Sephiroth hadn't remembered to change his clothes when he got up. No one noticed... except that he wasn't wearing his usual outfit, and all the females who happened to see him nearly died of Bishonen Overload. He WAS wearing a black turtleneck and black pants with his boots hidden under the legs, and that's just damn sexy. He was also wearing a faint smile- which he also failed to notice.
Zack did.
The general sat in the gym, somewhere near the center, hands on his knees, bare feet tucked under him, back slightly slumped. His eyes remained open, but were glazed. It was quite obvious to even the most thick headed that Sephiroth's mind was definitely NOT on what he was supposed to be doing... which was the same thing he did every day after breakfast. Meditation, the man had always said, was the key to keeping your mind and body in perfect harmony throughout the day.
Zack stood just to the side of Sephiroth, where he could see the man's face- and had yet to be noticed though he'd been there for quite some time. No, Sephiroth was NOT himself today. Finally, he came closer, flopping down onto the floor beside Sephiroth, "Who is she?"
The words startled him into straightening his back, the general returning 'home' but he hadn't quite figured out how to turn the lights back on. "What did I tell you about bothering me when I'm meditating?" he finally managed to sputter.
The first classer smirked, "Well, I wouldn't have said anything except that it was quite obvious that you weren't meditating, or more, you weren't meditating on that nothingness you talk about so much." Sephiroth scowled at the black haired man. "So who is she?"
"What makes you think it was anyone at all?" Sephiroth asked in return, not wanting to admit that he really had been thinking of someone, nor say anything more in an attempt to throw Zack off the trail, which would only lead the bright young man down the path Seph didn't want him to tread. Though, he was already on it and would likely follow it to the end.
Zack took a breath, bright eyes glancing aside briefly, "Just a hunch," he replied. "I've been in love a few times myself, so I recognize the signs well enough. I just hadn't expected YOU to fall." He began to laugh, "She must be something!"
Still, Sephiroth attempted to keep his emotions hidden by putting on a mask of slight boredom, "Oh really... and what 'signs' are those?"
The younger man shifted, throwing his feet out in front of him and leaning back on his hands. "Lets see... Inattention to the details you SO love, completely forgetting to yell at people when they screw up, dazed look on your face like you'd gotten hit in the head with something blunt, oh... the real kicker... you've been smiling all day."
"First, you're complaining? Second, I don't yell. Third, you're an idiot. Fourth..." Sephiroth paused, glancing away a moment before an insuppressible urge to be sassy surfaced. "So?"
A laugh burst from Zack and he fell back on the floor, clutching his stomach. "Oh how the mighty fall!" he crowed, finally calming enough to sit up, "Who is she!" he insisted.
Sephiroth shook his head, neglecting to answer. Instead, he turned his attention back to what he'd supposed to have been doing to begin with. This time, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and slowly let it out, tuning the sound of Zack's breathing out... alas, he couldn't escape the thoughts that the younger man had stirred. HAD he been smiling all day? Was it that obvious? Most of all, he wondered how it had happened... was this really love? It certainly felt different- nothing like anything he'd ever felt... the thrill of battle didn't even compare to the rush he was getting from this... and it had lasted all day and he hadn't really done anything. Sure it was hurting his work ethics but... hell with that. He could slack for a day, everyone else got regular breaks, holidays, sick days, he never did. He LIVED here.
"Hey Sephiroth," Zack was still there apparently, "I'm going to go see my girl. Wanna come?"
Opening his eyes, realizing that he was in fact smiling, he got to his feet, "Not going to get anything done today anyway," he muttered. Zack started laughing again, shaking his head as he watched Sephiroth pull his boots back on and stalk past the slightly shorter man and out the door.
Sephiroth stood leaning against the wall of a building, arms folded on his chest. Across the street, Zack, Aerith, and... her. Aerith was tucked against the brick of a wall, Zack had his hand on it, just beside her head, the angle of his body pinning her there as he spoke, slowly sliding in closer as the hours passed.
Katy on the other hand, was standing a few feet away from them, ignoring them completely in favor of flirting outrageously at Sephiroth, pouting when he managed not to smile at her antics.
Finally, she turned her back towards him, folding her arms under her breasts... and glanced back at him over her shoulder, letting him see her pout. He couldn't hold it in anymore, his smile cracked the mask he wore and his shoulders shook slightly with the silent laugh. She swirled around, pumped her fist several times in a victory dance and generally looked very immature, but cute at the same time.
Noticing the strange movement, Zack looked up from Aerith, frowning slightly and letting his gaze trail towards what Katy seemed to be so amused with. "Mystery solved," he stated, grinning broadly.
"Huh?" Aerith asked, looking beyond his broad shoulders, finally noticing Sephiroth. Her face went pale, "Oh no- Zack-" her large eyes turned up towards him.
Shaking his head, Zack smiled, "I think Reno's rubbed off on him. He's taking the week off. Besides, if he'd really wanted to catch you, you wouldn't have even gotten out of the parking lot in the first place." His gaze trailed back towards Katy where she was pointing and laughing at Sephiroth.. who was quite amused by her in return.
"Sephiroth Ai Katy," he told her, catching her attention. "Sephiroth ai Katy." He made sure to put his words in a way that she could interpret what he meant, making a slight gesture with his chin towards Sephiroth for added measure.
A wicked grin split her lips, "Really!" she asked, her eyes sliding back towards Sephiroth who seemed to be vaguely interested in finding out what was going on. She missed seeing Zack and Aerith's confused expressions as the girl shoved the handle of the basket of flowers into Aerith's hand and dashed across the street the moment it was safe and glomped onto Sephiroth's arm, dragging him off the wall and down the street- much to the shock and amusement of those watching.
Shoving his hand through his hair, Zack gave a slight laugh, "She's manipulative... and strange, but something about her caught his attention. Makes me wonder what it is about her." A troubled expression crossed his features briefly.
"I don't know," Aerith murmured in return, "But you feel it... don't you? It's like she knows you better than you know yourself and anything you do she fully expected you to do."
His eyes turned back from the street, staring at her face. "So I'm not just crazy."
Aerith smirked, "I wouldn't believe it of you."
"Wonder where she learned that word though, did you teach her?"
A sigh escaped her, "I didn't, maybe she already knew it." A shrug was given.
"Car, street, brick, building," Katy named, pointing as she walked, tucked against his side, arm linked with Sephiroth's, hand claimed firmly by his and fingers laced. He wasn't sure how it had happened even. Sephiroth was really only aware that she was talking and everything she as saying was flying out the other ear, pushed along its way by the thumping of his heart and the wings he could sear he had at the moment.
Rather suddenly, she stopped though, leaving him to step forward once more before realizing and looking back at her. "Sephiroth," she said softly, looking up at him with soulful brown eyes. "Sephiroth go Nibelheim?" He stared at her... coherent thought was truly beyond him at the moment, but she clutched his hand, pulling on it slightly, "Sephiroth go Nibelheim!" she insisted.
Pulling his mind in from the clouds, he thought about her words, turning them and trying to make sense of them. "No," he said finally, her word for the negative. "Sephiroth no go Nibelheim." What had made her ask such a thing? There was no reason for him to go to that mountain town... didn't he have a soldier from there?
Her smile distracted him, "Sephiroth no go," she told him, moving forward to put her arms around his waist... right in front of perhaps fifteen people who all gawked when his hands came up to rest on her shoulders. "Seph go Nibelheim, Seph take Katy." She lifted her head from his chest and gave him a firm look, "Seph take Katy Nibelheim."
"Yes," he agreed, unsure of why she was so insistent on her going with him to Nibelheim if he were to go. It didn't hurt to agree, after all, it wasn't likely that he'd be going to such a remote place.
She smiled once more, good mood returning and she slid back, taking his hands again, dragging him back the way they'd come, though he didn't even remember getting so far from the corner of Prince and Third...
Once they'd gotten back to the corner, Katy stopped and smiled at him, moving to give him one last hug... and after a moment of hesitation, she kissed his cheek, sliding back and heading off to cross the street and return to where Aerith and Zack were still standing, though they had returned to actually selling flowers. Blinking, Sephiroth reached out, catching Katy's arm and stopping her before she stepped out into the street. Tucking her arm over his, he cast a smile down at her and let a car pass before stepping out into the street and walking her across.
"It's getting late, Zack," the general stated, unaware that he hadn't let go of the slightly smaller girl's hand yet. She didn't seem to mind, instead, she leaned against him, seeming to calm down for the time being. "Time we left." His gaze rested on Aerith briefly, a slight nod given towards her.
