Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or Shadow Hearts. I wish I did but I don't. I am making no profits and this is purely for fun.


Chapter One


He watched silently as the red-haired woman paced the room slowly. It seemed her story was bound to be as unique as his own. For better or worse he wished to hear it someday but this obviously wouldn't be the day. He wondered it she was more upset or confused. Either way, she was very distressed and asking her to tell him of her travels would probably do more harm than good at the moment so he left it alone.

"What year is this? I know I've asked at least a dozen times... I just can't believe it," she said somewhat apologetically.

He answered her query once again with an understanding smile.

"Is this even possible," she intended it to be nothing more than a thought but the words came out of her mouth regardless of her intentions. She turned toward him slowly and didn't stop moving until she was standing in front of him. "This all just seems so unreal to me," the red-head sighed sighed. "The time I left was 1915. I know it sounds insane but it's the truth..."

"After my experiences in this life, I doubt that anything is impossible now. It doesn't seem especially strange that someone could travel through time once you've watched someone turn into another person who died a couple of years before... Trust me, there isn't a lot left that will shock me," he smiled warmly. "My friends and I have all experienced some things the imagination could never conceive on its own," he paused taking a breath. "I'm not entirely sure you're in the same place though. Since neither of the histories as we know them seem to overlap at any point." He watched as the woman studied his features, taking them and his expression in before continuing.

"So it seems," she finally spoke after regaining her composure momentarily. "In some ways your remind me of my companions, especially Yuri. Your eyes are too weary and sad for someone your age. You've obviously seen battle along with many other things no one should see." She diverted her eyes in a poor attempt to cover her emotions. Fortunately for her that was one of the very few similarities the men had. The young man before her was tall, thin, well built and part Asian like Yuri but that is where the similarities ended. In place of Yuri's blood red eyes and wild auburn hair he had odd glowing blue eyes, he had explained the glow was from a substance called Mako promising he explain more to her later, and light blonde hair which framed his face. His jaw was more squared than Yuri's and his nose lacked the deep curve of the man she still was not over. He seemed to be everything the harmonixer, one who has the ability to change forms (in Yuri's case demons), wasn't. His appearance reminded her of what most people thought angels looked like. He was calm, quiet, and lacked Yuri's sharp tongue. He also seemed to lack the desire to die.

She wondered for a moment why she was even thinking about the boy in that way. He was hard the type of man she was typically interested in. Was it possible she had finally been burned badly enough to realize what she really needed was to heal and to give up on the tragic hero. Had she finally realized all he could do was break hearts?

"Well, at least in one respect," she corrected herself after the long pause.

"How's that," he asked with caution, he was unsure it was the proper time for asking such questions.

"You've got a weary soul and sad eyes but you have obviously learned that life goes on and you must as well. I don't think he'll ever learn that. I guess I'll never know," she choked back her emotions before continuing. "You've got the true marks of a warrior whose seen too much and lost even more. You're not old enough to have such sad eyes without having seen battle." She turned away from him completely, facing the bare walls. It seemed like she was trying to protect herself from whatever he may say or think.

"Well, in that way we are the same I suppose," he was not sure what he should say. He sat quietly, taking in her words and movements. She was a puzzle that he hoped to be around long enough to see all the pieces put back together again.

"I just hope you all got your perfect worlds," she spoke just above a whisper, her voice wavering slightly. "You all truly deserve happiness," she sighed. She turned toward the man she believed was younger than her once again. "I'm sorry. I'm being so rude," she forced a smile. "I'm Karin Koenig, former Lieutenant in the German Army and a so called heroine," she laughed a the irony of the two.

"Well, Miss, Mrs., Lieutenant Koenig? I'm Cloud Strife also a 'hero', though I don't always feel like one," he smiled shaking her hand.

"I prefer Karin..." She paused. "I'm just Karin, now. Nothing else matters anyway. Mr. Strife."

"Cloud. Please, call me Cloud." He shook his head. "Everything you have been and everything you have accomplished adds up to make you who you are now, who you will be in the future and to create your past. It's all important. Everything you've done and who you are will always matter, even if you are the only one who knows and the only one it matters to. It took me sometime but I believe it now. Unfortunately all our acts, bad or... good, come with a price. For people like us that price is often much higher. Nothing will ever change that..." She was blown away by his wisdom. Oddly enough the words he spoke to her reminded her of many words of wisdom she had given to Yuri over their travels. Maybe she was seeing things from Yuri's eyes this time. Her hope had begun to waver and she could not see the light anymore. She wondered if this was how he had felt throughout their journey.

