-Sleeping Lions-
Sunlight filtered through a hole in the ceiling of an old abandoned church. Dust floated idly down from the decrepit beams and settled on the long since forgotten pews. The church would have been dead silent if it weren't for the humming of a young girl. Near the remains of a broken alter the child in question sat bent down on hands and knees, lovingly tending a patch of blooming flowers that had found a home in the broken floorboards.
There were no flowers in Midgar, some said it had to do with the mako pollution, others said it was a marketing ploy for the expensive imports that came in from Costa Del Sol. Whatever the reason, it was quite strange that something so lively as flowers could grow in a place so dead, especially in the slums of Midgar.
Aerith had been drawn to the church as a child, when the planet's voices had directed her to it. She didn't know why they had done this, but it had quickly become her favorite place in her tiny world. Voices she didn't recognize spoke to her and on occasion through their chatter Aerith could make out the calm voice of her mother.
The church itself was always empty and she was sure that no one ever came here; day-by-day she could plot her footsteps in the gray dust that lined the rotting floor. Perhaps the church had once been a glorious place for worship, back in the day when Midgar's citizens had cared about such things as religion and morality. Now the church was a broken sanctuary for small little girls and the occasional homeless stranger, even if she had never seen any here.
Aerith although a sweet girl, didn't have many friends. She was quiet and painfully shy, but was well liked by all of the slum citizens who admired her cheerful face and easy smile. A lot of them didn't approve of her carefree prowls around the slums, a young girl like that should always be within arm's reach of her mother, but eventually they all eased into the situation. Elmyra worked two jobs just to keep her and the child afloat, besides what monster could ever harm Aerith anyhow?
Aerith expected today to be like any other day, she'd visit the church to water her flowers, then she'd carefully face every bloom towards the sunbeams, and then she'd pluck the dead leaves from their stems. All the while ritualistically humming a song to keep the deafening silence at bay. She was never alone however; the planet would hum along with her in soothing whispers that she could never fully understand.
But today quite suddenly, they all stopped.
Aerith's features twisted into confusion, why did they stop singing? She ceased her pruning to listen cautiously around her. The squeak of footfalls sounded in the distant. Who could it possibly be? No one knew she was here, not even Elmyra. Was it the Turks again?
The huge wooden doors were slung open with heavy force, they groaned in protest from years of neglect. The piercing noise almost split Aerith's ears; she couldn't open those doors herself for they were far too heavy. In fact she wasn't even sure it was humanely possible, she'd always just use the side door near the back exit. Her heartbeat quickened under the very first realization that she might just be in some sort of danger. Emerald green eyes wide with fear looked to the church entrance.
The owner of such force was a tall slender man with auburn hair that fell artistically into bright eyes. The man moved with a supple form of grace, rather like a hunting cat that had spotted his prey, it radiated elegance and pride. He was dressed impeccably in scarlet leather, the color of murder, she thought fearfully. Even from her distance she could see the ripple of taunt muscle under his coat, most notably of all was the crimson rapier that hung menacingly from his belt.
It seemed like he was looking for something as the being analyzed their surroundings with a critical stare. Her breath caught painfully in her throat, he looked like one of those SOLDIER types from Shinra. Obviously he hadn't noticed her yet and Aerith toyed with the idea of sliding underneath a pew to hide. Carefully she lowered her body to the floor sliding one hand out to safety, the floorboard squeaked violently underneath her shifting weight. The man's head darted in her direction, like a predator sensing prey she noted with a sickening feeling. Not wanting to look like she was plotting escape, Aerith shifted back onto her knees and offered the stranger one of her bravest yet warmest smiles that she could muster, penetrating eyes of intense blue leered at her.
- - (POV Change)- - -
Genesis stared diminutively at the child a few feet away from him; he had hoped he would be alone here. She was clearly a slum child, wearing a cheap white and blue dress, long chestnut hair tied back into a simple braid, dirt was smeared on her knees and on the lace hem of her gown, she couldn't be any older than her early teens. The girl smiled at him warm and friendly but her eyes shone with a guarded fear, he didn't know what to do.
This church was empty and forgotten by most, he supposed he could simply just walk out the very way he came in, and the kid would never question his motives, but then again this place would have been perfect for a clone base.
Unrelenting, he stared at the girl again watching as her smile faded and her fear become more evident. Perhaps he could just scare her away? At a renewed pace Genesis approached her sitting form, standing all of a foot away he smirked at her daring the girl to stay.
