Title: "SHIKUHANASHI -Without Equal-"
Author: LegolasLover2003 aka Ashley
Category: Video Game - "Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core"
Genre: Drama, General
Rating: R (for mature language, violence, and anything else I decide to throw in along the way)
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to "Final Fantasy". I just really really like Sephiroth and Genesis.
Author's Note: This story will be divided into chapters, culminating into 5 Acts (like the LOVELESS poem) and follow Genesis Rhapsodos' path to SOLDIER.
"Sephiroth..."
One step then two. I won't make it in time. If I reach... just a little further... He's too strong to knock away but if I can just move... If I can just get there.
Three steps... four... five... The dust is flying in my eyes. But it doesn't matter. I just have to reach that black coat. My rapier's no good now. I don't have the time to take a defensive stance.
Six... seven... eight... nine... Almost there. Just don't turn around. If I do this and you cut me with that damn long sword... Just concentrate on the men in front of you.
Because I promised, didn't I?
I'd protect your back...
Ten...
"SEPHIROTH! BEHIND!"
Thud
Thud
Thud
The sound of bullets penetrating leather... fabric... skin... of it tearing through muscle and tissue. I reached out, but all my gloved hand caught was the hem of that long black coat.
Rip... Squelch
I feel heavy... My blade's in my hand, impaled in the dusty earth, but I can't move. The pain in my back is intense. My knees strike the ground first and I try to steady myself with the rapier and that black coat.
The world's spinning... it burns... that gasp of breath, I can taste blood... see blood... am I coughing? It's my blood then, isn't it? My blood pooling on the dirt...
There's a strong hand on my shoulder, I can't see anything... the ground's spinning so fast... I'm too heavy. The rapier will shatter if I try to move.
Silver hair...
SHIKUHANASHI
~Without Equal~
A
"Final Fantasy VII"
Pre-Crisis Core
Fanfiction
PROLOGUE
When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end
The goddess descends from the sky.
Wings of light and dark spread afar
She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting.
獣たちの戦いが世に終わりをもたらす時
冥き空より、女神が舞い降りる
光と闇の翼を広げ
至福へと導く「贈り物」とともに
Kemono tachi no tatakai ga yo ni owari wo motarasu toki
Kuraki sora yori megami ga maioriru.
Hikari to yami no tsubasa wo hiroge
Shifuku heto michibiku "okurimono" to tomoni.
This hadn't been in the mission report. Shinra had obviously made a mistake, and mistakes like this were costly.
Sephiroth wasn't one to abide something this half-assed.
He should have refused the order. Angeal and Genesis were too new to the unit. Sure both men were amazing at combat, but there were too many Wutai Soldiers for just three men.
It hadn't helped things that Sephiroth had gone off alone to scout the surrounding area. But of course why should it have bothered him? He'd done plenty of missions in the past... a few where he ended up alone... or the only survivor.
Still, leaving Angeal and Genesis behind to guard the chopper... maybe it had been a bad idea. Maybe the two of them could have just let some grunts do the annoying work.
Sighing, Sephiroth continued down the small path, more like an animal trail really. It was said to connect to one of the major roads heading into Wutai's northern boarder. If there were any Wutai scouts, Sephiroth would no doubt be able to handle a little skirmish.
How wrong he had been.
Fifteen minutes out from base, Sephiroth heard an explosion. Green eyes shifted, watching the treetops as smoke began to billow into the air. It would give their location away... but had it been the chopper?
Sighing again, the SOLDIER pulled out a phone and quickly called for reinforcements. If Wutai could take out a chopper with Angeal, Genesis, and a unit of grunts guarding it, then they needed backup. A new chopper at the very least.
That done, Sephiroth headed back in the direction he'd come, careful not snag a tree in passing with Masamune. The last thing he needed was his blade stuck halfway through a thick pine. His return to base didn't last long however. A few miles out, Sephiroth stopped... the sound of rushing boots over foliage alerting him to an ambush. He broke for open ground... it would be impossible to fight properly in the close quarters of the thick jungle.
Coming up short, just outside the treeline, Sephiroth's blade was raised, a barrage of bullets bouncing off Masamune as the SOLDIER dodged a volley of gunfire. Sephiroth dashed forward, proceeding to cut down the Wutai unit that had shown themselves.
