"You know, we began to worry about you Sei." Yazoo and Loz had been waiting outside the house for their return.

"Why? I'm okay," she said. "Where's Jake?"

"He went to go look for you," Said Yazoo. He watched as Loz studied Sei, ensuring she wasn't harmed in any way.

"Hey, I'm fine," she insisted.

"Did you at least have a good time?"

"Well…" her eyes slid over to Kadaj.

"Say it was fun! SAY IT!" said Kadaj, getting Sei playfully by the neck. She in turn pushed him away and assumed a kung-fu position. He in turn imitated her. She was about to laugh at the silly face he was making, when suddenly, before Sei could even make a sound, Kadaj was lifted off the ground and his black hair was replaced by a blond head. Sei blinked and only had time to gasp, before she realized that another dark flash of black was attacking Yazoo and Loz at the same time.

She heard windows breaking; the blond being had thrown Kadaj through one of the house windows. Sei stood there petrified watching how the two blurs of black attacked the three brothers for a few seconds. She saw how Yazoo backed away from the flash of black as Loz attacked it. Kadaj was emerging from the house and launching himself at the blond being with his hands converted to claws, his eyes blazing with a heated fury.

Then Sei recognized the figures. What are they doing here? She immediately sprinted forward trying to stand between the blur of black and Loz, who had somehow pushed Yazoo to the floor and managed to keep himself in place between his brother and their attacker. "No!" she screamed, "Don't touch them!"

"What?" the woman looked down at Sei in surprise. Yazoo stood up and with Loz in tow, got nearer to them; both pairs of pupils were stretched vertically and their faces were twisted in grim expressions of sadistic anger as they prepared to attack. "No!" she said again, this time at the men. She got in between the woman and them; "Stay back!" Both men blinked at her confused; behind them, Sei could see Kadaj fighting the other figure fist on fist. Jake, where are you? "Stop it!" she called. "Stop it, stop it—STOP IT!" Her voice finally carried onto to them, making them pause in their battle; well actually, Kadaj stopped; his opponent was so full of adrenaline, he couldn't stop himself just in time, and delivered a heavy punch to Kadaj's jaw, sending him sprawling onto the floor.

Seeing this, Loz and Yazoo rushed to his aid, followed by Sei, with the woman in tow as the blond man prepared himself to receive the other two in battle. Before they collided, however, Sei managed to over speed the other two and tackled the man before they got even a chance to breathe on him; once she was on the floor with him, she turned to the remnants and the woman. "Enough!" They literally slid to a stop. She immediately stood up and separated the remnants from the other two, and backed them away towards the house. "That's enough," she said, panting heavily, but her eyes fixed with finality.

"Go into the house," she said to the ones behind her. She sensed that they didn't want to listen to her; they wanted to attack, to get their revenge, to kill… "Please," she said, a strain on her tone. "Please, just do as I say… and go into the house." Somewhere, somehow, they must have sensed an edge in her voice that eventually got them moving inside the building. Noticing their actions, the blond man charged forward, his icy blue stare determined to stop them on their tracks. Sei shook her head at him, and pleaded with her eyes that he stop… but he didn't. He kept going and then suddenly… the man stopped. He didn't stop by will, it was by force; her knee was buried into his stomach. He didn't get past her.

As she lowered her knee, the man fell on his side, gasping for air. I'm sorry… "What are you doing?" asked the woman, obviously confused. I'm so sorry…

The woman, who was helping the man stand, had a calculating look about her eyes, as if she were planning on going past her and then into the house to finish what they'd started. "Leave them alone, Tifa," Sei said grabbing her attention. She turned to the guy who was struggling to maintain himself standing; he ended up kneeling on the floor.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked.

I'm so sorry, she wanted to say. I'm so sorry, for doing this to you… I didn't mean to… she wanted to say all that and more, but Jake wasn't around, and the dust was still up in the air. She had to control her guilt and be as firm as she knew Jake could be. "Cloud," she replied, "What the hell are you thinking coming to my house, violating it and attacking my friends? What are you doing here?"

