I don't own Sephiroth or any of the characters in Final Fantasy. They all belong to Square Enix. Now, if you are still interested...
"You're really okay with this arrangement?"
"Yeah, should I not be?"
"No, no...it's just...he doesn't get along very well with most people."
"I've noticed. Does no one here remember what life was like at five?"
"In our defense, you are a lot closer to five than many of us."
"In more ways than one. Still, I don't think that Sephiroth is as much of a hassle as everyone else makes him out to be. I have no problem with him."
"Just out of curiosity, what does he do when he's with you?"
"Nothing. He'll look around a little, but he mostly just sits there. It's a little disturbing. After the first hour or so, he'll get up and we'll go for a walk. Sometimes I give him a snack. He usually is a bit more talkative after that."
"He talks to you?"
"Some, it's still mostly nods and no's when I ask him anything. He'll ask questions from time to time though."
"What does he ask about?"
"He asked me last time what the noise that came with rain was."
"Thunder?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"What did you tell him?"
"The truth. That it's the expansion of the heated air after a lightning strike. Then I had to tell him what lightning was."
"And you weren't bothered by it? You are in the process of being consumed by this equation of yours."
"On the contrary. I find Sephiroth to be a fine distraction. If I let this equation consume me, it will be bad for my health. He's my reminder to get up and do something else before I lose my mind."
"So, you're really okay with this?"
"Yes, It's fine. The only person who pisses me off is Hojo. I asked him for an approved list of areas that Sephiroth and I can go to. It felt like I was explaining to a ten-year-old how to properly take care of a pet. 'Yes, you have to walk him now and then so he doesn't bounce off the walls.' I feel that he is an idiot of epic proportions."
"Most people feel the opposite with Hojo."
"I've noticed. My mother would turn in her grave if she found out I bowed down to someone because of intimidation. There's plenty of reason to fear Hojo, but none to show it."
"I wish I understood how your brain works."
"Simple. Do a lot of math and take shit from no one."
Sephiroth followed behind his current escort to Cass's office. He felt a weird feeling about going there today. It wasn't wholly unpleasant, but he had never quite felt it before. Sort of a buzzing feeling.
He didn't go to her everyday, but everyday he wasn't with Hojo all day he was with Cass. Hojo didn't seem very happy about it, but for some reason he allowed it. After a week, Sephiroth decided he liked Cass. He preferred her company over Hojo's. He never really liked anyone, except for maybe Professor Gast, but Cass was something different altogether.
This feeling had started yesterday. Hojo wanted to redo an old test and Sephiroth was most definitely not interested. He slipped away. It was a lot easier than most people thought. Much like they never looked up, people rarely looked down unless they had a reason to. He found himself going towards a closet and pulling off a grate to reveal a passage and stairs.
He sat up on the catwalk for about an hour, watching Hojo send people all over to look for him. It was a lot more interesting at this angle. Then Gast had walked in with Cass at his side. Hojo had leapt on her and Gast had defended her as usual. As the story was laid out, Cass glanced up.
They made eye contact.
Then she smiled.
"This is no laughing matter," Hojo had said.
"You're wrong," Cass said, "this is hilarious, but I'll go check my office. Maybe he thought he was supposed to go there." She left. Sephiroth watched it a little longer, before deciding he wanted to save this spot for a better day. He left, not quite putting the grate back up all the way, but no one would notice.
He met Cass in the hall. She grinned at him again.
"You must have found one great place to hide," she said. He blinked at her and moved in. Hojo was not upset for very long. Apparently, Sephiroth had improved on something. He didn't know what. He had a long time before they needed him for a test again though. That was good.
His escort knocked on the door and left. That was how it went now. Sephiroth opened the door by himself, on the tops of his toes. Cass glanced back and greeted him, before looking back at her window. She hadn't changed it yet. Sephiroth moved over to his chair. After multiple proddings, Sephiroth had tested all the chairs she had been given and found one that pleased him more than the others. It was firm, but it let him sink just ever so into it. He sat there every time now.
The feeling hadn't gone away. What was the feeling for? He looked down at his stomach, where the feeling felt like it was coming from. Everything looked normal. He shifted a little, to see if that would make it go away.
After shifting a few more times, Cass looked over at him.
"You okay there, short stuff?" she asked, "Your feet getting restless again?" Sephiroth shook his head. That wasn't it.
"I don't know," Sephiroth said, "I feel strange." She stood up.
"What do you feel like?" she asked.
"I don't know," Sephiroth said.
"Does it hurt?" she asked. He shook his head.
"Is it uncomfortable?" A nod.
"Is it in your head?" A negative.
"Is it in your chest?" No.
"Is it in your stomach?" A nod again.
"Does it feel kind of fluttery?" she asked, "Like there's butterflies or buzzing inside?" Another nod.
"You're okay," she said, "You're just either excited, or nervous. Maybe both."
"Excited?" Sephiroth asked.
"Like you want something to happen and you can't wait until it does," Cass said, "Nervous is kind of the same, except you don't want it to happen, at least not right away. What's going to happen?"
"Nothing," Sephiroth said.
"Is it about yesterday?" she asked, "because I won't tell anyone about the catwalk if you don't. Seeing Hojo in a panic because you found a spot to hide ten feet away, was very entertaining. Besides, if I told, then you might tell Hojo who showed you that spot and who would be in trouble then?" For some reason, that made the feeling go away. He nodded again.
"I feel better," he said.
"Good," she said. She moved back to her chair.
"Cassio-Cass," Sephiroth caught himself, "May I ask a question?"
"Yes you may," Cass said.
"What are butterflies?" he asked. She turned back towards him and smiled again.
She explained it for him. Then she got up, walked over to her bookshelf and picked out a book. She flicked through it until she found what she was looking for. She passed it over to him.
