Trust Again.

Chapter 2.

Saying she´s tired is quite an understanding. Yuna feels trashed, shocked as if a humongous monster had danced upon her body. When was the last time she kept watch over a patient the whole day through, including its night? If she recalls correctly, more than a year now. This means she´s not too far away from the feared date…

Yuna stretches from the enormous and comfortable bed, admitting with a smile it surprises her how, for a man with such a rude way of life, Sephiroth really knows how to treat himself nicely, as she feels the softness and warmth of his enormous bed. Such a craftsman he´s become. She yawns without restrain while feeling the chill of the early morning, though appreciates her body feels warm on one side, as her polychromatic eyes look to her right to find the still unconscious form of the beautiful pinkette that lies next to her. Automatically, the young woman´s hand reaches for the pale forehead, sensing the temperature, and a smile of satisfaction is formed upon pink lips.

A full day and no fever yet. That´s a great sign!

Her smile is wide while she stretches like a cat. It would seem she hasn´t lost her touch, her healing skills still being fantastic. Pleased with herself, Yuna is ready to stand up from their bed, when a commotion is heard on the street, as the sound of many horses stopping just outside the hut reaches her ears. Always the curious kind, Yuna peeks out the window and finds Sephiroth standing in the middle of the muddy street, surrounded by many riders she doesn´t recognize from her village or from their neighbors, but whose aspect makes her feel distrustful. Instinctively, she takes the closest weapon she can find: a hammer. Still watching, she notices one of the riders, with black rebellious hair long enough to reach his shoulders, eying the people walking down the moody path, his dark and dangerous eyes seemingly analyzing each one of them, and, with movements too confident to make it seem he is the leader of the group, dismounts and walks directly to the expressionless white-haired man.

"What is it that a fine-looking man like you are doing here, in this forsaken village?" The leader asks, mockery evident in his tone.

Sephiroth responds without losing his aloof. "I could ask the same, but if you let me give you a word of advice, you should know you´re wasting your precious time coming all the way down our little village, for whatever you seek here, you will not find it."

The man gives a step closer, his face inches from Sephiroth´s in spite of the height difference.

"And what do you guess we´re searching for?"

Another man of her village, Jecht, a middle-aged man with raven hair, and tanned skin marked with many old scars that give away his respected warrior status, grants a smile to both men, trying to be conciliating, hoping to behave himself as the chosen leader of the village.

"Now, now, we don´t need to get angry here, Seph. These good men are only searching for something they lost. They came in peace, didn´t they?"

"How can you say they come in peace, Jecht?" Sephiroth speaks, his mako-filled eyes fixed on the man inches from him, "when their names, and their true intentions, are denied to us?"

The outsider gives a smirk, his eyes equally glued on the aquamarine of the taller man. "Yes, of course, we come in peace. But whether we will remain in amity, will depend on your willingness to help us in our plight. Do you want the name of the man who´ll be your jailer if you fail in such an easy task? Fine then, my name is Ardyn Izunia, leader of this glorious band of… seekers; and no," he raises a hand before Sephiroth can respond, "I´m really not concerned about your name, instead, I´m very interested in what you had to say prior to this fine man interrupting us. Please, go on, what do you think we came looking for?"

Yuna´s senses are glued to the exchange, not noticing the woman lying on the bed is alerted by the sound of the voices, and her crystal blue, almost white eyes open slowly, her brow furrowing in worry at the ruckus outside, and suddenly her eyes open wide, her senses going highwire at recognizing the owner of the voice.

"N-no…"

Unbeknownst that his sleeping beauty is waking up at that precise moment, Sephiroth gives a pause, and without losing eye contact with the shorter man, speaks out loud.

"If I know well enough the type of men you lot are, and I´m sure I know your type, Ardyn Izunia, you obviously seek booze, food, and women; unfortunately, as you can see, our barrels are empty, and we´ve got only dry food and old women. So, I should recommend you go back to where you came from. We can´t even make a nice meal for you."

"Sephiroth…" Jecht warns the white-haired man.

