This is the next chapter of my story for the muse bunny contest. All words and phrases used. Please Read and Review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7.

Thanks to xxDarkAssassinxx.

Enjoy~


He was sitting at his desk, staring down at paperwork piled on his desk. Standing in the doorway, she looked him up and down. As her brother had told her, he had long silver hair. However, she didn't know it was as beautiful as it was. His long bangs framing his face while the rest of his long hair fanned out behind him. His toned chest was exposed with the exception of the twin belts that crossed the front of his chest and the black leather around his middle. From what she could see from where she was, Alaina noticed that his pants were black leather as well. His skin was pale and creamy. His eyes were a bright green, from what Alaina could see, though he was still looking down at his paperwork.

Figuring that was all she would be able to dee for the moment, and getting embarrassed at the fact that she was looking at his shirtless chest, Alaina looked around at the rest of the room. Other than the desk and the two chairs in front of him, there was only a black leather couch to her right against the wall across from the desk. She noticed a long black leather coat and a long katana style sword sitting on the couch. No doubt, they belonged to the general. The walls were a dull grey, a bit similar to her hair. The carpet a worn, dark blue. On the desk, other than the paperwork, was a computer, a marble obelisk, and an empty fruit bowl. To her, the obelisk and fruit bowl seemed out of place. Maybe they were gifts from one of his fan girls or something. She'd heard he had a lot of them. Now that she'd seen him, she could kind of see why.

"Are you just going to stand there with the door wide open?" Came a deep and seductive voice, pulling her from her thoughts. Alaina looked up at him suddenly, wide eyes hidden behind her helmet's visor. Finally, his pen stilled and he looked up at her. His pupils were very cat like. How narrow they were, how they seemed to peer into her soul, Alaina found them . . . alluring. He looked her over, his green eyes seeming to pierce through the armor of her SOLDIER uniform. Alaina shifted, uncomfortly, from one foot to another, though she tried to keep herself from twirling her thumbs, since that was more of a nervous habit for girls and she was trying to act like a guy. Sephiroth nodded to the seat across from him.

"Have a seat." He said, his voice deep and annoyed. Alaina gave a sharp nod and walked over to the seat the he indicated. She sat down, trying not to do it too gently like she would normally. The entire time Sephiroth's sharp eyes followed her like a hawk. She clutched the papers in her hands and stared at him, under her visor, nervous under his sharp stare. After a moment of silence with him staring at her, he reached out a black-gloved hand to her. Alaina stared at it for a moment. He glanced down from her face to the paper in her hand before returning back to meet her hidden eyes with an annoyed stare.

"Are you going to give me the paperwork?" He asked, stretching his hand out a little more, though it was subtle. Alaina's blue eyes widened and she almost smacked her head, though she stopped herself from it.

"Oh wow. I can't believe I forgot about that. I'm really sorry." She said, trying to keep her voice an octave low enough. She handed them over to him, trying her best not to blush at her momentary cluelessness. She let out a low chuckle and scratched the back of her head, under the helmet as best she could. As she did, she noticed that one of her hairpins was coming loose. Being as subtle as possible, she adjusted the hairpin so it held her hair better. Luckily, Sephiroth, who was now looking down at her papers, didn't seem to notice.

Alaina put her hands on her knees as she watched his look over the papers, trying her best not to lace her fingers together as she normally did when she was nervous. After about 15 or so nervous minutes, Sephiroth placed the papers back on his desk and looked back up at her.

"You check out." He said calmly. Alaina almost let out a sigh of relief, though she reframed from doing so. Sephiroth eyed her for a moment. Alaina squirmed a little under his gaze. Lucky, Sephiroth turned his gaze away and stood. He walked pass her and over to his couch. Alaina managed to hold back the hot blush that threatened to breach the surface as she diverted her eyes from his pale, sculpted chest. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he picked up his coat and put it on. He turned to her again.

"Come with me. I'm going to station you under 1st class Angeal Hewley to begin with. Since we don't know where you will be of the most use." Alaina was a little offended by that comment but held her tongue. She'd heard about Angeal. He was Zack's mentor. Sephiroth walked out the door, not even worrying much about Alaina following or not. Naturally, she did follow him. He walked down the hallway toward the elevators. He pressed the 'up' button on the wall and waited for the elevator to come meet them.

It took around fifteen minutes to get where they needed. Alaina wasn't really paying attention. She simply followed the general and stared off into space, going through the history and other stuff she'd put on her resume. So far, she was doing pretty well. She didn't forget anything so far.

Dazed, she didn't notice Sephiroth had stopped till she ran into his stilled back. Alaina stumbled back a few steps and looked up at the general. He only glanced down at her. He turned back to the door in front of him and opened it. Walking through, Alaina followed close behind him.

