The Beginning of Nowhere--Chapter XI

Three days later, Aeris had her dance perfected and her costume designed. This costume consisted of a long, broad, triangle sash, the left side reaching her ankles, and the right reaching up to her hip. This sash was a peachy-pink color, and was decorated with beaded lines of sakura blossoms. The bottom half of her shirt was a soft, see-through equivalent color, while the bra-part was beaded with the exact same design as the sash. This top was strapless, and stayed up on its own. Her hair was decorated with live sakura blossoms--no jewelry--but only blossoms in their place. She wore peach make-up, and pink lip paints.

She was oh-so naturally beautiful.

Yuffie ran to Aeris' residence for a visit. Being a minor and only a first-year, she wanted to see her friend dressed up.

Yuffie was brought into the main room and was told to wait there. Wait she did, rocking back and forth on her heels, until Ifalna came to usher Yuffie out of the house.

"She says to be ready for her number. She'll see you there."

"But—"

"Sorry, Yuffie." With that, the door slid shut, and Yuffie had no choice but to do as she was told.

"Is she gone?" Aeris' voice whispered in question.

"Yes. Come on out. I also have something I want to tell you." Aeris came out, beautiful as ever, and was led to a pillow to sit on.

"What is it?"

"I wanted to ask you," Ifalna began with a shy smile. "If you would be my daughter." Silence followed, then Aeris smiled, tears beaming in her own eyes.

"It may sound a little strange, but I feel as if I have known you all my life." Aeris replied. They embraced. "I think you are supposed to be my mother."

"Sorry to disturb," Lucrecia had come in. "Aeris is to come on stage within five minutes." Ifalna nodded, and went to grab Aeris' robes. Lucrecia smiled brightly.

"It's no wonder Sephiroth is so taken with you!" Lucrecia laughed pleasantly, and Aeris smiled to try to cover her blush. "You will do wonderful, Aeris. You have great potential." Ifalna came back with the uniformed white robes, and helped Aeris into them. The two escorted her down the pathway to the stage area, where the rest of the girls waited their turn to dance. All were hooded in the same white robes, and Aeris nodded to Lucrecia and Ifalna to take their seats.

"Play the same music, Aeris?" Someone whispered next to her. Yuffie stood to her left.

"Of course." Aeris smiled, although no one could see it.

"Good luck, Aeris." With that, Yuffie took her place, and soon enough Aeris dropped her robes and went onstage. The audience was amazed at her costume, and clapped even before she started to dance. It was only when she began to dance that an eerie silence befell the crowd of onlookers. Yuffie was having the time of her life playing the music, while Aeris danced for the feeling of freedom and for the sake of salvaging what memories she had left inside.

And, although she refused to admit it, she danced for Sephiroth.

She finished the dance with a blast of her aero materia, (which caused the wind to swirl around her figure), and held the pose. No one clapped, for they were afraid to ruin the moment, and they began to hum or sing the tune she had danced to. She opened her eyes to see everyone astonished, and just decided to take a bow. She gracefully left the stage, walking past Anni, who was practically green with envy. However, she smirked to hide it, and walked up onto the stage. She was dressed in a design similar to Aeris', except she wore low-quality material and jewels all over her body. Her short, blonde hair had been attempted to be decorated with blossoms as well, but she just did not look the way Aeris did.

She danced Aeris' old routine, but in a bouncy and robotic way. She danced as a disgrace to the dance school, all to try to lure Sephiroth into her trap. However, she did dance pretty well, and was graceful at some things.

Aeris observed from the stage area, and sadly shook her head. She knew of her intentions, and looked to where Sephiroth sat. She was surprised to see him calling over the dealer that dealt with marriage affairs and such, and her heart seemed to break. Tears rose in her eyes, and she numbly walked, her figure hidden by curtains, to the Sakura Grove. She sat on her favorite boulder and did her best not to cry.

"Why am I so…so…" Aeris wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. "…Worked up over…over…him?" She asked herself. She laughed. "I think I just graduated! I should be happy, right?" She tried to smile, but then started to cry again. "I—I…" Aeris then let her tears go, despite the smearing of her make-up.

"He'll just marry…her…" After a minute, she felt something light weight land in her lap. She moved her hands from her eyes to see a perfectly pink and small cherry blossom had found its way to land perfectly onto her knees, and looked up to see…

"Sephiroth!" She gasped out. Aeris had jumped up in surprise, and now stood facing him, her hand covering her mouth. He had dropped the flower to her, and she now clutched it in her other hand. He stepped forward and gently took her face in his hand, forcing her to meet his gaze and drop her hand from her mouth.

