Dinner Party After Wutai
The bathroom wasn't a huge affair with wallpaper and fancy knobs on the sink and shower. Instead, it was a room that seemed dead and hardly used. A tall thin shower took up one end of the room, a toilet half-way blocking the path to the shower, and a sink set into a cabinet stood beside the door that opened whenever it detected movement in front of it. Hanging over the sink was a mirror that was somewhat dusty from neglect. It reflected a blank metal wall, and a lithe figure with silvery hair.
Sephiroth stared at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her beautiful silver hair, it was halfway down her back by now, even if she'd had it cut just that summer to the bottom edge of her shoulder blades. Then again her hair did grow fast. It was spring of her fourteenth year, or so she figured, when she'd defeated Wutai. More like she'd stomped them into the ground like the bugs they were. But now, she was back in Midgar where she'd started her life. She couldn't say she'd grown up there, she'd always been grown up emotionally and mentally. Yes, her body had matured, but nothing else seemed to change. She had a knot in her stomach as she stared at the thin but lovely face in the mirror while she styled her bangs the way she liked them. She didn't know what she was REALLY nervous about and she wasn't likely to ever admit being nervous. Then again, she had to go to a social gathering and she wasn't all that thrilled about the idea.
She sighed and lowered her hands from her hair, the brush still held in her left, she was simply wasting time waiting for Hojo to come. She knew he was going to escort her to the front door as if she needed it. As if she were some sort of child that had to be watched constantly. That pissed her off. "How dare he treat me like this. I just won a frekin war and I come back to be treated like a child." She barred her teeth at the mirror and got distracted looking at their whiteness, wondering if she should brush them again or not. She remembered how Hojo had always yelled at her before when she took too long at making herself look presentable for some reason. As if he feared her starting to act like a girl or something.
"Never do anything right it seems," she muttered to herself. "What's wrong with me? All the other guys are getting deeper voices and mine is staying the same. All the other guys are starting to talk about girls and... I think they're just girls... Am I supposed to like girls or what? I don't think they look any different from guys..." She blushed deeply as she remembered one of the older men that she commanded. "Maybe Hojo's just scared I'm going to be gay?" Once again she felt a pull in her lower stomach, almost as if something inside her was twitching in an uncomfortable way. She'd been having that feeling almost half the day now and it was starting to get worse. "Heh, serve him right if I was. Maybe I am... That Bryne is a handsome man even with that scar."
Taking a deep breath, she finally set her brush aside on the metal counter top beside the sink and turned to step out into the main room of her quarters in the Shinra tower. The bathroom door swished closed behind her, the light eventually turning off when there was no movement in the room after a time.
Her quarters weren't spacious, but the rooms were hers and she liked not being afraid that someone was going to walk into her tent while she was changing, which had happened in Wutai several times but she'd been quick and no one had seen her completely nude. She liked her privacy. Once again, all four walls, the ceiling, and the floor were made of metal plating without adornment. A bed was stuffed into one corner against the wall. It was a rather hard bed, with only a sheet and small flat pillow on it. Beside the bed was an actual piece of furniture, made of maple stained hardwood. It was a very old chest of drawers though, covered in dents and scratches, worse than second rate, but it worked fine for holding her few articles of clothing. There was a closet as well, but only three things ever got put in it: her sword, her coat, and her new tux. Only her sword occupied the space that jutted out into her room and took up even more of the small space that was allotted to her. Her long black leather coat was flopped across her bed, waiting to be donned.
It was the first time she'd been back to the tower since the war with Wutai had been won and she was now the guest of honor for a big dinner party with dancing and all sorts of distasteful (to her) social things. Sephiroth shook her head at the thought of being seen when not in uniform. They'll expect me to talk to them or something. I hate talking to people. I just don't do it well. Sephiroth knew where her skills lay, socializing wasn't one of the ones she'd practiced enough to be any good at. Not that she cared to practice it either.
She took a moment to stretch her arms above her head then put them on the floor and slowly let her dress shoe clad feet slide out into the splits. She'd noticed how all the other guys under her leadership had winced whenever she did this, as if it was supposed to hurt, but it didn't and it made her wonder why. Maybe they just weren't as flexible as her. Or maybe it was just because her penis hadn't grown in yet. Thinking about that caused her to ponder about when she'd once asked Hojo why she couldn't pee standing up. Something about Hojo's answer to that question didn't seem right.
She leaned forward slowly, resting her chest on the floor as well. Sephiroth knew that she was mussing up her clothes but she felt nervous and needed something to relieve the tension. For some reason stretching always helped her focus her thoughts and loosen the tension in her body.
