Ningit stood in front of the dirty mirror and stared at the new bought clothes. Luckily, Sephiroth had given her enough time to let her buy three different outfits, which she had ended up changing into in a dirty café. He had complained about feeling hungry and ordered her to come with him into the nearest café before they left Midgar.
So here she stood, in the ugliest bathroom she had seen in her whole life, and she could have sworn that it hadn't been cleaned for a whole month; it smelled like that. The water was brown and dirty but she had to remove the blood on her back; it would be Sephiroth that suffered in the end if she died from infection.
She stared at the bloody rash on her back. Luckily, it had begun to heal, but who said that it didn't sting like hell when she cleaned it? She frowned and hissed as the blood slowly was coming off, and her back once again were clean as it could be in this dirty place. Ningit turned her head to look into the mirror and brushed some of her brown hair out of her face. She had black circles underneath her eyes, mainly because of the stress it had caused being in AVALANCHE captive.
She rubbed her tired eyes and stared at her half naked body and decided that Sephiroth must be very impatient and it would be a good idea to change. Searching through her bag she found the first piece of clothing that caught her eye. A pink dress with a zipper on the front, the only thing that didn't make her so glad was the fact that the dress went to above her knees; her faced turned grim at the thoughts of those men in the streets.
She tied her hair into a low ponytail and was slightly relieved by the thought that Sephiroth most likely wouldn't find her attractive at all. The boy wasn't more than nineteen, she felt so old in the company of him.
Ningit sighed and stared at the mirror in front of her and considered that she should have her hair cut…
However, it didn't matter now; it was time to go and search the Planet. She opened the door into the smoky café and walked all the way over to Sephiroth, who was seated in the darkest corner. She furrowed her brows and found it a bit freakish that Sephiroth always chose the creepiest places to sit. None the less, he was eating happily, and his mouth was curled up into the ridiculous smirk… again.
She really found the urge to rip it off, smack him, and tell him to for once to be serious and calm. But every time the thought passed her, a glimpse of what he had been so terribly close to doing to her was all it took to make her become frightened and uneasy.
Pulling out the chair, she sat down and stared at the plate with soup in front of her. She hadn't ordered anything. Sephiroth, who apparently caught her confusion, said in the most monotone voice, "I don't want you to die from starvation… So eat..."
Ningit bent her brows and she felt slightly uneasy. What if the soup contained poison, like she had experienced a few times in her life? She took the spoon into her hand and rested her hand softly on the table… She couldn't do it; it brought to many memories… She couldn't… She couldn't.
"I can't…"
She caught his attention and he stared at her with a confused look this time, "It is food…" "What if it is poisoned?"
"Poisoned?" he laughed heartily and it was the time to switch roles, him the old and wise while she was the insecure, stupid girl. "Listen… It can't be poisoned. And if it is then I can make you calm by saying that I have a heal materia …"
She smiled a bit, which surprised the general greatly and for the first time noticed that she was indeed a pretty girl. He had seen many women in his short life, none of them specifically pretty… Which made him think of Scarlet and the urge to vomit was overwhelming. The woman he had spent most of his time with in his life was none other than the most dreadful of them.
He was satisfied when Ningit indeed began to eat; he was long done with his own and examined their possibilities of coming out of Midgar. They had several opportunities: car, train or chocobo.
The car was only available if Ningit had a driver's license, and the train, that was out of the picture. They had to leave as little trace as possible. By him just disappearing, the train would be too risky. That only left the chocobo; he could easily steal it too, but the best ones where always those that were locked tight. Sephiroth didn't want to bother picking locks tonight, so he would have to pay, and that was risky too…
There was a risk with everything they would do; he knew Shinra and they could track him down if they wanted to. It could take some time, but it would none the less succeed. Ningit looked up and said quietly, "We have to take the train…"
"No…"
"Yes…" she said stubbornly.
"Look here… It is too risky to take the train out of Midgar, you very well know tha…" he said, obviously annoyed.
"No… The fact is that Shinra knows what we are thinking; they know we won't take the train, so they won't search that area…" She pointed her finger strictly at him, and once again they had switched roles, "—the fact is… We must be as unpredictable as possible, which means, doing what they expect us not to do…
"They would search the chocobo stables and car shops first, and when they do figure out we took the train we will be too far ahead of them…"
Damn she is smart. Sephiroth's first thought was, it would take him a while to progress all this information but none the less he could hear that it made sense.
