Chapter One: The forgotten
"Are you okay?" Cloud turned to the direction of his brunette friend. "You seem a bit under the weather..." She said.
Cloud shook his head. "No. I'm alright."
Tifa sat herself on a fallen pillar. "This place is a mess. Don't you think we should start cleaning up?"
Cloud didn't answer. His eyes were focused on the ruined flower bed to notice that Tifa was saying something to him. "I'm sorry. I ruined all your hard work." He thought.
Tifa's eyes drooped as she watched the blonde warrior stare sadly at the flower bed. Though the flower girl who planted them was gone, he still held deep feelings for her in his heart. Despite Tifa's jealously over the relationship between Cloud and the flower girl, she never found it in her heart to hate her for it. "Why did you have to leave him? Can't you see that he's a wreck without you?" She thought.
As she wiped away a tear that formed from the corner of her eye, she felt a hand place itself on her shoulder. Tifa stiffened at the sudden contact.
"So this was where you two were." Yuffie smiled.
Tifa felt her body relax. "Oh, Yuffie-chan. It's just you." She sighed.
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Of course. Who else were you expecting?"
"I don't know. But you suprised me for a moment there. Don't do that!"
Yuffie looked at Tifa with a glint in her eyes. "Hmm. Suprised ya, eh? I guess I ruined whatever moment you and Spike here were having." She was just about to walk out of the church until she heard Cloud mumble something.
"Nothing was going on and never will."
Tears started filling Tifa's eyes as she watched Cloud close the church doors behind him.
Yuffie crossed her arms across her chest. "Jeez. What's with him?" She scowled.
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The two girls arrived shortly at the bar after Cloud did. He was sitting on the couch, reading a book titled, "Till I met you". The ninja turned to the barmaid and pointed to the book. She never knew that Cloud had a thing for books, especially ones with titles like that one. "Tifa, is Spike gay?" Yuffie asked.
"I don't think so." Tifa giggled. "Why?"
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Duh! Look at what he's reading! That's a girly book!" She shouted without noticing that it was loud enough to get the attention of the blonde warrior.
He glared at the two girls. "Why don't you two leave me the hell alone." He snapped.
Yuffie puffed out her cheeks. "Excuse me? Don't talk to me like that, you---" She paused as she felt Tifa tug on her arm.
"Yuffie-chan. It's okay. Let's just leave him alone."
Tifa yanked Yuffie outside with her. She didn't want to see them bicker on like that and cause a scene.
Yuffie pulled her arm off of Tifa's grip and glared at her. "Stop protecting him! He's treating you like shit!" She growled.
Tifa stared at the ground below her, ignoring eye contact. "No. He's not. I understand, that's all."
"If I were you, I'd hurry up and find me a better man to crush on."
A flower was waved next to her ear. She flicked it away at first but when it came back again, she turned around and shouted, "do you mind?! I'm talking here!"
"I'm sorry." The brunette replied.
Yuffie shook her head vigorously, thinking that she was dreaming. Tifa gasped. "Aerith-san?"
The brunette tilted her head. "Uh...yes. How do you--" She paused as Tifa wrapped her arms around her neck.
"Aerith-san! You're back!" She said in between sobs.
Aerith blinked her eyes in confusion. "Back? Back from where?"
"From the promise land..."
Aerith gasped as a sudden surge of pain inflicted her head. She buckled over and flinching in pain. Yuffie yelped and tried helping her back up, but to no avail. The flower girl was gasping for air and muttering foreign language. Tifa held Aerith in her arms and rubbed her back. "Yuffie, hurry back to the bar and get Cloud! Hurry!"
Yuffie nodded as she hurried to the bar.
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"Kirado-sama, what are you reading?" Marlene asked, sitting next to him and peeking at the book's content.
Cloud smiled. "Nothing. Just trying to pass the day."
Marlene watched Cloud as he flipped the page to the next. "Really? You like it?"
"I don't know."
Marlene giggled at the blonde's response. "You don't know? Then why are you reading it?"