Lifting her face from the hard metal floor, she was just in time to see the door to her room swish open and Hojo walk in. Once again he was wearing the ugliest shoes known to man: they were brown and shabby, more suited to mucking out a Chocobo stall than walking around in public. She was disgusted that Hojo had so little fashion sense. "Get off the floor, Sephiroth," he stated coldly and she swept her feet together behind her, pulled her knees under her with a quick bounce and was on her feet in seconds. "It's time to go," he stated in a chilling voice, almost as if he hated the thought of having her out in public. He glanced aside after looking her over carefully. She watched as he chewed on his lower lip a moment before once more he directing his attention directly at her. "Behave yourself, you're representing this company and anything you do will also reflect on you-" he started with his long speech, speaking as Sephiroth grabbed her long coat off the bed and pulled it on over her nice clothes.
Once she was ready Hojo turned and left, still babbling on about how he would be disappointed if he found out she'd done something. Sephiroth paused, taking a moment to brush her hair back from her shoulders before following, his lecturing was grating on her nerves and she felt like ripping his long straggly hair out.
Self-consciously, she brushed her hands along her shirt, flicking invisible dirt off the crisp whiteness. She was wearing a nice tux of black and white, though she didn't know if that was typical of tuxes or not, but either way it just felt weird to be wearing something so formal. It felt weird to be wearing another color rather than black.
Hojo's lecture continued as they neared the elevator. Briefly, Sephiroth wondered if he'd rehearsed this just for her or if it was all just made up impromptu. His reminders of everything from checking if her fly was undone to toilet paper stuck to her shoe was maddening. She wasn't some moronic boy eager to show off. She finally tuned his voice out and looked around.
The tower's decor hadn't changed in the years she'd been gone, that was somewhat reassuring but disturbing at the same time. Wasn't there some sort of professional interior designer paid by the company to come up with ways to make the place more presentable? Bare metal and the occasional house plant were all that seemed to ever be in the halls. She turned her attention back to Hojo, even if she wasn't listening to him.
Hojo was wearing his usual lab coat and medical uniform. He wasn't going to the party, which was a relief in a way. Like everything else though, it was a double edged sword, he wasn't going and therefor couldn't lecture her constantly while she was there, but then he wouldn't be there to scare off the girls. His constant lectures and continual shadowing annoyed her even more now that she'd been away from it for so long. She supposed that it was better that he didn't go. "Don't drink any alcohol, it's bad for your liver and I'm not going to spend the money to have a new one transplanted," the scientist stated in his long list of things not to do. Sephiroth wondered briefly if Hojo had ever spent any money on her and frowned.
He gazed down upon the girl he'd told everyone in the world was male and stifled his sigh. She was tall enough to be sixteen and hadn't started developing anything yet due to her constant training and fighting. Her face was delicate with green-blue eyes that glowed in the dark. Those eyes were framed with long dark lashes that he hated, for they reminded him of Lucrecia's eyes. Her body was lithe and flexible, well muscled, but still thin and becoming more hourglass shaped by the year; much to Hojo's disgust and panic. "Your hair needs to be cut again," he stated in the middle of his lecture. This earned him a glower. She didn't want her hair cut.
Thankfully a distraction arrived with the opening of the elevator doors and they stepped in. Hojo taking a deep breath to continue his lecture. The murky sky of Midgar rose upward as they were carried down to the first floor. Sephiroth fidgeted with her tux as she listened with half an ear to Hojo's lecture on not getting into a fight or fooling around while there. She heaved a sigh and proceeded to ignore Hojo's droning voice once more. Finally he seemed to realize that she had her mind on other things and turned to glare down upon her with his dark and beady eyes.
"Are you even listening to me?" Hojo demanded and she put her hands on her hips. Lifting her chin, she met his eyes boldly.
"No, because I've heard it all before. I do have common sense, Hojo. I'm not out there to show off. I'm not some little kid you've got to baby sit all the time." The elevator door opened and Sephiroth stepped out before Hojo could react. Walking gracefully toward the door where the limousine with Shinra and his son were waiting, she knew Hojo was watching her and hated him for it. Yet again she felt that twinge in her lower stomach and she covertly pressed her hand against that area as she got into the car. Once she was seated she glanced out the window to find Hojo glaring at the limousine as if cursing it. Sephiroth casually clipped her seat belt and flipped her hair back over her shoulder, crossing her legs at her knees.
A puff of smoke immediately informed Sephiroth that Shinra and Rufus were sitting on the other side of the limousine from her, Shinra smoking and his son fidgeting. Rufus was just a little younger than herself and he looked even younger. With a round face and white-blonde hair, he seemed more six than his true twelve. He was staring at Sephiroth and smirking.
"You look like a girl when you sit like that!" he stated and gained a glare from both Sephiroth and his father.
"So?" Sephiroth replied, smoothing her temper and leaving her legs crossed, she wasn't going to let him torment her.
