Disclaimer: Don't own and don't profit. All characters belong to Square Enix.
Sephiroth sat absolutely still in his chair. Cass rarely talked about herself and her descriptions were always vague. Now here she was, offering to talk. She looked at a loss for where to begin. It didn't faze Sephiroth much. She sometimes looked like then when trying to figure out how to best answer a question, but the answer always came. Always.
She folded up her legs and sat up straight. Sephiroth unconsciously mirrored her position. She took a deep breath.
"When I was one or two years old, my parents died," she began, "I don't know how. Car accident sticks in my mind for some reason. I spent a long time in a place where kids without families go to live until they grow up. It was not a happy place. It was very crowded and most people were not very nice. My brother ran away from it. He told me he wanted to take me along, but I was too little. I don't know if that is true or not.
"I cannot compare it to living in the lab like you do. Many aspects were similar, but it was vastly different. It is not a time I look back on fondly, I will say that much. I will spare you the details. You wouldn't be interested.
"The main goal of that place was to move us to new families. It did not do it well. Many of the so-called parents were people who should not be allowed to care for children, but that place was too crowded that many were shipped off to a fate I do not wish to dwell on. The lucky ones found good people who cared for them. I was not among them." She paused for a moment.
"Am I making sense to you?" she asked. Sephiroth nodded.
"You were like me," Sephiroth said, "Only outside."
"Very much so," Cass said, "but like I said, it would be impossible to compare our experiences. You have memories that will be both less and more painful than mine. I was neither better nor worse off than you are now. I do not want your sympathy. I merely ask you to understand." Sephiroth nodded again.
"You did not have Hojo," he said. She nodded.
"No. I was lucky enough to escape his aqaintance until now," Cass admitted, "but I did meet people who were fairly similar. I'll skip the details again. You won't be interested.
"In the end, I ran away," Cass said, "I had no intention of going back. I was not much older than you are now. I was sick from living with the last family and I was slow to move along. I expected to get caught before long."
"Then a stranger stopped and helped me. I don't know why. I don't know who she thought I was or what she thought she could do, but she helped me. She let me into her home, fed me and let me spend the night. The next day, I was too sick to even move and she let me stay longer. I lost count of how many days.
"The people who were supposed to care for me eventually found me. I did not want to go back. Then the stranger did something that I will forever be grateful for. She said I could live with her.
"They did not want me to live with her. She was handicapped. She had a physical deformation and they thought she would not be able to care for me properly. She was deaf. She could not hear a thing."
"She was the one who taught you the silent language," Sephiroth said. He struggled to remember the name. "Aurore?"
"Aurore," Cass said, "She insisted long enough that they let her. I lived with her until I was old enough to be on my own. Aurore treated me as if I were her own child, though we were not related in the slightest. Over time, I began to think of her as my mother, since I never really knew my own. I called her that. Whenever I think of my mother, Aurore is the one who comes to mind. She gave me many things, my education, even my last name. Aurore Durmont was her full name. I don't know what my real last name is. Durmont is all I ever needed.
"Do you understand?" she asked. Sephiroth nodded.
"She sounds very...kind," Sephiroth said.
"She was, she was very strict too, but, once again, I'll spare you the details," Cass said, "If you want to hear them, you can ask."
"What did you call her?" Sephiroth asked, "Aurore?"
"No," she said, "I called her Mama. She called me Cassi." Sephiroth cocked his head, unused to such terms of endearment like that. The ones Cass used were playful. These were something else. Cass bit her lip and seemed reluctant to speak again.
"I told you this because..." she trailed off. She started again. "Sephiroth...I would never, ever wish to take the place of your mother. Ever. But..." She swallowed. Sephiroth wasn't sure what she was trying to say.
"I don't want you to live here," she said, "you don't belong in a laboratory and..." She sighed.
"I want to do for you what Aurore did for me," she said at last. Sephiroth was still for one long moment.
"Sephiroth?" she asked. He didn't respond right away.
"You would...care for me...all the time?" he asked.
"Yes," she said, "I want to adopt you." He was quiet again.
"Sephiroth?" she asked again, "Sephiroth...you don't have to if you don't want to."
"I want to!" he said quickly. He stood up and approached her. A tentative hand reached for hers. "I want to," he said again. Now she was quiet. He looked up at her. A smile was placed firmly on her face and she was looking at him with an expression that made his lips quirk up in return. Her hand opened up and took his.
He felt the smile growing of it's own will and he didn't want it to stop. He crawled up into the nest her legs made and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her arms encircled him.
"I want to live with you," Sephiroth said. He'd never been so certain in his life.
They sat like that for a very long time. Sephiroth didn't want to let her go ever again. He would live with Cass; they would be together. He felt something bubbling up in his throat and fought to keep it down. He failed and it came out anyway. Cass squeezed him.
