Chapter Seven


When Kit awoke the next morning, she recalled how she'd wondered if he ever slept, and smiled. They'd fallen asleep in each other's arms, and even now the legendary Sephiroth was sleeping, his head resting on her chest. She could have laughed if it were not exactly what she'd wanted - the most dangerous man on the planet sleeping like a baby at her side, dreaming with a satisfied smile on his lips. The only way it could have been more absurd is if he had snored.
A gust of wind blew a lock of his hair into her face, tickling her nose. Though she tried hard not to wake him, she couldn't completely stifle a giggle. At the sudden movement beneath him, Sephiroth's eyes flew open to see what was happening. Recognizing his surroundings, his smile grew larger and he closed his eyes again, squeezing her tighter with a sigh.
"Good morning," she said, smoothing his hair back. "So you do sleep after all."
"I don't think I need to," he pondered out loud. "I can't remember the last time I slept. But it was nice for a change, this last night." Sitting up, he shook his head in wonder. "This last night, everything was... very nice."
Kit sat up as well, hoping she wasn't blushing. She still couldn't believe what she had said to him. Not that she regretted it in the least, but she'd never before been aggressive when it came to men. She hadn't even really been interested before.
"Today will be a good day, I can feel it," Sephiroth was saying as he put on his long black coat. "Can you feel it as well? Everything around us is so vibrant..."
Kit looked around. Indeed, the sky was clear and blue, and birds were singing. Colors seemed almost painfully bright in the sunlight, and even she herself felt a quiver of energy within. "I feel something," she replied, splashing her face with water from the river. "It's as if flowers are about to bloom everywhere. But maybe that's only natural."
"I wouldn't know," Sephiroth said, sitting down beside her. He dipped his fingers into the stream and left them dangling there, feeling the water as it flowed around them. "I think it means the planet is ready for me."
Kit froze in the midst of pulling her shirt on. She'd been hoping that she could make him abandon this plan, but she should have known better. A single night, no matter how memorable, would not wipe away years of scheming. Much less what he believed to be his destiny.
Being near him, at the start of this adventure, had been her only objective. It still was, but once in Junon Harbor she'd seen a gull trying to fly in a tropical storm so strong that it was ripping the roofs off houses. That bird had beat it's wings frantically, trying to control where it was going, but the wind blew it around in circles. Being around Sephiroth was like that - he was so powerful, and so full of purpose, that she felt pulled along in whatever direction he might decide to go, with no control over what she could end up doing. That was not what had happened last night, though. Last night, they had been equals. She had thought maybe that his own tropical storm had blown out, but no, now she could see that was just the eye of the hurricane. If she stayed near him, she would be blown away again, and it was only a matter of time before the wind blew her into the side of a wall, or just ripped the feathers from her wings.
He knelt beside her and pulled her shirt down the rest of the way. "The planet waits for us, Kit," he murmured. "Mother waits as well. We shouldn't keep them waiting."
"Jenova has no interest in me," she replied, "and neither does the planet, as far as I know. They wait for you."
He regarded her curiously. "You are part of me now, Kit. What is the matter?" His eyes narrowed suddenly. "Do you want to leave me? So soon?"
"No!" she cried, then struggled to get her composure back. He didn't look relieved or happy, but when he was in one of these "Mother waits" moods, nothing else got through them. "I just don't know what my purpose is for being here," she explained, "besides to be with you. It... makes me uneasy, not knowing what I'm doing. I've had purpose my entire life. Well, at least the parts I remember," she amended.
A slight smile touched his lips. "You may not be SOLDIER anymore, but you still seem to think you are. Would you like a mission, is that it?"
"Perhaps that would at least make sense," she muttered, staring at the ground.
Sephiroth was silent for a moment, thinking. "I know something you could do for me," he said finally. "It would utilize the skills you learned in SOLDIER, but it would require us to be apart for a short time at least. The warning provided by the Midgar Zolom's corpse didn't frighten them off. The straggling remnants of AVALANCHE are still following us. Apparently they have a girl with them who is also Cetra, or thinks she is."
