'Shit, Light! You´re going to kill me!' Zack Fair grunted between heavy pants, his cheeks flushed red from exhaution.

He had his back pressed against the wall of the SOLDIER training room, both his arms brought up to shield his face from Lightning´s assault. Their swords lying forgotten on the ground a few meters away, it was with her fists only that his female friend attacked.

There was blood trickling from a cut on his forehead already and freely flowing from his nose, where she had hit him hard just a few seconds ago.

Why did she always have to go for his nose?!

Her knuckles sore from her previous attacks already, aiming at her comrade's face again, Claire Farron chose to hit the wall next to his head instead, sparing him her next blow.

Her fist leaving a heavy dent in the grey tiled wall, suddenly there were shards of ceramic everywhere and she could feel her right glove getting damp from the inside as it slowly filled with blood.

'Yeah, you´re beating the crap out of him...' Cloud confirmed, his mouth slightly gaping in awe.

Panting like a racehorse, Zack Fair hesitantly let his arms drop to his sides, before looking at his female comrade warily he brought them up again to touch his injured nose.

'Ahhh...Fuck!' he cursed somewhat indignantly.

He had all the right to do so, it seemed the pink haired first class had accidentally broken it. Again.

'I... I´m sorry...' Lightning managed, barely able to restrain herself from attacking yet again.

Now that her opponent had let his guard drop, the urge to just hit him again and again until his face would be an unrecognizable bloody mess was suddenly almost irresistible.

Now, where had that come from?!

Claire Farron didn't know.

Contrary to Zack´s, her breathing was calm and even. Their little sparring session had not affected her in the slightest.

Fighting to get a grip on herself and restrain her flaring temper, the pink haired first class moved closer to his face to comradely inspect his injuries.

No lasting harm done she guessed. But still...

'Hospital. Now.' she ordered.

She was sure that cut in his forhead needed stitches. As for his nose... Well, she guessed they had patched up worse down there.

Hanging his head defeatedly, Zack Fair let his friends steer him towards the exit. Leaning on his female comrade´s shoulder he unsteadily made his way to the elevators with Cloud trailing a few meters behind them, his mouth still gaping in awe or maybe shock.

'What was that, huh?' Zack Fair asked once they were out of earshot.

'What was what?' Claire Farron deadpanned.

'That look you gave me in there...' her comrade explained somewhat warily, looking up to meet her gaze as though to check whether she was still there.

'Huh?' the pink haired female hadn´t even bothered to listen. Somehow her mind was still back in the training room, was still in fighting mode.

'You looked at me as though you were about to rip me to pieces or something.' her dark haired comrade mumbled.

'It was kind of scary...'

Yes. Just for a second in there, Zack Fair had seen the probing merciless eyes of a killer, of the monster really, that unbeknownst to the female warrior was slumbering burried somewhere deep inside of her, stirring now, threatening to awake.

The truth was Lightning had changed since her near death experience. Had in fact changed a lot.

Her once so human movements had become controlled, catlike. Predator like really, had become like Sephiroth's.

Her once so open, kind demeanor had become shut off, cold and calculating.

Somehow Zack Fair couldn't help but think that she had become a female version of the silver haired legend who had once been her trainer.

She in fact had turned out so much like him that it was scary almost.

Was he too a smaller, younger version of Angeal? Zack Fair didnt know.

Still. The similarities were uncanny. Eeerie. Her once so understanding light blue eyes had become colder, glaciers really. Glaciers set in a marble almost unreadable face. There was no mercy anymore in them, no compassion, and no sympathy. All those qualities the puppy had once valued in his comrade, somehow they were gone now. Replaced by the cold calculated demanour of the killer that she had become.

There was precision in her movements now. Strenght. And there was speed. Oh yes she definitely had speed. Inhuman speed if Zack might have said so.

Speed he definintely couldn't dream to match.

The new Lightning was distant, hardly ever smiled. She had changed so much it sometimes scared him. And there was something else. Something feral. Something dark, savage maybe. Caged now behind those cold blue killer eyes. Waiting to be let out really, waiting to be set free.

Zack Fair didn't like it. Not at all. Still. No matter what his friend might look like, no matter what she may have seemed. There was still the Lightning from his past hiding somewhere there inside that hardened shell. Deep down there, somewhere. That much the young man knew for sure.

'I´m sorry.' Lightning replied automatically.

Thinking about it, she realized she didn´t feel sorry at all.

