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If Cloud were to count the amount of bullshit that happened in his life, it'd require at least a few months. Standing here, barely stopping his eye from twitching at the demand Sephiroth requested— or is it really requested, since it’s a demand but does it really matter— and mentally counted from one to ten. Then ten to one.
He should've recognized the signs. He should've recognized the flags, the blaring alarms of the typical shoujo scenarios that he had experienced so far but he's a fool, a massive one, for ignoring those, for being comfortable inside the bubble of Sephiroth is the hero, he canonically got together with Aerith, the priestess, why would he pay attention to me, a poor insignificant puppet of the villain, Jenova?
Cloud should've explored the isekai genre more, particularly the reformed villain ones Tifa had always insisted for him to try.
“I can't,” Cloud said in response to the question: “Cloud, do you want to bathe with me? The water temperature has been… irregular, lately, I want you to settle in first before me.”
At first, it may seem normal. Perfectly fine, to be honest. Sephiroth is the crown prince, it will do no good to have his sensitive skin get messed up with water temperature that exceeds or is a lot lower than usual. From old palace records, a lot of palace servants are recorded to have been beheaded just for getting that one thing wrong.
Cloud may have agreed, if he didn't know better.
Whole body is not required. Just the tip of the finger dipped into the water is more than enough to check the temperature. Sephiroth requesting Cloud to join him in bathing is pure bullshit.
“It is highly inappropriate, Your Highness. I can check and change the temperature for you, but I will not do the latter.” Cloud said politely, his grammar now appropriate to the time period he found himself in. He transmigrated here a year ago, more than enough for him to adapt.
As Cloud mentioned earlier, he's an insignificant puppet of Jenova, the Empress. In the end, he died in the hands of the protagonist, Sephiroth, who finally realized that he was being manipulated by his mother all along. So to not die, he befriended his soon-to-be murderer.
He hadn't anticipated this. To think that all it would take to capture Sephiroth’s heart is kindness… but he supposed it made sense. Aerith, the priestess, purified the darkness inside Sephiroth and is also the only person who treated him like a person, not a monster.
But what is Cloud supposed to do? If he treated Sephiroth like what everyone else did, he'd undoubtedly die. And now, when he did the opposite, he fell for him? What kind of fuckery...
Cloud doesn't want this. He doesn't want to get in the way of the natural progression of Sephiroth and Aerith’s relationship. Judging by the barely hidden look of sadness in Sephiroth's eyes, it appeared that Cloud had kept up this charade for far too long.
Time to end this.
Later in the night, Cloud packed his belongings, determined to settle anywhere else other than in the palace. He is already a spy of Jenova, secretly given a bribe as an addition to his monthly salary. Before he died and got here, he was a courier, and the difference between their salaries is astounding.
He's already saved a lot to get by, so this is the perfect time to set things right.
He should've done this earlier. Avoid the main plot, and just live with his life. Let the story progress normally, and maybe try to be a messenger, since it's kind of similar to a courier, a small amount of familiarity from his former life. The pay's decent too, just in case his savings ran out.
Tossing the cloak over his head, Cloud blended into the shadows and left.
A servant's disappearance is hardly anything worth getting their panties twisted, right? Many servants left without a word, too, Cloud observed— apparently serving the cursed prince Sephiroth is too much for them, the rumors of his curse latching itself onto them far too repulsive— so his absence shouldn't be anything different.
Right?
They could just assume that he left for the same reason. If Sephiroth assumed the same thing, it'd be much better. And with this disappearance, Sephiroth’s affection and fondness will now be redirected to its original target.
Right?