Final Fantasy VII 1. Chapter 1

**His Angel**

**Chapter 1**

_Everything has its place in the world..._

_Everything has its own time…_

_Everyone has a chance for change…_

_They just have to be willing to stand up and take that step…_

_They have to take a risk…_

_They have to live…_

"Hey, get back here you little thief!" a man yelled in the market place as a young boy stole a piece of produce.

The child paid no mind to the man as he ran, pushing through the thick crowd of people. This kid in particular, had short shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes, his clothes tattered and worn from age.

"Stop that kid, stop him!" the man yelled.

"Move!" the kid exclaimed, shoving a few people out of the way, ducking passed others.

He ran right passed people, before quickly turning the corner and crashing into someone. As he looked up, he found it to be a young woman with dark hair and grayish silver eyes. It was her eyes that made him stop and stare, the sound of the man chasing him close behind.

"Grab that kid!" the man shouted.

On instinct, the woman grabbed hold of the boy's arm, quickly pulling him behind her as she leaned against the wall. Both of them then watched as the man ran by, running right passed them and down the street.

The kid slid down to the ground with a sigh of relief as the man left them, allowing him to relax. He just sat there as he pulled the apple out of his pocket, getting ready to take a bite. The young woman stopped him though, taking it away and holding it out of reach.

"Hey, that's mine!" he cried, jumping up and down as he tried to reach the apple.

It was little us though, seeing as she was taller than him, but he didn't stop trying.

"Listen kid, you really shouldn't be stealing things, alright? Now, why don't you go home?" she said, the apple still in her hand.

He didn't say anything after that, merely going and sitting back down on the ground. That's when she finally noticed his clothing. It looked old and torn, even his face was dirty looking and hair unkempt. She knew that look unfortunately.

"You don't have one…do you?" she asked, looking over his features.

He was young, maybe eight or ten years old if that. His choppy brown hair and blue eyes, they reminded her of her older brother who had died a few years prior. This is what hit her hard, pain pulling at her heart as she stared down at him.

"What's your name kid?" she asked, crouching down in front of him.

"Sky," he said quietly, glancing up at her for a moment.

"Well, Sky, why don't you come with me?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

When she said that, his face said that he was shocked. He had believed that no one would ever want him, yet here, was a girl who was willing to do just that. This woman wanted to take him with her, she was offering him home.

"I own a ranch in Kalm, I'm sure you'd love it there," she told him, watching his eyes light up.

"Really?" he asked, trying to contain his excitement.

She nodded her head in response, holding her hand out for him to take. It didn't take much thought though as he grabbed her hand, letting her pull him up with ease.

"What's your name?" Sky asked, turning his head to look up at the woman as they started off down the street.

"Me? My name is Tatsumi, Tatsumi Rikota."

Two Years Later

It had been two years since Tatsumi had made that trip to Midgar, the trip where she had picked up Sky and adopted him. He was nine years old now, while she was 20. In those two years, they had also grown very close, and he looked to her like a mother. Although, even with that, he would still caused trouble from time to time. Then again, he was still a young boy after all.

At the moment, Sky was running around on one of the chocobo's. He was driving Grant, one of the ranch hands stir crazy, going from place to place around the ranch and causing trouble.

"Get back here young man!" Grant yelled, chasing after Sky as best he could.

Sky didn't stop though, continuing to ride on the chocobo's back, and jumping over another fence. He was having so much fun that he didn't notice Tatsumi walking around the side of the shed, nearly running her over.

Tatsumi was so startled, that she dropped everything that she was holding, moving out of the chocobo's way.

"Sky!" she yelled, placing a hand on her forehead as she leaned against the shed.

Upon hearing her voice, he stopped the creature, a nervous look on his face as he turned it around.

"Uh…heh heh… Sorry Tatsumi," he said nervously, a nervous smile on his face as he dismounted.

"What have I told you about the chocobo's?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the young man.

"Not to drive Grant crazy with them?" he asked innocently, a grin on his face.

Tatsumi couldn't help, but to let out a small laugh at this. True, she had warned him about not over doing it with Grant, but that wasn't the issue. Many, many times, she had told him not to go running around on them like crazy. It could prove dangerous at times if one wasn't watching what they were doing.

"Listen, Sky, just be more careful, alright?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Alright," he said quietly.

