1 The Planet's Chosen
1.1 Chapter 4
"This is perfect", Jenova mused to herself as she held the Masamune in her hands, the glittering blade reflecting her face with little distortion, "without this, Sephiroth is helpless, more so than when he was under my power. This is a truly sweet victory for my ultimate domination of this planet. I will rule this miserable planet that was stolen from my people thousands of years ago. Isn't that right, my minions"
From all around the chair she was seated in, thousands of voices in unison all responded from the lightless void surrounding the ring of candles that contained Jenova's throne, "YES, OUR QUEEN"
"Listen Sephiroth, we looked for hours, but your sword is nowhere to be found," Cloud explained to the unresponsive youth, "Now the only way to get it back is if we go on a journey for it, alright?"
No response.
Cloud started to get aggravated, "Look at yourself! Look at you, the great Sephiroth, acting like a little child! Now, snap out of it!"
With that, Cloud punched Sephiroth to the ground, where the black- cloaked swordsman just laid there, wallowing in self-pity.
"Let me try, daddy," Aerith said as she kneeled down and lifted Sephiroth's head onto her lap, "Listen, Sephiroth, that thing said it was a child of Jenova. So that means that Jenova is back, and she has your weapon…"
A faint glimmer showed in Sephiroth's eye.
"…to her disposal. Now think, if she has that powerful weapon, what do you think she can do? Think of the damage she can cause with the Masamune! Now, I believe we can get it back from her, but we will need you, so come on, let's get going!"
At her last words, Sephiroth jumped up, staggered from getting up too quickly, then got a determined look on his face, "You're right Arieth… and Cloud, there is so much she can do with my sword. We need to find her and stop her! But first! I need a weapon. To the armory shop!"
As he began to walk off, Arieth grabbed his arm and pulled him back, "No, Sephiroth, the first thing you need to do is clean your face, your nose is bleeding"
"Oh… right"
Minutes later, the whole party stood in the shopping district of the Golden Saucer, looking at swords for the black haired warrior. Each person offering a different suggestion as to which he should purchase, much to his and the saleswoman's exasperation.
"Here's a nice one, look at all those Materia slots"
"No no, Tifa, you can't just go for materia, you have to look for POWER! Like this one, now THIS is a man's sword!"
"Yes sir, that is a very nice item, very pow…"
"Daddy! He can't walk around with something like that! He needs something more elegant, not to mention stylish. And look at the cute kitty at the end of the hilt!"
"Um… I don't think I want to walk around with THAT thing"
"Of course you do! How much does this cost?"
"Excellent choice. That's a very popular item these days"
"Arieth, he said he didn't want that, now here, Seph, is a weapon! Look, it even has a gun built into it. Cool name too, Gunblade, Lionheart type"
"That's new to our store, just got it in this month, very powerful! Will that be cash or credit?"
"SHUT UP!" as Sephiroth's voice shot through the store and surrounding mall, all noise stopped and everyone in the area looked at the quickly reddening boy. As the populace returned to their business, he began to explain himself, "I'm going up against a being much more powerful than any of us, I need to pick carefully of my weapon. So, why don't you all go shopping for supplies while I choose a weapon?"
The whole group parted, except for Vincent, who stood there, staring at Sephiroth with his odd red eyes, "Cloud and them might have bought that story, but I'm going to need a little more proof."
"I can't blame you, after all the atrocities I've caused, but I plan to prove myself to you all. Now, why don't you go get some bullets for that rifle of yours?"
Vincent patted him on the shoulder as he walked by him to the entrance, "Hurt any of my friends, and I will put you through the same torture I had to suffer"
As Sephiroth sorted through the swords, he became more and more dispirited. Each weapon was a fine blade, but none compared to the power in his original weapon. Almost to the point of giving up, a large black case in the back of the storage room, brought into sight by the saleswoman moving back into the room, pushing a curtain out of her way.
