The China Mist
A FFVII Fanfiction by Majokai Yukiko
This is an amateur effort and does not intend to infringe on the rights of Squaresoft.
This story is set in an alternate universe. In other words, the plot of the original does not apply here.
Pairing: Zack + Sephiroth, Cloud + Tifa
Warnings: Shounen-ai. Some parts of the story may be disturbing to the faint hearted.
Author's note: The idea for this story is taken from one of the more obscure urban legends I've heard of when I was a child. (I still am one, but fine, I'm fifteen, explains?) Heartfelt thanks to my mum for repeating it to me again, not knowing what the hell I'm going to do with it.
(By the way, I need a beta reader. Someone who is efficient in editing checks his/her inbox regularly and does not mind yaoi/shounen-ai. Interested, please email Majokai Yukiko at quasar@animetarot.com
The blond young man stood breath taken at the docks, inhaling the salty scent of the sea breeze as he marveled at the sheer size of the liner before him, The China Mist. The brunette girl beside him smiled, excitement evident on her face, as she tugged gently at her boyfriend's sleeves.
"Let's go, Cloud." She urged, wanting to go onboard the ship and explore its interiors. It was summer holidays for the young couple and both of them had decided that going on a week long cruise on one of the finest liners in the world was definitely a good idea.
"Alright, Tifa." Cloud grinned, allowing the girl to pull him up the ship when he noticed a tall figure on the starboard. The lone figure stood silently, long white hair dancing gracefully with the wind as he surveyed the waves with sad green eyes.
"Cloud, hurry up! What are you looking at?"
"Sorry…" He muttered an apology and walked up the steps, turning back to take one last look at the strange man.
But he was gone.
***
The China Mist was indeed a fine liner. Cloud realized, stretching his back tiredly as he walked across the starboard towards the railings at the side of the ship. Tifa was still enjoying herself watching the Chocobo races. She did not mind when Cloud left her lone, knowing that the blond man needs sometime along once in a while.
He sighed softly; leaning against the metal and watching the stars wink at him from the night sky.
"Is this railing taken or you don't mind if we share?" A rich baritone sounded behind him. Cloud jumped slightly, turning around to face the same white haired man he had seen in the morning.
"Erm..no, it's okay." Cloud stammered. The other man raised an amused eyebrow but said nothing in reply, only to walk up and rest his back on the railings. Beside Cloud.
The blond went back to his star gazing, occasionally darting to glance at the man next to him. On closer look, Cloud realized that this man had a sort of beauty no female could rival. The pale white skin seemed to glow in the silver moonlight, casting an ungodly hue on his already angelic face. With those haunted green eyes closed and those lips tilted upward slightly in contentment, the man had lost much of the forlorn appearance that Cloud saw in the morning.
An eye opened when he noticed Cloud's gaze on him. "What's wrong?" He asked. Straightening upright, he dug into his pants for a lighter as he pulled out a cigarette from his shirt pocket.
"You want one?" He offered, holding out the cancer stick, which Cloud politely refused. "Thought so," he murmured, taking a deep breath of the tobacco smoke, watching the gray mist formed and dispersed as he exhaled.
"I saw you this morning. Standing here." Cloud started, not knowing his reasons for doing so. The white haired man smiled sadly in reply.
"He was always asking me to come out more often, and meet more people, not cooped up with him in the cabin room all day." The white haired man smiled sadly in reply.
"'He'?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah, Zack. My lover. Not sure about what I am to him though." He watched the weak orange glow at the end of his cigarette wistfully, before flicking it overboard and letting it dance with the waves below.
"I've got to go back now. My name's Sephiroth and it's a pleasure meeting you." Sephiroth pushed himself off and walked towards the staircase leading down tot eh cabins.
"Nice to know you too. I'm Cloud."
Sephiroth turned around briefly and continued his stride. "Goodnight then…Cloud."
***
Cloud was almost shivering in anticipation when he reached the starboard that night. Sephiroth was already there, taking a long drag on his cigarette and watching the cold dark waters below.
"You should stop that, you know." Cloud advised, frowning disapprovingly. Green eyes filled with puzzlement before he realized where or what the frown was directed at.
"Oh, this." Sephiroth replied, almost bored as he ignored the advice and inhaled another breath of cigarette smoke. There was an awkward silence between them, before Sephiroth spoke up again.
"Zack said the exact same time as you did. 'Seph, go and get a life', 'Seph, can't you wear something other than black?' 'Seph, smoking is bad for health,' yada yada." Sephiroth let out a laugh, amusement dancing in those beautiful eyes before fading back into their familiar sorrow. "But he don't understand."
"Zack…your lover…" Cloud wrung his hands nervously. "You said he have got to go stay in his room all day. Why is it so?"
Sephiroth sighed, pondering on how to answer that question. "Well…" Cloud waited, silently urging to continue. "I…he was handicapped when we were working with the army. Negligence on my part." Emerald eyes darkened as Sephiroth hastily brushed away the tears that were threatening to fall.
