Edit: 4/22/10

(a/n): Oddly enough, this chapter is quite long…Okay, so I'm not into song fics or anything, but I was inspired to write this chapter by the song 'Only Hope' by Switchfoot. Old song, I'm aware of that, but I love it. :3 It kind of goes with it, if you know what I mean...hmm. In this chapter, Nikki gets attacked! Mwaha!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, Zack would be shirtless in every Crisis Core scene possible. –swoons-

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Guardian Angel

Chapter 14: Shooting Stars

-:-

Stirring from a deep, dreamless sleep, Nikki kept her heavy eyelids shut, not wanting to move from her comfortable position. Or, at least, she felt comfortable…She felt a source of warmth and a sweet smell of leather as she snuggled closer to whatever it was she was leaning against. All that Nikki knew was that she was sitting in the backseat of the moving van that was taking her and the fellow Turks to check the mako reactor in Nibelheim, and that she had fallen asleep right when she had settled down on the plush seat. Another fact that was known to her was that she was leaning on something…but for some reason, she felt uneasiness…then she knew. It wasn't a something…it was a someone. That fact was determined after she felt her 'pillow' shift. But still, she didn't mind. Letting out a contented sigh, Nikki brought her hand up to her face, only to feel leather at her fingertips. Breathing in deeply, the young girl smelled another scent…almost…a sort of masculine smell.

Slowly lifting an eyelid open, Nikki tried to adjust her eyesight in the dark, despite that the sun was up. There was a small window behind her that allowed some of the sun light to peer through and cast shadows across the back of the van. Focusing on the now, Nikki noticed one particular color: red. In fact, the leather she had smelled was that of a red leather coat. And the person who owned that coat was Genesis. Indeed, she had been sleeping against her trainer's shoulder the whole way, ever since they left. The uttermost shock did not hit her until she saw his face…

Genesis was awake, as usual…since he was a SOLDIER, he actually didn't require normal sleep like other people did. In fact, his eyes didn't even close to catch a few hours of sleep while the rest of the group did. He had watched all of the Turks drift to dreamland. Reno was actually still asleep when he had seated himself…or, more likely, Rude helping the red-headed Turk into the van, basically carrying him. The two female Turks, Elena and Cissnei were so drowsy; they probably didn't remember going to sleep. But, nevertheless, they were still at it. Elena was positioned beside Reno, leaning against his head. The two were like brother and sister. Cissnei had fallen asleep against her fist with her elbow resting on the arm of the chair. Though Rude…it was hard to tell if he slept at all. Those sun glasses of his covered any sign of emotion. So it was quite hard to tell if he was still awake or not. But the nodding of his head and his chin resting into his chest determined that he had succumbed to the dreams that called many people away at night.

The Turk in Training, Nikki, fell asleep against the 1st class SOLDIER's shoulder as soon as she was occupied in her sitting position. Genesis didn't bother to shake her off, for he knew that she had only four hours, if not that, of rest. By the look of her confused face when she met him in the weapon room that morning, it was obvious. He had secretly admired her while she breathed through her ski-jump nose and rested her head close to his neck. To him, she looked almost angelic, though he had quickly pushed away those thoughts. And now, she was finally awake, after six hours. Now, back to Nikki's perspective, which is, of course, important because she is the person who is telling the story, but we had to see what Genesis thought at this point…

In horror, as the girl laid her grey eyes on her teacher's peaceful, emotionless set face, she shot up straight, silently missing the comfort and protection she felt. For a minute she was like that; staring at Genesis while he casually glanced at her as if he didn't mind at all…or was extremely annoyed by her, Nikki couldn't tell. Stammering, Nikki tried her best to let her words out.

"Oh! Sir, I'm so ---" But, as usual, she was stopped from speaking up for herself. Though, not by an evil glare by Sephiroth. This time, by Genesis' gloved hand. Hurriedly, he smacked his hand over Nikki's mouth, ceasing her from her quite loud apology. This time, however, he was annoyed.

"Shut up!" He hissed bitterly at her, leaning close to her face, "Do you want to wake everyone up?"

