Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.

If you have no idea where 'Kalm', 'Midgar' or any other town or place is, search for 'FF7 map' on google. That ought to give you an overview throughout the story! ;)

Kalm - Pursuit

"...Two beds? Are you sure? You are only one person, are you not?" the tired man asked, looking into the shadows behind Mika. She swallowed.

"Uh, well, yeah... The other one will be here later," she said, her voice dry. The man tilted his head a little and found a book and a pen beneath the counter.

"Okay. Write your names here, please," he said. His head dropped every now and then, as if he was about to fall asleep again. Mika took the pen and started writing, very aware of the growing energy coming from behind her. Mika and... Mr. Smith. The name she came up with for the man definitely lacked fantasy. She hoped it wouldn't be too obvious that the name was fake. She returned the book to the man and he glanced at it.

Then he nodded tiredly and put the book down.

"...I will go get some sleep... Good night, miss. Oh, and shall I leave the door unlocked for your friend?" he asked. If only he knew her 'friend' was right there with them. Mika turned in 'Mr. Smith's' direction to see if he was still there. She couldn't really see him, but she could feel he was in the room. His aura was extremely strong, weaving into every little inch of the room, herself included.

"Yes, thank you..." she managed to say, then moved for the stairs. She heard the old man close the door, but not lock it, and then he disappeared into what she believed was his room.

Once Mika was upstairs she immediately turned around to see if the hooded man was still there. She thought that he had come to Kalm to say at the Inn, and she wanted to pay for him. A simple act of kindness, or at least politeness. Now she didn't know if that had been such a good idea after all. Standing on top of the stairs, his dark silhouette sharp against the slightly lighter background, he looked at her from the depths of his hood.

"Why did you do that," he demanded, his voice sounding dark and silent, yet completely clear.

"...I thought you were going to stay for the night, too... So I thought I'd just pay for you..." Mika muttered, her eyes fixed on the silhouette.

Sephiroth contemplated her words carefully. No matter how much he disliked it, he too needed to rest – that was one of his human flaws. It did not matter how much of Jenova's cells he hosted; a part of him would always be human. Of the same reason, Cloud had defeated him in the past. That, however, was not something he would allow the next time they encountered each other. As for the person in front of him, this Mika, he found it rather suspicious that she would pay for a complete stranger. He guessed she did because of the unnecessary and highly annoying trait that most humans called kindness. He despised it. 'Kindness' could not help the humans at all – it could not save them.

Slowly he glanced towards the beds nearby. Dirty human beds.

Yet, sleeping here would still be better than sleeping outside. With a frown on his hidden face he walked over to the innermost bed without a word to Mika. If she thought he was going to thank her, she was mistaken. The woman did not move at all. The mere fact that she was still breathing and standing upright, even after his energy had overflowed the Inn, annoyed him. He wished she would drop to the floor, unconscious, to leave him in peace. The owner of the Inn had almost fainted from his energy earlier, but he had probably mistaken it for drowsiness. As things were, however, he could not simply let his energy flow freely and thus expose himself.

He sat down on a bed in the far end of the room, by the window, facing Mika. Once he stopped moving she carefully walked over to the bed closest to the stairs, as far away from him as possible. After removing her boots and heavy jacket full of pockets, she lay down on the bed, wrapping the blankets around herself tightly. Her head was almost completely hidden. As if to create distance, which was more than fine by him, her back faced him. Once he was sure she would move no more, he lay down as well. He kept his clothes on, even the hood and the boots.

The only thing he removed was his long sword. He lowered the Masamune to the floor and put it down gently, so no one would hear it, then pushed it under the bed. After doing so Sephiroth tried entering a state of rest.

Never did he sleep.

Before he found out about Jenova, he had slept regularly, like any other human. After he found the truth however, he only rested. It was a state in which he was neither asleep, nor awake. In that state he found himself thinking more than usual. Subconscious thoughts flowed to him from Jenova, and some thoughts from his old human self.

