There was a clanging sound in the abandoned building.
*huff huff huff huff*
A person's heavy breathing could be heard in the distance.
*huff huff huff huff*
Feet skidded to turn right.
*huff huff huff…*
The heavy breathing quieted.
The person turned around…
No matter how hard one ran, no matter how long one tried to hide…of course…
He would always reach his prey.
{Earlier}
"Sephiroth, where do you think you're going?"
The tall man turned around, his long, black, leather cloak swirling at his knees. His cyan eyes narrowed into a glare at her cold query.
Her han purple eyes stayed glued to him, not wavering despite his intimidation method that usually always worked. She didn't even wince. She was used to his demeanor, and it took a lot from him to scare her. She knew he wouldn't harm her—at least, she wanted to believe he wouldn't. They were in a more…private place, away from the other professors and aides and guards.
He turned slightly to her. She wanted to take a slight step back, but she held firm, standing straight and tall. She wasn't taller than him—hadn't been for a long time—and she probably wasn't stronger than him anymore. She couldn't use anything to keep control over him anymore. She could only hope he wouldn't do anything, for she would surely lose against him.
"I'm going to ask Lazard where my next mission is," he answered, but not turning away to leave. He knew she was going to say more, and she did:
"And then you're going to leave, right?"
He only gave a slight nod to her query, turning to reface the door. When the door shut behind him, it took a few moments for shoulders to relax and she to exhale. She hated being near him lately. He gave off an unstable vibe. It was as though he would do something violent and merciless to her in the near future.
Little did she know just how violent and merciless he could be.
Sephiroth returned a mere two days later. When he entered the lab, Reina looked up from her experiments. She couldn't honestly say she'd missed him, or even noticed his disappearance the last couple days. She had needed the free time, anyway. Watching over him was worse than watching over an alcoholic in a winery.
"Here—presents from Angeal," she told him, tossing a tan folder on the desk in front of her. She wanted nothing else to do with him, honestly.
Ignoring her obvious attempt at spurning him, he picked up the folder. His eyes slightly lit up when he saw the contents. He quickly shut the folder and began to hastily leave.
She gave no other words to his manner even as the door shut behind him, its echo leaving more of an impression on her than usual. His cold demeanor towards her as of late was easily noted. She wished she could know, but something told her not to ask questions of him. So, she went about her daily business manning the lab. It was lonely without Hôjô around as much. She could've used his help. She had been assigned his assistant after what had happened to Lucrecia, but she was starting to feel the stress of being in charge of her own lab. Hôjô had been generous with her, but with him on his own business, she had no one to go to for aid. Angeal nor Sephiroth could be of any help to her. Maybe Lazard…? No, that would be too much. He was busy enough running SOLDIER. She had to be more sure of herself, that was all. So, she went about her daily business.
*huff huff huff*
She had to keep running—her legs couldn't give out.
*huff huff huff*
Why…why was he so strong…? How could he still be able to keep up with her?
*huff huff huff*
Of course. It was because he was him. The almighty one. The one that was perfect.
*huff huff*
The one-winged angel.
It hadn't been that long ago when they had been best of friends.
It hadn't been that long ago when they had been seen as friendly rivals.
It hadn't been that long ago…since they could be considered family.
When was it…that things had changed?
"Sephiroth."
He again turned to her address of him.
"Did you comply with Angeal's request?"
"I did. It's done," was his quick and chilly response. He wanted to turn around again, to never see her visage again. To never hear her voice and never be in her presence would be blessings to him.
"Fine, then. There's another one from Lazard. He asked me to give it to you personally," she spoke, handing out another folder to him. She had to stay calm; she couldn't waver; she couldn't show weakness.
Sephiroth stood, eyeing the object held out in front of him. Reina thought for a moment if he would even accept it in the first place. After a while, he reached out and took it from her grasp. She let out a breath silently when he did so. He casually flipped through the papers inside. There weren't that many, maybe only twelve or so. His eyes skimmed the information. He was probably memorizing each individual letter. She watched him, wishing he'd leave already. She set her hands into her lab coat's pockets in an informal stance. She needed to appear as lax as usual; she couldn't let him on to her unease around him as of late.
