Conversation, in Sephiroth's opinion, best occurred incidentally. It was so much easier if there was some other business- training, a game, food, work- to take up the bulk of one's concentration, leaving words to fit in here and there wherever they could. Like himself, if asked a direct question, his brothers would answer, but the replies were short and self-conscious, as if they were afraid of giving the wrong answer. Which they probably were. It wasn't easy to set aside the air of authority that served as both weapon and armor. Like Masamune, without it Sephiroth felt naked and vulnerable. However, the only family he had left deserved to know him as more than just the Great General. Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj- as they preferred to be called- were only children. He did not want them to be frightened of him.

Loz, as the oldest, struggled to treat him as anything but another adult; a different sort of teacher or commanding officer. Curiously, he'd formed a much more casual bond with Elfe. Perhaps because she was less well known to him, or because she was female and therefore something of a novelty, Loz seemed much more comfortable around her.

Kadaj, in contrast, was heartily enamored of his eldest brother. Sephiroth got the feeling Kadaj would have followed him around all day if he'd let him. For some reason, he was mistrustful, even disdainful, of Elfe.

"Why don't you like her?" Loz challenged his brother. "She's nice!"

Kadaj had crossed his arms, and scowled. "She's not our mother."

On this point he could not be moved, and seemed to take it personally that Jenova had died indirectly by Elfe's hand.

Yazoo remained something of an enigma. Quiet and watchful, he said little, but nothing escaped his notice. He reminded Sephiroth a little bit of Vincent: observing silently, but never directly involved. When he spoke, he was always quiet and polite, but slyly cheeky. He certainly knew more than he let on. Whether he used this knowledge for himself or some other purpose remained to be seen. Loz and Kadaj dragged him into their argument, demanding his opinion.

"Well," he began, carefully choosing his words, "I like Elfe fine. She's pretty cool for a girl and a grownup, but you're right. She's not our mother."

Kadaj smiled smugly, vindicated. "See?"

"If she and Sephiroth get married, she'd be our step-mother," Yazoo went on. "Not a wicked one, of course. That's only in stories."

Kadaj did not look convinced.

"She killed our real mother!" he insisted.

"Kadaj," Sephiroth chose to intervene, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "That isn't true."

"It is!" Kadaj shouted, eyes welling up. "I could hear her screaming! Elfe hurt her and there was nothing I could do!" He sniffed, looked at the floor. "She used to sing to me… I would dream about her sometimes. Not anymore."

Kneeling down, Sephiroth set both hands on the boy's shoulders. "Kadaj, Elfe didn't kill Jenova. I did."

Kadaj stared at him, stricken silent. "You're lying," he managed after several minutes. "It isn't true! You wouldn't! Mother said it was all Elfe's fault! She told you lies, made you do wrong things! She made you crazy! It's Elfe's fault she's dead!"

He was crying in earnest and Sephiroth gathered him close. Instinctively, Kadaj clutched Sephiroth's shirt in both fists and hid his face in his shoulder.

"Elfe did not kill Jenova," Sephiroth repeated softly. "Rather, she did not act alone. Alpha, Omega, Chaos, Zirconiade, Aeris, Elfe, and myself all helped to bring an end to her. I was told that Jenova was my mother as well, and for most of my life I believed it, but it wasn't true. Our mother, our real mother, died a long time ago. Jenova...was trying to protect you, but she wasn't telling you the truth."

Kadaj huddled closer, more sad than angry.

"If Elfe wanted to hurt you, would she have gone to find you when you ran away? Or saved you from the Midgar Zolom? She brought you to me, just like she promised."

"I want my mommy back," Kadaj sobbed, his small voice muffled by the soft fabric of Sephiroth's shirt.

"So do I," Sephiroth told him, smoothing his back and thinking of Lucrecia. "I miss her too, but there are people here who love you: me, your brothers, Vincent, Veld, and Efle too."

At this Kadaj looked up. Face red and splotchy from crying, he gave a skeptical sniff. "Elfe loves us?"

"Yes," Sephiroth answered simply. "She brought you back safe. She gave you your dragons to protect you. She watched over you while I was ill. I believe she would have done that even if you were not related to me. That's the kind of person she is."

Kadaj thought about that for a minute. "I still don't want her to be our mother. I want our mother to be our mother."

Sephiroth smiled. "Well, she'd only be a mother to you in the same way that I'm a father: she's just a lot older, and helping to take care of you. She'd actually be your sister-in-law."

"Sister-in-law," Yazoo echoed, rather unexpectedly. "Oh right. I knew that." Or he felt he should have, if his mildly embarrassed expression was any indication.

"Do you think you could manage a sister-in-law?{ Sephiroth asked. "That's assuming it works out between us."

"Why wouldn't it work out?" Loz wanted to know.

Sephiroth couldn't help the brief flush of heat in his cheeks. "Love is a little more complicated in real life than it is in stories."

Loz nodded, as if accepting a deep truth of the universe. "So...what should we call her?"

"Elfe?" Sephiroth blinked. "Whatever she likes, I suppose." Normally children addressed their elders by their title- General, Commander, Doctor, Professor, Mrs., Mr.- but that would hardly do for Elfe or himself.

"Okay," Loz agreed, apparently making a note to ask Elfe about this later. "What should we call you?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "You can call me by my first name. I don't mind."

Loz looked aghast. "I can't call you by your name!"

It was a struggle to hold back the smile, but Sephiroth managed it. He'd experienced the same surreal feeling not so long ago. Somewhere around his early twenties, adults older than himself had begun to insist he address them informally by their first names. He still wasn't completely used to it. His default was to address others by their title, or barring that, as "sir" or "ma'am" as the occasion called. In Loz's mind, addressing the Great General Sephiroth without military honors was tantamount to blasphemy. Mostly, Loz had got around it by simply calling him "sir", but that was too formal. Loz needed to see him as a fellow human, and not a hero of legend.

"Well," he began, thinking aloud, "when I was in Wutai, people had a lot more titles and specifics added to their names depending on all kinds of different things: whether or not they were related to you, if they were higher or lower in rank, and so on. Among other things, boys in Wutai would call their older brothers 'Oniisan'. Would that do?"

"Oniisan," Loz repeated and nodded. "Yeah. That'll work."

The other two nodded agreement, and Sephiroth smiled.