Author's note: This is the final chapter of "Try,Try Again" you can check out the sequel called "If at First You Don't Succeed". You can find it here:

h t t p : / / w w w . f a n f i c t i o n . n e t / s / 7 2 0 8 5 9 1 / 1 / (removes spaces)

Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play.

Big thank you to our beta SephirothxAerith for Betaing and all of her contributions

000

Sephiroth ran his fingers down the smooth steel of a tall metal locker. He always did this when he was feeling uncertain or apprehensive about his situation or, even more so, his future. It was not the metal locker that he sought comfort in, but the object that lay behind its locked metal doors.

Masamune...

In the many months since his inanimate companion had been confiscated as a safety measure by Cloud, he often paid unseen visits to it's cell, seeking the comfort of its familiarity, to help him keep his jumbled nerves steady and calm in this new and strange existence he had found himself placed in.

Bereft of his beloved Songbird, sheltered by people who had every right to hate him, and acting as the planet's personal containment unit for his alien mother, he always longed to hold the one thing that had always remained constantly by his side since he was a child.

However, he would not betray the boundary placed on the door in the shape of a padlock, which was more symbolic than anything else. He respected his hosts far to much now to do that.

Cloud observed Sephiroth from the door in silence for a while. He'd seen this before... like a child with a favorite toy put just out of reach. Unlike a child though, Sephiroth knew how to pick a lock easily, and certainly possessed the strength to crush one if he truly wished to. Yet, the man had not, merely contenting himself with Masamune's whereabouts.

When Cloud had taken the sword, it was initially a security thing... but at some point, without any of them realizing it, had also turned into a test. A test to see if Sephiroth could (and would) accept boundaries others placed on him and to prove that he was truly dedicated to being different from before. Thus far, he'd passed wonderfully well...better then that, all things considered.

Cloud had also noticed a pattern: Sephiroth usually showed up near Masamune when he was troubled, like after he had seen the banora white tree on the cliff and after the first attack Jenova made on his mind. Perhaps Masamune was more than a mere weapon, but sort of a security blanket Sephiroth clung to. It was one thing that had remained unchanged from the happier times that had once been.

Now, Cloud stood at a cross roads. He could continue to test Sephiroth this way (hardly fair and just a tad pointless) or allow Sephiroth to go to the next, critical, part of the test, and entrust the sword back to it's owner.

Cloud cleared his throat to make his presence known.

Sephiroth had heard Cloud's approach even before the blond had officially made himself known so he was not startled by the sudden sound. Without turning around, Sephiroth let out a breath before murmuring stoically. "Just paying a visit."

"I see that." A moment of semi-comfortable silence, "Nervous?"

"I have some apprehension about tomorrow." Sephiroth said simply. Tomorrow he would begin his RN training. He always felt apprehensive about new situations, mainly the unknown variables that lay down the path before him, and the unpredictability of those variables. He felt this even before missions and battles in SOLDIER. And yet on the flip side, it was the unpredictability in a battle and the fast thinking that it required that he relished when actually immersed in the new situation itself. However, this "night before" syndrome always had his nerves twisting in knots as his mind went over every possible scenario and calculated possible solutions. Even then there were always factors that he knew he could not foresee, and that always troubled him.

"We could work off some of that energy with a match. We have enough daylight." Tifa was downstairs with the kids, and Marlene was due to return to school tomorrow after fully recovering from her injuries.

"It would help clear my head." Sephiroth nodded, finally turning around. It was true: a good spar, some heavy physical exertion would help calm his nerves by releasing the terrible tension that was winding them up.

"Good. Only let's do something extra special for this occasion." Cloud then walked over to the locker, pulled out the key and unlocked it. He gently pulled Masamune out with all the care and respect he showed First Tsurugi, before offering it to Sephiroth.

A genuine look of shock played across Sephiroth's features as he stared at his sword in Cloud's hand. Was the other man serious? Or was it just another test of his humanity? His mind quickly calculated a strategy to bridge both scenarios. Instead of just grabbing Masamune from Cloud's hand like he wanted to do, he took the more diplomatic approach and held out his hand for Cloud to place Masamune in.

Cloud, with barely a moment's hesitation to his pride, gently lowered the sword into it's owner's hands.

