Guardian Angel

Chapter 6

"Hey, Sephiroth! Let’s go! The plane is here already!" A spiky black haired teenager yelled across the military airport.

Sephiroth responded by merely raising an eyebrow. Taking his carryon luggage in one hand, and his six-foot sword in the other hand, he took his time approaching to his restless companion.

"Hey, you sure they would let you take this big ass sword of yours on the plane?" The black haired SOLDIER pointed Sephiroth’s sword casually.

"It is my weapon. They would have to let me bring it in the cabin. Besides, you should be the one who worries, Zack." Sephiroth smirked a little before he continued. "Your Buster sword is actually bigger than my masamune. Masamune is only long, but narrow."

Zack frowned as he looked at his own sword.

"Nah, they won’t mess with me. They know I am the best SOLDIER in the entire class!" His statement earned a mocking glance from the silver-haired teenager. "Alright, beside you, of course! Hey! How do you pronounce that weird name of your sword again?"

"Don’t worry, I have the entire two-hour flight to teach you how to pronounce one word." Zack frowned but not at all insulted. He knew Sephiroth too well. "Come on, let’s go before they leave without us."

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In less then an hour, he would be able to see her again. His lips curled up slightly despite his attempt to suppress a smile. He turned his head toward the window to hide his face from Zack. Luckily, Zack was snoring next to him. The spiky haired teenager would have never left Sephiroth alone if he had seen the silver haired SOLDIER’s blushing face.

He fixed his eyes on the view outside the window. He could feel his heart pounding anxiously in his chest. No, that’s not the way to go. He would have died from heart attack if he did not find something to occupy his time right now. Frowned at his uncontrollable urge to see her face, he scanned around to find something that remotely interested him. His eyes stopped at a magazine sitting inside the pouch in front of Zack’s seat. Seeing that his companion was not conscious enough to carry out a conversation, Sephiroth reached out for the magazine and started to flip through pages mindlessly.

Until one particular picture caught his eyes.

A picture of a teenage couple walking hand-in-hand on red carpet with flashlights of other cameras shinning at the background. The blonde haired young man walked in front of the brunette young lady. He favored the cameras his charming smile, while she looked down on the carpet shyly. Sephiroth immediately recognized the young man in this picture. It was Rufus Shinra. The title of the picture confined the young man’s identity.

"Vice President Rufus Shinra and his date."

Rufus was always on the magazine; it was not a surprise for Sephiroth to see the blonde’s picture. What caught his attention was the young lady behind Rufus. She looked so much like Aeris.

Could it be Aeris? She knew Rufus for a long time already, even though not as long as she knew Sephiroth. Could Aeris be Rufus’ date?

He franticly flipped through other pages to find a better picture of Rufus’ date, hoping to dismiss his suspicion. Yet, deep down inside, he knew the girl was Aeris.

Turning a few pages, he found what he was looking for: An article in the magazine that covered the entire event. Within that article, a picture of Rufus’ date was enlarged. This time, the pretty brunette was looking up at the cameras. Her green eyes widened slightly to show her discomfort due to the media attention. That pair of emerald eyes could only belong to one person.

Aeris.

Her brown hair flowed down free in large curls and draped over her shoulders, just like the way it was in his dream. Her slender shoulders were bare except for the pink strips of her dress and a few strands of her silky hair. Sephiroth had never seen Aeris in a formal dress before. He could not help but to hold his breath at her stunning image. However, part of him was boiling inside.

Was it jealousy?

With one last look at her picture, Sephiroth slammed the magazine close and turned his attention to the outside view.

Who am I to be jealous? Aeris has the right to go out with anyone.

So, she doesn’t know. Or does she? Maybe it was just a friendly date… Maybe Rufus asked her out and she did not want to reject him… Aeris is always so nice that she would never hurt anyone’s feeling…

She did not mean to hurt me, I am sure of that.

"Replaced by Rufus?" Sephiroth frowned severely at that thought; he did not realize he had voiced out his thought.

"Hey, Sephiroth, whatcha talking about?" Sephiroth jumped up slightly in surprise. He then turned to his curious companion who was finally awaked.

"Nothing." Zack knew his silence meant he was not going to share his thought. With a shrug, Zack left Sephiroth alone and went back to sleep.

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"How come I can’t go to the airport, dad?" Aeris put her hands on her hips to protest. "I promised Sephy that I would be there waiting for him!"

"Honey, Sephiroth is in the SOLDIERs now. He has to follow the rules." Dr. Gast looked up from the newspaper with a gentle smile on his face. "I’ve talk to Uncle Vincent. He will be there to make sure Sephiroth settles in his new apartment in the SOLDIER complex first. Then Uncle Vincent, Auntie Lucrecia, and YOUR Sephy would come over for dinner tonight." A teasing smile went across the famous scientist’s face.

