Genesis led Katherine into his apartment and she looked around curiously. It was certainly spacious, but she should've expected it with him being a First. From what she understood, Firsts and Seconds got their own apartments, though Firsts got the roomier and more comfortable living spaces. Thirds had to share with a roommate or two, and the cadets all slept in the barracks.

Katherine looked around and smiled slightly. "It certainly looks like your dream home, Gen. Do you have the silky sheets you always wanted?"

He chuckled softly and opened the door to the spare room. "Of course. And, I couldn't allow even my guest room to be drab, so I added my personal touch to it."

She nodded and set her bag down on the bed. "It looks really nice. I plan on adding my own touch, though."

He waved his hand and asked, "Is there anything you want to do today? I cleaned out my entire schedule today just for my little kitten."

He lightly poked her nose and she giggled softly, batting away his hand. "I would actually like to go shopping with that girl, Angel. She seems really nice."

He scoffed and started leading her back out. "Trust me, she is not nice. How can you call her nice after she flipped your dear brother onto his back."

She pouted and loosely hugged him. "I thought it was really cool how you picked yourself right back up, though, too."

He puffed out his chest proudly and smirked. "I am pretty cool, aren't I?"

She giggled softly and nodded. "Yes, you are. Oh, is that Angeal? He got big."

Genesis nodded and led her over to Angeal, keeping an arm around her shoulders. "'Geal, meet Katherine. You remember her right?"

Angeal smiled and nodded. "Your little shadow whenever she came out. It's nice to see you after all this time, Katherine. You're doing well, I hope."

Katherine smiled and stretched out her arms, stepping away from Genesis. "I'm as healthy as I've ever been. And, you're a lot bigger than I remember."

Angeal chuckled softly and glanced up when he heard rapid footsteps. He steadied his stance and Zack crashed him into him. Zack grinned widely and hopped back, buzzing in his spot. "Angeal! Angeal! You gotta meet Angel! She's my sister! She taught me how to fight and everything! She's super cool! Oh, hi Kat!"

Katherine giggled softly and gripped Genesis' sleeve as he moved to step forward. "Hello, Zack, right?"

He nodded rapidly and looked up as a hand clamped on his head to halt his nodding. Angel snickered and said, "Nod any harder and your head's gonna pop off."

Zack batted her hand away and Angeal chuckled. "You must be Angel. Zack's told me all about you. It's nice to finally meet you."

Angel glanced over him and took his offered hand. "Same to you. I hope the pup doesn't misbehave too much for ya."

Angeal lightly shook her hand and chuckled softly. "He's not too much trouble. A good 'accidental' whack during training often fixes him right up. I hear you're joining SOLDIER, good luck. It'll be nice to have a female around that isn't a Turk."

Angel hummed softly and nodded slowly. "The Turks are the unspoken rivals of SOLDIER, right?"

Angeal nodded and Genesis said, "Everyone knows about it, except the public. Now, are we going shopping, little kitten or not?"

Katherine nodded and asked, "Want to join us, Angel?"

Angel shrugged and said, "Sure, ain't got anything better to do other than wait around for my appointments tomorrow."

Katherine smiled and pulled away from Genesis fully, holding out her arm. "Well, let's go shopping. I'm sure we can find some SOLDIER appropiate clothing for you too."

Angel nodded and Genesis asked, "Does anyone else want to join this brother/sister shopping trip?"

Zack perked up and asked, "Can I come with? That way it'll really be a brother/sister shopping trip."

Genesis sighed and waved his hand. "Fine, fine. 'Geal, if your pup misbehaves, I'm going to smack him."

Angeal rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Fine. I'll be here when you get back. Don't beat him up too much."

Genesis waved his hand and twitched as he noticed the girls (and puppy) already heading to the elevator. He huffed and took long strides to catch up. He pressed the button to the lobby and crossed his arms, listening to Angel and Katherine make small talk.

Katherine smiled slightly and asked, "Where are you from? Me, Gen Gen, and Angeal are from Banora."

Angel scratched her head and said, "It's a bit odd, but it's called Gongaga."

Katherine blinked and started giggling uncontrollably. Genesis glanced at her and relaxed some, smiling slightly. Zack pouted and asked, "What's wrong with Gongaga? Have you been there?"

Katherine shook her head slightly and tried to control her giggling. "I'm sorry, it's just such a funny name. It's okay, we've got dumbapples and their even dumber trees. They grow in an arch instead up like a normal tree."

Genesis lightly tugged on a strand of her hair and shook his head. "Banora Whites are delicious and you deny them every time I try to get you to eat one. And, the trees are not stupid either. They are the Goddess' most beautiful creations."

