Falling Down
Past it all
Previously
He was going to have to make sure to keep an eye out for everything. He wanted to keep Sophie away from any threat, especially from that woman who clearly had something to hide. It was his job and duty to do so.
Now
The sun was high up in the bright blue sky, there wasn't a single cloud anywhere as far as the eye could see. This was a one of Midgar's beautiful days, apart from rather foggy sticky ones. It was almost as beautiful as the night, that's when countless stars appeared in the sky.
To top it off, today was your day off and what perfect timing, you already planned what part of the city you wanted to see, what you wanted to buy and even what you were going to wear.
"Perfect just simply perfect, Midgar's geology isn't all that bad" you said to yourself.
But for once in your life a day like this could never be more perfect than it was then because, you weren't going to be alone.
~~Oooooo~~
Possibly a very difficult task, picking out a dress that wasn't too much for a party plus trying to be unbiased was easier said than done. You wanted something that looked pretty but nothing suitable for a cocktail party…something that a certain somebody would like to see you in.
You scouted a blue gown from the wardrobe but tossed it aside, it was simply too frilly. And somehow you had found a mini-skirt with a white singlet…definitely out of the question.
Cussing you thought, 'when exactly was the last time I went shopping!'
"NO…No, this is just a simple outing to enjoy the sun this is not the-best-dressed-wins-the-guy!"
You looked back at another dress which you picked with a blank stare….it was a strapless pink silk, tight and very short.
This was definitively not yours.
"GAH!! This is hopeless" Instinct told you to pull out every last strand of your hair. Somehow you refrained.
Before you knew it you began throwing everything you owned in your closet onto the bed rather blindly, you didn't really care if your undergarments got all over the place.
And then something pleasantly soft found your hand, it was dress you hadn't worn in years, since you were a young teenager considering you were still in your very early twenties.
You thought you had thrown it out in despair all those years ago.
"No way, this probably won't fit me anymore…" You said, standing up holding the dress out in front of you. It was a soft green colour going down just above knee height, and on the front was a v-neck shape which could be buttoned up or down to your front waist. What made it cute was the single little red rose on the hem of the dress and the right side of the fore-arm sleeve.
"Might be worth a try"
Striping down and changing into the little green dress; you weren't as disappointed as you expected to be.
Mumbling "It…still fits" you felt angry again…the same emotion welled up in you as they had similarly years ago…after your big brother had bought you that very dress…You remember throwing it out after what he had done.
You shook your head; you really didn't want to wear it because even now the memories and feeling seemed as vivid as they were back then. You wanted to move on from that family disaster and live a life that wasn't of mediocrity, you wanted to experience adventure first hand which was why you signed up for a job at SOLDIER.
"Maybe I have not really moved on from…that incident…"
And so you decided, today was the day you faced that little demon head on simply by wearing that little green dress.
~~Oooooo~~
You made your way out of your home and descended the stairs of the huge apartment building, deciding to take route through SOLDIER you needed to find your bodyguard.
"Oh its you Sophie"
You spun around, surprised. It was Lazard, wasn't he supposed to be busy at this hour?
"Sir?! Uh I was just going out today since its good weather" You said chirping.
"Indeed it is, well I hope I can finish early today and enjoy it for a bit myself, but duty calls…Oh! Sophie…" He looked down at you with a sudden seriousness.
"I can't allow you to go outside without protection, the war with Wutai is still ongoing and the Turks can't pick up every single piece of information on each of these rebels whereabouts. Anybody with access to information or me is potentially a target…especially you until this is all over"
You sighed, nothing like a safety brief to keep one at ease "I understand sir, which is why I'm just looking for uh, Sephiroth"
"Oh! Yes, I doubt he's in today so it's better to go with a regular escort" He said, perhaps a little too confident with himself.
But your day was just ruined, so he's on a mission again…so soon after you saw him again. This will be hard to get used too.
"What's with the grim look?" He suddenly asked.
You looked at him and flinched, his eyes were rather intrusive…did you look that disappointed?
His expressions softened to normal in an instant "I will be on my way now so try not to make any…bad decisions" Was all he said and left quickly.
This perfect day was slowly becoming a rather depressing one.
Now came the task of finding an off duty SOLDIER to be your guard, somebody who would just stand there shadowing you everywhere you went just doing their job without a word or question.
The way to headquarters reception was a short journey and soon you were standing in front of the huge reception desk. The woman was there looking incredibly busy typing away on the computer but seemingly unfazed.
You showed her your ShinRa/SOLDIER worker card which also acted as proof of your employment and identity.
"Yes miss, how may I help?" The short little red-head woman said without looking up at neither the card or at you.
"Um, I need a guard to escort me today, preferably off duty" You asked "Directors orders" You quickly added, you didn't want to seem petty and pampered.