Ardyn, ignoring Jecht´s warning, eyes Sephiroth, and then laughs out loud, his cronies making an echo of his laughter.

"Well, I can say you´re brave, lad, I´ll give you that. Lesser men would be peeing on their panties whenever they found us on their front steps."

"As you can see, I´m not peeing."

Ardyn´s brow furrows just a tad, fighting to prevent his distaste for this man to show too evidently. Not yet, he thinks, not just yet.

Yuna feels her chest swelling with pride at Sephiroth´s response when a loud moan is heard at her back: the strawberry blond had tried to move, but, unaware of her injures, she had hurt herself, and as pain traversed her whole body, she couldn´t avoid the plaintive sound from escaping her lips. Scared, the brunette turns around to see through the window whether the sound had reached the men, and her face pales at seeing everyone looking at her spot. Without losing a moment, she lets go of her small weapon and crawls upon the floor, reaching the woman as fast as she can, while with her healthy hand placed upon her mouth, the pinkette does her best to refrain from emitting any more sound out of pain, but very close to failing, if her ragged breath, body tremors, and her cold sweat are any indication of the depth of her torture.

"Don´t worry." Yuna valiantly whispers in her ear, while with her eyes she searches desperately for a way out. "I won´t let them get a glimpse of you. I promise you."

Meanwhile, Ardyn and his group of men had heard the giveaway sound, and many dismounts to support their leader. Even Jecht grows curious and anxious at the sound.

"What was that?"

"I don´t know what you mean." Sephiroth tries to play dumb, but the sound had been too obvious for everyone, he knows his weak attempt is to no avail.

"Don´t try to fool me, young man. I indistinctly heard a woman´s voice in your hut."

"That must be my awfully ugly bride. And you must understand why I would not want you inside."

Ardyn´s eyebrow raises in disbelief. "Your ugly bride, huh? I´ll be the judge of that…"

And without further ado, Ardyn pushes the tall man to the side, while Sephiroth and Jecht are surrounded by the rest of the goons, preventing them from doing any rash movements, and then the brunet enters the hut without restriction… only to find Yuna, on her knees upon the bed, naked but for a couple of blankets around her legs, and a dark sheet covering part of her breasts and the front of her body, surrounded by many layers of fur and blankets in such an arrangement that would make obvious to any bystander what had transpired between a man and a woman just a few moments ago. She feigns utter surprise for the intromission, but her deep blush is a very real one, the moment her eyes cross with Sephiroth´s and especially Jecht´s.

Ogling her, Ardyn´s eyes shine in awe and longing at her beauty and her exposed, apparently not any more virginal skin. "Only old women, eh? And here you thought you could fool me and hide such beauty from my bed." But when he´s about to give a step towards her, Jecht speaks loudly towards the exposed young woman, absolute rage in his voice.

"What´s the meaning of this, Yuna?! You´re promised to my son! Why do I suddenly find you on Sephiroth´s bed?!" the unexpected yelling startles everyone, even the leader of the gang staggers in surprise.

"Jecht…! this is… you weren´t supposed to come inside… this is not what you think…" Yuna begs; in spite of the subterfuge, her distress is very real upon her voice.

"Oh really? So that you two were able to consummate what you had in mind, and then dishonor my boy? How could you? How could you, Sephiroth?" He turns towards the man, whose eyes are still glued to the woman in front, but especially at the bundle of fur surrounding her legs, his mako eyes open wide in surprise at the young woman´s cunning. He wakes up from his astonishment when Jecht shoves him backward.

"Stop it, Jecht… we never meant to…"

"Oh! Excuse me, then, you´re a simple victim of fate, is that right?" The man´s voice remains loud, and, if possible, seems to grow louder, warning the rest of the village about their predicament. "You mean to tell me that accidentally your… thing fell upon my daughter-in-law´s maiden flesh?! What do you think I am, a fool?!"

Ardyn had been looking at the scene with humor until Jecht takes out his sword and threatens Sephiroth, that's when he realizes it would be a good decision to intervene, knowing the issue would be escalating soon.