Shinra shifted in his seat, "Boy, don't antagonize him, not good for the image of the company." Rufus stuck his tongue out at Sephiroth and she pointedly ignored such childishness, intent more on trying to figure out why her stomach felt so bad. She hadn't eaten anything that disagreed with her, unless it was just eating cafeteria food after living off army rations and wild animal for the duration of the war. She hoped it was just that and nothing more. Getting sick in public wouldn't be the best thing to do after what she'd said to Hojo.
The drive to the hotel where the expensive dinner party was going on was uneventful though Sephiroth just had to deal with Rufus leering at her the whole time and Shinra's disgusting cigar smoke. No, Hojo doesn't have to worry about me smoking or drinking, but I'm probably going to die of second hand inhalation. The moment the door opened she was out and stalking down the red carpet, her nerves frayed and getting worse by the moment. A camera flashed and she was forced to pause and blink a few times. In that time all the other media and gawks took the chance to get their pictures. This was more than just expensive, everyone would be watching what went on here. Gritting her teeth she surged onwards between the guards and ropes that held the crowd back, as if they really wanted to get that close to Sephiroth. Clenching her fingers into her palms, she felt like hitting someone, anyone, but she'd promised to be a good boy for the night.
Once inside, a nervous man wearing a red uniform cleared his throat and said, "Your coat sir?" She let him have it- by throwing the coat at him and moving on in a huff.
"What's crawled into his pants?" one of the other young men at the door muttered and the one who was struggling with Sephiroth's coat nodded, glaring after the five foot five figure of Sephiroth. At that moment Shinra and Rufus entered and they were much more courteous about handing their coats over but they still acted high and mighty. Of course this pissed the bellboys off even further, they weren't getting paid extra for this.
Sephiroth gave no attention to her surroundings until she got to the table set at the head of the room reserved for the important people. With a sigh, she flopped down in one of the chairs and finally decided to notice the room and a few of the people in it directly. Anyone with any sort of money was attending and therefor the room was beginning to fill with women wearing dazzling gowns and blinding jewelry, the men in pristine formal wear, looking like penguins amidst a flock of tropical birds. She was reminded once more that she looked like that too and had to snigger softly to herself in a quick change of mood that somewhat startled her on further reflection.
Finally, Shinra and his son made it through the crowd to sit down in their seats. The chair creaked threateningly under the president whenever he moved and Sephiroth had to stifle her laugh at the thought of it breaking right under him. It didn't though, which was a shame in Sephiroth's sadistic opinion.
More guests swirled in, the ladies looking fine and the men handsome, it was all the same except for who was daring to wear what color and style of dress. She was starting to get bored already. Shinra lit up his sixth cigar of the night and started puffing smoke at anyone he happened to be facing. Shinra turned to grin at Sephiroth, "What do you think, m'boy?"
Sephiroth drew herself up from her huddle around her stomach and eyed the man. "Of what?" she replied in a neutrally bored tone, gazing at him with eyes half lidded. Maybe he'll get the point and leave me alone? It was a vain hope, but she couldn't help herself.
"Of this!" he took his cigar from his mouth and gestured, getting ash on the white table cloth where it smoked a little before going out. She thought a moment, looking at the room. It was a large ballroom type of room, heavily decorated with ornate chandeliers, expensive wallpaper, and marble tiles on the floor. Tables were arranged on the sides of the room while the center was open for dancing. There was a band getting started in one corner of the room, they were all wearing black, except for the men who had white tux shirts. They weren't meant to be noticed, only heard.
Finally, Sephiroth turned her head to look at Shinra once more. "It's stupid," she stated honestly and watched as the president choked on some of his own smoke.
"Stupid? Boy, this is civilization! What do you think life would be like under Wutain rule?!" He smacked Sephiroth's shoulder heartily after putting his cigar back into his mouth. Taking a long puff, he spoke, billowing smoke into Sephiroth's hair and face, "This is what you won for us, boy. A world where people can have comfort and convenience! Where they're protected from the heathens of Wutai and monsters! A grand world!"
I am so getting a bath when we get back... Sephiroth stared at Shinra with a look of boredom mixed with shock that the guy actually would spout that sort of nonsense in public. She pursed her lips as he went on and on about how wonderful the world was now that it was ruled by one power. Some guests were watching and she turned her eyes to look at them silently wondering if they believed any of the BS they were listening to. Sephiroth watched their expressions and realized that they DID believe and wanted it. What fools. Shaking her head, she cleared her throat, "Excuse me," she stated, "Nature and all that," she turned, leaving Shinra to go on ranting to his audience, he hadn't even noticed that his general had left. Once in the bathroom, she stalked into one of the stalls. There were a few other guys in the room, doing their business and she certainly didn't want to watch them do it. She didn't even have to go, she'd just wanted away from the fat-ass Shinra and his son. Rufus had been staring at her since the moment they'd come to the table.
