Edited
The Chess of Jotunheim
Final Fantasy VII Fan Fiction
Sephiroth/Fem!Cloud Pairing
Rating: Overall T, some parts are M
Summary: It's a better love story than Twilight Saga. Cloud and Sephiroth met when they were younger and became friends. As they grew older, their friendship became deeper and they are put on trials, like a chess game.
Preface:
The story is an alternate universe, however, the Final Fantasy VII story from the game is canon with some snapshots that ties in with the story itself. This story focus on the before and after of the game majorly. Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus, and Advent Children plots are excluded and does not exist in this story universe.
Few things this story contains:
1. Cloud is female in this story.
2. OOC-ness.
3. Fan-baby.
4. Awkward English grammar uses (writer's primary language is ASL). Note: Chapters may get changed due to editing during the process.
Can you stomach these?
No: leave, don't bother to read.
Yes: enjoy.
I am only writing this story as an entertainment and sharing it. I earn no profits. Flamers are useless except for the additional bonus to the review score. I appreciate feedbacks to help improve my writing. Thank you.
Chapter One: The Chessboard
Sephiroth looked out of the grimy window of the second floor of the ShinRa Mansion. He ran his finger across the glass, watching the streak of condensation appear and then fade from his finger. Bored, he was.
Hojo had left him to his own device and disappeared down to the basement again, as always. He watched the wind blow in the dry desolate garden, scattering the dry leaves and twigs across the ground. There was nothing to do and he doesn't fancy going into town. The children there gave him weird look and the adults murmurs around him.
The greasy haired scientist had dragged him away from Midgar to Nibelheim for the summer, saying he would enjoy the summer air and play out in the open. Nibelheim was a dank, cold, and cloudy place. Sephiroth rolled his eyes and got up from the window sill where he had sat. There was nothing left to explore in the rotting mansion. He had explored every crevice of the place and found nothing interesting. Hojo had forbidden him from entering the basement and told him to amuse himself during the day. The older man would come out just before dinner and prepare a simple meal for them both.
Even at eleven years old, Sephiroth knew Hojo wasn't his father. He had looked nothing like the man. But the scientist had raised him since he was a baby and he was the only father figure he knew. The man was distant. There were few moments when it was decent but they were far too few and in between.
The silver-haired boy sighed and left his room. He decided to go outside and explore the garden, maybe there would be some gnomes he could catch and torture. He paused at the top of the stairway, glancing down the long staircase that leads to the main floor in a slight curve. The railing looks somewhat smooth and he grinned, getting an idea. He slipped his leg over the railing and held on, straddling it. He glanced over his shoulder to see and loosen his grip. Down he went, sliding toward the bottom and giggle broke from his throat. He fell with a dusty thump at the bottom, sending dust cloud into the air.
He stood and brushed the dust off and grinned. He would do that more often because it was fun. He turned and hopped toward the door and went out. The garden was vast in front of the mansion, however, it was dry and desolate. Nothing was green. The fountain in the center had sludge of green water at the bottom. He poked at the sludge with a stick to see if anything comes out. Nothing. He moved on and poked different area of the garden with the stick.
He looked up as he heard some noise that was rising on the other side of the property wall. It sounded like some of the village kids were torturing something. He jumped and grasped the top edge of the wall and climbed up to sit on the top. He found four boys and two girls, close to his age range, throwing sticks and rock at someone. Sephiroth tilted his head to see better and realize they were picking on a smaller child, perhaps no more than three years old.
The child huddled over, covering her head and shouting for them to leave her alone. One of the older kid jeered at her.
Sephiroth frowned, he didn't like it. The children were being cruel to the child. They were making fun of the smaller child. It was one of the first lessons he learned from Angeal, fighting with someone smaller than you are weak. The children are overpowering the smaller girl. He noticed the larger boy picked up a big stick, it was almost thick as his arm and as long.
