To Forgive Chapter 4
Attacked
By Rozalynn
Sora froze as a loud creak sounded from the rafter she was on. The noise had sent Seph into full awareness of her presence. It now appeared impossible for her to sneak up on Seph with his eyes locked on the rafters above. Before it had happened she had thought nothing could break his train of thought. She had been able to move across the rafters freely as he stared blankly at the ceiling, but once the rafter had made a noise his train of thought had broken.
Watching as Seph, without breaking his stare, pulled his long sword from beneath the pew Sora held her breath hoping he didn't know where the noise had come from. Fortunately he took his gaze off the rafters and sat up slowly looking around cautiously. Sora took this moment to move to the other side the beam. Once she made it across she gazed down only to find that Seph had disappeared or left. She looked around frantically for any sign of movement down below but there were none. Her heart began to race as she waited for him to make his move. But there was always the possibility that he had gone outside, which Sora doubted greatly. There was no time for her to think on the matter because.
~CLANG~
Sora's reflexives saved her from being cut in two by Seph's own long sword. The pressure from his sword against hers was released as he pushed away from her using the force of the two blades. She stumbled backwards barely keeping herself on the wood beam right as Seph regained his foothold. He stared at her in surprise, but before he could speak Sora countered his attack with a vertical swing of her sword. Blocking it easily he did the same thing as before when their blades had locked. This time though Sora was ready for it and was able to recover quicker. They both moved effortlessly on the rafters now, each taking turns in striking, waiting for the other to make a mistake.
Nether one faltered until a slight problem came flying in through the hole in the roof. It was Sora's turn this time to be clueless about the monster behind her. The monster look like the one they had killed the first day they'd met. It had the same lime- green skin, which was more noticeable because of a pair of leathery wings. Two fangs as thin and sharp as needles came down from its upper jaw like a venomous snake. The monster was at least half the size of the other and its movements were similar to that of a gargoyles.
Seph merely stared at it with his sword held loosely in his hand. Sora turned to look at it just in time to see it dart towards her. It was stopped by the flat of her blade and was thrust away only to hover in the air. Seph brought his sword down on it barely staying on the wooden beam.
The monster shrieked as the blade cut into its arm. After wrenching his sword from it, it attacked catching him off guard. Before Seph could doge its attack it sunk both of its venomous fangs into his sword arm fortunately it didn't hold on long and let go after it had gotten its fangs in half way through. Sora watched as Seph dropped his sword as he clenched his injured arm. He stumbled backwards off the wooden beam right as Sora was running toward him. She came up just in time to grab hold of his arm and at that moment the monster attacked her. But it only grazed her shoulder with one of its needle like teeth. That was enough to make Sora nauseous and she whole body to weaken instantly. Her grip on Seph's arm lessened at her sudden weakness and Seph's own unconscious body. Black spots danced across her vision as she realized the monster had gone.
Sora was at her breaking point when a woman appeared besides her. Before she realized it the women was pulling Seph's motionless body up on to the wooden beam. Sora was about to ask her who she was but before she could she went into unconsciousness.
*
Aeris's own eyes went unfocused as she felt her daughter go unconscious and then came a worried look on her face as she focused her attention back on her customer. The man's name was Everett and wanted to buy a bouquet of flowers for his girlfriend who had worked for Aeris during the busy times of the year. He wanted to know what her favorite flowers were. She told him what he wanted to know and then quickly went into the house to tell Cloud what she had felt.
*
The blackness started to clear from Sora's vision as she awoke on the floor on the church only to come face to face with a pair of glowing amethyst colored eyes. The woman pulled away from her to reveal a slender face and long black hair that fell on to her shoulders and half way down her back.
A smile spread upon her face as she said, "Oh thank goodness your awake. I thought you would've awoken sooner but I guess I misjudged how much poison you'd gotten from that monster."
"Poison?" Sora asked.
"That's right. How do you think you ended up like this?" she said not meaning for an answer to be given she went on, "I'm still not sure what kind on poison it was though. But I've seen similar symptoms before, which weren't from any poison, so it can't be the same thing. At least I hope it isn't the same."
Sora waited for her to continue but when she didn't Sora took this opportunity to ask, "Who are you any way?"
"Oh I'm sorry! My name is Razu and I'm Seph's mother."
"Really?" Sora said surprised, "You don't look to much like each other. He must've got all of his looks from his father."
Razu laughed at her remark and said, "I think he received his looks from his father but not his hair and I suppose you could say that, but he sure got my personality."
"Oh yeah! How did he get his hair that way anyway?" she asked.
"He was born with no real pigment in his hair except for the slight silvery color. That's about all I can say about how he got it that way," she said this as she'd been looking at Seph's sleeping form on the floor next to her. "Well anyway he'll wake up in no time at all because if I'm right the poison doesn't leave any noticeable side affects."
Sora looked at her in shock. "Really?"
"That's right."
"But how come I felt so sick before I passed out," she asked feeling confused.
"It was caused by the poison's first affect on your body and that's all that really happens." Razu replied casually.
"Oh that's good to hear," Sora told her. "I'm glad it wasn't anything fatal."