Instead, she leaned against the wall of the stall with a sigh, looking up at the disgusting ceiling. There was a vent a few stalls over that was big enough to climb into but Seph doubted she could get away with it. She heard the door open and close a few times and finally peaked out of her stall to find that no one was in the bathroom anymore. Finally she figured it was safe to do her own business without getting bugged or possibly spied on.
Her breath hitched in her throat as she stopped a scream from shattering the silence of the bathroom. She bit down on her tongue and quickly took some toilet paper to wipe at the blood that was in her underwear. Bleeding? Why am I bleeding?! She took some more paper and wiped a few times, finding more blood. Of COURSE I don't have any Materia with me either! She cringed at the thought of being unprepared, What should I do? Swallowing, she forced herself to calm down and think about the situation. You put bandages on wounds you can't heal right away, but I'm not sure what's bleeding, so maybe if I just make due with some paper stuffed into my underwear I can last till the party is over and possibly ask Hojo what's wrong with me. The panic eased but not the nervousness. What if someone found out that she'd started bleeding? The great Sephiroth actually bleeds- in a very embarrassing place.
Her work finished, she flushed the incriminating evidence and finally left the stall to wash her hands, checking her feet to see if any paper was stuck to her shoes. She was NOT going to embarrass herself tonight at any costs. Once her hands were washed she stood there staring into the mirror. "God.. I've gotta go back out there.. I don't want to! Not like this!" she sighed, "Least I don't have zits like all the other guys do," she muttered and turned, heading toward the door, avoiding another much older man as he was coming in. She didn't notice Rufus step out of the bathroom directly after her.
Sephiroth dodged between the elegant ladies and handsome men, finally reaching her place at the head table and having a careful seat. Rufus wasn't there and she figured he'd probably been yanked off by his father to be shown around to all the important people. She did feel sorry for him for a brief moment, but she certainly didn't envy him. She sat in peace for a full two seconds before a nervous girl approached.
She was probably about seventeen but that wasn't stopping her. Her hair was light red and she had golden brown eyes set in a somewhat wide innocent face. She was wearing a deep maroon dress with ruffles along the collar and waist. It was cute and in style, but didn't suit her figure. It just made her breasts look smaller than they really were.
"Hello," the girl said in a demure voice that she could barely hear over the noise of the room. The girl fluttered her short eyelashes that were hooded with dark purple eye shadow. "Might I have this dance?" Sephiroth eyed the girl, pondering running her off with a threat or perhaps if she stared long enough the girl would get the hint and go away. Instead the girl offered her hand, "C'mon, loosen up some, life isn't all about wars and stuff!" she flashed a smile, cute dimples showing on her face as well as a gap between her top two front teeth.
Sephiroth's eyes flicked to look straight forward and noticed some other teenagers attending the celebration, possibly brought by their parents. They were watching intently. Dang it. "I don't dance," Sephiroth finally answered stiffly.
The girl didn't give up though, she brushed her hands along her satiny bell skirts, a great diamond ring flashing on her finger like a star. "Aww, sure you do. That's what music's for anyway!" She was really pushing her luck and Sephiroth wished she even had a knife to threaten with, but she didn't.
"One. Then you and your friends are to leave me alone," she stated firmly as she got up and stalked toward the dance floor, she'd been taught how to dance because that helped agility, she simply never thought she'd have to use that skill. Turning, she grabbed the girl's hand and roughly placed her hand on the girl's shapely hip, whirling her out onto the dance floor and melding into the twirl of other dancers. The girl apparently wasn't as knowledgeable about dancing as her partner was, for she kept stepping on Sephiroth's shoes.
Sephiroth felt highly embarrassed to be seen dancing, but there had been no way she could get out of it without causing a fuss and she was supposed to behave herself tonight. "I'm Cait," the girl said shyly, towering above Sephiroth in her matching maroon high heels.
Sephiroth made no reply, she wasn't there for the fun of it and she was hoping to make that clear. The song ended and immediately Sephiroth let go of the girl, bowed, stalked back to her seat, and sat down once more.
Cait returned to her friends sniffling. "Cheer up Cait, at least you got him to dance! I don't think anyone else is going to get him to get out of his seat tonight," one of her girlfriends said to the girl and comforted her with hugs as she tried not to cry.
Sephiroth sat silently, sipping on her wine glass filled with water. She was turned slightly sideways from the table with her legs crossed. This is going to be a looong night. She sighed and glared at anyone who dared come close to her table. Within ten minutes she'd managed to clear a space around her table of five feet. By thirty minutes that space had doubled.
