"The Little Things"

The pub was filled with the usual crowd. Drunkards. College students looking for a good time with little ID checks as possible. People recently laid off by Shinra because of their plant exploding. Karen was new in town so when her date decided it would be best to bring her here, she shrugged and accepted it. Midgar was the place to be these days. That or some card dealer at the Gold Saucer. Jobs weren't as in demand as the mako flowing underneath them. Karen turned to her date.

"Really? Taking me here on a first late? Isn't this something we do on a fourth or even a third date?"

He wasn't the most sober either.

"Babes, world's going to end any day now and you have a problem with where we're eating. Shit the plate can fall on us like…whatever the hell the place was around here but, yeah, that can happen too."

"It's kinda smoky in here. I might get emphysema before any of that."

"I know what you need. You need a drink."

"I need some air, actually."

She pushed him aside and walked outside.

"Last time I date someone off the internet."

She walked through the dirty, discolored streets as the muted glow of mako lit up the night. She had an apartment in this neighborhood because the rent was cheaper than on the upper plates. Of course, it wasn't the best area. Crime was about as common as water and the sun only came in through the cracks. It was not uncommon to come up to a body still bleeding out on the streets. It didn't matter that Meteor would hit the planet around these parts. To them, the apocalypse already came and gone.

A neon light shined a little brighter on her way. It said "Apocalypse Special: All Ramen dishes for ONE Gil!" She looked in her purse and saw she had 4 pieces left.

"At least I can get something to drink as well."

She stepped on in and saw that there weren't that many people left. The server at the counter looked up at her.

"Finally! You wouldn't believe what impending doom does on your business. I should've invested in bomb shelters instead. Come in! Take a seat. I just ramble to myself nowadays."

"Could I get…well, just make whatever you recommend."

"I always wanted to answer that! I have the perfect dish. Absolutely perfect."

She sat down at the counter and watched him prep the kitchen for cooking. He put on some earphones as he concentrated on making a fresh batch of his ramen dish. She concentrated so intensely on his cooking that he didn't see someone else come in and sit next to her.

"Hey. Cook up another batch for me too while you're at it."

The server nodded and put up another bowl. She turned to the stranger sitting next to her. He had long, flowing silvery hair and wore all black. Karen stared at him.

"You look familiar."

"I get that a lot lately."

"Sorry, you must be a celebrity or something. I don't want to bug you."

"No, no. It's fine. I enjoy the company. My name's Sephiroth, by the way."

A chill went up her spine.

"Karen. What brings you to Midgar, Seph? You don't mind if I suddenly abbreviate your name? Please don't kill me."

"No. I'm fine with that. You probably would never understand why I came back here."

"Nah, come on. You might be a celebrity or whatever you are but we're just ordinary people here."

"Well, I came back here for this one restaurant."

"It really is that good?"

"I've been all over the world but I have yet to find a place that could make ramen this. You know, it's the little things like this that make me upset about the apocalypse. I'll never be able to enjoy this ramen again. Or the little bit of sun that comes in from the cracks on the upper plate. My gods, I've seen so much beauty in this world. I hate to see it all go."

"Then why don't you stop it?'

"Can't. I would say more but I came here to enjoy this ramen."

"Oh. Yeah. I see."

They sat in awkward silence as the water started to boil. He turned to her.

"So…what have you been up to tonight?"

"Well…I went on a date."

"Didn't go over so well, huh?"

"Not exactly. What tipped you off?"

"Come on. Ramen. Alone on a Saturday night. I'm a megalomaniacal psychopath and I can even see how transparent this is."

"You refer to yourself as a psychopath?"

"Just to scare people. You have no idea how it creeps people out."

"You must know some good jokes."

"Excuse me?"

"Jokes. About being crazy."

"Oh. Not really. I'm usually a lot more rigid."

"You've had a little hair of the dog tonight too?"

"Just a weeee bit. Destroying the world and then remaking it is a lot of pressure."

"Orders up!"

The ramen dishes were placed in front of them. He took a deep whiff of the soup.

"They can never get the spices right anywhere else."

He picked up the pork with his hands and chowed it down. Karen took some sips of the soup first.

"So, what are your plans when you remake the world?"

"Oh? That? I've had some ideas knocking around my head but I haven't made any clear plans yet. To start, I was thinking of probably creating a new species. Some sort of master race that would create some rudimentary agricultural-based economic system revolving around me, of course."

"I bet they couldn't make ramen this good. Wow. You weren't kidding about this."

"I KNOW, right? Just wait till you start with the noodles."

"I'm loving it already."

"Damnit, I've been talking too much about myself. How about you? What do you like to read?"

"I just finished 'SEEDs of Our Discontent.'"

"Everyone's reading that book nowadays. I don't get it."

"What? It's very accessible and it has a pretty good love story."

"Seriously, the writer doesn't know a damn thing about writing. Every chapter is like four pages long and they all end on a cliffhanger. And I see all those twists coming from a mile away. The summoner is behind it all? Please."

"The love story is what really sells it. I mean, yeah, it has a lot of story flaws but you really become invested in these characters after three books."

"And they never have sex! What is the writer trying to prove? His whole idea about relationships is screwed up. It's not okay to have sex but it is okay to make-out with someone that looks like they're twenty but they're actually three years old?"

"Look, I don't need to defend it. It's a guilty pleasure. If you go in not expecting much out of it, you'll have a good time."

"Meh. Anyways, what do you do? Why come to Midgar?"

"It's where the jobs are. Most of the Mako reactors may be blowing up but it's not like you can find a good administrative job in the middle of nowhere. I just needed to get out of that rural mindset. I always thought of myself as more of the urban type. You just want me to talk about myself so you can eat more of the soup."

He slurped down more of his noodles.
"Probably."

"You know, if you do cause the end of the world, I'm going to miss moments like this. Random conversations in a ramen shop at three in the morning. Not so much the bad dates."

"That's nothing. In the grand scheme of things, it's a speck of dust. Imagine having your whole world turned upside down after you find out your mother is this all powerful being and you've been made a weapon for the government?'

"If that happened? I'll probably just go on a bender and probably take off a few days of work. Eventually I'll come to terms with it and go on the lecture circuit. That's where the real money is."

"Money. That's another thing I'll get rid of when I remake the world. It's little things like that that get in the way of better things like happiness. You'd probably like the world I'm going to make, Karen. Well that is if you survive, which is highly unlikely."

"You couldn't have the Meteor hit another city on another continent?"

"Sorry. Think of it this way. At least you won't have to survive the fallout."
"Very true. You know, for an evil guy, you ain't so bad having a conversation with."

He took out two gil from his coat and put it on the counter. He stepped up from his empty bowl.

"That was delicious."

"I can pay for my meal. You don't have to."

"The least I can do. I had a good time tonight. It's too bad we can't do it again."

She reached into her purse.

"Here. I'll pay for mine. It's only…"

And like the wind blowing through the door, he was gone.

"…right. Hmph."

She walked back down the deserted streets alone with the neon sign shutting down behind of her. No one ever believed Karen's story.