Hey there.... I know it's been quite a while since i last updated this story, but I've finally got round to getting this chapter up.
I've moved house which took some doing and I'm currently at my mum's for part of my holiday - so i haven't been able to write much on any story... so I'm sorry for the long delay.
Disclaimer:I do not own any aspect of FFVII except during my dreams - so without any further ado, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 3
It was a nice, quiet afternoon during which Jen planned to go visit her cousin before coming back to ShinRa to revise her writing exams which were rapidly approaching. So stashing a blade down the inside of her knee high black boots before pulling on her long winter coat, which covered said boots by reaching her ankles, Jen began the trek to the exit of the ShinRa building. Once outside, she could breathe easy, free from the areas of high suspicion. Women were notallowed to join SOLDIER, and yet she'd been a cadet for going on two years... and that was with her father's best friends knowledgeable of her and one cadet accidentally finding out – luckily Kai had been firmly into men before that meeting...
She shook her head as she went passed the fountain, up the stairs and along to the station, back to acting like an actual woman. The train was ready to pull away when she stepped aboard, the conductor muttering something or other until she flashed him a dazzling smile – that shut him pretty quickly and when she finally steeped off into the slums, more than one man's heart was broken on the train. She watched the children carefully, remembering when she'd first been down here and one little brat had attempted to steal her wallet from her pocket.
Pity she wasn't allowed to have Sirius with her in Midgar...
The grey church effectively silenced her thoughts as she entered the sentinel-like building, not once allowing herself to look at the debris gathered around it. Jen paused long enough to sort her mind out as an extra voice wormed its way into her head. – It wasn't that it was unwelcome, it was just it was so oppressing and turbulent.
"You came back." The brunette near the flowers turned with a bright smile on her face.
"Of course, it's not everyday that I get a free afternoon to come down and visit you." Jen walked towards the flowers, the heels on her boots tapping against the wooden floor in a calming fashion. Aeris watched as Jen kneeled beside her and put her silver head against her bare shoulder, locks of silver brushing against the flowery strap.
"Headache?" Jen nodded briefly in answer to her question. Aeris placed a hand on Jen's head, causing the throbbing pain in Jen's head to recede and her face to relax into a peaceful smile.
"I think it's because i don't talk or listen to her like you and Mother. Heck, even Gem listens to her more than me..."
"But we're not the ones trying out for SOLDIER – you are." Aeris shook her head gently, as her cousin sighed slightly whilst half-rolling her eyes.
"But I'm not the one who completely blocks my memories, am i?" Jen's frown returned as she thought back to her partial amnesia – it was only her childhood she had difficulty remembering due to some sort of barrier in her mind that wasn't of her creation.
"I don't know why Gaia does that – maybe there's something she doesn't want you to know?"
"Aeris, I have a number two tattoo on my left hand." Jen sat upright, her right hand clenched around her gloved left. "What's so bad that the Planet blocks it from me mentally but not physically?"
"I honestly don't know... but it must have to do with that tattoo." Aeris frowned at Jen's left hand, before her smile brightened as other thoughts entered her mind.
"Your little Puppy coming today?" Jen smirked softly as Aeris' cheeks coloured a delicate rose shade.
"It's his first free afternoon in a long while – he's gonna spend an hour or so with me before he goes back."
"An hour or so? Aeris, if it's an afternoon, he should spend most of it with you." Jen folded her arms across her chest, her silver hair swaying softly at the motion.
"He's the Lieutenant of SOLDIER – he can't spend all afternoon with me, it just doesn't work like that."
"Ahh... I get it – an hour or so to get away from the paperwork." Aeris glared at her, prompting Jen to continue in a bid to defend herself. "What? Everyone knows Zack tries to get away from his paperwork." Aeris sighed before shaking her head, her long brown plait moving like a snake along her back.
"I know he's not an office type – he's too energetic for that – just like an actual puppy." Jen leaned to the side as Aeris sighed very dreamily.
"Ok... Miss Gainsborough – i shall take my leave and let you and the Puppy have a good 'hour or so'..." Jen gave a small bow as she stood, Aeris giving a bright smile as she watched her elder cousin's antics.
Jen left the church in a brighter mood than the one she had entered with – even after the headache the Planet had given her. She began to make her way through the slums back towards the station when the raven spiky locks of a certain SOLDIER caught her attention.
'He's not heading towards the church... what?' Jen frowned as she watched Zack seemingly chat up a store keeper, causing suspicion to grow inside of her...
'Oooh! She'll love that.' She bit back a sigh of relief when she saw what the 1st Class was now holding – trust Zack to find a store that sold flower seeds. She shook her head before continuing her way to the station.
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Sephiroth cursed under his breath as he entered his office – the paperwork had yet again piled itself high on his desk. If only he could cast a Fire on it and watch it burn to ash...
It wasn't even 4 in the afternoon!
However there was one godsend; there would be no Zack to bother him as the 1st Class had gone to see his woman in the slums. Zack had tried to introduce them before, but something always came up – which in fact he was secretly pleased happened. To meet Zack's latest interest would remind him of things best kept in the past, especially since they had been cousins...
He shook his head before he could get too distracted and picked up the first file. Upon opening it, he shut it firmly once again, groaning softly to himself – why did Zack have to torture him? Why couldn't the Puppy have chosen another cadet to train? Why did it have to be the one that shared a very similar name to...?
