Sephiroth couldn't understand idle chatter.

People around him did it quite a bit, though for what means to an end was always unclear. Pleasantries were something he comprehended only marginally as a habitual action...like an involuntary muscle twitch. His receptionist often asked him how he was doing, but it seemed like she really wanted to throw him to the floor and copulate violently. She'd have a very hard time doing so, of course, but that didn't stop the scene from playing behind her eyes every time he walked in or out of his office. This kind of look was common among the female and some of the male citizenry regardless of age, race, or status. When he confessed to Lazard he was worried about being overcome by a populace who were painfully incapable of controlling their hormones the man had nearly fallen off his chair laughing. Upon seeing the seriousness of his statement, the Director had assured him that while Shinra didn't mind their SOLDIERS having admirers, assault of any kind was taken very seriously by the company and should anything of the sort happen to him he should report it immediately to Human Resources.

Then you had people like Commander Rhapsodos who couldn't for the life of them understand why he didn't want to 'bang every chick' in the vicinity. Sephiroth balked at the thought of having to explain Hojo's order for him never to engage in intercourse with anything, human or not, and instead had to go through the painful ordeal of citing SOLDIER ethics and responsibility towards his position. While it was mildly entertaining to watch Genesis' eyes glaze over in horror as he proceeded to cite Section 22 Order 57, it still made him uncomfortable that he couldn't be entirely honest with his fellow Firsts, no matter what. Instead, he let the rumors circulate that he was simply discreet about his dalliances and had no desire to share his intimate encounters with others.

Interaction was a painful, drawn out ordeal that usually left him with incredulous stares or screams of utmost terror. He would-in the early hours of the morning-reflect indignantly on the fact that he couldn't really help it. Hojo had practically raised him in the lab until he was fourteen, with little to no interaction save for the man's colleagues and himself. He even had his own room in the back of the Diagnostics Lab...if you could even call it a room. Even in his dreams, the texture of the scratchy pallet was embedded into his memory. The walls were solid iron...reinforced 'just in case he threw a fit' as Hojo would always say. It was perpetually cold and dark….thought by the time he was fifteen the amount of mako in his system would render this fact worthless. The pain of the tests he was subjected to faded over time. Hojo was thorough but never lethal, and though the fact that he would live through every ordeal didn't comfort him, it certainly told him that he was valuable. He began his SOLDIER training in brief intervals; snatches of conversation with drill sergeants that seemed to both pity and fear him. At eighteen he was introduced into politics...Lazard visited him to explain diplomatic negotiation and bartering. He had full knowledge of Shinra's innerworkings by the time he turned nineteen and his own room on the President's floor.

It was decided that he would pass through the ranks normally, like any other initiate in order to pass off suspicion. It became quickly apparent that Sephiroth was nothing like his peers, and he was almost instantaneously alienated. He had sharper hearing than some of the Firsts, and was undeniably faster...often leaving his comrades in the dust on missions that should have been a team effort. Sephiroth was also stronger and smarter than the majority of the SOLDIER population, with a hand that could shatter ribs with the flick of a finger and a memory so photographic that there were times he wished he could forget some of the things he had seen. By the time he was twenty one he could beat every simulation in the VR room with his eyes closed. Shinra made him their poster boy, with his face floating on logos and various holo screens on both the upper and lower plate. He was a point of pride for them...and for a while, he was content, but never 'happy.' The concept of happiness escaped him.

When SOLDIERS who were given leave came back tanned and slack-jawed from days spent with their families, he looked on incomprehensibly. Human contact had never been comforting for him. Human contact meant being jabbed with needles, plunged into mako tanks, reciting doctrine...or fending off an attack. Human contact was duty, plain, simple, and cold and he couldn't imagine what anyone saw in it. People feared him and he was alright with that, because it meant that they couldn't slice him open and examine his intestines or strap him down to a gurney and drug him until he couldn't remember what his name was. He visited Hojo as little as possible once he was given his own set of rooms floors away, but he was still forced to go to the labs once a month to be 'evaluated for stability.' Sometimes it confused him, because none of the other SOLDIERS were subjected to such rigorous examination...but he knew better than to question it.

The arrival of Angeal and Genesis was a tipping point in his life, though for better or for worse he couldn't say. Both rose through the ranks quickly, faster than any SOLDIER save for himself, and he watched their progress with interest. Angeal was calm, focused and devoted to his cause, something that Sephiroth could certainly respect...but never admire. Genesis was fiery and prone to disobedience, something that irked Shinra to no end. Still, he was willing to improvise where others did not, and he had the wit and the looks to back up his actions. Sephiroth instructed him offhandedly, knowing that his full attention would not be welcomed by someone so prideful. Genesis seemed to take his aid as a challenge, though he never did figure out why. Nevertheless, the three of them were still closer to each other than anyone else in SOLDIER. Angeal was reserved and shy, but fiercely protective of Genesis, and Sephiroth never held it against him. There was something...fragile about the redhead that wasn't apparent in the other man.

