Unspoken
By mihoyonagi
Chapter 10: Effort
The light from the newly risen sun peaked through the slits in the blinds, flooding Sephiroth's room with a warm glow despite the fact that the sun had only just stretched over the horizon. Pale eyelids fluttered opened and let loose upon the world a pair of iridescent eyes. Not long before, or so it had seemed to the man lying in the bed, had Aerith told him, as she did every night before they turned in, that she forgave him. His mind swam with her words, as it always did, while he leaned against the inside of his door, waiting to hear the soft click of her bedside lamp as she climbed into bed. He had not yet placed his head on his down pillow when his eyes crashed closed and he fell into the bliss of dreamless sleep. Now, awoken by his own sense of time, Sephiroth realized how late it was; he had hoped to escape the confines of the house before the sunrise.
Quickly standing, Sephiroth dressed as quietly as he could. Closing his bedroom door behind him, he soundlessly descended the stairs. Stopping momentarily in front of the dining table, Sephiroth pulled from his coat a large, red flower that he had picked whilst he and Aerith had walked through the forest the previous day; he knew it would mean something to her. Once he was sure the flower girl would see the flower he had left when she decided to join the world of the living and travel down the stairs to begin her breakfast, he left.
The crisp, clean air of the forest greeted him and filled the general's lungs with the first scents of the day. The dew clung fast to the thick blades of grass lining the walk into town, and by the time the general stumbled out of the forest and onto the cobblestone walk that led to the hospital, every inch of his boots from ankle down was sopping wet. He was glad his boots were waterproof.
Sliding on their hinges, the mechanical doors of the hospital opened, allowing Sephiroth access to all inside. He had never before ventured into a hospital willingly; those from the village had taken he and Aerith when they first arrived. Unsure of what to do, Sephiroth pulled out the small notebook Aerith had supplied him with, and a pen. He scribbled a note inside of it, then proceeded to the front desk. The same nurse whom Sephiroth had signed the papers for looked up to greet him. She snapped her chewing gum, then, upon the realization of who it was, sat up straight and peered at the silver-haired man curiously.
"Back again, are you?" she teased. "I hope you didn't get hurt again!"
Sephiroth shook his head, extending the arm with his notebook. The nurse peered curiously up at the general, then down at the piece of paper, as if only just remembering that he couldn't talk.
'Where is Rej?' her mouth sounded out. Sephiroth frowned inwardly at himself; was his handwriting truly that hard to read?
The nurse looked back up at him. She pointed a long, slender finger down the corridor. "He's in room fifty-six, the office at the end of the hall."
Sephiroth nodded his thanks to her.
She smiled in return. "Glad to be of service," she bowed her head and let out a small laugh, then promptly returned to the paperwork on her desk.
Fifty-four. Fifty-five. Fifty-six. Sephiroth rapped the back of his knuckles on the door. He heard a faint muffled sound from inside, as well as the scuffling of feet, and before he knew it the door had sprung open. A rather exasperated-looking doctor stood in the doorway, one hand remaining on the doorknob, the other ruffling his already messy hair. The moment he looked up to see Sephiroth standing before him, however, his expression grew light and cheery. "I was wondering when I'd next see the two of you."
Sephiroth shook his head.
Looking confused for a moment, Rej looked about and was bewildered to realize that Sephiroth stood alone. A look of curiosity spread across the doctor's face, but he motioned for Sephiroth to follow him inside his office, regardless. Sitting behind his wooden desk, Rej looked to the man sitting across it. "What can I do for you?" he inquired, placing his hands on his desk.
Sephiroth placed his notebook on the desk and began scribbling furiously on the lined paper. After he finished, he handed it to Rej.
'I need a job for the day- payment at the end is requested; there is something that needs my immediate attention.'
Sephiroth watched as Rej leaned against the back of the chair, looking the general over. Cautiously, Sephiroth reached over and retrieved his notebook, pulling it closer and scribbling another message.
'You said if either of us needed a job, you would supply us with one.'
He pushed it toward the skeptic doctor who read the sentence and nodded. "I know what I said, but-"
Pulling the notebook back once again, Sephiroth wrote yet another message.
'Please.'
Rej leaned further back into his chair. Slowly, he exhaled. It was Sephiroth who held his breath. Smiling, Rej nodded. "I can give you work, but it won't be fun."