It was weird. Crazy really. That feeling that had overcome her in the training room. That rage. That pull to rip, to tear, to kill. That urge. It was foreign. Didn't feel like her.

No.

She had definitely never felt something alike before.

But she couldn´t explain where it had come from either.

Pushing the thought away entirely she quickly made to distract herself with the things at hand.

It was nothing probably. Just one of her moods. Maybe she was getting her period or something.

Cloud and Lightning spent the rest of the evening waiting for Zack in the hospital´s waiting room. It took ages for him to emerge from the white double doors this time. The cut on his forehead stitched, his nose swollen and purple, but straight, there were dark circles forming under his eyes already.

Yes, he looked tired and worn out. Done.

Lightning felt a pang of guilt inside her.

It was her fault. All her fault.

She had done that. Had done that to him. Zack. Her best of friends.

What had gotten into her?!

'I hate you, Light...' her dark haired comrade mumbled as she stepped forward to take his hand.

There was a small smile tugging at his lips regardless.

Somehow since his break up with Aerith, holding hands had become some kind of a custom between the two of them. Had become second nature.

Not that it really meant anything. Or did it?

No. Of course not...

'Zack, you look like shit.' Cloud observed, a tiny chuckle escaping his throat.

'And I certainly feel like it too.' Zack answered weakly, throwing his pink haired comrade an accusing sideways glance.

'What´s funny about that anyway?' he added acidly, turning to glare at Cloud, who was trying hard now to stifle a laugh.

'Nothing... It´s just... You got beaten up by a girl...' the cheeky blonde managed between giggles.

'Next time, we´ll let you have a go against her, then we´ll see who´s laughing... She´s all yours.' Zack Fair teased.

'Stop bickering guys... We should go and find Angeal. You look like you could use one of his healing spells.' Lightning suggested upon studying Zack´s face again.


They entered the SOLDIER common room to immediately spy their fellow First Class´s lounging on the couch, apparently watching the news on the huge TV flatscreen.

'Hey Guys!' Angeal Hewley greeted.

'Wha-at? Zack?! What´s wrong? You got hit by a train or something?' he added disbelievingly, once he took in the state of his former student´s face.

Getting up immediately to inspect his colleague's injuries, he was flanked by Genesis and Sephiroth watching on with interest.

'No... He actually got hit by Lightning.' Cloud explained.

All the First Class´s heads turned to stare at her.

Angeal and Genesis shooting her disapproving glares, she could feel one of Angeal´s lectures about SOLDIER honor awaiting her once he´d be done tending to Zack.

It was nothing she looked forward to.

She caught Sephiroth narrowing his eyes at her curiously form his place in one of the leather couches. Could feel his gaze burn into the side of her head even after she turned to watch Angeal mending Zack´s pain.

It had usually been her who had emerged from the SOLDIER training room like this, battered and bleeding. The news that she had managed to beat Zack up like that was probably exceeding the limits of her former mentor´s imagination.

'We were... Sparring...' the pink haired first class explained in a tiny voice when the others just kept staring at her incredulously.

She couldn´t help but feel awkward then, embarrassed really, as coming down from her high from the fight, she began to realize what she had actually done.

She had treated Zack like shit.

She had severely injured a comrade because she had lost control during training and she hadn´t even been about to stop after breaking his nose. She had had a hard time restraining herself from hitting again after their 'sparring' had obviously ended, when it had been clear that he had had enough.

Feeling ashamed of herself and her actions the pink haired female fixed her gaze to the floor, unable to look the others in the eyes.

No, she couldn´t let anything like that happen ever again.

Zack Fair was her friend. The person most dear to her second only to her sister Serah. And she'd treated him like a punching bag.

What the fuck had gotten into her?!

'Did you have your hands bound behind your back or something?!' Angeal asked incredulously as he looked at Zack again, shaking his head in disbelieve.

The burly first class couldn´t imagine the pink haired girl able to overpower Zack like that. The last time he had seen her fight, her powers had been equal to his at tops.

Lightning couldn´t blame him. Her newfound strength surprised her herself.

Zack Fair only averted his gaze.

Claire Farron somehow felt bad for making him look like a pussy.

It wasn´t exctly his fault. Not his lack of strength or technique. They had tempered with her physical abilities again. She was sure of it now.

With her strenght and speed increasing every day now there was no way to deny it anymore.

No.

There was to doubt it.

With her recently enhanced skills, her poor comrade hadn´t had a chance, was no match for her anymore.