"—And the good thing is, people probably won't notice us as much when we are two strangers on a train as they would if we were two strangers on chocobos.—"
"—Everybody knows that two persons on a chocobo are on a run… Our cover would quickly be demolished into nothing," Sephiroth said, finishing her thought, maybe she would be to his advantage after all.
"So what you are saying is that we should… surprise them..." His mouth curled into a smirk as he said that, and his eyes glimpsed with satisfaction. He closed his eyes for a second and felt victory come closer and closer.
Ningit stared at him wide-eyed, she clenched her fist as she felt uneasy again. She was in doubt; the very thought of being alone with him for such a long time seemed terrifying. He didn't care; she knew that. He just paid for the meal and they left silently.
She greeted the cool dark night of Midgar with a certain confident satisfaction. She wanted so badly to just go and leave him. The sad thing was that he would catch up with her before she would know of it. Her brows bent into a sad expression and she just followed Sephiroth like a dog while he led them to the nearest train station.
Her eyes wandered around the streets and she noticed the rising sun; it wouldn't matter anyway. It would soon be covered with clouds and hidden from the public view. Stupid Midgar she thought and scratched her head while yawning, not very lady like. Sephiroth just walked ahead of her like he was superior to her. She was sure that if he should tell someone their plan, he would tell him that it was him who planned everything.
Good for nothing bastard she thought. Sephiroth turned shortly as they entered the train station, "Stay here and I will get some tickets… I will be back soon…" Ningit nodded, I am so sure that he is going to leave me!
After a good five minutes of waiting and her becoming more impatient by every second she felt someone poke her shoulder. "Excuse me miss, but will you buy a flower…"
Ningit turned around and searched the area for the person, but strangely there was no one; she was completely alone. She frowned and had the feeling that Sephiroth most likely suffered from mental issues and that he was affecting her too. "Piece of crap…"
"Hee hee… They are only one gil, Miss…"
She turned around once more, but there was still no one. Her brows knotted even more. "Okay little girl! This is not funny! Come out"
"Below you…"
Ningit acted on pure instinct and looked below. Instead of a person a materia was placed right between her feet. Raising an eyebrow she bent down slowly to pick up the shinning ball. Materia? What kindda materia is this? She continued to study the green orb for quite some time. It has such a pretty colour. The strange voice had left her completely and the only thing that mattered was the materia.
She smiled a bit when she felt the familiar sensation of the magic from within the orb. A slight warmth moved throughout her body as the orb glowed brighter for every second. So, strange…
"Hey! Stop stalling and get over here, Woman!" Sephiroth yelled from not so far away. He held two tickets in his hand and his bag was thrown casually across his shoulder. Ningit placed the orb within the pocket of her short dress and followed Sephiroth.
Sephiroth stared at her when she took the ticket and entered. Why do I have the feeling that this was a bad idea?
The blond man stared at the departing train; his eyes narrowing as he watched Ningit look out of the window with an insecure look. "She doesn't seem to be happy at all…" he muttered softly underneath his breath. The brunette woman beside him snorted, "I can't believe that he asked us to look after the ungrateful brat; she isn't even worth fighting for…"
Out of nowhere she was slammed into the ground, but quickly she managed to jump and only hit the ground with her fist. "Goddamnit, Ethan! Will you please stop being such an ass!" she yelled and turned around with a face that could scare even old mature men, but Ethan wasn't like that.
"Hah! Should I treat you good just because you are that stupid Godo thing's sister, get a grip, Olette."
"Uuuh! Goddamnit! Strife! Tell him to shut up!"
The blond man shrugged. "Do it yourself, Olette, I am pretty busy here you know..." he muttered as he continued to observe the train. They are travelling to Kalm; we have to move fast…
"Uh, I can't believe you have been a father for twelve years and still be such a cold hearted fucked-up bastard you know?" the female member of the group complained, "I am a goddamn ninja you know, and it is all your fault for dragging me into this—"
"Be quite will you?" Ethan shrieked. His ears were numb from all her endless chatter. "You are such an ass, Ethan!" "Oh! Really? Wanna see who is strongest!"
She smirked shortly; "I am ready Ethan… to let your ass… be KICKED!" was her last words as her legs connected with Ethan's arm.
