Disclaimer: *cries in a corner* I-I *sniffles* d-don't *sobs hysterically
and beats her head against the wall* OWN FF7!!!!!!! *mental breakdown*
Author's Note: Thank you, Blizzaga, for being my ONLY REVIEW for the last chapter. So, to honor your request, I will no longer tell people my plans. Not only are they likely to change, and probably will at any given time, but also Blizzaga asked and was the only one to review- so THERE!!!!!!!
I was reading fun Taito fics, then I got to a Mira part (ACK! THE HORROR! THE HORROR!), so I stopped reading it and began writing this. My Taito fic is waiting on another window, though, and it's calling to me. I never even knew people liked Mira, or Somi, or whatever. That just never occurred to me- but I am so biased against yuri that most of those pairings don't occur to me. Argh... *is disturbed and shocked* I can't take it anymore!! I'll just continue with my Taito and Daiken *sings and skips happily through fields full of flowers* Oh, BTW, that was all about Digimon. I guess if you don't like Digimon, you wouldn't know that, huh? Tee hee hee *blushes and scratches the back of her head*
Enjoy!!
Chapter 37:
Never Be the Same Again
Of all days to get into an argument, he had to pick today. He couldn't just let Sephiroth have his way- oh no. He had to try and talk to him, which always made him even more obnoxious. Was it possible for Sephiroth to become more obnoxious than he already was? It was a tough call, but the possibility was there.
Zack shot a look at Sephiroth. Why was he so mad anyway? Was it possible that the mighty Sephiroth actually cared what happened to other people around him? No, that couldn't be it. Then, he only cared when it had to do with Aeris. Yeah, that made more sense. If he killed himself right now, Sephiroth wouldn't even bat an eyelash. But, if Aeris should happen to almost trip on a rock- oh no! Watch out! The world would end if anything happened to her!
Well, at least there was one thing both boys could agree on.
Zack looked out the window and saw that they were approaching the gate. He had never been this close to freedom before. Not that he thought of Midgar as a prison, but it sure wasn't anything close to what he wanted. He desperately wanted to be able to go out and explore on his own, but living in that forsaken city made that impossible. ShinRa's rule, combined with the infernal plate that blocked out every form of life, made it that way. No one could defy ShinRa, and if the president wanted to keep all of the citizens of Midgar from forever seeing sunlight, while then so be it. Who would oppose him?
Cursing the weakness of people in general, Zack punched the back of the seat in front of him. It was, surprisingly, enough to get Sephiroth to look at him, amused.
"What?" Zack asked, cracking his knuckles. Sephiroth didn't answer, merely continued to look at the black-haired boy arrogantly. "You got a problem? Say it!"
"No problem here."
Zack growled and Sephiroth laughed.
"What?!"
"You're entertaining today."
Zack narrowed his eyes and sneered at Sephiroth. "If you want to act like this, fine. But don't get mad at me for talking to Aeris."
"I'm not mad-"
"And don't take it out on me if you were too chicken to say good-bye to her like you should've."
Sephiroth glared at Zack. "I don't know what you're talking about, but if you're trying to get on my nerves, it's working."
"Well, good. Maybe if I try hard enough, you'll fall off of that pedestal you're on."
"Don't be so rude."
"I wouldn't be, if you weren't such a prick. But there it is, and what can I do about it?"
"You know what, Zack? No," Sephiroth said, interrupting the Zack's retort. "Of course not. I'm sure you don't know anything."
"What di-"
"If you cared as much as you think you do, then we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now. So be quiet and leave me alone."
Sephiroth looked out of his window, and Zack turned until he was facing away from the silver-haired boy.
They might have stayed that way longer, but the bus jerked to a halt, making Zack bump into Sephiroth.
"Watch what you're doing!" Sephiroth exclaimed angrily.
"Not my fault, the bus-"
"You're trying to irritate me, aren't you?"
"We've been over this already today."
"Apparently you think I won't-"
"If you wouldn't be that-"
"-your pitiful actions only-"
"-jealous, that's what-"
"-besides, you even-"
"-totally not my-"
"-never even-"
"-you're such a-"
"-don't understand-"
But Zack happened to glance up, and what he saw amazed him. He leaned closer to the window for a better look, which placed him directly over Sephiroth's legs.
"What are you doing?! Get off of me, you-"
"Seph, look!"
He did, and then he too was pressed against the glass. Two sets of eyes- one emerald set that seemed slightly clouded over, and one obsidian set that seemed to sparkle- observed the gate to the outside world being opened. Both gazes were wide open, completely astonished at the sight they were witnessing. It was a dream neither had thought they would ever get to see, yet here it was. Just a small pane of glass away.
