Disclaimer: I DO NOT own...blah, blah, blah. O.o
a/n: Shiloh is an ok name I guess. I couldn't think of anything better so there.
Shiloh's POV:
After Denzel led me away I bumped into the stairs, and he helped me up them. He was a nice boy. And then he proceeded ahead and I heard him open the door. I hesitated. Should I really go? I didn't know.
"Aren't you comming? Come on. I want to introduce you!"
I smiled and took a step into the house. I imediatly felt like everyone would have been welcome in this place. It gave off such a strong feeling of being comfortable, that I wanted to find the bad guy hiding behind the door. It was almost too good. But then I heard Denzel shut the door. Then he grabbed my hand and led me off to my right. The floor changed as we stepped into the new room. It wasn't carpet, but it seemed like wood. And then he let go.
"Tifa! TIFA! Come here! I have someone for you to meet!" I heard him yell. A few seconds of silence and I heard movement from upsatairs.
"Alright, alright Denzel. Don't shout. It's rude." I heard a woman's voice come from in front of us.
And when her steps became promminent (like she had just come through a door) she stopped. "Oh, my..."
I shifted uncomfortably and knew that she was talking about me. Geostigma and a wierd thing on top of anyone's head isn't usually what you see out on the streets. I heard her step closer and I felt a prickle on my arm. I looked, but remembered that I couldn't see what it was. I tried brushing it off, but my fingers met tinyer ones. Smaller than Denzels. I grabbed the persons hand and turned fully to face them. I then brought up my other hand and felt the face of the newcommer. From what I could tell it was a little girl, and she was breathing hard. I knew she was about to cry, and I didn't want to get off on the wrong foot, so I brought my hand back.
Then I thought what the heck. I took my hand covered her nose and pretended to takeit off, I faked a sneeze and made it look like it just slapped back onto her face. Then I reached my hand down again and began to tickle. I heard her giggle and squeal beneath my fingers, and then I felt Denzel come up behind me and start to tickle my sides.
"Ah! No! Don't do that! Hee hee! No!" I wheezed, falling back and getting attacked by a second pair of hands.
"You guys! Let her be, I still havn't even met her!" I heard Tifa chuckle pulling on Denzel and tickling a little herself.
"Sorry Tifa." the little girl said. I could tell that she was smiling.
"So...Denzel, who's your new friend?" Tifa asked grabbing my hand and helping me to my feet.
"Shiloh. She has the Stigma too. And she doesn't have any parents, or a place to stay." I heard him say to my right.
"Is that so? Well then, I guess she will have to stay with us now. As long as it's okay with her of course." she replied.
"Yes! Shiloh, you'll stay won't you?" he asked me grabbing my hand again.
I did not turn to him, but I smiled and nodded approval. He gave a huge whoop and ran up the stairs, chasing the little girl. And Tifa and I were alone.
"Please, sit down. Make your self at home, since you are a part of this family now." she said happily,walking to the other side of the room.
I just stood there. I wasn't exactly quite sure where the chair was. And I think she caught her mistake because she hurredly said, "Oh! It's behind you to your left. About three steps. I'll be with you in two seconds."
I turned walked forward, and stopped just before I tripped over it. I then sat down and waited. About a minute later her footsteps returned and I felt her sit down somewhere near me.
"Thank you. You know, for..." I said but was shushed by a tutting noise.
"It is no trouble at all. This is what Cloud and I do. We've made a kind of family of our own."
"Thank you anyways. I don't remember my family, so it means alot."
I felt warm all of a sudden. Happiness flooded me, with the comfort of that word. Family. It's nice. I never did know my family. Even before I lost my memory. I am pretty sure. I think that I was always lonely, always wandering not knowing who I was. It's my destiny apparently that I be alone forever.
"Well, you can have Cloud's room for now. I don't think he's going to be comming back any time soon. I'll show you the house after you get settled." she said pulling at my hand as she led me through room after room.
"Sometime soon we can have the room next to Denzel's cleaned out and that can be yours. And don't worry, this house may seem big now, but your going to know it like the back of your hand before you know it!" she said triumphantly as she led me into the last room.
