Chapter 3: Traveling Soldier

"I have a mission for you, Sephiroth," said Lazard the very next day after his "date" with Haruka. "Apparently, the Wutai army is building up and taking measures drastic enough to come into our city disguised."

Sephiroth kept his face attentively blank as he took in the information the director gave to him. He knew the army was a master of disguise and could slip past security of the Shinra troops. That didn't help him shake the uneasiness that welled up in his stomach. If the Wutai soldiers were in the city, they could harm any Midgar civilian, including Haruka. It seemed rather strange that her house was alit by a cigarette whose flame was nearly out. Perhaps, the Wutaians that were disguised in Midgar were the ones that lit her house on fire but as to why he didn't know.

"You want me to go in and capture these hooligans?" asked Sephiroth suavely, studying Lazard's expression.

"The Shinra army is already doing that," said Lazard, clasping his hands together, "but we do need a soldier to protect the slums while the army is doing these searches. If you find any Wutaians in disguise, phone the army and they'll take care of the rest. As subtle as the slums are, they still occupy civilians who are blissfully unaware of these attacks and we wouldn't want any more damage than there already is."

Sephiroth nodded, clasping his Masamune tightly in his left hand. "I think I get the mission," he said. "I'll go to the slums and look around for these 'traitors'."

When Sephiroth turned to go, Lazard stopped him by saying, "I know of the girl you rescued from the fire. She and her sister are Ancients—the last ones in the world, which might be why the enemy tried to burn down her house. They wanted to make sure we never got ahold of them. Keep a close eye on the girl, agreed? The Turks are off doing recon work outside of Midgar except for Tseng but he's watching the other Ancient. Protect the girl at all costs."

"Yes, sir," said Sephiroth and he walked out of the briefing room.

…

As Sephiroth walked to the elevator, he was stopped by Angeal and they launched into a conversation.

"Sephiroth," he said, "Lazard told me about the mission to protect the slums and the girl. Is it true she's an Ancient?"

Boy, news traveled fast, didn't it? "Yes," replied Sephiroth, nodding his head slowly. "She didn't tell me this while we were at lunch yesterday, though, so I can't assume."

Angeal's eyes bore into Sephiroth's as he asked, "Do you have…feelings for this girl? I notice that you check your phone more often than you did before."

Sephiroth was about to deny it but he stopped short, wondering if he did love the girl. True, she was a great listener and had a funny personality but it was too soon to assume anything. Even if he did love her, which would be biased, she would be in danger all the time because of his soldier status. He couldn't hurt her like that so it was better to just stay away.

"I honestly don't know, Angeal," said Sephiroth, shrugging slightly. "I feel protective of her wellbeing but I can't say its love."

"Why not?" pressed Angeal, a small smile forming on his lips. "Is love really scarier than the battlefield?"

Sephiroth sighed impatiently and he gave the man a withering look that clearly wasn't an amused one. "You and I both know why I can't fall in love. Think of the danger she'd be in if she was by my side. I'm not saying I am but if I died on the battlefield her heart would break in two. I couldn't do that to her."

Angeal went silent as if thinking of a response to say back but he had nothing. "Sephiroth," he said, crossing his arms over his chest, "people fall in love and get married every day. There's no crime in loving someone. She seems like a nice woman—nice enough to love you for whom you are on the inside."

"Dr. Phil, I don't need help with my feelings, thank you." Sephiroth said that with an annoyed tone.

"What do you want help with then, Sephiroth?" asked Angeal, placing his hands on his hips. "Does this girl make you happy?"

"Very much so," replied Sephiroth warily. "She's seventeen, Angeal. It's not legal." That was a lame-ass excuse but it was sort of true.

"I see," said Angeal, placing a thoughtful hand to his chin. "Well, I suppose I took up too much of your time. You need to prepare for your mission. Good luck."

Sephiroth walked past Angeal, smiled, and said, "Thanks, Angeal, take care."

"You too," responded the man, walking away.

Sephiroth smiled to himself as he thought of Haruka, wondering what she was doing and if she was safe. He missed having someone to talk to even though he had Angeal and Genesis. The primal emotions in his heart told him he was attracted to her but just because he was a soldier didn't mean he couldn't repress those urges. He was taught to cast off lust, love, and desire but like any man it was hard so instead he disciplined his mind to resist the urges.

I just hope I can push these urges aside for the mission, he thought as he went into the elevator.

…

(Haruka POV)

It was really dark in the slums but that didn't stop us from knowing what time it was. Going out after seven thirty wasn't really advised because there were a lot of freaks who would try and kidnap some girls. Because of that reason, my mom enrolled me into some self-defense classes even though I never had to use them. I was often told by Mom to not hesitate in using these skills just in case I ran into some freaks.

"Hey, baby," said a slurred voice from my right and I looked to see a drunken man staggering up to me, "you wanna come hang out with me?"

"No, thank you," I said firmly, wrenching myself away from him. "If you'd kindly back away from me, I'd like to get home."

I tried to brush past him but his strong fingers gripped my shoulder hard enough to leave bruises and it was hard to struggle. Like any normal person, adrenaline pumped through my body and it restricted my movement. The man roughly threw me on the ground, effectively knocking the wind out of me, and mounted my hips. I screamed loud enough to attract attention but he covered my mouth with his calloused hand and silenced me.

I kicked, fought, and struggled but it seemed meaningless so I tried to scream but I knew it was hopeless because my cried were muffled by his hand. Please, don't do this to me, I begged internally, hoping he'd get off of me.

Before I could think, the man was roughly pulled off of me and thrown against the wall of the alley. Trembles went through my body as I saw the shadow that held the man strangling him. I felt immensely relieved that the stranger was saving my life but I didn't want to see someone die in the alley so I shakily stood up and grabbed the stranger by the arm to stop him from killing the drunkard.

"Stop it, sir," I whimpered out, feeling the tears sting my eyelids. "Let him go; he's not worth it."

"She's right," hissed a familiar voice to the drunkard. "You're not worth killing so if I were you I'd be glad that she was here to save you. Now, leave my sight before I reconsider my opinion."

He released the drunken man and the man staggered off in bewilderment. The stranger's eyes locked to mine and I knew immediately who it was. It was Sephiroth, and he save me from near rape. There were no words that could express my gratitude so instead I just flung myself into his arms and hugged him tight enough to break him. Tears of gratitude ran down my cheeks as I clung to him and he awkwardly rubbed my back to calm me down. I was so thankful but I could never repay him for the act of kindness.

"Thank you so much," I gasped, finally pulling it together. "I thought…Oh, God, I don't even wanna think what would have happened if you didn't come here in time. Thank you." My gasps broke off into whimpers and I held onto Sephiroth like he was life support but it didn't seem to faze him.

"You're welcome," he said gruffly. "I wasn't about to let that low-life scum take advantage of my friend."

My heart soared. He considered me a friend of his as much as I considered him my friend and like a true friend he came to my rescue like a knight in shining armor—well that was kind of true; he wore armor and had some silver on him. I gave him another hug before releasing him to look up into his face.

"Come on," said Sephiroth, grabbing my hand gently with his gloved ones. "I'll take you home."

"Thank you," I whispered, wiping the tears away with my free hand, "my silver knight in shining armor." That part was a light whisper but I could tell he heard it because the smile on his face widened.

"You're welcome, little princess," he said gently as he led me through the slums.

It was strange but I felt safe with Sephiroth like I could depend on him for safety. He truly was a knight in shining armor and my protector—just like a true friend.

A/N: Sort of creepy but I did it. Please read and review!