"You know, it's not healthy cooping up like that. Perhaps you can bring him out here tomorrow night, enjoy the fresh air and all that." Cloud almost cried in relief when he saw the other man's face beginning to lighten up. He had not known Sephiroth for more than a few hours in total, yet every time he saw the heart aching, haunted look he felt the urge to want to wipe it off the beautiful face. He was attracted to Sephiroth; he had to admit. But it was not the same way he was attracted to Tifa. What he had felt for the pale man was something else all together…almost paternal.
"…And you should really stop smoking when Zack's around. Passive smokers usually get it much worse than the smokers themselves." Sephiroth bit his lower lip and looked away, something akin to regret and guilt was reflected visibly on his face.
"Will…will you be here tomorrow? I'll see if he wants to be out here."
"Of course! I'd love to see the man you are so obviously madly in love with!" A pink tinge colored his cheeks as Sephiroth quickly made his way back to the cabins.
"See you tomorrow night then, Cloud. And…thanks."
***
The mist was light when Cloud made his way to the dinner room. But by the time he was out of it, the mist had thickened to a dense fog. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should make his way back to his cabin for an early night, return to look for Tifa in the arcade, or try his luck at the starboard.
But would Sephiroth bring Zack out in this weather? He contemplated. The final decision was that he would rather be disappointed than to be branded as someone who had broken his promise in Sephiroth's mind.
Cloud hurried to the starboard, not bothering to take note of his surroundings until he knocked into something. Or rather, someone in a wheelchair, sitting alone in the fog and watching the swirling mist.
"Sorry…I didn't see you." Cloud apologized. The man on the wheelchair turned around, offering a warm smile.
"It's okay. The fog's bloody heavy tonight…I was half expecting this ship to go down with it." Cloud took the time to study the stranger. His long black hair cascaded down and past his shoulders; dark hazel eyes twinkled with cheekiness as he winked mischievously. But the one thing about this man that had caught Cloud's attention was the pair of severed legs discreetly hidden under a dark brown blanket.
"Zack, what did I say about saying things that might bring bad luck?!" A familiar voice shouted from behind. Sephiroth adjusted the blankets, frowning as he did so.
So this is Zack. Cloud realized with astonishment. He had expected to see an ill-tempered gaunt man with dead looking eyes. But this Zack he saw…was anything but unhealthy. In fact, if he had not noticed what was under those sheets, he would not be surprised if Zack suddenly gets out of the chair and race him back to the cabins.
What an interesting pair they make. Sephiroth, with his long white hair and pale skin, was light, while Zack, with his tanned complexion and raven hair, remained content as his lover's shadow.
"I don't know." Zack smirked. "Wanna remind me again, Seph?"
The white haired man ignored him.
"Hi, Cloud." Sephiroth greeted casually. Zack perked up at his words, bending as far forward as his chair would allow, studying the blond man in detail.
"So, you are the Cloud Sephiroth had been talking about." Turning back to his lover, he continued. "Seph," he started in mock hurt. "Is there something you have to tell me?" Sephiroth sighed in exasperation.
"Whatever…" He said, walking back to the interior of the ship.
"That's cruel," Cloud bit his lower lip and stared at the dark haired man, speaking up for the first time since he found out Zack's identity. "What is Sephiroth to you?"
Sephiroth's love for Zack was obvious, as much as he tried to be subtle regarding the matter, the attention and concern he showered upon the man could make anyone envy, and at the same time, wonder about how a love so strong could remain so constant. Zack? Cloud could see friendship, but somehow, the relationship never went beyond that.
"What do you think he is to me?" Zack rebutted.
"I don't know." Cloud admitted. "Well, for the past few days, the way Sephiroth has been talking about you, you are definitely more than a friend to him. He loves you, that's as far as I can see. I don't know about things on your side though. And neither does he, I think."
Zack leant back against the cushions of his chair, silently analyzing the blond man's words.
"The two of us grew up together. Well, we were never very close as kids. He was the quieter kind, preferring to practice swordplay in his own backyard than to be like the rest of those in the village, who goes up to the nearest mountain and hunt for monsters. But then, we were the only two who made it into the army at the end."
"It was in the army that we got close, looking out for each other's back and all that. Seph became the General later, and I was made his second in command. Hell, we were definitely more than that. We share the same room, the same bed etc. But…even so, there was this part of him that he tried to hide away from me. Like, he never told me what his nightmares were about, never told me why he hates it when I trace that scar across his torso…there was so much about him I don't know. And now…I sometimes really wonder if he was staying with me out of guilt."
"What…what happened?" Cloud prompted, his gaze falling on Zack's legs unconsciously. Zack shrugged casually.
"It was a mission that went terribly wrong. We assumed that the damn monster was dead, until that damn thing got me, chewing off my legs and slowly moving upwards. Seph had to cut my legs off and kill the guy before he got the rest of me. It was his fault as much as mine, but it seems that he had been taking the full blame of that all along."
"I quit the army after that…well, they don't need a lieutenant without legs. But Seph quit with me and we've been going on cruise after cruise after cruise, trying to sort things out."
"You are afraid." Cloud placed a hand on Zack's shoulder as the man buried his head into his hands.
"Very. I'm afraid to wake up one day, and realize that he left me. Afraid that I'd lost him to someone that could offer him much more than I could. Someone who is healthy, energetic and…can give him what he needs in a partner."
