Beyond the Veil

Disclaimer: I only own Ami-kun, the rest of everything is owned by other people, mostly Square-Enix. I'd like to thank everyone who has sent me feedback on this fic- you've all helped me out. I also would like to thank TsubasaWitch and LoreilDarksky00 for the first reviews since I've started the major re-write! Thanks to let me know at least someone reads this. ^_^

This just doesn't fit in the continuity of the fic, but it's just for fun.

Holiday Bonus Fluff

Ami gave Sephiroth an icy glare, getting one in return from the man who towered over her. He had given her a dress which had started off a stand-off. It didn't matter how fancy the dress was- it only mattered to her was that it was a dress. She had to admit that the fabric was very soft and smooth, but that didn't make her feel better about it.

"I'm. Not. Wearing. That. Thing," Ami stated, pouring as much venomous ice into each word as she could.

"Yes, you are," Sephiroth replied with as much iciness before a corner of his mouth lifted, "or would you rather I knock you out, disrobe you, put you in the dress and then use a phoenix down to wake you back up?"

"I've never worn a dress since I was six. I'm not going to start now. Why can't I just wear my SOLDIER uniform?"

"Because you're required to wear a dress to formal events since you're female," Sephiroth stated, "even Elena wears a dress to formal occasions even if she is a Turk."

Ami shifted her weight, crossing her arms in front of her since the dress was on the couch. She lifted her chin to glare right into his sapphire eyes. No one was going to put her in a dress- not now, not ever.

"Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged."

.:.

Ami glared at him as she walked to his left and slightly behind him. Her hair was dressed up, put up in such a way that she knew she couldn't replicate the hairstyle on her own- not that she wished to. She would rather keep her hair in styles that were simple enough that she could do without too much hairspray and gel. She swore her hair was as stiff as cardboard and was in such an elegant style that she hated it. She hated her hairstyle as much as the red satin dress with the wide neck that bunched up her modest assets and the matching red heels.

"You'll pay for this, Sephiroth," she hissed before the elevator doors opened and they were at the mercy of the party.

She saw as Lazard looked taken aback as did every single man around her age who she had seen while in SOLDIER uniform. Genesis looked surprised and Angeal looked startled. They had been standing right next to Lazard and were one of the first she saw. Then she saw a blonde-haired man who seemed about her age, his blonde hair slicked back, allowing his bangs to fall in his face. He stood a little behind Lazard, wearing a white suit and a black tie. He was flanked by two black suits that she knew were Turks. She saw the blonde man look at her in a way that she felt naked and analyzed at the same time. She knew who this man was and knew that he was trouble- after all, he was Rufus Shinra.

She somehow felt powerful as the single men looked at her in awe and surprise before they looked at her with appreciation and maybe a tiny bit of lust. She felt that the dress must have hid what fat still lingered on her frame or perhaps her training removed it all. She didn't care since she was more concerned each day about training.

However, she did feel naked without even her standard-issue sword. But she knew that Sephiroth carried Masamune on him and if weapons were needed, the Masamune would be out in an instant.

"I almost didn't recognize you, Ami," Lazard stated, taking a businesslike approach.

"Director Lazard," she replied with a nod, "I didn't know whether or not anyone I knew would be here."

"It's standard policy that the Executives and their best employees would be invited to the annual winter ball," Lazard replied, "Usually only First Class SOLDIER Operatives are invited, but you're a special case."

"That shade of red seems to go well with your fair complexion," Genesis stated with a smirk.

Ami raised her eyebrows at the man wearing his usual black and red outfit before asking, "are you flirting with me, Genesis?"

"Can't I just compliment you without you thinking I'm flirting with you?" Genesis asked.

"I guess," Ami stated with a shrug.

"So how much did you have to do to get Ami into the dress?" Angeal asked Sephiroth.

"I merely threatened to put it on her while she was unconscious to convince her," Sephiroth stated.

"Fufufufufu," Ami heard an annoying high-pitched laugh before seeing a woman in a tight red dress, her ample bosom nearly becoming free from its red sheath with each step, "it seems that red is a very popular color."

"It's not like I chose this dress. I would have preferred blue or purple, or even black," Ami stated, "if I weren't wearing this dress, I'd say only drama queens or complete snobs wear this color. But then again, I am wearing this dress and I can't say such things without rebounding on me since I am wearing this color and I don't seem to be a drama queen or a complete snob."

