SOLDIER Does not Make Heroes.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the characters used in this fan fiction. They belong to their respected owners.

Pairing: N/A.

Characters: Genesis Rhapsodos, Yuffie Kisaragi — along with a few others.

Warning: Complete and utter craziness. There is no pairing. Slight OOCness. WARNING FOR ANGST!

Summary: After learning the truth of his own existence, Genesis is sent off to war—the Wutai War. Though with the fact he is unable to accept the facts causes the man to lose his mind, though things only get worse when Wutai's Princess gets involved.

Chapter Ten; Forgive Me.

Yuffie Kisaragi, mighty ninja and White Rose of Wutai, had never followed someone in utter silent for this long. There she was, walking behind the Crimson SOLDIER that had captured her for the past twenty minutes, without saying a word to him, not that he had said anything to her. He had just walked over, after Angeal had left, and tied a rope around her neck, leading her out of the camp without a sing answer to her question of what was going on. He had seemed emotionless while doing so, making the young girl wonder if she was in some sort of danger, however, he had yet to confirm that he was going to injure or kill the princess. Although that was not the entirely worst part of the situation at hand, oh no, it gets worse.

The little ninja, even though she had lived in the country her entire life, had no idea where they were going. When she questioned him about it, during the first few moments, he said nothing to her. She could clearly see that they were on a path, though, but did not know which one it was or where it led. There were no forms of life on this trail; fiend, enemy, or friend. It seemed as dead as any conversation that she could seem to hope for on this odd little journey, she couldn't even hear birds singing within the trees that surrounded their little walkway. To say the least, the small child was a bit frightened at what was going to happen to her and attempted to think back on anything that she might have said wrong during her time with the General.

The general could almost hear her heart beating against her ribs madly, like it was attempting an escape or trying to explode. He didn't blame her for reacting the way she was; the eerie silences and nervous nature. He would probably act the same given a situation such as this, but he remained behind his emotionless mask instead of grinning like he wanted to. If she would only know what he had planned for her, for everything, maybe she wouldn't be in the mist of having a panic attack. He couldn't find it in his heart — that is if he had one — to tell her what was going to happen very, very soon. He didn't want to ruin whatever thoughts she must have at this point of what he was going to do to her, a part of him liked seeing this side of the brave little girl.

He shook the thought from his head mentally and turned his bright blue orbs to his captive, watching her fidget under his azure gaze. Noticing this reaction out of the girl, he had figured that this place was as good as any, and stopped dead in his tracks. He observed the small ninja almost tripping over her own feet as she attempted to stop as well, forcing back a grin as he watched her shoot daggers at him with her eyes. He cleared his throat and turned his eyes ahead, staring at the path before them. "I think this has been a mistake."

"What has," she shot back with her normal attitude but with an underlying worry in her voice. "Dragging me the whole way out here for nothing?"

"No."

She growled, "Then what?"

"Do you remember what you said to me the first day here," he questioned, ignoring her query. His eyes moved to her to see her confused look and became frustrated, of course, the little girl wouldn't understand. He shouldn't help but wonder how she even understood Angeal when she couldn't even scratch the surface with him. "About what would happen if I did not stop following every order I was given."

"Oh!" She beamed a bit, seeming to relax a bit — Genesis wasn't sure if he liked that idea or not. "That you wouldn't die a hero, like you want to so darn bad, that you would die a monster!"

He cringed at her answer, even though it was the one he was looking for. Perhaps it had been due to the manner that the young Princess had spoke it, the way it just flowed from her lips like it had been the most obvious response in the world. He managed to pull himself together enough to nod at her, however, still his lips curved into a frown. "Correct, Princess."

"What about it," the ninja replied while not noticing the discomfort of the male. She didn't notice that her tone had come off as annoyed, which she was honestly. How could she not be? Why in the world would he drag her out here, just to remind her of something she said on her first day at the camp? "Any reason you brought me out here to ask me about that?"

"Honestly," he mumbled, "You'll find out soon."

"What's going on?" Suddenly, Yuffie found herself being worry stricken. This seemed extremely odd now that she thought about it, not to mention, the aura in the air seemed to be extremely dark and frightening for the bubbly ninja. "Genesis…?"

