Chapter Text
He flopped onto his bed, not even bothering to kick out of anything but his boots.
Small but familiar fingers played with the half of his hair that was free, the small tugs indicating braids. Sephiroth huffed out a laugh into the pillow.
Trust Cloud to appear when he was needed most, with no grown ups around and his friends still stuck in Sensei's assessment drill.
«Hey Cloud.» he sat up and steadied Cloud on the bed, surprised when Cloud buried himself in his arms.
«Why don't you cuddle anymore?» Blue eyes were serious but still soft, some hurt in them that Sephiroth wanted to fix.
«Well... A lot of grown ups would say its weird but I think-I think some stuff is just plain dumb sometimes Cloud. You can cuddle me as long as you like.»
They sat like that for a while and then Sephiroth prodded, «How's Reno?»
«He's good. I miss Aerith though.»
«... Do you want to see her now?» He asked, digging for his PHS and texting both Chichue and Mom.
Seph: Going to see about some plant material for Geal.
Seph: Taking a little storm with me
His screen lit up with Mom's reply.
Mom: Be careful
Mom: Make sure the storm has a lightning bolt.
They took the train, Sephiroth strapping a spare dagger to Cloud's left leg.
«Remember what I taught you.» He said, nearly swallowed by the oversized purple hoodie that said 'Banoran Dumbapples' with the insignia of Gen's orchard stamped across the front. Sephiroth had shoved the sleeves up to his elbows to keep his arms free. Gen said he'd grow into it, mostly because a large was all they'd had on hand. The fingerless gloves 'Geal had given him helped too.
Wearing the gifts from his friends made him happy.
""Aww, they look adorable, I wonder where-"" Sephiroth's head snapped up and he stared long enough for the person commenting to be uncomfortable.
«I will, I will. Geez.»
«What are Mom's rules?»
«Don't trust strangers. If someone asks if I'm lost an' they don't feel nice, kick 'em in the shins. Find Ms. Gainsborough, Ms. Ifalna or Aerith in Sector Five if I get separated from you. Reno's Mama will do in a pinch but she's in Sector Six an' not an option normally.» Cloud recited with a roll of his eyes. «I know what to do.»
«I know you do but we're only kids down here, not what we are up there.» Sephiroth murmured, sheathing and unsheathing the long dagger on his right thigh. «Chichiue says they do awful stuff to kids down here.»
«Yeah, Reno said his Mama was happy to see him at ShinRa cause down here is bad for kids.» Cloud hummed, kicking his feet back-n-forth on the train's bench. «Aerith's okay cause her Mama can kick butt though, right?»
«They're safe here. It's not right but...»
«Grown ups can be mean, 'specially to Aerith and Ms. Ifalna.» Cloud finished as he leaned on Sephiroth's shoulder. «Don't like it though.»
Sephiroth cleared his throat, murmured, «Maybe some day they can see the sunlight again, really be free.»
«Seph?»
«Sometimes the wolves have to track prey for miles, little Storm Cloud, play a long game. So am I.»
«If you're the Nibel Wolf, who's the prey?»
«Shiva.» he murmured. «Shiva that Mom and Chichiue work for and that we'll take down like the bloated Grand Horn it is. Me an' Geal and Gen and anyone else who's a wolf.»
It was like a lightbulb had flicked on in Cloud's head. «Can I help?»
«If Mom says you can.»
«Boo, you're no fun. Even puppies grow up, Seph.»
«What if I want you to be a puppy a little while longer, huh? Don't be so quick to grow up, Cloud. It's not all that fun.» Sephiroth sighed as the stop was called in at least three languages. «This one's ours.»
They snuck around adults and dove into the crowd at Wall Market, Sephiroth pulling up his and Cloud's hoods and smearing mud on them both.
Sephiroth hesitated at the doors of the church, finally whistling out an old lullaby Ms. Ifalna used to hum. The harmony sounded back, Sephiroth relaxing as he tugged Cloud into the church's sanctuary.
Aerith shrieked and nearly knocked him over with her hug. "Seph, you're here! Hi Cloud!"
Cloud did topple over when she hugged him too, laughing as he hugged her back. "Hi Aerith, I missed you too!"
"Mama wants to see you by the tulips, Seph. She's gonna teach you how to talk to the flowers~" Aerith chirruped as she picked Cloud up off the ground and tapped him in a familiar game of Tag. "You're it, slowpoke!"
"Hey!" Cloud protested before he took off after her.
Sephiroth's boots made no sound on the boards but Ms. Ifalna-Aunt, she was his Aunt-looked up with a sweet smile.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come down until now, Ms... Aunt Ifalna. Aerith said something about talking to the flowers?" he asked as he flipped the hood down and sat next to her, their shoulders brushing.
"You're more than welcome to use both, Seph, but yes, being Cetra means that the Planet talks to you and you can talk back." She explained, drawing her fingers through the dirt and—Oh.
"That's not Mako but... it's what I feel when I use my Limit Break. What is it?" He blurted, his fingers brushing the glimmering green threads that then turned to curling around his hands.
"The LifeStream, the source of all things, be they living or dead."
Sephiroth's entire body jerked at that, "Even... Even Him?"
"Oh no, sweetheart, he's recycled into the tulips and dies each time they do." The vicious and unexpected tone had him smiling.
"You trapped him, didn't you?"
"Plant food is so useful." She agreed with a razored smile of her own before she nudged Sephiroth gently. "It takes years of training and willpower to do that though, little Chikabo. Needless to say, the LifeStream runs through every living thing and is, normally, returned upon death. No one soul is the same part of the Stream at any time. The exception might be your Chichiue but we're not discussing that just yet."