He shut the folder. She jumped a little on her heels, but she made it seem like a bored rocking motion. He turned away and left the room at last. She full-on sighed when the doors finally shut. She plopped down in her chair, the anxiety in the atmosphere releasing its stranglehold on her. She ran a hand through her tied-up hair. She had to relax, maybe take some time off. Yeah, that's what she'd do. Later on that week, she would find somewhere to relax. Nowhere crowded or dirty; somewhere clean and uninhabited would be perfect.
And she knew just where.
She wished she had stayed in the lab.
*huff huff huff*
She made a turn and slid down to the ground, leaning against the wall.
*huff…huff…huff…*
Her breaths were ragged and uneven and would surely give away her position. She had to find somewhere, anywhere to hide from him.
There was no use hiding, though—there was no use pretending she could outrun him. Her days of beating him were over long ago. Months, it seemed like, when in fact it had been longer than that.
She just had never realized it.
Where was he? Wasn't he right behind her before?
She wasn't wrong or unsure—he had been right behind her. Where was he then? Was he just playing with her? Yeah, that was it: he was toying with her. A cat playing with its catnip before finally destroying it with its claws and teeth. Exactly what this was.
She was about to get up. The strain in her thighs was evident. She had no choice, though—she had to keep running. As long as she could move, those were a few more seconds to stay alive.
She readied her feet and her knees for the pressure of running again…
"Reina."
Her eyes shifted from the paperwork in front of her to the clock on the wall. Her break had been okayed by Hôjô by some miracle. Hôjô had been merciful enough to allow her some downtime. She planned to spend it wisely. Now, she was watching the clock intently, planning to bolt once that second hand reached its assigned destination…
The second hand was so close… The lab assistants scurrying about the lab at that point in time were busy cleaning the place up. For some reason, they felt it wasn't up-to-code enough. How naïve the new ones were…
She readied to get up once the second hand was only a few mere centimeters away.
*tick tick tick*
She got up and began to go to the exit.
"O-oh! G-good day to you, Miss Misora!"
She gave no reply to the awkward employee as she hustled out of the lab. She had found her new relaxation spot, and she was excited to go there.
The only thing she didn't know was that someone was going there, as well.
One foot backed away. The other foot soon followed. She had to relax…she had to stay calm…
Her feet continued backing up. Why did he have to approach her? There was a look in his eyes…one that terrified her. She knew he was liable to hurt her then—they were alone, where no one would even think of showing up. It wouldn't be like in movies, where some friend would show up and save her. And even if there was someone to help her, they would never be capable to defeat this man. No…this…this…being.
This one-winged angel.
The old abandoned building that had been worked on for years was an ideal place to be alone. No workers had trudged there for quite some time. Construction had been halted due to location issues and weather conditions. The storm season was upon them, and Shin-Ra couldn't afford to lose any more construction workers as it was. They treasured their workers despite some of the things that went on.
Reina had come across this area a long, long time ago. Her childhood playground was much different than it had been back then. Construction was only for two months per year due to problems, but still.
She ran a hand over a tarp that lay disheveled over some equipment. It was dusty from the recent dust storms that had blown through the higher grounds. She wondered what kinds of events went on there through the years she had spent away.
Her white lab coat was replaced with a shorter, charcoal-grey jacket. Her violet shirt that matched her eyes fluttered lightly in the breeze. She shivered lightly from the chilled air. Her denim jacket wouldn't do much for her then.
She continued to look around the place. She remembered dashing through the pillars and beams without a care in the world. What a peaceful world that was, childhood…
She had the eerie feeling she was not alone. Was it some lost worker? An inspector, assigned to check on the maintenance of the abandoned building? She continued to walk, taking precaution to her surroundings.
There! Right there! There was movement. She turned around…
"Not an odd place to find you, right, Reina?"
A cold hand, rough and uncaring, was laid upon her cheek. It cooled her skin to an icy temperature. She knew she had to get away then, but there was no hope of escaping being successful.
