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Midnight’s symphony carried throughout the shroud, followed by the occasional clap of thunder; despite the low rumbles of the heavens, nary a drop of rain fell from the roiling clouds. As the crickets called and the nearby river flowed, a shadowy entity could be seen leaping through the forest boughs. A white scarf fluttered behind the figure as they moved through the branches with practiced ease. The speed of their acrobatics could be attributed to urgency. Though as they reached their destination, their once swift movements slowed dramatically—as if they felt a sudden need to hide.
It was a feeling Sheik had grown familiar with long ago. It was a sense that plagued him for the majority of his life. Dread. Horrible, frightening, suffocating. At times he found himself trying to ignore the feeling, much to his detriment; for most times when the ghastly feeling rose within his gut, it was for a reason—a precursor to terrible events.
For a brief moment, he found himself frozen on a branch, his body still with contemplation. His sense of self-preservation begged for him to turn the other way, to allow his terrible feeling to subside. However, he was a man duty-bound and he’d be damned if something happened to his charge. So, with little regard for his safety, he continued forward; ignoring his instincts to flee in favor of returning to camp—to her.
Danger!
It was near… No, it was here! Shadows, unfamiliar and cold. Darkness, savage in its voracity, yet calculating in its cruelty. It made Sheik’s stomach churn and caused every hair on his body to stand on end. The aura was coming from the camp, coming from where he’d left her unattended. He was a fool and a failure. If she was dead, her blood was on his hands. He would never forgive himself.
One final leap and he was there. There to witness the source of his sudden woe.
The Princess was in the arms of a Monster.
A single large wing rested over the Princess’ prone form, as sharp mako-tainted eyes gazed down at her sleeping figure. The ninja could see the man’s smirk, could see his fingers dance across the young woman’s golden strands of hair. Every stroke caused the hidden man’s body to grow tense, caused his hand to reach for the needles within his pockets…
“I know you’re there, Sheik. It’s rude to hide…” The painfully familiar voice caused Sheik to grit his teeth; his fingers instinctively brushing against his hidden set of needles. He could still lunge at him. He still had a chance to strike the silver-haired devil. But would it be worth it? Absolutely not! Not when the arrogant beast practically had his claws around his prey. If Sheik were to attack him now, then he’d be putting Princess Zelda’s life on the line; and for what? To slash at a man who irked him—rubbed him the wrong way? No, there was no way he’d jeopardize her for something so insignificant.
So he remained hidden. Watching, observing, waiting…
“Hmm…” The silver-haired man’s smirk never left as he continued to stoke Zelda’s flowing blonde tresses. “So, it would seem the ninja wants to hide.” A sigh of faux exasperation passed through the dark-clad man’s lips as he pulled the resting princess closer to his much larger frame. “It would be a shame if something were to happen…” He continued while shifting his dark wing, making it seem like he was gently patting the princess. Though the action would appear comforting to some, the silver-haired man knew that Sheik would take it another way.
As predicted, Sheik came darting from the shadows, needles drawn and eyes filled with murderous intent. The expression was nothing unfamiliar; in fact, it was one the instigator had seen many times throughout his life (most times, the disdainful expressions were directed toward himself). Through the little he could see of Sheik’s face, the silver-haired man couldn’t help but glimpse the eyes of a figure from his past. A figure whose eyes reflected betrayal and hurt—though, in Sheik’s case, there was no betrayal or hurt; however, there was rage. Pure unencumbered wrath.
“Touch her, Sephiroth, and I’ll slit your throat.”
Sephiroth didn’t so much as bat an eye. What was worse, his smirk grew into a full-blown Cheshire grin. “Come now, little dog. No need to snarl. I won’t break your toy.” Condescending, mocking, and smug. A tone he tended to use toward those he considered beneath him; which Sheik undoubtedly was. The ninja had nothing particularly profound about him when it came to powers and abilities; his charge, however, carried potential. A potential he sought to use for his ends...which was why he was there in the first place. If only her dog wasn’t so loyal. Then maybe, just maybe, he’d have an easier time getting what he desired.
Sheik barely bit back a growl as his eyes caught Sephiroth’s faintest movements. He had drawn Zelda closer to himself, tightened his hold upon the resting royal’s body. If he acted on impulse then Sephiroth would likely do the same, only instead of nicking the contemptible bastard, he’d more than likely be watching Zelda’s neck getting snapped by the man’s unnatural strength. So, with a great deal of restraint, Sheik forced himself to withdraw his needles and settle across from the demon.
“Why are you here?” Reasonable questioning was the best route at this point; though if he found an opening to get Zelda away from her captor, to strike Sephiroth down without repercussion to the Princess’ safety, then he’d do so in a heartbeat.
Sephiroth regarded Sheik with narrowed eyes, however, his smirk remained. “Can I not come to see an old friend?” His tone was a terrible mimicry of innocence and it sounded far more ominous than honest.
“Friend?!” His harsh whisper was an odd combination of anger and a borderline guffaw. Out of all his lies, this had to be his worst one yet. Sephiroth was no friend of his, of that Sheik was certain. As for the princess, well, Sheik wasn’t too fond of the company Zelda tended to keep; however, kept his mouth shut out of respect for her sensitivities. Though while she slept near the One-Winged Serpent himself, Sheik couldn’t help but allow his true distaste for the ex-SOLDIER to show. “You’re no friend of hers. And you’re for damn sure no friend of mine, bastard.”