And suddenly Lightning realized that she was no better than Sephiroth.

All those times he had abused his powers, had used them in the training room against her, had used them against Genesis in that one sparring battle with Angeal. After all that time, after everything she had endured, after how much she had suffered by his superiority, somehow she had turned out just the same.

It made her feel like throwing up immediately.


Summer came in full swing.

The weather got warmer and warmer still.

With the wutai not seen anywhere near Midgar in the past few weeks security had been relaxed again and the corridors were empty, no guards patrolling the whole building anymore. The nights had become long and silent in Shin-Ra HQ. Boring almost.

General Sephiroth Crescent spent his sleepless nights watching his former student training in the simulation training room.

Not that she was aware of it.

No.

Of course not.

She would probably have killed him, had she ever found out.

And as things were going recently, she looked very capable of pulling it off too.

Well... She had every right to it too.

It wasn't exactly decent to spy on someone's training sessions.

Still.

It was not that he was stalking her exactly, no, not really, it was just that once he had begun, once he had first seen her train there, fight there really, had realised that she came back every night, it was impossible for him to stay away.

Impossible not to come back to monitor her, observe her transformation really, because the things she pulled off there in the simulation training room... They were rather remarkable, he had to admit.

The jenova cell treatment had made her turn out stronger and faster then he had ever thought she would.

Her body a fast moving deadly blur, she bested every simulation that she had available. Even the experiemental ones Hojo came up with with his team of scientists that were actually meant for testing things like Genesis' bahamut materia.

No. Claire Farron wasn't the inexperienced scrawny girl who had entered Shin-Ra what felt like a thousand years ago. Not even a tiny bit.

Her posture was strong, predator like, her movements were controlled, determined, fast, her icy gaze was focused, concentrated. There wasn't an ounce of weakness about her now. Nothing pathetic, nothing vulnerable.

When exactly had she become so strong? So fierce?

General Sephiroth Crescent dind't know.

The only thing he knew was that Genesis was right: She was beautiful. Beautiful in her own way.

Not the classic beauty maybe.

Yes, maybe not that.

No. She was so much more than that.

The silver haired first class watching from an hidden alclove every other night, he found he couldn't take her eyes off her. Not even for a tiny little bit.


Back to HQ, returning from Corel, Lightning had been informed that she wouldn´t be assigned another mission until she had fully recovered. So having nothing else to do, she had spent most of her days in the gym and the simulation training room, eager to practice her constantly improving abilities.

Because yes, she was improving. Remarkably so.

It was amazing, creepy almost. She could feel herself getting stronger and faster every day. Suddenly she could master simulations she would never have dared to load in the past with ease and she could overwhelm Cloud and Zack like it was child's play, even if they attacked her simultaneously.

Fighting them had actually become boring and also dangerous, for the other two that was.

Because yes, things were getting increasingly dangerous the stronger she got, were slowly getting out of hand. Had actually gotten out of hand some time ago now.

The fear of seriously injuring them in one of their sparring sessions made her seek out the simulation training room more often now, in search of a challenge. In search of a way to let off steem.

She wanted Zack´s nose to stay the last bone to be broken by her hands in this room. Didn't dare fight him or Cloud again, was scared of loosing control, scared of doing something she would regret dearly and somehow Lightning couldn´t help but think that that was how Sephiroth had to feel when fighting Genesis and Angeal.

Not that she ever intended on fighting any of those two. They were in a completely different league, or so she thought.

Still. Seeing her progress, it made her happy. Happy, self-confident and proud, but it also made her worried, worried about her sanity.

More often than not these days, she had the feeling that she was losing it, was loosing herself really.

She had realized that she had grown cold and calculating. The fates of all those innocent people dying in Corel had left her completely unfazed. The fact that she had injured Zack in training had at that moment felt exhilarating.

She hadn´t even wanted to stop there.

Things that would have gone against her morals, that would have inflicted a bad conscience inside of her in the past, would have made her sick to even think about, suddenly weren´t touching her much anymore at all.

It felt like all of her moral principles, her core values, who she was, really, were sucked out of her mind, her soul, her heart, an unprecedented aggression taking their place. And it was that inhuman urge to kill and rip and tear something, somebody really, threatening to overwhelm her any second these days, that drove her to lock herself inside the simulation training room, sometimes late at night, to take her aggression out on her virtual victims where nobody could see, where she wouldn´t actually endanger anybody.

