Another night passed that Sephiroth could not sleep. Professor Hojo had trained Sephiroth since he was 5 to be a fighter, someone strong with no emotional interference. He didn't enjoy how he was trained to be, he longed for friends, someone to talk to. Now 18, he was handed a powerful weapon that was mathematically designed only for him. The Masamune, he remembers it being called. He wasn't entirely sure how to hold it yet, but he hoped to learn.

"Professor Hojo," Sephiroth asked Hojo last night before he went to bed, "Is there anyone who can teach me how to use my sword?"

Hojo considered for a few minutes then nodded, "There is someone. Tomorrow morning, go to the cavern on the snowy plains. When you enter the cavern, there will be the most expert sword bearer ever."

So now Sephiroth tried to sleep. He was so excited to think of this, someone to teach him! They could talk to each other maybe and maybe he'd have a friend, or at least a superior. He hated how Hojo watched him, like he was a science experiment. He calibrated Sephiroth's growth and skills, watching his development, and how Sephiroth's hair was becoming more and more silver, and his pupils on his ice blue eyes were turning more snake-like each day. Sephiroth was looking forward to running into a human that was capable of teaching him through more then being a sound while Sephiroth attempted to fight dragons and other creatures.

The next morning finally came, and Hojo dropped Sephiroth and his new sword off in the snowy plains. It was a short walk to the cavern, and Sephiroth wanted to run, he wanted to get there so fast. So Sephiroth sprinted, excited, nervous, butterflies in his stomach, and he was intensely nervous. He reached the cavern, and stared up at how grand and huge it was, scared beyond all belief of what waited inside. He inhaled deeply, clutching the handle of his sword and walked inside.

There was silence in the cavern, but the cavern was impressively warm compared to outside. Sephiroth shivered slightly while he adjusted to the temperature difference. He walked in further, and walked up to a fire, someone was going to eat very soon, but where were they?

"Drop the sword, hands in the air," came a very tough voice from behind him.

He obeyed, dropping the sword and holding up his hands in the air. He starting turning around to face his attacker, surprised to be looking into the eyes of a woman. She was thin, with light brown hair and deep brown eyes. She was well built and definitely a force not to be messed with. Sephiroth gasped at the back of his throat, and thought to himself "Hojo, that bastard, he did this to me..."

"Who are you?" she commanded.

"My name is Sephiroth, I'm in training for SOLDIER, and Professor Hojo sent me here to find the most expert swordsman in the world."

"Swordswoman," she corrected. "You're awfully young to be in training for SOLDIER."

Sephiroth looked at her, amazed that she wasn't killing him. She was looking at him, and her eyes widened in shock when she looked at his eyes and features.

"They're training me to be their top-ranker, only the best..."

"Only the best make it to the top rank, yeah, I was the leader of the top-rank when I was in SOLDIER."

"You were in SOLDIER?"

"My name is Soldire; they named SOLDIER after me because I started it by being the defense for the Shin-Ra."

"Why did you quit?"

"That was 19 years ago... I was very VERY young and discovered something..." She considered her words; she realized that he was the product of the Jenova Project. So was she, as their first born child injected with Jenova cells, she was just like him, only a year or two older then him, her mother had stolen her and took her away. She knew all about it, and she'd seen Sephiroth a few times before, and watched him train with a short sword... "Let's just say my mother took me away."

"I see... so you're the ultimate fighter... Soldire, I've heard some about you... I looked up to you... I didn't realize you were..."

"A woman?" She laughed; her sense of humor was quite odd in his opinion. "But I am, and if you want to learn, then I will teach you."

"Really?" Sephiroth asked, he was very excited.

Soldire looked him over, his silver hair tied back and away from his face and eyes, but he had lovely hair. She wore hers down and to almost her knees. He wore simple black cloths, made of cotton, and normal type boots. She would have to help him with his image. But black suited him; it brought out his intense eyes.

"Really," she responded finally. "Join me for dinner, tomorrow I'll start teaching you."