A/N:

Slightly crack-ish take on what would have happened if Cloud had run into a Johnny who remembers back in chapter 7 of Memory's Struggle rather than Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge.

Not gonna lie, I went back through chapter 7 while writing this and it was a little painful to look at... But, at the same time, I think it's proof that my writing has improved since then (now on chapter 30), so I guess I should take that as a win.

Background for those who haven't read Memory's Struggle:
Gaia has rewound time and given memories back to those she thinks will be best able to defend her from Jenova. Only problem is, Cloud doesn't remember. He should, but something is keeping him from remembering. Now he has to deal with people left and right acting like they know him, and some are more subtle about it than others.

Nostalgic.

That's probably the best word – the only word – to describe this feeling Cloud has. This overwhelming sense of belonging, though he knows he's never been to the Sector 7 slums before. And yet, he feels like he has.

And that's what's so unnerving. For as he journeys deeper into the heart of the slums, past the woman dying clothes here and the man selling scrap there, Cloud can't shake the niggling thought that he's been here before. That he's lived here before. As if there was some hole in the wall among these jerrybuilt buildings just waiting for him.

But why? It's not like he gets around that much. Sure, he supposes he has been to Costa del Sol and Junon, but that was just on his way to join SOLDIER. Heck, he wasn't even supposed to make it to Midgar so soon – something about them already having enough recruits stationed there. But then Lieutenant Ramirez had marched into the barracks and ordered him, and only him, to pack his bags.

To be completely honest, he was afraid he was being kicked out of the program altogether, before training had even started. Absolutely terrified that he wasn't good enough to even try to make it into SOLDIER. Just like the kids back in Nibelheim had said.

And the sniggering of the other recruits in the barracks certainly hadn't helped.

But no. He had been sent to Midgar instead. Which, ok, he was so not complaining about, even if the explanation of "Your test scores impressed quite a few people back in Midgar" made absolutely no sense whatsoever – he knows he wasn't the highest scoring recruit in the lot. But if it meant he got to be closer to his hero (like he had always wanted), he certainly wasn't about to question anything. Not to mention that the 4-person dorm rooms were definitely a huge improvement over the 20-person barracks.

And yet, none of that explained why everything looked so familiar here. Or why something just felt off. Seriously so. Like something important was missing.

He has no idea what, though.

But at least the other cadets patrolling with him had already left for the station. There's no way he would have been able to fumble through a reasonable excuse for why his head keeps jerking side to side, as if to catch the ghosts of some unknown, forgotten life. Or, more importantly, why he comes to a stop instinctively in the middle of an empty lot, like he could tell that this wrongness, whatever it is, emanates from here.

But why?

Pulling the helmet from his head – maybe he would see better without it – he runs a hand subconsciously (self-consciously?) through his drooping spikes and stares at the void in front of him. As he squints, he feels like he can almost make out fire, rubble, and… a broken sign sticking up out of the dirt? "SE- HE-V-" – what was that even supposed to mean?

And why does he feel like a storage container is about to fall on him? About to fall on him and T—

"Bro?"

Cloud whirls around at the sound of the familiar (yet not?) voice, the sight that greets him wrong in and of itself. Though he's not sure whether that's because he's not anybody's bro (why does he feel like he's said this before?) or because he was fully expecting to see a chubby, pizza-loving man (?) and not some red-haired child gaping at him from the porch of another patchwork building, his jacket hanging open, his teenaged chest on display… Why wasn't he wearing a shirt?

But Cloud's silence seems to be all the affirmation the red-head needs (what was it with Cloud and red-heads?) for the kid to half-shout, "Is that really you!?" and race down the stairs. Or, at least he would have if he didn't trip in his haste – "Wah!" – and fall flat on his face in the dirt.

…Ok, why was Cloud afraid that troopers were going to march out of that house and arrest the kid? Seriously what was wrong with him? Shinra was good. They wouldn't arrest people for no reason. And certainly not for something as silly as falling down the stairs.

Obviously, Cloud needs some sleep; it's definitely been a long day.

