Sephiroth stopped at the door to his office, looking in, and didn't sigh. It was a near thing. The paperwork stacked on his desk…. He'd known it would be bad, but seeing the messy pile, several inches tall was something else. He wasn't in charge of SOLDIER, that was Lazard's job and in all honesty, the man could have it. Sephiroth had to see the people on the board far too often as it was. But he was still the head of SOLDIER, the "Silver General" and the face of the program. He had to review all promotions within SOLDIER, go over the cadets applying for SOLDIER, set up drill exercises for the different groups of SOLDIER, collaboration times and combined training exercises, disciplinary actions, etc. Normally, he got through his paperwork in an hour or two and would then go to speak with who he needed to or oversee some of the training. This… would likely take him several hours, if not the entire day.
He saw the use of it, but he still hated paperwork.
Steeling himself for the long day ahead, he walked over to the chair behind his desk and began to sort the pile. That alone would probably take all the time he had before he went to breakfast, but would be a productive use of said time. He began to sort the stacks into three piles: those that needed to be reviewed by him and then sent to Lazard, those that he could deal with personally and didn't need to be sent on, and finally, those that had somehow ended up on his desk when they could have been handled by a lower ranked SOLDIER instead. Sadly, that last pile was inevitable, no matter how many times he addressed the problem.
He'd gotten about half-way through his sorting when his PHS chirped at him. Frowning, he looked down and reached into his pants pocket. It was a message from Angeal asking if he had any ideas as to where Zack could be. Why would Angeal ask that? Sephiroth hadn't even actually met the boy. Overheard him, yes. Caught sight of him, absolutely. But there weren't any training exercises scheduled this early in the morning, so if he wasn't at breakfast, he could be anywhere. Frowning, Sephiroth responded that no, he didn't know anything about Zachary, but that he'd keep an eye out and asked his friend to keep him updated.
Angeal didn't respond.
Half an hour later, Sephiroth had actually been able to make a start on some of the more easily addressed paperwork and had just dropped off the pile of 'return to (various subordinate)' to Lazard's secretary, who was more than willing to take the stack and distribute it accordingly. He strode down the hall and into the dining room, eyes scanning for Genesis' shock of ginger hair or Angeal's buster.
He found the former pretty easily and nodded to his friend as he walked to the counter to pick up his meal. Their second day in a row at the regular SOLDIER dining room. He made sure to brace himself for potential fans approaching them. It was the main reason he didn't eat in the room more than once a week. If they were lucky, the younger SOLDIERS would still be too intimidated to approach them. He liked speaking with the people he led, but only when they didn't make it a point to stutter with star-struck eyes or try to 'cozy in' with their 'lazy, power-hungry drives', as Genesis liked to say.
Sephiroth set his tray, filled with nutritional, if tasteless, food on the table and began to eat.
"I thought I would be the last here," he commented, eyes darting to the other empty chairs around the circular table.
"Finishing up work, I assume," Genesis said, taking a drink of milk from his small carton.
The silver-haired man nodded.
"Well, I assume Angeal is still looking for his little, lost puppy."
Sephiroth frowned. He hadn't heard anything from their friend, so Genesis was likely right. Angeal rarely forgot to update them.
They ate in relative silence for a couple of minutes, neither wanting to bring up any particular subjects without the third member of their group.
Finally, Genesis seemed to have had enough because he cleared his throat and sat forward. "I filled out all the paperwork for fixing the gym from this morning," he said.
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow in surprise. That was… terribly nice for Genesis.
"It should come across your desk later today, I assume," he said with a knowing grin.
The Silver General's expression fell flat. Still, it was paperwork he wouldn't have to actually fill out himself, so there was that, he supposed.
"It is appreciated," he finally said.
"I also signed up for some missions."
The only sign that Sephiroth caught the subtext was his pause as he lifted a bite of food to eat.
"Oh?" he asked casually, then put the fork-full into his mouth.
"Yes. Next week, I will be heading to the Northern Continent on request from the Bone Village excavation site. Apparently, they've had problems with monsters wandering in from the local forest."
That… was a little too convenient. He gave Genesis a long look, wondering if the other man had falsified a mission himself. In the end, it didn't really matter, he supposed. They were planning on telling the Turks eventually anyway. If they told Veld or Tseng about the game now, though, they'd never see it – or the information it held – again. Hopefully, they would be able to finish the game before they handed it over. If they happened to have to do so a little early because the Turks found out, though, they would. They already had a good deal of information they needed to check. It would just not be ideal.