Katherine pouted and swatted his hand away as they stepped out. "Well the Goddess could've been a bit less creative with them. I don't even want to know what she was thinking of when she created them."

Genesis rolled his eyes and said, "One day you will understand the Goddess' creations and their beauty. Now, let's get to work on your beauty little kitten."

She shook her head at him and followed him to a clothing store, looking around as they walked. Zack excitedly pointed out a few places and bounced between the two females. Genesis grumbled softly and crossed his arms before opening the door to the store. "Ladies first, puppies stay outside."

Zack huffed as Genesis closed the door in front of him and let himself in. Katherine looked around the store and looked through some clothes. Genesis smiled at her and gently nudged her towards a different rack. "How about you look over here, little kitten? I'm sure you don't want to wear black and add to the drab colors of the already boring building."

Katherine shook her head and pulled away to go back to the rack. "I'm just getting some tank tops, Gen. Besides, I've always leaned towards darker colors. You know that, Gen Gen."

He sighed and nodded. "Alright. I'll let you choose your own clothes. Anything that's too revealing gets put back, though."

Katherine rolled her eyes and grabbed a few tank tops before wandering over to Angel. Angel grumbled softly and asked, "Need something, Kat?"

Katherine smiled slightly and shook her head. "It just looks like you're having a hard time. Do you need some help?"

Angel sighed and said, "I don't really want to wear those stupid uniforms, but none of these clothes look like they can handle a decent fight."

Katherine nodded and said, "These aren't really suited to fighting. Let's just get regular clothes here and then find another store."

Angel shrugged and picked up a few things. "Not too sure how I'm gonna pay for this, though."

Katherine smiled and held up a few articles of clothing in the mirror. "It's alright, Gen's gonna pay for it. He doesn't mind spoiling me and because you're my friend, he's gonna pay for you too."

Angel raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly. "Alright then. I'd say I would thank Genesis, but his ego would grow even more."

Katherine giggled softly and began wandering over to the counter. "You're not wrong. Gen Gen! We're done here!"

Genesis slid over and paid for the girls' clothing after they were rang up. "Puppy said he was going to visit a friend, so it's just us. Me and two lucky ladies."

Katherine rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Actually, we were hoping to go shopping on our own. We can bond some other time, Gen Gen, I promise. I would just like to get to know my new friend better."

Genesis pouted and nodded, handing over his card. "Well, take this with you in case you need something. You do have a phone, right? Good, call me if you need me."

Katherine smiled as he kissed her cheek and said, "Let's go find us a store, Angel. I'm actually curious about finding like a battle shop or something. I'd honestly like to learn some magic."

Angel nodded and grabbed her bags as they headed out of the store."I'm sure they'll have some magic items and spellbooks. I wouldn't ask for materia, though, if you choose to use those. They've apparently got a bunch of materia tucked away somewhere."

Katherine nodded and looked around for a store. "We can still look for a store. I'm just really fascinated by how different it here than Banora." She giggled softly behind her hand before saying, "What's Gongaga like?"

Angel rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty different from here. It's a relatively small village surrounded by forests and there's a small cliff that's right above a lake." She paused to snicker. "When we were younger we used to race each other to the top and then jump off. Whoever made the biggest splash won."

Katherine smiled and asked, "How did you tell who made the biggest splash?"

Angel chuckled softly and walked into a store. "One of our old friends would wait at the bottom cause he'd be too chicken to jump with us. He still would swim, he just wouldn't jump from the cliff with us."

Katherine nodded and looked around as a male walked over to them. He smiled widely and said, "Welcome to the Ironclad Cloak 'n Arsenal. If you've got to fight, let us suit you up right. My name's Caleb. How can I help you ladies today?"

Katherine smiled shyly as he smiled at her and Angel said, "We're just looking. Thanks for the offer, though."

Angel grabbed Katherine's hand and tugged her away from Caleb and towards the weapons wall. "Smooth there, Kat."

Katherine rolled her eyes and mumbled, "He's cute, alright. Sorry for being interested in a guy."

Angel rolled her eyes and lifted a bow, holding it up. "He doesn't seem my type. Anyway, this looks like a very nice bow."

Katherine tilted her head and looked at the bow. It had a blade at each end and the grip was smooth black. There were small slots on each blade, most likely where a materia would go. "It's very pretty, that's for sure. It really suits you, too."

Angel grinned and pulled the string back before setting it back. "I think I'll get it."

Katherine nodded and Angel wandered over to find some arrows for it. Katherine smiled slightly and wandered through the store. She picked up a stray handle and tilted her head. It was a simple pure white handle with a slot at the tip of it and ornate swirls trailing along it.

