Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 7 is the rightful property of Squaresoft and other involved companies. I do not own it. This is purely a fanfic for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no money from it.
SHARDS COLLIDE
CHAPTER 2
The inn was not located very far from the bar. Thus Zack, Cloud and Aeris did not have far to travel. Once there, Zack burst through the doors marching straight into the center of the room, scanning his surroundings.
The place was fairly small for an inn but since it was the only one in the town it would have to serve their purposes. Zack walked up to the desk clerk leaving Aeris and Cloud standing in the background. Even after being in the rain for only a few moments, the group was completely drenched. However, apparently Zack was totally oblivious to that fact as he left a water trail in his wake.
"M- may I help you?" The clerk asked, slightly intimidated by Zack's entrance. The man was extremely skinny with a bony, elongated head and dark brown hair matching his eyes.
Zack flashed the man a friendly smile and leaned on the counter. "Hi there buddy! I need a room for me and my two friends over there. Got any available?"
The clerk swallowed nervously then replied in a shaky voice. "W- well we're kind of packed today sir. What with the storm and all."
Zack frowned for a moment. "Well what do you have? You gotta have 'some' rooms left."
The clerk clenched his shaking hands and began to grow even more nervous. "I'm sorry sir we really don't have any other rooms available."
Zack looked down in disappointment. "Ahh come on man! You guys gotta have at least 'one' room left to rent out! We've been out in the rain and we could really use a nice warm place to sleep." Unconsciously, Zack was becoming more urgent and persistent. This had the desired effect on the frightened clerk and drove him to act in the group's best interests.
"Well…" the clerk began.
At the hint of another possible opportunity, Zack lit up like a christmas tree. "Well what?"
The clerk began to absently tug at his shirt collar. "We do have 'one' room left. But I don't know if you would find it suitable to your needs."
Zack ignored the warning and urged on. "You never know until you try right? Is it big enough to accommodate the three of us?"
"Well… yes but…"
"Fine then! It's settled! We'll take it!"
"But sir…It's located in the attic."
Zack was unheeded. "Even better! So how much do we owe you for one night?"
By this time, the clerk was totally unnerved by Zack's behavior. "W-well sir since you 'are' staying in an unregistered room you can stay the night for free."
Zack brightened. "Really? Wow thanks buddy! You're a really cool guy, ya know that?"
The poor man simply nodded stiffly then exited the counter in a rush. Zack looked after him, blinking rapidly. Dismissing the clerk's behavior, he turned back to face a slightly grinning Cloud and a giggling Aeris.
"That was great!" Zack exclaimed, not yet noticing his friend's expressions. "That guy just gave us the room for free! Wow, I wonder what compelled him to be so nice to us…"
Aeris could hardly suppress her laughter now. "Your muscles may have had something to do with it." She said in between laughs.
Zack looked on with a confused expression on his face. "Huh? Uhh… what's so funny?" He asked suspiciously.
"Nothing…" Cloud said, clearing his throat. "Nothing at all. All in all I'd say the odds are working in our favor. This way we won't have to put any drain on our dwindling supply of gil."
"Right!" Zack nodded enthusiastically. "Hey why don't you two head up to the room and make sure everything checks out and all that."
Cloud gave Zack a quizzical look. "And what about you? Just where do you intend to go?"
Zack smiled mirthfully and rubbed his stomach vigorously. "We need grub right? I'm gonna go see If I can find us something to eat for the night. Don't worry, I'll be back in a flash."
"Zack! Wait we have to-"
Before Cloud could finish his sentence, the dark haired mercenary was already gone. Cloud clinched his fists in anger and annoyance. "He never listens to what I have to say." He grumbled under his breath.
Aeris giggled at the antics of the two mercenaries. It was amazing to her how quickly they could change their attitudes. One minute they were dead serious and ruthlessly beating up thugs, and the next they were debating over expenses and food. "You two must be very close friends." Aeris assumed.
