The days passed with relative ease after they had figured out a schedule of who were to look out for Strife on which days. The responsibility shifted between the three Firsts and when they found themselves busy they would call on Angeal's puppy, Zack.

The fact that they had confined the blond to Sephiroth's apartment since he'd arrived, seemed to bother everyone but the person in question. Despite the fact that he didn't seem to mind, Sephiroth was well aware of the underlying problem of his behaviour. And although he was more responsive now than he was before, there would still be stretches of time where he would zone out completely, forgetting the world around him existed, and retreated into himself for an unforeseeable amount of time, sometimes minutes or hours, on one particular scary occasion it lasted a whole day.

At the time it had ripped at Sephiroth's heart strings when he left the blond in Genesis' care for the day. The man was sitting in front of the window not looking out at the scenery. Sephiroth had placed a lukewarm cup of camomile tea on the table next to him, only to find it untouched and cold by the time he returned. The man was sitting on the same spot he had been when Sephiroth had left 8 hours earlier. A small bowl of cold broth was placed next to the cup, also untouched. Genesis, with a chilled expression, had conveyed to him that the blond hadn't as much as moved a muscle all day, when he'd served the pre-prepared food left for them by Zack, Strife didn't react. When he had tried to feed him, the other man had refused in his own frigid way.

This, of course, couldn't go on, and hadn't Strife snapped out of his daze and greeted Sephiroth in his hoarse unused voice later that night, the general would have to involve a medical professional into the matter. Not that there was anyone Sephiroth trusted enough in this situation. But the blond needed to eat so his hand would have been forced.

Luckily that weren't the case, and Strife had turned back to his kind of normalcy.

Strife had woke and stood by the doorsill, appearing to be waiting for a greeting from Sephiroth. He woke up most mornings around the time Sephiroth got up to make some coffee or wash up and get ready for work. It wasn't until the action had been repeated a few times that Sephiroth had noticed the inconsistencies in his behaviour. So he decided to sit in the bedroom when the blond was sleeping. After finding out that other man had been sleeping for about an hour everyday, then lying awake in bed until he heard noises outside telling him it was 'safe' to move around with someone else close by.

Sephiroth wanted to hit himself. Of course the blond wouldn't feel safe in a new space. He could try explaining to him that there was in fact nothing to worry about, that Sephiroth would run the first person trying to hurt him through with Masamune, that he wouldn't let anyone hurt him anymore… But lest he makes a mistake by opening his mouth and make the blond feel even more unsafe he decided to call Angeal over and make him try to convey that this place was secure and that the smaller man could depend on them if he needed to.

The conversation was, as expected, one-sided. Hoping his point got across well enough Angeal instinctively gave the blond man a soft pat on his head as he said a goodbye, before freezing on the spot. To the surprise of both First's, the man didn't start to tremble or flinch away like he had done previously. Sephiroth, in a moment of panic, thought he had reverted back to his subconsciously, and was simply unable to respond to the touch.

But the blond, ever full of surprises had simply lifted his head and given a soft goodbye in return. Angeal stood stock-still, wide eyes observing the smaller blond for a few seconds, before beaming at him, while resuming his patting. Strife returned the big grin with a small smile of his own. Sephiroth had to almost push the raven haired First away from the other man to avoid him doing something drastic next, like give Strife a hug or spinning him around the room in glee.

"Genesis is about to turn green-eyed when I tell him about this." Angeal told him with a smirk as he left the the Apartment, in look for the redhead no doubt.

Sephiroth suppressed a sigh and almost made to wave the other man out of his apartment. He turned back to the blond once the other First had left and found that the smile had disappeared, but his eyes were focused on him like they'd never been before.

"Are you… well?" He hesitantly asked.

Other than greetings and the occasional goodbye, Strife hadn't taken to speaking much. So when he gave out a small affirmation, (that could be mistaken for a scoff or a hum, but Sephiroth knew better) he couldn't help but let a smile slip onto his face.

