Ch.3

Footsteps entered the room, drawing the attention to whomever it was. The group turned to see Rinoa walking towards them, smiling peacefully. "So this is where you all wandered off to. Showing Cloud around then?"

"He asked to see the caverns, so we did just that," Sephiroth answered.

"Well that sounds like it was nice," Rinoa said before she stopped in front of Cloud. "Did you thank these nice boys for showing you around?"

"Oh! Thank you Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth!" Cloud said as he turned to look at each one of them.

Angeal and Genesis nodded their heads towards Cloud while Sephiroth merely shrugged. Afterwards Rinoa held out her hand towards the little boy. "Good, now that we got that taken care of, can you come with me please?"

"Why?"

"Because," Rinoa answered gently. "We need to find someone who will take care of you. You can't very well just wander around on your own."

Cloud started to shuffle towards Sephiroth, grabbing onto his pant leg once close enough. "But I wanna stay with Sephiroth!"

Rinoa looked back and forth between Cloud and then Sephiroth. She could see the cold usual annoyance that Sephiroth typically sported. Sighing slightly she focused back onto Cloud. "Did you ask to make sure that was okay with Sephiroth?"

"Yeah I did! He said I could!" Cloud then looked up to Sephiroth. "Right? You said I could stay with you?"

"I did not intend for you to actually stay with me the entire time," Sephiroth admitted.

"What?" Cloud asked, feeling the smallest bit of uncertainty.

"I thought showing you around would suffice your curiosity. Never did I really intend for you to continuously stay around me," Sephritoh answered, perhaps a bit too bluntly this time.

A little whining sound came from Cloud as he gripped Sephiroth's pant leg a little tighter. "B-But…"

Sephiroth grumbled as he stepped away, causing Cloud to lose his grip. Right away, Rinoa quickly cleared her throat. "Cloud. Now if Sephiroth said he didn't agree to something like that, then you cannot force him. If someone says 'no' it sadly means no."

"But I wanna stay with Sephiroth!" Cloud said, raising his voice higher as tears swelled in his eyes.

"I'm sorry little one," Rinoa said with as much compassion as she could. "But you can still probably play with Sephiroth whenever you want. How does that sound?"

Cloud frowned heavily as he began to stare at the ground. "I… wanna stay… Sephiroth's my friend…"

"You can still be his friend, but you are going to need an adult to take care of you. So will you please come with me?" Rinoa asked. She held out a hand to Cloud and waited, not wanting to pry the child away against his choice.

Cloud slowly looked to her and then to Sephiroth. He waited for a moment, hoping that Sephiroth would say or do something. But instead he only turned his back to Cloud, not even looking his way anymore. He knew that Angeal and Genesis told him that Sephiroth didn't hate him, but now he just wasn't too sure anymore.

Not knowing what else to do, Cloud ran over to Rinoa and let out a small sob. He felt her arms wrap around him and lift him off the ground. She patted his back gently while she walked away from the area. With one final look, Cloud lifted his head, looking over her shoulder back to the group of three boys. Genesis and Angeal were looking his way, but Sephiroth… he still had his back turned.

After Rinoa carried a crying Cloud off out of the room, Sephiroth finally turned around. Though right away he was met with looks of disapproval from his two friends. A silver eyebrow was raised. "What?"

"You know very well 'what'," Angeal scoffed.

"Seph, honestly I never thought you could be so deplorable," Genesis added while shaking his head lightly.

"Deplorable? I wouldn't see how any of this is deplorable," Sephiroth replied while crossing his path arms. He knew very well that his friends were going to interrogate him over this, yet he didn't have the effort to just walk away from them. They would no doubt follow him anyways.

"That child looked up to you and you just gave him the cold shoulder. You made the little guy cry," Angeal said, speaking as seriously as he could.

"It's not his fault he tried to follow me around. That was all on him," Sephiroth replied, still refusing to move from his spot. If he had to deal with his friends badgering him, he knew he just might as well get it over with. "Besides, I don't like children."

Genesis waved a disapproving finger at Sephiroth. "There haven't been any children here since we were Cloud's age. So your logic is a bit flawed."

"My logic is not flawed. I didn't like being around the other children back then, so I do not like being around children now," Sephiroth huffed heavily. He turned around to stare out to the cavern. "Now is there anything further you wish to pester me about?"

"The kid liked you. He just wanted to be your friend. There isn't much else to say but that," Angel answered from behind him. "You're just being too stubborn to understand."

Sephiroth let out a quick huff air as he began to mull over the thoughts more in depth. He didn't really want to think about it. He would have rather let it go and just move on with his day, but somehow he found himself unable to do so. Something was lingering in the back of his mind and it wouldn't let go of him.

"I'm just a young teen myself. I have no reason or qualifications to raise a child," Sephiroth finally said after his friends stayed quieter than he would have liked.

"No one said you had to raise the young boy," Genesis replied. He hummed softly, thinking over what he would say next before actually speaking. "You just need to be there for him and take care of him. Not as an adult for him, but just something like a brother."

