Start Date: May 27, 2022
Windwillow
Key
Bolded and Underlined: Cloud's Mother
Italicized and Underlined: Cloud
Final Fantasy VII
While AVALANCHE's first mission to bomb the Sector One reactor succeeded, that seems to have been where their luck ran out. They'd fallen into a trap set by Shinra, and despite defeating a gang of MPs and a prototype SOLDIER weapon called Air Buster, the mission ended with Cloud holding onto a piece of scrap for dear life.
His only request was for Barret to take Tifa to safety, which he did... He knocked her out and dragged her back to HQ, where both of them returned safely. But the bomb had been defused and Cloud now fell into an unknown fate, wherever Shinra's wretched architecture dictated that he would fall.
Into a lake of fire? A bed of spikes? As it turns out, it was actually a bed of flowers!
Chapter Five: The Flower Girl
Scene One
The sound and heat of the explosion reverberated through Cloud's body, the trembling echoes shaking his body from the core on out. He could feel the fire lick his boots, and felt the tiny shrapnel bounce off his body.
Are you alright? Can you hear me?
Yeah... shaken, but still kicking.
Good! Back then, you got by with just your knees being scratched...
'Back then'? What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?!
Don't worry about me yet. Just worry about yourself.
What in the... I feel something soft...
Try to move. You know you can.
"Ah! You moved!" came a sweet voice, tinted with joy. "I was so worried when I saw you fall down here!"
Yeah... at least I feel my body...
Take things slow, little by little. Don't push yourself...
"Hello...?"
Hello who now?
Slowly opening his eyes, the haze of Cloud's vision parted to see a smiling face staring down at him. Light brown hair and eyes of green; not soaked in Mako, but a deep, relaxing green. He noted her beautiful pink ribbon, restraining her gorgeous locks tightly, but gently.
Where am I...? Whose voice is that...?
The young lass gave a soft sigh, tinged with humor. "Hello there! Welcome to the Sector Five church!" Aerith's voice resonated with joy. "When you fell down here I was worried you were dead... But you aren't, so we're good!"
"I fell?" Cloud murmured, the memory of the failed raid coming back to him. He'd busted up the Air Buster, and the resulting explosion... well, it must have caused him to land here for whatever reason. The mercenary felt a softness brush his fingers, and turned his head to find a beautiful bed of flowers cushioning his fall. With all the grace he could muster, he staggered to his feet, avoiding the flowers. "Oh! Sorry! I'm sorry I..."
Aerith giggled, sticking out her tongue. "It's okay. The flowers here are tougher than most! Must have something to do with this place..." She rose from where she knelt, presenting to him a field of flowers that he'd never thought possible... in Midgar, at least. "I've always heard you can't grow flowers in Midgar, but this church proves 'em wrong!"
Cloud assessed the situation. He was alive, check. He'd landed in a mysterious church with an improbable garden, tended to by a beautiful little lady dressed in pink. Noticing his Buster Sword laying next to where he stood and flexing his wrist to feel his gauntlet, he seemed in full fighting shape, if needed.
Lucky me... The roof and the flowers kept me from being too badly hurt...
"It's been a little while, but you remember me, right?" Aerith asked. Cloud's eyes focused, turning his memory back a short while. He remembered the aftermath of the first bombing, where he'd encountered someone. The memories pieced together: he'd seen her before.
"Yeah..." muttered Cloud. "You sold me a flower, right?" Now he remembered: he'd given the flower to Tifa. But as he remembered the nervous smile on his face and the confident grin on Tifa's, a flush of red tinted his cheek. He shook it off quickly. "Yeah... thank you. It'll grow well, I'm sure."
A warm smile crossed Aerith's face, as she casually noticed Cloud's gauntlet and the orbs reposing on it. "So," she wondered, "you have materia?" Cloud startled, forgetting he had it for a moment before he nodded his head. Aerith laughed, brushing her hair softly. "I have some too!"
"What's it do?" Cloud asked offhandedly. Aerith's fingers twitched, dropping from her ribbon.
"It's special!" she giggled. "But it's good for nothing..."
Cloud tilted his head in confusion. "Do you not know how to use it?" he asked. Aerith's eye sparkled, before lowering to the ground. She shook her head as if to clear it.
"I do know. But it won't do anything. It was my mother's, and keeping it close makes me think of her and smile. But that's another story!" Aerith giggled, sticking her tongue out and extending her hand. "Wait. We haven't even introduced ourselves! My name is Aerith, a flower girl. 'S'bout all I do... Who are you?"
"I'm... Cloud," he stammered, blushing. Somehow, the way she smiled made his heart shine. "I do a little bit of everything, really... nothing specific..." As Aerith laughed again, he tilted his head. "Did I say something funny?"
With a laugh, Aerith waved him off. "Sorry, I just kinda had a funny thought..." As her eyes lowered, she caught sight of the Buster Sword laying next to Cloud.
What's that sword doing here? Isn't it...
She shoved the name from her mind, and shelved the thought at the same time. "Such a big sword!" Aerith gasped, hands going to her mouth. Though he had reservations (for some reason), Cloud bent down and gripped the Buster Sword. He lifted it to his shoulder and leaned back.
