Finding Home

She finally came up to walk by his side when she thought his anger had calmed. Traverse Town had become but a mere dot in the horizon, Sephiroth not turning to look back. He only tired to look forward, not minding the girl to his side. Still, it was kind of nice not to have her talk. That way she wouldn't be annoying to the point of cutting that tongue out of her mouth. Though she didn't speak, something else was pleasant about her being there. He couldn't exactly figure out what, but tried not to think about it too much.

She walked along, a pad of paper and pen in her hand. Sephiroth thought that he couldn't have to keep cleaning the masamune when he could just get that for her. So, before they left, he took it from one of the outside stands discretely, putting it in his pocket before they got out of the city. Without even looking at her he just handed it to her, but he could tell she smiled because of it. And so she just kept it to her side, waiting until she thought of something to right.

Soon she did, though, and he took it to read it.

"Where are we going?" it read.

"You'll see when we get there," he stated, handing it back.

She wrote something else. "Is it somewhere important?"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter? I could've just left you there."

He handed it back and she wrote on the back: "Why are you so upset?"

He stopped when he read it, beginning to laugh. But she frowned, taking it as no laughing matter. "Upset? You think I'm upset? That's a stupid statement!" He wadded up the paper and threw him behind him.

She wrote another note and handed it to him. "Then why are you so cold shoulder?"

"...I have always been this way, and I would ask that you not question me again," he stopped, his gaze finally meeting hers. "Understand?"

She paused but soon nodded slowly. He shook his head, turning around and continuing on his way. Kerah only followed in her normal silence, her bare feet only making small scuffs against the gravel trail.

When they came to a small wooded area, Sephiroth noticed that she was dragging behind. He thought about just walking on, but it tore at him, and drove him to wonder when he heard more of her scuffing feet. He turned, his eyes narrow.

"Can't you walk faster? We do not-" He stopped, seeing her stumble. He looked to her feet, his eyes looking to question when he saw them, blood soaked. It trailed all the way back to where the dust ate it up, still scraping out onto the gravel path. But yet she smiled when he gazed up to her face, still trying to manage in walking. He just stood there as she slowly past, continuing without looking at him in struggle. He put a hand n his forehead, feeling annoyed, and a bit agitated in it all. She'd eventually loose too much blood a pass out, so he might as well do something now before that happened.

He came up from behind, taking her arm and putting it around his shoulder. He put his arm under her knees, sweeping her up off her feet and supporting her by placing his other hand behind her back. They would move somewhat slower, but better if she stayed on her feet. Sephiroth tried not to look at her, keeping his gaze straight ahead, but she smiled softly, putting her head against his shoulder and shutting her eyes slightly to only reveal a blurred source of colors around.

They reached a stream soon enough that broke the shaded trees grasp. He set her down against the nearest one, though, and took a look at her feet. Oddly enough, from the blood that they had been soaked in, to the very cuts he had seen before, were now completely gone. They were perfect, in a word, with no marks on them. He stood up a sat a few feet away against a rock, thinking of ways that could be so. Finally, after the minutes of still silence, he just asked.

"Your feet are completely healed," he stated, and she nodded. "How is that so?"

She took out the pad of paper and pen and began to write, handing it to him after. "They just did, like I just healed you."

"Do you know how?"

She wrote: "I don't know. It just happens."

"Huh...figures."

There was a moment of hesitation, when she finally wrote: "Where do you come from?"

He raised an eyebrow, soon smirking. "I can't say."

"Why not?" she wrote.

"Like you don't know, I don't know."

She frowned narrowing her eyes. "You're mocking me, aren't you?"

"You got it," he laughed.

"Why, if you know who you are?"

"Because," he said. "I don't tell anyone about my past. It just seemed funny at the time to mock you."

"But where do you come from?"

"Like I said, I don't tell anyone."

"Why?"

"Because it is useless conversation."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Why?"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, and she grinned humorously. "Alright, if you tell me something, I'll tell you something. Agree?"

She nodded, beginning to write. "I've never been here before."

"Alright...My name is Sephiroth."

She gave a death gaze. "Be serious!"

"Alright, alright! I was a SOLDIER almost my whole life...that is, until the Heartless came...and something else."

"What's a soldier?"

"It's a organization that takes care of my worlds problems. Only a few could be an elite, and...regretfully I was."

"Why regretfully?"

"Because..." He shook his head, realizing he had said too much. "Aren't you suppose to be saying something?"

She grinned again, putting a hand behind the back of her head and going back to her paper. "Like what?"

"Where did you live?"

"I think I lived in a small house by myself. Yes, it was in a large field, full of grains with one tree out the back."

"Do you remember how you got here, or the day you came?"

She hesitated, the thoughts coming back to her. She narrowed her eyes in wonder of her own memories, beginning to write. When he finally read it, his own thoughts began to wander.

"It was night, with no moon. I was reading, sitting in my usual chair when I heard a sound. It wasn't the wind whipping across the area, but something else. It was like a hissing sound, and it wasn't normal, so I went to go see. When I put my hand on the door, I couldn't get it open, like it was lock shut. But when I finally pulled my hardest it came open. After a while I couldn't see with my hair getting in my eyes, because the wind was like a vacuum, leading up into a large vortex in the sky. But suddenly, I felt a presence behind me. I turned a quickly backed away when I saw a pair of vicious yellow, maybe orange, eyes before me. I could tell it was threatening, and decided I would take my chances with the vortex. So...in a matter of seconds I ended up here."

