Warnings: Foul language (maybe), violence, some yaoi later on (which is why

I'm being bad and sending this to the YSML) FF7 belongs to squaresoft and
not me, I'm not worth suing.


--
Katsu "O-ka-ne" no Miko
"Erst wenn die Wolken schlafen gehen
kann man uns am Himmel sehen
wir haben Angst und sind allein...
Gott weiss ich wil kein Engel sein..." (~Ramms+ein~)


Multiverse Part V


It was with a great deal of annoyance that Sephiroth went to his temporary
office to take whatever urgent message he had been sent. As he opened the
door, his irritation only deepened. Two people had made themselves
comfortable in front of his desk. One, a young woman with bright blonde
hair, was seated in her chair rather primly, feet together, hands folded in
her lap. The other, a young, rather pallid man with shockingly red hair
held up in vertical spikes by a dark brown headband, had his feet up on the
General�s desk. Both wore blue suits; the woman�s was neat, each crease
perfect, making her the obvious choice as most responsible of the two,
while the young man wore his very sloppily, his shirt half unbuttoned with
the tails untucked, his jacket hanging unevenly, making him look even more
ridiculous.

All it took was one look into the young man�s eyes to destroy the fragile
influence of appearance. The young man�s bright blue eyes were filled with
extreme, calculating intelligence that Sephiroth recognized as akin to his
own. The appearance was just that; an appearance, one that probably took
careful work each morning to achieve, designed to make the young man look
non-threatening, and rather unintelligent. The General was not fooled in
the slightest. The young woman was notably a force to be reckoned with, but
the man would make the most powerful enemy or friend.

�I�m assuming that the both of you are the important message.� Sephiroth
said quietly, walking over to his desk and sitting down. The chair settled
under his weight, comforting muscles that he hadn�t even known were aching
until now.

�Yes.� said the blonde.

�Got it in one. Knew you were sharp.� The red head grinned. The blonde
glared at him.

�It�s not often that I come into contact with the Turks.� Sephiroth nodded
politely. �What brings you here, so far away from the President�s side?�

�Reeve�s the one that sent us. He thought we could be useful to you.� the
blonde replied. The red head just sat and grinned.

�Really. I suppose you might, considering how depleted my forces are
becoming.� he nodded slightly to himself. �What are your names?�

�Elena.� said the woman.

The young man smiled, flipping a lazy salute with one hand. �What do you
want it to be? Just kidding. Reno.�

�Very well. And how exactly does the president believe you will be of
assistance to me?�

�Intelligence gathering, mostly. Tseng decided that we would be the best to
help you while he and Rude continue to protect the president.� Elena said.

There didn�t seem to be a need to reply. Instead, Sephiroth leaned back
slightly in the chair, his various joints making soft popping noises.
Resolutely, he ignored them, but it was becoming hard to concentrate with
his body complaining as loudly as it was. A miss-step seemed very
inadvisable, especially in front of Reno. The young man was watching him
with discomfiting intensity�much the same way that Sephiroth tended to
watch others.

For a long moment, bright blue eyes and icy green eyes locked. They
recognized and acknowledged minds of the same caliber, equal to equal.

Reno smiled suddenly, a genuine smile that hid nothing. He leaned forward,
never once taking his eyes from the General�s. �To begin with, General,
we�re beginning to trace down Scarlet. She is most definitely still
alive�and she seems to have become someone very highly placed in the Wutai
military structure.�

�How nice. She�s done quite well for herself.�

�Yes.� Elena glanced at Reno, one eyebrow raised slightly. �We had been,�
she said sharply, �planning to investigate more before reporting, but it
obviously doesn�t matter, now.�

Reno grinned at Elena, completely non-intimidated. Sephiroth merely sat
back a little, enjoying the show. It seems that Elena somehow thinks she
can order Reno around when they disagree. If I remember correctly, Reno is
senior by ten years in the Turks�this should prove entertaining.

�Why bother investigating further. Sephiroth here is on our side�it�s not
like he�s on a need to know basis or anything.� Reno smiled maddeningly at
Elena. �We�re actually obligated to tell him everything as soon as it falls
across our hands.�

�It�s not�efficient.� Elena glared. �We might pass off bad information.�

Sephiroth cleared his throat softly, raising one eyebrow. �Is it normal for
you to argue in front of your commander?�

Elena, much to her credit, didn�t blush, though her lips suddenly
compressed, and the glare she directed at Reno was approaching the heat of
spontaneous combustion. �No.� she said, very firmly.

At the same time, Reno grinned. �Yes.�

Elena glared at Reno. Reno grinned at Elena.

