White moonlight poured into the bedroom, casting an eerie glow over the worn furniture. It revealed a small boy sitting on the floor and gazing through his window at the cloudless night sky. As he looked up into the vast sea of stars, his heart skipped with excitement. It was nearly midnight, but he wasn't the least bit tired. How could he sleep? He had waited and waited, day after dreadfully long day… JUST for this occasion. And in his books, this occasion would probably qualify as the most important day on the whole 365-day calendar. Tomorrow was none other than his tenth birthday. And in the mind of a ten-year-old boy who doesn't have much, the word "birthday" instantly translates into "opportunity."

For the past month -Well, really since the week after his last birthday- his mind raced with gift ideas. A new Sephiroth action figure, a cool leather Shin-Ra belt like the SOLDIERs had… Really, the possibilities were endless. But the thing that occupied the number one slot on Zack's list this year, the one thing that was sure to make all of his dreams come true, was simply a sword. A common sword that matched his brother's. It probably wouldn't seem much to any SOLDIER. If anything, they would think the sword was rather dull. Compared to the flashy new weapons developed by Shin-Ra, the sword Zack wanted probably looked like an old letter opener. But the Fair family couldn't afford much, and Zack knew that. So, to him, an old letter opener would work just fine.

However, there was one problem; a sword had occupied the number one slot on his birthday list for quite a few years. Zack had always wanted one, but there are only so many things a little boy can ask for. You see, asking for something cool like a sword when you're six basically equates to asking for a box of matches. Or a pocketknife. Or any other dangerous object that a "little boy" has no business asking for. Zack's oldest brother Braxtynn was a second-class SOLDIER and had given his old sword to Cal, the second oldest of the four Fair children. Of course, Zack found it completely unfair that Cal got a sword and he didn't. But still, year after year, Zack would ask for the same thing. And year after year, Zack was left disappointed. On the night before his birthday, he would always sit on his floor and look into the night sky. Too anxious to fall asleep, he anticipated the events the morning would hold. Maybe, just maybe, this would be the year his wish came true.

Zack had been sitting at his frosted window for hours now, and his left foot had fallen asleep. The boy cringed as he slowly rose from the floor. While shaking his leg and trying to relieve the pain, Zack accidentally knocked over the wooden chair next to his desk, resulting in a resonating THUD that echoed through the hall. The raven-haired boy limped hurriedly to his bed, knowing the commotion would wake his parents. As he crawled in between the covers, he heard his father's heavy footsteps approaching his bedroom. Zack's father creaked the door open and peeked in suspiciously. His suspicious gaze evolved into a look of confusion when he saw the lopsided chair and his son tucked in bed with the covers surrounding his face. The broad shouldered man silently fixed the chair and then tiptoed towards the bed. He shrugged and was convinced that the boy was asleep.

"Sweet dreams, little bud," Zack's father whispered, barely audible. He gently pushed the messy, jet-black hair away from Zack's eyes and trudged back into his own room.

"Sweet dreams," Zack whispered after the rhythmic beatof his father's steps died out. He rolled over and looked out the window from his bed. After what seemed like an eternity, the boy's eyelids grew heavy, and he slowly drifted to sleep.

The dark silhouette of a man floated down and landed gently on a nearby rooftop. As he landed, the soft sound of fluttering wings disappeared. He looked up to the stars; the expression on his face hinted that some deep thought was on his mind. Somewhere in the tiny village, a dog howled desperately to come inside out of the cold. The distraction caused the mysterious man to look down from the clear night sky. The thoughtful look on his face vanished as he made sure he was out of sight. He then fixed his eyes on small, dimly lit house across the way.

"Honestly, Angeal."

The voice had come from behind. Angeal sighed, recognizing the voice immediately. He thought he could sense the smallest bit of sympathy in his friend's voice… either sympathy or spite. Sometimes it was hard to tell. The flame-haired man strutted towards the edge of the faded roof and looked over the run-down village. Some of the houses glowed warmly with candlelight, while others had wisps of smoke quietly puffing out of their chimneys. The whole town had a safe and comforting aura about it. The ominous Mako Reactor put a slight damper on things, but despite that, the village was nice. However, the man clad in red didn't seem to take a liking to the place.

"I will never understand why you insist on coming to a place like this time after time," Genesis said with a disgusted look. It appeared as if he was used to a bit more… extravagance. Angeal paused. He knew why he kept coming back to Gongaga, but he didn't intend to elaborate.

"I… see myself in him," Angeal replied quietly. Genesis looked confused at first, trying to figure out who "he" was, but then remembered. The man shook his head. He obviously thought that wasn't a very good reason to return to "a place like this." Angeal didn't seem to be paying attention, and his mind surged with old memories.