The bathroom wasn't a huge affair with wallpaper and fancy knobs on the sink and shower. Instead, it was a room that seemed dead and hardly used. A tall thin shower took up one end of the room, a toilet half-way blocking the path to the shower, and a sink set into a cabinet stood beside the door that opened whenever it detected movement in front of it. Hanging over the sink was a mirror that was somewhat dusty from neglect. It reflected a blank metal wall, and a lithe figure with silvery hair.
Sephiroth stared at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her beautiful silver hair, it was halfway down her back by now, even if she'd had it cut just that summer to the bottom edge of her shoulder blades. Then again her hair did grow fast. It was spring of her fourteenth year, or so she figured, when she'd defeated Wutai. More like she'd stomped them into the ground like the bugs they were. But now, she was back in Midgar where she'd started her life. She couldn't say she'd grown up there, she'd always been grown up emotionally and mentally. Yes, her body had matured, but nothing else seemed to change. She had a knot in her stomach as she stared at the thin but lovely face in the mirror while she styled her bangs the way she liked them. She didn't know what she was REALLY nervous about and she wasn't likely to ever admit being nervous. Then again, she had to go to a social gathering and she wasn't all that thrilled about the idea.
She sighed and lowered her hands from her hair, the brush still held in her left, she was simply wasting time waiting for Hojo to come. She knew he was going to escort her to the front door as if she needed it. As if she were some sort of child that had to be watched constantly. That pissed her off. "How dare he treat me like this. I just won a frekin war and I come back to be treated like a child." She barred her teeth at the mirror and got distracted looking at their whiteness, wondering if she should brush them again or not. She remembered how Hojo had always yelled at her before when she took too long at making herself look presentable for some reason. As if he feared her starting to act like a girl or something.
"Never do anything right it seems," she muttered to herself. "What's wrong with me? All the other guys are getting deeper voices and mine is staying the same. All the other guys are starting to talk about girls and... I think they're just girls... Am I supposed to like girls or what? I don't think they look any different from guys..." She blushed deeply as she remembered one of the older men that she commanded. "Maybe Hojo's just scared I'm going to be gay?" Once again she felt a pull in her lower stomach, almost as if something inside her was twitching in an uncomfortable way. She'd been having that feeling almost half the day now and it was starting to get worse. "Heh, serve him right if I was. Maybe I am... That Bryne is a handsome man even with that scar."
Taking a deep breath, she finally set her brush aside on the metal counter top beside the sink and turned to step out into the main room of her quarters in the Shinra tower. The bathroom door swished closed behind her, the light eventually turning off when there was no movement in the room after a time.
Her quarters weren't spacious, but the rooms were hers and she liked not being afraid that someone was going to walk into her tent while she was changing, which had happened in Wutai several times but she'd been quick and no one had seen her completely nude. She liked her privacy. Once again, all four walls, the ceiling, and the floor were made of metal plating without adornment. A bed was stuffed into one corner against the wall. It was a rather hard bed, with only a sheet and small flat pillow on it. Beside the bed was an actual piece of furniture, made of maple stained hardwood. It was a very old chest of drawers though, covered in dents and scratches, worse than second rate, but it worked fine for holding her few articles of clothing. There was a closet as well, but only three things ever got put in it: her sword, her coat, and her new tux. Only her sword occupied the space that jutted out into her room and took up even more of the small space that was allotted to her. Her long black leather coat was flopped across her bed, waiting to be donned.
It was the first time she'd been back to the tower since the war with Wutai had been won and she was now the guest of honor for a big dinner party with dancing and all sorts of distasteful (to her) social things. Sephiroth shook her head at the thought of being seen when not in uniform. They'll expect me to talk to them or something. I hate talking to people. I just don't do it well. Sephiroth knew where her skills lay, socializing wasn't one of the ones she'd practiced enough to be any good at. Not that she cared to practice it either.
She took a moment to stretch her arms above her head then put them on the floor and slowly let her dress shoe clad feet slide out into the splits. She'd noticed how all the other guys under her leadership had winced whenever she did this, as if it was supposed to hurt, but it didn't and it made her wonder why. Maybe they just weren't as flexible as her. Or maybe it was just because her penis hadn't grown in yet. Thinking about that caused her to ponder about when she'd once asked Hojo why she couldn't pee standing up. Something about Hojo's answer to that question didn't seem right.
She leaned forward slowly, resting her chest on the floor as well. Sephiroth knew that she was mussing up her clothes but she felt nervous and needed something to relieve the tension. For some reason stretching always helped her focus her thoughts and loosen the tension in her body.