Cloud turned to her. "I'm drawn to it."
Loud knocks of the front door caused both Marlene and Cloud to jump off their seats. Marlene walked towards the door and opened it. "Yuffie-sama? Nani no rae?"
Yuffie gasped for air. "Where's Cloud?"
Cloud leaned on the doorway of the living room. "You have a way to annoy people, don't you?"
"Shut up!" She sneered. "Aerith is out there and in trouble!"
Cloud's heart skipped a beat when he heard Aerith's name ring in his ears. "What? Where?" He demanded.
Yuffie pointed to the East road.
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Tifa started slapping Aerith's cheek, trying to regain her conciousness, but to no avail.
"Aerith!" Cloud screamed from the corner of the road.
Tifa gasped and called out for him. "Cloud! Hurry!"
Aerith's eyes slowly opened. "...Clo...ud...?" Her eyes revealed to be vacant.
Cloud ran to her side and gripped her hand. "Aerith...are you okay?"
Aerith snatched her hand away and glopped onto Tifa. Cloud pondered on her sudden reaction to his touch. He thought she would be happy to see him again but here she is, frightened of him. Tifa looked at Cloud and then to Aerith who held onto to her like a scared child. Yuffie and Marlene appeared a moment later, gasping for air.
"Is she okay?" Yuffie asked, breathing hard.
Tifa nodded her head slowly. "Yes, but she's acting strange."
"Tifa-chan..."Aerith managed to say. "Is that you...?" Her eyes appearing to sparkle again.
The group gasped.
"Aerith-neechan!" Marlene cried as she went to hug the flower girl.
Aerith smiled and hugged the little girl back. "Marlene-chan! You've grown!"
Yuffie glanced at Cloud. "What's wrong, Spike? Aren't you going to greet her too?" She said, patting him on the back.
Cloud shook his head and stared at the ground.
Yuffie sighed and pushed him, hard enough for him to land on the flower girl. "Thank me later."
Cloud and Aerith blushed at eachother's nearness. "...I...uh...I'm sorry." He apologized, trying to sit up. But noticed that his hand was settled on her right breast. Her lip trembled and let out a ear-bleeding scream. "Eeek! Ecchi no Henti!" She punched him hard across the face, causing him to fly off of her. Aerith blinked a couple times and looked her trembling fist. She didn't know she could hit like that.
Yuffie started laughing as she helped Cloud up. "Didn't know you were ecchi, Spike." She winked.
"Shut up! I didn't do it on purpose! Besides it was your fault!" He touched his sore cheek. "You pushed me, you moron!"
Yuffie puffed out her cheeks. "Moron?! You fag! I was doing you a favor!"
"I'm not a fag! Shoujo!" He countered back.
Marlene and Tifa stared at their bickering companions. They blushed slightly as the townspeople started whispering about them.
"Just say we don't know them." Marlene whispered.
Tifa nodded.
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At the bar, Cid and Barret were laughing because of what Cloud did to Aerith. Thanks to Yuffie, everyone thought that he was some sort of hentai now.
"Bwahahaha! Didn't know ya had it in ya, Spikey!" Cid remarked.
Barret grinned and took another shot. "Ecchi no Henti, eh?! It suites you!"
A beer bottle came crashing onto Barret's face. He fell backwards from the chair and landing on the hardwood floor.
"Shut up! I didn't do it on purpose!" Cloud shouted.
Cid puffed on his cigar and smirked. "Yeah, yeah. Sit yo' ass down boy! We was only kiddin'!" Cid glanced over towards Aerith's direction. "So she's really back, eh?!"
Cloud nodded. "Don't know how but she's back." He smiled. "I'm glad."
"This means you guys can finally be together." Red XIII noted.
Cloud blushed at the his comment.
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Tifa smiled as she watched Aerith read, "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs" to Marlene.
"And they lived happily ever after." Marlene finished as Aerith closed the book.
"You've read this book before, haven't you?"