She mistook his smirk as a form of interaction and her smile returned just as warmly as before, "Hello sir."
The child inclined her head as if expecting him to respond, green eyes looking up at him confidently. Absentmindedly with his trained stare he noticed the brilliant flash of yellow and white petals from behind her. Was it possible? Flowers? In Midgar? No, that wasn't important right now, but truly? Flowers?
"Are those…lilies?" He asked quietly in disbelief, his voice barely concealing his surprise.
"Yes," she nodded her fear quickly dissolving, "I've only seen them grow here."
He brushed past her to admire the patch of flowers spread out before him; they grew healthy and lush and were very well pruned.
"Did you do this?" He pointed to their carefully trimmed designs.
"Mhmm," the girl stated with pride.
Genesis leaned down before the flowerbed eyeing every shade of color with awe; he stroked their smooth petals delicately, almost afraid that they would wither under his tainted touch. Flowers were a common sight in his hometown of Banora, but it had been so long since he'd been back home, and even longer still since he had appreciated beauty. Not a whole lot of plant life could grow in the polluted soil of Midgar, just weeds and other infestations.
No longer afraid the girl drew in closer, her fingers moving quickly along the flowers pruning and primping where she saw fit. Genesis watched her work with interest; her small hands moved with learnt familiarity, dirt had stained her nails and the underside of her palms. In moments she began to hum, his presence all but a mere background image to her.
"What is your name?"
She stopped her song but her hands continued to move with their work, emerald eyes flashed happily, "Aerith."
He nodded simply, her name suited her for a reason he couldn't recall, it was strange and unusual just like a girl who grew flowers in an abandoned church. She never asked his name; instead her attention went back to her work. He was glad for it; he didn't want her to know his name. He didn't want her to place his face to an ex-SOLDIER's, a monster who had abandoned his calling.
The wind picked up outside and blew through the church, the foundation creaked with the small strain sending an echo through the empty halls. The church gave off a sense of deep peace and solitude that soaked into the soul, cerulean eyes surveyed the building. No, this would not do for a command post, not when it was a home to innocent flowers and little girls. Flowers would do nothing for mindless drones, and monsters always scared away little children. He imagined that her presence among these halls would be sorely missed.
Genesis rose to his feet wincing against the crack of degenerating joints, he was tired and his deteriorating body was beginning to feel it. He had been on the run from Shinra for several days now, rest and comfort was few and far between. He leaned against one of the ancient pews and drifted into silence.
-(POV change)-
Aerith had grown accustom to the stranger's presence within minutes, being a young child who had never experienced the true purpose of fear, it came naturally to her. The man liked her flowers and had admired her careful attention to every detail, he was quiet and had spoken very little to her, and he was even rather handsome she noted feeling slightly self-conscious about her current state.
Hesitantly from the corner of her eye she threw the stranger a quick glance, he was slumped against the nearest pew, eyes closed either in thought or light sleep. Though his face was handsome, weary lines of exhaustion panned around his eyes and mouth. Curiosity struck her but she thought well than to ask, SOLDIERS were all strange anyhow; being Shinra's chosen warriors meant having to swallow down some of your principles she imagined. He was pretty far away from the chain of command and she wondered what could have brought him here to the slums.
"He's a long way from home," she whispered softly to her flowers.
"Indeed I am."
His voice was low but not rough, she gasped and looked at the stranger who smirked playfully at her surprise.
"Pardon me, I thought you were sleeping." She stated awkwardly feeling a blush creep from her collarbone to her face.
He waved a hand dismissively in her direction, "No matter."
Her fingers went back to their work eager to distract her mind, she bit her bottom lip, "So why are you here then?"
He remained silent, cerulean eyes drinking in her face; Aerith blushed lightly and returned her gaze to the flower patch. His face took on a serious look and he redirected his eyes skyward.
"When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, the goddess descends from the sky, wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."
The man's voice could spin silk Aerith noted; his voice flowed with the words as if he'd been reciting those lines since birth. Chestnut brows aligned with confusion, she recognized the quotation. "Loveless?"
He stared at her with a spark of enthusiasm in his gaze, "Are you familiar with that work?"
She shook her head, "Not really, but I have seen some of the posters for the actual play."
Silence again, Aerith played nervously with the hem of her gown, "I've never actually been above the plate."
