"If I could be any part of you, I'd be your tears, to be conceived of your heart, born in your eyes, live on your cheeks, and die on your lips." –Unknown.

[Ch.3]

The mako pool was a massive opening in the earth; it seemed bottomless when the brilliant glow of mako reflected the sunlight. The concentrated outpour of the natural energy had caused the nearby trees to bloom dense bulbs; even the surrounding vegetation seemed fuller and greener. Although the pool was beautiful the stench was horrid, it violated the senses to an extent that Sephiroth could taste it in the back of his throat. SOLDIER experiments had left him almost immune to the smell, the science department always held the faint odor of mako; it didn't affect him like the others. The rest of the party choked on the smell, they covered their mouths and wrinkled their brows in disgust. Sephiroth smirked, even Midgar smog didn't smell this bad.

"We're going to have to get to the center of the pool if we want to extract a sample." Barret announced through gritted teeth.

The center of the pool was accessible only by a makeshift bridge of old rope and even older wood. Most likely made by the locals under Shinra order, Sephiroth couldn't help but wonder if some cocky local had crafted the bridge in hopes that unlucky company personnel would fall to their death, apparently everyone else had this view as well. The four members in the group stood still, anticipating the bravest to venture first. Sephiroth gave an inward sigh; sometimes being the General had its definite downfalls.

Taking the lead he walked past the girl and couldn't help but notice the anxiety in her face and the way she shook like a leaf, her eyes scrutinized the bridge like a rabbit searching for a potential predator. Was she afraid of crossing? He was tempted to mock her for it but not with the president in range, instead he touched her shoulder. Tifa stilled instantly and he was surprised by the way she managed to control her emotion on whim. She met his eye questionably, "Afraid?" he whispered.

Tifa gave him a furtive look laced with boldness, "Of what?" she hissed.

Sephiroth leered triumphantly, "Ladies first." He stated loudly.

Something in the girl slipped and her face momentarily fell, analyzing the bridge once again she stepped lightly on the platform, "Very well."

The bridge swayed slightly with her weight but she managed a steady pace across, Sephiroth followed behind keeping his weight balanced in the middle to prevent added momentum. The other two weren't so graceful; their feet plundered hurriedly across causing the rope to sway. He turned back to shout a warning but it was too late, Tifa's weight had jarred and she stepped to the side to catch her balance. The ancient wood creaked in protest and the board broke in half.

The girl screamed in terror, even if she survived the fall the mako exposure from her dive in would be too great. Visions of a slow death from Mako poisoning flashed before her mind. A firm hand encircled its way around her waist spinning her around, pulling her away from the danger, and crushing her against a wall of muscle. The world around them came to a stop, the concerned cry from her comrade Barret barely reached her ears. She closed her eyes, willing her body to calm itself, willing the adrenaline away. Tifa whispered into her savior's ear, "I'm getting tired of you rescuing me."

The deep rumble of his chest told her he was chuckling, it reminded her of a distant thunder, dangerous when close but beautiful from faraway. Then she was aware of how close she really was to the man, her face practically buried below his shoulder blade. From this proximity she could feel the strong rhythmic thump of his heartbeat. It almost surprised her, as a young child she had heard stories of this man's murderous ability. His bloodlust in Wutai and all the heroic yet terrible things he had done, but she had never imagined that Gods required a heart. His beat in a rather frantic fashion compared to its owner's solid composure. Her mind reeled against the contact pulling her out of such dangerous thoughts; she drew away from him and faced the others.

"I'm ok really, its fine," she flashed a trademark smile towards Barret before sidestepping over the new gap in the bridge.

With Tifa's back turned Sephiroth cursed himself, the thoughts that had stirred through his mind when she touched him were inappropriate and he had no business in thinking them. He was much older than her and she was barely into her womanhood, but the way her body felt against his own had made him weak with yearning. His heart had beat madly against his ribs and he was sure she had felt the traitorous sound. The look she had given him when he pulled her from certain death, he could have drowned in those eyes. And when she had whispered in his ear he had swooned on the low melody of her voice added with the quiet intimacy of the gesture.