There was something about Genesis that constantly nagged at him...though if he was completely honest with himself it wasn't exactly an unpleasant feeling. Those mako-blue eyes were full of spirit, and there was never more life in them than when they were sparring or arguing. So when Genesis had come back from the VR room with a black eye, a split lip, three broken ribs and a riotous grin, Angeal had practically shrieked that they obviously both enjoyed 'beating the ever-loving shit' out of each other, 'whether verbally or physically' and that he wouldn't have any part in their 'rampant and chronic stupidity.' It was the first time Sephiroth had ever heard Angeal scream 'like a girl' as Genesis would say, though he assured him it wasn't the first time it had ever happened; it was also the first time that anyone had insisted he might be mentally incapacitated. He was forced to grudgingly admit that he was-for once in his life-enjoying something. Despite the fact that they constantly butted heads, they got along rather well outside of the public eye, and Sephiroth began to tentatively think of his two fellow Firsts as friends. Genesis was inconsistent and prone to distemper, but he was loyal and for the most part honest...and Angeal was probably the best friend anyone could ever ask for but Sephiroth wasn't emotional enough yet to acknowledge that as a fact.

"A Zackary Fair to see you, sir."

The reason his Secretary had to pitch her voice two octaves lower and add a roll to it that sounded like she had a mouthful of felt in his presence would forever escape him. He knew for a fact that she had a standard lower plate accent that was practically earsplitting when she was talking on the phone, though now that he thought about it, perhaps she did it in consideration of his auditory function.

"Thank you Lailah, send him in please."

Leaning back in his chair, Sephiroth surveyed the mess of paperwork on his desk with a feeling of resigned despair. Being the poster-boy of Shinra may have had its perks, but it also had its downsides. Mainly, receiving forms from executives who felt they were too good to fill them out themselves. Most of his work centered in field reports, whether it be critiquing that of a lower class SOLDIER who had handed it in or approving a survey for an upcoming encampment, it didn't really matter. Once it went across his desk it went up to Lazard, who was rumored to bathe with his paperwork to save himself time. From there it went to President Shinra who probably had a secretary look over it for him. Personal reports were the worst, because while he might have a photographic memory, no one else cared to know that they arrived at 'X' location at 2:45:33 where it was raining moderately and the mud under his boots appeared to be of a clay origin. People also didn't want to know the miniscule details in which their loved ones had perished, down to blood spatter...it was the main reason Lazard didn't let him write to families whose men had died under his watch anymore.

"Sir, Commander Hewley sent me up to give you the VR report."

"Just yours, or your whole platoon?" Sephiroth said calmly, taking the report and scanning the summary with a sinking feeling. "Sit down" he added wearily, watching as the cadet sank into one of the armchairs facing his desk.

"Uh, well sir, it was just going to be mine but Angeal seemed to think you wouldn't mind." The dark-haired SOLDIER squirmed uncomfortably. "He mentioned that the Firsts have a mission coming up."

Sephiroth paused, halfway through the thick stack of papers in front of him.

"Are you asking me or are you telling me?" he said mildly.

"Oh, well, asking, sir!" Zack said eagerly.

The General smirked briefly before looking down at the reports and shaking his head.

"I'm afraid you'll have to ask Angeal about it" he said calmly. "Now, deliver half of these to Commander Rhapsodos and tell him that I've gone to dinner."

The younger man paled.

"Ah...but-sir-I don't think-" Sephiroth raised a brow and the younger man gulped and jumped out of his seat, taking the proffered reports. "Yes sir, right away sir!"

The silver-haired man waited until the cadet was out of his office before letting out a small chuckle. Genesis would be livid about receiving the extra work, but couldn't technically say no to it as his subordinate. He almost pitied Zack. Rising, he checked the time and made some semblance of order out of his desk before dismissing Lailah. He then waited his usual allotted 'ten minutes to avoid assault' before exiting the office himself. The cafeteria was a floor down, and while he might normally have gone out to eat on a night like this, he didn't particularly feel like putting up a hood and ducking around corners to avoid the populace. He placed his order to go, noting the hungry stares of several executives that promised more paperwork should he attempt to eat there in peace.

"Make that two, Nila dear" came a sickly sweet voice at his side. "Cut all that gravy though, you know what it does to me."

