Hi peoples! This is my first fic on this site, and I hope you like it ^.^ I love kuja and Sephiroth as a pairing, but there isn't much of it out there. So, I wrote a little. Please, tell me what you think!
Chapter I: Alive, and in Pajamas
Kuja's eyes snapped open, sweat pouring from his body. He bolted upright, his eyes darting around the room frantically. When he realized he was safe and alone, he snuggled back under the covers of the warm bed he had awoken in. He closed his eyes an-
"Wait a second, why am I in a bed?!" He remembered fighting Zidane and his friends, then dying in the Iifa tree with his younger brother by his side. But here he was, alive and well... and in fluffy pajamas. His normal clothes were lying on a wooden table next to him, neatly folded and mended. They were free of all of the holes and tears Kuja remembered them having after his battle.
He got up out of the bed, slipping his newly cleaned clothes on. He peeked out of the room's small glass window, and below there was a busy street filled with people. There were also these strange shiny boxes with black wheels that were speeding down the middle of the road.
"Where am I....?" Kuja muttered to himself. He was very confused about the whole situation. He was pretty sure this wasn't heaven, and it certainly wasn't hell, was it somewhere... in between, perhaps? He shrugged, and grabbed a hairbrush that had been sitting on the table, slowly running it through his long silvery-purple hair, admiring himself in a tiny mirror. He turned when a knock came on his door.
"C-come in." Kuja said, having no idea of who-or what- could be on the other side of that door. A tall man about his age opened the door. He was wearing all black, which made his long silvery hair look even brighter. His eyes were metallic and cat-like, a perfect mixture of blue and green. He had a look on his face that made Kuja think that he had never smiled in his life. There was a small nametag pinned to his chest, and the letters were too small for Kuja to read from the spot he was in.
"Sir, is something wrong?" The man asked. "Another guest said he heard a yell coming from inside this room. Is everything alright?" He asked in an unconcerned monotone. He didn't seem to like his job too much.
"Oh, yes. I-I'm just fine, thank you." Kuja replied. He took a tiny step forward, reading his nametag. 'Se-phi-roth...' That was a strange name. "Um, I hope you don't mind my asking, but where am I again?" Kuja questioned, his eyes flickering to the window.
"The Final Fantasy Inn." Sephiroth replied. "Are you sure you're alright?" He looked at Kuja as if he were crazy. Kuja couldn't really tell if he was sane or not by this point either.
"I told you, I'm just fine. I'm still half-asleep is all." Kuja assured him.
"Alright. Goodbye." The silver haired man left the room, the sound of his heavy footsteps echoing down the hall. Kuja went on, continuing to brush out his hair as he thought about this strange new place. He sat the brush down, looking in the small leather wallet that sat on the table. He didn't remember having it, nor did he remember having so much money in it! Kuja hid the wallet in the pocket of his pajamas and left the room, eager to explore his new surroundings.
Kuja looked both ways down the hallway, looking to see if it was safe to leave the bedroom. Nervously, he took a step out. It seemed to be a small building; there were four rooms on each side of the hallway and a staircase in the middle. He tiptoed down the hallway, and walked down the stairs. He had been on the third floor, and the second story was the same as the third, eight bedrooms, four on each side of the hall. At the base of the stairs was a small cafe, where the other guests were eating breakfast or talking with friends. He sat down at an empty table and watched the other guests blankly. A blonde waitress came up to him with a pen and pad of paper. Her nametag read 'Celes' in the same tiny blue letters as the other man's nametag.
"Good morning" She said. Kuja could tell that she wanted to say either 'sir' or 'madam' but she couldn't tell which he was. Kuja didn't mind, it happened all the time. "Would you like a cup of coffee, or something to eat?" She asked. Kuja thought for a moment, he was quite hungry. Dying could really wear a guy out.
"I'll have a cup of coffee please, an order of bacon, and two slices of wheat toast please." He said with a yawn. It wasn't exactly good for his figure, but his Y chromosomes had taken control of his stomach, and it was begging for greasy meat. She scribbled his order down, and disappeared back into the kitchen. He continued to watch the other guests, looking for a good conversation to listen to while he was waiting. He turned, and met the cat-like eyes of the man who had come into his room earlier.
"Here's your coffee sir." He said, setting down a steaming cup of coffee. Kuja wondered how could tell that he was a man so easily. Most people could never tell which.
"It's Kuja." He said. Kuja figured he might as well try to make small talk since there was nobody else to speak to. "You look tired, sit down if you want." He offered.
"Well, I guess I don't have anything better to do than stand around. My break starts in about..." Sephiroth looked at the clock hanging on the wall above the customer service desk. "Now." He pulled out one of the wooden chairs and sat down. "So, where you from? Not too many people come to this place." He said. Kuja wasn't quite sure how to answer. He couldn't exactly say he was really dead, and that he was from another world now could he? He wouldn't even believe himself if told that!
"Ehm... Gaiaville, yes Gaiaville. It's really far away. Very far indeed." Kuja bluffed. It was kinda dumb, but it was the first thing he could think of. "I came here to get away from the big city y'know? I need to be able to stretch out my legs, get a little room to breathe. Where I come from things were as tight as a can of sardines." Kuja continued on with his little white lie, to make it sound more believable. There was something in the other man's eyes though that said he knew Kuja was lying. In fact, it seemed as if he had heard the same lie a thousand times already. "Where are you from?" Kuja questioned.
