[FF7][SC] Star Flower

It was these words that nailed Claude's heart like a sharp sword, more cruel than ten authentic ones, "Why Angel?"

Then before the boy could answer, Zhengzong suddenly penetrated his chest.Sephiroth stood up and drew out the long knife neatly, blood gushing out hot, crimson, human blood.Claude fell to the ground without struggling, a pool of blood spread, melting the white snow, and then dripping down the steps.

"Why?" Sephiroth threw the blood off Zhengzong, waiting for the final confession from the dying man, "What do you want to use Angel for?"

It doesn't hurt.very warm.With a slight movement of his fingers, it seemed that he had regained consciousness.It was so cold in winter, he thought that there was no trace of warmth on his body, but his blood was actually hot, trying to scald him like fire.

Am I trying hard enough, Alice?Can I take a break?

Will I reach the Land of Binding when I die?Can I see you again?

All that answered him was an eerie silence.

It was just him in the beginning.From birth to death, he was alone, like an undead from the wrong era, wandering on the earth and howling silently.Everything I want to hold on to and protect is gone from my hands, and no matter how hard I try, I can't hold on to anything in the end.

I want to go home.

Tears overflowed.

"Mom, is life always so hard?" ’ The little child’s mouth was full of tears, and blood oozes from his scratched cheeks, ‘If so, why do we have to live? 』

"I'm sorry, yes. The woman squatted down and touched the wound lightly, "Maybe some people can live a good life without any worries, but that's not our life, it's all my mother's fault."Maybe one day you'll grow up to hate your mom, but if it makes you feel better, do it. 』

"Will not. Shaking his head desperately, "Never." 』

"That's it... Mom is very happy... Really..." The beautiful woman broke down in tears, she wiped her tears, "Claude, listen carefully.Although it will be very hard now, as long as we are alive, we will have the opportunity to change, and maybe one day we will be able to achieve happiness. This is why we live.Live hard, please, at least live for my mother...』

But mom.

What if you can't live happily ever after?Some people have the opportunity to change in life, and so do others in death.

Would Zack still be dead if he didn't exist in the first place?Without encumbrances and alone, Zack would never face the Shinra army head-on, and he would never die on the cliffs outside Midgar.Zack will never let Alice die, everything will be different.That was a far greater hero than he was.

As long as I think about it this way, I feel that there is nothing wrong with dying here.The future that I once imagined, joining the army, meeting Zack, buying a flower in the slums, and many more things I want to do, they are no longer important.

But I am so unwilling.

Angel, Angel.The gentle man smiled at him, and crushed a few golden hairs with his generous hands.

I don't want him dead.

The bleeding lips opened and closed like a dehydrated fish.Sephiroth frowned slightly, unable to hear clearly, "What did you say?"

"I want... to live..."

Want to live for someone.

With a long, final sigh, he stopped breathing.

When he woke up again, Claude was in a daze.

Not dead, he knew, because he saw Sephiroth.The situation was very strange. The memory of the last second stayed in the emotion strong enough to tear him apart, and the deep unwillingness was still choked in his heart. The next second he opened his eyes and saw the ceiling of the vault, and the angel on the mural spread its wings.The white-haired man was sitting on a pew in the church, leaning lazily, reading a palm-sized book by the scattered candlelight.

"Awake?" Sephiroth looked away from the book and turned to look at the place where the noise was made. "Check for yourself to see if there is anything that hasn't recovered. I don't want Angel to read it because of this kind of thing."

Claude hesitated for a moment, not understanding what the situation was, but the warrior's instinct prompted him to do what Sephiroth said, and he had no right to refuse.The body was wrapped in oversized clothes, and it was a bit cold, but it was much better than before.It took him a while to find the sleeve and reach out, realizing it was a missionary's tunic.Immediately he checked his chest, and then moved his limbs, there was no problem.

resurrection.

This is not the first time he has been resurrected.

