Okay! This is my first Final Fantasy seven fic, so please be nice? This is written for my bestest buddy, Angel, who went to camp for a week and this is her welcome back giftie. I think only she's going to get a few of these references seeing as they're from our role plays…
Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 nor will I ever…unless I somehow work for squeenix… I do own Masai though.
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Seven year old Sephiroth sighed and fidgeted slightly. He was in the middle of an examination and he was bored, his little black ball having lost its amusement of bouncing it off Hojo today. That in itself was enough of a telling factor of how long this examination was since he could bounce the ball to his heart's content the whole way through normal sessions.
"Stop fidgeting, Sephiroth," Hojo scolded, looking at the silver haired child, "You're only going to succeed in making this take even longer." Satisfied with the dismayed groan that Sephiroth uttered, Hojo turned back to his tests.
Sephiroth glared with all of his non-threatening might at Hojo's back, wishing silently that something will come to occupy his time with. He didn't exactly want to cause trouble, seeing as Gast had promised him that he could 'socialize' aka play with Hollander's experiment when the other scientist came to visit from Banora tomorrow if he behaved today. Ten year old Genesis, Hollander's 'experiment,' could always think of something to entertain the slightly younger Sephiroth with.
The gods must have been sympathetic with Sephiroth's plight of boredom because not even fifteen minutes after he stopped fidgeting, he heard a quick patter of small feet, followed by brisk footsteps. He recognized the brisk footsteps…Tseng always walked like that, but the patter confused him. He knew that it must belong to a small child, but that in itself was the problem…There were no other children in the mansion.
Hojo looked up and spotting Sephiroth's gaze focused on the door, listened, and picked up the two sets of footsteps as well. With a curse, Hojo surprisingly started wrapping up his tests and removed the needles from Sephiroth's arms. "I'm afraid we'll have to conclude the tests tomorrow before Hollander and Genesis come," he told Sephiroth.
"Does it look like I'm complaining?" Sephiroth sniped before yelping as Hojo smacked him upside the back of the head. Rubbing the contact spot with a grumble, Sephiroth listened as the Turk and whoever was with him came within range of being heard.
"….Really sir, you shouldn't run off like this. I'm sure Hojo would have come to retrieve you had you just been patient," Sephiroth could hear Tseng say.
"Shut up Tseng," came the only response, which peaked Sephiroth's interest as Tseng didn't say anything more. He definitely wanted to know who could put Tseng in his place at such a young age.
Sephiroth didn't have to wait long, for around the corner came Tseng and in front of him was a young boy, maybe a year or two younger than Sephiroth, dressed in a little suit and his blonde hair slicked back except for a bit that hung over his left eye. "I should have known that you'd barge down here, Rufus," Hojo said with a sigh, turning to face the little boy.
Rufus tipped his head and crossed his arms. Just as he was about to reply, Sephiroth caught his eye and he turned to face the other boy, thus ignoring Hojo. "Who're you?" Rufus wondered.
Sephiroth tipped his head as well. "I'm Sephiroth," he replied quietly.
Rufus studied him before snorting. "That's a stupid name."
"I don't see anything better with 'Rufus,'" Sephiroth retorted. He must have missed something because while Rufus blinked in mild surprise, Tseng and Hojo both flinched.
"Sephiroth, you don't talk to the president's son like that!" Hojo scolded.
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at Hojo before sliding off the table and landing gracefully on his feet. Straightening, he looked at the heir to Shinra with a raised eyebrow. "Doesn't seem like it's that special of a role," he replied with a shrug.
Tseng's eyebrow twitched, but before he could do anything about it, a sound startled the two adults and made them look at Rufus. The little five year old was laughing, and he never laughed. Rufus took a second to calm down, swallowing his giggles before looking at Sephiroth. "You're being honest?" he asked. When Sephiroth nodded, he smiled at the other boy. "I like when people are honest with me. So that means I like you." With that, he turned to Hojo after taking Sephiroth's hand. "You told my father that my puppy is ready for me. I wanna see him and Seph is coming with me."