The bus started moving again, yet neither boy moved from his position. Both stared quietly out the window, trying to take in as much as possible. It was still too much, still too hard to understand what exactly was going on. But they knew, somewhere they realized what was going on. And, if they had been inclined to look at any of the other passengers on the bus, they would have seen reactions quite similar to their own.
The bus moved slowly towards the gate. Zack glanced back briefly to see Midgar for the last time, then turned and faced the new world that was only just opening up to him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The sky was the first thing he noticed. It was enormous, bigger than anything he had ever seen. He couldn't see where it ended. That was how big it was. And blue. It was blue, too. A clear, crisp sort of blue that almost hurt to watch.
Or maybe that was the light. He wasn't used to anyplace being so bright. The sun wasn't really all that big, but it sure was bright. And a white sort of yellow that hurt to look at. When he stared at it for too long, he began to feel dizzy. But, when he closed his eyes and looked away to block it out, all he saw were small bright white spots in front of his eyes. It was almost like when he looked at a lamp for too long, except much, much worse.
He opened his eyes again and noticed the clouds. There weren't many, but they seemed fluffy and white- like marshmallows. Or maybe pieces of cotton. Or some other fluffy, white thing. That's what they looked like. And they were floating! He had heard about it before, of course, but actually seeing it was a different story. How did they stay up there? It was something he would wonder about for a while.
Something passed in his field of vision, and he blinked. It was a bird of some sort. An actual bird, not like a pet or anything, but a real live wild bird. Were there more? Where were they? Weren't birds supposed to travel together?
Not wanting to miss anything, he turned his attention to the ground. It was also big, but not as big as the sky. There were mountains in the distance, although they looked sort of hazy and fogged over. And, if he looked in a different direction there was a lot of water all together. That must be the ocean. Or the sea. Maybe a lake? Too big for a puddle. It was also blue, but it was also green and white. The color kept changing over and over again, and there were parts of it that sort of grew and then fell down where the whole thing ended. That happened over and over again, but each of those things were different sizes and shapes, and they appeared so randomly that it was hard to tell what their purpose was.
Concentrating on the ground was easier. There was grass. Some of it was brown, but most was green. It was small and narrow and there was a whole lot of it. Way too many to count, but not as many as the sky was. Could he say the sky was a 'many'? It was too hard to tell from this distance, but he couldn't tell if the blue that the sky was made of was in little pieces, like the grass. Or maybe it was one whole piece? But, then, where did it begin? He could tell where the grass began, but not the sky. If he was outside of the bus right now, would he be standing in the sky? Would it be blue all around him? Or, would it be normal, like when he was in Midgar? Then, if he looked up would he see where it started?
There were also trees around. And bushes, and all sorts of plants that he didn't know existed. Well, now he knew, but not before. Did they all have names? There was a lot of one that looked almost like grass, but it was taller and had a yellow thing on top of it. The yellow thing was sort of circular, and really bright. Not as bright as the sun, but he could tell where it was anyway.
Something else passed by, but this time it was running on the ground. It passed by quickly, but he recognized it as a chocobo. He had seen them before, in Midgar. But, this one had no rider. Was it untamed, then? If he caught it, could he tame it, and then he would own a chocobo? That would be interesting. It was yellow, too, just like all the other ones he had ever seen. So many yellow things were around. Did the outside world like things so bright and cheerful?
He didn't know about the outside world, but he knew about Aeris. Thinking about her made him feel both happiness and sorrow. He wanted her to be there with him. He wanted to be able to show her all of this. Would she ever be able to see anything like this? Ever? He hoped so. It would be so unfair for her to sit alone in Midgar all her life, while he was out here.
He noticed the leaves on the trees move, and wondered what it would be like to feel the wind. He had felt a fan before, and the low breeze that almost always swept through Midgar, but real wind was different. Or, he thought it would be different. Maybe it would feel the same. Or, maybe because he expected it to feel different, it would feel different, when really it just felt the same to everyone else.
But he was not everyone else, and he couldn't wait to feel the wind. He ran a hand through his hair and imagined the wind being so strong that it would lift it up and away from his face. Maybe his clothes would even move like in all the TV shows he had seen when the hero was posing for the girl he had just saved.
Aeris had beautiful hair. What would it look like, all swept up by the wind? Would it get all tangled, and she'd have to take hours to brush it out? Or would it just sort of naturally come up, and then back down again without any fuss?
She should be here. She should be here, instead of him. What good did it do him to see all of this? Would he ever be able to enjoy life the way she did? Would he ever be able to be as open, caring, and friendly as she was? Probably not. But then, he already knew that. He knew he would never be like Aeris. Could never be like her.
No one could ever be like her. She was so warm and sweet, gentle and kind. She would enjoy being out here so much more than anyone else. She would be able to talk with the planet from outside of the plate. It would mean so much to her. It would mean so much to him, to give it to her.
