Kets Port Town, the Son of the Sea Restaurant.
"This rainbow ice cream cake is amazing!"
Perona scooped a bite with her spoon and savored it.
Orange, blue, red, yellow, green, purple, cyan—seven distinct layers, each a different fruit flavor. Complex and wonderful. The young girl was completely absorbed.
Sephiroth glanced over the top of his newspaper. The small plate in front of Perona was already empty.
He set the paper down. "Don't fill up on dessert. You won't have room for the actual meal."
"Don't worry! Sweets go in a separate stomach," Perona said, waving a hand.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
The sound of uniform, marching footsteps filled the restaurant.
Through his Observation Haki, Sephiroth sensed hundreds of people arriving outside, surrounding the building.
Patrons scrambled to their feet, panicked, ready to bolt for the doors.
A man in a long robe strode in, a mouse-eared cap on his head and six whiskers tattooed on his cheeks. The Bearded Soldier from before followed at his heels, looking smug.
The man with the whiskers crossed his arms, a nasty smile on his face. "Nobody move! Stay put if you know what's good for you!"
Outside, Marines shouldered their rifles and aimed into the dining room. The guests froze, faces pale.
The Bearded Soldier scanned the room. His eyes landed on the back of a silver-haired head and the three girls at the table.
He pointed. "Major Mouse! That's them! They insulted the Marines and assaulted me!"
"Oh?" Major Mouse's eyes narrowed to slits. "They dare insult the Marines? Quite the nerve."
He looked over the three young women and the one man at the table. The girls seemed harmless enough.
His gaze finally settled on his target: the silver-haired man who still had his back turned, calmly reading his newspaper.
Major Mouse stepped forward quickly, drew the pistol from his waist, and pressed the barrel against the back of the man's head.
"Kid. You actually dare insult the Marines. This isn't going to be easy to walk away from."
Perona's hand twitched, ghostly mist beginning to coalesce in her palm. Sephiroth raised a slight hand, stopping her.
He turned to look at Major Mouse, a spark of amusement in his eyes. "And how do you propose we settle it?"
The next instant.
*Thump.*
The moment he saw the silver-haired young man's face clearly, Major Mouse's knees gave out. He dropped straight to the floor.
Holy hell. It's over. Isn't this the newly appointed Commander of the 16th Branch?
As a base officer, Major Mouse certainly knew of Sephiroth—the Commander who had taken a three-month leave before even assuming his post.
But...
He never imagined his first formal meeting with his direct superior would be like this.
Then he remembered the stories about Rear Admiral Sephiroth. How during the Marine inquiry, he'd slapped Investigator Doro without a word and knocked him flat.
Fear and dread flooded his heart, cold and heavy.
Now, he had offended Sephiroth even more severely than that Investigator named Doro!
He couldn't imagine what would happen to him next.
Major Mouse trembled, his face pale with fear. He stammered:
"R-Rear Admiral… Rear Admiral Sephiroth! Th-this is all a misunderstanding!"
*Gulp.*
When Bearded Soldier heard Major Mouse address the silver-haired young man, his whole body went numb. His mind buzzed.
Rear Admiral Sephiroth… Commander of Navy Branch 16… his direct superior.
The moment he realized it, Bearded Soldier dropped to his knees with a *thump*.
He went even further, pressing his forehead to the floor.
"Rear Admiral Sephiroth, I'm sorry! I was blind! I didn't recognize you! Please forgive me!"
The guests who'd been ordered not to leave watched in stunned silence.
Major Mouse—that bully who pushed ordinary people around—had finally met his match.
It was satisfying.
For a moment, the restaurant's atmosphere turned strange. Even the armed soldiers blocking the entrance were utterly confused.
Sephiroth just glanced at Major Mouse and Bearded Soldier. Then he turned to the restaurant owner, who stood nearby, and muttered:
"Boss, where's the food? Could you hurry the kitchen up?"
The owner blinked, then nodded rapidly.
"Oh! Right, right—I'll go hurry them up now…"
He scurried into the back kitchen and told the cooks to speed up.
Sephiroth noticed the remaining guests still standing there, lost.
He smiled and said:
"Everyone, eat. Drink. Don't worry. If you want to leave, no one will stop you. No one will hurt you." He paused. "Right, Major Mouse?"
"Yes! Yes! Rear Admiral Sephiroth, you're absolutely right! No one will stop them…"
Major Mouse forced a smile and began to stand.
"Did I say you could stand?" Sephiroth's voice was cold.
*Thump.*
Major Mouse's knees buckled. He dropped back to the floor.
Soy-sauce conch, banana shrimp rolls, golden curry crab, crispy tuna rolls, seafood salad… more than twenty dishes covered the table.
Sephiroth and the other three sat in chairs, enjoying the meal. Major Mouse and Bearded Soldier stayed on their knees. A hundred soldiers stood outside, weapons in hand, looking bewildered.
Elsewhere in Kets Port Town, spectators drawn to drama began to gather, curious how this would end.
Kneeling on the floor, Major Mouse was drowning in regret.
Why had his hand been so damn itchy?
He'd pulled a gun. He'd pointed it at his superior's head.
By military law, that was mutiny. Rebellion. Punishable by firing squad on the spot.
Resistance was impossible.
The man before him was a monster who could trade blows with Admiral Akainu. What could he possibly do against that?
Now, he only hoped that Sephiroth would spare his life, given his sincere attitude of admitting his mistake…