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Sephiroth should have known better.
Genesis and Angeal were strong, Sephiroth knew that well.
It’s why he didn’t feel bad about separating from the two of them in the battlefield, they may not have been as strong as him, but they could both handle their own together.
It’s not unusual for the scent of blood tinged with mako to linger on the battlefield.
So no, it wasn’t the smell of blood that bothered him, but instead it was a pull.
Something felt as though it was calling him to where he parted with Genesis and Angeal, and that worried him.
It felt like his body was moving on autopilot as he headed towards their location, the scent and pull only growing stronger.
He can hear the sounds of an accelerated heart rate and can hardly tell whether or not it’s his own, or-
Genesis and Angeal lay on the ground in front of him, covered in blood.
And for a moment, it felt like the world stopped.
*
Sephiroth is tired.
He’s tired of fighting, he’s tired of the labs, he’s tired of losing people.
First it was his mother, then it was Gast.
Then Glenn who had left, though Sephiroth had eventually found him again.
LayingonthefloorofaWutainfortwithabulletwoundinhischest
Matt and Lucia had left alongside him, though whether or not they were still alive was unclear.
Sephiroth is tired of losing people.
*
He feels light, holding Masamune.
He pierces and slashes at anything he can land the blade on, he can barely process the feeling of blood splattering onto him, the sounds of pained shouts and screams-
None of that matters to him, not now.
What matters now is making sure they all paid for hurting his brothers the area was clear, clear enough that he’d be able to take Angeal and Genesis back to camp without risking another ambush.
Once his blade finds nothing else to pierce, he lets Masamune dissipate, ignoring the bloodied bodies surrounding him, his sole focus on Angeal and Genesis.
He hefts Angeal onto his back, and puts his left arm under Genesis’ shoulders, staggering under their weight, though that hardly matters to him.
The two of them are still bleeding, he can feel their blood staining him.
He hardly has enough energy to cast a cure on either of them, and instead tries to pick up the pace, heading towards the camp.
He let out a quiet chuckle, though it was completely hollow.
“The two of you… you better not die on me. You don’t… you don’t get to leave me too.” He said, tightening his grip on them.
He doesn’t notice that he’s finally made it back to the camp, he doesn’t hear the concerned and panicked voices, he doesn’t see the other SOLDIERs and medics surrounding the three of them.
Sephiroth only feels the weight of Genesis and Angeal against him, he can only see the ground beneath him shaking and his vision blurring.
The last thought that goes through his mind is that he has to keep moving forward, he has to make sure nobody else can hurt Genesis and Angeal, he has to head back to camp to get them to safety-
*
Sephiroth wakes up in the infirmary back at Shinra, his mind blank.
It takes him a moment to process what happened.
GenesisandAngeallayonthegroundinfrontofhimcoveredin blood
He sits up abruptly looking over at the infirmary beds next to him.
Angeal’s laying down, completely passed out, though Sephiroth could hear the quiet sound of his heartbeat.
Angeal’s fine, he’s alive, he’s resting, he’s safe.
He looks over to where Genesis is, the boy is sitting up, boredly reading a newspaper.
“Genesis, are you alright?” He asked, his voice hoarse.
Genesis swiftly puts the paper down, his eyes catching onto the headline mentioning Wutai.
“Finally awake now, hm?” Genesis huffed, crossing his arms. “And I’m completely fine now, I don’t see why they’re keeping me holed up here.”
Sephiroth decides not to acknowledge how Genesis winced while moving his arms.
“How long has it been?”
“Eh, just about three days.” Genesis answered. “Angeal hasn’t woken up yet, but he’ll be fine. He’s fine, he was more wounded than I was, but he’s fine.” Genesis’ face scrunched up as he said that.
The words sounded more like Genesis was just trying to convince himself that Angeal would be fine.
“... Are you sure that you’re fine?”
Genesis let out a sigh. “Why wouldn’t I be?’
“You… both you and Angeal almost died.” Sephiroth says hesitantly. “I can understand how… unsettling that might be.”
Genesis lets out another frustrated huff, wincing again. “It hurts like hell. I was the first one attacked, a spear hit me right in the liver, apprently.” He gestured towards his torso. “They said I’ll be fine in five days thanks to the enhanced healing, but that it would leave a scar.” He seemed upset about that.
“It is normal for SOLDIERs to have scars, especially during war.” Sephiroth says. “I’m sure Angeal will be fine, too.”
“You didn’t see what happened to him!” Genesis snapped. “That idiot tried to protect me, even after he got hurt, Angeal- ” His voice had become shaky, and he hunched over, his breathing uneven.
