Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. I also do not own any element of any other IP that is mentioned in this story.

Mount Nibel

Cloud followed after his Master as they made their way up the mountain path. After his talk with Cid yesterday, he had gone directly to see Wolf to update him on the situation. Cloud was thinking this would be a simple task. All they had to do was find a Fire Drake on the mountain, kill it, and skin the hide for his gauntlet. After that he would take it into town to have Cid work his craft. The first time he ever saw Wolf, the man was casually walking through town with a severed drake head, so this shouldn't be too difficult.

He was wrong.

When Cloud had told Wolf what was needed, the man's exact words were...

"Very well, we will venture into the mountain tomorrow, and then you will kill the drake."

Wolf had told him that this would be test of his skills. To see how far he had come. They had sparred more times than he could count, but with Wolf having to hold back all the time, it was difficult to properly gauge his strength.

The apparent solution for this was to go kill a fucking dragon.

"I wonder if Master Wolf makes me do these things for his own amusement sometimes." Cloud thought flatly.

Unknown to him, Wolf had his own reasons for this task. He was astonished at Cloud's raw talent for swordsmanship. His growing prowess had greatly impressed him, given that he was a complete novice just two years ago.

However, it was his students strength that really startled him. When he first met Cloud, he was short, skinny, and had below average stamina.

And in just eight months, Cloud had scaled a twenty rung Salmon Ladder.

That was not normal. Especially for a child his age, whose muscles had not developed fully. Wolf had started to pay close attention to Cloud's physical strength, and the rate at which it progressed. His student seemed to have an innate ability to push his body beyond its physical limitations. The more he progressed, the more Wolf thought that, maybe, what happened to Cloud on the mountain wasn't a fluke.

This is why Wolf wanted Cloud to fight the drake. Cloud had reached Limit Break once before. Wolf intended to witness him do it again today.

"So how high do we have to go?" Cloud asked.

"At least halfway up. Fire Drakes prefer to nest at higher altitudes then other subspieces." he said. "There are usually no more than a few per nest, and they will smell us long before we find them."

"So we're luring them out by getting closer to the nest than they're comfortable with." Cloud said in understanding.

"You are learning." Wolf acknowledged. "The alpha will be the first to approach. You will fight him, while I make sure the others stay put and do not interfere."

Cloud nodded, steeling his nerves for the upcoming challenge.

They came upon a cliff with a rope bridge that looked very familiar to Cloud. This was where he and Tifa fell. He looked to the left of the bridge and saw the part of the edge that had broken off.

"This is where it happened." he said quietly. He could still picture Tifa bleeding on the ground.

Wolf turned to look at Cloud, noticing his troubled gaze. "We cannot rewrite our past. We can only learn from it. Come, we should continue." he said.

They were almost at the rope bridge when they heard scuffling coming from the right. They turned to see a pack of Nibel wolves exiting an opening in the mountainside.

Cloud gripped Kusabimaru, which was strapped to his left hip. "Master?" he asked, concern clear in his voice.

"Do not bother. They will not attack." he answered.

Clouds grip loosened somewhat, but he kept his eyes on the wolves. They were looking in their direction, but they weren't even growling. The wolves were just looking, their heads slightly ducked. "Why?"

"They are wary of you." Wolf responded.

"Of me? Why is that?" Cloud was confused.

"Because you punched their alpha off the mountain three years ago. That is not something they will forget." He turned and started walking towards the bridge. "We should keep moving."

Cloud stared at the wolves for few seconds before turning to follow his Master.

Nibelheim

Claudia Strife was in the greenhouse of the garden shop she worked at. She was humming a small tune as she watered the plants, making sure to keep an ear for the front door bell. Today was slow for business, all she had been doing was tending to the plants and flowers and making sure the store front was clean and organized.

Her son had left earlier than usual this morning. Something to do with that project of his. Cloud had changed so much from the shy, quiet kid that he used to be. He was still quiet and antisocial, but he was more confident now. He wouldn't shy away from talking back or meeting someone new. That confidence came from Wolf, she knew.

