A/N: So I got the position I wanted, and now I'm teaching (physics, introduction to electrical engineering) in a military boarding school.
I noticed people no longer review and perhaps I should be concerned that the story sucks.
But I think it's awesome, and I'm actually concerned that people suck.
Chapter 8 - I'm Not Naming This Chapter Cause Humanity Sucks
While Vincent was true to his word about not scheduling her on a mission for the weekend, he made sure to bust her ass during the week. Mei, Rude and Rod were sent to the Northern Cave Carter to escort a group of Shinra scientists. Tseng also tugged along, and he was the only one who knew what the actual mission was about. If there was something really infuriating, it was not knowing what the fuck you were protecting.
First they had to take a ship from Midgar northern port to Bone's village shore, which took only two hours but it was enough for Mei to become really sick. When they finally arrived, Mei was damning Vincent and his missions straight to hell. Rude drove in an armored vehicle in front of a huge track that carried some sort of container, while Tseng and the scientists followed behind. Mei and Rod, both armed to the teeth, escorted the convoy on motorcycles.
They spent four days guarding the stupid cave, not even allowed to enter it, except for Tseng. They slept in tents, and it was motherfucking cold that far to the north of the planet. But it was not the cold that unnerved Mei, it was the very primal, intuitive feeling that they should not be there, and they should not be doing whatever the hell they were doing. Unlike her Wutai experience, that place felt horribly foreign, or even alien, and essentially evil. They did not encounter anything spectacular except for a few vicious monsters, and Mei thanked Gaia when they left that daunting crater.
Tseng sat beside her on the sail back to Midgar. Mei vomited into a bag and wiped the remains of puke from her face. "I have a really bad feeling about this trip." Mei confessed, looking at her commander from the corner of her eye.
"You're simply sea-sick." Tseng outsmarted.
Mei rolled her eyes. "About the crater. I have a bad feeling about what Hojo's puppets were doing there."
Tseng looked at her sharply. "I share your feelings." He replied grimly.
Tseng certainly knew more than her, but he would not provide her with answers regarding the nature of the scientists' work. Whatever horrid research they were involved in, it was definitely beyond the boundaries of her imagination, if it made Tseng admit he was worried. Mei still tried to come up with ideas about what was going on. Tseng must have heard the wheels turning in her head.
"Mei, I must request you to give that matter no more thought." Tseng said, with his most serious expression. "Unintentionally and unknowingly, you are already involved deeply in a very dangerous affair. Vincent and I do our best to protect you."
"What? Why aren't you telling me anything?" Mei cried out, looking at Tseng with torn eyes.
"The less you know, the better." Tseng said vaguely, determined not to look at her.
Mei could read Tseng well enough to understand that the conversation ended. It felt like crap, to be left in the dark. To be in danger and not even know what to fear. To not know how to defend herself.
Mei felt helpless.
Mei felt lonely.
And honestly, Mei was scared shitless by the new information.
When she got back to Shinra, she felt like her head was going to explode with the overload of thoughts, and her heart was about to burst with the vast span of emotions she was feeling. Even though she felt sick as a dog, Mei went to her office and read her file. She used one of Vincent's passwords to excess some information she was not authorized to see, and went over the files concerning the terrible accident that brought her to Shinra. Crossing the data with what she had seen in her mission on the Shinra mansion, Mei reached some disturbing realizations, and there were more...vagues thoughts in the very back of her mind, abstract ideas that she could not yet grasp. She knew eventally all those scattered pieces would come together, and the bigger picture would be clearer.
But until that, all she could feel was panic.
Mei turned her music player to maximum volume and went for a run around the Shinra complex. She stopped counting the laps after a while, and tried to ignore the pain in her muscles and her growing nausea. All she wanted was her heart to beat so fast it would stop feeling anything other than the rush of blood, and her pulse to pound so hard in her head it would silence her cerebration.