Nikki stole a glance at the other members of the group. They were all asleep still…despite the time of the day it was. To her amusement, Elena and Reno were leaning against each other, unaware of their position. Cissnei, with her brown curly locks resting pleasantly upon her shoulders, was in a slumber, as so was Rude. Looking back at Genesis, Nikki stared into his blue, crystal eyes. Even though he sounded slightly furious, his eyes showed kindness. For a moment, she was lost in them, searching for more emotion. But she quickly recovered and quietly whimpered, shaking her head to the negative. Genesis removed his grasp and sighed as he switched his gaze ahead.

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know…" Nikki tried again, whispering gently and slowly so that her panicked voice wouldn't shroud into the stillness and peacefulness. Smirking, Genesis shot a sideways glare at her.

"It's all right. Everyone else fell asleep. I know that you were tired," he uttered under his breath, and then turning around to look out the window into the driver's section of the moving vehicle. Of course, he was only checking to see if Angeal and Tseng were getting along, which they normally did. It was just out of pure curiosity.

"What time is it, sir?" Nikki yawned as her eyes fell on a box in the center of the back of the van. Apparently, it was filled with food. There were cubbies above the seats that held more supplies. Tilting her head, Nikki wondered how many tents they had packed along with them.

"It's almost eleven o' clock. Soon, everyone should wake up…" as Genesis' voice trailed off, Elena slightly stirred and moved around a bit, causing Reno's head to fall onto her shoulder. Startled by the sudden movement, the blonde's eyes popped open and stared warningly at her friend. Cringing, Elena pushed him off with her palms, shivering from the fact that they were in that awkward position ever since she boarded the transportation. Wincing from the sudden jerk, Reno opened his eyes and exhaled sharply, stretching in the process.

"Hey, don't think anything about it, at least we didn't do anything," he kidded in a bad sense of humor. Elena whacked him across his head, causing his goggles to be misplaced and perched on his nose.

"Yo, it was just a simple joke…" he protested, adjusting his goggles back to normal. At this point, Cissnei was awoken by Reno's obnoxious, jeering voice. She simply opened her warm, peaceful brown eyes and sat up straight. However, Elena shot her a threatening glare. It seemed that whatever the young Turk did, the blonde rival despised her for it, whether it was from perfection, a simple movement, or talking to Tseng. Nikki felt compassion towards the brunette, since she had no idea and had no fancy towards the higher ranked, Wutain Turk. With a sweet sigh, Cissnei smiled kindly at Nikki as she met her gaze.

Cissnei was only at the age of seventeen, but an excellent Turk, with a lot of knowledge with a shruiken, which was a four bladed weapon that could be thrown with enough force, slashing an enemy, and flying back to the user's hand. Nikki never really met her properly, though she did acknowledge her and exchanged simple words. The blonde Turk in Training knew how kind she was. Always helping out, Cissnei always put others before herself. And at this moment, she was being treated unfair because of pure, simple jealousy. Knowing that her sister was wrong, Nikki seemed to stand up for Cissnei during her sister's raged out bursts.

Shaking her thoughts away, Nikki noticed that Rude had lifted his bald head up, taking in his surroundings through his dark shades. Nikki never talked to him, because, quite frankly, he rarely talked. Rude was a dark skinned man around the age of his late twenties. Though, he was a patient man, and extremely serious in his work. The shy girl had bumped into him one day, letting a pile of important fliers scatter on the floor, and they were due to be on Sephiroth's desk in five minutes. Rude took his precious time of his lunch break and helped Nikki. Even though she thanked him, he nodded briefly before going back to his business.

Smiling back at Cissnei and glancing at Rude, Nikki cracked her knuckles and let her hand rest on the armrest of her chair. Even though there were no seat belts for their protection, Nikki felt at ease. Cocking an eyebrow, Nikki turned back to Genesis, who was staring at his lap, seeming quite bored.

"Um, sir?" she timidly squeaked. Blinking, Genesis glanced back at her with a small smile.

"Yes?"