Claudia had done her utmost to provide for her son. He was the one thing in her life that she did right. The result of the love she and her husband had for each other. But, she couldn't be a father to him. Cloud had grown up shy and insecure, only made worse by his stoic demeanor.

Then that accident at the mountain happened. Her heart had stood still when the call came from the clinic. She had rushed into the office demanding to see her son. They had told her that his ribs were fractured, but that he would be fine. They said that he was awake, but too weak to sit up. She had been by his side when Brian Lockhart had practically kicked the door down and threatened her son to stay away from Tifa.

If the staff hadn't dragged him out, she would've gone and thrown him off the damn mountain herself. "The nerve of that man." And to think, the first thing Cloud did when he saw her was to ask if Tifa was okay.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when she heard the front end bell ring as the door was opened. She finished watering the plants and went to see who it was. As she walked towards the front, she saw Tifa admiring some of the flowers that were on display.

"Hey Tifa, see anything you like?" she greeted with a smile.

Tifa a her and smiled also. "Hello Mrs. Strife. Yeah I always liked the yellow lilies. They're my favorite." She gently nudged the soft pedals with her fingers.

"I just brought those out today. Would you like a bouquet?" Claudia asked.

She shook her head. "Maybe tomorrow, when I go see mom again. She liked these to."

claudia gave her a sad smile. "What a sweet girl."

"Alright, do you need anything else?" she asked.

"Well...there is something..." Tifa's face gained a small blush and she looked to her feet, holding her hands behind her back.

Claudia, seeing her change in demeanor, bent down to her level. "Hey..." she said softly, placing her hand under Tifa's chin to lift her gaze. "...no need to be shy. What is it?"

"I um...wanted to ask what kind of cake Cloud likes. He said his birthday was this friday, so... I wanted to make him one." Her face seemed to get even more red.

Claudia thought that was the most adorable thing in the world. Tifa really was a sweet girl, but something wasn't adding up for her. "Wait, you said that Cloud told you when his birthday was? And when was this?"

"I ran into him yesterday at the library. He kinda just let it slip, I guess." she said quietly.

Claudia laughed a little at that. That sounded just like her son. "That's very sweet of you Tifa, thank you."

"Sooo? What kind of cake does he like?" Tifa asked with a smile.

Claudia looked at her with a knowing smirk. "Cloud loves red velvet cake. I make it for him every year on his birthday, but I'll let you surprise him with one this year. How does that sound?"

Tifa nodded with enthusiasm. "That sounds great! Thank you Mrs. Strife." she said as she ran out of the store.

Claudia watched her leave with an amused smile. "Of course, he likes red velvet."

Mount Nibel

Cloud and Wolf continued their trek past the rope bridge. They were almost halfway up to the summit when they came upon yet another cliff. This one overlooking Nibelheim. Cloud and his master stopped at the edge to take in the view.

"Whoa, I didn't think Nibelheim could get any smaller." Cloud said. "Even the Shinra mansion looks tiny from here."

"The Shinra mansion?" questioned Wolf.

"See that building past the outskirts? The one at the foot of the mountain? Thats the Shinra mansion. The only people that go in there are Shinra officials." he said.

"I see. No matter, we are getting closer to a nest." Wolf replied.

"We are? How can you tell?"

His master simply pointed up. Cloud followed his finger to a ledge. On the ledge was a drake looking directly at them. "That one has been following us since we crossed the bridge."

"Oh." was all that Cloud said. They were getting closer alright. Wolf began to walk and Cloud followed.

"When you face the drake, you have to draw it towards you. If it stays at a distance, it will try to kill you with its fire breath." Wolf advised.

"How do I do that? If it just keeps flying around and shooting fire, then how do I get close enough to kill it?" Cloud questioned.

"You are a smart kid, I am sure you will figure something out. However, Fire Drakes are very prideful creatures. If it fails to hit you with fire, then it will try getting closer. Use that to your advantage. You must be quick and agile for this fight." Wolf further explained.