His body approached hers closer and closer. He was definitely toying with her. She had to get away—she had to run. No matter what the cost, she had to get away.
She sprang into action, making a mad dash for the exit, the way she had came. Her heart was pounding out of adrenaline and fright. She had to get away somehow—maybe he would let her leave to prolong the chase.
No such luck.
Once she was almost to the empty doorway, she was slammed hard against the unprotected steel wall. All it had taken to perform the act had been a mere flick of the wrist. Her shoulderblades stung with the brash contact. She winced, actually letting out a cry. He was stronger than before, moreso than she had surmised. His grip on her shoulder was too powerful, and she waited for the pop of her shoulder dislocating to sound.
She squinted through the pain, trying to get a look on his face, to see if he knew just how much he pained her. She was shocked with the fact that no emotion but sheer rhapsody was etched into his expression. Stark and daunting, his eyes held a psychotic glint that would cause any Behemoth to back down. The sneer on his face was nothing but terrorizing. Up close, she could see the large difference between them. His hulking form over hers was intimidating, and she actually cowered from the great might. She thought herself a fool for even thinking she could ever get away when he bothered to try capturing his victim.
Her legs finally collapsed from underneath her, and she slid down to the cold, steel floor, making the gap between their position even greater. He glared down at her, the corners of his mouth turned up deviantly, revealing every intricate, malevolent thought in his mind. She didn't know if the chill spreading across her skin and down her spine was from the cold from the steel seeped in through her clothes or from the deep pressure bearing down on her from his vast strength.
He bent down over here, one knee coming down to her left side, right on the outside of her jeans. His long, leather cloak fluttered down to the ground next to him, falling over her legs like a drape. Thin strands of silver silk grazed across her cheek and forehead, tickling her neck. His other hand rested on her left shoulder, feeling foreign on the denim.
Her eyes were wide in awaiting horror. She wanted to cry, to scream, to run away again. No matter how strong he was, she could still try. She was smart, though—she knew there was no hope for escape. She could do nothing but wait patiently for his next move, each nerve agitated in anticipation.
He brought his head down to the side of hers. His lips lightly brushed against her cheek as if savoring the moment. She felt a shudder go through his body. His breathing was even, whereas hers was shaking with fear like a baby bird's when it's ambushed by three cats with no source of protection near. She wanted to shut her eyes and block out the world as his lips moved down to her jawline. His right hand moved down across her arm, tugging at the denim sleeve. She hoped he wouldn't rip it—she liked that jacket. He tugged, but nothing ripped, fortunately. The shoulder of the jacket slid off as his mouth moved to her neck.
Her mind was blank. She wanted to remember nothing that was happening. Not when he continued to take off her jacket and move on to her other clothes, not when his hand mussed her perfect ponytail, not when he left sore bruises down her neck, her collarbone, her breastbone. Not when the chilly air hit her bare skin on her waist, her hips, her back. Not when the cold steel met her bare back or legs. Not when she heard their breaths in the cold night air. Not when the moon appeared over the horizon and sun disappeared behind the other side. The stars sparkled and the clouds flew by. She knew there was no chance of being saved. No tears fell despite the empty feeling she felt as he hovered over her. Tears threatened to fall at the corners of her eyes, and they may have fallen when she shut them in the more strenuous instances, but she didn't want to cry in front of him. She would've cried in a corner or in a private room where she could be alone but not in front of him. And so she forced herself to stop crying and keep everything inside.
How long had it been? She didn't know. It had been sunset when the chase had began. How did they even get there? When had he given any signs that he would do something like this to her? When was it that she could've given him the wrong message? She had tried to show no weakness towards him, no sign of being actually human. She had wanted to give off the impression that she was still better than him like when they were younger. When she was just 16 and he was just 17. When they were young and she was his bodyguard.
Things were so simple then.
Not like how they were now.
"It's a girl!"
The Shin-Ra doctors had verified its gender. They took the non-screaming yet living babe to the other side of the room for cleaning. They had to get the amniotic fluid off. Her virgin brown hair looked soft despite it being wet.
