Tseng XI: Not a gift

Content warning: Stalking, eating disorder

Tseng looked after the two SOLDIERs as Sephiroth walked ahead and Zack followed him from the upper helipad on floor 63 into the Shinra building. His plan had worked surprisingly well. Although he had no doubt that Sephiroth would hate him even more now. He would not be hated simply for making Sephiroth perform a disagreeable obligation, but for using his greatest weakness to manipulate him into doing so. Not that Sephiroth had believed even for a split second that Zack was Angeal, but being roused from sleep by such familiar sound had raised in him the nostalgic feeling of his companion having returned from just another day of work. Coming home after just another day of work was comforting beyond what words can express. Perhaps Tseng also wanted to show Sephiroth that he was not alone, despite his loss, and that Zack would be there for him. No matter how much he was hated, if that ended up helping down the line, it would be worth it.

The package was still tucked under the Turk's arm as he got back into the helicopter. He had originally planned to wait for the two SOLDIERs to return, but he needed to get rid of this… thing… as soon as possible. Just carrying this around made him extremely uncomfortable. He hoped to return before they were done. He directed the pilot to take him to the Turks' headquarters and sat down as the helicopter took off.

"Chairwoman H.", the notorious leader of the Silver Elite fanclub had a habit of sending strange or disconcerting gifts. The Turks checked all fan mail to make sure that the popular SOLDIERs did not receive dangerous or distasteful items, or anything that could pose a safety risk. It had happened not only once that someone had attempted to sneak in bombs or location trackers into the hands of Shinra's elite combatants, although the most common type of inappropriate gift was used panties from fans. The Turks were fairly effective in filtering out unwanted gifts, but Chairwoman H. did not send their gifts through Shinra Mail, but delivered them personally.

Because of that, they knew exactly who "Chairwoman H." was. H. was stalking Sephiroth, disclosing his personal details and disseminating intimate photos of him. But President Shinra did not care enough to do something about them, as long as they did not leak any incriminating details that could potentially harm the company's reputation, or valuable company secrets. Obviously, Sephiroth's personal space was not considered valuable enough to be a priority. If anything, "H."'s fan club improved Sephiroth's reputation outside the company, because it leaked only information that made Sephiroth appear stronger and more admirable. Tseng could only speculate as to the motives that made them to do what they did. If they came from a place of true admiration for the SOLDIER, they had a strange way to show it. Obviously, their motivation was something else entirely; why the Turk failed to see that after watching this situation develop over the course of several years may be considered as a result of his sometimes naïve and simplistic world view that did not allow him to see that it was all part of a bigger plan that had been set in motion a long, long time before and was simply about to enter its final stage. Naturally, no one had any idea of the tragedies that would soon run their course. But for "H." to take out valuable time of their day to carry around packages that Sephiroth would ultimately not receive anyway should have rendered anyone who knew "H."'s identity suspicious.

Tseng knew Zack would not understand, but Tseng did not feel like opening these packages was an invasion of privacy. Sephiroth had no idea about the nature of some of the "gifts" he was sent, but he understood that it was better for him not to see the contents of these packages before the Turks gave a green light. Sephiroth had never enjoyed attention from strangers and would be completely fine with not receiving any gifts from his fans at all.

Some of the "gifts" from "H." were simply strange or incomprehensible in nature. They sometimes consisted of Wutai memorabilia or photos, which, Tseng believed, must have a deeper meaning. But if there was one, he was certain that "H." did not understand that the memory of his fallen enemies did not at all torment Sephiroth. Not anymore. Other times, they sent things like today.

He dismissed and tipped the pilot after they landed. This lady had been carrying him all around the city all morning and deserved a break. He moved on to his office and before he could set the package down on the table, his phone rang. Tseng picked up, and before he could even say anything, Rufus said over the phone: "I thought about it. I do have orders for you after all." Tseng tilted back his head. "Can it wait? I'm still on the mission and need to get back to headquarters."

"It won't take long", Rufus appeased him over the phone. Tseng put down the package on his desk. "Very well." After a short pause, Rufus said: "Eat some food." and hung up. Tseng stared at the phone receiver in his hand in disbelief. What kind of order was that?

He hung up, sat down and tore off the tape holding the flap of the package close. He opened it and took a pair of tweezers and an evidence bag from the drawers of his desk. Using the tweezers, he pulled a large, white feather from the package and looked at it from both sides. To the uninformed onlooker, it was just a feather, perhaps originating from a white chocobo or a rare white Zuu. Though it could just as well be one of Angeal's feathers. It was the worst gift in history, and awakened all sorts of negative emotions.

Tseng had no idea if this feather was actually taken from Angeal or one of his copies and he would not send it to the research department to find out. But just the idea of someone who was in any way aware to Sephiroth's situation sending something like this to him made his feel sick in his stomach. He placed the feather in the evidence bag and sealed and labeled it with the date and approximate time it had been secured.

He had told Sephiroth he would dispose of the "gift", but part of the Turks' job was to collect possibly incriminating information on all of the important people in the company, just in case action against them would ever have to be taken. Rufus had fallen victim to this, and he was neither the first, nor would he be the last to have this happen to. Unfortunately, Tseng did not see the same fate coming for "Chairwoman H." any time soon.

Other than the feather, the package contained two more incriminating items, one of which looked like a condolence card. Tseng exchanged his usual fingerless leather gloves for rubber gloves and picked up the card. It was made of simple black paper and looked relatively inconspicuous on the outside.

He folded it open and although he had thought that the feather was as already bad as it could possibly be, he was completely wrong about the extent of malicious intent behind this delivery. Into the card was written with a red pen: "You still have me", and glued on the card underneath the writing was a strand of black hair streaked with silver. Tseng took another evidence bag from the drawer and put the card inside. This person was truly sick, out of line and out of control. And to be quite honest, had I known before about the lengths that Tseng went to in order to keep harm away from Sephiroth's fragile heart, I would have been nicer to him, although I know very well that Tseng never expected a word of gratitude for what he did.

He was simply acting in the company's best interest by shielding Sephiroth from "H."'s influence as much as possible, but on a more personal level, the cruelty they were showing toward the young man sent shivers down his spine. He had only a vague idea of their motivation for acting the way they did, but he was certain that they knew that most of their packages were never received by Sephiroth, so it was inexplicable to him why they continued to send them. It seemed as if they were doing it purely to gratify themselves, not because they hoped that Sephiroth would be directly affected by receiving them. Although it could not be denied that the very existence of these packages impacted Sephiroth's ability to trust and befriend people, and perhaps isolating him from his environment was the true goal of "H.".

Other than the feather and the card, the package only contained a black velvet cushion that was obviously meant for the feather to be placed upon, crusted with a white substance, which I guess he and I interpreted the same way. Tseng refused to touch it even with gloves, but decided it should be secured as evidence of the depravity of "H." and thus, tipped the cushion directly from the package into an evidence bag. He sealed the two bags and labeled them as he did the first.

He took the three bags to the Turks' own evidence vault and sorted them in the appropriate locker for "H.". They would need a new locker for them soon because this one was getting full. But with their recent attempt at conspiring with Avalanche, new evidence had been piling up, though they never did end up making it public because they had apparently changed their mind before they leaked any valuable information, so the president decided to keep them. Apparently, they were considered irreplaceable, so nothing would happen to them as long as they continued to deliver results. And deliver results they would. Certainly not the results President Shinra was hoping for, but results nonetheless