"Yuffie," Genesis spoke coldly, his tone making even himself shiver. "Do you remember what I told you after the attack? Do you remember what I told you when you wanted thanks for making your troops leave?"

Yuffie stared at him, swallowing a lump that was forming in her throat. His tone frightened her, it was too cold and too distant. If she didn't know any better, this was going to be goodbye; she thought that maybe only one of them was going to be walking away after this day. Even still, she found herself giving the auburn haired man a nod of her head, her brown orbs remaining on him — searching for anything that signaled that there was still a human in the shell that she was certainly watching. "Yes."

"What did I say?"

"That it was too late to save your soul," she answered in a shaken tone. "That I got no thanks. But —"

"You called me a monster, you have been calling me such, until I showed you what a monster really was — or at least tried to. You knew what I was before Angeal did, I attacked you, Yuffie Kisaragi, but you still defended me." The man tilted his head back with a sinister smile, fingers brushing against the hilt of his blade. "Why would you do that, little Princess?"

"Well, it's obvious," she protested while resisting the urged to shiver or just take off through the woods. It was difficult with the expression on the SOLDIER member's face, but she was Yuffie Kisaragi and she was best known for her bravery no matter the situation. Besides that, there was nothing for her to be frightened of, she was a prisoner that was important to the crimson clothed man, he wouldn't hurt her… right? "Just because someone calls you a monster, doesn't make you one. Everyone starts out good but sometimes they run into someone who makes them bad. You're not that—whoa! Genesis!"

The crimson had stumbled to his knees, his hands resting on the ground as he heaved pained breathes in and out of his constricting lungs. She had been shocked when he went down, attempting to advance to his side in a pathetic effort to help but was stopped as his blue eyes lifted and narrowed at her. His gloved fingers dug into the soil that they rested upon, he panted and arched his back as pain shot through his ragged form. He knew what was going to happen and cursed that it couldn't wait at least a few more minutes, just along enough to get her out of the area. He felt his entire body tremble as he growled lowly, trying to pull himself together.

"Genesis," Yuffie spoke in a concerned tone, one that didn't seem like her. "Are you okay?" It was a stupid question, she knew, but she couldn't help it. She didn't know what else to say to the man that knelt before her, trembling and withering in agony. She knew that this was not a good sign, that Levaithan had not answered the pray she and Angeal had spoken to him, that things were not getting better for the crimson SOLDIER. "Gen—"

"Go," he growled lowly and glowered up at the young ninja. He wanted her to leave and when she didn't, he felt angry raging through his form but was nothing compared to the throbbing that flowed more freely and rougher. "I said go!"

Yuffie Kisaragi did not leave a man behind, especially an injured man or one that was in some type of pain. She wasn't about to abandon this man, probably defenseless due to his agony, alone in his enemies' territory. She moved forward, ignoring the glares and grunts from the ailing man, reaching out one of her hands to help steady him. "I'm not leaving you, Genesis. You're not well and I just can't! Let me help you—"

"Get away," he snapped at her like some wild beast. He backed away despite the pain that raged through his body, trembling under the weight of his own form, yet not allowing the ninja close. "I told you to go! I brought you here so you could go home, not continue to follow me around like some… some lost puppy!"

"Why I ne—wh-whoa," she yelped as she fell backwards, the SOLDIER falling forward and onto his face with a cry of torment. Her eyes widened as black feathers swirled through the air, a long black wing prolonging from his shoulder blade, the same one she remembered him favoring in the tent. She couldn't believe her very own eyes, the way the wing convulse and shuddered, seeming more real then even the man laying face down and heaving uneven breathes. She couldn't stop herself from lifting up a hand, allowing one of the feathers to fall into her open palm unconsciously, as she stared a few feet away at the man attempting to push himself up. "Genesis…"

At first he didn't speak, the pain that throbbed through his shoulder was far to much for the SOLDIER to find his tongue. He wanted to lash out at her, but the convulsing object attached to his shoulder was keeping him more or less in the dirt beneath him. His pained blue eyes lifted and turned dangerously to the young ninja that seemed to grasp one of the feathers in her hand, holding it to her chest unconsciously. "Do you see now? Do you see that I am nothing more then a monster, Kisaragi. Now get the hell out of here before—"

"I'm not leaving! Not yet, anyway," the small ninja huffed and frowned, only to notice that the man's wing began to flap and lift his aching body upward. "Gen-whoa!" She scooted backwards on her butt as the man stood on shaky legs, slowly moving towards her with his blade drawn. "What are you doing?"

