Note: Woah, it's been 7 months already? Hum, hi. Fear not! That was only partly due to the story giving me trouble (like, I'm seriously sick of the last scene of this chapter; seriously) and mostly to some minor disaster in my personal life. But hopefully it's resolved now, and I'm still on track to finish this.

Also, I've got a brand new Tumblr (username YourDragonIsInAnotherCastle) if you feel like stalking me there.

Published on: 12/23/2016.

Chapter 18

Command had never been so tedious.

The docking crews seemed to take an hour to process each piece of equipment, the logistics officers struggled to make sense of it all. A few rebellious squads had even escaped their duties to go celebrate their arrival in Junon, leaving everyone scrambling to pick up the slack.

Sephiroth was livid. An insurgency was no reason to forego discipline. On the contrary, it made it all the more urgent to stay strong and united lest Shinra crush them. Those fools would soon learn their lesson, as would the rest of the troops when he made an example of them.

He snatched the clipboard an officer was offering him, barely holding back his anger. It was days like these that he remembered why Cloud was so wary of him: when the world seemed to conspire against him and destructive urges boiled under his skin.

"I haven't seen this temper in a while, my friend."

He whirled away from the uneasy officer. Part of the heavy weight holding his shoulders rigid fell away as a familiar red figure loped to him.

"Genesis," he said, straight-faced.

His friend smiled, not fooled by his aloofness but pleased by what he saw behind it. They shook hands. Genesis squeezed his more tightly than usual, maybe more tightly than he had meant to given how quickly he let go afterwards. There were shadows under his eyes.

"Everything is under control?"

"Yes, my friend. We burned the body for good measure. That's a third Tsviet we won't be hearing from anymore."

Sephiroth tilted his head.

"And you are alright?"

"Barely a scratch on me," Genesis said, deliberately misunderstanding him.

When Sephiroth pointedly kept silent, he deflated a bit and conceded:

"I apologize for my lateness. The infirmary crew deemed necessary to drug me and let me oversleep. I had… difficulties resting."

The words surprised Sephiroth. Genesis had always been reluctant to admit to any weakness in front of him. That it had taken so little for him to cave was significant. Their shared torture in Nero's darkness had changed something in their dynamic.

In honour of it, he dropped the subject to brief him on the disembarkment operations, pretending he didn't see the flash of gratitude in Genesis' eyes. The docking had to take precedence anyway. He had let Zack escape fifteen minutes ago when his flower girl had found him in the crowd, but now he regretted it keenly. There was still much work to be done and he shouldn't have let fondness override his practical mind. Never mind that he could and should have anticipated the burning envy now making his voice sharper.

When at least the process was well underway, Genesis reappeared at his side in the harbourmaster's booth and watched as he finished a short conversation with a tired-looking officer. Sephiroth suffered through the scrutiny, but turned a glare on him as soon as the man left them in privacy.

"Yes?" he prompted icily.

Genesis' eyebrows took flight.

"My friend, are you feeling alright?"

He closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose.

"I am fine."

There was a cautious silence.

"You know he will recover swiftly, don't you?"

Though he tried, Sephiroth discovered himself completely unable to smother his eagerness as his attention snapped back to his friend.

Because no, actually, he didn't know. Because no one had thought it necessary to tell him more than the bare bones of what had occurred, and he was too self-aware and too prudent to expose his soft underbelly by asking.

Too late, he thought as Genesis' eyes widened.

They remained frozen that way for a second that lasted an eternity. What was Genesis thinking? Was he inwardly crowing at having at long last found a weakness in Sephiroth's armour? He couldn't read him. Stupefaction hid anything else he may have felt.

Finally, Genesis smiled. There was something to that smile. Vindictiveness, or awe?

"Go on, then. Get going. I'll take care of the rest here."

Sephiroth hesitated.

"Go, Sephiroth."

He nodded jerkily and strode to the door. As he stepped past his friend, he slowed. Genesis slid him a sideways look and a smirk.

"I have long awaited for you to step down from that pedestal and feel the same way we mere mortals do, my friend," he said sotto voce.

