Unspoken

By mihoyonagi

Chapter 40: Elude

The house was still when Sephiroth awoke. What little sunlight that filtered through the drapes warmed spots on his bed. The general, however, didn't open his eyes. Though he knew it to be nearing the time he was used to waking, he didn't want to move despite the fact that he found himself to be extremely uncomfortable in his bedding.

In a sudden rush of irritation, Sephiroth kicked the bedding from atop his body and let out an exasperated sigh. Many years had passed since last he could recall actually having a dream. With what had been done to him while in holding at the Shinra laboratories, Sephiroth had, by a very young age, learned to force his mind to forget whatever dreams that occurred during what little peace sleep offered him.

It had been a long time since such a terrible feeling had taken hold of Sephiroth's body –not since he was a child- and fear gripped at the veiled line that separated his reality from chaos. It wasn't often that his innards quaked with irritation and restlessness; in fact, it was quite rare. Sephiroth wiped a few thin beads of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He shifted in the bed, seeking comfort in a different position. Yet, no matter how he stretched, his nerves were frayed.

The worse part, however, was that Sephiroth was unable to discern the cause of his unease.

His dream hadn't been bad. It hadn't been good either, and Sephiroth found himself rather bewildered over the fact that he was having such a difficult time recalling it. Whatever had happened while he was asleep had been nearly forgotten when he had woken, though the rush of adrenaline that had shaken him awake was ebbing almost to the point of disappearance, despite his having been awake for several minutes.

Sephiroth let out another sigh and tossed his legs over the side of his bed. The cold of the wood floor was a welcome shock to the bottom of his feet. He ran a hand through his bangs before he stood.

It was a surprise, though not an unwelcome one, when Sephiroth entered the kitchen and found Aerith sitting at the table with a bowl of strawberries and sugar in front of her. She looked up, slightly startled, when Sephiroth entered the kitchen. A small smile crossed her face as she pushed the bowl of fruit toward her companion.

He accepted and plucked one of the larger berries off of the top of the pile. When he bit down, it was sweet and tart at the same time.

The two continued to eat in silence until the bowl was empty. Aerith traced her finger along the bottom of the bowl, picking up bits of sugar and juice, and licked the remains off, obviously saddened by the lack of more.

There was long silence shared between them. It was finally broken when Sephiroth coughed, quite by accident and out of need rather than to fill the quiet, and Aerith took it as a cue to speak.

"I think it's about time we left."

Sephiroth then realized the restlessness he felt in his body when he had awoken: it was the need to vacate, the urge to travel.

Back in Mideel, he had fallen in such a routine alongside Aerith that he hardly noticed as the days began to turn into weeks. After they had left their quiet lifestyle, however, it seemed that Sephiroth's body had once again picked up the habits of a wanderer; waking early, sleeping lightly, never being able to rest his legs for long before the urge to move began to bite at them.

Sephiroth, in reaction to Aerith's statement after several moments of thought, nodded. Perhaps the situation was easier with her understanding it was time to leave, rather than waiting until the last minute when Cloud would be prone to show up any second. Based off pervious, near miss, encounters with Cloud, Sephiroth felt it better if they refrained from taking any chances.

He was, after all, beginning to truly enjoy his new life, despite everything going on in it.

"I was hoping to ask you a favor, though." This time, Aerith made eye contact with Sephiroth's. He instantly knew her request to be of the serious kind and immediately gave her his attention with a nod, making sure she knew his awareness was centered around her.

"I want to visit Cosmo Canyon."

The request, much to Sephiroth's surprise, wasn't as unusual as he had been suspecting.

"There is a library there that has books about the Cetra, about my people. I want to read some of them."

Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow in curiosity.

Aerith's cheeks took on a slight pink color as she diverted her gaze from his. "I never really got a chance to find out more about myself, or where I come from. I think it would be nice to know about my past, the past of my people."

Turning his head, Sephiroth felt his chest grow heavy for a moment. Is finding out about who, or what, you truly are so important?

"I'm sorry." Aerith's amends was quick, though not without meaning. "It's just that, well, you got to find out about who you are from Vincent, and I don't really know that much about myself. I want to know who I am."

Sephiroth looked toward the flower girl and shot her a slightly scrutinizing look. What did it matter what her ancestors were like? All that held significance to Sephiroth was that she was, to him, important in her own right.

He forced, however, his face to show a slightly less terse expression. If she wanted to read books about the people she descended from, by all means she had the right. If she was unsure of who she was simply because she was unsure of those who came before her, then Sephiroth would help her. That is what, he decided, it all came down to. He would try his best to please her, and the act didn't get much easier than taking her to a library and letting her read a few history books.

"I have a friend in Cosmo Canyon, as well." Sephiroth watched Aerith bite her lip when she paused. "I'm not sure how he will react to you, so I was going to ask Vincent or Yuffie to come with us as far as the canyon or something."

Again, Sephiroth raised his eyebrow. Was her sudden want to travel to Cosmo Canyon due to her thirst for her history or her want to reunite with her friends? Either way, he decided as he lowered his eyebrow and relaxed his expression again, he would follow her to the edge of the stars and back if that is what made her smile.

Sephiroth's simple nod seemed to be exactly what Aerith had been hoping for. The slight tension that had built up in the room was released when she smiled up at him. He let a slight grin tug at the corners of his lips to reassure her.

"We should go pack, then. I'll talk to Vincent and Yuffie about our plans when they wake up."

