Chapter One

Graceona

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I was standing next to Leonard, who was speaking to Rufus, the blond-haired man that sat behind the desk, staring at Leonard. Who had accepted a long-standing invitation to join the ShinRa Team. Leonard smiled as I looked at him. "All right, Rufus. I believe we've agreed. Graceona being above me on a job site isn't much different from our life at home. I have no problem being second in command to her. But why do you give me such a high level just because I finally accepted your offer?"

The blond man exhaled a sigh. "Well, you can thank your wife for that. Plus, I can't have her leave because she's dissatisfied. She is my company's sole General. And she has made her position and condition very clear where I stand in lowering your rank." he leaned back into his seat. "As you can see. My company and I are in a bad way. Because there are so few employees left in the company, I can't be cavalier with my employees' demands."

Leonard sighed and looked at me. "Grace, did you blackmail him into giving me this job? Couldn't I have begun at the bottom and worked my way up, earning my reputation?"

I shrugged my shoulders at Leonard's request as the blond president chuckled. "Leonard, you don't realize that even if you were new, you would never have been lower than a SOLDIER rank. Based solely on the Jenova cells you carry."

Leonard turned to face the man who was sitting casually with his arms folded on the polished oak desk that separated the two of us from himself and Reno and Rude, who stood behind him. Leonard exhaled a sigh. As I looked at him, he let go of whatever words he wanted to say. "Thank you very much, Rufus."

Leonard's thanks seemed forced rather than genuine. I could feel the regret ooze from the man who had taken the job of a company that he had grown to despise over the years. Over the company's history with his parents' suffering, as well as the Wars. I had only hoped that Rufus was unaware of Leonard's predicament. Over the years, he had fought a battle that had robbed him of his innocence, a battle that had robbed him of everything. A once-innocent, bouncy young man became distant, hiding behind masks. He was spiraling into a deep depression, and none of us, including myself, realized the toll the Wars were having on him until it was too late. I constantly kick myself for my stupidity, for not assisting the young man who had always been there for me while I struggled. I got peace from the young man, but when he required it. I had inadvertently turned him away. This thought prompted a sigh as the surrounding men stared. I adjusted my jacket sleeve. "That's all there is to it, Rufus. Leonard and I must depart. Just text us our schedules, and we'll be here."

The blond man turned to face me. "Excellent. Have a wonderful day, you two."

The men were still staring at me. Was my sigh a clear sign of my anguish?" I had hoped not, but the stares of those in the room with me revealed some signs of concern. Rufus sat back in his large black leather seat, his gaze never leaving us. I casually grabbed Leonard's hand, leading him out of the lodge. I shut the door once I was outside. Leonard was staring at me, and I was staring back. "If you want to back down from this, Leonard. I understand." I squeezed his hand, gently assuring him I was still here and ready to support him in this silent battle, even if he hadn't asked for it. I was ready and willing to reapply the gloves I thought I had removed only a month before. I brushed my fingers through his short brown hair. He looked at me; silence fell between us for a few moments as his gaze shifted to the ground.

"No, there isn't any need for it. Don't be concerned, let's go get going, let go home." he walked towards the truck, as I followed him. Was his remark in response to my remark or the look I had given him? Was he implying that there was no inner conflict? Was it? Was he trying to say that he didn't want to stop the job that he had recently been given, or was it a statement for both the job and the emotional battles that I couldn't shake as I climbed into the driver's seat of the large cab truck that awaited us at the bottom of the lodge's metallic steps?

I closed the door with a loud bang, started the engine, and drove away from the lodge on a fine dirt trail. The tension in the truck could be cut with a knife, and the loud sound of the engine, which had previously brought me comfort and company, felt empty, and that emptiness was the only sound within earshot. I let a sigh out as I turned to face the man across from me. As his attention was drawn to the surroundings as they passed us by, I wasn't the only one in the entrapped situation experiencing crippling tension. I smiled to dispel the gloom that had descended on my haven. "It's a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining brightly, and the grass is greener in this area. It's lovely, isn't it?"

