"Ghost"

'Chapter 1'

By. Kareian and Emo Fox

It was a clear day.

A good day among few. The weather had been bad recently, rainstorms had been hammering down of Edge. It made deliveries troublesome. But today, today had brought fresh cornflower blue skies and a bright, twinkling sun.

The roar of Fenrir echoed off of the brick buildings that lined the streets of the new city. The driver of the powerful, black motorcycle easily maneuvered its way through the twisted alleyways towards its final destination. Cloud knew this path and he knew it well. He easily drove through the city; finding the lonely street that lead back to the ever familiar bar. The last delivery had been a ways out, mundane to say at the least, but the ride had been long and hard.

He wouldn't openly admit it, but he liked working with Tifa. She gave him tasks that kept him busy, and when he was busy he didn't time to dweel about much else. It was nice though, the world had finally begun to steadily move forwards again. All the sorrow of the past was behind him, mere bad dreams, which provided a damn good reason as to why Cloud didn't sleep so much.

He parked his custom made bike on the side of the old building, buster sword on his back -- more out of habit than anything else. There weren't many monsters left to battle anymore. He was walking towards the bar when he spotted someone. Someone in the alleyway down the road, just gazing up at the sky.

Interesting..or odd.

It all depended on how he looked at it.

Were they merely enjoying the sunny day? Or was there something wrong...?

Cloud's curiosity had been sparked; he found himself wandering towards the obviously male figure. Something about him was familiar.. something.. but he couldn't quite place it at the distance he was at. The man's back was to him, he was wearing a white, short sleeved shirt and pajama bottoms with white and very pale blue stripes running down them.

Hospital clothes perhaps?

He was just moving down the alleyway, almost sauntering at a leisurely, drunken pace. His head was tilted upwards, the short, unruly spiked dark hair was gently moving with the wind. Cloud was more curious as to the odd behavior. To the blond, the man was wandering aimless, looking up at the sky.

What was so interesting about the heavens above them?

Maybe Cloud was getting a little protective of his home. Drawing in a breath, his bright blue-green mako orbs locked on to the man's back. "You there." He called in an even tone, his bright eyes narrowing to the strangers back. Cautious by nature, Cloud kept a few paces between them. "What're you doing?"

The stranger blinked at the sound of an unfamiliar voice.

…Huh? Someone was talking to him?

Turning, he looked left then right, trying to see if there was anyone else around him that the blonde could have been addressing. There was no one, he slowly pointed to himself, "Me..?" Confusion clearly evident in his voice and eyes. He had no idea who the spiked, blond man in front of him was. He was shorter than himself, but the big sword on his back - 'Buster Sword..'

The stranger blinked in surprise. How did he know the name of the weapon? He gazed back at the blonde man in front of him, those blue-green eyes never wavered. It was like they were trying to pierce his soul. Stepping back, he felt a bit intimidated by the steady, intense and stern expression. He scratched at his short, dark hair nervously, before he bumped into a trash can and lost his balance. A surprised sound escaped from his throat as he felt his body falling backwards, towards the ground. The light blue cotton pants did little to break the fall, or keep the chill out from the cement. His palms scraped on the rough ground as he tried to break his fall.

Cloud was stunned. His face slack, but a moment of sheer surprise was in his eyes as he viewed the man.

That..voice..that face..

His brow's knitted together, he was simply at a loss. The stern facade he tried to get across completely fell to pieces on the sun kissed cement. When the man had bumped into the trash can and fell, Cloud had almost made a move to save him.. but had faltered mid-step, caught in a dream.

What..?

No.

It wasn't..

It's just.. it's not him..

Cloud snapped himself out of his mind, out of that replaying movie of Zack.. of that pain that struck his heart and wouldn't let go.

Damn it..

He didn't..want to think about it.. he..

His throat was dry, it was hard to breathe for a brief moment, and he tried to regroup himself. Running a hand nervously through his hair, he took a deep breath and banished the foolish emotion from his face.

Zack was dead.

He took a few steps closer to this ghost, extending a hand to help him back to his feet -- his face once more an impassive, his mask back in place but his mind was racing.

..this was unreal.

"You didn't answer my question."

The man, who had bright blue eyes and didn't know it, gazed at the gloved hand almost uncertainly before he carefully reached out and took it. His own hand larger than the one offered to him. He hadn't seen the play of emotions rip through the blonde, and even if he had been looking at him, he wouldn't have seen it. "Thanks." He smiled gently down to the blonde as he was pulled to his feet.

Question? What was he doing here..?

"I..don't really know.." He answered, his eyes down casted towards the cement, "I kinda stumbled into this place.." He felt his hands fidgeting with his pants, they had no pockets..He settled for crossing his arms over the white tee shirt he had been dressed in, before he glanced back up to the sky.

