His hands were numb, and his forearms were freezing. He could hardly feel his legs anymore. His shoulders were turning white and his face was frostbitten. But he didn't care.
He walked through the knee deep snow. Snow filling his boots, dampening his socks, and freezing his feet. But he didn't care.
Monsters, usually wolves, popping up occasionally to attack him. He couldn't have cared less. A few sharp swings with his Yoshiyuki
He stood there, on the icy mountain ledge, jogging on the spot just to keep warm. Preparing to climb up yet another stretch of mountain. He was acting colder and more isolated than usual. Even for him. If you looked in his eyes however, you could tell. Torment and sadness flickered through his azure, mako stained eyes. Loss and hatred. Fury and pain. All at the same time. He felt crying, but he couldn't. He could not let himself break, especially in front of his friends. He was their leader, their hope. He couldn't break. He wouldn't.
But he wanted to.
It had only been a few hours since she died...no, had been slaughtered. Right in front of his very eyes. He could still see it. He could still see her. Aeris. Aeris Gainsborough. The last surviving Cetra. Ancient. Whatever. But no more. That struck him hard. Causing small sobs to rack his muscular frame. He quickly regained his composure and let his thoughts drift back to the events a few hours earlier.
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She had been praying. He had found her praying. Praying for what? He still wasn't sure. The Planet? Life? Who knew? Only her. He had made his way to the altar where she was. Then, life burred, things went fuzzy. He found himself, sword in hand, staring at her. Not believing what he'd almost done.
Then, she opened her emerald eyes, and smiled at him. Of all things, that's the one that haunted him the most. Her smile. She smiled to the very end. He saw the sword go through her body and he watched her slide off it, like butter off a knife -- a butcher knife. He could still feel the warmth of her body slip away out of his very grasp. He would never again see her laugh, cry, get angry, or smile at him. Never. She had slipped through his grasp, his fingers. And he couldn't do a damned thing about it.
He'd gone over to the lake, outside the shell building, and brought her body to meet the water. He held her in his arms for just one guilty moment longer. He wanted so badly for her to open her eyes, look at him, smile at him and say:
"It's alright Cloud. I'm fine!"
Or for her to even yell at him for placing her in the water, then they'd go home, and laugh about it later. But he was waiting for the impossible. For her beautiful eyes would never open again. Sealed forever. He slowly let her go into the water's cold grasp. He watched as her lifeless body slowly sink to the bottom of the lake. She still looked beautiful, even in death. And he couldn't do a damned thing about it.
He wished he could pinch himself, wake up and find it was all only a dream. But he knew, no matter how many times he pinched himself, he would still find himself in a bleak and cold reality. Where she was still gone. And he couldn't do a damned thing about it.
Then there was Sephiroth. He was the one. He'd killed Cloud's mother, village, and her. Did he dare to say it? Sephiroth had killed Aeris -- Cloud's....love? Yes, it was true. Cloud had loved Aeris. He hoped she'd loved him back. They never got to tell each other how much the other meant. And it was all because of that bastard Sephiroth. Cloud would see to it that before his life was through, Sephiroth's had ended. He would kill Sephiroth no matter what the cost. He would do it for her. That was why he must continue his journey. So that when he eventually finds Sephiroth, he can kill him. And that was something he could do a damned thing about.
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"Hey Cloud," Tifa's voice brought him back to reality. "You okay?"
"Fine," he replied with a hint of evil in his voice. "Just fine."
A/N: Yeah I know, short. But I was in an angsty mood today. Specially after freezing to death in gym class. Final Fantasy doesn't belong to me so don't sue. Cause all you'd get would be a couple of action figures. *cough* Anyways pwease review!!