Sephiroth opened his mouth to respond, but cut himself off when he saw Angeal hurry in, not quite running but not walking leisurely either. He paused only for a moment to scan the lunchroom, much as Sephiroth had done, and his eyes landed on the two of them easily. He hurried directly over to their table.
"Genesis, Sephiroth," he said as he sat down, grabbing the handle of his buster sword and pulling it so as to allow him to sit in the chair almost absentmindedly. "I still can't find Zack."
The two SOLDIERS already at the table exchanged glances. "Has he put in for another day off?" Sephiroth asked.
Angeal shook his head. "No, I checked. I even stopped by his room to see if he's just slept in. His roommate, Luxiere, was still there and said he'd seen Zack yesterday after dinner. He hadn't come to dinner because he was in his room resting and playing video games."
"The irony," Genesis mused.
Angeal nodded. "It's probably the only way we could keep him in bed. I'm not surprised. But because he didn't come to dinner, Luxiere took him some food."
"Oh, he broke regulations, I already like that one," the red-head said with a smirk.
The larger SOLDIER rolled his eyes and shook his head. "In any case, Luxiere had some missions that ran later than usual. He got back well after dark and said Zack wasn't there when he returned. He assumed Zack had gone on a mission or some night training or something, but I looked. He hasn't."
"Have you checked the infirmary?" Sephiroth asked. "Perhaps he re-injured himself."
Angeal's eyes widened. "No… I… thank you, Sephiroth. I'll go check now."
"No," Genesis said, reaching over and grabbing his friend's arm before he could leave. Angeal stopped and looked back, disapproving frown on his face. Genesis didn't falter. "You need to eat something. If your puppy is in the infirmary, then having a good meal won't hurt you or him. If not, you'll need your strength to keep looking."
Sephiroth was impressed. He didn't think Genesis was self-aware enough to actively intervene and urge his friend to take care of himself. Then again, when Angeal fixated on an idea, it was difficult to sway him, even for Sephiroth.
The brunet looked as if he was about to protest, but eventually just sighed and deflated. Then he reached over his shoulder, took off his buster and leaned it against the table.
"Fine. I'll be right back" he said, then strode over towards the window where they served food.
"I'm surprised you got him to stay," Sephiroth said.
Genesis shrugged, just finishing his own meal. "I've known him since we were children. If you interrupt his laser focus to make him stop for a little, he usually calms down enough to think rationally."
"Hmm," Sephiroth responded and filed that away under 'potentially useful information'.
Angeal came back to the table quickly, set the tray down, and practically shoveled the food into his mouth, as politely as possible of course. As he did so, Genesis informed him of his upcoming mission to the Northern Crater. Angeal slowed his eating a little to think about that, but ultimately only nodded and continued to consume his meal.
Genesis and Sephiroth exchanged glances, then the former sighed. "I need to stop by the labs and see if there is any new materia to test out before my mission. Text if you need anything."
The other two SOLDIERS nodded as the red-head left. Sephiroth and Angeal continued to eat, finishing their respective meals at about the same time.
"I need to return to work," the silver-haired man said as he went to stand.
"Sephiroth," Angeal said, quietly but urgently.
The other SOLDIER paused. "What is it?"
The brunet looked down, troubled. "What if one of the scientists got him?"
Sephiroth paused for a moment. That… wasn't completely impossible, but…
"Unlikely," he finally said.
Angeal blinked, surprised. "Why?"
Sephiroth shrugged. "They know you would move Heaven and Earth to get to him, and where you go, Genesis and I won't be far behind. I doubt they'd be stupid enough to alienate their top three SOLDIERs all at once."
The brunet blinked, then visibly relaxed, a small smile on his lips. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Sephiroth." Likely for more than just the reassurance, but the proclamation that if ShinRa had been that stupid, that they'd support him.
"You'll find him, and I'm sure he'll be fine before you put him through the workout of his life," Sephiroth reassured. Funny, even a week ago that wouldn't have even occurred to him to say. Now it felt… natural. Amazing what a couple of nights of 'hanging out' could do.
The game's revelations probably helped there too, as much as he hated to admit it.
"Right," Angeal responded, sounding more sure. "I will. Thank you, again, Sephiroth. I'm off to check the infirmary."
"If you still cannot find him later today, inform me. I'll… look into it personally." In other words, he'd hack the system if he had to. The other SOLDIER blinked up at him from his seat, then he smiled, something larger and more real than he'd seen all morning.
"I'll let you know what I find, then."
