~ Watch Me ~

Silver Tongued Angel

Leviathan left, and the sky instantly cleared, the battlefield flooding with all-telling daylight.

Grimacing, Rose cast her gaze across it, the violence and death unavoidable, the grass stained bright red by the blood that had been spilled. Not now though. Now the field's suddenly peaceful occupants stared solely in her direction, their faces a mixture of both fascination and fear, as their minds no doubt replayed the impossible interaction that had taken place.

Rose and Wutai's ancient protector.

A gentle tug on her uniform, and Rose suddenly remembered the small child at her side. The child that did not need to see any more of the violence and death around her.

"Close your eyes." Rose ordered gently, crouching down to her level. "You shouldn't be seeing this."

But rather than looking afraid, Yuffie stared up at her with excited brown wells. "How did you do that!?" She breathed, completely ignoring Rose's caution, and questioning instead their shared encounter with Leviathan. "Like, seriously, how!?"

Rose looked at her. She opened her mouth, but no words followed. In truth, she had absolutely no idea why the creature had listened to her. Just like she had absolutely no idea, about many of the new abilities she was constantly stumbling across. The seconds passed, and a pit of worry began to grow in Rose's stomach, as she realised Yuffie wasn't going to be the only one interested in this fact.

She shook her head – that was a problem for another time. "Come on, we're getting you off of this field."

Rose held out her arms, but Yuffie jumped back. "No way! Not until you tell me!"

Rose frowned, but before she could argue, a Wutai soldier came hurtling towards them. His blackened face a mixture of anger and relief, as breathing raggedly, he came to a staggered halt beside the little girl.

"Yuffie, what are you doing out here!? You supposed to be within the walls." He growled, glaring down darkly at the child. "The Emperor will not be pleased."

Yuffie shrunk under the warrior's judging gaze. "I'm sorry, Luca, I just wanted to see Leviathan up close. Pops won't be too mad, will he?"

"Yes, and I do not blame him. A battlefield is no place for a child."

Her little face dropped, and her shoulders slumped, and seemingly happy that she understood the severity of the situation, the soldier turned his attention to Rose.

"I saw what you did." He said, his voice controlled, though his gaze flickered warily towards his still staring comrades. "I don't mean with Leviathan. You protected Yuffie when I could not, and for that you have Wutai's gratitude."

He gave Rose the briefest of bows, stopping to scoop the small child up into his arms.

But Rose quickly shook her head. "I'm sorry, I should have been faster. I was trying to get her off of the field, but..." She shrugged. He'd seen what had happened after. Everybody had.

"Regardless," he continued. "It is good to see that there are those within Shinra, who are not entirely picked of their morals. You are – " He fell silent, his gaze shifting nervously over her shoulder.

Rose turned to see what had caught his interest, only to find Sephiroth standing ominously beside her. He quickly waved off the soldier's concern, his knowing gaze moving pointedly over the fallen men and women.

"Enough fighting has been done today." He said softly, respectfully bowing his head. "We will fall back. Give you and ourselves time to collect the dead." His gaze flickered briefly to Rose, but he said nothing. Instead he turned, gesturing aimlessly to the Shinra fighters who remained. "Move out!"

Around them Troops and SOLDIER alike began to head keenly for their posts, their fire for fighting understandably dulled. Waving a tentative goodbye to Yuffie, Rose made to follow suit but stopped, a heavy frown creasing her otherwise pretty profile.

Sephiroth noticed her hesitation and stilled. "What is it?"

"What about the Materia?" She wondered. Yes the battle was over, but that was why they had come to Wutai in the first place, was it not? To obtain the powerful Leviathan Materia? Surely after everything that had happened, they weren't just going to walk away?

Lifting his chin subtly, Sephiroth considered her. "It is clear that nobody in Wutai has the will to direct the summon, and after today I doubt anyone will be in a hurry to use it again." His cat-like gaze shifted to Luca. "Do you agree?"

The older soldier nodded stiffly. "Those that attempted to use it, did so against orders. They will be punished for the destruction they caused here today. Wutai does not take treason lightly."

Sephiroth inclined his head, seemingly satisfied. "Then for now the fighting is done." He looked back at Rose. "We have neutralised the threat, that was all that was asked of us."

Nodding quietly, Rose resisted the urge to argue that that wasn't exactly true, and instead fell instep beside him, moving swiftly with the others back towards the treeline.

Rose quickly the faces around her. "Have you seen Angeal or Zack?" She asked, unable to keep the worry completely from her voice. She ignored the panicked glances she received every time someone made eye contact with her, and moved her gaze to Sephiroth instead. "I didn't see them in the field."

"Right now they will be ensuring that our mission is a success." He murmured confidently, his gaze set firmly on the treeline in front of him.

Rose tilted her head, confused. "Our mission...?" She frowned, but it wasn't long before she realised what he meant. "But, you said we didn't need the Materia any more? That it was okay because Wutai couldn't use it?"

Sephiroth laughed softly. "The art of subtlety has never been a particular forté of yours, Rose, but sometimes it is a necessity."

Irked, Rose's gaze fell back to the ground, but his off the cuff remark wasn't what had bothered her. "So we lied? To Luca, I mean?"

"You think if we had demanded it from him then and there, he would have simply handed the Materia over?"

"No, I just..." Rose fell silent. She hated the skill Sephiroth had for making her feel like a naïve child. Sighing loudly, she determinedly squared her jaw. "He seemed like a good man, is all. He had honour."

"We are at war, Rose." He reminded her pointedly. "There are no good men."

Caught off guard, she scoffed. "Oh, no? That's a little disheartening, Sephiroth, coming from Shinra's world renown hero."

He regarded her silently for a moment, a strange smile pulling strangely at his features. He looked away. "A hero to some, Rose. To others I am their judge, jury and executioner. Never forget that."

Rose stared. What the hell was she supposed to do with that?

R&R!

Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I know it's been a while and I hate myself. Hoping to get back on track again with this. Let me know your thoughts on the update – personally, I'm excited to get back to Midgar.

Hope you're all well! Lemme know x