"Whoa, whoa! Wait up, man! Why don´t you hear this one out? Maybe he does have a good reason to have your… er… daughter-in-law between his… sheets.

"Don´t make fun of me! He´s going to die soon!" Jecht attacks Sephiroth, but the latter is too fast for him, so he takes a step and entraps Jecht´s hand holding the sword, and they both tussle furiously, throwing and breaking every small utensil Sephiroth has in his house, while the dark-haired foreigner gives a step backward, knowing too well this is not going to end well.

"Well, I think it´s time me and my friends say our goodbyes; given that evidently, you don´t have what I´m searching for, I think I´ll leave you to sort out this little mess." He sends Yuna a flirtatious wink and a last approving glance at her body, then disappears through the front door. The young woman, in spite of all the mess the two men are doing, awaits without moving, until she hears the indistinct sound of the riders galloping far from the hut, hopingly away from the village as well, then she rapidly lets go of the sheets covering her purity, putting her dress on and going fast to separate the belligerent men.

"Wait up, Jecht! Sephiroth is innocent, this was a ruse! I had to do it so that we weren´t going to be found out and had our heads chopped off!"

"You´re lying! I can´t even look at your eyes anymore!"

"If you can´t look at my eyes, that´s fine by me, but then take a good look at this!"

Without giving him a warning, she takes the man´s face with both hands and forces him to glance at the bed. Taken by surprise, Jecht resists a moment but Sephiroth holds his body in a tight embrace, immobilizing him completely. The man still struggles a bit, but as his eyes catch up something moving in between the fur, little by little his limbs lose part of their bellicosity, as his brain processes what his eyes are seeing:

Just under the mantles, her body almost completely covered, but for her head and her naked shoulders now liberated from under her furry protection, lies one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen in his life, her pink locks covering the bed in a stunning cascade, her cream-like skin glistening through the sweat that covers it; after the first wave of awe, he notices her visage is that of torture, her movements giving away the pain she´s under, her eyes scrunched up, but her mouth, through gritted teeth, remains without producing any sound. It´s obvious she was well aware of the danger she had been, in case the men who just left were to find her, and through sheer willpower has stopped any movement or sound from giving away her presence. His awe for her evident strength grows above his amazement for her beauty.

And then his mind catches up to him.

"What´s the meaning of this, Sephiroth? Is she…?"

"The one those bandits were looking for?" Sephiroth sighs, shrugging. "Yes, most probably."

A little too wary of letting him go, Yuna and Sephiroth take the restrains from Jecht, though remain closer in case he was to make a sudden movement, but as the man remains still, they finally let go completely and Yuna walks towards the table, extracting a vial of something green. The vial in on hand, the brunette kneels in front of the injured woman, and, with all delicacy, helps her to drink it all.

"It´s okay, sweetie. We´re friends. This thing will ease the pain a bit."

The young woman opens her pain-stricken eyes, looking pleadingly at Yuna, whose heart feels heavy at the torture behind them, and then nods, accepting the drink the girl is offering her. At first, the strawberry pinkette coughs at the taste, but Yuna insists a bit more and she complies, forcing herself to drink the vial fully.

"That´s great… you´ll see how you´ll feel better in no time…"

Eying Jecht for a moment, Sephiroth kneels beside Yuna and inquires the young woman.

"Good morning, lass, you can be sure you´ll be safe among us. There´s nothing to worry about for now. But we need to call you in some way, I don´t think lass would be correct. As I said before, my name is…"

"Sephiroth." the weakened, but still husky voice of the woman interrupts him. "I heard you the first time." She speaks through clenched teeth, but he still smiles at her obvious belligerent attitude.

"That´s correct, that´s my name. And the name of this beautiful doctor who saved your life is Yuna. Care to give us yours?"

The young woman looks him straight in the eye, and he doesn´t know why her stare makes him so nervous, but he holds her sight, and once she breaks eye contact with him, looking in turn at Yuna, he sighs both in relaxation and mourn. If it were for him, he would be looking into those light blue eyes all morning long.