Though it doesn't seem like he'll be getting any sleep any time soon. Not with the way the red-head shoves himself from the ground and rushes over, a disconcerting intensity to the kid's brown eyes. "Is it really you, Bro?"

"U-Uh…"

Cloud's sure that confusion (and a little bit of fear) must be written all over his face, but that doesn't stop the red-head from grabbing his upper arms in something of a vice grip, the haste and force behind the action sending Cloud's helmet clattering to the earth below, forgotten. "It is! It is you! Oh wow, look at you!" Something of a frantic smile has made its way onto the kid's face, his eyes shining happily. And Cloud… Well, he has absolutely no idea how to break it to this (strange, strange) kid that he's got the wrong person. "You're so much tinier than I remember!"

"I-I… What?" Normally, he would bristle at the use of the word tiny, but he's far too rattled right now.

"Oh god! What are you saying, Johnny!? That was so rude! What's wrong with you!? Stupid, stupid, stupid! Gah, shut up!" Cloud tries to back away, rather apprehensive at this Johnny's rather alarming display (why did he attract all the weirdos?), but the red-head follows him, his hands falling from Cloud's arms to clutch rather desperately at his wrists. He doesn't even notice the way his foot connects with Cloud's still discarded helmet, sending it rolling across the empty lot and entirely out of reach. "Oh, not you Bro! I would never tell you to shut up! You're my one true bro, always and forever!"

"I… Ok?" What the hell was going on?

A blinding smile stretches over Johnny's face. "Still, this is soooo crazy. I can't believe it's actually you, Bro. I mean, of course it's you! Sure, you're not as tall as I remember and your eyes aren't as shiny, but I'd recognize that hair anywhere!"

"My hair…?"

"Yeah! It's just so… you know," Johnny offers unhelpfully, the kid gesturing wildly at Cloud's head with one hand, his other still wrapped firmly around Cloud's wrist. "But, wow. It's so crazy to see you again, Bro. I thought I was the only one. Nobody would believe me when I told them the plate fell. My parents thought I was crazy, they just said – " Johnny slips into a painfully forced falsetto – "No dinner for you, Johnny. Not until you stop with the tall tales." Johnny runs his free hand through his hair, aggravated. "Can you believe it, Bro!? I know I'm not the brightest materia in the shop, but I'm still smart enough to tell fact from fiction!"

"Uh… I see." The plate… fell? Why was dropping a plate a bad thing?

"Yeah, totally! I knew you would get me, Bro!" Johnny sighs, relieved, but still refuses to release his hold on Cloud. And Cloud's just lamenting his inability to get away when the kid admits, "I still have those same urges, ya know?" Cloud has absolutely no idea what this kid's talking about. "But they won't let a 13-year-old in the Honeybee Inn. How unfair is that? It's not like they even have to let me touch. I mean, just a look would sate my thirst. You totally understand, right?"

"Uhh… no…" No, he does not understand. Not what this kid is talking about and certainly not why the fates seem to be so against him as of late. Why, oh why did this kid seem so convinced they knew one another?

"Oh." Johnny takes a step back, startled, though his grip around Cloud's wrist never falters. "You're still one of them, then? I never would have guessed. I mean, you still have that soft face, sure, but I swore you had stolen Tifa from me forever."

"Tifa?" The mention of the girl proves to be more than enough to startle Cloud straight out of his disorientation. How did this kid know Tifa? More importantly, why did he think Cloud was anything to her? Sure, they had had that strange, strange conversation last night – he still doesn't understand how that creep of a Turk knows her anyway – but that didn't really mean anything… Right? "There… there's nothing going on between me and Tifa…" As much as he hates to admit it.

"You mean I still have a chance with her!?"

"Uh… What?" Still have a chance with her? What was he talking about? Had he been to Nibelheim before? When? Cloud certainly had never seen him there. And it's not like he could have forgotten somebody so bizarre – even if he had wanted to.

But… well, it's not like anybody actually associated with him in Nibelheim – except his mother, of course, but that doesn't really count. Perhaps everybody else had just warned this kid to stay away from him. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time.

…But then why was the kid so excited to see him?

