time, so I thought it was his turn! And for those not japanese-literate among us, kaa-san means mother and nii-san means big brother. ENJOY!
It's been two years since our last meeting with Sephiroth. His avatar, Kadaj, was planning a second Reunion. Vincent called him a "larval form" of Sephiroth. Kadaj attacked Cloud, but joined the Lifestream soon after. His brothers, Loz and Yazoo, joined him seconds later.
The aftermath of the planet's anger, the Geostigma, was finally cured by Aerith's rain. I remember when Cloud held me up and set me in the water; it finally brought our family back together again.
In the past two years, Cloud's delivery service has grown and Yuffie and everyone have joined them. Tifa got fed up with answering Cloud's phone all of the time, so Cloud hired a secretary. Her name is Arisa and she's really sweet. Tifa has kept her bar open with the help of Cid, and Marlene and I help out where we can. Cloud has moved in with the three of us and its starting to feel like everything's gonna' be okay again. Even Vincent has been a little bit happier lately.
Rufus and the Turks have begun to rebuild Shin-Ra and are using their money and power to help rebuild Edge. Reno and Rude visit every once in a while. It seems like everything's going to be all right now. I just hope that if this is a dream, I never wake up.
Rude followed behind his boss as he wheeled into the board room. 'I wonder what he's going to do... he's wearing that sheet again...'
Rufus calmly rested his arm on the rest of his wheelchair, his fingers hanging loosely off the ends; he was being careful not to reveal the stigma that had recently reappeared, however, and had retreated to the safety of his sheet. He was silent, thinking, as the soft hum-whirr of the wheelchair led him into the board room. He stopped at the end of a long, rectangular table; the time had come.
"I can tell that all of you are rather disconcerted at the fact that you are in this dreadful meeting room today, but as head of this company, I hope you will all respect the decision I have currently made.
"A strange thing has reoccurred recently, and knowing full well the affects of said reoccurrence, I have decided to resign from Shin-Ra"--shock spread through the entire room, from eyes widening to mouths hanging slightly open--"to investigate why this thing is reoccurring."
Reno, who had been next to Rude all along (Miyou was just too lazy to mention him), leaned over to whisper to his aibou lover partner, "Is he serious?!"
Rude patted his "partner's" hand and mouthed to him, 'All in good time...' He could barely believe it himself, but he knew that something was up and Rufus would tell them soon enough.
Thorne was the first to speak, "Mr. Shin-ra, the company cannot go on hiatus at this time! Are you going to have someone replace you? It is simply the worst possible time for us to lose what we have been working towards!" He inwardly smirked; by suggesting that, he had just left himself open to be nominated. Then he would have control of Shin-Ra at last!
Reno commenced in his trademark "loss of words" stupor and facial expressions, and eventually gave up, paying more attention now to the meeting to see just what Rufus was thinking.
Rufus nodded. "Indeed, you speak true words, Mr. Bordeaux. At such a time as this, I cannot possibly leave while we have progressed so much. And so, I have thought long and hard upon a suitable replacement until the time comes in which I will return to Shin-Ra..." He looked to everyone in the meeting room, taking note their reactions and idle whispers as he was silent.
Thorne couldn't believe it! He had been right all along! Everything was going according to plan... "And who shall it be, Mr. Shin-ra?"
Rufus chuckled lightly. "Considering your devout eagerness, Mr. Bordeaux... maybe I should reconsider my choice? After all, an overly zealous man is no man to run this company--as my father so proved." He stared fixedly on Thorne, testing his response. The rest of the board stared curiously
"N-no sir!" Thorne stuttered, "I just think that Shin-Ra is doing such a good job rebuilding Edge and that we need someone who can take control and continue the rebuilding. New Edge has prospered from this company, and we're just about to start re-building the highway system..." He was sweating, hoping his cover would not be blown.
Rufus smirked, not that anyone could really see it, what with the sheet and all. "Very well put; I agree." A pause. "Congratulations, then, Mr. Bordeaux. I'm sure you will lead Shin-Ra well in my absence."
Reno 'hmphed. "I don't trust him..." he muttered to himself.
