One week later…
"So…can I ask why you wanted to see her file?" Zack asked curiously.
Sephiroth scowled at the brunet lightly, but quickly shrugged it off.
"I just want to know more about her. That's it, really."
Zack smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Interested, eh? You know Seph, I didn't know you went for women," he chuckled.
Sephiroth snorted, placing the paperwork back in the folder.
"I never said I was going for her. She's very beautiful, yes, but…I'm not sure how it would work. Plus, you've known me for how many years, and you didn't realize that I'm bi?" he asked.
"Not really. I guess it's because there aren't many women in Shinra, and the ones who are here aren't very attractive," Zack laughed.
Sephiroth shook his head, silently dismissing Zack's comment.
"Her file is relatively empty, actually. There's practically nothing about her past, or her origins. It basically begins just a few years ago when she began her thievery spree."
"I haven't heard her mention anything about her past at all. Maybe something traumatizing happened to her and she doesn't want to talk about it. Or she could have amnesia," Zack suggested.
"True," Sephiroth nodded. "I wouldn't want to push her into talking about it. Trust me, I know how uncomfortable that can be."
Zack nodded. "Maybe one day she'll be willing to open up about it. I know we've only known her a few days, but I really like her."
Sephiroth looked at him with a critical eye, and the brunet laughed.
"Not like that, Seph. She feels like a little sister to me. Nothing more."
The general remained silent and returned his gaze back to the folder, which had Siren's file sitting inside of it. He ran his gloved fingers over the folder, lost in thought.
"Well," Zack said, standing up from the chair. "All of the new recruits, including Siren, are due for their first Mako treatment today."
Sephiroth's eyes flashed and he frowned lightly.
"Are you going to observe?" Zack asked.
Sephiroth stood from his desk, and placed Siren's file in a side drawer.
"I would prefer it, but I have some meaningless meetings to attend. The President insists that I be there for some reason unbeknownst to me," the general growled.
"Yeah, I have some classes today, so I won't be able to either," Zack shrugged. "Eh, I'm sure she'll do fine. And even if her body doesn't accept the Mako, I really doubt Shinra would kick her out."
Sephiroth nodded toward the door and Zack followed. The two stepped out into the hallway and bid the other farewell.
--
"Karmic, Kaulitz, Krzepicki, Lamielle, Laurentis, Lipsing, you're up!"
Siren sighed as she walked toward the row of empty tables in the medical wing. She couldn't remember the last time she visited a doctor, but she often woke up fitfully from having reoccurring nightmares that took place in laboratories. She took a deep breath and laid down on the cold metal table.
"What is this? Oh, you must be the new female SOLDIER," the lab assistant said, grabbing Siren's arm and stretching it out.
Siren nodded and peered around at her fellow SOLDIERS. Most of them were taking the injections without any problems, though a few had passed out as soon as the liquid entered their veins.
"Be a good girl and just hold still for me okay," the lab assistant said in a snarky tone, which made Siren glare back. The assistant stuck the needle in Siren's arm, quickly administering the Mako. Siren closed her eyes and braced for the worst. About 10 seconds passed before the assistant slapped a piece of gauze and a piece of medical tape over her arm.
"Looks like your body accepted it. Welcome to SOLDIER, officially. Just wait here while the professor finishes with the patient he's with now. You'll receive one more injection, and you'll be good to go," the assistant said, patting Siren on the shoulder and walking away.
Siren sighed, lying on the table waiting impatiently for the professor. About 5 minutes later, he sauntered over, looking at Siren curiously.
"Siren, right? You're the new female SOLDIER. Hmm…I've never administered this to a female. Well, we'll just see how it goes," Hojo shrugged, grabbing Siren's arm and attempting to stick the needle in.
Siren's eyes widened and she grabbed Hojo's arm.
"What the hell is it?" she asked.
Hojo chuckled softly, and the sound instantly made Siren's skin crawl.
"No need to worry my dear. This is a special mixture that will work with the Mako you just received to give you immense strength."
"I already have immense strength," Siren mumbled.
Hojo laughed out loud and grabbed Siren's arm again. He quickly stuck the needle in, injecting the liquid.
"But this will be so much better," he whispered.
Immediately Siren drew in a sharp breath and cried out in pain. Her body began to tremble lightly, and her pupils dilated so much that her eyes looked solid blue. She broke out into a heavy sweat and began thrashing around on the table.
"Hmm…interesting reaction," Hojo mumbled.
The lab assistants and other SOLDIERS gathered around Siren, some watching in fascination, some in horror.
"What the hell are you doing, Doc?! She's in pain! Help her!" some of the SOLDIERS began to yell.
"Quiet! I need to observe this! I've never seen this reaction before…" Hojo said, with a look of wonder on his face.
