Alright we now have chapter 2! Time for things to get interesting! Enjoy!
Ch.2
A young child laid on the ground, peacefully resting. He wore a basic white t-shirt and blue shorts with black sandals. The next moment he stirred and opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around. The area around him was not familiar to him… but as he thought about it… he couldn't think what was suppose to be familiar.
The boy closed his eyes and thought deeply. After a moment he opened his eyes and frowned with a worrisome expression. He couldn't seemed to remember anything about himself except for his name and age. He knew his name was Cloud and that he was 5-years-old, but that was it. He couldn't remember anything else.
Cloud pushed himself up onto his feet and looked around. He noticed that the area seemed to be surrounded by many trees and bushes. The green leaves could be seen almost everywhere around, only to be offset by the earthen color of some rock small rock formations. As he looked up, he saw the sky was bright blue as the sun beamed down upon him, the heat from it warming his small body.
After skygazing for a few seconds, he then took to looking around a bit more and started walking forward towards some sort of hilly area. He had no idea where he was or where he would go. Everything was just a blur. He continued his trek forward until he made it to the edge of the hill. Once there he saw something that looked promising.
There was a town below him. It appeared to be more of a small village, and it was surrounded by an ocean on one side. There were boats and docks out on the water, which glistened in the warm summer sunlight. At least, Cloud assumed it was summer because of how warm and humid the air felt. He stared for a few moments longer to take in the surroundings before taking off in a sprint towards the village. He hoped there would be some people there that could help him.
Cloud had walked through many parts of the village, but since he did not know where he was, he had become quite lost. Every turn led him someplace else and he sometimes forgot which way he came. Soon he was in a area surrounded by a lot of trees. He frown as he looked around once more. There didn't seem to be anyone currently in this area of the village. Not only that, but now the sun was slowly starting to set. Within a few hours it would be dark outside.
Now he really didn't know what to do. He was only 5-years-old and he was in a place he didn't know. He had no idea where to go, and he had not found anyone that was willing to help him yet.
Never before had he felt so afraid. He was scared and all alone now. Feeling overwhelmed, he ran behind the nearest tree and slumped down next to it. A second later tears started to form in his eyes and slowly ran down his cheeks.
He continued to sit and cry there for a few minutes until he heard a voice from out of nowhere that startled him.
"Hey there. What's the matter? What you doing all the way out here?"
Cloud looked up to see a boy, only a few years older than him, standing just to the side. The boy was fair-skinned with deep blue eyes to offset that. His hair was spiky and jet black, jutting out in a few directions. He wore quite the innocent grin, as his demeanor appeared to be quite benevolent and excitable with how he had just spoken.
Upon looking further, he noticed the boy was wearing some light tan pants which were torn in a few places. He sported a solid black shirt, which matched his hair perfectly. His feet were uncovered as he did not wear any type of shoes.
Cloud thought from his outfit that this might be a poorer village. But that didn't matter to him. Someone had finally found him, and was trying to talk to him. Maybe he wouldn't have to be alone now.
"I don't know where I am. I came from a forest but I don't know where to go now," Cloud replied as he sniffled. His eyes were red and his throat was sore from his crying from earlier.
The black-haired boy walked closer to Cloud and reached out his hand toward him. "Why don't you come with me then? I know things here pretty good. Oh, and I'm Zack. Zack Fair," he finished with a smile beaming across his face as his eyes closed for a moment.
With no hesitation at all Cloud reached out and took Zack's hand and was pulled up to his feet. Even though he had just met Zack, there was something about him that made Cloud feel better. Maybe it was just the way he smiled, but Cloud could tell that Zack was a nice person.
"I'm Cloud. Cloud…" Cloud trailed off, realizing he couldn't remember his last name, or even if he had one to begin with. He frowned again as he let out a sigh. "I guess I'm just Cloud…"
Zack slightly chuckled. "Okay, just Cloud, let's go and make a tour around the town. Maybe we can get to know each other and become friends," Zack stated as he turned around and started to walk away. "Come on and follow me."
Cloud pouted slightly at Zack's joke, but ended up smiling a little bit after. He quickly ran to catch up with Zack as he started to show him around the village. Cloud made sure to stay close to him as he didn't want to lose sight of his new friend.
"So what is this place called? You live here right?" Cloud asked as he walked next to Zack.