"Daaddddddyyyyy!!" Aeris pouted as she stomped her foot pretending to be angry. Seeing that her actions only made her father laughed, she turned and walked out of the kitchen in embarrassment.

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Aeris sat mindlessly next to the window, waiting for Sephiroth’s arrival. She literally jumped out of her chair as she saw a black sedan was pulling on the Gasts’ driveway. A broad smile showed up on her delicate face while she run towards the front door.

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"Seph, do you want to leave your sword in the car?" Lucrecia asked her son when she saw him carrying the long weapon with him.

"No. Never go anywhere without your weapon." The silver haired teenager said coolly before he stole a glance at his father. "Right, dad?"

Vincent only chuckled lightly in response.

"Men, violent beings." Lucrecia frowned and shook her head slight.

"Come on, mom, we are late." Sephiroth said in an anxious tone as stripped his sword on his back.

The door swung opened before the Valentines arrived at the front porch. A teenage girl stood there with her big emerald eyes fixed on the silver-haired SOLDIER and a wide grin on her face. Without a warning, the teenage girl dashed to the young man and threw her arms around his neck in a fierce hug. The force almost knocked the SOLDIER to the ground, but Sephiroth steadied both of them as he enclosed his arms around her slim waist.

Vincent and Lucrecia exchanged a meaningful glance and walked into the house, leaving the teenagers alone.

The familiar floral scent entered his nostrils as he buried his face in her thick silky hair. The scent reminded him of that dream… It was so real…

"So you don’t have to go back to Junon anymore?" Her voice was muffled since she still had her head buried in his chest.

"Nev… No." How come he almost said ‘never’? He shook his head as he pushed her away slightly and studied the face he had been dreaming about.

"Seph! Your eyes…" Aeris stood tiptoes to have a closer look at the strange glow in his eyes.

"It’s Mako." Sephiroth dropped his gaze immediately. He knew his eyes looked different now. The enhanced glow made his eyes looked almost surreal. Would she be scared of his eyes now?

"They are beautiful…" Sephiroth was surprised by her comment. When he dared to glance back at her, he realized she had leaned closer as she was being mesmerized by the emerald glow. He could not help but to recall that dream once more.

"Dinner time!" Both of the teenagers were brought back to reality. Sephiroth quickly dropped his arms back to his side while he stole a glance at the blushing Aeris.

"Let’s go." The silver-haired teenager let out a silent sigh. After all, a dream is just a dream.

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Ifalna and Dr. Gast walked out of the kitchen and greeted the SOLDIER with gentle hugs.

"My, my! Seph, you’ve grown a lot!" Dr. Gast punched lightly on Sephiroth’s masculine arm. Sephiroth responded with a nod and a shy smile. "Hey, what a big sword you’ve got there! I’ve always thought the Valentines are gun-persons."

"I found this sword in the glacier area outside Icicle Inn." Sephiroth decided to reveal that only much for now.

Ifalna smiled as her husband and Sephiroth were talking about the sword. She was not interested in the weapon-talk at all, but the unique shape of the long sword caught her eyes. She gasped inwardly when she suddenly recalled the legend of the Cetra as well as the voice of the planet a week ago.

"…Seph, can I see your sword?" Sephiroth was surprised by her request, and even more so by her tone. Although her voice was as soft as always, her tone was not of a request, but a command.

"Of course." He quickly removed his weapon from his back and handed it over to Ifalna’s waiting hand. "Be careful, it’s very heavy."

Much to his surprise, Ifalna was able to hold the sword with only one hand. As her fingers wrapped around the weapon, Ifalna’s white pendant started to form a strange glow. The glow intensified and began to surround both her body and the weapon when Ifalna unsheathed the sword with a great respect. As if what he witnessed with his eyes did not stun him enough, Ifalna suddenly voiced out a word that shocked Sephiroth even more.

"Masamune…" She sheathed the weapon back but still held on to it. "The Holy sword."

Sephiroth’s eyes widened and his jaws dropped. Before he could ask any question, Ifalna handed him back the sword and looked deeply in his Mako eyes.

"Sephiroth, stay here tonight. There is something very important I need to tell you…" Ifalna then turned to her stunned daughter. "And you too, Aeris."

Dr. Gast placed his firm hand on the teenager’s shoulder. "Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad. I’d go tell your parents that you’d stay over tonight." With another pat on his shoulders, Dr. Gast went to the dinning room with his wife; a heavy sigh of relief was heard from the famous scientist.

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