A/N: EDITED

Chapter Four

When she woke up, she felt warm which was strange. She remembered how cold it'd been when she'd fallen asleep in the bare room. She kept her eyes closed reaching a hand behind her to feel for whatever was keeping her warm. It only took her seconds when she registered the light breathing behind her hair, and the hair her fingers had found themselves tangled in.

Somebody was lying down with her, and whoever it was – though she was sure she knew who – had shifted, an arm tightening around her waist. There was a knock at the door, and she forced herself not to tense when the warmth he gave off left with him – she hated the cold. His footsteps made no sound as he walked across the room, but she could pick up his weight shifting the floorboards. The door opened and she listened as he and a familiar voice spoke. "Is she up yet?" Kadaj asked, impatience filling both his voice and her mind.

"No, I just got up myself." His voice was quiet, compared to his younger brother's.

"Then wake her up!" Kadaj yelled, and she stifled a gasp when his voices sudden volume startled her.

Jecsie wasn't sure which of them slammed the door, but she imagined the force must've shaken the frame. She could feel the bed dip behind her as Yazoo climbed back on. He wrapped himself around her to warm her body like before – his right arm draped around her waist while his left rested lightly on her hair and stroking it. His right leg tangled in between hers and he pulled her flush against him.

She hadn't realized it before but she had been shivering lightly without him; it was surprising how cold this place was. After a few minutes in his arms, her body relaxed as it warmed and he nudged her. "Wake up," He murmured in her ear.

Yazoo's breath hitting her ear made her shiver again, and she sighed. "What's so funny?" She muttered, turning on her back to look up at him, propped on his arms.

"I didn't say anything." Despite his calm expression, she knew the glint in his eye meant he was amused, "Why would you say that?"

"I know that I'm amusing you," She said, muttering again.

He tilted his head, something she recognized as a kind of habit of his. "How could you know that?" He asked, genuinely curious and partially confused.

Looking into his eyes, she couldn't help but want to tell the truth. What! Why on earth would she tell this guy something even Cloud didn't know? She'd never told anyone about what she could do. Nobody. She was afraid that if anybody knew, they'd shun her for it. She didn't want to be turned away being different – for being a freak. But then again, this guy and his brothers weren't exactly 'normal' themselves. She took a deep, slow breath. "I'm just...special..." Then again, she wasn't even too sure of how to say it.

"Special?" He echoed. Queue head tilting.

Jecsie swallowed, looking away. "Yeah..." Now more than ever, with him looking her strait in the eye, she wanted to tell him, "I'm empathetic...sort of..." He stared at her, waiting, "I don't know what I am. But I know I'm not human. I've always been...different. I can tell what someone is feeling – see the emotions that form from within each thought. You can try and cover your feelings with fraud ones, but I could still tell what you're really feeling."

"So you read people's emotions?"

She nodded. "That, and...I have premonitions."

"You mean you see the future?" He asked, tilting his head to the other side now, "How?"

"Sometimes they come in dreams, others when I'm awake. I really can't control it, or the emotion readings. They're like your heart pumping – they work on their own. They never stop, and I don't know how to make them."

"Unless your brain dead," Yazoo pointed out.

"Yeah...There's that..." She trailed off when he started stroking her cheek.

They stared at each other, the emotions passing between them making her dizzy. Staring into his eyes, she knew what was happening – the things she was feeling – and yet she didn't feel ashamed. It didn't matter that he'd kicked her ass the other day. Or that he and his brothers were trying to kill Cloud the other day. She knew this was all wrong, but she didn't care. "What am I feeling now?" He asked, the silence between them broken, as he lifted one hand to stroke her cheek.

She didn't answer for a moment, basking in the mix of emotions the room was radiating: bliss, pleasure, happiness, and... "...The same things that...I feel..." She said hesitantly, keeping the answer vague.

She wasn't sure if he'd want to feel the same way. But then again, he'd been the one who'd kissed her first – if he didn't like her, then why would he have done it? So, she sucked up all her courage, propped herself on one elbow, and tangled the other hand in his silvery locks, pulling him down. He was surprised at first but her forwardness, but didn't pull away. In fact he relaxed in her touch and bit back a moan when their mouths connected again.

His lips, like the first time, were soft and warm against hers. She opened her mouth for him and he slid his tongue in, instincts coming onto them. He laid down on top of her, also being careful not to put all his weight on her. He moved his right hand to her arm from her cheek, his thumb stroking her shoulder, before he decided to bring it to her neck. Their lips moved against each other, their tongues touching every so often as the massaged each other's mouths.