Marlene giggled. "No. It's just that's how all fairy tales end."
"Not all, Marlene-chan. Some of them end with sad endings."
Yuffie grabbed a barstool and sat next to Aerith. She handed her a drink of some sort. "Here."
Aerith stared at it in confusion. "Is that liquor?"
"Yep. Don't worry it's not strong." Yuffie replied.
Tifa cleared her throat and swiped the cup out of Yuffie's hand. "Yuffie! You aren't old enough to be drinking!"
"You party pooper! Gimme that!" The ninja cried, trying to snatch the cup out of Tifa's grip.
"Shuddup already!" Cid bellowed.
The two girls stopped dead in their tracks. Neither one of them daring to make the old man any angrier.
He gave Aerith a fierce glare, watching her cringe with terror. He chuckled at her reaction and replaced his frown with a small smile.
"It's good ta see yer smilin' face again, lil' lady."
"I'm glad that you missed me, uncle Cid. For a moment there I thought you were gonna lecture me."
Cid laughed. "Well I wouldn't call it a lecture." He turned her body around so that she was face to face with Cloud. "It's more like a meeting of two star-crossed lovers."
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Cloud and Aerith blushed as their faces were inches away from eachother. Around them, the many faces of their companions were watching and hoping that something good will happen. Yuffie growled in anger as they just stood there, gazing at eachother. She couldn't take it anymore, she had to say something before the mood is ruined. "Dammit! Just kiss him already!" She shouted, causing all 9 pairs of eyes staring at her.
Aerith blushed and pushed Cloud away from her. "I'm sorry. I can't." She said softly.
Cloud stared at her. A part of him was crushed. "Sorry for what?" He managed to say despite his crushed feelings.
"I'm sorry. I know that you have feelings for me. The planet told me but..."
"But what? Is it something bad?"
Aerith shook her head. "No. It's just how could I have feelings for someone I don't know."
The group stared at her with various degrees of shocked expressions on their faces. Cid was the first to recover.
"Whadda' mean by 'someone ya don't know?!' Don't ya remember him? Don't ya?!" He demanded, shaking her vigoriously.
Tifa quickly pulled Cid away from Aerith and held her tightly in her arms. "Stop it, Cid! You're hurting her!"
Cloud banged his fist on the table. Now she done it...with those word alone, caused him more grief than seeing his hometown destroyed. He stood up and walked towards the front door, slamming it behind him.
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It was night already and everyone at the bar was slumbering softly. In Tifa's room, Yuffie and Marlene slept on a large futon on the floor. Aerith and Tifa had to share the one bed but neither of them were a bit tired. Tifa sat on a office chair and sipped thoughtfully on her coffee. "Aerith-san." she whispered, trying to get the flower girl's attention.
Aerith glanced over to Tifa's direction and noticed that she was gesturing her to sit next to her. She obeyed and quietly tiptoed her way towards the other end of the room. She giggled softly and sat on the floor next to Tifa. "What is it?"
"I was just wondering...how was it that you could remember all of us but not Cloud?"
Aerith placed a finger on her lips and thought. "I don't know. I don't ever recall knowing Cloud at all." She whispered back.
"Oh." Tifa replied. "It's a shame, Aerith-san."
Aerith turned to her friend ad gave her a confused look. "Shame? Why?"
"Because...before you went to the promise land...you and Cloud were in love."
Aerith's eyes widened. "Really? Me and Cloud? In love?"
Tifa nodded. "Yeah. To tell you the truth I was awfully jealous of you."
"What? You were jealous?"
"Yeah. Especially at Cosmo Canyon. He promised that he's always be there for you." A tear formed at thhe corner of Tifa's eye.
A sudden surge hit Aerith's head again. "Pro...mi..se..." She uttered before her world turned black.
Flashback
The group was around the campfire, gazing at the fire that burned in front of them. Aerith sat away from the group and hugged her knees. She wanted to stay distant from them for a moment, so she think about what will happen to her if she continues on with this journey. "I'm...alone...I'm all alone now..." She whispered to herself.
