Mirror Image

by T'Shael

Chapter Six

Aeris woke up early the next morning. She didn't hear Sephiroth moving around. Her face reddened as she remembered how she'd felt the night before. Well, this morning was going to be better. She wouldn't behave like a blushing school girl! Aeris sat up in bed rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She was going to make breakfast for both of them then she'd find a shop to clean Sephiroth's clothes. As she crawled of bed, she remembered something.

She hadn't really bothered to unpack the night before. She opened the pack and pulled out the clothes and boots she'd purchased for Sephiroth and put them on the dresser. She almost pulled out something for herself but her eyes fell on her parent's closet. She opened it. It was filled mostly with Ifalna's clothes but a few of her fathers belonging hung there as well. She remembered the sweat pants. The rest of her father's things must be in the other bedroom. Thinking they had outsmarted Hojo, her parents had planned to stay here a long time.

Aeris found a warm knit pants set and put it on. It fit her perfectly. She touched the fabric and closed her eyes wondering how her mother must have looked when she wore it. She went to the mirror and stared at herself. Her father had told her she looked just like her mother. Aeris studied her face, eyes and figure.

My mother was very pretty, she thought. She wondered if Cloud thought she was pretty too. The guard in front of the Honeybee Inn had certainly thought so. If she hadn't died, would she and Cloud be more than friends now? Her thoughts turned to Sephiroth, remembering how he'd stared at her in the City of the Ancients. She wondered what he thought of her. He didn't seem to be aware of just how handsome he was. SHE'D never really noticed how handsome he was. He'd eaten his whole meal never noticing how much water she had to sip to get her food down her throat. She closed her eyes remembering how his muscles rippled when he moved.

Stop it, stop it, stop it! she thought angrily to herself. She had no right to think that way about either man. She and Sephiroth were here to complete a mission and he wanted to die when it was over. Still Aeris couldn't help but remember the way Sephiroth had looked at her when she'd changed clothes in the Ancient City. Cloud and Tifa were probably more than friends by now, but if Cloud wanted Tifa so much, why had he kept looking at her the way he had? Stop it, stop it, stop it! She had to keep her mind on why she was here.

Aeris continued to look at herself in the mirror. You are going to comb your hair and go downstairs and start breakfast she told herself. You and Sephiroth have to figure out your next move. Aeris reached for the brush and brushed her hair until it was free of tangles. She searched in the dresser drawers. There was nothing to tie her hair with. She went back to the closet. There was a small box on the top shelf. Maybe she could find something in there.

As she took the box from the shelf, she dropped it. Hair ornaments scattered on the floor. Scolding herself, Aeris got down on her knees to retrieve her them. One of the hairpins had fallen on a pair of scuffed boots. Aeris picked it up. Had anything fallen inside? She reached inside a boot to feel around. Her fingers brushed something. She snatched her hand out of the boot. What was that? She picked up the boot and turned it over.

A bulky sock tied in a knot, thumped onto the floor. Aeris untied it and dumped the contents on the floor. She found a roll of gil and assorted coins. She was stunned. Either Hojo was too anxious to get them back to the lab or this was another gift from the Cetra. The house wasn't very messy. It was obvious Shinra hadn't really bothered to do much searching. Maybe whatever Hojo wanted was on the computers downstairs. Aeris put the money back in the sock and closed the closet door. She set it on the dresser. We won't have any money problems for a while, she thought.

Aeris found a ribbon in the box that matched her outfit. She tied her hair into a ponytail. She made the bed. Taking Sephiroth's clothes from the top of the dresser, she walked down the hall to his room. She put the clothes on the floor outside his door and went into the bathroom. When she came out, she noticed the clothes were gone. He was awake then. She went back to get her spread from the bedroom floor and carried it with her downstairs.

Back in his room, Sephiroth was inspecting the clothing. Part of him was a little angry. He'd told the girl he didn't want to change but that was before he realized how much his suit was soiled. At least this outfit was better than the ones left by the Cetra. There was a pair of slacks and a shirt with long sleeves that buttoned down the front. The boots were just his size. Not bad since she hadn't asked for his size and he had no intention of telling her. She'd picked the right color too. Everything was black. As he dressed, his mind turned to last nights dinner and Aeris.