Genesis growled, "You will not get in my way—you will return home, Yuffie Kisaragi."

"Wh-what do yo-yo me-mean? In, in yo-you're wa-way?"

"You know what I am, a monster, and my plans are simple ones, ones of monsters. You will not get in my way, Princess, and you will return to your home and stay there." The man spoke slowly as paused in front of the young ninja, his blade lifting and resting at the girl's throat. His blue eyes narrowed and he tilted his head in an almost eerie manner. "If you fail to do so then I will be forced to kill you—you will become an obstacle then, and all complications must be destroyed. Do you understand me?"

She swallowed hard and lowered her head, chin resting on the blade as she fought back tears. "This isn't how it's supposed to be!" Genesis was taken back by the girl's response, but could not speak a word as she continued, in a frightened yet sobbing tone. "We prayed! We wanted you to get better, to become the hero that you always wanted to be! This wasn't supposed to happen at all, I want to help, why won't you let me? Is it because I'm the enemy? Because I'm little and you don't think I could understand?"

He didn't know what to say, he merely stood there and stared at her. His lips parted but no sound desired to leave them, his mind racing with insults he could, should, throw at the girl, but none seemed to truly want to echo past his ashen lips. He shivered and closed his eyes, his wielding hand trembling just slightly—barely noticeable—before his wing seemed to disappear from his mind, unbeknownst to him, from his shoulder as well. Suddenly things began clear and he found his tongue once more, possibly too late; "I—"

"You there," a voice shouted causing the girl to stumble back away from the blade, the crimson warrior to open his eyes and turn his sights to the owner. There stood a few Wutai Soldiers, who seemed less then pleased to see an enemy—who they out numbered at the moment—holding a blade to their princess's throat. They all lifted their blades and quickly the auburn haired man had formed a plan; quickly, almost like a snake after a mouse, he approached the young princess and grabbed her from the ground. The group hissed and seemed uncertain about attacking, the SOLDIER keeping female as close to his form as possible. "Let Kisaragi-hime go, creature of Shinra!"

She whimpered, "Genesis…"

"Yuffie," his voice was low—the ninja realized that tone anyway, it held just as much regret as her father's when he had told her of her mother's death. Her large chocolate eyes moved up to him, her lips parting to speak but did not get the chance. "I'm sorry… forgive me."

"Wh—" She yelped as she was pushed forward and the hilt of the SOLDIER's blade connected with the back of her skull. Her vision blurred as she felt her body hitting the ground, she could hear the shouts of the Wutai warriors, then the sound of fluttering. Her vision returned for a brief moment, just in time to see black feathers drifting to the ground in front of her, before her entire world seemed to blank yet and turn to compete darkness—her hearing soon failed her as well. The name of the man who had captured her, her world shifting to a time before the war—a time before she had ever laid eyes on the sickened SOLDIER.

When she finally gained consciousness, she found herself being cradled by someone that, at first, she had thought to be her mother. She nuzzled into the arms of the being and mumbled a greeting that one would give a female parent, her arms moving around their neck and a cooing noise escaping the half conscious ninja. However, upon not feeling the long locks of the woman, the princess remembered that her darling mother had been killed and could not possibly be the person carrying her. Instantly, the very young girl's eyes snapped open and moved to the face of the being, noticing that it had been one of the warriors that confronted her and Genesis prior to the SOLDIER's actions. She closed her eyes tightly and buried her face into the guard's chest, tears leaking from her eyes due to the pain that throbbed through her skull, and the thoughts of failing another person in her life—first her mother, then the crimson warrior. Just like that the small ninja sobbed herself into another slumber.

Don't be like that. Where's your Wutai Pride, huh?