Zack turned to face Cloud as they walked together. "This place is called Gongaga. I was born here. My parents have a small house close to the outskirts of the village. I can bring you over once I show you around. But first, you should see the docks with all the boats and stuff. It's really cool," He said, excited at the prospect of getting to show his new friend around the place.
"Docks and boats?" Cloud asked curiously. "You live near the water? You go swimming a lot?"
"Well kinda. The ocean is down to the south here. We get lots of ships all the time that come and leave, so I only get to swim when there's nothing like that going on. There's some things people can only get from places like this. So that's how we make money. I sometimes get to help when I go. Maybe you can today too," Zack rambled as the boys continued their walk down to the south part of the village.
"By the way, what kinda things do you like to do?" Zack then asked curiously of Cloud as he bounced up and down as he walked.
Cloud slowed down to a stop and stared at the ground. He tried to remember. He wanted to remember something… anything… but not a single thing came to mind. "I don't know… I can't remember. Why? Why can't I remember?"
Tears started to form in Cloud's eyes again as he just stood there. He pressed his hands to his face as he started to cry again.
Zack heard some slight sobbing and turned to see Cloud with his face in his hands. He turned to face the blonde-haired boy and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Hey Cloud, it's okay if you don't know. We'll just find out things you like by doing different things okay? Just stick with me and you'll learn a lot of things," he cheerfully spoke as he continued to face Cloud as he decided he would not move until he knew that Cloud was okay.
Cloud lowered his hands and looked at Zack. He saw Zack smiling a big cheerful grin again. Once again it made Cloud feel better for some reason. Something he couldn't explain, but he went with it.
Cloud smiled back at Zack. "Thanks Zack."
"Of course. Now we're almost there, so let's find you some new things to be able to enjoy."
They finally arrived at the docks a few minutes later, and Zack began to show Cloud everything about it. Cloud was able to talk to some of the people that worked at the dock on a daily basis. Zack had heard all of the stories and information before, but it was nice to see the look on someone's face when they were learning something about it all.
Soon after leaving the docks, Zack dragged Cloud along to explore all of the rest of the village. This did not take long since it is a small village they were in. Most of the village from what Cloud had seen was comprised of small houses that all looked similar in structure, though some of the larger buildings he had seen were apparently stores, as Zack had explained. There was not many places to go and have fun, but they did have the outside. After a couple of hours, and some minor detours of horseplaying, the two boys were done exploring most of the village.
However, there was one place that Zack wanted to lead Cloud that, in hindsight, was rather interesting. Lying close to the center of the town was a large Mako Reactor. That was what Zack had called it after hearing some people talk about it. The kids were not supposed to go inside the fenced area, but they could at least walk up to it and look. Cloud was amazed as he had not seen anything that large in his short life; at least, not anything that he remembered. While he looked at it, Cloud had a sharp pain in his head that lasted for a brief moment, though it did cause him to drop to one knee in slight pain.
"Hey what's wrong? Do you have a headache or something? Maybe you need to eat or something. Come on, we'll go on and start going to my house okay?" Zack said with a concerned but reassuring look.
Cloud nodded in agreement after he was able to open his eyes as Zack helped him to his feet. The boys began their walk towards the outskirts of the village. After a short distance of walking, they had arrived near the place where Zack lived.
"Well here it is. This is my house. Whatcha think?" Zack asked curiously of the blonde as they walked up to the door.
Cloud looked up at the house before him. It seemed like an oddly shaped house, just like most of the others he had seen when wandering the village. The house seemed cylindrical in shape and had no corners to be seen as he began to look around the outside of it. The walls were an earthy brown color, with a slightly red tint to them, and the material felt rough to the touch. He assumed that it must be layered bricks, which he could remember made for a sturdy structure.
The house had one large, wooden door that was positioned at the front of it, and it seemed that it would open from the outside in based on how it was mounted in the door frame. As he continued to walk around the outside of it, he noticed two larger copper pipes coming from the back of the house, knowing that they must be used for some utility service, but he was unsure of what that purpose would be.
After making his way back to the front where Zack was, he peered upward at the house. The roof arched up and ended in a point, and it appeared to be made of shingles, or possibly concrete. The design pattern of the roof left him curious as to what it could be, but that lasted for only a moment as he took in the royal blue color of the roof itself. It almost matched the color of the sky, but it looked more of the color of his newly found friend Zack's eyes. Attached to the angular roof was a smokestack, which was most likely for excreting excess heat from the house.
