A/N : Well, here's an update! The chapter is pretty long, and I already have a few more ideas in the back of my head, so next updates should be fast enough! That said, please review and…enjoy the story!
After taking a long, rejuvenating, boiling shower, Aerith was quite relieved to see that Sephiroth was still asleep. His body was so perfectly still that only the tiny movements of his chest showed that he was still breathing.
Humming a sweet song, she dried her hair with a long, red towel, smiling softly. Then, she brushed her wavy, dark hair before pulling them back in their everlasting braid.
"Kitakaze would be exasperated" the half-Cetra thought, suppressing a slight giggle as her imagination showed her Kitakaze's expression.
"I hope I'll be able to see her again soon" she sighed, realising that the people of Radiant Garden had grown on her even more than she previously thought.
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At the same moment, a couple of kilometres away from the pink clad girl, Kitakaze was nervously playing with a lock of her hair as her mother was getting worried about the fact that Aerith didn't show up for supper.
"Have you seen her today?" Ifalna asked, looking through the window for the tenth time in an hour.
"No, I haven't…" the young girl answered, avoiding her mother's gaze.
"Hm…that's strange. It's not like her to miss our everyday reunion" Ifalna added, putting a finger to her chin thoughtfully.
"Well…maybe she's still with Tenzen?" proposed Kitakaze, immediately regretting her words.
"Yes, you're right" her mother said, smiling as she felt the stress leaving her.
Kitakaze smiled back at her, trying to look like a girl who just said nothing more than the absolute and obvious truth.
"Why do I feel like I'd better not tell her? Is it because I don't want to burden Aerith's choice? …Yeah, that's probably it. But she'll eventually notice that she's not even in the city anymore" Kitakaze thought to herself.
Not wanting to support her mother's gaze any longer, she went to her bedroom and locked the door behind her, trying to push away her anxiousness.
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That night, Aerith turned in her bed for the hundredth time, letting out a heavy, annoyed sigh as she threw the covers off of her, rising to a sitting position.
"I can't sleep with him just beside me!" she angrily thought, getting to her feet before entering to bathroom to get on a long, clear blue dress.
Once she was properly dressed, the half-Cetra silently stepped out of the room, careful not to wake Sephiroth.
Then, she went out of the hotel and took a deep breath, feeling the fresh air fill her lungs and chase away her gloomy thoughts. Walking calmly in the silent village, she let her eyes wander around the veil of thick darkness shadowing the sleeping streets, enjoying the calm of the night. Listening to the sound of her feet gently crushing the rocky ground, she cleared her mind of any kind of thoughts, feeling nothing else than every little stimulus teasing her senses.
After a couple of minutes spent in silent contemplation, she reached a tiny beach, holding her breath as the shining of the moon upon the white sand filled her entire sight and being with awe.
"That's so beautiful!" she whispered, taking off her shoes and letting her tiny feet touch the smooth surface of the sandy, silver veil.
For long moments, she simply stood in the middle of the beach, looking at the smiling moon, completely forgetting herself. Then, she laid down on her back, letting her sparkling green eyes wander around the magnificent, star filled sky. Laying perfectly still, she suppressed a yawn, finally feeling the fatigue of the day weighing down on her. Not wanting to move from her meditating position, she tried her best to keep her eyes open, wishing to see a shooting star cross the black heavens and grant her anything that she might desire.
"Is there something I would want to ask the star?" she wondered, smiling at her own childishness.
Yawing silently, she felt small, sleepy tears gather in the corner of her eyes as she reflected about her own question.
"…Hm, I know…I desire…peace. I would wish to be next to Kitakaze, while Sephiroth would wander endlessly in the green flows of the shining Lifestream, far away from me and the ones I love" she decided as her eyelids slowly slid along her emerald orbs, finally closing as she fell asleep, a single tear rolling down her pale cheeks.