Lifting her face from the hard metal floor, she was just in time to see the door to her room swish open and Hojo walk in. Once again he was wearing the ugliest shoes known to man: they were brown and shabby, more suited to mucking out a Chocobo stall than walking around in public. She was disgusted that Hojo had so little fashion sense. "Get off the floor, Sephiroth," he stated coldly and she swept her feet together behind her, pulled her knees under her with a quick bounce and was on her feet in seconds. "It's time to go," he stated in a chilling voice, almost as if he hated the thought of having her out in public. He glanced aside after looking her over carefully. She watched as he chewed on his lower lip a moment before once more he directing his attention directly at her. "Behave yourself, you're representing this company and anything you do will also reflect on you-" he started with his long speech, speaking as Sephiroth grabbed her long coat off the bed and pulled it on over her nice clothes.
Once she was ready Hojo turned and left, still babbling on about how he would be disappointed if he found out she'd done something. Sephiroth paused, taking a moment to brush her hair back from her shoulders before following, his lecturing was grating on her nerves and she felt like ripping his long straggly hair out.
Self-consciously, she brushed her hands along her shirt, flicking invisible dirt off the crisp whiteness. She was wearing a nice tux of black and white, though she didn't know if that was typical of tuxes or not, but either way it just felt weird to be wearing something so formal. It felt weird to be wearing another color rather than black.
Hojo's lecture continued as they neared the elevator. Briefly, Sephiroth wondered if he'd rehearsed this just for her or if it was all just made up impromptu. His reminders of everything from checking if her fly was undone to toilet paper stuck to her shoe was maddening. She wasn't some moronic boy eager to show off. She finally tuned his voice out and looked around.
The tower's decor hadn't changed in the years she'd been gone, that was somewhat reassuring but disturbing at the same time. Wasn't there some sort of professional interior designer paid by the company to come up with ways to make the place more presentable? Bare metal and the occasional house plant were all that seemed to ever be in the halls. She turned her attention back to Hojo, even if she wasn't listening to him.
Hojo was wearing his usual lab coat and medical uniform. He wasn't going to the party, which was a relief in a way. Like everything else though, it was a double edged sword, he wasn't going and therefor couldn't lecture her constantly while she was there, but then he wouldn't be there to scare off the girls. His constant lectures and continual shadowing annoyed her even more now that she'd been away from it for so long. She supposed that it was better that he didn't go. "Don't drink any alcohol, it's bad for your liver and I'm not going to spend the money to have a new one transplanted," the scientist stated in his long list of things not to do. Sephiroth wondered briefly if Hojo had ever spent any money on her and frowned.
He gazed down upon the girl he'd told everyone in the world was male and stifled his sigh. She was tall enough to be sixteen and hadn't started developing anything yet due to her constant training and fighting. Her face was delicate with green-blue eyes that glowed in the dark. Those eyes were framed with long dark lashes that he hated, for they reminded him of Lucrecia's eyes. Her body was lithe and flexible, well muscled, but still thin and becoming more hourglass shaped by the year; much to Hojo's disgust and panic. "Your hair needs to be cut again," he stated in the middle of his lecture. This earned him a glower. She didn't want her hair cut.
Thankfully a distraction arrived with the opening of the elevator doors and they stepped in. Hojo taking a deep breath to continue his lecture. The murky sky of Midgar rose upward as they were carried down to the first floor. Sephiroth fidgeted with her tux as she listened with half an ear to Hojo's lecture on not getting into a fight or fooling around while there. She heaved a sigh and proceeded to ignore Hojo's droning voice once more. Finally he seemed to realize that she had her mind on other things and turned to glare down upon her with his dark and beady eyes.
"Are you even listening to me?" Hojo demanded and she put her hands on her hips. Lifting her chin, she met his eyes boldly.
"No, because I've heard it all before. I do have common sense, Hojo. I'm not out there to show off. I'm not some little kid you've got to baby sit all the time." The elevator door opened and Sephiroth stepped out before Hojo could react. Walking gracefully toward the door where the limousine with Shinra and his son were waiting, she knew Hojo was watching her and hated him for it. Yet again she felt that twinge in her lower stomach and she covertly pressed her hand against that area as she got into the car. Once she was seated she glanced out the window to find Hojo glaring at the limousine as if cursing it. Sephiroth casually clipped her seat belt and flipped her hair back over her shoulder, crossing her legs at her knees.
A puff of smoke immediately informed Sephiroth that Shinra and Rufus were sitting on the other side of the limousine from her, Shinra smoking and his son fidgeting. Rufus was just a little younger than herself and he looked even younger. With a round face and white-blonde hair, he seemed more six than his true twelve. He was staring at Sephiroth and smirking.
"You look like a girl when you sit like that!" he stated and gained a glare from both Sephiroth and his father.
"So?" Sephiroth replied, smoothing her temper and leaving her legs crossed, she wasn't going to let him torment her.
