Oh No, There Goes My Halo
Disclaimer: Sephiroth, Aerith and all other characters mentioned in this fic solely belong to Square Enix and Disney.
A/N: Not as long as I hoped it would turn out to be, unfortunately. Thanks to m o o g l e d a i m e for the awesome idea (couldn't really remember everything about the battle of the thousand Heartless, so I made up a few things as I went along, heh heh, sorry) and J-Croc for telling me to update faster. And of course, to all my reviewers and readers. Feedback ish love, guys!
#04. a healer's touch
Heartless, swarming everywhere. Hundreds upon hundreds of them, sprouting from every crack, every crevice, a matt black descent intent of taking everything down in their wake. Sephiroth was surrounded on all sides and for every kill he made, three more Heartless would take its place, their feelers erect in anticipation of an inevitable victory. Several hours into the fight and the swordsman could feel exhaustion creeping up on him. No longer was his blade able to complete its infamous arcs of death, sweeping effortlessly through its prey. No longer was he able to dodge the simultaneous attacks mounted against him, claws ripping away, eyes gleaming with malevolence. No longer did he move with the grace and ease of a warrior.
There was a very real possibility that he wasn't going to come out of the battle alive, much less the victor. Forget winning: now was the time to make a retreat, while there was still a chance. Oppose to what many Sephiroth would have believe, even one such as he hadn't the power to thwart death.
Crouching down and bracing himself, Sephiroth allowed the Heartless to envelop him, like the last dot of brightness on a painter's canvas finally brushed over. Just when he thought he might actually lose himself forever underneath the swarm, his legs forced him upward, breaking through the black barrier as his lone wing propelled him up into the air. Desperately the Heartless lunged upwards as well, one succeeding in latching onto his right calf. A second grabbed onto the first, then a third onto the second, creating a chain of black bodies attempting to drag him back down. Sephiroth struggled to gain more height, trying and failing to kick the relentless creatures off. There was a small moment of hesitation before he speared the first Heartless through with Masamune, letting them topple down over each other as he made good of his escape.
He knew he couldn't last long in the current state he was in. He had to find higher ground, perhaps near the kingdom where the others were. Hopefully they would have cleared some ground, most likely thanks to that keyblade wielder and his ridiculous looking sidekicks. Swooping over a jagged line of cliffs Sephiroth could make out in the distance the very three doing just as he suspected, fending off the Heartless alongside the others, one of them being Cloud Strife.
Forgoing any further thoughts, Sephiroth flew safely past them unseen. Soon he came across a grotto, perhaps a bit too close to the kingdom for comfort, but just as well as he suddenly found himself descending with great speed, his body sapped of energy and no longer able to support itself. Sephiroth crashed down none too gracefully, receiving a concussion to the head due to the impact.
Knocked out, he didn't even had the time to realise he was lying halfway out in the open of the grotto's entrance.
- - - - -
"Oh... do... have here?"
A jumble of cheery words traveled deep down into the depths of Sephiroth's awareness, pulling him back to a painful semi-conscious state. Still slightly delirious, he could vaguely sense the presence of another person somewhere nearby. He made to open his eyes, barely recognising the dark silhouette of a woman before turning away, groaning. The pain he felt was extraordinary, like a thousand needles embedded in his skull.
"Don't be... that... I... you."
Sephiroth couldn't make sense of what the woman was saying, so it was sufficient to say he was more than a little alarmed when she placed her hand over his shoulder.
"It's okay."
He could feel her gaze roaming over him, appraising. Small hands deftly prodded, poked and squeezed, working over places such as his ribs, abdomen and jaw line. He surmised that she was assessing for any injuries, alerting him to new sores and aches even he wasn't aware of. When she finally reached his head, he rewarded her with a long, drawn-out hiss.
"Hmm."
Sephiroth dimly wondered what the woman was going to do next when he suddenly found himself being lifted up by arms that were hooked under his own. The movement triggered another wave of pain, making him see stars. He went limp in her arms. Her voice was faint. "...might... a lot... better... after..."
A soft, green light encompassed Sephiroth's form, gathering at the points of his injuries. For one blissful moment there was nothing but numbness, shattered after his body underwent a sensation of being compressed to a pulp. Before Sephiroth could scream the sensation left him as quick as it had come, leaving him breathless but well recovered.
"I'd advise you to leave your eyes closed for the while, as my healing powers have a tendency to temporarily distort the vision. An after-effect, you see."
The woman's voice came from directly above him, and it was with no small amount of discomfort that Sephiroth realised his head and torso were draped across her lap. Immediately he made to rise but felt her hands clamp him in place. "Let me help you do that."
Raising both of them to their feet, the woman slowly guided the blind swordsman forward until he came into contact with the grotto wall, allowing him to adjust his body to lean against its surface. The ridiculousness of the situation failed to amuse him; having his pride and independence taken away by a mere woman and her magics was rather more demeaning than he could have ever imagined.
"Feeling better now?"
"Much, yes," Sephiroth replied, a little sourly. He thought it was probably worthy to note she was yet to let go of his arm.
A long, awkward silence ensued. Sephiroth was relieved the woman didn't take this time to inundate him with prickly questions, as he expected her to do. Instead, she spoke of something far more surprising.
"You know, when I first saw you I thought you looked familiar. Now I understand why that is so – you were the man on top of the Gizmo Shop, back in Traverse Town."
Sephiroth stiffened. Then that meant –
Sephiroth cringed and covered his sensitive eyes as the glare of the light assaulted them.
"I told you it was better not to open your eyes."
He turned his back to the source of the voice, a trace of shame evident in his features. The woman laughed.
"Why don't you come with me to Radiant Garden, I have a vial of eye drops that could help with..." Her voice trailed away as Sephiroth shook his head.
"I cannot."
Her response was tinged with clear disappointment. "Oh. Okay." Sephiroth felt a light pressure on his arm and reflexively turned his head to the side. Through his screen of silver hair he could once again make out an outline of the woman, just so. His vision was slowly coming back.
"I should take my leave," the woman said reluctantly, "the after-effect will wear off soon, in any case. Will you be all right?"
"Yes. Thank you." And he meant it. She gave his arm a barely noticeable squeeze before leaving the grotto, footsteps dying away.
A/N: Aerith the closet pervert, feeling up men whenever they're at their weakest, bwahaha.