A/N: End, part one. P.S: Kitakaze is not a teenager. Lol.
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Last chapter…
"I love you. It's strange, but I do" she declared after a moment of pure silence, sighing contentedly.
"I understand. I feel the same way"
Feeling her lips curl against his chest, he could not help but to smile as well.
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A whole month passed by before the virus was officially annihilated from the surface of the world, and a celebration was held in the city to announce the identity of the new governor, and to emphasize Jenova's complete and final destruction. Also, the party was held on the day Kitakaze would finally be freed from the hospital, so everyone made sure she never heard anything about any kind of celebration. That way, she would have the surprise to be acclaimed by an uncountable number of people from everywhere in the world on her first day out. Not to mention that Tenzen had a little something ready for her…
On the morning of that special day, Aerith took her time choosing what clothes she would be wearing, and finally opted for a long, silky blue dress. But, as winter would show itself in less than a month, she had no choice but to hide it under an elegant, black coat, outfit that Sephiroth, obviously, found rather attractive.
So, at two in the afternoon, the city square was already full of joyful Cetras, waiting for Kitakaze's appearance. In fact, the girl was supposed to be out at three o'clock, and Tenzen, who was sitting in a café with Aerith, Ifalna and Sephiroth, showed incessant signs of growing stress.
"Calm down, it's not like she's going to say no" Sephiroth groaned, getting annoyed.
"Who knows?" Tenzen replied, unconvinced.
Looking at his watch for the hundredth time since the last two minutes, Tenzen frowned as he realised he only had thirty minutes to calm down, or else he would certainly make a fool of himself. Of course, this would amuse Kitakaze and the rest of the audience, but certainly not him.
So, he forced himself to relax, finally succeeding only two minutes before the final showdown.
"I can't wait to see her reaction" Aerith beamed, unconsciously stoking her swollen belly as they walked towards the hospital, joining the rest of the crowd.
"Yes…We haven't seen her smile in a long time" Ifalna approved, trying not to stare at her daughter's gesture.
Of course, the idea of Aerith bearing Sephiroth's child did not please her, but she finally understood that she would have no choice but to believe it, and accept it. With time and a little goodwill, everything would be fine.
Then, when Kitakaze finally stepped out of the hospital's heavy door, accompanied by Adoria, a wave of deafening applause exploded in the cheering crowd, completely taking her by surprise. Looking at them with wide eyes, the girl stayed immobile, unable to believe that so many people had come to greet her.
Next to her, Adoria smiled warmly, but Aerith noticed a strange resignation dulling her sapphire eyes, a detail that did not escape Sephiroth's reptilian gaze either. But, they did not have time to dwell on it as the scientist left Kitakaze's side, allowing Tenzen to take her place.
Reaching his beloved friend's side, Tenzen took a moment to observe the blinding happiness glowing in her eyes, which had regained their normal color, a warm, deep brown reminding him of exquisite chocolate. Luckily for her, Kitakaze's face had been spared by the virus, leaving her skin as white and flawless as before.
Smiling with pure joy, her soft, brown hair flowing gently in the wind, Kitakaze felt her heartbeat growing faster as he took her hand in his, looking at her in a way he never did before.
"Tenzen…" she breathed, already beginning to guess what was coming next.
In his endearing cerulean eyes burned an unfaltering blaze of tender affection, a look she only saw in her dearest dreams…until now.
"Kita…I know we're not even together yet, and I've never confessed my feelings for you but…Since the day you told me you loved me, I realised…I could not imagine my life without you" he began, gathering his courage as joyful, liquid diamonds slowly gathered at the corner of her unbelieving eyes.
"But…I want you to know now that I love you more than my own life, and…I would be the happiest man in the world if you became my wife" he finally dared to say, hoping she could not hear his heart thundering mercilessly against his ribcage.
"Oh…my god…" was her only reply, a trembling whisper escaping her parted lips as she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a powerful embrace, breaking down in blissful tears.
Overwhelmed by the tender scene playing in front of them, the crowd applauded once again. Among the whistles and congratulations, Kitakaze clenched her eyes shut, unable to bear the surcharge of emotions taking over her whole being.
Staying locked in each other's arms for a long moment that seemed like a split second, Kitakaze finally broke their embrace to look him in the eye as sparkling tears died on her moist, pink lips.
"I'm yours, Tenzen…I always was. You didn't even need to ask" she breathed, forgetting everything around them as she lost herself in his bewitching cerulean depths.