What seemed like hours later, she collapsed to her knees, unable to take another step. Mei was sure the tears of frustration would come streaming down her face any second, but they never did. She felt like she was going to choke.
"Hey Mei!" Fair's voice came out of nowhere, "You look like shit."
Mei had no more energy to be pissed at him. She gave him a broken smile. Fair wore the standard Shinra uniform with jogging shoes, and was looking rather sweaty himself. He knelt down beside her.
"Wanna tell me what happened?" Fair asked gently.
"Just on of these days." Mei replied obscurely. "Being a Turk is draining life style."
"I don't even know how you manage it," Fair admitted, "It always seemed like a very lonely life, to keep all those secrets like Turks do."
Fair's words certainly hit Mei close to home. She nodded, before covering her face with her palms.
"Want to cry on my shoulder?" Fair offered.
"No."
"Wanna cry on Cloud's shoulder? I can call his PHS and he'll be here in a few moments." Fair suggested playfully.
"No."
"Wanna cry on Seph's shoulder? He's got amazing shoulders, no homo." Fair mentioned.
Mei let out a chuckle, uncovering her face. She nodded her head negatively.
"Come on, let's go have dinner in the SOLDIER dining room. I think you could use a good meal after running yourself to exhaustion." Fair remarked, pulling her to stand.
Standing was rather difficult, Mei discovered, after one outruns himself. Being powerless as she was, Mei did not argue and simply followed Fair.
Mei limped to her apartment, so tired that she actually took a shower sitting on plastic stool in the shower stall. She crawled into bed, placing her sore feet on a pile of pillows when her PHS rang. Mei recognized the number as Sephiroth's.
"Hello." Mei said lamely.
"Zack said you nearly killed yourself today on the tracks." Sephiroth informed her casually, "This does not excuse you from attending the carnival tomorrow."
"Aye-Aye general." Mei replied with a smile.
"Something happened? You seem too level-headed to overtax yourself for no reason." Sephiroth pointed out.
"Sort of...Not really. Maybe, but not something I'm comfortable discussing on the phone." Mei said worriedly.
"Always a Turk." Mei could imagine Sephiroth smirking on the other end of the line. "Do you need anything? Food, Cure, good whiskey?"
Mei snickered at that. "The whiskey sounds rather tempting but I'm going to fall asleep way before you get here."
"I'll let you rest." Sephiroth said, sounding a bit concerned. "I'm picking you up tomorrow at 19:00."
Mei simply adored how he pronounced it as 'nineteen hundred' and not as 'seven o'clock' or any other phrase normal people used. Sephiroth was a soldier with every fiber of his body and it was endearing how he spoke like a military man even concerning the most civilian things. He was so socially retarded!
Mei fell asleep the moment the conversation ended, and passed the majority of the following day in lazing in bed, listening to music, taking an outrageously long shower and trying to flatten the mess of curls that was her hair. No matter what she tried, it returned to its curly state and Mei finally gave up on it and combed into an elegant twist held by a hairpin.
Not even one second after 19:00, her doorbell rang and Mei pulled on her favorite leather jacket and opened the door. Mei realized she was staring a moment too late, and tried to concentrate on not drooling. Sephiroth wore a white dress shirt that was half tucked into his dark jeans, with the two top buttons open to reveal his pale chest, a casual jacket on his arm. And sneakers! The general of Shinra was in possession of sneakers!
Mei let out a low whistle. "You're definitely going to need VIP protection tonight."
Sephiroth grinned. "I have you for that, don't I?"
Mei pictured herself fighting a mob of horny Sephiroth groupies. This was not how she previously envisioned her night. Mei sulked. "This is supposed to be my day off."
"If it's any consolation, I will suffer just as much as you do." Sephiroth joked bitterly.
