Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy 7 characters, places and things all belong to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I own none of it. This fanfic is purely for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no money from it.
SHARDS COLLIDE
CHAPTER 3
Zack vigorously tore open the bag full of groceries. Cloud watched on with mild interest as the black haired mercenary continued to rummage through all the goods he had bought.
In no time at all, Zack had accumulated a gigantic pile of food and he still wasn't done unpacking it all. Cloud felt his anger begin to rise with every second.
"Zack…" Cloud said in a penetrating voice. "Exactly how much gil did you spend on all of this?"
Zack raised his head from his task and smiled at Cloud sheepishly. "Oh, uhh heh heh heh well I really didn't have to spend that much buddy. You see, it was kinda funny but all the shops were closed except one. So I entered the shop only to find that the owner was close friends with my father. Apparently he recognized me so he told me about how he met my old man and all that and then he just said to grab as much as I wanted and that it was on the house."
When Zacked stopped recounting his tale he noticed that both Aeris and Cloud stared wide-eyed at him. "You mean… you mean he let you take all of this?" Cloud asked, pointing towards the big pile of groceries on the floor.
"Well… Yeah."
Aeris frowned in disapproval. "Why Zack, I can't believe you! You should know better then to take advantage of someone else's kindness! Now you return some of this food right now!"
Zack gave Aeris a confused look. "What are ya talking about? The old man insisted I take no less then all of this."
Once again, Aeris and Cloud found themselves speechless. Zack continued.
"If I were to return this stuff now, it would hurt the old man's feelings. Out of respect for my family name, I couldn't do such a thing."
Cloud was utterly and completely flabbergasted. "Zack… You have gotta be the luckiest guy on the planet. I don't know how you pull off all these stunts. You must have a gift with working on people's kindness."
Zack shrugged disinterestedly at the comment and resumed his infiltration of the groceries. "Yeah, yeah whatever Cloud. You can praise my 'noble standing' later. Right now, let's just eat!"
Aeris let out a short laugh. "You can say that again."
Cloud let a soft sigh escape his lips then he too plunged in to eat what he could.
****
Half an hour later:
Zack rubbed his stomach heartily. "Man that was a great meal!" he said appreciatively.
"Yeah it was a pretty good dinner." Cloud agreed. "We should have Zack get us food every night!"
Zack let out a short laugh at that. "Oh? So that's how it is huh? You two get me out of the way so you can both have some time alone, is that it? Ahh now I see your plan!"
Zack threw back his head and laughed, not noticing the slightly nervous looks that Cloud and Aeris suddenly wore on their faces. Once he noticed he was the only one laughing Zack slowly lowered his head then looked from one face to the other.
"Wait a minute… So you two really were-"
"NO!" Cloud said, cutting his friend off before he could complete his statement. "We're not having some secret love affair behind your back. Right Aeris?"
"Right!" Aeris replied and gave a weak laugh.
Zack screwed his face up into a frown but said nothing. He closed his eyes and slowly rose to his feet. "Well that's enough for me. You two are acting too weird for me."
Cloud half-rose from his sitting position and reached out towards his partner. "Hey wait, were are you going all of a sudden?"
Zack gave Cloud a beaming smiled. "Just going for a walk to work off some of that food. It'll do my body good. Anyway don't wait up. Don't worry, I'll be back in a few hours."
Cloud didn't know what to say. This was totally unlike Zack to suddenly take an interest in walking after eating a hearty meal. However, the look Zack gave him was one of those, 'Just trust me' looks. That was the one think Zack could have done to persuade cloud to finally shut up and not bother asking any more questions. Over the years the two men had been together, they had developed a close sense of trust and dedication to each other that nothing could break. If Zack told Cloud to trust him then that was what Cloud would do, no matter what the situation was. Thus Cloud eased back down into a sitting position letting his best friend and partner walk off, out of the room.
"Uhh… Cloud?" Cloud suddenly snapped out of his reverie noticing that Aeris was talking to him.
"Yes? I'm sorry, what did you need Aeris?"
Aeris seemed hesitant about what she was going to say next. She clenched her hands into balls and took a deep breath. "W-what were we doing?"
Cloud looked at her with a confused expression written all over his face. "Huh? We were eating. Why?"
"Not that! I mean before Zack showed up with the groceries. What… were we about to do?"
Cloud lowered his head. He too wasn't too sure what had brought on the sudden urge to want to kiss a woman he had only met a few hours earlier. "I...I don't know." He replied silently.
Aeris glanced down as well, looking at her brown cloak lying beside her. "Me either. Maybe… maybe we should just pretend that never happened…?"
Cloud looked directly at her. There was something about this woman that made his heart want to melt but he just couldn't pin point it just yet. As he stared deeper into her eyes he felt that familiar urge to kiss her as if he were being sucked into her magnificent blue irises. He quickly tore his vision away and stared instead at his buster sword, lying on a table across the room. "Yeah." He replied gruffly. "Yeah I think that would be a good idea."
Aeris smiled lightly then stood up on her feet. "Well… It's getting pretty late. I guess we better get some sleep."
Cloud got up as well. "Yeah your absolutely right."
Aeris grew slightly nervous again. "In… separate beds, I mean."
Cloud let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I know."
Cloud pulled back his dusty blankets and sank into the warm fabric of the bed. He promptly removed his shirt and tossed in onto the floor. He lay back languidly on his pillows then noticed that Aeris was watching him.
"Uhh… um…goodnight Aeris." He said nervously.