When she left me I realized that I didn't really have that much to settle with. Only my clothes. And they were on my back. So, I got up and went out. After a while of wandering I heard a voice comming from a room in front of me. It sounded like Tifa so I headed towards her. But then I stopped when I heard what she was talking about.
"Hi Cloud. It's Tifa. I've got some good news. Denzel found this girl on the streets, and she's going to be living with us now. You should call so you can talk to her. I hope you are doing well, and...come home soon okay?" she said.
"Oh! Shiloh! You scarred me!" she gasped as she moved around the corner.
"Sorry. I didn't mean-"
"No really. No need to apologise." she said, and I smiled.
"I guess you'd like a tour of the house then! First off..." and she led me through the house. Let me know about every nook and cranny, and even tried to describe the view from the highest window.
And soon enough, it was time for bed. I gave Marlene (The little girl) and Denzel a hug goodnight. And what surprised me was that Tifa gave me one. I was so happy, but as soon as I slipped under the covers of Clouds bed, I immediatly drifted off to sleep with no time to think of what had just happened to me.
Cloud's POV:
The night air whipped past my face and I had to squint. My goggles were gone since Yazoo shot them off. It was nice out though. No clouds yet. Perfect. I reved the engine slightly and the bike shot towards the lights that were growing brighter every second. And soon enough I was passing into the bustling city.
People, lights, and other things flashed by as I raced to the one place I felt safe. Home. Back with Tifa, Denzel, Marlene, and this new girl. I hope she's not younger than Marlene. I don't think I could handle diapers. I pulled my phone from my pocket and placed it to my ear.
I pressed a button and I heard the message again, "Hi Cloud. It's Tifa. I've got some good news. Denzel found this girl on the streets, and she's going to be living with us now. You should call so you can talk to her. I hope you are doing well, and...come home soon okay?"
No hints about her age. Oh well. At leased I was comming home.
And soon enough I put on the brakes and squealed to a halt. I cut the engine and saw that none of the lights in the house were on. Everyone must be asleep. Good ol' Tifa. I swung my leg over the side and trudged up the steps to the front door. I opened it as quietly as I could and tiptoed through the house. All the way down to my room. And when I opened it, I saw that nothing had changed. Except...
"What the..." I whispered as I edged closer. Unsheathing my sword from it's holder behind my back. I walked right next to the person that was sleeping soundly under my sheets in the dark. And just when I was about to throw them against the wall, my hand froze. Just then the moon became visible, and it's light splashed across the face of a girl. She didn't look much younger than 17. How I could tell I didn't know, because there was this thing wrapped around her head. I put my sword away and leaned forward to take a closer look.
After a while I found that there was no way that it was comming off. There was a strange looking lock on the back of her head. I folded the covers down from under her chin and saw the marks all over her. I thought I had it bad covering my whole arm. But this girl had it all over her arms, neck, parts of the face I could see, and so on. She was very pretty though. I watched her breathe for a few seconds before I shook my head and backed away.
I need to talk to Tifa. I thought and qietly exited the room. I walked slowly through the house until I stood outside her door. Then, I knocked as softly as I could.
"Tifa? Are you awake?" I whispered poking my head in through the door.
She bolted up out of the bed and said, "Who's there?"
"It's me. Cloud."
"Oh...Cloud!" she said and rushed over as I closed the door. She jumped and wrapped her arms around my neck.
"We've missed you so much," she said, and then grew stern, "Where have you been?"
"I've been busy." I mumbled leading her back over to the bed and sitting her down.
I sat down next to her and we breathed in silence for a few seconds before she said, "So you saw Shiloh?"
"Yeah. She was in my room right?"
"Yeah. And you saw her mask and the Geostigma too?" she said picking at a spot on the sheets.
"She looks terrible. I don't even want to think about how much pain there is for her. Where did she come from?" I asked, thinking about how terrible it was.
"She doesn't remember. She can only remember her name, how old she is, and that she doesn't have parents. I havn't really asked her about anything else. But Denzel and Marlene like her. She's a sweetheart. Very polite and thoughtful. But, I'm suspicious. I dont know, I just have a feeling about her. Something's not right."
"Yeah...and, you havn't tried getting that thing off of her?" I asked looking over at her.