A kiss on the cheek was given by Zack and Aerith turned bright pink as he stepped away from her. As they did that, Sephiroth moved to remove Katy from his arm, though he did so regretfully. How her warmth radiated from wherever she touched him, sliding deep and melting his heart with a single glance and smile... how he wanted to do the many things he'd dreamed of doing with her. But he was quite sure that didn't occur right after the realization of love. Was this really love? If so... he couldn't quite understand how he'd lived without it.
She was looking up at his face with a slight smile as he turned towards her. "Good night, Sephiroth," she said softly, "Sleep well." He nodded slightly to her, feeling her hands slide off his arm and he stepped away, turned and started off. Zack trailed, the younger man walking backwards and grinning still as he waved. Finally, he realized that Sephiroth had gotten fairly far ahead and turned, jogging to catch up with the man, slapping the general's shoulder, which Sephiroth ignored profusely.
He was restless, excited, but with no outlet. Zack seemed to be in the same state, but he didn't bother attempting to hide it. Sephiroth kept his mask of calm over his features, keeping himself from bouncing around the hall and fidgeting just as Zack was. However, the moment he got to his room, he swept up Masamune and stepped back out and headed down to the gym. There were a few other people in the large room, but they were sparing and off to the side. Sephiroth took himself to another corner, looking in the mirror briefly- trying to find those 'signs' Zack had spoken of earlier. Of course, he saw nothing different about himself, but he certainly felt different, perhaps that was what mattered.
Taking Masamune from the sheathe, he dropped it to the floor and swept it up against the wall with a bare foot. Gripping the hilt, blade pointed towards the high ceiling, he took careful paces backwards. Eyes sliding closed, he let his body take over, blending will and muscle into one harmonious whole. Masamune sliced the air, not just cutting efficiently, but singing as he wove his way through the dance of man and weapon.
He lost track of time, didn't keep his mind to watching every move for mistakes, he just let the dance carry him, let those wings he seemed to have sprouted fly him through the moves. And he completely forgot that there were witnesses to this outpouring of his soul.
The strange bladesong caused first one to look back, then his partner, the other pair soon followed. "God... he was good before, but I think he's finally become perfect," whispered one slightly effeminate soldier who stood with a somewhat short blonde young man with blue eyes.
Cloud nodded slightly, "Yeah..." inwardly he reflected on his goal to become like Sephiroth. Someday. Hopefully soon.
Zack meandered in, buster sword on his back, having had the same thought as Sephiroth, though a little later than the general. And stopped. Briefly, he gaped just as the others, but finally shook himself and went into motion, drawing his sword and deftly blocking Sephiroth's Kata attack.
The ringing of the swords buzzed in the air for a moment as Sephiroth and Zack stared at each other. A grin spread itself across Zack's lips and they hopped apart, taking up the spar in a flawless dance that held no use except for the sheer enjoyment of the movement. Neither having the desire to win till they were worn out.
Somehow, Sephiroth ended up grinning broadly, unaware that anyone other than Zack could see it. "Alright," he breathed, "I admit. I was wrong. It's a bit distracting, but not to the point of causing mistakes." He sliced to the left and stepped forward for a thrust and opposing swing.
Zack laughed, deftly blocking the side swings and simply sidestepped the thrust, "Glad you've finally come around," he replied, "You should have done it sooner." He twirled his blade in a move he'd learned from Sephiroth, stabbing towards the general several times before dancing to the side in preparation of the return attack.
"Maybe," Sephiroth agreed, dodging the thrusts and blocking several as well as ignoring the blade twirl.
Silence except for the swish and sing of blades- "Beautiful isn't she?" Another swift exchanging of blocks and attacks twirled them around the gym, bringing them close to Cloud and Rand who backed out of the way swiftly.
Sephiroth gave a laugh, "Mine or yours?" His bare feet carefully paced backwards as Zack pushed some advantage he thought he saw... or maybe he just felt like pressing in. Seph didn't care, he just let it happen, instead of taking advantage of the many holes in Zack's defenses and using Masamune to point them out to him, he merely retreated.
A doge as Masamune swished at the air near his head, then answer, "Both!" Zack sprung back as Sephiroth turned the tables easily, backing the younger man up along the floor.
"Yes," Sephiroth agreed, smirking somewhat as he saw Zack drop his guard once more. "However, simply because I feel like humoring you doesn't mean you can leave holes in your defenses." With that, Masamune punctuated the statement with a swift smacking of Zack's sword and prick at his chest. Pure silence descended as they came to a stop.
Zack held one hand up, "Alright, point taken," his grin remained though. He watched as Sephiroth retrieved Masamune's sheathe and his boots, putting the sword away and simply letting his boots hang over his shoulder as he took himself out of the gym and back to his room.
She lay on his table, her beautiful body slightly damp and gleaming in the lights like an angel. Hojo stood over her, looking at her with clinical uncaring. Her hair had been cut off just under her ears, which were slightly pointed now. Yes, things were going well with his work, she was taking to the infusions and mutations quite well. Slowly, Naomi was beginning to turn into something far more useful than she had previously been. A creature of superior intelligence, strength, speed, and stamina coupled with the powers of a Cetra... what he'd thought he'd achieved with Sephiroth.
How that one had disappointed him! Oh, Sephiroth had been perfect, but only for a short time. Then others had interacted with him and changed him. He'd been contaminated with other people's ideas and words, molding him into something that got distracted easily and reacted to perceived insults so swiftly. Hotheaded. Sephiroth had become a fool who pretended to strive for perfection, a flawlessness that he could never attain simply because of his egotistical view of the world.
Hojo's eyes narrowed slightly, "No... Naomi, you'll surpass him. You'll dispose of him and take his place. You'll bring in the new world order. You'll become the new goddess where he would only fail... miserably."
Blackness, the deepest pitch of the color known to creation was the color of the sky... yet a bed- if one could call it that, all it seemed to really consist of was the soft mattress in the 'floor' with a red as blood satin fitted sheet and onyx top sheet, rumpled somewhat, black pillows scattered about on one end of it... And Sephiroth sat waiting.
She appeared, wearing a silken robe of bloodied silver, making her pale-rose skin glow in comparison. Her hair was loose, trailing down her back in coppery red waves. A smile came to her lips as her delicate and tiny hands untied the black ribbon from around her waist. Sephiroth stood then, causing her to stop and watch him as he paced around behind her, hands coming to rest on her shoulders, gently sliding the robe down off them and letting it flutter to the floor.
"I realized," he said slowly, "That I am in love with you. Though it's rather odd, not only because you are currently a dream, but because I can't even have a rational conversation with you in reality... and I'm not supposed to have feelings... I'm not normal, I'm better than a human, I'm-"
"Getting a big head," she interrupted, "And what is normal but a label people like to use to make themselves feel like they fit in. There IS no such thing as normal and there never will be until true cloning happens and even then, only if a specific clone were to take over the world except for a few others... Damn... that'd be boring as hell."
He laughed softly, hand lifting to gently sweep her hair back from her neck, placing soft kisses along the pale unblemished skin there. His other hand reached around in front of her, cupping her breast. "And isn't seducing you my job?" she breathed, leaning back against him, eyes falling closed.
Only a moment was spared in his kisses, and that was to state one word in answer to her question, "Perhaps." The hand holding back her hair shifted, sliding down the gentle curve of her back and around at her hip, tracing down further, sliding his fingers in. She shifted her stance to accommodate him, one hand lifting to touch his face, the other going to her own breast.
Zack couldn't really sleep, but he couldn't exactly get up and go wandering around the building... He wondered if Sephiroth was suffering the same way. Probably not. A grin touched his lips as he linked his hands behind his head where he lay in his bunk in the somewhat small room he shared. He could hear Quin's soft snoring and the wheeze snort of Don, and that made him wish he could get to sleep and not have to hear them.
But his mind kept returning to Aerith. Her gentle smile, her ability to finish his sentences, her shimmering green eyes. How would she look in nothing but that black ribbon around her throat?
Swiftly, he shoved that thought aside. He wondered if he could slip out without waking his roomies, without getting caught... after all, he was still only a soldier, even if he was first class. He didn't even know where she lived, so getting out would only be the start of the problems.
Stretching, Zack yawned widely, dropping his hands to the bed beside him once he'd finished. Finally, he turned over, thumping the pillow over his head.
Her slightly labored breathing echoed through the room, sweaty hair flung out over the black satin of the sheet. His own silver hair fallen forward to mingle with hers and add further contrast in colors. "Sephiroth," she whisper-moaned, "Sephiroth!"
"Call me god," he told her.
"You'll always be the only god in my temple!" she replied with, managing to grin at him before falling back into the grips of lust and curl up towards him, arms and legs wrapped around his body.
Silence fell except for their breathing, but slowly, the moan rose in her throat, "Sephiroth!" she screamed again in ecstasy, throwing her head back.
"SEPHIROTH!"