"That's my boy," she chuckled, before ruffling his hair affectionately. "Just promise me that you'll keep away from the tree line, okay? Fiends have been about lately and I don't want you getting hurt," she said, turning back and picking her things up.

"I promise," Sky assured her, getting back up on his chocobo and heading to one of the corrals.

This left Tatsumi to continue on her way, going inside one of the two barns to tend to a few of her injured and sick chocobo's. Lately, there had been issues with fiends and a few other monsters running amuck around Kalm. A few in particular had been hiding out near her ranch and causing trouble. She'd actually lost a few of her chocobo's to them. She was only lucky that she knew how to fight, otherwise, she'd have lost a lot more than just a few of her chocobo's. She found herself irritated though, since SOLDIER's were supposed to have been to her ranch yesterday, getting rid of her problem.

"They never do anything fast," she voiced aloud as she cleaned out one of the stalls.

She kept at this for a couple hours, cleaning out each and every stall, before helping to groom some of the chocobo's. By the time that she was finally done with everything, the sun was starting to go down. That also meant that most of the chocobo were now inside the stalls and resting. When she stepped outside with her lantern though, she was met with an unwelcomed surprise. A few feet in front of her was a Kalm Fang, it's purple colored fur practically blending in with the oncoming darkness.

"Oh crap…" she breathed, staring it down as she stood there.

It stood there growling her, its fang showing as it mouth pulled, snarling menacingly. That left her to stare back at it, her hand twitching as she chanced a glanced around her. Her eyes caught sight of Sky not too far away, playing with a small chocobo in a nearby corral. It was now or never.

"Sky! Run!" she yelled, quickly turning and ducking out of the way as the beast lunged at her. "Now!" she yelled, doing her best to keep a decent distance between her and the beast.

Right now, her job was to keep this thing away from Sky, keep him safe. So, as Sky tried to get the chocobo inside, Tatsumi kept the wolf busy. Unfortunately, this one wasn't the only one, others soon coming out to join it.

"Oh no…" Tatsumi whispered, watched as more came to stand before her.

Her swords were merely yards away on a work bench, the wolves the only thing between her and getting to them. Even with the sound of an oncoming SOLDIER vehicle in the background, she knew that she couldn't wait, even more so when she heard Sky cry out.

"Sky!" she screamed.

The sound of his voice made something inside her snap, sending her passed the wolves and to her swords. She wasn't going to allow herself to lose anyone else, especially not Sky, he'd become too precious to her.

"Hold on!" she yelled, rushing forward as she cut down the beasts in front of her.

She then ran toward the corral, a sword in each hand.

"Help!" Sky cried out.

He was on his back on the ground, trying his best to fend off the wolf. He let out another cry though when it bit him in the leg, tearing right through his skin.

"Sky!" Tatsumi cried out, jumping over the fence and throwing the wolf off of him.

She dropped her swords on instinct, grabbing him instead and pulling him against her as he cried. She then pulled him out of the way as one of the wolves tried to get them, rolling over and getting clawed in the back. It was her turn to cry out now as the beast raked its claws down her back, scarring the delicate skin.

After a few more moments though, someone drove them off, the sound of a sword slicing through one of the wolves meeting her ear. The beast yelped in pain as the person cut it down, killing it.

"Are you okay?"

Tatsumi looked up when the man asked this, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"We would be if someone would have gotten here when I put the damn request in," she said in irritation, wincing when she tried to sit up.

"Yeah, about that… I just got back from a mission and your request was one of the older ones that hadn't been filled yet," he told her nervously.

Hearing this made her temper flare, causing her to forget about the pain that was currently in her back. She merely stood, holding Sky in her arms, before pulling the tiny whistle from around her neck and blowing it. A moment later, he best chocobo Strider came running toward them, stopping a couple feet in front of the two.

"Go find Grant," she said, placing Sky gently on Strider's back, before sending them off.

Luckily, she knew that she wouldn't have to worry about Strider, since he was a very capable chocobo.

After the chocobo was out of sight, Tatsumi picked her swords back up, holding them tightly in her hands.

"I've had enough of this…"

Then, before the young man could say anything, she attacked the beasts. All he could do was stand there in shock as he watched her. He knew that she was hurt and yet, she was fighting back viciously against the monsters around them.

T

"Are you sure you're okay?" the man that Tatsumi now knew as Zack Fair asked her.

"I'm fine," she muttered.

"Look, I still don't understand why you called someone down if you're that talented," Zack expressed honestly. "I mean, it's just a waste of money in my opinion."

