Sins of the Father

Chapter One

I had never seen him before, had never wanted to see him, and never once had I wanted to see him like this, broken, frightened, hunted. He couldn't see me, didn't know that I was there, and I wouldn't have known he was there if it hadn't been for his crying.

I kept myself hidden, enveloped in the shadows; watching the figure kneeling on the floor, shifting his knees under himself before hunching over. He was beautiful; in a tragic sort of way. I had never once thought about him, knowing that I had condemned him; condemned him to a life of a living hell. That was my sin; a sin for which I would never be forgiven.

The boy's shoulders shook horribly, long strands of his silver hair cascading down towards the floor, hiding his face from my view. He was young, his frame small, thin and soft. I had been wandering around the manor when I happened upon him. The manor had been deserted for a number of years, so the sound of the front doors bursting open did not escape him.

A long shadow cast itself over the boy, drawing my attention. I narrowed my eyes; someone else had entered the manor. The boy jumped, startled, crawling to his feet and backing away rapidly.

"Runny only makes this worse." A voice called, causing the boy to whimper and cower. My eyes widened, and a soft gasp escaped me. I knew that voice; knew it all too well. My eyes narrowed and I saw red, a heat beginning to rise throughout my body as Hojo entered my line of vision. He approached the boy calmly, hands clasped behind his back. "Now, will you continue to run? Will I be forced to take drastic measures?" Hojo inquired, humor vibrating obviously in his voice. The boy hung his head and shook his head in reply, defeated.

'Are you going to let him talk to your son that way?'I grit my teeth, feeling the demons harbored within me licking and scratching at my insides as the heat continued to rise. Any resolve I had had about never interfering in the boy's life snapped as Hojo grabbed the boy roughly by the arm.

"HOJO!" Dashing out of the shadows, I quickly withdrew Cerberus and aimed, eyes narrowing on the scientist. The crooked man and boy started, a look of surprise crossing Hojo's face as he released the boy.

"Vincent Valentine." He smirked, crossing his arms. The boy looked torn between wanting to hide behind Hojo and his obvious revulsion of being near the scientist. "I guess you weren't such a failed experiment after all." He said with a chuckle, causing me to snarl at him.

"What have you done to him?" I spat dangerously, knowing only too well Hojo would have done something to the boy; meddling with the DNA structure or something even more awful.

"Me?" Hojo laughed. "Why, I haven't done anything to him that I wouldn't have done to you." He stated simply, eyes narrowing on me.

'Let me kill him.'

'No. You'd kill the boy!'

'I wouldn't. I just want the man.' And with that I let my restraint down, my own heated rage giving the demon the leverage it needed to gain control.

He was covered in blood, a splash across his face, dripping from his hair. His clothes were drenched in the warm fluid. His eyes were wide with fear, mouth open and trembling as he coward against the wall.

'W-w-WHAT ARE YOU!?' He cried.

"Chaos. The man who is my vessel is Vincent." I smirked slightly as I felt the ex-Turk beginning to fight to regain control. "And believe it or not, he's rather descent for a human."

He gaped at the blood splatter upon floor, green eyes wide. I watched him steadily as he examined the floor before turning his green gaze up at me. We gazed at one another for a moment or two, before I knelt down to be more at his level.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Sephiroth." He muttered meekly. Sephiroth, I recalled correctly the name meant hidden god. Leave it to Hojo to think up such a thing.

"My name is Vincent Valentine. Has that man…" I paused, mulling over my words. "Did your father ever mention me?" I finally asked, my stomach turning uncomfortable. The boy shook his head.

"He's not my father." The young boy stated, his brows furrowing. I cocked my head, tearing a piece of my tattered cloak and reached forward to wipe the blood from the boys face. He flinched, causing me to pause, but he didn't shy away, or try and retreat, so I continued.

"He wasn't?" I asked, though I did feel a bit of relief knowing the fact that Sephiroth did not claim Hojo as his father. Sephiroth moved his head, causing me to smear blood across his nose.

"It's biologically impossible that he was related to me." The boy stated as I finished cleaning off his face. I began to examine his hair; the flecks of blood sliding easily down the strands of silver, dripping onto the floor; like water off a ducks back.

"And how do you figure that?" I inquired. The boy gave a shrug.

"I look nothing like him. And he has a file on my father." His expression looked saddened. "But, Sadly he's dead." The boy said quietly. I felt my heart break. Hojo had thought I was dead, and now his belief had been passed down to Sephiroth, my son. The boy looked thoughtful.

"What did Hojo mean when he called you a 'failed experiment'?" He asked, cocking his head to one side as I stood up to my full height. The top of the boy's head barely came up to my hipbone.

"Hojo experimented on me once, a long time ago." I stated, looking away; the memories still so fresh. "He believed that I was dead, and so he concealed me here." I looked back down at the boy, whose eyes had gone wide before he bowed his head.

"I'm sorry." I tilted my head, having to strain my ears to hear his muttered apology. I shook my head.