His shoulder knocked gently against Sephiroth's, soothing whatever sting the words could carry. Sephiroth pressed his lips together against the curve they wanted to take. He knocked back, although forcefully enough that Genesis had to stumble aside, and made his escape. A chuckle followed him in the late afternoon light.

He took a car, declined the soldiers that offered their driver or escort services. He was in Junon HQ not ten minutes later, briskly crossing the parking lot to the elevator. The cabin deposited him on the infirmary level. He stepped out slowly, getting his bearings. He had never had cause to come to this floor before.

"SOLDIER First Class Sephiroth!" a doctor bustled up to him. "What an honour. How may I help you in this fine evening?"

"Rain Strife?"

"Ah, very popular, this young man. Very stubborn, too. Please convince him to stay for one more night of observation? I fear he will attempt an escape as soon as his visitors leave him room to breathe."

Sephiroth felt himself relax a little as he was pointed down a hallway. That didn't sound so bad. A door opened as he approached. Out came Zack and the young Miss Gainsborough. Zack's face lit up when he saw him.

"Hey, you made it! Docking is done?"

Some petty part of Sephiroth raised its ugly head to snarl that he had given Zack leave so he could spend time with his romantic interest, not visit Sephiroth's while he himself was stuck at the docks. He pushed it back.

"Genesis insisted on finishing himself."

He joined them and glanced inside the room. Cloud was slouched on the bed in a thin hospital gown and looking rather sour about it. Strife was adjusting the covers around his lap while ranting in a worried tone of voice, either not seeing or ignoring the efforts his elder was making in not rolling his eyes. They caught sight of him at the same time.

"Sephiroth!" Strife said, straightening up. "Welcome back, sir."

He nodded and stepped inside. A new glance around the room turned up Vincent lurking in a corner. The ex-Turk nodded at him and exited, apparently satisfied with the health of his friend.

"Just go get dinner already," Cloud grumbled at Strife.

The young man hesitated.

"Alright," he said after a moment, apparently comforted by Sephiroth's presence. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"

Cloud huffed. Strife joined Zack and Aerith at the door. Cloud strained to watch them leave. When they were gone, he finally deigned to grant Sephiroth a modicum of attention.

"Close the door, would you?"

Sephiroth crossed his arms and didn't move.

"How are your wounds?"

"Not you too," Cloud groaned, glaring.

"I don't know you well enough to tell whether your foolhardiness encroaches into self-harm territory, Cloud."

"It doesn't. I know my limits, damn it. It's just a bullet wound and it only caught muscle."

He wrenched the gown from his shoulders to expose a bandage around his midriff, eliciting a spark of lust that Sephiroth suppressed without mercy. Cloud pointed at a spot on the white cloth and Sephiroth called to mind all his knowledge of anatomy. It could have made all kinds of damage depending on the angle, really, but given how little everyone seemed to worry, including the doctor, he was inclined to believe him.

"I hate doctors, Sephiroth."

The look in his eyes made the words heavy with hidden meaning, but Sephiroth hardly needed subtitles.

"Strife will be coming back," he said all the same, although not without kindness. "I doubt you want to worry him. You'll have more luck getting out after dark and pretending you left in the early hours of the morning."

Cloud sighed, but conceded the point by dropping back against the pillow.

"As long as I don't have to sleep here, I guess…" he grumbled.

Sephiroth took the chair at his bedside.

"Nero chose the timing of his attack well. With our troops still off the shore, it is fortunate that you and Genesis had each other's backs. The President must be getting desperate to whittle down our most powerful fighters before we march for Midgar."

Cloud shrugged stiffly, eyes on the ceiling. The knot of tension that had just begun to unravel in Sephiroth's chest tightened. What could he have done to trigger the cold shoulder this time? He had not even been there. He stretched an arm out to push the door closed, face carefully blank.

"Cloud?" he prompted.

"It's just… that fight," he confessed haltingly.

Sephiroth breathed easier. Not about him after all. He had to stop letting his feelings impair his judgment.

"I'm listening."