"Little freak! You don't belong here!" The older kid with the bat-like stick spat.
"Jeke! Come on, let's go." One of the other kid was beginning to realize it was getting too far.
"Shove off!" Jeke shouted and charged at the little girl with the stick. He jerked and realized his momentum stalled and looked over to see Sephiroth glaring at him. "What gives! Who the hell are you?"
Sephiroth twisted the stick out of the kid's hands, twisting his arms at the same time. Jeke shouted in pain and backed off, letting go of the stick. "Picking on a little girl is cowardly."
"Shut it, freak!" Jeke rubbed his arms and shoved at the others to go, they ran off.
Sephiroth dropped the stick and approached the girl who now as standing up and brushing her dirty dress. Her hair was wild and sticking out in every direction. He could see two lopsided ponytails in the mess of golden strands. Her face was dirty and streaked. Blood was coming down her nose. She looked indignant, crossing her petite arms and tilting up her head. She barely came up to his waist.
"You okay?" he asked her as he knelt beside her, meeting her at eye level.
She nodded and quipped, "Thank you." She suddenly became shy and started to fiddle with the hem of her skirt. "I'm Cloud."
He grinned, the name seems to suit her very well. Her eyes were blue and bright like a jewel. He held his hand out, "I'm Sephiroth."
She took the hand and they shook in greeting. "Sefrooth?"
He laughed and shook his head, pronouncing his name slowly, "Se-fee-ro'th." *
"Sephiroth!" She giggled as she got it right and he ruffled her blond hair.
"You are hurt… do you need me to escort you home?"
She shook her head, "Mommy's not home. She is working with daddy, in the…" She pursed her lips as she struggled to remember, "ree… ree…reeackor-"
"Reactor?" He asked and she bobbed her head so hard that he thought she would lose her head with the force. He stood up and took her hand, "Alright. My house is right here…" he gestured to the gate nearby. "I can help you clean up." She grasped his hand and followed him as they went to the gate.
"Wow! You got a big place!" She looked up in awe as they entered the mansion. He led her to the kitchen and helped her to sit on the countertop.
"Yeah. It's just me and professor Hojo." He told her as he took a dishcloth and wetted it. He turned to her and started to clean her bloody nose. "How old are you?"
She counted her fingers and held four fingers up, "Fowr."
"Four? You're a strong little girl. Why would your parents leave you alone?"
She bit her lips and looked away, "I wasn't supposed to leave the house."
"Ah. I see. And what got you out of the house?"
"I saw a butterfly?" She asked with sweet tone and batted her eyes. He laughed and took her hand to wash the dirt off.
"I see. Don't do that. You don't want to worry your parents."
"Where are yours?" She asked as he took her other hand and started on it.
"I don't have any." He said. "I'm alone."
"Aw." She pouted. "You're not alone. You got me now!" She quipped.
He shook his head in amusement. "You hungry?" And nearly laughed as she bobbed her head again, making her hair go flying, losing the ties. She giggled as she stopped, her hair floating around her face in a soft golden cloudy halo.
Sephiroth held Cloud's hand as they walked toward her house which was across the street from the mansion. A woman was outside, looking around worriedly. She caught sight of them and ran toward them, "Oh! You found Cloud."
"Yes, ma'am." He said as he let go of Cloud's hand. To his surprise, she grasped his leg and hugged him. "I found her outside the mansion wall and the other kids were bullying her. She stayed with me most of the day."
"I am sorry to impose on you, young Sephiroth." The woman said as she knelt and took Cloud into her arm. "I'm Freya Strife, one of the scientists working for Professor Hojo."
Sephiroth nodded, recalling the woman from earlier when he came to town with the professor. She was one of the few scientists that had stayed in Nibelheim on a long-term project. "Cloud is a handful and supposed to stay in the house while we were working."
"She told me." Sephiroth gave a pointed look at the girl who giggled and hid her face in her mother's collar. "I was bored, and she was a good company."