The general sat up, eyes wide, breathing hard... another area of his body quite hard as well, embarrassingly so. His gaze finally turned towards Hojo, realizing that the scientist was standing over him.. and he wasn't in the lab. Sighing, Sephiroth pulled the blankets more firmly over his waist and scowled at the crusty old man. "What do you want?"
Hojo looked somewhat peeved, "You're a slacker, good for nothing creature that serves no use except to use perfectly good air. You were sent out to find my test subjects and you've only spent ONE WEEK out looking and after that, you've hung around the tower like this was some holiday!"
Sephiroth decided he'd had enough of this, even before Hojo had really started, and slid his feet to the floor. Getting up, he contrived to loom over Hojo as much as he could- and was quite thankful of the shorts he was currently wearing though they didn't hide much from view. "And what if it's a useless hunt anyway?" Sephiroth shot back, having grown somewhat bold with the constant reassurance that he wasn't a freak from his dreams... and he belatedly realized that he could remember what she'd said this time and quickly held onto it though his mouth continued to speak, "Am I not entitled to a few days off? As I recall you've had sixteen this year, three just in the last month, nearly a week last month after you let that little GIRL beat the shit out of you. You're one to count me lazy when I'M the one that's gotten you fame and fortune and position in this damn company.
"You look on all people as if they were nothing but lab rats for you. You've done NOTHING to contribute to society. You've found no cures for diseases with your work, your attempts to make the perfect foot soldier have failed miserably, and I'm beginning to think that my birth was a fluke accident that you claimed was intentional and you didn't know what the fuck you were doing while Ghast did all the real work with you riding on his coat tails and disposing of him when he got inconvenient for you. Hojo, get out of my room right now before I break your neck. Never come in here again."
The scientist had gone white... as a sheet. Perhaps even a few more of his hairs had gone gray as well. But he stepped back, edging towards the door, eyes wide behind the half-moons of his glasses. He stepped out into the hall once the door opened and nearly ran away. Somehow, the pansy had managed not to run away. Instead, he turned and headed down the hall at a fast clip, scowling.
Softly, Sephiroth sighed, lifting a hand to rub at the back of his neck. He really doubted Hojo would never return to his room. He'd come again when he wanted something... but in the meantime, he grabbed up some new clothes and headed towards the shower.
Katy was beginning to wonder about these weird dreams. "I'm obsessed with him... that's it," she rationalized as she dried her hair, standing in what had practically become her bedroom in Aerith's house. In any case Zack had assured her that Sephiroth had something for her, so she just had to play it careful and hope that she didn't scare him off by coming on too strong.
Slowly, she sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the wall, "But I need to find out what happened to Michelle..." Getting up, she ran a brush through her damp hair, dropping the towel over the chair at the vanity. Setting the brush down and straightened her shirt and pulled her pants up a bit. It seemed like she'd lost a bit of weight in only the short time since she'd last worn her old clothes. Trooping down the stairs for breakfast, she flopped down in the chair she normally sat in, casting a smile towards the two, "Good morning," she told them, taking care to say the words correctly.
Aerith looked back, smiling, "Good morning," she replied, returning the favor of using English. The brunet made her way over from the kitchen, leaving her mother to finish cooking. Running her fingers through Katy's hair, the flower girl pulled her ribbon out of her hair, setting the white material on the table as she tied the strands of red into a rope braid.
Katy reached out, picking up the tiny sphere. "Materia..." she murmured, knowing quite well where Aerith got this particular bit of hardened Lifestream, though it seemed like Aerith wanted to talk about it, perhaps ask why it didn't do anything. Standing, Katy took hold of Aerith's hand, placing the Materia into her palm and folding her fingers over it, pressing it to her chest, expression somber, looking into those deep green eyes firmly. Hopefully Aerith would get the idea to keep it close and safe, not just for her Mother. "Ifalna," Katy told the green-eyed girl, patting Aerith's hand gently and returned to her seat.
Once more, silence fell and Aerith sat at the table, staring down at the Holy Materia. Looking up at Elmyra, Aerith offered a faint smile, "See? She did it again. I've never mentioned my mother to her... I can't tell her that she gave this to me, yet she seems to know anyway."
Elmyra looked back, noting the far away look on Katy's face, as if she were looking into the future. "I see," she said softly, but she was forced to turn back towards her cooking lest it burn. "Are you going again today? You're going to run out of flowers if you keep it up."
Aerith smiled, "But I want to see Zack... and I'm sure Katy would like to see Sephiroth. Mom... it was ... amazing. She actually had him laughing, he was actually smiling, and not just that fake smile he gives towards the cameras all the time. He actually SMILED. I think I see what she sees in him now. It probably took a lot of work to warm him up though. She's got to be one of the best psychiatrists in the world if she managed to do that without being able to really communicate with him."
The older woman gave a laugh, "I saw something like that on TV in the store, but I don't think it's a good idea to go up there. You're not TRYING to get caught again, are you?"
Green eyes dropped their gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry... I should have realized that they'd never let Sephiroth actually get around without being watched by someone."
Elmyra shook her head, "You couldn't help it. He just showed up. But please stay here the rest of the week. I'm sure we'll be alright for a week."
Slowly, Aerith nodded. "Alright."
Katy resurfaced from her thoughts, looking towards Elmyra and Aerith, though she couldn't understand them even if she had been paying attention. "Materia?" she asked of Aerith, getting stared at. Lifting a hand, she stated, "Materia," ticking out one finger, then repeated the word, bringing forth another, again she said it, holding out three fingers. Hopefully that conveyed the idea that she wanted to see more Materia.
"Uh..." Aerith thought about that, finally just smiling, "I'm going to show her our Materia, Mom."
Elmyra turned, carrying the pot of oatmeal to the table, "After you eat."
Katy tried to hold back her excitement, but it WAS her first chance to get to do spells. Magic! Finally! Taking hold of the green material, she stared at the wall beyond the garden she'd seen so many times, concentrating on the throbbing ball that rested in her hands. It felt... like fire, she supposed. Slightly warm in her hands and ever changing.
Firmly, she thought about what she wanted to hit with her spell, what spell she wanted to use... then something strange happened.
Like the ground had suddenly reached up through her, tingling like her body had gone to sleep, though she felt like she could feel everything... and couldn't see. Voices spoke in her ear, too many for her to understand individually, but their words were clear. "FIRE!" burst from her lips and the explosion nearly deafened her.
Opening her eyes, Katy stared at the hole in the ground where she'd been aiming- and it wasn't just any old hole... it was nearly six feet wide, the blackened streaks on the wall reaching to maybe twice that height. All around, there were clods of dirt. "Whell..." she stated, "That's interesting." A wicked grin pulled her lips back, "Lets do it again!"
In one day, they'd doubled their Materia stash, and if Aerith hadn't taken the stuff from her, they may have tripled. How the girl was still standing after using so much energy. In fact, she looked refreshed, not spent, and seemed to enjoy blowing things up. Though, there was no way in hell she should have been able to do what she did with a Materia that had never been used but maybe once or twice. It worried Aerith, made her wonder if perhaps being half Cetra had cut her abilities by half. Certainly she could never do anything like that.
Katy was seated on the rock now, a pencil and some paper in her lap, settled down from the excitement- after she'd pouted a bit at her loss. In any case, Aerith was attempting to put her flowerbeds back in order. Though the girl hadn't destroyed them directly, the shower of dirt clods had landed on a few things that didn't really need the weight.
Sighing, she sat up, wiping her hands off on the old dress she wearing. Looking back, she got to her feet, coming to peer at what Katy was doing. She'd seen a few of the stick figure pictures the girl had used to communicate, but those were no introduction to what she saw on the page.
Sephiroth stared out of the page with a slight smirk, striking a sexy pose with no shirt on, hair flowing around him in a slight wind. "Gods!" Aerith breathed, wiping her hands off a bit more as Katy looked up, and turned the paper around so Aerith could get a better look. "Bishonen!" she finally managed to get her hands clean enough to take hold of the paper and stare at it.
Katy shrugged slightly and shuffled out several other drawings. One of Aerith, though not quite as good as the picture of Sephiroth. Another was of a young man with spiky hair, not like Zack's, but similar. "Cloud Strife," Katy stated, pointing at him. "Chocobo," she pointed at this 'Cloud's head. Aerith made a guess that he was either stupid or blonde, in either case, he was cute, but not as cute as Zack- at least in Aerith's current biased opinion. Reclaiming the Sephiroth picture, she put them at the bottom of her stack of papers and started on drawing something else.
"Clean up of the reactor malfunction is going smoothly, still no official word on what caused the explosion, but speculation is that one of the pipes became clogged.
"In other news, Sephiroth has been spotted wandering the streets, and many unofficial inquiries have been made of the location of these two young women. If you have seen them, please contact Shinra Inc's help desk..."
