6 August 1985
Cloud rummaged through Sephiroth's desk, having nothing else to do for the moment. He was careful, shuffling through the forgotten papers slowly. He spread a few of them out on top of the cluttered desk, taking a good look at them.
Most of the papers were old drawings and sketches, very few of them fully completed. Dragons and strange monsters which Cloud had never seen before were there, roughly and messily drawn on the yellowed pages. The boy couldn't comprehend how Sephiroth would do it. From what he remembered of the rare times when his friend would draw while Cloud was awake, Sephiroth only scribbled all over the paper and it somehow turned into whatever it was that the silver-haired man wanted it to be.
Feeling his heartache grow, Cloud carefully put the papers back, not able to look anymore after seeing the illustrations Sephiroth had allowed him to color back then. The badly colored chocobos and backgrounds made him wish for older times.
Just about everything reminded him about Sephiroth. Cloud didn't think he'd ever be able to get over it.
The boy climbed onto Sephiroth's bed and lay there, facing the wall.
It wasn't his fault. His mother being taken away from him wasn't his fault. Sephiroth leaving wasn't his fault. Tifa falling wasn't his fault. Nothing was his fault. Nothing.
But...what if it was his fault? What if, somehow, he'd been the cause for all that?
No, it couldn't be. He'd done nothing wrong. Cloud threw the blankets over himself and curled up.
I didn't do anything, Cloud reminded himself. But he still felt some self-doubt.
"Come to take him back, did you? It's a little late for that."
Jenova looked down at the human from where she sat on her perch, Kadaj by her side. She knew her son's feelings towards the matter very well, but she was not going to change her mind. Cloud had stayed with that human long enough.
The human looked at her, displeasure obvious on its features. "Why did you take him? I want my son back."
"Remember our Deal," was all Jenova said. She inwardly sneered at the wince from the human.
The human kept silent, but it refused to leave. Boldly, it went forward, towards the house.
Slightly annoyed now, Jenova followed, quickly gaining on the human and walking right behind it, breaching its personal space. She could feel the discomfort emanating from it, and that gave her a small feeling of satisfaction.
"You said you'd let me see him every once in a while," the human said quietly.
"And so I did. He's been staying with you at your home for quite a while, no?"
The human stopped walking and shook its head.
"It wasn't enough."
"It's never enough," Jenova agreed, not bothering to move away to give the human some space. "But it is what we agreed on."
The human kept silent. Then it moved forward again.
Just let her take the damn thing, Kadaj grumbled.
Hush.
Jenova's patience was very thin compared to how it normally was. She grasped the human by the arm, instantly tightening her grip.
"You want to see him, do you? You want to go up there? I'll take you."
Jenova forcefully dragged the human behind her, feeling resistance. Kadaj looked on as he followed, confusion dominating his expression.
Distract the boy, Jenova ordered briskly.
Mother, what—
Just do it. Don't let him become aware of anything.
With a small scowl, Kadaj sped ahead, soon leaving Jenova's direct line of sight. Tugging a little harder, Jenova kept on, however, she walked slowly to buy time.
The human was much less eager to go to the house now.
Sephiroth stared off into space with crossed arms as he waited his turn to enter the examination room for the routinely check-ups. The waiting frustrated him to no end, as did being poked, prodded, and scrutinized by the doctors.
The door opened and the line moved up by one person, leaving two people in front of Sephiroth. The individual who left rubbed his right arm seemingly unconsciously as he slowly walked out of sight. The silver-haired man swayed a bit in his spot, planning out his schedule to take his mind off of the wait.
Eventually, the line moved up by one person again. Instead of feeling relieved, Sephiroth only became a little more irritated.
Finally, finally it was his turn. The long-haired man stiffly walked inside the room, keeping his arms at his sides. Boredly, but without any form of protest, he let the doctors do their job and examine what they would in a typical session. Once they were finished, however, he wasn't dismissed as usual.
