Chapter 13: A Tooth for a Tooth.
Sephiroth watches calmly while professor Hojo pulls a medical glove onto his hand.
Soon Sephiroth will reap the consequences of his little farce. His soul had warned him against it, but on impulse he had done it anyway.
Turning to the child, professor Hojo reaches towards the boy's face and Sephiroth leans into the glare of the surgical headlight once more. His pupils draw into thin slits through his half lidded eyes as he gazes into the blinding light bulbs as professor Hojo grasps his jaw.
Gloved fingers gently prod at his lips and the child's mouth parts for him.
The adult freezes for a moment.
A finger promptly inserts itself into his moist cavern to pulls at his lips in search for something the child knows is not there. The smell of surprise, followed by stress and frustration graces his sensitive nostrils.
Sephiroth feels a slight swell of satisfaction and a faint itch of vindictive pleasure in his chest from the elder mans distress. Even his soul tunes in with a tug of contempt.
The gloved hands remove themselves from his person. Green eyes move in time to see professor Hojo hesitate to push up the glasses with his glistening right hand, switching to do it with his left instead.
Blank faced, professor Hojo looks at him before speaking matter of factly, but with a hint of emotion colouring his tone. "You have lost your first tooth."
With his mouth still slightly ajar Sephiroth prods the gap with his tongue while watching the professor keep his outward composure. The man has gotten better at it, Sephiroth thinks as he deliberately replies. "I know."
He catches Hojo taking a calming breath before the older man starts his questioning. "Were is the tooth?" He sounds calm, but Sephiroth knows better.
"I threw it away." He answers back with his own flawless composure.
"Where did you throw it away?" Hojo continues, still keeping is cool but for a higher pitch in his voice.
"I don't recall." The child retorts, repeating a commonly used phrase in the lab.
Hojo's eyes sharpen slowly as he watches the child bathed in light before him. Sephiroth can almost see connections being made, and the blades of suspicion sharpening within the other man. This is the phrase the other scientists use with professor Hojo when they lie to him. The new head of the Shinra Science Research Department may have suspected them on occasion, but Sephiroth had known it for certain. He could smell the blustering fear in some and the contempt in others.
To his disappointment, however, professor Hojo seems to regain his calm for real this time. The stress and hints of anger and frustration are gone though the annoyance remains.
He approaches Sephiroth while switching off the glaring lights. Pulling off the gloves he bends over to stand face to face with the silver-haired boy. "You are wasting everyone's time with this little game of yours." With those sharp words and a final reprimanding glare, he tosses the gloves to the side and strides out of the lab.
Sephiroth stares quietly after him. This was one of the few things his soul and he had not agreed upon, as he had held the tooth between his fingers and conceived of this farce to deny a precious sample to his guardian. But from the faint sense of disappointment and even regret dredged up for this occasion, his soul had hinted against it.
In the aftermath of this occasion the child's anticipation had fallen flat with results that weren't as fully as satisfying as he had hoped.
The lab assistant which had stayed quiet in the background all this time approaches him to tidy up after Hojo. He takes the opportunity to scold the child for being careless and inconsiderate. This time Sephiroth fully agreed with his soul as disdain for the male assistant awakens within both of them. The man truly thought he was doing Sephiroth a favour by the smell of self-righteousness gushing out of him.
…
Sephiroth has often little to do as the working day in the Shinra Power electric company draws to an end. His teachers send him off and the scientist scurry to finish sorting, gather and save the data they've collected before closing hours.
Free to do as he wills, as long as he doesn't get in the way of anyone, the silver-haired child wanders the corridors. Disinterestedly he watches the employees move around, idly listening for whispers from his soul that go beyond his own apathy.
It is in such a moment while on the Science Research floor in the old Shinra building that he comes across a smell, though familiar, is out of place on this floor.
His soul does not react to it. But having nothing better to do Sephiroth follows the scent to investigate.
The scent leads him to the public labs. These are labs which the silver-haired child rarely has reason to go, but that people from other departments or non-Shinra employees will often visit to cooperate with or observe Shinra lead science experiments and projects.
As Sephiroth draws closer to the source of the smell he notices the lack of employees in the corridors. Though the hour is late, it is not so late as to explain the desolation.
