This fanfic was translated from French by procrazedfan, which I thank a million times with all my heart! You will find the original version illustrated by the Studio Gothika on my web site FF7 YAOI FANFICS (section “fanfics à suivre”) and in Spanish here, on fanfiction dot net. Links in my profile.

Big kisses from France !

Shiva Rajah

ALIVE !

by Shiva Rajah

translated from french by Procrazedfan

Title in french : “VIVANTS !”

***

Part I

D-Day

Reno looked one last time at the scattered debris of the building and lazily kicked a small piece of cement on the ground.

- Is this with what would be left of the planet if Cloud hadn't stopped Kadaj ? mused Reno when he turned to glance at the enitre wasteland.

- Reno ? the voice of Rude shouted from the other side of the debris. You found something ?

- With that kind of explosion, this place and anything in it are now nothing more than tiny pieces. Or maybe they just dissolved like their brother, deduced Reno.

- With the amount of materia that they had in their bodies, that would be very unlikely that they would s be able to dissolve like that! the voice of Yuffie answered from the underground basement that was unlodged from the blast.

Avalanche, and the Turks were excavating the debris for more than three hours searching for any sign of the corpses that belonged to Kadaj's older brothers.

If the bodies had not disintegrated ,like Rufus Shinra had feared, then that meant the bodies were injected with Jenova's cell reserves, and that some other nut like Hojo would try to get their hands on them.

It was imperative that they had to guard the bodies at all cost. Even if he had to cut them up in pieces and put them in several different boxes, and scatter them to the ends of the earth like he did with that filth those remnants called 'mother'.

Reno wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook his shirt to cool down his sweat soaked chest.

Eighteen hours have already passed them by.

Even though the sun was setting, the temperature did not seem to want to drop.

“Damn heat wave...”

He jumped over some remains of a low concrete wall, looked around him and turned pale.

He was in the center of what had had to be formerly a kind of hall of greeting but had now become an unearthed graveyard.

No one could have guessed that even before the fall of meteor that bleached skeletons would be wedged under rubble of broken down ceilings. Traces of rotted flesh from the poor souls emitted a foul stench in the air.

The Turk stepped backward and something cracked under his heel.

He grimaced guessing the possibilities of what originated the crackling sound.

Shit...

Reno slowly lowered his eyes towards the ground and quivered when he realized that it was an old bleached phalanges of a hand belonging to a child of four or five years at most.

A chill ran down his spine as he continued his search ,and came across a the petite body of a woman clothed with the remainders of a white and blue dress.

Close to the remains of the young girl were the bones of five or six other people, from what the Turk could see. They were probably all killed by the fall of the reinforced concrete beam under which various parts of the bodies couldn't be seen

Reno was going to leave behind the nightmarish sight when a faint growling noise drew his attention, that came from behind what had been formerly a telephone.

He approached the source of the sound without making noise while watching out for loose cables, metal debris and molten plastic.

The first thing which he noticed was a glow of emerald that flashed in contrast to blood that was currently being lapped up by the animal.

The turk observed it in silence and taking guard well not to make the least noise.

It was a strange animal, all in angles and nerves. It was the size of a large dog, it wasn't an ugly animal by any means. In fact, the monster looked majestic while it was perched with it's long elegant legs, shiny fur, and sharp-edged claws.

In any other circumstance, Reno would have been surprised at himself for admiring the creature. It did not matter that it was a monster. But in this case since all he had seen in this place so far was Death,the fact that this creature was alive made it all the more beautiful to him.

He carefully approached the monster with caution while the animal licked the blood in a manner that was almost like it was tasting a fine wine. A bleeding arm that extended from a body that was pinned by the ceiling, had already released its weapon on to the ground. The weapon was a few centimeters away from the owner's slender fingers. The rich silver hair of its owner was spread out over the covered cut ground to form a luxurious carpet under the legs of the monster, like the last homage of a martyr to a cruel animal divinity….

The scene could have decorated the wall of the temple of ancient God.

This almost legendary and powerful animal, licking this body which seemed so fragile in comparison…

The scene was beautiful, yes. Awfully, terribly beautiful.

- Reno ! Get down ! cried Tifa who's resonated sound drew him from the disaster daydream. He immediately ducked from instinct as he heard two shots ring in the air.

Shot in the heart, the beast died while the young woman joined the Turk jumping over the low wall, which Reno himself had crossed a little while ago.

- Reno, You OK ?

- Yes, It astonished Reno to see to see her using a gun with such dexterity. Yes, I… I'm ok...

Bloody hell ! Did he drop the ball or what ?

- What happened ? Rude shouted from the side opposite of the ruins. Why were there gunshots ?

- We found one of the bodies… A monster was licking up it's blood and... Wait... that can't be right...

Her face suddenly paled as Reno walked over. He shook her shoulder to snap her out of it.