"What's happening to me," Sephiroth said trying to breathe.
"You're laughing," Cass said, "It happens occasionally, when you're really happy."
"I don't know what happy means," Sephiroth said, pulling even closer to Cass. She shifted to make them more comfortable.
"This is happy," she said, "what you feel right now."
"I like it," Sephiroth said.
"Most people do," Cass replied. Her fingers started weaving through his hair. Sephiroth made the noise in his nose that Cass had told him was humming.
"Are you happy?" Sephiroth asked.
"Mmm-hmm," Cass said, "I'm very happy right now."
"Because you want to try and be my mother?" Sephiroth said.
"I want us to be a family," Cass said.
"I do too," Sephiroth said. He couldn't make himself stop talking. The laughter and excitement was all too much.
"It might take a while though," Cass said.
"Hojo..." Sephiroth murmured. That made the happy thing die a little.
"Mmm-hmm," Cass said, "among other things, but besides that, there is no reason why you and I shouldn't be a family."
"Can they stop it?" Sephiroth asked.
"They could," Cass said. She sounded oddly calm about it. "They will try to for certain, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. I want to try."
"I do too," Sephiroth said.
"Then we'll try," Cass said, "and if we try hard enough, they won't be able to ignore us." She made it sound so simple.
"You don't sound scared," Sephiroth said.
"I'm not," Cass said, "the hard part is over. You said yes."
Dear Mr. President,
Do forgive me if you feel that I have overstepped my boundaries, but if you care to observe there is no person to approach for such a matter. A direct approach was my only option and I do apologize for such behavior. That being said, I ask that you consider my request.
It has come to my attention that one of your assets within your company is approaching a very delicate stage in his development. It is not my intention to halt or hinder his progress, but it is my professional opinion that he be exposed to more aspects of human growth and development. His training and education within the laboratories, although quite excellent, do not fulfill such a need. Professor Hojo is an excellent scientist, but his attitude towards society as a whole do not meld with your vision of a fine warrior.
Therefore, I propose that Sephiroth be exposed to more of society, if only so that he understands it in the future, when he will walk among it. I am requesting that I be Sephiroth's legal guardian. He shall still remain among your assets and investments and it shall not change his position as a future employee. I am simply requesting that he be placed under my care and am willing to assume full responsibility for his development.
This should not affect any developments of the beginning SOLDIER program (of which I am aware and a part of). At the most, the only effect should occur upon either Sephiroth's death or my own. Upon my expiration, Sephiroth will be returned fully to your company. Upon his, I shall receive compensation like any other parent.
Please consider this action in the future. The paperwork has been filled out and merely awaits your signature should you agree. Should you not, please discard the application and notify the proper authorities of your actions.
My sincerest apologies once again,
Cassiopia Durmont.
Hojo fumed silently as the Durmont bitch walked in. He should have seen this coming in retrospect. Sephiroth's quiet behavior was no doubt because of some attachment she had with him. Her own introverted, yet appreciated, behavior of the past few weeks was because she had been planning this. Hojo hadn't come this far to have some upstart whore take his work away.
It would not happen.
President ShinRa was mildly surprised at her appearance. She sounded just like that old man Gast had, but she was at least twenty years younger, and twice as attractive. He filed that away for later. She also seemed very calm for being summoned up here. She didn't squirm under his attention, like many others did. Or Hojo's for that matter, but he expected that. She worked in the labs after all.
She reminded him vaguely of a Turk, but she was apparently smarter than most people. Her posture was straight and she noticed every body in the room. She did not react to it. She gained points in his mind.
"Have a seat Ms. Durmont," ShinRa said.
"Thank you Mr. President," she replied and sat. Back still straight, ankles neatly crossed, knees together. A proper lady. ShinRa knew what was going on.
"I do not think we need to tell you what this meeting is for," ShinRa began. He waited for some sort of response.
"No," she said, "I know why I'm here." Still calm as ever.
"Is it still your intention to became Sephiroth's legal guardian?" ShinRa asked.
"I would prefer adoption if at all possible," she replied. Hojo nearly jumped across the room to strangle her. How dare she assume she could do that. ShinRa recovered quickly.
"I see," he said, "and what makes you think you are the one to take up the position, so to speak?"
"A variety of reasons," she replied, "Would you care for me to explain them?"
"Yes," ShinRa said. She nodded.
"The first and foremost, is that your future weapon is currently a six-year-old boy," Cass said, "I'm not sure if you remember that far, and I do not expect or assume that you will, but six is an age where most children begin to mingle with each other."
"Sephiroth is not most children," Hojo started.
"I never said he was," Durmont said smoothly, "nor do I think he should be. That being said, it is not healthy or appropriate that Sephiroth remain locked up underground and oblivious to the world around him."