Another few days passed with a breeze and Strife was ready to start on real food. Zack, of course, had been chosen to cook him his first real mean, but all of Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth was present for the occasion. They all fell into silence when the smaller man had taken the first bite of his, probably, just to be sure, over-cooked fish. They knew the blond wasn't comfortable with too much attention pointed towards him, so the sight of them not-so-subtly eyeing him for a second and looking away to a random direction while he ate was, no doubt, comical.

The room was quiet, every one of the occupants closely observing the blond sloppily gobbling down his meal. They were trying to be inconspicuous with their monitoring of Strife's wellbeing, but somehow the other man had caught on to their averted gazes and quiet breaths. He looked at each of them, their eyes skittering over his when they met. Genesis softly coughed in his fist before finally breaking the ice.

"How was it?" It wasn't always that Strife replied, but he sometimes did, and when that happened the person who got the smaller man to say a word or a broken sentence in reply would normally boast about it to the rest of them, which in turn made a certain redhead's feathers so ruffled that he began keeping score of the interactions. Currently Zack was in the lead, but they all agreed that it was due to the fact that the raven haired boy practically never shut his mouth, so he is bound to get more replies when asking a thousand questions a day.

"...'s Good."

Genesis smiled at him as he made a fist pump motion in the air and took out a notebook where he scribbled something. Probably writing down his just received point. Angeal on his side rolled his eyes then turned to the blond and gave him a smile.

"I'm glad that you liked it. If there's anything you would like to eat from now on you can just ask Zack for it."

"And if I can't make it we can always order it from somewhere on the Plates." Zack grinned from his spot on the armrest of the couch.

Strife seemed to follow the conversation just fine and understand what was being said, but he still made himself as small small as possible, and didn't react to the words. They all witnessed the comprehension in his eyes just fine though, so they left it at that.

"Or we could bring you out with us to eat out?" The redhead flippantly suggested, which made three heads turn to him with lightning speed. They each threw him a different set of looks. Angeal, sitting next to him, looked at him with an intense stare, obviously asking Genesis to immediately drop the subject. Zack gave him a wide eyed stare, asking if it really was fine to bring the blond out into the city with them, and if it was, then why hadn't they done it already. Sephiroth on the other hand, gave his normal, everyday, impassive expression, but his eyes showing he was deep in thought.

But Genesis wasn't paying attention to any of them, his eyes were kept on the blond to gauge the smaller blond's reaction. The other man had been staring into the space in front of him, but when he heard the words uttered, his eyes regained some sense and they flicked up at the redhead then quickly down again as if afraid of even hoping.

Genesis clenched his hand and stood up from his seat with a flourish. "Right! Then it's decided, we'll be eating out tomorrow." He's smile was strained when he looked down at the blond. "Think about what you want to eat when we go out. Midgar is filled with different kinds of restaurants."

He said his goodbye and quickly left the room. Sephiroth had noticed the anger in the redhead's eyes the second it flared. He knew it wasn't directed at any of them, especially not at the small blond sitting quietly on the by the table. Sephiroth fully understood where the fury came from, though he might have a better control over his emotions, he still felt that his resentment mirrored Genesis' to a fault. He knew that if he acted now he'd only put Strife in danger, although he had a plethora of thoughts and plans of how to deal with Hojo they would all have to wait.

The blond's stomach appeared to have settled and when they knew that the food he ate wouldn't be thrown up, Angeal and Zack took their leaves as well. Strife and Sephiroth was left to their own devices, which consist of… nothing much. Sephiroth was never sure of how to accommodate for Strife. The other man, of course, didn't have any complaints, but he still felt that what he was doing wasn't even close to enough.