"How long until we reach our resting place?" she inquired. It was obviously a painful subject for Reno loudly groaned and placed a hand on his forehead. To Nikki, it was quite rude of him to barge in on her private question. Genesis ignored the Turk and answered.

"About ten hours at least…We will camp on the outskirts of Nibelheim. In the morning, we'll set across the town on foot and make our way to Mt. Nibel and reach the reactor," Genesis carefully explained to everyone. Elena shifted in her seat and Reno, yet again, rolled his eyes. Although the pair made their feeling quite obvious, Cissnei and Rude remained silent, with their hands folded upon their laps and lowering their eyes to the floor. Silence quickly followed as no one in the van knew what to say. Nikki watched listlessly as her sister reached towards the storage box and lifted the lid, digging her hand into its contents and drawing out a blue apple. As Elena revealed the bright colored fruit, Nikki couldn't help but noticed Genesis shift uneasily in his seat. Not taking any sign in his actions, Nikki pushed any suspicious thoughts away and leaned back, staring at the grey ceiling of the dull van.

It was an exceedingly boring ride, and Nikki could tell that the Turks were quiet and wordless because of Genesis. Although, if it were Nikki with Genesis, she would actually enjoy having a conversation with him. Even if the rest of the Turks talked amongst themselves, Nikki felt more comfortable talking with her trainer. That took her by surprise. It was at that moment when Nikki started feeling…something different towards Genesis.

Some days he would be grouchy, yes, in fact, sometimes cruel. But at least he apologized for his actions towards her. Ever since the incident in the training room and her confessing her darkest secret…it seemed that she trusted him now. At that moment, she stared at him, studying his face. He was pale, which told anybody that he was sick some days. Sometimes her lesson would be cancelled because he was at an appointment. Though this fact was true, it was her opinion that Genesis was….what was the word? Handsome? Now, Nikki would not go that far…she decided that he had a pleasing countenance, and that was it. Suddenly, she felt a little tug at her heart. As if her soul was telling her something…But she pushed it away, not wanting to know her true feelings…that Genesis seemed like her friend. Or, at least, a person who cared about her.

Catching her staring at him, Genesis shot her a questioning glare. Recovering from the awkward expression on her face, Nikki smiled sweetly at him, trying not to seem suspicious and glance away. Buying the innocent look, her trainer lowered his eyes to the floor board and sighed, letting his arm drop onto the armrest on his left side. However, Nikki had her hand resting on the same armrest on her right side, though Genesis wasn't aware of it because not many men would notice that small fact. Gently, he laid his gloved hand upon her small, fragile one, covering it. Despite the fact that he was touching her, he made no move to draw away his hand. Gulping, Nikki blushed, pulling her hand away and placing it on her chest, rubbing her collar bone. Unfortunately, the mischievous red head caught this action take place.

Slyly, Reno grinned at the poor girl with twinkling blue eyes. To her horror, he opened his mouth to let out another joke.

"Hey, look who's getting awfully close. I didn't know you liked those kind of girls, Boss," Reno addressed Genesis with a kidding sneer. Feeling heat rise in her cheeks, Nikki shot Reno a murdering glare as Genesis did the same, only with a blank look that showed that he didn't care whatever came out of the young man's mouth. Elena, however, who was observing her half eaten, oddly colored apple cautiously, caught on the remark and reacted quickly. Shoving her apple in his mouth, Nikki's older sister gagged the fiery haired Turk until he stopped squirming. In amazement, Nikki stared at the two. They acted like they were…a fighting couple? Even though it was known they were only friends, Nikki couldn't help but see why anyone would think differently. Simpering at her sister, Nikki glanced at her trainer, only to see him continuing to stare at the floor. Maybe it was best if she leaved him alone, though it was hard because the two were sitting next to each other.

