[A/N: Wow, there wasn't a fifteen-billion year gap between last chapter and this one! O: Well, there isn't much slashy goodness in this apart from at the beginning ): Sorri~]

The morning dawned cold and bright, the sun blazing down triumphantly but giving little warmth. There was a paper-thin coating of glittering ice over every surface once again, the flattened and now withering grass outside the tents sparkling like crushed crystal. The sky was a deep rich blue in the west and pale azure in the east; the wind of the night before had died, leaving only a few scattered leaves in its blustery wake. Seabirds wheeled and dived once more this morning, their renewed joy in the day ringing out with their exuberant cries.

Sephiroth woke slowly from a deep sluggish slumber, rising from the depths of unconsciousness to the pale light. Before he opened his eyes, his skin registered cold air on the backs of his upper arms and shoulders, but a soft warmth enveloped the rest of his body; the side of his face rested comfortably on a regularly rising and falling heat source, his arms were wrapped loosely around a slim neck, hair tickling his hands, and he in turn was encompassed in a light embrace. Slowly, he opened his eyes, squinting slightly at the morning illumination, but did not move his head, content to be still and reminisce the night that had passed. He remembered all the exhilaration, all the passion, all the satisfaction of those glorious hours, half-closing his eyes again to relive some of the moments; Genesis' tongue trailing across his skin like the touch of a ghost, his elegant fingers tracing the contours of Sephiroth's body, the taste of his perfect lips...

An exhalation of breath, and Genesis stirred, arms tensing and then relaxing again as he returned to wakefulness. Shifting slightly, Sephiroth moved his head to gaze up at the redhead's face, watching his expression lift from dreams to sleepy consciousness and meeting his eyes as they opened. He unhooked one arm from around Genesis' neck to brush a strand of tousled hair from his face and moved to kiss him; Genesis smiled sleepily against his lips and lazily began to brush his fingers through the silver hair spread on top of the bedcover.

"Good morning," murmured Sephiroth with a drowsy smile and another brief kiss.

"How long have you been awake?" asked Genesis quietly, fingers moving to the next section of hair. "What time is it?"

Sephiroth shifted again to raise himself onto his elbows. "I only just woke up, and I think it's a little past dawn." He stifled a yawn, and Genesis' mouth curved upwards again.

"A little after dawn..." he mused. "Then we have..."

"Time enough," Sephiroth murmured, eyes suddenly like a predator feigning weariness to throw its prey off the scent. "They won't be up and about for a while yet..."

He leaned down to gently touch his lips to Genesis' and grinned inwardly when the fingers in his hair tensed and then sped up their elegant caress.

Oh, there would be time enough indeed.

-

The leaves rustled on thick branches as Sephiroth carefully pushed aside a bough with the flat of his sword, every sense alert to the slightest reaction from the settlement beyond. Small wooden houses crowded into the steep base of a lush green valley, clustered around the deep gurgling stream that forged a path down its centre.

Halfway up the southern bank, close to the pass they had traversed to reach the valley, a small part of the SOLDIER contingent lay warily. This nondescript little village was one of the first lookouts of the Wutain army, so Lazard's magical file had informed Sephiroth, and he could see why it could be true. The valley was near the coast, and contained two of the main passes and routes through the mountainous terrain; if ShinRa did attack the country from a landing point further south than here, they would inevitably have to pass through this valley. Looking closer, Sephiroth could see that some of those small figures moving in between the huts and surrounding sloping fields had the unmistakeable bearing and air of trained soldiers, though they wore no insignia or uniform.

Surely they wouldn't waste their precious Crescent Unit on an outpost such as this; these must be common infantrymen, with kittle inclination to fight or posted here for discipline. Sephiroth tightened his grip on his masamune and a tiny smile crept onto his face as he stared predatorily down at the settlement. There are seven of us, and – he paused to take another look and do some estimations – perhaps ten of them, with women and children. Outnumbered, but we can take them easily. He smiled inwardly.

We are SOLDIER, after all.

He silently signalled to his six subordinates to spread out along the slope in a drill long-practised and planned. With barely a rustle, they did as he ordered and soon were lost in the depths of the undergrowth. Their leader waited until the men in the village were occupied on the far side of the huts by the stream and prepared to give the signal.

Yet, just as he tensed his left fist around his sword hilt and began to raise his right arm, he heard a scuffle and whipped his head around to stare, arm dropping and tensing again as he did so. In the foliage around two hundred metres to his right, the sounds of an altercation reached his enhanced ears, the tips of the branches swaying and crackling with the movements at their bases. Cursing silently to himself, Sephiroth swung around and rushed towards the disturbance, barely stirring the branches in his wake.

A Second-Class SOLDIER was grappling with an armed Wutain, swords batting uselessly in the confined area, fists and feet striking out to try and gain an advantage. Sephiroth swept from the nearby bushes and forced them apart, knocking the Wutain's short sword to the ground and then placing his blade at the man's throat with superhuman speed.

"Stay… very still," he murmured into the man's ear, one gloved hand clamped over his mouth. Gesturing to the Second-Class to recall the other five SOLDIERs, he continued to restrain the Wutain impassively, hold gradually tightening as the man struggled.