Strife sighed as he rubbed his head. Yes, it was true that he had left his family, but he knew very well that his wife understood his motives. Work had always been more important than family, and so had training. It had been such a long time since he had seen his son. The little blond fellow had spiky hair just like him. Now, that was one thing he was proud of…
His wife, beautiful and patient; his son would grow up strong and confident with her in the house. He just knew that.
He stood up quickly and turned towards his two companions, "What are you waiting for? We need to get that information right away!" Both flinched at his stern voice. There was a reason that Strife was the strongest. Olette Kisaragi crossed her arms. "Don't underestimate me, Strife. I will catch that train before both of you… So…" With that, she jumped down the three story building and landed softly on the ground, giving both of them a thumbs-up before she ran of to catch that train.
Ethan and Strife looked at each other sighing. "I guess we have to keep up with her for a while…" Ethan stated. The blond man pondered, "… Like always."
Then, they both jumped towards the ground and chased the train with ease.
Aerith sat quietly in her room, fumbling with her hands as she felt herself become nervous. The door opened with a slight creek and Elmyra stood in the door, staring at her 'daughter' concerned.
"Aerith? Is something wrong?" she asked and glided across the room to watch her a bit closer. The green eyes she had grown so customised to during the years. "Mom" she muttered softly.
"What is it, Aerith?" she asked, placing her hand on the little girl's shoulder. The little girl smiled sadly as she clutched her hand softly. "Don't worry, Mom. I promise never to confuse her again…"
Elmyra looked away sadly; she knew very well that she wasn't talking to her, but to someone completely different. She had learned to live with that, but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt to be reminded that Aerith wasn't her own daughter.
Ningit sat in her seat and stared outside at the passing scenery. Despite her looking calm on the outside, she was trembling with fear inside. This wasn't right, nothing about this was right at all. Turning her head, she looked at her sleeping companion. She narrowed her eyes as she studied his face. His cheekbones were straight and flawless, his nose and lips perfect in any way you could possibly imagine.
Despite his perfection, she found him ugly. His personality was what angered her the most; he was just so uncaring, so… cold. He was everything Reeve wasn't, and Reeve was a fine dedicated man, she knew that much. She yawned a bit and leaned back into the chair.
She was tired, but didn't want to sleep. She hated to sleep for this fact: the drowsy feeling of waking up afterwards was just boring and not very tempting for the young woman. She turned her gaze to the general again and tilted her head to the right. He looked like a grown up man in most areas, but he still held a certain childish fascination towards things.
Her lips curled up into a fine line. Sephiroth wasn't perfect because in his heart he was still a child that wanted to be acknowledged and loved. A giggle escaped her lips as she imagined him playing with toys. A sight she couldn't help but laugh at and began to think if she would ever see him become the child he was during their journey.
Yes, she might only be two years older than him, but two years is a lot in this age. Reeve had told her before that it scared him how mature she had become, but she knew very well that she still held a child's curiosity. A dangerous thing to have indeed, but she would always have it.
Sephiroth opened one eye at her giggle, but found to his surprise her with a grim look on her face. Her bangs hid most of her face, but her hands and shoulders were tense and she was growling a bit. He raised an eyebrow and opened his eyes fully, bending a bit forward to study her expression.
"I am fine…" she muttered slowly and raised her head to reveal once a more calm and collected face. He stared a bit amused at her. Just like a child…she thought silently.
"Would you mind giving me my water in my bag over there?" he said and pointed at the large bag beside her. Ningit just nodded and searched through the bag's contents with ease and found what he asked her for. Handing him the water, she accidentally pulled a tiny box up from the bag. She bent her brows and was about to ask what it was when he answered, "It is my mother's, Jenova…"
"Do you mind if I take a look?"
Sephiroth seemed to consider if it was safe enough for her to see it. Well, she is a woman… "Go ahead…"
Ningit nodded and opened the box, revealing a colourful yet simple necklace, with a strange pendant at the bottom. "It is very pretty…" she muttered softly, something she didn't do often. She turned the necklace softly around and tried to read what was written on the back, Lucrecia Cresent… But wait! Wasn't his mother called Jenova?
Before she could say anything else he snatched it out of her hands and pulled her towards the ground, "Stay down!"
That was when one side of the train was blown of.
She received a huge piece of metal on the side of her head and the bleeding wound made her dizzy as she unwillingly welcomed darkness. Not again!
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