But, even thoughts like these couldn't distract him. Much. And, as Sephiroth looked at the world for the first time, he knew he could never be the same again.
Author's Note: Thank you, Blizzaga, for being my ONLY REVIEW for the last chapter. So, to honor your request, I will no longer tell people my plans. Not only are they likely to change, and probably will at any given time, but also Blizzaga asked and was the only one to review- so THERE!!!!!!!
I was reading fun Taito fics, then I got to a Mira part (ACK! THE HORROR! THE HORROR!), so I stopped reading it and began writing this. My Taito fic is waiting on another window, though, and it's calling to me. I never even knew people liked Mira, or Somi, or whatever. That just never occurred to me- but I am so biased against yuri that most of those pairings don't occur to me. Argh... *is disturbed and shocked* I can't take it anymore!! I'll just continue with my Taito and Daiken *sings and skips happily through fields full of flowers* Oh, BTW, that was all about Digimon. I guess if you don't like Digimon, you wouldn't know that, huh? Tee hee hee *blushes and scratches the back of her head*
Enjoy!!
Chapter 37:
Never Be the Same Again
Of all days to get into an argument, he had to pick today. He couldn't just let Sephiroth have his way- oh no. He had to try and talk to him, which always made him even more obnoxious. Was it possible for Sephiroth to become more obnoxious than he already was? It was a tough call, but the possibility was there.
Zack shot a look at Sephiroth. Why was he so mad anyway? Was it possible that the mighty Sephiroth actually cared what happened to other people around him? No, that couldn't be it. Then, he only cared when it had to do with Aeris. Yeah, that made more sense. If he killed himself right now, Sephiroth wouldn't even bat an eyelash. But, if Aeris should happen to almost trip on a rock- oh no! Watch out! The world would end if anything happened to her!
Well, at least there was one thing both boys could agree on.
Zack looked out the window and saw that they were approaching the gate. He had never been this close to freedom before. Not that he thought of Midgar as a prison, but it sure wasn't anything close to what he wanted. He desperately wanted to be able to go out and explore on his own, but living in that forsaken city made that impossible. ShinRa's rule, combined with the infernal plate that blocked out every form of life, made it that way. No one could defy ShinRa, and if the president wanted to keep all of the citizens of Midgar from forever seeing sunlight, while then so be it. Who would oppose him?
Cursing the weakness of people in general, Zack punched the back of the seat in front of him. It was, surprisingly, enough to get Sephiroth to look at him, amused.
"What?" Zack asked, cracking his knuckles. Sephiroth didn't answer, merely continued to look at the black-haired boy arrogantly. "You got a problem? Say it!"
"No problem here."
Zack growled and Sephiroth laughed.
"What?!"
"You're entertaining today."
Zack narrowed his eyes and sneered at Sephiroth. "If you want to act like this, fine. But don't get mad at me for talking to Aeris."
"I'm not mad-"
"And don't take it out on me if you were too chicken to say good-bye to her like you should've."
Sephiroth glared at Zack. "I don't know what you're talking about, but if you're trying to get on my nerves, it's working."
"Well, good. Maybe if I try hard enough, you'll fall off of that pedestal you're on."
"Don't be so rude."
"I wouldn't be, if you weren't such a prick. But there it is, and what can I do about it?"
"You know what, Zack? No," Sephiroth said, interrupting the Zack's retort. "Of course not. I'm sure you don't know anything."
"What di-"
"If you cared as much as you think you do, then we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now. So be quiet and leave me alone."
Sephiroth looked out of his window, and Zack turned until he was facing away from the silver-haired boy.
They might have stayed that way longer, but the bus jerked to a halt, making Zack bump into Sephiroth.
"Watch what you're doing!" Sephiroth exclaimed angrily.
"Not my fault, the bus-"
"You're trying to irritate me, aren't you?"
"We've been over this already today."
"Apparently you think I won't-"
"If you wouldn't be that-"
"-your pitiful actions only-"
"-jealous, that's what-"
"-besides, you even-"
"-totally not my-"
"-never even-"
"-you're such a-"
"-don't understand-"
But Zack happened to glance up, and what he saw amazed him. He leaned closer to the window for a better look, which placed him directly over Sephiroth's legs.
"What are you doing?! Get off of me, you-"
"Seph, look!"
He did, and then he too was pressed against the glass. Two sets of eyes- one emerald set that seemed slightly clouded over, and one obsidian set that seemed to sparkle- observed the gate to the outside world being opened. Both gazes were wide open, completely astonished at the sight they were witnessing. It was a dream neither had thought they would ever get to see, yet here it was. Just a small pane of glass away.
The bus started moving again, yet neither boy moved from his position. Both stared quietly out the window, trying to take in as much as possible. It was still too much, still too hard to understand what exactly was going on. But they knew, somewhere they realized what was going on. And, if they had been inclined to look at any of the other passengers on the bus, they would have seen reactions quite similar to their own.