The man was sitting quietly on his seat, fidgeting once in a while. Sephiroth turned to stand up, walk around for a bit, maybe make the smaller man some tea to wash down the food. Mostly he just wanted to keep himself in motion, he'd be sitting inside with Strife for the whole day, but he was never good at standing still for too long. And he didn't like the thought of Strife being bored in his company but unable to convey it, the thought almost made him twitch.

As Sephiroth stood the blond's eyes finally landed steadily on him. He froze in his step as he saw the blue color drilling into him. Strife took a big intake of air before opening his mouth, his lips trembling slightly as his voice finally broke out.

"Sephiroth…"

Sephiroth locked his libs and stalled his breath, not even daring to blink in fear of missing even a fraction of the other's words.

"I'm sorry." He let out a shaky breath before continuing. "I… even though this is a dream or- or a hallucination… I'm glad I could see you one last time…"

Sephiroth felt his stomach drop into a pit. He's frown deepened and his eyebrows furrowed in frustrationangerdefeatdismay, about a dozen emotions ran through him before finally and unexpectedly settling on an empty sort of sadness.

"I always regretted not being able- not being able to- to… help..." Strifes eyes filled with water, but as his eyes grew distant and the shaking smile fell from his face, he blinked the tears away and they disappeared behind his eyelids.

Sephiroth grinded his teeth together, not knowing what he'd do if he didn't restrain himself. He felt a breath, he didn't even know he was holding in, leave him, shaking on the way out. He felt his rigid muscles relax at last, and then he felt nothing at all.

A black void filled his heart as the frighteningly bitter realization hit him. Strife didn't believe the world around him was… real. He thought this was all his mind's doing in a last ditch effort to keep him sane. All this time… he had ignored the world around him. Not even allowing himself to indulge in a heaven he had 'created'. He rarely answered them because, for him, reality was still the inside of a tank, green bubbles filling his vision, sharp knives piercing his skin, his words begs and pleads alike, meant nothing out there... so why would they in here?

How many times? How many realities had he created? How much torment had he unintentionally put himself through by finally awakening from his dream only to find his nightmare awaiting him?

Sephiroth didn't know what to do. He had no idea how to react. No idea which part to react to. No idea how a normal person would handle this. He wasn't, after all, normal.

The air in his lungs were convulsing. For the first time in months he wished he was back in the muddy trenches of Wutai, doing something familiar, something he wouldn't fuck up, something he couldn't fuck up. He wanted to be exhausted by battle, wanted his lungs to burn in fatigue, wanted his heart to pump with adrenalin. He felt so weak when his battles were so… unfightable.

His eyes finally focused back on the form sitting in front of him, his hands hanging loosely on his lap, purposefully taking up as little space as possible. It made him look so small, always, always made him look too fucking small.

He wanted to be angry, at himself and at the person sitting quietly in the couch, purposefully ignoring the world around him. But he couldn't hold on to his fury, which was like a wirbelwind, leaving him as soon as it appeared.

" -" His voice was weak, and Sephiroth didn't even recognize it at first. "...Look at me, please." He begged.

The blond shifted in his seat, his lips shaking back into a smile that disappeared the next second. He was… forcing himself to not react… to retreat even further in.

Sephiroth wouldn't let him.

He got down on his knees with a speed that would no doubt bruise the skin of a normal person. Then took one of the smaller man's slumped shoulder in one hand and the other man's hand in another.

"Dr. Strife." His voice firm, making the blond flinch and slowly move his blue eyes to Sephiroth's green. "There's no need to be fearful anymore. I will protect you, just like you did me back then…" Sephiroth didn't know what else to say to the other man. He opened his mouth, but was unable to find words that could impart his feeling well enough. He frowned and looked deep into Strifes eyes "Put your trust in me, just this once." He pleaded with the man.

Sephiroth refused to move until he got a response in return and he communicated so with his eyes, squeezing his hands firmly around the blond, not allowing him to move an inch. Almost a whole minute would pass before the blond softly nodded his head and let out a hum in acknowledgment.

