Chapter Two


After only a few days of her assignment, Kit was already wishing she'd not accepted. She must have "wandered" by the building at least five hundred times, and with not even a glimpse of Sephiroth. Out of boredom, she'd taken to the rooftops, where at least the scenery was more interesting. Over the tops of skyscrapers in the lower part of the city, a cloud of smoke was still hovering around Sector 1's Mako Reactor, which AVALANCHE had bombed the very night she first began her watch. Rumors had been going around Shinra's men that an ex-SOLDIER had been involved, but Kit didn't pay much attention. After all, that ex-SOLDIER hadn't been Sephiroth, and he was her only objective at the moment.
Of course, AVALANCHE was no small trifle either - the plate above Sector Seven's slums had collapsed earlier in the night, and the rumors she'd heard in the street said that was AVALANCHE's fault too. What kind of people, Kit wondered, would do such a thing? They might have caused some damage to Shinra, but by doing so they'd killed an awful lot of innocent people.
Looking down over the crowded streets of Midgar, there still appeared to be no sign of him. She expected that even with the poor quality of the picture she'd been shown, she would know him when she saw him. The silver hair was a dead giveaway, so he'd keep it hidden by a hood. The sword would be next to impossible to conceal, so likely he would disguise it as something else. If he didn't, or even if he did, he'd stand out in a crowd as suspicious.
Something strange had been going on at Shinra headquarters tonight, she remembered, idly flipping down to a fire escape on the third floor. Guards had dragged a young woman off the helicopter into the President's office, and the strangest part was, the President had looked almost afraid. Hojo had followed, giggling like a maniac, which Kit supposed he was. The woman had looked barely older than she was, if at all. What could Shinra want her for, and why under guard?
The second floor's fire escape had some old crates being stored on it for some unknown reason by the last tenants who'd lived there before Shinra bought the building. Kit rested on them for a moment, stretching and stifling a yawn. Then she nearly choked.
Across the alleyway, with his back turned to her, was a tall man in a long black coat. His hair, which tumbled down his back to his waist unimpeded, was silver. He appeared to be staring up at the top of the building where President Shinra was.
Kit ducked behind the crates silently, wishing he were further away so she could curse at herself for letting him get so close. The pistol, which she'd strapped to her thigh, was always loaded and ready, but when she drew it from its holster, she checked it for ammo anyway. "You will only get one shot," the President had told her, "and if he sees you before you see him, you won't get even that."
Sephiroth was walking slowly past her now, and she peered down at him between the iron slats of the fire escape. She still had not seen his face, but now she could see the sword he carried. Masamune, it was called, and only he had the strength to wield it. There had been another who came close, about six years ago now, but it was unlikely he also had long silver hair. His back was turned, so there was no need to use the Speed materia on him, she decided. It would only waste more time. She lifted the pistol to aim it, but stopped short as Sephiroth turned, looking straight up into her eyes.
The picture hadn't even come close to showing her what he truly looked like. His eyes were like hers, that shifting blue-green that came from Mako energy, and they looked up at her with no shock, and not even surprise at the gun she held half-aimed at him. They were cold, fearless, and determined. And beautiful, she realized. She could have drowned in those eyes. His hair drifted softly around him in the slight wind blowing through the alley, and the hand holding the gun trembled.
After what seemed like an eternity, he suddenly lunged up towards her. She jumped back against the side of the building, her heart in her throat. He was hovering now in midair, level with her eyes. His own eyes narrowed. "SOLDIER," he murmured to himself. It seemed to strike him as amusing, because after a moment he chuckled. Then he began to laugh.
He was mad! Kit reminded herself of this as she watched him. The files she'd been given said that much. Other than that, there had been little of what she considered useful information. She'd skimmed over most of it, concerning herself more with that grainy photograph. It wasn't important to know what he was, it was enough to know that Shinra wanted him dead. But he's levitating! What is he? The files had mentioned the Jenova Project, and something about the Ancients, but it had made very little sense to her. Something about him was tickling her memory, teasing it just a little... She clutched the pistol tighter, but could not bring herself to raise it.
When Sephiroth's laughter had died down, he looked back at her, still smiling as if he knew a secret. "Who are you, SOLDIER?" he asked her softly.