Sephiroth stood up from his own bed, ignoring how sluggish he felt, and moved towards Genesis.
He sits down next to Genesis hesitantly.
“Can you tell me several things you can see?” Angeal’s done this before with him, he can vaguely remember that.
“ What? ” Genesis narrowed his eyes, still struggling to breathe. He moves his hand to grip onto Sephiroth’s wrist, trembling. “The… the floor, the bed, those… goddess-awful lights, you…” Genesis was avoiding looking over at where Angeal is.
His grip on Sephiroth’s wrist eased, and he let out a shaky sigh, resting his forehead on Sephiroth’s shoulder.
“Are you feeling any better?”
“I feel like shit.” Genesis’ voice is muffled. “What was the point of that?”
“Angeal did it with me, once.” Sephiroth answered. “... I wasn’t sure what else to do.”
He doesn’t need to look at Genesis’ face to know he’s rolling his eyes at that answer. “All that awaits you is a somber morrow.” He huffed.
They fall into a peaceful silence, Genesis slowly leaning more of his weight onto Sephiroth, the only sounds is that of their breathing and heartbeats.
*
The three of them were given a few more days off thanks to Lazard- much to most of the higher-ups annoyance.
Both Genesis and Angeal had recovered, thankfully.
Though Sephiroth continued hovering over the pair protectively.
The three of them were currently in Angeal’s dorm, Genesis and Angeal on the couch while Sephiroth was looking around carefully, while the other two were reading a newspaper.
Genesis looked up from it with a sigh, narrowing his eyes at Sephiroth. “You know we’re probably not going to be attacked here, right?”
“I am aware.” Sephiroth answered. “I am just… feeling restless.”
“Do you want to head to the SOLDIER floor for some training, then? The VR room should be free by now.” Angeal suggests.
“The two of you are still-”
“The both of us have recovered just fine.” Genesis huffed, crossing his arms. “We’ll be fine.”
“There is a chance that the two of you might get wounded.” Sephiroth said weakly.
It’s a risk Sephiroth knows well, training injuries are natural, training injuries aren’t a thing to constantly worry about, especially as a SOLDIER.
“We fight in a war Sephiroth, a little training injury isn’t going to kill us.” Genesis said, his voice smug.
Sephiroth let out a weak sigh and moved over to sit on the couch with the both of them.
“We’ll be fine, Sephiroth. We’re SOLDIER Firsts, too. You don’t have to worry so much.” Angeal says.
“... What are the two of you reading?” He asked, hearing Genesis let out a frustrated groan.
“Hm? Oh, it’s nothing.” Angeal says, moving the paper away.
“If it’s nothing then I’m sure that the two of you can tell me.” He says, turning his head to look over-
And Genesis pulled him away, by pulling his hair.
Sephiroth regrets his decision of growing it out since returning from Rhadora.
“Genesis.”
“Curiosity killed the cat, don’t you know?” Genesis said smugly.
“What are the two of you hiding from me?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at Angeal.
“It’s…” Angeal starts hesitantly, grimacing. “Something from Wutai.”
“So then shouldn’t I know about it?”
“My friend, the fates are cruel.”
Sephiroth lets out a frustrated sigh and stands up from the couch, moving swiftly to where Angeal had put the paper and grabbing it before the other two could react.
‘The Silver Demon of Wutai’ The headline had read.
It didn’t exactly take a genius to figure out it was referring to him.
“Sephiroth-”
“Great hero, cyborg, SOLDIER general, and now silver demon…” Sephiroth let out a bitter laugh. “What title do you think I’m going to earn next?”
Angeal laid a hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder, though he just shrugged it off.
“You’re not a damn demon,” Genesis scoffed, crossing his arms, though he looked concerned. “You were just trying to protect us.”
“... Let’s head to the training rooms.” Sephiroth said in a monotonous voice.
Thankfully, the other two let the subject drop.
The headline didn’t bother him much, it’s not as though it was wrong.
He is hardly human, after all.
*
Sephiroth had taken to training the pair to death.
Yes, maybe Genesis was being dramatic in describing it like that, but how else was he supposed to!?
He just got out of the damned infirmary, and now he was right back in it after suffering a hit from Masamune to his shoulder.
Goddess… If I have to be in here one more damn time…
If it was just a regular wound, it would be mostly fine.
Though no, he had almost bled out from just the wound.
Hojo, that gaia-damned shit for brains idiot adamantly refused to let Sephiroth donate his blood, neither cures nor potions were working on Genesis, so the wound had to be stitched, but it still wasn’t healing-
Genesis almost preferred being stabbed in the liver to this.