"Excuse me, miss, what's in that black case back there"
"Would you like to see it?" She moved into the stockroom at a nod from him, coming out with the large box under her arm, the long case knocking a few swords to the ground as she set it on the counter, "This item didn't sell at all, it's too… I don't know, gaudy, ugly, powerful, complex, whatever you want, for most people"
"Let me see it," he stated, tapping the box, now genuinely interested with the weapon inside. As the woman opened the case, a faint green glow filtered out. The case fully opened, a long, green sword made of Mako so condensed it was beyond Materia reflected it's soft light off Sephiroth's eyes. The blade looked as if it had just been pulled from a single long geode, its blade was crooked, but not so much as to render it useless.
"Now," the saleswoman began to explain, "the magic system of this sword is a bit complicated. To insert Materia into the sword you must…"
She was lost for words as Sephiroth took the sword out of the case and put a green Materia into a small indent in the side of the sword. Upon contact, the jewel disappeared and one facet of the blade flashed and became a darker green than the rest of the saber.
"How much Materia can this sword hold?" Sephiroth asked coolly, "And how do I go about getting Materia out of it?"
Flustered, the woman stuttered out answers, "I… it can hold eight Materia, only four of which can be coupled. To arrange Materia inside the sword, simply put your finger on the facet of the materia you want to move, and slide it onto another materia facet. To remove Materia, put your finger on the facet of the Materia you want to remove, and then put your hand in the divot that Materia enters through."
Sephiroth listened carefully to her, then nodded and laid the sword back into it's case, "How much for both the sword and this Materia?" he laid four Materia on the counter, two green, one blue, and one yellow.
The woman rang up all his purchases, put the Materia in a pouch, and handed it all to him, "Thank you for shopping the Golden Saucer weapon and magic shop. We hope for your business again!"
Sephiroth smiled back at her as he walked out. When he reached an open area, he pulled his sword out of the box and swung it around a few times, amazed at how well balanced it was, not to mention lightweight. Sliding it into the spot where his old blade went, he made his way for the battle arena, hoping to get in a little more practice before the quest got underway.
When he reached the arena, there was already a crowd circling the observation deck. So, he just signed in on the waiting list and went to one of the monitors to see who was doing so good to get an entire crowd's attention. To his extreme not surprise, it was Tifa in the arena.
"Kicking ass as usual, I see," Sephiroth commented to himself, smiling.
"Man, look at the tits on that girl!" one voice perked up in the crowd
"I know what you mean, I'd love to get a hold on those cans."
A couple boys came out of the crowd and towards the exit, still making profane comments about Tifa and snickering, both of which immensely pissed of Sephiroth. So, he followed them until they were away from the general crowd, then he made his move.
"I'm surprised she could even…grrk" one boy stopped abruptly as Sephiroth's hand gripped his collar and pulled him off the ground, along with the other boy.
"Could what? Fight? Trust me, she can! When I was killing millions of people years ago, she aided in stopping me from destroying the planet with Meteor! Because of her, partially, you both are still alive! Not feeling so up to making comments about her proportions now, are we?" he threw them into a wall, causing the plaster to crack in all directions, "Now, if I ever come across you two again, I will not spare your lives. Got that?"
The two boys got up, groaning slightly, and ran for the exit of the Golden Saucer. Sephiroth, his anger spent, turned back to the arena to sign up for his turn and watch Tifa finish her round. On his way up the stairs, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in a large plate of brass lining the entrance. Besides being a bit distorted, what her saw in the metal sent waves of horror and surprise through him. In the gold tinted metal, the being that stared back at him had several white, glowing markings covering his face, as well as the eyes holding the same glow. Already well on the top landing of the stairs, he took a step back, but nowhere near falling off.
"Wha... What is this?" His voice was turbulent as he came closer to the brass, his finger pressed against on of the markings, trying to see if it rubbed off, "Alright, Seph, calm down... there has to be some explanation for this"
He took a deep breath, gathering his wits about him, turning slightly away from his reflection. When he looked at the mirror again, his normal green eyes, with the shine of mako, glared back at him. The markings were also gone, much to his relief and surprise. A little hesitantly, he moved away from the metal, and moved into the battle arena, shaking his head, and deep in thought.
