*
Oh I'm gonna buy
this place and start a fire
Stand here until I fill all your heart's desires
Because I'm gonna buy this place and see it burn
Do back the things it did to you in return
-Coldplay "A
rush of blood to the head"
Sephiroth could only stare in awe as the run down wreck of a mansion all but
imploded, a ball of fire that must have boiled out of the sub-basement shot up
through the back roof, shattering shingle and timber like so many matchsticks.
The fall of shattered glass was the timpani accompaniment to the basso roar of
the flames. He didn't even want to think of how much explosive it would take to
make the musty-structure go up so fast. Almost in silhouette by the burning
house at their backs two men walked away from the ruins. Cloud turned to look
behind, raising a hand to shield his face from the heat. Zack never turned, walking away from his not-so-petty arson with what
could only be hints of his old wolfish smile. It brought back memories, good
ones, for a change.
It was comforting to see his friend smiling again. Schooling his expression
into something a degree more professional than frank disbelief, he waited until
the man was close enough to not have to shout. "... Was that strictly
necessary, soldier?"
"... best fucking day's work in my life."
The dry comment made Cloud look at his former mentor mentally voicing the
'you're crazy' as clearly as if he had spoken aloud.
"Never the less... there was probably something salvageable in the
library... all that research."
"No Seph, I have the only things worth saving
out of the damned place right here..." Pointing eloquently first at his
superior's chest, then at the kid, he paused and cheerfully dug in a pocket.
"Oop, almost forgot, a present for you."
The piece of paper had spent decades folded. The creases threatened to crack
when he carefully opened it. Antiquated script and scrollwork borders
surrounded a little piece of information that almost made him want to sit down
in shock.
"How did you..."
"It was just mixed in with all the other shit. Found it by pure chance a
few years ago when I was looking for something else, and tucked it on top of a
bookcase for safekeeping." The dark man shrugged, carelessly holding back
the short blond who was unsubtly trying to see what the paper said. "Not
like the Geeks noticed it was gone."
"Damnit Zack, let me see!"
Sephiroth spared the younger man and passed it over. "... my... birth certificate."
"No shit." Glancing over it, the fighter looked back at his friend,
and the man he was still adjusting to calling 'friend'. "... didn't know you had one."
"... neither did I."
"July 14th. Mid-summer baby. So
much for my guess of September." The dark fighter shook his head in
pretended defeat.
Cloud blinked again, looking at his old enemy in disbelief. "Wait, you
didn't even know when your birthday was?"
"I... forgot." The former general shrugged, surprised that after all
the time that had passed, such a trivial piece of information could mean so
much. Trust Zack to know his feelings better than he did himself. "The
precise day wasn't important to Hojo, so he never
bothered to tell me. Gast celebrated it once or twice
when I was very young... but I never remembered him telling me the date."
"You didn't really care either, until I made a fuss about it." Zack
shook his head in disbelief. "Too late to do anything big this year... but
next July... there will be no escape for you."
"... The fire is spreading..." Distracting his friend by tilting his
head back towards the engulfed mansion, Sephiroth worked hard to suppress a
smile. Flames had jumped onto two of the trees next to the building, the only
trees in the village to escape the /last/ time the place had been charred to
cinder.
"It won't go far. There's no wind to speak of." Grinning openly for
the first time since they set foot in the abandoned mountain village, the
wild-haired southerner looked back. The rest of Cloud's motley crew was still
gaping at the inferno, Yuffie capering about as the
sparks drifted to earth laughing like a lunatic. Cid lit a cigarette off of a
smoldering fence-post and puffed on it meditatively. Whatever Vincent thought
of his former prison’s destruction, he wasn't sharing. His face was a impassive as ever, the fire reflecting weirdly in his red
eyes.
It really was an impressive sight. Sephiroth watched as the top floor sunk into
the center of the house with a groaning crash and gout of smoke. Standing at
his right shoulder, Zack whistled appreciatively. "The roof... The
roof..."
"The roof is on fire..." Cloud finished the old lyric for him,
seeming to posses an equally enormous repertoire of useless musical trivia.
"Burn. M'fucker. Burn." It was one of many things that they could all
agree on.
*****