At the same time as a series of actions took place, Sephiroth also looked at him, convinced that everything was back to normal, "The blood has to be washed away... No, it can be explained, it's up to you. But that scar, if you have to go to Mako to erase it... ..." When Angel saw the penetrating knife wound, he really couldn't explain anything.

"I don't understand." Claude interrupted his self-talk, "I don't understand." He repeated, "What are you trying to do?"

"It's time for you to go home." Sephiroth shrugged, a lock of silver hair hanging down his shoulders, "Angel is waiting for you."

Cloud huddled at the other end of the bench, motionless, staring at Sephiroth with his wet blue eyes unblinking, as if he would suddenly turn into a beast with a flood of murderous intent.

He should be.

Some kind of strange contradiction and coordination flooded in the boy's heart.Sephiroth, who was calm and so simple to talk to him, is now in front of him, combining two diametrically opposed qualities of cruelty and gentleness.what did he say? "go home"?Why can he say such words so easily?

"I don't intend to waste time on useless words, let's be honest with each other, don't embarrass Angel, how about it?" Sephiroth closed the book, Shi Shi suddenly got up and approached Claude, the shadow buried the boy completely.He knew that if he didn't open his mouth, maybe this confrontation would last until dawn, but he didn't have the patience, "You behave like a human being, you have no flaws when you are injured, and you can be killed. I don't see anything exposed Possibly. Most importantly, you are really no threat to Angel, so you can go back."

"No, I'm not going back." This was the only immediate reaction Claude could make.He remembered his purpose from the beginning, initially he wanted to follow Rufas away from Angel, away from the predicament that he didn't know what to do.

"You have no choice." After eliminating the biggest threat, Sephiroth's priority is only the wishes of his colleagues, and it doesn't matter what Claude thinks, "If you have other weaknesses, tell them now, I don't want to become Angel's trouble."

"I don't understand." The confusion couldn't be concealed, and there was no need to hide it, "Isn't death enough? What else do you want from me?"

"I don't understand either." Sephiroth clasped his hands, his light blue eyes also flashed puzzled.But unlike Claude, he is not so dazed, nor so sharp, purely just exploring, "Seeking Angel's asylum can make you live, and he is willing to do so, what else are you dissatisfied with? If you understand yourself situation, answer my questions honestly, and then you can do what you want after solving these. Or—" He paused playfully, making sure that the next content is deep enough, "Would you rather I put Tell Angel everything?"

A threat is more useful than any explanation, and he has mastered the skill of dialogue.

Sephiroth looked happily at Claude trembling with anger but speechless, the blood was dry and pitiful on his face, his heart moved, and he bent down to wipe it off.There was a fierce resistance as expected, but the young man's hand fixed the back of the boy's head first, and the other hand pushed aside the cat's scratching paw, and rubbed his thumb against it slightly.

The secret was accidentally exposed like this.

The soft touch of the blond hair still remained at the fingertips, but the young man's attention was completely attracted by the sudden bruise on the boy's face.He originally thought that he didn't control his strength well, which happens to new special forces soldiers occasionally, but he stopped losing control when he was very young.His fingers lingered on his cheeks, causing tremors.It wasn't a bruise, the spots spread at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the black liquid swam on the robe.

rot.collapse.Defective products.

Some words flashed by quickly, but Sephiroth was not too surprised, after all, the most surprising part was over.He let go of his hand, observing the smelly liquid, just thinking about how to solve this new problem, "What is this?"

If it doesn't work out...

He found it, he found it, he found it.

Many terrible thoughts clamored wildly in the boy's mind, and his greatest weakness, the most irresistible attack, was discovered by the enemy.How would Sephiroth take advantage of this?There is no doubt that it will be used against him, even if not now, it will definitely be used in the future.He's not afraid of harm, he's tasted enough, but he can't quit the battlefield without even being qualified to fight... If so, what's the point of surviving?

No one can tell him what to do.

nobody.

"You can't be touched? Is that why you reject contact?" Sephiroth made a reasonable inference, and then remembered some troublesome details, "No, you can't avoid contact with Angel...Gloves , That’s how it is.” He took off his gloves just now to flip the book, and that’s why.As a private first class, Angel doesn't have much free time, and he won't take off his gloves when he has nothing to do. It is indeed possible to think about it.