"It won't work," he whispered menacingly. "You're coming back with us. You're going to tell us about your army's numbers, strongholds, tactics, movements – everything." The man's eyes were wild and he struggled more violently. Smiling, Sephiroth allowed the edge of his masamune to indent the Wutain's skin ever so lightly, and made sure the warm blood trickled nice and freely down his neck. The man froze, eyes bulging out of his head in abject terror.

"Good idea," Sephiroth advised. The other six SOLDIERs returned and the First-Class instructed them to tie the man up, hands and ankles bound tightly with rough but strong rope. In one movement, Sephiroth removed his hand from the man's mouth and gagged him, deftly knotting the material behind his head and tightening it with a vicious tug.

"Let's get back," he commanded with a terse nod in the direction of their camp. The SOLDIERs nodded and, taking the prisoner between them, they started back to the shore.

-

"Are you sure this one even knows anything?"

Genesis' tone was cynical, his eyes doubtful in the torchlight as he addressed Sephiroth outside the prisoner's tent. Sephiroth's eyes were in shadow as he bent his head in thought.

"I'm fairly certain," he replied slowly. "He cannot have been an ordinary infantryman, if he was able to surprise one of our SOLDIERs so easily… and his brawling style was not amateur," He shook his head. "He's close to cracking, I can tell – just another interrogation."

Genesis regarded him doubtfully still. "Well, I'll leave this one to you then," he conceded and stepped back to allow Sephiroth entry to the tent. "After you," he said, with the flash of a secret smile that none of the men saw. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed ever so slightly in reprimand but his mouth twitched upwards for a half-second in return.

Then, straightening his shoulders and setting his expression to the cold mask that everyone always saw and knew him by, he swept aside the tent opening and stalked inside, feeling Genesis glide in behind him and then relishing the sudden terror on the gagged prisoner's face. He was tied securely to a sturdy metal chair in the centre of the tent, hand behind him and ankles strapped to the legs of the seat. Calmly, Genesis sidled over to another chair and settled casually into it, one leg loosely crossed over the other, and affected disinterest. Meanwhile, Sephiroth circled to the back of the prisoner's head and untied the gag, viciously ripping it out of the man's mouth and tossing it to one side.

The prisoner coughed and gasped, then regained his composure with his lost breath and stared insolently at Sephiroth as the SOLDIER sauntered back into his line of vision. The silver-haired man slowed and stopped after a few steps, then turned suddenly and glared at the Wutain.

"Where is the Wutain army stationed?"

At the man's obtuse silence, Sephiroth raised a hand and hit him across the face, snapping his head to one side. Still no sound, but they had come to expect that in the past few hours of questioning. Resuming his pacing, Sephiroth folded his hands behind his back and looked up at the roof.

"How many men are there in the Wutain army?"

Silence.

Sephiroth let the pause drag out for a while as he halted again, back to the prisoner.

"I asked," he said in a low, threatening tone, "a question. You will answer it."

The man said nothing for a moment, then began to laugh quietly to himself, growing in volume as neither First-Class SOLDIER said a word; Genesis did not even bother to look around. Sephiroth let the man chuckle for a minute or so, and then swung in a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn, hand flying with his momentum to land a crushing backhanded swipe to the laughing face. The Wutain's head twisted to the side and a tooth flew from his mouth in a spray of blood. There was another pause, then he began to laugh again, turning his bloodstained visage back to Sephiroth.

"I – won't – tell – you – anything!" he sneered, panting in pain. "ShinRa – dogs!"

Genesis rolled his eyes from his seat on the man's left and sighed. "You know that isn't an insult any more?" he questioned lightly. "Please, if we're going to be at this all night, at least think up something else to accuse us of."

Sephiroth cast him a glance, not allowing himself a longer look in case he should be distracted from his work. "All right, we'll stop there then," he said casually. "I'll get one of the men to kill him, we can just dump him in the sea to dispose of the body…"

The man's condescending gaze flickered with fear for just a second, but Sephiroth saw it and it was enough. No matter what we say, all that matters to him is his own skin. They're all the same.

He smiled wolfishly, eyes cold. Without another word, he went to the entrance of the tent and made to call the man outside.

"No!"

The Wutain had finally cracked. Eyes wild, he struggled against his bonds as Sephiroth turned deliberately back to him.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything!" He spat a little blood and looked desperately from one SOLDIER to the other. "The army's stationed mainly at Fort Tamblin, some in Wutai itself and some further north. They're planning to begin their assault on ShinRa outposts near here, and then move onto Midgar once they're crushed all support." He nodded spasmodically and stared at Sephiroth pleadingly. "There's more of them than in the ShinRa army, that's for sure."

Genesis stood lazily and eyed the man. "And all this is the truth?"

The Wutain nodded again. "I swear on Leviathan."

Sephiroth considered for a moment and then nodded. "It's enough," he said emotionlessly. "We'll keep him here until morning."

"What are you going to do with me then?" the prisoner shrieked, struggling again. "Please, I've told you all I-"

His words were cut off as Genesis stuffed the gag back into his mouth and tied it easily. Sephiroth laughed coldly and raised a hand in sardonic farewell, allowing Genesis to leave first.

"Sleep well," he called as he left, and received a muffled yell in return as he followed Genesis back towards their tents.

Yes, the Wutain should sleep well that night. Sephiroth for one wasn't planning to.

[Hahaha, yeah I think that's a bit of a rubbish interrogation technique too xD SHHHH]