When he walked into the kitchen wearing just sweat pants, Aeris had given him the strangest look before she started choking on her drink. He couldn't imagine what that meant. He wasn't used to dealing with women. There were women in the Shinra army but he didn't treat them any differently than he did the men. If they didn't measure up to his standards, he got rid of them quick. They had the choice of a desk job in another division or a discharge. Sephiroth didn't mingle with his female SOLDIERS during off duty hours and they didn't bother him. He preferred it that way.

Civilian women were another matter. They came in different varieties. Most of them, like female SOLDIERS, stayed out of his way. Some watched from a distance. A few tried to be friendly. A cool stare in their direction or complete indifference and they found something else to do.

The worst were the aggressive type. The cold shoulder or a hostile look didn't deter them in the least. With them he used the direct approach. Move away or else. Most of them moved away but one particularly aggressive female wouldn't take no for an answer. She set out on a campaign of seduction that lasted nearly a week. She started appearing wherever he went. She insisted on touching him, standing close and offering herself for his pleasure. Sephiroth warned her several times but she was determined to wear him down. She wore next to nothing and that was usually cut very low. She always placed herself in the best position for a favorable view. The breaking point came when he was returning to Shinra Headquarters one night and she threw herself at him from behind the cover of a building trying to give him a kiss. When she met resistance short of his body, she was momentarily puzzled. A second later, she stared at Sephiroth in astonishment as he pulled his blade out of her stomach. He left her lying on the ground and went on his way. Killing her didn't matter to him in the least. The only emotions he had left were hate and a desire to get the job done.

Still . . . something bothered him about Aeris. Last night he'd had a flashback of his dream in the Lifestream. He kept seeing her kneeling in prayer and what he'd done to her. He woke up once with an urgent need to see if she was all right and stopped himself. What was wrong with him? He tried to remember the how he'd felt the moment he pushed his blade through her body. He couldn't. None of that made sense now. He tried to call up the indifference he'd always felt toward females, but that didn't work either. In one way, he felt comfortable with Aeris in another he needed to push her away. He didn't know what was going on inside his head and he didn't like it.

He'd promised the Professor and his mother he'd help Aeris and he'd see it through to the end. When all of this was over, he wanted to die, so he wouldn't have to remember the faces of the people he had killed. He pushed Aeris out of his head and got dressed. He almost walked out of the room before his eyes fell on the bed. In his first days in the Shinra army, he had learned to make a bed by himself. As a general, he had a cadet to do it for him. There were no cadets here and he didn't want Aeris in his room. He'd removed the dusty spread from the bed and left it on the floor the night before. He stopped to make the bed without the spread before going to wash up.

In the kitchen, Aeris heard him moving around and smiled. She'd finished making breakfast from the prepackaged food they'd bought. She promised herself that they would find a grocer somewhere in this village and she would buy a generous supply of food items so that she could make meals from scratch.

Sephiroth came into the kitchen carrying the spread. He was wearing the clothes she left him. He looked good in them.

"Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

Somehow he found her cheery voice irritating.

"What's so good about it?" he snapped. "What should I do with this spread? It was too dusty to sleep under last night."

"There's laundry room in the basement," said Aeris, trying to ignore his tone of voice. Maybe he just woke up grouchy. "Leave it there. I'll wash all the covers as soon as I have time."

"I don't do laundry," he said dropping the spread at her feet. " Let me know when you want my covers and I'll bring them to you. Stay out of my room!" He pushed past her and went out the back door to check on the chocobo.

Aeris stared after him opened mouthed, a coffee pot in her hands.

The chocobo was just waking up. It warked happily to see Sephiroth. He went to it and stroked its golden neck. The chocobo closed its eyes in delight. He smiled and patted it on the head. He turned to get the greens he'd purchased in Bone Village.

Sephiroth thought about the hurt look on Aeris' face. He tried to force it out of his mind as he put the chocobo's food in the trough. He was good at hurting people wasn't he? The only window in the shed looked out over the valley. Sephiroth opened the window and laid his forearms on the window sill.

"You're not happy unless you make others feel the way you used to feel at Shinra," he thought. As a child, pretending not to care was the only way he could deal the abuse he suffered. As a man, not caring became a part of his personality. He could run someone through with his sword just as easily as he could kill a monster. What was the difference between one or the other? If something was in his way, he removed it. Like he had removed Aeris once.