"How's it feel?" Cloud asked, trying not to think too hard about this.

Sephiroth unsheathed the mighty sword and finally looked upon Masamune for the first time in almost a year. He carefully examined the blade like a parent checking a child for wounds. The surface was unblemished and shimmered as he always remembered. "You've taken good care of it," he murmured quietly.

Cloud didn't show it, but the morsel of praise sent a warmth of pride through him.

"So, how are we going to sneak out this time?" Sephiroth asked as he re-sheathed Masamune.

"Out the window," Cloud told him, not even batting an eye, "If Yuffie can do it..."

"And what shall our story be if she catches us coming back with this?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow motioning to Masamune.

"... She DOESN'T catch us."

"Understood." Sephiroth nodded.

000

And a good spar it was too, lasting just under an hour and succeeding (mostly) in what the participants needed: namely taking the edge off their nervous energies.

However, Cloud could not completely brush away the feeling of fear when First Tsuguri sung with Masamune as they clashed. The familiar song sent chills down his spine as it brought back frighteningly vivid memories of his last clash with the mighty sword during the attempted reunion.

Adding to his apprehension was the fact that when he fought the amalgamation of Jenova and Sephiroth's fractured soul, that puppet had been arrogant and relied on his strength and speed to merely overwhelm Cloud.

The Sephiroth he fought now was cool headed and calculating. Every step was measured, every strike timed and sure, and Cloud was finding it difficult to keep up. He could almost see the wheels in Sephiroth's head turning every time he looked into the man's eyes. They were analyzing his every move, his every attack, no doubt looking for weaknesses and strategizing how to exploit those weaknesses the next time the attack was used. This was not the Calamity's child; this was the revered General of SOLDIER

It made Cloud wonder if he had faced this Sephiroth in that fight for the planet a few years ago, if he might not have won.

And yet Cloud had not felt the adrenaline run so deliciously through his veins in a long time. The song of swords always did this to him, and in this fight he did not have the fate of the world on his shoulders. He could just enjoy this good exercise like anyone else.

However, despite the great exercise, it didn't stop Cloud, hours later, from laying awake in bed, long after the other residents of 7th Heaven were asleep. Snuggling Tifa against his body like his old teddy bear, Mr. Rags (because that was what his mother had made the squishy smiling bear from), trying to drift off. It irked the man, because he felt like a hypocrite. He'd handed over the sword with all outward trust, but laid awake wondering, hoping he'd made the right call.

Of course I did. He'll be fine...

This could go so, so bad...

Shut up! With that order to his subconscious, Cloud snuggled Tifa even further to himself, smiling a little as she let out a content sound, before forcing his eyes to close.

000

Sephiroth stood in the doorway, dressed once again in the armor and black leather of SOLDIER's general and monster. He slipped into the room as silent as death. In the dim blue light of the digital clock, his very shadow crawled across the walls like black claws reaching down to the bed where his nemesis slept. He loomed over the sleeping Cloud, his great black wing unfurled like the dark angel he was. He raised Masamune and in much the same way he'd slain Aerith so long ago, he brought the shimmering blade down through Cloud's heart.

Cloud's eyes flew open before he shot up in bed, breathing in quick gasps, hand flying straight to his heart. Catching his breathe, his conscious registered everything was fine. Fingers brushing his shoulder made him turn to see Tifa had been jolted awake too.

"Cloud?" She asked after a minute, her eyes searching his.

"A nightmare... just a nightmare..." Cloud mumbled to reassure them both. Tifa leaned against him and allowed him to squish her close before she gently pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"We're all okay, Chocobo," she murmured to reassure him. But Cloud knew what he'd really have to do... to fully put his mind at ease.

"I think I'm going to make myself some warm milk," he told her, flipping the covers off himself and began getting out of bad.

"I can keep you company," Tifa offered and started to get out of bed, too, despite being rather exhausted from a busy day.

"No-no Teef, you just got to bed an hour ago. Go back to sleep," he encouraged.

"Are you sure?" Tifa asked, though she was rather tired, "I don't mind."

"Go back to sleep Teef," Cloud told her firmly, snatching a quick kiss before she snuggled back under the covers and was back to sleep before Cloud had slipped out of their room, quietly as possible.