With that, Aerith placed the empty bowl into the sink and made her way down the hall and up the stairs toward her room. Sephiroth, at the last minute, noticed a slight sparkle twisted around Aerith's neck. He slyly grinned to himself when he realized that she was wearing the ring upon the chain around her neck. He followed her upstairs only a few moments later, having wiped the smirk from his face.

Sephiroth had only finished packing a few moments before Yuffie charged into his room, without knocking it is to be added, with a rather fretful look about her face.

"Get out!" The simple statement is all that was exchanged between them.

Not yet accustomed to reading meaning behind the ninja's words, Sephiroth merely raised an eyebrow in question toward the youth, not sure how else to go about the situation of being practically ordered to 'get out.' Out of where; the room, the house, the city, or the solar system?

Yuffie, seemingly slightly agitated that the white-haired man before couldn't read her mind, flailed her arms in front of her while making a rather painful looking face. "Cloud just called and told us that he's over in Rocket Town visiting Cid's new kid, and wanted to know if he could stop by to say 'hi' to Vinnie and me."

Sephiroth gazed curiously at Yuffie, signaling that he knew there was more to the story than where she had decided to suddenly stop.

Again, Yuffie's arms waved wildly in front of her. "So what the hell do you think Vincent told him? He's stopping by in a day or two! We have to get you out of here, or else Spike's gonna chop you up!"

Before Sephiroth could do much in the field of reactions for what Yuffie and practically yelled at him, the girl had shot out of his bedroom and down the hallway where she began to pound on Aerith's door.

Nearly forgetting it from the night before, Sephiroth dashed to his bed and pulled from under his pillow the journal he had been keeping since he and Aerith had left Mideel. It was a Godsend the flower girl hadn't found and read it yet, and Sephiroth intended to keep it that way. He was pleased that the day before when she had found it she hadn't pressed the matter of what was kept inside. Opening his bag, he stuffed the book into the bottom-most compartment and zipped it securely in place. He began toward Aerith's room without any more hesitation.

"I just heard the news." Aerith was running from the dresser to her bed, stuffing her new clothing into her backpack and trying frantically to locate her missing sock, the mate of which was fit upon her right foot.

Sephiroth stopped Aerith by the shoulders and took a deep breath, signaling with a few nods that she should follow his lead. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The tension in her shoulders lessened, though it didn't completely disappear. When she opened her eyes, she attempted let a small smile cross her features. He let her go and helped her finish packing.

Vincent, phone in hand, made his entrance into Aerith's room just as Sephiroth had zipped up their last bag. "I can take you as far as the outskirts of town, but I don't think it would be wise for very many people to see me leave with you."

Aerith nodded, then looked out her window a little frantically.

Continuing, Vincent turned his gaze to Sephiroth. "I'm going to call ahead and tell Red to expect you."

Turning from the window, Aerith's breath hitched. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Vincent closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with the fingers on his good hand. "I don't know what else I can do for you other than talk to him first. If I leave now, I don't know if I would be able to make it back before Cloud arrives, and then what am I to tell him? This situation, no matter what we do, will not be easy. If, however, I speak with Red first, I think that our chances of chaos are lessened."

Sephiroth, taking the initiative, placed his hand on Aerith's shoulder to signify that he was ready to go if she was willing to follow. She didn't look at him when she turned, but Sephiroth could feel the resolve she had suddenly filled herself with, though where exactly she found it he was uncertain. She picked up her bag from the foot of the bed and looked at Vincent, determined. "We shouldn't waste any more time, then."

Yuffie was waiting for them at the doorway, a bag filled up with food rations in hand. She hugged Aerith with a face full of smiles and good wishes, reassuring the flower girl that they would see one another again soon enough, but Sephiroth could detect the sadness and fear being the ninja's words. She was wondering, fretting, over what was going to happen to them next, and was unsure of their ability to circumnavigate trouble. Offering up her open palm in a gesture of friendship, Yuffie shook the hand of the general and told him to take care. He smiled in return, and then followed Aerith and Vincent out the front door.

True to his word, Vincent only traveled with them a few hundred feet out of town. "This is where our paths split for another while, it would see."

Sephiroth, in an offer of truly meant friendship, offered up his hand toward the gunman. Vincent shook it, an obvious look of understanding crossing his face before they parted. Aerith did the same, though Sephiroth could tel she would like a good-bye hug a little more.

"I'll phone the old fire-cat right now. If anything goes wrong, I'll find you before you get there, alright?"

Aerith nodded in silence. Sephiroth followed the motion.

"Once last thing," Vincent began, pulling from his cape a small bundle of cloth, tied together with string. "Aerith, there are a few things in here I think that you need to see. I wish I could present these to you in a better way, but our time together, for now, is short, and what is in here are things you need to see."

Curious, Aerith outstretched her hand and accepted the package.

Before, however, Vincent let the parcel go, he looked Aerith directly in the eyes and took on a slightly solemn expression. "Wait a while before you read it, alright? Give yourself a little time to gather up some strength."

"Vincent, what exactly is-"

The gunman released the package and held up his hand, silencing the flower girl with a stern look. "It's not my place. I'm am to leave you now. As I said, if plans go awry with Red, or Cloud for that matter, I'll find you before things turn for the worse."

Aerith tucked the parcel in her bag, curious and slightly frightened look about her face.

"I suppose this is goodbye." The gunman smiled slightly. "Take care of one another. Until next time."

Aerith and Sephiroth watched as Vincent turned his back against them while he marched back to town. He was, just as promised, on his phone.

"Well, I guess we better start walking." Aerith's expression, despite her previous moods, was bright. Sephiroth smiled back at her and began to follow behind.