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A few hours later, Sephiroth finally opened his glowing eyes and rose to a sitting position, his face betraying no emotion as is sore muscles screamed at him not to make any other movement. Ignoring their annoying plea, he got off the bed and scanned the area, rapidly noticing that Aerith wasn't under her light covers, neither was she anywhere in the entire room.
Wondering for a brief second where she might have gone, he raised an eyebrow before putting his boots on and taking the Masamune, ready to go somewhere silent and desert to practice his sword technique, knowing that the exercise would help him get rid of the pain burning in the deep tissue of his well toned muscles.
"At least the headache is gone" he thought, having already forgotten about Aerith's absence.
As he got outside, the swordsman was quite pleased to see that the sun had just risen in the cloudless sky and that the villagers were still comfortable in the soft depths of their bed. Walking calmly under the orange heavens, he spotted a deserted beach, deciding that it would be a good spot for his training.
But, as he approached the pale sand, he saw a woman sleeping on the ground, wearing a long, beautiful blue dress spreading around her slim frame as she dreamed silently, her right cheek pressed against the smooth, sandy whiteness. Her braid was tangled and covered in sand as the tiny orbs gracing the smooth ground stuck to her flawless skin.
"So…that's were she went" he concluded, deciding to leave her alone, even if her sand stained face was quite an amusing sight.
Walking straight past her, he didn't bother to look back as he found a hidden spot at the far reaches of the beach, finally preparing himself to handle his amazingly long blade against an invisible enemy.
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Some time later, in Radiant Garden…
"Oh, what am I going to do? Aerith is supposed to be working today!" Kitakaze complained to herself, wondering if she should take her sister's place at the shop.
Pacing around her room in annoying circles, still wearing her night-gown , she finally made a final decision.
"Yes, that's what I'll do!" she exclaimed, immediately opening her drawers to search for some appropriate clothes.
It wasn't long before she made her mind, since she wasn't the kind of girl to spend an hour in front of the mirror each morning. But, as soon as she undressed herself to put her daily clothes on, her jaw dropped open as her eyes went wide with surprise, disbelief and horror.
"Oh no…" she whispered, placing her hand on her abdomen, refusing to admit that her eyes didn't fool her.
As much as the previous stains had easily disappeared the previous day, she now woke up with even more of them staining her white, usually flawless skin. The strange infection had spread to her legs and torso, finally forcing her to admit that it wasn't normal at all.
"It won't go away, will it? And even the Lifestream mingled in the water has very little effect…" she thought, feeling a strong wave of fear flowing inside her.
Closing her eyes briefly and taking a deep, calming breath, she quickly got dressed and assured herself that no one would be able to see the purple anomalies marking her skin.
"I'll go see a doctor soon" she decided as she put her clothes on.
Once she was all set, Kitakaze exited her room and saluted her mother before rapidly heading to Tenzen's weapon shop.
"Working will surely help me change my mind" she concluded, forcing her anxiousness away as she reached her destination.
But, once she stood in front of the door, a knot tied itself in her stomach and she took a deep breath, lifting a hand to the door.
"Searching for someone?" asked a deep, masculine voice from behind her, making her heart leap.
Spinning around like a child who had just been caught doing something bad, she put a reassuring hand on her chest to calm her racing heart, letting out a relieved sigh as she saw Tenzen, looking at her with an amused smile.
"Oh, good morning, Tenzen! " she greeted, turning around to face the man.
Trying to hide her nervousness, she offered him a bright smile as she twisted her fingers behind her back, hoping he didn't notice.
"Good morning to you, too, Kita… But…you're here because of her, hm?" he guessed, cutting straight to the point.
"Huh…well, yes…" the girl admitted, turning her eyes away as she blushed slightly.
"She always comes to see me before the shop opens, to train a little. So I wondered why she didn't this time, and went to her house. She's gone" he explained, looking a bit worried.
Feeling bad for not telling anyone about her sister's departure, Kitakaze couldn't find anything to say, hiding her shame in a nervous silence. Seeing that she wasn't going to talk any time soon, Tenzen spoke again.