"...'n't disappear." Strife's voice cracked.

Sephiroth gave the blond a firm nod of his own and a gentle smile. "I promise." He said out loud, just to make sure the man completely understood.

After the incident Sephiroth was unwilling to let Strife leave his line of sight, reluctant to even go into the kitchen to make some tea to calm them both. Eventually he did, though he made it quick and had to step out once in awhile just to make sure the blond was still there.

They didn't speak much for the rest of the day. Sipping their steaming tea in silence, both occasionally glancing towards the other, Sephiroth giving a warm smile when their eyes met. The blond's eyes would still sometimes daze over, retreating to instead stare at nothing. Sephiroth would feel a slight panic rise in him, but considering the progress they had made today, he knew that pushing the other man out of the habit might take it a step to far. Because no matter what, where Strife felt most comfortable right now was within himself. And sure, Sephiroth hoped that it one day would instead be by his side, but he knew more than anyone that you couldn't force someone to enjoy another person's presence.

"Sephiroth."

The now familiar voice snapped him out of his musings. He looked to the blond next to him who's eyes seemed to have focused back to reality, but still staring at the air in front of him.

"Yes?"

Strife quieted down once more, and took another sip of his half-finished, probably, cold tea. A few more minutes passed before the blond once more called out his name, and again Sephiroth replied. By the third time Sephiroth understood the smaller man was making sure he was still there like he had promised he would be.

"Sephiroth-"

"I'm here." He stated as he sat himself closer to the other man. "And I won't leave, unless you ask me to."

Strife breath in a few time before he fell silent again.

The blond didn't talk more for the rest of the evening, and when he saw the tiredness take over the other man's face he suggested Strife go to bed and rest. He turned to him and gazed firmly at Sephiroth's face before nodding.

Strife, to Sephiroth's surprise, disappeared into the bedroom unprompted. The General contemplated following him in once he felt a slight discomfort at having the blond out of his line of sight, but figured it might be crossing the line since the other man hadn't asked for him. Sephiroth leaned back into the couch once he heard the rustling of blankets, then silence.

Sephiroth had once more unintentionally fallen asleep on the couch and was almost startled awake when he heard a soft cry emitting from his bedroom. His mind went into overdrive at the thought of something happening to Strife. He cursed himself for letting the blond sleep in the bedroom on his own, as he leaped off the couch and into the room with lightning speed. Sephiroth was about to call on Masamune when his eyes landed on the small form lying quietly under the soft duvet.

" ?" He whispered as he stepped closer, not wanting to wake the other man up in case he was asleep.

"...'Phiroth." Came a meek reply, muffled by the duvet covering half his face.

He walked up closer to the lying form, stepping around the bed and glanced at the dim blue eyes observing him in return.

"Did you have a nightmare?" He asked tentatively, but got no reply in return. Sephiroth wracked his brain for what to do next. He held back the frustrated sigh threatening to escape and shifted on his feet. "Would you like me to stay?"

"...'s"

Sephiroth nodded his head. "Okay." He replied as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

The night passed and aside from the blond waking up every two hours or so, there were no other issues. Sephiroth managed not to fall asleep through the night. After the events of the day before he had somehow grown even more paranoid. He was afraid that Hojo or the Turks or whomever would break into his apartment and Sephiroth, even with Masamune at his side will be unable to fight them off, unable to protect Strife like he had promised he would. So he kept awake, watching over the blond as he slept.

When morning finally came Sephiroth set out to fetch a change of clothes for himself and the blond. Strife had taken to borrowing some of Zack's old garments, given that he's closer to the Third's size than he is to Sephiroth's. Still the clothes hung a bit loosely on his slim frame, but they made do with some belts.

Although the blond opened his eyes at the same time as when Sephiroth started moving around, he was unsure if that meant the blond had woken up somewhere along the way and just decided to keep quiet. Sephiroth hadn't noticed a significant difference in Strife's breathing pattern, and Sephiroth decided to not think about the implications of what it meant if the blond had taught himself how to even out his breathing even in sleep so he would go unnoticed.