"There will be no need of your trust in him, Reno," Rufus replied calmly, to which Reno shifted nervously: the President--well, ex-President--wasn't supposed to hear that. "I would never abandon my Turks... You should know that."
"And we thank you for that," Rude answered with a gentle shove to Reno's arm. "Idiot."
Thorne attempted to feign modesty, "Thank you so much Mr. Shin-Ra! You won't regret this!" He shook Rufus' bandaged hand vigorously. This was just perfect; everything was going so well!
Arisa sighed as she finished the last bit of her paper work and turned off her computer. "Another day's work present and accounted for... maybe Mr. Valentine will go to that movie premiere with me this weekend!! That would be so awesome!" She squealed and did a little twirl while grabbing her briefcase. She was about to run out the door when the phone rang. "Hello, Strife Delivery Service! You name it we ship it!"
"This is Warren Holt on behalf of Shin-Ra's research department. We need a delivery to be made right away."
"I'm sorry sir, but we are closed for today. Would you like me to leave a message for it to be picked up tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow would be too late, I'm afraid. This is urgent. Perhaps an extra sum of payment could be wagered to have it made a special delivery?"
"I see..." Arisa could really use the money. She was late on her rent and she didn't know if she'd have enough to eat... "I think an arrangement could be made..." She then proceeded to write down the time and place and was just about to dash out the door when she ran smack jab into an extremely tall man in a red cape.
"Miss Arisa," Vincent said rather dully, merely stating his acknowledgement of the younger girl.
"Mr. Valentine!" Arisa squeaked as she jumped back. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to run into you! How are you?" She pushed a strand of her crimson hair behind her ear and blushed slightly.
Vincent shook his head in a "there's no need to apologize" way. "It's quite alright. And I am as I always am. But you seem to be in a rush, so you should be on your way." He stepped aside to let her pass.
Arisa's face fell. "Yes..." she mumbled and hurried away, not even bothering to say good bye. She got on her moped and sped off to the destination. She picked up the box of materia and quickened her pace towards the Shin-Ra building so she wouldn't miss this deadline. The security man pointed her towards a bright white room.
Walking in, she was astounded by the massive amount of technological equipment. There was giant pod hooked up to a large computer system that was somehow linked to a large bowl filled with some sort of liquid. Looking over into the bowl, she accidentally dropped a pale blue orb of materia into the liquid.
"Shit!" she cried as she reached her arm into the bowl. Arisa fished around inside there but pulled back quickly as flesh began to fall off her arm. She screamed, but no one came. She backed up, running into the large computer. The computer made noises and the pod started to whirl. A bright light issued and then it stopped suddenly. She walked slowly over to the pod and opened the lid.
Inside was a beautiful young man. He had effeminate facial features and silky sliver hair. Her eyes wandered down his sculpted chest and biceps to a trail of thin sliver hairs leading down to his large- "Oh my God he's naked!!!" she exclaimed as she fell back onto the floor.
Kadaj slowly opened his eyes, only to realize he was completely surrounded by a Lifestream-like liquid and was floating, naked in this Lifestream-like liquid, which was contained in a large pod connected and wired to various pieces of machinery. This all seemed to familiar...
"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod..." she whispered furiously, her eyes closed, "This has got to be a dream! I mean, seriously, there is not a naked silver haired man in that pod and when I look I'm going to find nothing but that acid crap..." She convinced herself enough that she stood and walked over, peaking into the pod. "Oh shit."
Kadaj's eyes flared. "Shin-Ra..." Kaa-san! "Damn them!" And so, in a strange series of events in which Miyou doesn't really know how to explain, it seems Kadaj's hatred toward Shin-Ra unleashed itself upon the pod and shattered it, releasing the silver-haired man from the pod in a SPLASH! of Lifestream-like liquid and flying pieces of not-quite-glass-not-quite-plastic.
Arisa tried to block the not-quite-glass-not-quite-plastic pieces from her face with her arms. ((Well, the good one blocked, the fucked up one wasn't moving very well)) Unfortunately, one shard sliced her cheek so it looked like a tear drop of blood fell down her cheek. "Is there a reason you hate Shin-Ra? Can I help you somehow?" she questioned as she cradled her arm back against her body.
