The wind whispered over the cliffs, brushing the long grasses and shrubs that grew at their bases gently from side to side. The island was calm, the sea stretching out for miles in a long unbroken aquamarine expanse.

Drifting across the tops of the cliffs came the faint sounds of conflict, clashing swords, explosions and the dying screams of various monsters. On a cliff path to the west of the isle, two men whirled and spun around a multitude of monsters of varying shapes and sizes, their two blades slashing and stabbing in a kaleidoscope of blood and flames.

The slightly taller of the two swept around in a blur of silver and black, his long thin blade lancing in and out of countless enemies with terrifying accuracy and speed, dispatching foe after foe with cold-minded detachment yet making sure that no blood touched his long silver hair.

The other fighter paused momentarily to draw a hand swiftly along his crimson sword, reigniting the glow that had all but faded with the slaying of so many enemies. His shoulder length auburn hair stirred in the breeze caused by his movement as he swirled around a monster in a dance of death.

The redhead straightened from dispatching the last enemy and brushed his fringe from his face, grinning at his companion.

"Nothing to it," he said, eyes half closed in amusement. He stabbed his sword into the ground and leant on it with a relaxed air, watching as the other man cleaned his blade with his back turned.

"Well, these were only a starter, Genesis," replied the taller man. He glanced at the redhead with gleaming emerald eyes. "I was going to..."

Suddenly his focus slipped to a point above Genesis' shoulder and his eyes widened in surprise. With a cry of warning he leapt onto the other man and bore him to the ground, not even stopping to pick up his masamune.

"Sephiroth, what-" began Genesis angrily, falling silent as the silver-haired SOLDIER cast three raging balls of fire at an unseen target. There was a surprised squawk and a feather of the vanquished Needle Kiss drifted into his line of sight before fizzling into sparks and disappearing.

Genesis stared at the tiny pile of ash in disbelief for a moment before turning his head back upwards, meeting Sephiroth's eyes. Genesis stirred slightly, thinking to push him off and stand, but something in the SOLDIER's gaze stopped him.

Sephiroth saw the shift in Genesis' expression as he continued to stare, acutely aware of the body pinned beneath him. He lost all sense of time passing as Genesis returned eye contact, forgetting where he was and what he was doing; the whole world had narrowed down to those two glowing sapphires and the swirling emotions in their depths.

Abruptly he was jerked back to reality by the sound of his mobile phone trilling, and he had never hated the slim black box as much as he did then. Genesis seemed equally disconcerted, his gaze slipping from Sephiroth's to the direction of the cheerful jingle. He smiled weakly.

"You should probably answer that," he said. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed imperceptibly in almost concealed irritation as he pushed himself to his feet. He reached inside his leather coat and pulled out the phone, flipping it open and turning away.

"Sephiroth?" A voice crackled from the speaker.

"Angeal. You are back from your assignment, I take it?"

"Yes, it was successful. My pupil is progressing well." There was a hint of pride in his voice, and Sephiroth sighed quietly.

He had never understood his friend's enjoyment of teaching; he found the lower ranked SOLDIERs and infantrymen tiresome, and ultimately useless.

"Good," he spoke back into the receiver. "Genesis and I have just finished a training session; we'll be with you in a moment."

"All right." Angeal hung up.

Behind Sephiroth, Genesis had picked himself off the floor and brushed dust from his red leather sleeves as Sephiroth scrolled down to the correct option on his mobile and aborted the mission, flicking the lid down as the island cliffs disintegrated around the two men.

Genesis removed his headset and tossed it casually aside, running a hand through his red hair.

"Guess we should go then," he said in a resigned tone. Sephiroth took off his own equipment and, fighting down confusion and previously unencountered emotions he turned to give Genesis an ironic smile, hiding behind his usual impenetrable persona.

"Because I know how much you enjoy Angeal's lectures," he said wryly. In reply, Genesis gave him a sarcastic look and tossed his head.

"Give me LOVELESS any day," he replied exasperatedly, earning a low chuckle from Sephiroth.

"I doubt anything could distract you from that book," he said, rolling his eyes. Genesis gave him an odd look that stirred a strange feeling in Sephiroth's stomach.

"I can think of a few things," he said cryptically and swept from the room, leaving Sephiroth with an unaccustomed feeling of emptiness.