As it seemed a wise idea to intervene before Elena attempted to commit
murder in front of him, Sephiroth cleared his throat loudly. �Please, save
the bickering for your time off.�

�Yes, sir.� Elena continued to glare at Reno.

If possible, this is making me MORE tired than I was before. I think for
once I should follow the doctor�s advice and get some rest� Sephiroth
rubbed his forehead with one hand.  �Is there anything else that either of
you need to bring to my attention? I have been ordered to rest by the
doctors.� He raised an eyebrow pointedly. �And as amusing as this is to
listen to, it�s hardly restful.�

�No, sir.� Elena stood.

Reno, for once, followed her lead, and stood as well. �That should be all
for now, sir. None of the other stuff we have is terribly urgent, so we�ll
just leave you to sleep beautifully, and continue this tomorrow.�

�Very well.� hoping that they would take the hint, he simply sat in his
chair and watched them.

Fortunately, at least Reno did. �I think that�s our cue.� He grabbed
Elena�s arm and pulled her out of the room, shutting the door quietly
behind him.

�You had better be serious about the getting rest part.�

Sephiroth looked up tiredly, managing a small smile. Cloud had appeared in
a doorway in the wall, one which seemed to attach the General�s rooms to
his two Majors�. He was looking a great deal better than he had been only a
few hours before�he was finally clean, his blonde hair hanging down limply,
seemingly still damp from washing. He was wearing green sweatpants and a
black t-shirt, as well as no shoes at all, which gave Sephiroth pause.

�All my uniforms are dirty, and Zack was threatening to throw me out of the
room if I dared to put one on without getting it washed first.� He crossed
his muscular arms, both of which were striped with bandages, and old scars.
�Besides�as far as I know, you were actually going to let us rest for a
bit�so I don�t need to be in uniform. It feels good to wear something else,
considering I�ve been sleeping in the damn things for nearly a month.� One
corner of his mouth pulled up in a sardonic smile. �I�d tell you to try it
yourself, but I don�t think you have any clothes other than your uniforms.�

Sephiroth smiled slightly, shaking his head. �I didn�t say anything.�

�You didn�t need to, Seph. Really, you need to relax more. Try getting away
from the uniform for a while. You might find out that there�s someone other
than Seph the General in there, and who knows, he might be a good drinking
buddy.�

�You�re starting to sound like Zack.� Sephiroth remarked dryly. �I�m
beginning to think that the two of you are actually the same person.�

�Hardly, though there are worse things, I think.�

�Speaking of the devil, where is he? This is the third time in as many days
that I�ve seen one of you without the other, and I will admit, it�s making
me nervous.�

Cloud made a face. �I�m surprised you can�t hear him from here. Him snoring
is what drove me out of the room in the first place�it was either leave or
end up smothering him with a pillow, which might seem like a good idea
right now�but I might need him for something, later.�

The statement had its desired effect, drawing a tired laugh from Sephiroth.

�How�s the girl?�

�She�ll recover. I visited her for a few moments before I was forced to
come here to deal with the Turks.� He smiled through his fatigue,
remembering their conversation. �She�s a remarkable young lady.�

Cloud grinned slowly. �What, didn�t ooh and ah over you like every other
girl in Midgar?�

�Definitely not. She didn�t even know who I am.�

�I don�t know if that�s so much remarkable as a sign that she�s been living
in a cave for several years.� Cloud remarked. �But that�s a good thing,
really. The thought that your fame hasn�t spread everywhere ought to prick
that swollen ego of yours.�

�You think you�re funny, don�t you.�

�I try.� He yawned. �How do you think she�s going to react when you tell
her?�

�No idea.� Despite himself, Sephiroth yawned as well, set off by Cloud.

�This ought to be good.� With a small smirk, Cloud yawned again. �I think
it�s time for little boys to go to bed. Hopefully Zack�s rolled over by
now, so I won�t have to kill him and bury his body in someone�s backyard.�

�You did that one on purpose.� Sephiroth accused, once he�d finished
yawning. With each successive yawn, he felt more tired.

�You got it. And guess what, here comes another one��

The last yawn was the straw that broke the camel�s back. Sephiroth could
barely keep his eyes open, and he swayed when he stood up. �I think�I had
better get to bed before I fall asleep at this desk.�

�Good idea. Goodnight, Seph.� Cloud smiled. �Sweet dreams and all that
jazz.�

***

For once, nothing disturbed Sephiroth�s slumber, no urgent messages, no
sounds of battle�his sleep wasn�t even interrupted by the shrill beep of
his alarm. Instead, the General was able to relax and enjoy the luxury that
most other people seemed to take for granted; waking up slowly and
comfortably by degrees, then laying in bed for a few extra, warm moments.