"Oh, it's not that I'm not happy to see you, Bro, of course I am! But I mean…" Johnny drops his eyes to the ground, bashful all of a sudden, one shoe digging into the dirt behind him. "You know Tifa…"

He wishes he did. More, at least. But that doesn't help with anything right now. "…How do you even know her?"

"Oh, you know." But as soon as the words are out of his mouth, the kid pouts, wide, round eyes trained on Cloud again. "…Don't you know who I am, Bro?"

"Nobody you want or need to know."

"Uhh…" Well, the voices in his head are just as disturbing as ever.

"You have to!" Johnny shoots forward, latching once more onto Cloud's arms. And, oh god, what had Cloud gotten himself into this time? "You have to remember! What about when we ran all over Wall Market trying to find that old man's ins… insp… inspir… Augh, what was it again?"

"…Inspiration?"

"Yeah, that!" Johnny snaps the fingers of one hand together excitedly – oh and why could Cloud never catch a break and be completely restraint-free? "And what about when you entered Corneo's audition? I mean, Tifa will always be the love of my life, but damn, if you were a girl, I would totally date you!" But some amount of revulsion must show through Cloud's shock, because the red-head's face twists into an entirely horrified look. "Oh god, what is wrong with you!? Why would you say that to your bro, you dumbass!? Ugh! Go crawl in a hole and die!"

Oh, Gaia. This must be one of those lunatics his mother had warned him about. He had never dealt with one before. Sure, there was Old Man Hemming back in Nibelheim, but the worst he had ever done was poop in Mayor Lockhart's yard… And, well, Cloud wasn't going to complain about that.

"But to be fair, Bro, that dress you were wearing was totally amazing! You were killin' in it, too! And the blue of that corset just totally made your eyes pop, ya know?" Johnny sighs wistfully, and why hadn't Cloud run far away when he still had the chance? "My heart will always belong to Tifa, of course, but even I will admit that you looked stunning as a girl."

Cloud's not entirely sure what disturbs him more about all of this – the fact that this crackpot thinks he knows him, that he's openly fantasizing about Cloud in a dress, or that Cloud can almost see himself in a dress. Can almost feel the feather light touch of lips to his hand, a finger pressed to his own lips, strong arms spinning him round. Can almost hear a soft baritone whispering only for him to hear – "Don't ever be afraid, Cloud."

The warm breath that dances over his face and the calloused hand that ghosts its way across his abdomen do wonders at sending a tingle up his spine. And, oh… What is this feeling? He's never been touched like this before. Has never felt his heart race or the heat rush to his face like this before. Not since Tifa at least.

And those were definitely not her arms around him.

But then who was it?

"I am… your everything."

Cloud tries to jerk himself out of whatever this is, the tingle up his spine becoming a shiver of absolute terror. But he can't. Not when the teasing hand on his abdomen turns possessive, pulling him flush to a hard chest behind him.

"Don't deny me. Embrace me."

" – But then you were just like Wham! Bam! Pow! Whoosh whoosh!"

Cloud gasps, rather harshly if he's being honest, the blackness around him dispersing, the slums and the overly eccentric red-head left behind. Normally, he would be annoyed that Johnny was still clinging to him like some lovesick puppy, but he's just so thankful that the kid's exuberance was enough to chase away the frightful spectre behind him. Don't ever be afraid? Yeah, right. What the hell was wrong with him? And why did he suddenly have the urge to grab his mother and never let go?

But luckily, Johnny must mistake his gasp for surprise rather than the sheer terror it actually is, for the kid smiles brightly, hopefully. "I know, Bro! It was awesome! It was like poetic violence in action! Whoosh whoosh! Bang bang!" Johnny inches closer, the look in his eyes turning frenzied, his grip around Cloud's wrist almost painful. And why did Cloud think this was the better option? At least the spectre wasn't real… Right? "You can't tell me you don't remember that! You have to!"

Oh no… What was it his mother had told him? Don't upset them or things could turn violent? Well…shit. "Uh… y-yeah."