Breathing out pitifully, Nikki focused on her own thoughts and mind as she stared at her lap in a bored fashion. Everyone was still tired as they eventually fell back to sleep, but she and Genesis remained in their strange position of not talking to each other. Nikki raised her eyebrows as a different thought crossed her mind. It was indeed, awkward that she would ponder such a thing…but…what if Genesis' movement of touching her hand wasn't an accident and he only reacted to Reno that way because he didn't want to let the fact show? Looking back at Genesis, Nikki observed his face. He had now closed his eyes and was drifting to sleep, like the rest of the group. But still…every time he looked at her, he had a strange gleam in his eyes. Nikki swallowed, wondering what would happen if that were true. As her thoughts went on, Genesis opened his eyes and glared at Nikki, who was unknowingly staring at him with blank eyes, showing that she was lost in thought.

"What?" he snapped, not too fond of the fact that he was being stared at as if he was a specimen. Nikki shook her head and glanced back down, avoiding his piercing stare. Then again, maybe not…

-:-

Feeling someone shake her shoulder in a not so pleasing manner, Nikki's eye snapped open. To her surprise, she had fallen asleep again, only this time leaning back in her seat and not against her trainer's shoulder, which she was thankful for. But her awakening was not something to be thankful about for her sister had shaken her nearly to death just to get her to wake up. Groaning from the pain in her shoulder, Nikki swiped Elena's hands away and yawned, adjusting her eyes to the dark. It was obvious that the van had stopped and it was late at night. Everyone was out of the van except Elena and Nikki.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Nikki protested groggily. Satisfied, Elena drew away without a word and walked out of the van, since the double back doors were wide open and revealed the outside. Pushing herself up, Nikki moaned from her sore back. Sitting in a car seat for hours at a time without moving around certainly did something to someone's sore muscles. Rubbing the sore spot, Nikki dizzily stepped from the vehicle, finally breathing in fresh air. Closing her eyes, Nikki stayed still for a moment as she let the sleep wear off. She would have liked to go back to sleep, but they had to set up camp. Where is camp, anyways? Nikki pondered as she walked around the truck, feeling the moon light shed its silvery beams across the barren land. It was rather…interesting. The land was spotted with trees and it was rather hilly, but it wasn't at all pretty.

Stretching her legs as she strolled around the van, Nikki spotted that a few yards away from it was a small camp fire with three tents already set up. Tilting her head, the young girl found the Turks, minus Tseng, seated quite comfortable around the fire. Feeling guilty for not helping out, Nikki decided mentally that she would help pack up the next morning. Cissnei heard the footsteps and turned around, smiling as her eyes lay on the timid girl. Kindly, she beckoned Nikki over to sit by her. Slightly simpering, the bookworm paced over across the rough ground covered by dry grass and seated herself next to the brunette. As she had drawn closer, Nikki could tell that the group was in deep conversation about the mako reactor. Shaking the thoughts away, Nikki looked at everyone with the fire light dancing and casting shadows on their faces.

Rude was silent, as usual and Reno was sitting lazily beside him, teasing Elena once again. In her hands, Elena held a mug, supposedly filled with coffee or something warm. Cissnei was on the other side with Nikki, remaining quiet and listening to Reno letting out what he knew about the Mt. Nibel reactor. Blocking out whatever came from his mouth, Nikki turned to the brunette besides her. Deciding to try to hold their first conversation, Nikki opened her mouth to ask a question.

"Do you know where Mr. Hewley, Mr. Rhapsodos, and Tseng are?" she asked as kind as possible. Of course, Mr. Hewley was Angeal, though she never addressed him like that. He allowed her to call him by his first name. Startled by her sudden question, Cissnei glanced at Nikki cautiously before pointing a small index finger towards the direction of two tall, dark looming trees, which were a good ways away from the campsite. Looking hard through the thick darkness, Nikki could make out three figures standing at their bases. Nodded an understanding, Nikki smiled again.

"They are talking over plans for tomorrow, but they didn't want to explain it in front of us. I guess it's because of Reno," Cissnei glared at the red head as he pulled Elena's hair for the thousandth time. Sighing, Nikki knew what she met. Reno was quite a colorful character, though, she couldn't help but wonder, how the hell he passed the S.A.T's. Suddenly knowing what to say, Nikki piped the question.

"Hey, Reno?" she called chidingly. Suspicious by the strange hint in her voice, Reno glanced at Nikki. Releasing Elena's hair, he placed his chin in his hand as he leaned on his elbow, raising an eyebrow.

