For all the Sephiroth addicts

Anani’s Demise, chapter 4


He was the first to come in that morning. He usually was. Already having decided to have no breakfast, as the smells of chemicals and Mako would make him queasy, and he would probably regurgitate everything within one hour of receiving his treatments anyway. He came into the lab, and moved into the dressing room to take off his regular clothes, and exchanged it for a surgical robe.

He could hear the voice of the professor, sharp and chilling, through the walls of the dressing room. Already his every fibre of his body was yelling, as his whole being protested against the man’s presence.
“Right. Still as punctual as ever, I see.” The professor said, unceremoniously shoving his head around the corner of the door. His voice never seemed to loose any of its sarcasm, no matter with whom he was dealing.

“Lets get this done, shall we.” He said, as he pointed to one of the examination tables. Sephiroth hitched himself up on the edge, as Hojo placed a small metal tray with syringes beside him.

One brief image flashed through his mind. Hojo pinned to the wall with several large kitchen knives, his arms and legs spread- eagled, while he hurled every thing small and sharp at the man, using him as a dartboard.

A deep sigh pulled him from his musings. “Sephiroth, your hair, please.” Hojo said in a bored yet impatient tone, as he had always hated the length at which he chose to wear it. The teen just looked at the smaller black haired man, and held his gaze, voicing silently a tiny moment of rebellion, then lazily moved one hand across the back of his head, and pulled the silver-white cloak to one side, revealing his back.

The professor undid the one button that held the oversized shirt closed over his back, then started to prod and poke at the muscles, carefully deciding which ones to treat this time, and swabbing the selected areas with some disinfectant. Over the years he had perfected the injections, creating small deposits straight into the muscles, instead of just injecting one large dose into a large vein in the elbow. This way the substance got absorbed faster, letting the subject recover faster too.

As the cold hard steel of the needle penetrated his tissues, Sephiroth refused to make a noise, of even grimace. The sensation of the injected Mako already started to distort his senses. Hot becoming cold, cold becoming hot, and up turned into down as one after the other syringe got injected into his body. Even his ears seemed to betray him as every sound in the lab got echoed, and reverberated in some alien Doppler effect through his mind.

As in a dream he got told to get dressed again, and one of Hojo’s assistants took him to the dressing room. Purely on autopilot he managed to get his clothes back on, and stumbled out the door.

Zach saw him come out the large steel door, and rushed to support him. He pulled one slender arm across his shoulders, and let the slightly larger teen rest his head against his. Moments later they had reached their room, and he sat his roommate down on his bed.

“Where did he get you?” He asked, as he looked into the silver-head’s eyes, where the pupils contracted spasmodically. “Your back again?” Zach asked, and shook his head. This was going to be a long day. He carefully removed his friend’s shirt and got him to lay down on his side. He moved into the bathroom and got a small towel. Knowing in what state his friend would be, he had made some bags of ice, which he placed against the angry red welts that rose all over his back, standing out like exclamation marks.

When he pressed the cooling bags to his overheated skin, Sephiroth took a shuddering breath and moaned. Soon the Mako would be absorbed, then the burning would spread all over his skin, making him delirious with fever and pain.

He had seen others go through treatments, but Seph’s just seemed so much heavier. He wandered just how much more he would have to endure. Then he also came to the conclusion that Hojo would never stop. Zach had always found the man one of the most unpleasant people to walk the planet. Zach wasn't one to hold a grudge or be hateful, but when it came to the world's most unpleasant men, who deserved to die screaming with sharp things in their heads, Professor Hojo was on top of his list.

Sephiroth’s eyes rolled back in his head, as the tortured muscles on his back contracted, arching him backward. The muscles on is abdomen fought against the unnatural arching, pulling him tighter and tighter, like a bow. His fingers and arms contorted across his chest, and his face pulled into a feral snarl. A heavy metallic scent started to fill the room, as sweat started to pour from ever pore on his body.

Zach pushed another ice-filled bag to his friends brow, then moved it to his neck. His breath now came in very fast shallow gasps, and Zach knew he had in no way reached the end of his suffering yet.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Anani had been wandering where Sephiroth had been the last couple of days, as he hadn’t been practising. Over the last three weeks he had been coming every night, and he had always told her when he couldn’t make it. He was very considerate that way, and she wandered at this inconsistency.

Maybe he had changed his mind, and didn’t like her after all. The thought of this made her chest ache, as she briefly allowed herself to feel the heartache. Now come to think of it, she hadn’t seen him around in the corridors or at mealtimes either. Maybe something was wrong. Should she go to the higher dorm levels, where the SOLDIER 3rd and higher ranking cadets where housed. It shouldn’t be too hard to find his room, Zach was his roommate, and everyone knew where to find the popular and sociable cadet.