"It's nice, yeah." that was the only thing that came from the man across from me. His arm rested on the armrest between the seats, his other arm on his lap, his gaze never leaving the scene outside his window.

"I have the impression that you are rethinking your decision to join ShinRa. Just know that I don't blame you if you decide not to go through with this. I can see your point of view. I believe anyone would, including Rufus." finally, the man turned to face me.

"No, it's not true." As he looked at the floor, the tone in his voice failed to convey the sincerity of his words. The lie persuaded neither of us. He exhaled a sigh. "Is there anything I can do about it? You know I'm too stubborn to give up. I've got to see this through now. I don't have time for reminiscences." he shrugged his shoulders as he looked at me again. "It wasn't Rufus who had caused the damage to my family. Rufus didn't order the experiments to take place during the pregnancy to Sephiroth. I can't blame him for what his father ordered. I try to think that Rufus is a decent person, that I've found nothing to label him as a snake over. But his father. He is another case."

I looked back at the road. "Even now, you don't have the answers to everything. You've grown, but at the rate you've grown, Leonard. I'm fearful. What will you grow into? You have Sephiroth's DNA. I know you are struggling. I have seen some signs pointing towards a breakdown, but somehow you bounce back into character in a blink of an eye. How much longer will that fight last? Will you be able to snap back into character until you finally lose control of yourself? It scares me. I don't want to lose you again. Because what personality of you would I get next time around? You were a wonderful person, a young, innocent young man with a bubbly personality. Now you are as morbid, if not more so, than Tsung." I laughed a bit. "And trust me when I say that no one in the ShinRa family thought that Tsung would have ever met his match, or even had someone put the Turk leader on the backside of the terse, joy kill behavior. I miss you, the man that I first met. The bubbly childlike man, he seemed like he knew where true happiness lived." I sighed.

"Him? Why him? I was a pest to everyone back then. Back then, I thought Yuffie was the best thing in the universe. I don't miss him at all." He sighed at the recollection of the young man that he once was. A sigh that I could tell he didn't want that side of himself back.

"I miss his hyperactive self, his carefree spirit. Where, Leonard? Where have you locked him up at? Where can I go to find him and bring him back home where he belongs?"

Leonard sighed. "Graceona, people grow and they change. Nothing happened to him. He's just not someone who is frozen in time. He grew up, he has those he is willing to protect. A lot has changed for him now that he has a family. That part of me is gone, and I don't want to bring him back. I'm sorry, but I'm happy with the way I am, happy with the man I have become."

I sighed, my focus on the road in front of me. "So, you up for some breakfast at Yazoo's while we're here? If not, I can cook us something to eat once we get home. I'm feeling hungry myself. I don't know about you." He looked at me. His face showed the relief that flooded from him at the change of subject. "We've been busy since before the sun even came out. Breakfast sounds pretty good right now."

"Yeah, I'm hungry too." I looked at him. Thinking of my brothers, the three of them had stayed behind, paying rent for the home that we had moved from. The home that we had moved into was big enough for a family of six, the main reason I had bought it. Now we had three empty bedrooms, leaving them open in case the three of them changed their minds and came back home. However, the three of them seemed excited to be living on their own, even getting jobs of their own. Kadaj works for CID every Wednesday and Friday, working at the bar for the rest of the week. Loz had, over his time with Kadaj, become a master of weapons. So, he followed his passion and worked in the weapons shop. The owner and he get along smoothly, the owner going as far as treating the oldest brother as the son that he never had, considering he only had one daughter. Yazoo has followed in my footsteps of becoming an author. With the side job of being one of Midgar Edge's go-to chefs, his place of business is a once run-down old building that he had made into a popular eating establishment over the past month. Leonard and I often check on him. Until he had gotten delivery drivers. It was a family business. Now, with some help, he has everything he needs.

