Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of the Final Materia ❯ Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The ship jolted as it was caught by the energy nets that were back in operation in the spaceport. A ship very much like the Ragnarok guided the Shin Ra ship to touch down at Lunar Gate. The gate was rebuilt after the Lunar Cry and defeat of Ultimecia. Laguna had ordered the port to be rebuilt and even had extra quarters built for Ellone and himself.

Shukera's head jarred to the side as the ship came to an abrupt stop. She discovered that she was resting against Sephiroth and quickly moved away, becoming cold and distant to him.

A moan came from beside her as Sephiroth stretched and yawned. He groggily looked around scratching his head. "I take it that we have landed."

Shukera shrugged as she busied herself with preparations for departure. From the briefing she knew that a group from Balamb should be meeting them at any moment. Her job was to study along with them and learn their fighting styles. Shukera was glad she was assigned that task, since she was there to help them anyway.

The two of them checked over each other's uniforms, smoothing out the wrinkles, fixing the cloaks. Shukera reached up and fixed Sephiroth's collar. Their eyes met for a moment and Shukera quickly averted his gaze. He flinched when he saw the distance in her eyes, something he had never seen before from her. Sephiroth sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

Breaking the silence that laid heavily between them, Sephiroth stammered, "Uh, it's time to...meet the ones from...Balamb."

Shukera just nodded without saying a word. He touched her arm hoping to get her to warm up to him.

Shukera glared at him as she brushed his arm away. The air filled once again with uncomfortable silence, which was something totally new to the both of them. Sephiroth pulled his cloak around his shoulders; Shukera's coldness gave him chills.

"That bitch is going to be a problem", he thought as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Have to find a way to get to her. Make her lower her guard."

Everything was changed now between them. Sephiroth thought back to when they used to chatter on for hours without running out of things to talk about. He wondered how he even tolerated it.

"She was useful I will give her that. Now, time to rid myself of that headache!" Anger welled inside him when he thought about Shukera taking Seifer's picture. She was under minding his authority! Something he would have killed others on the spot for. But, he was going to allow her to hang herself instead.

Sephiroth pushed the thoughts out of his head as he prepared for his performance and what an act it was going to be.

They made a final check of the ship, making sure everything was stowed and locked up. Satisfied, they departed the ship and stepped on a long metal walkway that entered a large building made of glass. The building seemed to glow as the light from the sun reflected off the smooth glass surface. Shukera marveled at its magnificence. A smile found its way to her face, things were finally looking up.

A group of people appeared to be waiting for them at the entrance to the gate. A girl dressed in an orange jumper and brown boots jumped up and down waving brightly at them. A woman dressed in a long skirt with blonde hair gazed intently at them. She made Shukera feel like she was prey to a circling vulture.

Next to them stood a guy dressed in black with red belts wrapped around his waist. He wore an expression that gave Shukera the notion that he was embarrassed by the girl in the short orange jumper who was still jumping up and down. Last was a petite, black-headed girl dressed in a blue and black outfit.

Shukera noticed how she stood closely to the guy dressed in black and made a mental note, "Must be Rinoa." She secretly hoped that the guy in black was her boyfriend.

They approached the small group looking somber. Sephiroth couldn't wait to get this over with. His eyes lay on the blonde headed girl in the long orange skirt as his lips began to curl up on the sides. She was going to be his first victim. His smile grew as he checked out the girl.

The girl in the orange jumper bounced up to them, greeting them warmly with a squeaky voice. "Hi! I'm Selphie! I will help you get settled in and assist you as much as I can to help make your stay enjoyable." She motioned to the girl in blue, "This is Rinoa. She is very friendly and kindhearted." Next she pointed to the guy in black, "This is Squall. He's our top See D and Rinoa's boyfriend. Sorry if he seems so serious, he always is."

Squall blushed slightly as Selphie moved on, "This is Quistis. She's one of our instructors and part of the administration board." Selphie moved closer to Shukera as she whispered, "Don't mind her; she's way too uptight and bossy."