Sephiroth's body tensed up. He barely even seemed to breath for a moment, but the moment passed. He let it sit with him though, going silent once more and it seemed his friends chose to do the same. With that peaceful quietness he finally just let the thoughts run free. "Why should I think about… never thought I would even consider…" He let them roam around in his end until they finally were able to settle down and everything was calm.

Sighing he turned around to face his friends, giving them his usual cold stares that he was known for. "You two are far too persistent, you do know that right?"

Sephiroth didn't even wait for them to respond. He hurried out of the area with a brisk walk, and went down the hallway. Further up ahead he could hear the faint sobs coming from none other than Cloud. Once he was close enough he could see the blond, clinging to Rinoa's shirt, still sobbing heavily.

Sephiroth cleared his throat loudly once he was close enough. "Miss Rinoa."

Rinoa turned around and looked at Sephiroth a little puzzle. "Yes, Sephiroth? Is there something you need?"

"The boy… Cloud. I'd like to request that I do in fact watch over him."

Rinoa's eyes widened slightly. "What? Are you sure about that? I thought that you-"

"I changed my mind on the matter. I know I am still only 14-years-old, but I feel I could be up to the task. I would just be watching out for him and teaching him like the rest. If I ever did need anything, I could always ask any other adult. But…" Sephiroth paused.

Cloud was now staring at him with red eyes. He had stopped his crying and now was waiting on Sephiroth, waiting to see what he would say next. It took Sephiroth a lot more strength that he thought to manage to glance away from the tear-filled boy. Sephiroth was not one for sentimentals not at all. Making eye contact while he said such related things made it even harder for him to comprehend that he was even doing it in the first place.

"But… I believe it would be in Cloud's best interest if I was the one to teach him. Since he seems to have grown close to me even without properly knowing me."

Rinoa smiled softly as she walked closer to Sephiroth. "You sure about this then? You think you could handle it?"

"Honestly, no. I still have no idea if I could even manage it…" Sephiroth had his own thoughts rush to the front of his head, but he did not dare speak them. Instead he said something else. "Yes, I believe it could be possible."

"Well, all right then. If that is what you say, just remember to come to any adult if you ever need help, okay?" Rinoa then looked at the little Cloud who still clung to her. "Hey, did you hear that? Sephiroth wants to still be your friend after all? See? It's just like I was telling you."

"R-Really?" Cloud asked, not to Rinoa, but to Sephiroth instead. His voice was soft and still rather raw from all of his tears.

"Yes. I am sorry if I came off too harsh before."

Without another word, Cloud reached out to him, his arms open and waiting. Though Sephiroth hesitated at first, he didn't miss a beat a second later as he let Cloud into his arms. Right away Cloud held him tightly and rested his head on top of his shoulder. There were still faint sniffles, but they seemed to be finally dying down.

"Well, if that is all, I will leave you two be," Rinoa replied cheerfully before walking off.

Now that they were alone, Sephiroth first adjusted how he held Cloud, hoping to make him more comfortable. "Are you all right now?"

"I'm better now that you're back," Cloud murmured.

"Were you really that upset with what I said before?"

"I… I thought you maybe…." Cloud stopped for a moment to let some sniffles pass by. "Thought you might hate me."

"I never have hated you," Sephiroth said. While he spoke he could feel the oddest pain in his chest. Something he didn't quite understand. "I just am not extremely sociable."

"Oh… okay…" Cloud whispered. "But we can be friends now?"

'Not as an adult for him, but just something like a brother.'

There was sudden shudder as the words entered his mind again. It was not something he was able to shake off so easily. Though he did what he could to push them aside for now. No need to want to dwell on them any longer anyways… at least for now. If it had to be dealt with, it would be for a later time. "Yes… friends."

Cloud carefully lifted his head until he was looking at Sephiroth right in the eyes. "Does this mean I can ask more questions?"

Sephiroth's natural response was to say no. He did not like having to answer questions and still didn't, but he saw that there would be no escape from the young curious mind. "If you wish to ask. But do not do it all at once. What you need first is to probably get something to eat. I assume Hojo and his team still are the same with barely giving any food to you on the journey?"

"We had tiny pieces of bread… nothing else… I am actually hungry. I was hungry before but I forgot once I was here."

"Well, let us start with that. We can get some food for ourselves… and maybe I will let you ask a few more questions. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!" Cloud said, smiling happily. "And if we are friends now, does that mean I get to call you Seph?"

Sephiroth blinked, eyeing the young child carefully. He knew what his immediate response was to be, but he also knew that would end up being the wrong answer. If he was truly going to take care of this kid, he was going to have to at least try to be a bit nicer towards him. "Fine, if it pleases you to do so."

The grin on Cloud's little face stretched even wider. "Yay! Thank you Seph!"

Sephiroth could only sigh as he began walking through the hallways, wondering just how exactly he was going to get through all of this. He knew there would be a way, but he had a feeling it was going to be quiet long.

Thank you to those who have checked out this story. Sephiroth is quiet the stubborn teen isn't he. But hey! Fluff has started up anyways!