Afternoon from England all! Kicking off another chapter and one that has been close to giving me a nervous breakdown lol!
First things first I have to apologise for the length of this one in advance and can't stress how much it had me running around in circles and thumping my head on the desk. It's 6k words and I had strongly considered splitting it into two 3k word chapters but I simply could not find a suitable or logical breaking point half way. So for all intents and purposes this is two chapters rolled into one… sort of... oh god. *Head thumps on desk*
Thanks for the reviews back on chapter 8 everyone who reviewed and just thanks to anyone in general who has made it up to that chapter :D
Moosh- Great reviewer as ever! Yeah this fic is only really a thing because of you to be honest. Reading LAMTAF made me really want to throw my hand at a pre-crisis, ASG trio fic, it's all thanks to you! It still blows my mind that while I'm in summer here you're in winter there lol. Literally can't get my head around it. (I think I have a vague idea but geography is by far my worst subject haha)
Ocena Strex- Awesome feed-back, the full stops at the end of dialogue is DEFINITLY something I don't do and I know I don't do but I should do lolz! I don't know why but I just can't bring myself to put that dot at the end near the quotation mark, it just doesn't look right :D. Thanks for reviewing, I don't want to spoil too much here in the A/N's but the main plot of this fic (yes there definitely is one folks!) is actually going to become very 'Dirge of Cerberusy'. Hope that doesn't put you off!
CatXAngel- Thankyou. You might be surprised but I find 'sweet' and 'cute' as a BIG compliment haha, I never thought myself capable of writing anything that fits such description. I hope it continues in this chapter.
Chrono- "Woombie" hahaha I know you threw that in there on purpose you funny **** :D. Two weeks in hospital sucks, I spent a day in one once and I loathed it, hope it was nothing serious broseph. I'm happy one of the things you wanted to do was read my fic! That's epic! I just wanted to sleep, eat tomato soup and watch ecchi anime lel.
Hope you enjoy!
Aerith twisted, turned and arched her neck, inspecting every conceivable angle of the outfit she had been fussing over for days in her wardrobe mirror.
The clean black and white dress sat a courageous number of inches above her knees and she tip-toed to scrutinize its length along with the back of her bare legs, forever wishing they were longer. Continuing her eyes up further Aerith eyed the most dominant curve on display while chewing her lip anxiously. She could have sworn the dress hadn't felt this tight around her backside when she tried it on the other day and now if she looked hard enough, in the right light she could catch the faintest glimpse of her underwear.
The junior nurse refrained from spazzing out, it would be dark at the club and no one would be looking at her butt with that much focus.
… would they?
The now sixteen year old Cetra female took a number of quick little breaths.
Gaia she hoped no one did that, she wanted to look nice but not for that purpose. Plus it would be beyond embarrassing, especially as Seph was going to be there.
That led Aerith to her next key concern. The front of the audacious dress cut in a diagonal from the shoulder to the side of the strapless bra she wore, leaving her other shoulder completely exposed and a large section of skin on display. While she knew her brother wasn't a total prude, he was most definitely a good three quarters of one and now she looked at the naked portion of her body with regret and certainty that he wouldn't approve.
How had she allowed Genesis to persuade her to go for this?
She shook her head with guilt at the mean and ungrateful thought.
As going down into the city to shop had of course been out of the question, Genesis had gone to some amazing lengths in bringing a whole troupe of outfits to the building for her to try on. This dress and the gesture itself had been her birthday present from the wonderful and sweet SOLDIER. It had also been the first time she had seen the fashion fanatic smile in days. For some reason that no one could fathom and Genesis was not revealing, he had been down in the dumps the last few days.
Deciding not to question her faith in her loyal friends unrivalled wisdom that the dress was 'perfect', Aerith turned away from the mirror. No one knew better about fashion than Genesis, including woman's fashion and she definitely felt pretty, but was Sephiroth going to think the same?