He offered her his arm, and she took it, walking to the parking lot to meet the rest of the party. Naturally, they were the first to arrive, because they were the only ones that realized the importance of being punctual. They stood in silence, Sephiroth looking at her, while Mei looked at anything but him. A quick hand reached over her head and pulled her hairpin, causing her ban to come apart, and her curls to cascade down her back.
"Hey! What was that for?" Mei shrieked, trying to snatch back her hairpin.
Sephiroth simply placed it in the pocket of his jacket. "I prefer your hair this way."
Mei gawked at him. He preferred her hair down. Blast him to bloody gay hell, like he had any right to dictate her how to wear her hair. She was going to attack him, but then it dawned on her that it was Sephiroth and she did not stand a chance. Her shoulder slouched with defeat, glaring at the powerful man in front of her.
"Hey guys!" Fair's voice interrupted her bitter thoughts. "Your hair looks really nice like that, Mei!"
"Yeah, it makes you look less uptight." Strife chimed in.
A micro-second later each of them had a loaded gun pointed to his head. Strife's eyes were wider as saucers, and Fair visibly paled. Mei heard Sephiroth chuckle behind her. She took a deep calming breathe, unloaded her guns, and hid them beneath her jacket.
"Sweet Gaia, who got you so cranky?" Fair asked warily.
"He did." Mei glared at Sephiroth.
"He's only getting you into a foul mood so you can mope together." Fair winked.
First Class officers Hewley and Genesis, and a few other Second Class were heading their way. Mei usually addressed anyone who was not a Turk by his last name, but Genesis' last name was so annoying she could not refer to him by it, even in her mind. They took the train to Midgar center because taking a car in the day of the carnival was suicidal, and also because most of them were planning on getting seriously drunk. Mei imagined it to be a rather disgusting sight.
The carnival was a bliss to some people, but unfortunately not for Mei. The dancers were decent, but the customs were ridiculous. And the music was too loud and sounded like a cacophony of trumpets, drums and parrots. And she did not even start complaining about how crowded it was. Mei was not impressed.
"Why don't people shower regularly?" Sephiroth wrinkled his nose.
"Why so many of them wear nothing but fucking feathers?" Mei cringed at an overweight man, shaking his massive body to the rhythm with nothing but a feather loin cover.
"Disgusting."
"And they call it culture."
"Humanity had certainly sank into a new ebb."
"Why are we even here?"
"We must have sinned in our previous lives."
Sephiroth and Mei continued their grumpy grumble until Fair, who was dancing beside them, turned to them and screamed. "Please stop it, you make me want to kill myself."
Simultaneously, Sephiroth and Mei crossed their arms over their chest, giving him their best glare. Fair rolled his eyes at them and resumed his dancing. A while later the parade proceeded to a different sector and the party headed to the carnival fair. Mei noticed a few interesting facts. First, Strife was gazing at Sephiroth doe-eyed, and it was so obvious she was certain even Sephiroth noticed. Second, Hewley was the quietest SOLDIER she had ever met, and she wondered how could he possibly be Fair's mentor. Third, Genesis was constantly seeking Sephiroth attention and while the general did not exactly reject Genesis's attempts, he by no means encouraged them. Mei assumed they might had been, or still were, involved.
Mei could not resist the urge to participate in the shooting contest, and being a professional sniper, it was an easy walk in the park to win. Her prize was a coupon for ten pints of beer, which she gave to Fair and the rest of the SOLDIER to use.
"You're the best Turk in the world!" Kunsel gushed, and hurried to pick up his pint.
"You're sure you don't want a beer?" Sephiroth asked her.
"No."
"Why? Are you abstaining?" Fair queried enthusiastically.
"I just think any beverage with less than 40 percent alcohol is simply a waste of place in my stomach." Mei replied with a grin.
"I can get you something stronger." Sephiroth suggested.
"I'd like that on any other occasion, but the crowds make me nervous and I really intend to keep an eye on you." Mei said apologetically.
"I have enough eyes on me as it is." Sephiroth said quietly, glancing at Strife.
