Author's Notes- I took all of your advices and stuff for my writing and this is what I got. Is it better or worse, you have to tell me! Okay, s o far, Zack is living in Aeris' house. Hmm...I wonder what's going to happen next! ^_^

Flower girl and Soldier boy
By: Aegis

It was morning in the city of Midgar. Aeris woke up to the beautiful sounds of birds chirping in her garden. She yawned and stretched before she walked over to the bathroom to prepare herself for the day to come. Once in the bathroom, Aeris washed her face, brushed her teeth and tied up her long, brown hair with the same silk cloth. Then, she slowly walked downstairs, yawning and stretching with her every step.

"About time you woke up! Half the city's already done half of their work for the day!" Zack was in the kitchen, cooking.

It's been months now since Zack moved in. He was already comfortable with his living conditions and Elmyra doesn't scare him half as much as she used to, anymore. Zack was a part of the family.

"Girl needs her beauty sleep, you know" Aeris noticed the two eggs that were sizzling in the pan. She slyly walked over to it and tried to take one.

"Beauty sleep? Is that what you call it when you snore and wake up everyone else in the whole house?" Zack noticed the hand that was reaching for the egg. "Hey! Leave the egg alone! If you wanted food, I'll gladly make you some...just ask first. By the way, I need that for my training."

Aeris frowned at his remark. "I don't snore!"

Zack was cooking another batch of eggs for the sleepy girl, when Elmyra walked in. She had a kind smile on her face. "Cook some for me too, dear"

"Uhh...sure Mrs. Elmyra"

"Zack, you've been living here for months and you still call me Mrs. Elmyra. I want you to stop doing that, okay? It makes me feel old," Elmyra chuckled.

"So, how's the SOLDIER training? Is it too tough for the wittel (little) Zacky? I hope your Sergeant doesn't make you do too much push ups" Aeris was waiting for her eggs to cook.

"For your information, SOLDIER training has just been going fine. Actually, I think it's too easy for me!" Zack commanded Aeris to give him her plate. He handed it back after adding two eggs and bread on it.

"Mom, I'm going to sell some more flowers today, okay? This time of the year, the flowers are at their best. Maybe I'll make extra money!" Aeris said, through her bites.

That day, Aeris walked around Midgar selling flowers. In the middle of the day, she sat down at a bench to rest her feet. She had already sold more than enough to keep support Elmyra and Zack for a week. It was time to take a break from selling.

From the bench, Aeris spotted an injured kitten. Feeling sorry for it, she walked over to where it was limping.

"

Oh poor kitty. Here, let me help you." Aeris brought the kitten to an alley. "No one should see me here." She rubbed her hands together and put in on the kitten's injury. A faint green light appeared and moments after, then kitten jumped with joy. The painful injury was mended. For a while, it purred against Aeris' leg, then ran away.

"Ah...I have nothing else to do for the day. Maybe I'll go visit Zack on his easy SOLDIER training."

Aeris walked over to Sector 8 of Midgar. It just happened to be where potential soldiers trained. Aeris walked over to the gate and peeked inside. Inside, she saw hundreds of future SOLDIERS. Some were doing push-up, some were running laps and some were just there, joking around.

"Great! I'll never find Zack!" Aeris frowned, but she continued to survey the place. "Oh where, oh where could my little Zack be?"

Suddenly, Aeris saw a horrifying site. A SOLDIER in training was being picked on by his peers. The boy held no emotions. He just stood there, as if not hearing any of the others' hurtful remarks.

"Golden hair. I've never seen anyone whose hair was as bright as his" Aeris thought to herself as she looked at the boy. "Why are they being so mean to him? He didn't do anything wrong. He looks so young and helpless."

"Yo, weakling! Why are even trying to be a SOLDIER? You know you're not strong enough, weakling!" The SOLDIER in training tormented the golden-haired boy. "Pretty boy, why don't you just stay home and glorify yourself in a mirror!"

"Stop it!" A familiar voice came to Aeris. "Stop picking on him. You don't even know how to use a sword correctly! You don't have any right to judge other people's fighting skills, you scrawny boy!" Zack taunted the SOLDIER to be, like how he taunted the golden-haired boy.

"I'm not that scrawny!" He ran away not long after.

"Are you okay, Cloud? Don't worry about it, the more they pick on you, the more they show you their weak points. Remember that" Zack comforted Cloud.

"Thanks Zack" Cloud smiled, then returned to his training.

Aeris looked on with interest. It was the first time she saw the evil in people. She wondered why Cloud didn't reply to the teasing.

"Zack, I want you to come here!" A general called him over. The general's appearance intimidated Aeris. He had long, silver hair, wicked eyes, and he was very tall. He seemed to be very interested with Zack.

"Yes, General Sephiroth!" Zack saluted.

"Zack, I've noticed how you stick up for that boy. I've also noticed your fighting style and your spirit. You are what Shinra needs. Now, if you're interested in going on a mission, then I have one for you right away. If you would rather stay and train for a while, well, that's okay too. Tell me what you think." Sephiroth was anxious to get Zack's answer

"It would be great to go on a mission, but I don't want to leave my family without notice. May I request time to think it over?"

"Okay then, you can have the rest of the day to think it over. You have to understand that here in Shinra Inc., we don't have time to waste, so we'll be needing your answer as quickly as possible" Sephiroth walked away.

Excited by the offer, Zack trained as much as possible. It was nearly ten minutes before he noticed a certain girl watching him. He was surprised to see Aeris there. He walked over to her, while giving a signal to another SOLDIER that he'll be gone for a while.

"So, this is how it's like to join an army. People getting picked on, big, scary generals calling you. I'm so glad I don't like fighting!" Aeris was glad to speak with Zack, again.

"Guess what, Air? I'm going to go on a mission! Isn't that great? Now, I won't have to bother you or Elmyra for a while!!!" Aeris was saddened by Zack's sudden decision. It would feel different not having him around.

"You're really going?" Aeris questioned with a sad tone in her voice.

-->>End of Chapter 2