"How did you pass your S.A.T's?" Even though the question would have been an insult to others, it certainly wasn't with the prankster. Smirking, Reno stood up from where he sat.

"Simple: I cheated!" he almost laughed before he noticed Rude's dark glare. Clearing his throat, the red head turned around.

"Now, I'm going to bed. See ya later, boyos," Reno gave a sly wave as he bounded off for one of the tents, which was a few feet away. Huffing out loud, Nikki blew a strand of stray blonde hair from her face. Then she noticed her hair. It was rather messy, but she didn't mind. After all, she just woke up from another one of her long naps. In fact, at this moment she wasn't tired at all, but everyone else was ready to go to sleep. So she knew she had to try to go back to sleep.

Everyone else, including the threesome who were in deep conversation, made their way to the tents. Cissnei, Elena and Nikki shared one tent. It was quite small, but comfortably warm, since it was closest to the small, crackling fire. Nikki's make shift bed was at the entrance, so she had the most heat. To her amusement, she wondered how Cissnei and Elena fell asleep, since the two were rivals, though Elena hated her and Cissnei just avoided the blonde. Interesting enough, the three male Turks shared one tent and the 1st class SOLDIERs were in the other.

Laying flat on her painful back, Nikki stared at the ceiling of the quickly made tent. Studying the folds of the fabric, Nikki rolled her eyes as she heard Reno and Elena's snoring. It was annoyingly loud and the young girl was shocked that anybody would actually be asleep. She had laid there for about two hours, thinking of absolutely nothing and listening to the nasally sounds of her sister and her best friend as well as the crickets singing their midnight songs. She had also noticed that the fire was dying, but made no move to exit the flap of her tent to liven it up again. But…she did want to take a midnight stroll. After all, she had her gun strapped securely to her belt and was fully awake, not drowsy in the slightest. Then, she made her decision.

Breathing peacefully, Nikki uncovered the warm blue blanket that had shielded her from the cold. Daringly, she crept like a wary cat from the tent, shooting glances all around, making sure that her boots wouldn't snap a lone twig. Out in the open night air, Nikki slowly made her way across the camp site and away from the van and the tents, walking towards the trees that Tseng, Angeal and Genesis were at earlier that night. Stopping at the base, Nikki examined the woody bark of the tallest tree. It was smooth, which didn't shock the girl that much. All she was doing was being curious, observing the alien surroundings. She had felt the warmth from the dying fire leave her as she walked farther to the top of a hill, looking over at some woods and in the distance, some lights. City lights, to be exact. Wondering if it was Nibelheim, Nikki sighed deeply as she closed her eyes and felt the cool breeze tickle her cheeks. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the dark sky, seeing the stars, which appeared to be diamonds in the sea of dark sapphire. Again, she found herself comparing stars to diamonds. She had always thought them to compare to the certain rock.

All of the sudden, a streak of white and silver light shot across the sky. Knowing what it was, Nikki closed her eyes and thought of a wish. What would it be? She was content… though… there was an emptiness that she couldn't help but feel. To her surprise, she had actually missed not talking to Genesis that night. She had missed his company. Well, then…I wish…we could talk more! Nikki smiled as she lifted her eyelids open and noticed a belt of stars stretching across the sky. Always wondering more about stars and such, Nikki had been fascinated by science. This, of course, was one of the reasons she did a report on the Lifestream. And she had learned about Jenova…ShinRa had Jenova, but what did they use it for?

Disturbing the stillness, Nikki heard a twig snap a few yards behind her with her keen ears. Craning her neck around, the girl was alert and searched for the source of the noise. Under the shade of the trees was none other than Genesis. He stared at her through his crystal eyes as he made his way out of the shadows. As he stepped forward from underneath the trees, the moon light shown down on him, creating a sort of mysterious look. Shocked at the fact that he was spying on her, or checking on her to make sure she wasn't eaten by a monster, Nikki's lower lip trembled.