Apparently deciding she can trust them, she inhales deeply to resist another wave of pain and speaks up, as clear as she can. "The name is Lightning…"

"A Farron?" Sephiroth turns around at hearing Jecht´s voice, but more than that, at the last name he mentioned, and then it dawns on him: the strawberry hair, the almost white pupils, the incredible fighting ability… yes, this time he has to agree with the man. He looks eagerly into the woman´s features, searching for more information, when Jecht approaches them and kneels in front of Yuna, right beside Lightning, to hear her story better. "You´re a Farron, am I right? That´s an ancient, well-known line of knights, which is currently…"

"Dead." Lightning speaks with mourn in her voice, and she cringes, as the last of the pain refuses to let go, while a sweet and sour sense of drowsiness starts to take a tight hold of her limbs and her mind. "Yeah… my sister and I… are the last… of the Farrons…" helped by the medicine and her injuries, Lightning is unable to prevent herself from falling in a deep, dreamless sleep, that Yuna hopes would help her heal faster, while the three of her spectators remain silent, each one deep in their own thoughts until it´s Jecht the one to speak first.

"Do you know what you got into your hands, Sephiroth?"

"Yeah," Sephiroth answers him without any emotion in his voice, though his eyes are still glued on the unconscious figure, "a lass who needs our help."

"A ticket to the war!" Jecht yells, and at this, man and woman shush him, but he protests furiously. "Don´t shush me! This girl is of the House of Farron, and the last one of her bloodline, for Sin´s sake! As I said, having her here is our ticket to the war! A war that is not ours anymore!"

This time it´s Yuna the one to intervene. "It is said the House of Farron has protected the line of the Lucii for many generations, Jecht, that means she´s on our side, and furthermore, that it´s our obligation to help her, and guess what? She needs us now, or should I remind you that King Regis is your king too?"

"Was my king, silly girl! Need I remind you that Regis is cold dead?"

"True, but his son, the rightful King Noctis, is the one we should now obey."

"I am not dying over that lad!" Jecht raises his voice again, almost offended by her words. "He´s nothing but a child!"

"Hey! He´s my age!"

"Yeah? What´s your point?"

Yuna gets up, angry at his words, glaring daggers at him. "You may be too coward to face the truth, Jecht, but Tidus and I will be going to the front in less than a year, and let me tell you that we would both gladly fight by King Noctis´s side and give our lives for the protection of this land, of its inhabitants, and, believe it or not, of your life too, old man!"

Without giving her a moment to react, Jecht gets up faster than they could imagine he was capable of and slaps her with so much force that she falls hard upon the ground. Sephiroth gets up fast in warning but knows he can´t meddle in between their quarrel. It´s a family dispute, after all.

"Don´t you dare speak to me like that, lass! I am still your future father-in-law unless you do any more of these ruses to make me take away my blessing for your marriage!"

But Yuna would never be lessened by any man, and in spite of still being on the floor, with her eyes sending daggers to him, she yells back at the older man. "Do whatever you want to do, Jecht, but always remember that Tidus and I don´t need your approval. We will be married in a month from now, whether you like it or not!"

"You little…" Jecht raises his hand threateningly, but this time Sephiroth takes his wrist, preventing him from giving the strike, his eyes flaring too.

"Stop this madness at once. Should I remind you both you´re in my house, and I have a guest who´s injured and resting? And one who turns out to be a member of Lucius´ nobility. Show a little respect."

Jecht withdraws his hand forcefully but complies. "I´m not that happy with you either, I didn´t like the surprise you both gave me here."

But instead of feeling apologetic, Sephiroth scolds him some more. "You, of all people, should be proud of her quick thinking. If she hadn´t done what has offended you that much, we would both be in the middle of a rough battle as of now, and maybe dead, if you didn´t notice the rings on their hands."

Jecht´s eyes open wide at his words. "You mean…"

"Yes, they were mercenaries alright, but their rings were payment from the Dark Army. We might be strong, but there were too many for just the two of us. Spiritus´s army is closer than we thought, and the fact that they were hunting down the last of the Farrons should send us a warning. So, stop being so unrespectful, and thank your daughter-in-law for saving your sorry ass with her cunning, because I thank the heavens she was here to think fast of something that would dissuade them for searching further."