A moment later though, there was a knock at the door and they quickly untangled themselves from each other. Jecsie sat up on the edge on the bed, trying to catch her breath, while Yazoo calmly answered the door. Kadaj was standing in the door way, a scowl on his face. When he saw her awake, he pushed right through Yazoo and walked over to her. She glared at him as he stood at the end of the bed. "It's about time you wake up!" He yelled, yanking her up by her right arm, "You and Yazoo need to hurry up and get to Big Brother's city." He continued, ignoring her yelp of pain – his grip was nowhere near as gentle as his brother's. "Yazoo will explain what you need to do there. Now get going!"

He flung her to the doorway, only for Yazoo to catch her. He waited for Kadaj to exit the room before turning to her in his arms and hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry..." He mumbled into her ear, before taking her hand and leading her out the door.

Jecsie rode with Yazoo on his bike through the Midgar plains, towards Edge. She held on to him as he drove, trying not to fall off whenever he'd turn the bike. He was speeding faster than she'd ever even tried – and she usually rode past a hundred. After just a short time they were outside of Edge. "What does Kadaj want us to do here?" She asked. She noticed he didn't bother slowing down as they moved through the streets.

He didn't say anything until they were well into the city's center, hiding behind an ally. "We need to gather all the children with the 'stigma," He said, walking to a rather large truck that was parked just a few meters away.

"Why?" She wanted to trust him, but after last night's premonition, things were getting suspicious.

"Kadaj says that they will help us to find Mother," He said, "He says that she might be able to cure them in return for their help. I'll need you to talk to them; they will probably trust you more than they would me."

She wanted to help him for some reason. She just couldn't help it – even though she knew that there was no cure and that taking the children was wrong. But the way he looked at her with those eyes, despite their alien glow, was too hard for her to resist. They were just like hers, but so much more beautiful on his face, and the pleading she saw in them reminded her of a lost child. "Okay," She said, dismounting the bike. It seemed she would do anything for those pretty eyes. "I'll see what I can do."

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead, before getting into the truck, and driving out of the ally. She waited a few moments before walking out as well. She looked around the streets, glancing at all of the poor children. She noticed one with a bandage on his eyes, and went over to him. The little boy stared up at her a she knelt down to his level. She placed a caring hand over his bad eye, and then moved her hand under his chin. She wondered how much pain this little boy was going through, knowing the pain that Cloud had been suffering. She was the only one he'd told about his Geostigma, because she was known for keeping her promises, and she promised not to tell anyone.

Jecsie looked back down at the boy, who had stopped staring at her and was now looking wide-eyed at something behind her. She glanced back at whatever had caught his attention. Turns out it was Yazoo, standing next to the truck in the street. It seemed he was making a phone call – from what she could hear, he was talking to Loz. She looked away and back at the boy. "It hurts doesn't it?" She said, catching his attention once more, "The 'stigma. My friend has it too."

"I-it hurts...really bad..." He whimpered, his voice raspy and weak.

She felt bad about it, but she knew the next words out of her mouth were lies. "My friends and I can help you,"

A speck of hope flashed through the boy's eyes. A smile appeared on his face, making her feel even worse. "R-really? You can cure us?"

Jecsie swallowed hard before saying, "Yes, just come with us..." She paused to gesture towards the truck and Yazoo, "...and we'll do what we can to help heal you. But you have to trust us...Okay?" She added when he glanced uneasily at Yazoo. She didn't blame the boy's uneasiness. It didn't get pass her that of the three brothers, the middle one resembled a certain deceased general the most.

He looked back up at her kind face and nodded. He stood up and looked back at the kids in the ally, running to the closest one there. He whispered something in the other kid's ear and then pointed towards her. They whispered back and forth for a minute before going to each and every one of the other children. Then, one by one, each child infected with the 'stigma hesitantly walked towards Jecsie, who beckoned them with a kind smile to the truck. Yazoo smirked to himself before going back around to the driver's side.

As more of the infected children came around the ally wall, Jecsie noticed one boy in particular being dragged around by a girl gripping on to a Moogle doll. "Denzel?" She called to him, surprise evident in her voice. Wasn't Tifa keeping him on bed rest.

Denzel glanced up at her, and his expression turned from one of confusion to one of shock. "Jecsie..?" He mumbled disbelievingly.

The last time he'd seen her was just before Cloud had left, and she hadn't even stayed in contact with them. And now, here she was. He wanted to talk to her. To ask her what she was doing here. But he couldn't, because the girl that was holding on to his wrist kept pulling him towards the truck. They stared at each other though, one with a look of confusion, and the other with one of fear.

She just watched as they got into the truck, his eyes never leaving hers. She couldn't take it and broke their eye contact by looking at the ground. She sighed, walking past where he was sitting in the truck bed and over to Yazoo, who was standing against the hood. "Is something wrong?" He asked, noticing the sadness in her eyes.