"Tragic," he stated plainly.
She frowned deeply, "I don't think so, besides who really wants to see Midgar anyhow. I certainly don't." she scoffed more to herself than to the stranger.
He laughed but it sounded bitter and Aerith attempted to steer the conversation away from the plate and her financial situation, "You still haven't told me why you're here."
"I just did."
Aerith stopped her tending and placed her hands at her hips suddenly irritated, "I don't like riddles," she stared directly into the handsome man's eyes.
He chuckled softly, "Unfortunately many people I know don't."
"That's cause they're hard!"
"Not at all, not if you can feel the words," he dug into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a small and rather beaten leather-bound book.
Aerith eyed it with mild interest, there were no schools in the slums and many children here didn't know how to read or write. Elmyra however, had had different plans for Aerith. She taught the girl to read and write as best as she could, utilizing a simple collection of romance novels and a historical war book that had once belonged to her dead husband. It had worked, when Aerith became old enough to earn an allowance she would save every gil and purchase a secondhand book at the end of each month. Usually they were small magazines, catalogues, or if luck permitted, the occasional children's book, whatever could be found in the trash from the plate and sold by the vendor. However, Aerith hadn't seen such a detailed and thick book in all her life and she felt envious of this stranger.
The faded gold lettering on the cover spelt Loveless and the pages were dog-eared, she smiled, of course he'd carry that book around and read it word for word, carefully logging it into his memory.
-(POV Change)-
What a strange girl, she was complied of smiles and cheery glances filled with genuine emotion directed at a complete stranger. Stupidity or just innocence? Perhaps a bit of both? He mused thoughtfully; Genesis's general notion of the girl had changed. The childlike views he expected her to have were actually intelligent, the hardened attitude he thought she would carry as a slum denizen was nonexistent, and her looks that at first had seemed plain were oddly striking. Her polite and consistent manner of talking could give the trained child prodigy, Rufus Shinra a run for his money.
"Where is your mother?"
The girl didn't spare him a look, "She's probably working, she always works a lot."
"And she lets you wander the slums alone?"
"Mhmm."
A thin eyebrow arched in surprise, where he came from it had been normal to let children roam free, but this was Midgar, a place where a predator lurked in every alleyway. Where monsters like him could wander into your life unannounced.
"Aren't you afraid sometimes?"
"Nope," Then she smiled brightly, "Although, it would be nice to have a bodyguard once in awhile." Earth green eyes stared into his with an edge of humor and apprehension.
He decided to play along with her game, "A bodyguard for what?"
"Danger."
Genesis frowned slightly at her rather simple answer; he had expected a playground bully or a horde of stuck-up children, "Obviously," he stated smoothly.
Aerith had sensed the sting of mild annoyance in his tone and her eyes reflected a mild hurt. He felt guilt immediately, wanting nothing more than the safe return of her joyful smile. The hurt on her face evaporated seconds later, darkening into something unrecognizable, "And Turks too."
Genesis heart jumped painfully to his throat, maybe he had misheard her words for something else, she couldn't have just said Turks could she? Her fingers for once stopped their pruning and took to drawing lazy circles in the damp dirt.
"Tseng is nice sometimes, he doesn't talk a lot just watches, but the others can be mean. They say rude things about me and my mom, they accuse us of things too, sometimes they threaten to take mom away from me." She spoke barely above a whisper.
His blood ran cold; she truly was talking about the very people he had once worked with, the same ones who were probably out hunting him at this very moment. He dismissed his thoughts, it couldn't be them what could they possibly want with this harmless slum girl?
"And why pray tell, are they looking for you?"
Her small shoulders shrugged, "They want to take be back to Shinra, they want to run experiments on me."
Genesis suddenly felt sick, so she too was a victim to Shinra's harsh experiments and mutations, but by some miracle had managed to escape. He had never had the option of escape; he had never been spared the torment or the ridicule, even as an oblivious child he had been nothing but a statistic to Shinra, a failed statistic at that.
This girl was at that delicate age where hope was still possible for her. Could he stand to watch a helpless child fall into the hands of Shinra? Could he allow for the same fate to befall her? No…no he could not, if he could still be called a hero in the eyes of anyone, let it be this small girl.
A gloved hand reached out to Aerith awaiting her answer, "Consider it done."
