Zack's cheek was still burning from Sephiroth slapping him out of his loco weed-induced frenzy while he checked up on his three new SOLDIER mates. The blonde guy, whom Sephiroth had healed woke up a short moment after Sephiroth left. "What the hell happened?", Zack heard him groan while he was healing the other two. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the guy pushing himself up shakily. "You lost to Sephiroth", he said curtly, stood up and turned around to help him up. The blonde guy rubbed his forehead, lamenting: "I feel like I got run over by a truck…" His glance wandered to his two unconscious friends. "He did this?" Zack scratched his head. "Not quite. You may wanna check the footage later. You basically took each other out." The man looked bewildered. "I don't remember anything after we challenged him." He shook his head and looked at Zack again. "Are they ok?" Zack nodded and responded: "I just cured them. They should wake up in a bit." The guy picked up his sword, fastened it on his back and said: "Thanks. You're not mad 'cause we kicked your ass, are you?"
Zack took a deep breath before answering. The truth was that he was not mad about being defeated, but about the way they had challenged him and Sephiroth. "It's okay, but you know, we're on the same side. There's no need to be mean." The man scratched his head as he walked over to his two friends. "Sorry, I guess we got carried away after we got promoted to class 1st." Zack folded his arms, watching him kneel down next to Venus and patting her cheek lightly. "I'm Zack, by the way", Zack introduced himself, which caused the guy to look over his shoulder and respond: "Yeah, I know." Zack scratched the floor impatiently with his foot, staring at his boot. The guy finally got the message and added: "Oh, didn't we introduce ourselves? I'm Locke." He pointed at the woman, then the black-haired man. "Venus. Theo. We've been a team ever since we joined SOLDIER." Zack nodded. "Yeah, I can tell. Let's fight again some time once you guys are better." As he spoke, Venus stirred and rubbed her stomach where the handle of Sephiroth's sword had struck her. "Hey sunshine", Locke whispered to her, caressing her cheek. "Sunshine" was not quite the pet name Zack would have conjured up for a person with Venus' temperament, but he made no comment. "Guess I'll be leaving then", he said and turned away, but Locke was not listening to him anymore as he was speaking quietly to the woman. Zack, certain he would see them around another time and knowing he was not needed here anymore, turned to leave and Locke did not take notice of him doing so.
Clearly, the three only had eyes for each other, but Zack had to admit that he was a little envious at the relationship they shared. He wondered if Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal had been like that at all. When his thoughts wandered back to Sephiroth, he began to think that Sephiroth being up to playing a trick on someone was perhaps a sign that he was doing better, but now that he had basically declined training Zack any longer until he defeated the trio, he had no convenient excuse to talk to him anymore. Or perhaps he did…
When he reached the elevator and pushed the button for Floor 63, he pulled out his phone and texted to Sephiroth: "Hey, thanks for today. I made sure that the three are ok. Do you need any more help with your research?" That sounded good to him, although he knew perfectly well that he would not be any help in the archives. But he still wanted to keep the door open and hoped that Sephiroth would get the hint. But perhaps he did not. Or perhaps he did, but did not want to keep in touch with Zack, because his response came as soon as Zack got on the helicopter shuttle: "Maybe another time." Zack sighed at being turned down, even though he believed that Sephiroth appeeared to have had fun today.
He looked out the window for a moment as the helicopter glided over the city, which looked a lot less glamorous and more dusty in daylight than at night. He wanted to do something, even if Sephiroth could not stand him. Perhaps it was a stupid idea, but he could not think of anything better than to text the only other person he knew who had the semblance of a personal relationship with Sephiroth, Tseng: "Thanks again for yesterday. We did some training today. I think he had fun. He seems a lot better. Why don't you try talking to him again?" It was the best thing he could think of, even though it was not much. Tseng did not respond immediately, and so Zack put away his phone and got off the helicopter once he reached the SOLDIER quarters.
I thought Zack was too critical of himself. Naturally, I knew Sephiroth better than he did, and, while Sephiroth was a little slow in social situations sometimes, I was certain that he realized that Zack cared about his well-being. Zack had consistently made efforts to try and help him over the past weeks and even Sephiroth could not possibly fail to realize that. It just took time for him to open up to people. Much, much more time, and just like Locke from the trio, he had not thought it was necessary to befriend other people outside of his clique, as long as we were there. He would not move unless he was forced to in some way. But who could force Sephiroth to do anything?