"Sometimes I do jobs that're dangerous," Cloud remarked. "Better prepared than buried in the ground." His senses piqued, seeing a man in a dark suit push open the church's door and enter it. Though he waved Cloud off and indicated he was no threat, Cloud's grip tightened.
Aerith put a finger to her mouth, then rose and flashed a smile. "Have you ever been a bodyguard?" she asked. As Cloud turned to her she lifted her hands. "I mean, you do a little bit of everything, right?" Cloud nodded slowly, and Aerith turned a foul look at the dark suited man. "Then I wanna hire you."
"Wait, what...?" Cloud wondered. He had no idea what was going on, but the glare in her eyes showed that she disapproved of the new visitor.
"Take me home, I mean," she said with a giggle. "Do you have a price?"
"Not a hard number..." Cloud shrugged. Aerith put a finger to her mouth in thought, then clasped her hands together and smiled.
"How 'bout a date?"
Wait, wait... What in the heck...?
Aerith tilted her head cutely. "I don't have much money, y'see. So, I can spend some alone time with you if you want!"
Alone time? Hold on.
"Oh, no, no!" Aerith giggled. "We could go out to dinner, I mean. Is that good enough for you? Yes? No?"
I, uh... meh. What the hell.
With a nod, Cloud turned his eyes to the man in the black suit and narrowed them. The man had wild red hair ending in a ponytail, and wore goggles just above his eyes. "I don't know who YOU are, but..."
You know. Remember the outfit.
Looking closely, he saw the connection. His grip tightened hard, his glove flexing, as he stepped in between the man and Aerith. The man was Shinra, but not a flunky soldier. No... the situation was worse than he'd thought. As he noticed the arrival of three Shinra soldiers, his suspicions were confirmed.
"Get out of here," hissed Cloud as he hoisted the Buster Sword to his shoulder. "I'm under contract now, and I get the feeling it's 'cause of YOU." Aerith grasped his hand, turning his gaze back to her.
"No!" Aerith whispered, shaking her head. "Don't fight here!" Cloud was confused, but quickly his eye lowered to the floor.
Right, her flowers...
Aerith gestured behind her. "The exit is back here! Let's go!" With a nod, Cloud wrapped his arm around her and hurried her onward. The soldiers drew their infantry rifles, but were stopped with a glare from their boss.
"No, wait..." the man muttered. One of the soldiers groaned, but he shushed him. "Those were Mako eyes. This just got interesting..."
"But, Reno, sir...!" one of the soldiers protested, but the redhead flexed his arm and barred their way.
"Well, whatever..." Reno gave a sigh as he turned towards where Cloud and Aerith had escaped to. "Better do our jobs." He slowly sauntered forward, gesturing for the soldiers to follow. As they ran past him his eye turned down to the bed of flowers, and it widened. But then he shrugged and stomped on one before continuing on.
Scene Two
The Sector Five church was made up of several passageways between rooms, so Cloud and Aerith darted in and out of door after door to escape their pursuers. They were stopped in a mid-sized chamber by three squat, pink studded imps that jumped together in a triangle and broke into a line formation.
Having faced Hedgehog Pies before Cloud wasn't cowed. He swung his weapon in a wide arc, cutting one in half and scattering the other two. The remaining Pies skittered from floor to wall, bouncing off the furniture, before leaping at Cloud from two different directions.
"Look out!" Aerith gasped, wide-eyed. Cloud's expression remained emotionless, as he cleaved one apart with his sword and electrocuted the other with his other hand before following up with a slash that bisected the little beast. He wrapped his arm around his ward and ushered her on, much to her surprise. And the flush of red on her cheek showed a different reaction.
They continued on into another chamber, divided by two rows of stairs leading up into the attic. Cloud pushed Aerith forward, swirling around to check his flank before continuing on with her. Though they cleared one set of stairs, the soldiers had caught up and began to fire.
Their gunfire broke open the rotted wood on one of the staircases, sending Aerith plummeting to the area below. Cloud mouthed a curse and drew his sword, pausing briefly to gather momentum before jumping down.
"Get her!" one of the soldiers cried. As Cloud leapt on another step, he brandished the Buster Sword towards the enemy. As it turns out, he didn't need to. From behind her back Aerith snatched up a large, cylindrical object from her belt. She flicked her wrist and it opened into a bo-staff, which she whirled about in a wide arc.
With two blows Aerith dispatched as many soldiers, leaving a third to train his gun on her when she landed. The gun never fired given that it was cut in half, then its owner beaten back with a punch from Cloud that knocked him out. As Aerith retracted her staff, Cloud's mouth widened to a surprised grin.
Does she really need a bodyguard? The girl's got some spunk...
Aerith stashed her staff behind her belt, flashing a nervous smile at her bodyguard. With a nod, Cloud scooped her into his arms and jumped up onto the next staircase. From behind them Reno entered the room, brandishing a pistol.
