The Civilian

XIV

A decade ago the world was saved by a single man, his blood was the reason why a war that had shed so much more stopped. No one had been with the Hero when he drew his final breath. Shin Ra had found his body and notified his family of his passing.

A war was completed and families were left to mourn the loss of their friends and family members. Everyone was different on how long that they mourned for, all except for the [Surname] family. This family was different, in constant reminder of the husband, the father, that they loss.

For he was the Hero that gave his life in order to stop the war.

His wife, Cosmos, was the one who never fully repaired herself from what she experienced. Digging her own hole in work, trying to provide even more for her children despite the fact that Shin Ra sent money to the family. Denzel remained an immature young man, like any other teenage boy. Finding that having fun and getting in trouble could possibly cover up any lingering sadness.

Then there was his daughter, [Name] [Surname]. Like Denzel, she loved her father dearly but had a stronger bond with the SOLDIER. When she found out that her father was dead, something changed within that eight year old.

Something that left her vulnerable to something else.

Then, the twins learned that they had abilities, ones that Comos recognized as abilities that only she and other SOLDIERs could do. Cosmos never contacted Shin Ra, they would never know of her children's abilities.

If she decided not to keep that threat of sending her 'son' to Military School.

".... Cissnei considers my brother and I to be 'second generation' of SOLDIERs." You told Marluixa, nursing the beverage in front of you. There was a large plate of food situated between the three of you, everyone was sharing and picking at what they wanted.

He was quiet, the entire time that you and Cissnei were explaining everything thus far and from your childhood. He remained quiet and every so often would nod his head or smile if you found yourself faltering in the explanation.

Marluxia smiled and relaxed in his seat. "This is even more of a reason why you should be a SOLDIER, you're a literal natural at all of this, [Name]. The only thing is," His thoughts ran to the end of their training, that's when the Jenova cells would be injected. "At the end of our training we receive the Jenova cells. What would happen if you were injected with even more of the stuff?"

You looked at Cissnei, you were good at biology in school but just enough that you could pass with good grades and what would look good when you attempted to apply for college.

The auburn haired Turk student was in thought, she hadn't thought about what would happen if your body was introduced to more Jenova cells. Being born with cells already in the body was something that Shin Ra never expected and so, there was no research into the topic of how the body would react even more.

"I can't say anything honestly... far as we know, [Name] and Denzel are the only two born with high levels of Jenova cells in their bodies. We know that other SOLDIERs from the war moved on and some of them had families... but I don't think that many were affected like they were." Cissnei tapped her chin with her index finger, remembering that Shin Ra kept an eye on SOLDIER families after the war.

After last night, Cissnei continued to do some more digging on Cosmos [Surname]. She was considered to be the only female SOLDIER during that time period, there were other women but... she was the only one who took to the Jenova cells better than the others.

Her file had mentioned that she was discharged during the war because she found out that she was pregnant, with [Name] and Denzel obviously. The other women that received Jenova cells never went on to have children from what Cissnei was able to find.

Thus, it was a possibility that the Jenova cells made women infertile hence the reason why female SOLDIERs weren't allowed. Shaking her head, Cissnei rethought about the process. It was Daybreak that didn't allow female SOLDIERs, she didn't pay attention to women from Gaia. Were there women SOLDIERs... ?

"It's possible that the Jenova Cells didn't affect the men's sperm, so it all came from Cosmos' blood..." Frowning Cissnei remembered the blood transfusion. "Cosmos... did receive a blood transfusion shortly before she was discharged. Those with Jenova cells must receive blood from another person with Jenova cells, it's likely that from the blood transfusion that you and Denzel were introduced to the high levels."

Marluxia nodded his head in agreement. "It makes a lot of sense actually. The instructors go into detailed explanations of this stuff, really making sure that some of us are ready for what may follow after we become full fledged SOLDIERs. But still, [Name] is a natural SOLDIER, she should really become part of the program."

That's when the pink haired student found himself under the intense glare of the auburn haired Turk student. "We don't know what another dosage of Jenova cells would do to her though!" There was silence for a few moments before Cissnei brought up an idea that you dreaded.

"We could tell them, that you're here instead of Denzel. I mean, even if you still pretended to be Denzel, they can know about the levels of Jenova cells." She looked over at you curiously, to see your reaction.

You were afraid, if they knew that you could do something like this, it was serious. They would alert your mother and then the company, or the otherway around. You and Denzel were a special case, no one else could do the things that the two of you could do. "They can't know Ciss! By knowing that 'Denzel' can transform means they'll assume 'I' can. They'll go back to Hollow Bastion and request that they have [Name] attend just to find out that I'm actually here and he isn't."

You were bouncing your leg in nervousness. "If I'm going to make SOLDIER, I need to do it fairly. No telling anyone anything." [Colour] eyes looked up towards the blue and the green eyes that were looking at you intently.

Marluixa groaned and hung his head backwards, long pink hair becoming stuck between his back and the back of the chair. "I don't know about that... They seemed pretty serious about where you end up is where you stay." Sitting back up, the SOLDIER student frowned when he followed the thought of you becoming a SOLDIER instead of remaining a Turk.

Shaking your head, you ran your fingers through your hair. "No, I need to become part of SOLDIER. You guys know and agree with me about that..." You frowned, looking at the faces of Marluxia and Cissnei.

"Unless..." The pink haired male started to speak slowly. "Emma and I have spoken here and there about the SOLDIER program. This is something that they don't want other students to know, but,"

There was an eerie silence when Marluxia stopped speaking, you watched as he struggled with the idea of sharing this piece of information. His face appeared more flush, eyes darting slightly about. You parted your lips, ready to tell him not to worry about it. There had to be other ways.

"If one SOLDIER student steps down from the program, they need to be replaced." The silence was no longer eerie, it was more of that pregnant silence as if someone admitted that they were, well, pregnant. Instead, Marluxia admitted there was a way for you to join SOLDIER. "This Academy is built for the idea of SOLDIERs, if Shin Ra doesn't have the slotted SOLDIER student numbers, then they could lose funding."

The student leaned forward, elbow on the table and head resting against his clenched fist. "I'll step down, for you [Name]," He smiled toward you, despite the fact that you had a shocked expression. Suddenly, you felt yourself furiously shake your head.

"No, no! Why? Isn't that why you and so many other people came here? To become a SOLDIER?"

All the smug and selfless bastard did was chuckle and gently place his hand upon your tense shoulder. "Really. I came here to get out of my boring town and life. Braig doesn't like me anyways, yeah sure we know he has a vendetta against you but that's what will make it worth it. Prove him wrong, [Name]. You're stronger and faster than the rest of us, you just need professional training. You've got the equipment, no pun intended, just need to really learn how to use it."

In awe, you stared at this young man in awe. You smiled before hugging him tightly, saying thank you over and over.

While you were busy with the hugging and the thanking, you were missing the deep pink blush that matched Marluxia hair, all the while Cissnei was giggling and taking a quick picture.