Cloud Strife looked up at her as if barely seeing her for the first time; he looked her up and down and then chuckled lightly. "Sei..."he groaned, "you grew."

"What, did you expect me to look exactly the same as I did two years ago?"

"In a way," he uttered. "But that kick was unexpected. Jake's taught you well."

Sei shook her head. "Don't change the subject; what are you doing here?"

"Well…" he said, sighing and tried standing up slowly again."Tifa called saying you were being held against your will. By those three." Cloud pointed at the house behind her. Sei looked back at Tifa.

"What?"

"It looked like it, so I decided to call Cloud so we could help you," she said.

"But… I'm not being held against my will… they're my friends, we all live here." Sei's expression softened. It was a simple mistake; people made mistakes, right?

"Friends?" Cloud's voice sounded incredulous. "For all the time I've known those three, they're beings that can't be trusted." Sei frowned, then sighed. "If you knew the things they've done—"

"You know what?" Sei interrupted; she was about to continue with a verbal attack his way, when she stopped. It would probably be hard for Cloud and Tifa to think of the remnants as misguided children, but really, that was what they were. They had committed wrong actions, but they had not known that what they had been doing was wrong. They were innocent, only wanting to be with their mother. Jenova had not treated them well. They had been pawns under her manipulation. Cloud and them may understand the meaning of that, but they surely didn't know how to handle it without violence. And right now, Jake wasn't around to smooth things over, so it was up to Sei to back up her new friends.

Her thought process had been an extended one; so much so that Cloud and Tifa were beginning to think that Sei was actually considering Cloud's words. "You're right," she said, finally. Anyone would've thought that Sei was surrendering to them, but the look on her face told Cloud and Tifa otherwise; she wasn't moving out of the way, in fact, she was staying put. Very much so, especially demonstrated as she added, "we're born capable of doing terrible things. I mean, who isn't; you go around and you see people stealing, lying, cheating… killing…" She trailed off for a moment and then gathered her thoughts again.

"But realize that there's always, always, someone who appears in our lives to give us a little push in the wrong or right direction. Those three are as human as you and me and Tifa and Jake. They are no different." Cloud looked about to start telling her otherwise, but she decided to speak over him. "You were their Big Brother, Cloud, and you were supposed to take care and look after them. I know they got out of hand, and I know you stopped them…" Once again she trailed away, and once again, she thought of his way of doing things. Such brutality… she shook her head and continued. "But the fact that you stopped them before doesn't mean you have to do it again. They are here with good intentions; they haven't harmed anyone, nor are they thinking of doing so." Of course, the latter was only an assumption and very frail one too, considering their attempts to continue fighting against Cloud and Tifa just a few minutes prior. Thankfully, none of them caught onto that fact.

"Wait, how did you know I stopped them?" asked Cloud. Tifa cocked her head and looked at Sei, taking a step closer to them; she was also interested in what the answer was.

"They told me what happened. From the time they got here, all the way to how they came back," she answered.

"No matter what they said to you, I'm sure they lied to you. Realize that it's in their nature to lie and deceive—"

"If that were to be true, then tell me it was a lie that Tifa fought against Loz and lost in Aerith's church. Tell me it was a lie that Yazoo gathered all the children infected with geostigma and took them to the forgotten city. Tell me that Kadaj lied when he told us he turned into Sephiroth. Tell me it was a lie that you tried to finish all three on the Shinra building."

"Tried?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah, one of them survived. Then the other two came back to life."

Cloud had heard enough. "Sei, I failed to bring Aerith back to life. Life only flows in one direction and people aren't supposed to be brought back. And now they show up after they died?"

"Yeah." Sei shrugged the way she knew Jake would've done.

"A normal person doesn't come back to life just like that."

"For a small difference you're going to go against them? Over all, they're not so different; just like you and me, they have mission in life, and I know it's a good one."

Tifa was about to say something, but Sei turned to her and interrupted her.