Caleb wandered over to her and smiled. "That's a materia whip. You put an element based materia at the end of it and then it'll appear as that element. You can also add other materias that can cause Poison or Slow to help suit your needs."

Katherine smiled and said, "Thanks. I've never seen one before. It's really beautiful."

Caleb smiled and gently nudged her over to a different area. "How about I cut you a deal? If you get these gloves, I'll let you get the whip half off."

Katherine hummed softly and said, "Well, my sister also needs some battle-ready clothes and we're on a bit of a budget. Could you help us out, Caleb? She's planning on joining SOLDIER and I would hate to see her get hurt. You wouldn't want to make me sad, would you?"

She lightly placed her hand on his arm and lightly pouted, giving him a sad/cute look. He shook his head rapidly and said, "I can help you out for sure, miss. You just wait your pretty self here and I'll get your sister settled with some good fighting clothes."

She nodded and said, "Thank you so much for your help, Caleb."

He nodded rapidly and went off to help Angel find some clothes. Katherine snickered softly as Angel shot her a look behind Caleb's back and Katherine simply mouthed 'go with it'. Angel shrugged and yelped as Caleb tossed some clothes at her. She shot him a look and he continued about to another rack.

Katherine snickered softly and looked at the gloves he had handed her. She hummed curiously and slipped them on. They were black gloves that reached midway on her forearms and had silver ribbons to tie to her middle fingers to keep them in place. She nodded to herself and slipped them off as Angel walked over, her arms surprisingly empty.

Angel rested her hands on her hips and said, "I don't know what you did to that boy, but you got him suckered in bad. He found everything I needed, is giving us a discount on all our stuff, and is even willing to carry everything back to the ShinRa building for us. What the hell did you do?"

Katherine winked and walked over to the counter, setting down her few items. Caleb had set Angel's things on the counter and had wandered to the back room for something. "Just flirted a bit and mentioned how my sister is joining SOLDIER and I would hate to see her get hurt."

Angel rolled her eyes and said, "You are so bad, ya know that. I ain't complaining, though. I don't want to know how much this would be without the discount he's giving us."

Katherine nodded and smiled sweetly as Caleb walked out, a box in his hand. "What's that you got there, Caleb?"

Caleb smiled and set it down. "It's just a few things we've been working on to help make fighting easier. If you wouldn't mind, could you show them to some SOLDIERS, let them test them out? It'll certainly be a help for me if they become popular."

Katherine nodded and chirped, "Of course. I'm actually a sister of one of the SOLDIER members. I'll put in a good word for you."

Caleb smiled wider and started ringing them up before using his employee discount at the end. Katherine swiped the card and thought for a moment before typing in Genesis' number code. She rolled her eyes as it worked on the first try; of course he used her birthday.

Caleb unfolded an empty cardboard box and set everything of theirs into it before adding the box to it. He led the girls out and flipped the sign over to 'Closed' before picking up the box again. Katherine hummed softly as his arms bulged from the weight and walked beside him as Angel walked in front of them to the ShinRa building.

Katherine lightly flirted with Caleb and stopped outside of the building. "Thanks for carrying it all this way. What's your number? Maybe we can get together sometime."

Caleb rubbed the back of his head and said, "I, uh, don't have a personal phone. You can come by the store anytime, though. I'm there every day during the week."

Katherine nodded and said, "I'll be sure to stop by again. It was nice meeting you."

He grinned and waved as he started walking back. Genesis glanced at him as he walked by Caleb and walked over to Katherine. "And who might that be, little kitten?"

Katherine pouted and said, "Just a boy I met today. He's sweet, no worries. Oh, here's your card back. We didn't spend too much."

Genesis took it back and kissed her temple. "Well, I'm glad you're using your charms for evil. It's good to see that's worn off on you."

Angel snickered and said, "She had that boy head over heels before we even left the shop. Oh, I'm now considered her sister, by the way."

Katherine nodded and looped her arm with Angels. "We should keep that story going, make it more believable next time we go out."

Angel nodded and said, "You got that box, right, Gen? Thanks, we're going back out." She snagged the card from his fingers and said, "We'll be back later."

Genesis blinked and looked at his hand where his card was before shaking his head. He lifted the box and shook his head, muttering, "She couldn't make other friends that were less irritating and maybe a bit more, oh, I don't know, girly? As long as she's happy, that's what should matter. Big brothers are happy for their younger siblings making friends."

Genesis nodded to himself and stepped inside the elevator. He wouldn't make a fool himself making a fuss over Katherine making a female friend. Especially with all these dirty-minded, grubby-handed, canon fodder around every corner.