Kit gasped. "Then that's why they're following you. They want to get the Promised Land for themselves, right?"
"That could be it," he said mildly. "I don't know what they think they could accomplish. I am the heir to the planet. The girl's mother was not strong like Jenova."
"Then why were they going around destroying Midgar? I thought they were just a militant eco-terrorist group, but if they're after the Promised Land..."
"Perhaps they've decided that this planet is too far gone for them to save," Sephiroth said calmly. "Perhaps they never were eco-terrorists in the first place. That's why I want you to go to them. I want to know what their reasons are for attempting to usurp my place."
"But..." Kit was confused. "Are you sending me away?" A moment ago, she'd thought that was what she wanted, but now that he'd suggested it, it seemed a lot harsher.
"No, I want you to help me," he said as if he could not see the pain in her eyes. "This is the best way you can help, and it needs doing anyway. There is no one else I can trust."
"I guess I understand that." She could, really, but it hurt her to acknowledge it. "If that's really what you want." Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of actually being apart from him for even a moment, after waking up in his arms this morning.
"It is what I want, lover."
That was all Kit needed to burst into tears. "Lover...? Then you do love me."
Sephiroth pulled her into an embrace and kissed her cheek gently. "I think so." She leaned back to kiss his neck, and their newfound passion was ignited again. Her hands tangled in his hair, and his breath was coming in short gasps between kisses, but then he abruptly took hold of her shoulders and held her away from him. She stared at him, hurt.
"This is another reason you should go to AVALANCHE," he said, still breathing hard. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I've never seen it work. It frightens me, Kit. Even with what happened between us last night..." He let go of her shoulders and put his head in his hands. "It's a wonderful thing, but frightening. I need time to sort this out on my own. I never thought this could happen. Please don't make this harder on me, Kit."
"I do understand," Kit said reluctantly. "In SOLDIER, there were a few other women, but not many. Some of them had relationships, though I thought it was a waste of time. They'd talk about it amongst themselves, and they always said that if it's really love, you have to allow them to leave... and then he'll come back."
Sephiroth nodded. "I will come back for you, or you can come back to me when you find out what it is I need to know. I will find you either way. But something you have to understand... I will not let anything get in the way of my destiny. I will go through with my plan no matter what it costs me. Mother and I will be together in the Promised Land. Though I'd be happiest with you there beside me."
Kit hadn't expected anything else. "So what exactly should I do?"
"I'm going to Junon, and will cross the ocean from there," Sephiroth said. "AVALANCHE is still a day or two behind us, so they'll be in Junon within a little while. You will recognize them when they arrive, I'm sure, and you can approach them then. They might be suspicious when they see your eyes, but they can hardly dispute the fact that someone can decide to leave SOLDIER, not as long as Cloud is with them. Just tell them that you saw the wrong that Shinra was doing, and they'll likely let you into AVALANCHE instantly. Be social with them, ask questions that will not sound intrusive, but whose answers will tell you what they're up to."
"And when will I see you again?" At the thought that this would be the last time he looked at her for some time, she unconsciously ran her fingers through her hair.
"When it is appropriate," he replied, standing. Then a warm smile lit his face. "I love the little things you do like that, Kit. I notice you always run your fingers through your hair when you're distraught and don't want to show it. I don't know why I notice, but I do. I wish I had better answers to give you, lover. But I'll make it up to you when this is all over, I promise," he added with sudden tenderness. He gave her his hand as she stood, and kissed her quickly before he left in the direction of Junon.
She watched his silver hair blow in the coastal wind until he was a dark speck on the horizon, and then she sat down and cried.
To Chapter Eight.
To the intro.
© 1998-2000 by Andrea Hartmann.
That means it's mine, not yours!