Sephiroth stalked down the hall muttering to himself after the absolutely last applicant had been rejected and run from the room. He was walking fast, and not watching where he was going. He turned a corner and slammed into someone coming the other way.

The young woman fell onto her rear on the floor and glared at him. "Watch were you're going, you oaf!" she snapped and started gathering up the papers scattered all over the floor.

"Do you realize-"

"Yes I know how you are! What do you think I am? A moron? Dang it all! If it weren't for you .... do you even KNOW how long I spent putting these things in order? Now they're all over the place and I'm going to get yelled at again and its all your fault!" she was crying as she gathered up the papers. "And I'm probably going to get fired- as if my life weren't bad enough!"

Sephiroth slowly crouched, picking up a few papers, noticing that they were more applications. He sighed, "I'd rather you just ran these through the shredder or something," he said finally.

"Well at least you have a choice!" she cried.

He cocked his head to the side slightly, "and you don't?"

"No! My parents are making me marry some rich ninety-year-old man in sector three just so they can get out of the slums and the wedding is next week!" she burst into harder tears. "Not only does he look like a prune, he has the personality of one and can't even remember my name!"

Reluctantly, Sephiroth had to agree that she really was having a harder time then himself. "At least he'll die soon," he offered.

She shook her head, "I heard my parents talking about how they'd sell me to Don C. after he died! Either way I'm just going to be used like a whore," she hung her head, shoulders shaking with her sobs.

Sephiroth set aside the papers they'd managed to gather up and pulled out a kerchief, tipping her face up to wipe under her eyes. "Crying isn't going to fix it," he said.

"I've tried not crying," she said, looking away, "I've not cried for three months when I first found out, but I'm just so frustrated now, there's nothing I can do... except kill myself and I don't want to do that." She pulled away from his attempts to keep wiping the tears.

She really wasn't that much to look on, but then, her eyes were all puffy and red from her tears and her nose was running, so it wasn't surprising she didn't look her best. She was wearing a grey skirt-suit with a skirt down to her mid caves instead of her thighs, giving her a more modest look though grey wasn't exactly her color. Her hair was red and fly-away with most of it tied back in a ponytail.

He frowned slightly, picking up all the applications and going over to a garbage can sitting in the hallway, he dropped them in. She gasped, "Now all my hard work is really wasted!" she cried, struggling to her feet to run and run away. Sephiroth grabbed her arm, dragging her to the elevator and inside, sliding his key card into it, he pressed the button for the highest floor. Once they arrived, he dragged the poor woman out and up the stairs to Shinra's office.

Shinra was just taking a seat when Sephiroth came in. "What do you want Sephiroth," Shinra snapped at his war General, feeling very tired and rather cranky.

The woman had her face covered with her other hand while Sephiroth gripped the wrist of her other one. "Be quiet," Sephiroth snapped at her as she continued to sob. She managed to quiet down to hiccups and rubbed at her face with her hand, making it red. "I've chosen," Sephiroth announced, yanking the poor woman forward.

"Who is she? When did she send in an application?" Shinra asked, looking at the woman carefully.

"I didn't send one in because I'm not-" she started crying again, "available!"

"She's not available?" Shinra looked at Sephiroth.

The General pondered a moment then spoke, "Her parents are forcing her to marry an old geezer next week. I want her."

Shinra scratched his chin, "You always seem to go after the hardest possible things to get, Sephiroth, but if it means you'll marry her, then fine. What's your name?"

"K- K-Kathryn Jones," she stammered, sniffling, completely startled by this sudden turn. Why was Sephiroth doing this? "Don't I have any choice in this?" she asked, "I don't want to marry him though! I don't want to marry anyone!"

"Be quiet," Sephiroth snapped and got glared at by Kathryn.

"I don't want to marry you!" she yelled. "You're a horrible monster!" His eyes narrowed and he put on one of his dangerous expressions. Her look didn't change at all, "I REFUSE to marry him!" she turned toward Shinra.

"So you'd rather marry that old man and be sold to a pimp then marry me?" Sephiroth asked softly.

"YES!" Sephiroth wasn't used to having things not go his way and he stalked around her dangerously. She glared back at him, suddenly lashing out and kicking his shin when he least expected. It didn't hurt any, but it startled him. He stepped back from her but she launched herself on him, fingers curled to scratch him. He caught her, spinning her around to quickly pin her arms against her sides with one arm and take her neck with his other hand. "Yes kill me! Put me out of this hell I'm living in!" she said, standing still in his grasp.

"No," he said softly, turning her loose. She staggered away, tears falling down her face again. Shinra looked on in bewilderment.

"What a happy marriage this'll be," Shinra said sarcastically and dialed for his secretary and told her to call Kathryn Jones's parents to inform them of Sephiroth's decision to marry their daughter.