She could play his body like an instrument, bending his will with ease, heating his blood with a simple look. Whether she knew of her power or not, Sephiroth didn't know but he did realize that he was cursed and it drove him mad. A SOLDIER was not meant to cave into emotion, to feel for another human being, it drove him mad that he could barely control himself around the girl. It was a weakness, he was weak and he wouldn't tolerate it.

As SOLDIER first class they were all told it wasn't wise to keep a wife. Too much was at stake when Shinra went to war, casualties were unavoidable even first class ones. A soldier dies and leaves behind a young family, the media would post this on the headlines and paint Shinra in murderous red. Despite all this, Sephiroth knew of a few comrades who were married or had girlfriends. He heard their sentimental stories of first dates, saw them fret over simple gifts for birthdays and anniversaries, and had even reprimanded a few for bringing back their lovers to the dorms, all the while fighting the poisonous feeling that coiled in his stomach that he knew as jealousy.

Shinra and SOLDIER had been his everything since birth; he had never known what it was like to fall for another, or to be lost in a lover's embrace, or to have someone who cared, loved, and bled for him. It had all been explained to him in scientific terms as the primal need to carry on genes and ensure the survival of a race.

He felt grass crunch under his boots signaling the end of the bridge and the center of the pool. Tifa bounced ahead following behind Barret who carried several test beakers. The president thoroughly exhausted, took a seat on a nearby rock with an ungraceful thump. Sephiroth leaned his back against one of the poles that anchored the bridge folding his arms over his chest with languid ease, now it was a game of more waiting on the tree huggers to extract a sample.

OOOO

An hour later Tifa and Barret shuffled back, excitement evident on their faces as they talked in animated tones about the mako samples that glowed eerily from within the test tubes. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed at the president, expecting him to drone on about politics and the greatness of mako. However the man did not, in fact he stayed put on the rock looking quite like a frog. He was slumped over to the side his beady eyes closed as if in sleep. Clearly agitated, Sephiroth rose to wake the man he called his name but to no avail, the president didn't even stir. Sephiroth shook the man's shoulder roughly and once again Shinra didn't move.

"Is he ok?" Tifa murmured lowly.

It was quite possible that with all the effort of traveling to the mako pool the president had overexerted himself. It was quite common in a man as out of shape and as fat as Shinra. It would have amused Sephiroth if the president's health weren't in question; he prodded the man again in vain earning himself a sigh from Tifa.

"Out of the way," she grumbled pushing past Sephiroth, she leaned in to check the man's pulse then she checked his breathing.

"Well he's still alive but his breathing is rather weak."

"Great," Barret sighed sitting on the ground he looked at Sephiroth darkly, "now we'll have to call in a medic right?"

Even more agitated than before Sephiroth nodded.

"Damn excellent," Barret grumbled.

Tifa eyed her companion seriously; "You're not making matters easier, help me move him in the shade while the General calls for help."

Sephiroth flipped open his PHS and began to dial the extension, today was getting worse by the minute.

OOOO

It was close to nightfall before the medics finally showed up, convinced that the president was only suffering from minor heatstroke and overexertion, they had put Shinra's greatness on the backburner until their other patients could be handled. The president was awake by this point, shouting obscenities at the young medic who desperately tried to check his vitals.

All alone, Tifa sat on a log across from the General; her tired eyes watched the distant scenario with mild amusement. She sighed softly and pulled a loose strand of hair away from her face, he had been watching her movements for quite some time but now he went noticed. Her eyes searched his for a long moment without saying a word; Sephiroth became unnerved by her obvious stare and looked away.

Tifa smiled pensively, "I suppose we'll have to spend the night here, it's getting too dark to travel."

Sephiroth inwardly growled at the idea, he had had enough of this foolish Shinra façade.

"Is my presence that discomforting?" Tifa asked playfully.

Oh yes, her presence was discomforting all right. It was infuriating, dangerous, delightful, and tempting all at the same time.

"Lesser than the presidents," he answered quickly.

She smiled again and Sephiroth noticed the way the corners of her mouth seemed to wrinkle softly, a sign of a life spent with happiness and natural mirth. He wondered what it looked like when he smiled, he wasn't sure he smiled a lot, it probably looked more like a snarl. He could remember being told jokingly by the other soldiers that if he ever smiled his face would crack.

