Cloud's Shadow
By Chibi Summoner Diamond Weapon
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy are owned by Square...(unfortunately...)
(Sheeh, another fic! Anyways, I used a few ideas from my other fics, but hopefully this isn't too much like them...)
T h e D e m o n S l e e p s...
_______________________________________________________________________
~The Endless Road~
He'd wandered this same road countless times before, but something always changed. It was never a large, or significant change, but after traveling for so long, he noticed these sort of things. The winter months were near; he could tell even though he knew not the exact date. He could taste it in the cold bitterness of the air. He pulled his blood red cloak closer around his shoulders on instinct, but it didn't really matter. He couldn't feel the cold anymore anyway.
Even so, he felt he would need somewhere to stay for the next few months. Just in case.
He quickened his pace, spiky blonde hair blowing back in the wind, wanting to find a way off of this road that seemed to go on forever. His crystal blue eyes narrowed a bit to prevent the increased air flow from affecting his vision too severely.
"Hey there, young sir!"
He did not stop walking, though he turned his head to find out to whom the voice belonged. It was an old man in a chocobo drawn cart. He found this spectacle odd, but turned away, continuing tirelessly.
"Ye look a bit lost," the man commented when he had pulled up beside him.
He did not reply. The man decided to try again.
"Are ye headed for Traverse Town?"
He was now.
"Yes."
"Ah, ye do speak! Well ye aren't goin' to get anywhere walking as ye are. This road don't like pedestrians."
He frowned and met the old man's gaze, stating without words, "so what do I do?" He received a grin.
"Hop in back, I'll take ye there."
The wanderer nodded and leapt into the back "seat", settling himself into a cross-legged position. The journey continued without a sound for a time before the old man decided to speak.
"So, what do they call ye?"
The younger man looked contemplative for a moment, then shrugged.
"Nothing. They don't call me anything anymore."
"Well what did they used to call ye?"
"Cloud," was his answer.
The man nodded.
"Name's Thomas, good to meet ye."
Cloud did not acknowledge that he had even heard, his deep blue gaze locked on something unknown off in the distance. Thomas frowned, but continued to urge the chocobo onwards. They traveled for quite a way, and the young blonde man who sat in the back of the cart watched as the scenery around them changed. The forest that had surrounded him the time he had walked that road thickened significantly, blocking all views of what was beyond, only the sky open for him to see. The sun cast it's loving gaze down upon the two travelers. Thomas didn't mind in the least. Cloud, though, shrunk into his cloak, as though it would shield him from the warmth that he shunned. He felt a slight pain in his heart. This reminded him so much of...how things had been, back then.
So much of Her...
The sun's brillance woke him that morning, much to his annoyance. It had also disturbed Her, and She snuggled closer to him, burrying Her face in his chest, wanting to sleep longer. He could not help but smile.
"C'mon -----, wake up," he said, poking Her in the side.
"Mmm...five more minutes..." She muttered clinging tighter to him.
Cloud sighed with mock exasperation, then leaned down and planted a light kiss on Her forehead. She murmered something, then opened Her eyes, looking at him crossly.
"I was trying to sleep."
"I know."
She sighed, then reluctantly released him, sitting up and yawning. Cloud also sat up, looking around. They were still in the forest, underneath the umbrella-like tree that had offered them protection from the night's rain.
----- stood up, brushing the dust off of Her clothes.
"Okay," She said, grabbing her pack. "Let's go meet with the others."
He nodded, and the two began their trek down the road.
Her name...what was Her name? Why couldn't he remember?!
Cloud scowled to himself. Why did he care this much? If he couldn't remember Her, why did he bother to try to find her?
(Because you loved her. You still do. Even if that's all you remember, it's enough), said an annoying little voice in the back of his mind, probably his conscience.
Wanting to stop thinking such thoughts, he turned his attention back to the road ahead. They, he and Thomas, seemed no closer to the end than they had before.
"How long is this road, anyway?" Cloud asked suddenly, causing the old man to jump.
""Uh, what?" Thomas wondered, regaining his composure somewhat.
"How long is this road?"
Thomas chuckled.
"That depends. It's not called the "Endless Road" for nothin'."
Cloud blinked.
"Depends?"
"Yep. Going by cart like this, it's about a week's trip from beginning to end without stopping. Walking though...ye'll never get there. It's like going in circles in a straight line."
"Hmm..."
"If I hadn't found ye when I did, ye would have been wandering this Road for the rest of yer life."
"Then thank you...I suppose."
The spiky haired traveler did not talk anymore after that, once again losing himself in his thoughts. The trip continued until nightfall, when Thomas insisted on stopping.