He looked up, seeing her now sitting by the stream. She put her hand in the water, picking up a clump of dirt and bringing it out. Sephiroth got up, walking over and knelling next to her.

"So the darkness did come back," he said, staring off into nothingness.

She slowly dropped the sand back into the water, watching it crumble back with the rest. But Sephiroth jumped out of his state of thought when he saw her back away, terror in her eyes. He saw the dark pool forming in the water, standing up and unsheathing the masamune. The dark creatures finally took form, their yellow eyes glowing angrily in wanting their newest prey.

"Stay back," Sephiroth managed to say from escaping his throat, feeling stupid for saying it but knew he should anyway.

He was about to attack, but saw they were forming more and more by the second. When the last formed, he finally had enough. Slicing anything that was black and moved, he thought this was much too easy. Though, it just seemed that way, but in reality would get much, much harder. Each shadow creature he cut in half, two more where their to take it's place. Soon enough he was overwhelmed, their claws swiping through his trench coat, cutting at his legs and jumping at him a slashing his arms. He looked back to Kerah, who stood up near a tree, four more closing in on her.

That was the last straw. The excuse he made was that since he carried her that far, it shouldn't be in vain, (though he knew, deep down it was something else). So, whistling, he lured the others, along with the rest, several feet away. Finally, when he had them all within range, he grinned menacingly, raising the masamune high before lunging back into the ground.

"Sin Harvast!" he shouted, casting an immense flaming ring to shockwave through the ground and up through the remaining creatures. He laughed to how pitiful they were now, just particles of dust settling with the rest. As he turned back, his grin seemed to fade when he saw Kerah's pale face, falling back in horror as he took one step towards her. "What? What is it?" he asked, looking around. He just couldn't see until he stepped closer that it was him she was afraid of.

As he about reached down to help her up, she shook her head slowly, backing away still until she could finally run.

"Hey wait! Where...are you going...?" As he shortly began to grasp it, he put his face in his hand, feeling now like such an idiot. He thought, for one brief instant, that this might be his ticket to get her out of his hair. But again came that tugging sensation to his mind, and he gripped his hands, marching after her.

As he came to a small area where the trees cleared, but the branches did not from the sky, he saw her. Oddly enough, it was somewhere he did not expect. There was a pool was water there was well, and she was hovering above it. She just stood there, as she would on normal ground. Except she was a few inches above, with no movement in the reflection water at all. Though, there was a few ripples here and there, only because, as he released his wing and floated towards her, he saw the tears roll down her face. She did not back away this time, but only got out her pad of paper and pen, some of the ink running as she wrote. Finally she handed it to him.

"They're after me. I hoped they wouldn't come, but they did. I just hope...can you please promise you'll tell me the truth?"

"Of course." It wasn't the greatest thing he had ever said, be he could try to say the truth the best he could.

She wrote back to it: "Are you...Heartless?"

"A Heartless, no. Now heartless...I'm not quite sure."

"But why?"

"I don't think I'm so heartless...but I have felt for no one in my life."

"I don't care if you don't like people so much, but that attack...How?"

"I just learned it on my world. That's all. Nothing big."

"Then...you won't kill me?"

He laughed. "No, of course not! Look, I may have said that earlier but...you know what? I kind of like you around. You don't talk, you're not annoying, and you have that healing power of yours. I think I'll keep you around for a bit, huh? And when a Heartless take you, it will be over my cold, dead body."

She smiled, taking a moment of pause for her last tear to fall. Reaching forward, she hugged him. Sephiroth was taken by surprise, blinking to make sure this wasn't a dream or something. Maybe he was still asleep in the city, any moment now waiting to wake up. But as he put his hands on her shoulders, pulling her back gently, he knew it was no dream, for he felt a small, soft smile creep onto his face. All of the sudden, his hardened, cold shell that incased in soul began to crack, and he felt his dark heart began to lightened, just with one smile back from her.

He put his arm around her shoulder, showing her back the way they came. She did not write anything more, but they just walked in silence, finally admiring the turning leaves' colors.

***

He sat where he had been since they got back, looking out over the river and to the other bank, watching out for the Heartless. Kerah, after letting her feet heal more from where they began to get scrapes, curled up on her side, wrapping herself tighter in her cloak as she shut her eyes. A faint smile came to his face, seeing her safe. The fire which he had set in a small hole in the ground with the fading light just illuminated her white hair in a golden glow. He sat back on the rack behind him, beginning to stare up at the stars above. His consciousness began to drift, but suddenly he was brought back when the fire quickly began to go out. It didn't even dwindle, but the smoke began to swirl into the air, higher than it should have.

Sephiroth rose to his feet, watching closely to what it formed. He had an idea, but...It was impossible. Why would he be here? Why would this demon come to him?

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A/N Who is this demon, and what does he want? Please review not only to tell me what you think, but possibly to guess who it might be!!!(I love it when people guess!)