"Thanks," she said with a smile realizing that he was right. There was no way she wanted to live the way Yuri had. It may have worked for him but she was not the type. "I'm not sure but it seems we have a case of a hero rescuing a heroine..." she began to laugh quietly.

"Every hero and heroine needs help at some point... Or at least a boot to the ass," He smiled. "Listen, I know we just met but if you ever need anything, especially saving, let me know, alright?"

"You got it. The same goes for you." She looked out at the city from the window for a moment before speaking again. "So, just how far are you willing to go in the heroing department?" She knew such a question was risky. It could be taken way out of context but she really had nothing left to lose except a man she had barely known three hours.

"Pretty far. What do you need," he asked though he has an idea of what she would ask next.

"I really don't want to be alone tonight," she spoke softly diverting her eyes.

"I haven't left yet, have I," he responded. She shook her head. He looked the red-head over. She had skin as pale as his own, if not more so. She had extremely large breasts, especially compared to Wutainese women, though after knowing Tifa so long it was not as striking of a feature. Her waist was narrow and her hips were wide. She had long legs as well even though she was not very tall. The woman had a heart shaped face and medium grey eyes which appeared to be somewhat Wutainese, though he doubted that those features belonged to a race of the same age where she was from. It was not his place to guess her decent. Long bangs nearly reached her eyelashes and she had two thick strands framing her face. The rest of her hair which he believed would reach the middle of back was pulled into a high ponytail.

"No," she looked him in the eye, "I just feel like I've lost my mind... Not only that I'm trying to deal with a broken heart, loniness, missing my companions, my life, our journey, and the doubts that are starting to creep in I just don't know what to do or think. I'm terrified they may have found themselves in worse situations than this... I fear the most for Yuri..."

"Afraid of an uncertain future, having made the wrong decision, having lost everything you've known and worked for, for good. You're afraid I'm going to walk away... You're afraid it's gonna happen again. I understand, I do." Cloud rose to his feet. He made his way to the bed where she sat before continuing. "You doubt me, and rightfully so. You've been hurt, bad, and he probably never realized it, or he realized it too late." He placed his a hand on her shoulder before wiping away a tear that was rolling down her pale cheek. "You are scared to ask what you really want to..."

"I..." she bowed her head. The tears came uncontrollably but she refused to sob audibly even though her body was shaking with the force of her emotions.

"Listen, I promise I'll do whatever I can to help you. At 25 I don't think we have to worry about me dying of old age anytime soon," he smiled softly doubting the joke helped her any. She offered a small but forced smile acknowledging his effort. He once again wiped the tears from her cheeks with a gloved hand. He felt her lean into his touch a little.

"You aren't as young as you look and you are no where near as old as you speak," she said quitely, once again avoiding his gaze. "I just really need to feel safe," an admission she never thought she'd make. "I've never felt so scared or alone..."

"I'll lay down with you and hold you all night if you'd like but there really isn't a lot of time before night falls. If there is anything you want to do first we should go do that now," he suggested.

"You're right but... I don't have anything that is useful or valuable in your world," she pointed out.

"At least we share a common language," he smiled. "We use a currency called Gil so I doubted that. Coming from a different time and possibly a different world altogether...," he smiled. "Don't worry about the Gil. I've got that covered. What do you need tonight?"

"Pajamas, food, a tooth brush..."

"Right. You need everything basically. I really didn't need to ask, did I? Well, in any case, would you like a female shopping buddy or will I do?"

"You'll be fine... Fortunately I have a couple of outfits in these pockets," she laughed, finally.

"There must not be a lot to them," he smiled. Seeing her laugh made him feel better.

"There isn't," she blushed. "Judging by your outfit I should probably change before we go out. I know I'll still stand out but at least I won't be in a military uniform from a time and place you don't even know about," she smiled. Cloud nodded.

"The bathroom is over there or I can step out into the hall," he offered. Karin walked into the bathroom without saying a word. Cloud laid back on the bed shaking his head. She was different from all the women he had ever known. He wondered if it was the time difference or if she seemed just as odd to the people of her time.


A/N: Changed some wording but aside from that the story remains pretty much the same. I will probably go back a reword the spoken parts of this chapter at some point so that they sound more in character.

Reviews are appreciated!