A/N: Hey guys. I just want to take a second to talk about when exactly does the story takes place. It starts a little more than a week before the Genesis attacks on Midgar, when Zack meets Cissnei and then Aerith. But yeah, that's about it though. Let's do this!
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Cloud sighed as he held on to the train's handle bar, looking around absently at other passengers. He fought the urge to look through a window, it made the motion sickness even worse. He then heard a voice from the loudspeaker, "First train out of Sector 1 Station. Next stop is Sector 5. Expected time of arrival is 7:30AM, Midgar Standard Time..." Ten more minutes, that was all he had left to wait until he could get off the cursed train. He would've moved around if he had the space to help curb the sickness, but the train was too crowded.
Cloud was assigned to patrol the Sector 5 slums. Residents claimed to see a growing population of monsters, which prompted Shinra to send infantrymen to keep the people safe. The higher ups considered using members of SOLDIER to deal with the problem, but the amount of members dwindled recently. The remaining available ones were used to patrol the upper plates instead, using infantrymen will just have to do. Cloud accepted the assignment disappointedly. He wanted to move up, to make SOLDIER, and this didn't feel like it would help at all. Was he doomed to a life of a mere infantryman? He tried to not think about it, but the doubts kept finding a way to creep in.
He wore the standard clothes of a Shinra grunt, all except for the helmet he chose not to wear. Whenever possible he would take it off during missions and this one was no exception. He then scowled at his weapon. The machine gun strapped to his right hip was his mark of failure. Contrary to what some on the outside believe, a sword in the hands of a worthy warrior was a thousand times more deadly than any gun. It's no coincidence that members of SOLDIER including Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis all used swords. To be ordered to use the machine gun was another painful reminder to Cloud that he wasn't in SOLDIER.
The train whistled and slowed to a stop. Now that they weren't mobile, Cloud peeked out the window to see the Sector 5 station. The blond let go of the rail and bursted out of the train, his queasy stomach started to get the best of him. He hurriedly separated himself from the other passengers and slouched over to stop himself from throwing up. After a few moments, he reached in his pocket for a remedy. He gulped it as fast as he could and felt better moments later.
With a clearer mind Cloud began the walk to the slums market to start his watch. His blue eyes darted about, everything appeared dirty or rusted, with junk scattered all over the road. In case people somehow forgot where they were, the giant metallic plate that replaced the sky was there to help people remember. He occasionally heard crashing thuds around him. Sometimes people who lived above would drop their trash down to the slums. Although some would complain about it, others embraced it; it was possible for the garbage to be salvaged for gil. But what bothered Cloud the most was the air. It was stale and stuffy, like breathing in a boarded basement. It made him think of Nibelheim where fresh air wasn't a problem.
The blond didn't have forever to wander the slums, his thoughts were interrupted by a man running frantically towards him. "Guard!" The green vested citizen shouted, "Legions of monsters have appeared at the park!"
Although the park was located in sector 6, it was part of Cloud's jurisdiction. He looked around, no other infantrymen were present. "I'll take care of it." He said calmly, "Stay behind the gate." He ran towards the park while the man heeded the blond's words and stayed put.
When Cloud made it to the park he saw six overgrown purple worms, beastly creatures with rounded mouths that were as big as a human face. They surrounded a brown haired girl whose back was facing Cloud but he could tell she was frightened. They left an oozing trail as they slithered towards her.
The infantryman wasted no time whipping out his machine gun. He pulled the trigger and unloaded a barrage bullets on the first three hapless creatures until they turned to a shade of red before disintegrating to nothing. He wanted to finish off the last three but the girl was in the way, so he dashed forward to distract the last of the monsters, they moved away from her and started to approach Cloud. The girl turned around and stared at Cloud but he didn't notice; he was too focused on shooting the worms until they were gone. The bullets were enough, the monsters eventually faded away as the others did.
With the threat gone and the girl seemingly unharmed, Cloud sighed in relief. It wouldn't be right to just leave though, he had to make sure nothing happened to her. He turned to the girl and closed the gap between them.
"Are you okay?" He asked with audible concern.
