A/N: 3 small segments where Cloud gets more pieces of the puzzle.
[3a – Cloud talks to Ms. Joya at Hubble House after one of his classes]
"I noticed there are four Joya's in here, but I can't figure out why Hannah and Michele were arrested," Cloud said, his brow furrowed.
"They weren't," Ms. Joya sighed. "That was me and my big mouth. One of the kids' friends got arrested and I found out he was being sent here. I marched right down to the police station and argued how ridiculous that was. These kids didn't deserve to be locked up in an insititution for life just because they got Geostigma. Besides, Hannah and Michele had it, and it wasn't making them act like criminals." She pressed her lips together. "They decided to test all the kids, and those four came back positive. So I volunteered to be housemother," she said, a gleam of determination in her eye. "I wasn't going to let my kids be raised like a bunch of criminals, and there's no reason the other kids here should be, either."
Cloud didn't know what to say. It was a tragic story for her family, although ultimately it could only be a good thing for these kids to have a motherly figure. "I—I'm so sorry," he said softly.
Ms. Joya stood up briskly. "No need for that," she said. "We just need to move forward." A look of sadness crossed her face. "I do miss my Nicky, though. He was my youngest. My two oldest daughters live in Kalm, so I sent Nicky to them."
[3b – Tifa finds Alicia and Denzel talking in the kitchen before her MA class]
Things had been getting better between Denzel and Alicia. She seemed to really enjoy Tifa's classes, and having her there for her lessons meant that even though she was at Seventh Heaven even more often than usual, she spent less time with Denzel. It took some of the pressure off their relationship, especially the physical aspect that had been bothering him lately.
They sat at the little table in the kitchen, talking about school and Tifa's lessons. Denzel didn't know squat about Tifa's specialty, but he enjoyed listening to Alicia talk about it. She was so passionate about it. Even her clothes were different. She looked good in her little skirts and tops and expensive boots, but there was something much more wholesome and natural about her when she dressed for her classes. She wore a simple green tank top with black shorts, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. That look really appealed to him for some reason. Maybe it was because it reminded him of the way she used to be.
Tifa came down the stairs and smiled warmly at them. "Well, look at that. The two of you are capable of a conversation."
"Tifa," Denzel groaned. It was embarrassing enough to actually be caught with Alicia in the training room, but somehow it was even worse when she brought it up in the middle of a casual conversation. Maybe it was because he was actually using his brain while they were talking, and it was weird to be reminded of a time that didn't involve his mind at all.
Fortunately, Tifa let it drop there. She looked at Alicia. "Ready for class? I think your class is ready to start working on spin kicks today."
[3c – Cloud comes in to one of Tifa's classes]
Tifa decided to split her students up into classes based on skill. The ones who caught on and progressed quickly, like Alicia, formed the first class. The average kids were in the second, and the slower kids in the third.
It was the day for her advanced class, and Tifa had them working on spin kicks. Thankfully Alicia had followed her advice about clothing at her first lesson, and she wore spandex shorts and a tank top that day. Besides Alicia, there were two boys and two other girls in the higher class.
"When you land, you need to plant this foot to point to the outside, like this," she said, adjusting Sara's stance. "Then you can immediately launch the next one." A familiar flash of golden hair caught her eye at the front of the room, and she smiled up at Cloud.
"Tifa, I'm—" The relaxed expression on his face was instantly replaced with shock.
Tifa searched around the room, wondering what could have scared him. All the students were still working on their kicks, not even paying attention to him. Everything else in the room looked the same as usual. By the door, Cloud had backed up to the wall. His face had paled, but now he was looking around at everything, searching for something he could no longer see. Tifa made her way to the front and grabbed his arm. "Cloud? Are you ok? What did you see?"
He blinked a few times and then shook his head slowly. "Nothing, I guess. Just a strange trick of the light." His expression returned to normal as he focused on Tifa. "I'm going to the store. Do you want me to pick up anything?"
"Yeah, could you get some milk? We're almost out."
"Sure." He nodded distractedly, scanning over the room one last time. "I'll be back in a bit."
If it had just been that one time, Cloud would have dismissed the strange sight. But it happened several other times, with all three classes. It was a quick flash of green dots – 10 or 12 dots, to be precise, seeming to represent the eyes of Tifa's students, but that didn't make sense. Some of the kids weren't even looking up at him. He couldn't have seen their eyes. He was afraid that his strange dreams and the lack of sleep were really starting to get to him.