"But he never left you, and had never thought about it."
"Bless him for that." Despite his desire to keep alert, Zack seemed to have grown tired and was involuntarily looking around for Sephiroth. Cloud wrapped his fingers around the handle of the wheelchair and pushed Zack towards the door.
"Tell him. Tell him how much you need him. Sometimes things like these help, superficial and impractical as it might sound, he needs the assurance once in a while. The confirmation that you want him to be around."
***
A scream could be heard along the corridors when the duo entered. Brown eyes widened in fear as Zack gripped the sides of his chair tightly. He recognized that voice behind the scream.
The ship's bell chimed loudly as the captain's voice came over the intercom.
"Cloud," Zack turned around in his seat. "Go up to the deck and check out what happened. I can get back to the cabin myself"
"What's your cabin number?" Cloud asked, panic slowly making his way into his voice. The floor was jerking violently as they spoke.
"340, now GO!"
***
Cloud barely made it up to the foredeck when he banged into Sephiroth. There was a look of hysteria in those calm green eyes. The face was ashen, looking as if the man was going to faint anytime.
"Sephiroth! What's happening?"
But the man seemed to be trapped in whatever nightmare he was in, pushing Cloud away and rushing down to the direction of his cabin.
"No…not again…not again…" The man muttered breathlessly.
Shit, Cloud cursed, trying to catch up. What was happening?
His surroundings seemed to be washed out, leaving his world only in shades of gray as he searched for the door with the number '340' on it. Cloud heaved a sigh of relief when he finally found it, only to realize for the first time that water was filling the ship in a deadly pace.
"No, you've got to go now. You can still get a lifeboat in time, Seph. Just leave me here." Cloud tried to shout out at the two men in the room, struggling to open the metal door.
Damn, of all times for doors to be stuck!
"ZACK!" He yelled. It was like watching a movie. Cloud could hear every single word the two was saying, but no matter how he screamed and banged against the door, it was as if he was not in the scene at all.
"The door's locked, and I left the key outside." Sephiroth smirked, walking towards the cabinet at the corner and pulling out a small bottle of pills from inside. He poured a few out of the bottle, them to the other man.
Sleeping pills, Cloud noted. He wanted to die. God, no!
At that moment, Cloud saw something he never expected to see. The dark haired man took the pills from Sephiroth and looked at the door, straight at the blond man and smiled. Grabbing Sephiroth, he kissed him, pouring into the single gesture all the love and passion he tried to keep secret, and forcing him to swallow the sleeping pills at the same time. Green eyes widened, before welling up with tears as the man put his arms around the one he loved.
I love you too, those eyes had said before giving to the drug in his system and falling into oblivion.
***
"Sir?" The blond man jumped. He grabbed the deck hand standing in front of him.
"You've got to save them. Room 340, the ship's SINKING!"
"Calm down, sir. The ship's not sinking! Sir!" Cloud dropped his arms and hastily scanned his surroundings. He was on the starboard, alone. And a quick check told him that the weather was fine, the ship's stable and was definitely not sinking.
"What happened? Where's room 340?"
The deck hand looked apprehensively when he saw the look in those blue eyes.
"Perhaps you should talk to the Captain about this."
***
Fifteen minutes later Cloud found himself in Captain Highwind's private chambers, telling him everything that had happened to him in the past few days, how he met Sephiroth, then Zack, how the lovers stayed together even when the ship was sinking and how Sephiroth chose not to leave even when he could.
"They weren't real." Cid Highwind told the young man. "There was no Room 340 on this ship, and there was no man named Sephiroth on the passenger list."
"How can it be?!" Cloud insisted. "They are real. Sephiroth might look pale and as if he was…" He trailed off, trying to suppress a shudder as he realized what he was about to say.
"As if he was dead." Cid finished up the sentence for him. The older man poured them a brandy as he continued.
"The original China Mist was built twenty years ago. You remember the Wutai war?" Cloud nodded.
"General Sephiroth and Lieutenant Zachary were the heroes of the war, but unfortunately they quit the army after that. After the lieutenant lost both his legs in the accident. They boarded the ship and died when it sunk after meeting with a tropical cyclone. This ship was only built about five years ago."
How could it be? Cloud took a sip of the alcohol to calm him down. "They had been so real."
"You weren't the first one to report seeing Sephiroth and Zack. But it seemed like things were rather different for your case."
"How different?"
"According to the rest, Sephiroth did offer Zack the sleeping pills so that he could die without agony, like what you said. The lieutenant took them and that was all to it. Nothing like what you saw later happened."
Tell him. Tell him how much you need him. Sometimes things like these help, superficial and impractical as it might sound, he needs the assurance once in a while. The confirmation that you want him to be around.
Cloud wiped a tear from his eyes and smiled.
"Why?" The captain asked.
"Maybe…" Cloud explained, his mind drifting back to the sweet brunette he had brought along onboard. "They are just waiting for some words to be said."
And down beneath them as they spoke, at the bed of the South China Sea, two bodies lay in peace, fingers clasped around each other as they took their eternal rest.
~owari.~