Once out of his room, rather then downstairs, Cloud crept down the hallway on the well worn path to his office, and quietly as possible opened the door...

Meanwhile Sephiroth slept rather peacefully curled around his sheathed sword as if it were a teddy bear. The night before he left for a mission and every time he went to sleep during a mission he slept with the sword both for protection and to ease his troubled mind. While beginning the new program tomorrow was not so life threatening as a SOLDIER mission, the old habit of taking Masamune to bed calmed his nerves considerably.

Cloud, peaking in at the sight, found it very difficult not to laugh or move too much. So it seemed that he wasn't the only one in need of a teddy bear... it was an enduring and somewhat surprising aspect to the legend...

Sephiroth's senses picked up on Cloud's energy waves and it woke him. "Cloud...?"

"Sorry," Cloud whispered, mind racing to cover, "Thought I heard something in here." He made to shut the door and thus slip away with his dignity intact.

Sephiroth blinked a few times before shrugging and settling his head back down to return to sleep. He was going to need all he could get.

0000

Sephiroth paid Cloud's midnight visit little mind the following morning, when the kids greeted him with great peels of excitement, much more then their first day of school. Tifa got them distracted with cereal and making sure they had their things together, then surprised Sephiroth by offering to drive him to school along with the kids.

Finally, Tifa managed to usher everyone into the truck and get going before the kids were late. After dropping off the exuberant youngsters, Tifa turned down the road to head toward the place where Sephiroth would be receiving his instruction.

"Excited?" she asked, glancing back at him in the rear view mirror. Denzel had called "shotgun" first so Sephiroth and Marlene ended up in the back seats.

"Eager." Sephiroth answered simply.

"Yeah?" Tifa asked with a grin, remembering how much she'd enjoyed her classes while getting licensed to be a bar-tender, "Which one has you the most eager?"

"Wound care." He hoped the sight of something familiar from the battlefield would help satisfy the blood lusty half of himself, even if it was to heal instead of to hack. Gore was gore, pain was pain, no matter how it was inflicted.

"Oh?"

"Yes, it will be a very different thing to heal the wounds instead of... creating them. " Sephiroth said softly, the image of himself slashing Tifa with Masamune so long ago flashing briefly though his memory.

Tifa made a non-committal noise, remembering just as vividly as Sephiroth the sword, and choose to back away from the land-mind,

After an uneasy silence. Sephiroth finally spoke. "Are you sure you are all right with Cloud giving Masamune back to me?"

"So far, so good. But then... I haven't seen it yet. Felt okay, last night when Cloud told me."

"I will keep it hidden from you then." Sephiroth said firmly.

Tifa let out a frustrated sound before quickly pulling over and switching off the truck's engine, then faced Sephiroth directly, "Don't hide Masamune. Cloud did stuff like that, after.. Zack, to protect himself and everyone else. And it always ended creating more hurt then it prevented. I appreciate the respect and sensitivity you're trying to show... but I'm tougher then I look."

Sephiroth raised a curious eyebrow at her. "What would you have me do then? We are getting along well. I do not want to drive a wedge between us so to speak."

Tifa thought that one over for a minute, "I just need to get desensitized to it; separate the sword from what it did that night. Like I have... with you."

Sephiroth shook his head and looked pensively out the window. "I can't get rid of it; when I was younger, it was the closest thing I had to a teddy bear."

"And I'm not asking you to! I just need time like I did when you first started living with us. Eventually Masamune will become just... Masamune."

Sephiroth looked back at her and gave her a formal nod. "I understand."

"Good." she then started the engine, and eased back into traffic, "Just no swords at the breakfast table please!"

"Agreed." Sephiroth smirked.

"So... a teddy bear huh?"

Sephiroth let out a breath wishing he had not used that term before. "Hojo did not think a real teddy bear or stuffed toys of any kind were appropriate"

"... so you made do with what he allowed. I know I'm not the first person to ask this but... what in the name of all Shackti's arms was wrong with him?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "He wanted me to grow up fast, no feelings or emotional attachments to anything. However, he did not realize a human being could form the same kind of a attachment to a sword."

"Mmm... Hojo didn't really seem to understand anything about Humans... but I guess in this case, it was lucky for you, sort-of-speak."