"Look, Zack, I wasn't putting the money out there for me. There's more people in this area than just me and Sky," she told him. "I called you out here because I can't protect my ranch, along with everyone else in this village."

"I understand Ma'am, you have your son to worry about," Zack said, catching her attention.

"You really think that he's my son?" she asked curiously.

"Am I wrong?" he asked, worried that he might have insulted her.

"No, not necessarily. You see, everyone else thinks that he's my little brother," she explained.

"So, he _is_ your son then?"

"In a way, yes. I adopted him two years ago while in Midgar," she told him, looking fondly at a picture sitting on the table.

It was a picture of her and Sky. She had her arms hanging around his shoulders as she stood behind him, her chin laying on top of his little head, Grant taking the picture for them. It was her favorite. She also had another one sitting on a shelf. In that one, he was riding around on one of the large chocobo's in the corral, laughing away to his hearts content. He really was such a happy boy.

"He must be a happy kid," Zack commented, looking at one of the pictures.

Tatsumi nodded her head in response.

"He is," she said with a soft smile on her face.

With Sky in mind, she stood from her seat, walking over to the stairs.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to check on him," she said, before walking up the stairs.

She just walked down the small hallway, walking passed her room and to Sky's. His door was still open a crack, allowing her to push it open without any problems. Once she was inside, her eyes found him laying on his bed asleep, his leg propped up on a pillow.

"Sky…" she whispered softly, walking over to beside the bed and sitting down.

He didn't stir as she sat there, his mind deep in sleep. He was still the same boy that he was two years ago, but at the same time, he wasn't. He was still Sky in every sense, yes, but he was also her Sky. He was Sky Rikota now, the loveable little boy whom she cared so much for now. In a way, it was like he was a part of her, taking up home in her heart to stay.

"I love you," she whispered softly, brushing a bit of hair from his forehead as she leaned down and kissed it. "Goodnight kiddo," she whispered, before getting up and leaving the room.

She went back downstairs, finding Zack looking at another one of her pictures.

"What are you doing?" Tatsumi asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs, startling him a bit.

"Oh, sorry, just looking around I guess," he said.

She gave him a small nod, before going into the kitchen.

"Would you like something to eat Zack?" she offered, opening the fridge and grabbing a few things. "I realize that it's a bit of a ride back to Midgar."

**Okay everyone, this is my first attempt at a Sephiroth story so be nice. Anyway, I hope that you like it and will continue to read this story as I begin writing further. Also, remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts and ideas on this story. Thanks everyone! Also, check out my PROFILE for others stories that you might like. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**His Angel**

**Chapter 2**

It wasn't until a week later that Tatsumi decided to make her way to SOLDIER HQ as she put it. She was surprised though when she received a call earlier in the week from Zack, checking to see how Sky was doing. That was the other reason why she was making her trip. Sky was doing better, but he still couldn't walk around very much at the moment. He was mainly stuck in bed or sitting around the ranch unable to do very much. She had had to wait a bit before deciding to leave to make sure that infection didn't set it from the beast bite.

If she were honest with herself though, then she would have been paying more attention to herself instead. Tatsumi was already feeling the effects of infection setting in from the deep claw marks on her back. It was something that she had kept from Sky, not wanting him to worry about things further. Regardless though, she really couldn't do much about it. She tried to keep it clean, but infection still set in, causing problems for her during daily work around the ranch.

The whole thing in general irritated her as she rode on Strider's back toward Midgar, the movements making her wince on occasion. She couldn't help, but to think of the current increase in monster activity lately. They'd be showing up more and more often all around and it left her wondering what was causing it. It was even worse that some were popping up in places where they shouldn't be.

Suddenly, everything changed as she was thrown off of Strider's back and onto the ground. Something had startled and scared him and he soon ran off, leaving Tatsumi laying on the ground.

"Strider?" she called, standing up and brushing herself off.

Although as she looked around herself, she found nothing, nothing at all. Nothing, but the trees and grass around her. As she stood there though, she noticed something, the strange quietness that surrounded her. This made her grip one of the swords at her side, holding the hilt tightly in her hand.

Within seconds, her sword was out and protecting her as a large beast jumped out at her from the shadows of the trees. It was a shadow beast of some sort, dark in color, but that's all that she knew as she blocked a spiked tail from hitting her. She was then rolling out of the way as another one tried to attack her, quickly kicking it in the face, causing it to howl.

