Soo… More supernatural goodness! I'm expecting this one to be about five chapters, give or take. And don't worry, I'm still working on Blood, Sweat, and Tears. I have the next chapter half-written already. And I can't decide whether or not to include smut in this one, so we'll keep it at a T rating. Anything dirty will be left to implication.
Chapter One: Tears
Darkness.
It is all there ever was in the beginning of time. From that darkness, one being, known simply as 'Her,' created the world. Her companion, 'Him,' represented all evil in the universe and tarnished Her pure world with mankind.
Depending on who you ask, Hers and His relationship changes. They are mother and son, sister and brother, wife and husband. Perhaps even master and student or friend and foe. They are all that was, free to live in their world, until He changed it.
She represents all that is good in the world; charity, kindness, humility, chastity, patience, justice, diligence. He is all things evil; greed, lust, envy, wrath, gluttony, pride, and sloth.
From these two, the world as we know it was born.
...
Zack Fair walked down the sidewalk, carrying a pizza in one hand and a six-pack of beer in the other. He made his way into an apartment complex and up the stairs, knocking on the door. It opened and a young man held it so Zack could come in with his trademark smile. "Hey, man. Didja miss me?"
The blond man slapped a palm to his forehead with a sigh. "You live here, Zack."
"Yeah, but that doesn't answer my question, Cloud."
Cloud rolled his eyes and shut the door behind his roommate. "Yes, it does. You're here too much."
He scoffed, intentionally making it fake. "Well, I'll have you know that I won't be here that much."
He raised an eyebrow as he turned the TV onto the swordfight tournaments and asked, "How come?"
"I joined a class at the health club for weightlifting. It's about time I get back into it, right?"
Cloud cast a glance at their dinner and laughed. "Yeah, probably."
"I'm thinking I'll try getting into swordfighting once I'm back in shape."
Leaning back into the couch, he thought about that and grinned. "Sounds like fun. Is there room in those classes for one more?"
"Hey! I thought you wanted to get rid of me?"
"Hah! Only because we live together, work together, and hit the bars on weekends together. If I hear one more gay joke..."
"Sometimes, they're not jokes."
"But we're not gay. One of us seriously needs a girlfriend."
"Only one of us? Have fun living your life alone."
"Shut up. The tournament's back on."
...
Cloud walked home with Zack and his girlfriend, Lightning. They'd met during their swordfighting classes and Zack made it his goal to make the cross sakura-haired woman lighten up. The two had started dating shortly after that and, about three months later, Zack had been home less and less often.
Cloud found he had the apartment all to himself fairly often and he was finally getting started on writing the novel he'd always wanted to. A half-year had passed since they'd started their classes and Cloud was starting to wonder if he would ever meet the right girl. At least, rumors of he and Zack being together had died down since Light had entered the picture.
He was on his way home from class, after splitting off from Zack and Light, when he first heard it. A sniffle. Was someone crying? He took off in the direction of the sound, keeping his sword at the ready in case it was a trick. Coming to a stop around the corner from where the sound was loudest, he turned into the Midgar alleyway with his sword drawn and froze.
It was empty.
...
Cloud figured it was just the post-workout exhaustion and he imagined it. There never was a crying girl in an alleyway and he was just going crazy. But, only two weeks later, he heard it again. This time it was in his office. He was working on a proofreading a report when he heard the soft whimper further down the hall.
Rising from his chair, he stepped out to the hall and followed the sound down to copier room. He walked inside to find his coworker, Cid, chewing on a cigarette while waiting for his document to print. The older blond looked up when Cloud walked in and muttered, "I'm usin' the printer an' it's a big ass file. Better come back later."
"Never mind." Cloud shook his head. "I was just checking on... I thought I heard someone."
"Jus' me. Why?"
"No reason. I needed to stretch and it seemed like a good excuse. Not all of us get smoking breaks, Cid."
He shrugged without a trace of shame. "Okay, then. See ya later."
"Right." He turned and headed back to his office, wondering what in the world was going on. Who was that? Why did he seem to be the only one to hear it? It definitely sounded like girl, but who was she? What if she was in trouble? What if she needed help? What if he was just going insane? So many questions and no answers.
...
