Corel
"Are you hurt??" She shook his shoulder violently, panic etched on her face.
"D… Daijobu… I… I'm alright" He mumbled painfully. The crash into the ground scratched him, and Katai saw the scratches disappearing like fumes on a window.
He opened one eye.
Katai slapped him for carrying and dropping her like that.
He absently rubbed his throat. He could still feel Jenova's cold hand.
"Who were those people?" Katai kept shaking his shoulders, "What happened to you??"
Sether felt too ill and too weak to get up yet.
Life was getting a lot more complicated by the second. As Sether hesitated, Katai shook him harder and demanded,
"I though you wanted revenge, you coward!? Why did ya run away?"
"I had another attack- you think I passed out from my own free will? I could not fight them that way…"
He took a shaky breath before repeating,
"When we reach Corel, you are to call your parents to pick you up."
"Why?" She whined, and Sether knew her dismay came from her prior interest in his heritage.
"Things have become complicated, it is dangerous. You should not be involved."
He painfully got up, dusting himself off clumsily.
"Your neck's all red." Katai noted with puzzlement; every other scratch or injury he had beside his neck had already healed.
Sether said nothing, yet a chill shuddered his spine.
"Come on." He said, trying to start walking again. It took him a moment to remember how to balance his shoulder blades and which leg came after which, but soon enough they were on the move again.
After a few steps Sether halted again.
"Wait here a moment." he requested. He turned and walked into a bunch of trees a few feet away.
"What, ya need to take a leak or something?" Katai placed her hands on her hips.
"No. Shut up." He left.
Katai stood there alone a short while before her curiosity took over and she followed.
She found Sether standing between the trees, talking to someone. At first Katai feared that he was talking to Sephiroth again, but a closer look revealed that he was talking into his PHS.
"…Ya, Mom, we're about to enter South Corel City, so you won't hear from me for a while, okey?"
Katai gaped. Sether's tone was so soft and calm. His face, up until now tense and frowning, was relaxed and showed deep care. He lifted his head to the few stars that had already sparkled in the sky. The moon-light on his pale face was magnificent sight.
"Sure, I'll call and tell you the moment we leave… Ya… Take care of Dad for me, okey?"
Katai bit her lower lip. If she was a more moral person, she would have bit herself out of guilt- eavesdropping. However, she only bit her lip because she was trying to suppress a sneeze.
"Sure, Mom, I'm fine- You know me- It'll take an army to keep me down…" It was not said in a boastful tone, rather a comforting tone. He was trying to persuade his mother in something he himself obviously did not believe.
His expression showed was uncomfortable he felt, lying to his Mom like that.
Katai then hastened and returned to approximately the same place she was before, pretending to wait all this time.
"…He never uses contractions with me…" She grumbled.
After a short while he returned, his face fixed again in that determined and cold frown.
Before entering Corel, Sether took special care in inserting every single lock of silver and black hair under his broad-rimmed hat. He also placed his slim sunglasses over his eyes, stubbornly ignoring the lack of sun.
It was far after dark as the two entered the richest city in
the world. It was this way since it provided the whole world with coal.
The days of a poor town were hardly anything more than a long forgotten myth.
Everything was decorated with green orbs made of tiny light bulbs and everything
gave the impression that the decorations were just starting.
"Oh!" Katai exclaimed all of a sudden, skipping happily in a circle, "I almost forgot its Holy Day soon!" She clasped her hands to her bosom with the joy of the thought, "I love Holy Day! I remember, when I was kid in Rocket City (When it was still called Rocket Town!) the grownups used to make us a big box with the Shinra Logo drawn on it… and we had to smash it to get to all the candy inside! It was so fun!"
"I like Holy Day too." Sether looked at the sidewalk, "I always got double the presents since it is so close to my birthday."
"When's your birthday?"
"The morning after Holy Day."
"That must be kaindafa bummer- all the people are so happy with the holyday…"
Sether shook his head and pushed his sunglasses up his nose
bridge, "No… As a kid, I liked to imagine that all the decorations and all the
celebrations were for my birthday." A smile graced his features a moment before
fading to a grim frown, "I stopped believing that … at a certain age."
"Why?" She tilted her head.
"…Nothing. It matters not." He suddenly fell very silent.
It was an accident!
"Why did you do that?" Katai inquired as they continued to make their way towards the center of Corel, "Why did you tuck your hair like that?"