"No. I don't think it can come off. It has that lock on the back. And it almost seems like it has a mind of its own. I don't know. Cid might be able to get it though."
"Yeah. I'll call him tommorow." I said standing up and opening her chifarobe.
I rumaged around it before Tifa said anything again, "What are you doing?"
"I have to sleep somewhere right?" I turned and smiled ever so slightly and turned back saying, "Where do you keep your spare blankets?"
She pointed them out to me and I bade her goodnight. I went through the silent house towards the living room. Once there I grabbed some extra pillows, threw them on one end, and layed down. I pulled the blanket up and settled into the warmpth. Soon I was drifting off into sleep.
Time Jump! Next morning:
Suddenly I bolted up, and fell off the couch with a thud. My dream was still fresh in my mind as I breathed heavily and wiped off the sweat from my dripping face. Images of Sephiroth, Zack, and...her had haunted me as I ran for my life through an endless black scape. I stood up after a few minutes of breathing and went into the kitchen.
A few more minutes later and my nostrils were filled with the aroma of my own freshly made breakfast. Everything was done, and I was just about to put the eggs on a plate for everyone, when I heard the sound of shuffing feet. And when I looked up I saw that the new girl had stumbled in through the door. I smiled involuntarily when I saw her yawn hugely. It was cute.
She sniffed at the air for a few seconds and said, "Mmmm...smells good. Whatcha' making Tifa?"
I almost forgot that she had that thing on her head.
"Um...eggs, toast, bacon, and sausage." and as soon as I opened my mouth she froze, and jumped back. Her hands flew to the counter and found a knife that I had left out.
She grabbed it and clutched it shakily with both of her hands in front of her. She said, "Stay right where you are! Who are you?"
I was still holding the eggs so I scrapped them onto a plate before answering. I didn't have to worry anyways. She was pointing it off to my right somewhere. "I'm Cloud. And you're Shiloh right?"
I almost smiled again when I saw the look on her face. But I stopped myself and she stammered, "O-oh. I'm so s-sorry! I-I didn't know."
"That's okay." I said taking the knife from her and putting it away. But then she seemed to get very pale and her Stigma stood out on her skin. She stumbled and fell forwards into my arms and began to pant and whimper. I knew what was going on all too well. Her Stigma was acting up. I just held her upright and waited until it passed. I didn't understand how she could have held on to her life for so long, and have it spread that much...it must be unbearable. I steadied her once it had passed and I grabbed a plate of food for her.
"Here, let's have breakfast." I took hold of her hand and led her to a stool.
I soon returned with a full plate of food for myself, and I saw to my astonishment, that she had already scarfed down half of the FULL plate I had given her. I just starred at her. And finally she looked up sensing that I was with her and asked, "What?"
"N-nothing." I stammered and sat down next to her. We ate together in silence with her finnishing her food and going to the sink. She put her plate in and felt around the cabinets for a while before she found a glass. She then filled it with water and chugged it. She then refilled it and sat down next to me again, sipping on it a little as she listened to me chew on a piece of bacon.
"Tifa tells me that you've been gone for a while. Where have you been?" she asked me quietly.
"...places. Taking care of a few things..." I said standing up and placing my plate on top of hers in the sink.
"Oh..." she said her fingers tightening their hold on the glass in her hands. She really was very pretty. I am just about to grab her beautiful, slender hand and ask her about her past when I hear a yell from someone in the door frame.
All of a sudden I see a blurr of color and two figures come jumping at me. Both screaming and yelling, "Cloud is back! Yay! Cloud!"
I open my eyes again and see that Marlene has attached herself to my hand, and Denzel has latched onto my leg. I look down at them and let a small smile crease my lips. They start jumping around and yelling and I look over at Shiloh and see that she is grinning from ear to ear.
"Okay. I made breakfast!" I yell over their own screams.
"Good. I don't think I can. I'm too tired this morning." I turn and see Tifa sitting down next to Shiloh. She winks and grabs a plate for herself and piles it high with eggs.
It's good to be home.
a/n: I love momments like those. And I know it doesn't really sound like Cloud to make breakfast, but this is MY story and stuff...By the way, I won't put up the next chapter until I get 2 more reviews! O.o