Hello everyone and let me introduce you to a underrated and not very well known pairing Sephiroth x Lightning or just Sephight. I'm RevanBodyguard posting this story with permission of SolidChief on deviantArt or known as Soldier's Shadow on this site. First two chapters are of his own work and the rest after those are my chapters. I hope that you enjoy our work and please comment and review.
AN: The style of this fic is of a "jumping time line" where instances will take time hops between them. The world in which this story takes place is also an Alternate Universe of both FFVII and FFXIII.
He was my hero...
Claire Farron shifted uncomfortably in her seat on board a passenger train bound for a Cocoon Guardian Corps training academy, having been selected among a deemed elite of Guardian members similar to herself in rank and ability.
Upon the request of her commanding officer Amodar, Claire had risen to the rank of sergeant within her unit for what Amodar described in the promotion letter as "one of the most determined, reliable and gifted" he had seen in his long career with Guardian. As part of the honor, Claire was being transferred to the "Academy for the Advanced Training In the Defense of Cocoon', the city's highest ranked military institution.
The sergeant leaned back into her seat, crossing her long limbs and exhaled a bored sigh. In the background she listened offhandedly to the animated chatter of her fellow recruits, closing her eyes in an attempt to block it out. In the midst of the conversations resonating across the train car, Claire reopened her eyes to the sound of heavy footsteps stopping in front of her in the form of a heavyset man who looked to be at least ten years her senior. He looked down on her and smirked.
"So you're the 'junior recruit' all the others are buzzing about, eh?" the man questioned, his voice booming and dripping with condescending emphasis on "junior". Claire didn't meet his gaze, she just directed her eyes off to the side but the man followed it and placed himself in it's way. "As an upcoming officer, you should know something called respect, young lady."
"Yeah...?" Claire responded quietly, looking up at the man with a steel look of defiance on her features. In what felt like less than a second, she stood up from her, her hands bolting to the man's forearms and shoulder while her foot went behind his heel. With one quick motion and a shocked gasp from the man, the sergeant brought him down to the ground, twisting his arm behind his back. The commotion brought the conversations going around to an end and all eyes onto the commotion. "It's a good thing you're here, you sure have a lot more to learn than respect." Claire scoffed before exiting the train which had reached it's destination.
The Guardian Corps academy loomed overhead, the front doors being made of clear glass and a large statue of the academy's name stood in front of the entrance. Claire entered past the automatic doors and moved to stand among a group of aspiring officers that looked to be among a whole other unit than her own. She looked ahead where a uniformed officer stood on top of a stage, speaking inaudibly to another man. This one stood tall and clad in black from head to toe with long silver hair that stopped at his lower back. Claire could not resist a feeling of intrigue towards this one due to his appearance, he seemed different than what she was used to seeing in Guardian officers...
"Attention, future officers of the Cocoon Guardian Corps!" The uniformed officer called to the crowd, silencing the entire room. Claire paid only half attention, instead watching the unknown figure cross his arms from behind the speaking officer. "I'd like to welcome you all to my academy, it is a privilege that you were all chosen among thousands to stand in my presence and that of our honored guest..."The officer gestured for the man in black to take his place at the front of the stage with a half way bow of respect. "General Sephiroth of the elite SOLDIER branch of Shinra, the hero of the Wutai War, has graced us with his arrival to our academy.
The entire crowd of new officers exploded in cheer for the general as he stepped down from the stage in front of them. Claire just watched, not willing to clap in applause for a person she knew nothing about compared to the crowd she stood among. Once the Guardian officer silenced the crowd, Sephiroth spoke.
"It is a pleasure to stand before those who shall lead the forces of this city's fighting force..." Sephiroth said smoothly, his voice being just loud enough to resonate across the room. The general broke into a pace, stepping back and forth at the front of the crowd. "Your commanders informed me that your city is suffering from dissidence that threatens the order of your society. Shinra never tolerated those who stood against it, the people of Wutai learned that first hand..."