Yuffie Kisaragi never viewed herself as someone weak, but it had taken her close to a week to even retain her normal hyper nature. After that it only took her father three days to have her meet with him about what had happened, where she tried to tell him that no harm came to her and that the members of the camp were alright for Shinra Dogs. However, that seemed to be the least of her father's worries, he told her the story that the warriors came back with—that Shinra had a new type of fiend on their side, one that took the form of a man who exhibited a black wing. She knew what he meant, she tried to brush it off in order to keep what she had truly seen—she had figured that is what Genesis would have wanted—but he produced something that overthrown all her statements. A single jet black feather, one that she apparently had gripped in her hand, against her crest, as if it were a symbol of protection and faith.

However, the Single White Rose of Wutai would not be made a fool of, even though she truly wasn't in such a situation, and stormed out of the meeting with a rant that could put the crimson warrior to shame. She stalked past all the guards and maids, even a few people who probably did not even have a clue of what was going on, and locked herself away in her bedroom. She knew that no one would bother her, not after the display that had been set in the meeting room, not to mention the halls, so she merely sat upon her bed with her knees to her chest. Childish chocolate eyes stared out the small window that blessed her room with light, she had wrapped her arms around her legs and kept them close—heaving breathes out of pure frustration with the situation.

That is where the ninja sat now, hours later, just staring out the window with a glare that would probably even make the warriors shake in fear. She was angry now, at the world, at her father, at her mother, and most certainly at Genesis. The world didn't make her good enough to protect the people around her, it had taken away her mother, who she was angry with for abandoning her with her father. She was angry with her father for ever thinking that Genesis was some sort of fiend, a monster! She knew that he was no such thing, despite him being a Shinra Dog and having the weird wing—she had to admit that it did frighten her a bit. She was angry with that damn Shinra Dog for leaving her, knocking her out cold, instead of letting her help him. It seemed so annoying, yet she remembered the deal that she made with the other SOLDIER—she found herself angry with Levathian.

"Dear Leviathan," she bowed her head and closed her eyes—her fingers interlacing together in a simple prayer movement. "I know that I ask a lot from you sometimes, especially as of late, but this if a very special request. You didn't answer it last time, you made him leave me alone, but I'm not going to give up. I want to ask the same thing as last time of you, and I'll be so happy if you helped, I won't ever be bad again! My friend, Genesis Rhapsodos, is still really hurt and it seems to be getting worse, he even spouted a wing like a bird! But I don't mind the wing thing, no way, but I think he needs some of your healing. Could you please find it in your mighty heart this time to heal him? "

She could have swore she heard flapping but ignored it, she had to focus all her energy on this prayer—she had to get it to work. "I won't run away from home ever again. I'll stay here and do my lessons, do whatever it takes to make you happy enough to make my prayer come true. I'll do anything, anything at all, just please do this for me. If you can't do it for him, do it for him. He deserves to be better now, he shouldn't have to be hurting anymore. Please Leviathan, it would mean a lot to me. Amen…"

She did a small sign and lifted her head, opening her large chocolate eyes and scanning around her room. That's when her sights set on feathers falling just outside her window, ashen eyelids blinking over the brown orbs in confusion. She began to lean forward when her palms hit the bed for balance, they also hit something else—paper, she realized, when she looked down. Her slender fingers grasped the object and lifted it—My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey, in my own salvation. She blinked a few times as her eyes narrowed at the words, soon her sights moved to the bottom of the page, her bottom lip beginning to tremble—Forgive me, Wutai's Greatest Warrior—it read—Sincerely, Genesis Rhapsodos.

She gripped the paper for a moment before bouncing off her bed, landing perfectly to her feet. She turned her attention out the window with a smile that hadn't graced her face in so long, slipping the paper into her top and patting it. "Wutai's Greatest Warror, huh?" She beamed and placed her hands on her hips, "Well then, it looks like that it's time to stop actin' like a kid, right, General?" She didn't care if he could hear her or not, where ever he was now. "I'm going to teach your friends a thing or two about what Wutai is really about, so you better warn 'em cause I'm the great ninja, Yuffie Kisaragi, ready for action!"

A/N: One more chapter after this one, not including the preview of the sequal that will be at the end of the next chapter! I know, I know, it's not my best work, you don't have to shout it to the hills. The ending was a bit off, the original was written better then this one, and going off remember sucks! My computer crashed hardcore because of a bug it got from another site I used to publish stuff on. Agh. Nonetheless, enjoy!