This time, there was only one week before the next time. Cloud was packing his gear from training into one of the rented lockers at the health club when he heard her sniffle again. Giving a sigh, he closed his locker and finished dressing before walking out to the hall and following her cries. The sound lead him to the pool and he looked around and, again, not hearing her upon reaching the room she should've been in. He figured he had to be going insane and turned on his heel, making his way for another quiet night at home.
He sat in front of his laptop, working on his story, when he heard a saddened voice call, "Cloud..."
Jumping to his feet, he looked around. Okay... I am absolutely insane now...
"Please, find me..."
Ignoring the girl's pleas and choosing to stay on the side of sanity, he made his way over to his bed and dropped down for a night of sleep before work.
...
Cloud closed his eyes in frustration as the sound of a woman's tears filled his ears. He stood in line at the liquor store, waiting to purchase his and Zack's favorite brew. The line was long and, quite frankly, he didn't feel like giving up his place on the busy line just to find nothing again. He made a mental note to call a therapist when he got home and kick the liquor.
Once he finished paying for his beer, he followed the sound back of the store and into the men's bathroom. He took a quick glance around, feeling awkward for searching in this room.
He gave up fairly quickly and left, making his way back out to the main streets of Midgar and taking the subway back to his home.
Walking in the door, he dropped his gym bag on the floor and unshouldered his sword harness. He walked though the kitchen to make himself some dinner when the door opened and Zack walked in. Cloud raised an eyebrow at his friend and asked, "What happened?"
Zack looked up blankly. "Huh?"
"Why aren't you with Light?"
"What? I have to spend every waking moment with her? Geez. Her sister's in town and she wanted to hang out with her. They haven't seen each other in awhile, so they wanted to catch up."
"Ah, okay. I get it. So, what's the plan for the night?"
"What else? Sit around and drink beer." He paused. "Oh, yeah. Serah's single..." he said as he wiggled his eyebrow.
"I'm assuming that Serah is Light's sister?"
"Yep! How about I set something up? She's two years younger than you and looks almost just like Light, if that gives you a clue. Plus, she's really short, so you don't have to feel inferior."
"Zack, I'll kill you."
"Go ahead and try, buddy."
...
Four days later on Friday night, Cloud sat in a nice restaurant wearing a suit. Across from him sat a young woman with pink hair in a dark blue cocktail dress. They ate their meal in silence, not really having much to talk about.
She set her fork down and sighed. "This... isn't working, is it?"
He gave a little shrug. "Not really, but we could still be friends, right?"
"I think that could work," she replied with a smile.
"We're only here because Zack and Light insisted."
"Light? You mean she still goes by that?"
Confusion spread through his gaze. "You mean that's not her name?"
Serah laughed. "Do you honestly know someone with a name like that?"
"Well, my name is Cloud... You tell me."
"You mean... That's your real name, then?"
"Uh, yeah..." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "What's Lightning's real name then?"
"Claire. She was always a really fast runner, so our dad nicknamed her 'Lightning' when she was really young. I guess it stuck."
"I guess it did." He leaned back a little more comfortably in his seat, feeling more at-ease around her, when his ears picked up a faint sound. He gave a light sigh and asked, "Could you excuse me for a minute?"
"Uh, sure. Hey, ah, we're both done eating, so why don't we call it a night? We can hang out again with Claire and Zack some other time, okay?"
He nodded and grabbed the check from the table. "Sounds like a plan."
"H-hey...! I'll pay for my half..."
He shook his head, pushing the sniffles to the back of his mind. "Nah, don't worry. This might be a failed date, but it started out as one. I don't mind."
She smiled. "Well... Thank you, Cloud."
He nodded as they stood. "So... Goodnight, then?"
"Aren't you going to the parking lot, too?"
"I, ah..." He ran a hand through his hair while trying to come up with a valid excuse. "I need to run to the restroom first."
...
Cloud walked into his apartment-Zack nowhere to be found-after his fruitless search for the girl. He gave a sigh and rubbed his eyes, deciding to go straight to bed. Going into the bathroom, he switched his suit for his pajamas and went back to his room, freezing at the sight of a young woman lying unconscious in his bed.
Let me know what you think, please! Review?
-Valk