It was...bright here, to say the least. At least it seem like it and the light, if it even was that, seemed white, even through my closed eyes. Where exactly here was, I didn't know, and how long I had been 'here', I wasn't sure.
"...daj." What?
"Kadaj." Various pictures flashed across my mind, mainly of an eighteen year old with silver hair down to his shoulders. He had blue-green eyes with slitted pupils, some of his hair covering his right eye.
"That's...me, right?"
"Do you remember?" I did, vaguely. The silver haired man, me, Kadaj, riding a motorcycle, fighting a yellow spiky haired man I felt close to but despised, Cloud seemed right, a buff man with short blown-back silver hair, a brother, Loz was his name. There, with a silver gun I knew was christened 'Velvet Nightmare', was a tall man with long silver hair, Yazoo, and another tall, long silver haired man with bangs down to his chin, Sephiroth, who seemed closer to me than the others did. And in the background, Jenova. Mother.
"Do you remember?"
"Yes, I think."
"It's time to go back" What?
"To the surface. You never lived a complete life, only the remnants of Sephiroth's." Ah, so that's why he was so close.
"You're going back, your 'brothers' too, to actually be whole. Go on now. You need to learn." In the light, part of it seemed to fade and I felt myself move, although I knew I didn't have a body. The world now seemed grey and I realized that I had been part of the life stream, more of my old knowledge coming back to me. Of how me and my brothers were seeking Jenova's head so we could become whole again, although now that didn't matter. We were going to be whole soon anyway. The grey became darker and I realized that I was walking, my body my own now. I wondered if I would see Yazoo or Loz in this new life. Probably. Would I remember all this? Most likely. Suddenly I felt myself rocket backwards, an undeniable force knocking me down. I wanted to gasp, but I couldn't; there was no breath in my body. Some force crushed my limbs and torso and soreness ran through them, accompanied by bursts of wildfire. Shutting my eyes, I grimaced until I realized I couldn't take much more. Pressure built up on my chest and finally I cracked; gasping and coughing, I tried to sit up. Suddenly it was bright and everything hurt my eyes. I blinked a bit, then started coughing again, body aching every time I moved.

"Oh, is he up?" Opening my eyes again, I was greeted with starbursts and confusion. Someone was here? Where was I? Finally adjusting to the light, I saw copious amounts of bandages wrapped around my arms and chest, tinted red in places. Two women, one obviously older than the other, entered the room, the younger one holding a roll of gauze.
"Hold on, don't move too much, you'll reopen your wounds." The oldest, with long brown hair and dark blue eyes, supported my back while she fixed the pillows and the youngest began unwrapping the bandages on my chest. Still stunned by the light, I watched them as the bandages revealed bruised skin and open wounds caused by Cloud's Buster sword.
"What's your name?" The younger one, who was about his age, asked, blinking her brown eyes as she brushed her own black hair out of her face, then pulling a salve from a pocket of her apron.
"…Kadaj."
"Good, you can talk. My name's Mina and this is my older sister Ari. What happened to you?" I contemplated this for a while, not sure as to whether to tell the truth or not.
"I can't remember."
"Concussion and amnesia, no doubt. We found you in the wrecked portion of town, dried blood all over you and rips in your clothing. Being doctors and thus, obliged to help, we brought you to our clinic here. You've been sleeping for three days." Mina said, rewrapping the bandages over the wounds. I blinked. Only three days? Had it really been three days since I fought Cloud?
"Are you in any pain? Can I get you some food?" She asked, standing up as Ari fixed the sheets.
"No, I think I'm fine." I muttered, slightly bewildered, gazing dumbly at the sheets. Mina nodded and she and Ari left the room, turning off the lights as they went. Leaning back on my pillows, I sighed slightly, watching the ceiling darken into black feathers as I closed my eyes.

