Chapter Thirty-Seven: Competition

Sephiroth looked up from the last remnants of yesterday's papers, a firm knock disrupting his concentration. He sighed. He had wanted to get this done quickly and literally sweep Aralyn off her feet. He had heard of a new restaurant that was supposed to be exceptional. She would enjoy the finery, and he wound enjoy the chance to repent.

The knock continued and he gave up. "Come in," he said, turning back to his papers.

He knew it was Zack without even looking up. "Hey, Seph!" his comrade called out in greeting. "Ooh…sorry about the papers. But it looks like you're almost done."

Sephiroth hummed a quiet affirmative, thumbing through the stack in an attempt to find the paper that corresponded to the one he was working on. The Turks had arranged them out of order again. He blamed Reno, whether or not it was justifiable.

"You up for a little exercise?" Zack asked, drawing his oversized sword with a flourish and resting it on his shoulder. "You've got to get out of this office or you'll go insane, and I still need my revenge from last time."

Sephiroth gave a small, one-sided smile, amused by the idea. "Revenge? How do you plan to do that?"

"By whacking you good with this nice metal stick!" Zack said, grinning, whirling his sword in a circle behind his head.

"You can try, at any rate," Sephiroth scoffed, shaking his head and returning to his papers.

"Aw, you're terrified of me and you know it!"

"You can go ahead and think that if it makes you feel better." Sephiroth stood and returned the papers to a file.

"So…you coming?" Zack asked.

Sephiroth put the papers in a locked desk and then drew his exceptionally long Masamune. "I may as well humor you now. You won't be laughing when you wake up sore tomorrow."

"We'll see who's sore after I'm done with you!" Zack led the way, Sephiroth walking elegantly and confidently behind. Zack held the door open for Sephiroth, gesturing in with his hand. "Ladies first," he said, bowing.

"You're really asking for it," Sephiroth said as Zack took his position in the middle of the arena. Sephiroth didn't bother to prepare; he didn't need to.

Zack was the first to leap, but his attack was swatted away like Sephiroth was hitting at crippled flies instead of a fellow Soldier. Zack frowned in concentration, surveying the silver haired swordsman for any hint of weakness. Just to spite him, Sephiroth left an intentional opening in his defenses, bait he knew that Zack could never resist. Zack knew the futility of it all, but he tried nonetheless. As expected, he was blocked, the shock of the blow shaking the joints of his arms until he feared they'd break, while Sephiroth's arm was steady.

"Ha," Zack sighed as he raised his sword and backed away. "Ready to surrender? I'll make the terms fair enough…"

"Funny. I was about to say the same."

Zack continued battering at Sephiroth, who stayed on defensive. Zack continued onward, savoring the challenge. The entire time, he shot out ultimatums, pretending that he was in the lead, trying to get at the ever stoic general.

"And guess who I ran into in the diner?"

Sephiroth looked up, his expression saying that he didn't particularly care and that he was, in addition, mildly annoyed. "That girl you keep talking about…what's her name…Aerith?" he guessed blandly, blocking another of Zack's strikes effortlessly.

"Nah, I'm talking about your girl!"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, his face impassive, but Zack swore for a moment his stone mask faltered. "And?"

"She took a pretty hard fall."

Sephiroth tensed, and his eyes widened. His breathing was harsher, and it wasn't because of exertion. Zack swiped, taking advantage of the moment of panic he had caused his opponent. The general, however, jumped back, evading the blow at the last second. It had been close. Far too close.

"She's all right, but she'll probably have some killer bruises tomorrow." Zack admitted in guilt. He hadn't expected Sephiroth to react like that. The pain in his eyes had been real, and it wasn't right. For someone who showed no emotion, ever, this was a horrible shock. He hadn't known and never would have guessed that Sephiroth felt so strongly toward her.

Sephiroth relaxed and gripped his sword tighter. His frown did not fade. "Do not do that again."

Zack stopped, dropping his sword so the tip rested on the ground. "I scared you, didn't I?" His tone, for once, was not mocking, but contemplative and slightly confused. He guessed that this wasn't the first time this had happened by his reaction. Was she sick, he wondered?

He shook his head, then raised his sword and charged again, only to have his weapon battered away by the significantly slimmer Masamune.

There was now an edge to Sephiroth's maneuvers, releasing the worry and fear that he did not dare to reveal otherwise. "This is real, isn't it?" Zack dared to ask. "This isn't just some passing crush."

Sephiroth neither confirmed nor denied anything, instead choosing to sweep forward and seize the hole in Zack's defenses, sliding the tip of his long blade to his throat. Zack closed his eyes and dropped his sword. "All right, Seph. You win this one."

"And?" Sephiroth prodded further.

"…And the last one. And…probably the next one too." He smiled sheepishly.

Sephiroth lowered the blade and sat on one of the benches near the wall, sheathing his weapon after ensuring that it was clean and in good repair. Zack came to join him, though his arrival was strikingly different. He could barely make it, and when he did, he was doubled over, wheezing as he tried to catch his breath and borrowing the towel Sephiroth offered to wipe the sweat from his face. Sephiroth sat next to him, tall and upright, his breathing slow and steady.

"Thank you for the contest, even though it was one sided," Sephiroth said, taking the damp towel and exchanging it for a water bottle.

"Someday I'll hit you. If it's only once on the smallest toe, I will get you."

"Hmmm. So you continue to claim."

"So," Zack said as he leaned back, feeling better after the long drink of water. "The great General Sephiroth is in love."

"That's enough of that, Zack."

"Her name's Aralyn, right? Beautiful name. Foreign…somehow. Melodic."

Sephiroth looked away.

"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of! In fact, it might do you some good to have a woman. She seemed nice, like a good match for you."

Sephiroth grabbed the water bottle from Zack, though he seriously doubted that it was out of actual thirst. He seemed distracted and far away. After it was clear that he would get no more out of the General, he suggested leaving. He proposed to go down and relax in the lounge for a while, but Sephiroth only shook his head and left, giving the excuse that he had work to complete.

Zack waited until Sephiroth had left to voice his thoughts to himself. "Clueless. General or not, he's blind as a bat. Ironic…sadly enough." Shrugging, he shouldered his Buster Sword and walked out casually, heading toward the diner where Aralyn worked.

"Clueless, clueless, clueless…."