Aeris face shot a beat red that Cloud had noticed her looking but she forced a smile and waved lightly. "Goodnight Cloud."
****
Zack hugged his cloak closely around him as he walked the streets of Kalm. The rain had died down tremendously leaving only a sprinkle behind. Zack basked in the freshness of the rain. Unbeknownst to anyone else, Zack truly loved the nature of all living things. It was the primary source that kept him going. Aside from fighting, Basking in the glory of nature was one of Zack's favorite past times. He slowly kneeled down on one knee examining the plant life located near the town fountain. He took a whiff of the sweet smelling rain and smiled with pleasure.
'What would Cloud say if he saw me now.' He silently chuckled to himself as he thought of how his best friend would react to such a drastic change of character. 'Heh, Cloud would flip out.'
Suddenly an idea occurred to him. Zack scanned the area wearily then slowly withdrew his huge buster sword. The sword was very valuable to Zack. It had been the first sword he had ever received and the only sword he ever intended to use. It had been given to him by his father before he died in Gongaga years ago. Zack quickly dismissed the painful memories of his past life and assumed a fighting stance. Zack loved to train. Fighting was his life. He had no idea where he would be without it.
He started off slow, swinging down in a fluid motion then suddenly he arced 360 degrees and began swinging at all angles in a blur of blinding white light. His movements were so fast no human eye would be able to read all of them at once. Sweat began beading upon his forehead yet he ignored that minor annoyance and continued swinging meticulously.
He then assumed his secret fighting technique. He had shown this to no other person but Cloud. He held his sword out vertically then leapt into the air with all of his might and brought the huge buster sword down hard, stopping just inches away from hitting the concrete. He quickly recovered his momentum and began hacking and slashing a thousand times. He was going 20 times faster then he originally was and his speed continued to increase with every strike until finally he jumped into the air once more holding his weapon above his head. Huge volts of energy began sizzling around his blade until all that anyone could see was a ball of bright light emanating from it. With all of his strength, Zack brought the huge weapon forth, once again stopping just inches away from the ground, only this time it was harder to control. He began to sweat profusely as he focused the orb of energy and kept it from rushing from his blade. Zack fell to one knee from the strain and slowly but surely the light dimmed and the sword was once again back to normal.
Zack sank the rest of the way onto his hands and knees panting heavily from the exertion. 'At least I'm getting better at it.' Zack thought to himself proudly.
Suddenly the sound of clapping could be heard in the distance. Zack's eyes narrowed dangerously and he quickly shot to his knees. 'Had someone been watching the whole time?' He scanned the area wearily. Whoever it was had a lot of explaining to do.
He saw a figure in the shadows purposefully walking towards him. "Who's there?!" He yelled just loud enough for the figure to hear him. However, the figure did not reply but simply kept on walking until the shadows parted. Once the street lamps illuminated the figure's form, Zack realized he was staring at a very attractive woman. "Who are you?" He hissed dangerously. He rose back up to his feet, pushing his exertion to the back of his mind.
"My, aren't we strong?" the woman joked mildly. "You exert that much energy and yet you're still ready for a fight? Wow what a man!"
Zack tightened his grip on his Buster sword. "Just shut up and answer my question!"
The woman walked closer revealing that she had dark brown hair and sparkling brown eyes. Her figured was well defined, Zack could tell, even through the huge trench coat she was wearing. The woman smiled at his anxiety and held her hands up in a gesture of peace.
"I understand you're in no mood for guessing games so lets just get to the point shall we? I have information that you're a mercenary correct? And that another is traveling in the company with you?"
"Zack's eyes narrowed dangerously and he slowly inched closer to the woman, still keeping the same fighting stance. "And how would you know that?"
The woman laughed mirthfully. "Oh I have my ways, don't you worry about that. But here's something else for you to put on your mind. I am part of an organization that could use soldiers like you and your partner. After witnessing that display of skill you just preformed I'm more than convinced you would prove to be a valuable asset to our cause."
"What are you saying…?"
The woman took a small step closer and extended her hand out towards him. "What I'm saying is that we need mercenaries; desperately so. If you are interested meet me in Midgar sector 7 in three days."
Zack eyed her wearily. "How do I know I can trust you? How do I know your not just some common crook who's simply trying to acquire hired help so that they could take the fall for him in the end?"
The woman closed her eyes but the smile never left her beautiful face. "There is no way to disprove your claim until you actually meet our group. However, for right now, all I can give you is this."
The woman handed him a card which he eagerly snatched from her hand. Zack looked the card over then trained his eyes back on her.
"AVALANCH? I've never heard of em."
"I'm sure you haven't. We're a very secretive organization right now. When we do decide to finally go public it will be for the better interests of our goals."
Zack still regarded her wearily but she could tell the idea was already playing on his conscious.
"And of course we will reward you handsomely." She added. "How does 200,000 gil a mission sound?"
Zack's eyes snapped wide. "200,000 gil?"
The woman already knew she got him. At least she hoped so. They could really use talent like his. For the sake of the planet.
Zack's expression suddenly became jovial. "Well then, if I do decide to take you up on this 'special offer' then I'll see you in three days. But as for right now, I really should be getting back."
The woman nodded. "That's good enough for me."
Zack nodded in return then began to head back towards the inn but stopped after only a few steps. "By the way, I never caught your name."
"Tifa Lockheart."
:::::::::To Be Continued:::::::::::
Authors note: Thank you all for reading. Please stay tuned for the next Chapter!