Kadaj fell limply to the ground, curled up in a tight ball, not realizing this waif of a girl had spoken. Kaa-san... they killed you, Kaa-san... After a moment lost in thought, he realized the girl named Arisa was still there. He sat up slowly, hugging his legs to himself, staring coldly at Arisa. "You. Do something useful. There must be at least a lab coat or something around here somewhere. I'm not just going to sit here naked for you to stare at me all day."
"Oh, um, yeah..." Arisa said, a blush painting her cheeks. She looked out into the hall and saw a man coming at her, screaming that she shouldn't be in there. "Sorry," she whispered as he came into the doorway and punched him hard in the face, knocking him out. She nudged his body with her foot, making sure he was completely out of it. "Will this do?"
Kadaj watched the red-head curiously, yet still sporting his "I hate the world" facade. "Anything but nothing will do."
She pulled the lab coat off of the scientist and handed it to the silver-haired boy. She would have given him the rest of his clothes too, but this guy was a little...robust. She looked back down at her arm, finally realizing how much it hurt. ((You know when you have a bad cut but if you don't know that its there, it doesn't hurt until you look at it and recognize that you're hurt? It's like that.)) She grimaced as she looked at what would be a horrible scar. "What am I gonna do now?" she murmured.
Kadaj swiftly clothed himself and was standing seconds later. He began making his way out of the research lab, having the full intent of finding that damned President and getting his revenge. Shin-Ra, we've got a score to settle.
Before he fully reached the threshold of the lab, however, he stopped. Unfortunately, the company hadn't revived him equipped with his katana. Damn. He regrettably figured he'd have to employ the knowledge of the girl to get it (or any sword for that matter) back
"Um, Mr. Random Guy, wait!" Arisa exclaimed as she followed him, "You can't just go off into Shin-Ra without any real clothes or anything! I mean, I don't even know how you got here. One minute that pod was empty, and then I dropped the materia into that birdbath thingy, that acid stuff burned my arm, and then I ran into something and you popped up! Plus, we're going to get in SO much trouble if we get caught and..." She trailed off of her rambling. She'd never done anything illegal before and she could safely say that whatever she had done, it was illegal.
Kadaj whipped around in that fluid way of his, facing Arisa with a smirk, head craned slightly down so he was looking up into her eyes instead of straight into them. "Kadaj," he stated slowly, enunciating every syllable in that "doushite" kind of voice. He straightened and looked Arisa over for the first time. The girl was a little more than a head shorter than him with wavy red hair to right below her shoulders. Her body was petite, yet voluptuous, and her eyes were a dark green. "Hmph. You're irritatingly noisy and obnoxious, but surely you can be useful."
Arisa kind of zoned, half shocked, half attempting not to drool, when he said his name. She knew that name from somewhere... "Oh my God, you're that bastard that gave my sister and me the Geostigma two years ago! She almost died you asshole!" she shouted, smacking him hard in the chest. "And I am not obnoxious!" This wasn't like her, she was normally really sweet and quiet, but she had had enough for one day and she was exhausted.
"Hn. The stigma chose its victims, not I." He remained unfazed as Arisa smacked him. "Though I would suggest not angering me." He almost laughed when she told him she wasn't obnoxious. "It's all in the eye of the beholder," he said, waving his hand in a circular motion giving the impression he didn't want to dwell on this petty chatter. He smirked, craned his head down again, and continued in the same slow, low voice as before, "Help me get my katana back, and maybe I might reconsider."
"Like I know where the hell you're-" she stopped as a thought popped into her brain. She could just turn this guy back into Shin-Ra and then she wouldn't have to deal with it. She almost smiled, and then remembered that it was her fault he was here in the first place. She heaved a long heavy sigh. "Alright, whatever. I'll help you find your stupid pointy stick..."
Kadaj's smirk widened almost to what some might mistake as a grin. "Then lead the way. I am the one in only a lab coat, after all. And you're the one they're going to catch first." Not that they were going to get caught. Shin-Ra employees were dully weak. And stupid.