"I guess you know where she is, since you have the sharpest senses of this entire city"
"…Well…yes, I do…" Kitakaze admitted shyly.
"I see. If you didn't go after her, it must mean that you had a reason. I trust your judgement…and if she wanted to leave…I guess it was her choice. So…we'll just have to wait for her to come back" he said, giving her a friendly smile.
"Yes. I decided it was best to let her go if that's what she wanted. I…didn't want to bother her" explained Kitakaze, relieved to see that he wasn't angry at her at all and was able to comprehend her decision.
"I understand" the swordsman said, a flicker of sadness shadowing his clear blue eyes for a brief moment as he spoke.
Noticing it, Kitakaze nervously bit her lower lip, knowing that he was probably thinking that, maybe, he did something wrong to push Aerith away. As much as she wanted to reassure him, she couldn't find the words to do it, so she decided to change the subject.
"I came here so I could help you with the shop in her absence. If you need me, of course…"
"Yes, that would be very much appreciated" he approved, a gentle smile returning to his lips.
"That's what I wanted to hear!" she said cheerfully, hiding her own inner thoughts.
"Wow, he's got such a nice smile…" Kitakaze thought in the back of her mind, knowing that she would find the day quite pleasant.
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While Kitakaze was beginning her day at the shop, Aerith slowly awoke from her slumber, unable to stand the heat of the sun burning her skin any longer. Wondering why her bed felt so uncomfortable, she rolled on her back, being immediately blinded by the strong rays of the rising sun that pierced through her closed eyelids.
"Ohh…" she groaned, forcing her eyes open and shielding her face from the threatening light.
Even if she was annoyingly blinded by the sun, Aerith immediately noticed the clear blue sky spreading before her, making her realise that she wasn't laying on a bed at all.
Getting slightly panicked, the half-Cetra rose to a sitting position, now fully awake, scanning the area with wide eyes as she remembered the reason why she was sleeping on a white beach instead of her hotel room.
"Oh no! I left Sephiroth alone!" she exclaimed, getting to her feet and spinning around in a split second, only to find herself bumping against a tall, dark shadow.
Unable to contain the strong beating of her racing heart, she took a quick step back, blushing out of embarrassment as she saw the amused smirk spreading on Sephiroth's lips.
"You think that you need to baby-sit me?" he said, half-amused, half-annoyed.
"Oh! That's…no, that's not what I meant! I…"
Now blushing furiously, she clenched her fists by her side, feeling a wave of anger replacing her embarrassment.
"What about you? What were you doing here? Spying on me?" she exclaimed, putting a hand on her hip.
"I just came to see if you would wake up before a crowd gathered itself on the beach" he explained, refraining to say that it would have been quite amusing to see her being awaken by a bunch of excited tourists.
Once again, the half-Cetra couldn't help but blush, noticing that some people were actually making their way to their current location. Even if she didn't like to admit it, Aerith realised that waking up to bump into Sephiroth was less embarrassing than awakening in the middle of a crowd of swimsuit dressed strangers.
"All right, you win" she said angrily, making her way back to the village, eager to take a long shower to get rid of the annoying sand that infiltrated some uncomfortable locations of her body.
A couple of hours later, they walked along the streets of the village, quickly noticing that there wasn't much to visit except the shops that didn't interest anyone else than the brunette.
Her shower had given her time to forget the humiliating events of the morning and she was now enjoying herself just as much as any normal girl on a shopping day.
"You seem to feel better today" Aerith remarked, trying to start a conversation with the silent wall that was travelling with her.
"Yes. The headache is gone" the silver haired man answered in an uninterested tone.
"Good"
Silence then followed for a few seconds as Aerith eyed him suspiciously.
"Maybe it's just me, but…you seem…different, somehow" she finally said, trying to put a finger on the exact reason of her uneasiness.
"…I know" he answered after a short hesitation, keeping his never ending cold mask.
"Hum? What do you mean?" the brunette asked, getting intrigued.