Cloud broke out of his angry fit and stared at Aeris with wide eyes. "What makes you say that?"
"Well… you two seemed to have that kind of connection where you can berate each other and at the same time still not care enough to feel any real offense by it."
Cloud grit his teeth at the absurd idea that rang painfully true in his ears. "Whatever!" He seethed. "In any case, we better get up to our room and check the place out before Zack gets back. Knowing him, he'll have a truck load of food for us."
Aeris eyes lit up. "That would be great! I haven't eaten all day! I'm starving!"
Cloud hissed a sigh of annoyance in response. "The guy wastes too much money. If it were all up to him, we wouldn't have any money at all right now."
Aeris smiled at him politely. "Sometimes you just gotta let the chips fall where they may."
Cloud didn't reply. He simply marched up the stairs.
"Uhh Cloud?"
"Now what?"
"Umm do you know where the room is?"
Cloud smacked his hand over his forehead for being so absent minded. Without a word, he quickly walked back down the stairs and straight to the clerk's desk. No one was there so he violently rang the bell. Almost immediately, the same clerk who served them before came right back out. He noticed the man had a slightly relieved expression on his face when he noticed Zack was no longer in their group.
"Can I help you sir?" the man asked.
"Where is our room located?" Cloud asked bluntly. He wasn't one for formalities. If ever Cloud was serious about something, he would be as direct about it as humanly possible.
"Yeah. Head up to the ninth floor, make a right, walk all the way to the end of the hall. Once you get there you'll see a ladder leading to a closed off floorboard. Beyond that floorboard is your room."
Cloud grimaced slightly. "And may I ask when you were going to give us our keys to that 'closed off' room?"
The poor clerk gulped visibly, realizing his mistake. "I- I guess I forgot about that. I'm terribly sorry sir."
The man quickly scampered off into another room only to emerge a few moments later with a set of keys in his hands. "These should be the one's you need. Here you are."
Cloud accepted the keys but still eyed the man wearily. If there was anything Cloud detested most, it was cowards who couldn't control their fear enough to do their jobs. Without another word, Cloud turned his back to the man and walked over towards the elevator. Aeris silently followed with a bright smile on her face. For some reason Cloud intrigued her and she anxiously wanted to find out more about him.
Cloud jammed his thumb on the up button for the elevator and closed his eyes in a meditative sort of way. Aeris silently watched him for a few moments but became agitated after a while.
'Is he like this all the time?' She wondered to herself. Finally making up her mind, she tapped him on the shoulder.
"What?" He asked in a stiff, cold tone of voice.
"Cloud can I ask you a question?" Aeris inquired politely.
"You already are." Came his cold reply.
"Well… why are you always so cold? Did something happen to you to make you so angry towards everyone else all the time?"
Clouds eye's suddenly snapped open. He regarded her wearily. Aeris breath caught in her throat. 'Why is he staring at me like that?' She pondered, feeling a slight tug of discomfort.
"W-what is it?" She asked in a low voice. Cloud didn't answer but continued to stare at her with those blue penetrating eyes. Much to Aeris relief the, the sound of the elevator ring broke Cloud from his trance. Once the doors opened he slowly walked in, carefully keeping his eyes low.
Aeris couldn't figure out what she had said to trigger such a reaction from the young Merc. Aeris folded her hands behind her back as the doors closed and the elevator began to rise. An uncomfortable silence rose up between them causing Aeris to become more and more nervous. Finally, not knowing what else to do, she tried speaking to him again.
"Cloud… I'm sorry if I said anything to offend you. I… I guess I was just curious."
"Don't be." Cloud said plainly, not bothering to raise his lowered eyes to look at her.
The elevator doors opened, and Cloud promptly walked out heading towards the end of the hall. Aeris was close on his heels. "Cloud I just want to get to know you guys better. If it's that personal I won't pry anymore."