"You assume too much!" Hojo snapped.
"What have I assumed within that sentence?" she asked, "You lock every door that leads outside. Sephiroth knows nothing about how to interact with other people. The other day he asked me about birds because he'd never seen one before."
"Irrelevant," Hojo said. I'm going to bash your head in you hunchbacked cunt face, Cass thought.
"How embarrassing would it be if your greatest fighter didn't know what a bird was," Cass mused. ShinRa silenced Hojo's next comment with a brisk wave.
"You have a valid point," ShinRa said, "he should have more exposure to the world in general, but I still don't see why you should adopt Sephiroth. It seems a little too extreme." Gotcha, Cass thought her face entirely neutral, Reel him in nice, Cassi Baby.
"Unless physically taken out of the laboratory setting, I do not think that his exposure will be up to the standards you expect," she explained, "It is a wonderful setting for his training and education overall, but most people who live such lives end up...I apologize for being so forward, liabilities."
"You little-" Hojo started.
"What do you mean?" ShinRa asked, silencing Hojo again.
"I am not a psychologist, by any means," she began, "My understanding lies mostly within arithmetic, but I do understand what a lack of stimulation can do to a developing brain. It can stave off emotional reactions, which I realize you would find desirable, but it also could potentially halt his development altogether. You would have your solider, but he would have the mind of a child. I do not want that, and I don't believe you do either.
"Another possibility is that Sephiroth would be overwhelmed by the stimulations he experiences when you toss him out into the battlefield. He would either revert, or kill everything in sight. I find it most likely that the reaction would be delayed for days, weeks, months, perhaps years, but all it would take was a simple trigger and when he snaps it would be disastrous for everyone involved. He could destroy everything he sees.
"Leaving him within the laboratory is simply out of the question," she finished. ShinRa mulled it over. She was good. He was agreeing with her.
"But why with you?" ShinRa asked, "I see no reason why someone else couldn't do it."
"You may be correct," she assented, "but Sephiroth knows me. It would be an easier transition with someone he has built a rapport with than with a random stranger."
"There are few strangers in the lab," Hojo spat.
"I'm merely looking for what Sephiroth wants," she said, "He prefers my company over everyone else's"
"You assume-"
"He spends almost every day in my office," she said, "As soon as he's released from you, he comes to me. I don't know what else to assume." Hojo glared at her, unable to find a response.
"What I want to know is why you want to do this?" ShinRa said. It was his favorite clincher, go straight for the character. Go for the motivation. It was almost always dirty or soft.
"I want Sephiroth to succeed just as much as you do," she said, "it would be a shame to see him fail because of minor inaccuracies." And he's a wonderful child and I love him, Cass added in her head. They weren't to be uttered here.
Damn. She was very good. ShinRa hated to upset his head scientist, who was looking more and more like a spoiled child as he observed the composed lady before him. He'd find a way to smooth this over, or the Turks would.
"Well, Ms. Durmont," ShinRa said, "I'll take this request under consideration." She stood, understanding that it was a dismissal.
"Thank you Mr. President," she said, "Have a pleasant afternoon."
Cass did not press herself into the corner like anyone else would, nor did she attack the other occupant of the elevator, though she was torn between the two options. She forced herself to look ahead. Now was not the time. A darkened alley or pier would be the time. She sometimes daydreamed about drowning him.
Hojo kept shooting death glares at her, but his temper seemed to be cooling. A good and bad sign.
"I don't appreciate such blatant disregard for my research," Hojo said icily.
"Oh no," Cass said, "Really?"
"Nor do I think you are the proper guardian for Sephiroth," Hojo continued.
"I'm certain Lucretia said the same thing about you," Cass said.
"She was a weak woman, far too preoccupied with morals and," he scoffed, "love to see what was happening."
"Is that why you didn't sign the birth certificate?" Cass asked. Hojo lost his composure for a moment.
"How did you...?"
"I wouldn't ask for adoption if Sephiroth had a parent," Cass said, "I'm not stupid. Now that I think about it, there isn't much resemblance between you two. Does he take after his mother? Perhaps there was a third party involved before you coerced Dr. Crescent?" Hojo glared at her again.
"I would not say such things if I were you," Hojo said. Cass rummaged around in her coat pocket. She swallowed her utter dislike and shoved it into one of Hojo's, trying not to be in contact with him for too long. Hojo jerked away, before pulling out the object.
It was tissue of some sort. After a brief inspection Hojo realized it was an ear.
"Interesting specimen came around to my building last night," Cass said, "Shame it couldn't stand up to the hollow points, for all it's fangs and claws." The elevator slowed to a stop.
"Perhaps next time you should send one with with two heads," Cass said as she walked off, "might manage to scratch me."