The Thin Black Line

"Hello there, champ, how's life treated you?" he said, Sephiroth narrowing his eyes.

"What do you want, Hades?" Sephiroth question, annoyed by the fact that he'd called him 'champ'.

"I'm here because I have a proposition for you," he stated.

"If you think I'm going back to the Coliseum you have another thing coming," he said, crossing his arms.

"No, no, no! I mean nothing by that!" Hades laughed. "I came here because...you have something I want."

"The girl?" he inquired and Hades nodded. "Think again. She's not going anywhere."

"Are you sure about that?"

Sephiroth reached for the masamune. "You sure you want to threaten me?"

"Hey, now!" Hades laughed, waving his hands in front of him. "I'm only saying that you won't give her up for anything."

"No, not anything," he said, shaking his head and turning away.

"Really? Not even if it meant his death?"

Sephiroth looked back, question in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Cloud. You want him dead, it's been, like, your ultimate goal in life, right?" He suddenly vanished, only to form with a hand in front of Sephiroth, forming the future scenario in front of him. "He's been your mortal enemy, and thus you've wanted him dead. Believe me, I know what your going through, I wanted someone dead, but I just didn't get it because some kid was too kind to kill that pansy Hurc-...Anyway, you give me the girl, I'll give you Cloud to kill. What do you say?"

"You can do that?" Sephiroth question deep from within his consciousness.

"Sure I can! He still basically belongs to me, keep in mind."

He stepped forward, turning to face Hades. "What will you do with her?"

"Oh, you know, use her powers, take over the universe, nothing big. But hey, at least you'll have Cloud dead! So, what's your answer?"

Sephiroth hesitated, thinking. The assumption was great to him, the best thing that could happen to him, rather. This girl runs into him, and with a snap of his fingers he could trade her for his enemies death, which he had wanted ever since he met him. A smirk formed in his mind, but it was not able to reach his mouth. Something held it back, something deep inside him. Though his head wanted so much to make this trade, his heart would not let him. He just could not say it. But he could say something else, something that could buy him some time to build up his mind power to say it.

"I'll think about it," he finally said, sending Hades to frown, but stay calm.

"Okay, alright, fair enough. I'll give you a week. By then, you should have your decision, right?"

Sephiroth nodded, and soon enough Hades snapped his fingers, evaporating into nothing. The fire formed again, lightening the area. Sephiroth sat sown again, his thoughts at a wander. Here he was, faced with a choice, (and a greater choice that he had yet to realize). The death of his enemy, Cloud Strife, all with one single word to take Kerah away. If it had only been a day earlier, then this would be no sort of problem. But no, he just had to get feelings now. Luckily it wasn't too late, though, and over the next week he could be able to see the flaws in her, to somehow find her the slightest bit annoying. Somehow, he knew, he would be able to do it, and had to, if he ever wanted him dead. It was nice to have her around, but if it meant to have his life long hope come true, he would have to give her up.

But he had a week to do it. This time, he would have to be careful not to get so attached.

In the morning, after a night of thinking, Kerah woke up by the stroke of the morning light. She sat up and smiled to the sight of him, but was not greeted with one back.

"Come on, we should get going."

Kerah was taken by surprise, but continued on with him. They crossed the stream, leading once again to the open fields and one long, winding gravel road. Soon enough, she wanted to ask what was the matter with him, but as he read it he only crumbled it up and tossed it.

Kerah raised on eyebrow, writing another note and handing it too him. "Well, why are you so upset?"

Again he crumbled it up and threw it away. She wrote another note, but this time it read: "Did you loose your voice?"

"No I did not loose my voice, now stop asking me all these questions."

She did what he asked, travel on for yet another half an hour before finding something on the side of the road. She picked up the daisy planted in the grass from the many there, run in front of him and making him stop. She leaned forward a held it out, smiling. He only twitched an eyebrow, taking it and just staring. He soon rolled his each, crushing it in his hand and carrying on.

Kerah just stood there, blinking confuse. But she smiled, getting out her notepad again and writing something else down. She ran after him when she had finished, handing it to him as he walked and falling back.

After a moment of opening the folded paper, he stopped, hesitating as he read it.

"You need a hug?" he said, reading it out loud. Suddenly, he felt her jump on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck slightly and lifting her feet off the ground.

"Hey, what do you think you're-" He stopped, noticing something. She put her head on his shoulder, laughing lightly. She took on arm and patted the top of his head, still keeping a smile. "Wait a second, if you can laugh, that means your can talk!"

She stopped laughing, shaking her head. With the notepad and pen still in her hands, she wrote it down. "I have vocal cords, but that doesn't mean I can speak your language."

"Oh I get it. So you can laugh, write, and under stand everything, but you just can't speak it," he said, forgetting his place to act cold. Kerah new it was an act all along, but needed him to get out of it.

