Reborn Ones

Chapter 2

Hiya! Been a looong time since I posted anything. But that doesn't mean I didn't write anymore. I've written a lot, but am too lazy to post it. :P

In case anyone had been missing this story, (which I doubt it :( ... ) here goes the next chapter!

Earth, year 2126.

Sephiroth walked down Chulan Street, his Masamune strapped safely at his back. Some people gave him a second glance as they noticed his long vicious-looking sword, but none of them dared to say anything about it. After all, the sight of a man with sword was not so uncommon anymore. Since the Hundred Years War began, the world has fallen into dark age once again. Although the war has ended, there were battles everywhere, and people had started carrying weapons with them to protect themselves. It was not against the law anymore.

Things had changed a great deal in the past 100 years. Yet, technology had advanced at an awfully slow rate. Most people had dreamt of flying cars and robots that would do every work for them in the 21st century, but year 2126 has no such things to offer. The war had caused great damaged, destroying the world's largest cities and wiping out two third of its population.

Sephiroth had been discovered a few years after the War ended. He was found frozen in the Arctic circle by scientists from Terra Inc. The scientists brought him back to life from his long slumber, but he had lost his memory. One of the two owners of the corporation, a fat, bulky man named ShinRa had promised him his memory if he accomplish a single task – kill Aeris Glorina.

flashback

"What do you want from me?" Sephiroth asked brusquely. Although ShinRa played a major role in restoring him from his long sleep, he had grown to dislike the man the moment he saw him.

ShinRa smiled at Sephiroth's impatience. "My, my aren't we snappy today," he said, toying with his old-fashioned pipe.

"Just get to the point, ShinRa," Sephiroth said impatiently. "I don't have much time to deal with the likes of you."

"After all those years, your hatred towards me still has not fade."

Sephiroth didn't say anything at ShinRa's remark. For some reason, the overweight old man knew about his past, and from what ShinRa had told him, he knew that they were enemies. ShinRa was the one who told him that his name was Sephiroth, but he refused to tell him anything else other than his name.

ShinRa puffed out a series of black smoke and smiled. "I want to offer you something, and I'm very sure you would accept it," he said, watching Sephioth's face for any change in his expression, but there was none. "I want to offer you your memory."

Sephiroth was quite shocked, but he tried his best to hide it. "And what do you want me to do in return?" he asked. ShinRa was a devious man. It would be impossible that he would help anyone without earning a benefit himself.

"Just one little task. And I'm sure someone as..." There was a slight pause as ShinRa searched for the right word. "...powerful as you would be able to finish it easily enough."

"What is it?"

"I want you to kill Aeris Glorina," ShinRa said. "And I want you to do it without question." He took something from his drawer and threw it towards Sephiroth. He caught it with his hand – it was a picture of a beautiful young woman with green eyes, probably in her early twenty. She was smiling, and the smile lit up her whole face, enhancing her beauty. Her long brown hair was tied into a ponytail. He didn't need to ask ShinRa to know that it was Aeris Glorina.

"That is Aeris Glorina, formerly known as Aeris Gainsborough," ShinRa explained involuntarily. He looked at the way Sephiroth stared at the picture, and smirked. "She's an angel, isn't she? But make sure you don't fall in love with her."

Sephiroth quickly averted his gaze from the picture. "You don't have to worry."

"I certainly hope so," ShinRa said and then continued with his explanation. "Her address is written on the back of the picture. Or if you prefer to kill her when she's working, you could find her in Chulan Street. She's a fluorist, and owned a shop there. That's all. You're dismissed."

Sephiroth turned and walked out of the room, eager to get rid of ShinRa. But, he was wondering why would the owner of an all-powerful company would want to kill a fluorist. Something about her face and her name reminded him of something – or someone, but he couldn't put a finger on who or what it was.

end of flashback

Finally, Sephiroth came to a halt in front of a small shop. From his position, he could see a brown-haired girl in the building, working on a bunch of flower. He knew right away that it was Aeris Glorina. He decided to wait until she close the shop and kill her when she was on her way home. So, he waited, waiting for his chance to strike.

It was almost dark when Aeris closed her shop and left for her home. Seeing this, Sephiroth quickly trailed after her, making sure to leave a little distance between them so that she wouldn't notice him. He followed her until they reached an old, abandoned church. Aeris went into the church, while Sephiroth went around the building in search of another entrance. He found a window at one side of the church and climbed in.