Cloud was burning all of this into memory. Given the advice from wolf, he was beginning to form a battle plan in his head. If he could get within range, he would unleash Kusabimaru and finish it off.

"Just remember, ..." Wolf began. Cloud turned to look at him. "...this is a hunt. We need the leather for your gauntlet. You will have to kill it without damaging the hide too much."

"I understand Master."

Wolf suddenly stopped.

"Good, because it has arrived." he said while looking up. Cloud, having stopped as well, followed his Masters gaze.

Flying above them were two fire drakes. They landed on a ledge above them, growling viciously at them. Cloud looked around to take in their surroundings. The area was mostly flat and open, that would work in his favor. More room to maneuver.

One of the drakes roared and flew off the ledge. The drake flew down until it hovered a few feet off the ground a short distance ahead of them. It roared agressively, daring them to come closer.

"That's a big drake." he whispered to himself. The creature in front of him was black with red eyes. It stood on four limbs, two hind legs, and two wings.

"Your enemies will not give you the curtesey of a fair fight. Find their weakness and dispatch them." Wolf said as he looked at the drake. "That is the alpha. It is warning us to stay back. Step forward to challenge it. It will attack as soon as you do."

Cloud took a deep breath, his hand tight on Kusabinaru. He was about to step forward when three other drakes flew in and landed next to the one still on the ledge. Wolf noticed this as well.

"They will not attack. And if they do, I will cut them down. Focus on that one." he said, pointing to the one snarling at them.

Cloud took a deep breath. Slowly, he started walking towards the drake, unsheathing Kusabimaru from its scabbard. The drakes growling started getting more aggresive.

"Remember Cloud, ..." Wolf began. Cloud settled into his stance, legs wide, Kusbimaru leveled at his hip, his left hand hovering over the blade.

"Hesitation is defeat." Cloud recited, making Wolf smile slightly. He looked straight at the drake. "Come on you overgrown lizard."

As if it had understood Cloud's words, the drake flew up higher and sent stream of fire towards him. Cloud immediatly ran towards the drakes right flank, avoiding the flames. Seeing that Cloud had avoided its flames, the drake flew away to increase its distance.

"I wonder how long it'll take for this thing to come down." Cloud thought.

Now that the drake had created more distance, it reared its head back and launched a fireball towards him. Cloud avoided the attack by dodging to the side. He felt the heat of it as it passed.

"This can get old very quick if it just stays up there. Master Wolf said it will come down if its flames don't hit, but how long will that take?" Cloud saw the drake go into a dive and fly straight at him. "Not that long apparently."

Cloud stood his ground as the drake flew directly at him. The creature opened its mouth, revealing a gruesome set of razor sharp teeth. "I see. It wants my head as a snack... Not. Happening." Cloud waited until the drake was just in front of him. He shifted to the left, and as the beast flew past him he swung Kusabimaru.

Unfortunately, it swerved upwards once more, narrowly avoiding death. Clouds attack may not have hit its mark, but it did manage to sever one of its talons. The drake shreaked in pain as it hovered high in the air.

Cloud looked at the pitch black talon on the ground and frowned. "Missed. Damn it." He looked up at the drake and scowled. "Come on asshole, I didn't come here to give you a pedicure."

However, seeing the danger that Cloud's blade presented, the beast remained in the air. Once again, Cloud was forced into a slow dance of evasion. It seemed the drake was now intent on tiring him out.

"I need to think of something quick. I can easily kill it with Kusabimaru, but I need to get close. I don't have anything that hits at long range. Even when using Chi the Senpou...Thats it!"

Cloud looked up at the drake with a smirk. He would have to excute this perfectly. Cloud sheathed Kusbimaru "I can't damage the skin too much. I need to bring him down first."

Wolf saw Cloud sheathing his sword and narrowed his gaze. "What is he planning?"