"Where are these things coming from?" she voiced aloud as she whirled around on another, cutting into it with her sword.

Unfortunately, this only ended her up on the ground with one of them on top of her, causing her to scream out in pain as it dug its long claws straight into her shoulder. Her scream practically sent the beasts into a frenzy, fighting each other in an attempt to claim her, and nearly trampling her in the process.

She tried to get away as they fought each other, only to have one grab hold of her leg with its claws, pulling her back to it. At this, she turned around, gripping her sword as she thrust it up into the beast's chest.

It let out pained cry, before falling over onto its side dead, leaving her to lay there for a moment as the others growled and snapped their fangs at her. She was realizing too late that the longer she was there, the more she was becoming surrounded. She barely even had time to stand up, before she was knocked back into a tree, here head colliding with it painfully.

_I need to do something_, she thought as her vision started to become hazy.

She stood there for a moment, clutching her shoulder painfully.

"It's now or never," she spoke aloud, not noticing the stranger that was watching her in the distance.

Then, right as one of the monsters leapt at her, she threw her hand out and yelled.

"_Firaga_!"

The moment those words left her lips, a huge rush of flames came bursting from her hand in a bright red light, burning the beasts in front of her. It was like an explosion of power as it destroyed the beasts, frying them to a crisp. The action itself practically brought her to her knees, zapping her of strength. It had been years since she'd used magic and now it had been her only hope. She couldn't even think of anything more as she fell forward onto the ground, here vision borderline black as she laid there with her shoulder bleeding out.

It was supposed to be a simple trip to Midgar and back. Now, she was laying there all cut up with a stranger walking toward her slowly, their footsteps well placed as they walked. Their stride held purpose and strength, the weight only increased slightly by the abnormally long sword that they carried with them at their waist. They said something to her, but she couldn't hear them as she laid there, her mind going in and out of consciousness. They didn't really even say anything at all as they knelt down and picked her up in their arms, carrying her back to where they had come from, but not before picking up her swords and taking them with them.

T

"Hey, who ya got there yo?" came the sound of a man's voice.

"Go away Turk," the other ordered, holding onto the woman that lay practically unconscious in his arms.

From there, he walked into the elevator, pressing a button to take her up a few floors.

Everyone around him moved easily out of the way as he exited the elevator and walked into the hall, heading down to the infirmary.

"G-General, Sir," a nurse gasped as the man walked in.

The woman was startled by the sight in his arms and quickly ushered him over to a bed where he could lay the injured girl down.

"What happened?" she asked, looking over at the man.

"There was an attack, monsters prowling around the area again," he explained, gesturing to the wound on her shoulder.

The nurse nodded her head, making quick work to clean the woman up, but not before closing a curtain to block the General's view of the woman.

The General only let out a small snort at this, before walking off out of the infirmary and down the hall. He didn't really know what else to do, he had completed his mission and was off just to waste a bit of time when he had found the girl fighting off the shadow beasts. He was still surprised at her skills and persistence when fighting them. Perhaps that's another reason why he had saved her, instead of leaving her lay there to bleed out and die. After thinking about it, he knew that it was one of the reasons. Another reason though was the fact that he could see the amount of potential that she held to perhaps be one of the best.

"Hey, Sephiroth, where have you been?" he heard his friend call from behind him, turning around to face him.

"Angeal," he voiced, scratching the back of his neck for a moment. "I just got back from my mission," he said, letting his hand fall back down to his side.

"You should have been back over a hour ago," Angeal said skeptically. "Where were you really?"

Sephiroth merely chuckled at this, before throwing an arm around his friend's shoulders and walking down the hall.

"Wasting time," Sephiroth said.

"Wasting time? You were wasting time?" Angeal asked, still skeptical as he raised an eyebrow at his friend. "You found something, didn't you?"

With a sigh, Sephiroth released his friend and pinched the bridge of his nose lightly as he laughed.

"You're as bad as Genesis, I swear," he told Angeal, walking through a set of doors to the lounge area.

Sephiroth sat down on one of the couches, propping his feet up. Angeal sat down across from him on another couch, looking at him expectantly, causing him to sigh.

"I found a woman," Sephiroth admitted, making Angeal give him a questionable look. "I thought I'd sweep the area for monsters since they've been a problem lately. That's when I found her," he explained, earning a nod from his friend.

