Once you are happy,My job will be done,but will I have the courage to forget you..?

There was a girl named Idelle. Until the age of 16,she lived a comfortable life in a small town,she never knew her father,but her mother always made sure she always felt secure and protected. Perhaps without the presence of a man in the family,that is the reason Idelle grew up to be a very sensitive and emotional girl. But she always tried to be strong for both herself and her mother as she became older. One day in the first few days of winter,dawn came with a scent of ash and wood to Idelle window. She awoke and heard screams from outside. She jumped out of bed and ran to her window. Looking out,the whole town seemed to be glowing red and getting stronger before her very eyes,and then she realized it was fire that she saw and all the homes and inns were up in flames. Without a second to think,she heard loud voices of men very close to her. She jumped back from the window and immediately thought of her mother..she rushed out of her small bedroom and looked frantically around the small house for her mother,she was no where to be found. Then she remembered,her mother must have been out at the market! "oh no" she said to herself,her heart thumping against her chest ,faster than before. She had to go find her before it was too late! As she was about to sprint out the door,a large beam from the celing fell down before her with sparks spraying everywhere. "Oh no! Our home!" she screamed aloud. The beams blazed and was catching fire onto things,there was no way she could stay in the house any longer,she hoped that there was still time to find her mother and that whoever was doing this wouldn't catch her. She ran as fast as she could,dodging sparks and fire, to the entrance of her home and flung the door open. But something,someone blocked her path right in the threshold! She thumped into it and fell hard,backwards onto the floor. Whatever was in her path,didn't budge. When she recovered her sense,she looked to the door,there were boots. Black leather. She kept looking up seeing more of the same thing..heavy looking armor on both shoulders..and then the person's face which was surrounded by long silver hair and pale skin. Cold,steel green blue eyes stared at her. There were two men standing behind him,but his attire seemed to show his importance-he must've been the leader. How cold and cruel were his eyes and expression,his menancing look made her suddenly feel overwhelmed by his appearance,though she tried regain composure,her body and mind would not listen to her heart and she fell unconscious,landing with a thump on the floor of her burning house. The man showed no sympathy,and remained motionless for a while-until one of the men behind said "Sir,she is the only one left!"

"Yes,take care of her and we can leave! We must hurry before there is danger!" said the other.

"....Danger?" the man with silver hair let out a sarcastic laugh. "Our lives revolve around danger..if you two are afraid to face it,then I order you to leave at once and never show your faces around ShinRa again!"

"S-sir,what we meant was..all the rest have either fled or been killed...let us leave this little gutter rat and be done with it!"

"..........." he looked at the unconscious girl and felt a sudden sting of guilt and pity. "What?" he seemed to ask himself,what am I feeling? He frowned and began to turn away from the house and the girl lying on the floor when he felt the same sting again,deep within his cold heart. He screamed at himself. "But I will not have her blood on my hands.." he said quietly. Apparently one of the men heard.

"The blood of all the others doesn't bother you.." he snickered quietly as he could.

"What..!?" said the silver-haired man.

"Uh--uh..Nothing,sir!" he did a quick salute when his leader glared at him from the corner of his eye.

"Good..then leave at once,go back to ShinRa.."

"Sir,our orders were to.."

"Do you think I am uncapable of this mission,you?!"

"N-n-"

"Then go!!"

The two men raced away,not wanting to feel the wrath of their superior. Even they had heard stories of the general's anger-how he can't control it-but even they would forget that detail just to serve with him.

