DISCLAIMER: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. Squaresoft does. If I own it, I wouldn't be here writing fanfictions. Oh, please don't sue me. I'm not making any profit by writing fanfictions. Thanks!! =)
When The Soldier Meets The Flower Girl
by Kristine
Chapter II: The Mercenary
He lifted his sword without hesitation. His blue Mako eyes never left his opponent, as he dashed toward the Roboguards in a blink of an eye. He was fast. Too fast. His fellow companion tried his best not to be impressed by his amazing skills. Barret Wallace tried his best to focus his attention at his opponent, but he just found himself being drawn to this ex-SOLDIER mercenary's fighting abilities. Just because he was in SOLDIER… Dammit! He's all thinkin' that he's strong and all that shit! Barret spit on the ground in disgust. He must not let his praises for this blonde mercenary be known.
'Jest 'cos he was Tifa's childhood friend don't mean I'm gonna go soft on him! Barret gritted his teeth, raised his gunarm and aim at his opponent. He was just about to fire a shot at him when suddenly Cloud, with his enormous sword in the air, slashed the fighting machine in half. Barret lowered his arm, his jaw dropping. He then angrily looked at Cloud.
"What the hell was that!" Barret exclaimed. "He was mine!"
Cloud blew on the sharp blade of his buster sword as he placed it back on his back. He turned to Barret and just shrugged in return. "Sorry. I thought you needed my help, so I had to butt in."
"Why you!" Barret scowled at Cloud. He was annoyed. This new member of AVALANCHE was full of it. How dare he put on this show! "Damn you, ex-SOLDIER."
Cloud ran his hand through his spiky blonde hair. "Well, that's not important. So, have you made up your mind yet? Am I hired or what?"
"The next mission will be tomorrow night," Barret replied. "You're free to do whatever you want for now."
Cloud nodded. "All right. Tomorrow then, we will meet at the train station, correct?"
Barret nodded his yes and started to walk away. But he stopped. He looked over at the mercenary again. "Just 'cos I'm hiring you for this mission don't mean that you're staying in AVALANCHE. Your ass was once workin' for them ShinRas!"
"So what's your point?" Cloud asked.
"You're on probation as of now, Mr. Ex-SOLDIER!" Barret exclaimed. "I'm onto you, remember that!"
Cloud smirked, scratched his head. "So you don't trust me, huh?"
"Tifa may trust you with all that childhood friend crap! But I don't fuckin' buy it!" Barret shot at him.
"I don't care if you don't trust me," Cloud looked away from Barret. "All I want is my money once this mission is over with."
The ex-SOLDIER did not give the AVALANCHE leader another word for he began to walk away.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Thank God," Tifa sighed as she sighed in relief when the two Turks had finally left her bar. She took a breath as she gathered all the emptied glasses back on the tray. She yawned. Wiping the counter, she felt as if somebody was watching her. Looking up, there was Jessie standing there, smiling at her. "Jessie?"
"You look tired, Tifa," Jessie observed. "Let me help you out."
"Thank you, Jessie," Tifa warmly smiled at Jessie. Jessie started emptying the messy counter, as Tifa continued wiping. "So, Jessie, uh… any word on that new mercenary?"
Jessie almost smiled at Tifa's question. She knew exactly who Tifa was talking about. That new hot ex-SOLDIER soon-to-be-member of AVALANCHE. She had also heard about it from Biggs and Wedge. That new guy was actually Tifa's childhood friend.
"Barret still hasn't returned yet," Jessie answered. "I think he's still testing him."
"Oh man," Tifa looked worried. "He's not gonna hurt him, is he?"
"He won't," Jessie replied, looking at Tifa with a warm smile. "Don't worry 'bout it, Tiff. Barret will be back soon and—"
Jessie was cut off by a loud gunfire. It sounded like it came from outside. Both Jessie and Tifa looked at each other in alarm.
"Jesus Christ, why now, dammit!!" one of the customers yelled.
"It's them—AVALANCHE!" another shouted.
The customers all started talking aloud in unison. Tifa could only shake her head. She knew it. Barret would always kick out her customers whenever he was in a bad mood. And obviously, that was the case. Barret entered the bar in fury, and all the customers automatically ran out of Seventh Heaven.
One of the customers still sat on the table, drinking his beer. Barret didn't hesitate to grab the customer by the collar.
"Ah! Ow!" the customer wailed, flinching as he took note of Barret's muscles.
"What the hell are you still doin' here! Get the hell out!" Barret yelled.
"Y-Yes!" the customer whimpered as Barret pushed the helpless young man into the exit.
He tumbled on the ground, landing flat on the floor like a pancake. The customer struggled to get to his feet.
"Move it!" Barret aimed his gunarm toward the customer. "Big shot!"
"Barret! That's enough!" Tifa screamed before Barret had a chance to fire at his opponent. He quickly looked at Tifa. With Barret distracted, the customer quickly stormed off the bar.
When Barret realized this, he was not happy. "ARGHH!!" Barret screeched angrily.
"Barret!" Tifa quickly ran up to him. Jessie followed her example.
"Calm down!" Jessie added.