She felt as if she could kill just any person, no matter if friend or foe, without even batting an eyelid these days. Felt that if she wouldn't keep herself in check, that if she would let go of her self control, the beast inside her would take over, killing anyone in range. And although it made her job so much easier, it also scared her. It scared her a lot.

Watching her reflection in her bathroom mirror, Lightning found she didn´t recognize herself anymore. That girl that had left her hometown Bodhum all those years ago, there was nothing left of her anymore. That girl didn´t exist anymore. She was gone.

Claire Farron couldn´t understand how a person could change like that. And in such a short amount of time too.

Also she felt restless. She couldn´t sleep much, causing her to wander the building at night, roaming the SOLDIER floor and sometimes the rest of HQ or even Midgar. Her restless legs keeping her up, driving her into the slums or the outskirts of the city, where unbeknowest to herself the beast inside her looked for pray, was hoping for a fight.

It was one of these nighttime strolls that her insomnia paired with the confusion inside her head drove her to the top of the Shin-Ra building. Being a first class now she finally had once of those fancy keycards letting her use those special glass elevators. It was time that she made use of it.

Hoping for the cool night breeze to clear her raging thoughts, Claire Faaron stepped into the open.

It was a gentle breeze that greeted her.

Sweepting away the mako fumes, it brought with it the fresh clean scent of better places. Places with fields and trees and streams and lakes.

Walking out onto the helideck she realized it was a beautiful cloudless night, the moon casting a pale white light onto the town below.

It was slowly that she made her way to the edge, leant over the balustrade to let her gaze glide over the rooftops of the plate below and then over to the constantly working Mako reactors, immersing the city below in their toxic fumes.

She remembered when she had been inside one of those, when she had realized that Shin-Ra was sucking the lifestream from the planet, slowly but surely letting it bleed to death.

She wondered if it was the right thing.

Maybe it wasn´t Shin-Ra's place to conduct a thing like that, to decide to actually kill this planet. It wasn´t exactly theirs to begin with, was it?

All those earthly problems...

Looking up to the stars above, the pink haired female couldn´t help but realize how small and insignificant she was, they all were. The infinite depths of the universe, intimidating, overwhelming in its size but somehow also familiar, Lightning felt something inside of her reaching out for it. Longing for it really.

If only she could venture further...

The pink haired woman leaning out over ther railing to reach up into the skies, she gave a small start when the sudden unexpected sound of somebody clearing their throat, announced the presence of another person somewhere right behind her.

Whirling around in one swift movement, Claire Farron found herself face to face with Sephiroth.

The light of the moon reflecting off his silver hair, tinting his features a pale unearthly blue, Lightning found his mako eyes, alluring pools of green, glowing slightly in the darkness.

'I could easily have killed you there...' the man infront her said.

His voice had a dangerous undertone to it. One she headn't heard from him in quite some time now.

Looking up into his eyes, Lightning couldn´t help but feel like prey again. Prey about to get ripped to pieces.

Being there with him all alone on that fucked rooftop, suddenly it creeped her out to no end.

'I guess you could...' she replied somewhat warily, aware of the predatory glint that had been glowing in his mako eyes, killer eyes that never left her icy blue ones.

Seconds stretched into minutes.

Suddenly the silver haired first class shook his head.

'Didn´t I teach you the importance of constant vigilance?' he asked in a lot more gentle voice.

The intimidating glint had vanished from his eyes and Lightning suddenly found one of his adorable half smiles forming on his lips.

It made the fear his sudden appearance had caused to rise inside of her, dissipate into thin air.

He was teasing her again.

It hadn´t happened in a very long time.

Suddenly she didn´t know what to say.

He was right of course. She had been inattentive lately. Very much so. She had to have been really preoccupied for him to be able to sneak up on her like that in the first place.

With her enhanced hearing, stalking her wasn´t exactly an easy task anymore.

Or maybe it was just him...

Concerning their skills, he´d always seemed a few miles ahead of her.

Maybe that would never change, no matter how much she improved.

'What are you doing up here all on your own in the middle of the night anyway?' the man in the black coat asked.

That disarming smile of his still in place, his mako eyes mysteriously twinkling in the moonlight, Claire Farron had the sudden feeling that their meeting there was not a concidence.

Had he been stalking her? Somehow Lightning wasn't sure. She would have noticed someone following her around or would she?

Well... This is Sephiroth we're talking about...

'I could ask you the same thing.' the pink haired warrior replied nonchalantly, her demeanor not revealing a trace of the emotional turmoil his presence inflicted inside of her.

