Note: Thank you, Sapphire Lazulii for taking a guess on who Sephiroth called :) You could have been right. The first person Sephiroth phoned was Angeal but he did not pick up. Here is the second person ;p
The door to Sephiroth's room opened several minutes after Sephiroth left on his mission. Genesis stepped inside wondering what it was Sephiroth wanted him to do. He flicked a light switch on and almost jumped in surprise when he saw an unconscious cadet sleeping peacefully on Sephiroth's bed.
"What do we have here now, Sephiroth?" Genesis smirked to himself. "And just earlier you were saying how much you hated his guts."
Genesis walked over to the bed and noticed that Aerith's shirt was lifted halfway, exposing her stomach.
I guess, he wants me to take a look at his wounds then, he thought to himself.
Genesis got a dagger from Sephiroth's nightstand and carefully made a vertical cut on Aerith's Shinra uniform. He proceeded to make a horizontal cut across her sleeves before he began pulling the fabric away. He grabbed the fabric pieces and pulled them off her body all at once in one swift movement. He sat frozen as he looked over her now bare body, save for the fabric wrapped around her chest.
Realization hit Genesis as he focused on the tightly wound fabric across the cadet's chest. Airen is a girl! Why is she cross-dressing as a guy?
Genesis quickly snapped out of his shock and began tending to her wounds as he realized he still had a job to do. He would find out later. No point in trying to get answers from an unconscious girl. He assessed that most of the damage had been done to her mid section. He applied ointment on her and bandaged her up as best as he could. He somewhat regretted never having learned any healing magic. It certainly would have been useful at a time like this, but there was no point in dwelling on that now. Genesis finished up and covered up the girl with a blanket. There was nothing left to do but to wait for her to wake up.
With nothing else to do, Genesis paced around the small bedroom. He thought about the cadet's situation and wondered if he should tell Sephiroth and Angeal about her identity. Hmph, why does it take so long for people to wake up? the pacing man wondered with annoyance. He would have to decide that later. Bored, his eyes began to wander and they outlined the contours of the girl's face, the only part of her that he left uncovered. He always thought Zack was quite dense when it came to awareness but he had to give him credit. Somehow, The Puppy instinctually knew that Airen was a girl.
I guess nothing gets past him when it comes to pretty girls, Genesis thought to himself. The impatient man stopped pacing and paused on the side of the bed where the unconscious girl's head was. He unconsciously moved his hand closer to her face and brushed it lightly. Upon contact, the girl's bright green eyes shot open in alarm. Being as brazen as he was, Genesis did not bother to retract his hand from her face and simply continued caressing her cheek.
Aerith attempted to focus her eyes on the figure stooping in front of her and tried to make sense of the situation. The last thing she remembered was being in the park and then she couldn't remember anything after that. Her eyes were finally able to focus and she felt something brushing against her face. Why am I here with Genesis? And why is he touching my face like that?!
"So you're finally awake, little one." Genesis said, finally withdrawing his hand. "Sephiroth told me to take care of you."
At the mention of Sephiroth's name, Aerith's body became even more tense which did not go unnoticed by Genesis.
"Don't worry. He's not here right now," he reassured her.
Aerith's body relaxed again and she tried to sit up. As she did, the blanket slid down to her lap revealing her bandaged chest and stomach. Aerith's eyes widened with horror and she pulled the blanket back up, covering herself. He knows! He knows! He knows! Genesis suddenly laughed and she cautiously looked in his direction.
"Well, now that we are both caught up with everything, tell me why you're here," he asked straightening himself.
"Wh…what do you mean?" Aerith questioned with uncertainty.
"Why are you masquerading as a boy? If you want to work for Shinra, why didn't you just take a secretarial job? There are plenty of those."
"I wanted to join the army to become stronger," she said half truthfully. It was a half-truth that she had already used on both Cloud and Angeal.
"Well, you could have tried to join the Turks and gotten the same training without having to change your identity," Genesis quipped. "There are plenty of girls there, too."
"I…I guess, I didn't think about it," Aerith replied. Neither of them had questioned her reason before and Genesis was the first to do so. She had not prepared for this.
"Well, if that's the case, I can begin your paperwork and transfer you over to the Turks program then," he stated simply.
"No, don't!" Aerith called out.
"I thought so." Genesis had called her bluff. "So what's the truth then? And don't lie to me again."
Aerith did not want to tell him the truth but she didn't dare lie to him again. Her hands gripped the quilted blanket tightly. She would have to give him a non-asnwer instead. "I can't…I'm…It's complicated," she mumbled softly.
"Try me," Genesis challenged.
Aerith's heart sunk. If she told him the truth, she would be turned over to Hojo, but she also feared what Genesis would do if she didn't.
"I..ah..I'm..if…ah…" Aerith struggled to get her words out, not really knowing what she wanted to say.
Genesis eyed her curiously. Aerith noticed his questioning gaze and mistook it for impatience. She tried to speak again but nothing intelligible came out. She then became quiet and covered her face with her hands in defeat and simply waited. Aerith didn't know what Genesis was going to do but she had decided. Whatever was going to happen next was a better fate than having to go back to Hojo…at least that's what she hoped for.
