Quick Note:
私の中の住人が 同じ男に恋をした
みなみんな報われぬまま 男の答えは
「君の中の一人だけを愛しましょう！」
心臓が高鳴る 私たちの
早まる鼓動を 押さえつけて
Force Stealer easily sliced through the last monster, and Cloud reattached the sword to the strong magnet on his back. Stretching, he turned around back towards the camp he and his party had set up.
Touch-Me frogs were still plaguing the forests near the river past Gongaga. Those horrid little things kept Cloud, Aeris, and Red XIII busy to no end, constantly slapping the trio and changing them into frogs before changing them back. It had taken forever to get rid of the monsters, and Cloud volunteered to fend off the stray frogs that tried to sneak into their tents. He and his friends had agreed beforehand that they would split into groups of three, then get back together at night time.
Quietly, he slipped into the tent he shared with Barret. Red XIII slept outside, Aeris and Yuffie took to sleeping in the buggy, and Tifa offered to take first watch with Cait Sith, insisting that she could stay up longer. Despite his tired body telling him not to do so, Cloud lay awake, listening to the noises of the night and waiting for the chance to trade with Tifa. He shifted to get a little more comfortable and rested his eyes for a few seconds.
Up ahead was another shallow part of the river which was traverse-able by buggy. Cloud had a feeling that there was another town past that natural barrier. Quickly, he made a mental list of what they would need. Hi Potions weren't much of a problem (White Wind and Restore materia were always used when necessary), but Ethers were a definite must. Last he checked, there were only two or three left. Weapons weren't very important. While their equipment wasn't as strong as what they had found later in their journey, double materia growth was very, very useful. Cloud supposed that he could buy more materia if he had the spare gil for it, but that depended on whether anything useful was available. He rolled over and continued to mull over his small plans. One could never be too careful, and he wanted to be prepared.
Prepared for when he and his friends ran into Sephiroth again.
It was not a question of if – this was definitely a when. Cloud was sure of it. After Junon, there were still reports of a man in a black cape passing by, and Cloud felt that they were getting closer and closer to their enemy, to the one that had done so much to Cloud and Tifa, to the one who had to have some ulterior motive hidden behind his back.
Letting out a deep breath, Cloud tossed and turned for what seemed like eternity before getting up and making his way to where Tifa sat, alert, on the hood of the buggy.
"I can handle this, Cloud," Tifa said quietly.
Cloud shook his head. "We've got a long day tomorrow."
Cait Sith bounded over on his giant Mog from his nearby spot. Cloud nearly pulled out his sword to slice the odd duo in half before he realized who they were.
"Sorry!" the cat said in a hushed voice. "I forget that I can see what you can't sometimes." Cloud shook his head again, not feeling that an apology from the formerly assumed fortune-telling toy was necessary. "You and the lady should rest. I can handle this myself."
"It's alright. You don't have to exert yourselves when I can do it," Cloud said.
"I can keep watch just fine," Tifa protested with mock anger.
"I know you can, Tifa, but—"
"But nothing! I'm staying."
A debate broke out, continuing on for who knows how long. Cloud presented all of his arguments, but Tifa would have none of it. Eventually, it was decided that all three should keep watch, because it didn't seem like anybody was going to leave anytime soon.
Tifa toughed it out and stayed up the whole night, even having to wake Cloud up when it was time to go. She gave him an amused smile, a rare thing for him to see from her lately, which Cloud saw blearily in his groggy state. He shook it off and rubbed his eyes, getting out of the sitting position he had fallen asleep in against the buggy. He rubbed his stiff neck, almost embarrassed.
Aeris giggled. "Ready to go, Cloud?" she teased.
"Come on!" Yuffie exclaimed. "We've been waiting all day!"
"...it's still the early morning, Miss," Red XIII said.
"Well, I'm not gonna be woken up at the crack of dawn for nothin'! Let's go already!"
"You better calm down before I make you," Barret threatened, annoyed. He grouped up with Tifa while Cait Sith paired up with Yuffie. Cloud set off towards the river with Aeris and Red XIII, watching the buggy amble along in front of them with Barret as the driver and Tifa in the passenger seat. It was their turn to take the vehicle and pick out the next camping spot. Yuffie was disgruntled at the fact that she wouldn't be allowed to drive, but Cloud couldn't bring himself to trust the supposed ninja with the car. He'd rather have something for them to be able to cross shallow rivers than nothing at all.
He, Red XIII, and Aeris made sure to avoid the forests and the frogs. They had learned their lesson the first time around.
Around the time the sun started to set, Cloud's PHS rang.
"Yo, Cloud! We've hit the river!" Barret's voice crackled from the device. Cloud voiced an affirmative before hanging up and notifying his party. The trio sped up further to their destination, eventually reuniting with Barret and Tifa. All five waited until Yuffie and Cait Sith arrived before piling into the buggy, Cait Sith having to make do with holding onto the trunk of the car due to his Mog making him unable to fit inside. The speed was slow enough for him to be able to hang on easily, but the combined weight of Cloud and his friends and Cait Sith made the actual crossing of the river slightly difficult, almost resulting in the buggy getting stuck in the mud.
Too soon, it seemed, the sun began to set, ending another day. Cloud and his friends managed to enter what looked like another desert. As Cloud helped set up camp, he noticed that Red XIII seemed anxious. Shrugging, he supposed that that would have to wait until tomorrow, at least. As he took first watch, he found himself preparing for what might come.
He couldn't help it. Something stirred in his gut, telling him that they were going to run into Sephiroth soon.
Notes:
Idea conceived: 2013年5月2日（木）
Started: 2013年9月13日（金）
Finished: 2013年9月20日（金）
I'd originally thought of doing a fic with a gender-bending Sephiroth a very long time ago. However, this plot is very different from the one I had originally came up with last year or the year before when the idea had first come to me, and it's a billion times better than the old one, anyways. The above note contains a hint to what this fic will eventually lead to...
Before an Aeris/Aerith debate starts, I'd like to say that I call her Aeris as a preference. It just sounds better to me.
In FF7, I've always had Aeris and Red XIII in my party for a few parts of the game for the limit break Healing Wind and because Red is the strongest character at that point. So while I don't think the other characters are in character, I hope that they aren't horribly OOC.