The two of us got to the medium-sized building as I parked the truck in the small parking space. Turning the engine off, the two of us made our way into the establishment. Once inside the polished wooden doors, the smell of food hovered in the restaurant. Yazoo stood at a table, presumably taking the person's order. Leonard and I took our seats, waiting to be served. Not long after, Yazoo walked over to us. "Well, hello, look what finally came back." A grin played across his lips. "What can I get for you two?"

"Hilarious." I heard Leonard's sarcasm as he looked at the young man beside the table. "I'll just take the usual, with a glass of orange juice."

"Alright." The youth jotted Leonard's order down, looking at me. "Grace, I need to talk to you about my book before the two of you leave. Do you have time? Or are you two in a hurry?"

"I have time. We can talk about it right now. By the way, I'll take today's special with some orange juice as well." He jotted down my order, holding the pad against his chest.

"Well, my book got published. I have the copies. Would you like a copy of my book? I also have our rent money for the house, as well as my payment for you buying this restaurant for me."

I looked at him. "Yeah, we want copies of your book. But Yazoo, I never wanted you to pay me back for the restaurant. This was a gift. You keep the money for that. You three are early for the rent. Business must be booming."

"I get two-hundred dollars in tips on busy nights." He reached into his shirt pocket, got an envelope, and handed it to me, as I sat it down on the table. He looked at

Leonard. "Do you want some tea to take home?"

Leonard looked up from his menu. "Yeah, sounds great."

"Alright, I'll go get these orders and be with you two soon." The teen walked away from us.

I sighed, looking at the envelope on the table. "Do you think charging them rent on a house is a bad thing?"

Leonard shrugged his shoulders. "It seems like it's teaching them responsibilities, plus didn't the three of them offer to make the payments? I don't see the harm in teaching them things, just put the money in a safe or something. If you feel guilty, don't spend any of it and work on a way to give it back to them. That's what I would do if I didn't want payment and someone gave it to me. Take it and make them feel better, especially if it is teaching them an important lesson."

"I've been putting it into a bank I made for the three of them. Seems like the two of us think the same about certain things."

"I suppose." Leonard looked at me. "I thought the two of us agreed on most things."

"Most things, yes. You do things I don't agree with, but overall, I have to say I agree with you ninety-seven percent of the time. Though I do often question your decision-making skills. And that is a 100% of the time thing."

"Sometimes I hit it lucky and come up with a good decision on my own."

"Yes, sometimes you hit it lucky."

"I finally accepted a job offer, so now you don't have to be the one supporting the family."

"You hit that one fifty percent lucky. I feel you accepted that one because of men's pride and having your wife support you and the family. You've yet to prove the other fifty percent."

He leaned back. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to have your own money to spend without having to ask someone else for it."

"Right, but ShinRa? There are plenty of other businesses you could have gotten employed with, and not gotten into a place that you detest."

"True, but I wanted us to be together. I don't want to relive those assumptions and be the downfall of my family. I can't feel distant from you if they do not separate us."

"I suppose you have a point." I leaned towards him. "If fear of being separated scares you, I suppose you have a good point."

"Grace, why else would I join ShinRa if it weren't something I feared? That month away from my family was rough. I don't want it to happen again. I don't think that I can handle another lonely month, not in the mindset that I'm facing right now. I'll tell you it flat out, mentally I'm not able to suffer that way again. I promised Kourtney, I wouldn't do it again and in this state of mind. I fear my fate. Should I allow assumptions to rule my judgment again, I couldn't do something that crazy. Not with the sacrifice my father made to see me alive. I couldn't do that to him."

He sighed, leaning back into his seat, looking at the table. A silent tear fell from his eyes onto the wooden surface of the table. "Joining ShinRa isn't a thrill for me, but I would take it on any day for my family. Being together with them, all of them. You, Kourt, and the boys. My only purpose in life, the reason I keep fighting, is to see all of you. To see Kourtney, grow, to see Kadaj overcome his struggles. It seems you, Loz, and Yazoo have a grip on the one thing I had always thought I knew, but in reality, I'm clueless of where true happiness lingers, where genuine hope lies." He stopped. "I need to step outside for a minute." He stood up, walking outside. The door chimed behind him.