Reina glanced down at the child Hôjô treasured as his latest and greatest experiment since Sephiroth. Of course it would be. It was his greatest success's offspring. Of course he would be elated. Not the fact it was his grandchild. No, it was just another thing to experiment on. Something so valuable to his research, he would be willing to risk his great reputation for the chance to get its DNA. Not that he cared about his reputation.
"What do you want to name her?" Reina was asked by a nurse.
Reina looked up at her. She was tired not from the childbirth (that had been the easy part) but from the whole nine-month pregnancy. It was normal for humans, but she would've actually given birth at five had Hôjô not insisted on seeing what it would be like for the child to be carried to full human term. It had taken such a strain on her, she had had to have been admitted to the I.C.U. at seven months after practically living at the clinic for the second trimester. When Reina looked up at her, she wanted to strangle the nurse. She didn't want the task of naming the girl—if it was even a living creature worth of existence. Where was the father? Her husband? Of course. He wasn't there. He was probably busy on work from Lazard. She was grateful. They had married three months after what he had done to her, and she had found out her disheartening predicament only a month later.
She had no choice. She had to come up with a decision soon. She hated her stare on her.
"Raina," she finally decided.
The nurse nodded, requesting the spelling of the name. Reina spelt it out for her. She wanted to name the being with a name like her own. It was just a different version of her name with a different letter. That was all.
The nurse assigned with the task of cleaning the girl was done, and he was then bringing the babe over to its mother. Reina first didn't know why he was bothering to bring it to her; it wasn't like she had asked for her. She took her anyway, cradling it in her arms like she had all the other babies she had experimented on before, which had to all be soothed before needles were injected into their veins and their organs. Their eyes, their tongues, their ears, the backs of their mouths. She preferred having them anesthetized. It wasn't such a hassle then.
The babe was set in her arms. She looked into the babe's face, scrutinizing every detail, trying to find some way to hate this creature.
She found none.
"My daughter," she cooed lovingly. The emotions flooding her every being upon seeing the baby girl were such a vast contrast in comparison with her previous sentiments that she thought she was bipolar for a moment, or that she was clinically insane. (She would not be surprised with either option being true.) She held the child close to her, lovingly to her breast. She was intent on not having her breastfed. She would have her on formula, and only the best Shin-Ra could afford to give her. Nothing Hôjô offered. In fact, she didn't want him anywhere near her daughter. She wanted him out of her child's life; she wanted her daughter to live peacefully and become something true and pure. Not a scientist nor a businesswoman. Not even a doctor or a lawyer. No, an artist, or an antique enthusiast. Archaeologist, or chef. Something she could be happy with, not something that could end up causing someone pain or suffering. Not a fighter in this wartorn land. Not a scientist to experiment on the poorer and less fortunate, those cursed to be nothing but trials and errors. She had such soft, rosy thoughts as she gazed down at her child.
And for once…she was grateful.
"He will not harm you," she whispered to her daughter, knowing full well what she would do with her daughter when concerning her father. She would feel wrong if he was to never be in her life, but she still didn't want her daughter to be influenced by him. She wanted her daughter to be strong but in only good ways. She wanted her daughter to grow up safe and sound, to be a good person.
She knew it could never be, but it was a nice thought.
| XD | D8 | 8D | DX |
I've been working on this for the last few days. I'm really proud of it. :3 I've wanted to do something like this for a while now. It's hard writing something like this, though... It's not the fact that it's hard on my morality (pffft, what morality?) but on the way to word it. I love how it came out, though, and I sorta laughed at the irony of how Reina was planning her daughter's future. Toootal different way she turned out. XD Ah, well. Every parent wants their kid to be successful in a good (and legal) way. I guess it was just natural for her. And hey, having a father like Raina's, can you blame her? It was fun portraying Sephiroth when he started to change from the good guy we see in Crisis Core to the insane OMGWTF. Either way...he's still a sex god. ADMIT IT. You know he's a sex god. ;3 Anyway...hope you enjoyed. ^^ I'll just go to my emo corner now... ".