"Let me ask you something. What would it be if you were beaten half to death? If you were thrown on the ground, you were spat on, and told that you were worth nothing? What would you feel?" Tifa and Cloud remained silent. Cloud may have understood a bit of those feelings, but Tifa could only really imagine the extent of those words. "I know something happened to those three. And they will need more than each other to snap awake from that trauma. So me and Jake have decided to take them in and teach them better ways of life."

Cloud was grinding his teeth, thinking about what she was saying. Then…"What exactly are you doing this for?"

"It's another step."

"To what?"

"You have everything you want." Sei's eyes flashed. "I'm still searching."

There was a long moment of silence, as Tifa and Cloud allowed what Sei had just said to sink in. For a moment Tifa thought that Sei wanted to put Cloud down; the way she kept referencing things from his past…

"Cloud, leave them alone." Added Sei.

"Ever since I split ways with SOLDIER, I don't follow orders." Cloud's eyes had grown to be icy.

"It's not an order," said Sei looking for a kinder glare from him. "It's more of a… deal."

"Forget your deal; they were destined to be killed ever since they were made," said Cloud, frowning deeper and starting to walk to Sei's house, where the three brothers were. During the whole conversation, Cloud had grown stronger and the pain of the kick the younger girl had delivered had vanished; now he walked almost normally. As he passed Sei, she yanked his arm forcefully, turning him around.

"You stay out here with me! You're not going anywhere!"

"Let go of me, I'm not sitting around to see how they turn on you and kill you. I don't care if you're on their side."

"Forgetting the fact that they could kill you this time because they're enraged and done with games, I don't want you to go in there because I don't want to take sides." Cloud stopped walking. Tifa looked at them both. "If you threaten them, I will be on their side defending them. But if they threaten you, I will go into your side and defend you. Until that happens, I'm a neutral. Please don't make me pick a side."

Why is she like this? thought Tifa, amazed by the younger girl's courage. The kindness that runs through her body might be something that keeps her going… but it might turn into a reason of a future death…

"Please," the girl said once more. She had stopped pulling at his arm, mainly because he had stopped walked, and she stared at his hand in hers. Cloud looked at the house and seemed to measure it. Then he looked back at Tifa, and then back down to Sei. "So, what you're telling me is that they told you everything about them."

"Yeah."

"Tell me what they told you."

Sei told them everything that happened since Cloud vs. SHM first encounter, all the way to the present. "That's all they told me."

Cloud looked at Tifa again. "And you don't mind the way they are?"

"You learn to live with it." Sei looked down at her hands, debating whether to let him go or not. She didn't want to; it had been a while since she'd seen him this close, and it appeared to her that if she let go, he would disappear for another time.

Tifa frowned questionably at the two friends. I don't think she's trying to put him down, she thought. I guess… in her own weird way, she's trying to convince Cloud that everything's fine.

"I want you to understand that I didn't mean any harm," said Cloud, turning and taking one of Sei's hands and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I just… thought you needed help and so I wanted to help you."

"I'm okay," she said, smiling at him. "So is Jake."

Cloud thought about it. It was something humiliating to him… just let the enemy get away… but Sei claimed they were her friends. If he attacked and killed them right now, she would never forgive him. Not even with the pass of time; she was like that. They had been close friends once, it still felt that way actually, and the last thing he wanted was to lose his friend for some stupid reason.

Except this isn't a stupid reason. If the remnants went nuts, all the peace of the world would be at stake and then— "Alright."

"Thanks." Cloud let go of her shortly.

"Hey, when we first met them, they had silver hair," said Tifa, now relieved that the tension was over. "So how come two of them have black hair?"

"'To hide a leaf, you must place it in a forest'," said Sei, quoting a line from somewhere she couldn't quite remember.

"Oh." She put her hand on her chin. "But the one with longer hair still has it silver. Don't you think maybe the town people will recognize him and make a big fuss?"

"Maybe Jake used his magic," suggested Cloud.

"So, why don't you come in and meet them properly?" asked Sei, ignoring the conversation.

Cloud shook his head. "No Sei. I said I wouldn't kill them… But I'm not building a friendship with them." Sei looked at Tifa.