Sephiroth nodded, then took his tray back to the window where workers took it and dumped his used disposables in the garbage. Angeal came right behind him. They marched out of the cafeteria and towards the elevators without so much as a word, then nodded as they parted ways.
Five minutes later, Sephiroth found himself in the regrettable position of starting on the pile of paperwork he'd have to give to Lazard.
xXx
Two hours later, a very stoic Angeal and a grim but thoughtful Genesis strode into his office. The Silver General looked up and raised an eyebrow in their direction. The red-head didn't respond, but Angeal just shook his head, mouth tight and eyes hard.
So, they hadn't found him.
Sephiroth looked to Genesis and cleared his throat. The Commander blinked and met his gaze. Sephiroth tapped his ear and Genesis nodded, taking out the jammer from before and flipping it on. Once he checked to make sure it was working correctly, he nodded to the Silver General.
"I've looked everywhere," Angeal finally said. "This isn't like Zack. He may seem carefree to a point of carelessness sometimes, but in truth he's actually almost meticulous about filling out paperwork and following the rules."
He sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a phs. "That's Zack's," he said as he set the phs on the desk. "I stopped by his room again and found this charging on his night-stand."
"You didn't notice it before?" Sephiroth asked.
"I never stepped into the room earlier this morning," Angeal said. "It's part of why I went back. His roommate told me he was gone and so I continued my search. This time I looked under his bed, in his closet… I didn't actually rifle through anything, just a quick glance to make sure he wasn't hiding from me or something."
"Why would he hide from you?" Genesis said, turning to him in surprise.
Angeal shook his head. "I don't know. But I prefer him hiding from me as some sort of prank or misguided fear than… other options."
Sephiroth frowned. "You still think the Science department got him."
The brunet began to pace, running a hand through his hair. Sephiroth hadn't seen him this flustered in a very long time. Of course, he'd wanted to check up on his student since the disturbing revelation from the game. Naturally he'd jump to the worst conclusion.
"I don't know," the larger SOLDIER said. "I certainly don't want to believe it but… I don't know what else could have possibly happened to him."
Sephiroth sat back in his chair, contemplating.
"I was going to hack into the Science Department later today, but I suppose I can move that up. We can double check."
Angeal paused and the Silver General could hear him grinding his teeth before he turned and nodded at Sephiroth.
"I need to know."
The General sighed. "Very well." He flipped on the computer so it could begin it's boot process while he set the rest of the papers aside and put the various office tools away. He still had at least half the stack to go, but this was far more important. Meanwhile, Angeal went back to pacing and Genesis kept quiet, thinking about something if the way his hand cupped his jaw was anything to go by.
Sephiroth logged in and had just begun to pull up all of the programs he'd need (it took him far too long, he hadn't done this in years – would he even be able to?) when a ring-tone interrupted them. Angeal jumped a little (Genesis snickered at that, but the brunet ignored him) before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a second phs, presumably his own.
"Hewley," he said, tone clipped. Then his eyes widened. "Aerith?"
Sephiroth focused his listening on the voice. He could hear it with his enhanced hearing if he tried, although he normally tried to give people their privacy, but his curiosity got the better of him this time.
"I found your… puppy. He's at my church."
She sounded so young, and Sephiroth could hear worry and amusement in her unsure voice. More worry if he had to make a guess.
"I'll leave him here for you to come and find. I have people around me who wouldn't take well to me approaching stray dogs." A protest from somewhere behind her, and she giggled. "I forgot something at home and it'll probably take me a good hour and a half to get there and back here." A pause and when she spoke again, her voice was almost inaudible. "He's… not well. You should bring your friends who can help to handle him. I think that would make him very happy. You have two of them, right?"
Angeal blinked. "Right."
Her voice returned to normal. "Then you should probably bring them, but no one else. We don't want anyone to get hurt, and he's just the cutest puppy." A pause, and then another giggle.
The brunet SOLDIER let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped. "Thank you for letting me know."
"Well, it's not like he can call you. He doesn't exactly have a phs. I'm sure he feels badly about that."
This time it was Angeal's turn to chuckle. "I'll be down in half an hour. You go on your way and be safe."
"Right," she responded, sounding firmer than she had for the entire conversation. "You have a good day, Mr. Angeal. And good luck with your puppy."
Angeal smiled and hung up. Then he turned to look at his friends, neither of whom were even putting up the pretense of not eavesdropping.
He sighed. "Well, it looks like I'm commandeering your lunches. If Zack asked you to come, he probably has a good reason. Will you join me?"
Sephiroth glanced over at Genesis, who nodded emphatically.