Two fell... then four... then eight... slick blood driving Masamune forward as man after man was slain on the grass.
A second Wutai unit however appeared from the trees ahead, this group getting in a few shots before Sephiroth could realize they were there. The first bullet whizzed through the ends of his hair, but the fourth caught the SOLDIER in the hip, grazing him just enough to cut the leather coat he wore and draw blood.
From the left a third Wutai unit advanced and Sephiroth backtracked, knowing he was outnumbered. Under the cover of brush again, he made it quickly to a larger section of the animal trail, black boots kicking up dust as he stopped and turned to face the oncoming horde.
Sephiroth never heard the third unit break ranks and try to pincer him in. Back turned, blade bared, Sephiroth deflected the bullets of the second incoming unit.
Pausing only when he heard his name...
"SEPHIROTH! BEHIND!"
Gunfire exploded into the air, then something slammed into the SOLDIER's back hard, pulling his coat. The sound caused Sephiroth to twist painfully at the hip.
"Genesis..."
Another man stood there however, dressed in the ninja attire of a special ops Wutai unit. Before Sephiroth could lift his sword to stop the man, the assassin, obviously meant for himself, drove his blade deep into the back that protected Sephiroth's own.
Genesis went down hard, the sound of steel impacting earth and a body collapsing to the dirt echoing. Just as he fell however, Sephiroth raised his right hand, Masamune in his left, and the assassin's face literally melted from his skin as a fire spell impacted at point blank range.
A few seconds later, the entire third Wutai unit screamed as a ball of fire engulfed their position and Angeal came dashing through the underbrush, skidding to a stop beside Sephiroth.
Green eyes flickered to the other man, "Take care of them." Sephiroth spoke coldly, indicting the now advancing second unit.
"A fourth and fifth unit appeared at the chopper. They took it out." Angeal spoke, ignoring Genesis for the moment, who was kneeling on the ground... blood seeping down his back from three bullet holes. "I radioed for backup."
"As did I. The third unit offered cover fire for an assassin." Sephiroth replied, setting Masamune down and taking Genesis by the shoulder. He could see the young man's blue eyes just looking ahead, could tell by the way Genesis held onto his rapier that it was taking all his effort to keep upright. "I took out the first unit, retreated from the second, and the third tried a pincer maneuver." Sephiroth spoke calmly, pushing Genesis just enough to dip his head down and look the man in the eyes. "Still with me?"
"Ha... hai..." Rhapsodos whispered, a trail of blood running from his lips and to the dirt, mingling with the pool he already knelt in.
Meanwhile, Angeal sent another fireball directly into the second Wutai unit. Shell Materia however took the brunt of the attack. Cursing, Angeal reached a hand out and pried Genesis' hand off his blade, removing the rapier from the ground.
"A chopper should be landing. Base is secured. We were a little more worried about you, Sephiroth." Angeal spoke, moving his sword around to use as a shield against incoming bullets.
Sephiroth pulled Genesis to his feet, half hauling the young man over his shoulder before picking Masamune up again. "Retreat is advised then. Especially with wounded." he spoke, leading the way back to base.
Five minutes later, Sephiroth was able to lay Genesis down on an emergency stretcher in one of the reinforcement choppers. "Angeal, take part of the reinforcements and head south. Take out any opposition within ten miles. I want this place cleaned up. Shinra was ridiculous for sending us out here."
Angeal smirked, "It's a war, not a skirmish." the man spoke, turning away from the chopper and getting together his own unit to move out.
"Still with me?" Sephiroth asked Genesis again, laying the man on his side so-as not to aggravate the bullet wounds.
Rhapsodos nodded slightly. "I promised I'd watch your back." he whispered, blue eyes closed.
Sephiroth smirked, "You watched it a little too well. I was already shot once." going silent for a moment, the SOLDIER simply listened to the sounds of battle around him. Angeal was obviously winning... because every few moments the ground would shake as an explosion rocked the jungle. "You should have used magic."
"Wouldn't have gotten to them in time to stop their trigger fingers." Genesis said with a gasp, a medic beginning to apply pressure to his wounds to stop the bleeding.
