Chapter Text
If there was something Cloud Strife should’ve learned by now, it was that remembering Sephiroth would always bring him back.
Not that Sephiroth minded, of course. It saved him the trouble of clawing his way out of the lifestream.
It was always such a pain. Since his original body was long gone, he needed… special ingredients to make give himself a physical form. And that wasn’t permanent either—every time he and Cloud fought, he was quickly sent back to the lifestream. He couldn’t take a lot of hits without his body disintegrating.
But this time, right now, felt different.
Sephiroth was very keenly aware of his body—or the lack of it—so he took note of all changes every time he came back. Mostly, he could feel he wasn’t fully corporeal: the lack of heartbeat and breathing, the absence of all human needs.
Now, though? He was thirsty and he had never felt so hungry in his life.
And he had a heartbeat. Which was new.
During the past few years, Sephiroth had forgotten a lot of his life as a human. He still clung to Mother, determined to make this planet better for her, but even that felt… weird, somehow. He couldn’t explain it.
At least his powers were still there. He could summon his wing like always, and Masamune’s weight felt comfortable in his hand. Mother was still inside him. That was a relief.
Even so, Sephiroth found himself to be at a loss at the moment. The previous times he’d returned, he’d gone straight to Cloud, determined to finally send the blonde into the lifestream in his stead, but that didn’t feel like the correct course of action either. He had returned because Cloud couldn’t forget him, so in a way, getting rid of him didn’t sound like a good option, because then he wouldn’t be able to return.
What could he do, actually? There wasn’t much left of Mother on the planet, if anything. His remnant had used the last of her during his Reunion, and then that Ancient had cured Geostigma and driven the last of Mother’s influence away.
Surely there was something? Sephiroth would have to find out.
He always manifested around mako springs, and this wasn’t an exception. As he emerged from the grove, he found himself on the arid expanse of cliffs—so this was the Cosmo region. Cosmo Canyon could give him answers.
Yet, one of Cloud’s friends lived there, so it wouldn’t do him good to be recognized. He had no idea how strong the sense of smell was with that creature, but still. He used his power to mask his appearance—nothing much, just give him shorter hair, different features and most importantly, different clothes.
He would, later, have to update his wardrobe as well, because apparently his leather jacket wasn’t dirt repellent anymore. Which was unfortunate.
Who knew he would find being a mortal such an inconvenience?
In order to blend in, he didn’t fly to the settlement, and instead, walked there like everyone else. The weather was hot and windy, usual for the region, and Sephiroth found himself sweating.
The people manning the gates to the Cosmo Canyon didn’t seem alarmed by him as Sephiroth breezed past and then looked around himself.
The streets were narrow and filled with all kinds of stalls. There was so many people. Sephiroth didn’t like it. The place brimmed with life, and it made him feel things he had no name of—other than that it felt uncomfortable.
He was never uncomfortable. What the hell had Cloud done to will him into existence this time, to make it this different?
“Are you lost?”
Sephiroth turned towards the voice, only to see a young woman in her twenties, dressed in the traditional Cosmonian outfit, light brown hair cascading down her shoulders. She was… pretty plain, honestly. Very, very human.
“No,” Sephiroth said shortly, trying to figure out where to go next. There was a library here, wasn’t there?
“No offense, but it seems like you are,” the woman said with a smile. “What are you searching for in Cosmo Canyon, sir?”
“I—” Sephiroth started, but then he realized that he actually didn’t know. What was he searching for, exactly? Was he hoping to find information about Jenova? Now that he thought about it, it didn’t seem like there would be tomes about her, considering she had been Shinra’s dirty little secret for years.
The woman looked at him pleasantly. “You seem a little frayed around the edges,” the woman said. “Why don’t you come with me to have something to eat, a chance to wash up and change into proper clothes?”
“What’s wrong with my damn clothes?” Sephiroth asked before he thought the better of it.
The woman laughed. “They’re very worn and outdated. Also filled with holes. We can find something for you.”
Sephiroth could’ve just created an illusion of money, but he didn’t bother go through the trouble, so he said, “I don’t have any money.” Hopefully it would send the woman off.
But, as it turned out, he was wrong.
“Don’t be silly,” the woman said easily. “We don’t turn away people in need.”
Sephiroth was many things, but a person of need? Absolutely not.
He still followed the woman, because he was already drawing attention.
“My name is Rachel,” the woman said over her shoulder as she led Sephiroth through the narrow streets toward the building carved into the mountain.
“Angeal,” Sephiroth replied automatically, then wondered where that name had come from. It sounded… vaguely familiar, somehow, but he couldn’t grasp it.
“Welcome to Cosmo Canyon, Angeal,” Rachel said and led him all the way to the building—an inn, by the look of it—and stopped at the reception. “I need a room for a traveler. I’ll cover everything.”
“Another stray, Rachel?” the receptionist said, eyes shifting from her to Sephiroth. “You don’t need to save everyone—”
“I want to help him,” Rachel interrupted him. “So please?”
The receptionist shrugged. “Fine. It’s your money.”
After getting a key, Rachel led Sephiroth to another cavern with doors on either side.