A second after those words escaped her lips, she was crushed in another embrace, her lips firmly pressed under his in a passionate, long awaited kiss. Closing her eyes again, Kitakaze felt her knees go weak as her mind finally registered the undeniable reality. Tenzen wanted to marry her! Even in her dreams, she never dared to hope to hear those words from him.
"Lucky girl!" a young woman suddenly exclaimed among the applause, gaining the loud approval of almost every other girl of the same age.
Moved by her sister's obvious love for the man who was now holding her, Aerith placed her head on Sephiroth's shoulder, encircling his arm with her own, a tender smile plastered on her lips.
'I hope she'll be just as happy as I am, and even more, if such a thing is possible' the flower girl thought, knowing Solarith would have a cousin soon enough.
Once they reluctantly broke the kiss, Kitakaze and her husband to be joined the crowd, and were immediately surrounded by beaming girls and women who already wanted to know when they planned to get married.
But, as the girl was quite eager to see her family, she quickly freed herself from them and reached Aerith's side, throwing her arms around her sister's shoulder, embrace that was responded with just as much enthusiasm.
"Gods, I can't wait to see your daughter! She'll be such a beautiful girl" Kitakaze beamed once they let go of each other.
"Of course, and she'll have a pretty godmother"
"What? Me? Wow, it's really my lucky day…" Kitakaze exclaimed, wiping tears from her eyes.
"You deserve it, after all you've endured" Ifalna smiled, placing a gentle hand on her daughter's back.
Embarrassed by all the attention, Kitakaze chuckled softly, taking a glance at Tenzen, who was still surrounded by an army of females. Judging by the look on his face, one of them was telling him something rather awkward.
"Be careful, Kita, seems like someone's jealous" Aerith joked, poking her sister in the ribs.
"Don't worry, now that I got him, I won't let him go easily" Kitakaze declared, putting a hand on her hips as she tried to sound serious…but couldn't control the smile that tugged at her lips.
"That goes for you too, Seph." The flower girl commented, turning to Sephiroth. "You're mine"
"I think you've misunderstood something, Cetra girl" the silver haired man replied, arching a silver eyebrow.
"Really? And what's that?"
"You're the one who's mine"
Amused as a mischievous smile drew itself on her lips, Aerith took him by the hand and pulled him close, ignoring the disapproving look that momentarily crossed her mother's features. Obviously, Ifalna had taken him seriously and thought he really was this possessive.
0o0o0o0
After an hour of celebration, the crowd gathered once again, this time in the auditorium as the moment to reveal the result of the elections finally arrived. Once everyone was properly seated and stopped talking, a man wearing an elegant tuxedo came to stand on stage, adjusting his microphone as he prepared for the announcement.
"Good day everyone" he began, clearing his throat. "Since we Cetras came to this holy land, we swore to preserve peace at any costs, to avoid any kind of conflict that might disturb our last abode and to ensure our race's survival"
Cut by a wave of whistles, he stopped, waiting for a moment of silence.
"So, on this day, we are reunited here to elect a new governor, a person that we trust with all our souls, and will entrust with the task of leading our society towards eternal peace"
Taking a moment to feel the growing anticipation weighing on the atmosphere, he let his eyes embrace the whole crowd before taking a white, small envelope containing the name of the winner.
"As a member of the Cetra race, I present to you our new leader"
A knife ripped the envelope open.
"…Adoria Makkura"
As the name resonated through the auditorium, Adoria stayed glued to her seat, eyes wide. She did not remember having given her candidacy, in fact, she never did.
"What?" the scientist exclaimed as the crowd applauded once again, cheering her.
"I took it upon myself to propose you as one of the candidates" Sephiroth informed her, a mischievous smile plastered in his lips.
Unable to believe her ears, Adoria looked at Aerith, only to see the same smile on her face, indicating that she had something to do with it as well.
"Of course, our new governor did not know of our desire to elect her, so, she can always refuse…but trust is a gift that is hard to give, and we decided to give it to you, Adoria" the announcer continued, smiling warmly.
Subtly pinching her arm to make sure she wasn't trapped in some kind of weird dream, Adoria swallowed hard as she obviously did not wake up…
"I think you should go on stage and give us a nice speech, governor" Aerith proposed, giving her an encouraging smile.
Knowing she had no better choice but to do just that, the raven haired woman stood on trembling legs, forcing herself to leave her seat and reach the stage, wondering how red her cheeks were.
"Hm…well..I…" she stammered once she got hold of the microphone, immediately silencing the crowd.
Obviously, she already had power over them, and it alone was able to amuse her, allowing her to get a little more confident.
"I don't know what to say, I never expected anything like that…But, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you"
On that note, she marked a pause, giving them time to cheer.