Maybe two or three years ago, the First Class SOLDIER had been traveling through Gongaga. While strolling back to his quarters for the day, he began to hear shouting. Angeal turned to spot a tall, lanky teenager who was "running" -it was more like a half-hearted trot- and laughing uncontrollably. He was holding what looked to be… a Sephiroth action figure? Before he could determine, something else caught Angeal's attention. A little boy with spiky, jet black hair bounded towards the teenager.

"I said, give it BACK!" Yelled the child as his brother taunted him with the toy. The teenager laughed playfully.

"But I'm having so much fun!" He teased. The little boy lunged for the figure, but his older brother simply raised it from his reach. A smile flickered at the corner of Angeal's lips; the pitiful scene reminded him strangely of a puppy pleading for his chew toy. The SOLDIER turned his back on the children and again began walking towards the Inn. He had almost reached the entrance, but all of a sudden… THUD. The young boy with the black hair hurtled into Angeal, sending them both tumbling to the ground. The teenager had faked out his brother and seemed very pleased with his success. After getting to his feet and bellowing at his brother, the little guy finally noticed the rather large man he had sent to the ground. Angeal could see fear growing in his stormy grey-blue eyes.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, mister… My older brother…" The boy stammered. He seemed flustered and worried and confused, not knowing what to say or do. However, all those emotions seemed to vanish when his eyes slid to the giant blade that hung across the man's back. The fear in his eyes was replaced with excitement and admiration as the boy marveled at the sword.

"Whoah…" He sighed in wonder. The boy's fascination made Angeal laugh to himself. He smiled and walked over to the boy who was still doubled over with fits of laughter.

"I believe you have something of his?" Said Angeal with a rather convicting tone and a stern gaze. He held out a gloved hand and raised his eyebrows. The boy stopped laughing and looked towards the ground, partly because he was ashamed of what he did, but mostly because he had embarrassed himself in front of a highly ranked SOLDIER. He handed over the action figure, mumbled something that sounded like an apology, and sauntered off.

Angeal smirked. It really was a Sephiroth action figure.

"Wow… Thanks, mister! I've never seen my brother like that! How'd you do it?" The boy inquired. Angeal smiled and squatted down to where he was eye level with him. He returned action figure and looked straight into his eyes.

"People usually end up getting what they deserve in the end. It's called justice," The SOLDIER explained as the boy listened in awe. "Don't forget that, okay? 'Cause trust me, it'll work just the same for you," Angeal lectured. He winked at the boy, which was returned with a giggle. And just then, a little girl in a pale pink dress bobbed around the corner. She paused to catch her breath.

"Zack! I finally found you!" She exclaimed. She noticed Angeal, gave him a suspicious look, and turned back towards her brother. "Momma told me to get you for supper. C'mon, it's gonna get cold!" the girl pleaded. Zack turned back to Angeal before running back home with his little sister.

"Thanks so much, mister! I wont forget what you said!" The boy laughed, and then dashed off with the little girl.

So, his name's Zack… Angeal smiled, then finally walked into the Inn.

A few months had passed, but Angeal still would find himself thinking about Zack. He eventually realized that he saw himself in the boy. The more he thought about it, the more he realized his past childhood was identical to the life of the boy from Gongaga. Both were raised in households deprived of money, both had the same determined, noble, even humorous personality. Thiswas why Angeal insisted upon returning every once in a while. He just wanted to check on the little puppy he had rescued years before.

Genesis didn't have to understand it. Angeal gazed toward the boy's window, as he had every time he visited this quiet town. He didn't want anything that had happened in his own past happening to Zack.

"I'm… His guardian angel," Angeal grimaced. As soon as the words left his mouth, a long, snowy white wing exploded from his back. "Literally," He added, in a more disgusted tone. Angeal knew that Zack would never be plagued as he was… He knew that he would never have to deal with the degradation that resulted from the Jenova cells. But he still wanted to look out for him.

Angeal floated down from his perch and landed softly in front of the Fair home. He pulled from his belt a standard issue SOLDIER sword- one that looked just like Zack's brother's. Attached to the hilt was a slip of paper that simply read Happy Birthday, Zack. Angeal leaned the blade against the wall next to the front door. Before turning to leave, he plucked a single long, white feather from his giant wing. He tied the feather to the hilt and walked out into the moonlight. Genesis was there waiting for him with a similar ebony wing protruding from his back. Without a word, the two kicked off of the ground and took to the sky, leaving the sleeping village of Gongaga behind them.