“This is your room,” Rachel said and unlocked the door at the other end of the corridor. “There’s a towel and some shampoo in the bathroom, so you’ll be able to take a shower while I go search some clothes for you.” She looked Sephiroth up and down a few times, then nodded. “I’ll be back soon.”
She left before Sephiroth managed to say anything, and for a moment, he just stood there and stared after her.
Humanity was weird. He found himself almost missing Cloud’s familiar disgust and hatred, because this was somehow worse.
Still, Sephiroth moved inside the room and closed the door behind him. While alone, he could let go of the illusion, but when he looked down on himself, he quickly realized why Rachel had been so adamant on helping him.
Even his leather jacket had seen its better days. It was frayed and so worn it had lost its shine, and it had several holes. Just how quickly had it deteriorated after he’d manifested from the spring? Had this something to do with with his new… humanity?
The room was barren and didn’t have much—a relatively comfortable looking bed and a dresser, and he was very surprised to see a window on the far wall. It was pretty big too, giving a rather beautiful view of Cosmo region.
Sephiroth opened the door to his right, and found the bathroom. It looked, well, more modern and had running water. When he saw his reflection from the mirror, he understood, again, why Rachel had plucked him from the street.
He’d spent several years inside the damn crystal, projecting his will to his clones, and after waking up, he’d quickly become something beyond human, so he hadn’t needed to care about this appearance.
But now… Had he always looked like this? His skin was sickly pale, eyes glowing green with slitted pupils, but there were considerable shadows under them and he looked… well, from someone who had been sleeping for the past seven years.
Even his long, silver hair looked dreadful. It had lost its shine and it was actually matted in places, which was a shock to him. He hadn’t needed to worry about these things for so long. But how in the world could his hair be like this immediately after he got out of the lifestream?
He couldn’t just stand there and wait until Rachel returned, so he reluctantly removed his clothes. Before he left them in the main room, though, he changed their appearance back to what he’d worn before.
The shower was one of the best things ever. It felt incredible to get all the grime and dust off his body, but he realized that no matter what he did, he couldn’t get his hair straightened out. Maybe Rachel would have some ideas.
Once Sephiroth was done with the shower, he dried himself to the towel and draped it over his waist. It felt peculiar to him, to go through the human motions he hadn’t needed in years, but evidently, he hadn’t forgotten anything.
The second he stepped out of the bathroom, though, he got so dizzy he couldn’t separate which was up and down, and then promptly crashed on the floor.
“You really should look after yourself.”
Sephiroth groaned and opened his eyes.
He wasn’t lying on the floor anymore. Instead, he was leaning against the bed, towel still around his waist to preserve his dignity. Rachel had sat down beside him, cross-legged, and was holding a glass of water.
Sephiroth took it and drank. He had never tasted anything so delicious. He returned the glass, only for Rachel to refill it, and then give it back.
He drank two more glasses until he felt better, and then he could smell the food.
Rachel had brought with her a steaming bowl of something creamy, with bread and salad on the side, and the combined scents almost made him salivate.
“Eat slowly,” Rachel said as she lifted the bowl and handed it over. “From what I can tell, you haven’t eaten properly in a long while, so you might get sick.”
Sephiroth quickly understood what she meant. He couldn’t even imagine eating fast, because even the first spoonful made his stomach cramp. It had been several years since he’d last eaten, after all.
He didn’t remember anything about food, but he found he didn’t really care for the stew, despite how good it smelled like. Still, he was too hungry to care.
“I also brought you clothes,” Rachel said. “I left them on your bed. When you’ve eaten, I suggest you get dressed and rest a little.”
“I don’t need to rest,” Sephiroth retorted, only to be surprised by a jaw-cracking yawn.
“Sure you don’t,” Rachel said, laughing. “I’ll come check on you in two hours. We’ll see what we can do with that hair. I believe we’ll need to cut the matted parts out.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Sleep well, Sephiroth,” Rachel said and left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
Sephiroth continued eating, but realized several minutes later that Rachel had used his real name instead of the fake one.
How had she—?
Sephiroth shook his head. He was, admittedly, too tired to think about this more right now.
He finished eating the stew, then the salad and the bread, drink two more glasses of water and then finally pulled himself to his feet.
The clothes Rachel had prepared for him were decent, at least. Black pants and a black dress shirt, and they fit him perfectly. There was even a pair of socks (also black), a pack of boxer briefs, and boots (also black).
Sephiroth left the boots by the bed as he got dressed, and then settled down and closed his eyes.
What a weird day. He certainly hadn’t expected to manifest on Gaia with a living body with living needs.
Had he come back thanks to Cloud again, or was this something else entirely? When Cloud willed him to life, he never came back with a physical body. So that led him to believe this was, this time, something else.
Was it you, Mother?
Of course, he got no reply.
Eventually, exhaustion took over and he fell asleep.
He saw no dreams.
Sephiroth woke up later, only for the room to be filled with the light of the setting sun.
He could also feel something extremely sharp against his neck and saw a figure standing beside his bed.
“Missed me so much, Cloud?” he purred as he moved his eyes to see the familiar pair of blue ones, set in that very, very familiar rage.
Cloud Strife snarled like a wounded animal. “What the fuck do I need to do to kill you for good?”