"Nero and Weiss are brothers. I told you about Weiss, didn't I?" The last Tsviet. Yes, he remembered. "He's the only person Nero has ever truly been loyal to. Last night, at the end of the fight… Nero was injured, weakening, and he panicked. He opened a portal. I stopped him before he could cross through — that's when I got the wound — and Genesis finished him, but…"

"You think he was fleeing," Sephiroth completed. "Nero had already fled from us once. The President has his back against the wall. He would have given the order than he not come back before he had killed one of you. And you think he was defying that order."

Cloud nodded.

"The death of three Restrictors would have weakened the fourth one's hold on Deepground?"

Cloud shrugged, looking frustrated. He was as much of an expert as they had on the subject, and he still didn't know much. Of course, this also was exactly what he had warned them about.

"I see. Well, the good news is we have just about confined Deepground to the Midgar region. If they do escape control, it will be the only town to suffer."

It was cold comfort, and he expected the livid glare it got him.

"It's not even them I'm worried about," Cloud spat, to his surprise. "I can't tell how Weiss is going to react now that his brother is dead, but it won't be good. And he is strong, Sephiroth. Maybe as strong as you."

He tilted his head, amused. It took a few seconds for Cloud to get the subtle dig at his own power. He blinked and his eyes widened.

"What?… Shut up. Ugh," he said, turning away with a thunderous frown. "What are you even doing here?"

"I can't be worried about you?"

Cloud snorted. There was so much contempt in the sound it broke right through shields already battered by hours, days of fear and frustration. Sephiroth had little experience with either emotion, which of course made it fitting that Cloud would elicit both in him.

"I suppose I'm here to soothe your paranoia so I can later fly under your radar to commit nefarious deeds, then," he snapped.

Cloud goggled at him.

"What are you…"

"You won't accept the truth, so I thought I'd give lying a try. It's what you expect of me, isn't it?"

The silence was deafening. He thought the shock on Cloud's face should have been satisfying. Instead, it only made it hard to breathe. He sighed, looked away.

"Apologies."

I haven't slept since I received the call, he wanted to say. I've waited all day to see you. I am so glad you are alright.

He said none of it.

A rustle of sheets betrayed Cloud fidgeting.

"… You did notice the checkups, then."

"You're not very subtle, Cloud."

A sigh. Sephiroth wasn't expecting an apology. He didn't get one. They were both powerless to fight off old nightmares and the remains of all-consuming fear, and they knew it. This was the bitter truth Sephiroth now had to live with every day.

"You're always so unruffled I can never tell if it bothers you," Cloud muttered.

Sephiroth caught his eyes.

"Assume it always bothers me, Cloud."

"What?" Cloud blinked.

And then the words wouldn't be silent anymore. He was sick of holding them back anyway.

"It may surprise you to hear that your opinion matters to me. You are a brave and clever man, with a better heart than I could ever brag about. You changed my life and I will never stop being grateful to you for it. I trust you, and I value your advice. I care what you think of me. I care about you, period. So yes, when you look at me and see someone else, someone you always expect to stab you in the back, it bothers me."

He stood up while Cloud was still gaping.

"Take care, Cloud. I will inform the doctor you are sleeping and suggest not to bother you until Strife comes back."

Zack was gamely snatching as much food as he could fit on his tray. He felt ravenous today. He called a cheerful greeting to the kitchen staff and moved off the line, humming to himself. It was early enough that the officer mess had plenty of seating space, but he scanned the room for a familiar face. It was always a drag to eat alone.

He perked up at noticing spiky bright blond hair in one of the back corners. Despite his trooper status, Cloud had special access to the officer mess so he could eat with their civilian companions. That left two possibilities for the identity of the guy he was walking up to…

"Rain!" he called when he came close enough to recognize him. Delighted, he bounded up to his table and dropped into the empty seat across from him. "They let you out of the infirmary already? Cool! You wanna spar later? Or, well, maybe it's still a bit early. And maybe we won't have the time, I dunno. We'll probably be moving quickly, uh?"

He started on his breakfast, leaving Rain to blink at his boisterous appearance.

"… Hi."

"Hey! I'm glad I caught you, actually. I wanted to talk to you about something."