She carefully moved through the corridors, drawing curious glances of the other cadets and SOLDIERs there.

“You looking for anyone, sweetie?” A lower ranking cadet with a crew cut asked, who stood talking with a group of others.

“I am looking f-for ..Zach.” She said, and hated the way her voice shook as the other tall teens took her in. Beware.. predators! A small warning bell at the back of her mind tingled its warning.

“Are you now?” another with greasy blond hair asked. They all started exchanging glances that made her skin crawl. It had been a bad idea to come here, and as she wanted to turn away and go back to her own dorm, a couple of other lanky teens had arrived, and stood shoulder to shoulder across the narrow corridor. Her retreat had neatly been cut off.
“I though Zach already had company tonight.” A reddish blond cadet said.

“I thought so too” Crew cut agreed.

“I guess you’ll just have to make due with us, then, little lady.” Greasy blond said.

As she tried to back away she walked into the solid wall that the two other cadets formed. One of them grabbed her by the upper arms, and manoeuvred her into one of the vacant offices on that level. Everything went very cold in her head, and she felt herself move backward through a long dark tunnel. The last thing she managed to produce was a cry of anguish that she directed outward with her mind, whole being reaching out to the only person who could hear her…

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Sephiroth had been in and out of consciousness for the last 48 hours, and now sat up on his bed, as Zach had propped him up on his pillows. Zach handed him a bottle of mineral water that he drank with small sips.

“You feeling better?” The black haired teen asked.

Sephiroth shrugged his shoulders. “Kind of. I can’t seem to focus my eyes properly.”

Zach sat on the side of his bed, and lifted one eye lid so he could look his friend in the eyes, which still rolled around incoherently in socket. Sephiroth squeezed them shut, and rubbed at them.

“Don’t, you’ll make it worse.” Zach said, as he gently pulled the other’s hands away from his face.

“You have a lovely beside manner, Zach.” Sephiroth complemented Zach’s caring demeanour. “If you don’t make it through to the SOLDIER exams, you could make a lovely nurse.” Zach nudged the bottle in his roommates hand, making him spill some on his chest.

“Woops! I guess it is the SOLDIER program for me after all.” Zach drawled.
“Besides, with the way you have been helping me cram for the tests, there is no way I’m going to fail…”

Suddenly the silver-head's eyes shifted, became focused.

There was a very distinct tingle at the back of his mind, and it worked its way to the front, to his heart, where it tickled and burned. The only time he had felt this was when Anani was near. He hadn’t seen her in several days, and had been too sick to even think about her.
Now she suddenly slipped back into her mind and.. was crying..

**Seph.. help me!! please!.. **

“Zach, come with me.” He said suddenly, and threw the blankets aside.

“Ehh Seph, I don’t know what you have in mind, but..” He stood there his hands spread out.

Sephiroth looked down upon himself, and saw he was still quite naked. He snatched a pair of tracksuit pants from a chair.

He threw the door open and entered the corridor beyond. There was nothing, no one. That was odd. He could have sworn he heard voices here before, as several lower ranking cadets usually hung out here and made a general nuisance of them selves.

He tried to hear her again, as he now started to doubt himself. Maybe he just had another bout of delirium, but it had seemed to real and out of sorts. Why would Anani need help? The intention in the voice he had heard so clearly in his mind, had shrieked with fear..

“Seph, what is going on?” Zach asked, as his roommate turned around, his index finger pressed to is lips, indicating for the other to be quiet. Suddenly the silver-haired teen changed direction, and ran several yards down the corridor, where he yanked open a door a bit further down the corridor.

A group of cadets was standing in there, all with their backs facing the door, and seemed to be looking at something on the floor.

“She is passed out cold!” one voice said.

“Cool, she wont struggle.” Another said.

“I don’t mind it when they put up a fight..” a third added.

“You like fighting, do you, Finch?” Sephiroth said, his voice dark and dangerous.

All turned at the sound of the voice of the intruder.

“Well look who it is, come to join the fun, Seffie!?”

Zach cringed. Sephiroth hated it when they called him that, and Finch had been aggravating him ever since he had entered the academy.

One look at the sneaker that was visible between all the pairs of legs told him who it was that lay on the dusty floor.

Zach pushed passed his roommate, who locked eyes with cadet Finch, and now oversaw the scene. The girl unconscious on the floor, one cadet on his knees between her legs, her straight long skirt pushed up around her waist, and part of the cardigan she was wearing unbuttoned, exposing her bra.

