Men Cry Not for Themselves
A/N: This is an oneshot. That's all you really need to know. Enjoy~
Summary: It was always on that cliff.
Pairings: None.
Warnings: Sad.
Disclaimer: I own no part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.
Men Cry Not for Themselves
It started on his first mission.
Sephiroth looked out the window of his transport and the cliffs overlooking Midgar, and saw the apparition. It easily blended into the background, faded around the edges and blending into the sand of the wastes. Sephiroth had only seen him because of the pale wisps of pale teal Mako coming from that direction.
The apparition was a blond man wearing black clothing that reminded Sephiroth of the new uniform designed for the SOLDIER program, with only a few differences. On the man's back was a harness with seven swords stashed in it.
And then, as the transport passed the point closest to the apparition, it looked up. Sephiroth almost reeled away from the window in shock.
He was crying from Mako-blue eyes.
Sephiroth wondered why he was so sad.
The next time he saw the apparition was shortly after meeting Angeal and Genesis. A routine patrol of the wastes brought Sephiroth close to the cliff where he had first seen what he could only call a ghost. In his curiosity, the young General approached it.
Again, he saw the blond man standing on the cliff overlooking the growing city. And again, he saw tears flowing down the man's face.
"Why are you crying?"
The blond apparition looked right at him, "Why do men cry, Sephiroth?"
It was gone before Sephiroth could wonder how the ghost knew his name.
The third time was shortly after Angeal's death. He retreated to the cliff to deal with it in his own way, and instead found the blond there again, even further faded than he had been before, surrounded by swirls of Mako.
"Why do men cry?"
Sephiroth was startled when he found the tear-streaked face looking at him, cold blue eyes locking against his own. It was only then that Sephiroth released the tears that he had been holding back for Zack's sake.
"Men cry not for themselves… but for their comrades… Angeal… Genesis…"
The blond closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at the cliff. Sephiroth couldn't help himself.
"Who do you cry for?"
But he was already gone.
The last time he saw the ghost was in a moment of lucidity, free from Jenova's control for just a moment. It had been years since Nibelheim, and now, looking at the blood-stained scenery, Sephiroth had made the connection.
"…Strife."
The blond ghost, almost entirely faded by now, looked right at him, meeting slitted green eyes with blue eyes Sephiroth had last seen in the Nibelheim reactor. Only now they were soaked in Mako, and he could see a ring of green around the pupil.
"…Do you know who I cry for now, Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth winced at the tone, but nodded, joining this ghost of an older Cloud Strife in staring at Midgar over the bloodstained cliff.
"You cry for… Fair."
He could hear the blond snort.
"I do cry for Zack. I also cry for all my friends, and all my enemies."
Sephiroth looked at the fading man.
"Why?"
Cloud Strife didn't respond for a long time.
"…The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Besides… Zack never blamed you."
Sephiroth turned, to ask him face-to-face what that meant, but he found the cliff empty save for blood. Jenova was tugging at his mind. His time was up.
The next time he saw that older Cloud Strife, it was when the last of his friends died of old age.