- What's wrong yo ?

- Since when does a corpse bleed ? she mused aloud while gravitating towards the body wedged under rubble.

The Turk sprang in front of Tifa getting between her and the pinned remnant.

- Tifa, wait ! What happens, if he wakes up ?

Tifa pushed Reno aside as she began to move the debris from the trapped remnant.

- Shut up and help me get him out !

The both of them were straining as they were lifting the chunk of ceiling, so they could be able to get to the body that was covered in bits of plaster. His left leg was impaled by a sharp metal rod..

Tifa turned over the remnant's silver plated hair and placed her fingers on his neck to check his pulse...

- Well ? asked Reno after he tossed excess debris.

- He's alive, she murmured. Just barely... Rude ! she shouted. Cloud ! Come quickly ! Yazoo is alive !

Reno knelt beside him and inspected the blood-soaked body he held in the arms.

This face…

He hadn't forgotten this face.

When he had fought this blasted incarnated, the Turk had hardly any time to pay attention to detail ,but his child like features appeared almost...graceful? Reno's face suddenly flushed a reddish color.

What would have happened if they had met under different circumstances? Such delicate features at a man, it was almost unreal…

But the face that he beheld...it truly existed, and it was right in front of him.

Yazoo.

That was his name right?

- Where are you ? shouted Cloud from a distance.

- Here ! Reno answered. Right under the remains of blue columns ! Shit, Tifa, he's bleeding alot !

- Do you think he cut an artery ? asked Tifa.

- I don't think so, replied Reno. Nevertheless we need to pull that rusted shrapnel out of there, and stop the bleeding before we bandage the wound, otherwise he will bleed to death.

Reno took his belt of and tightened it around the thigh of injured silver haired man,just above its wound.

- His brother can't be too far, mused Reno as he began to search around for any other signs of life. He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain that all those people went through all those years ago.

He had glanced over the bleached bones wedged under several tons of concrete.

- The poor bastards probably didn't… Tifa ! Over there ! Look ! Under the beam !

He indicated a shadow that was under a beam of concrete as the young woman shook her head.

- I don't see anything.

- That looks like a hand ! There ! Just beside the end of clink !

Tifa inspects the beam closer to see what the Turk was talking about and let a small gasp escape as she saw the other remnant who had lost a good amount of blood from the cuts on his body.

- He isn't going anywhere unless we have some equipment to move him with yo, stated Reno

- Do you think he is still alive ?

- That would almost be impossible considering his body had to be completely crushed by the pillar… Holy shit did he just move ?

- What ?

- His hand moved !

- Wow...

The young woman began to dig under the debris and had to cut into and remove several pieces of plaster to reach the head and the shoulders of the seemingly motionless body.

She did not even need to check his pulse because his wheezing and painful breathing was only too audible.

- Reno ! He's alive too !

The turk shook his head.

This was just too incredible.

- Loz… called Tifa, Loz,can you hear me ?

It really felt strange for her to call his name on familiar terms, because there wasn't anyone else on earth that made her feel mistrust, anger pity, admiration, and confusion all at the same time.

Anger to have beaten him with punts seams in the church, indignation for the hours of anguish spent worrying about Marlène, because he had kidnapped her after their brawl, pity because it knew, now, that it had been only the puppet of Jenova, admiration because he was undoubtedly the man most extremely whom it had ever faced and confusion because… because…

She shook her head to drive out the memory of his large athletic body that was sheathed powerful black leather muscles as she tightened a hesitant hand to cherish the smooth curve of his hairline, to his high face, to following the edge of his elegant nose ,to then barely touching of the end of her fingers to his full lips that were cracked by dehydration.

The silver haired man's eyelashes began to flutter.

- Yazoo…groans Loz of a hardly audible strangled voice. Yazoo…

A reddish foam poured from the corner of the mouth and the young woman shook with worry.

- Reno ! I believe that something pierced through his lungs ! It's gotta be taken out !

The young woman smoothed Loz's short hair of mercury and two cat-like eyes that glowed from mako opened as painful tear's began to shed themselves.

With much difficulty he murmured :

- You...

- Don't move. Help will soon be here. Just hold on for a little while longer.

A smile of a poignant softness took shape on his sensual lips and Tifa was astonished to see such a tender expression on the face of such a man.

- I… continued Loz in spite of the blood which fluid filled lungs. I saw you oftentimes in my dreams… But even when I wake up... I have always have the impression that you are still there...

He spit a net of reddish liquid and fell into a state of unconsciousness.

Tifa's hand was behind the nape of the neck and turned his body sideways in order to prevent him from choking and quivered when she came in contact with the soft skin.

What did he mean when he said those things ?

One thing was sure he had definitely not forgotten her.

And curiously, his confession or rather his exaltation couldn't have happened at his worst possible moment...

To be continued...