“By Shiva! Are you so hard up for a lay that you have to resort to rape, Morse?” Zach said as he looked at the greasy haired blond on his knees.

“Fuck off, Harmon.” Morse snarled.

“Yeah, you and your boyfriend get in line…” The crewcut managed to say, before he got thrown against the wall. “Zach, get Anani!” Sephiroth said, as he grabbed the next by the front of his shirt, , kicking a third squarely on the jaw. Blood spattered the wall as the cadet went down.

Morse got up, and flew to punch Sephiroth in the face, who coolly held the second cadet out to catch him, their heads rapping smartly together with the sound of two watermelons smashing, before they got shoved into the far corner.

Zach gathered the unconscious girl in his arms, and overlooked the remaining cadets still standing.
“Face it, you’re no match. Never have been, never will be.” Zach said, smiling thinly as he carried Anani out of the room, Sephiroth covering his retreat.

“You got any ice Materia, Zach?” Sephiroth asked.

“I think I have one left, why?” Zach asked as he moved to take the girl to their room.

“Could you get it for me, please?” The furious teen asked, as he closed the door and pulled the doorhandle so hard, he broke the mechanism, making it impossible to open.

Moments later Zach re-emerged with the blue-grey orb, and gave it to his friend.
He briefly closed his eyes, then threw the orb at the door, casting the ice spell. Immediately the whole surface of the door and the frame surrounding it where covered with a tough shiny ice crystal, sealing the door shut tight.

“Heh! That will cool them off.” Zach sniggered. At seeing the humourless look on his friend’s face he shrugged. “Pardon the pun, man!”

Once back in their room, Sephiroth, looked at the girl laying on his bed. He was grateful Zach had helped him change the sheets this morning, as they had been badly soaked with sweat, and stank to high heaven of Mako.

He gingerly touched her temple with the back of his fingers, and called her name.
She frowned briefly, then her eyes flew open. She pushed herself into a sitting position.
“What happened?” she asked, and looked at her surroundings.

“Some shitheaded cadets cornered you, I am afraid.” Zach explained. “If Seph hadn’t heard you.. “ He said, shaking his head.

“I never realized it was this dangerous here..” Anani said, and started to shake all over, as she pulled her legs up and hugged her knees. Sephiroth sat down beside her, and hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Well it usually isn’t. I wander why they did this.” Zach said, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

“I.. said I was looking for you..” She said quietly, and she could feel Sephiroth’s gaze on her. “I knew you where room mates, and almost everyone knows you.” She said to Zach, and knew how strange that sounded. If she wanted to see Sephiroth, why hadn’t she just asked for him? The answer she came to was quite simple.

Almost everyone found the tall pale youth creepy. She hadn’t told anyone about her secret ‘dates’ with him, with the exception of Yuki, but she was her best friend, and she trusted her without reservation. She simply had been afraid of being treated differently if she expressed her interest for the white haired young man, as most of her so-called friends seemed very shallow and insecure. The girls could be very cruel, she knew. She just hoped she could make Sephiroth understand.

“That is why, then.” Sephiroth said matter of factly. “Morse has always been jealous of your.. success with the ladies, Zach. when you said you where looking for him, he thought to get to you by attacking Anani.”

Anani sighed inwardly, that issue had been neatly avoided!, she cast a sideway glance at the young man beside her who, if at all possible, was looking paler than usual for some reason.

“You want to press charges? You should you know.” Zach said.

“Of what? Nothing happened, you came in time..” She said, and gleamed at the young man beside her. She now realized what he had done. He had fought to save her.

Zach saw the calf-eyed look on Anani’s face and sighed deeply. If this got any more romantic, he was going to throw up!

“Can we get back to the issue at hand? They assaulted you, Anani.” Zach said, spreading his arms to emphasise the fact.

“I shouldn’t be here, though. I could get into just as much trouble as them. It would be their word against mine, saying I was looking for trouble.”

Zach opened his mouth to make another comment, but stopped half way as that fact sank in.
“I guess.. we will just have to take matters into our own hands then.. “ He concluded, as an evil little spark twinkled across his eyes. “Tell you what, you two lovebirds have fun, I have a little thing to do.” He briefly rummaged around in his trunk, pulled out another small Materia, and disappeared.

“You came looking for me?” He asked quietly, after Zach had closed the door. She nodded.
“You where afraid of what your friends would have thought, if you where for me, aren’t you. That is why you used Zach as a cover.”

All she could do was nod. Despite her effort to hide that fact he had guessed anyway. She made a point to herself to not try to deceive him again. She felt as transparent as a chrystal vase right now. She’d probably hurt his feelings by her actions. ”I’m sorry, I guess I’m just not very strong that way.”