"But I'm...we're here for you, right?" Cloud replied as he sat himself next to her.
Aerith smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I know. I know, but...I am the only...Cetra." She breathed.
Cloud chuckled and snaked arm around her shoulders. "Does that mean we can't help?"
"You mean it?" She asked as she pulled away from him.
Cloud held out his right hand. "I promise that with me by your side...I'll always be there for you."
"Haha. You're so lame." She giggled as she yanked on a piece of his hair.
"Ow! Stop that! It hurts!"
"Sorry." She leaned forwards and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for making me feel better."
Cloud smiled and kissed her on the cheek too. "No problem. Remember...I'll always be here for you." He whispered in her ear.
End of Flashback
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As Aerith opened her eyes, she saw Cloud staring straight at her and behind him was the rest of the crew, looking really worried.
"Aerith, are you okay? What happened?" Cloud asked, lifting her off the ground and carrying her towards Tifa's bed.
Aerith wined as he tried placing her on the bed. She didn't want to. She wanted him to keep on holding her in his arms. "I want to stay like this for a moment longer."
"But I thought you didn't know me?"
Aerith stared at him, feeling lost in his sapphire-blue-eyes again. "I don't. But I remember the promise you made to me in Cosmo Canyon."
Cloud breath sharpened. "You remember that?"
"Yes. You promised that with you by my side...you'll always be there for me." She yanked a piece of hair and giggled. "You're so lame."
Cid cleared his throat, catching the attention of both the flower girl and the ex-SOLIDER. "Seems ya both got over yer differences." He said.
"That's not true! We didn't even do anything!" Aerith protested.
The group all shook their heads. "Doesn't look like it." They said in unison.
Cloud and Aerith blushed.
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Aerith stirred in her sleep as she felt something soft tickling her nose. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a rabbit-like animal hovering above her. A bright-blue puff-ball was hanging off of its forehead and little bat wings that flapped on its back to support it in the air. Aerith has never seen anything so bizarre but adorable at the same time. "Hello. What are you doing here?" She said.
"Hi. I'm Chzelle. Kupo. I'm your new house moogle."
Aerith's eyes sparkled. "A moogle? You're my new moogle...but who--"
"Oh. I see you've already met Chzelle." Tifa interrupted as she placed a tray of food on Aerith's bed. "Cloud hired her for you."
"Cloud? Who's Cloud?"
A loud crash echoed throughout the room when Tifa dropped the cup of juice on the floor. Yuffie and Red XIII came rushing in, asking what happened.
Tifa placed a hand on Aerith's forehead to check if she had a fever. But she was fine. "Aerith-san...you don't remember Cloud again?"
Yuffie and Red XIII gasped.
"No. I don't remember him. Who's he?" Aerith asked again.
"What's going on here?" A familar voice spoke.
Everyone focused their eyes on Cloud who held a bouquet of red roses in his arms. He walked over to Aerith and handed it to her. "Did you sleep okay?"
Aerith blushed. "Umm...yes."
Cloud nodded his head and offered a hand to help her stand up. She stared at his hand for a second then to stared at his face. Why did he seem so familiar?
"Cloud...she doesn't rememeber you again..." Yuffie cried.
"What?" He turned to her. "Is this true?"
Aerith bit her lower lip. "So you're Cloud." She lowered her head and nodded. "I'm sorry." She said under her breath.
Pain tore through his chest as she placed the bouquet back in his arms. "You should take these back. I don't deserve it..." She added.
The small group watched as Cloud started crippling the wrapping around the flowers.
Tifa placed a hand on his shoulders. "Cloud...give her some time. She'll remember everything once we keep telling her."
Cloud gripped her hand. "Yeah. I hope you're right."
Author's Notes: I'm sorry for Cloud lovers. I didn't mean to make him suffer so much. :( I felt bad writing it but I had no other choice it's a part of my plot. Hoped you liked it.