"Oh, sir, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she protested as Genesis reached her and stood in front of her with an odd expression. Gulping, Nikki waited for his response. Barely snickering, he switched his gaze towards Nibelheim, wiping away an auburn strand of hair from his face. Clasping his hands behind his back, he turned back to Nikki.

"I wasn't asleep. But you should be, Ms. Hirome," he demanded sternly with an arched eyebrow. Sighing, Nikki gazed at her boots as she fiddled with her fingers.

"I know. I couldn't sleep. So I decided to take a walk!" she pointed out at the woods with as she grinned happily. Hmm…I wonder if my wish is coming true. That's a laugh…Even though Nikki wished on shooting stars; she never believed that the wishes came true. Turning back to the present, Nikki watched as Genesis gave her a confused glare.

"Well, it's dangerous out here by yourself…And we have a long day tomorrow," he explained as he kicked a small rock down the hill. Tilting her head to the side, Nikki simpered as she gazed at the moon. It was about half way full, but still, it was as bright as ever.

"Sir, am I getting better? At fighting, I mean…" she mumbled cautiously as she continued to stare at the moon. His answer slightly surprised her.

"Well, you've only been here for what, two and a half weeks? Well, I would say you're doing well. But you still need a lot of practice. But no, you're not weak," he said as if to himself. Painfully reminded of his harsh words the other day, Nikki winced as she breathed out and sulked. For some reason, she didn't believe him. He could have just said that to make her feel better, for she thought herself weak. Not daring to mention what was on her mind, Nikki walked a little ways in front of her trainer and searched for another shooting star.

"What exactly are you doing out here, anyway?" Genesis crossed his arms as he watched the young girl stare into the sky. Smiling to herself, she turned around and pointed straight up.

"Star gazing! I'm trying to find a shooting star," she stated almost euphuistically. Without knowing it, Genesis stared at her as she turned back towards the stars. Her fragile frame highlighted by the moon beams and her hair seeming as if it had a halo resting upon her blonde head. She seemed happy, yet sad most of the time, carrying a heavy burden on her heart for she still blamed herself for her friend's death…and her mother's. Refusing to think about her any farther, Genesis cocked his head to the side.

"Wishes on a star never come true, you know," he said, wondering if he had crushed her hopes by that remark. But instead, she shook her head.

"Mine came true…" she quipped as she suddenly jumped up.

"Oh, look! A meteor shower!" she exclaimed, obviously excited as she held her hands together and watched as hundreds of shooting stars showered across the sky. Worried that her outburst woke someone up, Genesis glanced back at the camp site. To his relief, no one heard her.

"They don't harm anyone, you see…they're quite small, though they look bigger than they actually are," the young girl continued explaining about the facts of showers in the sky, "Though one time my father, Elena and I were sitting on the rooftop watching a meteor shower and we spotted this huge one! Well, at least it seemed huge…" she mumbled as her voice trailed off, wondering if she was boring her teacher. She had a habit of going on about stars…Turning around, she noticed Genesis with an interested expression.

"What happened?" he asked, apparently curious. Smiling to herself, she went on.

"It was no bigger than an apple. We heard on the news the next day that it landed in the dumpster in the slums at Midgar, and it didn't harm anyone." Quite pleased that Genesis was actually listening to her, Nikki turned back towards the scenery of the woods, only to hear a low growl. Concerned and not sure as to what it was that made the noise; Nikki drew out her pistol and checked to see if she had any bullets. Thankfully, she did.

"What is it?" Genesis questioned her as he glanced around warningly. As Nikki turned around to tell him what she heard, Genesis' eyes widened as he saw a large, deadly creature loom up behind the shy girl, though she didn't know. Quickly, he unsheathed his crimson sword and watched as Nikki whirled around to gaze at the monster. It was, to her horror, an Elder Drake. Now, Elder Drakes weren't normal drakes. In fact, normal drakes were quite easy to kill. But not this breed. It was rather larger, and five times larger than that of a simple drake. Their blows were deadly and anybody would be lucky to escape from it or defeat it. Now, back to the now…

