Unspoken
By mihoyonagi
Chapter 28: Hidden
The boy with the attitude problem had informed Sephiroth that his name was Zahi, and that his sister had been kidnapped nearly two days before. While the child was dedicated, Sephiroth felt Zahi was being far too persistent in his thirst for any and all knowledge Sephiroth could offer. No, he didn't know where the girls were being taken. Yes, he had heard of such things before. No, nothing like this had ever happened to him. No, he couldn't tell for sure what was going to happen. Questions ran in circles and just when Sephiroth thought the boy had finally shut up for good, another inquiry jumped out at the man.
During such a grandiose parade earlier, security upon the docks had been far more pitiful than Sephiroth could remember. Granted that Junon dock guards weren't exactly overzealous to be working their given positions in the first place, yet who was Sephiroth to judge? He hadn't been granted the chore of working up the military ladder when he was part of Shinra. He had been lucky enough to soar to the top ranks with a mere flick of his wrist and twist of his sword.
Luckily enough, the information Zahi had provided had proved extremely useful. When he had told the general that he had observed the shady figures take large crates to the lower docks, he had been honest and true. It was nearly sunrise, however, before Sephiroth, or the boy, were able to actually snoop around.
The soft fall of breath, the steady beat of a heart; he thought he was imagining it, perhaps. Was he truly so eager to see the face of the flower girl? How he wished he hadn't been so terse with her when last they spoke.
It was a gut feeling, intuition if one preferred, that gripped Sephiroth and led him through the maze of crates stored at the far end of the lower dock he had been hiding in for hours, waiting for the last guard to take leave and wait on the upper level for his replacement.
"Keep it down." Zahi's voice was but a harsh whisper. Sephiroth shot the boy a look that bore the message 'hold your tongue or loose it.' Thankfully, the boy shut up and looked down at his feet, sheepishly.
Taking in another deep breath, Sephiroth inhaled the salty sea air that flooded the docks. He laid a single hand on the crate nearest him. With his mind clear, he could feel the life of another being inside the wood. The soft heartbeat reached out to him. Sephiroth removed his hand. The heartbeat had felt wrong. It was human, but it wasn't familiar. Sephiroth moved several paces and placed his hand upon the lid of another crate. Somewhere in the distance he could hear Zahi shuffle his feet with impatience, but Sephiroth knew the boy was making good use of his time and keeping watch so that the general wouldn't have to. The second crate was the same as the first; a soft heartbeat, a quiet song of life, but nothing familiar within.
A third crate was inspected the same was as the two before, but again nothing familiar came from the insides.
Finally, upon placing his hand on a fourth crate, Sephiroth's eyes shot open. He felt warm beat, even and gentle like the sea, and a calming song that reached up and out directly to him. Even in sleep it seemed that the flower girl knew him.
Though the crates that littered the docks were many, Sephiroth noticed that every single one was headed for the same destination; Wutai. A heavy sigh escaped his lips- what was to be done? He could very well just open the crate he knew Aerith to lay unconscious in, but what would happen to the boy? If Aerith found out that he had abandoned the boy simply to make sure she was safe, Sephiroth would be scolded like the world was ending and it was completely his fault.
An angry Aerith was something Sephiroth dreaded seeing again.
However, were he to simply open up the crates and let everyone free guards would surely catch them all again. Sephiroth couldn't be counted on to guard their safety. While he could fight, his blood-oath to Aerith was binding: were he to kill another human, both he and the flower girl would cease to exist once more.
Sephiroth saw only one option.
Taking Masamune only partway from its sheath, Sephiroth made several indentations on the corner of the box he knew Aerith to be unconscious in. Masamune went back into its sheath, and Sephiroth motioned for Zahi to follow close behind. Stealing a label off of a crate he was passing by, Sephiroth was followed to the back of the docks where several empty crates had caught his eye within the numerous hours he and Zahi had hid upon the docks. Pointing a finger and giving no other look than extreme discontent, Sephiroth silently instructed Zahi into the crate. Pulling the lid and latching it securely in after he too was inside, Sephiroth took a deep breath and leaned against the inside of the crate.
The lengths of chocobo shit he would go through for the flower girl.
"Are you sure we should do this?"
Sephiroth couldn't very well answer the boy- the crate was dark, and his voice was gone. Several moments of silence went by and the general heard Zahi shift.
"Thank you."
Gratitude was met with silence. What had Sephiroth to offer other than that?
'We'll save Aerith, and get your sister back.' Though he couldn't voice his thoughts, Sephiroth still meant every word.