The First Class SOLDIER suddenly started laughing again, but the girl refused to uncover her face. Genesis didn't understand Airen's actions over a simple question but nonetheless, he found them amusing—the way her face flushed when she was nervous, the way her bright green eyes turned into a dark moss color when she concentrated to find the right words, the way her body shrunk into a tiny ball when she gave up. It reminded him of…a prey, a tiny rabbit or mouse. Whatever secret she was hiding, it probably wasn't anything important and most definitely not to a First Class SOLDIER like himself. This girl was harmless so he decided to humor her and play with her for a while.
"Fine, you don't have to tell me anything right now," Genesis said nonchalantly.
Aerith timidly looked up at him through the space between her fingers.
"But trust me, you will tell me everything in due time. You will come to realize that I am very persuasive. Although your gender doesn't clue me in on who you are and why you're here, it's obvious you wouldn't want this little secret of yours spreading to others now, would you?" he said threateningly.
Aerith was looking at him fully now. She didn't quite understand what just happened. It seemed like Genesis wasn't going to turn her in to anyone or even do anything to her…but he was still blackmailing her.
"You're going to tell Angeal and Sephiroth I'm a girl if I don't tell you who I am and why I'm here," Aerith stated with understanding.
"Something like that." Genesis replied apathetically. "I won't do it right away, of course. There's no fun in that. "
Aerith blinked in surprise. The outcome was better than what she had hoped for. He said he wasn't going to do anything, at least not right away. Sure, Genesis did say he was blackmailing her but he didn't really specify when he would tell the others. Now, all she had to do was make sure she left Shinra before Genesis decided to spill her secret to his First Class friends.
"Well, you've had a hard day so I wont begin our little game until tomorrow," Genesis announced unceremoniously. "You'd better head back to your room before Sephiroth comes back and sees you…" He pointed at the blanket where her chest would be. "Like that."
Aerith flushed at the image of Sephiroth walking in on her and Genesis chuckled at her reaction. He turned around knowing she was probably inspecting the tattered remains of her Shinra guard uniform. Genesis went through one of Sephiroth's dressers and dug out a black shirt. He tossed it to Aerith and told her to wear it for coverage. She turned her back to Genesis out of modesty and quickly put on the shirt. Aerith was pleasantly surprised with the scent of the Sephiroth's shirt. It smelled like what Aerith imagined to be autumn rain and dried leaves. When she turned around, Genesis had gathered her items in a neat bundle using her tattered uniform as a rope. Genesis insisted that since she was recovering, it was probably best to not wear any armor or weapons for a while. He then led her out the door and walked her back to her room. She was a little wary of letting him know where her room was but he insisted on walking her back.
"Well, this is me. I'll see you then," Aerith said stopping in front of her door.
"Alright," Genesis replied simply.
He made no movement to leave or even attempt to give her back her bundle of items. Aerith assumed he was planning to drop them off inside so she dug a keycard out of her pocket and scanned it against the door. When the door opened, Aerith let out a small gasp. She was did not expect to see Zack's sleeping form on her bed. Half of his face was buried in her pillow and had an arm hanging off the mattress. The astonished girl snapped her head towards Genesis and saw a grin plastered on his face. He knew Zack was sleeping here! Aerith deduced that Zack probably left the bar to visit Cloud and must have fallen asleep waiting for her to come back.
"Seems like there isn't enough room for you here. Why don't I take you to my room?" Genesis suggested with a smirk.
Seeing no other option, she conceded and followed him back to Sephirtoh's floor. Aerith kept a few paces behind Genesis and noticed that apparently all the First Class had their rooms on this floor. Genesis walked a few doors past Sephiroth's and scanned a card. He strolled in, placed her stuff on a chair and turned to Aerith. She was looking at the bed and wringing her hands nervously. The taller soldier smiled smugly reading her anxiousness. He then moved closer so that they were standing facing each other and Aerith yelped quietly as she backed herself up into a wall. He then grabbed her chin and tilted her face up while he lowered his head slightly so that they were looking directly at each other.
"Don't worry, although I wouldn't mind sharing a bed with you, I will be occupying Sephiroth's room for tonight," Genesis said smoothly. "I did give you my word. The fun doesn't start until tomorrow."
Before Aerith could utter a reply, Genesis bent down and brushed his lips on the side of her face. She felt her cheeks flush at the contact and tried to pull away but was being held firmly in place. He then withdrew from her and stared directly into her eyes with a mischievous smile.
"Sweet dreams, little Airen," he whispered to her.
Then without waiting for a reply, Genesis straightened up and left. The door closed behind him and Aerith let out a breath she was not aware she had been holding.
What did I get myself into? she worried as she roughly wiped her face where Genesis kissed her.
NOTE: Well, this is the 10th chapter. This roughly marks 1/4 of the story's completion! Thanks to everyone who has been keeping up with this and I hope you continue to find the rest of my story interesting :)