"Yes, well."
Sora looked at her questionably.
"Never mind," Razu said with a wave of her hand. "We should bandage up that arm of yours."
"I don't think it needs any bandaging see." Sora showed Razu her arm that had been injured. The wound was now only a small sliver of a scar.
"Okay then, I suppose we'll just have to wait for Seph to wake up."
"I'm awake mom." he told her quietly as he slowly sat up.
"I'm glad your awake Seph," Razu said as she turned to look at him. "I was getting worried about you."
Seph smiled at his mother from where he sat. "I still feel a little groggy though." he said rubbing his forehead.
"You'll be alright. But I think your friend here should go home isn't that right Sora?"
She nodded. "My mother probably knows something happened to me."
"If you don't mind me asking who are your parents?"
Sora looked down at the ground embarrassed. "Well my father is Cloud Strife.. And my mother is Aeris.."
"Really?" Razu looked at her in amazement, which was what Sora had expected but what came next was something she hadn't. "I was his training instructor when he was trying to get into Soldier. To bad he didn't make it though."
"Who is Cloud Strife?"
This question caught Sora off guard because everyone knew who her father was. Well that's what she had thought until now. "You don't know who my dad is? He's the one who saved the world from Meteor! Practically everyone knows that."
"Geez! I'm sorry I didn't know about your all famous father! It's not like I've been outside the Midgar ruins. Ya know."
Sora was taken aback by his outburst, not even thinking about how he would react. "Sorry. I didn't know you had never been out of the ruins."
Instead of replying he just stared irritably at the ground in front of him. Razu seemed to have taken offence to what Seph had said because she was now looking at him with as much irritableness as him. "Don't get angry at her for something that you're mad at me for doing. Now say you're sorry."
Seph looked up. The anger that had filled his face was gone and was replaced with a sort of calmness. "I'm sorry.."
"It's okay.. Anyway I have to go. I guess I'll see you later." Sora got up and walked over to where her sword had fallen which happened to be in the overgrown flowerbed. She went down on her knees and grasped the handle of her sword. As she was about to get to her feet a white flash of light filled her vision.
When it cleared everything was different. The flowers were all neatly trimmed back and the wood floor was all in place except for where the flowers were. No longer was her sword in her hand ether. Then she noticed him. it was her father laying unconscious right in the middle of the flowerbed. Sora stared at him until she heard someone approaching from behind. She stood up and turned to look at the person… it was her mother. Both of her parents looked unchanged except for the slight younger appearance but other than that they looked the same as they were in the present. This was defiantly something from the past.
Sora went off to the side as Aeris came up to the flowerbed. She seemed not to mind that Cloud was laying on the flowers because she began to tend the ones not under him. As she did this Cloud slowly awoke from unconsciousness and opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around with an expression of worry and shock on his face. At that instant Sora fold herself once more on the floor of the church looking at her sword; she was back in the present.
"Are you okay?" Seph's voice startled her causing her to flinch.
"I'm fine. I just.. Oh! I have to go! I almost forgot." Sora got up and with her sword in her hand turned to look at Razu and Seph standing in- between the pews. "Thanks for helping us Razu and thank you Seph for giving me some practice. Well I guess I should go then."
Both Razu and Seph watched her leave and when she closed the doors behind her Razu looked over at him. "You know, you should go and say good-bye to her. You don't have to stay with me."
"Of course I know that! It's just that every time I leave to do something with you here you're always gone when I come back.." He looked at her with a look that said don't you be gone when I return.
"Oh just GO already! I know you won't let her leave without a proper good- bye."
Without replying Seph went out to say good-bye to Sora.
*
Right as Sora was about to jump the barrier when Seph came running up behind her. He grasped her shoulder so she turned to look at him. "I hope you didn't think I was going to let you leave without saying good-bye."
Sora smiled at him. "Well I was wishing you would come to say good-bye to me."
"I hope you don't get into trouble because of me. If you do you might not be able to come here anymore."
"There's no reason to worry, I won't get into any trouble. I suppose I'll see you later?"
"Yeah, is next weekend good for you?"
Sora nodded. "Sounds fine to me, see you then!"
"Okay see you then." Seph watched her until she was over the grassy knoll before he went back to the church. He walked slowly back the way he had come knowing that when he opened the doors his mother would be gone.
End of Chapter
Author's notes:
Ah... I've finally finished this chapter. I only got this one done because the release of FF10. I was working on finishing the chapter while my sister has been playing the game. While she fought through endless battles I was working on this and when she got to an important part I would stop and watch it. Don't get me wrong though I didn't just watch her I even played the game myself when she got tired. I love it too! It's such a good game! But it will NEVER take the place of FF7! I love it TOO much to give it up. So that's why I write fanfiction about it. I do it to keep me interested in the game.
Well enough of that I have a few things to tell you about this chapter. First thing; Razu is pronounced Ra-zu meaning the A sounds like the one in father. Basically it's like a Japanese name. Oh and Razu may appear to be unfair to Seph but it's all explained later. She really does love him and is only trying to protect him. Well then, until the next chapter!