Sephiroth turned his attention to the upcoming officers, his cold green eyes seemingly locked on Claire, sending a chill up her spine. He didn't seem human to her, there was something about him that just set off a mental switch in her head but also something that seized every bit of the sergeant's attention. The woman blinked twice, hoping to turn the general's attention away from her.
"Your city, it shall not suffer a similar fate and you will be the ones who guarantee it as the hilt that drives the blade into the heart of the opposition. As a favor of Shinra to Cocoon, I will be the one to guide you in your training into the most elite this city has ever seen..." Sephiroth continued, ceasing his pacing and staring back to the crowd, seemingly in Claire's directions again. "Do not disappoint me..."
Claire's features hardened in her usual determined manner. Sephiroth was issuing a challenge, testing them, testing her...
She will not be one to fail.
He was my master...
"GAH!"
Claire was sent skidding across the floor of the academy training room, her back hitting the wall hard. Standing across from her in the middle of the room was General Sephiroth, his Masamune held at his side and a cocky smirk playing on his lips.
"Get up, you can do better than this..." He taunted his student, stepping towards her as she struggled into a knelt position. Claire gripped her shoulder tightly despite the searing sting that was left from Sephiroth's last attack. As she was about to get up, a shadow came over her; the sergeant's eyes widened as Sephiroth descended on her, his sword gleaming as he readied it for a strike. She quickly rolled to the side, the attack missing her by inches.
No one Claire ever faced before, be it in training or in the occasional encounter with Cocoon rebels could compare to the challenge that was her new teacher. He hit with the force of an earthquake and struck with motions as fluid as the wind; Claire could hardly keep up with him. He was always a step ahead while she repeatedly fell behind by several. Never before was she pushed to such a limit.
"You're reckless and impulsive, Farron. You move and strike to keep up but you know you just can't..." Sephiroth goaded with a smirk. He watched as Claire growled and narrowed her eyes, knowing he was pressing the right buttons necessary to push her. "If you're going to quit, stay down."
" He's cocky... So damn cocky! " the sergeant thought angrily in response to her teacher's words. She'd show him!
Pushing up off the ground through what strength she could muster in her legs, Claire made a maneuver towards Sephiroth, her gunblade hanging behind her. She made a thrust with the blade aimed for Sephiroth's center but he easily blocked it. As steel met steel, Claire made an attempt to kick his feet out from under him but he just back flipped agilely away from the attack. Claire pursued him, throwing her gunblade out at him again.
Sephiroth landed on his feet, twisting fast enough to meet Claire's sword with his own. The general smirked, pushing more strength forward, turning his block into a parry that sent Claire staggering. He then followed up with a swift backhand that sent her onto the ground, the sergeant gasping as she hit the floor.
"Better." Sephiroth commended, pointing his sword away from his downed student. "You're starting to use your head." He finished, tapping a temple with a gloved finger.
Claire groaned in pain, her grip on her gunblade shaking as was her vision from her one open eye. As Sephiroth got closer, his sword aimed towards her neck to show his victory, both of Claire's eyes shot open and her grip on her weapon tightened before she swung it in front of her to knock Masamune away. "Keep your arrogance in check, general, you might just lose in a moment!" she snapped, forcing Sephiroth back. With a sharp battle cry, Claire sent the general's balance off to his side with a strong slash to his guarding sword. As she moved in for a final blow, the sergeant froze in her place, noticing Masamune aimed around towards her, ending their spar in a draw.
Claire growled in dissatisfaction, dropping her arms from exhaustion, her gunblade falling to the floor. Fatigue soon over took her and she fell to her knees. "Dammit..."
The general chuckled lowly, moving to stand upright and then turning to face Claire. "You strike erratically and swift like lightning. Lightning takes many paths before it hits the ground..." Sephiroth stated, Claire glancing up at him to see an outstretched hand to her which she accepted. "I'm impressed, Farron, you are a gifted fighter..." The general pulled Claire to her feet and then made for the exit. "Perhaps tomorrow, I'll make more of an effort in our practice..."
