Cloud sighed to himself, watching the sun set from his window in his room in the inn at Wutai. The streets outside were crowded, he could see, as the Fall Festival began. He wore a light blue kimono because of this, a darker blue sash tied around his waist, borrowed from the innkeeper. Zax had already changed and left, clearly in the mood to get drunk, while Sephiroth changed in his nearby room.
"Ready?" a voice in the doorway asked.
The blonde turned and blushed a bit. Sephiroth wore a kimono that appeared pure white, but shifted colors like a pearl as he moved in the light; tied around his waist was a pitch-black sash. A small black pearl stud decorated his left pierced ear. The man's long hair had been tied once more into a bun. He didn't appear to be carrying any weapons, but the pins in his hair resembled the handle of a sai.
"Yeah," replied Cloud, smiling a bit. "Zax already left for the free food and drinks."
A slight sigh of frustration passed through Sephiroth as he went to stand by Cloud at the window. "Its perfect weather for a festival...Not too hot yet not too cold..." He turned to go. "The night is young, and it'll be a long while before Shinra finds our little gang here. It'd be best if we relax while we can."
Nodding his head, Cloud followed Sephiroth out of the hotel and into the crowd. It was there the two separated to go their own ways through the festivities. As the sky grew darker, hanging lanterns everywhere were being lit, giving warmth and light to the festival.
I've got a bad feeling about this, Cloud thought to himself, going from booth to booth. Like...something's going to happen. But what? He shook his head at the thought, stopping at a jewelry booth, where a large ear cuff caught his eye.
The cuff was made of a silver wire, looking as if it were supposed to wrap around the entire ear. There was three slot inserts for small Materia orbs and three strings of silver hanging from the bottom slot. On them were three small pendants; a crescent moon, a star, and a celtic sun, each a shimmering silver. Cloud could sense the piece itself held a strange power.
"You have a fine taste in jewelry, jerk," a whiney voice spoke.
He looked up to face the vendor, meeting the gaze of Yuffie. "Is it stolen or did you buy this fair and square?" teased Cloud, half-smiling.
"I found it!" the girl huffed, crossing the arms of her green kimono. "It was in some cave up in the far north, past the crater. I did some exploring after the group disbanded." She smiled, seeing how Cloud's eyes drifted down to the jewelry. "Gunna buy it for Tifa?"
"Not quite," blushed Cloud. He pulled out his bag of gil. "How much do I owe you?"
Yuffie took the cuff from the display and placed it in a small box, tied it with a ribbon, then handed it to Cloud. "Since I can tell it's for someone special, this one's on the house," she smiled. "So who's the lucky girl?"
Again Cloud blushed. "Oh...no one important..." With that, Cloud shoved the box in a pocket and walked off. He soon caught up with Sephiroth, who carried a small package under one arm and a large jug in the other hand. "What's that?" Cloud asked, gesturing to the package as the two headed back to the inn.
"This?" Sephiroth shrugged. "It nothing...Just a little souvenir."
Cloud smiled and shook his head, noticing the jug. "Is that...what I think it is?"
"Sake," answered Sephiroth. "For in case of emergencies."
"Oh..." Cloud sighed, entering the near-empty inn. He let out a yawn, stretching a bit. "I'm beat..."
"Quite agreed," smiled Sephiroth, heading towards his room. "I'm going to sleep well tonight, that's for sure."
Saying nothing more, the two split up and went to their rooms. Cloud sighed to himself once more, playing with the box holding the ear cuff. Muttering to himself, he tossed the box in his travel pack, his left shoulder blade aching with a burning pain. It hurt to move his arm, the pain trickling down his back.
"What the..?" Cloud gasped, the pain becoming tremendous in his back. "What's...happening to me?" He fell to his knees beside his bed, the pain below his left shoulder so intense, he couldn't even whimper. Sephiroth...he pleaded in his mind. Help me...
***
The sense from nearby hit Sephiroth hard, waking him from his meditation. "Cloud," he muttered, standing, still wearing his pearl kimono. Feeling a sense of urgency wrap around his heart, he dashed from the room to Cloud's nearby guestroom. Reaching it, his heart froze as Cloud let out a penetrating cry of tortured pain.
"Oh no...Aeris let him be okay..." Sephiroth prayed as he entered. The man stopped as soon as he entered.
