Title: "SHIKUHANASHI -Without Equal-"
Author: LegolasLover2003 aka Ashley
Category: Video Game - "Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core"
Genre: Drama, General
Rating: R (for mature language, violence, and anything else I decide to throw in along the way)
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to "Final Fantasy". I just really really like Sephiroth and Genesis.
Author's Note: This story will be divided into chapters, culminating into 5 Acts (like the LOVELESS poem) and follow Genesis Rhapsodos' path to SOLDIER.
It had all been like a dream really. Hell, I never even knew what happened to be honest.
There was pain, yes... and I kept seeing flashes of silver mixed with the red mess that covered everything I gazed upon.
The bullets in my back... the gash from an unlocked for assassin's blade... all of these things drove me to my knees in pain. But the pain wasn't something I feared.
Have I ever actually 'feared' anything? It's a good question... perhaps I should ponder it some time.
Perhaps I should fear dying... and yet that day, I didn't.
But then again... didn't I fear letting him down?
Haven't I always feared that silver haired devil falling out of my arm's reach forever?
SHIKUHANASHI
~Without Equal~
A
"Final Fantasy VII"
Pre-Crisis Core
Fanfiction
ACT I : SCENE I
Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess
We seek it thus, and take to the sky
Ripples form on the water's surface
The wandering soul knows no rest.
深淵の謎
それは女神の贈り物
我らは求め飛び立った
彷徨い続ける心の水面に
微かな漣を立てて
Shinen no nazo
Sore wa megami no okurimono
Warera wa motome tobitatta
Samayoi tsuzukeru kokoro no minamo ni
Kasukana sazanami wo tatete
Beep... Beep... Beep...
A distracting sound... and yet perhaps a comforting sound to those who were awake to hear it. It meant that the prone man, laying still in the sterile white bed beneath the starched sheets... was still alive.
Genesis didn't move. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, but other than that, there were no outward signs of life. Hojo had been in half an hour before, when Genesis was first laid out in clean linens. Whatever foul and disgusting things Hojo had done to the young man when in his care for the last few days, Sephiroth didn't know...
And in all honesty, he didn't want to know.
But all members of SOLDIER were to report to the Professor first upon any injury. Things had been that way since the squad had been formed, and he guessed nothing would change... even if it were a serious wound.
Sighing, Sephiroth crossed one leg over the other at the knee, his high boots helping to provide the perfect spot to balance the book in his hands. In all honesty it wasn't even his book... but Angeal had insisted he bring it along. Of course Sephiroth had demanded to know why he had to visit the invalid and not the man's closet friend. It seemed however that Angeal had the perfect excuse.
A mission.
And so Sephiroth's MAKO green eyes scanned the pages, reading the script slowly. It wasn't a perfectly flowing hand, nor was this even a printed copy of the work known far and wide as "LOVELESS". No... this was a handwritten copy, penned by Genesis himself, with little scribbles here and there, or a drawing or two. The Banora White Apple in the corner of ACT I had been amusing, and the SOLDIER had to commend his fellow fighter for his artistic skill.
"Kimi yo, tobitatsu noka? Warera wo nikumu sekai heto? Machiukeru wa tada kakokuna asu sakamaku kaze nomi dato shitemo." {([My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow no matter where the winds may blow.])}
In the margin were drawn a pair of black shaded wings that hovered over a rounded map of the world. For a moment, Sephiroth wondered why wings would be without a body... but then he noticed, scrawled in the corner, a very simple phrase.
'With but one wing... how am I to fly?'
Sephiroth glanced to the still form of Genesis, then back at the book in his hands. It... unnerved him. No, more than that, the idea of anyone bearing a wing at all... anyone besides...
Quickly, the SOLDIER closed the book, setting it on the bedside table.
"Kimi yo,... ko... koinegae inochi... haguku... kumu megami no... okurimono wo." came soft words from the bed beside him. {([My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess.])}
Sephiroth's gaze fell on Genesis to see the man's blue eyes staring up at him, half lidded in exhaustion. A sort of half smirk came to Sephiroth's expression and he turned fully to the bed.
"You worried us."
Those blue eyes closed for a moment, "You were reading 'LOVELESS'... I could hear it... Hear you... your voice... You really should think about lending that voice to the stage." he teased lightly, a smirk on his face.
Sephiroth rolled his eyes and stood up, walking toward the window and drawing back the curtain. It was raining... it always seemed to be raining these days... the sky dark and dreary... the scene making for a most rotten atmosphere. The SOLDIER moved to close the curtains once more, but Genesis' voice stopped him.
"Leave it. It will give me something else to stare at... besides these white washed walls." Rhapsodos spoke softly before angling an arm beneath him and pushing his body up.
Sephiroth didn't move to help him, though he watched the other man warily. Genesis never made a sound of discomfort at all, even though both men knew that those injuries should, no doubt, be tender and quite painful.
Or were they?
Taking a deep breath, Genesis let his head fall back once he was sitting straight up. His blue gaze was closed as he just sat there... breathing... When he opened his eyes once more, there was a ghost of a smile on his face.