Cloud continued to gawk at the house for a few seconds more until Zack approached him from the side and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, are you ready to go inside now? I'm sure you're hungry by now. I know I am. My mom should have food ready… I hope," Zack said, scratching the back of his head nervously as he chuckled slightly in Cloud's direction.
Cloud shifted his eyes towards Zack and wore a puzzled and curious look for a moment. "Umm, are you sure it's okay for me to be here? You barely know me… I mean, I barely know me. What if your mom doesn't want me there?" he asked with a sincerely worried tone.
"Nah, don't worry about it. She'll be fine. You're my friend after all. I'll tell her it's okay," Zack said confidently as he grabbed Cloud's hand and pulled him along towards the door. He knocked on the door as he then yelled "Mom it's me!"
The two boys waited for a few seconds until the door opened, and on the other side was an older woman who looked almost like Zack, except with a few more lines and features on her face.
Her hair was jet black as well, and was raised up into a bun. Her deep blue eyes were the same as Zack's. She wore a dark purple skirt that covered all the way to her ankles, and her blouse was a simple red shirt. She was a medium sized woman, and somewhat shorter compared to others that were around town.
She glanced down at Zack, and then she turned her attention to Cloud who was standing behind him.
"Well, I see you brought someone with you. A friend of yours?"
"Yea, he's my new friend. We just met today. I was hoping it would be okay if I brought him," Zack said as he looked up at his mother with puppy eyes.
His mother sighed slightly, but then smiled. "That's fine dear. You two just come inside now."
Zack led Cloud inside of the cylindrical house and they stood in front of the table in the center of the room. Cloud peered around just to see what everything was like. From where he was sitting, he could see that there was a kitchen area right in front of where the table was, which would allow for food to be served quickly at least. Slightly to the side of that was a fireplace, just as expected since there was a chimney on the roof after all.
After he was done with that room, he glanced over to his right and saw there were 3 doors in the back part of the house, which most likely led to rooms for everyone. Other than a few pictures hanging on the wall and the occasional flowers spread through the place, that seemed to be it. It wasn't a very large house, but there was just enough room for everything.
"So, what do you think Cloud? Pretty cozy place huh?" Zack asked with a slight grin.
Cloud wandered around the room a bit, taking everything in. "Yeah, it's nice. Bigger than I thought."
As Cloud stood there with Zack, Zack's mother entered back into the room through one of the doors Cloud had seen earlier. "All right Zack, why don't you and your friend go ahead and sit at the table. Food will be ready soon, and then your father and I can talk to you about all of this," she said with a calm voice.
The two boys took a seat at the small, round table and just waited. Cloud wanted to try to talk more, but he had no idea what to say as he was still overwhelmed by what all had transpired in that day. Zack, however, started to speak but then he overheard the door finally opening from behind him. He looked over to see his father standing in the doorway.
"Papa!" Zack screamed with excitement as he jumped up from the table and went to hug his dad. His father was a slender build and was quite tall. He wore black dress pants with a white button-up long sleeve. His hair matched his outfit, as it appeared to be salt and pepper as parts of his hair had began to fade from black to white. He also had a small goatee that sported the same color hair.
After looking the father over, Cloud sighed slightly as he felt a pain in his heart, but he did not know why. It felt as though he was missing something, but was unsure of what it could be. Suddenly, Zack had come back over to the table with his father in tow.
"So, who might you be young man?" he questioned Cloud, and just like Zack's mother, the father's voice was also calm and clear.
Cloud felt more at ease for a moment as he decided to answer. "Cloud. I'm… not really sure of anything-"
"Yea, dad, he can't remember much of who he was. I found him out in the wooded area all alone and he said he had nowhere to go so I thought I could bring him here," Zack rambled as he interrupted Cloud before he could finish.
Both Zack's mother and father stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to their son. Both of their eyes wide with concern.
"What was that?" Zack's mother asked, as if she had not heard her son the first time.
"Cloud can't remember anything. So I wanted to help him out," Zack replied.