Looking at her PHS she had put down on her bed fifteen minutes ago, her urgent desire for a second opinion from the one person she could always turn to when she needed assurance started to become impatient. As if on cue there was a noise at the door, a rushed tapping that she nearly didn't hear over the volume of the music she had playing in her room. The brunette's barely contained excitement that was simmering beneath all the anxiety, hit critical overload and she half-skipped half-galloped to tear open the door.
"ANGEAL!"
She eagerly opened up, ready to gauge his immediate reaction to her appearance but frowned when she saw the raven haired first looking away down the corridor instead.
"Hey Aery fairy, what's up? You sounded urgent"
"Angeal" she poked her head out to look in the same direction as the cautiously looking around man. "You know that men are allowed in the nurses dorms right?"
"… they are?... oh" he mumbled, standing upright and picking a random stray leaf from his jet black hair that appeared strikingly similar to the foliage of the corridor plant pots. "Well that seems a bit dodgy if I do say so my… oh!"
He finally looked at her and Aerith giggled as she shyly posed against the doorframe.
"Whad'ya think?"
"… I think I've either knocked on the wrong door or I've caught some gorgeous grown woman in the middle of breaking into my little Aerith's room"
Aerith nearly squealed.
Yep, she could always rely on Angeal to say the right thing and if she wasn't concerned about creasing her dress she would have pounced on the tall, strongly built SOLDIER in elation.
"Correct answer!" she chimed, scampering around and placing her hands flat against his back to force the chuckling first into her room, noticing with delight the wrapped gift he had concealed there.
"Hey!... Woah!... Wait!... Are you sure blokes are allowed down here!?"
Aerith shut the door and tilted her face with amusement towards the man inspecting her girlish room for the first time that was currently in its full swing of party mode.
"Trust me Ange', in the year I've been staying in dorms there have been more men down here then I can count"
Her best friend going on as-good-as-father-figure raised both his eyebrows.
"None of them for me though! I mean for the other girls! I haven't! I would never…!"
"There she is! That's the Aerith I know!"
Angeal tapped the underside of her chin fondly then took her hand, catching wind that hugs were presently off limits.
"… happy birthday sweetheart"
There was a sudden sentimental switch in Angeal's voice that along with the gentle contact made the junior nurses emotions unexpectedly wobble.
"You know sometimes I can't believe how grown up you're becoming. Watching how far you've come in nine years, the woman you're becoming… I'm proud of you"
"... Angeal"
"HA! look at me getting all drippy in my old age"
She squeezed his calloused hand with a laugh through glazed emerald eyes, "you're only twenty-five"
"And you make me feel every bit of it. In fact I think I pulled something sneaking down here" Angeal arched his back with a comical frown. "So, was there a particular reason you needed me over here? Or was it just to make me regretfully admit that Genesis actually is every bit the genius he brags to be when it comes to fashion?"
"No, there was a reason" Aerith tuned, going over to her wardrobe and anxiously rummaging around. "You see I always hear from the other girls when they go on a night out, that they all get together to drink... and I know Seph is going to be all rigid so…" she pulled out a bottle of colourless spirit who's name and taste was totally foreign to her and presented it sheepishly. "I was hoping, as you're the closest thing I've got to one, will you be my girlfriend for tonight?"
There was a long moment of silence until Angeal exploded and roared with laughter.
"I'm the closest thing!? Even with Genesis in the fold! Wow Aery! I can't decide if I should be offended or honoured!"
"You know what I mean Ange! I can talk to you about things that the other guys… don't really get"
He continued his episode of hysterical laughter for longer, then wiped a tear from his eye and took the bottle.
"Yeah... I think I... I think I know what you mean"
Taking a deep breath he blinked a few times at the drink in his hand to focus and then upon closer inspection, wrinkled his nose at the label.
"Where did you even get this?"