After some minutes he noticed Mika was not yet sleeping. More minutes passed; long minutes at that. The bothersome woman remained awake. Her breath was completely calm, as if she was sleeping, but he knew she was awake. Was she pulling some kind of prank on him? Was she foolish enough to think that she would be able to trick him into thinking she was actually sleeping? More minutes passed and Sephiroth found himself listening to the clock in the room. The tall piece of furniture stood on the opposite side of the staircase, sounding louder the more he concentrated on its sound. Sometimes it was fast, and other times it seemed to slow down. But Mika was still awake.

Finally, after an hour and a half, she fell asleep. Her breath did not change, but he still knew. It had always been like that; he could feel whether people were conscious or not, or if they were dead. Three different states of mind: life or consciousness, sleep or unconsciousness, and death. Then his own, the fourth state: Resting.

The hours passed and morning arrived, bringing with it the light of day that gradually started penetrating the pale curtains and reaching for the depths of the room. Sephiroth heard Mika wake up and walk downstairs. About half an hour she came back up again, smelling of soap, probably from having taken a shower. If she was tired she did a good job hiding it. After putting on her outerwear, he heard her hesitate before she cleared her voice.

"Hello? Are you awake?" she asked in a quiet, mild voice, irritating Sephiroth. He did not reply, nor did he intend to let her know that he was indeed awake.

"...If you are, good morning," she added, her voice still disgustingly kind. This was not a good morning. If it were up to him it would be raining right now, in stead of the sun shining. The humans were always happier in the sun. Hearing Mika walk down the stairs, he sat up in the bed. After grabbing his sword from the floor, he hid it underneath his cloak and moved downstairs without a sound. As he moved past the counter, he heard the owner of the Inn gasp in surprise upon seeing him. Slowly he turned his head to observe the man from within his hood, and the old man swallowed, his eyes wide. It was a good thing his face was hidden.

"G-Good morning, uh, Mr. Smith, Sir!" he stammered, glancing in the book on the counter to find the name Mika had written the night before. Sephiroth turned away, his mouth in a soundless snarl, then walked out the door without responding.

First of all he had to get his hands on another weapon. In order to destroy the Mako reactors that drained the Lifestream, he would need a new weapon that no one would recognize. If he kept using his long sword, people would eventually realize he was Sephiroth. In order for him to keep the moment of surprise, he could not risk rumors about himself roaming about. If everything went according to his plans he would make it to the Crater once more, and this time Cloud would not be there in time to keep him from summoning Meteor. Therefore, to stay hidden, Sephiroth had to steal a weapon no one would find familiar. The mere thought made him frown. To sink to the level of a petty thief was not tempting, but he had no money. On the other hand, he could use his verbal skills to make the shop keeper 'give' him a weapon. It was worth a try.

Once he was outside, the people walking the streets looked at him with wide eyes. Some looked frightened, others were frowning at him. A couple of children just looked curious. If only they knew who they were watching. Sephiroth seemed to glide forward as he moved up the stairs and towards the Weapon Shop, and not a single person uttered a word while he did so. He walked into the shop and stopped in front of the counter. The shop owner looked at him, eyes narrowed and brows arched, not saying a word. Sephiroth could not have cared less. He scanned the weapons with his eyes - they had improved from the last time he had been here, but he could not exactly say any of them interested him much. There was only a single sword in there.

"...That sword," Sephiroth said, letting his gloved hand rest on the counter. While still watching him, the shop owner grabbed the single sword and put it on the desk before him. The sword looked like Cloud's sword, which was annoying enough in itself, but it was not nearly as broad. From just watching it Sephiroth could tell it was made out of solidified Mako. A rare product. The Mako resembled blue, transparent steel more than anything. He grabbed the red hilt and raised the sword. At this, the shop owner stepped back, eyes widening a little as he frowned.