Katy stood near Elmyra and Aerith as the other two were waiting in line at the grocery store. She wasn't able to tell what was being said, but it seemed to be a news cast... why they all looked the same, she'd never figure out, but the man was prim and proper, seated at a desk, his hands clasped on it as he spoke in his rhythmic language. Over his left shoulder, pictures kept appearing. One was of a giant explosion, though nothing about Avalanche followed. What DID follow were pictures of herself and Aerith, though, Katy wondered WHY they'd taken her driver's ID picture for this purpose. It was horrid.
As it was, she reached back, poking Aerith and getting her attention, though the girl had been in the middle of a sentence. Pointing up at the screen, just as the man was finishing his story and the pictures disappeared.
"However," the man continued, his plastic looking brown hair bobbing slightly, "Witnesses have seen Sephiroth and another member of SOLDIER in the company of those two girls." A short clip of Sephiroth walking with Katy was shown.
Aerith gave a soft giggle and prodded Katy, "Bisho," she joked.
Reaching back, Katy took some of her hair and wrapped it around her finger, "Sephy," she said suggestively, hoping to imply that he was the one wrapped around her finger. Elmyra laughed, having caught sight of that gesture.
Silence settled in the kitchen as Katy was busy drawing once more, apparently having trouble with this one, for she growled and erased often. Aerith sat nearby, watching the process, one elbow on the table, chin resting in her hand. "Mom?"
Elmyra looked back from washing dishes, "Hmm?"
"Do you think anyone will turn us in?"
The older woman gave a smile, "What good does it do them to? There's no reward for it, so no reason to take the time to go all the way up there and report seeing you. Don't worry hon."
Aerith returned the smile, her green eyes falling back to looking at Katy's non-developing picture.
Sephiroth was slightly peeved, Hojo had contrived to make himself utterly annoying, he'd gotten bogged down with paperwork on the newest recruits, and even Zack wasn't around to be distracting and otherwise make the task more bearable. Gods... he wished the man were there... he wished SHE were there. He felt as if he was losing touch on reality the longer he didn't get the chance to see her.
No. He pushed the papers away, pushed his chair back from the desk and stood. No. He was going out and finding her. The rest of this could be done tomorrow. He'd already gotten half of it done, but his eyes were feeling grimy and his back hurt and his hand hurt from clutching the pencil as he graded the tests for getting into First Class, and Second, and Third. Tomorrow. Reaching out, he picked up his coat, stalking out of his office, heading towards the elevator. He paused before hitting the button for the first floor. Instead, he went up ten levels and stalked down the hall to the cellblock where there were no longer guards standing around.
Simply stepping into the room, he picked up Katy's CD player and package of CD's, stuffing them into his pockets, looking for anything else that he could return to her, finally choosing her brush and pad of paper full of pictures. Taking these, he stuffed the brush into his pocket, the notebook too large to do that, too thick to bend without damaging, so he simply carried it out, heading down to the first floor and out the doors.
He was somewhat surprised to not see them standing on the corner. He'd gotten the idea that at least Aerith would be there every day. But she wasn't, and neither was Katy. He'd just have to hunt them down below. Turning his steps, he traveled towards the unfinished section of the upper plate, meandering among the wires before finding the one he'd used the first time he'd gone visiting. Sephiroth knew it was dangerous, but he also knew that would keep reporters from following him.
Thoughts stopped there. "Reporters. Damn!" Heaving a sigh, Sephiroth stepped onto the wire, getting his balance before padding his way along it. Oh well, they wouldn't find Aerith's house because of him.
Katy sat on her rock once more, drawing- or attempting to draw- a Chocobo. It was rather difficult when one couldn't remember what their legs looked like, or how their legs were supposed to go really. She tried anyway... simply because she was incredibly bored and tired of the silence but not wanting to sing. Aerith was gardening, working on one of the further off flower beds and Katy would have followed her... if she'd wanted the girl's company and to hear all about flowers.
Arms went around her waist. Katy straightened in shock, then realized that there was silver hair falling forward over her shoulder and relaxed. "Hello Seph," she said, glad that she could at least say that word in English.
She didn't see his smile, but he replied, "Hello Katy," and didn't waste any more time on words, simply began nibbling at her neck as he slid up behind her on the rock. Inadvertently, her eyes fell closed and she let her head fall to the side, leaning against his chest. Wow... it was even better in reality. Regretfully, he backed off, removing one of his hands from around her and returning it to set something in her lap.
Opening her eyes, she found that he'd put her art notebook there. "Arigato!" she breathed- then was surprised again as her CD pack, player, and brush followed. Looking back at him, she threw her arms around his shoulders, planting a firm kiss upon his cheek. "Thank you, Sephiroth! I didn't know you could be so sweet," she told him, though he didn't understand her. It was alright, he seemed to get the general message of her words and smiled slightly in return.
Aerith finally looked up, blinking as she glanced in Katy's direction- then did a double take. "Sephiroth?" she breathed, wondering if he'd brought Zack with him, but a better look around the area proved that theory wrong. Getting to her feet, she brushed her skirt off and made her way towards him. "Excuse me, Mr. Sephiroth... would you like some tea?"
He looked up at her, "No. That's fine," he replied calmly, eyes containing a more blue quality on this day.
Katy spoke up, "Tea," she stated, "Inside?" she asked, lifting up the things Sephiroth had given her.
Aerith cast a smile towards the general, taking hold of the things and turning towards the house. Sephiroth waited a moment, at least until she was out of earshot before starting, "I haven't seen you in nearly a week, but I've been busy pretending to look for you and then I got paperwork dropped on me. Gods I hate paperwork." He was interrupted by her getting up and taking hold of his hands, pulling him to walk through the garden with her.
She smiled sweetly, "Yes?" she asked, inviting him to continue.
"Hojo has been an ass lately, wanting me to find you, though he's got another project to keep him more than occupied. I hate him, but I can't kill him. I told him to leave me alone several days ago, but he hasn't done it yet." Sephiroth's gaze was on the ground as they walked, though he happened to glance up once, finding the wall.
"What... did that?" he pointed at the burnt and blasted wall... it was definitely new.
Katy grinned, "Katy Materia," she answered rather proudly.
Sephiroth stared at her for a long moment before giving a bit of a laugh, "Pyromaniac..."
"She is, actually..." Aerith spoke up, holding out cups of hot tea towards each of them. Sephiroth took it from politeness, though his eyes trailed around the garden. "Though, it was odd... the Materia she used had only been used once or twice, and by the time I managed to take them from her our supply had doubled." She tipped her head to the side, watching as Sephiroth's gaze returned to her. Katy stood at his side, blowing on her tea, watching the conversation... wishing she could join.
The general's answer was to merely grunt. "Amazing that you can get anything to grow down here," he commented after another moment of silence.
Aerith smiled, nodding slightly, "It takes a lot of hard work, but if you want to hear about it, Katy might be able to repeat everything I've told her." Looking towards Katy, "Talk flowers," she stated and Katy sniggered but did not reply. "But I'm sure you didn't come to listen to me, Mr. Sephiroth, so I'll just get back to gardening." He nodded slightly, watching as she took herself off among the flowers and started getting her hands dirty again.
Katy led him back to the rock, pulling him down to sit on the ground, back against the boulder, she sat between his legs, leaning against his chest. Their teacups were set aside. "Talk," he said softly, arms resting around her. He wanted to forget his day and burying himself in attempting to learn her language sounded like a much better idea than dwelling on the negatives.
She gave a soft sigh and began telling him about one of her stories, falling silent when she realized that he'd fallen asleep. Giving a slight smile, she curled up against his chest, closing her eyes and letting herself drift.
He was there before her this time. Sprawled out on the carpeting... of her room back in her old house. It wasn't that the room was large, but that the floor had been cleaned. Sephiroth opened his eyes, looking up at her from where he lay on his back, hands behind his head. "Nice," he commented.
Katy stepped over him, flopping down on the bed just beyond him, looking over towards her computer and the dresser at the end of her bed. "Its my room..." she said softly, the silence deafening. The planes that usually went over her house headed south to the airport of the city next door were silent, no birds sang, no cat romping around the house... it was as if only the room existed- even though she could see down the stairs to the front hall.
"I figured," Sephiroth replied sarcastically. "Why did you chose this?"
For a long moment, Katy was silent, then she flopped back on the bed, "I miss it..." Her eyes focused on the Sephiroth wall scrolls, her eyes widening and reaching up to nab the ends of them and yank them down off the wall.
One thumbtack popped out of the wall and flew towards the door- landing on Sephiroth who lifted his head slightly to look at it, then sat up, staring at her. "Was there any reason for that?" she was asked, and she sat up, smiling at him... but if this was a dream, what did it matter if he saw them? Still... it seemed somewhat wrong. Shoving the scrolls down off her bed and into the crack between the mattress and the wall, trying to be casual about it, Katy slid off her bed once more.