"I asked my neighbour Lacey to get it for me, she said its strong and I know I'm new at this so I was planning to only have a little. I was hoping you could have the rest... and to be here if I choke... or pass out... or just straight up die"
"You know alcohol doesn't work on SOLDIER's right?"
"I know" she twirled on the spot rolling her eyes. "But you're not a SOLDIER now remember, you're my…"
"Girlfriend, got it" Angeal bit his lip to stop from cracking up again. "Fine fine, but first you have to open your present"
It was the cue she had been waiting for and she seized the wrapped item that the man, who looked like a giant in her tiny room, had set down on the end of her bed.
"I love it!" she cheered hugging the package to her body.
"You uhh, haven't even opened it yet"
"No I mean the paper! I love it, they're such funny little guys"
"Well that's a win… I guess
Aerith delicately opened the pretty paper covered in multi-coloured cactuars and inhaled at the gorgeous cream coloured leather bag with light pink and ivory inlay that revealed itself.
"I figured it was finally about time you replaced this tatty old thing"
Angeal poked a toe at the bland and ancient bag she took to class that was discarded on the floor over by her dresser table. Aerith dropped down onto her bed and ran her hands in awe over the bag, her eyes widening when they noticed the name that was stylishly engraved on it.
"Angeal! This is…! This bag must cost a fortune!"
"It's not every day you turn sixteen. You're a woman now and you deserve to look like one"
She silently choked, unable to speak. She had never been the 'flashy, materialistic or show-off type before, but the thought of how berserk the other girls in her class were going to go when they saw this bag was completely electrifying and enough to make a strong exception. Along with the dress and the anticipation she had for tonight, this was turning out to be the happiest week of her entire life. How had she become so lucky and blessed to have two such wonderful friends and Sephiroth in her life?
While drowning in a pool of joy, the music in the background of the famous band that she would be seeing in no more than a few hours from now, was suddenly turned right up on her small portable CD player. She gazed up to see Angeal, radiating the same happy expression she had with one hand on the volume dial and an open bottle of drink raised in the other.
"Now how about we get this party started?"
He was weak and a fool.
Those were the two thoughts crossing Sephiroth's mind as he held the Masamune outright with one arm, his grasp shaking and his forearm burning with exertion to maintain the elevated position. He would be taking Aerith from the safety of the Shinra building, down into the dangers of the city and he was barely strong enough to hold his own sword.
The silver general in the making cursed his hand to be still. He had expected Hojo's procedure to slow him down a bit, but not to this extent.
Hearing footsteps in the distance he quit staring angrily at his own hand and sheathed the sword, while it was infuriating it was pointless being so concerned about it. Realistically any potential threat that a place like sector three had to offer, even if he wasn't at his strongest or best he could handle it with his bare hands.
With enhanced hearing listening intently to the approaching footsteps, he looked at the clock on his desk and nodded when they stopped outside his office. She was ten minutes early.
Sephiroth strode over to his office door, waited for her customary tuneful knock but all he heard instead was the sound of deep nervous breaths being taken.
Frowning he opened up.
"Oh!... h-hey Seph" Aerith mumbled enthusiastically, her hand that was just about to knock his door returning quickly to the hem of her…
…dress.
Whether it was the effects of the debilitation process he was currently under or the sudden unexpected bombardment of looking at an exquisitely dressed woman that strongly resembled his sister stood in his doorway, Sephiroth's head went into a dizzy spin. With her long but curlier than normal hair styled across one bare shoulder instead of straight down her back, light makeup, a boost in height from smart black heels and an outfit unlike anything he had ever seen her in before, Sephiroth had to take a step back to see that it was in fact Aerith he was looking at. The woman sure sounded like Aerith... but Aerith didn't have legs...
He shook his head at his own ridiculousness.
Of course she had legs…
… but...
... not THOSE legs.
"Ummm Seph"
He looked up sharply, blood nearly rushing to his face as his brain connected with the inappropriateness of his actions. Luckily for him however Aerith was gazing down at her own entire instead of him.