"Hmm, not a fan I see?"

He shook his head.

"Most people aren't, even I find it hard to bear him sometimes. I've only heard stories of Shinra back home, but when I took this mission on I found out that they're all true."

He saw the opportunity to ask where she was from, something he'd been wondering since the Shinra ball, "Where is home to you?"

Her face brightened at the question, "Nibelheim," she stated proudly.

Nibelheim? He wanted to laugh. That small spit of a town was only good for housing a mako reactor.

"Do you live in Midgar?"

She nodded slowly.

"Why would you leave your hometown for a hell like Midgar?" he smirked.

Her face fell softly and instantly he regretted asking, "Well I've always wanted to see the world, being from a small-town and all, everyone leaves Nibelheim eventually. Truthfully, I had hoped to come to Midgar to find a boy I once knew."

Sephiroth felt a tightening stab to the chest; he wanted to change the subject, to do anything that would divert what she had just said.

"But I never found him," her voice broke off, "I gave up trying, it was time to move on so I started helping out Barrett and his operation."

Her face brightened again whether with effort or genuine happiness he wasn't sure. What an ignorant man he thought wistfully, to dash the affections of a woman like Tifa. If he had been given such a chance as that, immediately he cursed himself for the longing of such an opportunity. He'd never been given such a chance, and he never would, he was Shinra's elite, their general, and their star. To fall for a commonplace woman with no general importance wasn't the company's goal for him. Besides, she despised Shinra and all it affiliates, what would ever make her leave with him? She wouldn't love him, something darker hissed with anger in his mind. It told him it shouldn't matter for he was mightier than all, he could make her love him.

A small ivory hand lightly touched his own, he looked up to find warm eyes searching his own with concern. It hadn't even registered in his mind that Tifa had left her perch and walked over.

"Hey? Are you all right? You've been quiet for awhile you haven't even moved."

He was surprised by her newfound courage to touch him when earlier one look would have her recoiling in anger. Tifa was close enough that he could smell her perfume, the very same she had worn at the banquet. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer that he wasn't willing to give. No one had ever looked at him with such kindness; he felt pleasure at the fact that it was solely directed at him.

Sephiroth still hadn't answered her and her concern had turned to worry. She inclined her chin with renewed persistence, revealing the delicate column of her neck; she brushed his hand again more urgently than before, attempting to coax a reply.

Sephiroth grabbed her neck with his freehand pulling her closer; his fingers felt the sharp intake of her gasp against the soft flesh. For a moment it reminded him of the countless times he had choked the life out of a man with this very hand in the very same fashion as now. However, he had no intention of strangling this girl for her company would be rather missed. Tifa's touch had stirred a violent response full of need, her eyes looked at him full of shock more than fear.

"What are you doing?" she whispered hoarsely.

He silenced her in an instant, his lips claiming her own in eager desperation. She strained against him automatically, and then he felt her frame press against him as her mouth responded on it's own accord. Tifa's arms twisted a path around his back feeling every Shinra-trained muscle, he groaned with their fulfillment.

Desperation turned to fire as he bit her lip seeking entrance into a mouth that had spit such venom before. She was hesitant to comply; at that moment he realized that she was as foreign to these transgressions as himself. Elation now fueled his lust; she had accepted him as her first for all these things. He released her throat, biting her lip again he was pleased to find she responded this time, she tasted bittersweet to his awakened senses, it was a taste he was sure he'd crave for a lifetime. Tifa's thin fingers twined their way into his hair, pulling gently where she could to allow access down his neckline, a low growl responded deep from his throat.

His greedy hands wanted nothing more than to explore her frame just as she was his, but he remembered her hesitation. Tifa radiated innocence and serenity, how could he taint her with his bloodied hands? Shinra's war beast and this simple girl, it just wasn't to be.

Regaining his bearings he pulled away from her heated embrace. Tifa's hands attempted briefly to pull him back and he ached to answer them but refused. She pulled her mind back into place as she blushed dark crimson.

"I better go check on Barrett," she replied rather dully. Pulling her hair back into place she hurried off, hurt and horror were etched into her face.

NOTE: Suspense…Ahh I love it! Review please? Pretty Please?