"As of right now I live here at the inn with the other-" He was cut off when a clown stepped out of a door, looking madder than a hornet. His face was white except for red markings under each eye, and his clothes were bright yellow and red. He had two feathers sticking out of his hair where he had tied it back into a ponytail.
"SEPHIROTH!" The oddly dressed man shouted. "Get off your lazy ass and get back to work!" He barked. Sephiroth returned the clown's pissed-off look.
"I'm on break you stupid rodeo clown, and my ass can lazy when it wants to be!" Sephiroth shouted back at him. The grumpy clown grumbled and walked back into his office. Sephiroth then continued.
"As I was saying, I live here with the other employees." He grimaced at the clown's office door. "As well as our boss, Kefka."But I lived pretty far away too. I wasn't exactly the most popular person in town." He said blankly, as if he were remembering something. The blonde waitress then returned to the table, sitting the tray down and scurrying back into the kitchen acting as if her co-worker wasn't there. Kuja's eyes widened for a second at the size of the portion he had been given. It was as if they had slaughtered a pig and used all of it's insides on one order.
"I surely can't eat all of this alone." Kuja said. "Feel free to take some if you want." He offered to the silver haired man across from him.
"Thanks. They do insist on giving huge portions to the customers. I think it's because allot of the guests are worn out when they arrive here." He bit down on a piece of meat with a crunch. "Most say they come from far off towns like me and you. Why anybody would want to visit this city, I have no clue." People are just drawn here for some reason." He swallowed. For a few moments they were silent, listening to the other guests. Kuja broke the silence.
"You know Sephiroth, maybe I should get away from the big city. Start to live in a smaller town like this one." He said. "Maybe I could get a job here; it feels better being in this hotel than that stuffy old apartment I used to live in." He added on to his fake city. It had been a long time since he had had a true home, and he wasn't sure if he ever really had. He was always traveling from place to place, committing his evil deeds that he now so deeply regretted.
"Don't you have anybody who would miss you if you just got up and left?" Sephiroth asked, emptying the white plate. Kuja thought for a moment, emptying his cup of coffee
"Well now that you mention it, my brother Zidane would probably miss me." He though of how sad his younger sibling had looked as he witnessed his older brother dying. "We never really got along though." He wondered for a brief moment of what had become of Zidane, the last thing he remembered was his brother's face as the light faded from his eyes; he had wished so much for him to make it out safe. He heard a horrible crash and the sound of running feet... then nothing.
"You may be in luck Kuja." Sephiroth said. "Kefka's been wanting to hire somebody new ever since Rosa left a few months ago. She went off and married some Cecil guy, and we never heard from her again." Sephiroth told him. "We've also had more guests than usual as of late." He swallowed. Kuja didn't want to face the manager Kefka, Kuja was-or had been- the most feared man on Gaia, and that guy gave him goose bumps. He looked back at the clown-man's office, which had a tiny plaque that said 'MANAGER' on it. But he had nowhere else to go, and no way to earn money. Here was a job being hung right in front of him, even though he had never really worked before.
"But are you really sure you'd like a job here?" Sephiroth questioned. "I can guarantee you that there's better work out in the city." He said, trying to keep Kuja from getting tangled up in the stupid mess he was now in. His boss was a jackass, Celes was like a time bomb waiting to explode at any moment, and his other co-workers weren't too bright either. Kuja just smiled at him.
"I'm quite sure, but thank you anyway." Kuja said. "Like I said before, I like the feel of this place already. I'm sure I would enjoy working with you and the others here." That was true, but he also taken a liking to the silver haired man. He wasn't sure what, but there was just something about him that he liked. Sephiroth sighed at his failing efforts of convincing him this wasn't the best place.
"If you say so, Kefka's office is by the door to the kitchen." He said, pointing to the door with the tiny gold plaque. Kuja nodded and got up from the table, walking towards the door nervously. "Good luck in there." Sephiroth said, but Kuja didn't turn his head to look. He kept his eyes glued to the insane manager's office door. He could feel his hands shaking as he turned the handle to the door. Inside, Kefka sat with his propped up on his desk. He was reading some sort of magazine, chewing on a toothpick. He looked up and Kuja and gave him a pissed off look.
"Whadaya want?" He grumbled. "If it's about another rat in the toilet, I don't want to hear about it." He growled, setting his magazine down. Kuja shook his head.
"N-no sir, I came here looking for a job." He spluttered nervously. Kefka rubbed his chin, thinking.
"I've got three questions for you." He said, putting up three fingers. "One, can you carry a tray?" Kuja nodded "Two, can you make a bed?" Once again, Kuja nodded. "Three, can you handle a broom without killing yourself?" Again, the answer from Kuja was yes. Kefka then opened a door and pulled out a pen and a tiny slip of paper.
"Name?" He asked, clicking the pen impatiently.
"I-It's Kuja sir, Kuja Tribal." Kuja stuttered. Kefka scribbled something down on the slip of paper, stuck in a tiny laminated pouch and stuck a pin to it. He handed the new nametag to Kuja, which had his name written in tiny blue letters on it.
"There, you're hired. Tell Sephiroth to show you the ropes" He said, spitting out his toothpick.
"Thank you." Kuja muttered.
"Whatever, now get the hell out of my office"