"Wait, what?" she asked then shook her head, "Never mind. Your last fight with Cloud was on the highway, right? Come on. Its probably still out there, they haven't even begun to start rebuilding it. Stupid Shin-Ra; ever since Rufus took a leave of absence and that new guy popped up, Shin-Ra's gone down the crap-shoot..." She grabbed the sleeve of his lab coat and tugged him along behind her.
Kadaj freed himself from Arisa's grasp and brushed of the part she had grabbed on his lab coat. Tch. I always knew he was a coward... But what Kadaj didn't realize (he was too preoccupied with his katana) was that Rufus' LOA would make it so much harder to for him to find the ex-President to exact his revenge... oh well.
Miraculously, Arisa and Kadaj hadn't been seen by a soul as they left the building. She led him over to her red moped and shrugged with a sheepish grin. "I, um, can't afford a motorcycle..."
Kadaj looked the moped over carefully, grimacing. "Obviously."
"Oh shut up, at least I didn't steal it!" she pouted, sticking her tongue out. "So, um, how are we going to get to the Highway? Its, like, midnight and really creepy guys come out about this time so I really don't want to walk..."
Kadaj 'hn'ed. "We're driving," he stated, that low voice coming back again; he was already on the close-enough-to-a-motorcycle. "Give me your keys and get on. You probably drive slowly anyway."
"I do not drive slow!" she growled as she forked over her keys. She flung her leg over the seat and climbed on. "Let's go, I have work tomorrow and I need some rest."
"Well, I drive"--Kadaj smirked as he shoved the keys into the ignition, revved the engine, leaned forward slightly (just for sexy measure), and roared off--"FAST." And it didn't seem mechanically possible for Arisa's moped to be going so fast, but it was. Because Kadaj was driving. Duh.
"Holy Shit!" Arisa cried as she clung to Kadaj for dear life. Her eyes were sealed shut, because she knew if she opened them she would be screaming her head off in terror. "Pleasedon'tlethimkillmepleaseohpleaseohplease!" she whispered furiously as she buried her face into his back.
Kadaj sat up a little straighter when she clung to him; he wasn't used to being touched. The muscles in his back tightened, then released slowly as he became accustomed to her body against his own.
Before time even had a second to fly, Kadaj was screeching the moped to a sideways halt. He slammed his foot down on the pavement to secure them from falling over, and kicked the kick-stand as he hopped off. He looked back at Arisa and smirked. "I told you you drive slow."
Arisa trembled as she got off of the moped. "Oh my God...you are...a MANIAC!!!" She sighed as she plopped back onto the seat. "This is it?"
Kadaj ignored Arisa, eyes searching his surroundings. Yes, he remembered this spot. Unfortunately, with the moped, it would be very hard to maneuver through the rubble, so it was best to leave it on the road. They'd be walking the rest of the way. "Come," he said to Arisa, motioning with his hand.
Arisa straightened her skirt and followed him. She knew her moped wouldn't get stolen. "You know, a 'please' or a 'thank you' wouldn't kill you..." she sighed.
Kadaj led them to the exact spot he and Cloud has last fought. He remembered that battle clearly... Insert flashback of battle scene here for kicks Where was it? This was the spot, he was definitely for certain. But his katana was not here. He sighed, frustrated. "Shit..."
"Not here, huh?" Arisa yawned. "Maybe somebody took it, like Shin-Ra or Cloud, maybe even some random little kid? Why don't we just look for it tomorrow? Please?"
"Fine." Glaring at the katana-less area once again, he turned and headed back toward the moped, knowing Arisa would follow.
"Thank God..." Arisa muttered under her breath. Her stilettos were killing her and she was pretty sure her feet were bleeding. Just another thing to add to the list of reasons why today sucked... she thought as she followed Kadaj back to her moped.
Kadaj reached the moped and hopped back on, kicking the kickstand back up as well in one fluid movement. He shoved the keys he had put in the lab coat pocket into the ignition and waited for Arisa to get on, already hunching over slightly ready to revv the engine as soon as she got on.
Arisa joined him on the bike, wrapping her arms around his waist lightly as she waited for him to go faster than the speed of light again. She rested her head lightly on his back, tired from all of the events of the day.