A minute passed and you began to speculate that she may not have heard or either has completely forgotten your existence, which was until she responded.
"Around the training room" Was all she said in her bland voice. She really ought to take a holiday once in a while.
You crossed the sparsely crowded reception area like a ghost, your shoes; little black flat heels were soft on the marble floor making no sound. In the elevator was rather eerie since the opera music played softly in the background, you checked to make sure it was actually moving to the 15th floor.
Ding!
It was either you or whenever the elevator opened the sound it made was amusing.
Looking around it was rather empty, in the far corner were two SOLDIERS goofing around with each other. It gave off a rather nostalgic feeling; you had been here before a short time ago…where it all began.
The Level 49's training room.
There were only two boys because their behaviors was beyond men, one of them you had seen before but only glimpses here and there. He was a tall man with a very boyish yet cute face with rather long spiky black hair, his uniform indicated he was a 2nd class yet he stood tall, proud and confident with his arms folded.
And beside him was a regular SOLDIER without his helmet and he was definitely a looker. He wasn't as tall or as neatly built but he had nice bright blue eyes and typical short blonde hair in a similar style to his companion, he seemed rather shy but obviously younger than you were…only a small bit…something about him seemed unique.
Slowly you approached them and after only two steps the blonde fell silent and looked at you, the man next to him spun his head around and gave off a big smile. Your cheeks a rosy red…what was there to be happy about?
"Wow, you're a pretty one" He said, his voice so full of life and animation like he was ready to take on the world…but at least he sounded intelligent enough not to need it.
"So you must be the girl that needs somebody to protect her" He didn't sound the least bit disappointed by, in fact, he sounded ready to carry you all the way to Midgar's center and back again.
It was strange but he seemed to wave all your unhappiness right away by just breathing "Um, yes…yes I am and you are?"
"Zack, Zack Fair"
You looked at the blonde boy who seemed shy from your presence.
"That is my right hand man, Cloud" Zack said grinning will tussling Cloud's hair.
He shoved Zack's arm away playfully, "Hi" he said.
You instantly labeled him as adorable as a teddy because of his rather young face, and you smiled
"Well I am really glad to meet you Zack, Cloud" You really meant it.
"You and me both, uh, Sophie?" He said, looking at you like a teenager trying to figure out a math equation.
He looked rather comical, but how did he know you? "Yes I am, but how do you know my name?" You asked him timidly.
"He talks about you often" Was all he said, containing his rather odd excitement.
But you shared the excitement, was it really who you thought it was?
"Who?"
His expression changed to caution, it also read 'Don't you know?' when he raised an eyebrow, "It was Se-"
"Zack!" An annoyed voice echoed from the closer corridor.
Snapping back to attention Zack didn't seem scared or put off, he seemed the more joyous. But poor Cloud nearly had a panic attack; he stood up straight to military attention with too much force and tripped over the tiniest crack in front of his foot right into the path of the man that came into view with a 'SPLAT.'
Everything was silent; Zack was clearly holding back a laugh, while you stood shocked…the boy groaned in frustration as he got back to his feet again. You wanted to help him up but he was capable of taking a hit by the ground.
Now that it was over you turned around to see who it was.
You were shocked "Sephiroth? You're here…?"
He didn't seem pleased at all with Zack who was still trying not to laugh; Cloud dare not face Sephiroth since he was a bright red with embarrassment. When it looked like nothing else was going to happen he finally turned.
He looked you directly in the eye "Of course I'm here" he said in a soft voice.
"I was going out, and I…wanted you to accompany me….Lazard's orders"
Zack looked at the both of you back and forth with break-neck speed; for him this was the best movie he had seen.
"All right straight to the point, I like it!" Zack's booming voice just had to ruin the subtle moment. But you could not help but laugh.
Sephiroth mentally weighed the pros and cons of throwing the 2nd class off the 49 floor, finally deciding against it because the cost of repairing a broken window would not go well with his reputation. Plus there was a chance you would not appreciate it one bit.
He sighed in agitation "You two do your own thing, I can handle this alone"
You knew there was a silent threat in his words but neither of the boys seemed too worried.
"Give them a break they were just playing around"
"Tch" was all he said before leading you back into the elevator. It was funny how things can change quickly.
~~Oooooooo~~
It was nice to have the sun touch your skin again after a while; Midgar sure was a pleasant place to spread your wings.
"Is that all miss?" The shy attendant at the little fruit stall asked.
"Yes" You responded, handing her the payment for the small batch of fruit you purchased…the cupboard was looking empty nowadays.
As you began walking off you looked around you, the street markets were full as always on sunny days like these selling food down to random garbage. But also Sephiroth wasn't with you which didn't make you fell down at all because he was tailing you from some shadow or alley, mainly because he didn't want to cause unwanted attention.