One may get the impression that Sephiroth was insufferable to be with, which was absolutely not the case. He was incredibly easy to get along with once one got used to him. He was the kind of person who had no expectations whatsoever, who was fine with simply existing, and who liked to listen much more than he liked to talk. In a way, he was the complete opposite of Genesis, who always needed some sort of stimulation, and who liked to talk even if no one was listening. Genesis was not the type of person who listened to others. When we eventually got over being silent on each other, Sephiroth was the person who made me feel heard. He always listened; even if he seemed distant or aloof, he was listening.
Whenhe agreed for the very first time to train with us, the ice was not quite broken yet, but all of us got permission to go to the training room on floor 45, the room that was later remodeled into the combat simulator Zack came to know, after Scarlet and Hojo invented the technology. He did not really know what to do with us or how to train us, but that time, Genesis did not leave with a broken arm. Neither did I. Though, to be honest, I was under the impression that Sephiroth was going easy on us, and me particularly, not just this one time, but every other time we trained together as well. It was hard to deny that I was not as naturally gifted as the both of them. Although I had to put in a lot more effort into keeping up with them, I did my very best so that I could stay with them. Even more than that, I felt as if Sephiroth was always looking at Genesis, who kept challenging him and got closer and closer, chasing after him. I wanted him to look at me, too, but there was no chance that would happen with me being the way I was.
I did not like him "in that way" from the beginning on, and that was not just because I was too young to think about such things. Unlike Genesis, I had not been a "Sephiroth fan" before we left Banora, and so I was not as disillusioned or disappointed when I met the real Sephiroth and he was a lot less glorious, although he was just as strong as the reports claimed. In the newspaper article and photos, he appeared cool, confident, independent, and a clever strategist with lots of admirers. The real Sephiroth was a complete mess, a loner who had no idea how to talk to people and could barely take care of himself. Not that he needed to, because the company took care of everything pertaining his daily life, starting from his schedule, missions, provision, housing… but he had no autonomy either. Even the most basic autonomy over his own body was denied to him. And they were not even paying him for his services. I was not disappointed or disillusioned when I learned that he was no hero, but essentially a human combat machine on some days, and a human guinea pig on others, all depending on his schedule. I just felt sorry for him and wanted to make what little life was left outside of his strictly regulated routines at least a little worth living.
Unfortunately, that was harder than I thought. I was not a very smart kid growing up, so I tried the best thing I could think of, and that was telling him all sorts of stories from my hometown, about our farm, my mother and father, who had taken up a massive debt to buy that sword for me which I couldn't even wield back then. He did not respond at all in the beginning, just looked at me with his big green eyes that were burning with a cold inner fire, just like the mako energy that made them so. But it was not uncomfortable at all. I thought his eyes were really beautiful. Eventually, though, to my surprise, he began to show interest in the least relevant parts of my stories, as if he did not really understand or care what the story was actually about. It began with me trying to tell him about an adventure Genesis and I had that began with us following some chocobo tracks in the woods, and he began asking about chocobos, although the story was not even about chocobos – or at least not primarily. It was about Genesis falling off a cliff and then going for a swim in the ocean because he could not get back up. But for some reason, it was the chocobos that caught his attention. Sephiroth had only seen chocobos in pictures and he had no idea they were just… out there, running in the wild. And he wanted to know everything about chocobos.
But as it kept happening, I first began to wonder if he was making fun of me, but that appeared not to be the case; in fact, he seemed incapable of making fun of anything and did not understand humor most of the time. He made me realize that every story was worth being told because there was bound to be one person who would appreciate it, no matter how trivial or pointless it seemed. It would take some time for him, but he eventually began to enjoy even Genesis reciting from his favorite literature. Although he would not admit to it easily, he ended up enjoying that so much that he would actually remember the contents of the books. Sephiroth was able to enjoy a lot of things once he experienced them, and I was certain that he would eventually relish in being included in activities, provided that Zack did not get tired of having to make the first step again and again and again, and I hoped that he would have the patience.