Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of the Final Materia ❯ Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Shukera ran to her room and locked the door behind her. Within the safety of her own room, she removed Seifer's picture from her pocket. For a moment she stared at it, transfixed by his image. Softly she touched it as she thought, "He is amazingly good looking and a great sword fighter too, or gunblade, what ever that is. I wonder what he's like." She drew in a deep breath, "Well, in a few days I will be face to face with him."

A wave of guilt rushed over her inside that seemed to come from nowhere. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about Sephiroth and everything they had been through. She cared about him deeply, but darkness over shadowed her feelings for him: Could it be mistrust?? She wasn't quite sure what it, but it troubled her deeply. That nagging feeling was constantly there every time she got around him. It was enough to keep her from falling foolishly for him. Then, there was her archrival Scarlet. Scarlet wanted Sephiroth more than anything, no matter what it would cost her. She hated Shukera and the closeness she shared with Sephiroth.

Confusion took over Shukera's mind as she thought, "What is this I'm feeling? I don't understand!" Finally, there was Reno. They were best friends in what seemed like a previous life. The three of them, Reno, Aerith, and herself were inseparable, a long time ago before the Turks, Shinra, and Soldier became a part of their lives. But, time moved on and they moved away from each other. Shukera grew to loathe Reno, hated what he had become. The big fight they had when she learned that he was assigned to kidnapping Aerith made them enemies.

All this seemed to swirl around in her mind, making some strange confusing mixture inside of her. Feeling it taking toll of her inside, Shukera began to thrash around her room, turning over her table and chairs, breaking several things, and tossing what ever came close to her hand. All the anger and frustration built to an exploding level inside and was now rushing through her. She shouted, "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!!!!"

She grabbed a fist full of papers and began tearing though them violently. In a fit of fury until she tore page after page until she came to Aerith's picture at the bottom. She picked up Aerith's picture and stared at it. Finally she collapsed on her floor among the mess and cried, burying her head into her hands.

A few hours after her minor breakdown, Shukera realized that Sephiroth didn't give her all the information about the trip they were taking. She placed Seifer's picture into her top drawer, buried. After that, she picked up Sephiroth's apartment key and walked towards the door. Pausing in the doorway and gazing at the mess she made on the floor she realized that Anger Management had failed her. "Such a waste of time!" She slammed her door behind her.

Moments later Shukera made her way down the hallway leading to Sephiroth's apartment as she had done so many times before. But, this time, something inside her head shouted that something wasn't right. Instinctively she slowed her pace and quietly walked up to Sephiroth's door. Carefully she slid the key into the lock and pushed the door open as quietly as she could. Her heart began racing as she found herself tiptoeing into his apartment.

Shukera briefly chastised herself for the ridiculous behavior she was exhibiting. Sephiroth's lights were all off, which struck her as odd. A dreaded feeling now replaced what she was previously feeling. Maybe someone killed him? There were many people who wished to do him in, some of them she knew by name. Then she thought, "Maybe he went to sleep already", but quickly dismissed the thought. He had to pack for the mission.

Cautiously she crept into Sephiroth's living room, quickly scanned the area, and found nothing suspicious. She was getting ready to sneak into his bedroom when she heard what sounded like a moan coming from the direction she was heading. A few seconds later she heard the noise again, when it suddenly dawned on her that Sephiroth was not alone. Dread was suddenly replaced by embarrassment and she turned to leave when she heard them talking. Something inside told her to listen, so quietly she moved closer to his bedroom door.

"Sephiroth, what about Shukera? What is she going to think about this?"

Sephiroth laughed, "I don't care what she thinks. I am here with you on my last day here and I want you to enjoy it. After all, you have wanted me for so long now, why not enjoy yourself??"

Shukera heard them kissing again as she wondered why was she an issue to begin with. Unless it was… She dismissed that immediately; Sephiroth would never stoop so low!!

The woman's laughter caught her attention once again. "Can we trust you with this assignment? We really want control of that Rinoa girl and that guy Seifer or something like that. Are you sure you know what to do?"

Sephiroth laughed, "Yes. But, I don't feel comfortable. Shukera is going and she could destroy this whole mission."

The woman laughed, "I would say kill her, but, its no secret that you harbor feelings for her."

Sephiroth laughed hard, "Do you honestly believe that crap?? You know, you should never believe everything you hear." Shukera heard them kissing again, which was followed by Sephiroth's voice, "I know Shukera will betray Shin Ra the first chance she gets."

The woman's voices replied, "Then, kill her first chance you get, unless she really holds some value to you."

Shukera brought her hand to her chest and gasped as the room suddenly closed in around her. A cold chill ran down her spine.

Sephiroth replied, "No. She is just like the other Soldiers, expandable. Besides, Scarlet, we have come this far. I'm not going to let her stop us. Well, we are talking way too much. Let's finish what we started, shall we."

Shukera felt like her feet were tied to cement blocks. It took all her strength to move away from where she stood. She held her breath in an attempt to stop the tears from flowing. Sephiroth had betrayed her, their friendship was nothing more than a lie! She used all her constitution to fight the urge to go in there and kill the both of them, but it wouldn't solve anything. It was better to catch them in their little game. She had a few cards up her own sleeve and it was time to play them. Shin Ra was going down, this time with vengeance!! Quickly and quietly, Shukera made her way out of Sephiroth's apartment and away from that ugly scene.