Sephiroth, relieved, let out his breath and shook his head, signaling that he didn't much care.
"Just for one day, then?" the physician queried.
This time, Sephiroth nodded.
Again, Rej sat back in his chair. He adjusted himself so as one foot rested cross upon the opposing knee, and his hands knit themselves together to form a net in which he leaned his head against. "May I ask as to why you seem to need this money in a hurry? Is everything okay at the house? Is Aerith sick? Are you going hungry?"
Sephiroth slowly shook his head from side to side. His sense of pride would not allow him to tell the man before him, no matter how kind or understanding he may be, the truth behind wanting the pay. Keeping silent and still, Sephiroth made no move toward his notebook, showing the doctor in front of him that what was the matter wasn't much of his business, as cruel as it may have seemed. There were certain things in life Sephiroth would not admit to openly, and being guilty of wanting to buy a woman a birthday gift was, quite honestly, the last thing on his admittance list. Somehow, he figured the doctor would understand, though not the entire meaning behind it, that his dilemma had something to do with Aerith, and something else that he was far from willing to speak of.
Rej stood. Sephiroth followed his example. "Follow me," he motioned for the general to trail him. Sephiroth didn't hesitate.
Down the halls and around many corners they traversed. Sephiroth was rather surprised to see how large the hospital really was on the inside; on the outside, it didn't look nearly as large. Rej slowed enough to swipe a key-card through the door directly in front of them, then proceeded through it, not bothering to look behind him to see whether or not the silver-haired man was keeping pace.
Rej stopped, and Sephiroth peered around the broad shoulders of the doctor in front of him to see what had caused him to do so. "This is what we need done, if you are up for it."
Sephiroth started, perplexed, at the many boxes that lined the walls of the storage room. Near the door stood a small trolley. The general pieced together what it was he was going to be doing.
"I need you to move and organize the boxes in this room to various locations around the hospital." He looked to Sephiroth. "You might want to get out your book and take notes, it gets confusing." Though the statement was serious enough, Rej smiled lightly when he said it.
Sephiroth did as was suggested and the doctor continued. "All boxes labeled with a black lettering are to stay here. Don't worry about those; just stack them neatly in the back. The boxes with red lettering are to go to Celia, the woman at the front desk." Again, Rej smiled. "I know you can guess who she is. All boxes with blue labels are to be delivered to the x-ray lab at the far end of the building. If you go straight once you get out of this door, it's at the very end. Yellow boxes go to room seventy-eight; orange boxes go to room seventy-nine; green boxes go to room fifteen, the staff lounge; purple boxes go to my office, room fifty-six."
Sephiroth finished scribbling the various destined locations of the boxes inside the storeroom and looked up at the doctor who only continued to stare in return. Rej then shook his head. "You goofy kids," he laughed. "I am glad you decided to take me up on this job offer, however. It's good to know that you're taking care of Aerith." Suddenly, Rej narrowed his eyes. The doctor almost looked menacing in the dim light of the storeroom. Almost. "You are taking care of her, right?"
Sephiroth paused, not sure what to make of the question that had been forced at him. Scribbling below the directions he only just wrote, he proceeded to show the doctor his newest note.
'Truthfully, she is the one taking care of me.'
It wasn't something that the general really wanted to admit out loud; his wellbeing directly in correlation with the flower girl with whom he shared a house with was, to a large extreme now that he thought on it, embarrassing. Never in his life had he been so dependant on another human. It was almost frustrating… but not quite.
Happy with the response he received, Rej's face softened and the kind doctor placed a hand on Sephiroth's shoulder. "Return the favor to her one day, you hear?" He laughed, softly. Sephiroth didn't know what to make of the situation. It was, to say the very least, awkward. "Well," he continued, removing his hand from Sephiroth's shoulder. "When you finish I'll be in my office." Rej handed Sephiroth the key-card he had used earlier. "Good luck"
Sephiroth looked at the task before him. What in the angel's names had he plunged head first into?
Retrieving the trolley from behind the door, Sephiroth began moving boxes about, organizing them into colors, with the larger boxes on the bottom. When his first pile had been completely assembled, he turned to the clock. It had taken him nearly an hour to organize just one color. He felt the unyielding need to groan.
Carefully, he loaded all the boxes that could fit onto the trolley and started out the door. He looked down at them again in the light of the hall, making sure they were, indeed, red. He set off toward the front desk.