"I wonder... could I have been hallucinating? Or maybe..."
"Hey, Sephiroth!" His train of thought broken, he looked up to see a happy, but a little sweaty, Tifa walking towards him. Forgetting his problems, he put on a wide smile and walked up to meet her.
"Hello, Tifa, what's up?" he said as his hand dived into his pockets
"Not much." She glanced behind his back, seeing the hilt of a new long sword poking out of the Masamune's scabbard. "Ah, I see you found a new sword for yourself, here to try it out?"
He nodded as he pulled out the long blade, showing her the slightly glowing crystal it was made from. "The lady at the shop called it a Mako Blade. I guess I'm really lucky to find a powerful weapon in a place as commercial as this."
Tifa nodded in agreement, then pointed to the arena. "There's no line for the arena, everyone her has come to watch me! Why don't you go in there and give them a show, I bet I can worm some battle funds out of this," with that, she ran off to take bets that Sephiroth could do as good as she could. A few people glanced at him, and then willingly took her bet, most of them not being around earlier that morning.
Sephiroth smiled as he walked up to the counter and signed in, "Uh, hello, i'd like to take the hardest program you got."
The receptionist looked up at him, a bit surprised, "Are you sure? I mean, you did one of those earlier today, don't you think you should hold back?"
He glared at her.
"Alright, alright, but don't blame me when you get KOed." She typed the program into the computer as Sephiroth went up to the battle arena, slamming the heavy door behind him and preparing himself for combat in the center of the arena
As he slowly drew his sword, the first challenge, a Behemoth, charged out. Bringing his sword up, he quickly countered the beast's charge, his blade locking with its horns. He grit his teeth together as he felt his feet begin to slide over the floor, the beast being physically larger than he, making him easier to push back
Outside, Tifa loudly shouted encouragements to him, not wanting to lose any money. Her worries were put to rest as Sephiroth leaped into the air, leaving the purple demon below him to stagger. Spinning in the air in a tight spiral, he halted his decent with a simple float spell. "Come on, ugly, try and get me up here!"
The beast reared its head back and billowed out a large torrent of flame, easily dodged by the floating swordsman. Holding his hand in one hand, he put his other out to the beast, concentrating on the new green Materia in his sword.
"DEMI!" the arena echoed with his voice as a black orb formed around the beast, distorting it's body with extreme increases and decreases of gravity, causing massive damage. As the spell faded, he dropped to the ground, as did the beast. He approached the weak creature and ran his blade through it, the beast's body disappearing into millions of tiny red crystals, which floated into the air and disappeared. Turning back to the monster gate, He raised his blade along his cheek and waited for the next monster burst through the portal. Faintly, he could her Tifa's cheers as she collected money, and took more bets, even with the soundproof glass surrounding the arena.
A loud boom turned his attention back to the monster gate. To his surprise, the monster coming out of the gate was nothing organic, but Scarlet's giant robot, Proud Clod. Through the glass of the helm, he could see that it was a Golden Saucer employee manning the monstrous contraption.
"Maybe Tifa should lower the bets…"
Making her way slowly through the various fashion stores and clothing boutiques in the shopping district, Aerith wasn't concentrating very hard on the fashionable apparel before her eyes. The main thing on her mind was the strange occurrences of the day and, mostly, Sephiroth. Her mind raced with images of his radiant, green eyes, his calm, friendly face, and the fierce way he handled a long sword.
Shaking her head, she spoke softly to herself, "Oh man... what would my parents think if I told them I think I'm falling love with their greatest enemy? Well, it's not like it matters, I don't think he has any feelings for me..."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," A smooth, deep voice came from behind her, causing the blond girl to nearly jump out of her skin. Turning quickly, she was greeted by the chest of Vincent until she looked up into the warm red eyes of the ex-Turk. In his normal, right hand, he carried a large bag, filled almost to the breaking point with boxes of shells. Even though the collar of his cape was pulled up over his mouth, as it regularly is, she could tell he was smiling.
