New Life

I've been working on this for a while now, not sure where I want to go with it...but, as always, I don't own any of these people (no matter how much I cling to Rufus), and I'm not making money, etc.

Hope you enjoy. :3

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Pain, he felt it keenly, even after waking from the nightmare that haunted his every sleeping moment. The same awful blackness, the tortured screams ringing clear inside his head. The fire, licking at the sky like it was hungry for more to burn. What did all of it mean? Why did these people stare at him so hatefully? Hunched, seemingly crippled figures in black cloaks, groaning, only managing a few real words. Following him, then suddenly a flash of metal, and they were dead. Did this blow come from him? An eerie green glow, enclosing him, swallowing him. He tried to cry out, but there was no sound. There seemed no escape, but in his dream he felt so calm. Soon he was only vaguely aware of his surroundings, and he knew that he was asleep not only in reality, but in the dream as well. More like unconsciousness, actually. He tried so hard to awaken then, but it was always in vain. He knew that the worst part was yet to come. The bloated, purple figure, just like a ripe bruise, coming towards him so quickly. It seemed to grow as it came closer, and always he would notice with a start that this creature had no head, nor anything even resembling a head. It terrified him always, and only when he felt the monster touch him, the cold, grimy tentacle slipping down his arm, did he finally awake…

The man’s eyes shot open, and he sat up in bed, soft silver tresses falling over his bare chest. He gasped to catch his breath, and wiped at the cold sweat that had begun to bead on his forehead and cheeks. His long, prominent bangs brushed his chin as he shook his head, as if to clear it of the images. He thought that he should be used to the dreams by now. With a sigh, he checked the clock beside his bed. 3a.m. That wasn’t unusual either. He lay back down on the bed, and merely stared at the ceiling. What was the meaning behind these dreams? He had already connected the monster in his dream to the creature called Jenova, but Jenova had been used in so many experiments, it would probably be close to impossible to pinpoint anything. There was the case of the “war” 500 years ago concerning a man named Sephiroth, and Jenova…but as far as he knew, all the records of that incident had been lost with the ShinRa Headquarters in Midgar. He had been meaning to get to the library to check, in any case.

He had classes today, however, and that would have to wait until afterwards.

He checked the clock again. 3:03. Damn. Might as well get up. He sure as hell wasn’t going back to sleep. The man reluctantly pulled himself out of bed, yawning as he stretched his arms over his head. As he ambled out of the bedroom of his modest apartment, he happened to glance to his briefcase, which sat on the coffee table. The simple “SS” engraved on the top plate. ‘S’ for Sephiroth, and ‘S’ for Stanford. He always thought Sephiroth to be quite an odd name, but he liked it just the same. It had a certain ring to it. As for his last name, who knew where it had come from? He was an orphan, but apparently his would-be parents bore the name; or so they told him at the orphanage.

Sephiroth ambled idly into the tidy kitchen, flicking on the light. He paused, letting his cat green eyes adjust to the sudden brightness. He searched for something edible, opening the refrigerator and the cabinets. His main concern was whether or not he would do himself bodily harm by attempting to cook while he was still half asleep. His decision was that he most likely would, so he set about making himself a bowl of cereal. Normally he ate only somewhat nutritious things when it came to cereal, wheat and oats and things like that, but today he thought he quite possibly emptied his entire supply of sugar into that bowl.

After his small breakfast, a shower, and getting dressed, it was about the time any normal person would be waking up. He was dressed like he was every morning- a somewhat casual suit, today in a pale brown, with a white dress shirt tucked in underneath. He slipped his small, oval reading glasses into the inside pocket of his jacket. Sephiroth sat on the couch and gathered the papers scattered over the coffee table, pausing to scan one. He sighed softly, and merely placed the page in the briefcase with the others.

He leaned back into the soft leather couch and crossed his right leg over his left, reaching to the arm of the sofa for the television remote control. Pausing to glance up at a clock, and seeing it was only 5a.m., he decided to waste his mind on the television, since he didn’t have to leave for another two and a half hours. He flipped on the relatively small screen, and settled into channel surfing for a good three minutes. ‘I don’t know why I bother,’ he thought to himself, shaking his head. He finally decided that the most intellectual thing on television at 5:03a.m. was Looney Tunes, so he amused himself with that. Hell, it was either that, or an infomercial for “Vasoplex,” which he only understood to be some sort of feminine cream that was akin to Viagra. He stayed on Looney Tunes.

When it was finally late enough to leave, he filled his thermos with hot coffee, picked up his briefcase, and locked his apartment, then made his way out to his car—a black BMW Z3. A bit expensive for his profession, but the car was really his one true luxury, and he treasured it above anything. Not a weekend went by that he wasn’t washing and waxing it. He even polished the hubcaps.

