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[miniroth]

[He has experienced few concrete warnings of what's to come, but had on the other hand experienced the distant kindness of his future counterpart.

There had been comfort, if he'd allowed himself to accept it. Which he didn't, as much as he should have.

It sits against knowing Cloud's suffered severe mako poisoning. Had, recently, relapsed or .. whatever that had been. The balance inevitably tips in his experience, not someone else's.

The groan that follows is the groan of refusing to accept that he's not going to be allowed to go back to sleep any time soon, and is annoyed by it.]

Cloud, don't make enemies where there might not be one. A surefire way to get a fight is to start one. If I'm really that powerful in a few years, then you wouldn't be alive right now if he wanted to hurt you. So don't change that. Okay?

[nimbuster]

You've got no idea what you're talking about.

[There's a pause, as Cloud rubs his face and takes a breath.]

I - sorry. Didn't...mean to snap at you. He's not trying to kill me, he wants...my help.

[His tone makes it clear what he thinks of helping that guy.]

But he won't hesitate to hurt anybody he has reason to think I might give a shit about. He - ugh, this isn't how I wanted to do this.

[His voice gets quieter on that last part.]

[miniroth]

[Something terribly dry creeps into the younger Sephiroth's voice.]

I know what I'm talking about better than you want to believe.

[A bit of silence, before he sighs. So much for sleep. Goodbye, rest. There's a mutter that sounds awfully like 'why do I have to deal with this crap-' before there's a thud. Blanketrustle.]

Alright. Fine. Let's chase your runaway cactuar. How many of the people you 'give a shit' about has he personally hurt or killed within the past, mm, year before you arrived here? Specifically and only because you give a shit about them, not because they threw a brick at him or something. By hurt I mean hospitalization or a lot of frantic cure casting to keep them from immediately dying.

[nimbuster]

[Cloud sighs, too, a little sharply.]

No. I'm not doing this. You don't believe me, fine. You don't have to. Just...tell me if you run into him. Please. It's not just a matter of hurting people or fighting, he could do even worse. To you, specifically.

[If the adult got it into his head to take over his younger self or turn him against the rest of them with Jenova's power - or against Gaia, just to make some awful point - there's no way in hell the kid would be able to fight it.]

[miniroth]

[Things he's not likely to do until he understands why he should: tell cloud if he encounters the older Sephiroth.]

I'm guessing the answer is 'none'. You should think about that for a while.

[His future self had cared quite a bit about Cloud. But people can only take so much provocation.]

...We're all here for a reason, Cloud. Every single one of us, and it's not to fight each other. Don't lose track of what's really important.

[nimbuster]

You're guessing wrong. But it doesn't matter what I say. You're dead set on this all being in my head, and I get it. You don't want me to be right because of what it might say about you, if this is one possibility for your future.

It's not your future anymore. I'm sure of it.

Just...stick with Gaia. I'll check in again later.

[miniroth]

This doesn't say anything at all about me. I already know how this ends. And it's everything I've ever--

[He cuts himself off. It doesn't matter. None of this did. In another decade, fifteen years, he'd be on the other side of the equation and then it would matter. But then it would be his problem. Right now it isn't.]

...Fine.