Johnny lets out a shaky, relieved breath at his 'confirmation', a single tear sliding down his cheek. "Oh, thank the heavens! You had me worried there for a second, Bro!"

"I… I-It's been a long day."

"Oh, yeah. I totally understand."

But while Johnny nods sympathetically, he doesn't let go. And, oh, Cloud really needs to get away from this dude. And fast. "I… I t-think I saw T-Tifa just around the c-corner there." He'll feel terrible about this later, but he can't stay here any longer. Besides, it's not like Tifa was actually here, she's safe back in Nibelheim.

"Oh god! Where? Where?"

"Uh… The… t-the weapon shop?"

He hates the way his words come out as more of a question than anything, but that doesn't stop Johnny from falling for the bait. "Oh, of course! Duh! The neighborhood watch! Why didn't I think of that!?" He finally – finally – drops Cloud's hands and turns on the spot, looking ready to race away. Cloud nearly rejoices, but his luck is shit, and the kid pauses, one foot halfway in the air and turns to Cloud again (Cloud nearly cries). "Oh, Bro… I… You don't mind, right?"

"Oh…" Cloud plasters a smile on his face that, with how his day is going, probably looks just about as forced as it feels… But maybe Johnny won't notice. "N-Not at all. Go r-right ahead," Cloud answers, gesturing in what he can only hope is the direction of the weapon shop.

"You're really my one true bro!" Johnny yells, dashing away into the slums. "Tifa! Tifa, my love! Wait for me! Your Johnny's comin', baby!"

Thank. Gaia.

Not even waiting for Johnny to fade from view, Cloud turns on his heel and bolts in the other direction. Perhaps he should have grabbed his helmet first, but there's no time for that now. He has to get out of here. He'll just have to deal with the punishment for losing it later. A punishment he will gladly accept, especially after what he had just gone through.

He's not sure how far the train station is, even as he races out of the empty lot and past another vendor selling scrap (was that really so valuable down here?). But he has every intention of booking it straight there – the sooner, the better. At least until he finds himself startling to a gut-wrenching stop by shouts and gunshots coming from the pillar holding the Sector 7 plate up.

Shit. What the hell was going on?

Changing course, he practically throws himself at the gate separating him from the pillar, his fingers slipping through the holes in the chain link fence. The shouting above him intensifies and he watches, horrified, as a walkway bursts into flames, a man – the pizza-loving man? – sent plummeting to the ground below.

He almost yells at the people around him – couldn't they see what was happening? What was wrong with them? But then he blinks and the fire, the explosions, the injured man… they're all gone.

…What was going on? Please say it wasn't another hallucination.

"Bro…?"

Cloud wants to scream, whine, throw a temper tantrum, anything. Not again. He thought he had ditched that weirdo. But as he spins around, eyes wide (and probably a little fearful), it's not Johnny who greets him. No, instead he finds a small, chubby boy – probably one too many Midgar Specials, he thinks to himself… Wait. What was a Midgar Special?

Stop. No. That doesn't really matter right now. Not when this kid isn't alone. No, this one has two friends with him, and the hopeful look that shines in all three of their eyes does not bode well for Cloud. He had just had a rather distressing lesson in what it was like to have a slum-dweller think you were their bro. He definitely doesn't need another. "No. No. I am nobody's bro!" He might feel bad later for the pained wince on all three of their faces, but now was not the time for it. "Just stay away from me!" And as he resumes his mad dash to the train station, careful to keep his distance as he skirts around these strange kids, he ignores the way his heart clenches at the grief in the older boy's voice – "How can he not remember? He was staring at the pillar…"

A/N:

And this is why Johnny doesn't remember.

To be honest, I was planning to wait until I finished the main fic to write this, but that might not be anytime soon, so I figured now was as good of a time as any. Besides, the non-fixed update schedule definitely makes it easier for me to convince myself to work on side fics like this.

- In the Japanese version of the Remake, the old man actually says the English word 'inspiration'. This is why Johnny has such a hard time saying it, which I find absolutely hilarious XD
- This was just supposed to be a humorous take on things, but I kinda feel bad for Johnny (and Cloud) now...