Barret walked away from the two girls. "I'm gonna go tuck Marlene to bed! And don't go stickin' your noses about that damn newcomer!" With that, he pressed the secret button of the jukebox, and the floor swallowed him down to the lower level.
The two girls watched Barret. And when he was no longer in sight, Jessie just shook her head. "Whoa."
"I know," Tifa agreed. She just sighed, going back to work. "Well, since Barret scared away all of my customers, why don't we close now?"
Jessie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you've been working a lot lately. You've been worried…"
Tifa suddenly looked up at Jessie. "Worried? What do you mean by that?"
She shrugged as she placed a tray full of dirty dishes on the counter. "It's just that since that new mercenary came along, you've been kinda out of it lately."
Tifa looked away from Jessie's curious glance. "Oh it's nothing, Jessie. Cloud's just—"
"Is that his name?" Jessie suddenly cut her off.
Tifa covered here mouth from shock. "Uh… J-Jessie… I-I mean…" her voice trailed off. She turned away. This subject was too sensitive for her to talk about. She could remember just a few days ago when she first found him. It was raining that night at the train graveyard. He was unconscious… he looked lost and confused. Then I realized that it was Cloud Strife, my long lost friend seven years ago. I have no idea what happened to him all those years when he was gone. I thought that he didn't make it into SOLDIER. But why… why is it that… he knows about Nibelheim. He knows things that he shouldn't know. He knows all these, but was he really there? Maybe I'm the one who's confused. Is he the one who's confused? I don't know anymore… Cloud, are you still the Cloud Strife that I knew seven years ago? Are you really the real Cloud?
Maybe I'm the one who is lost and confused?
Can't the stars of the Planet answer me?
"Tifa?"
That's why I have to make sure that he stays in AVALANCHE. I have to keep Cloud in my sight. I want to find out. I need to know if he is really the Cloud that I grew up with…
"Earth to Tifa!" Jessie waved a hand in front of Tifa's face.
Tifa suddenly blinked, waking from her reverie. She looked at Jessie. "Sorry, Jess, I guess I must've spaced out."
Jessie knew better than to argue with her, so she decided to brush it away. She will find out more about this Cloud fella tomorrow anyway. But still, she knew that Tifa was really worried about this new member of AVALANCHE.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
The young mercenary found himself sitting by himself in solitude. The rain had finally calmed down for a bit as he stared outside. From his seat, he could see through the window. But Cloud Strife knew that there was nothing to admire there. It was the slums. It was dark, dirty, and dreary. The people earned their gils from tears and blood. They all suffer down here, below the plate. That pizza up there was the reason they could not see the sky above clearly. In Midgar, there was no day or night. It was always dark.
As Cloud took one last gulp from his drink, he nearly slammed the glass down on the counter. He grabbed some cash from his pocket and threw it on the counter. And then he left. He could feel the eyes of other people, watching his every move. Were they afraid of him? Maybe. They looked nervous. Perhaps it was a first time that they had ever seen an ex-SOLDIER coming in to eat at that little restaurant. Or maybe it was his cool-looking hairdo. Maybe it was his SOLDIER uniform. Was it his muscles maybe? Or maybe it was Cloud's sword.
Whatever it was, Cloud sure got many admirers.
He almost smiled. But he didn't. The young mercenary kept a straight face as he walked out of the restaurant. Cloud thought that he should take a little stroll for a while. It wasn't raining as hard now. He knew that it was already late. He walked along the slippery ground, his blue eyes scanning the area. Why did he choose to become a mercenary in the first place anyway? What made him choose this path? Why? Did someone suggest it to him?
He looked down on his SOLDIER uniform. He was no doubt proud that he had made it into First Class. Hmm… First Class? How, what happened? How did he become First Class? Cloud suddenly halted to a stop. He groaned. He could feel the pain, the pain in his head.
Why won't you go away! Get the hell out of my head!
Cloud put both his hands on his head. He shook his head. What the hell was this feeling? It felt heavy. It didn't feel like it was his very own. Could it be possible that there was another part of him that he wasn't aware of? Whatever it was, Cloud was not happy by it.
Finally pulling himself together, Cloud decided that he would not let a little migraine get in his way. He was still sane, for sure. I understand myself. I know myself… I don't need any voices telling me what to do.
Was he falling into darkness without being aware of it? Why? Why was this happening to him? Whatever did he do to deserve all this?
But Cloud shook his head. He must not make any room for these ridiculous thoughts. He decided he shouldn't care, so he continued walking. He should worry about tomorrow's mission. It would be his first mission with Barret and the AVALANCHE.
Cloud smiled.
He loved showing off his skills to Barret Wallace.
He loved wielding his buster sword.
He loved being a mercenary.
This was definitely not the time to listen to the voices he kept hearing in his head. He should focus on his mission. I got everything under MY control… Cloud whispered to himself. When he said that, he heard the voices in his head laughing in return.
~ ~
= end of chapter 2 =
A/N: I'm sorry that this is really short. I'm not sure how I did on writing Barret. The way Barret speaks is something that I am not used to hearing all the time, but I hope that it turned out OK. Anyway, thanks for reading. ^_^
~Kristine