"Yeah, I'm all right." The girl looked up and smiled at him. Cloud looked at her intensively for the first time. Her long chocolate brown hair was tied into a braid with a small hairband. She wore a knee-length baby blue dress that had darker blue stripes from the waist down, the colors were a clear opposite to the dreary palette that the slums welcomed Cloud with. Her radiant green eyes left an innocent impression on him, he ballparked her age to be similar to his, give or take a year. He couldn't describe it but her smile resonated in him, like the way a full moon could light up a dark night sky. Looking away was never this difficult; he wanted to stay and talk with the mysterious girl.
Before the infantryman could say anything to her, he heard a man cry out from where he came from. "Monsters are here!" The man screamed. Cloud turned his head to the source of the sound before sparing the girl one last look.
"Stay safe and run from any more monsters. I'll keep watch." He concluded reassuringly.
"I will officer, thank you." The girl said eagerly with hands clasped behind her back. Cloud slowly dragged his eyes off of hers before turning around to go after the monsters.
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He walked through all of Sector 5, keeping his ears open to the cries of help or the snarls of beasts. He took care of the monsters that threatened the green eyed girl and the ones that attacked the man, but no other incidents occurred. The only thing he heard were the murmurs of people shopping at the slums market and the laughs of children playing games. A few times he went back to the park with the hope of meeting the girl again, but only two kids were there.
The end of his patrol lead him back to the slums market. Although Cloud was happy that there were no more creatures, he was bored with the lack of stuff to do. On the closing minutes of his shift, a young boy called out to him from the corner of the market.
"Hey there, mister!" He beamed. Cloud furrowed his brow and shuffled his way to the child.
"Welcome to the number-guessing game parlor!" The boy greeted with an enthusiastic smile. "There are great prizes today, as always. Try your luck for 100 gil a game."
It was tempting and no monsters appeared to be on the rise, but Cloud planned to tell him no, he didn't have 100 gil to spend. Before he could decline the offer, the boy added, "I'll even let the first game be free because of what you did for Aerith."
Aerith... It occurred to him that that was the name of the girl earlier. Was she here earlier and he missed her when he was somewhere else? The mention of Aerith piqued his interests. "I'll play for a little bit."
The boy grew visibly excited, even more so than earlier. "Okay now, what you have to do is pick a number from 1 to 6. Of the 6 people who walk by this store, you have to guess how many will be children. If the number you choose matches the number of children, then you win the big prize." The boy paused a second before finishing with, "By the way, today's prize is Soma."
Cloud looked up absently, thinking of a possible number. He had no idea what to pick; for he all knew it could be zero kids or six kids with twenty more in tow. His concentration snapped at the sound of a familiar voice coming from behind him. "Can I pick for him?"
Cloud turned around and noticed it was the girl from earlier. She returned his stare with a confident smirk, she must've felt good about the numbers.
"Sure." The boy darted his eyes to Cloud. "Mister, you should take her advice. Aerith has really good instincts."
"What makes you so sure?" Cloud asked Aerith with a joking skeptical tone.
"I just know." She grinned confidently.
Cloud wasn't certain if she was bluffing or not, but even if she was, her guess was still better than his. "Sure, go ahead."
"Hmm," With the green light, Aerith rested her chin on an open palm. Cloud eyed her in suspicion, wondering if it was just for show.
"Four." Aerith declared suddenly before meeting Cloud's gaze.
"Alright," Cloud held back a chuckle before turning to the boy. "We'll go with four." He finished before focusing his attention on the entrance. Aerith and the boy did likewise in anticipation. A mother with her son were the first people, that was one. Two kids playing tag followed suit, making it three. Nobody else came during the next few moments. Cloud was prepared to tell Aerith sorry for being wrong, but one more child jetted through the gate, running after the two kids who were playing tag. Cloud stood stunned while the brunette looked back at him triumphantly.
"Aerith you were right!" The boy said, handing Cloud the soma, "Here's your prize!"
Cloud eyed the item before turning to Aerith in bewilderment. "How did you know?"
She laughed. "I saw them outside before coming here."
He shook his head in disbelief before putting the soma away. "Well, thank you. I just ran out of these."
"My pleasure..." Her voice trailed off, signaling the blond to give her his name.
"The name's Cloud." He picked up on it.
Cloud... "I'm Aerith. Nice to meet you." She said politely.
The two remained quiet. Cloud's gaze was shackled to her jade green orbs like earlier, their beauty prevented him from expressing himself the way he wanted to. Aerith tried to read him, she could tell his mind was hesitant in finding the words to say, an act that contradicted his spontaneous fighting style when he saved her earlier. How can someone who fights like that be so shy? She continued to study to him, her eyes wandered upward to look at his spiky Blond hair with interest.