This was.. so strange. But.. it wasn't Zack. It was just a cruel look-a-like that was causing Cloud to lose his mind. He didn't like thinking about that day..it was why he liked working. He liked Tifa telling him what to do -- where to go, it helped him keep his mind steady, unthinking, just a tool like he had been so many years back. Cloud tried not to focus on the details, tried not to follow the contour of the man's face, his shoulders, his build. It was uncanny..painful. He turned his back on the unknown man, he didn't like looking at him. It hurt his heart too much, it was driving him insane. This was stupid.. it was just some.. some guy on their porch step, who cared?

He really needed to lay down..

He didn't want to get involved, he didn't want to keep looking at that face and thinking of that horrible day. The blonde was silent as he walked up the path back to the bar, unsure if he was obligated to try and help this lost person..But hell..He really didn't care about that right now. He wanted that face to go away -- he wanted that ghost to leave him alone. He couldn't handle it..

A note of panic ran through the stranger's chest as the blonde started to walk away. His eyes widened.

…No, no he couldn't leave him. "Wait!" He called out, he stepped forwards in a quick step and reached out for the blonde, but stopped. "Please, I..I don't know where I am..I don't.." He sighed, before he felt a headache start to come on. He had been trying to wrack his brain for hours trying to find answers. "Please...don't leave..?" He asked, his voice trailing off. His eyes unsure..

God..

Cloud stopped, his eyes closing tightly for a brief moment. Why did the stranger have to sound like him too? That rich tone.. it was all too cruel. Cloud wanted to keep walking, wanted to ignore him, brush him off and go back to his old life. But.. for some reason he just couldn't completely turn away and forget about him..

..Zack.

God damn you.

"C'mon." He called over his shoulder, not glancing to him, keeping his gaze ahead. "..You can stay here until you figure out where to go." He said, hoping to push him on Tifa.. she could probably get to the bottom of his story and get him out of there. He just wanted the man to go back to where he came from..

Bastard, stealing Zack's face..

The man smiled and jogged the short distance to catch up with the blonde, his bare feet making a quiet slapping sound against the cement. "Thanks, man." he didn't know why but he had an urge to reach out and ruffle the spikes, but something, a hidden survival instinct, told him that would be a dangerous thing to do. He stayed a few paces behind the blonde his eyes glancing here and there, trying to map everything out. He didn't want to get lost again, no. No the people in the city were not the nicest, most had just given him dark looks and refused to answer his questions. He had ended up wandering down some alley and managed to get lost before being found once more. He had no idea how long he'd been outside now. He had no idea...about anything really.

He watched as the blonde opened the front door to…were they at a...bar? 7th Heaven…

..Whaaat..?

It was dark inside, the lights dimmed. There was a woman behind the counter wearing black leather, her head was down focusing on cleaning the glasses. She had heard the sound of the door chimes and looked up. "Cloud!" She smiled.

...His name was, Cloud?

The dark haired man eyed the blonde carefully…Seriously? He looked more like a Chocobo than a Cloud... but he kept his mouth shut.

"I didn't know you were back already." The woman stepped out from behind the bar and caught sight of the stranger. "..Who's this?"

"I don't know." Cloud said easily, his unusual eyes focused solely on Tifa. The stranger was at his side but it was less painful to keep his eyes ahead, "..he was outside. Doesn't know where to go."

That about summed it up..he was a stray cat and Cloud only took pity because of how the man looked..

"That about sums it up." The man let out a small chuckle, not knowing he had echoed the blonde's thoughts, and scratched the inside of his arm. He held a hand out to the woman, "Hi." He smiled at her, eyes shining. "I have no idea what my name is, or where I'm from, but nice to meet you."

Tifa just stared, before looking back at Cloud, "Are you serious?" She glanced down at the man's hand before she took it, "Hi." She smiled gently, "My name is Tifa." She introduced, "This is Cloud. The brooding one that doesn't like anything."

The man let out another chuckle, "I doubt that, he's gotta like somethin'."

Tifa smirked, he looked like someone she had met, so many years ago, then it hit her.

Neibelheim.

At the Reactor, where everything had started and had ended. He looked like Zackary Fair. She contained her gasp and eyed Cloud carefully. Was that the reason why the man was here? Because he resembled Cloud's dead friend? Tifa schooled her features, giving the man a gentle, welcoming smile and moved to loop her arm though the man's, "Here, why don't we get you some food. You look thin."

"Food sounds great." The man smiled gently, having no idea what kinds of food he liked.

This was too weird..

Tifa had caught on, Cloud's keen eyes and noticed the spark of recognition in her eyes… that brief moment told him everything.

Food..

He didn't feel like eating. He didn't feel like being anywhere near the man. Cloud kept his gaze on them as Tifa guided the Zack-look-alike towards the kitchen, he deciding to take his leave. Hopefully Tifa would let him go.. he really wasn't in the mood for this. He slowly made his way to the stairs leading to his adopted room, the headache was pulsating in his temples and it was getting harder and harder to fend off those memories.

Hey there, this is a Role Play between me and Emo Fox. She plays Cloud, Denzel and Vincent, and I'm Zack, Tifa and Cid... Hope you guys like it. The more reviews we get the faster we update!