Wondering if he should keep silent or tell her the reason for his "change", Sephiroth sighed softly before finally answering.
"There's not a single trace of Jenova left inside me. This…makes me feel rather strange, indeed"
"What?" Aerith exclaimed, trying not to be too pleased by the situation, since he clearly wasn't.
"The price I paid for entering this world was the loss of half of my own identity"
"Oh…" the brunette sighed, realising how lost he should be at that very moment, after loosing the single thing that defined him the most, making him who he was.
Then, Sephiroth hid himself behind a wall of silence and cold indifference, staring straight ahead as they walked along the slightly crowded streets. Not knowing if she should say anything or not, Aerith decided to stay silent as well, wondering what kind of thoughts flowed behind his glowing green eyes.
But, after a moment, he turned his reptilian gaze to meet hers, raising an eyebrow as he spoke again.
"I hope you don't plan on shopping for the next few days…" he said, clearly showing his annoyance.
After all, he didn't like loosing precious time and certainly didn't come to that new world simply to watch a girl delight herself in front of some stupid shops. He wanted to gather information about the place and decide what his next move would be.
"Well…" the half-Cetra begun, putting a hand on her hip as she stopped walking and looked around thoughtfully.
"…This city, if we can call it that, doesn't hold much knowledge. We have to know where we'll be going next. But for now, I'm hungry" she declared, scanning the area in search of a restaurant.
While doing so, she spotted a tall, blonde girl standing on the other side of the street and looking at them with curious interest.
"Well…maybe we should ask around" Aerith proposed, immediately heading to the blonde's location.
Sighing softly, the silver haired man followed her, feeling totally out of place. Once they reached the strange blonde, a fake, radiating smile graced Aerith's lips as she addressed her.
"Excuse me…do you know where I can find a cheap restaurant?" the brunette asked, slightly ashamed by the fact that she didn't have enough money to buy more expensive meals.
"Of course! I know a nice place where I always go myself, since it's nice and not too expensive. Do you want me to show you the way?" the blonde cheerfully replied.
"Yes, that would be nice" Aerith approved, smiling back at her.
"Good! Follow me. Oh, and by the way…my name is Orelle"
"Nice to meet you, Orelle. I'm Aerith"
The two girls shook hands, then turned to look at the silver haired man expectantly.
"…Sephiroth" came the uninterested answer.
"Oh, a nice name for a cute guy" remarked Orelle, letting out a short laugh as she saw the disgusted expression spreading all over Aerith's face.
"Shall we go now?" the centre of attention declared, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
"Yes" Aerith approved, a strange frown shadowing her features and drawing an amused smile from Orelle.
Some time later, the three were sitting around a circular table in a popular restaurant, eating cheap but good meals. Obviously, Orelle had decided to join them, pretending that she was quite hungry as well.
"You two make a strange pair" the blonde suddenly declared as they finished their plates.
"What do you mean?" Aerith asked.
"Well, I've noticed at first sight that you're a little different from anyone else I have ever met… And…"
Letting her voice trail along the last word, she turned her dark blue gaze to look at Sephiroth.
"You're human"
Trying not to show their surprise, both Aerith and Sephiroth stayed silent, exchanging a subtle glance. While the brunette wondered if it was this obvious, Sephiroth thought that normally, people would refer to him as "monster" instead of "human". But now, without Jenova, was it what he really was? A mere human? Either way, he decided to play along.
"Your guess is quite sharp" he finally said.
"I knew it! I'm so glad, I've never met a full blooded human before!" Orelle beamed, clearly amazed.
"…"
"Well, why are you here?" she asked them, smiling as she clearly showed her interest.
"I live in Radiant Garden, and I wanted to travel around this world to learn more about it, since it is my new home now" Aerith answered.
"Good! And you?" the blonde turned to look at the silver haired man.
"…I'm here for the same reasons as her" he said neutrally, careful as to not reveal too much about himself.
