Rain
Disclaimer: Don't own FFVII
000
Cloud Strife.
It was a name whispered in reverence and awe. Sometimes it was also a name murmured in fright.
Cloud Strife.
It was like he was no longer a person but a deity to be worshiped, a deity to be feared.
To the people of the world, Cloud Strife was no longer a human but a tragic and powerful hero.
But to himself, he was just a man with faults and sorrows and tears. He was a human with a heart and a soul. Cloud hated being a hero; didn't want that title. It wasn't his dream; that had been someone else's dream. The people had forgotten Zack, the true hero.
Zackary Fair was the hero who gave his life so that Cloud may live.
000
Cloud was standing before the Buster Sword atop of the Midgar cliffs. Rain poured down in torrents. It matched the day perfectly. Today was the anniversary of Zackary Fair's death. The blond was glad it was raining. At least the sky had not forgotten his friend. At least the sky could cry the tears that he could not.
Soldiers didn't cry. And though Cloud had never made it into SOLDIER, he had still been part of the Shin-ra military so long ago as a trooper. That mentality was still present. And now he was a citizen soldier who walked amongst the people of Edge, protecting them from monsters and one another. Clouds was a strong man and no matter how many times that he had been broken he was a man who would still continue to get back up.
You're proof that I existed... Cloud.
The blond swordsman reached out and reverently touched the pommel of the Buster Sword with his gloved fingertips. Yes, Cloud would live because he owed it to so many people, especially Zack. And he owed it to himself to keep going, to keep fighting, to keep living the life given to him. Cloud's life was a gift he refused to waste.
"Zack, aren't you glad?" Cloud asked the rain and his friend. "Aren't you glad that I've not given up? Even though Geostigma tried to take me down, you gave me strength to stand right back up. You and Aeris and Vincent and Gaia herself. Even Tifa, stubborn woman that she is, my heart's sister. I live on even if it isn't fair that you haven't. But you did it. You became a hero. Thank you, Zack. I will remember you always, as both the man and the hero."
And in the rain, Cloud smiled and turned away. He had a home and a family to get back to in Edge.
A sliver of blue sky was on the horizon. The rain would end soon enough today.
You see. Everything turned out alright.
000
END