"It's nothing." She said, rather harshly.

Her tone really seemed to hurt him, and she regretted it. Before she could apologize though, he walked around to the passenger side of the truck. He pulled something out of the glove compartment and walked back over to her. "Here," He handed her something wrapped in a cloth and she took it.

She unwrapped it and held out her sai, Lilith and Lucifer. She didn't question what they were doing inside the truck, or when they'd even gotten there. Instead she just examined them, keeping her focus away from the children still filling the truck bed. They were plain, without any fancy designs, except for the names engraved on the handles and white beads tide to said handles by thin thread. Other than that, they were just plain black. But they were still very special to her, seeing as they were gifts from Cloud. At that moment, a difficult decision had been made, and she knew she would come to regret it. "Thank you, Yazoo…" She mumbled, turning her head down. No pretty eyes or soft lips were worth betraying one of her best friends, and leading another into danger. "But...I am...so very sorry,"

He tilted her head, not comprehending what she meant. When she looked up at him though, she was staring at her with a glare. In a flash she had adjusted her grip on Lucifer and hit him in the stomach with the butt of the handle, earning a pain-filled grunt and a disbelieving expression. She jumped back a few feet and he just stared at her, shock clear on his face. The children were paralyzed with fear, but Denzel shook himself out of it, pushing through the group of kids to see Jecsie. She glanced in his direction and he shrunk back, startled by the look in of anger her eyes. She turned back to Yazoo, who had a hand right over Velvet Nightmare, ready to fend her off. "Jecsie..?" He said at the same time Denzel whispered.

"I'm not letting you take these children!" She hissed at him, not wanting the little ones to hear her and panic.

Yazoo tilted his head, somewhat thrown off by her sudden change in attitude. "But...You said you'd help me..?" The way he spoke made it sound like a question, and the desperation in his voice nearly broke her heart and shook her resolve.

"..." She was silent, trying to figure out what to say, "...That was before..." she trailed off, glancing in Denzel's direction and then turning back.

She shifted into a fighting stance, her legs apart with her sai in position. She couldn't help but wince at the waves of pain given off of him – and now it was mixing with her own as well. He sighed and drew his gun aiming at her. She heard the children gasp and Denzel whispered her name again. She turned to them, shifting her gaze from each child until her eyes locked with Denzel's. "Be brave..." She mumbled, more to herself than the children. "It's alright!" She assured them, raising her voice to them.

She looked back at Yazoo and dashed towards him. She brought her left hand down for a hit on his shoulder, but he blocked it with his Velvet Nightmare. She locked eyes with him before bringing her other sai up in an upwards arc. He caught her wrist, but before he could do anything she slammed her forehead against his. Stars exploded across her vision, making her dizzy. She stumbled back for a few seconds before clearing her head with a shake.

Unfortunately though, she didn't recover fast enough to react to the three bullets Yazoo shot through her left arm and shoulder. He bolted towards her as she stumbled again, and caught her by the back of her head with a fist-full of hair. She could tell he was trying to be gentle, but she still winced. 'Okay...Maybe the head butt was a bad idea...' She thought.

She reluctantly dropped one of her sais in order to grab his wrist with her good arm. But she paused when the cold metal of his Velvet Nightmare touched the side of her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for him to take the bait. When he was sure she had finally given up, he lowered the gun slowly. She glared at him before punching him in the gut, and when he bent over in pain, she kneed him right in the jaw. His head snapped up and she punched the side in his cheek.

Just as she brought her remaining sai down in an arc, he caught her by the elbow and punched her gut. She made a pained sound but he ignored it, pinning her against the wall of a building by her throat. She looked up at him, but instead of a glare, she had a look of pain in her eyes. "Please..." She whispered.

He glanced back at the children in the truck, then to her. "I'm sorry, Jecsie," He said softly, then raised his voice for the kids to hear, "But I cannot let you stop me from hurting these children!" Then he lowered his voice back down, "Make sure you get away from here...I'm so sorry..." He said with a pained voice.

He kissed her fore head and she closed her eyes. She wanted to help Denzel, but she didn't want to hurt Yazoo. I was too hard for her, for two reasons: First, Yazoo could easily kick her ass. She wasn't that experienced as a fighter. Cloud and Tifa had just taught her the basics – enough to defend herself, not to go up against some super-human like him. And second, she knew that, despite the fact they'd just met, they had a strong connection. She just couldn't bring herself to hurting him. Her eyes were still closed, so she couldn't tell what was happening. But she could definitely feel something making contact with her head before losing consciousness. Before completely losing it, she could hear Denzel cry her name again.