Fan Fiction ❯ Heart of the Warrior ❯ Faith of the Heart ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: Faith of the Heart

Note: capitals are thoughts, and ~ indicate a flashback. *indicate music.*

OK, I know I forgot the disclaimers in the first four chapters, here goes: I do not own any of the characters from the game Kingdom Hearts Sony/Squaresoft/Enix and Disney do. I am just borrowing them for a bit, and will return them to their proper places when done.

Sephiroth moaned, opening his green eyes for a moment, and felt the weight on his chest.. He looked down to see a mass of red curls. It was the woman who had called him "nut head" when she had first arrived. . .and the one who had just finished stitching the deep wound Sora had caused during that last battle. He lifted an eyebrow, noting the irony of this woman whose goal was to find her family ending up like this. "Little one . . .why did you have to fall for me? All anyone who loves me gets is pain, heartache, or dead." He ran his fingers through that flame-red hair, sighing. He'd never truly experienced love before. Now that he had, he wasn't quite sure what to do about it. It wasn't as if he had any future with Diane even if he were going to survive the final battle. She had a husband and children to return to when it was all finished. He smiled as the radio softly played into the room. He knew Di missed her home, and having the music made her feel better. But this song put his heart into his throat, remembering the last time he'd heard it.

~Diane sighed, looking up at Phil. "What the Hell is there to do in this place during your off hours? I haven't seen a bar or any sort of entertainment at all here."

Phil grinned. "Actually, Herc set up a karaoke stand in the arena for the weekends. I heard ya singing once, yer good. If ya want, you can come and perform."

She nodded with a bright smile. "You know it."

That night she climbed up onto the stage, it was still fairly slow. She nodded at Phil, as he popped the disc into the machine. She began to sway as the first few bars began to float from the speakers.

* When you walk away You don't hear me say please Oh baby, don't go Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight It's hard to let it go* Seph heard that voice, clear, like a nightingale's singing, and walked inside out of curiosity. He'd seen Herc's karaoke parties before, but since most of the singers were so drunk by the time they got up on the stage that they had no voice left, he'd never really been interested. There, on the stage, stood the red-haired woman that had met him with such contempt when she'd come the previous month. He was blown away by the beauty and clarity of that voice, and how she put her whole heart into the song. * You're giving me too many things Lately you're all I need You smiled at me and said, Don't get me wrong I love you But does that mean I have to meet your father? When we are older you'll understand What I meant when I said "No, I don't think life is quite that simple"* He sighed. She was right, life wasn't as simple as all that. There were a million times he'd wished it was. * When you walk away You don't hear me say please Oh baby, don't go Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight It's hard to let it go. The daily things that keep us all busy Are confusing me That's when you came to me and said, Wish I could prove I love you But does that mean I have to walk on water? When we are older you'll understand It's enough when I say so And maybe some things are that simple.* It seemed as if she looked straight at him then, blue eyes sparking with tears. Then she walked off, unable to finish, brushing by him as she was too embarrassed to even know what to say. ~ "I wish I had told you then how I felt, Little one," he sighed after saying that in a voice still weakened and gravelly. "But something tells me you already knew." And his voice lifted with the bridge. * ** Hold me Whatever lies beyond this morning Is a little later on Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all Nothing's like before* And he realized the truth of it. . .he wasn't afraid anymore of what he knew the future held. He was going to die when all of this was said and done, but he no longer feared it. For it meant his Little One would be safe and happy again, with her husband and her children where she truly belonged.