"Thank you. I don't really want to impose. But no one is really willing to watch after Cloud. Nibelheim doesn't take too kindly to outsiders."
"I noticed."
"If you could, could you look after her when my husband and I are working?" She asked, hopefully.
He nodded, "Sure."
"Thank you so much! If she becomes too troublesome, please let me know."
Sephiroth grinned and ruffled Cloud's hair, sending it flying into a halo once again. Cloud grasped his hand and giggled, swinging from his arm.
"We're going to have fun!" Cloud quipped and hopped around Sephiroth.
Sephiroth watched from his window as the girl run around in a circle around her parents as they approached the mansion. The girl was something. He smiled in amusement and left his room to greet them.
"Good morning, young Sephiroth." Mr. Strife said as he bowed his head. Sephiroth could see where Cloud got her bright blue eyes. The man was tall with short spiky black hair and good-looking. He was good-natured and had managed to grab Cloud during their approach to the mansion and was holding her tight. She waved from her place on her father's side.
Sephiroth bowed and gave a half grin as Cloud bounced down from her father's arms and ran to him. He braced for a hard grab and she hugged his waist. "Good morning." He ruffled her hair and waved to the girl's parents as they turned to professor Hojo and got lost in their conversation.
Sephiroth took Cloud's hand, "Come on, it's wet outside, so we'll spend some time in here." She nodded hard again. "You're going to lose your head that way."
"Nope!" Cloud quipped and hopped as Sephiroth led her to the other room. She looked around the large room with awe and let go of the older boy's hand to explore. Books lined the shelves on one side of the room. They were dusty and she sneezed as she poked a book and a small cloud of dust exploded in the air. Several lounge chairs scattered through the room, they looked faded but comfortable. A small circular table stood between two chairs and a square board with black and white titles sat in the middle. Cloud approached the table and hopped her fingers on the title. "What is this?"
Sephiroth joined her side and replied, "It's a chess board. For a game."
She looked piqued, "game? What kind of game?"
He went over to the shelf and took a small box. The contents rattled slightly as he brought it over. She became so still as if something magical would happen. He grinned at her anticipation and brushed the dust off the top and opened it. She peered into the box and picked a piece out. She held it up and had a quizzical look on her face. "That one is the white queen."
He looked into the box and picked out a black piece. "This is the knight." He held it up.
"Look like a horse," She pointed out.
"Yes." He turned and started to set the board. She moved to sit on the chair, still holding the white queen. "Each piece has different ability to move on the board, each one of them has different power. It's a game of strategy. The king…" He held up the piece that looked like the queen but with a different type of crown shape, "is what you must capture to end the game."
"Ooh…" Cloud whispered and held up her queen. "What about this one?"
He smiled at her, "This…" he took the piece from her and set it in its rightful place, "is the most powerful piece."
"Wow," She looked up at him, "can you teach me how to play this game?"
"It's hard." He told her.
"I can do it!" She told him indignantly, then batted her eyes, "please?"
Sephiroth laughed and started to teach her the basics of the game. They played for hours. Cloud always lost but she kept asking for another round. Sephiroth was impressed with her ability to sit still and think it through. She kept asking endless questions. By the last game of the day, she managed to get through a game without asking a question and did well enough to hold on her own until she lost.
"Check," Sephiroth said as he moved his queen next to Cloud's queen.
She frowned and searched for any possible way to make a move and realized, no matter how much she moves, he would always be able to take down her queen and capture the king. She sighed. He ruffled her hair, "You did better this time. You got most of my pieces out."
She beamed at him.
"Cloud?" They turned to see her mother at the door. "It's time to go."
Sephiroth glanced at the window and saw it was darker outside. "Already? Wow."
"What have you guys been doing all day?" Freya asked as she entered the room.
"We've been playing chess!" Cloud told her as she hopped out of her chair.