Sephiroth positioned himself on the ceiling of the church, watching Aeris as she tended the flowerbeds on the floor. She was completely alone, and he thought it would be the best time for him to kill her. Slowly, he raised his sword above his head, ready to jump down and strike her – but couldn't. Something inside him strained him from killing her. He struggled with himself, sometimes trying to jump down and sometimes trying to throw away the sword. All of a sudden, dizziness swept over him, and he found himself losing his balance. He flailed his arms wildly in order to stable himself, but failed. He fell down from the ceiling and then, everything turned into darkness.

Aeris jumped in shock as she heard the clatter of a metal against the floor. She quickly turned, and found a long sword lying on the floor not far from where she was sitting. She looked up to see where it fell from, and was rewarded with the greatest shock in her life. There was a man falling from the ceiling, and he was diving straight towards her.

"Eeekkkk!!!" Aeris screamed and lunged to her right, afraid to be squeezed flat under the man's weight. Then, she watched worriedly as the man met his unfortunate fate.

He hit head-first onto the floor, and was accompanied by a loud thud. Aeris winced at the sight. "It must've hurt a lot..." she said to herself, and then quickly ran to see the stranger's condition. He was motionless, and Aeris had a bad feeling that he might be dead. Anxiously, she kneeled beside him and began searching for his pulse. She sighed in relief when she felt his heartbeat. It was quite weak, but at least he was alive.

"Hello," Aeris said, shaking the man gently. "Do you hear me?" But there was no response. She tried again, but he was still unconscious. Aeris decided to shout at his ear – the sudden noise might startle him and wake him up. So, she held his head in her hands and brushed aside some strands of his long silvery hair. That's when she noticed the big gash at the side of his head.

She gasped, and stared in horror at the wound. It was the biggest one she had seen in her life, and blood was pouring out of the wound. Well, maybe it was exaggerated a bit – the blood wasn't pouring out, just trickling – but there really was a lot of them around his head. It was a wonder she didn't notice it earlier. She quickly recovered from her shock and placed her hands an inch above the wound, concentrating hard. White light emitted from her hands, and began engulfing the injury. She had to repeat the process a few times before the stranger was completely healed.

Once it was over, Aeris lay down on the floor, panting. Her ability to heal was always useful, but it was also tiring. After she had recovered, she sat up and bent down to take a closer look at the stranger. His skin was very pale and smooth, and his silver hair was very long, maybe even longer than her own hair. She reached out to touch it, and she was amazed with its softness. Her hand trailed down to his face, and again, she was surprised, but this time by the hardness of his skin. It was strangely firm, as if it doesn't belong to a human.

Suddenly, the silver-haired man stirred, and opened his eyes slowly. Aeris quickly pulled back her hand and sat straight. "You're awake," she said, stating the obvious.

The man looked at her in wonder, and then said, "Who are you? Why am I here?"

Aeris arched her eyebrow at the question. "Hey, I am the one who should ask you that. You're the one who suddenly barged in from the ceiling. What were you doing up there anyway?"

The stranger frowned, and touched his head. "I... I can't remember."

"Maybe you've lost your memory... " Aeris said slowly, suddenly feeling sympathy towards him. "You've fallen from the ceiling and hit head-first onto the floor. Maybe that's why."

He nodded and sat up. "So, where is this place?"

"It's an abandoned church. I grow my flowers here," Aeris explained. "Oh, and I'm Aeris. Aeris Glorina. Nice to meet you."

Finish reading? Wait!

I need your help!!

Umm... it's like this... I'd be sitting for a BIG exam this year, and English is one of the subjects that I take.

So.... Can you pleasee tell me what would you give me if you're the examiner?

Oh yeah... and consider this:

- it's supposed to be a high school standard essay

- English is not my first language

- what would you give if you're a real meanie and if you're a really considerate and kind examiner (so, there'd be two grades)

Pleaseee??? I'd be very grateful if you do.

Oh yeah... and please tell me what'd you think about how the story goes. Is it okay?

Poor Sephy has lost his memory....

Seph: (running from his new series: Advent Child) Don't call me THAT!!!