"I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry, I had no idea it was like that..." Aeris began.

"That's quite alright. You get sick of hearing your own name after a while, but it's something I have to live with," Sephiroth forgave.

"What would do you if you ever had to go back there for a mission or something?" she inquired.

"I'd turn it down. I don't know how they would react to me if I ever went back there. Godo - if he's still around - would probably think nothing of it, considering the weight of the decision it was to give me his sword as one warrior to another... But the townsfolk would probably hate me for ultimately bringing Shinra to their lands and destroying their way of life, if not for the people I'd killed in cold blood that day."

Aeris looked up then, listening. She was silent for a moment, then she looked right at me, smiling softly. "They're playing the last song, would you join me for it?" She held out a hand.

"I don't really know how to slowdance," I hesitated.

"Just hold me." I took her hand and we went back inside. I held her, as directed, and we slowly turned in a circle, listening to the music.

"Sorry for interrupting your thoughts," she said.

"It's more than alright," I said. I hate talking about myself anyway. What posessed me to tell her all that?

"It's just that, I love this song. It has almost the same tune as one my mother used to sing to me."

"What was it called?"

"I don't really remember, but it had something to do with 'waking the dreaming'. It's a really old song."

The song was purely instrumental, the original artist not even considering to ruin the tune with lyrics about past loves or something typical like that. It had an eerie feel to it, at points upbeat but the slowness made it feel sad. If used in a movie it would well fit either a scene of old friends or relatives reuiniting, or a scene with something dark and morbid, like a funeral or a blood-soaked battlefield. My mind found itself focused on the image of a battlefield that was ingrained into my memory.

She chuckled softly against me. "There you go again," she said.

"Pardon?"

"Off in your own little world." She tapped my chest scoldingly with one finger.

"Ah. Sorry."

"It's okay. Believe it or not, being dark and brooding is something we have in common."

"I believe it."

"Really? Hmm. I must not be trying hard enough, what with the outwardly upbeat attitude and the pink dress I always wear."

"I get the sense that you understand things better than you let on, and you have a somewhat... Dark past, if you don't mind my saying. Your parents."

She was silent for a moment before nodding in affirmation. "Mmhmm."

"I apoligize. I probably shouldn't have said anything."

"It's alright. I've come to terms with it... As much as I really can." Her voice grew softer, and I got the sense she was about to cry so I held her tighter, hoping that maybe that would stop the flow of tears. "I just wish... I really appreciate how open you've been with me about yourself, and how much you respect me to be so open, but... I just wish I could return the favour, tell you more about myself, aswell."

"And why don't you?"

"My big secret. I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you anything even related to it. You're going to figure it out for yourself eventually, but when the time is right to."

I did feel a little betrayed. Logically I could understand the desire for secrecy, but in my mind I couldn't comprehend exactly what would be so horrible about her that she would go to such great lengths to conceal it. There was Tseng's involvement with her; He was probably the one that had her put into the private school, under a false identity. A friend of the family, and an excellent man to have to hide something from Shinra, working within it you knew how to beat the system. And then there was Hojo, why would he have anything to say to her, let alone something to shake her so badly? What was once thought of as a kind and gentle girl living with her mother in the slums was now a very suspicious character with apparently a secret so deep and dark that she had an elaborate system set up to hide her very existence from the world.

She had been silent for a while, clinging to my coat and now wracked with silent sobs. "I'm so sorry..." she said, her voice muffled. "I'd hate to think of you as anything but a great friend."

I could do nothing but stroke her hair and wonder.

Quiz time!

Question: In the game Final Fantasy 7, how exactly does Aeris make it through the sleeping forest by herself when the party has to waste time digging for the Lunar Harp?

Answer: In this author's mind, she sang a song to the forest. In the Final Fantasy digest feature on the Advent Children movie DVD, the scene in where the party is trapped in the cells on the top floor of the Shinra building was changed slightly. In the English version Aeris is talking about how the ancients are supposed to find the Promised Land, but in the Japanese game she sang a song about it (As surmised from her blocky character swaying in the feature thing and the lyrical tone of the translated dialogue). The song? Aeris' theme of course.

Question: What time is it Miss Author person?

Answer: It is exactly 6:22am as I write this. Two chapters in one night, and my alarm is about to go off for work today. You people owe me at least one review.

I HATE INSOMNIA.

Kinda pointless to put the little (Edit) line here, considering the number of times I've already touched this up with the document manager and swapped it in with the replace chapter feature, but I just thought of how comically appropriate it is for the line above with my chosen chapter title. Ha, ha. You may now go back to appreciating my work. :)