The bus moved slowly towards the gate. Zack glanced back briefly to see Midgar for the last time, then turned and faced the new world that was only just opening up to him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The sky was the first thing he noticed. It was enormous, bigger than anything he had ever seen. He couldn't see where it ended. That was how big it was. And blue. It was blue, too. A clear, crisp sort of blue that almost hurt to watch.
Or maybe that was the light. He wasn't used to anyplace being so bright. The sun wasn't really all that big, but it sure was bright. And a white sort of yellow that hurt to look at. When he stared at it for too long, he began to feel dizzy. But, when he closed his eyes and looked away to block it out, all he saw were small bright white spots in front of his eyes. It was almost like when he looked at a lamp for too long, except much, much worse.
He opened his eyes again and noticed the clouds. There weren't many, but they seemed fluffy and white- like marshmallows. Or maybe pieces of cotton. Or some other fluffy, white thing. That's what they looked like. And they were floating! He had heard about it before, of course, but actually seeing it was a different story. How did they stay up there? It was something he would wonder about for a while.
Something passed in his field of vision, and he blinked. It was a bird of some sort. An actual bird, not like a pet or anything, but a real live wild bird. Were there more? Where were they? Weren't birds supposed to travel together?
Not wanting to miss anything, he turned his attention to the ground. It was also big, but not as big as the sky. There were mountains in the distance, although they looked sort of hazy and fogged over. And, if he looked in a different direction there was a lot of water all together. That must be the ocean. Or the sea. Maybe a lake? Too big for a puddle. It was also blue, but it was also green and white. The color kept changing over and over again, and there were parts of it that sort of grew and then fell down where the whole thing ended. That happened over and over again, but each of those things were different sizes and shapes, and they appeared so randomly that it was hard to tell what their purpose was.
Concentrating on the ground was easier. There was grass. Some of it was brown, but most was green. It was small and narrow and there was a whole lot of it. Way too many to count, but not as many as the sky was. Could he say the sky was a 'many'? It was too hard to tell from this distance, but he couldn't tell if the blue that the sky was made of was in little pieces, like the grass. Or maybe it was one whole piece? But, then, where did it begin? He could tell where the grass began, but not the sky. If he was outside of the bus right now, would he be standing in the sky? Would it be blue all around him? Or, would it be normal, like when he was in Midgar? Then, if he looked up would he see where it started?
There were also trees around. And bushes, and all sorts of plants that he didn't know existed. Well, now he knew, but not before. Did they all have names? There was a lot of one that looked almost like grass, but it was taller and had a yellow thing on top of it. The yellow thing was sort of circular, and really bright. Not as bright as the sun, but he could tell where it was anyway.
Something else passed by, but this time it was running on the ground. It passed by quickly, but he recognized it as a chocobo. He had seen them before, in Midgar. But, this one had no rider. Was it untamed, then? If he caught it, could he tame it, and then he would own a chocobo? That would be interesting. It was yellow, too, just like all the other ones he had ever seen. So many yellow things were around. Did the outside world like things so bright and cheerful?
He didn't know about the outside world, but he knew about Aeris. Thinking about her made him feel both happiness and sorrow. He wanted her to be there with him. He wanted to be able to show her all of this. Would she ever be able to see anything like this? Ever? He hoped so. It would be so unfair for her to sit alone in Midgar all her life, while he was out here.
He noticed the leaves on the trees move, and wondered what it would be like to feel the wind. He had felt a fan before, and the low breeze that almost always swept through Midgar, but real wind was different. Or, he thought it would be different. Maybe it would feel the same. Or, maybe because he expected it to feel different, it would feel different, when really it just felt the same to everyone else.
But he was not everyone else, and he couldn't wait to feel the wind. He ran a hand through his hair and imagined the wind being so strong that it would lift it up and away from his face. Maybe his clothes would even move like in all the TV shows he had seen when the hero was posing for the girl he had just saved.
Aeris had beautiful hair. What would it look like, all swept up by the wind? Would it get all tangled, and she'd have to take hours to brush it out? Or would it just sort of naturally come up, and then back down again without any fuss?
She should be here. She should be here, instead of him. What good did it do him to see all of this? Would he ever be able to enjoy life the way she did? Would he ever be able to be as open, caring, and friendly as she was? Probably not. But then, he already knew that. He knew he would never be like Aeris. Could never be like her.
No one could ever be like her. She was so warm and sweet, gentle and kind. She would enjoy being out here so much more than anyone else. She would be able to talk with the planet from outside of the plate. It would mean so much to her. It would mean so much to him, to give it to her.
But, even thoughts like these couldn't distract him. Much. And, as Sephiroth looked at the world for the first time, he knew he could never be the same again.