Chapter 2: Kaworu Nagisa

The boy gripped Cloud's hand, his eyes wide with fright. Those eyes were an odd brown, like dried blood. He was gasping as well, and flinched when the doctor touched him. One hand was up by his neck, as though to assure himself he was alive.

"Where did you find him?" asked Dr. Irving.

"The church." Cloud replied. "He was lying half-in the water."

"That explains his frostbite." Dr. Irving commented. "We need to warm him, and slowly, or it could cause damage to his nerves."

The boy screamed. Both hands went up to his greyish hair, and he closed his eyes, as though trying to block something out.

"Hey." Cloud touched the boy's shoulder. "It's alright. We're just trying to help you."

The boy lowered his hands, one resting near his throat again.

Dr. Irving carefully laid a blanket over the boy's lower half. "I should check on the others." He left the room.

"Hey, yo." said Reno.

"What is it, Reno?" Cloud asked. "If you're asking about the test . . ."

"Nah, I ain't going to ask about that, yet, yo." Reno nodded to the boy. "He's got scars on his neck."

"Yeah, I noticed." said Cloud. "He was half-frozen when I found him, so I pulled him out and tried to keep him warm. I had to pull the leotard he was wearing off him, since it was soaked, and I dressed him in some of Denzel's things, since he comes with me to stay at the church sometimes." He gently brushed his fingers through the boy's hair, effectively calming the child. "That was when he woke up, but he was shaking badly. So I brought him here on Fenrir."

The boy looked at Reno, then at Cloud. "You seem to be Lilim." he said, blinking.

Reno blinked at him. The child's voice was plain, yet at the same time almost beautiful. There was that odd note of knowing just what he wanted to say without saying anything useful, too.

"Actually, we're humans." said Cloud. "I'm Cloud Strife. The red-head is Reno Sinclair."

The boy managed to sit up, blinking at them. He peered out the window for a moment. "What is that?" he asked.

"The building?" Reno asked. "That's the WRO headquarters."

"No, I meant the white stuff fluttering like feathers."

"That's snow." Cloud replied. "It's been a while since it's fallen without the Mako-blue hue to it."

"Huh?' The boy looked back at them. "It snows normally?" he asked. "But, the others never spoke of snow. Just rain." He looked a little confused and looked down and out the window again.

"An area with just rain?" asked Reno. "Are you referring to Junon?"

The boy looked back at him, blinking. "Actually, I was referring to the entire world. It hasn't snowed since the Second Impact. All it ever does is rain, if there's any precipitation at all."

"Second Impact?" Reno mused. "Are you referring to Meteor, or something else, yo?"

The boy now looked confused. He blinked at them for a moment, all the while feeling along his neck. He looked rather confused as he felt along the scar-line, which went completely around his neck. "Hmm." the boy muttered. He lowered his hands and looked at Cloud and Reno again. "Where am I?" he asked.

"The hospital." Cloud replied.

The boy gave him an 'I figured that out' look.

"Kalm." said Reno. "It's the name of the city, yo."

"Kalm." the boy repeated. "What country?"

Cloud and Reno blinked at him. "The large east continent." Cloud replied.

"Asia?"

"No, it's called the East Continent." Cloud returned.

The boy sat trying to figure this out. Finally, he looked at the pair again. "What planet is this?"

The question startled both men, but it was Reno that managed to answer. "Gaia."

The boy blinked at him for a while, trying to assemble the new information. His shoulders began to shake, and he held himself.

"Kid?" asked Reno.

The boy started to make a soft sound, which continued to escalate until he fell back on the bed laughing. When he finally settled, he wiped away the tears that had started to form in the corners of his eyes. "That was worth it." he said. He looked at Reno and Cloud.

"What was?" Cloud asked. "What was so funny?"

"I died, and therefore I'm pitched several billion light-years to atone for what I didn't do." the boy said. He traced his fingers over the scar. "Asuka would have a field day with this."

"Who's Asuka?" Cloud asked.

"Another pilot." the boy replied. "But she's a human."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, yo."

The boy looked at him. "Well, it's not all bad. Humans and Lilim both have a limited look on things, but I suppose it's no different for Angels, either. We all only know what we're told."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "You never told us your name." he said flatly.

"Forgive me. I'm Kaworu Nagisa."

A nurse poked her head into the room. "Visiting hours are over." she said.

Reno and Cloud stepped out and walked back down the hall.

"That kid's weird, yo."

"I know." They stepped outside, and Reno's face nearly fell off.

"What?" Cloud asked, righting his motorcycle.

"You're the one that crashed?" Tifa asked.

"I didn't crash." Cloud corrected. "I just didn't get the kickstand down right." He climbed onto the motorbike and sighed before revving the motor and driving off.