"So when I use my Limit...?"
"You're Curing using the LifeStream to purge them of any and all hurts, regardless of the injury you're targeting."
"That would explain why Henderson's knee doesn't hurt anymore." Sephiroth muttered, flexing his fingers around the playful 'Stream. "Why can't I heal myself? Am I... Am I tainted somehow? Broken?"
Aunt Ifalna sighed, taking his hands in hers, "No, Seph, you're not tainted or broken. May I?"
"Go ahead."
She took his hands in hers and closed her eyes, Sephiroth following her cues.
He waited for what seemed like an eternity and then Ifalna's grip tightened. "Ah-AH, Aunt Ifalna...!" Pain seared into the back of his neck, a shuddering breath his only defense as the grip became like fire, agony sharp as it spiraled down his right hand.
Just as suddenly, she released him, her chest heaving as she clutched something bloody in her palm. Magic flooded him, sending him flat on his back as it strafed through his body and settled in his sternum.
"What-What is that?" He gasped out as he sat up, elbows scraping the ground in his struggle upwards.
"Hojo... He liked to pinch the MP nerve on Aerith and myself to see how long it would take us to heal from the damage he delivered. It never worked because he only disabled one of us at a time and we could... we could heal each other." She admitted as she hugged him close.
"I was alone and didn't know to reach out." Sephiroth said somberly, gingerly rubbing at the back of his neck with his left hand.
"The damage done after the pinching will stay with you for life but now you have a fighting chance-"
Sephiroth sank his hands into the dirt, instinct telling him that much magic in his thinned MP state would hurt him. He shoved it into the ground, the air around him thick with the scent of lilies before Aunt Ifalna caught into what he was trying to do.
"The bare patch over there, I wanted saffron crocus from the East. Just pour your magic, Seph, I'll do the rest."
He nodded, pulled his hands out of the dirt and then dug them into the bare patch. Deep purple flowers bloomed at his touch, the red of the stamens familiar to his eyes. "Mom'll want some, I think?"
"That she will; they are the flowers needed for the spice. Well spotted, nephew."
They filled that corner of the church with the crocus and then Seph sat back, his hands still dirty as he felt his magic subside. "Thank you."
"It will take a while to fix your MP nerve and most of the energy will go there for now after the initial purge. Be careful when you do magic now; Cetra draw on everything that has energy, even people." Aunt Ifalna warned as she stroked a stray strand back into his dusty bangs.
"Tell me as much as you can, please?"
"Of course."
His mind was spinning even as he taught Aerith and his Aunt the basics of stick fighting. It was mostly from the books he'd managed to coax off of his dubious Combatives Instructors. It helped that Johnson knew what Sephiroth was doing wrong and Captain Battle was willing to correct him.
Sephiroth even had Cloud drilling on the knife techniques, both of them working in near tandem when Sephiroth felt a presence at the doors.
He spun on the ball of his foot and threw the dagger, manifesting an unsheathed Masamune from sheer habit.
Chichiue only smiled, the dagger's blade caught in his gauntlet fingers with the faintest shriek of metal-on-metal. He threw it back with equal strength, Sephiroth catching it by the handle and sheathing it as he threw himself at his Chichiue.
They met in the middle, Chichiue lifting off of his feet with a familiar laugh. "You're getting better, my son."
"I am?" He was set down and released, though Chichue stayed close to him.
"Mm-hmm."
"He's been learning quite a bit, so I'm not surprised." Aunt Ifalna offered as she leaned on her staff, Aerith copying her move and looking so much like her that he chuckled.
"Can I write it out in Nibel shorthand? It's a lot." He asked, flicking Masamune away now that they were in no danger.
"Of course. So long as no one else can decipher it, you should be fine writing it down, Seph." She reassured and he softened, his shoulders dropping as he relaxed. "He also had a remnant of Hojo's work, so watch for magical surges."
Chichiue's crimson eys burned like hellfire, the skin of his left eye twitching as he ground out, "An MP lock? That's... They don't even use that on prisoners of war. How much power does a Regen need in your hands to bring him back, even if just for a-"
"There are still pews that need to be broken into firewood," Aunt Ifalna suggested politely. Chichiue roared as his gauntlet ripped through three pews at once, eyes sickly green instead of their usual crimson. "It's not healthy to keep your anger in but never take it out on a person, children, not if you can help it in any way."
"Can we do it in self-defense?" Sephiroth asked dryly.
"One of the few exceptions." Chichiue replied as he flexed his gauntlet and smashed another pew. "Church pews work remarkably well, for one, and so do monsters-I'll be back in a moment, my sons. Stay put please."
"'Sons?' Am I...?" Cloud looked both surprised and pleased in the same expression, reaching for Aerith's hand as she reached for his.
True to his word, Chichiue was back in a moment, shaking unnamable gunk from his claws with a serene look on his face. "Yes, I consider you my son as well, Cloud. I do apologize if you ever got the impression that you were not as equally as precious to me as Sephiroth."
"It's just... I saw Mama with a pen and one of my letters... Papa's not here, is he?" Cloud turned to Aunt Ifalna and she shook her head. "I thought so. She looks sad when she does it. Can we tell her she can stop?"
"... Of course, Cloud."
"Besides, I think Papa's happy that I've got you as a Chichiue." Cloud reasoned.
Sephiroth snorted as he gave Cloud a noogie, sticking his tongue out when Cloud blew a raspberry into his arm skin.
"Yeah, I think he wouldn't mind you watching out for Cloud." he said as he spotted a smiling blond at the edge of his vision. "Not one bit."