Sephiroth turned away from the window and thought about Professor Gast. Who would have thought he would kill the daughter of the only man who had looked at him with love in his eyes? Both Aeris and the Professor had forgiven him for the murder but he had not yet forgiven himself. He resolved to do better in the future. He checked the chocobo once more, making sure the automatic water supply meter was set to keep its drinking supply from freezing. The lock on the door could be programmed. Sephiroth looked it over, figured out how to do it and locked the door. He didn't know if there were any thieves in this village, but he wasn't about to risk a gold chocobo to find out. He went back to the house.

Aeris wondered what she had done to make Sephiroth react the way he had. Was it the clothes? She put the coffee pot on the table and picked up the spread he had dropped on the floor. She carried it down to the basement and put it on the washing machine. She went back upstairs and sat down at the table. It certainly hadn't taken him long to go back to his old personality.

She thought about what she'd felt for him last night and mentally berated herself. Well she'd asked for it. She was expecting him to behave like any other person, but Sephiroth wasn't any other person. He was an abused child who had grown up to be an angry man. He wasn't used to gaiety and good feelings. She was going to have to be more understanding. She would be . . .

To blazes with him! She thought angrily, surprising herself. Let him get his own food! She set the table but she only put food on her plate. When Sephiroth came in, he noticed what she had done but said nothing. He washed his hands at the sink and dried them on a dish cloth. He came to the table, made his own plate, poured his own coffee and sat down. Aeris didn't look at him.

"I'm sorry Aeris," he said. "Thank you, for the clothes. You were right. I did need a change of clothing."

Aeris looked up in surprise. "You're welcome," she said automatically.

"I had a chance to think things over last night," Sephiroth went on. "Where is your staff? You had one at the temple."

"I don't know," Aeris looked puzzled. "I don't remember where I dropped it after I left Cloud and the others."

"We'll have another one made for you," he said thoughtfully. There had to be a weapons shop in the village. "I still have all my materia. Mine is mastered. We need to buy some for you."

"Where could we go?" asked Aeris. "Sooner or later Cloud and his team will come here thinking you are back to destroy the world. It will happen sooner if we go near one of their villages."

"I'll deal with that when the time comes," said Sephiroth. A look flashed over his face and vanished.

Aeris wanted to ask how he planned to deal with it, but held her tongue.

"We don't have a lot of money," added Sephiroth. "So we need to save as much as we can. We don't know how long it will be before this danger of yours makes its appearance."

"That reminds me," cut in Aeris. "I found a lot of gil and some coins upstairs in one of my fathers old boots. It's on the dresser."

Sephiroth nodded. "That will help, but I think we can get most our materia for nothing."

"How are we going to do that?" Aeris hoped he wasn't talking about killing. She dug her nails into her palm for even thinking he meant such a thing.

"Midgar," he said.

"Midgar?" she echoed, "But Midgar was destroyed by Meteor!"

"I'm sure most of Midgar was destroyed, " Sephiroth countered, "But since Holy and the Lifestream interfered, maybe there's enough of Midgar left to explore. There has to be materia in some of the demolished shops. We have to get to it before the scavengers do."

"What about the monsters?" asked said Aeris,

"I can protect us," said Sephiroth. "Before we leave here, we'll have a weapons shop make a new staff for you. We'll equip it with materia when we return."

That agreed, they finished their breakfast. Aeris insisted on washing the dishes before they left. That irritated Sephiroth but he waited until she was done. They locked the house and went into the village on the chocobo. They bought supplies and left Sephiroth's uniform to be cleaned. At the weapons shop, Aeris described her Princess Guard to the shopkeeper. He sketched her specifications on a sheet of paper and promised to have it ready in two days. Again Aeris noticed everyone looking at Sephiroth but no one said anything. It was only a matter of time before Cloud would know they were here. She hoped news traveled slowly in this area.

They went to a food shop where Sephiroth wanted to buy traveling supplies. Over his protests, Aeris bought a lot of food and supplies for the house. The shopkeeper trembled in fear while Aeris and Sephiroth argued over whether to buy extra things now or later. Finally Sephiroth stood angrily in a corner while Aeris bought what she needed. Their next stop was a feed shop where Aeris insisted they should buy a large supply of food for the chocobo instead of just traveling food. They had so many purchases now, there wasn't enough room to ride the chocobo anymore. They had to walk back to the house to leave all the extra things. Regretting the promise he'd made, Sephiroth didn't speak to Aeris all the way home. He helped her unload the extra purchases but wouldn't allow her to put them all away.