Sether answered with a morose tone,
"Most people do not appreciate my looks… Women sometime look at me if I wear a tightly fitting shirt, but other than that-" He did not finish his sentence, his face thoughtful. He did not understand why woman stared at him, but it made him feel good, so he didn't bother checking into it.
Katai scoffed, but other than that said nothing.
Looking around with slight stress, Sether offered,
"Perhaps it is better if we should find an inn for the night, and head for Golden Saucer in the morning…?"
Katai nodded once, clasping her hands over her chest, suddenly troubled.
Sether noticed this, but lacked the patience and mental strength to inquire.
They walked through the bustling streets, Katai in the lead.
Sether was pleased that She did not notice him falling a step behind her. He lowered his eyes to the ground and placed his hands in his pockets, doing his best not to stand out.
Katai had no idea what it was like for Sether to simply walk down the street. People's hatred towards his older brother was incredible, and Sether always felt it sharply- in more than one way.
Something so trivial, so obvious for all people, was so foreign and very much dangerous for him. Now more than ever; his strange increase in physical and magical prowess and his often collapses brought him to his mental edge.
Not to mention that Sether plainly did not like people all that much.
His eyes constantly darted from one place to another, his mind feeling overloaded by the amount of legs, arms, bodies, eyes and heads that streamed pointlessly by.
Finally Katai stopped in front of her chosen inn for the night. One glance at the splendid double doors that led into the magnificent lobby made Sether glance up at the 'inn's' name,
"Hotel Corel?" He exclaimed, then glanced at Katai with a stern expression, "It is the most expensive hotel in the whole holydamn world- We will not stay here." He shook his head gravely, "You have only one more night out here, so you may feel like you can spend. I, however, still have many nights away from my home- therefore- You can stay here, I'm going to the 'Coal Inn'." He pointed across the street at a much simpler-looking, several stories high building, decorated by a meek sign; 'Coal Inn'.
"Fine…" She pouted, "We'll stay at the crappy inn."
He raised his brows at her, "You can still stay here."
"Nah," She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, "No fun in staying alone, right?" Then, without another word, she began to cross the street. All the way followed by Sether who was giving her an odd look.
They entered.
Sether stayed in the entrance shadows while Katai chirpily ordered a room.
One room.
"Wouldn't you prefer a couple's room?" The bored receptionist asked, confused with Katai's insistence for a single room for both of them.
"Just because a woman and a man travel together doesn't mean that their in any romantic relationship!" She bellowed angrily, and sounded as if she was reciting that in her head for a while.
The receptionist, whose tag said her initials were 'LB', said,
"Don't be silly, Miss, you think I'd go to all the trouble to coupling you two and you won't end up in a romantic relationship? Have you ever seen a story that starts this way and doesn't end in a romantic coupling??"
Katai gave her a murderous glare (although she did not understand fully what LB was talking about,) and scoffed.
"What is this?" Sether demanded quietly from his corner, regarding the single room key and trying not to look intimidating.
She turned around, tilting her head,
"Someone's gotta take care of you! You're ill and sleeping on the coach."
Sether repeated the last sentence silently with his lips, trying to find the logic in it. She in return started skipping up the short flight of stairs leading to the elevator.
Katai and Sether entered the elevator.
"You look totally ridiculous." She stated- trying to prove to the receptionist that she didn't like this man one bit- once the doors closed.
The elevator wasn't anything an elevator shouldn't be- as to say- It was a perfectly normal elevator with a mirror in the back.
He regarded her with no expression and then turned to look in the mirror behind him.
Sether saw nothing new in the mirror; His pale skin was slightly dirty from the long day with its various falls and hurts.
No matter how much time Sether spent training in the sun, his skin refused to do anything but burn. No matter what he did, how much sun lotion he would put on himself…
His eyes were covered with his sunglasses even in the dim elevator. He could barely see.
His hair was tucked away under his cowboy- ish hat.
His black trenchcoat perhaps needed a wash.
He turned over to Katai and examined her;
Her bouncy, blond hair tied in a tight ponytail, with that ever existent blond mass that dangled over one of her glass rimmed eyes.
Her white trenchcoat showed a dire need for a good clean.
How unpractical is that white overcoat…, Sether mused, following the curves of the trenchcoat and the body under it.