"So, where is this woman then?" Angeal asked curiously.

"Over in the infirmary," Sephiroth told him, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. "She'd been fighting a few of the larger shadow beasts and ended up wounded, so I brought her back here. Although, here's the real kicker," he raised his head back up to look his friend in the eyes. "She used magic."

"Magic?" Angeal's brows furrowed in confusion, since normally only SOLDIER's and Turks used those powers.

"Firaga to be precise," Sephiroth told him.

"Are you sure? Something like that takes training, not to mention a lot of energy," Angeal stated.

"I know what I saw Angeal and I know what I heard. She yelled Firaga right before it happened," Sephiroth stated in a matter of fact way.

"Alright, I believe you," Angeal said in defeat.

"She also had these," Sephiroth said, placing the two swords down on the small table in front of him for Angeal to see.

"Interesting…" Angeal mused as he inspected the swords.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at his friends comment, curious as to what he thought was so interesting.

"Have you actually taken the time to look at her swords Sephiroth?" Angeal questioned, holding one of them out to him.

Sephiroth just shook his head no, taking the sword from Angeal's hand. He studied the finely crafted piece of metal for a few minutes, turning it this way and that. It was a customized sword from what he could tell, although, it was still more like a katana in a way with its slim built blade. He also found it interesting at how balanced it was, making it easier to use. With this, he concluded that she was quick with her sword skills.

"What are you thinking?" Angeal asked warily.

"I'm thinking that she might be an interesting opponent," Sephiroth said with a grin as he continued inspecting the sword.

This caused Angeal to give him a dry look.

"You can't be serious? Fighting a woman and an injured one no less," he said in exasperation.

Sometimes, he couldn't believe his friend. Out of anyone, Angeal would have thought that Sephiroth wouldn't even think of fighting an injured woman. Then again, it was also rare for Sephiroth to find a possible challenger other than Angeal and Genesis.

Several minutes later, the nurse came walking into the lounge area, catching the attention of both men.

"I'm sorry about disturbing you sir, but someone will have to take her downstairs to either Hollander or Hojo for a small Mako injection. I'm afraid that's the only way for the wound on her back to start healing properly," the nurse said, causing Sephiroth's brows to furrow in confusion.

"On her back?" he questioned.

"Yes Sir, I thought that you knew since you brought her in here?"

"No, I didn't," Sephiroth told her as he stood up, Angeal following suit as he walked out of the room and back down to the infirmary.

"Sir, wait!" the nurse called.

It did little good though as Sephiroth stepped into the infirmary, throwing back the curtain, and pulling away the back of the girl's shirt.

"Sephiroth, what are you…" they both stopped and stood there.

Before them, the girl lay on her stomach, her back now completely exposed to them. This allowed them full view of the scarring skin on her back. At this point, part of it had turned a nasty yellow, inevitably sealing her fate of scarring.

"Those look like wolf claw marks," Angeal commented, scanning over them with his eyes.

"Indeed they do…" Sephiroth said quietly. "She must have come from Kalm."

"I heard that there had been reports of monster sightings there," Angeal said.

"Which means it hasn't been taken care of," Sephiroth said flatly.

**Alright everyone, that's chapter 2. I hope that everyone enjoyed it. There'll be more Sephiroth in the next chapter ^^ Anyway, thanks for reading and please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts and opinions on the story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**His Angel**

**Chapter 3**

The following day, Tatsumi woke up with a start. She had dreamt of her parents, just as she had many times before. Her breath slightly ragged, she also felt a bit faint, a fever taking hold of her. She sat there for a few moments just trying to process things before she realized that she didn't know where she was. The fact that she didn't know where she was is what set her off, causing her to raise out of the bed, and out of the room. She had noticed when she woke up, the gown that covered her front. She was still wearing her pants though, so that was one less thing for her to worry about. If it weren't for the fact that she knew that this place wasn't ShinRa's medical hospital, then she would have stayed where she was, but that wasn't the case here.

"Where the heck am I?" she muttered, walking down the hallway.

It was like the whole place was deserted. That soon changed though as she rounded the corner, running right into someone. Although, before she could hit the ground they reached out, grabbing her firmly by the elbow.

"You should have stayed in the infirmary," they said, causing her to look up at them.

She was met with a surprise when she looked up, looking up into a pair of bright green blue eyes. Those eyes belonged to a man with long silver hair, his long bang practically blending in with the rest of his hair. Both his height and the length of his hair exceeded hers, leaving him to tower over her.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I think I should be asking you that, walking all the way from Kalm on your own," he started.

