A/N: I thought the prompt 'Teach' was a good one for Hojo, of all people. The drabble itself is mostly from young Sephiroth's point of view, but he's thinking about all the things he learned from Hojo's unconscious 'teaching' methods. Originally I wasn't going to write it like this, but I rather like how it turned out. =)
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII Characters and Places belong to Square Enix.
"Now remember, Sephiroth, you are very special. You are going to be the greatest SOLDIER that ShinRa has ever had."
The young eight-year-old followed the hunch-backed scientist with a sombre walk, his face a calm sort of curious. He had long silver hair pulled back into a braid, thanks to one of the female scientists and her sentimentalities around children. His green eyes were wide yet they were serious as well; they held none of the excitable child-like curiousity other eight year olds had in their eyes.
The scientist he followed was a pale man of obvious Wutai descent. His dark hair was greasy and slicked back into a horsetail, his dark eyes narrowed and greedy behind rounded spectacles. He wore the white lab coat that all scientists were required to wear, his suit underneath it wrinkled and in some places stained. He had spider-like hands and long legs, and to the young Sephiroth he resembled a sort of under-the-bed monster. Yet he was also the only man who looked at him as if he were something precious and not something frightening. He may not have liked being around the man too much, but he was someone he could somewhat appreciate…even if Dr. Hojo did touch his hair too much.
"You have to remember that you are not like the others at all. You are above them—above us all. You are perfect, beyond human. We have made it so. All the other SOLDIERs you will train with are imperfect with emotions to impair their thought. You have no such worries."
Sephiroth nodded quietly, walking behind him at a respectable distance. Dr. Hojo like his space, even with his precious Sephiroth. He didn't like getting into the man's space because usually bad things happened afterwards. Bad things that involved needles and tests and experiments. Sephiroth unconsciously shivered.
"Cold, my dear boy?"
Sephiroth looked up at Dr. Hojo, shaking his head quickly. He'd also learned very quickly from this man that if he ever complained of a stuffy nose or a chill or a cough, that earned him a quick trip to the lab and a series of questions and medical procedures. He had learned very quickly that he didn't like going into the lab for any reason at all, even when it was completely necessary.
Dr. Hojo was a very good teacher in that sense.