Shinra shifted in his seat, "Boy, don't antagonize him, not good for the image of the company." Rufus stuck his tongue out at Sephiroth and she pointedly ignored such childishness, intent more on trying to figure out why her stomach felt so bad. She hadn't eaten anything that disagreed with her, unless it was just eating cafeteria food after living off army rations and wild animal for the duration of the war. She hoped it was just that and nothing more. Getting sick in public wouldn't be the best thing to do after what she'd said to Hojo.
The drive to the hotel where the expensive dinner party was going on was uneventful though Sephiroth just had to deal with Rufus leering at her the whole time and Shinra's disgusting cigar smoke. No, Hojo doesn't have to worry about me smoking or drinking, but I'm probably going to die of second hand inhalation. The moment the door opened she was out and stalking down the red carpet, her nerves frayed and getting worse by the moment. A camera flashed and she was forced to pause and blink a few times. In that time all the other media and gawks took the chance to get their pictures. This was more than just expensive, everyone would be watching what went on here. Gritting her teeth she surged onwards between the guards and ropes that held the crowd back, as if they really wanted to get that close to Sephiroth. Clenching her fingers into her palms, she felt like hitting someone, anyone, but she'd promised to be a good boy for the night.
Once inside, a nervous man wearing a red uniform cleared his throat and said, "Your coat sir?" She let him have it- by throwing the coat at him and moving on in a huff.
"What's crawled into his pants?" one of the other young men at the door muttered and the one who was struggling with Sephiroth's coat nodded, glaring after the five foot five figure of Sephiroth. At that moment Shinra and Rufus entered and they were much more courteous about handing their coats over but they still acted high and mighty. Of course this pissed the bellboys off even further, they weren't getting paid extra for this.
Sephiroth gave no attention to her surroundings until she got to the table set at the head of the room reserved for the important people. With a sigh, she flopped down in one of the chairs and finally decided to notice the room and a few of the people in it directly. Anyone with any sort of money was attending and therefor the room was beginning to fill with women wearing dazzling gowns and blinding jewelry, the men in pristine formal wear, looking like penguins amidst a flock of tropical birds. She was reminded once more that she looked like that too and had to snigger softly to herself in a quick change of mood that somewhat startled her on further reflection.
Finally, Shinra and his son made it through the crowd to sit down in their seats. The chair creaked threateningly under the president whenever he moved and Sephiroth had to stifle her laugh at the thought of it breaking right under him. It didn't though, which was a shame in Sephiroth's sadistic opinion.
More guests swirled in, the ladies looking fine and the men handsome, it was all the same except for who was daring to wear what color and style of dress. She was starting to get bored already. Shinra lit up his sixth cigar of the night and started puffing smoke at anyone he happened to be facing. Shinra turned to grin at Sephiroth, "What do you think, m'boy?"
Sephiroth drew herself up from her huddle around her stomach and eyed the man. "Of what?" she replied in a neutrally bored tone, gazing at him with eyes half lidded. Maybe he'll get the point and leave me alone? It was a vain hope, but she couldn't help herself.
"Of this!" he took his cigar from his mouth and gestured, getting ash on the white table cloth where it smoked a little before going out. She thought a moment, looking at the room. It was a large ballroom type of room, heavily decorated with ornate chandeliers, expensive wallpaper, and marble tiles on the floor. Tables were arranged on the sides of the room while the center was open for dancing. There was a band getting started in one corner of the room, they were all wearing black, except for the men who had white tux shirts. They weren't meant to be noticed, only heard.
Finally, Sephiroth turned her head to look at Shinra once more. "It's stupid," she stated honestly and watched as the president choked on some of his own smoke.
"Stupid? Boy, this is civilization! What do you think life would be like under Wutain rule?!" He smacked Sephiroth's shoulder heartily after putting his cigar back into his mouth. Taking a long puff, he spoke, billowing smoke into Sephiroth's hair and face, "This is what you won for us, boy. A world where people can have comfort and convenience! Where they're protected from the heathens of Wutai and monsters! A grand world!"
I am so getting a bath when we get back... Sephiroth stared at Shinra with a look of boredom mixed with shock that the guy actually would spout that sort of nonsense in public. She pursed her lips as he went on and on about how wonderful the world was now that it was ruled by one power. Some guests were watching and she turned her eyes to look at them silently wondering if they believed any of the BS they were listening to. Sephiroth watched their expressions and realized that they DID believe and wanted it. What fools. Shaking her head, she cleared her throat, "Excuse me," she stated, "Nature and all that," she turned, leaving Shinra to go on ranting to his audience, he hadn't even noticed that his general had left. Once in the bathroom, she stalked into one of the stalls. There were a few other guys in the room, doing their business and she certainly didn't want to watch them do it. She didn't even have to go, she'd just wanted away from the fat-ass Shinra and his son. Rufus had been staring at her since the moment they'd come to the table.