Her eyes narrow suspiciously at this, causing her to pull away from him.

"How do you…"

He just put a hand up to silence her, before stepping forward and gripping her by the shoulder, slowly guiding her back the way that she had come.

"One, your attire," he pointed out. "Two, you were headed my way when I found you," he explained, pushing her back into the room that she woke up in.

"Wait a sec, _you_ brought me here?" she asked, almost in disbelief.

"Of course. After all, I couldn't just leave you there to die, now could I?" he countered, folding his arms over the front of his chest as he leaned against the wall.

She just gave him a sour look for a moment, before turning away.

"You wouldn't be the first if you did," she muttered, sitting down on the better. "Now, if you wouldn't mind _Sir_, where am I?"

"SOLDIER HQ as some would put it," he told her.

"Then that would mean that you're-"

"A SOLDIER, yes," he announced, confirming her theory.

She let out a laugh after a moment, catching the man by surprise. He didn't know what was so fun, so he just had to ask.

"What's so funny?" he inquired, raising a silver haired eyebrow in question.

"Nothing really, I just find it ironic that you brought me to the very place that I was headed," she told him, before turning to look at him fully. "I have half a mind to chew someone out," she said in annoyance, catching his attention.

"And why is that?" he asked, seemingly curious.

"Well, since you're SOLDIER, I'm pretty sure that you've heard about the increase in monster activity lately?" she began, watching him nod before continuing. "I put in a request a while ago," she stood up for a moment, hugging herself.

He watched her closely as she did this, waiting for her to continue.

"They've been causing havoc around my ranch, slaughtering my chocobo and attacking others in the area," she said this slowly, walking around a bit, but never going very far from his eye. "My son and I were attacked last week, before anything was done," she said bitterly as she thought back on it all.

It angered her greatly at the fact that nothing had been done, resulting in the incident that took place.

"Your son, how badly was he injured?" he questioned, wondering if he had been wounded as badly as she had.

"Well, he still has his leg if that's what you mean. He's finally able to walk around a bit, but he's restricted from leaving the house."

The man just shook his head and sighed.

"I hate slackers," he said in annoyance, before turning to leave.

"Wait," she called, stopping him in his tracks. "What's your name?" she asked, causing him to smirk, but of course she couldn't see it with his back turned to her.

"It's Sephiroth," he told her, walking out a moment later, not bothering to look back.

T

Tatsumi remained where she was for the rest of the day, only turning her head toward the door at the sound of a knock. She was surprised though when she saw Sephiroth stand there, a smug look on his face.

"Sephiroth," she voiced, sitting up a bit.

"So, you actually decided to stay put then," he mused aloud deliberately to see her reaction.

He had to hold back a laugh as she gave him a dry look, sitting up further in bed.

"What do you want?" she asked curtly, apparently not in the mood.

"Well, you said you wanted to chew someone out, so I figured I'd give you the chance," he said, stepping forward a bit, noticing that her gown was off.

It wasn't as if he could see anything though, since her chest was wrapped up along with her shoulder, reminding him of a tube top.

"And why would you do that for me?" she asked curiously.

"Let's just say…I want to see if you _really_ know how to use these?" he grinned, holding her swords out in front of him.

"M-my swords!" she cried, quickly getting off the bed to take them. "Give me those!" she exclaimed, trying to grab them from him as he kept them out of reach. "Give them to me!" she growled in annoyance as he continued to keep them out of reach.

"I want to make sure that you can handle them first," he said, a smug look on his face as he walked out of the room, listening to the sound of her footsteps as she ran after him.

"Damn it, Sephiroth, get back here!" she yelled, running to catch up with him.

She had absolutely no clue where he was taking her, merely leaving her to follow after him if she wanted her swords back.

"Now, if you want them back," he started, walking into a large room filled with trainees and other SOLDIERs. "Then you're going to have to fight for them by kicking their butts," he finished, gesturing to those around him.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said flatly, giving him a look of irritation.

"You said you wanted to chew someone out? Do it to them. After all, they're the ones that have been slacking, neglecting to take on your request."

This through her over the edge for a moment, before seeing his point.