Yes she had been startled, almost scared. And now?

Now she wanted nothing more than to close the distance between them, to be closer to him, an inexplicable pull towing her towards him. Suddenly it was hard to resist.

Oh why did he always have to have such effects on her?!

Wait! Wasn't she done chasing after him?!

Well... She had at least thought so...

Feeling foolish again the pink haired first class chose to avert her eyes.

This was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second.

What was wrong with her?

She had thought she'd gotten over him, had finally seen past the handsome features, past the legendary war hero status, had overcome the weird feelings his presence caused inside of her.

Well. It had been a short lived relief it seemed.

'Care to spar?' the general asked suddenly, making her snap back to reality.

Blue eyes darting back up to his face, Lightning caught him raising one of his silver eyebrows at her challengingly.

'I know, it´s been a while...'

'I don´t know...' the pink haired woman mumbled, unable to think of an excuse.

She certainly had no desire to fight against him ever again, her last encounter with Masamune still etched into her memory, but then again... She also felt like showing off her new acquired skills to him, maybe felt a tiny little bit reckless.

Although she was sure they wouldn´t make much of a difference against him, the silver haired first class would probably be surprised by all the progress she had made.

'Okay. If you insist...' she finally gave in.

Accepting his invitation, she could see that trademark smug expression she´d once known so well form on his face again.

Oh she had to be crazy to take part in this voluntarily. Had to be insane.

What the fuck had gotten into her?!

Watching her former mentor taking a few steps away from her, conjuring his Masamune with a swift motion of his left hand, Lightning decided to mirror his actions.

Taking out Blaze Edge and getting into fighting stance, she felt her recently omnipresent belligerence kick in full force.

Wasn't this exactly what she'd been looking for? A challenge? An opponent she wouldn't have to hold herself back against? A fight where she would not have to hold back? Where she wouldn't have to fear for her partner's safety?

Well. This was her big opportunity.

Somehow Lightning had a feeling she had bitten off more than she could chew.

She had come out of training worse than Zack a lot of times. She still remembered. How could she forget?

But things were different this time. She was different.

Contrary to their previous encounters, she felt concentrated and at ease this time, a deadly calm replacing her usual anxieties, allowing her to properly asses her opportunities as well as calculate her opponent's next moves.

She had fought Sephiroth before. Had seen him sparr with Genesis and Angeal.

Knowing his strategies in and out already, Claire Farron decided to hold back in the beginning, decided to lure her former sensei into a false sense of security. She would save her new acquired strength to surprise him later, when he would start his offence for real.

She would be ready.

The pink haired first class knew he liked to play with his opponents for a bit, until he got tired of it and inevitable flattened the other. Those fights wouldn´t last a minute otherwise.

Knowing it was one thing. Using it to her advantage was another.

Would she be able to play it just right?

It was a minute later that their dance began.

Claire Farrin couldn´t help but notice that the silver haired first class was going extremely easy on her this time.

She was not going to take the bait. There was no reason to assume that he had gotten weaker, slower or more lenient.

No. Of course he hadn't.

He was General Asshole after all.

And she knew she was no match for him. She was aware. But wouldn´t it be nice to land at least one blow?

She knew the moment of surprise was her only chance. Had a hard time keeping her abilities hidden from him, had a hard time holding back.

The pink haired female, she miraculously managed to block every single one of his blows without giving herself away. She even half heartedly attacked him a few times, blows he deflected as if they were child´s play.

That complacent smirk never leaving her opponent's face, the pink haired first class was quietly biding her time, knowing that she would wipe it off eventually.

It was after a few minutes of amicable sword clashing that her former mentor changed his strategy.

Lightning could see it in his eyes before it even happened.

The moment he decided to attack for real, it was the moment she chose to strike with all her force.

Instead of dodging his assault as he had to have anticipated, she brought up Blaze Edge to block his insanely long katana mid-blow. Throwing herself against it with all her strength, she managed to push the man in the cloak away. Then she charged forward as fast as she could.

Taken by surprise the silver haired general didn´t have the time to bring up his own sword. Masamune´s ridiculous lenght working to his disadvantage for once, Lightning found the sharp edge of her gun blade grazing her former mentor´s left cheek, carving a small superficial cut into his smooth pale skin.

His eyes were huge. Two deep wide mako pools glowering at her from a few meters away.

Staring at her in disbelieve the silver haired first class brought up his free hand to touch the wound.

