To answer someone's question (Tori's, I think) this isn't a remake of "Reflect the Sky", or even related to it in any way. This is gonna be dark, and RTS is more waffy and dramatic. So read on, and thanks to all who reviewed.
Fire and Ice: Desire
He had been pulled from the field to inspect suspected terrorist activity in Midgar. It was insulting, really, that a high-ranking General such as he should be reduced to menial tasks like hunting around in the slums for those AVALANCHE dogs. He had more important things to do, and had questioned President Shinra as to why he was searching for AVALANCHE when a lower-ranking soldier could have done the job just as well.
"Simply put, General Sephiroth, you are the best at what you do. While the maneuvers you were doing in the field were important, it is imperative that the rebels are captured before they have the opportunity to cause real harm. I have the utmost faith that you are best suited for the job."
Sephiroth had ground his teeth in annoyance, but said nothing, and followed orders are they were given. It was suspected that AVALANCHE had a mole in Shinra, and that together they were plotting to blow up Mako Reactors. Therefore, surprise searches of each of Midgar's plates were to be carried out. They were on the sixth or seventh plate now, he couldn't be quite sure, and so far, they had come up with nothing. It didn't help that people fled as soon as they saw the SOLDIER-logo embroidered on their suits.
"What now, Sir?" His second-in command on this investigation, a young man named Zack Braf, asked him.
"Proceed as usual. Start with that warehouse over there, and search everything. Tear the place down if you have to." Sephiroth ordered dismissively. Zack saluted and strode to deliver the instructions to the rest of the men.
Sephiroth sighed. He was immensely bored with the entire affair, and left the hunting to his troops. The silver-haired young man allowed his smouldering emerald eyes to wander.
And that was when he saw her.
She was standing on the nearby street corner, barely visible for the heavy, ever present sheen of smog. Of course his Mako-enhanced eyes cut right through it, but she didn't know that. In fact, it was doubtful whether she could see far enough through the smoke to see any of the SOLDIERs at all. Sephiroth took advantage of this and stared.
She was slender and petite in stature, with a shapely but not overly curvaceous body. Long waves of golden brown hair cascaded down her back to end at her hips, and her long-lashed eyes were the glimmering green of the Lifestream. In her pink dress, with her basketful of flowers, she was a bright flare of light against the dreary gray backdrop of the Midgar streets. Even the rare blossoms she held paled in comparison to her own angelic appearance.
He willed her to speak, desperate and demanding to hear her voice, to see if it matched her lovely visage. The young woman turned slightly, almost facing him now, and shifted her basket in her arms. A look of faint uneasiness was on her face, but she dispelled it quickly. Her soft pink lips opened and she spoke.
"Flowers for sale, one gil each!" Her voice was as clear as bells, with the same silver, ringing quality. Simply beautiful.
Sephiroth's first assessment was that she was a fool. Selling something as rare as a flower for one gil? You couldn't buy a shoelace for one gil, much less live on it. Either she was rich and selling flowers for fun, which he seriously doubted, or she was just poor and naïve and sold them for one gil because she didn't know any better. One more look at her large, sincere eyes convinced him that was what it was.
How was it that a girl of the slums could radiate such innocence? He had wondered, and would wonder until the end of his days. It was very strange indeed, and is was this questioning that first made him obsess about her.
"General Sephiroth!" Zack's voice intruded into his thoughts, and he snapped around, angry at being caught unawares. Zack flinched slightly under the glare of those narrow green eyes, and stammered, "S-sir, we've been told to leave by the T-Turks…"
"The Turks?" Sephiroth snorted derisively. "You do not take orders from them. You take them from me."
"Yes, but they have special notice from Professor Hojo…" Zack completely faltered when the silver-haired man's furious glare increased tenfold at the mention of Hojo.
"What does this notice say?" He hissed, voice low and threatening. Zack forced himself to look away from Sephiroth's cold eyes, instead focusing on the wall just next to the General's head.
"That this is a sensitive area, and they need the run of it. They're hunting for the last Cetra…she's already gotten away from them twice and Hojo is throwing a fit…" He hoped he had said the right thing.
"The last Cetra?" There was an odd buzzing in Sephiroth's ears, and he felt his mind shudder as a strangely foreign presence struggled to make itself known. He forcibly suppressed it. "She is here, in the slums?"
"That's what they said, Sir," answered Zack with respect and more than a little fear. "That she sells flowers here and returns to some old church at night…"
"Hmm." Was all Sephiroth said, his agile mind already fitting the pieces together. "Pull out, then. We'll search another day. Give the Turks my regards." With a cool smile, Sephiroth strode away, his black trench coat twisting on the wind.
Zack gave an audible sigh of relief and motioned for the SOLDIERs to get into formation and follow the General back to headquarters. He watched them leave and ran his hands through his wild black hair, feeling apprehensive. He leaned heavily against the graffiti-ed wall behind him, and mulled over what had just happened. There was something indiscernible in Sephiroth's eyes when Zack told him of the Cetra girl…something chilling and smoldering all at once. Something not unlike…desire.
Zack didn't know how long he had stood against the wall, lost in thought, until the touch of a gentle hand startled him.
"Excuse me, sir, are you alright?" A voice of velvet and silver asked him. Zack blinked to clear his vision, and blinked again to make sure he was awake. A beautiful girl was looking at him with concern in her emerald eyes. Zack had seen a lot of pretty women in his lifetime; he was known for being a ladies-man and a proclaimed bachelor. One look at this girl and he was willing to give all that up.
He realized she was still watching him with distress. "I'm fine, miss, don't worry about me. Thank you."
"Of course." She smiled and the gray skies brightened if only for a moment. "But I must be going…"
"Wait!" Zack cursed himself for sounding so desperate. "Uhhh…allow me to walk you home. The slums at night are no place for a beautiful young woman as yourself."
A cute blush appeared on her cheeks. "Well…okay! Thanks. I'm Aeris, by the way."
Zack repeated the name a hundred times inside his head. It made him think of clouds and blossoming flowers, all embraced by the peaceful green of her eyes. Those same green eyes were watching him expectantly.
"Oh! Right. Nice to meet you, Aeris, I'm Zack." He knew he was acting foolish, but for some reason, he knew it wouldn't matter to Aeris. Acceptance practically emanated from her.
"Zack," she repeated, and he loved the way his name sounded when she said it.
They walked off down the street together, talking quietly and amicably, and when they had reached Elmyra's home by the abandoned church, they had plans to meet the following night.
Zack felt like shouting his happiness to the world. Aeris was just so…different from anyone he had ever met! In the short time he had known her, she had made him happier than he had ever been. Her smile could light up a room, and her attitude was purely compassionate.
He knew he had to have her.
Ironically, Sephiroth was thinking the exact same thing.
His eyes, darker green in hue than Aeris's, burned with a mounting obsession. In addition to being the near personification of purity and kindness, the girl known as Aeris was also a Cetra. It was almost too good to be true. She would have all the knowledge and power of her extinct race at her disposal. She would be able to tell him what or who he really was. She would be the answer to all his questions.
She would be his.
Hope you all liked it! ^_^ I'm not sure where I'm going with this, though…**massive sweatdrop**