He cleared his throat, "yes?"
"Do you want me to go change?"
Her odd question, worried sounding voice and shamed expression puzzled him.
"No. Why?"
"… you haven't spoken… for like two minutes. Are you angry with me?"
"Angry?"
"Because of how I'm dressed"
Put on the spot, Sephiroth observed the girl staring down at her bare knees self-consciously with fists scrunching the hem of her dress in a vain attempt to lengthen it. Knowing he was expected to say something at this point and knowing how terribly inadequate he was in these situations, Sephiroth approached his words with extreme caution.
"I… do not disapprove"
"You don't? You don't mind how I look?"
"No… I think you look... different"
"… oh"
He cringed, those were definitely not the right choice of words.
"But a good different. A different that is suitable for this evenings activities…" he sighed, collected himself and ceased blabbering like a simpleton. "I think you look attractive"
Aerith's face dipped low, turning fifty shades of pink before looking up at him and grinning broadly which he took as a good sign.
"Well why didn't you just say that in the first place dummy!"
Rapidly polarising in demeanour as Aerith so often could, she leaned over the threshold of his office and cheerily poked him in the rotator cuff, "geez you had me all worried there for a sec"
"My apologise, your attire merely took me by surprise at first. Are you ready to go?"
"Only like you wouldn't believe!"
Nodding Sephiroth pushed back the tails of his long jet black coat and marched to join the animated girl in the corridor who was bouncing unsteadily on her heels.
"Seph I can't tell you how excited I am! I feel like I'm going to explo… wait. Hold it!"
Midway through closing his office door, Sephiroth paused and peeked over his shoulder.
"You aren't seriously thinking about bringing the Masamune along are you?"
"... I am"
"SEPH!"
"…?"
"You can't bring it with you!"
"Why not?"
"One. We're going to a club Seph. Not to war!"
"I disagree"
"And two. The place is going to be packed and crowded. Not only are you going to freak people out but you're gonna hit them every time you try to turn around!"
"A necessary sacrifice"
"Seeeepphhh!"
Aerith did her moody-pouty face at him which he paid no heed to.
"Seph! This is not up for discussion! You are not bringing your sword and that's final!"
Switching to her stern and authorative face, his taller than normal teenage sister lunged her hands at his middle.
He sighed. That face didn't appear often but when it did it was futile to argue.
Sephiroth held his arms outright reluctantly as she began undoing the three belts around his torso and waist that held his scabbard in place. It seemed his earlier claim that he could handle any potential threats tonight with his bare hands was truly going to be put to trial.
"Honestly! A SOLDIER who's supposedly all big and tough like you, shouldn't be so scared that he can't step outside without his sword for one evening"
The silver haired second glared at the 'supposedly' bit.
"It's ok though Sephy, I'll protect you if anyone tries to be mean" she giggled, fumbling with the tight straps. "And besides, I won't be able to dance with you properly if you take your sword"
He levelled his stare rigidly on Aerith's long mascara tipped lashes and lightly smoky shaded eyes.
"You are not truly expecting me to do such a thing… are you?"
"What dance? No I'm only teasing, I know you couldn't do that. It's a shame though, I think you'd be good at it"
She struggled with the final heavy buckle until the Masamune dropped from his hip to the floor like a lead weight, nearly taking the already unbalanced girl with it.
"Good at it? How have you managed to arrive at that conclusion?" he scoffed as Aerith awkwardly dragged his heavy weapon across the floor by the strap in the totally inefficient and restrictive dress.
"I train with you Seph… I know a twinkle-toes when I see one"
She hauled the seven foot katana back into his office and at the first chance she got, dumped it in the middle of the floor.
He wrinkled his brow at this and advanced forward, "my sword does not belong..."
Aerith stepped in his path and clicked the door shut behind her, "oops, too late"
"Hmph"
"Now that's out the way, can we finally go now?"