"Good Morning." Sephiroth had never been the conversational type, and he rarely started an exchange if necessary. Certainly not one as useless as this. But Sephiroth was determined to make as many exceptions for the blond as was needed.

Strife, after making sure Sephiroth had noticed his presence and… given him 'permission' to move around, had gone to sit on the kitchen counter closest to the window overlooking Sector 1 without saying a word.

Sephiroth was a bit uneasy with today's plans of eating out on the plates, and had he not beared witness to the blond's fragile state of mind yesterday he would undoubtedly have cancelled the rashly made proposal. But Sephiroth had seen how easily the blond fell into his depths of his mind. And if he could help Strife by distinguishing reality from a dream by breaking the repeated motions of eat-sleep-wait he would, no matter the risk.

"We'll be going out for dinner today, is there anything in particular you want to eat?" He leaned against the doorframe as he asked the dazed blond.

As expected he didn't get a reply. He supposed it wouldn't matter so much, once Strife was in a bit sounder state of mind they could go out again if he had any wishes.

Sephiroth made himself some coffee and Strife some tea before sitting down next to the blond with his paperwork. He figured he could get it done before they headed out so that no one could pester him about it like Lazard had done before.

Time went by, and the kitchen was filled with the sound of his pen scribbling on paper and Strife's low breathing. It was oddly calming. Sephiroth had always been the kind of person that enjoyed his own company the most, never quite feeling at ease with other people observing and scrutinising his every move. Strife was different for obvious reasons, but somehow hearing his small sips of his tea and his soft breathing gave him an odd sense of sooth.

"...'ed meat."

It had been a whisper but Sephiroth, with his enchanted hearing, had caught it. "Grilled meat? Is that what you wish to eat?" The amusement was adamant in his voice. "Do you know what kind?"

"...Wolf."

Sephiroth observed the man next to him. He was from Nibelheim, variety in food there was scares and variety in meat even more so. The blond probably missed the taste of home without even knowing it.

He had only been observing the blond for a few seconds but his stare had apparently made the blond… bashful, if the soft tint of a blush on his ears and cheek was any indication. Sephiroth felt a small desire to tease the man, but wholly held himself back. It wouldn't do any good to make Strife more self-conscious than he already was.

"Alright." He assured the blond with, what he hoped was, a gentle voice.

He saw Strife's shoulder sink in content as he sipped on the rest of his tea.

Angeal's puppy was the first to show up, he had with him a bundle of colorful clothes under one arm and a huge grin on his face.

"Hey Strife!" He said as he stepped past Sephiroth and into the kitchen where the blond currently sat occupied gazing out the window. "I brought you some clothes you could wear, some that'll actually fit." He put the bundle down on the counter and peered at the other man. "Also, I got some hairstyling tips from my girlfriend. If you want I could help you not look like a drowned dog!" He's eyes twinkled as he laughed at his own joke.

The blond had turned to him during the onesided exchange and given him an almost deadpan stare. "...'ight." He huffed out.

"Cool, so that means creative freedom, right?" The raven haired raised an eyebrow and tried to hide a devilish smirk.

That seemed to halt Strife's complacent mood. He was suspicious of the other man, and rightfully so. Sephiroth almost wanted to refuse for the smaller man, but he had made it a given that the blond should always speak for himself when possible.

"...Ok…" He answered at last, which made the distrustful leer on the ravenhaired's face even harder to hide.

"Great. No take backs!"

Zack lead the blond into the bathroom with him and gave Sephiroth a grin before closing the door behind them. Sephiroth raised his eyebrows, he debated going into the bathroom to watch the process, but when his eyes landed on his finished paperwork he decided against.

"Fair, I will be stepping out for a while. You are not to leave this apartment." His voice was stern and could not be mistaken for anything other than an order.