Kadaj revved the engine and sped off again, hair whipping elegantly behind him. He noticed that she wasn't clinging for dear life like before, and he couldn't decide whether he missed her pressed against him or not. He decided that it didn't matter and forgot about it completely, rather, focusing his attention on how he could get his katana back.
"Hey Kadaj!' Arisa yelled over the engine, "Take a right here!" She supposed she'd have to keep him at her place until she figured out what in God's name was happening. Arisa laughed slightly; she was thinking of Kadaj like a big mean lost puppy!
Not bothering to respond, Kadaj swerved to the right. He assumed they were going to Arisa's place, but he wondered just what kind of place it was... It probably wasn't much, considering the not-quite-a-motorcycle they were currently on. Kaa-san had pampered him too much...
"Its right here," she called, pointing to a shabby looking apartment building in a shitty part of town. She was a little embarrassed at him seeing the hell-hole she lived in, but she was just thankful for a roof over her head...
Kadaj almost gagged as he swerved the moped to a stop. It was worse than he had thought. He kicked the kickstand down and examined the apartment building. He had to admit, though, this was probably better than living in an abandoned church like Nii-san had...
"I know it's not much, but my boss is really stingy so I don't earn very much..." she was blushing horribly now as she lead him up the eight flights of stairs. She pulled out her house keys and let them in. Her apartment was a 2 room facility with a pull-out couch, kitchen table, and necessary appliances all in one room. The other room was the bathroom with a small shower, toilet, and sink. She had clothes hanging from the shower rod, drying (Shirts as well as like bras and stuff) and stilettos thrown all over the kitchen. "Tadaima..." she said to her little bowl of fish sitting on the counter next to her laptop.
Kadaj peered around the two small rooms. "Hn. It looks like you barely have enough room for yourself..." He plopped himself on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest.
She pulled off her heels and nearly fainted from the pain. Arisa went into the bathroom and grabbed her box of band-aids before hobbling back to the couch and plopping down next to Kadaj. She inspected both of her feet and her arm before looking into the box. She sighed and then gave a pathetic little laugh. "I don't think I have enough..."
Kadaj glanced over at Arisa and noticed her bad arm for the first time. Her right arm was covered in a dark red swirl that started at her elbow and ended at her middle knuckle. "For being such a girl you sure do know how to bang yourself up." It wasn't really an insult, but it wasn't really a compliment either. Kadaj was merely stating the facts.
"What do you mean 'for being such a girl'?" she asked. She hadn't taken it badly and wasn't being annoying this once; she actually just wanted to know. "And I got this from resurrecting you, however I did that..."
"It means exactly what it says," he replied cryptically. He stared at Arisa when she told him how she screwed up her arm so much. "Human sacrifice..." he mumbled, turning his head away and leaning it on the back of the couch, closing his eyes, "Where am I sleeping?"
"The floor," she replied simply as she handed him a pillow. If he was gonna be all enigmatic to her, he could sleep on the floor for all she cared. "Unlike some people, I actually have to go in to work tomorrow in exactly-" she paused to look at the clock, "- three hours. Three hours! Shit!"
Kadaj narrowed his eyes but took the pillow anyway. "The floor? I do not sleep on the floor."
"Well I only have one bed and if you don't want to have to sleep next to me, you'll take the floor," she answered as she went back into the bathroom to change. That would shut him up...she hoped...
He'd take the floor. Grumbling and glaring, he curled up on the floor out of the way of the couch and quickly entered dreamland, where Kaa-san and his brothers were all living happily ever after.
"That sure was fast..." Arisa mumbled as she emerged from the bathroom and saw him. She fed her two fish, Miyouko and Yoshimi, and grabbed her laptop. Sitting on the couch, she began clacking away on her manuscript for the New Edge Times. She'd wanted to work there since she could remember, but settled for secretarial work when they didn't have any openings. One day they would, and then she would pounce. Plus, it wasn't like she was going to get any sleep tonight; if she fell asleep now, she would be late and Cloud would dock her pay, making her rent even more late.
Three hours later, after her sixth cup of coffee, she was just about to leave for work when she remembered the silver-haired man sleeping on her floor. She grabbed a blanket and covered him up, then wrote him a note and left.