"Things fly around my room often," she explained, "For no reason... I think it's haunted." He eyed her as she went over to the small computer chair set at the old brown desk with many scratches where Katy had gotten bored with a pocketknife. "Really!" she insisted. "I wanna write."
His head cocked to the side slightly, "Write?" a brow quirked, "As in... journalism?"
Katy laughed at him. "Hardly. Real life freaks me out. I'm such a dummy, head in the clouds all the time... like anything interesting is gonna happen in MY life..." she stopped, looking at him, "Though I guess all I had to do was wait long enough." Getting up again, she threw open one of the folding doors of the closet behind her desk. "Wanna see my prom dress? I was going to wear it this year, but... Things happened." She leaned forward, putting her forehead against the edges of the folded door. "Everything's changed... I've gotten my wish for excitement... at the cost of my family and friends... I've gotten you at the cost of all communication with anyone else in the world. I tell myself it's worth it. To save you from yourself... yet who am I to do that? Do I have the strength? I can't even tell you!"
Sephiroth slowly stood, stepping across the floor- causing it to squeak, though he really paid it no heed. Instead, his hands reached out, grabbing Katy by the shoulders and turning her to face him, "What do you mean?"
Tears trailed like rain from her eyes as she stared up at him. "Nibelheim..." she shook her head. "this is only a dream... there's no use talking about it." She went to lean forward and put her face against his chest but he held her back, fingers gripping tighter though he failed to cause pain.
"What about Nibelheim?" his eyes had gone fully green, pupils shrunken to tiny specks. "Tell me!"
Sniffling, she lifted a hand, rubbing at her face. "Why?" was her response. "No point to. You're just a dream anyway. Nothing I say here will change what you do for real." His fingers went slack and she slipped out under his arm, going to the door.
Blinking away the shock, he trailed after her, coat fluttering behind him. "Your dream?" he asked slowly. "Here I was thinking you were in mine."
She paused on the stairs, pictures of her family decorating the left wall, to the right was a hallway that had several rooms leading off it, another room was built at the top of the stairs, it led into what appeared to be a library. "Then who's the one dreaming?" Katy asked softly without turning around. Spinning to face him, she stared with intensity, "Tell me, Sephiroth. What do you love about me? What have I done that has caused you to come to me for comfort?"
Her sudden mood change was startling, but Sephiroth didn't let it show on his face. The scene changed. They were on the stairs in the first/second floor of the Shinra Tower. "You told me... you understood my pain. I'm given to believe that you seem to know more about me than I truly know about myself. You... respect me, but do not worship me. But why would you want to save me from myself?"
A smile curved her lips. "I do know you. But telling you how would probably freak you out and you probably wouldn't come back to me again. Something important happens at Nibelheim. Don't go. If they try to send you on a monster cleanup mission, don't go. Send Zack, maybe Cloud Strife, but try your hardest to get out of going. If you can't get out of it, take me with you. It's important and your future rests upon it."
"Was that what you were trying to tell me on the street a week ago?" Katy gave a nod. "Why?" She shook her head. Slowly, he came down the steps, reaching out to wrap his hand around her throat, but she didn't flinch. "Tell me."
She laughed at him. "So used to getting what you want, Sephiroth. That's not how life goes, get used to being denied things... though most anything else you ask of me that I have the power to give you I will... but not this, not till the crucial time is passed and I have a better understanding of the language... or vice versa... Damn. I sound like an oracle." She giggled slightly, lifting her hands to pull his limp hand from her throat and step in to place her face against his bare chest.
"You are Cetra."
A snort was given and Katy pulled back, "Cetra? Who told you that? I'm just a human with a dull life and too much imagination for my own good."
"Hojo... and that reminds me, why did you do that to him?"
The wickedest grin Sephiroth had ever seen split her lips and Katy gave a laugh, "Because he's a bastard and deserved it for what he's done to you. I knew he wasn't telling me to give him a blow job, I just wanted an excuse to hurt him!"
Sephiroth stared at her in shock once more, some of that registering on his face. "What?" he finally managed to ask.
"Oh... sorry... I should have warned you. I've got a very dirty mind." She paused, face straightening in a swift change of expression and emotion, "That doesn't scare you, does it? I don't want to lose you..."
Slowly, he shook his head, lifting his other hand to cup her cheek. "No. I simply hadn't expected it. You seem so innocent." Tipping her chin upwards, the general placed a kiss upon her lips, then backed off to look into her eyes.
Katy smiled sweetly at him, "Cute is the ultimate evil," she replied. "Now back to the question I asked before all this... Who's dreaming of who?" tipping her head to the side, she pursed her lips slightly, "I know... when you wake up... do something silly. Something you wouldn't normally do. Like... do this-" she lifted her hand and held her first and middle fingers together, a space between the third and pinky fingers which were also held together. "Can you do that?" He tried it, finally managing to with much assistance from her. She seemed quite amused by this. "I'll ... draw a stick figure in your palm with my finger. Okay?"
"Why?" Sephiroth asked, eyes shifting back towards blue.
Her smile was nearly blinding, "So we'll know if this is just an obsessive dream or if we're actually talking to each other."
Aerith was ... shocked once again. Simply staring at them... So Sephiroth DID sleep... and Katy was sleeping on him. They both looked so innocent, so happy! Sephiroth was smiling somewhat, face pressed against Katy's hair as the girl lay between his legs and on his chest, arms wrapped around him.
Amazing... simply amazing. Katy had tamed the ice god and brought him in out of the cold. Shaking her head, Aerith took the teacups and herself inside.
He woke... with the realization that there was something limp but alive on his chest. Sephiroth's eyes snapped open and he looked down at Katy's hair, remembering slowly where he was and why he was seated on the ground being slept on. '...do something silly... something you normally wouldn't do...' her voice echoed in his mind.
Lifting a hand from her back, he attempted to make that strange hand sign she'd shown him... he gave up after a moment, sighing softly.
It was just a dream. Only a dream. There was no way he could possibly have connected with her and had a dream WITH her. It wasn't possible...
Sephiroth lifted his eyes, looking upwards... it was night, far past time he should have gotten back to the tower. What was it about Katy that made him forget the time and fall asleep? She moved slightly, rubbing against him in a pleasing way. Damn it all. He wished he could skip over everything between here and the sex. He wanted her, wanted to feel every last bit of her as she writhed beneath him-
Swiftly, he shied away from those thoughts- but it was too late, the beast had awakened and was now prodding her in the stomach. Her attempts to get comfortable only worsened the situation and just as Sephiroth was about to remove her, she woke. Her face turned pink when she realized what she was laying on, but instead of getting off him immediately, she did the opposite.
Leaning up near his face, she smiled seductively, moving to kiss the edge of his jaw and work her way to his neck. Pulling back, she looked around carefully, finding that it had indeed gotten dark and there was no one around. He watched in shock as she slid down, her face flaming red.
Reality... was FAR better than dreams, Sephiroth decided firmly as he meandered back towards the tower, somewhat dazed... She'd tasted better... felt better... than his callused hands had ever mimicked on the mornings when he just couldn't calm down until it was done with. The softness of her body surrounding him was like heaven come to life, her moans of pleasure in his ear as he put her on was the voice of an angel. How she'd moved- arched herself toward him and clung to him as she came and how she'd kissed him when he let his seed gush into her...
He blinked, realizing that he'd already wandered past the front desk and the middle aged man sitting at it... and he belatedly realized that he was grinning. Oh well. Like it mattered? So his reputation of not knowing how to smile was shattered... this was worth shattering it on.
Stepping into the elevator when it arrived, Sephiroth pressed the button for his floor and stood leaning against the glass, aware that his pants were slightly sticky and that he really needed a shower. For the first time in years he'd broken a sweat. The doors opened... and he blinked at them a few times before finally realizing that he'd arrived at his destination and got out, meandering down the hall to his room where he stripped and got into the shower.
Regret it? Not when it was Sephiroth! What a way to lose one's virginity! What did it matter that it wasn't very romantic and that Katy had only intended to give her first blow... what he'd done had been far better than just the one sidedness of pleasuring him. No, she'd enjoyed every moment of what he'd done and what she'd done to him... And Aerith was completely obvious, which amused Katy to no end. Oh boy, the girl was missing out on something special... But what did it matter, Aerith would do it when she found the one she wanted to lose herself in.
Katy sat on the rock, staring at the very ground where she'd learned what true pleasure was, and reminisced... and daydreamed on what she'd do to him next. Her heart was flying... just like that time she'd realized she was in love with someone online. She just hoped Sephiroth wouldn't let her come crashing down the way that other punk had. No... she'd never make the mistake of loving someone online again, stupid fool that she'd been then. As if it wasn't clue enough that he'd break her heart just from his age... Five years difference is a lot when one is fifteen.