Claire furrowed her brows but couldn't resist a tiny smile forming on her lips at what she assumed was the closest Sephiroth would ever get to giving a compliment. As she limped to the exit, her teacher's words lingered in her head.
"Lightning..."
He was my teacher...
"Serah, no means no!"
"But Claire, it's soon going to be their anniversary!"
"I know, but you should know that I can't just up and leave the academy at any time I want... Not even for this."
"Okay, I-I understand, sister... I'm sorry."
"Goodbye Serah, I'll keep in touch..."
Claire sighed as she hung her phone up on her younger sister. The younger Farron had been inquiring as to whether Claire could come home to celebrate their deceased parents' anniversary, a tradition the sisters had undertaken since their parents; passing as a means of reverence. The day was usually one where Claire and Serah reminisced together of their days as a family and it pained the sergeant that she couldn't spend that day with Serah.
Claire left her assigned living quarters and made her way to the 'General's Office' to meet with her master, General Sephiroth. He had summoned her to come by and see him for some "very important news" with no detail beyond that.
Over the course of the past several weeks at the academy she felt that her skills as combat, rhetoric and reasoning had been sharply heightened since her tutelage under the Shinra general began. It made her feel strong, stronger than she has ever felt in her life, endowing her with the confidence that she could tackle anything head on...
The only thing that she couldn't seem to handle with this new found strength was her family matters that seemed to grow ever more complicated.
The sergeant stopped in front of a pair of sliding doors that led to her general. She moved to a machine on the side of the entrance and flashed her identification card that was issued to all recruits on day one. The terminal beeped after a moment and flashed a lime green light, opening the doors afterward allowing Claire entrance.
Inside the fairly lavished office, Sephiroth stood in front of a large glass window that overlooked the Cocoon skyline, his arms folded in front of his chest as was typical of him. Claire noted throughout her time under the general that there was never a moment when he was lacking in his professional mannerism, almost as if he simply couldn't of his own free will. It further contributed to the inhuman vibe he exuded to Claire since she met him.
"Sergeant Farron, you made it." Sephiroth spoke abruptly, slowly turning to Claire, his green eyes locked on to his pupil. Claire bowed her head in respect to her teacher before stranding straight. "I apologize for calling you so late in the evening but his matter is of the highest importance, sergeant."
"I understand, sir, go on." Claire responded, folding her arms behind her back.
"The rebels have made their first moves, they've appeared in the lower levels of Cocoon and PSICOM has provided us with their locations..." Sephiroth elaborated, a smirk forming on his lips as if he was relishing in this piece of information. The general stepped towards his desk and extended his hand to grasp the hilt of his sword which lay on the wood, grasping it's hilt. "You and I, Farron, have been given the command to wipe them out.
Claire's eyes widened slightly from both confusion and surprise. "Just the two of us?" She asked quietly to which Sephiroth nodded, his smirk still present. "But what about the rest of the unit? Won't we need back-up, sir?"
"None of them will stand against me... Not for long." Sephiroth muttered in a tone that contained hints of arrogance and malice. He slowly looked to Claire, who appeared to be unconvinced at his words to which he offered a chuckle. "If it's of any reassurance, that is the reason I selected to join me on this mission. You are the elite of your unit, Farron, a very capable soldier... Do you believe yourself up for this task?"
Claire was filled with many mixed feelings about this proposal. She was burning with inner pride that she proved herself good enough for a very important operation but inside her head, she still felt her sister's words from before and the way she apologized to her when she was forced to disappoint her. The sergeant mentally sighed before dropping her head and nodding in acceptance of the mission. Claire lifted her head to a smiling Sephiroth. "Is there anymore you needed to tell me? "
"You can stop mulling over whatever's going on in your head in order to avoid holding us back when our hour comes, Farron..." Claire froze in place, staring her general in the eye with a shocked expression on her face. "Your body language betrays you, you make yourself an open book..." Sephiroth commented, stepping closer to the sergeant, who glanced away. "Speak on it."