"We go to Midgar NOW or you can find your own materia!" He threatened.

It seemed like a good idea not to antagonize him any further.

"All right, all right! Let's go," said Aeris. Sephiroth helped her up, and they started out.

The chocobo flew over the snow. Sephiroth was right about it outrunning enemies. They bypassed Bone Village and the Forgotten City traveling between them. When the chocobo rushed out over the ocean Aeris buried her face in Sephiroths back

He was concerned at once. "Are you ill?"

"No," she answered. "I just don't have much experience riding on a chocobo. It just feels strange to run over the water like this. I keep expecting to sink!"

"You're sure you're not queasy?" he asked.

"Oh no!" She looked at the surface of the water again. "I'll adjust to this in a moment. Don't worry about me."

The chocobo streaked over the surface of the water as if it were no more than blue carpet. After a time, the shore came into view. Aeris was grateful when the chocobo's feet touched solid ground. Sephiroth reigned the chocobo to a stop. He and Aeris stared at the ruined city of Midgar.

Aeris was the first to speak. "There's more destruction here than I ever dreamed possible."

Sephiroth didn't say anything.

"There can't be any people left," she said. "Do you really think we can find materia here?"

Sephiroth didn't share his thoughts with her.

"Sephiroth?" Aeris wished she could see his face. "Are you all right?"

"I'm okay." He turned his face away from Midgar. "All of this, because of me . . . and my father!"

Without thinking, Aeris laid her head against his back and raised her arms to hug him to her. "Don't torture yourself like this Sephiroth," she said. "Hojo ruined both our lives. Don't let him win. Don't let him make you feel like something less than you are. You can't change what happened in the past but you can do something to make sure it never happens again."

Curious, Sephiroth looked down at her hands on his chest. He couldn't help it. Somehow it seemed right to lay his hand over hers. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. Aeris sighed. He felt it and a warm feeling flowed through his body. The chocobo stamped and warked impatiently. The spell broke and they realized what they were doing. Quickly Sephiroth snatched his hand out of hers. Aeris straightened up and put her hands back in their normal riding position on his waist.

"We'd better go," said Sephiroth curtly. He turned the chocobo toward Midgar and set out for the city. What had just happened? Holy must have muddled his mind when it cured his insanity. What in the world had possessed him to touch her hand like that? Angry with himself he pushed the chocobo a little harder than he had to.

Aeris was glad Sephiroth couldn't see her face. She was blushing again. From now on, she was going to concentrate on the mission at hand. If he could be emotionless, then so could she. She tried to hold on to that thought, but one thing stood out in her mind . . . he'd squeezed her hand back.

The closer they came to the ruins, the more Aeris' apprehension grew. Many people had died here because of Meteor. It wouldn't have happened at all if Hojo had been a half decent father. If he didn't want the job of fatherhood himself, he could have at least found caretakers who were interested in more than just getting paid. If Sephiroth had been properly raised and taught how to deal with his emotions, he probably wouldn't have gone insane when he thought he'd found out who he was. Aeris wondered how Sephiroth was feeling now.

Sephiroth, for his part was thinking back to the day he called Meteor. People were nothing but insects to be squashed. He and Jenova were the true rulers of this world. He rejoiced when Meteor first appeared in the sky. His time was at hand. His time . . . and his mother's. Sephiroth cringed inside. His mother. How could he believe that monster was his mother? He thought of Lucrecia, remembering her warm eyes and her motherly caress. Jenova had never made him feel the way Lucrecia had. He hoped he would be allowed to see her once more before he died. His eyes took in the destruction of Midgar and he vowed never to be so weak again. If Jenova ever found a way back, he would fight her to his last breath. She would never use him again.

Inside the city, they got off the chocobo. Sephiroth led it as they walked through the ruined streets. Most of the buildings were torn to pieces. The litter in the streets wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Meteor had sucked up most of the debris while it was active. As Holy and the Lifestream fought back, most of those pieces were flung far away from Midgar.

