Everything Was Fine Until You Came

PsychoHanyo: Hey there, everyone! It’s me, here with another holiday gift fic for my best friend, LightWithinDarkness! Happy holidays to you and everyone reading. This was originally going to be a one-shot, but I decided to make it a two-shot instead. Its too long the other way. The beginning is the scene after you defeat Sephiroth in KH II.

Enjoy the CloudSeph yaoi!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Kingdom Hearts and all related characters, places, and things belong to Tetsuya Nomura. I make no money off of this work of fiction.

000

Swords clashed and words of encouragement came from the mouth of the cinnamon-haired Keyblade Master. “Get him, Cloud!” and “You can do it!” were mere distractions now. Cloud swung his buster sword up to deflect Sephiroth’s Masamune. Sephiroth…the one-winged angel, and the source of Cloud’s darkness and despair. They shared the cells of Jenova within them, as well as a twin hatred of the other. Cloud had been looking for the silver haired male for quite some time. The blonde was surprised that the Keyblade Master, Sora, had found him first…and defeated him.
“Cloud!” The voice of Tifa, a black haired bartender that Cloud was friends with, called to him.
Cloud barely blinked in her direction, more concerned with avoiding a slice from Masamune then what she had to say.
“We can help you!” Tifa cried. “I can help you!” She clutched a fist against her chest. “Take my light! Defeat him!”
Sephiroth chuckled and closed his cat-like cyan eyes. “You can try all you want.” He sneered, opening his eyes as slits and glaring at her. “But as long as there’s one shred of darkness inside Cloud…I’ll keep coming back again and again.”
Cloud snarled and swung his sword. It clinked against metal as Sephiroth blocked his attack, not even looking at the former SOLDIER.
“You’ll have to do better then that, Cloud.” He scolded, finally looking at the other man. “Much better then that.”
Cloud thrust his sword forward, attempting to fling Sephiroth back. Sephiroth simply took a step to maintain his balance and cocked his ever-present smirk.
“I don’t even have to try to defeat you!” Cloud snarled.
“Cloud, please! Listen to me!” Tifa begged. “If you take my light, you can get rid of all the darkness!”
“Come on, Cloud!” Sora joined in. “Let us help you!”
“Yeah!” Donald said in his nasally voice. “You can have my light, too!”
“And mine!” Goofy chimed in. “Hyuck!”
“Stay out of my way!” Cloud ordered, blocking an attack from Sephiroth. “Was that supposed to be completely obvious?”
Sephiroth nodded his head up once, tossing some long silver hair away from his face. Cloud felt a twinge in his chest. Whether it was from anger at Sephiroth, thankfulness to his friends, or something else entirely, he wasn’t sure. He took a step back and charged at Sephiroth. Metal clanged together again and again as Cloud struck furiously.
“You’re attack blindly, Cloud.” Sephiroth grunted. “Meer repeat of the same attack isn’t going to help you.” He chuckled. “Well, not that anything would help you.”
“Shut up!” Cloud ordered. “I’ve had enough of your mouth!” He pulled back and swung his sword up, but that was easily blocked too.
“Elementary, Cloud.” Sephiroth said calmly, as if the attack hadn’t happened.
Cloud grunted, not liking Sephiroth’s tone. Why couldn’t the bastard just die already?!
“Cloud, please.” Tifa begged. “Let me help! I can help!”
“Stay out of this!” Cloud argued.
Sephiroth turned Masamune in Tifa’s direction. The long blade glistened in the sun as it reached to right before her feet, but not touching her. “It’s not your fight.” He said. “But if you wish to fall as well…” he chuckled. “Who am I to stop you?”
“I won’t fall! Not while I have light!” Tifa said. When Sephiroth turned his attention back to Cloud, who had begun circling him, she lunged. Tifa kicked and punched at Sephiroth, always missing him be mere inches. Sephiroth simply tilted back when each blow came. One strike almost grazed his chin, but he turned sideways and let Tifa sail past him. He turned and swung his sword, but Cloud was quicker. He got between his friend and the bane of his existence and held his sword up. The blades clashed together, sending a cascade of sparks around them.
“Cloud!” Tifa breathed, happy that he’d come to her aid. “Take my light. Now, before he strikes! Before the darkness gets out of control! I can feel it. Can’t you?”
“I…” Cloud averted his eyes from Sephiroth and looked to the ground. “I just don’t know anymore.”
Tifa smiled softly as a pale blue light engulfed Cloud. Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow, but his surprise quickly faded away to humor. “Bring it on, Cloud.” He said softly. “It’s of no use.”
Cloud looked into Sephiroth’s gaze with a piercing glare of his own. He moved his sword out from under Sephiroth’s and jumped high into the air. Sephiroth shook his head twice before jumping as well. Their blades crashed and sparks flew around them again, lighting up the fire in Cloud’s eyes. They pushed away from each other, each one of them touching a wall surrounding the area they were in. cloud ran along the wall, while Sephiroth simply pushed off. Cloud jumped off and they met in a cascade of blows. Once more, they fell back against the walls. Cloud took one last glance at Tifa and the others. He pushed off from the wall and into the air. Sephiroth did the same. The pale blue light around Cloud turned into a soft gold. The area around them lit up bright white as they vanished.
Cloud spared a glance at his friends and muttered. “I tried.”