Hojo grit his teeth but after a moment nodded. "Fine, Sephiroth may come along." Turning, he led the children and Tseng out of the examination room and down a few halls to another room. In this room there was a row of cages. All were empty except for one. Hojo strode to that cage and unlocked it before pulling out a little black hound. Returning to the boys, Hojo handed the puppy to Rufus before looking at Tseng. "Take them to the sitting room. They can play there without destroying anything of value and you can also keep an eye on your charge," Hojo instructed.
Tseng nodded and ushered the children out of the labs and up to the basement of the mansion. There he took the puppy from Rufus so Rufus could climb the stairs with ease and not have to worry about dropping the puppy.
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"So do you live here?" Rufus asked a little later. Gast had swung by to see Rufus' new puppy and to bring snacks for the two boys. Sephiroth had never had any of the treats before so it had blown his mind for a bit.
Sephiroth looked up from where he had been munching on a cookie, his free hand petting the black puppy, who had been happily licking his hand and wrist. "I have a room down in the labs…I was born there," he answered quietly.
Rufus nodded. "I live in Junon and Midgar," he told Sephiroth, "There's so much more to do there than in this little mountain town."
"Is it pretty in those cities?" Sephiroth asked, idly seeing Tseng look up from his laptop at that.
"There's not much sky visible in those cities, Sephiroth," Tseng replied quietly. The young Turk stopped typing and stretched before continuing. "I know you've gone to Banora once, where it seems like the sky is endless and very very blue. In Midgar, the sky is always cloudy and if there are any breaks in the clouds, the sky is a real pale blue due to the pollution. Junon is very much the same way, but you can see blue like in Banora there every so often if the winds blow the clouds away."
"I like Banora. Genesis and Angeal are there," Sephiroth said, latching on to that. Suddenly, he didn't want to 'play' with Rufus anymore, he wanted to have some fun with Genesis. Hopefully Angeal would be able to accompany him tomorrow. Maybe he could give one of the stupid plushies that Gast kept putting in here to Genesis. Pity the dragon one was destroyed…he would have liked that one.
"I don't know who they are," Rufus told Sephiroth, uninterested with the unfamiliar names, "I have an idea, Sephiroth. I'll let you name my puppy. I can't think of anything good."
Sephiroth blinked and looked down at the puppy, who had gravitated back to Rufus' arms. He wanted a pet now. He had a feeling Rufus would share him if only they didn't live across the nation from each other. That was it… "What about Nation? I mean, you came across the nation just to get him and that's how we met. It'll be a bond between us…" he suggested softly, smiling when the puppy's tail and antennae waved/wagged in response.
Rufus smiled at the reaction as well. "He likes it, and I like his color, so he'll be Dark Nation," he added, laughing softly when the puppy yipped in response. The two played with Nation some more after that until Tseng announced that it was time for Rufus to head home, his father would be waiting for the chopper back in Midgar. Before Rufus left with Nation, he made Sephiroth promise to come to Midgar one day. It didn't matter when, just as soon as he was able to.
Once the chopper left, Tseng came to collect Sephiroth, smiling slightly at seeing Sephiroth eating one of the last cookies and wrapping what was left in a napkin before tucking them out of sight. "Saving those for Genesis are we?" he asked, leaning in the doorway.
"Genesis is my friend…friends share," Sephiroth replied simply, "he taught me that when I was in Banora."
Tseng smiled more and knelt to help Sephiroth put the toys away. "You know Sephiroth, for the price of one of those cookies, I'm willing to carry letters between here and Midgar when I travel so you can keep in touch with Rufus," he offered.
Sephiroth turned to look at Tseng with wide eyes, having been caught off guard. "What about Hojo?" he asked somewhat fearfully. Sephiroth wasn't stupid; he knew that besides Genesis and Angeal, Hojo didn't want him to have contact with anyone outside of him, Gast, and Tseng.
"Hojo will never know. We can write the letters when it's just the two of us in here," Tseng answered calmly.
Sephiroth relaxed and retrieved a cookie, holding it out to Tseng. "Deal."