The beast roared and unleashed another torrent of flames. "Now!" Cloud ran towards the drake at full speed. He narrowly avoided the stream of fire as it passed over his head. As soon as he was under it, Cloud jumped.

He jumped high.

While the drake was still recovering from its attack, Cloud appeared right beside it. He wasted no timed, and delivered a chi powered kick to the joint that connected its wings to the main body. The bone was immediatly dislocated, causing the drake to screech out in pain. Cloud fell back down and landed in a roll. The drake slammed down on the ground, now unable to fly.

Wolf was looking on with an impressed look in his eyes. "He used chi to propel his jump. Cunning brat, even I never thought of doing that."

Cloud looked at the downed beast with a smirk. "Can't believe that actually worked."

The drake was still screeching in pain. Realizing that it could no longer fly, it centered its gaze on Cloud and let out a ferocious roar. Cloud once again unsheathed Kusbimaru.

"No more flying away asshole." he said.

"Be careful Cloud. A cornered beast is a dangerous one." Wolf thought as he looked at the now enraged drake.

The drake launched itself at Cloud with startling speed, considering one of its limbs was now useless. Cloud dodged away and tried to slash at it, but the beast jumped back with a snarl. It went for a bite, but Cloud shifted to the side and rammed a chi powered elbow into its head. Unfortunately, drakes have very hard skulls.

"Shit!" Cloud thought in pain. His momentary pause allowed the drake to recover. It spun around and slammed its tale into Cloud's chest.

He went flying across the area and fell on his back, the air driven from his lungs. He quickly rolled to his feet, but the drake was already pouncing on him. Cloud looked at the beast descending upon him, mouth open wide, and ready to finish him of.

He immediatly went into a roll towards it, narrowly avoiding its jaw. The drake was relentless,however, and kept attacking Cloud. He was doing his bed, but it seemed as if the damn thing had just gone rabid. Cloud dodged another lunging bite, but he was unprepared when the drake immediatly spun around and knocked him off his feet with its tail.

He fell onto his back once again and the drake pounced on him. It went to bite at his throat. Cloud raise Kusabimaru in an attempt to block. The drake bit the sword between its teeth and started pushing down to get closer. Cloud was holding Kusabimaru with both hands, one at each end, trying to push the drake away. It slowly began to outmatch him.

Cloud grit his teeth, as his strength started to waver. He began to question his own abilities, his old insecurities surfacing from the dark recesses of his mind. His failiure to save Tifa. The fear he felt when that wolf appeared. Everyone believing him to be responsible for what happened.

He felt his anger burn. A slow simmering rage that he felt only once before. He was tired of being looked down on. Tired of being subject to Lockharts disdain. He would make him eat his words. He was sick of it all, and above all else...

He was fed up with this fucking lizard.

"I can't lose here." Cloud thought as the beasts jaw crept closer. "I am not losing here!"

"Get."

Cloud started pushing back harder. Wisps of blue began to radiate from him.

"There it is." Wolf observed through narrowed eyes.

"The hell!"

The drakes head started to move back.

"OFF!"

An explosive shockwave threw the beast off of Cloud and sent it flying some distance. He stood up slowly, an aura of what seemed like blue fire radiating off of him. Kusabimaru gripped tight as he glared at the drake getting back up.

"What incredible power!" thought Wolf. The ground under Cloud had cracked in almost a ten foot radius.

Cloud saw the drake launch itself at him once more, but instead of holding his ground, he charged at it. The adrenaline was burning through his body like liquid fire. When the beast was right in front of him Cloud ducked and rammed his left fist into its jaw in a vicious uppercut. The drake was thrown onto its back and started thrashing.

"DAMN YOU!" Cloud roared as he crashed his fist on its jaw again and shattered it.The force of the punch stunned it long enough for Cloud to slash Kusabimaru from its neck to its tail. Blood sprayed from the wound and the drake stopped moving.

The aura receded from Cloud. He flicked the blood off his sword and sheathed once more. Cloud let out a long breath and fell on his ass in exhaustion. "I did it." he tought with content smile.

