Disclaimer: If I owned Final Fantasy VII, this fanfiction wouldn't be possible. Thank you, Square-Enix.

Notes: Reincarnation, yay! Because I think it's weird to have the same name in different lives, no one does… But, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out who's who.

Aerithism

One: Our Lady Aerith

Green eyes studied the monument. The statue's eyes were closed, hands together in prayer. The stone woman sat upon her knees, yet her back was erect. At the base, there was an inscription, 'Our Lady Aerith… Savior and Protector.'

The small brunette furrowed her brows. Barely a whisper, she asked the air, "Since when have I been anorexic?"

An arm wrapped around the child's shoulders. "Heiress? We need to get going, Sweetie." The child looked up into her mother's eyes. I'm standing next to a statue of me and she still doesn't get it… How am I suppose to help these people if they're so oblivious? Heiress smiled knowingly and nodded.

The young girl grasped her mother's hand and walked around the statue of 'the Maiden.' Smaller marble slabs had been carved into the Apostles. And there's where the trouble started… This town, Icicle Lodge, had a rather small collection:

Cloud: Knight and Lover

Tifa: Rebel and Friend

Barret: Mentor and Guardian

The grey Cloud was markedly more muscular than he was in life. 'Mentor and Guardian'? Hah! Tifa, of the Apostles, actually looked identical to the real Tifa. At least they care about some historical accuracy.

How many and who was listed as an 'Apostle to the Maiden' depended on the region. Wars had erupted over whether Cloud or Zack should be listed as her 'lover.' Rumors had it that one small town had chosen to list Tifa as Aerith's 'significant other.' Yeah, just 'no.'

Debates on whether Cait Sith or Reeve should be given credit. If Yuffie and Cid even deserve to be credited, as they were 'morally wrong examples.' God help us… Wait, I guess that's me. Damnit.

Vincent Valentine had it the worst. He was labeled as an ally of the 'Great Demon Sephiroth.' Somehow, every person on the planet believed that Vincent headed the Jenova project and fathered Sephiroth. Poor Vincent.

Beyond the Apostle statues, a church had been built. Towering arches touched the sky 'to be closer to the Maiden.' No one ever bothered to say that Lifestream is down underground, I guess.

Heiress sighed at another day to worship 'the Maiden, the Lady Aerith.' I'm worshiping myself… Is that wrong?

Polished mahogany doors were held open by a pair of young alter girls. Both had crowns made of flowers and pink robes. Beyond them, wooden floors stretched on for what seemed like forever.

At the opposite end of Heiress and her mother, the floors had a large hole cut out. Flowers peeked through the soil, grasping onto the wooden ledges. Above, a hole matching the floor's allowed sunlight to penetrate the electricity-deprived church.

Heiress watched as her mother, bent down onto her knees. The green-eyed woman kneeled down, so that she matched the position of the Aerith statue outside. 'Oh, how lucky! Your daughter got your beautiful eyes!' they all say… Do they know how hard it is to find parents with green eyes? I almost gave up…

The brunette girl followed her mother's example. She squatted towards the ground, before bending her knees so they touched the wood. Her feet shifted to allow her to sit upon them. Heiress's hands clasped together and her eyes closed. She lowered her forehead so it was beside, but not touching, her hands.

Now, she had three hours of silence to endure in this painful position. … I need to hurry up and get bigger, so I can meet up with the others… They're probably going to be mad at me…

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