He had finally had that long-overdue conversation with Aerith last night. She had laughed at him and called him silly for being jealous, which he had kind of expected, but she had also kissed him afterwards, and it had just generally been an awesome evening. So, bolstered by that success, he figured he would use his momentum to address the matter with Rain and put it to rest for good. Rain was a good guy. He knew Aerith was taken. Surely he would understand and back off a little.

"… Oh?"

Zack stopped shovelling food in his mouth to watch him. Rain's fork was drawing nonsensical patterns in the remains left on his plate. He looked very much distracted. Zack bent forward to try and catch his eyes.

"You okay?"

"Uh?" Rain jumped. "Oh… Sorry, I…"

He sighed and reclined against the back of his chair, letting his fork clatter down in the tray.

"Zack, are you… friends with Sephiroth?"

"Friends?" he said, taken aback. "Well, I guess… I mean, I like to think we are, but I'm not as close to him as Angeal and Genesis, you know. Or you, probably."

"Me?" Rain squeaked out, then promptly blushed at the sound that had left his mouth.

Zack wanted to snort in laughter, so rare was it to see that guy lose countenance, but he managed to stop himself in deference of how honestly spooked he looked.

"I don't know, aren't you?" he asked in confusion. "It's hard to tell with you guys. One moment you're inseparable, the next you're avoiding each other… But he kind of seems to like your company?"

That seemed to break Rain's heart.

"He does?" he whispered.

He stood up, picking up his tray like an afterthought.

"Excuse me."

"Hey, wait!" Zack called as he hurried away. "I wanted to talk to you…"

He slumped as Rain made no sigh of having heard him. So much for that, he thought, sighing.

Midgar hung like a bloated wart on the horizon. Usually it would shine brightly under its heavy shroud of dark clouds, casting the surrounding wasteland in sharp contrast, but tonight only the Mako reactors and the Shinra tower lit the night. Kunsel's last message had mentioned a curfew. It could only have gotten worse since First Class had forced President Shinra in his last positions.

Perched on an outcrop near the army camp, Sephiroth held infrared binoculars to his face. Even with his superior eyesight and the help of the instrument, he couldn't gather much information. The streetlights were dark. He could see vague warm shapes moving in the shadows, presumably Deepground's patrols. As for the tower, it appeared ominously still.

"Watch duty, Sephiroth? Really?"

He lowered his hands and looked down. At the foot of his post, Genesis and Zack had appeared near the two troopers already waiting.

"Don't you think your talents would be better used elsewhere?" Genesis drawled. "Stop depriving these poor men of their job."

Sephiroth smirked at his friend. He jumped twenty feet to the ground, landing in a small cloud of pale dust. He turned to the infantrymen, handing the binoculars back with a nod of thanks. They saluted and proceeded to climb the rock up to their station.

"Should we expect an attack tonight?" Zack asked as they started back for the camp.

"Probably not," Sephiroth said. "Shinra has locked himself up in Midgar. If I know the man at all, he intends to fortify his position and force us to come to him."

"You know what this means," Genesis said, grim.

"We'll have to fight in the streets."

Zack looked horrified.

"What? But what about the civilians?"

"He doesn't care. If he can psych us out by forcing us in this position, all the better."

"The men won't like that," Genesis said.

"No one will. But our only other option is a prolonged siege, and the civilians would suffer even more. Shinra and Deeground have enough supplies in and under the tower to last for far longer than any inhabitants of the slums. Like it or not, we have to go on the offensive."

Zack had obviously not realized how ugly this was going to get. He still had friends in the city and in Shinra. It was the downside of being such a personable man, Sephiroth supposed. He put a hand on his shoulder in silent support. At least his girlfriend was where he could protect her, for whatever good it might do her in the coming days.

Zack took a deep breath and visibly braced himself.

"Okay. Okay. Man, this would be so much easier if we knew what's going on in there…"

Kunsel was crafty, but his silence bore ill news. And insider intelligence would have been invaluable, Sephiroth couldn't deny it.

"We can expect barricades and traps in the streets. Worst case scenario, the population will have been turned against us."