He heard a muffled 'yes sir' then picked up his paperwork under one hand and left to turn it in.

When he came back he heard weak voices emitting from his rooms, knowing that both Angeal and Genesis was there to watch over the situation made him calm his raising panic and slow his hurried stride. He stepped into the apartment and the voices quieted down even more.

Once he got into the living room he greeted Angeal and Genesis who had perched themselves on the couch a smile plastered on their faces. Hi stride was completely halted as his eyes swept the room and fell on the small form of the blond.

Strife had gotten his hair tied into a high ponytail with two small braids framing the side of his head strapped back with a big, flower shaped scrunchy. He was wearing a light blue frilly blouse and jeans that, unlike Zack's garments, fit his form perfectly. On his feet he had flats that was decorated with flowers on. Sephiroth was starting to see an ongoing theme.

"These clothes-?" He almost choked on his spit as he asked. Strife was looking at him with a tilted head, blue eyes observing his reaction in confusion. "-look nice on you." He managed to huff out. He could hear Angeal and Genesis snickering at his reaction in the background, but decided to ignore them in favour of eyeing the raven haired puppy that was standing at the blond's side looking proud as can be.

"...'ank you." Strife said, and somehow his irritation dissipated. If the blond was happy with his appearance Sephiroth had nothing to say in the matter.

"Alright!" Genesis exclaimed as he jumped up from the couch. "Let's get going!" He lead the way out.

They didn't meet a lot of people on the way down, but the ones they did meet, Soldiers and civilians alike, kept their eyes on the unknown blond walking in between the three most famous First and the almost equally famous Third. Sephiroth tried to step in front of the smaller form to intercept the stares as much as possible. Even with the disguise provided by Zack, they would have to be careful with who saw them.

"So, , you given any thought to where you wanna eat?" Genesis asked as they headed towards the restaurant and nightlife district.

Strife sucked on his lower lip then glanced at Sephiroth in question. Sephiroth nodded for the blond to go on.

"... Grilled wolf meat." He stated just above a whisper.

Genesis raised his eyebrows in surprise, a pleased smile planted on his face. "Alright! I know a few places." He said as he lead them further into the district.

Strife seemed more and more present as they continued on. He looked around with so much awe and wonder at the tall buildings and lights surrounding them that Sephiroth almost cursed himself for keeping the blond inside all this time.

They had to slow down a few times to keep up with the distracted blond's pace, but none of them truly minded.

Taking a few shortcuts through alleyways here and there they were stood finally before a dimly lit establishment. Sephiroth wouldn't have known it was a restaurant at a glance given the lack of signs portrayed at the front.

"This place is pretty good, not too well known either so it only has a few guests at all times." The redhead reasoned as he walked up the steppes and in the door.

True to his words, the restaurant wasn't littered with people like the other in the district often are. The inside was a bit bigger than expected. Sephiroth could count a few heads bobbing around along the chairs and boots. The atmosphere of the place was cozy, the setting sun a shining over the city and in through the windows helping light the inside of the restaurant together with a few candles scattered across the room.

By the time the sun had fully set behind the buildings of Midgar they had already ordered their food and started eating. The conversation mostly revolved around training and missions, but it often reverted back to the puppy's oh-so incredible girlfriend, so much so that Sephiroth had to suppress a few sighs every time the topic came up. Angeal just gave an amused smile and Genesis would lean back and not at all try to hide his annoyance. Zack didn't seem to mind so much as he continued on. Strife had taken to silently observe the group, sometimes smiling at their antics, and even softly responding to the other's inquiries.

"So, , do you remember some stories of when our dear General was young?" Genesis asked the blond while sipping his drink. "I honestly can't imagine a child version of him, I feel like he was born brooding and impassive." He smirked at Sephiroth.