"Impressive work." he heard Wolf say from behind him. The man helped him up to his feet and place a hand on his shoulder. "You did well Cloud." he said with a small proud smile.

"Thank you, Master." he said quietly. He was exhausted, but in that moment, he felt like he could take on a hundred drakes.

"We should finish here quickly if you wish to get this leather to this weapon smith today. The other drakes have already fled." Wolf stated.

Cloud looked up to the ledge to see that the drakes were indeed gone. Wolf walked over to the drake and looked at Cloud. "Watch and learn." he said.

Wolf started to skin the drake, carefully slicing and peeling the hide while showing his student every step of the process. When he was finished, he rolled the leather up into a thick bundle and tied it with a thin rope. He even took the skin off its head, leaving behind the completly flayed corpse of a drake.

"Let us return to the dojo, I will make us some tea before you return to town." he said.

That sounded like heaven to Cloud in his exhausted state. They started to make their way down the mountain. With any luck, they would soon be practicing with his new tool.

Hammerhead Garage

Cid Sophiar was a moderately patient individual. He may come off as a short tempered person because of his tendency to swear constantly, but in reality he was an easy going guy once you got to know him.

At this moment, however, he was irritated. Understandably so, in his humble opinion. Before him stood the two things in this world that could instantly set him in a bad mood.

"I thought I said I'd stop by today." he said in a low, almost menacing, tone. The fact that his usual swearing was left out of his sentence made it all the more frightening.

"It shouldn't be too much trouble to change it out now. I won't be able to get it home with the way its steering." said the man in front of him.

Cid growled in response, his temper rising. His eyes wandered to the side and found a young girl looking around in curiousity. He looked back at the man and spoke in an even tone.

"You're lucky your little girl is here, Lockhart. I'm not the type of man that embarrases a girls father in front of her." he said before stepping closer to him. "But don't you ever think you can just walk in here and demand service at your convinience. I'll replace the damn hose, now sit your ass down and let me work."

Effectively cowed, Brian went to sit down next to his daughter on one of the chairs near the magazine racks. He pulled one out and began to read.

Tifa kept looking around but ultimately found nothing that interested her aside from Cids bike. She had to admit it was really cool. In her hands was paper grocery bag that had the ingredients she needed to make Clouds birthday cake. Her father had taken her to the store at her request. She had told him she wanted to bake a cake, but didn't mention it was for Cloud. She knew by now that her father didn't approve of Cloud or his mom. She didn't know what he had against them but her father was like that with almost everyone.

It was a half hour later that her boredom reached its peak. "Dad? Can I go home now? It's not far from here or anything." she asked him.

"It shouldn't take much longer now Tifa. We'll wait some more." he said. Not taking his eyes off the magazine in his hands.

She sighed in resignation, looking over to Cid, who was still working on her fathers truck. All she wanted to do right now was go home and look up a recipe for red velvet cake in her mothers old cookbook. She had about a week to learn how to make one, so she wasn't too worried about it, but she was bored out of her mind right now.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that they heard someone walking into the garage. Tifa and her father looked towards the entrance to see a kid carrying a large bundle on his right shoulder. They couldn't see their face because the bundle of what they now saw was pitch black leather was in the way. They did notice the rough state of his clothing. It was ragged, dirtied with mud and a lot of blood.

"Cid." the boy called out, making the man straighten up and bump his head on the raised hood.

"Damn it kid! Your gonna give me heart attack if you keep doing that." Cid said, recognizing Clouds voice. He turned around and immediately noticed tge state of Clouds attire.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Cid yelled in alarm. "You look like you just fought a war on your own!"

"Sure feels like I did. You should see the other guy though." he dropped the bundle in front the man. "He put up a hell of a fight, almost killed me actually." Cloud said in a tired voice. Unaware of the other two people in the room.

Now that the bundle wasn't hiding his face, Tifa and her father stared owlishly at their young neighbor. Tifa shook herself out of her stupor and ran over to them in worry.