"I don't suppose Rain has any last minute ace up his sleeve?" Genesis said.

Sephiroth shrugged. If he did, he would have mentioned it by now. The man had been part of all their preparatory meetings in Junon.

"He's not a magician. We'll have to play this one the old-fashioned way."

Genesis sent him an annoyed look.

"Is he avoiding you again?" he asked outright, confirming his ulterior motives for bringing him up.

Sephiroth glared at him, not appreciating the barely disguised attempt to meddle. He didn't dare rebuke him aloud, however. They had crossed the first tents and he refused to broach the subject where anyone could eavesdrop, even would he have chosen to let Zack hear it.

"No, he is not," he snapped in a tone that brooked no argument.

Never mind the fact that the only words they had exchanged these past few days had pertained to the troops. But whatever Genesis thought, this one wasn't on Cloud's sole shoulders. Sephiroth had said more than he had meant to the last time they had spoken, and while he did not regret it, he had upset the careful balance of their relationship. They were both left in this awkward dance around each other, trying to find their footing again. The last thing they needed was exterior intervention, be it well-meaning.

Genesis huffed, unconvinced. He would probably have dropped the subject had Zack not chosen that moment to jump in.

"You guys are okay, then? Only I had kind of a weird conversation with him the other day and he didn't look so good."

Sephiroth cursed the puppy's marshmallow heart when Genesis, emboldened by the support, said:

"I don't know if we're doing the man any good by catering to his whims. Avoiding issues to this extent can't be healthy."

"Woah! Angeal?" Zack exclaimed. "What are you doing in Genesis' body?"

Genesis smirked.

"I will do you a favour and ignore the bow-wrapped opening you just gave me, Puppy."

"Uh?"

"He has a point, though," Sephiroth said. "You channelled Angeal quite superbly just now."

Genesis rolled his eyes.

"You are not subtle, Sephiroth. But fine. Manage your guardian angel as you want."

"Thank you, I will."

"I'm just really worried about Mom," Aerith whispered, downcast. "And my neighbours. And the church… I hope the flowers are doing okay."

Cloud watched as Tifa wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders and made commiserating noises. Nanaki sat on the city girl's other side, his warm flank pressed against her thighs. He gazed mournfully up at her. It was Aerith's home they were leading an army towards. It couldn't be easy for her.

Sitting opposite the fire from them, Cloud gathered the dishes from their dinner and listened in clumsy silence. He didn't know how to help make her feel better.

"Maybe I shouldn't have left. In the end, I didn't help much, and if I had stayed, I could have taken care of the flowers and made sure Mom was safe…"

"Don't say that!" Tifa protested. "I'm glad you came. You'd have let me be the only girl around all those… boys?"

Against her will, Aerith let out a giggle.

"You helped us tons," Cloud supplemented earnestly, "even when it wasn't obvious. It's thanks to you that we all stayed so positive. I'm sure Zack at least wouldn't have been nearly as strong if you hadn't been there."

"What's that about me?"

"Zack!" Cloud greeted with relief as his friend stepped into their little circle of light.

"What's going on?" Zack said, assessing the scene with a curious smile.

"Oh… I am just being silly and making everyone worry about me," Aerith confessed with a trace of humour.

"Oh well, that's not good!" Zack gasped dramatically. "You are making your friends worry, but not me? Now I feel like a horrible boyfriend. Am I a horrible boyfriend, Aerith?"

She pursed her lips to hide a smile and made a show of humming pensively. Zack sagged.

"I see how it is… Ah, but I won't admit defeat!" he boasted. "I'll just have to make up for it. And since there are no flowers around for a flower cart… how about a moonlit stroll?"

He held out a hand to help her to her feet. Aerith blushed delicately. She kept her face straight, but there was no denying the happiness in her eyes.

"Oh well… I suppose."

She let herself be led away from the fire. Zack winked at the rest of them.

"Sorry guys, I am kidnapping this fair maiden. I promise to bring her back before midnight."

Tifa waited until they were out of earshot, or at least out of Aerith's earshot, to say:

"Aaw, they are so adorable together."

"He is good for her," Nanaki declared gravely.