"Even though I don't know anything about politics…I accept your offer, and I hope I'll be up to your expectations"
Ending her speech with a salutation, she failed to notice a familiar face among the crowd, looking at her with contented, yet uneasy jade eyes.
0o0o0o0
At five o'clock, everyone was back in the town's square, talking among each other. Some people were dancing under the music's stirring beat, while others sat around a cup of coffee. As for Aerith and the others, they stood in the middle of the place, surrounded by many people who wanted to congratulate Adoria, Kitakaze or Tenzen, not to mention the ones who wanted to hear about Aerith's baby.
But, as she got a moment to breathe, Adoria noticed a man approaching them, her eyes growing wide again.
"Shinji!" someone suddenly exclaimed as his presence was noticed.
Even as she heard his name, a far memory that resonated in her dreams every night, Adoria still could not believe the sight that now stood in front of her.
"Congratulations, Adoria" Shinji said as he stopped right in front of her.
Swallowing hard, the scientist observed him silently, taking on the sight of him, a tall man wearing nothing else than pure black, his long, raven hair falling down his back like ebony silk.
"Shinji…is that really you?" she wondered, amazed that her voice still managed to work.
Could he really be there, the very same man she had waited for all those years, chasing away any other chance at love?
"Of course…" he responded, averting his eyes for a moment as he obviously had a hard time to sort out his emotions. "I'm sorry for not showing up sooner, but…" he continued, only to be cut by a childish voice.
"Dad!" a little girl with blond hair screamed, running to him, and unconsciously breaking the raven haired woman's heart.
Swallowing his discomfort, Shinji turned to his green eyed daughter.
"Mom's getting impatient!" the child screeched, and no one missed the weary sigh escaping her father's lips.
"Well, she can wait, for once!" he snapped, motioning for the girl to go back to her mother, who stood a few feet away from them, arms crossed over her chest, a frustrated look plastered on her face.
The child gone, he turned his attention back to Adoria, who stood very still, unable to feel anything but emptiness.
"Excuse her, she's…rather energetic." He apologized, feeling like the biggest jerk on the Promised Land.
"It's alright…" Adoria sighed, telling herself that she should have known better than to think he waited for her.
"Well, I…I wanted to see you again" Shinji finally declared, feeling a familiar, yet unwelcome warmth growing in his chest as he eyed the beautiful, sad eyes of the woman standing in front of him.
"I'm glad you did, but it's a little late for that" Adoria snapped before she even had time to realise it, and turned on her heels, wishing nothing else than to go as far away from him as she could.
Receiving a nasty glance from Aerith, Shinji decided it was better for him not to try to stop her. Even if he knew she would not take it easy, he absolutely needed to see her again, at least once, if only to chase away the constant guilt poisoning his whole existence.
0o0o0o0
Later, Sephiroth was sitting at the bar in a small pub, waiting for Aerith and the others to join him. After Shinji's unexpected come back, Adoria had been hard to console, but the flower girl's friendly smile and Kitakaze's healthy figure had been able to overcome her grief.
Then, as the silver haired man wished her lost love would have chosen another day to show up, the man in question took a seat next to him and ordered a drink.
"You're that man who tried to destroy Gaia, am I right?" Shinji suddenly demanded.
"Yes, and how does it concern you?" Sephiroth replied, arching a silver eyebrow.
"Well…I envy you"
"Oh?" Sephiroth mocked.
"You're going to have a child, aren't you?" Shinji continued as the barman handed him his drink. "With a woman you've killed"
Normally, such a statement would have enlightened Sephiroth's wrath, but not this time, as he began to understand where Shinji was going with that.
"Yes, that's right"
"Hm…I wish I had your strength, and Aerith's courage. If I did…maybe I wouldn't have broken Adoria's heart"
"Hmph."
Taking a long sip of his drink, Shinji took a moment to collect his thoughts, taking a glance at the door to make sure his wife wasn't waiting at the entrance, the habitual frustrated look plastered on her face.
"Can I ask you one thing?"
"Maybe" the silver haired man replied, realising that he was not able to pity a man who chose a damned, possessive blond bitch as a replacement for a sweet and beautiful woman like Adoria.
"Tell her I'm sorry"
"No. You can do that yourself"
Unable to hide his deception but understanding Sephiroth's decision, Shinji nodded slightly, then emptied his glass and left, just a moment before Adoria made her entrance with the others, a small smile back to her face.
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A/N: I want to know your opinion now. Do you want to know the end of Adoria's story and a wrap of everything in another chapter, or you just don't care? Tell me and I'll decide what I'll do. I think I'll write it but well, it still depends on you.