Unbroken
He knew who she was the moment he saw her.
She was a Cetra and believed to be the last of a mystical race that was known mostly through legend. Hojo longed to get his hands on her. President Shinra had made her capture a priority. The Turks had been chasing after her for years but she always eluded them.
And there she was, a tiny little thing, selling flowers on a dingy street corner. She wasn't even trying to hide. Her pink dress and white flowers made her a beacon, the cleanest brightest thing he'd seen in the Sector five section of the Midgar slums.
He wondered where she'd gotton the flowers. The Mako production of the area had long ago sucked the life from the dirt and of course there was no sunlight under the plate.
But she was a Cetra, part Cetra, he corrected himself, and had the ability to make things grow, even in Midgar.
Sephiroth was only driving through, taking a shortcut to Shinra headquarters after a morning of recreational monster hunting. He was sweaty and covered in gore and wanted nothing more than take a shower.
Normally, he would have only idled briefly at the red light before running it. He kept a tight schedule and nothing irritated him more than a delay that would set him behind. This would definitely set him behind. Sighing he double parked the truck and went to fetch her.
It was his duty to bring her in.
He towered over her and she had to crane her head back to look at him.
He expected fear and he put on his sternest expression to take advantage of it, but when her eyes met his, there was no fear. Instead there was a friendly welcoming look that took him by surprise.
"Cetra." He said, scowling at her fearlessness "You're coming with me."
"Where are we going?" She said in a voice that was pure silver.
"To Shinra."
When that failed to elicit a proper reaction, he clarified.
"Professor Hojo would like to meet you."
The professor had a bad reputation. Rumors abounded of people being taken by force and taken to Hojo's labs, never to be seen again. The Cetra would be aware of this and she had every reason be afraid, but she wasn't. Instead she laughed lightly.
"You will have to give the Profesor my regards but I simply can not meet with him today."
"I'm not giving you a choice." He said with menace.
"Here, take this." She said and handed him a pale flower.
"I don't want a flower." He said, irritated now, but found himself reaching for it. It was a lily, pale as moonlight with a bright yellow stamen, looking horribly out of place and delicate in his black leather blood and dirt encrusted hand. He didn't want it, and looked to her to tell her so but she was gone.
Sephiroth blinked in surprise, searching around but there was no sign of her.
And then he saw her, stepping into a dark alley between two brick tenement houses. She paused to look over her shoulder at him and winked. Then took a step forward and disappeared from view.
Sephiroth had inhuman reflexes and superhuman speed, yet he found himself just standing there with his mouth hanging open at her audacity. He didn't know how she had managed to slip away from him, but to dare stop in mid flight to wink at him?
That was unheard of. It was disrespectful. He would have to teach her a lesson, teach her some proper fear before he brought her to Hojo.
Moving so fast he became a blur, he took off after her.
He bolted down the alley and every trash can seemed to get in his way. Piles of refuse tripped him up and caused him to slip and loose his footing. She was just ahead of him, j turning the corner, her dress a pink flash that enraged him and he pushed himself faster.
Rounding a corner, he jumped over a huge pile of crates that impeded him, but for some reason not her. He landed on slippery refuse and skidded into another huge pile of crates that came crashing down upon him. Sephiroth hit the ground, slamming his head hard enough on the pavement to briefly black out.
He lay on his back staring up at the underside of the plate. He blinked and found himself looking into eyes that reminded him of the green fields of Wataii.
"Are you all right?" She said.
"Cetra?"
"My name is Aeris."
"I don't care." He growled. "You are under arrest."
"You're so cute." She giggled and kissed him lightly on the forehead.
He should have grabbed then but her unexpected action so surprised and confused him that she slipped away before he could think to move.
Sephiroth jumped to his feet and gave chase only to find himself back on the street where he'd started. Her wagon of flowers were gone and there was no hint that the flower girl had ever been there.
"Dammit!"