Kingdom Hearts: -2.5 Fantasy Finale

ELEVEN YEARS BEFORE THE BIRTH BY SLEEP:

Ages:

Cloud: 0

Sephiroth: 6

Sephiroth was sitting outside his house, trying to find things to do as his mother was busy giving birth to his new brother. He tried a number of things, like watching the street lights while the bugs flew around it, or check how many windows were illuminated as people went to sleep the more time passed. He was bored.

He thought about a number of things when he heard the news from his mother. Will she not look at him as much anymore? Is the house going to be loud with the screaming? He knew how babies cried, and as far as he understood, they cried constantly. He sighed. He looked up at the night sky to see how beautiful the moon looked. He remembered a picture book that his mom once read to him when he couldn't sleep.

Kingdom hearts. A gateway to all worlds, and an eternal pasture of both light and darkness. He was skeptical, but not ignorant. He knew there had to be at least something beyond the world he lived on.

The door opened aside him, the light from inside glowing against the shadow of the nighttime. Coming outside was the local doctor, who had spent most of the night making sure the birth was successful.

"Sephiroth." He greeted. "May I talk to you for a moment? It's… About your mother." There was something wary about his voice.

"Is mother okay, Mr. Ansem?" He looked up, a little concerned.

Ansem closed the door behind him, bringing back the shadow as the light disappeared. He sat down next to the child, his hands on his knees. He tried to think of the safest way to tell him the bad news. Considering the amount of successful operations he's done, this was a first for him. "Your mother… Will not be able to see you for a while."

Sephiroth wasn't aware of what he meant. "Is mother going away somewhere?"

Ansem tried his best to think of the best approach. "...Yes. She is going away for a bit and will not be back for a long while."

"Can I come with her?"

Ansem dreaded he would ask that. "No, you may not. She wants you to stay here, to… Go to school, and play with your friends."

"You mean like Cid?" Cid Highwind was his only friend. The other children never seemed to care much about Sephiroth, so he turned towards the much older ones who were just about to graduate to high school. Most of them ignored him, except Cid, who decided to stick around him so that he wouldn't have to feel lonely.

"Yes, like Cid." He tried to smile for him. "But not to worry. She has asked me to look after you and your younger brother while she is away."

Sephiroth seemed to read something between the lines of what he said. "Is my little brother born?"

"Yes, he is. Would you like to see him?" The next smile Ansem gave to him was genuine.

The silver haired boy nodded, standing up in symmetry with the the doctor. Ansem walked in first and held the door open for him, and Sephiroth could feel the warmth of his house again. There was something different as he came into the room, as he saw a white cot at the side of the wall right next to the stairs. The two quietly came up to it, and saw a baby with a touch of blond hair sleeping.

"This is your new brother, Cloud." Ansem whispered. He did his best not to wake up the newborn. Sephiroth watched him closely, excited, but not as much so he doesn't burst. He wondered what kind of person he would grow up to be. The only thing he knew now, is that he was going to have to protect him from the world. "Listen, Sephiroth. You are all he has now." He put a hand on his shoulder.

"Protect him with your life. Do you understand?"

Sephiroth nodded, looking up from his shoulder.

"I will."