Feeling slightly embarrassed as he thought she might misinterpret his scan- then he remembered that he was wearing sun glasses and she could not see where he was looking.
"Shut up." He concluded as the doors opened to the 4th floor.
"Give me your arm." She ordered firmly after they settled in their room.
"…?" Was Sether's response to Katai's grabbing of his upper arm. She held up a small medical apparatus.
"I want to take an insy-wincy blood sample so I could check what's wrong with ya, okey?" Without waiting for a reply, she placed the thing near Sether's shoulder and it glowed momentarily.
She then proceeded to sit by a small table in the room and produced various instruments from her Store Materia.
Sether simply stared at his shoulder and then at her.
"It'll take twenty four hours to get the results." She inserted the little apparatus into what seemed like a microscope with no binoculars. Her movements were expert, and everything went into its place with a click.
She looked at several gauges on the side of the machine and took notes.
"Neat." Sether said, truly impressed by her skill.
"Weeelll," She flourished her hair, "I am a Makologist, after all."
"That reminds me," Sether took off his trenchcoat and hat, letting his hair flow like a river on his back and over his shoulders, "This 'trip' of yours, what was its point?"
She smiled at him,
"I wanted to interview and study someone with Mako in his or her blood. I'm studying the effects of Mako and Jenova cells."
"What, like my Mother used to do?" his voice did not lack some worry.
"No. I'm not studying about this to figure out how to make Cetras from humans, I'm studying this from the other side." She got up and walked towards the bed, "I want to understand how does the Mako actually effect the person- Physically and mentally- what does it strengthen and what it weakens; Everything!" Then she added bashfully, "I get carried away when I talk about this… I know it doesn't interest you…"
His face expressed nothing, but his eyes were sad.
"On the contraire… I told you already that I have read the entire Shinra library, I know a thing or two on the subject."
She eyed him suspiciously,
"Like what?"
Sether thought a moment as he approached the only sofa in the room- his bed,
"I know that those who were infused with Jenova cells produced Mako inside their bodies, that went in to their bloodstream, for example." He couldn't help but think about Sephiroth. He had read so much in that place…
She raised her brows with astonishment.
"I'm impressed." Katai then exclaimed, "I'm going to 'The Fat Idiot'!"
She plopped on the bed and cuddled on her side.
The room was pretty nice, not too big nor too small. It was shaped in an L' shape. A small sofa stood against the wall in one corner, a modest TV stood near the apposing wall.
In the other side of the room was the bed Katai was purring in. Along that same wall was the closet Sether was struggling with. By the life of him he could not understand how they were able to put that huge blanket into that crummy, little closet.
A bit farther along was a small working table, the another end of the L' and the door out.
Opposite the closet was the door to the humble bathroom.
Sether was rummaging through the room's closet in search of a spare pillow and blanket for the sofa. He addressed Katai with obvious irritation in his voice,
"Are you planning on getting smashed?"
Katai laughed,
" 'Smashed'? Yes, if you mean getting drunk, I plan to do so very much, thank you."
He frowned,
"I would prefer if you could restrain yourself this night."
She sat on the end of the bed, both hands clasp between her legs.
"Why??" She whined.
Sether finally won the battle against the closet and the blanket was set free, throwing Sether back against the bathroom door, which chose that moment to open. Sether tripped on a small step that heightened the bathroom from the main room and fell.
All that Katai saw were his legs as he grunted out what might have been a curse.
"Weeelll…" She intoned casually, getting up and edging towards the door, "See ya!"
And she was gone.
Sether struggled with the unearthly big blanket before managing to find the light and throw the cursed thing off himself.
He stayed on his back on the bathroom floor some long moments, pondering his next move.
At last he could have some peace and quiet to himself. At last he could perhaps sit down and try to understand all the holydamn mess that confused the Meteor out of him.
At last he could be with himself, listen to nobody's whining, scoffing, yelping and annoying him.
He sighed.
Then he got up and grabbed his Trenchcoat with the sunglasses in pocket. His other hand reached to his hat.
She was still in his custody, (Just till tomorrow… He chanted to himself) and if something happens to her…
He washed his face and left the room.
He didn't even know where 'The Fat Idiot' was, and he didn't mean the bar.
The small machine continued to work, and was forgotten for the next 24 hours.
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"Sether and Katai are still at each other's thoats?" you may ask. Well, it takes time and will to change. Don't worry, drinking will do them both good.