"Cloud!" she yelled, surprising with her presence. He didn't even get a chance to speak befor she was frantically looking him over. "What happened?! You're covered in blood!" she yelled.

Cloud tried to get her to calm down after getting over the fact that he hadn't even noticed her there. "Hey, I'm fine. Really, I'm fine. This isn't my blood, it's his." he pointed at the bundle on the ground.

She relaxed a bit at that, looking over to roll of leather. "What is-"

"Are you telling me you killed this Fire Drake?! Are you insane?" Cid asked. Tifas eyes widened in fear at that.

"Master Wolf said that I had kill it, so I did. He was there the entire time to make sure nothing went wrong." Cloud replied as if it was completely normal for a kid his age to kill a Fire Drake. "I'm gonna head home now. I'm tired, hungry, and I smell like dragon shit."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Tifa asked as she took one of his hands in her own.

Cloud gave her an almost imperceptable smile and gave her hand a small squeeze. "I'm fine, really." he let her hand go and looked at Cid. "This is enough?" he asked.

The man scoffed. "I could make twenty of 'em with all this." he said before giving him a grin. "Good work kid."

Cloud then remembered something. He knelt down to the rolled up Drake leather and brought out a wrapped up object from its center. "Here, Master Wolf said to fuse the alloy with this." Cloud said, handing it over to Cid.

"What is it?" he peeled the wrapping a bit to see the purest blue that he's ever seen.

"It's a special form of Lazulite that comes from Master Wolfs homeland. It has a lot of...strange properties. Namely that it can be forged like any metal." he answered and Cids curiosity was at an all time high.

"Alright, I'm going home now." He turned to Tifa. "It was nice seeing you again Tifa." he said with a small smile.

"Now hold on a minute. What the hell is going on here."

The three of them turned to see that Brian had walked over to them with his usual frown. The man pointed at Cloud and then Cid. "What is this between you two?" he demanded.

"Don't really see that's any of your business." Cid said with a gruff voice.

"Oh great, your here to." Cloud said in a tired and flat tone, while giving the man an equally flat stare.

Tifa looked unsure of the whole situation so she kept quiet.

Brian pointed at Cloud and spoke, "You, start talki-"

"I'm too tired to deal with you right now. I'll stop by again tomorrow Cid." Cloud cut the man off, while turning around and leaving.

"You know, I'm really startin' to like that kid." Cid said in amusement.

The Mayor of Nibelheim looked as if his glare would burn the place down. "How much longer for my truck?"

"I'm already done. I was just makin' sure the new hose was secure when the kid came in. Now get out of here before the little lady faints of boredom." Cid said, making Tifa blush a little. She didn't want to make it obvious.

Tifa and her father got in the truck and drove out of the garage. Cid watched them leave, glad to finally be rid of the smarmy prick.

"There's gotta be some kinda Child Safety violation in lettin' kids in that truck." he thought.

"I can't believe that brat actually went and killed a fire drake. He's somethin' else, that one." he said to himself. He looked at the Lazulite in his hand. "Let's find out what this can do now." he grinned.

Cloud paused in front of the door that led inside his home. He was mentally preparing himself for his mothers reaction to his appearance. Not wanting to delay the inevitable, he opened the door and walked in.

His mother was still cooking dinner it seemed. He walked to the kitchen and saw that her back was to him as she hummed a small tune.

"Hey mom."

"Hey honey, how was-" she stopped herself when she turned around and saw him. Her eyes were wide in concern.

"It's not my blood!" he said quickly. He figured that would calm her more than anything else he was going to tell her.

"Wha- What happened?" she asked.

"I killed a Fire Drake for its leather." he said

"You what?!"

"This is gonna take a while."

A/N: Took me a while to get this chapter how I wanted it.

I've been thinking of writing a One Piece story as well. One of the biggest challenges for me is staying focused on one story without my mind filling up with ideas for another. Two stories is the most I would do at the same time though.

As usual let me know if you spot any typos or grammar errors and I will fix them in a later update.