"Very well," the Silver General said as he rose and turned his computer off again. This was something he'd been wanting to see for himself anyway.
xXx
Zack watched as Aerith hung up the call. She had such an old-fashioned phs, he was surprised it still worked at all. He gave it a couple of months (tops) before it died permanently or wasn't supported anymore. He was glad it worked now, though.
She turned and smiled at him. "Well, your 'owner' is on his way."
Zack huffed and folded his arms. "He's not my owner. He's my mentor."
Aerith giggled, and for a moment, he didn't see the girl in front of him, but the girl from the game – just a little older, just a little bolder but every bit as sweet. He could see why the game said he'd fallen for her…
But that thought brought him back to reality and he looked away. This wasn't the game. This girl barely knew him. Even coming here had likely put her in danger. Not cool, Zack, he thought to himself.
She must have sensed something was off because her smile disappeared, replaced with something more troubled.
"Will you be alright?" she asked.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He could see why the game said he'd change that too. He liked the spiky hairstyle. It felt upbeat and energetic. But maybe that wasn't what he needed right now. He needed to be focused and disciplined.
"Yeah. I… I will be."
She frowned and looked like she wanted to say something, but ultimately just nodded timidly.
He studied her again, noting the awkward atmosphere, and felt even more guilty.
"Look, I'm sorry for showing up here. I didn't want to put you in danger."
She blinked. "I think you put yourself in more danger than me," she said as she put her phs away in the pale yellow sundress.
She looked better in pink.
He shook that thought from his head. "No, coming here… it wasn't fair of me." In so many ways. He felt like he already knew so much about her, but that wasn't fair at all. He had no idea if the game had been right. He had no idea why someone would try focusing on a random girl in the slums to be his girlfriend either.
Ugh, this was just such a mess all the way around.
All because of a stupid game.
He'd been so excited too. He'd starred in a game, after all! But… it hadn't been a nice game. And that ending…
He shook his head again, not wanting to think about it.
"You'd better get going, before the Turks come in," he heard himself say.
"And then they'll see you here and I'll just tell them you're my bodyguard."
Zack blinked. That… sounded a lot more like the girl from the game than the girl he'd met the previous night.
She must have misinterpreted his surprise because she almost immediately backed down. "Or not, I suppose."
He quickly put his hands out and waved them frantically. "No! I'd love to be!"
She looked up, her cheeks a little red, which caused Zack to think back on his words and blush. "I-I mean, anyone would love to be a bodyguard to a pretty girl like you."
When in doubt, compliment.
Somehow, it felt more like his usual go-to had backfired on him when she blushed harder and giggled shyly. Gah, she was so cute!
No, he couldn't think of that now. He wasn't sure if he could think of that ever at this point.
"I promise, I'll be fine. I'll wait here for Angeal and I can take care of myself until then." He flexed his arm, posing in an attempt to get her to laugh and reassure her. Apparently, he couldn't help it.
It worked, as she giggled again.
"Alright. I'll leave you here, this once." With that, she turned on her heel and began to stride towards the door. Just as she put her hand on the door handle, she paused and looked back at him. "You're always welcome here. It's a place of peace. I wouldn't be a very nice person if I kept that to myself, would I?"
Zack found himself smiling, albeit a little sadly. "I don't think you have a mean bone in your body."
She outright laughed this time. He really liked that sound. "I didn't realize it would be so easy to fool a SOLDIER."
Zack snorted a laugh himself and felt better for it. Not that anything had been fixed, but it had lifted his spirits. It struck him as to how right his mother had been when she said laughter healed.
"I hope to see you again," Aerith said, then opened the door and stepped outside.
The brunet watched the door close and then stared after her for several seconds. Then his smile fell and he collapsed back onto the bench he'd been sleeping on all night. Then he groaned and tipped over onto his side, laying down again. Angeal would be coming soon. He'd likely be bringing Genesis and Sephiroth to meet him.
He groaned again and turned his body to face the back of the bench. Maybe he could go back to sleep until they got there. That sounded very appealing. And then maybe his mind and all the revelations from the game wouldn't keep haunting him.
Hey, he could hope.
xXx
AN: Would like to thank Imagination7413 for all their help with this! Thank you so much!
Also, part of the reason why I've been able to keep this going for so long is because of the people in my Discord who help me through blocks, so thank you to everyone on my Discord. Especially lately as I've been having trouble due to depression because of the crap going on in my country on top of covid. Stupid depression. In any case, please let me know what you think!
discord dot gg /PChdnmNEc5 (no spaces, dot to . )