"I shall have this," Sephiroth declared, his voice dark and silent. When the frightened man did not move, nor reply, he simply turned to leave.

But his path was blocked – by none other than Mika. She greeted him with a kind, annoying smile and walked past him. Once she had done so, seemingly unaware that he had acquired a sword without paying, Sephiroth left. The previous owner of his sword made a strange sound as Sephiroth disappeared from sight, but did not dare to tell him to stop, so Sephiroth kept walking.

Mika noticed that the shop keeper seemed troubled. The cloaked man had carried a sword with him. If there was a problem, it most likely had something to do with money, or at least it had something to do with that sword. Had 'Mr. Smith' paid for it? Mika moved up to the counter.

"Um, did he pay for that?" she asked suspiciously, and the man shook his head.
"No! He just- he just left!" the man exclaimed, looking at her. Mika gave a dumbfounded look, as if she were the one who had lost the sword to a thief, then just gaped. Why would he do such a thing?

"Do you know him, Miss?" the man behind the counter asked, almost leaning over the counter. Mika didn't even know the name of the cloaked man. But the shop owner didn't need to know that.
"Yeah, his name is Smith. If he didn't pay for that sword, I'll do it," Mika said, trying to sound as polite and calm as possible, so the shop owner wouldn't turn suspicious. He narrowed his eyes, but left it at that.

"That'll be...19 000 Gil." he said, and Mika felt all air leave her for some seconds.
"Okay..." she managed, her voice dry and slightly hoarse, whereas her legs turned into jelly partially incapable of carrying her weight. She would have to forget about buying new materia for herself. Her old ones would have to do.

And Smith would have to pay her back for this.

As he carried the blue Mako sword outside, Sephiroth received even more glares than he had before. There were even people peering at him from their windows. All of them remained quiet, not uttering a single word. As this was none of his concern, he simply left the small village, not intending to return. Once he left Kalm, though, he heard them speak up again. He did not care what they thought of him, but he simply could not keep their words from reaching his ears:

"I don't think he's a member of Avalanche, I mean, seriously, that man looked much more like he works for Shinra."
"No, he can't be working for Shinra, they have special uniforms there, unless your rank is really high..."
"But he hides under a cloak - perhaps he's a criminal? One who's escaped from jail?"

Sephiroth frowned.

"Haha, I don't think so. Perhaps he quit Shinra of his own will, and now he wanders the world to find the meaning of life."
"That's just a tad bit too philosophical, if you ask me. But who knows – if that's really the case, and he goes to the Chocobo Ranch, perhaps he'll meet Cloud and join Avalanche?"

"Eh? Cloud's there? You reckon he's the one responsible for the blackout?"
"I dunno. I just heard he was there alone, training one of those chocobos of his for a race or something."
"Really?"

Sephiroth heard no more. If Cloud was at the Chocobo Ranch alone, without the rest of his team, this was a convenient situation that genuinely interested him. What if he could kill Cloud once and for all, today? No one would be able to stop him if he did, and the rest of the Avalanche members were not there to help Cloud this time around. The only reason Cloud had won once before, was because his friends had helped him. To add to this, Sephiroth was not in a weakened state at the moment, nor was he unmotivated. He was more than ready. First he would kill Cloud, then he would continue his quest to crush the reactors. And nobody would know it was him. Only Cloud himself – but he would be dead very soon.

Allowing himself to smirk, he started running east from Kalm, heading in the direction of the Chocobo Ranch.

Mika exited the town of Kalm just in time to see the cloaked man as he dashed away. Or – to be far more precise – float away with his cloak billowing about vigorously while his feet scarcely touched the ground. His speed was amazing. She wouldn't be able to catch up with him even if she tried. His tall form moved across the plains, his cloak looking more like a dense, jet black cloud shrouding him. If Mika wouldn't have known better, she'd say he was some kind of superhuman, or even fiend. She could just forget about the money she had paid for the sword he stole earlier – he would definitely not give them back.