The next day Sephiroth sat in the sitting room alone. Tseng was waiting for Hollander and Genesis to arrive, and Hojo and Gast were doing last minute lab cleaning. Sephiroth, having been woken up early to get the last of the tests done, had been given the option of going back into his white room or staying in the sitting room until Genesis came to keep him company. He had gladly chosen the sitting room, if only to have some color to look at. Unfortunately, being up at an ungodly hour made the silver-haired child extremely sleepy. Curling up on the comfy chair, he let his eyes drift closed.
The next thing he was aware of was that he was being awoken by being gently shaken, and also the smell of apples. Apples, to Sephiroth, usually only meant one thing. Banora or more specifically, a certain red-head who lived there. Opening his eyes curiously, he looked up and couldn't help but smile at seeing aqua eyes above him, framed by hair the color of cinnamon. "Genesis!"
"Hey, Seph," Genesis greeted with a grin, letting his hand drop from where he had been gently shaking Sephiroth, "Sorry I took so long, Hollander insisted on showing me off to Hojo. Gast finally rescued me and brought me up here."
"It's fine," Sephiroth yawned, rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes before looking around, "Where's Angeal?"
"He's got a cold so he couldn't come, but he and Gillian send their hellos and gave me something to give you," Genesis answered, pulling from his coat pocket a little stuffed cat and handed it to Sephiroth.
Sephiroth took it and felt it's soft fur. This was one plushie that he wouldn't tear up. Bringing it close to his face, he sniffed it delicately. "It smells like dumbapples! And grass, and fresh air and…sunshine."
Genesis snorted, plopping to a sit. "It's only supposed to smell like the first two. There's grass and dumbapple leaves mixed in with the stuffing," he explained, "but if you insist, there's fresh air and sunshine in it too." Laughing a little, Genesis blinked when he felt Sephiroth's black ball connect with his forehead. He knew what Sephiroth meant by the sunshine and fresh air comment. Banora had been Sephiroth's first up close encounter with the outdoors. Although he had been terrified at first, Genesis and Angeal had coaxed him into having some fun with them…taught him a freedom like no other. The little cat, with its outdoor smells in it, probably reminded Sephiroth of fresh air and sunshine.
Sephiroth tipped his head at seeing Genesis' eyes lose their focus. "…Gen?" he asked, smiling slightly when Genesis shook his head to snap out of it and looked at him. "Thank you," he said softly, taking the cat and setting it carefully on a shelf before retrieving the hidden cookies and returning to Genesis, deciding to make Genesis his chair and plopped into his lap. Offering the cookies to Genesis, Sephiroth's smile grew as Genesis split them in half and gave him half before pulling out two dumbapples and putting one with each pile.
"Not a bad breakfast if I do say so myself," Sephiroth heard Genesis say above his head as he held the younger child close. Both boys ate in companionable silence like that until all the food was gone. Then after quiet deliberating, they snuck out of the room to go explore the mansion, knowing Tseng wouldn't stop them unless they were going to go somewhere potentially dangerous.
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General Sephiroth sat at his desk, immersed in paperwork just like he usually was every day. So much had piled up on his desk now that Angeal and Genesis had vanished, Genesis off to find himself, and Angeal to try to help Genesis along so that they could return faster. Sephiroth knew that Angeal's help wouldn't work, Genesis always was stubborn like that, and was glad that his new commander and Angeal's student, Zack, would be back from a mission within the next day or two so he could take his fair share of the work back.
A knock at the door tore Sephiroth out of his focused state of mind. Who in their right minds would be stupid enough to bother him when he was this busy? "What?" he called in a clipped tone through the locked door, warning whoever it was that he was not happy about being interrupted. All he got as a response was a whine followed by a bark.
Immediately relaxing at recognizing Dark Nation's 'voice,' Sephiroth hit the button to unlock the door, smiling when Nation bounded into the room and went right for him, turning in a circle before licking Sephiroth's glove. "Hello to you too, Nation," Sephiroth greeted, scratching behind the hound's ear. "What brings you here, Ru?" Sephiroth asked.
"I have a gift for you," Rufus answered, still leaning in the doorway. Upon seeing Sephiroth's eyebrow hike up, Rufus entered the room, leading behind him a collared and muzzled white tiger. "Sephiroth, meet Masai."