"Professor, sir…something is wrong! Look, she's literally dripping wet with sweat!" one assistant said.
Siren laid thrashing around, while liquid was pouring from her pores. Her skin was bright red as if she'd been sunburnt, and she began to scream out in agony.
"Professor!" another lab assistant yelled.
"There's nothing we can do!" Hojo yelled back. "We'll just have to wait it out and see what happens."
--
Sephiroth left the President's office, rubbing a hand on his temple. He'd sat through 5 pointless meetings in two hours, and was more than happy to finally be finished. He made his way over to the medical ward intending to check on the new recruits' Mako injections, when he heard bloodcurdling screams coming down the hall. He immediately broke out into a run, and as he neared the doors, he could hear that the screams were coming from a female. He burst through the doors and saw a large group of people surrounding one table. He looked to his right and saw one of the SOLDIERS attempting to attack Hojo, but he was being restrained by some of his comrades.
"What's going on here?!" Sephiroth barked, pushing past the crowd of people.
He looked down and saw Siren laying naked on a metal examination table, soaking wet, and thrashing around. Her screams had quieted down, showing signs that she was losing her voice. Her eyes were completely blank, bloodshot, and unfocused.
"Sweet Gaia…" the general mumbled, not believing what he was seeing.
He quickly gathered his wits and sprung into action. He ordered the assistants to dry Siren off and wrap her in a blanket, while he went to question Hojo.
"What the hell did you do?!" he yelled.
"I simply gave her the routine injections. Nothing different," Hojo said nonchalantly.
Sephiroth scowled and breathed deeply through his nose.
"Did this start after the Mako injection, or after the other one?"
"After the other one. She was fine when I gave her the Mako. I have no idea why she's having this reaction, but as for now there's nothing we can do. I can see that her little 'episode' is almost over, and I'm confident that she'll be fine. I will have to run more tests later to figure out why she had this reaction, but she's free to go, now."
Sephiroth turned his back to Hojo and walked back over to the table. Siren had the excess sweat wiped off of her, but she was still damp. She was neatly wrapped in a blanket, and her thrashing had reduced to soft trembles, and her screams down to whimpers. Her eyes were shut, but there was plenty of activity on the other side of her eyelids.
"Her clothing?" Sephiroth asked.
"Um…they got pretty nasty. She can just get another uniform, and we'll let them know what happened so she won't be charged for it," an assistant said.
Sephiroth nodded and picked Siren up, cradling her in his arms. He walked out of the lab wordlessly, and headed toward the elevators.
--
He stepped inside and silently thanked Gaia that it was empty. He proceeded to ride the elevator to the SOLDIER floor, but then paused, looking down at Siren.
~Zackary has classes all day, and I can't just leave you alone. But I can't just sit in your apartment doing nothing…I guess I'll have to bring you with me~
The elevator reached his floor and Sephiroth stepped out, walking to his apartment. He slipped the keycard in the slot, and the door opened. He quickly walked over to the couch and gently set Siren down. He stood back up and looked at her, watching for any signs of distress. She'd fallen asleep, still swaddled in the blanket. Sephiroth sat in an armchair across from her and grabbed his paperwork.
--
About 3 hours later, Siren was still unconscious on Sephiroth's couch. The general had put the paperwork down long ago, and was simply reclining in the chair, watching Siren silently. His PHS began to shrill loudly, and he snatched it up, quickly answering it.
"This is Sephiroth."
"Seph?! Have you seen Siren? She's not at the apartment, and I've tried asking around, but no one has seen her. I'm kind of worried. I mean, she is a girl, and we do have some weirdos here—"
"She's with me, Zackary," Sephiroth said simply.
"She…what? Wait, wait, wait…Seph, I thought you said—"
Sephiroth sighed, immediately becoming annoyed by Zack's babbling.
"Zackary, come to my apartment immediately. There's been a…situation. I'll explain it all when you get here," the general said, snapping his phone shut as soon as he finished speaking.
--
"But Hojo said she is going to be okay? Well, that's good. I'm surprised I didn't hear about this right after it happened. You know how fast news spreads around Shinra," Zack said, sitting on the floor in front of Siren.
"Hopefully she'll be waking up soon. Although there is one more problem," Sephiroth said, pausing slightly.
"What is it?" Zack asked curiously, noticing the expression on Sephiroth's face look almost like…embarrassment.
"She's naked underneath that blanket."
Zack's eyebrows shot up and he looked Siren's covered body up and down.
"Well, this could get really awkward…" he chuckled quietly.
--
So…I'm not trying to be all naggy and stuff, but seriously, if you do read the whole chapter PLEASE REVIEW IT!! It honestly makes me write faster because then I know that people are interested. I hope you all enjoyed this chappie, and the next one should be up soon!