Genesis looked at her, surprised, shocked, and hurt before turning to Angeal and asked in a low voice, "Am I a drama queen?"

Her attention was focused on Scarlet to hear Genesis speak, instead hearing Scarlet's remark.

"We hardly have met and you seem to believe that I'm a complete snob or a drama queen," Scarlet stated.

"Well, back where I'm from most women with that kind of rack tends to hold it over those who are modestly modest like me," Ami stated before her voice and glance turned icy, "and I don't appreciate feeling inadequate like you wouldn't appreciate getting hit."

She felt a gloved hand on her shoulder before feeling that hand squeeze firmly- just enough that she knew that it was painful and the worst would happen was a bruise. She didn't need to look to see whose hand it was- she knew from experience that no one else had the guts or the cojones to do so. Not without threat of retaliation. She could see the irritation and comtempt in Scarlet's expression as Scarlet stepped forward so that they were as close to eye-to-eye as two people of different heights could be.

"Are you threatening me? Are you aware of what I can do to you and your reputation with the right words?" Scarlet asked.

"And are you aware of what I can do to you and your face with my right hand?" Ami asked.

"You wouldn't dare," Scarlet almost hissed, moments before Ami slapped Scarlet.

Ami merely used the same amount of force as she had remembered using to cause a painful slap that wouldn't even bruise. She realized right after her hand hit Scarlet's face that she heard a bit of a crack and felt some bones crack as if the woman's bones were as fragile as an eggshell. She heard echoing cracks as she swore her shoulder was being crushed, making her cry out from pain.

Rude and his partner Reno were watching the party when they heard a couple of raised voices and the sound of cracked bones. He watched as two women in red- one of them were Scarlet and another was a dark haired woman who seemed to be mostly muscle and had obviously just now starting to grow into a woman even if she did look around eighteen. He watched as the dark haired woman look like she was in pain before she turned so he could see Sephiroth's hand on the woman's shoulder- obviously squeezing before he remembered that he had done the same to the girl when they had been watching her.

"He's going to crush her shoulder if he isn't careful," Reno said, "we gotta do something."

"Like what? He's armed and can easily kill us," Rude stated, watching the scene before turning to where he swore his partner was, instead seeing open space.

'The boss isn't going to be happy,' Rude thought before sighing and looking for his partner.

"Excuse me, sir," Ami heard a calm voice say even through her pain, "but you're hurting that girl."

"So it seems that I am," Sephiroth replied.

"I suggest you let go of her."

"She isn't your concern."

"If you don't let her go, it will be."

She felt herself gasp with the relief of the sharp pain that gave way to the more manageable dull pain. She felt her being led somewhere as she opened her eyes, still seeing stars of pain in her vision. However, she did see through the blurred vision and stars, an expanse of red and an expanse of black. She was forced into a seat- not roughly like Sephiroth usually did, but gently.

"Let me take a look," the voice said, the cadence slow but the tone gentle and worried.

"I've been through worse," she stated, her vision cleared up until she recognized the facial tattoos and the mop of red hair.

"You've gotta be more careful 'round that guy. He's bad news, it seems," Reno stated, "even if he is your mentor in SOLDIER. So what was that deal with Scarlet?"

"She was being a snob to me, actin' like I disgraced her just by wearin' red, y'know? One can't claim a color like one can claim turf," Ami stated, relaxing, "that and this is just...different than what I'm used to. Parties back there are potential gunfights waiting to happen. People insult each other, shrug off the snubs and walk away or start a fist fight. This is far more fancier than anythin' I've ever been to."

"I know the feeling," Reno agreed with a nod.

"I know I'm not high class material."

"You an' me both, yo."

"I see you have a new friend," a voice stated gruffly.

"Heya Rude. This is Ami, a Third Class in SOLDIER."

Ami nodded to Rude before hearing a slight noise behind her before she twirled around, ready to defend herself. Instead, she faced a man who she swore looked Oriental and wore a black suit. His hands were in his pockets.

"I had no wish to harm you, Miss Durrell," the man said.

"Wow. You have insane reflexes, yo," Reno stated.

"I grew up in a place that would make Midgar's slums seem inviting," Ami stated, "lived on the streets a good amount."