General Sephiroth Crescent certainly wasn´t used to having his attacks countered like that, even worse: for his opponent´s blows to hit their target.

No. He so wasn't.

Lightning couldn´t believe her luck as charging to attack again she barely left him time to block her, the power of her onslaught, forcing him to retreat a few steps more.

It only took a few seconds for the general to recover thought.

The wound on his cheek vanishing in the blink of an eye, replaced by smooth white marble skin as if nothing had ever happened, Lightning could tell that he was getting worked up.

The man wielding the ridiculously long katana attacking with new force again, it didn´t take long until taking yet another step backwards the pink haired female felt the steely railing of the helipad press into the small of her back.

Trapped, with nearly a hundred stories of thin air between her and the ground the only route of escape, it was only a moment later that she felt the cold deadly blade of Masamune kiss her throat again.

Not daring to move whatsoever, she just closed her eyes in defeat.

She didn´t want to see the triumphant gleam in his eyes again, the one that told you how pathetic and weak you were, not even worth to be crushed by his feet. That look of his she remembered all too well. Had no desire to see that haughty smirk of his.

But when finally she opened her eyes to meet his, there was only curiosity. Curiosity and amazement, staring back at her.

'You´ve become much stronger.' the man in front her stated, his voice serious now.

Studying the few droplets of blood on his cheeks that had survived his healing skills, Lightning gave a tiny pleased smile.

That graze, she knew it hadn´t been much. But it had been enough to unsettle him. Enough to hurt his ego.

Although she had obviously lost this battle, Lightning couldn´t help but feel victorious.

Never had she come this far before. Not in a fair fight at least.

Still, she couldn´t shake off the feeling that somehow he didn´t seem surprised at all. Seemed as though at least a part of him had expected it, had reckoned with it.

Had he?

Lightning wasn't sure.

Somehow he always knew her next move, knew what she would do, knew how she'd behave, knew everything there was to know about her. Everything. Except for one tiny little thing...

Her secret feelings for him. Or did he know about that too?

Suddenly painfully aware of the lack of distance between their bodies, as they were standing only centimeters apart, Lightning felt her gaze drawn to her opponent's lips, pale there in the moonlight.

The pull towards him was almost irresistible this time.

It felt as if every cell of her body was reaching out for the man in front of her. Longing for him, craving for him really.

Could he feel it too?

Her emotions getting the better of her, Lightning subconsciously made to lean forward just to feel the steely edge of Masamune pressing against the soft skin of her neck, the sharp blade of the katana threatening to cut through the thin layer of tissue and straight into her carotid artery, holding her in place.

Her eyes darting back to her comrade´s questioningly, their gazes locked again.

Drowning in those mesmerizing pools of mako, the pink haired first class felt her heart beat against her ribcage hard, felt her skin erupt in goosebumps.

It had nothing to do with their sparring, nothing to do with their fight. Nothing to do with the fact that she'd managed to graze his cheek or the cool midgar midnight breeze.

She didn´t know why, didn´t know how to think, how to breathe. There was no space for thoughts, or breaths or reason. The only thing she was aware of was the man in front of her and the fact that she wished he´d just lean down so she could feel those lips against her own.

Was there any chance he felt the same?

The general's eyes were guarded. Not giving away even the tiniest hint of what might be going on behind those marble features.

If a person´s eyes really were the window to their soul, Lightning wondered what she would have found there deep inside of him. Behind that veil of casualness, that mask of superiority.

Caught up in the moment she sensed the silver haired man lowering his sword.

Slowly.

Hesitantly.

The cold blade of Masamune finally falling away from her body, allowing her to close the distance between them, pushing up on her tiptoes Lightning felt her arm reaching upwards to touch his face, to brush away that tiny smear of blood Blaze Edge had left there and-

'Oh please, get a room you two!' Genesis Rhapsodos´ voice cut through the silence, making the both of them jump.

Claire Farron caught her former mentor staring at her for a moment longer before closing his eyes and taking a deep calming breath, he turned around to face their fellow First Class.

'Genesis?!' the pink haired first class managed, feeling her cheeks blush scarlet.

'Wha...What are you doing here?!'

'Oh... Nothing...' the annoying redhead said, presenting the both of them with a sly smile.

'I just thought it was a beautiful night for some outdoor poetry reading. What are you two doing here?! That's the real question!'

'Sparring.' the both of them replied in unision.

'Sparring huh?!' Genesis pondered.

'Well, if that is what you guys are calling it these days...'