"Do this and I'll let you keep your swords," he told her, turning toward those in front of him. "Gentleman," he spoke aloud, loud enough for all to hear. "Today, you're going to have a little challenge. That, and you're going to learn the consequence of being lay good for nothings," he stated with a smirk on his face.

Yes, he knew that he had hit a few nerves with that one, but it was necessary if he wanted things to go his way.

"I hate you _so_ much right," Tatsumi grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

Another reason for her doing this was the fact that the men around her were constantly staring at her and it was getting on her nerves. It was also making her a bit uncomfortable.

"Now, I'd like to introduce to you your new _playmate_," Sephiroth said, pushing Tatsumi forward in front of her crowd.

Many of them simple laughed or whistled, causing her to glare at them for it. They couldn't even being to imagine fighting someone as _weak_ as she was. Although, that's where they were wrong. Tatsumi wasn't weak at all, far from it even though she was hurt she could still with without a problem, bringing them their own downfall.

"Give me one of my swords," she said, holding her hand out in front of Sephiroth. "One is all I'm gonna need," she added, feeling him place one into her hand a moment later, her fingertips brushing against the leather of his black gloved hand.

"What's she going to do, kiss us to death?" one man asked as he howled with laughter.

"I wouldn't kiss you, even if you were the last man on Gaia," she spat, causing his face to sour and others to laugh. "That goes for the lot of you too," she said in annoyance, shutting some of them up in the process.

After a moment, one man moved his way through the crowd to stand in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest for a moment, before letting them fall down to his sides.

"You know, you sound just a bit too confident for your own good girl," he smirked, reaching to grab for her, only to get hit in the gut with the hilt of her sword.

"I could say the same for you buddy, but at least I know what I'm doing," she told him, catching the attention of a few others.

All in all, that's what set everything in motion.

Sephiroth just stood back against the wall watching her fight. It was really something else in his opinion. He knew that she was still injured and not even at the top of her game, but she was still matching everyone hit for hit.

Sometimes, she would use her sheath, others her sword. She didn't really want to kill them or anything, so she'd just make it so that they couldn't fight, occasionally hitting a pressure point or something.

"If this is all you can do, then I would have been better off defending everyone my own self!" Tatsumi yelled in distaste, hitting another in the back of the head, before whirling around to block someone else.

Tatsumi was fast, but that was putting it lightly. When she was upset like that, she went all out, her senses on high alert. It was even worse when it had to do with Sky. She knew that if these men were doing their jobs properly, then Sky never would have gotten hurt, he never would have been put in danger like he had been because of their negligence.

To Sephiroth, her movements were like a dance. Moving this way and that, twirling around, blocking from every direction. She was so quick on her feet that it amazed him. She was so much better than these idiots around him that called themselves SOLDIERs. He also found it rather sad though that she was able to beat so many of them, showing that they obviously needed for training and discipline.

"You're just a girl," one called, making her glare and push even harder, throwing another man to the ground.

"Well, this _girl_ is kicking your butts," she said in annoyance, kicking one of them in the gut, and another in the side of the head.

Once everyone was on the ground, clapping was heard. Turning her head, Tatsumi found Sephiroth standing there, but it wasn't him that was clapping. No, instead, it was Director Lazard. He was head of SOLDIER, he also made all the decisions and gave orders.

"You're right, she's wonderful," Lazard said, a look of satisfaction on his face. "That was quite a performance that you put on my dear, well done," he clapped, his blond hair moving a bit as he walked toward her.

He pushed a bit of it out of his face and behind his ear as he came to stand before her. He then pushed his glasses back up onto his nose a bit more as he took a better look at her, scanning her over from head to toe.

"Hm…" he paced around her, one hand on his elbow, the other on his chin. "I see that you've been injured and yet you seemed unhindered by it?" he commented.

"Um, yes Sir, I'm not exactly happy about it," she said.

"So I've been told."

She knew that what he said meant that Sephiroth had likely filled him in on things at some point.

"Then you understand why I'm here then?" she inquired, receiving a nod from the man in front of her.

"Yes, I do actually, and I'd like to present a proposition to you," he said, clamping his hands behind his back.

"And what would that be Sir?" she asked.

"How would you like to join SOLDIER?"

**Okay, there's chapter 3. I hope everyone enjoyed it. I also hope that I did a good job with Sephiroth too? Anyway, please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts and opinions on this story/chapter. Thanks everyone. Also, don't forget to check out my PROFILE for other possible stories that you might like. :)**


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Final Fantasy VII, Romance