Aeris eyed each place they came to with dread. She kept hearing scurrying noises in the rubble. She stayed close to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth heard the noises too but they didn't bother him. He was ready for anything that dared to challenge them. He main concern was what to do with the chocobo. He wanted to make sure it was safe until they were ready to leave. He found his answer a few minutes later in Sector Five.

Aeris couldn't believe what she was seeing. The roof was missing but that didn't matter to her. Before Sephiroth could stop her, she ran past him. She didn't stop running until she was right at the front door.

"My house!" she cried. "This is my house!" She turned to look at him, her face lit with joy. "This is where I used to live!"

Sephiroth brought the chocobo at a brisk walk. He tied to it to what was left of the picket fence and stalked up to Aeris. Her hand was on the doorknob when he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around.

"Don't you ever do that again!" he snarled in her face.

Aeris turned pale. She barely managed to find her voice. "What is it? What did I do?"

Sephiroth pulled her roughly off the front porch. "You could have been attacked by something moving between these homes. You could have been swooped up by an airborne creature, and anything," he removed one hand to jab a thumb at the door, "Could be in THERE!"

"Oh," Aeris said in a small voice. She looked at Sephiroth with frightened eyes.

He released her, breathing hard with anger. She jumped when he whipped out his masamune. He spun around and kicked the front door with such force it flew off the hinges and landed on the floor in two pieces.

Sephiroth went into the house and began to inspect it. Normally he would have used a lot more stealth but he was so angry with Aeris he didn't care. He wanted something to jump out at him so he could kill it.

Aeris stood in the yard a safe distance from the door with tears in her eyes. A few seconds later she heard something squeal inside the house. She managed to wipe her tears away before Sephiroth stormed out the front door.

He stopped in front of her. He saw her damp eyes but he didn't care if she was crying or not. "There was a Smogger in the kitchen," he announced.

"I'm sorry Sephiroth," she said weakly. "I won't make that mistake again."

"See that you don't," he snapped, putting his blade away. "Is there a storage shed on this property?"

"Y-yes! There's a storage shed around back," Aeris answered.

Sephiroth gave her a final glare and led the way around the house. He checked the area around the storage shed. Satisfied, he locked the chocobo inside. Aeris followed him back to the front yard. When Sephiroth set off down the street, she followed him meekly.

As they left sector five and entered sector six, they had to climb over the rubble of shattered buildings and broken machinery. Trying to navigate over a mountainous pile of debris, Aeris lost her footing and almost fell. Sephiroth grabbed her before she slid out of reach. He frowned at her and set her back on her feet. She swallowed hard and tried to be more careful but she slipped again and slid almost to the bottom of the rubble before he got his hands on her again.

"It would be easier to carry you!" he exploded. "Maybe I should have locked you in with the chocobo!"

She tried to pull out of his grip. "I can make it!" she snapped.

A low snarl caught their attention. Two Whole Eaters were slowly advancing toward them. Sephiroth let go of Aeris and she jumped behind him. He looked bored as he sent a comet spell their way. They both fell dead.

Sephiroth turned to smirk at Aeris. "So you've finally learned who's in command here."

He turned and walked away before she could respond. I'm sure glad I don't have my staff, she thought. I might be tempted to hit him with it, then what would he do?

As they wove their way through the wreck of Midgar they were attacked by a couple of Hedgehog Pies, two Hell Houses and three Whole Eater's. Sephiroth dispatched them without so much as breaking a sweat. Part of Aeris admired him and part of her was still angry with him.

Eventually they found themselves in Wall Market. There wasn't much of it left. Most of the buildings were still standing, or what was left of them. Aeris guessed the terrible wind caused by Meteor had reached even to these depths. That was a lot of power. Her heart went out to those who had been caught in the maelstrom. Rubble and merchandise lay everywhere. Aeris was grateful they hadn't come across any bodies, but then she shuddered, the monsters had probably eaten the bodies not blown into oblivion.

Without asking for her help, Sephiroth waded in and began searching for materia. Aeris joined in silently. A Sewer Enemy tried to sneak up on her but Sephiroth saw it and tossed a fire spell at it as he kept looking for materia. Aeris sat down in relief.