A heavy sigh was heard from Zack's mother. Cloud looked over at her to see that her brows were now furrowed. From the look on her face, Cloud shunk back in his sit slightly. He now felt slightly afraid what could happen next. He didn't want to be left alone outside again, especially since soon enough it would be nighttime.
Zack's father and mother exchanged a quick glance before the man spoke up. "Okay, lets all sit down at the table and talk about it over dinner then. Don't want the food to get cold, and we're not going to deny Cloud here any food since he's already here. But we do need to figure things out."
Zack sat back down at the table as his father walked over to the other side and took a seat as well. The mother brought the food over to the table and sat it down, and then went back and gathered some plates and delivered them as well before taking her own seat. Now that all of them were seated, they fixed their plates and started to eat.
After a few minutes of silence, Zack's mother finally spoke up. "So, Cloud...where is it that you're from?"
Cloud stopped eating momentarily and tried to think hard on that question. "Umm…I-I'm really not sure," he replied nervously, slightly bothered that he could not even remember that.
Zack's mother had a worried look on her face, but she continued on with more. "Well what about your family? Do you have any?"
Again, Cloud had the same answer. "I don't know…" He trailed off quietly as he stared down at his plate.
Zack's father then spoke up. "Okay, surely you have to remember something. That way we can help you get back to where you belong. Try to think hard, is there anything else you can remember?"
Cloud started to get more nervous at all of the questions that were being asked as he started to fidget in his chair. "I...umm...I'm Cloud. And I'm five years old. I...just don't know anything else."
Zack's mother turned to her husband. "This is just so weird. How can he not know anything? Just what's going on?"
"Mom, Dad, I said he doesn't remember much. Besides...I think you're freaking him out," Zack said concerningly as he placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder.
Cloud was sniffling now, and he had begun to worry. He didn't want to be put back out with no place to go. He didn't want to be abandoned. He didn't want to be alone. Why couldn't they understand like Zack did? He was unsure of what to do as tears started to well in his eyes.
"I talked with him a lot today. He said he had nowhere to go. He had no home. He doesn't know anyone. I didn't want him to be alone. He looked sad. So I wanted to be his friend and make him better. Cause that's what a hero does," he said, the last line coming out with a prideful tone.
His parents exchanged looks once more as they tried to think about what they should do.
"I'm sorry if we startled you with so much," Zack's mother spoke to Cloud as she looked directly at him. "Since you're already here, why don't you spend the night with us. I'm sure Zack would enjoy the sleepover anyways."
Zack beamed with excitement. "Yay! Thanks Mom. I always wanted a sleepover with a friend. Does that mean we get to keep Cloud?"
"Keep him? You mean like, adopt him?" his mother asked curiously. "I mean, we still don't know much-"
"Oh please please please. I always wanted a brother. He has no place to go so I think it's okay. Come on," Zack pleaded with his mother with sincerity.
"That's enough Zack," the father said calmly, but sternly. "This is an important manner that we need to think about on how to proceed."
Zack didn't listen however. "But I'll look out for him and watch over him. You don't have to worry. You can leave it to me."
His father finally just shrugged, making his mother wander what he was going to say.
"Okay son. Look, we will think about it. Don't get too excited, but he can stay here for a bit if needed for now. Why don't you two go on to your room and get cleaned up and go to bed," the father suggested as he motioned for Zack to get up.
Zack sprouted up from the chair and grabbed Cloud by the arm. "Come on let's go to my room for now. It will be okay." He leaned in closer to Cloud's ear. "Don't tell my parents, but we won't really go to bed. We can play some if you want," Zack whispered quietly, hoping to cheer Cloud up some.
Cloud looked at him through reddened eyes and managed to stifle a small smile. "Okay then. Thanks." He then followed Zack as they left his mother and father to themselves in the kitchen while the two of them went to enjoy their time together.
Zack was excited and happier than he could ever remember being. He might get to have the brother he always wanted, and he was going to make every moment count. He was sure his father and mother would come around, so he wasn't worried.
Cloud slowly started to calm down as he too was happy. He didn't have to be by himself as there was someone who cared about him. It was someone he could call friend. And for some reason, he felt a strange warmth in his heart from being around Zack. Even though he couldn't explain it, he just had a feeling that it was important.
And that wraps up chapter 2. Lol much longer than we thought. Hope you guys all liked the fluff in this chapter. There will be more but also more serious things later on.