"We can… unless you plan to rob me of any further possessions"
The scarily grown up and womanly version of Aerith chuckled and took the joint of his arm lightly to eagerly pull him towards the buildings exit.
"No, you'll do just fine now"
Just as he had expected, the inner workings of an alcohol fuelled establishment was everything he detested. Hot, crowded, dark, uncomfortable, a severe lack of personal space, eye-ache inducing flashing lights and Sephiroth had not been able to pick out a single melody he enjoyed among the continuous noisy clamour that the 'famous' live band had been pounding out through booming speakers for the last two hours straight.
Yet despite all of that, he oddly found that he was enjoying himself. Aerith was laughing and smiling. They were together, talking about silly carefree things, having fun. She was dancing and cheering among a sea of equally emphatic fans. Now he was smiling, watching on the side-lines from his glued position at the crowded bar that he had made his safe haven. She turns, standing out vividly among the rest and catches him smiling but he doesn't care, she had been the only who could do that ever since they were kids. That's why he loves her, that's why she's his little sister.
Sephiroth openly chuckled as the breathless and slightly perspiring girl came back over.
"THIS IS AMAZING! THIS PLACE IS AMAZING! I'M MELTING! MY FEET HURT! BEST BIRTHDAY EVERRRRR!"
"Aerith"
"YEEEEAAHHHH!?"
"Remember you don't need to shout, I can hear you"
"I'm shouting? Oopsy hehe... it's so loud at the front I think my ear drums might have blown. It's awesome, You have to try it!"
"With enhanced hearing? I think my head would probably explode"
"You'd love it. Hey Seph" Aerith gracefully hopped onto the vacant stall next to him that the SOLDIER had been avidly guarding with dark intimidating stares from intoxicated individuals for most of the night. "Where'd my drink go?"
"You drank it"
"Oh..." the girl full of life murmured timidly then smiled hintingly at him.
"Would you like another?"
The brunette nodded eagerly.
Sephiroth twirled around in his seat and plucked the cocktail menu from the hands of a woman who had been flippantly using the item as a fan for the last fifteen minutes, disregarding her yell of protest that ensued.
"Very well, what elaborately named concoction will it be this time?"
Aerith dignifiedly dismounted from her seat and the current fish out of water that was Sephiroth, sat stiffly upright as she shuffled in between his legs so they could see the menu together.
"Hmmm, which one do you think will taste the least yucky?"
"You're guess is as good as mine" he murmured, distractedly observing the back of the exposed velvety shoulder his pupils hair hung over and taking proud notice of the soft muscles running lightly down her back that were on display.
"What about a 'Moogley Island Mix'?"
"Predictable choice and one I would encourage, though you are aware it does not contain any alcohol?"
"It doesn't?"
"It is in the soft cocktails section. See?"
"Oh yeah"
"How about a 'Black-Meteor-Super-Nova'?"
"Pffff. Trust you to choose the most ominous and scariest sounding one on the list"
"Looks good to me"
"What about a 'White-Holy-Whiskey'?"
"No. I do not like the sound of that"
"'Tonberry attack'? Tonberry's can be cute... kinda?"
"Thirty-two percent, rather potent don't you think?"
"Is that a problem?"
"You tell me"
She beamed over her shoulder.
"Excuse me mister but I'll have you know I feel perfectly sober"
"I concede that you remain coherent, however I would hardly call five units in your system as 'sober'"
"Five? Where did you get that number from!?"
"From the four you have already consumed in my presence, the five you had with Angeal and subtracting four for the four hours we have been here "
"Wow, does your brain ever stop thinking and analysing everything for like a second?"
"I hope not"
"And how did you know I was drinking with Angeal anyway!?"
"I could smell it"
"Ahhh but how do you know I had 'five units' worth?"