Four hours later, they found what they needed. Restore, Fire, Lightening, Ice and Sense. In the ruins of a weapons shop, Aeris found a Poison Ring. Sephiroth made the choice for Aeris' armor. He chose a Gold Armlet. They were ready to leave.

Aeris was exhausted as she and Sephiroth turned back the way they had come. She was in no mood to scale the mountain of rubble again but she was determined not to reveal her fatigue to Sephiroth. She managed to make it to the top and over the other side without losing her footing. He walked ahead of her swiftly. Aeris tried to match his pace. How could he keep moving like that? She needed to rest. It would be dark soon. Surely Sephiroth wasn't going to take them over the ocean on a chocobo in the dark? She dropped further and further behind.

Sephiroth finally noticed Aeris wasn't keeping up. He stopped and waited for her. He almost snapped at her but he paused when he saw the strain on her face. It wouldn't have bothered him to take the chocobo across the ocean as it grew darker, the chocobo would outrun their enemies all the way to Icicle Village, but Aeris wouldn't make it. She'd probably fall off in the water and he wouldn't be able to find her in the dark. They had to spend the night here and make sure the chocobo was protected until they could leave. Aeris caught up and stopped next to him.

"I'm sorry," she said tiredly. "Let's go. It will be dark soon."

"We'll spend the night here," he told her. "Your neighbor's house seems to have minor damage. We'll move the chocobo in with us and spend the night there."

"What about the monsters?" Aeris asked. "They're sure to come out at night."

"Leave the monsters to me." Sephiroth started off again at a slower pace. Aeris followed. When they reached her house, Sephiroth took the chocobo out of the shed. He led the way to the neighbor's house and left Aeris at the door while he inspected the interior. It was clear. He motioned Aeris inside and shut the door. Gratefully she lowered herself on the sofa. Sephiroth closed all the interior doors. The chocobo found a resting place in a corner. Aeris looked half asleep. Sephiroth opened their survival pack and found two canned drinks and some dried meat.

"Even if they worked, we can't turn on the house lights," he told Aeris. "We don't want to attract any unnecessary attention."

She nodded and accepted the food from him. She ate slowly. Sephiroth gave the chocobo a few greens. He brought a large container of bottled water from the kitchen. He put water for the chocobo in a bowl. Glancing at the drowsy girl, he went into the bedroom for blankets. He returned to the living room. The light was fading fast. He'd packed a flashlight but he wasn't going to use it just yet. He set a few blankets aside and started covering the curtains with the rest. He couldn't afford to let any light leak outside. By the time he was finished, Aeris was slumped on the sofa, asleep.

He went to her. He laid her head on the cushions and put her feet on the sofa to make her more comfortable. He covered her with two of the remaining blankets. She didn't react. He gazed at her face in the gloom. She looked so innocent . . . and beautiful in her sleep. Involuntarily, he reached out to stroke her hair and caught himself just in time.

What was wrong with him? She hadn't affected him this way before. It must be an after effect of being inside the Lifestream. That had to be it. He wasn't really experiencing any feeling for this . . . this girl. He left her side and positioned himself to watch the front door, windows and hallway. It was going to be a long night.

Time passed slowly. Sometimes he heard a monster calling out somewhere in the ruins but none of them came near the house. He sat listening to Aeris' soft breathing and an occasional wark from the chocobo. He wasn't sleepy. A good SOLDIER never slept on duty. He could get whatever sleep he needed when they returned to the house on the snowy island. Just as the first rays of morning sun began to reach into the ruined city, a loud roar split the morning air. Aeris sat up with a start.

"Sephiroth?" Her whisper was tinged with fear.

He answered from his place by a window. "I'm here."

The roar came again. It was much louder and closer this time. Aeris pulled the blankets free and slid her feet to the floor. The next roar was louder but not closer. Aeris hopped off the sofa and moved across the room to stand near Sephiroth. The chocobo, warked softly with fright in its eyes but it wasn't about to let a monster know it was here. It trusted these people to take care of it. The roar came again and they heard another monster scream in pain.

"Maybe it will be happy with whatever it killed out there," she whispered to Sephiroth.

