The sky was covered in stars, and there was no light coming from the west, by the time that the general and his group found the small village at the bottom of a hill. The only light that could be seen was coming from a fire in the center. He turned to his men and pointed to the villiage, then put one finger to his mouth, indicating that they would follow him silently. They nodded and Sephiroth slowly led Leon down the hill.

He kept his sight on the fire, the shapes of people sitting around it becoming more clear. They seemed far too small to be soldiers, but Sephiroth had learned that enemies come in all sizes. Though as he neared, he suspected these people were not soldiers. They entered the town quietly, not disturbing anyone around the fire. It seemed as though there was no one in the homes they passed, so Sephiroth suspected that all of the inhabitants were in the center of the town. In the windows were pictures that looked to be a child's work. The fire cast shadows of the people around it, and Sephiroth stopped his chocobo where the tops of the shadows were, his eyes wide with realization.

They were in a village of children.

They were seated around the fire, listening to an elderly man as he told a story. Children ranging from infants to young teenagers he was sure were no older than himself listened to the tale being told. One of the small children spotted him in the shadows and stood, pointing at him. It was a young boy of about six or seven. Others looked to where he was pointing. The ones closest saw and ran to the other side of the fire. The few adults that were in the crowd stood in front of the children, raising weapons in defense. There were five, and they were hardly warriors. Sephiroth surmised that they were in their fifties or beyond, and the storyteller in his late eighties, for even the elder had two daggers raised.

His men came up from behind and went to either side of the their general, still atop their yellow chocobos. Their weapons were not drawn, but their hands close to them just in case. Sephiroth looked at the crowd and estimated about one hundred children in all. His count of the adults came to six. Why anyone would leave such a place unguarded was beyond him, but he supposed that Godo needed as many of his soldiers as possible to fight in the war. Sephiroth guided his chocobo to towards the fire. As he approached, the adults took a fighting stance.

The children were frightened, that much was quite obvious. All except one. She was a small child and had black hair like all Wutains had, and wine colored eyes. Her hair was clipped short, which struck Sephiroth as a bit unusual, but he could still tell that she was female. She walked forward cautiously. One of the men tried to sop her, but she was out of his grasp. She approached the chocobo and reached up to touch it. From the corner of his eye, Sephiroth saw someone smiling on the front porch area of a house. Whoever it was must have known because they moved back into the shadows. He turned his attention back to the child, who had her hand raised to touch his chocobo, but she seemed too afraid to make contact.

Sephiroth had Leon lower his golden head and put his face close to the girl's. Though she was frightened, she did not back away. She instead reached up and rubbed the chocobo's neck. It warked happily. The child giggled as Leon nuzzled her head with his. "I think he likes you," Sephiroth spoke softly in Wutain. The child looked startled and jumped back a foot. Sephiroth slid down from the gold bird and went to one knee. The girl did not run, but instead took a step closer. Sephiroth had practically no experience with children, so he decided to leave the next move to the girl. She stepped closer and reached out a hand to touch Sephiroth's silvery hair, which was tinted orange in the fire light. Taking a lock of it in her small hand, she twirled it around her finger. "You have pretty hair. It's nice and soft."

She released his hair and turned her attention back to the chocobo. Sephiroth stood again and handed Leon's reins to Zack. He walked up to the elser men and bowed his head respectfully. He raised his voice loud enogh so that they all could hear his words. "I am with the ShinRa army. A few hours ago, I was informed that there was a small village around this area, and I came to see it. While it is not what I had expected, there is no reason to harm anyone." The younger children seemed less frightened, though the elders did not seemed convinced. Seeing this, Sephiroth reached towards his back, where his Masamune was sheathed. Everyone became tense as the general took his long sword from its scabbard. He slowly brought it over his shoulder and placed it on the ground, then stepped back. The men finally loosened their grips on the weapons they held.

It was slow going, but it was progress.


An hour later, Sephiroth was sitting with the elders while the children were being brought to bed. His Masamune was back in it's sheath, which was on Leon's back. He'd sent three men back to the camp to tell the others that he would not be returning that night. The chocobos were tied to a few trees just outside the village, and his men where in the house that was next to them. The elders had been grateful that Sephiroth was not here to take their village and the children. They also apologized about the girl who'd been bold enough to touch him and his chocobo without permission. He'd learned that her name was Yuffie. By watching her the rest of the time she'd been out, he could already tell that she was spunky and energetic.

As he turned to go to the house where his men were, Sephiroth began to think of what to do now.


I know that it's been a while, but my normal case of writers block kicked in and it's been slow going. School has know officially started and I am so happy. And no, I'm not wierd. It's my last year, so I'm happy. I'm hopeing to have chapter three up by sometime tomorrow, and then things will get better in this. Promise. As always, reviews are appreciated.