"I could smell it"
"Go away! I can believe that sniffer dog nose of yours could tell I had a drink, but there's no way it can smell how many units I had as well"
"I assure you it can and by my estimation, based on your age, experience, gender and size…"
His leg got playfully pinched. "Are you calling me small again!?"
"… you have approximately four to four units remaining before you lose control of your faculties"
"The word is 'drunk' Seph and besides, that's what I've got you for right? To keep me safe. You're my bodyguard"
"I can protect your person, not you're dignity"
"Hmmm, I may not be an expert on the subject but I'm pretty sure that's the general idea of these places"
Sephiroth scanned around the lively crowd and the variety of odd gyrating movements most of them were making.
"Evidently"
Aerith who was absurdly close to being sat in his lap turned to face him entirely.
"Oh come on Seph, alcohol can't be that bad. Look around, everyone's happy, everyone's having fun. That's a good thing right?"
He was about to scoff at the comment but refrained from doing so at the last minute, realising the girl who had spent the best portion of her life in the confines of the Shinra building had never seen the dark side of alcohol before.
He intended on keeping it that way.
"See! You know I'm right"
"I suppose"
Aerith's eyes lit up playfully at his concession, "yeah so you should drink WITH me! We can lose our dignity together, it'll be hilarious!"
The silver haired second grimaced.
"Alcohol…"
"... doesn't work on SOLDIER's, I know I know. But still! It'll be super fun! Please! I wanna see you try at least one"
"No, that would not be wise, one of us must remain functional"
"But it won't affect you so you will be, Angeal drank lots and he was fine"
Sephiroth hesitated at a loss on what to say. He wanted to oblige her but with Hojo's 'C19' in his system, alcohol on this rare medicated occasion would not only have a good chance of affecting him, but could even prove to be fatal in his debilitated condition.
"I... can't…"
"Just have a sip of mine then. Please, please…"
"Aerith no" he cut in, a little firmer than intended.
"…"
"I'm sorry. I simply do not wish to"
She focused thoughtfully on him for a number of seconds then tilted her face to him brightly.
"That's ok. I don't want you to do anything if it makes you feel uncomfortable. I just want you to have fun as well Seph"
He was about to try and assure her that he was but the sound of the lead vocalist performing in the background, changed songs and if the crescendo of female screams and the violent slap to his arm were anything to go by, it was one of their more popular numbers.
"I LOVE THIS SONG!"
Aerith looked between him and the surging crowd with bursting enthusiasm and he nodded.
"Go ahead"
Sephiroth watched as she cheered excitedly on the spot and rapidly took off to return to the sea of ecstatic fan girls, taking both amusement and intrigue at seeing the way she moved and danced in heels. For how evidently uncomfortable and tedious the things were, he had always seen them as idiotic inventions. But now he observed them on Aerith in closer detail, he had to admit they looked good.
Wonderful… first Angeal, now he was turning into Genesis.
Sephiroth smirked, leaned an arm back on the bar with ease and continued to watch Aerith in his happy ongoing role tonight as bodyguard and sentinel. It wasn't until two songs later however that he caught wind from the corner of his eye that he was no longer the only one observing her.
His alert senses sharpened.
Across the hectic room the elite SOLDIER clocked two men hovering about on the outskirts, the younger of the pair pointing his finger directly at the back of Aerith.
Sephiroth felt his lips curl angrily.
"AY FELLA' YA' GONNA BUY SUMIN' TA' DRINK?"
Sephiroth shot the bartender hollering at his back with a glare of annoyance and then the whole crowd with a look of startled surprise when he turned back to see both men near the wall were gone. The SOLDIER stood up sharply, his handing twitching instinctively towards the hilt of a sword that didn't exist.
He looked to Aerith.
Still dancing, still fine.
His keen eyes continued scouting around the place but it was so densely packed and busy that it was a whole minute later until he picked them up again. The men were snaking through the crowd, discreetly pointing at various woman while whispering things that were impossible for even his hearing to pick up on from this distance.