"Wow, Vincent, you sacred the crap out of me!" She parked up with her hand over her heart, and then turning a little pissed, "How long have you been there, and how much have you heard?"
"Not long, the only part is Sephiroth not having feelings for you, I do not believe that to be correct. I've watched the way he looks at you, especially when you are not looking at him. It's exactly the way Cloud stares at Tifa now and again." all of this he stated matter-of-factly, adjusting his rifle strapped to his shoulder with his claw arm.
"R...really?"
The dark, friendly man simply nodded. "Well, have fun shopping, I'll see you later." He turned to leave, then stopped and turned back. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Happy birthday."
He placed a small, round package into her hands, then turned and walked out of the frilly store, waving over his shoulder as he went out of view.
"Um... thanks" Aerith called after him. Looking down at the small package, she quickly opened it and gasped at its contents. Still partially surrounded by the tissue paper, the White Materia sat in the palm of her hand. Looking around quickly, she put the materia into a bangle she wore around her ankle, then went back to shopping, deciding to wait to interrogate Vincent where he had found her priceless gift.
After checking out, she left the store and stood in the middle of the large hall. "Let's see, mom's probably at the battle arena. I guess I'll visit her then, since I'm done here" As she headed off to the battle arena, she noticed an odd girl staring at her. The girl sported short, blond hair, and was wearing shades that covered her eyes. Smiling darkly, the girl turned and disappeared into the crowd.
"Ok... that was weird... I wonder who that was." Starting on her way again, She soon heard the sounds of sirens as a group of medics ran by her, holding a stretcher and running for the battle arena. Worried about ther mother, Aerith quickly picked up the pace and followed them, hoping it was nothing serious.
1.1.1 End of Chapter 4
1.1 Chapter 4
"This is perfect", Jenova mused to herself as she held the Masamune in her hands, the glittering blade reflecting her face with little distortion, "without this, Sephiroth is helpless, more so than when he was under my power. This is a truly sweet victory for my ultimate domination of this planet. I will rule this miserable planet that was stolen from my people thousands of years ago. Isn't that right, my minions"
From all around the chair she was seated in, thousands of voices in unison all responded from the lightless void surrounding the ring of candles that contained Jenova's throne, "YES, OUR QUEEN"
"Listen Sephiroth, we looked for hours, but your sword is nowhere to be found," Cloud explained to the unresponsive youth, "Now the only way to get it back is if we go on a journey for it, alright?"
No response.
Cloud started to get aggravated, "Look at yourself! Look at you, the great Sephiroth, acting like a little child! Now, snap out of it!"
With that, Cloud punched Sephiroth to the ground, where the black- cloaked swordsman just laid there, wallowing in self-pity.
"Let me try, daddy," Aerith said as she kneeled down and lifted Sephiroth's head onto her lap, "Listen, Sephiroth, that thing said it was a child of Jenova. So that means that Jenova is back, and she has your weapon…"
A faint glimmer showed in Sephiroth's eye.
"…to her disposal. Now think, if she has that powerful weapon, what do you think she can do? Think of the damage she can cause with the Masamune! Now, I believe we can get it back from her, but we will need you, so come on, let's get going!"
At her last words, Sephiroth jumped up, staggered from getting up too quickly, then got a determined look on his face, "You're right Arieth… and Cloud, there is so much she can do with my sword. We need to find her and stop her! But first! I need a weapon. To the armory shop!"
As he began to walk off, Arieth grabbed his arm and pulled him back, "No, Sephiroth, the first thing you need to do is clean your face, your nose is bleeding"
"Oh… right"
Minutes later, the whole party stood in the shopping district of the Golden Saucer, looking at swords for the black haired warrior. Each person offering a different suggestion as to which he should purchase, much to his and the saleswoman's exasperation.