Cloud didn't reply. Aeris spirits began to dwindle. 'Why is he so cruel?' She wondered with sadness etched on her face. Cloud noticed her dismayed expression and suddenly felt sympathy for the strange young lady. They reached the ladder and Cloud's hand froze on the side. He turned his gaze back to Aeris who was right behind him. Aeris was shocked that he was all of a sudden staring at her. She was beginning to feel self-conscious and began to nervously fiddle with the ends of her long brown hair. Cloud marveled at her innocent beauty and grace. Finally he closed his eyes as if warding off bad thoughts and resumed his climb up the ladder. Climbing to the top he unlocked the floorboard and opened it. He quickly jumped up into the new area and began looking around while Aeris was still trying her best to climb into the room without slipping on one of the ladder bars. Cloud saw her plight, walked over to her and offered his hand in a gesture of kindness.
Aeris vigorously accepted the help and was soon, safely into the room.
"Thanks. Now that's two I owe you."
"Two?" Cloud regarded her with a confused expression.
"Yeah, the first was when you saved my life back in the bar and then just now. See? Two." She was beaming when she saw that his face was slightly turning red.
"Don't worry about it." He replied absently.
"Wow!" Aeris stood up and took in the full view of their room. "This place is huge! I wonder why they never rent it out to any of the other customers."
Cloud smiled faintly. "Because none of the other customers have swords or muscles as big as Zack's.
Aeris eyes widened and she suddenly burst out laughing. "Heeeey! You just made a joke! Way to go Cloud!"
Cloud gave her a strange look. "What? Do you think I'm just some unfeeling, inhuman, fighting machine or something?"
Aeris tried to suppress her giggles. 'Bingo, hit the nail right on the coffin!' She thought silently but kept it to herself. "Well no… It's just that… your always acting so serious all the time. I didn't think you could crack a joke if your life depended on it."
Cloud huffed in indignation. "Well thanks a lot for the compliment."
However, this only triggered another giggle from Aeris. Cloud watched her for a moment then found himself being caught up in a fit of laughter. Before long, the two of them were rolling on the floor gasping for air.
Cloud fell back on a nearby bed covered in dust. He sighed heavily, every once in a while another laugh would creep up on him. "I haven't laughed that hard in a long time." He said pleasantly.
Aeris rose to her feet and sat on another bed not too far from the one Cloud was sitting on. She brushed her hands across the furnished surface, clearing the dust away before she sat down on it. "Really? Maybe you should get out more often then?"
"That's not it… Maybe you have a gift to bring out the laughter in others?"
Aeris blushed pleasantly but said nothing.
Cloud sat back in his bed, folding his arms around the back of his head. "…I'm sorry I was so cruel to you back there… I guess I'm really not that comfortable around strangers. It's just that it's so hard to trust people now a days. To be quite honest with you, I didn't know what to make of you at first. And Zack is waaay too trusting of other people. I wouldn't be surprised if he befriended a mass murderer."
"But that's what you admire about him isn't it?" Aeris was now looking at Cloud with an understanding expression.
Cloud looked back at her blinking his eyes several times. "How… how did you… I mean no that's not it. What makes you think I admire Zack?"
Aeris giggled again and wagged her index finger at him. "Ah ah ah. No lies Cloud. I can tell you admired him way back from when you two were fighting in the bar. The way he handled that last thug impressed you greatly. I could tell. I saw it in your eyes."
Cloud gave her a sarcastic look. "I take it you've got me all figured out then huh?"
"Not quite. There's still a lot I don't know about you. Maybe one day you could tell me more about yourself… and your past too…maybe..."
Cloud sighed heavily. The serious expression returned to his face once again. "So you want to know about my past huh?"
Aeris nodded quickly, trying not to seem to eager. At the sight of her giddiness, Cloud had to hold in his laughter. She looked like the exact image of a schoolgirl getting ready to gossip about a big juicy secret. Cloud closed his eyes once again and laid his head back on the soft pillows. "Ok then. I guess I'll tell you. It all happened about 8 years ago. Back in my hometown in Nibleheim there was a special Shinra unit being shipped out to do some work on the Mako reactor located in the mountains west of our town. The Squad consisted of two Shinra soldiers, Two SOLDIER's and Sephiroth."