When one of the few scientists he sees in the corridor holds her sleeve discreetly over her noes wile cradling a stack of files in her bosom, Sephiroth realises it must be the smell. It should be strong enough that even other people can discern that scent of decomposing food and grease.
This scent is familiar to Sephiroth. It is commonly found by the trash cans in the cafeteria and at times from some of the lockers in the locker rooms.
He had realised long ago that the people around him tended to be disgusted by the smell. Though Sephiroth himself doesn't find it particular repulsing and it certainly didn't provoke the gagging induced in some.
He recalls that back before he had come to the Shinra building in Midgar, the scientist had thought the boy's sense of smell was defective when they first tested it. From what he gathered his reaction to the smell of decomposing matter and bodily fluids had not been the expected one, in spite of the fact that he could identify them. Later, when they had moved to Midgar, the child overheard professor Hojo explain to a group of other scientists that it was probably an adaptation to an enhanced sense of smell while lamenting that they hadn't thought to test it before the enhancements for a baseline.
There are, however, still certain smells that the silver-haired child can find nauseating, fortunately the source seems to be a rare commodity in Midgar.
His thoughts are cut short as he reaches a lab door which stands ajar from behind which the smell originates. This open door is likely the reason for why it is so prevalent in the corridor.
This affair would normally not be enough to keep Sephiroth's attention for long, let alone break off his line of thought, except when he glances into the lab he sees the janitor.
The janitor faces the door standing behind one of the movable metal counters upon which lies a black plastic bag with it's contents spilled out on the table.
Surprised, the silver-haired child stands frozen a moment longer in the doorway as faded blue eyes flicked to meet Mako lit green.
Perhaps it is caused by the strangeness of seeing the janitor on this floor or perhaps it is the cold laboratory lighting, but a niggling impression arasies that there is something different with this man in this moment.
Taking a step into the room, Sephiroth tastes the air. But it is to no avail for the smell from the waste masks the older man's scent.
Without a word the janitor returns his attention to his task on the table, but from Sephiroth's short angle, he can not make out much other than the moving of his arms and the rustle of the trash bag.
Grabbing a stool, he carries it over with ease and hops onto it to gaze upon the situation on the table. Instantly a suspicion sprouts, grows and blooms as he sees the older man with medical gloves covered fingers swiftly pick through smeared foodstuff before discarding it in what must have been another plastic bin beside him.
In spite of his growing certainty Sephiroth utters his question anyway. "What is this?"
The janitor's hands do not pause in their swift work as he replies curtly in his sing-song accent. "Floor 21, trash bag from the trash bin by the cafeteria exit."
The silver-haired child's eyes lowered from the janitors face as his suspicion is confirmed. His tongue feels for the gap between his lower front teeth.
He had not thought about how his farce would end when he had begun it.
"It is my tooth your looking for." The child admits while tracing some of the more colourful smears on the cold metal table top with his eyes. An quite, unnamed weight settles in his gut;
A few minutes of silence passes between them, filled with the repeated rustling of the trash bag on the floor as the pile of wasted food is discarded once again. So it comes as a surprise to Sephiroth when the janitor replied very grudgingly. "I thought it was yours."
Sephiroth's green eyes flicker back to the janitor watching him calmly. He has not been able to identify this mans emotions as he has the others. Leaning over the table from where he stands on the stool across from the older man he discreetly tastes the air.
He can vaguely sense the underlying deep sadness which he had identified when the man spoke of his wife and son, but through the masking smells that lay between them he can not gather any more.
Hesitantly the janitor speaks up again. "Did… you enjoy it?"
Righting himself the silver-haired child's gaze shift contemplatively away. The janitors questioning is very discreet and veiled, as he usually is with his desire to keep a low profile, but Sephiroth understands that he must have caught on to the farce. "Not particularly."
Initially it had been, but that moment had been short lived and mostly fuelled by his own anticipation. The bubble had popped, awakening him to the pointlessness of his actions.
The janitor does not respond, however Sephiroth senses a shift in the air and his eyes flicker back to the man as he once again samples it. There is something new, but try as he might he cannot identify it.
Instead the child carefully examines the older mans face whom is still busy with his work.