"Hojo must have worked a miracle. I don't feel anything at all... How many days has it been, Sephiroth?"
"A week." the older man replied honestly, turning and leaning against the window sill. He pulled his long hair over one shoulder to keep from sitting on the ends. "I've been told you're to remain in bed today. Tomorrow you can start training again. Would you..."
"Where is Angeal?"
The question wasn't unlooked for, though Sephiroth didn't exactly enjoy being interrupted... especially since this was a message from Hojo that the SOLDIER had been unfortunate enough to be given the task to deliver.
"A mission. He's been working over time this week. Probably thinks he's picking up your slack."
There was something that Sephiroth couldn't quite read in the other man's gaze... but it passed before too long.
Genesis didn't seem upset by the news. On the contrary, he had expected it. However...
"If anyone is slacking... it's you. I had to protect your back, if you recall." Rhapsodos spoke, his voice nonchalant.
"Yes well you're the one who promised to in the first place." Sephiroth reminded him.
And yet, thinking this would make the younger man mad... Once again, the older SOLDIER found himself baffled by this Banoran brat's thinking process.
Genesis smiled slightly, tilting his head to look directly at Sephiroth. "I never break a promise. Besides... who else but me can claim your title one day... Sephiroth the Hero?"
Laughing softly, the long haired man shook his head, stepping off from the window and striding across the room. "Get some rest, Genesis. Tomorrow, I'm going to put you through training hell for making me talk to Hojo." Sephiroth spoke as he left the room, closing the door behind him.
To Be Continued
Author's Notes:
- Bit that Sephiroth is reading is from ACT III of "LOVELESS".
- Bit that Genesis says to Sephiroth upon waking is from ACT III of "LOVELESS".
Translations:
- Kimi yo, tobitatsu noka? Warera wo nikumu sekai heto? Machiukeru wa tada kakokuna asu sakamaku kaze nomi dato shitemo. = My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow no matter where the winds may blow.
- Kimi yo, koinegaeinochi hagukumu megami no okurimono wo. = My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess.
Review Responses:
To: GatewaysDiary = Nope, no love fests from me. There may be an undertone of something more than friendship, but I haven't decided if I want to act on that or not. Sephiroth and Genesis are friends and rivals... but lovers? Only in my wildest yaoi dreams, haha! While this story didn't exactly explain Genesis' mind, it did set the stage for some interesting conversations (mainly about the 'one-wing' thing). Genesis is an odd duck, but he's loveable. He and Sephiroth just happened to go insane... poor buggers.
I ASK THAT YOU DO NOT SUBMIT REVIEWS ABOUT HOW YOU DISLIKE JAPANESE BEING IN THE STORY!
I love getting reviews (especially ones that are helpful, pointing out the good and the bad both), but it puts me in a sour mood whenever I see a review that's all about (and usually ONLY about) how you don't like there being Japanese dialogue in the story. I'm sorry, but it's not disappearing any time soon (look below for my generic response about it, as well as a special tailored response for this story alone). So please, to keep me happy and to keep me replying to reviews, just don't nitpick about it (unless there's something I did uber wrong, then you can because I may go back and fix it if I see the error). Thank you.
TAILORED RESPONSE FOR THIS PARTICULAR STORY:
-This is a fanfiction based off of a Japanese video game and therefore, Japanese voices are in my head.
-In this brain, GENESIS IS GACKT and SEPHIROTH IS TOSHIYUKI MORIKAWA and ANGEAL IS KAZUHIKO INOUE!
-Please keep this in mind... because hearing them in my head is how I write them on paper (or digitally write them).
-So you may find bits and pieces of Japanese in there, and "LOVELESS" will appear in English, Kanji, and Romanji when it is used (unless quoted then it'll probably be in Romanji) by a character.
GENERIC RESPONSE TO THOSE WHO DISLIKE THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE TEXT: (mainly pertaining to my anime/manga stories)
-It seems every story I write that's based on an anime... I end up having to say the same thing.
-I took 9 semesters of Japanese in college and did multiple 30min weekly study groups for the first years for two semesters.
-I know it's not always right (what I have in my stories sometimes that is) but BECAUSE this is a fanfiction that is based off of an anime, and because I watch anime in Japanese and very very rarely dubbed in English, I pick up voice habits of certain characters (such as Lockon's "oi").
-Since Lockon really wouldn't be speaking Japanese to begin with since he's Irish... and Setsuna would probably speak Arabic and Allelujah Russian... (Tieria could speak anything for all we know really), then even the show should be distracting at this point to anyone because there they go, speaking Japanese.
-I know some people don't like Japanese interjected into stories, and to placate them I started putting the translations directly at the ends of the Japanese sentences (I used to just have a translation section at the end of the story, which is still there just because it helps me go back and see what I've used quicker than scanning the entire story).
-I'm not going to stop putting Japanese in my stories that are based off of Anime or Manga (or Japanese Dramas or Movies either, cause I've got Japanese in my "Moon Child" story too).
-You will, however, never find Japanese in any of my LOTR stories or any other fandom that I write unless there is a character that speaks it (like random Korean in the SG-1 story) on a normal basis.