"You may have been a good candidate for the Turks if SOLDIER hadn't claimed you," the man stated, "I'm Tseng of the Turks."

Ami offered her hand to him, "And you seem to know who I am."

"Yes. Reno and I were watching your fight with the altered Behemoth on the streets and you were using a length of pipe."

"Yeah. That was an awesome fight, yo."

"It seems that you are more skilled at making friends than I thought," a calm voice stated from behind Ami.

"I will ensure that my people will limit their interference with your pupil's discipline," Tseng stated.

Ami turned around to see Sephiroth who was wearing his battle uniform and a cold glance at her.

"We are leaving, Ami," Sephiroth stated, "it seems that your actions have worried some people here."

Ami nodded before turning to the Turks.

"See ya guys around," she stated before following Sephiroth.

"She seems to be an interesting girl," Rude stated.

"I just wanna ask somethin' boss- why?"

"Hm?"

"Why can't we interfere when we see Sephiroth hurt Ami?"

"Ami's a SOLDIER Operative, not a Turk. She is supposed to be someone expected to handle herself."

"I guess..."

.:.

Author's Note: 12/26/10

I apologize for not posting at all. I've been busy and my life's been annoying to say the least. On Thursday (the 23rd for those who don't know), Roommate's compy's screen died and since Roommate and I have been sharing my laptop and that means hardly any time to spend on working on BtV. T_T

And that's just leading up to the real annoyances. The next day (or Xmas Eve), I mistakenly thought it was Christmas Day and showed up at my stepmom's place. My stepmom decided that since everyone was going to be there that night anyways and since a few of us have to rely on public transportation, it would be easier to just do all of the Christmas Day festivities that day. So we unwrapped presents and had dinner, all the while hearing my stepmom's boyfriend tell everyone else how stupid Roommate and I are for not using our computers' calendars to see when Christmas was. In Roommate's defense- he's culturally Jewish and isn't supposed to know when Christmas was. In my defense, I was just an idiot.

I wound up getting only four presents (I don't care how many things I get, really) but some of them were kinda...sucky. I got a small tin box that had three of those cheap cinnamon rolls, a package of miniature peanut butter cups, and a package of gummy bears; a Magic the Gathering Intro Pack for M11 (the mostly Blue one), a M11 Fat Pack (the first pack I opened had Chandra Nalaar), and a pair of headphones.

What really got me yesterday was that I was trying to use my headphones for the second time and I noticed that I was getting no sound. I realized why- my cat chewed through the cord. So now, all I got is an empty tin canister which I'm using to hold various types of dice (I'm a tabletop gamer too), an empty fat pack box, and a pair of broken headphones that I plan on repairing in a week or two (all I need to do is expose the wires, get the wires hot enough to burn off the sealant, match the wires, twist each match together, wrap each pair with electrical tape, and then cover the wires with electrical tape.)

I really don't care about Christmas all that much, well, not the getting part. I see it as a holiday whose sole purpose is to thank one's friends and family for putting up with you that year and bribe them to still be around the next year while being forced to do various embarrassing things by family. Just because a family is a usually sadistic group of family who likes to force you into conforming. In other words, for the first time in my life, I was forced to remove my favorite shirt just to wear a red shirt because everyone else is wearing red shirts and get in a family photo with people who are either continually criticizing me over how I deal with my back pain, the state of my apartment (a side-effect of how I deal with said back pain), the guys I've dated (okay, they have more than ample ground to criticize), and/or those who are younger than me with three boys and refers to me behind my back as "the retard" while not realizing that within the next ten years, I will be having a job that allows me to make something of my life while their sole achievement would be that they lived to see their late twenties.

I'm just depressed as I usually am around this time of the year. Partly because of a span of one hellish week. On the 14th of December was my dad's birthday, on the 19th is the anniversary of his death (he's been dead for two years now), and then the torture of Christmas on the 24th or 25th. Yeah, it's not fun. Like having a loving, affectionate, playful furball who seems to enjoy destroying expansive video game consoles and headphones. I just wish I can teach him not to destroy video game consoles and headphones. I don't want to get rid of him because he's really a part of my life- he's always around me and is a rather good cat when he isn't being destructive or uber playful (he bites when he plays but it's one of those bites that are painful but never breaks the skin).

Well, I think I complained enough.

Laters!

~Gregora