He narrowed his focus on the prowling couple whilst frequently flicking his attention back and forth to Aerith.
What they were doing wasn't anything new, he could look around now and see a dozen or so other groups of men who were more or less doing the exact same thing but there was something about this particular pair that was giving him an instinctively bad feeling. When his suspicions were finally proven justified close to fifteen minutes later, Sephiroth refrained from smirking in satisfaction at his own intuition.
A tall blonde woman in a navy and silver dress dancing with three of her other female companions, foolishly set her drink down out of sight and the dubious characters made their move. Taking something small from his pocket the younger guy 'casually' pretended to stroll by and dropped said 'thing' into the neck of the woman's bottle in one smooth movement.
He sighed at the tedious situation unfolding before him, reluctantly recognizing that he was obligated to act and abandon the comfort of his safe haven at the bar that he had created for himself.
The seconds feet moved quickly, cutting a line through the crowd to catch the guy on his retreat back to his buddy on the outskirts. Sephiroth's hand wrapped around a skinny wrist and with one twist the dull thud of a head hitting a conveniently positioned dance floor table was muted by the bassy and ground shaking music so only a small handful of stares were attracted.
"OW! WHAT THE..."
"Refrain from speaking, lest you wish your wrist be broken"
Reaching straight for the man's trousers Sephiroth took out the small bag of red and green tablets, emptied three into his own hand and put the rest away in his coat pocket.
"Now being that I am a SOLDIER it is my duty to arrest you"
He heard the kid swallow.
"Luckily for you however it is a special occasion this evening and I have neither the time nor the desire to cause a scene. Therefore I will make three things clear. First, you and your friend will never try something like this again…"
"WE WON'T! WE WON'T EVER…
Sephiroth twisted the easily breakable wrist harder making the criminal whimper.
"I said do not speak. Second, you will consume these three pills and personally experience a small portion of the unpleasantness that you were planning on dealing unto another tonight"
And if all goes to plan, wake up in handcuffs at a local hospital tomorrow afternoon.
It took another twist of the guys arm to get him to open up and another to swallow them.
"Thirdly, you will stand on that spot over there where I can see you for the rest of the evening so that I can be sure you do not try and make yourself sick. Leaving it will become your life's deepest regret"
He shoved the despicable youth of towards the wall and groaned when he turned to see the blonde stranger pick her drink up. As much as he wanted to turn the other cheek at this point and leave the woman to learn from her own stupidity the hard way, the mental image of Angeal folding his arms and shaking his head disapprovingly at the un-honourable decision, prevented Sephiroth from doing so.
He looked to Aerith.
Still dancing, still fine.
Rushing over he approached the small group of four, pulled the bottle from the blondes hands and away from her lips just in time.
"H-HEY!... DUDE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"
"Your beverage has been contaminated with narcotics"
"…, …, … WHAT!?"
"Your drink has been spiked"
"WHAT!?"
Sephiroth sighed.
"HEY GUY! WHY HAVE YOU TAKEN MY FRIENDS DRINK!?"
"HE SAYS IT WAS SPIKED!"
"SPIKED!?
"NO WAY!
"HE SAID IT WAS WHAT!?"
The SOLDIER grimaced, why did everyone feel the need to shout so loud?
"You left your drink unatten..."
"WAIT! YOU'RE FROM SOLDIER! HE'S FROM SOLDIER!"
"OH MY GOD HE IS!"
"CARLS! YOU JUST GOT SAVED FROM BEING DRUGGED BY A GUY IN SOLDIER!"
"FROM BEING WHAT!?"
"WOW AND HE'S CUTE! ARE YOU HERE WITH ANY FRIENDS!?"
"I CAN SEE HIS CHEST!"
Aggravated by the women's idiotic, drunk and flippant attitudes, he squeezed the bottle gripped in his hand tighter.