He left the top up that morning for the sake of keeping his long hair untangled, and drove through the wide streets of Junon, headed towards Junon University. The tall buildings zipped by as he sped through the city, and through his open window he could smell the air coming from the ocean as he drove near the beach, absentmindedly taking the scenic route to the University.

Upon arriving, he parked in his usual spot, paused to lock the car and give it a loving pat and a smile, and then walked inside, carrying his thermos and briefcase.

No sooner did he start down the main hallway than he heard a young woman’s voice call, “Professor! Professor!” Naturally he turned around, and smiled as he saw the girl rushing towards him.

“What can I do for you, Christina?” Sephiroth asked with a gentle smile, recognizing the girl from his afternoon class. He noted the near dreamy look on her face as she looked at him, and thought idly that she must be still half asleep.

She shook her head, and smiled at him. “I just wanted to know if it was okay if I took that test today after class instead of next week? I’ll be out of town, so I wanted to get it done. I’m ready for it, I think I’ll do pretty well.”

“…I won’t be able to stay long, I have things to do this afternoon. Make sure you’re in my office the earliest you can be.”

“I will! Thank you, sir!” She smiled and waved at him before bouncing off.

Sephiroth smiled. That girl really was quite pretty, but too young for him. Besides, she was a student.

He went to his classroom, where most of his students were already waiting. He glanced at his watch, and, seeing that it as time for class to begin, locked his door behind him. He moved to the desk and managed to sift through the mass of homework papers that had been messily deposited on it.

‘I need to get a basket or something…’ He shook his head, pulling his World History textbook from his briefcase and moving to the podium near the center of the room. Opening the book with one hand and flipping pages, he used his other to remove his glasses from his pocket and slip them onto his face, letting them rest on the end of his nose, where he could see through them when he glanced down to the book. “Open your books, page 216...”

*****

Three and a half hours later, Sephiroth sat in his office, glasses sat on his nose once more as he graded the homework papers he had collected in his first class. His small desk was tucked into the corner of the room, which was otherwise filled with bookshelves that had been attached to the wall, and a single filing cabinet. He had pulled his long hair back from his face with the help of a small black band, keeping his tresses loosely tied at the nape of his neck. But that didn’t help his bangs, which were far too opinionated to be kept back by anything. He checked his watch to find that it was already 11:45. He had forty-five minutes until his next class, and his stomach was beginning to tell him that cereal was not nearly enough sustenance to get him through the day. With a soft sigh of annoyance at the interruption that hunger caused, he dropped his pen and removed his glasses, setting them gently on top of the pile of papers. He pushed his chair back from the desk and stood, leaving his jacket draped across the back of his chair and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The tall, lean man paused to stretch a bit before leaving his tiny closet of an office, going through his empty classroom and out into the hallway.

He made his way to the faculty lounge, finding it empty. Assuming that the others simply had classes still going on, he shrugged and dug in his pocket for change as he stepped over to the vending machines. It was a wonder he managed to stay alive at all, and he knew it. Breakfasts made up of cereals, lunches out of the machines, usually consisting of potato chips and sodas, and dinners that were, almost without fail, either something he could pick up, have delivered, or put in the microwave. He could cook fairly well, he thought, he just never had the time. There was simply too much to be done.

Sephiroth bent over to retrieve his selection from the machine, when he heard the door open behind him, and a soft whistle. “Not bad,” he heard a gentle, high-pitched voice say from near the door, along with a giggle. Blinking, he rose, and turned to face the source of the compliment. “…Hello, Scarlet,” he mumbled, not exactly thrilled to see the blonde-haired electronics professor at the moment. Or at any moment, for that matter.

“Hello yourself,” she answered with a wink in his direction, her red suit losing all attempts at modesty at the top, which was unbuttoned to show so much cleavage that it would be suitable for suffocation…assuming anyone would want to get that close, which Sephiroth couldn’t imagine. The woman swayed her hips as she walked over to him, and before he had time to escape, her arms had gone around his waist, and she pressed her torso against his, looking up at him through sly green eyes. “And how are you today, my favorite World History professor?”

“…I’m just fine, thank you,” he said with a tinge of exasperation. If he could just get through a single day…

“That’s good. You know, you really ought to accept my offer, and take me out sometime…you’re definitely the most eligible bachelor I know.”

Sephiroth had to resist the urge to say, ‘Then why would I want to go out with you?’ But he bit his tongue. “Maybe some other time…” He attempted to pry her arms away.

She only held him tighter. “Oh, but Sephy…”

He stiffened. “Please don’t call me that. You know I hate that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’ll forgive you if you let me go.”

“I’ll let you go if you take me out.”