"Here's a nice one, look at all those Materia slots"
"No no, Tifa, you can't just go for materia, you have to look for POWER! Like this one, now THIS is a man's sword!"
"Yes sir, that is a very nice item, very pow…"
"Daddy! He can't walk around with something like that! He needs something more elegant, not to mention stylish. And look at the cute kitty at the end of the hilt!"
"Um… I don't think I want to walk around with THAT thing"
"Of course you do! How much does this cost?"
"Excellent choice. That's a very popular item these days"
"Arieth, he said he didn't want that, now here, Seph, is a weapon! Look, it even has a gun built into it. Cool name too, Gunblade, Lionheart type"
"That's new to our store, just got it in this month, very powerful! Will that be cash or credit?"
"SHUT UP!" as Sephiroth's voice shot through the store and surrounding mall, all noise stopped and everyone in the area looked at the quickly reddening boy. As the populace returned to their business, he began to explain himself, "I'm going up against a being much more powerful than any of us, I need to pick carefully of my weapon. So, why don't you all go shopping for supplies while I choose a weapon?"
The whole group parted, except for Vincent, who stood there, staring at Sephiroth with his odd red eyes, "Cloud and them might have bought that story, but I'm going to need a little more proof."
"I can't blame you, after all the atrocities I've caused, but I plan to prove myself to you all. Now, why don't you go get some bullets for that rifle of yours?"
Vincent patted him on the shoulder as he walked by him to the entrance, "Hurt any of my friends, and I will put you through the same torture I had to suffer"
As Sephiroth sorted through the swords, he became more and more dispirited. Each weapon was a fine blade, but none compared to the power in his original weapon. Almost to the point of giving up, a large black case in the back of the storage room, brought into sight by the saleswoman moving back into the room, pushing a curtain out of her way.
"Excuse me, miss, what's in that black case back there"
"Would you like to see it?" She moved into the stockroom at a nod from him, coming out with the large box under her arm, the long case knocking a few swords to the ground as she set it on the counter, "This item didn't sell at all, it's too… I don't know, gaudy, ugly, powerful, complex, whatever you want, for most people"
"Let me see it," he stated, tapping the box, now genuinely interested with the weapon inside. As the woman opened the case, a faint green glow filtered out. The case fully opened, a long, green sword made of Mako so condensed it was beyond Materia reflected it's soft light off Sephiroth's eyes. The blade looked as if it had just been pulled from a single long geode, its blade was crooked, but not so much as to render it useless.
"Now," the saleswoman began to explain, "the magic system of this sword is a bit complicated. To insert Materia into the sword you must…"
She was lost for words as Sephiroth took the sword out of the case and put a green Materia into a small indent in the side of the sword. Upon contact, the jewel disappeared and one facet of the blade flashed and became a darker green than the rest of the saber.
"How much Materia can this sword hold?" Sephiroth asked coolly, "And how do I go about getting Materia out of it?"
Flustered, the woman stuttered out answers, "I… it can hold eight Materia, only four of which can be coupled. To arrange Materia inside the sword, simply put your finger on the facet of the materia you want to move, and slide it onto another materia facet. To remove Materia, put your finger on the facet of the Materia you want to remove, and then put your hand in the divot that Materia enters through."
Sephiroth listened carefully to her, then nodded and laid the sword back into it's case, "How much for both the sword and this Materia?" he laid four Materia on the counter, two green, one blue, and one yellow.
The woman rang up all his purchases, put the Materia in a pouch, and handed it all to him, "Thank you for shopping the Golden Saucer weapon and magic shop. We hope for your business again!"
Sephiroth smiled back at her as he walked out. When he reached an open area, he pulled his sword out of the box and swung it around a few times, amazed at how well balanced it was, not to mention lightweight. Sliding it into the spot where his old blade went, he made his way for the battle arena, hoping to get in a little more practice before the quest got underway.