"Who I am accompanied with is of little concern to you. May I advise that you refrain from being so thoughtless in the future and exercise better precautions with your consumables"
"YOU CAN ADVISE ME, ORDER ME, TAKE ME HOME OR DO ANYTHING YOU LIKE SOLDIER MAN!"
A chorus of giggles ensued and Sephiroth gave up, walking away in annoyance to dispose of the infected liquid but not before checking on Aerith.
He looked over to where she was dancing, then to the bar where they had been all night and then around the entire place in a frenzy. A strong sensation of panic set into him and after minutes of wading roughly through the crowd, his panic turned to complete fear.
She was gone.
Turning down another nameless unfamiliar street teeming with lively people spilling in and out of the bars and clubs of the lively party district, Aerith marched as quickly as her shoes would allow with her fists clenched at her side.
She was fuming, she needed air and most importantly, she needed to get out of here.
Seeing Sephiroth chatting with a group of pretty woman had been unpleasant enough as it was and the gut wrenching sensation it gave her had nearly made her feel sick. But seeing him talking to them with a drink in his hand and making them laugh after the way he had refused to drink with her made Aerith feel angrier than she had ever felt in her life. So angry that when he had tried to call moments ago she had switched her PHS off without a second thought, something she planned on keeping it that way.
The Cetra brunette turned down into another busy high-street of the big city, blindly walking wherever her aching feet decided to take her to try and escape the horrible and uncharacteristic feeling of rage she was experiancing.
So he wasn't comfortable to drink with her on her own birthday even after she had practically begged him to, yet he was happy to do it with four complete strangers he had never met before.
Is that how little she meant to him?
After how hard she had tried for years and how much effort she had put into trying to make him feel more comfortable with her, this felt like a great big slap in the face. She had tried so hard to be that person that Sephiroth could feel most at ease with and seeing him drinking with a group of girls, doing something he wouldn't do with her… the teenage girl knew if she wasn't so angry right now she would be crying.
"LITTLE ONE!"
Aerith jumped fiercely and twirled around.
"It is! I knew it was little Aerith!"
"Sam?" she mumbled dumbly, shocked to see the curvaceous twenty-one year old woman approaching hyperactively along with Lorraine and Rias from her class and her dorm neighbour Lacey.
"I can't believe it's you! Holy cow babe! You look so fuckable!"
Aerith blinked multiple times as her hair and dress were suddenly molested and she was nearly being picked up off the floor in an over-enthusiastic hug.
Lacey smiled apologetically over her shoulder, "she's trashed"
"Aren't we all?" Lorraine giggled, unsteadily leaning on her kind-hearted neighbour.
"Oh, err… thanks? What… what are you guys doing out here?"
Aerith's ribcage was released and her hands crushed instead.
"We're going to sector seven to get the real party started!" Samantha screeched, suspending both their arms up in the air together.
"... and by that she means somewhere that isn't ridiculously overcrowded and charging twelve gil a drink" Rias, a girl she had never spoken much to, added warmly.
"Yeah this sector is a total drag! Though I suppose I could be persuaded to stay if that brother of yours is lurking around"
Her stomach twisted in an awful knot.
"... no he uh, had to go"
"Awwwwww shame"
"You should come out with us then" Lorraine added merrily. "It's fun. A little crazy but a lot'a cheap"
"OH MY GOD YES!" Sam whooped, "the little one in sector seven! It will be adorable! You have to come!"
"I… don't…"
"Come on! I'll be like your big clubbing sister! Come come come!"
The teenage girl looked unsurely between her class mates and then back towards what she guessed but couldn't be sure was the way back to the bar.
"Aerith" Lacey stepped forward, picking up on her anxiety. "Are you alright? You don't have to come if you don't want to, would you like me to take you home?"
The truthful answer was yes but the answer that came out when she pictured Sephiroth again with those women and that damned drink was different.
Well if he was going to drink, then so was she.
"No… no count me in. I'd love to come out with you guys!"