The gentle tinkling of a wind chime stirred my consciousness, disturbing the sea of feathers, silver hair and materia that I had gathered in my mind. Slowly waking up, I gazed at the chime hanging in the window, lit by the rarer, truly golden rays of the sun coming from the open window. It was an iron heart, four simple chimes hanging from red ribbon.
"Mina put that there." Ari said, walking in with a tray of simple food. "Thought it would help with the healing process."
"Really. That's the thing that woke me up this morning." I smirked, staring at the light going through the window pane.
"She took care of you the entire time you were out."
"She did? I guess I'll have to thank her then." Placing the tray in my lap, Ari prepared to leave.
"Mina's going out shopping later today. You could help her out. You're in a good enough condition to be able to carry a little weight." Staring out the window, I did wonder what Midgar was like now that I was gone.

I hadn't expected it to be this peaceful. People did stare at my silver hair, but mostly kept to their business. So many shops, for everything from food to clothing to motorcycles. I had never seen this side of Midgar before, the side where people lived and worked. Perhaps living with these doctors would be interesting. I grunted, shifting the shopping bag from one shoulder to the other. Mina was also carrying a cloth bag, which was currently being filled with herbs from the apothecary. Mina and Ari were different from many other physicians in the area. They used a variety of methods, mixing modern technology with herbs and older techniques.
"Come on Kadaj. We still need to get to the clinic." Mina said, pulling me through the crowd of people. I would have moved if I could, but I was transfixed in midstep by a face in the mob. A silver-haired man, escorted by a small happy girl and her mother, was just visible through the masses. His hair was long and a small smile graced his face, uncharacteristic of what he used to be.
Yazoo.
I followed the silver hair through the crowd until the other faces blocked my sight.
"Are you okay?" asked Mina worriedly, gently shaking my arm as the people pushed past.
"Yes, I'm fine." I said unconvincingly and although she frowned, she pulled me back into the flow of people. I followed along like a limp rag doll, letting myself be pushed around by the crowd. How strange it was to see Yazoo smile. Perhaps that was what it was like to live, that which the voice told us we had not during our first life. Here we could smile, laugh, do what we wish. How much we had missed in our first experience! Mina and I arrived at the clinic off the main circle with no other strange event, Mina marching in confidently with me following behind. It was quiet and only a few other people were shopping, quite different from outside. The shelves were lined with medical supplies, among which were scalpels, vaccines, alcohol swabs and other bright instruments. While Mina went over to order her vaccines and new supplies, I wandered among the rows of medical equipment.

This Mina girl is so kind, I thought, picking up a roll of gauze and recognizing it as the same kind wrapped around my chest. Much too kind for her own good. Someone could easily fool her with the pretense of needing help, as I myself was doing. After all, I was a warrior, am I not now? I am still a son of Sephiroth, the man so feared by Midgar and its people. And am I not the most feared of them, Kadaj, the leader of the silver haired sons? Yet here I am, being cared for by a doctor in a city I once terrorized. I made a note to thank Mina for the care she gave me.
"Kadaj, let's go. Ari's taking care of eight patients by herself, you know, and we have to go lend her a hand." The young doctor took me by the arm and began leading me towards the door. I gently complied, linking my arm with hers but as I did, I saw a blond head shoot up in surprise. Although the woman standing next to him didn't seem familiar, his distinctive blond hair rung a bell of discord. Cloud Strife turned around, staring in shock at my silver hair as his eyes followed us out the door. Adrenaline began rushing to my legs as my grip tightened on Mina's arm, my step quickening and pain shooting down the gashes on my chest from that man's sword.
"Kadaj, are you alright?" She asked seriously, grabbing my wrist to check my pulse while reaching up to feel my forehead. Drawing my determined look from the crowd, I grimaced slightly as I looked at her.
"I don't feel good." I lied, placing my hand on top of hers underneath my thin grey hair. Yes, I definitely owed her thanks, perhaps even an explanation or two. But now there was no time. I needed to get away from Cloud.
"I feel a bit sick." I groaned and stumbled a bit, laying the lie on a bit thick, but Mina accepted the falsehood and lifted herself under my arm.
"Breath deep and keep your eyes open. Try to keep talking to me." She said, hurrying her way through the crowd and telling them to move; that she had a sick patient to tend to. I played along, stumbling a bit and trying to keep up the conversation. I also noticed faintly that Cloud was nowhere to be seen, although I had watched him come out of the store with a look of shock and determination. Closing my eyes, I let myself again become part of the crowd, the one person in the crowd who wasn't supposed to be there.