Someone lesser than Sephiroth might have cringed at the murderous look on Genesis face. As such, the General merely shivered inside and hoped beyond hope that his dinner wouldn't get cold before the Commander stopped yelling. To his surprise-and dread-Genesis said and did nothing, preferring to stand next to him as the cafeteria staff prepared their lunches and put them in styrofoam carryout tins. The only indication that the man was upset was the occasional twitch of his lower lip...to the left...a quirk that Sephiroth had observed several months after their first meeting. Most of Genesis face was obscured by his hair in any case, making it nearly impossible to tell what he could be planning. When Nila handed over their twin plastic bags, his red-leather hands curled perhaps a little too tightly at first, but quickly let go.

It was-of course-too much to hope that Genesis was merely punishing him with silence.

The redhead followed Sephiroth into the elevator and out into the hallway to his rooms, waiting patiently while he unlocked the door and stepped aside so he could enter first. This wasn't so uncommon. All of them had eaten in the others' quarters at some point. Under these circumstances however, he was positively dreading it. His living space was spacious but simple, with a kitchenette to the left of the entry and a lounge to the right. Directly ahead were two bedrooms with an interconnecting bathroom; the one on the left being Sephiroth's. At one point, he'd allowed Angeal to take the guest room while he was recovering from one of Hojo's 'treatments', but it otherwise remained empty and he didn't really know why he had it. Everything was updated, of course; with chrome cooking surfaces and soft pleather furniture. The colors ranged from silver, to black, to grey...with the occasional splash of color from a commemorative plaque or trophy. Sephiroth didn't much care for material items, but they still gave the room a more 'lived in' atmosphere. The only personal picture he had was a small eight inch frame of himself, Genesis, and Angeal after a sparring session. One of the cadets passing by had taken it for them and they'd each gotten a copy. He wasn't sure what the other two had done with theirs but he liked to think they had framed them too. Only Genesis was smiling in the snapshot, but it seemed fitting somehow.

"Would you like a drink?" Sephiroth asked, watching as the redhead made himself comfortable on his couch and opened his takeout.

"What I would like, is my evening back!" Genesis snapped, finally speaking before picking up a shovelful of rice.

"You'll have to take that up with Angeal" the silver-haired man said slyly. "He's the one who sent the assignments, after all."

"Yeah, he sent them to you."

"I don't see the issue" Sephiroth replied, leaning down to snatch a bottle of water from the fridge. "You're not supposed to complain about paperwork descent, especially from those who outrank you."

"Angeal doesn't outrank you, so why'd you take half his paperwork?" Genesis replied snarkily. Sephiroth opened his mouth to deliver a retort only to realize he didn't have one. Blue eyes widened as the older man realized he'd gotten the upper hand without even trying.

"Gaia, did you let me have that one?!"

"Yes" Sephiroth lied, sitting down opposite the Commander and busying himself with his takeout.

"You're lying!" was the gleeful response. Sephiroth tried to ignore the irritated blush that rose to his cheeks. "And you're mad! Oh, forget it! I'd do that paperwork twice just to see this again!"

Sephiroth imagined a painful death for the potato wedges on his plate while Genesis made contented noises through whatever he was eating. Just as he was getting his appetite back, his pager rang. Halfway through an heirloom tomato, the silver-haired man paused and fished around in his pockets while his dinner companion looked on with a slightly dreamy expression.

The Caller ID indicated it was Tseng, which more than likely heralded a quick end to his meal.

"General Sephiroth here" he said tightly.

"Sephiroth, we've got a problem in Sector Six" the Turk replied, wasting no time with pleasantries. "Three of the five remaining missing children have been recovered...but...we've had to confiscate the bodies."

"They're dead then" he said calmly, earning a raised brow from Genesis.

"Yes...by all appearances they are. It looks as if they were...experimented on; whoever did it got further with them than with the others."

A wave of indignant fury that was deeply personal surged through him before he pushed it down.

"What do you need me for?"

"We need all three of you" Tseng said irritably. "For crowd control..it was a civilian who found that bodies and they haven't kept quiet about it."

"Very well, where?"

"The usual, meet at the entrance between sectors five and six. We'll be there."

Sephiroth snapped the pager shut without replying and allowed himself a moment of remorseful staring at his dinner. Genesis was quick on the uptake and whisked both takeouts away to the trash compressor before either of them could get too worked up about it.

"I'll page Angeal" the redhead muttered, calling Rapier and clipping it to his belt. "You ought to key us out or they'll think we've gone AWOL."

The general nodded shortly and swung about to log onto the company access computer. Once that was done, he followed Genesis out into the hall.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't think we'd be doing this all night instead of paperwork" Sephiroth commented blithely.

"Fuck all, Seph" Genesis groaned, rolling his eyes. "I don't give a shit about the paperwork. Are you going to fill me in?"

Both of them watched as Angeal came jogging around the corner with the Buster Sword strapped to his back.

"Might as well wait until we're all here" he replied, narrowing his eyes by way of greeting as Genesis waved enthusiastically.

"...It seems like it's going to be a long evening."