The two were silent for a long while, Sheik’s visible eye remaining narrowed on Sephiroth, while Sephiroth’s cat-like gaze lazily observed the Sheikah seated across from him. Only when a rolling clap of thunder echoed from overhead, did the two bother speaking again.
“Are you sure? From last I checked, your princess adores me.” There it was again, the smug overconfidence that annoyed Sheik to no end. Sephiroth knew his words alone would be enough to anger the Sheikah further, however, his intonation was purposeful—a means of stirring up more of Sheik’s ire and bringing more chaos to the unsettled storm brewing between them.
If looks could kill, Sephiroth would be dead one-thousand times over. How dare he imply that he’s ‘adored’ by the princess? How dare he think for five seconds that he’s somehow superior to her. He’s nothing more than a menace. A detriment to society and living things as a whole. Though Sheik didn’t know the extent of Sephiroth’s crimes, he knew that there was something dark beneath his cool facade.
“She doesn’t know what you are. But she’ll learn soon enough…” Sheik’s glower had darkened as his fingers twitched with a need to grab one of his weapons. He needed to attack Sephiroth, he needed to get him away—and if he could effectively remove him from existence itself, then he’d do so without hesitation. Sephiroth was dangerous and he was still too close to the princess. “I’m warning you Sephiroth…”
Sephiroth didn’t shy away from challenges, and loose-tongued threats were considered just that, a challenge. Though instead of reacting in his usual manner of cruel statements dipped in thinly veiled threats, he’d opted for a different approach; one that would make Sheik grow unhinged with his paranoid thoughts. Slowly, Sephiroth shifted Zelda closer, holding her against his chest and allowing his wing to drape over her like a blanket. “Now Sheik, you shouldn’t threaten a friend.” He teasingly chided, his tone growing very concise at the word ‘friend’. “We wouldn’t want to upset our dear ‘Zeldy’ now would we?”
“Don’t you dare call her that!”
Well now, it looks like his little scheme worked; what with Sheik’s heated response.
“Temper, temper. What would our dearest Zeldy think of us fighting?” Sephiroth could’ve been struck with one-hundred Omnislashes and his smirk would’ve remained. To see Sheik growing so bent out of shape was amusing to him. The silver-haired swordsman knew what made Sheik tick and he knew how to exploit his concerns in regards to the princess (who was literally under his wing).
“This is not a fight.” Sheik’s words were blunt, his heated tone dying down into a far more sinister whisper. “This is a warning. And I’m warning you, any further transgression against the Princess will cost you dearly.” As Sheik spoke he grew closer to Sephiroth’s face, allowing for the One-Winged Angel to catch a brief glimpse of his more obscured eye.
Unfortunately for Sheik, this wouldn’t have the desired effect. If anything, Sephiroth only grew emboldened. “What transgressions? I’ve done nothing other than assisting her. You left her alone, I came to comfort her. She needed something warm, I offered her a wing.” As if to punctuate his point, Sephiroth slightly stretched his obsidian wing, causing Zelda to shift ever-so-slightly due to the appendage’s movements. “If anything, you’re in the wrong. Threatening someone she cares about? Truly a terrible thing to do, especially to someone like her.”
“You’re using her!” Sheik snapped, pointing an accusing finger toward the fallen hero. “She might not see it, but I do!”
Sephiroth was silent for a moment, his eyes turning away from the Sheikah’s hateful gaze in favor of looking upon Zelda’s peaceful face. “She sees something in me that no one else does…” Sephiroth’s off-handed comment caught Sheik off guard, prompting him to stare at Sephiroth with uncertainty and slight alarm. “Mhmhmhm...or maybe it’s a fantasy that I want to believe.” For once Sephiroth’s smirk shifted into a wistful smile; however, upon returning his attention to Sheik, his smirk had fully returned to his face. “As far as she’s concerned, I am her friend. And it’d be in your best interest to keep things this way.”
“Oh really?” Sheik leaned back, the visible part of his face suggesting that he believed otherwise. “And why should I not protect her from the likes of you?”
Sephiroth chuckled, his eyes alight with mischievous cruelty, “It’s not me I’m concerned with.” He uttered, leaning his back against a log that was situated directly behind him. “If you were to do anything to ruin Zelda and I’s ‘arrangement’, then you will be the one to break her trust.” Sephiroth’s eyes twinkled with delight, “If you were to kill me, I’ll simply return. What’s more, I’ll fill her head with so many beautiful nightmares about you, that she’ll have no choice but to second guess her faith in you.” The more Sephiroth spoke, the more self-assured he became, “And the moment she doubts you, is the moment it’ll be over. Some things can’t be fixed after all.”
Sheik was silent after the silver-haired swordsman’s declaration. Slowly, the Sheikah backed away from Sephiroth, opting to sit a short distance from the One-Winged Angel. He didn’t want to be close to him; however, he would not leave Zelda when the devil still had his hold on her. So, he simply sat up with his back against a tree, his eyes focused on Sephiroth.
Sure he hated the man’s guts, but he was right about one thing. If he were to break Zelda’s trust, then he’d have difficulty earning it back. And even if he got close to her again, there was a strong chance that she’d never completely trust him, not in the way she does now. The thought of losing her in that way terrified him to no end. Therefore, he would wait. He would watch, he would be alert, and he would wait for the day Sephiroth revealed his true self to Zelda. And the moment he did, Sheik would do everything in his power to tear the man apart, one needle at a time...