"A severe case of hero worship, plus he thinks you're good looking." Mei explained casually. "Can't blame the kid."
"So you think I'm good looking?" Sephiroth wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"Don't fish for compliments." Mei said curtly.
But there were others that were completely fine with showering the general with compliments, and they were throwing themselves at him a second later.
"Oh my Gaia! It's Sephiroth!" A red headed girl screamed.
"You're so perfect!" Another one exclaimed.
A crowd of teenage girls was surrounding Sephiroth, carrying on about how sexy, famous and badass he was. Mei enjoyed watching him squirm uncomfortably under the attention, but when one of the girl started feeling up his broad chest, Sephiroth sent Mei a begging glance.
"Girls, I'll have to ask you to leave." Mei announced with the voice she saved specially for such occasions, pouring into it all of her Turk authority.
The girl with the wandering hands was not impressed. "And who are you to ask such thing?"
Mei pulled out her Turk badge and shoved it in the girl's face. "Turk Mei-Xing Han, VIP protection." Mei barked. "Now, either you remove yourself from here, or I will do it, and I swear I'll make it painful for you."
Her threat was convincing enough for them to scatter away, and Sephiroth let a sigh of relief. "Did you really have to take so long before you intervened?"
"Yes. I enjoy watching you agonize." Mei retorted nastily, still bitter over her hairpin incident.
"Care for a ride on the Ferris wheel?" Sephiroth proposed.
"I don't particularly enjoy heights." Mei admitted.
"All the more reason to have a ride." He smirked, and pulled her by the hand towards the Ferris wheel. Mei protests proved useless and she found herself squashed with Sephiroth in the tiny seat that was so obviously designed for couples who were comfortable with sharing such a little space. The mortification of nearly seating on Sephiroth's lap was soon replaced by anxiety when the Ferris wheel carried them higher. Mei hid her face in her hands.
Sephiroth gently peeled her hands off, forcing her to look at the view, the lights of Midgar at their feet. It was a breathtaking sight, but Mei could only think how much she did not trust the mechanic who handled that piece of junk they called Ferris wheel, and how any moment they might fall to their deaths.
"Relax, Mei." Sephiroth soothed her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "I can ensure your safety even if the wheel collapses this very moment. You can thank Hojo for that." He added cynically.
That thought was indeed comforting, but it reminded her that she still had to confront Hojo about his treatment of Sephiroth. It could wait until next week though, and Mei allowed herself to enjoy the pleasant atmosphere.
"I'm sorry I forced you into this," Sephiroth said quietly, "I just desperately needed to put some distance between me and …everyone else."
Mei gave him an understanding smile and leaned her head against this shoulder. She could not help but wonder how come Sephiroth and her got along so well, both of them being hardcore misathropes. Perhaps one would say they were fortunate to be assigned together, but after some years in Shinra Mei lost her faith in luck. There were no coincidences in Shinra.
They passed the rest of the ride in a comfortable silence and then joined the rest of the SOLDIERs, getting some hotdogs. Genesis immediately sat himself beside Sephiroth, and Mei joined Strife, who was eying the two First Class nervously.
"You really have to stop staring at him." Mei told Strife quietly.
"What? I wasn't sta-" Strife was quickly cut off by Mei.
"-You were, and it's completely understandable. If I were a man, I'd totally be gay for Sephiroth."
Strife sighed dreamily. "He's gorgeous, right?"
"Yes, he is." Mei agreed. "But he's also a human being, and he doesn't enjoy being stared at like he's part of a fucking circus."
Strife nodded and bowed his head in shame, staring at his hotdog.
"How's your SOLDIER training going?" Mei changed the subject, and Strife's eyes abruptly lit.
"Really good! It's every thing I ever dreamed of and Zack is so amazing!" Strife raved, "He is the best Materia teacher ever, last week..." Mei allowed Strife to babble on, while watching the general closely as he joined the other First Class officers for the high striker competition. Thinking that both Hewley and Genesis were enough to protect the general temporally in case of an attack, she returned her attentions to Strife.