As she gave a hollow laugh and then sighed in a depressed manner, a boy nearby seemed to notice she was troubled.

"You okay? ...Do you know that man?" the small kid asked after walking over to her. His innocent eyes (a frighteningly strong contrast to 'Mr. Smith's' height and energy) watched her with interest as he waited for her answer. Mika flashed him a brief smile.
"Not really, but he owes me some money. Besides, I hoped to at least get to know his name..." she said, trying to stop herself from sounding too sulky while she watched as the cloaked man disappeared completely in the distance.

"I can help you!" the kid exclaimed with great enthusiasm, starting to jump up and down in excitement. Mika blinked, doubting him. How could this small boy help her catch up with the shadowy person?
"...How?" she asked. The boy turned and pointed towards a bearded man looking like somewhat of a nomad, sitting on an old bench not too far away from a chocobo. Mika's eyes widened in instant realization as she figured out what the boy meant. Before thinking twice, she followed him over to the man standing there.

"Pops! This girl can take Choco home!" the boy said in a loud voice, and the bearded man rose an eyebrow as he turned to Mika.

"...Is that true? Can you bring him to the Chocobo Ranch?" he asked, somewhat suspicious.

The hooded man was heading in the direction of the Chocobo Ranch, wasn't he? At least somewhere close to it.
"Well, yeah, but I don't have any money..." Mika said nervously. The man laughed at that, and his suspicious expression changed into a softer one.

"You don't pay to work, you get paid to work. Right? I'll pay you 2000 Gil if you bring Choco back to the Chocobo stables for me. I can't keep him here, and I haven't got time to bring him there myself. It'd be a shame if I'd have to let him free after such a long time with him," the man said, and Mika grinned.

"I'd love to, really!" she said.

Only three minutes later, she was on the back of the big, yellow chocobo, waving goodbye to the boy and his father.
"Be careful, Choco might freak out sometimes..." the man called in a happy voice, and Mika gave a loud laugh. She instantly regretted it, though, as the bird got frightened and sped up and away, leaving behind nothing but a cloud of dust. The chocobo was so fast that Mika had trouble had trouble holding on. Still, even though the ground raced past them below and the ride was already pretty bumpy, Mika couldn't help but grin. She doubted she had ever moved this fast before.

Riding a chocobo had been something she had always wanted to try (just like many other things), but she just hadn't had the time. They passed many fiends while dashing forward through the great valley, but none attacked them. This pleased Mika immensely, as it would have slowed them down (and possibly also have given her a scratch or two on the behind). It would be a waste of time to stop just to fight some of them.

However, as the hours passed, she found that her muscles were not at all that happy with her choice of transport. She was aching all over from just holding on all the time. Her back hurt as well, from sitting in a hunched position in order to avoid dust and flying pebbles. And her behind – even though they hadn't fought a single fiend – was hurting very badly. The chocobo had yet to slow down even a little. How much energy did it have? They had been running for half a day already, and Mika was getting more exhausted by the minute. What had been a dream the first half hour was now a pain in the ass, literally speaking.

Her pained gaze rose just in time to see them enter a yard, and the chocobo stopped dead, nearly making her fall off with a loud "Auff!". As she looked around, there wasn't a single person to be seen.

"Ahem, sorry? Can I help you?" a tiny voice asked, and Mika bent forward to look right in front of the chocobo. There was someone here after all?

A little kid was standing there, looking up at them as if it was the most normal thing in the world to almost be overrun by a chocobo.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! We didn't hit you, right? I'm new with chocobos, so..." Mika explained, and the child kept staring.