Nikki aimed her gun at the large, dark colored creature with its horns proceeding from the back of its head. Fire erupted from its maw and its eyes glowed an eerie red color. Raising his claws, he threatened to swipe at the small girl as she pointed her silver pistol at him. Shooting multiple times, she managed to hurt his shoulder. Growling through his nostrils, the drake quickly tried to bite at her, but she dodged as she ducked and whirled around. But as Nikki turned around, the drake took his chance and swiped his claws across her back. Crying out in pain as his talons dug into her backbone, Nikki fell on the grass and rolled swiftly on her wounded back to see the drake towering over her, ready to take a lethal bite at her neck. Closing her eyes, Nikki tried to aim her gun again to shoot his throat, but never had the chance.

To her shock, the Elder Drake turned around towards Genesis, who had thrown a fira spell at him. Nikki's eyebrows furrowed as she wondered where he got the materia for Fire from. Overcoming her questioning was the unbearable pain that told her that the drake's claws had cut deep into her flesh. Groaning and biting back a shrill scream of hurt, Nikki pushed herself from the dirt and laid against her elbow as she watched Genesis send multiple blows at the Elder Drake. Dodging very quickly and smoothly, Nikki couldn't help but admire his movements. Suddenly, he ran his index finger and his thumb across his blade and caused it to glow. The drake, obviously confused, swiped again at Genesis, but he missed, which gave the man the opportunity to send a fatal blow across the drake's neck. Satisfied that it had an instant death, Genesis sighed and sheathed his sword slowly, standing over the fallen creature. He took a few minutes before rushing over to Nikki, who was lying back down on her back. As soon as she saw him finish the monster off, she was pleased that he was okay.

"Where did it hit you?" Genesis demanded as he knelt beside Nikki's frail figure. Gasping from the pain, Nikki shut her eyes close tightly as she whimpered. She could feel herself losing blood fast.

"My-my back…" she murmured barely above a whisper. Staring at her face for a quick moment, Genesis positioned his left arm under her neck and his right arm under her knees, picking her up bridal style. Opening her eyes wearingly, Nikki leaned her head against his shoulder as he carried her to the base of the trees. Clinging onto his jacket, Nikki shivered, feeling cold all of the sudden.

"Never, never, go against an Elder Drake by yourself, do you understand me?" Genesis snapped viciously as he set Nikki on the ground at the base of the tallest tree. Swallowing hard and tasting bile, Nikki bobbed her head ever so gently. She could feel warm, sticky blood trickle down her back and staining her white blouse. Focusing on Genesis, Nikki watched as he kneeled behind her placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Pull up your shirt," he ordered as he took off his gloves. Opening her mouth to protest, she stopped herself and obeyed, knowing that all he wanted to do was help. Reluctantly, she pulled up her blouse to her shoulder blades, revealing her whole backside and her damaged bra. Embarrassed at the awkward situation, Nikki blushed. However, Genesis was occupied in his own thoughts, staring at the three long gashes extending from her right shoulder blade to the left side of her lower back. The cuts were fearfully deep and deep, purplish red blood covered most of the girl's backside. It was a wonder she didn't feel it all; if she did, she would have been screaming frantically and sobbing. But Nikki remained silent, only cringing from the throbbing pain, resting her chin on her knees.

Carefully and hesitatingly, Genesis placed his ungloved hands on each side of Nikki's back. Flinching from his touch on her bare skin, Nikki breathed uneasily through her mouth, knowing how bad her wound was. Closing her eyes, she felt a strange sensation in her wounds as her trainer trailed his hands across the gashes. All she saw as she fluttered her eyes open was darkness and a blue light as she fell backwards and lost conscious.

-

(a/n): I noticed a mistake. Why would Genesis ask Nikki, who's writhing in pain, to pull up her shirt? Couldn't he do it himself? I mean, seriously…then I was thinking; maybe he didn't want to send her into a panic attack by yanking her shirt off himself. Bahahaha, that would be so awkward…x3 Oh! And I know Elder Drakes are only in FFX, but I thought it would be interesting...Reviews will be loved! Critiques will be greatly appreciated, and flames will be used to burn Genesis voodoo dolls. Hah.