She pushed those thoughts away with a sigh and blinked as she heard Aerith call ... again. "Katy! Come!" Looking up, she saw Aerith standing on the path leading into the slums from her house, a basket of flowers in her hands. Grinning, Katy hopped off her rock and dashed after the flower girl, her skirt getting pulled by the wind of her passage, hair flowing back.
Something had happened... Aerith was sure. Katy looked FAR too happy today for just a mere visit from her boyfriend. She... glowed. She twirled and hummed, and skipped joyfully, grinning continually. "Sell flowers?" Katy asked and Aerith nodded, turning and heading out towards the sector seven train station.
Katy followed, skipping along and humming random tunes that Aerith didn't recognize, but thought they were rather pretty. Unless they were all parts of the same song, but there was no telling really. What did it matter though? The trek to the station didn't take long, but it seemed like forever, and the ride up to the upper plate was nearly agonizing... especially with Katy prancing back and forth in the aisle like a silly little girl... which wasn't all that off from her apparent age of maybe fifteen- or less. And that made Aerith worry about her being involved with Sephiroth... it was rumored that he was somewhere around seventeen or eighteen, but there was nothing exact. What if he hurt her?
The thought made her frown as she watched Katy. She'd have to talk to Zack about that... maybe even Sephiroth himself if that one showed up today.
Finally, the train stopped and Katy was the first out, Aerith following a few people later, catching hold of the girl's arm and making her settle down as they walked towards Aerith's usual corner.
They never made it.
Three soldiers stepped out of what seemed to be permanent posts and blocking escape. "You'll be coming with us," one started to say and Katy yanked Aerith to the side, dragging the girl towards one of the guards. Letting go of Aerith, the girl's hands reached out and grabbed the gun the man lifted in an attempt to protect himself.
"ICE!" the words burst from Katy's lips and the man was almost immediately surrounded by ice... and probably dead, but Katy was dragging Aerith once more, back towards the station.
Another set of soldiers came running to block their escape and the remaining two from before followed. "Ice!" another man became a Popsicle.
Suddenly, Aerith's arm was yanked from Katy's grip and she took a moment to look back, seeing the flower girl captive of one of the men. "Go!" she shouted and turned to fight the one who held her captive.
Forced to abandon Aerith for the chance of saving her later, Katy fled down the street, hiking her skirt up to nearly around her hips as she ran, dodging more soldiers who tried desperately to capture her... And in her wake, she left spikes of ice in which men stood in various poses of trying to come after her or standing in her way. She didn't look back, but kept running.
Finally, pursuit slacked off and Katy found a place to tuck herself into and rest a moment. That place was behind a garbage can in a narrow alley between two buildings that appeared to be houses. The thumping of her heart was loud in her ears and she feared her labored breathing would give her away. Desperately, she tried to calm her heart down, taking deep breaths as she kept herself hidden.
The silence was broken though... by a low growl. Fearfully, her eyes turned to the right... The slavering jowls of a Mako enhanced wild dog were the first thing she saw... The second was its red eyes with a glow behind them. She did NOT think these things would react to a stare down the way a normal dog would. Slowly standing, she reached back, trying to find something- ANYTHING to use as a weapon. Her hand wrapped around a splintering stick... part of someone's house that had rotted and been removed. It was something though.
"Bad dog... go away," she said softly, backing out around the trash can- only to get bitten in the back of the calf. Instinct swung the stick around and smacked the animal on the side of the head. It didn't let go, so she stabbed at it with the end of the stick. That got it to let loose, but that didn't help much, for now three more dog-creatures were meandering out into view. Fight or flight kicked in, and Katy chose flight.
Tearing off down the street, adrenaline making the pain in her leg naught but a dull ache, she was aware that the damn things were still following her... and more were joining the chase. Trying her hardest to focus, she nearly tripped and fell on her face, but she managed to keep her feet and finally threw a fire spell back at the monsters. A yelp- but only one. She couldn't pick them off one by one! There were too many.
What a way to die- eaten alive by fricken DOGS!
Katy staggered along down another street, the Mako monsters knowing their prey was tiring. "Blast it all!" she gasped and fell to her knees. The monsters galloped closer, then slowed, circling around Katy. At least they hadn't dived in for the kill. Apparently they wanted to play with it a bit more before devouring her non-virgin flesh. Forcing herself to stand, Katy leveled her stick at the creatures. Though she doubted the thing would do her much good anyway. She didn't have enough coordination to fight staff style.
Around her, the soulless windows of Midgar stared down. Watching the scene unfold with passive curiosity. Faces in a few of those windows looked on with mild interest, how helpful and compassionate they were! Katy swallowed, readying herself to cast spells.
Footsteps echoed off the buildings, causing the attention of all in the area to stray. A solid figure stepped into view at the end of the street, moving closer in purposeful strides. Hands lifted, pushing the heavy cloak back from its arms, a dark hood hid the person's face in shadows. A hand changed direction, gripping something at the figure's hip. The sing of metal being drawn was shocking in the silence.
In a sudden burst, the figure rushed forward, startling the creatures that surrounded Katy. One slash had the head of one of the mutated dogs flying to one side, the sword continued onwards, stabbing another creature. This was the signal for the others to attack, and they did with the fury of demented demons. Katy was forced to put her piece of wood into action, hitting at the monsters with a fury that almost matched theirs. A spell or two was fired off when she got the chance, but otherwise, she smacked the damn things in the noses.
Within a minute or two, the relatively easy monsters lay dead, Katy had killed maybe five, but had been severely wounded in a few places. Pulling a green material from her pocket, she clasped it in her hand, concentrating on it and healing herself mostly before turning to the man who had helped her.
He was slightly taller than her, being about five and eight or maybe near eleven. His figure seemed familiar, but Katy couldn't believe it would be HIM. They stood there, staring at each other for a long moment before Katy said, "Hi."
His hand lifted slowly, pushing back his hood, "Hi," he said, nodding slightly.
Katy's jaw dropped. "Chris?"
He stared at her then said sarcastically, "Katy!" He looked the same as ever... except a bit unshaven, but he was definitely her ex-boyfriend- and not exactly a person she felt comfortable seeing.
She sighed as silence persisted and Katy was forced to ask the most obvious question in the world. "How long have you been here?"
Chris shrugged apathetically, "A week." He crouched and wiped the blade of his katana off on a handy corpse. He was wearing clothes that were definitely from this world, sturdy materials in the typical Midgarian style. How he'd gotten them, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
"Did anyone notice I was gone?" Katy dared to ask after a moment when it seemed obvious that her ex-boyfriend wasn't going to volunteer the information.
Standing, he shrugged again, turning to head back down the street the way he'd come. "You've been gone two months. Your parents were worried." He did look over his shoulder at her though, the faintest look of curiosity in his expression.
Katy sighed, "I guess you didn't miss me." He didn't answer. "Even the fact that I've spent that time being Hojo's test subject probably doesn't bother you."
His eyes narrowed, "I missed you," he stated, just to make her shut up perhaps. She wasn't quite sure.
Katy shook her head firmly, "It doesn't matter. What happened between us doesn't matter, this world is in danger. Probably our world will be as well if the way you and I got here works the other way too." She reached out, grabbing his arm. "Let's please... forget about what happened and be friends again."
Chris looked at her, stared at her face for the longest time, his brown eyes unblinking. Finally, he nodded.
She sighed and gave a smile, "Alright, lets go find me some guns."
Katy had been right. Chris's methods of getting equipment and clothing had NOT been legal, but at least Katy was properly armed and armored. Never mind that the guns they now carried were from soldiers that apparently SHE had killed. She felt so guilty and disgusted with herself. After all, they weren't just computer graphics anymore. They'd had lives and families.
"We need to save Aerith... I was with her when the soldiers came after us. She got caught." Chris merely nodded. Katy was getting tired of carrying the conversation and finally gave up on the effort. But only for a few moments, another question bugged her and begged to be asked. "How'd you get here?"
Chris shrugged, "I was walkin and ended up here," typical male answer... very uninformative. Oh well. He'd gotten here by accident, so there was no way of tracing back how he'd appeared and returning to their world the same way.
"In any case, the Nibelheim incident hasn't happened yet. I've been working on Sephiroth. He said he'd take me if he got sent to Nibelheim, so I'll try and stop Jenova from taking him."
Brown eyes turned towards her, "Why?" Katy had no real idea of where they were going, but he was walking, and she was following him, her gun hanging from a swiped belt and slapping against her thigh... which was clothed by a pair of loose brown pants.