"This should explain it better than I can," she said. He took it gently and looked at a picture that matched her description of a butterfly. It was orange and black.
"You may read any of those books over there if you so desire," she said, "you don't have to ask permission. You don't have to ask permission to ask a question either. I'll answer them for you if I can."
"If you can?" Sephiroth asked.
"I know I fake it very well, but I don't actually know everything," she said. Sephiroth nodded and started reading. He got stuck on a word early in. Sometimes he could guess what the word was, but he had no idea this time. Hojo usually had him read it out loud and helped him through more difficult pronunciations if necessary.
"Cass?" he said tentatively.
"Mmm?" she replied.
"What does...ent, entom..."
"Spell it out," she said.
"E-N-T-O-M-O-L-O-G-Y," he said.
"Entomology," she said, "It's the study of insects, like butterflies or houseflies." That made sense.
"Thank you," he said.
"Mmm-hmm." He kept reading. Butterflies were interesting. Not as interesting as rain, but Sephiroth decided he would like to see one someday. The book made it seem like they were pretty common, so it wouldn't be too difficult. He came across another unfamiliar word.
"Cass?"
"Yes?"
"What does caterpillar mean?" he asked.
"A caterpillar is like a baby butterfly," she said, "Before they get wings they crawl around as a catarpillar, then they transform themselves into a butterfly." That matched the picture he saw.
"I can't pronounce this word either," Sephiroth said.
"Spell it," she said.
"C-H-R-Y-S-A-L-I-S."
"Chrysalis, with a C like a K and a Y like an I. A caterpillar makes one around itself, like an egg. Then it hatches out as a butterfly." He read on for a few minutes, then came up against one final word that he couldn't unravel. He looked up at Cass. She looked focused entirely on what she was working on. When he interrupted Hojo like that, Hojo was usually upset.
He really wanted to know what the word was though.
"What does Metamorphosis mean?" he asked.
"Metamorphosis is just an elegant way of saying transformation," Cass said, "A caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. A caterpillar has a metamorphosis and becomes a butterfly. Their meanings are similar."
"I apologize," Sephiroth said.
"For what?" Cass asked.
"For interrupting you." She sighed.
"I'm not upset," she said, "no matter how many times you interrupt me, this equation will stay the same. It will remain unsolved unless I admit defeat." Sephiroth cocked his head in an unspoken question. She turned around with a wry smile.
"I can't solve this in my head," she said. She went back to her bookshelf and pulled out a notebook. She pulled a pen from her pocket and sat back down. "I have to write it out. I haven't done that in years."
"Is that bad?" Sephiroth asked.
"I think it's wonderful," she said, "It's like you trying to figure out what rain, thunder, lightning, and butterflies are, except I don't have anyone to ask about them. I have to figure it out on my own." Sephiroth looked at the single line of text.
"What does it mean?" Sephiroth asked.
"I don't know," she said, "I have no idea what it is, what it stands for, what it finds, anything. I have to find a way to solve it then I can work backwards to find out what I was looking for."
"That sounds hard," Sephiroth said.
"It's very hard," she said, "but so many hard things have become easy for me that a challenge like this becomes something wonderful. But I don't mind you asking questions or wanting to go for walks. Your discoveries are not less than mine. Mine may take longer, but yours are just as important. Besides, I like to answer."
Sephiroth never had anyone who wanted to answer his questions before. It gave him that butterfly feeling again, but this time it was more pleasant. He was excited, he realized. He finished reading about butterflies at the same time that Cass finished writing one page in her notebook. She sighed and looked up.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" she asked. Sephiroth found he could answer this time.
"Yes," he said.
Cass had discovered a series of halls that they could walk through that would let them circle around it. Hojo had agreed upon that route and they circled around it once or twice on each walk. They received less looks in the hall and Cass fended off less remarks as they became part of the routine down in the labs. They were mostly alone for their walks anyway.
Perhaps that was what made Sephiroth feel like he could ask another ridiculous question.
"Do you think...I could be as smart as you?" Sephiroth asked. He had a distinct feeling Hojo would not like him asking this question.
"To be very honest, no," Cass said, "And I don't think you should be either. Being as smart as me isn't as great as it appears to be. But, I do think that you are very intelligent. You may not know as much as me, but you think things through much more carefully than people who believe themselves smarter than me. That's a rare gift at your age. So is your reading ability, though I think Hojo may have had a hand in that." Sephiroth nodded.
"Can you write as well?" she asked.
"My name," Sephiroth said.
"Hmmm," she mused, "I might ask Hojo to get you a notebook. Reading and writing go hand in hand. Or at least that's what I was taught."
"What would I write?" Sephiroth asked.
"I'll figure it out when and if we get to that point," she said, "Don't worry about that now." Sephiroth felt another question rising.
"How old are you?" he asked. It felt relevant and ridiculous at the same time.
"I am twenty years old," she said.
"You're fifteen years older than I am," Sephiroth said.
"Very good," she said.
"Does that make you young?" he asked.
"Well, younger than almost everyone else here," she said, "I'm second youngest person."
"Who's the first?"
"You," she said. They had returned to the office. He felt safe enough to ask one last question. It had to be the most ridiculous of them all.
"Do you really think I'm...intelligent?" he asked.
"Of course," she said, "I've seen nothing about you to tell me otherwise. You read much better than I could at your age. You're also very curious and despite whatever Hojo says, that's not a bad thing. You may not know much today, but you have a great capacity for a lot of things in the future and if you want intelligence to be one of them, I won't hold you back." Sephiroth felt that excitement thing again. Perhaps he did like Cass, he wasn't entirely sure.
"Can I read a different book?" he asked.
"I think I already said yes," Cass said.