"I'm sorry- I don't… remember much." His voice grew weaker by the end of the the sentence as his gaze fell down to his hands under the table. Sephiroth wanted to throttle the reckless redhead.

Silence fell on the table and everyone around it struggled to console the blond in their own way. Strife then suddenly spoke up again, head still ducked low, his bangs obstructing the view to his eyes.

"...'ame 's Cloud…"

The group fell quiet once more. Sephiroth's raised his eyebrows, his gaze glued to the blond, who was slowly raising his head. A small smile was grazing his lips and his eyes was almost glazed over by a mist. He clearly looked as shocked by the revelation as they were.

"Cloud then!" The first to break the silence was unsurprisingly Zack. The raven haired put a firm hand on the other's shoulder in a friendly pat.

"It's a good name." Angeal gave the blond a smile while testing the name out a few times.

"It fits you quiet well." Genesis hummed in approval.

The blond's smile grew at the praises he got around the table, his eyes finally landed on Sephiroth.

As always Sephiroth couldn't help but smile back. The other man's smile had always been as infectious as it was rare. "Cloud. I'm glad."

The group chattet as they finished their food, Cloud smiling while listening to stories and memories shared by by the four. And even when Zack's girlfriend once more was the topic of discussion the blond seemed as entertained as always, intently following the story through its barely coherent ups and downs. They sat for a few more hours after they had finished eating. Ordering drinks and desserts (not for Sephiroth, though he did enjoyed observing how Cloud's eyes would shimmer when he tasted the sundae placed in front of him.)

They decided to get going once they noticed the blond start to run out of energy, his head ducked down more and more to look at the table in front of him, his eyes partially closed as he paid attention to nothing in particular.

And so they made their way back to the tower. The streets were still filled with people, but none of the were taking notice of them other than the occasional glance. This time Cloud didn't pay as much attention to the world around him, focusing instead on his feet, as if he needed to concentrate on the walking lest he would fail miserably. Sephiroth decided it was best he kept his focus on the smaller form in case he actually did trip and fall.

"General Sephiroth, It's been a while."

The group froze in their tracks as the dreadfully familiar voice sounded out. Sephiroth's breath halted in his throat, his eyes flittering to the distracted blond in their midst. Angeal, ever quick to act, stepped in front of Cloud, but that only seem to stir the man's dark eyes to the smaller form.

"...Tseng." Sephiroth finally managed to reply through clenched teeth.

"Sorry to disturb you on your night off," He said, not looking all that sorry.

The restless puppy fidget under the older man's stare at it ran over the group and finally landing on Angeal, or rather, the man behind Angeal. Cloud's gaze was glued to the ground, and from this angel he didn't look like anything other than a nervous young girl. He just hoped the Turk looked at it the same way.

"This would be…?"

"My cousin." Zack replied hurriedly, making it sound as far from the truth as it was. "She's visiting Midgar for the week and we're showing her around."

He hummed once, not at all looking like he believed the easily detectable lie. "I had planned to find you at a later date with some inquiries," He said as his eyes finally left Cloud and landed on him. "But I seem to have gotten all the answers I need." Sephiroth's blood ran cold at the words. "Well then, I'll be taking my leave." Like a storm, the man appeared and disappeared, leaving them with a feeling of dread.

Sephiroth clenched his hands, letting them turning white under the strain. He felt his ire rise at the thought of having to hurry his plans along. He might put Strife in danger as he is now, but with Tseng having forced his hand, he had no other choice but to put into play sooner rather than later.

Sephiroth almost flinched when he felt a gentle touch easing around his hand.

"Sephiroth…?" Blue eyes were peering up at him in question and Sephiroth forced himself to relax and unclench his muscles. Cloud managed to slip a hand into his once the pressure let up, his cold fingers bringing him a sense of serenity. The blond's hands tightened around his and Sephiroth mirrored the action.

"It's alright." It wasn't a lie. If Tseng was another problem that arose he would just have to make him disappear as well.