Claire turned her head away from him. "Sir, it's not of importa-."
"If it will serve to get in the way of our mission then it better be weeded out or you may just end up dead. "
The sergeant pondered quickly, weighing whether or not she should just tell her general the issue at hand or let it sit to the side. Realizing he had already seen what she thought was an invisible bluff and he'd easily see through more, she opted to share, sighing in defeat.
"My dead parents' anniversary is coming up, I had to decline my younger sister's request to spend that day at home..." Claire explained reluctantly, watching Sephiroth, who turned towards his desk in the middle of his office, taking a seat on top of it. "I suppose I feel as if I'm failing her as her last bit of our family..."
A silence fell over the room as Sephiroth closed his eyes and crossed his arms, the gesture making Claire feel as if he was displeased with what she had told him. She considered apologizing but decided against it, rather standing by her word if only to maintain a feeling of professionalism.
"Your mind is in pieces, you've grown too fast to have pieced it together." Sephiroth declared, breaking the silence and opening his eyes. The sergeant's expression softened at his words, providing him the satisfaction that he was correct in his assessment, prompting him to continue. "You don't know if you should do as your sister wants or what you believe is necessary for her... You're thinking narrow minded. I taught you better..." Sephiroth glanced at Claire, the woman opening her mouth with no words coming out. The general waved her off nonchalantly. "You are dismissed sergeant, go back to your quarters and rest up for tomorrow's mission..."
Claire moved to leave but a stinging curiosity as to Sephiroth's easy understanding of her situation and thoughts. He said she was letting him know through her expressions but his words regarding the situation spoke volumes more on what he may know, whether that information be about her problem or another one. "General Sephiroth... Do you have a family?"
"No." The general replied bluntly, not looking in Claire's direction, instead looking out at the skyline before his window. "Family is an eroding part of life that I never experienced, only knew of..." Sephiroth spared Claire an offhanded glance, noticing her staring intently at him. "I have no family, now do as I ordered... Get your head together and do not let anything cloud your judgment tomorrow, Farron."
Claire quietly nodded to her general, watching as his glance moved away from her before heading off to her bedroom. While his words were blunt and harsh, Claire found herself in complete agreement with them. They served as a wake up call as to what needed to be done in her life.
For now, she would just had to do what was needed to be done.
He was my lover...
Was it wrong that she was being unprofessional through this? Was it a sin that was enjoying it? Was it a twisted dream that she was romantically involved with her general?
Sephiroth leaned Claire back, his warm lips passing over her neck in slow deep kisses that made the sergeant breathe deeply from the elation he caused her to feel. He went on to press Claire down onto a nearby bed, one of his hands holding her wrist in a strong grip to the side as his lips traveled from her neck, over her shoulder, and to her bicep before ending at her open palm.
Claire sighed, her free arm going to her general's long silver hair. The two had escaped away from the Guardian Academy for the day to a luxury hotel, one of the few such establishments existing in Cocoon, normally reserved for the city's financial and political elite. Needless to say, Sephiroth's title preceded him upon arrival, guaranteeing a private suite at the hotel. Claire was allowed entry as Sephiroth's personal bodyguard but she remained in her Guardian uniform to keep up their image.
Over their months together as master and student alongside the missions they undertook together, Sephiroth and Claire found themselves in a relationship that neither of them had anticipated. Claire initially felt what she believed to be romantic feelings for Sephiroth but she had tried her best to dismiss and repress them as best she could but Sephiroth's infallible ability to read his student alerted him to her hidden feelings, forcing her to express them, a task Claire deemed shameful until Sephiroth surprisingly accepted them. However, in the midst of their growing relationship, the two kept it strictly behind closed doors.
