Light Rain, Heavy Heart
[A/N] Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. This is my first Final Fantasy VII fanfic and it's a oneshot. I actually wrote this because I had no inspiration to write my fluffy Samurai Champloo story. I guess I'm a little sad about stuff…I shouldn't have taken it out on Zack the Puppy though... Forgive me…
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or anything related to it, alright? I'm already sad enough; you don't have to rub it in.
Light Rain, Heavy Heart
The cold unwelcoming darkness of the battlefield engulfed the man whose vision was slowly beginning to fail him. Like an hourglass on its last bit of sand, all the energy he'd once been so proud of, so known for… had reached its final limit. Zack Fair, the energetic male was a dreary shadow of his former self. How could this life, the life he'd been looking forward to be so damn cruel? Everything he wanted in the future was slipping through his fingers before he could even take the chance to think.
He could feel it…death was near.
When this man was only a child he had a dream that he'd be renowned, be a hero. And yet, he never thought that his difficult life would amount to this all too abrupt ending. His story couldn't possibly be over. There was so much left, he'd get up and keep moving forward. But, that was only a lie he used to reassure himself so he could refuse the excruciating pain he was facing.
Here he was, a former soldier now turned into a wandering fugitive only wanting the freedom he was unfairly taken from. Was that much to ask for? The gods deemed it so. If this was the end of the line, he wanted Cloud to live for him. To live a good life and lead his legacy beyond that of an unmemorable demise.
Embrace your dreams. He once said that. It felt like so long ago now. The years, the seconds passing by…it all felt the same. He only had a few sparing moments left to his soul, so why not remember his whole life?
All the people he'd met along his journeys, all the people who aided him. All the people who died by his hand. Every person flooded his memories and he half smiled that he at least had his memory left.
But the last person he thought of…that girl whom he couldn't stop thinking about. Her sweet, innocent voice was the one that rang through his ears and relaxed him the most.
She was the one he missed dearly.
The raven haired male lifted his glove to the murky sky with the last of his energy, touching the drizzle of rain that met his bloody, tattered body. It hurt, this beautiful rain that used to revitalize his spirit. Now it strangely hurt because it was so soft and gentle. Like her.
Life and death, who ever thought that the line was so slim? Either way he lived a good one, short but good. Zack had seen and experienced living so much differently than others. He was lucky in fact. Why though… he still wasn't done. Not yet, not so soon! He had a future still waiting for him. There was someone still waiting for him!
She would never know that he was dying on his way to reach her, and that thought harmed him much more than the fatal wounds eating away at his immobile form. He was so close, only a few meager miles away from her church that he knew she'd be waiting in. How cruel, that he'd lost his opportunity here of all places.
And through all this pain and incredible suffering that he physically couldn't so much as handle, all he wanted urgently to do was get up and see her. His mind's will was begging him to move. Just once more…just once.
'Please…' he silently begged to the darkened clouds that seemed so apathetic. They refused him, neglected him.
He couldn't move. His injured body wasn't responding at all. This was it after all. He inhaled sharply, only ever having a single regret in his entire life. In the eyes of many, he'd become a true hero. He had someone that'd live his life for him. Yet still he…
Never got to see her again.
"Aerith…I'm sorry."
The flower girl had waited, waited four lonely years to see him, her soldier to come back. Although she hadn't yet lost hope for his return, she stopped writing after the eighty ninth letter.
Slowly and reminiscently, her tender hands brushed against the soft petals of the pale flowers she took care of. She wished it was him she tended to. When she looked upwards to the cloudy skies, a soft drizzle of rain caressed her face in an almost caring way. She wished it was his hand.
Standing now, she intertwined her fingers together like she did every slow passing day, making an unspoken prayer. An unspoken wish. Was she being selfish? This was the only thing that she'd ever wanted though, life couldn't be that cruel.
And that's when it hit. Like a piercing flash, it struck so hard that she almost winced.
It may have been the most painful thing she'd ever felt in her life. The rain just kept on falling. Like hushed angels whispering to her hesitant ears, she felt it in her heart. Almost unnoticeable, but it was there nonetheless. That horrible realization was beginning to set in with every drop of rain against her skin. With one last unbelieving look to the sky, she gasped aloud. It was her way of begging that it wasn't, it couldn't possibly be true.
Aerith pressed her palm to her cheek, wiping away the wetness that slipped down them. That wasn't the rain she wiped away. The heart that hammered like a drum when he was around, the heart that had excitedly anticipated his return…it now felt like someone had ripped it out with so much ferocity and anger. It was beyond overwhelming.
Nothing was left to wait for. Nothing
Involuntarily, her body gave way as she collapsed to her knees on the blurry bed of yellow and white. She almost resentfully laughed when she remembered how she scolded Zack about damaging the delicate flowers. At this moment, she just didn't care any longer. She didn't even have the false effort to wipe away the tears that streamed down her face and stung her rose colored lips. All she could think of was him. Zack. The woman let herself cry uncontrollably, knowing she'd been forcefully holding it in for too long by now.
She remembers trying to forget the raven haired man with a genuine smile and charming voice. She had tried so, so hard to let go of her memories back then. It was an evil irony; the more she chose to forget the more her heart would long for his return. After all this time, he never did show up. There were no more chances to embrace him, no more chances to kiss him fervently like she wistfully dreamt of doing.
Her green orbs flashed angrily back to the source of the painful rain, with disbelief clouding her sensitive heart.
Never even got the chance to tell him...
With one last sigh, she closed her eyes knowing now that wishes never really do come true. With one last whisper meant for only a lone person's ears, she balled her hands into fists and allowed herself to hate the world for that moment.
"I'll never forget you."
All that could have been heard in the enclosed little church after that was the raindrops that rhythmically fell to the awaiting flowers below. Now as for her aching heart, it was silent and unnoticeable to everyone. ...Except for the one who held it.
~Finish~
[A/N] I will admit. I almost cried writing this. I'm not expecting a lot of reviews but if you enjoyed, or were brought to the edge of tears, Favorite or Review… Now I'm going to hide in my quiet emo corner and cry…
Oh, as for the last sentence…It's up to your interpretation over who heard her heart. Aerith, because it's her heart or the one who held her heart emotionally ( Zack). You decide.
Thank you everyone. I greatly appreciate you guys reading. I'm sorry that it was sad, I hate it myself…