"Actually, I'm here to hand over this chocobo... Its name is Choco," she added, and slid down to the ground, landing on shaky legs. Her knees had never felt weaker. And her backside had never been this sore.
"Oh! It's Choco! I know this guy! Thanks for bringing him, and, um, if you need to rest, you can go to the main house." After he was done speaking he led the chocobo towards the stables, leaving Mika behind. After glancing around briefly (it was a beautiful place – really peaceful and nice), she walked to the only house she could see (if she didn't count in the stables and the silo). As a result of her chocobo ride it felt rather strange to walk, but that didn't matter. Perhaps they had a pillow or two for her to sit on. She wondered if the people on the ranch had seen the cloaked man somewhere. It couldn't hurt to ask.

But upon opening the door, she realized she wouldn't have to ask. There, facing the owner of the ranch, was the man with the black cloak. As the two heard her come inside they turned to her. The oldest man seemed to be quite troubled, she could tell. The hooded man held his broad, blue sword, the one he had stolen earlier, and looked ready to attack. Ignoring her, he turned back to the ranch owner.

"...Are you certain he is not anywhere nearby?" he demanded darkly, and the old man nodded sharply.
"Yes! Mr. Cloud left hours ago, in that airship! He said he was going to find out what had happened to the reactors in Midgar, and his teammates picked him up!" the old man - probably the ranch owner - answered, trembling, his eyes fixed on the sword that remained pointed at him.

Sephiroth frowned, his expression hidden by his hood.

He had been too late. Cloud was already gone. Running all the way had taken more out of him than he had thought it would – he was tired, and he did not like it. To add to his frustration, that woman had followed him here. How had she managed to get here this fast? By chocobo? His scowl deepened. Mika was an incredibly annoying person, following him like that.

As if on cue, she took half a step towards him.

"Um, I paid for your sword back in Kalm... And I don't expect you to pay me back or anything, since you didn't actually ask me to pay, but you could at least have said 'thanks'," she scolded quietly, seemingly disappointed. Was she, by any chance, telling him what to do? Ordering him? His eyes narrowed. He would not thank her. It was as easy as that.

"No," he said simply, and moved over to another door in the room. Contemplating what to do next, he simply stood there for a long moment, weighing each opportunity in his mind.

"...I shall occupy this room until morning. If you come in..." Sephiroth warned, and his Mako blade flashed. The old man nodded vigorously, giving an overly nervous laugh while folding his hands. At that, Sephiroth opened the door and walked inside the bedroom – eyeing everything in there. As much as he hated to admit it, he was tired from running all the way here. Crossing half a continent would tire anyone. Throwing a last glance out the door before he closed it, he saw Mika's worried face. It seemed to him as if she did her very best to annoy him in all possible ways.

He put the Mako sword on a bed and brought out his own, long sword, Masamune, from inside his cloak. The thin, long blade shimmered in the light from outside. He put it down next to the other sword, then sat down on one of the other beds in the room, exhaling quietly. For now he would rest. And when he no longer felt even a little tired, he would move on to the Mako reactors. Slower this time, so he would not need to rest as much later.

Once the man closed the door, the poor ranch owner sat down on the only sofa in the room, and Mika hesitatingly followed, only choosing a chair instead. Why was the cloaked man so... dark? He seemed so hateful. Come to think of it, hateful was the best way to describe him. Just like the infamous Sephiroth had been, or perhaps a little like President Rufus and his henchmen. And why had he asked the ranch owner of the whereabouts of Cloud? Was there, by any chance, some sort of connection between the two? Teammates from Soldier? Somebody from Cloud's past?

No, she thought, shaking her head. Stop thinking about it.
"...Um, do you think I can rest here tonight, sir?" she asked as politely as she could, as if not to scare the already frightened man. He turned to watch her.

"You... You look like a person who can fight, am I right?" he asked. Mika nodded, though very slowly. She knew some handy moves when it came to fighting. But she wasn't exactly an expert. Not at all. She had her precious smoke bombs and a few other things.
"...Then you can stay. I'll feel safer with you around when he is here," he said in a whisper, and Mika smiled nervously.

As if she could take him on.

R.R.
Do you like it this far? If so, then please review... :)