Freya looked impressed and turned to Sephiroth and asked, "You taught her to play?"
Sephiroth nodded, gathering the pieces into the box. "She did pretty well for a starter."
"I am impressed. She was never one to sit still for a long period of time." Freya said and picked up Cloud. She smiled as the girl yawned.
Sephiroth looked up at the woman. "We played all day. I didn't realize the time passed. I am sorry for not being able to take her outside or do some physical activity."
"It's alright," Freya said. "At least you kept her busy. I think she has taken a liking to you." She shifted the girl whose head was resting on her shoulder. Her eyes were rapidly closing. "I better get her home and feed her dinner before she falls asleep. Thank you."
Sephiroth bowed his head, "you're welcome." He watched Freya leave with Cloud.
Professor Hojo stepped into the room, finding Sephiroth cleaning up the chess pieces. "I received a call from General Angeal. You start training with him when we return to Midgar at the end of the summer."
Sephiroth frowned as he turned around. "Am I to become a soldier?"
Hojo gave a nod. "The project I am working on is successful. If this continues, I may finally crack the code behind the uses of mako."
Sephiroth turned his head away as his face turned into a mask of coldness. "I see." He hated the mako infusion. Professor Hojo had been injecting him with them once a month for as long he remembers. He was just an experiment to the man. "Is it time?"
Hojo gave another nod and turned around, "Come."
The boy followed the older man down to the basement. The long cavern like corridor was barely lit, but he could see his way. There were two doors at the end of the corridor, one was wooden with rusted metal decors and another, a smooth metal rectangle door with a tiny window and a latch. He had always wondered what was behind the locked wooden door.
He figured if he was old enough to train with General Angeal, he might be old enough to know what was behind the door. He asked, "What's that door?"
Hojo paused as he opened the metal one. "Nothing you need to know. It will remain that way."
"I see," Sephiroth replied, hiding his disappointment to find out what was behind the door. He followed the greasy-haired scientist into the lab. There was unearthly green glow cast in the room. He glanced around and found the metal table and went to sit on it.
Hojo tinkered around before approaching Sephiroth with an IV bag, filled with green liquid. Sephiroth bit back a grimace, recalling the sensation and taste of the thing when injected into his bloodstream. He hated it. Even more, he hated the aftereffect feeling.
Hojo hooked the bag up and adjusted the tube. He turned and prepped Sephiroth's arm. "We will continue your treatment here during the summer for the next few years. The Nibel mountain holds highest grade mako in the world and they are purer." He gestured to the bag. Sephiroth can tell the difference between the mako he had seen in Midgar. The color of the liquid was intense green, he could see with his enhanced eyes that there was no impurity in the liquid. "Doctor Strife and Mrs. Strife has found the source of the pure mako and to filter it." He told the boy and hooked the iv into Sephiroth's arm. "I expect the side effect stronger than the ones you had in Midgar."
Sephiroth watched as the green liquid travels down the tube to his arm. As it hit his bloodstream, he fought clenching his hand, trying to stay relaxed. The liquid was like ice and fire at the same time, burning his veins. He started to sway. Hojo grabbed him before he could fall and moved him to lie on the table, smiling.
"I thought so. Sleep while the treatment is processing."
Sephiroth's eyes became unfocused and he fought to keep them open. But he lost as everything went dark.
*Pronouncing Sephiroth's name has been a debate for a long time. There are two ways to pronounce it;
1. Se-fee-rAWth. (the pronunciation heard in movies and Kingdom Hearts. In my opinion, it sounds harsh.)
2. Se-fee-rOth. (O sound as in rose. This is how his name was pronounced in the songs. And some people preferred to say it this way, I am one of them. I found it much more soothing to hear over the other one, even my son agrees.)
Bonus:
Jotunheim: Jo-tun-heim
Please let me know how you like the story. It's been so long since I wrote any type of stories... most of my writing of late has been college papers. Review button is right down here.