"Wait a moment." Sephiroth reopened the file and sure enough there it was – the name Jen Laurett. He cast a glance towards the desk drawer which housed a single long-hidden photo, causing him to sift through memories.
"What did Angeal say about her name?" He sat back in his chair, thinking back to his youth when he first met the girl named Jennifer...
"Hi!"
"Hey kid – what are you doing here?" Angeal ruffled the silver tresses of the girl gently.
"Came to see what you're doing." She smiled softly at them, eyes glowing like sapphires. "And my name's Jennifer not kido!"
"Jennifer can be shortened you know."
"Can it? What else could i be called Angeal?" She gazed at the black haired boy, waiting anxiously for a list of names.
"How about Pain? Annoyance? Brat? Trouble?" The red haired youth sat nearby began to trawl through a lot of his pet names for her.
"I asked Angeal not you, Genesis!"
"Well, you could have Jenny, Jen or J." She turned back to Angeal as he mentioned the possibilities for her.
"Jenny – J reminds me of Hojo's name for her." He looked at her from over the book he was reading.
"Why not Jen?" She turned challenging eyes on his jade ones, secretly demanding her answer.
"Jen can be when you're our age."
"Mmmmm..... OK!" Jenny gave them a big grin before running back to where ever she'd popped in from.
"That kid is trouble...." Genesis leaned back after seizing Loveless from its resting place on the floor.
"Jennifer can be shortened to Jen and she'd just be 19 now." He looked down at the file in his hand which clearly stated that Jen Laurett's 19th birthday had just been – January 15th. The thing that caught his complete attention was that there was no photo of the cadet – and it was stated that all ShinRa and SOLDIER personnel were required to have a single photo in their file… just in case something occurred whilst they were working for the company and it needed to be reported to family members – it was also mainly for identification purposes.
Glancing between the mound of paperwork still awaiting him and at the file in hand, he had a decision to make: work or pursuing the cadet.
Closing the door behind him as he left, he didn't even bother looking back at the pile that was inevitably going to grow even larger before he returned later…
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"Now let's see… Physics revision or war theory?" Jen looked between the two books from a distance. The Physics one was slightly larger, albeit she did know more about war theory thanks to her father's constant drilling about SOLDIER. She couldn't even practice her swordplay or skills due to the first year cadets moving onto more complex lessons involving said skills – even the First Class training hall was closed to her today as Rimes was in a meeting apparently. What she wouldn't give to be a First Class at the moment…
She sighed softly as she picked up the Physics book – no point in delaying the inevitable…
That was until a soft but firm knock sounded on her door. She stared at it for a moment, wondering who it could be; it couldn't be one of her cadet mates as they were all out enjoying their free afternoon… and it couldn't be Rimes due to his meeting…
Taking a deep breath she went to open the door, hoping it was Kai coming back early so they would have more time to talk...
No such luck.
"Oh Lieutenant Fair!" She wasn't sure if the scream she heard was in fact in her head or out loud.
"Hey kid – i was wondering f i could have a word with you."
"Sure." She motioned for him to come in before shutting the door behind him. "Is there something wrong?"
"There's nothing wrong - I just have a proposition for you." Zack leaned against the wall, arms folded loosely.
'Oh – thank Shiva for that.' Jen inwardly sighed as a shot of relief hit her like a ton of bricks - he wasn't there to kick her out. "So what is it Lieutenant?" She tried to keep her face neutral, concealing any concern she had behind a mask of indifference.
"Well, it appears you have a natural talent." Zack gave a flash of a smile as he thought back to the cadet's lesson, where he had been purely captivated by her movements with a sword.
"A natural talent? Like your... flirtatious behaviour?" Her left eyebrow rose in speculation, her silver hair holding behind her shoulders for a change as she gave her shoulders a gentle shrug.
"That's right – only yours is in swords." He tried to keep his sudden curiosity at bay as the person in front of him began to look spookily similar to a certain tall, silver haired General he knew.
"Let me guess – if you're here, talking about natural sword talents... You want to ask if I'll do extra lessons?"
"Someone should give you a prize – how did you figure it out?"Spell broken – now it was just Jen standing in front of him, with a quirky little smile on the cadet's lips.
"Lucky guess I suppose... Plus Rimes gave me a heads up." Jen smiled softly as she thought back to earlier when Rimes had caught her in the corridor heading towards the cafeteria.
"That old bear – he said I would be the one to tell you." Jen had to stifle her laughter as Zack pulled a very puppy like face – now she understood why Aeris sometimes had a hard time dealing with the lieutenant of SOLDIER.
"So why did it take you so long to ask?"
"I had to clear a slot for the training room – or would you rather use those pathetic practice swords instead of this delightful blade?" Jen couldn't help but gasp at what he removed from his back - after all Zack was holding her beloved weapon, the Aurora Blade.
"I'm allowed to use Aurora?" She couldn't wait for his answer, it had been almost two years since she'd last held the Aurora Blade and its golden finish was exactly the same as it had been then, barely a blemish or scratch visible.
"So that's what it's called, huh? What do ya say to take it for a spin now?" He knew what the answer would be due to the look on Jen's face and the slight twitch in her right hand after he brought the golden sword into view.
"Now?" She looked between Zack, the sword in his hand and the physics book before making up her mind. "How long we got?" Zack grinned, a sparkle in his eyes.
'Hook, line and sinker...'
