A/N: Short chapter... Blah. I like this one though. This version of it, anyway. I rewrote it at least eight times. So, please review and tell me what you think of it, it took me forever!

Teek: Only because you're an unbearable perfectionist!

Me: Am not!

"Thus," Phil was saying, "I do hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further-"

"Hey! What do you mean, 'junior heroes'?" Donald protested.

"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true

hero," Phil informed the duck.

"So, what does it take?" Goofy asked.

"Well," Herculese said, "that's just something you'll have to find out for yourself. Just the way I did."

"No problem," Sora said confidently. "We'll start by proving ourselves in the games."

"There ain't gonna be any games for a while," Phil said. "Gotta clean up the mess from that last battle, first."

"Made a bit of a mess, did we?" Mizu asked with an apologetic grin.

"Okay," Sora said, walking out of the lobby, "we'll be back!"

"I still can't believe that squirt actually beat Cerberus!" Phil said when the door had shut.

"Just between us," Herc said confidentially to Phil, "I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time the little guy jumped in."

"My lips are sealed," Phil said.

"I think he did pretty good," Mizu said. "Don't tell him I said that, though, his head doesn't need to get any bigger. That was pretty slick, though. 'Junior heroes,' I mean. That's exactly what I was telling you about earlier. You gave him just the right amount of praise to boost his confidence level, and enough criticism that he'll try to do better." She leveled a wink at the satyr. "You really have a knack for this 'training' business, Phil." She then stood up straight from where she was leaning against a wall and stretched. She heard a vertebrae or two pop before she relaxed and started to leave. "Catcha guys later, okay?"

Once she was outside, she spotted Sora talking to Cloud across the courtyard. She still wasn't sure if Cloud was really his name, but it seemed right to her. Before she was even a quarter of the way across the courtyard, Cloud handed Sora something.

"How about a rematch sometime?" Sora asked. "Fair and square, no dark powers involved."

"I think I'll pass," Cloud said, brushing his bangs out of his face. He turned and continued walking.

"Sora!" Mizu called before the kid could leave. When the man she thought was called "Cloud" passed her, she looked briefly up into his face, and they both stared into each other's eyes for a second. Mizu stopped in her tracks for the second time that day, her eyes wide, and pressed a hand over her mouth.

"Oh my god..." I remember him!

For a brief second, Cloud stared into sea-green eyes almost exactly like those of a little girl he had known nine years ago. He'd heard Sora talking to this girl just a few moments before the preliminary fights, and new just from her name that she wasn't the same girl Cloud had known. The little girl had been called Mizu Hikari, and this girl's name was Kage. He supposed it was possible that Mizu had decided to change her name, but he didn't think that was likely. Still, he thought it was a little odd that he saw a brief flash of recognition in the girl's eyes. He didn't, however, notice the slight gasp she made when they made eye-contact, or the dawning comprehension in Kage's eyes. He broke off eye-contact and continued walking.

He heard quiet footsteps behind him, and assumed Kage had gone to chat with Sora, when he felt slender fingers slip their way expertly into his pocket. He absently reached back and grabbed the would-be theif by the wrist, earning a soft "Ow!" as he twisted that wrist and glared at the culprit. His eyes widened slightly in surprise when he recognized Kage, who was grinning in a way he had only ever seen Mizu grin: impishly.

"Let go of me, you spikey-haired jerk," she said calmly, grinning up at him. He could see laughter dancing in her eyes, exactly like Mizu's used to. Then it hit him.

"Mizu!" he exclaimed, scooping the now-teenaged munchkin into his arms and hugging her tightly. She laughed and returned his embrace.

"Aniki!" she said, slightly breathless. "I missed you so much!"

Cloud let her go for a brief moment to get a good look at her face and see how much it had changed in the last nine years. It had lost the roundness of child-hood, the cheek-bones and chin were more sharply defined. Her lips still held an infectious smile, but there was a hint of sorrow around her eyes. Her body was finally catching up with her spirit in maturity, and tanned a lot darker than it had been back in Midgar. Those expressive sea-green eyes still showed the soul of a grown woman, but he knew that that would never change. He pulled her into another, shorter, hug, then finally let her go.

"You've changed a bit, shisuta-chan," he told her.

"Join the club, big brother!" she laughed. It never ceased to amaze him how this girl, orphaned before she could walk and raised by a gang of theives, could find a little bit of humor in any situation.

A/N: Cloud got so OOC there...

Cloud: What else is new, with you writing this?

Me: Uhm... ((ponders))