Sephiroth raised his eyebrow further. "I thought you were against muzzles," he wondered, standing and moving around the desk to look closely at Masai, frowning slightly when the tiger backed away from him.
"Normally I am, but this one can breathe fire. I didn't feel like getting burned, but since he's yours, you can take it off if you wish," Rufus told him, holding out the leash, "Come Nation, lets let these two get acquainted." Once Sephiroth took the leash, Rufus turned and headed back to the door. "Oh by the way, he's wary about strangers. From what I gathered, Masai was raised in the labs. He's been there since he was a cub until I took him from there," Rufus added before leaving with Nation.
Once the door was shut, Sephiroth and Masai looked at each other, trying to gauge the other. Sephiroth sighed, knowing that earning the tiger's trust would be tricky and started things off by dropping the leash and sitting down on the floor.
Masai immediately turned in a circle to pull the leash out of Sephiroth's reach and then sat down, curling his tail around his paws, watching Sephiroth with sky-blue eyes.
Again, there was a staring match until Sephiroth held his hand out after taking off his leather gloves. Immediately Masai let out a warning growl. "Hey, it's ok, I wont hurt you, Masai. I thought you may want that muzzle and that collar off," he stated softly as if instinctively knowing Masai could understand him, keeping his hand outstretched, "I know what you've been through and having grown up in the labs as well, I promise I wont harm you. You're safe now."
The tiger studied Sephiroth warily before standing and moving forward, stopping only when he was close enough to sniff Sephiroth's hand. Taking a minute to think about it, Masai almost nodded to himself before moving closer to Sephiroth and sitting right in front of him.
Sephiroth smiled slightly and reaching up, removed the muzzle, rubbing the left behind marks gently with his fingertips before removing the leash and tossing it behind him before finally unclasping and removing the collar, giving Masai an obligatory scratch where the collar used to rest. He was rewarded for his efforts with a deep purr and Masai nuzzling him, knocking him backwards slightly.
"H-hey! Careful," Sephiroth chuckled, "you're no cub, 'sai." Sitting up, he ran his hands through the soft and plush fur, making a mental note to thank Rufus the next time he saw the blonde vice president. Ru always knew how to cheer Sephiroth up and make him feel better. Not to mention he knew about Sephiroth's long time wish for a pet of his own. So now he had a constant companion who was currently grooming his striped fur who could also protect him should the need ever arise.
Getting up, Sephiroth moved back to his desk and sat back down. Masai followed him and sat there, looking at Sephiroth expectantly. "You're way too big to join me, 'sai," Sephiroth told the tiger, raising an eyebrow at him. Masai nudged Sephiroth's hand before he started to shrink until he was the size of a cub. Once he stopped shrinking, Masai jumped into Sephiroth's lap and curled up, purring, his body toasty warm.
Sephiroth blinked in surprise before petting the cub. He assumed that the shrinking ability was Hojo's doing, so it was all too easy to shrug it off. Sephiroth just couldn't bring himself to care about Hojo right now. He could always persuade him to let him keep Masai, so he could keep his promise to Masai that he wouldn't let the madman near the tiger again if he could help it. Deciding that work was just not going to happen for the rest of the day in favor of playing with Masai, Sephiroth stood and lifting Masai securely into his arms, left his office and went to his apartment.
Upon reaching his apartment, Seph took Masai around so he could see where everything was before settling on his couch once he returned to the living room. Relaxing, he started petting the cub who now settled on his chest, kneading his paws against Sephiroth's chest with a content mewl.
"Well, 'sai, welcome home," he told the cub with a smile. He may have just been seeing things, but the way Masai looked at him, he could have sworn he saw a smile on Masai's face as well.
-giggles and cuddles Masai- oh he's just too cute! I know it seems that Masai warmed up to Sephiroth a little too quickly, but Masai has human intelligence, being genetically altered by Hojo. He knows how to read people and could tell Seph wouldn't harm him.
Genesis: -eyeroll- review so she doesn't cuddle the kitty to death.