It was a somewhat dismaying sight, however, when he opened his eyes to see
light streaming through the windows of his room. It should have woken him
long before now�and even worse, it told him that he had overslept, by a
great deal.

It didn�t seem to be a good time to oversleep. Now that they had been
driven from Midgar, they had only a short respite before the Wutai army
would follow them to Junon and destroy their last stronghold on the
continent. It was almost certainly a given; the Shinra army on the east
continent had been almost completely destroyed by the overwhelming numbers
of the Wutai army, though each soldier�s death had been paid for dearly in
Wutai blood. The main force of the Shinra army was still on the western
continent, where it had been since the first war with Wutai; Shinra had
never gotten around to moving all of the soldiers back onto the Eastern
continent, and there was no time for it now.

With a soft grunt, Sephiroth regretfully peeled himself from his bed and
headed to the shower to attempt to scrape away the grime and sweat that had
accumulated on his body in the last twenty four hours. His arm throbbed
dully; he felt three times his normal age. He�d pushed himself too far the
day before, so as compensation, he took a little longer in the shower than
he normally would have. On top of oversleeping, it seemed to be a bit much,
but for some reason, Sephiroth couldn�t bring himself to really care.

By the time he was dry, dressed, and feeling slightly human, Cloud and Zack
had appeared in his room, and were waiting for him.

�Ah�Cloud and Zack, both at the same time. I was beginning to get worried,
but now everything is as it should be.� Sephiroth remarked dryly.

As if on cue, both men grinned. �We�re playing errand boys for just about
everyone in the known universe. You have suddenly become very popular,
Seph.� Zack said teasingly. Cloud merely continued to grin; when he was
around Zack, he tended to let his counterpart do the talking, only
interjecting the occasional brief word, facial expression, or nonchalant
shrug when he felt that there was something he needed to add. �We have a
collection of notes, meeting requests, suggestions, and memos that are
reaching Mount Nibel proportions.�

�I can only imagine. How many of the messages you�ve been flagged down with
are actually important?�

�Not a lot of them. After the first ten, we decided to just collect all the
ones we could find, to prevent people from trying to track you down and
give their message to you personally.� Zack�s smile became sly. �I mean,
come on�they would have woke you up, and we all know how cranky you are in
the morning.�

Sephiroth paused for a moment, considering. �I know I tend to be terse,
but��

�He�s just joking, Seph.� Cloud interjected. �I can�t think of a time when
you�ve been less than polite to anyone��

��except Hojo�� Zack added.

��but he hardly counts.� Finished Cloud.

A soft chuckle escaped Sephiroth�s lips. He always found it amusing when
Zack and Cloud interrupted each other. Slowly, the smile on his lips melted
away, though. �I noticed that I seem to have overslept by quite a bit.� He
glanced at the clock someone had thoughtfully hung on the wall. �By a
little more than four hours. Who�s idea was that?�

�The doctor�s.� Zack answered quickly.

�And I�m sure that you had absolutely nothing to do with it.�

�Hey, now, would I do something like that?� Zack managed to look
righteously annoyed and guilty at the same time. Hastily, he continued,
ignoring Sephiroth�s murmured �yes.� �The doctor that patched you up last
night has been lurking outside your door all morning. He threatened us with
serious bodily injury and extra medical examinations if we woke you up
before you were ready to wake up.�

�Really.�

�Come on, Seph, lighten up. We have a little breathing room before Wutai
comes knocking at the gates of Junon, after all.�

�Not as much as I would like.� Sephiroth shook his head, then let out a
soft sigh. �Leave the important messages with me, then I want you to go and
collect everyone necessary for a staff meeting.�

Knowing better than to argue or delay, Cloud set three envelopes down on
the room�s one table and headed toward the door with Zack.

�Oh, and make sure to include the two Turks in the meeting.� Sephiroth�s
lips twitched slightly. �But see about seating them at opposite ends of the
table.�

�Sure thing.� Zack nodded, not even twitching an eyelid at the mention of
the Turks. Word of them must have gotten out more quickly than Sephiroth
had expected, or perhaps Zack was merely playing it cool until he could
track someone down that he could extract the information from.

�And send that doctor in if he�s still lurking outside my door. I suspect I
know what he wants.�

�Sure thing.� Zack and Cloud vanished through the door�before it had shut
all the way, the nervous looking doctor from the night before slipped in,
black bag in hand.