You knew he was guarding your back from somewhere, you just wished to know where, really wanting to share this day with him.
Continuing to walk you began to leave the market and headed for a less crowded area, with all your shopping done, you figured it would be nice for him to stop hiding and relax too without making a scene.
But a candy stall at the end of the market caught your eye, and you simply couldn't resist because your sweet tooth took over your mind.
"Two small bags please" You ruffled your bag for your purse
"Is that the mix pack?" The girl asked
"Yes please"
Paying for them you stored one in your bag and began opening the other and picking out one at random, it was a chocolate ball.
"Yummy" It disappeared into your mouth never to see the world again.
"Mmm"
"Sweet tooth?" Sephiroth suddenly appeared next to you.
You weren't startled; he was bound to come out sooner or later since almost nobody was around the street you were on, it was a short cut to the place you adored most.
"Yes, I was always a fan of candy and chocolate" You ruffled your hand in the bright orange candy bag searching for a particular colour and offered him one.
Sephiroth almost seemed repulsed by the green sphere in your hand, he didn't know whether to accept it out of courtesy or refuse it to spare his taste buds the anxiety.
"Its delicious, lime flavor, not as sweet as the rest" Cooing you urged him to take it with a smile.
With a sigh he took it and popped it in his mouth and grimaced, as you carefully watched him his rather stiff expression relaxed only slightly.
"Not as repulsive as I thought"
You couldn't help but just smile at him "Well that's good, I gave it to you because I don't really like lime flavor because it's such a strong yucky taste…stays in your mouth"
Realizing he was used as a disposal unit he didn't give you the friendliest of expressions.
"Aww, don't look so upset at least you enjoyed it, that's the main thing"
You could finally see the destination you aimed for, it was mostly empty and dim because it was below the suspended plate. It brought back memories of your childhood…the good ones at least.
It was a rather scary looking children's playground, it had no colour other than the black shade and grey although rather mysterious to others it was happiness all around the way you saw it.
You ran over to it.
Sephiroth nearly grabbed your wrist in an attempt to stop you but thought the better of it, he looked over his shoulder but there was nobody. He had gotten more anxious when you both had entered a rather empty part of Midgar. The feeling of being followed didn't fade…somebody was definitely there somewhere…watching Sophie right now…the problem was that this person was good at hiding themselves, especially from him.
"Sophie!" He went after her.
You stopped and turned around right on the spot, giving him the most innocent questioning look he had seen in a woman. He couldn't bring himself to worry you of his suspicion.
"Don't worry" He said.
You weren't entirely convinced but unless he wanted to say something he would say it sooner or later.
Strolling across you relaxed on the swings holding onto its chain handles with your shopping bag on the ground, this wasn't the kind of place an average person would come to clear their minds, but for you it was.
He walked over next to you, leaning against the post looking out over the playground.
"What exactly do you find alluring about this place?"
You gave him a dumbfounded look, but grinned, of course he didn't know anything about your past so you relaxed and looked at your feet instead.
"I lived around here when I was a little girl, I always came here to play and…and…to get away from my own troubles" You managed to say, exhausted.
"Oh" Sensing personal issues he didn't press for anything more unless you wanted too, despite curiosity eating him alive from the inside.
'I wonder what kind of troubles although I hope they weren't serious', he thought.
Lost in nostalgia you only realized that the day was beginning to end, already the sun turned a bloody red, neon yellow and rich magenta as it set over the horizon.
"Well then, we ought to get back" Chirping and picking up your bag you both began to leave the playground in a comfortable silence. Even if you couldn't find much to make conversation with, the silence was nice just simply listening to the wind, the birds, and the cricket begin to chirp their song.
Going back the way you came the empty roadside was darkening very quickly that it became scary and sinister, the pleasant sounds of leaving the playground was all but gone.
Not even a cricket would dare to chirp in this kind ominous environment.
"…" Not even you dared to speak and instinctively walked closer to Sephiroth's side.
'It was probably me but I don't understand how a silent dark street could put someone on edge', he thought noting you closer to his side. 'I guess she really is afraid of this'; he sighed wishing to just hold your hand or even your shoulder because it would be enough if it meant assurance to you.
And then somewhere…somehow…a spark of realization hit him, he suddenly understood why you had been so scared of the silence.
He dreaded what he had just noticed because it was too late for a counter attack on his part but as Sephiroth expected the black figure appeared on the roof opposite the street.
To him there were two options…but the last thing left he could do did not involve your dead body in his arms.
"Sophie!"
"Eh?" you turned around, he sounded angry and it scared you.
He literally threw himself against you and hitting the wall you nearly had the wind knocked out, automatically your arms wrapped around him. It was Déjà vu, just like falling out of the plane that same time a long ago.
Bang!