Life Finds a Way

Chapter 37

Clarissa had not made it far from the awards hall when she was stopped by Genesis. "Congratulations. It looks like I underestimated you."

She wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or not and it showed when she frowned up at him. "I know that my swordsmanship still needs a lot of work, but I worked hard to get as far as I did. I take it that means you had nothing to do with assigning my rank?"

He held up both hands to ward off her anger. "It was not my intention to insult you. I am merely surprised since you started out so insistent on the fact that you were not made for combat. You have picked it up surprisingly well."

She finally relented and gave him a smile. "I had a great teacher. That really helped." He smiled in return, but she stopped him before he could say anything. "You didn't say if you had anything to do with my rank though?"

He waved off her concern before tucking her hand in his arm and starting them towards the elevators. "Of course, they would not allow me to have input on my own student. Sephiroth and Angeal worked with your instructors to determine the rank. You may not realize it, but with your natural aptitude for magic, and your sharp tactical mind, you are already on your way to making First in record time. If you could improve your melee skills, it would not take long at all."

Clarissa hadn't objected when he pulled her down the hall, but at his words, she paused. "You are suspiciously complimentary today. What's going on?"

He looked affronted at her claim but couldn't hold it long. "I am merely stating what I have thought for several weeks now. It wouldn't have done you any good for you to think that you no longer needed improvement, so I withheld that opinion. Now, you deserve to know. I would recommend that you still try not to allow it to expand your ego. You are closer than most cadets, or even thirds, but you still have a long way to go."

She rolled her eyes at him. He really wasn't one to be giving that advice to her, but she didn't share that opinion with him. Instead she asked another question. "Where exactly are we going?"

He didn't say anything right away, but when they exited the elevator on the Soldier floor, he pulled her down a familiar hallway. "There is something I would like to give you, as a congratulatory gift."

She knew better than to ask him what it was. She would find out when they got to their destination. When they stopped in front of his office, he opened the door for her to enter first. He didn't say anything before he moved behind his desk and stooped to pull something out from below it. Her eyes widened as far as they would go when he handed her two beautifully sheathed swords. She tentatively reached out to take them from his hands before reverently running a hand down the scrollwork on the sheath. When she looked back up to him, she couldn't hide her radiant smile. "They're beautiful!" Her smile dropped a little when the significance of the gift really hit her. "These are the most beautiful kōdachi I have ever seen, but I can't accept them. They are far too much."

He raised a brow at her comment but pushed them back towards her. "After your display during your trial, it was easy to see that you would function best with two light swords instead of one large one. These are not just a gift, but a start on furthering your training. It will take some time for you to get used to using two swords that are the same length, so you might as well have a good pair to learn with."

She was floored. She knew the swords she held had to have been expensive, especially if they came from Wutai, like they seemed to have. She shook her head again but didn't try to hand them back. Before she could formulate a proper response, Genesis spoke up again. "Consider them a gift for getting into Soldier. You worked incredibly hard to accomplish something that I thought impossible when you first started."