The older man produced a small pot from his pack, and poured some water into it from the canteen he wore about his neck. Then he ordered Cloud off to find some wood for a fire. His wishes were complied with, and the blonde, caped man dissapeared into the forest surrounding the Road.
Finding the wood was easy, as the trees had shed many branches. Cloud went about gathering it up quickly, in a hurry to return for reasons of which he was unsure. The sounds resembling growls that filled the air did not help matters any.
After a while, the noises became _very_ annoying. Deciding there was no further need to linger, he stood abruptly from the crouch he had been in, and began to head back. Of course, it would never be that easy.
Damn Fate and it's twisted sense of humor.
The moment he took a step forward, the air around him seemed to twist, and the ground beneath his feet shifted. Cloud's eyes narrowed. The distortion solidified, and from it came five shadow creatures. Each about three feet taller than himself, holding a long, wide, double-edged blue sword. With a symbol of a crossed out heart on their chests.
The shadows did not hesitate to attack him, swinging their swords to behead him or something equally unpleasant. He dodged, blocked, attacked, then repeated the actions. A sword came speeding at him from a right horizontal slash, which he parried, then slashed the attacker in half. It disintigrated in a burst of dark fog. Not taking time to worry about it, Cloud proceeded in taking out the other four.
His speed at dodging and attacking surprised even him; he knew he had never been able to move like this before. He decided to worry about that later as well. At that point, he had managed to destroy two more of the things, and the two remaining were hovering in the air out of reach, firing energy blades at him. He could only dodge or, occasionally, reflect the blades back when they left an opening for him to be able to do so.
And so he was left with a single option.
He tensed his shoulder blades, causing his two, jet black, leathery wings to spread from where they were usually hidden beneath his cloak. Without another thought, Cloud shot up with great speed and, promptly, sliced both creatures in two with but one swing. After they had dissapeared, he landed again and reconcealed his extra apendages before picking up the wood he had earlier gathered and calmly walking back to where Thomas was. _______________________________________________________________________
'Sometimes I think life should be simpler.'
~You're givin' me too many things lately,~
'I mean, why are humans always subjected to such madness?'
~you're all I need~
'Wait, scratch that, they bring it upon themselves.'
~You smiled at me, and said:~
'I can understand that all humans will suffer at some point or another...'
'But obviously some supreme being's really pissed at me, 'cause I suffer ten times more.'
(I reeeeeeeeally hope you liked that! Please review!)
-Diamond Weapon
By Chibi Summoner Diamond Weapon
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy are owned by Square...(unfortunately...)
(Sheeh, another fic! Anyways, I used a few ideas from my other fics, but hopefully this isn't too much like them...)
T h e D e m o n S l e e p s...
_______________________________________________________________________
~The Endless Road~
He'd wandered this same road countless times before, but something always changed. It was never a large, or significant change, but after traveling for so long, he noticed these sort of things. The winter months were near; he could tell even though he knew not the exact date. He could taste it in the cold bitterness of the air. He pulled his blood red cloak closer around his shoulders on instinct, but it didn't really matter. He couldn't feel the cold anymore anyway.
Even so, he felt he would need somewhere to stay for the next few months. Just in case.
He quickened his pace, spiky blonde hair blowing back in the wind, wanting to find a way off of this road that seemed to go on forever. His crystal blue eyes narrowed a bit to prevent the increased air flow from affecting his vision too severely.
"Hey there, young sir!"
He did not stop walking, though he turned his head to find out to whom the voice belonged. It was an old man in a chocobo drawn cart. He found this spectacle odd, but turned away, continuing tirelessly.
"Ye look a bit lost," the man commented when he had pulled up beside him.
He did not reply. The man decided to try again.
"Are ye headed for Traverse Town?"
He was now.
"Yes."
"Ah, ye do speak! Well ye aren't goin' to get anywhere walking as ye are. This road don't like pedestrians."
He frowned and met the old man's gaze, stating without words, "so what do I do?" He received a grin.
"Hop in back, I'll take ye there."
The wanderer nodded and leapt into the back "seat", settling himself into a cross-legged position. The journey continued without a sound for a time before the old man decided to speak.
"So, what do they call ye?"
The younger man looked contemplative for a moment, then shrugged.
"Nothing. They don't call me anything anymore."
"Well what did they used to call ye?"
"Cloud," was his answer.
The man nodded.
"Name's Thomas, good to meet ye."
Cloud did not acknowledge that he had even heard, his deep blue gaze locked on something unknown off in the distance. Thomas frowned, but continued to urge the chocobo onwards. They traveled for quite a way, and the young blonde man who sat in the back of the cart watched as the scenery around them changed. The forest that had surrounded him the time he had walked that road thickened significantly, blocking all views of what was beyond, only the sky open for him to see. The sun cast it's loving gaze down upon the two travelers. Thomas didn't mind in the least. Cloud, though, shrunk into his cloak, as though it would shield him from the warmth that he shunned. He felt a slight pain in his heart. This reminded him so much of...how things had been, back then.