"Yeah, he is," Cloud said. "And vice-versa, I think. Does this mean you forgive Zack for being a SOLDIER?" he asked Tifa.

She sighed and kicked at the ground.

"Well, I guess. I mean, I've spent months with these guys, I suppose they aren't so bad. And Zack really is a puppy. A big one, though. With sharp teeth."

"Hehe, yeah. Pretty much."

A silence fell. Nanaki rose to his feet and stretched.

"I think I will go to bed early. Tomorrow will be a long and hard day. Good night Cloud, Tifa. Don't stay up too late."

"Good night," they said in unison.

It was just the two of them, now. Cloud didn't make a big deal out of it until Tifa moved around the fire to come sit next to him, so close that their shoulders brushed. Then he tensed and fought the warmth that tried to rise to his cheeks.

"Tomorrow will be a hard day, uh?" she said softly.

Was she worried?

"You'll probably stay far away from the frontline. Zack will be busy, and I'm still waiting for my orders. It'll be up to you and Nanaki to protect Aerith."

"I know," she scoffed. "But I'm not an idiot, Cloud. Zangan told me about war, a little. He said in big battles, the only thing you can predict is that people will die and children will cry. It doesn't matter where we are, we'll probably fight too. And if you're not with us, I'll be worrying about you."

He gave her a shy smile.

"I'll be careful."

"You'd better be!"

"The SOLDIERs will have it the hardest, anyway."

"Yeah… They'll be in the thick of it. Them and… you know. Rain."

He shifted, uncomfortable.

"Yeah."

"Are you… afraid?"

"For him? Well… yeah," he admitted. "I guess his wound is mostly healed by now but… I think I've been afraid to lose him since he first gained a body of his own. It's still hard, not having him around all the time. But it's something he has to do. And… I think I needed it too."

She made an inquiring noise.

"To stand on my own. To fully understand the kind of person I can be without him, you know? Someone that's not him. And Zack and the others are great too, but… I'm glad I spent these last few weeks with just you guys. I've had to think on my feet, without relying on someone's orders or advice."

"I know what you mean," she said, smiling. "I feel like I've changed a lot since I left Nibelheim. I whine a lot less, for starters," she added with a self-deprecating laugh. "It's been scary and depressing at times, but I'm still happy I came. I guess that's what growing up is all about, uh?"

She took his hand. His heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah," he whispered, tangling their fingers together.

The light of the fire turned her brown eyes into twin pools of amber as she looked at him. They leaned forward at the same moment. Their lips met gently.

In the shadows of a nearby tent, Rain watched as a scene from another life coalesced before him. He backed away, careful not to make a sound. He had come to check on Cloud, but he had seen enough. He faded back in the quiet activity of the camp as it settled down for the night.

He remembered Tifa's hands, soft on his skin but unrelenting on the battlefield. He remembered the hidden melancholy in her eyes, her calm maturity, the smiles and the strength she found for him every day. He had loved her in his own way, without passion but with all that his heart could hold of gratitude. There had been moments when she and Denzel's faith and unconditional acceptance were all that had kept him going.

And he had failed them.

He hissed at the quick staccato of confusing memories that assailed him. His mind had blurred most of what had happened in the end, a double-edged blessing. Visions of the planet being torn apart aroused mere echoes of the terror and despair he had felt at the time, and that distance was without a doubt the only reason he remained sane, or as close as could be in his case. For all he knew, the Planet herself had made sure that her last weapon would be functional enough to serve her goals. But he hated feeling as if he was forgetting those he had abandoned to their deaths, even if it had not been his decision.

Yet he knew they wouldn't blame him. Like Aerith, they were more forgiving of his faults than he himself was. For their sakes, he tried, but his sins were heavy on his shoulders.

"Cloud."

He flinched.

As he reconnected with the present, he found himself standing in the middle of a quiet alley between two rows of tents. Sephiroth was striding towards him with an expression half-way between curiosity and concern.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh… Sephiroth. Hey."

Faced with that lukewarm greeting, the man's forehead creased.

"Is something wrong?" he repeated.

He huffed a humourless laugh.

