Title: Snowy Memories
Summary: Cloud returns to Midgar and remembers a few things.
Note: After AC
Icy snow covered the ground as he rode his motorcycle down the broken road. It had been a long time since he had come to this spot and it felt like years. Squinting his eyes against the bright snow, he finally spotted what he was looking for and turned off the bike. A sword glinted in the early morning sunshine a few feet away and he began to walk towards it.
"This sword use to belong to someone who I really respected and yet he rarely used this sword. A can understand why since the blasted thing is so damn heavy."
A smile broke out on the young man's face as he grasped the hilt and pulled it from the cold snow. There was no rust on the blade even though it had been sitting in the elements for a long time and he wondered if his friend had anything to do about it. Stabbing the sword into the ground once more, he looked across the snow covered plains and spotted Midgar. The city looked dark and cold from this distance. Barely anyone lived anymore since there really wasn't any power to keep the city going. He wondered if the old church still stood in the lower city and if Aerith's flowers still grew inside.
"I really do love tending to theses flowers Cloud, they bring me a kind of comfort and content that is so hard to describe. I wonder if I sold a flower to everyone would they feel the same way."
He couldn't help but chuckle at the memory and shake his head. Aerith had tried selling flowers to a lot of people in the lower city but people had rarely bought them. Perhaps they just didn't understand her love for the flowers or thought she was just plain odd for selling them for only a gil.
A sigh escaped him and he watched as it dissipated in the air. He truly did miss Aerith and Zack and wondered how they were doing. He hadn't seen or spoken to either of them since the Geostigma incident. Perhaps since he was finally free of his guilt they no longer saw any point of appearing before him. He hoped that he would see them again someday and not when something was bothering him.
The wind began to pick up and he shivered violently. More snow flakes began to fall and he decided it was time to leave. It wasn't a good idea to stay out on the plains for to long during this time of the year since a blizzard could pop up unexpectedly. Turning his back to Midgar, he began to walk down the hill when a thump behind him made him pause.
"I will never be a memory…."
Whirling around, he saw nothing except that the buster sword had somehow fallen over. A cold sweat broke out on his brow and he took a deep breath. For a moment he could have sworn he had heard Sephiroth but that was impossible. The man had returned to the Life Stream and he doubted he could be wandering around outside of it. Still it was odd he had heard those words once more and he decided he had been alone out here for to long. Shrugging his tense shoulders, he quickly righted the sword and hurried down to his bike. Swinging onto the powerful machine, he paused for one moment and glanced up at the sword. It glinted in the sunshine and wondered if it would be standing the next time he came out here. He turned on the bike and took off down the road. It was high time he got back to his family and finished the rest of his deliveries.
If he had glanced back for a moment he would have seen the buster sword fall over and something shimmer in the air before disappearing. A quiet laugh echoed eerily before fading away into the snowy morning.