"Sorry. I'm with him." She said. Sei sighed.

"We're leaving." Said Cloud. He began walking towards the city. Tifa waved goodbye and followed after him.

When they were out of sight, Tifa looked up at Cloud. "I don't know about you, but I felt very happy when we found out she was safe after all."

Cloud didn't reply. "Are you still worried?"

"What do you think." He replied coldly.

"If you feel like that, then how come you agreed with her deal?"

"Honestly, I don't know. But it's too late to take back my words. We'll just have to wait until they turn on her and try to kill her."

"Try?"

"I'm not letting my guard down this time." Cloud glanced at her with determination before quickly returning his gaze to the path. "I'm not letting her die like Aerith."

Tifa bit her lip. "What are you planning on doing?"

Cloud kept walking. "Cloud, what are you planning on doing?"

Sei watched as the two left. She remained outside a bit longer, until she was able to calm herself from the close call. Then she sighed, ran her hand trough her wavy, long, black and white hair and walked to the house. When she entered, she found the Trio sitting in the living room quietly.

"What's up guys? Sorry about all that, it was a huge misunderstanding—"

"I don't recall telling you who Big Brother was," said Kadaj. Sei looked at him surprised. "Yazoo and Loz didn't tell you who he was either," he added.

Sei frowned questioningly. Then she looked at the broken living room window. "You were listening," she said. Kadaj was going to tell her that that was beyond the point, when Jake walked into the house.

"I just saw Cloud and Tifa walking back to the city; are the guys okay?" he asked.

"Well, the window got broken in all the commotion…" started Sei.

"But besides that, everyone's fine?"

Kadaj looked at him and then returned his gaze to Sei. "You knew." Everyone turned to see that Yazoo had spoken. "All along, you knew."

A smile crossed Sei lips replacing her serious expression; it almost seemed like she was thinking 'you caught me'. "Yeah, I knew."

"Had we already met?" asked Yazoo.

"Not really," said Sei, running her hand through her hair again. "I just happened to be there when you passed by."

"What do you mean?" asked Yazoo.

"That time, when you were running away from Cloud and into the freeway, I was coming back home from school." There was silence."On the way, I heard motorcycles, and then minutes later, I saw Kadaj approaching with three other bikes behind. I recognized the second, being Cloud… but I didn't pay much attention to Yazoo or Loz."

She smiled weakly at the confession she had made and then continued. "I got a feeling you were in trouble. So I stood in place until Kadaj got near where I was. When he did, he looked at me and we had eye connection for a split second. But it was enough time for me to point towards the ruins. You made a sharp turn and headed over there. The other three followed you. When I heard the explosion, I knew it had to be you all, so I insisted on my brother to take me. But he didn't know why I was so focused on going."

Jake looked at his sister. He remembered that day they had been playing out in the rain, and after the explosion, Sei had said "I wonder…" So that's what she had meant.

"When I was taking care of Yazoo, I kept getting the feeling he was Kadaj, but his hair was longer, and his features were different, so the idea eventually left my mind. The day I crashed into Loz and Kadaj… well… it was their eyes and their skin that made me insist on you coming over here, because I had a vague memory of them from all the time I spent watching over Yazoo."

When I bumped into them, I realized there was something about them… Jake could hear his sister's words in his head replaying that scene when she tried to convince him to let them stay. The trio looked at her, studying her in silence for a long moment. She shifted uncomfortably. All those emerald eyes, staring at her… it seemed they were penetrating into her soul… It was just a weird feeling.

"Why did you help us if you already knew that what we were?" asked Yazoo.

"That's the funny thing," said Sei still smiling. "Back there, I didn't really have a reason. I just did."

"What were your real intensions when you signaled to Kadaj? And when you brought us home?"

Sei sighed. "It's not common for you to speak so much, Yazoo." She said. "Don't ask me those questions; even I can't answer them."

"So… Big brother didn't come because you planned it all along?" asked Loz.

