Theme: Romance/Adventure/Angst
Fandom: Final Fantasy
Pairing: Angeal Hewley x Cissnei/Shuriken
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1128
Summary: Honor can be quite the burden, a rookie TURK learns this first hand and from the most honorable SOLDIER of them all.
Authors Notes: For those who read this story on Livejournal will realize that this is a watered down version of chapters six and seven put together. Why? I'm trying to keep this version much cleaner written and with less unneeded length. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination and copy of Crisis Core. Don't sue me.
Chapter VI
Falling Down
She wasn't sure how long it had been before the book was rested on her lap and she began to fight to keep consciousness. She hadn't thought that it would be so quiet in the hospital wing, silent enough to make the young girl sleepy and eyes heavy. Her head began to bob as she attempted to stay awake, not wanting to fall asleep and have one of the two slumbering men wake up to see her so vulnerable. However, even in the state she was in, her senses were drained to a condition that could hardly pick up on much of anything. One of the things she had missed was the shift near her side, the feeling of someone observing her comical state. If she had known this, she would have found herself beyond embarrassed, which the being watching her knew and the reason they had yet to say anything.
She lost the fight against the dream world and her head descended forward, causing her small body to slump in the same direction. Being half asleep, the TURK hadn't released she was falling forward and off the chair until she thudded against the tile floor. She yelped in pain and surprise as she barely caught herself on her hands and knees, eyes wide and dancing around as if she was searching for the person who pushed her. She obviously came up with no one and relaxed a bit, at least, she figured, no one had saw what happened. The only issue with that was the hoarse chuckle that caught her attention—"Oh no."
"Cissnei," the owner of the chuckle called out, the tone rather dry and tired. The brown eyes of the young TURK snapped in the direction of the voice, her gaze meeting that of mako blues that were slightly open. She felt herself cringe at the sight of hidden pain, hidden behind a stoic mask that rocked her to her very core, reasons she didn't understand. Still, he seemed to ignore the concerned look upon her face as he blinked slowly. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she offered a meek smile as she pushed herself to her feet. "It's good to see you up."
"Yeah. . . ."
She questioned gently, "How are you feeling?"
"Considering everything," he offered his own forced smile, "Pretty good."
"Angeal. . ." She strolled over to him with concerned eyes, soon hovering over his resting form. She could clearly tell he was in pain, she didn't blame him with all the poking and prodding the doctors and scientists had been doing. She bit her lip gently, turning her gaze to the side as her peaceful and relaxed mood vanished, replaced with an almost motherly undertone. "Do you want me to get you something for the pain?"
"I'll manage," he grunted. She felt guilty as she placed her hand over top of his and gave him probably the weakest smile imaginable. She bent down next to his bed, feeling his hand twitching under hers very faintly. Her eyes moved back to his face to see a small smile playing across his lips, despite the agony that raged through him. "Cissnei. . ."
"Get some more rest, Angeal." She replied gently, "I'll be here when you wake up."
"I'm not tired."
"It'll do you some good," she added almost like an overly worried mother. "Remember the fast you heal, the quicker you'll be out of this place."
He launched a brow upward, "So?"
"So you're not missing from the public for too long, which means that no one will ask questions," she pointed out with a small smile. "I don't want the fan bases of Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley have me for failing to protect their idols."
"You shouldn't speak so lowly of yourself, Cissnei," Angeal offered a light smile while settling into his pillow. "You did excellent."
She appeared shocked, "What?"
"You heard me."
"I don't get it," she mumbled and pushed herself up. She hovered over him, trying to figure out if this was some stupid prank. "I failed in protecting the two of you. I failed to assist when I was needed the most. I failed the mission."
"You're wrong," he grunted and forced himself in a sitting position, despite Cissnei's protests. He lifted his gaze and locked it with hers, years of wisdom shone out at the young girl. "You show promise that most your age do not, men included. You sprung right into action, showing off the training that you had been put through since you had probably arrived here. You fought harder and with more pride and determination then I've seen in many of the second class SOLDIER members. You did good, you may not have 'protected' but you did assist. If Verdot punishes you for your actions during the mission, he'll have to deal with myself, and probably Sephiroth and Genesis."
"I—"
"You're going to make one of Shinra's Finest one day," he commented lowly before laying back down. The young TURK felt her cheeks heat up as she turned her gaze to the side, away from the raven-haired man. "I will have to speak to your superior about one thing though."
She perked up a bit, "What would that be?"
"Your name," he responded. "It's simply unspeakable to continue to call you Shuriken. Genesis was right, you know. You are a young lady and should be treated as such."
"Yeah but I doubt that Verdot would let me be called Cissnei." She frowned, "I can't imagine him ever allowing me to answer to anything but Shuriken."
"I'll speak him about it," Angeal replied while smiling faintly. "Just so you know, Cissnei was a suggestion, if you don't—"
"I like it," she flashed a sweet smile, one that if Verdot had seen, she would be scolded for giving. In truth, she loved the name and the way the three had said it in the past few hours. She even enjoyed saying it, which she had practiced a few times for the fun of just having a name. It was simple; Shinra had taken her real name away to give her a new life, one without the memories of the orphanage. They had give her Shuriken to prove it, and now that new pages were being written, she was given a new name, Cissnei, and she couldn't be happier. "I do hope you can talk him—"
"So that is who Cissnei is," came a ruff voice. The small TURK almost had a heart attack as she leaped off the floor and turned, spotting her superior standing in the doorway. He scowled at the two near the bed, as the SOLDIER grunted something under his breath. "I heard that, Hewley."
Angeal replied, almost smirking at the confused look on the auburn haired girl's face, "I see."
"Sir," the shuriken wielding TURK stood up straight. "Is there something wrong?"
"Shuriken," he turned his attention to his subordinate. "Would you mind running the files marked with Director Deusericus's name to him?"
"I can handle that, Sir," she nodded as she felt her stomach turn. "However, I made a promise to First Class SOLDIER Genesis Rhapsodos that I would be here when he woke up."
"Don't worry," Verdot comment dryly. "I'll be here to inform him of the situation. After all, it seems that Hewley wishes to speak to me about something."
"Right," the girl shivered before bidding Angeal a farewell look. She slowly made her way out of the room and passed Verdot, who finished entering, closing the door behind her. She gave one last glance over her shoulder before moving down the hall and heading out of the hospital wing. She wanted to jump for joy, thinking that maybe she could keep this new name given to her, but yet she felt her stomach twist and turn with another thought. What if this simple situation could get the three SOLDIER members in trouble, or even worse, herself?