While taking out the leather gloves from his pocket again, he looked at the chocobo cub, which seemed to be very calm and seemed to be just distracted. The festering area was spreading, "Just can't touch people, or can't other creatures? Moko is right. Does this work too?"

no answer.

Sephiroth also didn't expect to get a response, usually, people who have been intimidated by him will always have some obstacles, especially young ones.He had to figure out the answer by himself... Sephiroth slowly stretched out his hand under Claude's guarding eyes. As he expected, Claude put on a defensive posture, standing on the chair as if he could retreat at any time, and the struggle was on the verge of breaking out again ——

The young man suddenly stepped on the overlong robe—out of routine—and Claude, who was about to retreat, lost his center of gravity and fell on the bench.Seeing the opportunity, Sephiroth grabbed his sleeve and shook his hand back into the robe, then tied the two sleeves into a tight knot, and then the tail of the robe did the same.Now he got a Claude with only his head exposed, with a shocking expression that Sephiroth had never seen before. This night, he finally showed such an idiot expression, which is worth celebrating.

"Struggling is not recommended." He looked down at his masterpiece condescendingly, and the corners of his mouth were slightly proud, "This is the only piece of clothing, and freezing to death does not provide resurrection."

"You..." Claude was so dazed that he even forgot to struggle.No...it's not Sephiroth...Sephiroth wouldn't do such a thing.He meant that Sephiroth wouldn't be so... so lively?Lively.This word is too scary, it is only suitable for Zack or Alice, and it is a nightmare to use it on the general.

"Ok?"

"You are..." Did you think you were Zack?He swallowed the inappropriate words, "You are a general!"

"Then?" Sephiroth didn't stop, and stuffed Claude's head into the hood.He didn't think there was any problem with this. Although he was used to using ice magic or deceleration magic to restrict the enemy's movements, it didn't prevent him from watching the soldiers strip off the captives and tie them up skillfully.Ninjas can always hide weapons in unexpected places, and their bodies are so soft that they can twist beyond imagination.

Cloud shut his mouth, he realized that he and Sephiroth were talking peacefully, like ordinary people.Sephiroth is used to this kind of sudden silence. In the next second, one hand wrapped around Claude's back, and the other hand supported his knees. Before the boy could react, the young man hugged him easily. Standing up, he exerted a little force to stop the slow-moving struggle.

"Calm down. It shouldn't be far from the No. [-] stove. I threw you into it for a soak, and then nothing happened. I think you should understand?" Lauder poked on the knife and said, "Let me tell you about Angel, just remember to nod."

The sound did not come from the top of the head, but from the chest cavity, vibrating powerfully through a layer of cloth.

Sephiroth hugged him.

This fact made Claude feel like his heart was going to stop beating.

"I'll go by myself." After a while, he slowly squeezed out a few words.

"Barefoot?" Sephiroth thought this stubbornness was a bit funny, like a child's anger, but then he thought that this was indeed a child, and he couldn't ask for more, "Just kidding. Your legs are too short, you can't follow Get up to my speed." Let go of one hand, that's good, there is no extra movement, they reached a brief consensus.He picked up Zhengzong, held the little child in his arms, and walked into the deep night like a protector.

They didn't say another word.

Strangely, some sign of peace hovered between them, like the mist of a winter morning, flickering cold and fragile.Humans are such strange creatures, admit it or not.Maybe there are some scars in my heart, which may heal, or may be festered and sore all my life, but the initial change is always silent.

Maybe Cloud finally realized something.

He doesn't mind when Sephiroth will hurt him, if something is destined to happen, he won't worry if he is used to accepting it.But just as Sephiroth dug him out, for the first time he came into contact with - not in Zack's memory - a real and living Sephiroth, not from the perspective of admiration, not from hatred What he saw was a human being who didn't quite match the name of divinity.

Claude just didn't know if this would be another flash in the pan.