Cloud sat on his knees on the floor near hi bed, covered in blood. The back of his kimono was torn in the back and fell over his arms to expose his neck and shoulders. Behind him, a single white angel's wing had sprouted from his back on the left side, dripping with blood. His eyes were filled with a deep inner pain as he looked up at Sephiroth.
Sighing to himself, Sephiroth went to Cloud, kneeling in front of the blonde. Instantly, Cloud clung to the silver-haired man, wrapping his arms around Sephiroth's waist and making him fall back to sit against the wall. "Don't leave me," Sephiroth heard Cloud whisper in a faint voice. "It hurts..."
"Its okay..." Sephiroth spoke kindly, holding Cloud closer. "It'll be all right..." He placed a hand on the blonde's back where the wing met Cloud's skin; his other hand gently stroked the younger man's hair. "I'm going to help you. I know a spell that will reduce the amount of pain, but you must learn how to take the pain on your own. Do you understand?"
Nodding his head against Sephiroth's chest, Cloud held still as the tips of Sephiroth's fingers became cold with magic. The spell flowed from his fingers and into Cloud like a cool liquid, soothing the piercing pain the wing caused. Cloud relaxed a bit in Sephiroth's arms, taking in the spell.
"Feel better?" Sephiroth asked as he finished the spell.
Again Cloud nodded his head against Sephiroth's body. "I don't know...what happened or why..."
"Jenova must have created it through her cells," explained Sephiroth. "Don't worry about it...Try to relax...you'll be okay."
"No..." Cloud mumbled, shaking his head. He looked up at Sephiroth with sad eyes. "You don't understand...I can hear her whispering in my mind; telling me I'm nothing more than her puppet, and she'll use me to kill you..."
"Don't listen to her," Sephiroth told Cloud, stroking the blonde's hair still. "She's trying to control you through fear. Just ignore her..."
"I can't...I'm afraid I'll hurt you..." Cloud pleaded. He started to push himself away from Sephiroth, but the older man caught him. "Leave me alone!"
"Cloud, calm down." He held Cloud's wrists so that the younger man couldn't struggle away. "You can fight this, Cloud. You have the strength."
The blonde winced at Sephiroth's tone, hearing not anger but a piercing kindness. "I don't know how..." whimpered Cloud, his eyes closed tightly.
"It's the same as the other day," Sephiroth explained, letting go of Cloud. "The same thing I told you...just concentrate."
Saying nothing, Cloud again held Sephiroth closely, taking in the reassuring sense the elder radiated. Sephiroth sighed to himself once more, feeling Cloud's energy fighting Jenova within him. Aeris, give him strength, he prayed. He needs it far more than I...
***
The enchantress smiled to herself as she released the spell. "So...dear Sephy is aiding his enemy, Cloud, after all..." she spoke with a haunting voice. The woman sat on one of the open hands of the gods on the rock face, cloaked in pure black robes with her face hooded in shadows. "Now to decide if I should step in or not."
She stood, looking over Wutai. "I believe I should wait a bit...let them become closer before I hit them hard. But who should I get first? Hmm..."
A cool wind blew at Jenova. It moved her hood from her face, revealing a face and hairstyle that was exactly like Yuffie's. "Cloud was such a fool to buy my ear cuff. He doesn't realize the danger they're in now...now that they have my little tracking device."
Lifting a hand, she panned it across her face. In the instant she did so, her face changed. Instead of Yuffie, Jenova's face and hair had vanished. Her nose had flattened to nothing as her eyes and lips were also gone. "Yes..." she spoke without a mouth. "I'll let them become stronger...let them become closer before I strike."
Again her face shifted, but to that of Aeris. She smiled evilly. "And I know just who to off first. Sephiroth was one of my favorite toys, but I believe I should toy with him. Then once he is gone, Cloud will be too heart-broken to put up a fight."
Jenova laughed to herself transforming, robes and all, into a cawing raven. The transformation complete, the black bird flew off towards the building beside the inn and parched on the building's roof, watching over the room where Cloud and Sephiroth rested.
Sleep well, my angels, Jenova thought, watching the two sleep in Cloud's room on the floor; Sephiroth sitting against the wall with Cloud's head in his lap. Because soon you will be mine...