"Why are you crying, Aeris?" He asked. Concern was evident in his eyes. She sobbed again, and pulled away from his grasp to cup her mouth again, her back to him. He stepped closer and gently embraced her from behind, causing her to loose her breath. "What is the matter?" He whispered. Aeris had stopped some of her crying from the sudden comforting hug from this unexpected person.

"I s-saw you w-with the dealer." She whispered and sobbed out.

"And you cry about seeing me with the dealer?" He calmly asked. She nodded as she tried to speak.

"You waved him over while she was dancing, Sephiroth."

"You thought I wanted…" Sephiroth paused, and then had a look of realization on his face. "Aeris, she is the worst there ever was. I can't believe you thought she was competition." She had told him about Anni during one of their personal dance sessions on the beach, previously. This alone made her heart take flight, and she leaned into him.

"Then…what were you doing?" She asked. He leaned his head on her shoulder. He breathed before giving his answer.

"My plans are almost complete, Aeris." He said. Her breath caught.

"What are your plans?" She asked in a small whisper. She felt him smile at this.

"You will become my fiancé, and I will help to regain your memory." He simply replied. Aeris felt her heart practically sing at this revelation.

"And all this time you couldn't tell me about it?" Aeris questioned. She closed her eyes while they danced from side-to-side, waiting for his answer.

"I feared it wouldn't work if I told anyone."

"It's working, right?" She asked. They stopped dancing and swaying, and he kissed her on the cheek. She blushed.

"You don't know how long I have waited for the right woman to come along." He said. "Now my wishes have finally been granted." They turned to face each other, and he held her hands in his. "However, this will be a possible longer wait. We will wait until you regain your memory before we are together." Aeris sighed, but looked up when he caressed her cheek.

"What are we doing?" Her thoughts echoed inside her head. "Something seems very familiar about all of this…" Her heart skipped a beat, and she pulled away. Something…hurt her inside to do so, and yet…

"Sephiroth…" She said, and then shook her head. They were holding hands, Aeris in front of Sephiroth. "…I-I can't…" She rasped. "This seems all too familiar to me, and it hurts." Sephiroth thought for a moment before stepping away to put a little distance in between them. He looked hurt, and Aeris looked down at the ground with salty tears gathering in her eyes, again.

"My plans…" She heard Sephiroth's deep voice begin. "Will you let them commence?" He asked. Aeris looked up as he asked, and nodded.

"I…just need some time before we actually get married." She replied. He nodded and stalked a little closer to Aeris.

"I will wait for forever if it comes to it, Aeris." He said, taking her hands in his. She looked up because of this gesture, her eyes wide. She had thought he would just walk away. At least…that was what he did not do, either.

"I remember…" Aeris began. She felt like her head was in the clouds. Sephiroth mentally tilted his head at her sudden interruption. "H-he…held me like that." She whispered loud enough so only the two of them could hear. Sephiroth felt a pang of guilt, yet he needed to stay there for her. He had practically promised…and he couldn't leave her alone. "But…" She continued, turning her back to him. "I remember another that always thought of himself. I had stupidly fallen into his arms…" She felt Sephiroth's gaze upon her, but only wrapped her arms around herself. "His name was Zack." She finished. A few moments of silence resulted as Sephiroth tried to say what he said next.

"Does he tie into the rest of the puzzle?" A simple question, but not for the dancing princess.

"I…I don't know. He's got to be."

She needs some peaceful place to get away to. Sephiroth thought. I bet she wants to get away from here by now. Sephiroth chewed this idea for a little bit, then thought of the perfect place to go to.

"Aeris?" She turned around at her name.

"Yes?"

"How about we take a little trip?" He asked through a small smile. She tilted her head.

"A trip?"

"Yes. We could take Ifalna and my mother." Aeris thought for a moment at Sephiroth's suggestion, and then nodded with a slight smile on her lips.

"I think…that would be best." She replied.

I guess he wants to give me time to think and maybe…remember. Aeris thought to herself. He is being very thoughtful…for me. Does he really want me to remember all that badly?

"It's settled, then." He said with a nod. He folded his arms over his chest, which just-so-happened to be covered by a black kimono that revealed only a little skin past his collarbone. He had his barely tied back by a black tie that most men wore. He was dressed up only for her, and Sephiroth had meant for it to be that way—just as Aeris had dressed to impress Sephiroth.

"I am glad you remembered everything I taught you." Sephiroth said, finally. Aeris looked up from her bare feet and couldn't suppress her smiling urge any longer.

"Me too." She looked out to the rosy horizon. "So do I."

Okay, admit it. It's getting boring. Right? Okay, I'm not going to stick to my origional plan, anymore. I'm going to add some twists so it seems somewhat more exciting! Or...at least I will try.

You all know the drill! Thank you all that reviewed! You have totally made my day!

K. Valentine