(Untitled)

[silver_general]

Once most of the commotion had died down, Sephiroth excused himself from the group to go check on Zack while the others discussed what to do now without their leader. He still felt like an outsider among them, and he felt that any imput from him would be unwelcome. For now, he was content to stay by Zack's side, keeping vigil until he woke.

Comments

[zack_1st_class]

Physically, Zack had recovered well; he still slept a bit more than most, making up for his exhaustion. But he wasn't a deep enough sleeper to be expected to have slept through the commotion just before Cloud's disappearance.

"...Sephiroth, what was Cloud talking about?" he asked quietly, just laying on his side and watching the other. He vaguely recognized Cloud, yes, but the name and face weren't connecting with any specific memories. And with what Cloud had said...that it was 'my turn', and that Zack should be dead...the black-haired man was understandably confused.

[silver_general]

Sephiroth sighed softly and sat down in a chair beside Zack's bed. "It is a long and...painful story," Sephiroth said quietly. He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, then began speaking

[zack_1st_class]

Zack listened intently--he wanted to understand this, to make a connection between what he was being told and what bits and pieces he still remembered. The connections seemed to appear as he listened with increasing understanding; he sat up and leaned back against the headboard, biting his lip in thought. "Geez, so that's where I remembered him from. And...you..."

He froze, then shook his head, smiling a little shakily. "I think I remember that incident, but only vaguely. It explains...well to be blunt I was scared as all shit when I first saw you in the Nexus, and now I get why. But from what I've seen, looks like that isn't what I need to be worried about right now by a long shot, right?"

Well, now another thing he'd heard in the commotion was bothering him. "The kid thought he was me?"

[silver_general]

Sephiroth nodded slightly. "Miss Lockheart said Strife was delirious when she and Mr. Wallace found him outside Midgar. He was suffering mild mako poisoning, I believe, and most likely had been experimented on by Hojo. From what I understand, Strife's delerium made him believe he had lived your life. That he was the Soldier 1st Class and not you. Most likely because he wanted so much to be in Soldier and was told he'd never make more than MP."

[silver_general]

Sephiroth wasn't completely diverted, and he returned to the subject with a playful maliciousness he'd learned from Zack. "Back to the previous subject, why were you blushing?"

[zack_1st_class]

Damn!! Foiled!

"Why're you so interested in the tone of my face?" he shot back, scratching his head a bit and looking off to the side.

[silver_general]

"Because there are still some...bits of history that have not been addressed yet," Sephiroth replied honestly.

[zack_1st_class]

That gave Zack pause. Well...it couldn't hurt.

"...when I remember something I tend to see it in my mind's eye," he admitted. "And....well, saw something that kind of...gave me reason to blush, I guess?