He looked back at the girl. Quickly and smoothly he bent down and picked her up. He took her out of the burning house and walked away from it,as soon as he was 20 paces away,Idelle's house became completely engulfed in fire and smoke. The man covered her head with his gloved hand ,to prevent stray sparks or debris from hitting her. He began to walk out of the town until it couldn't even be seen but for the smoke rising up into the winter sky. He looked down at the girl draped in his arms. He knew right away she wasn't a little girl,perhaps 10 years younger than himself..but the innocence that she held on her face made her seem younger. It was obvious she had never experienced hardship. He snickered under his breath. He was strong enough that he just stayed there looking at her features without moving for a long time. Idelle slowly blinked her eyes open,she thought she had had a terrible dream and felt like she was waking up in bed. When her eyes focused,she saw that man's face staring over her. His expression looked softened,but she was still frightened. Her mouth fell open a little,and she let out an audible gasp. "Where am I? What happened to the village? Is he the one who did this? Mother!!" He let her down as gently as he could,though he was taller than most men,Idelle only stood maybe 5 inches shorter than him. "Don't be scared..if I wanted to kill you I would have done it by now.." he tried to sound comforting...it didn't work too well. Idelle gulped and gathered her courage..

"Was it you who detroyed my village? What happened to all the people? Did you kill them? What have you done?" she started off with a noticeable quiver in her voice and when she finished it looked as if she would burst into tears at any moment,her look was so pleading for answers...

".........."

"What happened to my Mother?"

"..............."

"You must tell me! Please!"

"It was my orders to burn your village.."

"Who would want to do such a thing?!"

"That isn't my concern.." He turned away from her,a bit agitated,he must of known she would ask questions..

She frowned,"But you MUST have some answers!" and became bolder with every word she spoke.

"Your mother is probably dead..only a few escaped."

"You...beast!!" she yelled,fighting back tears,this was no time to be weak ,especially infront of him.

Idelle frowned angrily and clenched her fists. She mustered all her strength and made a swing at his face,his eyes grew angry and he caught her wrist in mid-swing-nearly and inch from his cheek. "How could you be so cruel! They never did anything to you! My mother...she..!"

He had an iron grip,she was second guessing her actions then..,and he began to squeeze tighter the more she struggled. She wouldn't allow herself to give up.

"...I suggest you watch what you say around me ,child." he said bitterly,staring at her with his cold eyes. He should of felt more sorry for someone who just lost everything she had ever known,but it seemed 'pity' wasn't a big word in his vocabulary.

"I am NOT a child...and..you don't scare me!!!"

"..........ha..haha.." he let out a heartless chuckle and threw her arm out of his grasp. "Silly girl...."

"You are a murderer...and you have no heart!!" she yelled as loud as she could,staring him back in the face.

He grew silent and his pupils dilated. His expression towards her changed to a glare and with one move he held her throat tightly in his grip.

"You dare say that to the one who saved your life!?"

"Why did you then..!" she gasped for breath but he only cut her off ,holding her throat with his hand more tightly and angrily. "Just...to...kill me once your conscience was satisfied...!!?-Ah!" she began to choke as her airway was being cutoff.

"......Tch." he let go of her throat. "You would know nothing of my intentions or purpose,a spoiled little brat like yourself knows nothing of hardship."

She coughed hard for a while before saying,"You never answered me.."

"I don't need to answer to a peasant.."

"..It was your conscience,wasn't it? You would of thought.."

"What?"

"That someone like you would have one."

He looked hard at her,but decided against unsheathing his sword then and there and slicing her throat. There was something brave and strong that she emitted when she was angry at him,that made him forget what she had said altogether.

"Because there was something about you,unconscious on that floor....,that made me feel guilty leaving you there."

"And how could he feel so,with all the countless people he's killed ....hmph.." she thought to herself,the idea of what this man had done made her want to vomit.

"What is your name?" she asked. She wrung her wrist,she hand red marks from the pressure he inflicted,she doubted he was even capable of apologies so she let it go.

"Wha....Oh...Sephiroth."

"I'm Idelle."

They stared at one another for a long time. She was not afraid anymore. Then all of the sudden,he began to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" she asked before he got too far away to yell.

".....Away."

"What about me..?" she said with a audible strain in the last word.

"You..?" He stopped and turned his head slightly.

She ran up to him,making the sound of a soft 'thump thump' in the dust with every step.
"Am I coming with you?" she asked.

He looked at her face,her perfectly innocent intentions eluded him,how could one be so sincere? So untainted by the world and it's lies and deceit? Her eyes continued to search his expression-switching from one of his eyes to the other.

"Fine.."