"No, silly. I knew he was your enemy, and I really want you to stay here. I find it of low caliber to betray someone for no reason."

"But you do have a reason; we terrorized the whole city," said Kadaj. "Why wouldn't you want to get rid of us before we caused chaos again?"

"Because I know you three are so much better than that if you were given the chance."

There was a moment of silence. "When we first went to register to Sei's school, I noticed that the school staff did not mind our presence," said Yazoo. "Even if we were dressed differently, I looked the same as I did when we attacked the city. Why is it that the people in town and school fear us no more when they see us?"

"Because I have a special power," said Jake, stepping further into the living room. Everyone looked back at him. "I made the town people forget they ever saw you. Sure, they remember somebody causing havoc… but they don't know who it was. They can't remember. So they've chosen to forget about it, instead of trying to figure it out."

"You see, he has the power of making people forget certain things, and even altering memories. They don't forget everything, just the most important things," said Sei. "The town people see a figure surrounded by blinding light in their memories; that light is so blinding, they can't see the features of the person in it. Jake's whipped out or masked in the memory just about anything that could help them link the destruction back to you."

Kadaj and the other two looked at them with suspicion. All along they had considered Jake and Sei their friends. Now they didn't know if it was safe to trust them. They knew Big Brother, Jake had special powers he hadn't mentioned before and could make them forget who they were, turn them against each other…

"Don't worry," said Jake. "Desperate situations call for desperate measures. I used my ability to help you guys stay here peacefully. I wouldn't use it to do things like… kicking you out of here and making Sei forget she ever met you guys."

"Why?"

"Because doing that to you guys, would mean having to clean Sei's memory as well, and I wouldn't do something like that to someone I really love."

"You love Big Brother too?" Jake cocked his head at Kadaj's question.

"You didn't make him or his friends forget about us." Added Loz.

"They need to understand that you are different than before. The town people don't have self control over fear; you should know this better than anyone. One of them freaks out, and next thing you know, everyone's out to get you. But Cloud and they know better."

"So it's like we have to live hidden," concluded Kadaj. "In here, or out there on our own; it's all the same."

"No, it's not. Out there on your own and without having met us, you'd have been overrun by an angry mob by now. Your second chance would've gone to waste. Living like this is different; when the time comes, when you've changed, and they know it, I will gradually reveal you in their memories; if the good actions you've done surpass your evil deeds, they won't mind you and they will accept you."

"Big Brother and his friend refused to accept us now. What makes you think they will later on?" asked Yazoo. He was looking at Sei and her brother with a defying glance.

Jake smiled. "Oh, they will." He said. "You'll see."

The next day, Sei, Yazoo and Kadaj came back home with some news. They had a new student in their school, which seemed to be in every single one of Sei's classes. Her name was Yuffie Kisaragi. They had also gotten a new P.E. teacher; his name was Cid Highwind.

"Does this have to do with your plan?" asked Sei, as she watched Jake do dinner. Loz was in the living room watching TV, Kadaj was doing his homework in his room and Yazoo was taking a shower.

"Not at all," said Jake. "Cloud's a bit worried about us."

"So he sends spies to… spy on us?"

"I'm sure he means well."

"Jake, I know Cloud is my friend and yours too, but… he's taking things a little too far."

"I know he is, honey, but… what can I do? Just try to use this to your advantage."

Sei left the kitchen and went to her own room. She had already cleared things with Cloud… or had she? Did he not believe her? Cloud had gotten over Aerith, but it clearly still hurt him to think of the way she died.

She heard a knock on the door. "Sei, can I come in?" asked Kadaj.

"Yeah."

"Hey, I need help with this." He said. She smiled. She couldn't believe this was the same Kadaj who was happily dropping his pants Saturday afternoon, when he had been hyper. It was… strange to see him like this, so dedicated to find the answer to a literature question. She nodded, signaled for him to sit beside her on her desk and they both started doing homework together. If only Cloud could see this part of him…

I really appreciate LuckyLadybug gave me permission to use several of her words and phrases to be able to complete this chapter… See you next time!