Jecht clenches his teeth. He knows the man is right, but he´s too proud to accept it, so he just nods, sends a last glance at the woman still on the ground, and turns around.

"Fine then, I´ll leave you to your women. I´ll return at dusk so that we can decide what to do with your fine guest."

Sephiroth sighs. "Alright. I´ll be waiting for you here."

The man only raises his hand in response and steps out of the hut, still fuming. Sephiroth nods and offers his hand to the maiden on the floor, whose eyes are still fixed on the path the older man had taken.

"Let it go, Yuna, he´ll be alright. You know how explosive he is, but once his head settles, he tends to be rather wise."

She nods while dusting her clothes. "I just hope he doesn´t keep his promise."

"You worry Tidus would reject you if he tells him about what he suspected here, or if he were to retrieve his blessing?"

She scoffs at his words. "Of course not. Tidus would laugh at him and even thank his denial as an excuse to do something against his father´s will. But I still don´t want to be in Jecht´s bad side. Those two are a pair of idiots alright, but I love Tidus anyways. Even if he doesn´t show it, it still hurts him to be fighting against his father that much. I just want him to be happy, you see? And making him fight against Jecht is quite the opposite of what I want. But… but I won´t let that old, despicable man, control me in any way." She sighs and passes a hand through her tresses. "I guess… it´s complicated."

Sephiroth smiles at her words. "As any loving woman would do, you just want them to be happy. Tidus is very lucky to have you. On second thought, he doesn´t deserve you, you´re too good for him and his family."

Yuna flushes, and in response, she kneels in front of Lightning. "Stop it, Sephiroth, you´re starting to sound like my mom. That´s enough of talking about Jecht. I need to keep working on… what was her name, again?"

"I think she said her name was 'Lightning'." He answers immediately, but then hesitates, at noticing the knowing look the young woman is giving him. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Well, then I need to see Lightning´s injuries, check her leg for proper alignment of the bone, and change her bandages. So, if you let me work with my patient, I´d be more than pleased with you. Oh! And in any case, you want to help these two young and beautiful women, be so kind as to bring us breakfast, would you?"

Sephiroth chuckles at her antics, knowing how well she´s not the one to take compliments, even when she deserves tons, and instead is always all too eager to help anyone, even enemy troops. He´s seen it, seen her saving the lives of those who, in previous moments, were trying to kill her.

"Fine, I´ll leave you both. I´ll get your breakfast and then work outside to let you do your magic. Just let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you, Sephiroth."

He walks towards the door, but before he exits, the tall man turns around to address the young woman.

"What would´ve you done if Jecht and I hadn´t fought, or that I hadn´t dissuaded them into attacking you? What would´ve you done if Ardyn still insisted on getting under the sheets with you?"

Without looking up, her hands working on Lightning´s injuries, the brunette answers without any emotion in her voice. "Well, I was sure that, if he insisted on raping me, the men of the village would never allow strangers to dishonor a maiden of their homeland, thus, I was certain you all would fight to the end to defend my honor."

He huffs at her logic. "I wouldn´t have bet on such a high price. You know not everyone is a warrior here. Didn´t you consider it? What would have you done if none of the men of the village had decided to protect your… er… honor, with their lives?"

Her polychromatic eyes catch his mako-stained irises, and the determination and mirth behind hers produce a chill on his back.

"Then, without a single doubt, I would´ve cut Ardyn´s throat the minute he got under the sheets."

For a moment he hesitates at her response, but then a smirk is drawn upon his lips.

"As I said, that family doesn´t deserve you."

Yuna winks at him and continues her task. With a last glimpse towards the sleeping beauty, Sephiroth finally exits the tent.

ooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo

A/N: Hope you´re liking the story, and hope you don´t find Sephiroth too OOC. Since I didn´t play Crisis Core, I don´t know much of his personality previous to his madness, so I´m trying to model him as the character I think would behave more like him: Geralt of Rivia, from The Witcher. I hope you like the idea.

Have fun and be safe!