Shukera snickered. She found Selphie to be a breath a fresh air, her demeanor was bright and her spirit was uplifting. Quistis, on the other hand, was a cold contrast to Selphie. She took an instant dislike to her. Something about Quistis made Shukera think of Scarlet. With that thought in mind, Shukera glared at her as if to burn holes right though her. Quistis fidgeted as she became uncomfortable with Shukera's stare.

Sephiroth broke the growing silence between them. "I'm Sephiroth Commander of Soldier. This is Shukera our top officer. We are, as you all know, from Shin Ra headquarters in Midgar." Sephiroth tried to keep the introductions short; he hated formalities.

Quistis eyed him with interest. She smiled seductively as she spoke, "Well, since you are the Commander I have a lot to discuss with you about your stay here." She motioned for him to follow her, "Right this way Sephiroth."

Sephiroth gazed at Shukera, who just folded her arms and turned her head. Shrugging, he followed Quistis. Squall kissed Rinoa on the cheek and ran after them. Selphie, Rinoa, and Shukera decided to hang behind them and talk among themselves.

Selphie, excited about them being there, decided to break the ice, "I hope you like it here. And I hope you have a little fun while you are here too!!"

Shukera frowned, "I thought you trained here. This is supposed to be a military operation am I right??"

Selphie snickered, "It is, but we have parties too. We train hard during the week and on the weekend we have social gatherings."

Rinoa faced Shukera curiously, "You seemed surprised Shukera. I don't understand."

Selphie boasted excitedly, "Rinoa, haven't you heard?? Shukera is a female combat solider, number one fighter, and a war hero!" She turned to Shukera as she continued, "I am so honored to meet you!! It's so exciting having a war hero among us!" She couldn't contain her excitement any longer as she jumped up and down, "WHOO HOOO!! This is great!!"

Shukera blushed. Selphie's enthusiasm took her totally by surprise. She was confused by her reaction. Why didn't she condemn her for what she is?? She began to feel the difference of their worlds already.

"I have heard about See D too. I want to learn as much as I can about your organization. Battle tactics, training, classes, you know the works. I want to learn it all." Shukera smiled hoping that would change the subject and shift the attention away from her.

Rinoa was still thinking about Shukera's surprise about the parties. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her. "Why are you surprised about the parties? Didn't you guys have any parties or any kind of social functions at all??"

Shukera became serious as she looked away from them, "No, we didn't. Our training was harsh and severe. Our actions reflected our image as Soldiers no matter what we did or where we went. Our lives evolved around Soldier and our commitment to it." She sighed, "I even opened my own night club once a long time ago, but Shin Ra forced me to shut it down. They said it went against the image of Soldier. So, a group of us got together and formed a band secretly."

Selphie's face lit up like a neon sign. "You were in a band!! Tell me, can you sing??"

Shukera laughed, thinking about all the discussions her and Sephiroth had about her singing talent getting her nowhere and distracting her from her duties. Suddenly she became lost in her thoughts about the past. Back to the days before she joined Soldier, the good times she had with Reno and Aerith. She began to miss Aerith even more than she did before. Shaking her head, she reminded herself that those days were gone forever and nothing she did was going to bring them back. She then realized that Selphie was waiting for an answer. Her thoughts still lingering on the past, Shukera replied, "As a matter of fact, I was the singer."

That led to another excited outburst from Selphie. Jumping up and down, waving her hands, Selphie shouted, "WHOO HOO!!! BOKAYA!! Now I might be able to fulfill my dream of playing in my band!!"

Rinoa placed her hand on her forehead and shook her head. "Selphie you are too much!"

Selphie and Rinoa laughed out loud, feeling happy to just be around each other. Their happiness was beginning to become contagious. Shukera began to feel lightness in her heart, something she hadn't felt since Aerith's death. Slowly she smiled. It had been a long time since she truly smiled and she was felt uncomfortable about it. The smile faded from her lips as she closed her eyes and thought about the past once again.