The Perfect SOLDIER
A FFVII Sephiroth x Cloud story
by Lara Yokoshima

VIII. Jade eyes

That night I couldn’t sleep. Insomnia perhaps? No, it was more than that… I had to speak with Sephiroth now, or I will never understand the events of that night. I rose from my bed putting on my pants, leaving the room silently so I wouldn’t wake up the other soldier, walking towards the dark corridor of the hotel. We all had to sleep in double rooms, except Sephiroth, which was sleeping in a single one. I walked through the corridor slowly and stopped in front of the room with a number one over the door. I first moved my ear closer to the door before knocking, trying to listen. Why did I do that? I don’t even know myself, but what I was sure of was that I heard a voice… no, two voices.

I knocked the door with haste, almost desperate, and I wanted to scream his name but I resisted because of the fear of being heard by the others. I closed my ear again, and I couldn’t hear anything but silence. After a few seconds, the locks of the door began to open, and Sephiroth opened the door just a little bit, letting me see only his glowing jade eye.

“You? What do you want?” Sephiroth asked certainly nervous.

“I’ve came to clarify many things, Sephiroth” I replied with decision in my voice. I tried to peek through the half opened door, but Sephiroth’s body obstructed my vision.

“Who is being annoying at this hour?

The voice came from inside, and it was clearly from another man. I pushed the door, making Sephiroth go back, and observing he only had his pants on. I entered the room and to my surprise, I saw Zack half naked, sitting over the edge of the bed. My eyes showed my notorious irritation, and without resisting anymore, I ran outside the room really furious. Sephiroth told me to wait, but I didn’t want to listen to him anymore and stormed outside the hotel, disappearing into the night.

I ran to the center of Nibelheim, where the old well still stood on the ground after many years since it was erected. I remember I came here almost every night, especially when I felt depressed in some way. I climbed the well carefully, reaching the highest point of it and just sat down to admire the star filled sky that looked absolutely gorgeous that night. I let out a deep sigh, trying to relax; I didn’t want any to confront more of my memories and I tried to dissipate them looking at the stars.

“Cloud” Sephiroth said my name from below to make me know he had followed me all the way.

“Go away” I replied, with my arms and head resting over my knees.

“Cloud, you don’t understand…”

“Enough!” I raised my voice, almost at the edge of letting go some tears. I sunk my face even more in my arms and knees, containing my weeping.

There were a few seconds of silence, enough to think that Sephiroth had already left. I lifted my face, confirming my prediction, since Sephiroth was no longer there. But suddenly I heard steps beside me, I raised my sight and observed that Sephiroth had already climbed the well with such velocity and silence that I couldn’t be able to notice. I sighed puzzled while the silver haired man sat beside me, letting his long and strong legs hang from the edge of the small surface that barely let us sit securely. I didn’t want to pay him attention, trying to direct my eyes to the emptiness of the sky.

“Cloud…” Sephiroth murmured, closing his face to mine.

“Hmm…” I answered with a guttural sound and with a frown in my forehead.

Sephiroth tried to caress my hair, but I refused by moving my head with brusqueness, impeding him to touch me. He sighed, and returned to his initial position, beginning to stare at the dark sky.

“I did it because…” Sephiroth paused for a moment, trying to find the right words.

“Was it because I looked attractive to you for one night, Sephiroth?” I interrupted abruptly without thinking. “Just like Zack was for you tonight?”

Sephiroth stared at me for a long time with his eyes wide open before my deduction. But he just smiled at me, so tenderly like that night when he said to me I was just like a kid even though I was 16. Perhaps I was just a kid, letting my immature feelings control my reasoning, but I had all the right to know what Sephiroth truly felt for me.

“Why…?” I began to cry softly, not being able to control my desperation tears anymore. Sephiroth got closer to me once again, embracing me softly, trying to protect me of the cool air that was beginning to blow in the atmosphere. This time I let him do it; I needed to be comforted so much by someone, even if I despised that someone now.

“Because…” he whispered in my ear, “… I feel you are special. I didn’t want to drag you to my messy life”. I raised my eyes, fixing them in those incredible green eyes that glowed with the power of the Mako injected in his body. Sephiroth kept smiling, and rubbed my cheek with his warm hand.

“You have a great future in your reach, Cloud” he continued in a low tone of voice, as if he didn’t want the stars to listen to us. “That’s why I can’t love you, nor let you love me. I will be only an obstacle for you and your goals. In some way…” Sephiroth laughed for a brief moment, “it will not be a good thing if you stay with me”.

“Sephiroth, I…” I tried to tell him that now I realized how much I loved him, and that I didn’t enter the academy just to be a legend like him or show the world how powerful I could be. I did it because I had this great desire of knowing him and if allowed, stay by his side, loving him with madness. But Sephiroth stopped me before I could say anything else, placing his lips over mine so softly and with slowness, while I just held my breath to feel the skin contact and shyly I crossed my arms behind his neck.

We remained like that for a moment that seemed so short, but Sephiroth later separated from me, caressing the back of my neck with his slender fingers. He lowered his sight with those green eyes, those eyes that never stopped impressing me because of their intense shimmer and endless life. I felt truly relieved, but I still had many questions to ask.

“Sephiroth… you and Zack…” I whispered with a certain fear the name of my other partner. He laughed again, now separating his entire body from our embrace.

“Fool. You really thought that he and I were…”

I stared at him letting him know that this wasn’t fun at all to me. Sephiroth contained his laugh and cleared his throat. He then denied with his head still smiling, like if he was mocking himself of my innocence.

“No. We just were building the plan for tomorrow morning, and since Zack has a superior rank from all of you, I decided to plan it all with him”. You don’t know how tranquilized I felt listening to that confession, now knowing Sephiroth wasn’t such a traitor as I thought. I smiled widely, and the man in front of me patted my head as if I were some kind of pet. I felt truly ashamed, but really happy of hearing that.

Sephiroth stood up, and offered me his hand so I could stand up too. I took it, and then he pulled me with strength, lifting me in one swift move, making so easily like if I was as light as a feather. “It’s late. It will be better if we all go to sleep”.

I nodded, and we went down to the ground walking to the hotel. We took the stairs up and each one of us entered our respective rooms. We both wished our good nights, and I closed my door slowly, to then rest over my bed. It looked like the other soldier wouldn’t notice a thing about the whole scandal that I provoked a few minutes ago, and I thankfully thought he wouldn’t. I covered my body with the sheet, closed my eyes and I got ready to sleep, not without first taking the golden chain from the drawer of the night stand, the one that Sephiroth gave me on my graduation day. Tomorrow was going to be certainly a busy day, the day of my first real mission.