Chapter Fifteen: Unfinished Tasks

Once everyone was safely back aboard the Highwind, John met and conversed with the members of AVALANCHE he didn't have the pleasure of knowing earlier. (Taking a stray bullet to the heart kind of puts a crimp in such opportunities.).

After pleasantries were exchanged, he'd made his way to the Operations Room and slumped down at the table, welcoming the silence. (Being a full-time SOLDIER, silence rarely reared its head.). He ended up falling asleep on the chair, his mouth agape as he snored.

The large, steel doors opened and someone walked in, but John wasn't woken up. At that moment, it would have taken a massive hull breach to rouse him. After a few moments, the unknown visitor began clattering around, hunting for something when the former SOLDIER member groaned loudly.

The person was startled and turned to face the groggy warrior. "You look exhausted." John smirked at the visitor and ran his fingers through his matted and knotted hair. "Try experiencing what I've had to deal with. I'd murder someone for a shower."

The visitor held a hand to their chest, nervous, which roused another smirk from the exhausted warrior. "I won't kill anyone fighting against Shin-Ra, don't worry. What were you looking for, Aeris?" Holy blushed.

"This is going to sound REALLY crazy, but... My ribbon. I took it out of my hair last night, when I went to bed, when I got up, it was gone. I can't go anywhere without it, it belonged to my mother." John stood up and smiled at his new friend.

"Tell you what, give me about an hour to look and feel presentable, Gaia knows I need a shower and a change of clothes, find Tifa and we'll help you look. I've heard from Cid that Yuffie mayhave Kleptomania. Would you agree?"

Aeris nodded, her eyes glimmering with tears. "I'd have to agree with you. I wouldn't be surprised if Yuffie ran off with it. But, why would she want that? She knows how protective I am over it. My mother, Iflana gave me the ribbon on her deathbed. She was shot by Shin-Ra soldiers, led by Professor Gast."

John placed a grubby hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey, come on, shush. I'll go and make myself look human, you go and talk to Zack or someone, try and calm down. We all lost people to Shin-Ra, dear people. It hurts to talk and think about it, but we have to be strong. Not just for ourselves, but for their memories." Aeris smiled. Even though she barely knew this former SOLDIER, she knew deep down she could trust him. No wonder Tiffany loved him so much. (Among other things...).

"Shall I direct you to the showers?" John smirked but shook his head. "No, thanks, I'll look for Genesis, that's the most likely place he'll be hiding from Yuffie. Two Sonic Speeds with one Fire Spell, eh?" Aeris laughed again.

"You've spent way too much on Mt. Nibel!" John smirked and left the room, not before shooting a sarcastic, cocky glance in the direction of the slum-dwelling Flower Girl turned Primary Healer. "Who, me? No, never."

John walked through the hallways of the Highwind, amazed at it's beauty. "Cid can REALLY design. At least Shin-Ra were genuine about that! Hang on..." John heard voices and a loud, clattering sound coming from the next room. He approached the metal door and smirked. "Ah, the showers."

He opened the door and glared at Yuffie, who had the Flower Girl's ribbon tied around her head. "Yuffie, ribbon. NOW. Genesis, out. I need to shower. Wait, Yuffie. If you don't return the ribbon to Aeris, right now, I'll kill you. NEVER mess with me when I haven't showered for far too fucking long." Yuffie squealed before sprinting out of the room, on her way to hunt for Aeris. Genesis chuckled and left the room.

John removed his clothing and stepped into the half-cubicle, sighing happily when he felt the jet blast hit his grimy skin. He closed the half-cubicle door and smirked, humming a tune.

After a few moments, the cubicle door opened and someone stepped into the shower, but John didn't notice. "God, I've missed this..."

"Even more than me?"

John smirked. "I thought you were busy."

"Yuffie isn't the only Ninja."

"You're not a Ninja by profession, you're all mine. Come here."

"Try and stop me..."

Tiffany turned on her heel to face her lover, and the steam from the shower rose, covering the entire room.

End Of Chapter Fifteen