Cloud sat in his room for the rest of the day, he did not wish to impose his presence on his friends. Nanaki was lounging on the end of his bed in deep thought. Slowly it turned to night and the rain began pouring down on the small village. Sephiroth was asleep in bed but his slumber was far from peaceful. Faces and names bombarded him as he relived every kill that he had ever done. The images awoke him with a start. The emotion was consuming him whole and he could not take it. After getting dressed Sephiroth stumbled out of his bedroom and out of the mansion. It was a few hours after midnight and everyone was asleep. Far above them the storm clouds were still at work throwing down gallons of rain.
Sephiroth tried running but he tripped on the end of his coat and crashed into the dirt. Sephiroth crouched on all fours; he found that he was crying. Sephiroth closed his eyes and willed the images to vanish but they just came back even clearer. Nothing he tried was working, every face came back clearly and once he had killed them he remembered the look in their cold, dead eyes. Sephiroth rolled up in a ball but it brought him no comfort.
"I don't want to imagine what you are going through" said a voice. Sephiroth release himself from a ball and looked up to see Nanaki who was stood a few steps away.
"How can I get it to stop?" Sephiroth sobbed as he knelt in the dirt and rain
"I don't know" said Nanaki staring deep into Sephiroth's green eyes "You're a murderer Sephiroth, the sooner you come to terms with that the better" Nanaki stepped forwards slightly
"I don't think I can make it through the rest of my life" said Sephiroth
"Then get through the next hour or the next minute" said Nanaki angrily "Don't feel sorry for yourself" Sephiroth looked up at the feline that was ordering him around He's right thought Sephiroth. Nanaki continued to stare into Sephiroth's eyes and, in the end, it was Sephiroth who looked away.
"But all this emotion" said Sephiroth. Nanaki instantly cut across
"You killed all those people before" said Nanaki "You lived through it then so you can do it now"
"I was a different" Sephiroth started but Nanaki growled
"You have killed a lot of people, one of them was my friend, nothing has changed you're still Sephiroth and so you can live through this" said Nanaki.
"But" started Sephiroth. Nanaki dived forwards. Sephiroth threw himself back to avoid getting bitten.
"I have already told you to stop feeling sorry for yourself!" said Nanaki growling "So get back on your feet and just face the fact that you're a sadistic killer" snapped Nanaki. Sephiroth felt a surge of hatred spread through him
"I'm not him anymore" Sephiroth shouted at Nanaki "So don't you try and make me feel bad" Nanaki smiled slightly
"How do you feel?" Nanaki asked him. Sephiroth was breathing hard but all the guilt was covered by hatred which was slowly ebbing away; taking the guilt with it. Sephiroth sighed and, slowly, got to his feet.
"I feel better" said Sephiroth "Where did you learn that?" Nanaki smiled
"It's just something I picked up from my grandfather" said Nanaki. Slowly the rain began to come to a halt but the night was still incredibly cold.
"I think we should get back inside" said Sephiroth looking up at the cloudy sky. Nanaki nodded in agreement and the two of them went back inside. Sephiroth sat on the bottom step dripping while Nanaki sat on the floor facing him
"Do you think I'll ever be able to make it up to them?" Sephiroth asked Nanaki. Nanaki shook his head
"I'm not the one to ask" said Nanaki "You need to go over there and speak to them yourself"
"Do you think I should go around there tomorrow?" Sephiroth asked
"The sooner, probably the better" said Nanaki
"Could you come with me?" Sephiroth asked him. Nanaki nodded
"I will" said Nanaki. Sephiroth thanked Nanaki for all he had done and went back to his room. Nanaki watched him go and wondered if going to see Cloud's friends would be the best idea. In the end Nanaki decided that it was the best idea and went back up to Cloud's room where he curled up at the bottom of the bed.