When he reached the arena, there was already a crowd circling the observation deck. So, he just signed in on the waiting list and went to one of the monitors to see who was doing so good to get an entire crowd's attention. To his extreme not surprise, it was Tifa in the arena.
"Kicking ass as usual, I see," Sephiroth commented to himself, smiling.
"Man, look at the tits on that girl!" one voice perked up in the crowd
"I know what you mean, I'd love to get a hold on those cans."
A couple boys came out of the crowd and towards the exit, still making profane comments about Tifa and snickering, both of which immensely pissed of Sephiroth. So, he followed them until they were away from the general crowd, then he made his move.
"I'm surprised she could even…grrk" one boy stopped abruptly as Sephiroth's hand gripped his collar and pulled him off the ground, along with the other boy.
"Could what? Fight? Trust me, she can! When I was killing millions of people years ago, she aided in stopping me from destroying the planet with Meteor! Because of her, partially, you both are still alive! Not feeling so up to making comments about her proportions now, are we?" he threw them into a wall, causing the plaster to crack in all directions, "Now, if I ever come across you two again, I will not spare your lives. Got that?"
The two boys got up, groaning slightly, and ran for the exit of the Golden Saucer. Sephiroth, his anger spent, turned back to the arena to sign up for his turn and watch Tifa finish her round. On his way up the stairs, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in a large plate of brass lining the entrance. Besides being a bit distorted, what her saw in the metal sent waves of horror and surprise through him. In the gold tinted metal, the being that stared back at him had several white, glowing markings covering his face, as well as the eyes holding the same glow. Already well on the top landing of the stairs, he took a step back, but nowhere near falling off.
"Wha... What is this?" His voice was turbulent as he came closer to the brass, his finger pressed against on of the markings, trying to see if it rubbed off, "Alright, Seph, calm down... there has to be some explanation for this"
He took a deep breath, gathering his wits about him, turning slightly away from his reflection. When he looked at the mirror again, his normal green eyes, with the shine of mako, glared back at him. The markings were also gone, much to his relief and surprise. A little hesitantly, he moved away from the metal, and moved into the battle arena, shaking his head, and deep in thought.
"I wonder... could I have been hallucinating? Or maybe..."
"Hey, Sephiroth!" His train of thought broken, he looked up to see a happy, but a little sweaty, Tifa walking towards him. Forgetting his problems, he put on a wide smile and walked up to meet her.
"Hello, Tifa, what's up?" he said as his hand dived into his pockets
"Not much." She glanced behind his back, seeing the hilt of a new long sword poking out of the Masamune's scabbard. "Ah, I see you found a new sword for yourself, here to try it out?"
He nodded as he pulled out the long blade, showing her the slightly glowing crystal it was made from. "The lady at the shop called it a Mako Blade. I guess I'm really lucky to find a powerful weapon in a place as commercial as this."
Tifa nodded in agreement, then pointed to the arena. "There's no line for the arena, everyone her has come to watch me! Why don't you go in there and give them a show, I bet I can worm some battle funds out of this," with that, she ran off to take bets that Sephiroth could do as good as she could. A few people glanced at him, and then willingly took her bet, most of them not being around earlier that morning.
Sephiroth smiled as he walked up to the counter and signed in, "Uh, hello, i'd like to take the hardest program you got."
The receptionist looked up at him, a bit surprised, "Are you sure? I mean, you did one of those earlier today, don't you think you should hold back?"
He glared at her.
"Alright, alright, but don't blame me when you get KOed." She typed the program into the computer as Sephiroth went up to the battle arena, slamming the heavy door behind him and preparing himself for combat in the center of the arena
As he slowly drew his sword, the first challenge, a Behemoth, charged out. Bringing his sword up, he quickly countered the beast's charge, his blade locking with its horns. He grit his teeth together as he felt his feet begin to slide over the floor, the beast being physically larger than he, making him easier to push back
Outside, Tifa loudly shouted encouragements to him, not wanting to lose any money. Her worries were put to rest as Sephiroth leaped into the air, leaving the purple demon below him to stagger. Spinning in the air in a tight spiral, he halted his decent with a simple float spell. "Come on, ugly, try and get me up here!"
