Cloud Strife looked at the baby nesting on his arms. Her beautiful face full of trust and hope, she was totally innocent of the world where she was brought upon. Slowly he traced the baby's tiny nose and then her red lips that plucked during her slumber.
Aeris smiled when she saw Cloud lovingly trace the baby's face. She closed her eyes knowing that when the right times comes the tiny baby that he held now will grow up to become a woman that is capable of killing hundreds of lives.
"We shall name her Julie," he finally said. He looked at Aeris to confirm the name he had chosen. She nodded her agreement. He placed a kiss upon her forehead before handling her back to the crib they have purchased. Once she was settled Aeris leaned over and gave her a kiss. Together they looked over the now sleeping Julie.
"From now on, we are going to be your parents," Aeris whispered. She turned to Cloud before her eyes were blurred with the tears that were now flowing freely from her eyes. "We'll give you the best there is you will never feel alone. We promise."
With that final word from her Cloud gathered her in his arms and held on to her tightly.
***
Twenty-four years later
"Uncle Cloud, I need to polish my sword. Aunt is going to kill me if I let you do that!",
Cloud looked over his shoulder to find his twenty-four year old daughter running towards him. He smiled knowing that when she approached he'd get another one of her hard punches.
He wasn't disappointed, as soon as Julie got close enough she delivered one hard punch on his arm. "If aunty found about this she'll scold me. And I'm tried of being scolded at", she said, once she got her uncle's attention.
Cloud stood up to his full height of six inches and five centimeters, and looked down at her. She was just five four, but height was never there problem. "Your aunt is not here," Cloud began, "she has a convention in Geneva don't worry about it." He handed her back the sword, and held it like it was a part of her body.
"Old habits die hard, uncle" she replied. Stepping back to swing the newly polished sword, it gleamed when the sunlight hit it's perfectly groomed blade. "As usual, you still have the same charisma when I come to sword handling. I could never match you" she said.
"Who said about you matching me? As far as I can tell, you have your own signature when it comes to fighting and I'm impressed." He smiled and walked towards the rows of trees that separated the main house from the woods. He picked up a wood a thrown it at her. Reflexes took over; she swung the sword and cut the wood in half. "One clean cut" Cloud observed picking up the two piece of wood. Continuing he said, "I've seen some of your missions, and all of them were perfectly executed. Your gun handling needs improvement especially on the high powered ones. Ask Raul or Rusty about that."
"Raul is busy building his empire, he's rarely here, and Rusty has a lot of things to do." She replied. She eyed at her uncle carefully before continuing, "I'm not much into guns so I'll still be okay." She started walking away, heading inside the great mansion.
Cloud sighs and followed her. Once inside he saw her sitting in one of the stools in the kitchen, while she was busily slicing her breakfast. He followed her suite and grabbed the cereal from the counter. He noticed her looking at him and smiled at her. "Unlike you, my dear, I still prefer to eat these sweet stuff that your pancake," he said, pouring cold milk on his breakfast.
"Aunt would be mad if she found out about our eating habits," she said sheepishly, continuing to eat her pancake. "She'd be pissed."
Cloud reflected his daughter's words. True Aeris did have rules, especially regarding breakfast. When was home, she would bake goodies that made the house smell like cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate. Each time you open the fridge, cakes of any variety can be seen on the shelf. So are pies and cookies. He smiled. Remembering the time when Julie was still on high school. She was fascinated with cooking and baking, that she'd asked her aunt to teach her. The joy written on her face was priceless.
The baby they raise to become a killer was interested other than death.
The session lasted up until she was able to memorize all of the cookbooks at home. And up to now, when ever Julie has the urged to cook, they let her do it.