A heated blush grew on Aerith's cheeks as she shook his hand delicately, one hand flying to her mouth to suppress a giggle, "Alright…bodyguard."
OOOOHe was walking her home.
Aerith could barely suppress her giddiness, they walked side by side and she had to work just to keep up with his fast stride. He walked with purpose and poise, Aerith imitated his gait but found it hurt her toes, and once or twice it had earned her a soft frown from the man. She enjoyed teasing him actually, and hoped she could continue to do so in the future – if there was a future time.
It was mid-afternoon; the slum's busiest point of the day and people bustled all around them. Aerith offered a smile to all the ones she knew, they returned her acknowledgement with stares of mild shock. She could understand it of course; here she was walking with a handsome yet darkly dangerous looking man. They never stopped to rescue her from the clutches of a potential murderer though, such was the way of the slums; everyone kept to their own business. If anyone did die they became small talk, brought up in gossip for people to nod their heads in somber agreement.
"So many people live without the influence of Shinra, it's rather amazing."
It was her turn to look at him with odd wonder, "Doesn't everyone above the plate like Shinra?"
He sneered but remained silent.
"If they don't like it why don't they move down here? We have lots of space," she announced happily.
He stared at her with a look of placid sadness, he pitied her again and she knew it.
"I like it here," Aerith whispered.
Maybe he heard her or maybe not, the man changed the subject, "Where do you live?"
"Just over there, not much further now."
Aerith walked with slow hesitant steps, now sensing the end of their little game. As they passed a pile of heaped junk a small house came into view, Aerith smiled she could see Elmyra's head poking out the window.
-(POV)-
Her house was a ramshackle thing but by far the best looking house he had seen in the slums. It was built with wood components instead of the tin favored by most slum residents. The paint that at one point in time had probably been a cheerful yellow, was now faded and peeling. The roof was missing several sections of shingles, a few windows were cracked, the shutters were falling out of place, but it was made beautiful for one reason. All along the border of the house laid carefully planted flowers. Watered, weeded, and pruned by the hands of a young child.
"Home sweet home," she replied.
"Is something wrong?"
A quiet but frantic voice made its presence known, Genesis looked away from the garden and towards the front door. A woman in her early forties stood alert on the porch, her eyes darting between Aerith and himself. She wore a simple orange dress that did no favors for her figure; long hair speckled with gray had been done up in a haphazard bun, she had a simple face adorned with wrinkles from a constant hard life, tanned arms twisted nervously in her lap.
"No mom, I made a friend today."
This bought no relief for the girl's mother, who was now walking towards them with hurried steps. Genesis was briefly reminded of his own "mother", there was no comparison. Though stately and beautiful, Genesis's mother had been a woman without a heart. She loved nothing more than money, power, and status. She had left Genesis to his own devices at an early age, dumping him on house servants, and even Angeal's mother, he had learned to get by on his own.
The woman in his sight now touched her child's shoulder carefully and pulled her in, it was a move Genesis was familiar with. In Wutai mothers had done the same thing with their children whenever his troop had walked by. This mother stared at him with concealed suspicion, she offered her hand, "Elmyra, and may I ask what you want with Aerith?"
He shook it. Yes, Aerith was a lucky girl. Elmyra was a mother in every sense of the word.
"Merely walking a young girl home, Madam. The slum is not a place for a child to wander alone."
Still no comfort earned, Elmyra continued the nervous tweak of her hands.
"Mom, he's my bodyguard, he's going to help us with the Turks."
Elmyra stiffened, "Are you with Shinra?"
"Formerly of SOLDIER, but I can promise you I have no ties to the company."
Genesis heard Aerith gasp, SOLDIER or Turks? Which was the lesser evil? He didn't know himself these days.
Grey eyes observed him closely for a moment and then she heaved a defeated sigh, "Thank you for bringing my daughter home. Aerith get inside your dinner's going cold."
With that Elmyra turned her back to him and made a quick path back to the house. Aerith followed behind but suddenly stopped. She turned around and gave Genesis an abrasive smile, "Will I see you around?"
He smirked, "Maybe, if I feel like it."
She crossed her arms over her chest, "You are supposed to be my bodyguard remember?"
"Ah, but heroes only show up whenever you're in a harrowing situation."
"Guess I'll just have to find some trouble," she waved farewell and darted inside.
Genesis watched the door close with a soft thud, feeling every bit the monster that he was.