Sanguis Jus Soli

- - + + S A N G U I S J U S S O L I + + - -
.:A FFVII Fanfiction:.

by James C. Woodall

Prologue

Nanaki stared out of the dark window of the Observatory into Cosmo Canyon. The glint of his father's statue gleamed brilliantly in his eyes under the light of the moon as he stared upon it as he had so many times before. As he had the last time he had looked upon it, he was leaving Cosmo Canyon, but this time so that he find an answer to something that had riddled him since Sephiroth's death.

His furry eyes closed on the magical scene and he could still see it in his mind's eye. The sky was lit a brilliant dark blue, the statue's white surface gleamed, and the canyon stretched before him. He nodded to himself and confirmed yet again that it wasn't just a scene in the world; it was a place in his mind as well. It always had been.

The crimson eyes opened again and he sighed hesitantly. This place had been his home for so long, he hated to leave it so suddenly. But something had been nagging his mind ever since Meteor had crumbled: If Sephiroth had been taken into the lifestream, wouldn't he be reborn yet again as all things did?

Sephiroth's blade dug into Aerith's chest once more and Nanaki shuddered as a chilling hand swept down his spine, leaving a trail of goosebumps. If Sephiroth would come back to the planet then AVALANCHE would have to fight again; that was the last thing they needed after so many died for the world to be righted after Meteor.

He looked up to the moon, still scarred from the shrapnel of Meteor and shook his head. Why was it that every time that they stopped something in the world it came back to haunt them? Still, if Sephiroth returned, he would have to come somewhere out of the chaotic abyss of the Deep Stream. Vincent would know where he'd be heading.

Turning away from the window Nanaki raised an eyebrow, “Vincent and Chaos, how kind of you to pay me a visit.”

Vincent grumbled slightly as Nanaki greeted his other half, “No, he's not here at the moment. I've gotten better at controlling him since I last saw you and the group. The reason I've come is something much more serious.”

“Sephiroth?”

“No, something worse. Much worse.”

Nanaki's eyes lit up in anger as he growled, “Jenova, Hyne, the Ancients, or Mako?”

Vincent shook his head and kneeled before the sentient beast and stretched his hand to reveal a small, sealed envelope encrusted with a wax stamp. Nanaki nodded over to the low bench he had installed by the window and walked over calmly.

Vincent placed the letter down on the bench and stepped back, keeping a careful study on Nanaki's movements. “You look like you've been keeping yourself well, Red.”

Nanaki paused for a moment and stared up at Vincent, “You expect a descendant of a Canion like my father to not keep his physical body in check?” He smirked as Vincent's usual cool exterior cracked for a brief moment in the form of his eyebrows raising in surprise from the hostility, “I jest. But I've sensed a disturbing thing recently in my dreams.”

“Oh,” Vincent asked as he leaned up against the far wall of the Observatory, “and what'd that be?”

Nanaki smiled his odd toothy grin and said, “If I told you that, it'd defeat the mystery behind it.” Nanaki pawed the envelope to the floor and sliced it open with a sharp claw and contined, “Besides, you would think I am just being presumptuous.”

Vincent shrugged as Nanaki extracted the contents of the envelope with another claw and read the note, “Shoot.”

Nanaki paused for a moment as he quickly read the contents of the letter that had been in the envelope and sighed. “He's kidding?”

Vincent gave a rare smirk and shook his head, “No. He told me he had tried contacting you on your PHS but you didn't answer. He figured you'd thrown the thing away or broke it, so he sent me to make sure you got the message. And, like I said, it's much worse: The Ninja came up with the idea.”

“So, a 'Reunion?,' ” Nanaki growled to himself as old memories returned to the surface, “I wish he hadn't called it after that 'event' happened back when we were fighting 'him.' ”

Looking about the tower, Vincent remarked, “You really wont ever let go of that man will you?” Littered about the room was artifacts from their battle with Sephiroth; weapons, materia, various photos of the group together, an old picture of Midgar, a piece of one of the Weapons, Red's jeweled necklace; relics of a past he had tried very hard to forget. “You know, I heard once from an old fisherman that your ancestors, once they tasted the blood of their prey, never forgot the one they had bitten.”

Nanaki chuckled a bit to himself, “If that were true, I'd be remembering a lot about the mice and other small game around here I eat.”

Vincent shrugged, “Guess you can't trust a fisherman to not distort a story. Anyway, will you be joining us?”

The beast paused for a moment and considered his options. If he denied the offer, Cloud would be suspicious, Yuffie Kisaragi would be busting down his door, and Tifa would drag him to Cid's house where Barret would knuckle his head fur and give him a fur burn. He sighed.

“I will be there.”

Vincent nodded and turned to leave, he paused as he found himself staring down the head of Ifrit. It's mouth was still open in one last, violent scream of rage. A cold chill ran through his eyes as he felt Chaos question silently the God's head being in Nanaki's chambers.

“Nanaki?”

Hesitantly, and expecting Vincent to be carrying more messages in toe, courtesy of one Wutai ninja with a dangerous complexion towards thievery, and grumbled, “Yes, Vincent?”