Pale pink lips turned down into a somewhat peeved frown, "Because. I love him. And I'm fairly sure he loves me." She hoped just coming out and telling Chris this was the best thing to do. "I'm sorry I didn't wait long after us, but ... I had the chance and I wasn't going to pass it up. It's my personal mission to make him happy and keep Jenova from having anything to get her claws into."
He stared at her for a very long moment before giving a nod. "Yuffie's mine then."
"Pedophile. She's probably like... ten now! And Aerith's already taken... You might be able to get Tifa... maybe." Chris smirked at her and Katy knew then that he was alright with things. She was glad.
Finally, she managed to shut up.
Sephiroth stared at the papers on his desk... Orders. Orders to go to Nibelheim, there was some sort of malfunction of the reactor and there were monsters attacking the town. Nibelheim and monster clean-up duty. Gods... This was nearly shocking enough to make him curse out loud. He had to find Katy.
Getting to his feet, he grabbed up his coat, Masamune getting clipped to his back directly after... though he didn't think he'd need the sword. Stepping out of his office, he was nearly run into by Zack. "Seph-" the first classer panted, "They found Aerith and Katy. They caught Aerith, but Katy got away and left a trail of dead soldiers."
Blinking slowly at Zack, the news soaked in and finally the general nodded. "If they were stupid enough to let her kill them..." he commented, "And this is all the more reason to go out. Come." He brushed past Zack, headed down the hall towards the elevator. "I've got orders to go to Nibelheim," he said as he walked, aware that Zack was keeping up at his side. "Katy knew I was going to get this assignment. She insisted that I take her if I couldn't get out of it. This came straight from Shinra, so there's no way I can not go. You and Cloud Strife are coming."
"Cloud? Why him?" The elevator doors opened and Sephiroth stepped in, Zack directly after.
Pressing the button for the first floor, Sephiroth shook his head, "She ... told me to take him."
The general got stared at. "So you feel it too. Like she knows far more than she should about you... almost more than you know about yourself." Sephiroth nodded slightly but didn't reply and the rest of the ride to the first floor was in silence.
The doors opened and Sephiroth was out first, stalking towards the front doors... startling some of the rich tourists who were taking a gander at the levels of the tower that were open to the public. Pausing at the front desk, Sephiroth grabbed a sheet of paper and pen, scribbled out an address and left the pencil, folding the paper and handing it to Zack, "That's her address. When you find her, take her there. I'll find Katy."
Zack nodded slightly, tucking the paper into his pocket after taking a long look at it and started off in another direction.
What WAS it with today and being attacked!
This was the leading question on Katy's mind now as she gunned down random monsters that had crawled from the woodwork to attack them... Maybe it was something about Chris... or perhaps the part of town they were walking in. After all, it didn't seem to be a very wealthy section, though they may have been thought of as middle class in this society. In any case, Katy was actually killing the critters now, managing to throw spells at them from time to time.
And this time, it really didn't matter that she could actually kill them. There was one nasty bugger that was currently beating the snot out of them. Katy had been thrown across the street several times and had to retrieve her gun. The monster seemed to be a large plant with tentacles and feet, swarming around it were the dog creatures that bit at her as she tried to retrieve her gun. Chris wasn't faring much better, but at least he hadn't lost his weapons three times. At least he had a backup in case the gun got smacked from his hands.
Leveling her gun at the dogs, she let out a round, leading it across the ground at a particularly thick swarm of them. "Chris!" she called, looking towards him to see her friend get thrown down the street quite a ways and land heavily. Pausing in her defending of herself, she concentrated, "Cure!" she cast, throwing it at Chris- just as her leg was bitten in three different places and she was dragged down. WHY were they attacking so viciously? What had they done to get their attention!
Being unable to do much else, Katy curled up, covering her head and neck with her arms, "Fire! Fire! Fire!" she cast over and over, aiming at whatever was next to her. The flames licked at her, but never burnt- her at least. The unfortunate creatures that got in her way weren't spared from a horrible death. "Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!" she continued casting, aware of the thumping rumble of the giant plant coming towards her.
What was ITS motivation for attacking them? It didn't look like a man-eating monster... maybe it just hated people and wanted to kill them all. Which it seemed likely to do at the moment. "Fire!" her chant kept up, catching the foot of the plant as it came close to her. The dogs still swarmed around her, but moved out of the way for whatever it was.
The shing of metal perfectly crafted broke into her chant and a howl of pain went up from the giant plant. Rather suddenly, Katy felt herself swept up and she watched as the ground sped away. She was placed on a ledge... far above the boiling, but much thinned, throng of monsters... and Sephiroth leapt back down to finish them off with Chris's help. From up here, she could concentrate and safely pick her targets- which was what she did. Finding dogs that were in large groups and blasting them with fire, flinging the same spell at the plant thing whenever Seph or Chris weren't attacking it, and healing them- or mostly healing Chris- when they seemed to be hurt. The plant finally keeled over and the dogs were thinned at an alarming rate, and those remaining fled the fight, getting their tails caught on fire as they ran for the alleys.
Trembling, Katy realized that she was quite battered and bruised... and definitely bleeding from many bite marks. Finally, she cast a healing spell on herself and waited for Sephiroth to come get her down. The ledge was on TOP of a building after all.
Sephiroth turned towards Chris... saluted him, and turned, leaping gracefully from one narrow perch to the next before getting to Katy. Gathering her up, he sprang straight down to the ground, landing in a kneel with hardly an impact. Smiling, Katy kissed his cheek. "Shining knight," she told him, though he didn't understand her, he got the idea by her amused but happy and admiring expression. He let her get to her feet and straightened.
"Seph, Chris," Katy pointed at Chris. "Friend," she pat-patted Chris's shoulder, much to the young man's bemusement and slightly raised brow towards her. "I'm doing the best I can," Katy pouted at Chris, having seen his expression.
Chris shrugged and looked back towards Sephiroth who nodded politely... having gotten the feeling that this young man knew quite a bit about him as well, but what did it matter. Katy was safe... though he wondered WHY they were in the wildest part of town... a part of town in which the monsters from below managed to get onto the upper plate and harass those unfortunate enough to live in the area.
Katy returned to his side, tucking herself against him briefly before going to get the gun she'd been using earlier and clip it inexpertly to her belt.
Shaking his head slightly, Sephiroth turned his steps, speaking her word for 'come' and gesturing for the two to follow. It wasn't safe to hang around and Sephiroth didn't want anyone to follow him and find out that he'd helped them and was NOT returning Katy to Hojo as were his orders and likely what everyone expected him to do. Glancing down at Katy where she walked at his side, trying to ignore the dead bodies- some of which she'd created- he felt a smile tug at his lips. Though he felt somewhat self conscious with the other young man there... Sephiroth brushed his hand against her arm, causing her to look towards him, then her gaze traveled down at his hand. He'd been practicing it all day- he just hoped that she didn't think him crazy.
Her eyes went wide and she nearly tripped. Grabbing onto his arm for balance, she slid her hand down into his... tracing what felt like a stick figure in his palm. Her smile was so bright as to be blinding, but it certainly answered the question about whether they were dreaming together or just of each other. Strange... but Sephiroth wasn't going to complain. It neatly got past the problem with being unable to speak to her, and he realized that he'd gotten to know her long before actually meeting her. That certainly made him feel better about skipping all the steps between meeting and third base. Without realizing it, his smile from the night before returned and his fingers laced with hers.
Chris frowned slightly as he walked back a few paces from them... completely forgotten, but perhaps that was for the better. Katy was tucked against Sephiroth's side, hand holding his as they walked. The general seemed to be leading them somewhere, but had not informed them of where... But he wasn't acting insane and Katy wasn't so much of an idiot as to be with someone who hurt her. He just had to trust her judgment on Sephiroth... though it rankled that she was already with someone else only a few months after breaking up with him.
As she'd said, though, she'd been given the chance, and he knew quite well of her obsession with Sephiroth. How could he blame her? If he'd had an obsession with someone like Tifa, he would have jumped at the chance to get her as well. Though, the thought of getting into Tifa's mini-skirt did sound appealing. A smirk came to his lips as he walked.
The blank-windowed buildings passed at a relatively slow pace, Sephiroth matching lazy strides with Katy, but finally, he came to what may have been his destination, for he turned and headed up a set of stairs. Simply kicking the door open, he made his way in, looking around with a careful eye before stepping aside and letting Katy and Chris enter.
It was an empty house. A rather nice house, but long ago moved out of. Dust covered the floor in a thin film that was disturbed by their feet. Sephiroth led them into a back room, through the darkness before he finally turned on a light. The room contained nothing in the way of furniture, but Sephiroth gestured for them to enter, then caught Katy up into a deep kiss which she returned, blushing slightly simply because of their audience and when he let her go, he turned, heading back the way they'd come, closing the door behind him again.