Kit couldn't speak. He hovered a bit closer, and stepped over the iron bars onto the fire escape with her. Kit shook as he reached a hand toward her head and pulled off the skin-tight black hood which kept her concealed in the shadows; her red hair fell down and brushed his hand as he did so. "Who are you?" he repeated.
"I'm Kit," she finally managed to whisper. He was nearly a foot taller than she was, and it was always unnerving to feel that small, but it usually took far more than that to intimidate her. He was obviously powerful and deadly, but being a member of SOLDIER, she'd grown accustomed to that sensation too. That reminded her of something else she had with her, and she fingered the Sense Materia in the grip of her pistol. She felt nothing from him - nothing at all.
"Sense Materia?" he said with a smile. "You know who I am, Kit."
Why did I give him my name? she wondered frantically as she nodded. Why am I nodding?
"You know that you are no match for me," he noted, "but you don't run away. You don't even raise your gun to shoot me, though that would be as futile as running. Aren't you afraid of me?"
"Yes," Kit answered without a moment's hesitation. "They told me you would kill me if you saw me. Why am I not dead yet?"
"I'm not sure," Sephiroth replied. His penetrating stare swept over her as she absently reached up to brush her fingers through her hair, which she knew must be matted by now from that hood. Oh, but his hair was so shiny, and gleamed in the night as if the moon had battled through the haze of smog that plagued Midgar.
"I know who you are," he said abruptly. "Do you remember the last time we met? I don't suppose that you do."
"I would have thought that I'd remember," she replied breathlessly. "Have we met?"
Sephiroth appeared puzzled. "I've seen that look in your eyes before, somewhere," he muttered, ignoring her question. "Not in your eyes, but... the expression seems familiar somehow. It puts me in mind of Nibelheim."
The legends that had been passed around the barracks were swirling in Kit's head. What did he mean, he knew who she was? And what look in her eyes? She shook her head angrily. How dare he put all these questions in her head? She was only here to kill him, it was what she'd been appointed to do. Now it looked as if it were too late - he would kill her instead.
Her thoughts were interrupted by him reaching out to touch her right hand, the one that held the gun. To even her own surprise, she didn't flinch.
Sephiroth appeared pleased. "I remember now," he said. "I saw that look in the girl's eyes, the guide - Tifa was her name, I think. I saw it just before I freed Mother, when I looked back to see Cloud holding her." He threw back his head and began to laugh again, but this time it sounded genuine. When he turned back to Kit, he was still smiling broadly. "I could take you, now," he said in wonder, "but I choose not to. I will not hurt you, Kit. Do you believe that?"
She had no idea what he was talking about, but she nodded anyway. She must be going as insane as he was, to be trusting this... this megalomaniac to not hurt her. Countless had already died at his hands, and that was nothing to what Shinra claimed must lie before him. But he was smiling at her, touching her hand, placing his other hand gently on her left shoulder...
Could they have lied to her? Her hand moved without conscious thought to drop the gun, and reached up to stroke his hair. Before she could realize what was happening, their arms were around each other, and his mouth closed over hers in a gentle kiss. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she recalled that this was not what she'd been expecting to happen.
After a moment, he pulled away. "I must go," he told her, looking back up at the Shinra building. "But I will be back." The broad smile flashed across his face again. "You and I have more in common than being ex-SOLDIERs."
"Ex-SOLDIERs?" Kit asked. "But I am-"
Sephiroth held a finger to her lips. "Would they take you back now, when you've failed in your mission? Indeed, would you even go back if they would take you?"
"No, I suppose they wouldn't. I wouldn't." In a flash of silver hair, Sephiroth turned to jump down from the fire escape, but Kit caught his hand before he could leap. "Wait. I'll go with you. Please, let me..." A thought suddenly occured to Kit. "What I've just done is treason. If they should find out..."
Sephiroth shook his head. "You will be safe here until I return. Wait for me." With that, he leapt from the fire escape and hovered above the alley.
"What are you going to do?" Kit called softly to him as he stared up at President Shinra's office once more.
He didn't look back as he began to rise into the air. "I must help Mother."
To Chapter Three.
To the intro.
© 1998-2000 by Andrea Hartmann.
That means it's mine, not yours!