“…” He sighed in frustration. Stalemate again. It always ended up like this, until he agreed to do something for her. He had avoided a date so far, but he was running out of favors. “…Fine,” he agreed, reluctance and defeat practically dripping from his voice.

“All right!” She leaned up and kissed him firmly on the cheek, leaving a print in her bright red lipstick on his face. “Pick me up this Friday. Eight o’clock.”

“Right.”

She then released him, and gave him a small wave before leaving the room.

“Damn it,” he grumbled, and shook his head, making sure to wipe away the lipstick completely before returning to his class.

His next class went much like the first, trite and predictable. He dropped back into his desk chair when it was finished, watching his students leave in such a hurry that it made him wonder why he bothered trying to teach them. Just when he thought that he could possibly have some alone time, his door opened again.

Christina peeked into the room, and smiled. “Professor? I’m here to take that test, if you’re ready.”

“Oh, of course. Your test. Come into my office, have a seat.” He gestured to his door, and followed her inside, setting her down at the small desk in the corner. This way he could administer the test and grade other papers at the same time. He could also keep a closer watch on her. He sat down behind his desk, opening a drawer. “Let me see if I can find that test.”

“Professor…I wanted to ask you about something else, too…” She pulled the chair from the desk around next to Sephiroth before she sat down.

“Well, if it’s about history, I can certainly help you. If not, I’ll give it my best shot,” he answered, glancing to her with a gentle smile.

“You’re not married, are you?”

He blinked. “…No. Why do you ask?”

“Do you want to…you know, go out somewhere? With me?”

“…Christina, you are my student. You’re much younger than I am, and besides, it’s entirely against school policy.”

“So? Age doesn’t matter.” Christina moved from her chair to Sephiroth’s lap, straddling him easily in the armless chair. Her arms moved around his neck and she quickly kissed him on the lips.

Sephiroth paused, unable to move for a moment. He knew she was a student, too young for him…but she was pretty, and no one had kissed him in a very long time—not anyone he wanted to, anyway. After a moment, he regained his senses and gently pushed her away from him, guiding her back to sit in her own chair.

She paused. “…Why? Aren’t I pretty enough for you?”

“No, it’s not that. You’re a very beautiful young lady.”

“Then why don’t you want me?” She scooted close to him again.
Sephiroth sighed. “Christina, I’ve been bribed for good grades before. I don’t find it amusing.”

“Oh, no no!” Christina smiled, touching his hand. “I’m not trying to bribe you! I’m doing well in this class already, aren’t I? I’m only interested in you.”

“You don’t know me well enough to be interested in me as a person. Not outside the classroom.”

“I know enough. You’re not that much older than I am, you can’t be. You’re sweet, considerate, funny…not to mention absolutely gorgeous.”

“How old are you, Christina? Probably just out of high school.”

“Actually, I was 18 when I graduated, and I waited a couple of years, kind of got a lot of things straightened out, before I came here. I’ll be 21 next week.” She smiled. “And I know that you graduated at 17, and spend six years on your degree, so don’t lie and try to tell me you’re more than 23 or 24.”

He chuckled. “I suppose you’ve caught me. How do you know so much about me?”

“I told you, I’m interested. I want to know you on a more personal level.”

“I could lose my job.”

“No one will know.”

“…All right. But don’t expect any grade improvements because of it, you can’t tell anyone, and I promise nothing. We go on a date perhaps, just like any normal two people would, and if we don’t get along then that’s the end of it, and there is to be no awkwardness.”

Christina beamed and nodded, practically leaping towards him and kissing him once again on the lips.

Sephiroth blinked, more than a bit amused by that, but this time he decided to go ahead and amuse her, and he allowed himself to return her kiss.

The door to the office opened quite suddenly, and the tall, red-haired man paused just inside the door, blinking at the scene. “…Well. World History just got a lot more interesting.”

Sephiroth and Christina promptly moved away from each other, and Sephiroth gave a gentlemanly cough. “Uh…Christina, you had better get going…I’ll allow you to make up that test when you get back into town.”

“Y-Yes sir, she stuttered, quickly moving out of the room. She paused in front of the man at the door and nodded to him, hurriedly murmuring, “Professor,” before she left entirely.

The man looked to Sephiroth and eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then grinned. “Giving out some extra credit, Sephiroth?”

“Rufus…always a pleasure,” the other man answered with a hint of sarcasm, attempting to straighten himself and his clothing. “How goes economics?”

“Just fine. So who was she?”

“A student. Don’t say a word, Rufus. She jumped on me.”

Rufus smirked. “Looked pretty mutual from where I’m standing.”

“Then step a little to your left.”

“Funny. I came to borrow some books, I thought you would be gone by now.”

“So did I. I got a little…distracted.”

“Apparently.”

“Get whatever books you want. I’m leaving.” With that, Sephiroth stood, gathered his things, and left the room.