So much of Her...
The sun's brillance woke him that morning, much to his annoyance. It had also disturbed Her, and She snuggled closer to him, burrying Her face in his chest, wanting to sleep longer. He could not help but smile.
"C'mon -----, wake up," he said, poking Her in the side.
"Mmm...five more minutes..." She muttered clinging tighter to him.
Cloud sighed with mock exasperation, then leaned down and planted a light kiss on Her forehead. She murmered something, then opened Her eyes, looking at him crossly.
"I was trying to sleep."
"I know."
She sighed, then reluctantly released him, sitting up and yawning. Cloud also sat up, looking around. They were still in the forest, underneath the umbrella-like tree that had offered them protection from the night's rain.
----- stood up, brushing the dust off of Her clothes.
"Okay," She said, grabbing her pack. "Let's go meet with the others."
He nodded, and the two began their trek down the road.
Her name...what was Her name? Why couldn't he remember?!
Cloud scowled to himself. Why did he care this much? If he couldn't remember Her, why did he bother to try to find her?
(Because you loved her. You still do. Even if that's all you remember, it's enough), said an annoying little voice in the back of his mind, probably his conscience.
Wanting to stop thinking such thoughts, he turned his attention back to the road ahead. They, he and Thomas, seemed no closer to the end than they had before.
"How long is this road, anyway?" Cloud asked suddenly, causing the old man to jump.
""Uh, what?" Thomas wondered, regaining his composure somewhat.
"How long is this road?"
Thomas chuckled.
"That depends. It's not called the "Endless Road" for nothin'."
Cloud blinked.
"Depends?"
"Yep. Going by cart like this, it's about a week's trip from beginning to end without stopping. Walking though...ye'll never get there. It's like going in circles in a straight line."
"Hmm..."
"If I hadn't found ye when I did, ye would have been wandering this Road for the rest of yer life."
"Then thank you...I suppose."
The spiky haired traveler did not talk anymore after that, once again losing himself in his thoughts. The trip continued until nightfall, when Thomas insisted on stopping.
The older man produced a small pot from his pack, and poured some water into it from the canteen he wore about his neck. Then he ordered Cloud off to find some wood for a fire. His wishes were complied with, and the blonde, caped man dissapeared into the forest surrounding the Road.
Finding the wood was easy, as the trees had shed many branches. Cloud went about gathering it up quickly, in a hurry to return for reasons of which he was unsure. The sounds resembling growls that filled the air did not help matters any.
After a while, the noises became _very_ annoying. Deciding there was no further need to linger, he stood abruptly from the crouch he had been in, and began to head back. Of course, it would never be that easy.
Damn Fate and it's twisted sense of humor.
The moment he took a step forward, the air around him seemed to twist, and the ground beneath his feet shifted. Cloud's eyes narrowed. The distortion solidified, and from it came five shadow creatures. Each about three feet taller than himself, holding a long, wide, double-edged blue sword. With a symbol of a crossed out heart on their chests.
The shadows did not hesitate to attack him, swinging their swords to behead him or something equally unpleasant. He dodged, blocked, attacked, then repeated the actions. A sword came speeding at him from a right horizontal slash, which he parried, then slashed the attacker in half. It disintigrated in a burst of dark fog. Not taking time to worry about it, Cloud proceeded in taking out the other four.
His speed at dodging and attacking surprised even him; he knew he had never been able to move like this before. He decided to worry about that later as well. At that point, he had managed to destroy two more of the things, and the two remaining were hovering in the air out of reach, firing energy blades at him. He could only dodge or, occasionally, reflect the blades back when they left an opening for him to be able to do so.
And so he was left with a single option.
He tensed his shoulder blades, causing his two, jet black, leathery wings to spread from where they were usually hidden beneath his cloak. Without another thought, Cloud shot up with great speed and, promptly, sliced both creatures in two with but one swing. After they had dissapeared, he landed again and reconcealed his extra apendages before picking up the wood he had earlier gathered and calmly walking back to where Thomas was. _______________________________________________________________________
'Sometimes I think life should be simpler.'
~You're givin' me too many things lately,~
'I mean, why are humans always subjected to such madness?'
~you're all I need~
'Wait, scratch that, they bring it upon themselves.'
~You smiled at me, and said:~
'I can understand that all humans will suffer at some point or another...'
'But obviously some supreme being's really pissed at me, 'cause I suffer ten times more.'
(I reeeeeeeeally hope you liked that! Please review!)
-Diamond Weapon