"Do you think it would be alright if I joined your Materia tutorials with Fair? Vincent said that if I don't improve, he would force me to take lessons from Reno." Mei whined.
"Of course you can join us!" Strife said happily.
That moment the bell at the top of the tower rang, and Mei noticed Sephiroth with a hammer in his hand, looking like some northern god of thunder. Letting Sephiroth take a strength test was completely ridiculous, but then Mei participated in the shooting competition so it would be hypocritical of her to laugh at him.
The First Class SOLDIERs returned, and Sephiroth stopped in front of her, handing her a white rabbit toy. "A companion to your bunny, so he won't be lonely anymore." Sephiroth said earnestly, and his eyes were full of meaning.
Mei looked at the bunny, and looked at Sephiroth, and understood the underlying meaning behind his statement. Mei leaped forward to hug him, burying her face in his chest so no one would see her moist eyes. It was the cutest friendship offer she had ever gotten, perhaps because it was the only offer, but it was still exciting to find something sincere and good inside Shinra. Sephiroth hugged her back as she mumbled a soft "Thank you."
Fair and some of the others were making awfully cute "Owwww" voices, so they pulled apart awkwardly. Mei determinedly stared at her shoes, waiting for the moment to pass. She was also beginning to feel tired and home-sick. Or at least, sick of people.
"I still cannot understand, what exactly are you doing here with us?" Genesis asked acidly, stepping beside Sephiroth and looking very possessive.
"Bodyguarding your boyfriend, since you're obviously too much of a pussy to do it yourself." Mei spat with venom, looking the ginger right in the eye. It was true that all red-heads were soulless.
"Burn!" Fair yelled at Genesis, making some sizzling noises.
Sephiroth took one step away from Genesis. "He is not my boyfriend." He said icily.
Mei felt she was getting into dangerous territory there, listening to her Turk sixth sense, she decided to withdraw. "I'll let you SOLDIERs sort out things between you. Good night."
"Wait." Sephiroth said, and made a move towards her when Genesis grabbed his arm. Sephiroth looked back at him coldly. "Why don't you go find Rufus? He might actually enjoy your zealousness."
Genesis let go of Sephiroth's arm as if he was burned, and Sephiroth began to walk away from the group. "Let's go, Mei." He said flatly.
They made it to the train station in silence. "I totally feel like I stepped into a lover's quarrel." Mei remarked gingerly.
Sephiroth snorted. "Genesis doesn't even know what love means."
"And you do?" Mei asked boldly.
Sephiroth stared at her pointedly for a long moment. "Perhaps I don't either." He said morbidly. "Genesis and I are not involved. Rufus and him have been in a torrid, unstable affair for years, and every time he fights with Rufus, Genesis comes to me."
"And you don't mind it?" Mei was really surprised they were having that conversation.
Sephiroth shrugged. "It's just sex. Genesis is attractive." He stated with no emotions.
"Don't you want something more?"
"There is no more than that, for me." Sephiroth said darkly, and Mei did not press the matter.
They sat side by side on the train, each to his own thoughts. Mei examined her new bunny and wondered how that gift was going to effect her life. She did not argue when he walked her to her apartment, and again they stood awkwardly outside her door.
"So, can I have my hairpin back?" Mei asked, shuffling her feet.
"No, I think I'm going to keep it." Sephiroth smirked shamelessly.
"Next time, I'm leaving you completely at the mercy of your groupies." Mei threatened hotly.
"Next time, I will take you somewhere less crowded." Sephiroth promised.
Mei smiled at the thought of hanging out with Sephiroth alone. He moved a stray curl from her face, and kissed her cheek, lingering a little too long than necessary. Sephiroth bid her goodnight and walked away, leaving Mei to stare at his brilliant silver hair swaying behind him.