Sephiroth snorted softly. “I know they think I’m.. creepy, queer.” He said, a slight bitter smile curling at the corner of his mouth. “You don’t seem to think so, do you.”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be here. I came looking for you, because I haven’t seen you in a while. I was worried… “ She said.

Nobody had ever been worried about him before, even Professor Hojo never seemed to express any kind of worry toward his well being. The warm tingle in his chest was back, and it was rapidly curling around his ribs, restricting but nice non the less.

“I have not been feeling well. I needed to rest up a bit.” He said quickly, not wanting to get into the details of his Mako Delirium.

“Oh, that explains why you look a little.. “ Her voice trailing off as she noticed that he was looking at the back of her cardigan. “What are you looking at?”

“You’re covered in dust and dirt.” He said, as she stood up and inspected her bottom.

“Great!” She said frowning as he unbuttoned the garment.

“You should take a shower, wash the earlier events off you.” He suggested.

She gave him a sly look. “Really?” She said eyeing him suspiciously.

“Don’t worry, the lock on the door works just fine.” He turned, and fished a large t-shirt out of a dresser drawer. She took it, and gave the dirty cardigan to him, and disappeared inside. A few moments later, the skirt she had been wearing also appeared, as she held it out while hiding behind the door. Sephiroth sniggered as he took both clothes, opened the window, and gave them a good solid beating removing almost all the dust.

About ten minutes later, she reappeared, smelling fresh and clean, the bottom half of her hair damp around her shoulders. The t-shirt he had given her reached almost to her knees, revealing her slim lower legs.

“Feel better?” He asked, as she carefully sat down beside him.

“I do. It is weird how things seem lessen in impact.. when you have washed yourself clean off them.” She said, still kneading her hair with a towel. He got on his knees behind her, and took the towel off her, rubbing the long strands dry.

“During the day, you sweat, it leaves small salt christals on your skin. If you have a heavy emotional experience, it gets stored there, making it hard to let go.” He explained.

She barely heard what he said, as she was totally lost in the sensation of his hands through her hair. Suddenly he sighed deeply, and as she turned to look at him, she noticed the bags under his eyes. He dropped the towel, and lay down on his side.

“You still aren’t well aren’t you?” she said, as she laid a hand on his forehead, and felt how hot and dry his skin was. “I better go, then.” She said, but as she moved to get up, he took her hand and pulled her close.

“Stay with me, please?” He asked. Noticing his bed was quite a bit larger than just a single sized bed, and she really wanted to be close to him, she agreed. “Don’t worry, I don’t have the energy to take advantage of the situation.” He murmured. She smiled at him, and crawled under the covers with him. His scent was all over her, on the shirt she wore, the sheets they lay on, and it made her tingly. He slid one arm under the pillow she had laid her head on, and she was now close enough to feel his breath against her forehead.

She mustered all the courage she had, and carefully placed the tips of her fingers against his mouth, the lips dry and warm. She couldn’t help but bite her lower lip as she noticed he kissed her fingertips. She shifted the hand to his chin, and carefully pressed her lips to his. Her breath froze in her chest as she felt him kiss her back, their lips folding and caressing. She refused to close her eyes, she had to look at him, and was thrilled to see him look back at her.

Then he closed his eyes, and frowned, as she carefully offered the tip of her tongue, which he met with his own, gently sliding it under and along side hers. Her breath sped up as his free hand moved across her back and pulled her closer. A strange sensation took hold in her stomach.. she wasn’t ready yet, and he knew that too, as he carefully closed her mouth with his, and kissed her forehead.

She slid down a bit, and tucked her head under his chin. She was and felt safe, his presence all around her, like a shroud, so heavy. She closed her eyes and drifted off, her slowing respiration in time with his.

Zach snuck into the room several hours later, a grin of utter satisfaction on his face. When this got out, they would never ever live it down. Seph had once told him that revenge tasted the sweetest when it was served up cold, and this would certainly be very sweet indeed!

He snuck a careful look over at his friend’s bed, and noticed Anani in his arms, wearing his t-shirt. He sighed deeply, and shook his head. You are never getting laid that way, man! He thought. He had to admire his restraint, though. With all his odd ways and habits, he had class.

He slid into his own bed, still sniggering to himself. This would be an interesting weekend indeed!

A/n; I decided to name ‘my’ Zach, Harmon, after Zach Harmon, all time care-taker/stage manager/coolest bass-technician ever, for Metallica, now serving his third bass player for that band.

Music for this Chapter; Tenshuin, The Trainman Cometh, Matrix revolutions soundtrack/ Come under the Ivy/ Kate Bush.