"Really? Well, I spent my entire life here and I know just the place where you can learn new info to help you on your travels"
"Oh?"
"There's an old wizard living a couple of kilometres away from Radiant Garden, and it's not very far from here. He knows pretty much everything about our world. It's a bit too late to go today, though. Tomorrow, I can lead you to him if you want"
"Thanks! Is it alright with you, Sephiroth?" Aerith asked, clearly happy to know that they would be able to move on.
Not showing any emotions as usual, the silver haired man simply nodded, wondering what on earth was he doing in that unknown place, alone with two annoying girls, including one that he killed a long time ago.
"Maybe I should have followed my previous plan and stayed in the Lifestream until I found a way out…" he thought, feeling a little too lost for his own tastes.
Later that evening, Aerith was sitting on her bed, lost in her own thoughts, a constant frown shadowing her normally cheerful features. Getting quite bored as they couldn't do anything until the next morning, Sephiroth observed her from his sitting place on a corner of the room. Even if he didn't know her very much, he knew that something bothered her.
"What's wrong?" he suddenly asked, breaking through Aerith's train of thoughts.
"Hum? Oh, nothing" she said, offering him one of her fake smiles.
"Really…" he said sarcastically, wondering why he even bothered to ask in the first place.
Knowing that he was no fool, the young woman sighed softly, wondering how she could explain something like that to him.
"Well…if I tell you, you're going to laugh at me, since it's really silly and unimportant" she said, waving her hand in a dismissive manner.
"Hmph. It would at least be less boring to listen to than the never ending silence weighing on this room" he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Aerith couldn't help but giggle a bit, admitting to herself that the evening was, in fact, quite dull.
"Well…I…thought about Orelle. You know, she is…extremely tall and lean, and blonde…she's…absolutely beautiful. Sometimes, when I meet someone like that, I feel…small" Aerith explained, blushing slightly as she realised the childishness of her thoughts.
Expecting a long, dark laugh, she was surprised when Sephiroth only nodded, encouraging her to continue.
"I know that I'm quite beautiful myself. But sometimes…you know, others can make you feel like you are insignificant. I like her, she's really nice, but I can't help it"
"…Is that the only reason?" he asked, knowing that there was more to it.
"…No. She also feels…strong, you know. She's a real Cetra. Everyone here is Cetra. Under the sunlight, they all seem to glow ethereally…making me feel like a pale shadow of my own kind…oh, I must sound so stupid now…" she sighed, burying her face in her hands to hide her shame.
"You feel inferior to them" Sephiroth concluded.
Wondering why he took her seriously, Aerith nodded sadly, raising her dark green eyes to meet his glowing ones.
"I'm going to ask you something" he offered, looking at her with a serious look on his face.
"Yes?"
"Would you want to be a woman mingled in the middle of a crowd filled with identical people and be nothing more than another one of them, or do you want to be a woman that stands out of the masses, as someone completely different?"
Amazingly surprised by the direct, efficient question, Aerith's eyes went wide as the smile returned to her pink lips, almost making her sad eyes shine.
"Yes, it sounds better when you put it that way" she admitted, amazed by the fact that Sephiroth, of all people, had been able to cheer her up, using a single sentence.
Not showing any emotion, he nodded slightly as her smile grew wider.
"Thanks, Sephiroth! Now that you mention it...being different isn't bad at all"
Hiding behind his silent wall again, he looked at her for quite some time, thinking that it wasn't like him at all to try and comfort someone. But, in the bottom of his dark soul, a part of him understood her words. A long time ago, he had thought the same things, unable to accept the differences between him and the rest of the world. But, one day, he had decided to use this "abnormality" to his advantage, leading to conclusions that weren't necessarily good.
It was another reason why he was mad at loosing his Jenova gene. Now, he didn't know how to describe himself, if not as another pathetic human.
A/N: As a side note, Orelle will be a very small character and will disappear very soon. She is only there to provoke some situations, like the one that just happened. So, I hope you liked it!