The moment Alaina walked into the room, she heard the sounds of fighting. Alaina looked around and spotted the two that were fighting. One was Zack. The other was an older looking version of him. The way they were fighting together, and the fact that Zack was losing, she figured that he was Angeal. The two of them stopped fighting when they heard Sephiroth and Alaina come in. Zack and Angeal both looked at them.

"You're out of breath Zack. That injury still taking it's toll on you?" Sephiroth said, his tone mocking. Zack's face flushed more so when he heard that. His arms waving wildly.

"What? You expected me to break into song and dance right away? Recovery is a delicate matter!" He exclaimed, his breathing still labored.

"I'm working on it!" Angeal chuckled at that. Alaina noticed that Sephiroth was smirking as well. Alaina gave a small laugh herself, though she covered it as best she could as a cough. Zack started pouting. Alaina swore that if he really were a puppy, his ears would be laid back cutely against his head and he would have the cutest, watery puppy dog eyes. Angeal gave the 2nd class a pat on the back.

"Come on Zack. We're just playing." Angeal said, trying his best to hold back his laughter, though he still wore a broad grin on his face. Zack turned away, still pouting cutely.

"Leave me alone." He said quietly, though there was a hint of playfulness in his voice. Angeal gave Zack another pat.

"Come on. No need to get upset over something so silly." He walked in front of Zack, placing both hands on his shoulders. Angeal's broad back and shoulders blocked Alaina's view of Zack.

"What part of 'Leave me alone' did you not understand?" She heard him asked, a mocking edge to his voice. Sephiroth beside her scoffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Well well. This is the last thing I expected to hear from you." Sephiroth said, clearly mocking him. Zack looked over Angeal's shoulder at the silver-haired 1st class and glared, immaturely sticking his tongue out. Again, Sephiroth scoffed at him. Zack huffed. He reached behind him and grabbed a knife from a weapons rack that Alaina had failed to notice. He threw the knife over Angeal's shoulder. Said person knocked Zack's hand in an effort to dislodge the weapon before it was thrown. Instead, he managed to change the course of the weapon so that it was headed for Alaina instead of its intended target, Sephiroth. Thinking quick on her feet as the object was suddenly flying towards her face, Alaina pulled her brother's sword off her back in one swift, easy motion. With the white bind that was once bound twice across her chest now flying hazardously around her body, while the rest of the binding remained in place, Alaina deflected the knife using the broad side of her brother's blade. With a metallic 'thunk', the knife embedded it's self into the floor a few feet to her right, in between Sephiroth and herself.

The three men stared at her, a mix of emotions on Zack and Angeal's faces, though Sephiroth only peaked a slender eyebrow at her. Alaina shrugged and replaced the blade back across her back. She looked up at Zack. His mouth was ajar and his puppy dog eyes were a little wider.

"What?" She asked, though she made sure to keep her voice sounding as manly as she could manage without sounding fake. Zack's shocked expression turned into a broad grin.

"What is the difference between you and me? I'll tell you what that is! You're a 3rd class, and I'm a 2nd class." Alaina's eyes widened and her eyebrows crooked in confusion.

"Huh?" She exclaimed, again trying to keep her voice down an octave or two than normal. Angeal shook his head.

"He means to say that that was a pretty nice move you did there and your reaction time was good." Angeal paused for a moment and frowned. "I think." Zack nodded to confirm his explanation. Alaina shook her head, wondering how in Gaia Angeal could have guessed that from the confusion that she'd heard coming from the 2nd class's mouth. Sephiroth stepped a little closer to Alaina and placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the other two.

"This is James Stevens. He's one of the new SOLDIER recruits. I thought he might need to train under you for a while, Angeal. Just until we find somewhere where he's actually useful." With that, Sephiroth shoved her in their direction. Angeal nodded and clasped her on the shoulder.

"Alright, James. Let's start our training." Alaina stared at him for a moment. When he made no move, other than staring at her, her eyes grew wide.

"You mean now?" She said, her voice going higher in pitch than she intended. Angeal didn't seem to pay it much notice, luckily.

"Yes, now. Show me what you've got kid." He said, taking a few steps back and redrawing his blade. Alaina did the same with her own, hoping she could stand her ground against him. He was first class after all. Than again, if she failed with her brother's sword, which she had little training with-or training with any sword for that matter- she could always use her gun that was hidden discreetly under her clothing. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Zack and Sephiroth moved away to make room for the two of them. Alaina gulped and turned back to Angeal.

"You ready kid?" He asked. Alaina gave him a small nodded.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She muttered, as she raised the sword, hoping she would be able to put up enough of a convincing fight without alerting them to her, very girly, style of fighting.