"Sir...?" Claire uttered only to be quickly cut off.
"I told you formalities were unnecessary, not when we're together like this... Claire..." Sephiroth interjected between his passionate kisses, using her first name over her last or her title as he usually did.
Claire nodded, heat filling her cheeks a bit as she gently pushed Sephiroth off of her, earning a disappointed expression. She sat up on the bedside swallowing hard as she locked eyes with Sephiroth. "Are...we right in being together like this?"
Sephiroth sighed under his breath, his eyes shutting as he did so. Claire came to recognize this move as one of disapproval over time when her general would allow a glimpse of how he was feeling. Sephiroth straightened himself, moving beside his lover on the bed. "We discussed this time and again... No one shall ever find out about us until we want to be found out." The general stated bluntly, staring at Claire who looked down to her feet. He could read the woman like a book; he knew that she would not listen to any reassurances he offered her until she believed it for herself.
"Are you so sure? We can never be too careful..." There was her stubbornness. Claire being so stubborn was a part of her that he found himself admiring in training and on the front but increasingly irking in their love.
"If you continue to feel this way, feel free to let yourself out of this."
Claire looked up instantly, traces of hurt and angry feelings in her blue orbs. "I'm just concerned for us in case we're discovered! What would your superiors think? What about our status within the academy? We're at risk, Sephiroth!" she almost shouted, her hand tightly clutching the bed sheet beneath her. Sephiroth turned to face Claire with one of of his cold, unreadable expressions but she wasn't about to be deterred by him. "It's not like you to be so blind..."
"Don't mistake me for a fool, I'm more than aware of the risks and possibilities. If I wasn't, I'd still be treating you as only a subordinate..." Sephiroth retorted, watching Claire's face budge slightly and her arms cross.
"Then why do you refuse to even discuss them?"
"Because what's already been said has no place now."
At that, Claire huffed and looked off towards another direction. Sephiroth inwardly sighed, an irking frustration threatening to surface at Claire's stubbornness. Rather than continuing to fight with her and go nowhere, Sephiroth opted for another approach, straying away from his usual professionalism.
"Try to understand, Claire..." The general began, standing up and running his gloved hand through her long pink hair, gaining a slight glance in return. "I would never lead you on if I was oblivious to what's in front of us. I know of the risks and acknowledge your concerns but I'm in control of them. I'd be a fool if I lacked that..."
Claire eased noticeably at her lover's soothing words, her blue eyes softening a bit. If there was one thing she knew for sure about her general it was that he never went into any situation without a plan or a back up plan to another back-up plan. "You're...right, Sephiroth... I was mostly concerned for you..." The sergeant turned towards Sephiroth, uttering a dry laugh. "I should be more like you or pay more attention to your lessons..."
"Don't be like me, I rather like you better as you..." Sephiroth stated, kissing strands of his lover's hair that he held in his palm. He listened to Claire's easy breathing, moving to place a small kiss on her lips. "You should however consider paying attention to what I teach you."
Claire slapped his chest playfully and smiled. "You should be more interesting!"
"You should be more interested."
The two kissed right after that, falling onto the mattress wrapped in each others' arms. Sephiroth soon broke off and moved to straddle Claire, kneeling upright to slip off his coat. Claire was momentarily entranced by his chiseled body but was broken out of it by Sephiroth's hands tugging at her uniform.
"Sephiroth..." She spoke, her voice quiet and tints of pink invading her cheeks.
"Don't tell me you fear this as well, Farron..." Sephiroth smirked, leaning down to take Claire's lips in a deep kiss, feeling her hands slowly move to go around his torso. "You're with me, we're away from the hectics of the academy and the demands of strife... We're together..."
With that, a long night of passion and love followed. Unknowingly to Claire, this would be the last time she'd be with the man she loved, before an unprecedented travesty would shatter this moment in her life.