Aeris was shocked. "Sephiroth? You mean the same Sephiroth who practically single handedly won the war with Wutai?"
Cloud nodded his head. "The very same."
"What was he doing taking care of such a simple matter as fixing a Mako reactor?"
"That's still a mystery to me. All I know is that he's going to pay for what he did!"
"What he did?"
"The day after their arrival, He and his Squad set out to investigate the Mako reactor. Sephiroth came back acting kind of weird. He locked himself up in the Shinra mansion for days. Then when he finally did come out, he attacked the village and killed everyone there. He even killed-" Cloud stopped abruptly, too emotional to continue.
"Killed who?" Aeris urged gently.
Cloud took a deep breath and began again. "The bastard killed my mother and after that, Killed Tifa right in front of my very own eyes!" He clinched his hands into fists and he curled up into a ball as tears began seeping from his face.
Aeris walked over to him silently and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry." She said softly.
Cloud continued his tale, heedless of her closeness to him. "Tifa… Tifa was someone very close to me. We were best friends. Ironically enough, I would always tell her I was going to travel off to join SOLDIER and make her proud of me. I told her I was going to be like that bastard Sephiroth."
Aeris didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say exactly. She had no idea his tale was so tragic.
"The most troubling thing was that I was actually going to go and join them at one point. What stopped me was that at the last minute my mother grew ill and I was forced to take care of her. You see my father died when I was very young with only my mother to look after me. She was my only family. She was all I had left, I had no choice in the end. And that bastard Sephiroth took it all away from me! In one day he took away my life, my family, my town, and my best friend… I was able to confront him in the Nibleheim reactors."
Aeris gasped and Cloud was silent for a moment before continuing. "We fought a bit and he easily defeated me. But I ended up getting the last laugh. Out of pure luck, I was able to catch him off guard and shove him over the side of the catwalk. Soon after, the whole place went up in flames. To this very day, I have no idea how I survived but I did. It was Zack who eventually found my trapped in rubble and treated my injuries. Since then, we've been partners, watching each other's backs."
Aeris looked into Cloud's eyes. "You two must be really close then."
Cloud shrugged. "I guess so. After a while it just seemed normal to be hanging around with Zack. He was an excellent fighter. After telling him about my run in with Sephiroth I guess I impressed him. He taught me how to fight and defend myself. I owe him a lot actually. He taught me to keep moving when I thought there was nothing left to live for."
Aeris nodded slowly. "He sounds like a great guy."
"Yeah, I was lucky to find a friend like him."
Aeris face was dangerously close to Cloud's now. Neither one really noticed, both lost in the void of the other's eyes. "You're a really great guy too Cloud." Aeris said softly. "I'm glad I met you…"
"Same here…" Cloud muttered, lost in the pools of her bright green eyes. Their lips were just inches away from each other's. Cloud could feel Aeris's heart pumping rapidly against his and he was sure she could feel the same with him.
Suddenly the door flipped open bringing them both to reality. Aeris and Cloud immediately jumped away from each other in shock and slight confusion as Zack began pushing tons of bags of groceries through the opening.
"A little help here would be nice." They could hear him yell from under all the bags of food.
Cloud smirked lightly. "Do it yourself 'Mr. Strong'. Serves you right for buying so much."
Aeris giggled wildly as Zack's voice became more horse with anger. "Shut the hell up and get your ass over here and help me Strife!"
Cloud laughed and stood up to help the young black haired mercenary. However once he got to the opening Zack shoved the whole load in his face. Aeris could barley hold back the giggles that seized her as she watched the two men fall into another fit of arguing. For the fist time in a long time Aeris felt truly happy and content with her life.
:::::::::To Be Continued:::::::::::
Authors note: Thanks for reading. Please stay tuned for the next chapter!