Another man in a lab coat came in. He pushed his glasses up, glancing away from his clipboard to look at Sephiroth. The black-haired man's lips curled into a sneer, and it was then that Sephiroth immediately sensed that something about him was...off.
It was an understatement. The man came closer, his ponytail staying in place possibly due to the amount of grease in his hair.
Sephiroth did not like that man. He'd only seen him for a couple of seconds, but he knew for sure this particular human went from "ignore", where generally everybody Sephiroth came across fell into, to "avoid at all costs if possible" in his book.
"Professor Hojo," the man introduced himself curtly. "I see you are Sephiroth, yes?"
The long-haired man didn't answer.
"Hmph." Hojo took another look at the clipboard, eyes roving over the papers there. "Excellent marks in training and health. Good physique. Mental health...questionable. That aside, I am positive you can be exposed to Mako."
Mako... The blood of the Planet in a poisonous form. Sephiroth stiffened again, slightly tense.
"Your progress over the next month will be monitored," Hojo went on, ignoring the silence. "Consider yourself lucky for favorable results already." He idly waved a hand towards the exit. "You may leave now."
Sephiroth stood up from his seat, moving a little more quickly than he would have liked towards the door.
"One more thing."
Sephiroth stopped, but did not turn.
"You seem familiar..."
"I am sure it's just a coincidence," Sephiroth said briskly. Without allowing Hojo another chance to speak, he left.
Mrs. Strife tried to push again, her bonds refusing to let her move. She could feel her air supply waning, and it only caused her more stress. The ground beneath her was uncomfortable to say the least, and the gag in her mouth only served to bring her even more discomfort.
Exhausted, the blonde stopped her struggling. She froze when she heard footsteps above her.
The heavy-sounding strides on the floorboards passed over her, and much quieter ones were close by.
"Stop following me," Mrs. Strife heard a muffled voice snap.
"I'm not," another voiced replied in annoyance.
Mrs. Strife's heart beat faster. It was Cloud. He was here, safe. She strained her eyes, trying to hear more.
"Go back down into that hellhole where you belong. Nobody wants you here."
Kadaj, Mrs. Strife realized with horror.
"I don't want to be here, either," Cloud grumbled. "I want my mom back."
"Oh really? But she doesn't want you."
"You're lying."
"Am I? Then why hasn't she come for you?"
Mrs. Strife's eyes began to burn.
"Exactly," Kadaj said when Cloud didn't respond. "She doesn't care. She doesn't love you."
Fighting again, Mrs. Strife began to yell. But, as the tears fell, she knew it was futile. She couldn't help her boy no matter how desperately she wanted to.
Notes:
Started: 2014年9月1日（月）
Finished: 2014年9月13日（土）
If I were to describe Sephiroth's art style, it would resemble something like the works of Abz-J-Harding or Ex-Soldier-Cloud on deviantART.
Right when I promised to try to update faster, real life decided to hit me with everything. I'm so sorry. I'm sure this is all starting to sound like lame excuses by now.
So, FFNet resent the email for Chapter 38. Good, good; I hadn't expected it to do that. I will still be posting on FFNet, however, the more explicit parts will either be implied or not present at all. I really do not want to risk getting booted from the site even if I don't like it much anymore. Also, I only ever got on FFNet to post chapters. If anybody wants to contact me there for whatever reason, I suggest doing it somewhere else, preferably on a site I tend to be on a lot. (Links are on my profile.)
Now whoever's reading it on AO3, lucky you! You get the originals, plus some random little illustrations from time to time. :P But can anybody please spread it around on there? I'd like to get the views back...
Everything in general from me will be slow until things happening IRL clear up. But know that I haven't forgotten about this. I'm trying to get back into writing this fic though it hasn't been easy lately.
Next chapter: Tifa awakes from the coma.
On a random note, good ol' original Hojo. Just lose the weird fish lips and we're even better.