"I always felt safe with it at my side," a fond looked softened Sephiroth's eyes for a moment, before they hardened again with an old resentment. "Sometimes it was the only time I felt safe."

"That I most definitely understand, and I won't take that away from you."

Slowly Sephiroth managed a small honestly grateful smile at her.

Finally, Tifa decided to get off the subject, though it was rather cleansing to discuss these things with Sephiroth, but right now it was the future, not the past, that they ought to focus on. "Got all your books and supplies?"

Sephiroth nodded. "Everything that was on the list, and a few extra supplies..." After a pause he let out a breath. "What if I cannot do this..?"

Claret eyes flicked to Sephiroth for a moment, and Tifa smiled as she thought so much alike.

"Why wouldn't you be able to do it?"

"I don't know...perhaps I do not have the proper temperament. If I have an attack, what if I do something wrong and someone dies because of it?" Sephiroth said verbally stating the bad scenarios he had been going over in his head the previous night.

"I wouldn't have thought you had the temperament for kids, but look how well you handle Denzel and Marlene!" She quickly took another turn towards the local college, "As for an attack... well all you can do is excuse yourself and try to get it under control." She let out a sigh and acknowledged, "That last one... that's a tricky one. Not sure what I can tell you besides 'train hard and keep your eyes open'. Anyway, I don't think they'll be hitting you with that hard life-endangering stuff right off the bat"

"Yes, I must remember that this is not SOLDIER trial by fire." Sephiroth said with a soft laugh, remembering watching Angeal and Genesis's first real combat simulation as SOLDIERs. It wasn't pretty...

When they finally pulled up to the school, Sephiroth let out a deep breath before stepping out of the truck. He went over to the driver's side window for a final good-bye. "You did not have to drive me. I would have been fine walking."

"I had to drop the kids off anyway, and it's a gorgeous fall day! Besides," Here she laughed, "I'm making up for not being able to take the kids to school their first day."

"Ah, so my first day will have to suffice."

"Working for me so far." Tifa smiled and they lapsed into a bit of silence before she lowly reminded him, "Worst comes to worst... if it doesn't work out, 7th Heaven and Strife Delivery Service aren't going anywhere; you've got us til you figure something else out."

Despite taking comfort in her words, Sephiroth remained serious. "I do not know how I can ever truly thank you."

"Hey, I'm good at getting broody swordsmen back into life." Tifa joked, before turning serious herself, "I've been thinking about this ever since AVALANCHE came here. Without you, both halves of you, I might still be stuck in Nibelhiem, guiding tourists in those ridiculous clothes!" her chuckle held a hint of sadness and strain, "Nibelhiem never happening might give me my father back... but I wouldn't have necessarily been happy."

"Yes, fate is strange in its ways... If it were not for Nibelheim I would still be ShinRa's prized slave," Sephiroth said darkly. "And Hojo's pet project."

Tifa shuddered, "Now that's something I wouldn't wish on even President ShinRa." A brief pause, "Hojo got his in the end anyway."

"Too bad it was not sooner rather than later." Tifa remained silent, after all she'd never been subjected to Hojo the way Vincent, Sephiroth, Aerith, Red XIII, Zack and Cloud had.

"Perhaps Nibelheim only hastened what was inevitable," Sephiroth said suddenly looking distant. "ShinRa could not leave Genesis running around alive, after several failed attempts they would have forced me to dispatch him personally and then I would have gone mad."

"And I might've been forced to leave Nibelhiem... Father never would've accepted me and Cloud, would've forced me into a choice. Guess who would've won?"

"Strife." Sephiroth answered without a moment's hesitation.

"My hero." Tifa affirmed, her face lighting up at the mention of Cloud.

Even though it seemed like a meager show of gratitude after all they had done for him, Sephiroth remembered Angeal and Zack's words about expressing your feelings no matter how inconsequential they seemed. Sometimes people just needed to hear it out loud. "Thank you... For everything."

Tifa handed him the lunch she'd packed, chalked full of good stuff she knew he liked but also a nice treat (a caramel apple) at the VERY bottom she and the kids had made for him last night, "Hey... no trouble. Have a good first day, learn a lot!"

"I will." Sephiroth waved before turning to face the school that would be the next step toward his new future.

Fin.

000