"It isn't your fault. In fact, all of this is my fault." I said grimly, kneeling back down and taking the boy's chin between my gloved fingers. "My fault that he's tortured you." The boy looked startled at my comment.

"What?"

"I should have stopped her. I could have saved you both." His eyes widened as realization dawned on him.

"Are you talking about my mother?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Do you know anything about her?" I inquired.

"Just her name. Jenova." He stated, and I felt my stomach clench, and anger bubble up in my chest.

"Jenova is not your mother!" I snapped. "She isn't even human!" He jumped at my anger, and I had to force myself to rain it in.

"But, but I have her cells! How, if she's not human, than, than what is she? What am I?" I stood and crossed my arms.

"You're human." I assured, agitated with what Hojo had done to the boy, and what he had put into his head. "Your mother was a beautiful woman. And she was human."

"How do you know that?"

"Because, I'm your father." I whispered, afraid of what I'd just admitted, and how the boy might react. He certainly must hate me, hate me for doing nothing to save him or his mother, hate me for everything Hojo had done to him. I could handle that hate of the world, but somehow, I didn't think I could handle the hate of this little boy. Sephiroth's green eyes were wide as he gazed up at me.

He hasn't said anything, leaving me discouraged, and a little irritated. I left him in the hall as I continued my wandering about the manner, thinking, wondering what would happen now. After a few minutes I paused near one of the large windows at the top of the stairs and gazed out, blinking in surprise when something bumped my leg. Looking around, I found the boy on the floor rubbing his forehead. A moment later he looked up at me. We gazed at each other for a moment before I turned and continued on my way, glancing back as I rounded a corner to find the boy following me; though at a distance.

'I think he likes you.' I ignored the voice echoing in my head as I entered one of the studies, crossing to the sofa and taking a seat. I spent a lot of my time reading; I was never bothered here for many of the towns people believed the old Shinra manor was haunted. Sephiroth followed, and came to stand in front of me, watching me for a few moments before taking a seat on the floor. It irritated me that he wouldn't say anything. I wanted him to say something!

'Isn't it normally the other way around?'

'What do you mean?'

'You don't want people to speak and thus you stay silent, leaving an awkward silence which ends up causing them to speak? And now that he's doing it you can't stand it.' The demon chuckled. 'Like father like son.'

"What was she like?" I blinked and looked down at the boy. "My mother." He added. "What was she like?" He asked. I took a moment before shifting.

"She was a beautiful, intelligent woman." I finally stated. "She was devastated by what Hojo did to me, and her, and you. If you would like, I could take you to see her grave." I offered.

"I'd like that." He stood up as the room was cast into a bright red orange light and then darkness. I glanced over at the window; the sun had set. Standing, my eyes adjusted to the dim light. I felt my armored hand grabbed and blinked down to see Sephiroth had attached himself to me.

"Are you ok?" I asked. The question sounded rather cold to my ears, but the boy didn't seem to mind.

"I don't like the dark, I can't see!" He stated. I grunted in response before beginning to walk, my hand slipping from his. I felt him latch onto my cape, and following close behind me. I suddenly felt like a dog on a leash. Walking into one of the bedrooms I turned on the lights, casting a weak yellow glow to fill the room. Sephiroth released my cape and blinked in the dim lighting. I walked towards the nearest bookshelf and pushed it aside, exposing a hidden staircase.

"No!" I paused and looked back at the boy, who had a horrified look on his pale face. I frowned, framed in the doorway.

"What?" It was late, and I had every intention of returning to my coffin for the night. The boy shook his head frantically.

"Don't go down there! Not down to the lab, please!" He cried, his eyes beginning to shine. "I don't want to go down there."

"Then stay up here." I said matter-o-factly, before mentally kicking myself. I sounded so harsh, and regretted my words at the sight of the boys trembling lip.

"I, I don't want to stay up here by myself." He muttered. I moved back into the room, approaching him.

"How old are you Sephiroth?" I inquired.

"Five." He answered. So, he was quite young. I couldn't blame him for not wanting to be left alone, nor blame him for not wanting to go down to the lab. Sighing, I held back a growl of frustration before walking to the light and switching it off. Turning back to the boy, I took his hand and lead him to the bed that was in the room. I gave it several hard thumps, dust floating into the air, before picking him up and setting him on the mattress.

The room faced the still low full moon, casting the room in deep pitch black shadows, and bright silver shaped light. He watched me as I removed my cape, and head band before sliding my hand out of the golden gauntlet. Removing my boots, I moved over to the bed and crawled over to the wall, lying down on my side, sliding my arm beneath my head. Closing my eyes with a sigh, I prepared for sleep.

I could feel him shifting ever so often, rolling over, and over, almost every ten seconds. I sighed. If this continued I'd never fall asleep. My eyes snapped open and I glanced down. Sephiroth had snuggled up against my side, his head resting on my chest, sound asleep. I blinked, my eyes softening as a small smile tugged at my lips. Slinking my arm over him, I pulled him close, curling myself around him protectively, closing my eyes, and letting sleep claim me. I would pay for my sins against Lucresia, and Sephiroth. I'd protect him. My son.