Sephiroth noticed how light she was, just hanging there from her arms wrapped around his neck. She wasn't even chocking him in the slightest bit, and it was actually quite funny.

"You don't expect to get carried like this do you?" he joked.

She nodded her head, a grin on her face. He laughed by it, beginning to walk. It was strange to laugh, because Sephiroth had never really done it in joy before, but it made him feel...good inside, if that word was in his vocabulary at all.

"Don't think I'm going to start carrying you everywhere, though. It'll probably make you start acting like a snobbish princess or something."

She grew suddenly quiet, her laughing ceasing and her smile fading. Sephiroth stopped, noticing this.

"What? Did I offend you or something?"

She shook her head, smiling again. She hugged him again, and they continued on there way.

Sephiroth did not stop walking, but eventually, he knew, she would have to sleep. She couldn't hang on his back forever, so instead, when he saw her eyes were drooping shut, he set her down, suggesting he carry her. She found it odd that he'd do this, but took the gesture. So, like before with his one arm under her knees and the other supporting her back he carried her as she slept, her head rested against her shoulder.

The moonlight showed brightly in the clear sky, reflecting softly on her fine white hair. No matter how much he tried, no matter how much he wanted Cloud dead, the past few days would not be gone from his head. Her kindness could not be forgotten from him, and it was almost too unreal for him to believe.

In the shadows lurked the creature of the Heartless, eyeing him with every step they took. Though, they would come no further, due to the orders of their master, Hades. Their yellow eyes burned in the failed light, but Sephiroth ignored them, walking on.

When the sun rose over the horizon, Sephiroth was still walking, thinking. Kerah moved her head, her eyes twitching. A few strands of her hair fell over her face, finally waking up. This time, though, it was he was smiled first, Kerah smiling back.

Days went on like this. Kerah walked with Sephiroth, talking in many conversations, and when she finally got tired, Sephiroth would carry her. Finally when five days had past with this, Sephiroth decided it was time to rest his feet. A tree sat out in a field, placed against a small stream. Kerah when to it immediately, seeing what it had in it, as Sephiroth went to the tree, setting his back up against it. He took off his shoes, barely able to do so with the pain that soon struck them.

They were bloodied, blisters and cuts all over them. He did not care, but only wrapped them with any extra cloth he had with him, (mostly with the cloth wrapping the sheath). When Kerah came back up, Sephiroth sat there with his arms crossed and his eyes shut, his feet outstretched. She saw the blood seeping through the cloth, and saw Sephiroth's expression to take the pain.

As if urgent, she dropped to her knees, putting her hands over both his feet. He opened his eyes, feeling it, and only watched as a bright gold color formed over them. Within seconds she realized them, her hands not even covered in blood. He brought his foot forward, unwrapping them to find that they were completely healed, not even a scratch on them. She only smiled at him, sitting still to see his reacting.

"You know...you didn't have to do that," Sephiroth stated.

She wrote and handed it to him: "That's the reason you kept me around right?"

"Yeah...sort of. Back then..."

"Back then?" she wrote.

"Back...when I didn't understand who you were. Now let's drop the subject okay."

She stared in question, going over to him. He sat next to him, gazing up into the corner of his eye. He tried not to look, keeping a straight face, but soon he couldn't help it. He looked to her, shrugging.

"What? I like you around. Big deal."

She suddenly smiled softly, putting her arms around his shoulders and hugging him. He did not squirm, but was too surprise to. Instead, he put an arm around her, and a hand on her face, lifting her head from where she had her forehead on his shoulder. There were tears on her face, and though she was happy, she was sad as well. For what reason he could not be sure, but at this moment, he new what he was...for the very first time.

His whole life, he had shut people out. For what he had done, for what pain he had caused. He didn't want anyone into his life, for he was afraid he would hurt them as well. He did not want anyone to know who he was, what he had been, because who would ever want to know a monster? He did not know if he was still one, for the remainder of his life he spent in solitude, locked away from society.

But then she fell into his life. The night he would've killed again. The night his title would be replenished. But it wasn't, because somehow he had been distracted, and had found the person who would change. Though asked for the life of hers to find the death of Cloud's, he just couldn't do it. He just couldn't give her up.

He used to think attachment lead to weakness. Maybe that was still so, but he didn't care. That did not matter to him. His old life was dead, the thin black line that separated his crazed self from the real world collapsed. She cared, and that was all that mattered.

Sephiroth stood up, holding out his hand to help her up. She took it, and with it, when she stood up, she jumped on his back again, putting her arms around his neck. He laughed, Kerah doing the same, as they both walked on.

This was the fifth day, but he had already made up his mind.

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A/N Well, there you have it. End of part four. So what did you think of this one? Hmm? Kind of different perspective on Sephiroth, so tell me what you think of it and please Review!