"Is your hair always like this?" Curiosity edged her voice.
Cloud shrugged. He didn't think his hair was weird. "Yeah." He stood there as she deepened her gaze.
The brunette's interests grew further. She raised a hand and inched it closer to his head. "May I?"
"Uh...okay." He said stiffly. Aerith ran her hand through his mane while Cloud stood motionless.
"It's so soft." She mused as she started to get into it and added her other hand into the mix, indulging in Cloud's awkwardness. She combed the spiky tips with her fingers, sometimes the same place more than once; her smile widened. "I didn't think it would be this soft from looking at it."
Cloud looked at her uncomfortably, having no idea what to do or say. "Is that good?"
She finally pulled back her hands from him and returned his gaze, green eyes met blue yet again. "Yeah... it's really nice." She ended softly with dipped eyelids.
A growing smile replaced the nervousness Cloud displayed earlier. The attention Aerith gave him was a refreshing change from his days at home, it left him warm and relaxed.
But Something caught the infantryman's eye. He looked skyward, there was a gap of space underneath the plate where people can see enough of the sky to tell if it was nighttime or not. He noticed from it that the sun was setting. He pulled out his phone for a second opinion but it agreed with the sky.
"It's going to get dark soon. I have to take the train back." He admitted regretfully. If he could, he would sleep at a nearby inn, but he had to report to his superiors in person the next morning. If he was a member of SOLDIER then it would be possible to relay the report by phone, but grunts that are a dime a dozen don't get the same luxury.
"Oh." Aerith lowered her head in disappointment for a brief moment. "You're right. I should get going then."
Cloud didn't want the day with her to end just yet, but it had to. He knew the next train would leave in roughly ten minutes, which was barely enough time to walk there if he started now. It was the last train, he had to make it.
But he had to know one last thing. "Is it safe for you to go home alone?" He asked her.
"It's not far from here." Aerith spared a brisk nod, but her smile gradually faded as she pondered the next thought. "Will you come back?"
"Yeah. It's my job to look after the sector 5 slums. I'll come back in the morning." He was happy to be the bearer of good news. "See you tomorrow." He waved.
Her lips curled upward at his answer before waving back. "Good night Cloud." And with that they parted ways, Aerith went back home while Cloud walked along the dirt road to the train station.
When he arrived he noticed that neither the train nor anyone else was there. He flipped open his phone to check the time, I guess I got here early. Cloud waited alone idly, occasionally peering down the tracks, hoping to see the train. Before he had a chance to unravel his thoughts, he stared to feel tense. Despite nobody else being around, it felt like a pair of eyes were on him, Am I being watched? His blue eyes shifted all over, but he couldn't see anybody.
The loud whistle of the train broke his concentration. With the locomotive in front of him, he shrugged away his suspicions and boarded the train.
There were only a few passengers on the train this time around. Cloud started to get sick again but had the room to walk around and stretch, which went a long way to hold off his motion sickness. As he extended his arms, his attention was caught by the front of a newspaper read by one of the patrons. He was far enough to only read the title, "Members of SOLDIER save the day!"
Cloud impulsively turned to his weapon, frowning, a sudden pain tugged at his heart. His fist clenched on it's own accord. He knew he had to make SOLDIER, he left everything he knew and moved to another continent for this. He told everyone at home he would make it, it just had to happen. He had to prove the detractors wrong, he had to make his mother proud, and he had to fulfill his promise...
In the midst of his reflection, he reminisced about today. The pit in his stomach gradually subsided for relief. His thoughts kept finding their way to the image of Aerith's contagious smile. He couldn't explain it, but there was something about the brunette that just made him feel better. He wistfully hoped tomorrow would bring another encounter with her.
But as he thought about her, he recalled her reaction when he said it was getting late. She choose to not look at the sky, but to look away instead. It left Cloud puzzled, the way she did it gave him the vibe that she was almost afraid to look at the sky. He discarded the theory however, it was probably just something else.
Minutes later the last train home made its way back to Sector 1. The infantryman got off the train and slowly made his way home, interested on what the next day would bring.
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A/N: And that's it for now! Hope you guys liked it! Please share with me your feelings... about the fic. And hope you guys enjoy your day.