The second monster screamed again. Its cry mingled with the cry of the first monster. The little house shook. Aeris threw herself against Sephiroth, wrapping her arms around him and buried her face against his chest. Surprised he staggered and put his arms around her to steady them both. The next scream followed by a loud crash. Aeris held Sephiroth tighter. Whatever it was outside was big and she didn't have anything more than healing spells to fight it. She was sorry now she'd been too tired to leave last night.

Sephiroth didn't know what to say to her. He never let anyone touch him but he seemed to have a hard time with that where Aeris was concerned. Part of him wanted to push her away from him, while another part of him didn't. His mind raged with conflicting emotions. Holy had cured him of his madness and opened his mind to receive emotions he had never experienced before. As much as he wanted to deny it, it felt good to feel Aeris close to him. He found himself stroking her hair and forced himself to quit.

The first monster screamed again. It was much closer than it was before.

Aeris raised her face inches from his. "Sephiroth?"

Now they could hear the sound of the monsters claws clicking against the pavement. They heard its tail dragging on the ground. Sephiroth knew he should be moving now, but he found himself noticing Aeris lips. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off them. The monster's voice vibrated every wall in the house.

"Sephiroth," whispered Aeris, "It's right outside!"

He released her reluctantly. "Stay inside," he ordered before he went out through the front door.

A Dark Dragon was sniffing the ground in front of Aeris house. It had followed their scent from Wall Market. Sephiroth had never seen a Dark Dragon near Midgar before. He didn't have time to wonder how it got there. It raised bloody jaws, looked in his direction and screamed at him.

Sephiroth kept his eyes on the monster as he moved into the street. He didn't want to fight the beast too close to the house. He stood in the ready position raising his masamune. He'd handled dragons before and he wasn't worried about this one. The monster flicked its tail from side to side. It was preparing to charge. Sephiroth waited. With another scream, the dragon rushed toward him like a freight train. At the last minute, Sephiroth leaped to one side slashing at the creature's side and dodging the tail.

The monster stumbled, a bloody slit running down from shoulder to haunch. It whipped around and charged again. It leaped up at the last minute intending to land on top of Sephiroth with its front feet.

Dragons were smart but Sephiroth was ready for it. He leaped toward the monster, rolling beneath it as it went over him. His sword slashed its soft belly. He rolled out of the way. It's hind feet just missed him. The monster turned around much slower now. Its eyes were already beginning to glaze. Entrails hung from its belly, dragging on the ground. Blood poured like a facet. Before it could gather itself for another charge, Sephiroth rushed it and gave it another vicious slash on the neck. Blood spewed forth. The dragon dropped in a heap.

As Sephiroth turned toward the house Aeris fell into his arms again. His temper flared. He was just about to warn her about jumping on him unexpectedly, when Aeris pressed her lips against his and kissed him. Sephiroth felt an electric charge go through his body. Everything in his brain seemed to short out at once.

"Thank you Sephiroth!" Aeris cried when she broke off the kiss. "I thought we were goners for sure!"

A few minutes ago, he had been thinking of kissing Aeris himself. Now he was too shocked to appreciate it. He pushed her away. He saw a flash of pain on her face.

"Get the supplies," he said roughly. "The sounds of battle will have alerted every monster in this vicinity. I don't intend to fight my way through a wall of them."

He turned and walked back into the house. Aeris felt the sting of tears. Angrily she blinked them away. She wasn't going to cry over Sephiroth. She shouldn't have touched him in the first place. She went into the house to help him pack.

When they were ready to go, Sephiroth led Goldie outside and mounted him. He looked back at Aeris. He could tell she was angry with him. He felt guilty. He'd hurt her again, but he didn't know what to say to her.

Aeris wished she could get on the chocobo without Sephiroth's help. Reluctantly she took his hand and let him pull her up. She sat behind him stiffly.

Sephiroth felt her reluctance and it bothered him. He remembered her earlier hug. He could still feel the touch of her lips on his. Why did it bother him that she didn't want to touch him now? He'd never wanted to be touched before. No one wanted to touch him. Not even his caretakers. He was different. He was strange. Sephiroth felt a lump of pain in his heart.

"Aeris wasn't one of your caretakers," said a voice inside. "She deserves to be treated better." He didn't need anybody, he thought. Not even Aeris. All he had to do was help her and die. He pushed his guilt as deep as he could and turned the chocobo toward the outskirts of the city. Goldie headed for the ocean. They would be home soon.