"Just blaming myself for all the misery in the world, Tifa would say. Or — not Tifa. I mean… not this Tifa."

He cut himself off and muttered a quiet swearword, hiding his eyes behind a hand.

"Sorry. Now is… not really a good time."

He passed him, intent for the limits of the camp where he could have his crisis of faith away from prying eyes.

To his surprise, after a beat of silence, he heard footsteps shadow his own.

"It's good that we crossed paths. I wanted to confirm tomorrow's plan with you. Zack and Genesis will lead the troops, and Angeal and Lazard are coming in with our men from Kalm. You and I will detach ourselves from the main attack as soon as we reach the tower."

Rain slowed down against his will, confused. Why was Sephiroth acting like everything was normal? Didn't he realize this was exactly times like these he should be avoiding him if he didn't want to hear unwelcome references to his alternate self?

Still caught halfway between past and present, he heard himself say:

"If we're going to Reactor Zero, Vincent should come with us. He was the one who infiltrated to put a stop to Deepground's rampage. I mean —" he fumbled a recovery. "In my time. We might need his talents."

"Very well," Sephiroth agreed without any remark. "As for our other companions, I have arranged for Aerith to remain with the medics behind the lines. Her talents will be put to good use."

That made him wince. Sweet, still innocent Aerith on a battlefield… She would see much more gruesome wounds than she was used to. But the medics was the safest place for her, and he may not like it, but he understood the way Sephiroth thought. He was a military leader who couldn't afford to waste resources.

He nodded reluctantly. He had to remember that Aerith was made of tougher stuff than she appeared to be.

"Cloud will serve with his old squad."

He shifted, on edge. Regular troopers would be their rearguard.

Cloud would not want to miss the battle; he understood this very well, remembered that old drive to prove himself. At least his squad members seemed like decent men.

"I have assigned them to Aerith's medical team."

His head snapped up. Sephiroth smirked at his surprise.

"Knowing Deepground's tactics, we can expect attacks on them, and they are a crucial resource."

Cloud would see some action and still benefit from Tifa, Nanaki and Aerith's support.

"Thanks," he muttered, caught between relief and embarrassment.

Sephiroth shrugged it off. "It was logical."

Rain stopped walking. They had crossed the last tents and stood facing the dark wasteland.

He could barely remember why he had wanted to come here. Sephiroth had completely yanked him off kilter, steering him to more immediate concerns. He followed the thread of his previous thoughts back to their source and shook his head at himself, incredulous. He should have been happy for Cloud and Tifa, instead of turning into a moping mess. He made such a bad older brother.

He made such a bad everything, he thought with a sigh. And still, people forgave him. People sought him out. Even now, Sephiroth stood by his side, waiting in silence.

How strange to be in this situation. Once upon a time, he would have given anything for a glance from his hero. Then Nibelheim had burned, and any word that man had deigned to bestow upon him had become a symbol of his madness. That Sephiroth had been obsessed with the puny human daring to rise against him, when the sane one would never have given him the time of day. That was fact.

Or he had thought it was, anyway.

"I have no idea what you see in me," he confessed, at a loss. "Any of you."

His Tifa, Denzel, both Aeriths, Cloud, every single one of his old friends… now Sephiroth. There was nothing special about him. He was an imposter crippled by regrets and self-doubt.

Dust crunched under Sephiroth's boots as he shifted closer. Rain turned and found himself the focus of his gently glowing eyes. Sephiroth's lips were curled with something like amusement… or fondness? He couldn't tell, and it made his heart give a strange lurch in his chest.

"I think it's time you accept that if there are so many people caring about you, Cloud, it can only mean that we are right and you are wrong."

His hand lifted. Rain flinched back then stopped, poised on the verge of some flight instinct he didn't understand.

Sephiroth froze. His fingers curled in on themselves. He let his hand drop.

Rain searched his face for a sign he had offended, but there was nothing there. There was no trace of his previous smile, either. Sephiroth nodded to himself.

"My apologies. I'll see you tomorrow, Cloud."

Rain watched him go, bewildered, with the sinking feeling he had just given an answer to a question he hadn't known was being asked.