The beast reared its head back and billowed out a large torrent of flame, easily dodged by the floating swordsman. Holding his hand in one hand, he put his other out to the beast, concentrating on the new green Materia in his sword.
"DEMI!" the arena echoed with his voice as a black orb formed around the beast, distorting it's body with extreme increases and decreases of gravity, causing massive damage. As the spell faded, he dropped to the ground, as did the beast. He approached the weak creature and ran his blade through it, the beast's body disappearing into millions of tiny red crystals, which floated into the air and disappeared. Turning back to the monster gate, He raised his blade along his cheek and waited for the next monster burst through the portal. Faintly, he could her Tifa's cheers as she collected money, and took more bets, even with the soundproof glass surrounding the arena.
A loud boom turned his attention back to the monster gate. To his surprise, the monster coming out of the gate was nothing organic, but Scarlet's giant robot, Proud Clod. Through the glass of the helm, he could see that it was a Golden Saucer employee manning the monstrous contraption.
"Maybe Tifa should lower the bets…"
Making her way slowly through the various fashion stores and clothing boutiques in the shopping district, Aerith wasn't concentrating very hard on the fashionable apparel before her eyes. The main thing on her mind was the strange occurrences of the day and, mostly, Sephiroth. Her mind raced with images of his radiant, green eyes, his calm, friendly face, and the fierce way he handled a long sword.
Shaking her head, she spoke softly to herself, "Oh man... what would my parents think if I told them I think I'm falling love with their greatest enemy? Well, it's not like it matters, I don't think he has any feelings for me..."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," A smooth, deep voice came from behind her, causing the blond girl to nearly jump out of her skin. Turning quickly, she was greeted by the chest of Vincent until she looked up into the warm red eyes of the ex-Turk. In his normal, right hand, he carried a large bag, filled almost to the breaking point with boxes of shells. Even though the collar of his cape was pulled up over his mouth, as it regularly is, she could tell he was smiling.
"Wow, Vincent, you sacred the crap out of me!" She parked up with her hand over her heart, and then turning a little pissed, "How long have you been there, and how much have you heard?"
"Not long, the only part is Sephiroth not having feelings for you, I do not believe that to be correct. I've watched the way he looks at you, especially when you are not looking at him. It's exactly the way Cloud stares at Tifa now and again." all of this he stated matter-of-factly, adjusting his rifle strapped to his shoulder with his claw arm.
"R...really?"
The dark, friendly man simply nodded. "Well, have fun shopping, I'll see you later." He turned to leave, then stopped and turned back. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Happy birthday."
He placed a small, round package into her hands, then turned and walked out of the frilly store, waving over his shoulder as he went out of view.
"Um... thanks" Aerith called after him. Looking down at the small package, she quickly opened it and gasped at its contents. Still partially surrounded by the tissue paper, the White Materia sat in the palm of her hand. Looking around quickly, she put the materia into a bangle she wore around her ankle, then went back to shopping, deciding to wait to interrogate Vincent where he had found her priceless gift.
After checking out, she left the store and stood in the middle of the large hall. "Let's see, mom's probably at the battle arena. I guess I'll visit her then, since I'm done here" As she headed off to the battle arena, she noticed an odd girl staring at her. The girl sported short, blond hair, and was wearing shades that covered her eyes. Smiling darkly, the girl turned and disappeared into the crowd.
"Ok... that was weird... I wonder who that was." Starting on her way again, She soon heard the sounds of sirens as a group of medics ran by her, holding a stretcher and running for the battle arena. Worried about ther mother, Aerith quickly picked up the pace and followed them, hoping it was nothing serious.
1.1.1 End of Chapter 4