Nodding, Sephiroth grabbed some gauze himself and pressed it against his hip. "We'll get you back to Shinra headquarters. Is this the first time you've been shot?"
"First... and last." Rhapsodos replied, his blue gaze steeled. "You have to be the hero, don't you?" he asked.
For a moment, the SOLDIER didn't know what to say. "If you want the hero title for yourself, Genesis... it's free for the taking."
"The world needs a new hero, Sephiroth." the young Banoran said stubbornly.
Smirking, Sephiroth picked up Masamune, stuffed the gauze in his coat, and took a few steps away from the waiting chopper. "Genesis... Come and try."
Turning away, Sephiroth headed back into battle.
Ten minutes later, the skirmish had ended... Fifteen minutes after that, the wounded were loaded onto the choppers and the base abandoned.
One hour later, Genesis Rhapsodos was admitted to the Shinra Medical Department for grievous life-endangering wounds.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes:
- Prologue text is from the play/poem "LOVELESS". Each ACT will be opening with a "LOVELESS" quote that corresponds with the ACT from the play/poem and the ACT in the story.
- Translation of "LOVELESS" comes from 'The Final Fantasy Wiki'.
- The bit at the end where Genesis says "The world needs a new hero" and Sephiroth replies "Come and try" is taken from "Crisis Core" itself.
- I will try to respond to all reviews as I post up the next chapter, be it in a Review Response on the next chapter or via email (which I don't check often).
Translations:
- Shikuhanashi = Peerless / Without Equal
- Ha... Hai... = Ye... Yes...
I ASK THAT YOU DO NOT SUBMIT REVIEWS ABOUT HOW YOU DISLIKE JAPANESE BEING IN THE STORY!
I love getting reviews (especially ones that are helpful, pointing out the good and the bad both), but it puts me in a sour mood whenever I see a review that's all about (and usually ONLY about) how you don't like there being Japanese dialogue in the story. I'm sorry, but it's not disappearing any time soon (look below for my generic response about it, as well as a special tailored response for this story alone). So please, to keep me happy and to keep me replying to reviews, just don't nitpick about it (unless there's something I did uber wrong, then you can because I may go back and fix it if I see the error). Thank you.
TAILORED RESPONSE FOR THIS PARTICULAR STORY:
-This is a fanfiction based off of a Japanese video game and therefore, Japanese voices are in my head.
-In this brain, GENESIS IS GACKT and SEPHIROTH IS TOSHIYUKI MORIKAWA and ANGEAL IS KAZUHIKO INOUE!
-Please keep this in mind... because hearing them in my head is how I write them on paper (or digitally write them).
-So you may find bits and pieces of Japanese in there, and "LOVELESS" will appear in English, Kanji, and Romanji when it is used (unless quoted then it'll probably be in Romanji) by a character.
GENERIC RESPONSE TO THOSE WHO DISLIKE THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE TEXT: (mainly pertaining to my anime/manga stories)
-It seems every story I write that's based on an anime... I end up having to say the same thing.
-I took 9 semesters of Japanese in college and did multiple 30min weekly study groups for the first years for two semesters.
-I know it's not always right (what I have in my stories sometimes that is) but BECAUSE this is a fanfiction that is based off of an anime, and because I watch anime in Japanese and very very rarely dubbed in English, I pick up voice habits of certain characters (such as Lockon's "oi").
-Since Lockon really wouldn't be speaking Japanese to begin with since he's Irish... and Setsuna would probably speak Arabic and Allelujah Russian... (Tieria could speak anything for all we know really), then even the show should be distracting at this point to anyone because there they go, speaking Japanese.
-I know some people don't like Japanese interjected into stories, and to placate them I started putting the translations directly at the ends of the Japanese sentences (I used to just have a translation section at the end of the story, which is still there just because it helps me go back and see what I've used quicker than scanning the entire story).
-I'm not going to stop putting Japanese in my stories that are based off of Anime or Manga (or Japanese Dramas or Movies either, cause I've got Japanese in my "Moon Child" story too).
-You will, however, never find Japanese in any of my LOTR stories or any other fandom that I write unless there is a character that speaks it (like random Korean in the SG-1 story) on a normal basis.