"I think he wants us to stay here. He'll likely be back though," Katy said, somewhat dazed. There was no comment from Chris, and she finally turned to face him. "I'm sorry-"
"Don't be," Chris stated, seating himself on the floor, back against the wall of the empty room. Thankfully there were blinds over the window still. He gave a shrug, "I'm not mad."
Breathing a sigh, Katy came to sit beside him. "Thanks..." She stared up at the ceiling.
Zack hadn't had much trouble acquiring Aerith from the bruised soldiers who were bringing her in. They'd taken the scribbled note with Aerith's address on it as 'Sephiroth's orders'... of course, they WERE sort of his orders, but not what THEY thought the general had ordered his first classer to do. Once they were out of sight, Zack changed his path, walking her back towards the train station, and taking her directly to her house... much to her mother's astonishment.
Elmyra was a very sweet woman, and though she'd had misgivings about her daughter's new boyfriend, she warmed up to him fairly quickly. Talk was just starting to get deep when there was a knock on the door.
Excusing herself, Elmyra got up and answered the door, only to back up fearfully. Sephiroth looked in, nodding to Aerith. "Time to go," he stated and the first classer got to his feet, kissing Aerith's hand gently before heading towards the door.
"Mr. Sephiroth- what about Katy?" Aerith asked, getting to her feet, blushing slightly from the kiss.
Sephiroth heaved a sigh, "I found her and what appears to be a friend of hers in the outskirts of Sector Four, they're safe now." He paused, "However, they DID put up quite a fight against an entire tribe of Night-dogs and an Oroche." Again he paused, letting Zack slide past him, "Her clothes got rather ripped as well."
Aerith gave a soft oh, "Hold on a moment," and dashed up the stairs. Elmyra eyed Sephiroth from where she still held the door open. "You're not hurting that girl, are you? I'd be rather upset if you did. She'd about like my second daughter."
The general returned her gaze, keeping his face straight for nearly thirty seconds before giving a soft chuckle. "I would rather commit suicide than hurt her, ma'am," he answered truthfully... shocking Zack. He hadn't realized the general could feel so deeply for someone. But by then, Aerith returned with a bundle of clothes.
"Tell her I'm alright?" Aerith asked and Sephiroth nodded, taking the clothes from her and turning, heading back the way he'd come. He faintly heard the door close behind him.
Zack walked in silence for a ways before asking the burning question of the moment, "I heard you came in last night... rather late... and wearing a silly grin- the kind of grin guys get after they've gotten something good. Did you?"
Sephiroth eyed him, "You're rather nosey," he stated, "and it's really none of your business." A moment passed, then Sephiroth broke into an uncharacteristic grin. "But damn it was good."
The younger man burst into a laugh. "You sure work fast!" he admired. "I'd be lucky if I EVER get into Aerith's bed. Certainly not before we get married... but I think she's worth it." He grinned, shaking his head, "Wow... You sure she wasn't just easy?"
The general's grin disappeared swiftly and he frowned, "Say anything like that again, and I'll gut you. She is no whore, simply ready to advance the relationship."
"So she started it," Zack guessed, "Alright, if you're sure she's clean."
With a sigh, Sephiroth turned his eyes forward again, "I'm quite sure. She was virgin." Zack gave an immediate 'oh' and grinned once more, reassured that Sephiroth's girl couldn't be bought by anyone.
Sephiroth led the way to a break in the upper plate, tucking Katy's clothes into his coat and starting up the easiest path to the top. Zack followed, unfamiliar with this route, but he figured that Seph used it quite often with how easily he scaled the dangling wires and broken walls.
Sephiroth wasn't sure what he'd walked into, but it was certainly strange. He entered with Zack in toe, the general carrying two bedrolls and Katy's extra clothes. Zack had a bag of food that would likely last at least Chris a few days and enough gil to get him some more to last a month. Dropping the bundles down on the floor, Sephiroth looked towards the two Cetra- or at least he assumed Chris was a Cetra as well. They were seated on the floor, facing each other.
Katy stared at Chris.
Chris stared at Katy.
"Chocobo," she stated firmly, rather out of the blue, causing Zack to look over towards the two.
Chris frowned, "Chac'obo."
"Chocobo."
"Chac'obo!"
Sephiroth's eyes moved from one to the other, watching the strange argument unfold... and it seemed to be an argument they'd had before. Almost... as if it were something like the 'which came first, Chocobo or the Egg?' except... it wasn't.
Katy folded her arms on her chest in a self-righteous manner. "I mimi mimimimi mimimimi mimimi mimimi chocobo!"
"Chac'obo," Chris affirmed his position on the subject.
The redhead shook her head firmly, her hair messy and unwashed for many days, "You-mi mimimi mimimi mimimimi mimimi Chris! Mimi mimimi mimimi mimimimi mimi mimimimi mimi Sephiroth." She turned towards Sephiroth rather suddenly, taking a deep breath. "Chocobo? Chac'obo?" she pronounced what... may have been the same word correctly, then incorrectly.7 He wasn't quite sure what she was asking of him, so he simply stared at her blankly. Zack was just as confused, simply standing with his shoulder against the doorframe.
Chris laughed at her and stated, "Chac'obo."
"Mimimi mimimimi mimimi mimimi mi" Katy muttered, tone of voice implying that what she said wasn't kind. Chris smirked at her, unaffected by the insult. "Chocobo," she muttered, scowling at him.
Sephiroth sighed and shook his head. "Whatever," was the only word he could think of to describe what was going on... and even then, he'd gotten that from Katy in his dreams. "Katy?" he made a motion with his finger for her to come with him.
Hopping to her feet, she stuck her tongue out at Chris before scampering after Seph, leaving Chris and Zack to amuse themselves. Pulling Katy into the darkened front room of the empty house, Sephiroth wrapped his arms around her, unable to resist kissing her deeply before getting on with what he had to say. "Talk," he lifted her hand and touched his forehead with it, tapping her fingers to it gently, "Talk."
She nodded and smiled at him. "Sleep well," she told him in his language, letting him kiss her deeply once more before letting her go and calling for Zack.
"I got the orders to go to Nibelheim this morning," Sephiroth stated the moment he appeared in their usual scenery... The black sky and mattress set into the floor. Though he felt like being somewhere else- so he changed it.
Trees and plants of late spring bloomed, the sun shown down on her vibrant hair and across her pale skin. She looked around and smiled, the silky white sundress she was wearing shimmering slightly in the moving spots of light that found their way between the branches of the tree above her. "Beautiful," she told him. "You're going to take me, right?" she asked, getting back to the problem at hand. "It's important."
Sephiroth sat beside her, pulling her against his side. "Yes. I can't get out of it. It came straight from Shinra. There's something not right about it though... why send me?"
"Probably Hojo's doing," Katy replied, putting her face against his neck, removing her glasses and tossing them aside. After all, this WAS a dream. "He's a sadistic bastard and I hate him."
Giving a soft chuckle, Sephiroth flopped back in the grass, sending up a puff of cherry blossom petals. "I hate him as well, but I can't kill him. It would upset things too much... and they might replace him with someone else even worse."
"Seph... my friend... What happened to her?"
He fell silent, "Brown hair?" he asked softly and felt her nod. "Hojo calls her Naomi..."
"God... Please... save her if you can... get her free."
A sigh escaped his lips, "She's already changed. Hojo thinks it's fun to turn people into monsters. She may not be the same person you knew before."
"But then she might be. The longer she's with him the more likely it will be that she won't remember who she is." Katy sat up, looking down at him, "Please..."
"I leave for Nibelheim tomorrow."
Lowering her eyes, Katy fell silent. "And Zack can't help her because he'll be coming with us... and Cloud can't help her... There's no one else I know that would do it."
"Chris might."
Letting out another sigh, Katy drew circles on Sephiroth's bare chest. "He probably could..." she mused, "I'd have to tell him to do it then. At least Hojo doesn't know about him yet. Why did he pick Michelle?"
Shrugging, Sephiroth lifted a hand to trace Katy's jaw line, "He just did. There's no real reason for who he chooses to work on. I'm sorry." Her smile was faint, but reassuring. She didn't blame him. "I'll bring a uniform to you tomorrow and take you to the air port with me. Zack, Cloud, and Bryon will meet us there."
A nod, and Katy lay down against his side again, enjoying the sunlit spring of Sephiroth's dream. "Don't underestimate Cloud.. just because he's a dummy now doesn't mean he can't become something unstoppable given the right motivation." He gave a chuckle.
7 Chocobo/Cha'kobo: this is a conversation Chris and I used to have often, which was an argument on how the word 'Chocobo' is correctly pronounced. He pronounced it like 'chocolate', I pronounced it 'chyo-ko-bo'.