Instead, she leaned against the wall of the stall with a sigh, looking up at the disgusting ceiling. There was a vent a few stalls over that was big enough to climb into but Seph doubted she could get away with it. She heard the door open and close a few times and finally peaked out of her stall to find that no one was in the bathroom anymore. Finally she figured it was safe to do her own business without getting bugged or possibly spied on.
Her breath hitched in her throat as she stopped a scream from shattering the silence of the bathroom. She bit down on her tongue and quickly took some toilet paper to wipe at the blood that was in her underwear. Bleeding? Why am I bleeding?! She took some more paper and wiped a few times, finding more blood. Of COURSE I don't have any Materia with me either! She cringed at the thought of being unprepared, What should I do? Swallowing, she forced herself to calm down and think about the situation. You put bandages on wounds you can't heal right away, but I'm not sure what's bleeding, so maybe if I just make due with some paper stuffed into my underwear I can last till the party is over and possibly ask Hojo what's wrong with me. The panic eased but not the nervousness. What if someone found out that she'd started bleeding? The great Sephiroth actually bleeds- in a very embarrassing place.
Her work finished, she flushed the incriminating evidence and finally left the stall to wash her hands, checking her feet to see if any paper was stuck to her shoes. She was NOT going to embarrass herself tonight at any costs. Once her hands were washed she stood there staring into the mirror. "God.. I've gotta go back out there.. I don't want to! Not like this!" she sighed, "Least I don't have zits like all the other guys do," she muttered and turned, heading toward the door, avoiding another much older man as he was coming in. She didn't notice Rufus step out of the bathroom directly after her.
Sephiroth dodged between the elegant ladies and handsome men, finally reaching her place at the head table and having a careful seat. Rufus wasn't there and she figured he'd probably been yanked off by his father to be shown around to all the important people. She did feel sorry for him for a brief moment, but she certainly didn't envy him. She sat in peace for a full two seconds before a nervous girl approached.
She was probably about seventeen but that wasn't stopping her. Her hair was light red and she had golden brown eyes set in a somewhat wide innocent face. She was wearing a deep maroon dress with ruffles along the collar and waist. It was cute and in style, but didn't suit her figure. It just made her breasts look smaller than they really were.
"Hello," the girl said in a demure voice that she could barely hear over the noise of the room. The girl fluttered her short eyelashes that were hooded with dark purple eye shadow. "Might I have this dance?" Sephiroth eyed the girl, pondering running her off with a threat or perhaps if she stared long enough the girl would get the hint and go away. Instead the girl offered her hand, "C'mon, loosen up some, life isn't all about wars and stuff!" she flashed a smile, cute dimples showing on her face as well as a gap between her top two front teeth.
Sephiroth's eyes flicked to look straight forward and noticed some other teenagers attending the celebration, possibly brought by their parents. They were watching intently. Dang it. "I don't dance," Sephiroth finally answered stiffly.
The girl didn't give up though, she brushed her hands along her satiny bell skirts, a great diamond ring flashing on her finger like a star. "Aww, sure you do. That's what music's for anyway!" She was really pushing her luck and Sephiroth wished she even had a knife to threaten with, but she didn't.
"One. Then you and your friends are to leave me alone," she stated firmly as she got up and stalked toward the dance floor, she'd been taught how to dance because that helped agility, she simply never thought she'd have to use that skill. Turning, she grabbed the girl's hand and roughly placed her hand on the girl's shapely hip, whirling her out onto the dance floor and melding into the twirl of other dancers. The girl apparently wasn't as knowledgeable about dancing as her partner was, for she kept stepping on Sephiroth's shoes.
Sephiroth felt highly embarrassed to be seen dancing, but there had been no way she could get out of it without causing a fuss and she was supposed to behave herself tonight. "I'm Cait," the girl said shyly, towering above Sephiroth in her matching maroon high heels.
Sephiroth made no reply, she wasn't there for the fun of it and she was hoping to make that clear. The song ended and immediately Sephiroth let go of the girl, bowed, stalked back to her seat, and sat down once more.
Cait returned to her friends sniffling. "Cheer up Cait, at least you got him to dance! I don't think anyone else is going to get him to get out of his seat tonight," one of her girlfriends said to the girl and comforted her with hugs as she tried not to cry.
Sephiroth sat silently, sipping on her wine glass filled with water. She was turned slightly sideways from the table with her legs crossed. This is going to be a looong night. She sighed and glared at anyone who dared come close to her table. Within ten minutes she'd managed to clear a space around her table of five feet. By thirty minutes that space had doubled.