“Why is Ifrit's head resting on your wall?”

Nanaki, caught off guard, cleared his throat after a failed attempt to explain. He padded over to the God's head and turned towards Vincent, nodding up at the thing's head. “He became unreliable, as did the others for some odd reason.”

“Unreliable?” Vincent mused with examining eyes. 'Have you gone crazy in our absence, Red? You did request for us to leave you to your own doings and we abided in hopes that your—depressing demeanor would vanish along with us.'

Nanaki gathered his thoughts and tried to explain it in a calm manner as the events of a few months ago spun in his head. Ifrit had not been the first who had attacked him. Shiva and Siren also attempted to kill him; he still couldn't figure out why. “Ifrit caught me alone in bed and decided it was a fine night for a taste of Calion blood and a steak of Calion flesh.”

Vincent shuddered as the thought of the God of Fire awakening him, with intent to kill, played in his head. He would've fared less well. Nanaki didn't have to get ready in any fashion however, an advantage many of the party used to get him to do the night shift more often while they slept on their quest to defeat Sephiroth. He had his claws; they were more than enough to rip almost any foe they had encountered to pieces.

“I take it he did not ask politely,” Vincent asked with a bit of dark humor.

Nanaki shook his head, “No, he did not, unless tearing up the floor with his ax is polite these days. So, I killed him, and hung his head here under special wards so that he wont return to the Lifestream so easily. I intend to keep my fur.”

Vincent nodded silently, in slight awe of Red's deep studies of the Lifestream. “You know, you could've just asked me to keep him away from you. Chaos can send many things to Oblivion, after all; even Gods these days.”

Nanaki shook his head darkly, “Even though he tried to kill me, he still might be of some use to us sometime in the future should... 'He' return.”

Vincent raised an eyebrow, “Presumptuous, aren't we?”

This time, Nanaki decided he wouldn't let Vincent leave without quenching his thirst for closure, and uncomfortably took a seat on the floor, motioning a paw for Vincent to sit down. “Would you sit for a moment? I would like to discuss something with you regarding the Lifestream.”

Vincent raised an eyebrow cautiously and sat. “You do know that if someone truly had access to that kind of magical ability, to ressurect such a powerful force in the Stream, they would have the power to summon a hundred Sephiroth's, right?”

Nanaki's eyes exploded open, “Someone could do that?”

With a slight nod, Vincent explained, “It wouldn't take much. A blank crystal of materia untapped and unlabeled, perhaps a shard of the Dark Materia, maybe even some strange summoning we've not seen before that doesn't require a Materia orb. It is likely that we would not know of such a thing until much after it has been used anyway.”

“How long after?”

“Long enough for the summoner to escape unscathed and let loose his creation on the world. We'd probably know only from the spread of news and that's rather slow these days.”

Nanaki scowled, “Surely there must be something Chaos knows that he isn't telling you. After all, you did say after Meteor that you oddly had sensed something strange as Sephiroth died in the Lifestream.”

Vincent's eyes glossed over as he stared into the past, “Yes, I did feel something odd. It felt less like he was dying and more like he was weakening somehow.” Sensing Nanaki's quiet depression, Vincent added, “However, if he died in the lifestream, then you have nothing to worry; if he was only mortally wounded in it, he could possibly return one day.”

Changing the subject quickly, rapidly growing uncomfortable of the discussion of the past, Vincent quietly remarked, “I suppose you do not have a woman of any kind these days.”

Nanaki nearly exploded in reasons as to why he didn't but Vincent stopped the incoming burst of reasons with a cool palm turned up. “I was just kidding, actually; though I do wish you would make a familyman of yourself.”

Vincent's eyebrows rose softly, “These aren't the old times you know. No one's in grave danger anymore and we're all heroes. You can lay that old bloody claw of yours to rest and live the life you earned out there on the fiery plains of war.”

“And what about you? You haven't settled down either I'd bet.”

Vincent's eyebrows furrowed and he scowled at Nanaki's quick turn-about. “I am not meant for women.”

Nanaki grinned mischeviously, “What about men?”

Vincent sighed and stated, “Not meant for any kind of relationship you young canion. I'd far outlive my 'love' anyway.”

“Wasn't it best said by that mysterious playwright? Better to have loved and lost than never loved at all?”

“I'd think that the man who said that was not 'gifted' in such a way as I am.”

“Still a good piece of advice, Vincent.”

Vincent rose from his crouch and walked to the door in two large strides, “Yes, good advice for *you*, Nanaki. I will see you at the Reunion.” His form shuddered and violently burst into itself; imploded into nothingness.

The room was still and silent again. “Still the same Vincent I see. I wonder how the others have changed,” Nanaki rose from his haunches and padded over to the window, staring out at Cosmo Canyon and his predecessor once again, “Especially after Cloud was diagnosed.”

To himself and the winds of the canyon, Nanaki mused, “It is harsh that the one who sacrifices the most is always treated the worst cruelties by fate. I hope he has changed from his mute ways.”

The glow of the moon caught and magnified in Nanaki's glowing eyes as he muttered, “May the Stream be with you, Cloud. Be well.”