Shade
by TwinEnigma
Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor do I make profit from this fanwork. This is done for fun and skills building.
Warnings: Spoilers for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core.
3.
He wakes to the sound of artificial rain pelting against the tin sheets he'd hastily used to hide his shelter and the cold dampness of Midgar. It's strangely soothing, though it does little to ease the hunger that gnaws at his gut or the aching fuzziness in his head. Thankfully, at least the fever seems to have abated a little.
Crawling to the pipe entrance and cupping his hands, he gathers some of the filtered ShinRa manufactured rainwater and greedily drinks. It tastes slightly metallic and bitter, but he is so thirsty that he doesn't mind the bad taste so much and he knows somehow that he must stay hydrated. Idly, he wishes he had access to a basic ShinRa field filter, like he'd had in SOLDIER, and he freezes, stunned by the suddenness of the memory.
"SOLDIER?" he manages, his voice an aching, unfamiliar rasp forced over dry, cracked lips, and the word brings confusing, disjointed fragments of images and sounds. He stares at his gloved hands a moment, then at his bare arms, and slowly grabs his shirt, feeling the weight of the heavy black cloth. This is a SOLDIER uniform. The color is important: it means something.
"SOLDIER…" he pauses, narrowing his eyes at the black cloth again, and then it clumsily tumbles from his lips, "First class."
Almost immediately, a wave of shattered images tinted in electric green crashes through his head and he cries out, instinctively pulling himself into a ball. It hurts badly, pain wracking every nerve in his body, and he feels almost like he's burning alive from the inside out. Even the rain sounds like thunder to his ears. As suddenly as it came, the tide of memories then recedes and he is left shaking and exhausted, with only the vaguest sense of what he'd seen in them.
He shivers, curling tighter into a ball, and drifts into a fitful sleep.
