Sabaody Archipelago, Island 41.
At night, the moon and stars shone brightly. The cold moonlight shone on the balcony of the second floor of the three-story villa. Sephiroth leaned back in a chair, wearing only a blue nightgown that was wide open at the chest. At his side was a small glass round table with a bottle of red wine and a goblet containing half a glass of wine.
He stared blankly at the full moon in the sky, with a thoughtful expression, as if he was thinking about something. In the bedroom, Hancock, wearing a black silk nightgown, seemed to wake up from her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the silver-haired youth who was standing on the balcony, lost in thought.
She thought for a moment before carefully getting out of bed to avoid waking the Perona trio. With her snow-white feet, Hancock stepped on the cold floor, walked out to the balcony, and sat down softly on Sephiroth's thigh.
"You seem to have something that's really bothering you..." she said, looking down at the youth.
"How could I have problems?" Hearing this, a small laugh appeared at the corner of Sephiroth's mouth. He was preparing to make a joke and fool her.
"You're lying."
"..."
Between the two, there was a moment of silence. Suddenly, Hancock hugged Sephiroth's head with both hands and buried her face deep in the youth's chest.
"Sephiroth, as long as you want, I can do anything for you! If you have something on your mind, say it! I will definitely try my best to help you share it..."
Hearing this, Sephiroth closed his eyes, and after a while, he muttered softly, "Thank you, Hancock. Whatever is waiting for me, whatever the future holds, I will definitely overcome it! I want to be with you forever. Forever!"
The silver-haired youth raised his head and looked directly at the tall, dark-skinned girl. His eyes were full of determination, and his inner worries and anxieties quickly faded. A mere prophecy with uncertain results and processes was not something he needed to worry about. Kaido, he is already finished!
After Hancock sensed the emotional change in Sephiroth's heart through her sight and smell, she couldn't help but have a sweet smile on her face.
"Mm!... Forever!"
The Next Morning, Sabaody Archipelago, Island 61, Marine Territory.
Sephiroth, wearing a black suit, stood in front of an ordinary two-story residential building. He took out a key from his top pocket and opened the door. As soon as he entered, he saw Iskar, with her right hand covered in a white bandage and a white mask on the right side of her face, flying toward him. She wrapped her arms around Sephiroth's waist and hung her body on him.
"Sephiroth! Thank goodness, you're okay!"
"What could possibly happen to me that you have to worry so much?" Hearing this, Sephiroth chuckled for a moment, picked up the girl, and sat her down on the sofa. "I heard from the soldiers that you hit an investigator named Dolo a few days ago. Then, you went to Marine Headquarters and were investigated. I was worried that they would make things difficult for you."
"Erm!... Rest assured! It was just being investigated and interrogated, they won't do anything to me. Let me see your wound, what's going on now!"
The silver-haired youth smiled, and he began to remove the bandage from Iskar's right hand. After the Bat clone went to Marine Headquarters, he was interrogated for three consecutive days. He was basically vague or silent when questioned by those investigators. It was true that he confessed to Sengoku! But, he wasn't interested in confessing to the lackeys of the investigation team. Who knew, maybe there were undercover agents from other top corrupt elements of the Marines there. If the news of his confession leaked, then his fun would be great!
After the Bat clone was released from the interrogation room, Sengoku summoned him to his office, reprimanded him for the incident of hitting the investigator, and logged a major demerit for him, reporting it to the entire Marine Corps. No class evaluations or promotions were allowed within three years. This punishment, for Sephiroth, was not painful at all.
After all, he was already prepared to wait until the spotlight died down and the situation was completely stable before resigning and quitting the Marines to become his own billionaire. Therefore, even if Sengoku demoted him to the lowest rank, it didn't matter to him.
"Hmm! That's right! Sephiroth, you're a good justice-loving Marine. That inventory operation will definitely not involve you..." the girl said with a smile.
Girl, how embarrassing it is for me to say this! My true colors are not as good as you say. I am not a justice-loving Marine, but one of the top corrupt elements in the Marines! Sephiroth murmured in his heart.
After removing the bandage from Iskar's right hand, he reached out to lift the mask from the girl's face. It seemed that due to her low self-esteem, the girl subconsciously lowered her head and covered her cheeks with her long orange hair. She hoped that the youth would not see the hideous and ugly burn scars on her face.
Sephiroth reached out and touched the girl's orange-red hair, saying in a very gentle tone, "Don't worry! Everything will be fine. I brought an ointment today that can heal scars. Believe me, as long as you use it well, the scars on your body will disappear completely!"
As he spoke, Sephiroth took out a clear glass bottle of ointment from his top pocket.
"Really?" Iskar raised her head slightly, and a hint of hope appeared in her eyes. She woke up every morning to wash, and in the mirror, when she saw the hideous burn scars on her face, she felt an extremely crushing sadness inside. No girl wanted to see ugly scars on her body.
"Hmm! It's true, of course!" Sephiroth nodded firmly as he opened the lid and gently applied it to the girl's cheek with his right index finger, on the location of the scar.
"This whitening and scar-removing ointment will cause a burning and itchy sensation on the skin every time you first use it. It's all normal, it'll be fine in a few minutes. After applying the ointment, there is no need to wash it off, just let it be naturally absorbed by the skin. As long as you persevere for ten days or so, in the morning and evening, the scars will disappear."
Sephiroth gently applied the ointment to the girl while admonishing her carefully. This medicine, which could whiten and remove scars, was also something he made using his blood as a guide. However, compared to the life-enhancing agent, this whitening and scar-removing ointment required the concentration of his blood to be diluted a thousand more times. In other words, ten milliliters of his blood could make a hundred thousand milliliters of ointment. This ointment was almost in the category of scalability. At that time, he could set the price higher, package it well, make it a luxury product, and sell it in limited quantities, thus helping the Umbrella Corporation's pharmaceutical industry gain fame faster.
Iskar's eyes stared at the silver-haired youth with the ointment in his right hand, without blinking. She suddenly said, "Sephiroth, can you teach me swordsmanship?"
Hearing this, Sephiroth paused for a moment, raised his head, and looked at the young girl's immature cheeks. He chuckled and said, "Huh!? Teach you swordsmanship. Practicing the sword is a very hard job! Have you really gotten this enlightenment?"
"I'm ready for the enlightenment!"
"Uh!? Then start by swinging the sword 1,300 times a day! If you can persevere for a month, I will officially teach you swordsmanship."
"Okay! It's a deal!" As she spoke, Iskar raised her left hand and stretched out her little finger.
"It's a deal!" Seeing this scene, Sephiroth couldn't help but laugh. He raised his left hand and made a pinky promise with the girl, making an agreement between the two of them.
Like the story? You can read 7 chapters and an exclusive collection at p@treon/Rzzzy!