The corner of the mans lips are drooping slightly but the child discerns nothing more then that. Still Sephiroth continues to study the elders lined face. He notices the faint lines from a frown between his brows, contrasted with an abundance of laugh lines around his eyes and mouth.
Belatedly Sephiroth realises that he's never seen the janitor use those lines before, never seen him smile or laugh. Recalling how the man had spoken of his son and wife he speculates whether it is they that had led the marks of a lifetime of joyous emotion to become obsolete on this old mans face.
Idly he wonders why he had not noticed it before. But as he watches those lines the smallest of changes comes upon them and they smoothen out ever so slightly. Realisation strikes the boy as his pupils suddenly narrow.
Seeming to have sensed the change, the janitor's eyes snap up from his work and he pauses for an instant.
Sephiroth's pupils, however, quickly return to their relaxed, half dilated state as the thrill of realisation fades. He had noticed those lines because they had been deeper and more prominent, even if just subtly.
"You're amused!?" Sephiroth blurts out. At once surprised, indignant and baffled.
Swiftly, the janitor returns to his work as he seems to mull over something. Finally, the older man replies simply. "Being petty is normal for children."
Normal.
When had 'normal' ever been used to describe Sephiroth, however indirectly. The word awakens mixed feelings of faint longing and disdain from his soul that had been deathly silent up until this moment.
As the janitor pulls out more of the contents of the trash bag Sephiroth broods quietly.
He is different from the people around him. He has learned this both from the scientists and his own observations. For every passing day since his birth he seems to learn more about all the ways in which he differs from others. His appearance, his behaviour, his perceptions, his knowledge and lack of it, his inherent abilities… all of it sets him apart.
It is his differences that his surroundings observe and also what Sephiroth must keep to himself. Never had he, nor anyone else pointed out in what way he is similar to the masses.
…
As time flows through the Lifestream, Sephiroth's idle but sharp eyes finally fall upon a corner of ivory in the pile of waste before him.
"There it is." Says Sephiroth while pointing at it.
The janitor turns his head and observes the area carefully before gently plucking it out. He turns the small tooth in his gloved fingers without saying a word.
Watching him carefully once more, Sephiroth can still not pick out any particular facial expression, however he can faintly sense what might have been sorrow with something more in the air.
Suddenly the faded blue eyes turn to gaze at the boy. "Do you have more teeth you want to throw away?" If it hadn't been for the telling wrinkles on the old mans face, Sephiroth may well not have noticed the subtle crinkling of the corner of the elder's eyes, and would have missed this mans first joke.
The corner of Sephiroth's mouth twitches upwards in self derision. It truly had been a petty thing to do.
Placing the tooth in a petridish which had been set aside the janitor promptly began to clean up the mess on the table. Sephiroth quietly slunk away, satisfied with this encounter.
Author's notes:
Reviews:
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter (including those from AO3) with Cane's POV; Lordibau; NatNicole; Samantha Vi Tenebris; Anonymous Birdy; BloodyRoses, cancerLisious, Matchinishi. And finally, ten, for sharing your idea on telling Gast about Sephiroth's mummy. It's a really tricky subject that I've been thinking much about. Special thanks also goes to DasewigGewitter for giving me valuable feedback on chapter three witch I've applied. So basically Gast's letters to Grimoire and Sephiroth's POV are in chronological order now. And finally to Anonymous Birdy and Lordibau for gently nudging me during this long break to get this next chapter to you all. Even long after they've been written, I go back to read them all. Thank you!
So no Letter from Gast or the promised sword and a short chapter. Again… I almost forgot losing teeth was a thing, and Sephiroth is supposedly already ahead in his growth so that was why if I wanted to do a scene with it, it had to be now.
Any guesses on what smell Sephiroth might find nauseating? This isn't actually really a secret, it'll come out sooner or later the information just didn't seem to fit into this chapter.
On a side note. I read that one of the characteristics of slit pupils is that they have the ability to become a lot wider than round ones. Sephiroth has had dilated pupils a few times in this story, but I just realised what it would look like with the type of pupils he has. Yes, like a puppy eyed cat. It goes to show there are two sides to every coin.
Next Chapter: Sephiroth comes across a familiar sword + a letter from Gast.