"Right, right..." the man muttered, cocking the trigger. "Sorry, but I can't let you two go yet." Cloud agilely dodged his shot, jumping higher into the stairway. As Reno slowly followed he swung his sword, severing the walkway and dividing them from their pursuer. Cloud brought Aerith up past the rafters and disappeared. Reno holstered his gun with a chuckle. "Fun guy. I think we're gonna see each other again..."
Scene Three
Navigating through the rafters, Cloud guided Aerith up onto the roof, where he reattached the Buster Sword. He glanced around and below, but saw no soldiers to take up the chase. Seemed like they'd managed to shake them.
"Lost 'em again!" Aerith laughed quietly. Cloud tilted his head in confusion, and she followed up by lifting her hands. "Er, I mean..."
"Again?" Cloud wondered. "They've been after you before?" As Aerith nodded, he folded down to his knees to rest and she followed. "They're the Turks, Shinra Black Ops. They do all sorts of unsavory things, from assassination to scouting for SOLDIER..."
Aerith giggled and stuck out her tongue, eye closing in a wink. "Maybe they think I'm SOLDIER material?" Seeing Cloud's scowl, she followed up with a smirk. "Kidding, kidding!" she laughed. "We can follow the rooftops to leave the area, then head back to my house."
Cloud nodded an assent, and rose from his knees. Followed by Aerith, he put his foot on the roof and vaulted up. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, deftly navigating the cobbled-together houses.
"Wait, wait!" He turned to see Aerith, struggling to follow him. Though it took a few moments she did so, hopping from the roof onto its neighbor. "Not so fast!" she gasped in exhaustion. Cloud cocked his head and flashed a grin.
"Didn't you say you could be in SOLDIER?" Aerith scowled and thrust her tongue out at him.
"Oh, you're terrible!" Aerith moved herself to in Indian-style position, and rested her tired body for a moment. She paused, quietly staring into Cloud's eyes. "Say... you were in SOLDIER too, right?"
Tilting his head, Cloud nodded back. "Yeah. How'd you know?" Aerith's green eyes shimmered for a moment, then closed with a smile.
'Cause your eyes look like his...
"Your eyes are strange," she murmured. "I can see some strange light in them..."
"Yeah," Cloud nodded as he folded his legs and sat. "These eyes are signs of Mako infusion, what they do in SOLDIER to augment them. But, how'd you know about the eyes?" Aerith waved him off, brushing her hair aside.
"It's nothing, just a guess." Cloud narrowed his eyes at her.
"It was a pretty good guess..." he muttered. Seeing her reaction, Cloud allowed the matter to drop. He steadily rose and extended his hand, lifting Aerith to her feet as she took it. "Let's keep going." Aerith nodded and they continued from rooftop to rooftop, finally jumping back to ground level in what looked like a garbage heap.
Aerith wiped sweat from her brow as she descended, hopping down with a fair bit of grace. "My house is in Sector Five," said the lass. "All we have to do is head northeast." Cloud nodded, and the two moved forward towards the slums.
Scene Four
Sector Five was more than just a slum. There was a church, for one thing; one that lacked a minister, but still the neighborhood children congregated there for shelter and as a meeting place for orphans and lesser-well-to-do kids with nowhere else to go. There was a large exit in the east leading to sectors further along the clock, and its slums, it must be said, weren't bad by common Midgar standard.
Cloud and Aerith walked through the wastelands that covered the sector, where rubble was everywhere and garbage piled up as a default junkyard. There wasn't much else to it, really. As they entered the area, they noticed the piles of wrecked electronics and cobbled-together shanties.
"I take it this isn't your neighborhood?" Cloud remarked. With a nod, Aerith folded her arms and shivered.
"Bad things happen here..." muttered Aerith. "Robbery, and worse, are as common to find as a piece of garbage. Young ladies aren't advised to come here alone..." She stepped forward, finding a pile of rubble barring her path. "And I smell a rat."
Detaching the Buster Sword, Cloud lifted it to his chest. "It's not the garbage that smells. There's some THING and some ONE worse here." He shouldered the mighty blade and gestured to the area around him. "Come out, punks. You stink more than the garbage does."
The pile of rubble rustled and cracked open to reveal a disheveled man wearing rags. From the discarded garbage a group of similar hoodlums emerged. Some looked more respectable than others; they didn't come here because they had to. Travelers, especially women, were their targets, and when they fought back it only made it more exciting.
"Watch yer words, brat!" wheezed one of the bandits, brandishing a dagger. As the lot of them withdrew daggers, clubs, or brass knuckles the same hoodlum moved forward and placed his knife at Cloud's throat. "Leave the girl and we'll let'cha go scot-free."
Cloud's response was to deliver a punch that shattered the bandit's teeth and knocked him onto his back. The others fidgeted around, clearly angered. Aerith snapped her staff open, and stood back-to-back with Cloud, who hoisted the Buster Sword in both hands.
"Do you need a bodyguard for all of them?" Cloud asked. Aerith's response was to shake her head and grunt. That was all the answer he needed. The brigands inched closer, and Cloud began to lift his weapon. "I can take most of them if you clean up the stragglers."
"There's twenty of us, punk!" one of the hoodlums snarled. Cloud responded by flipping him off. "Kill the son-of-a-bitch and take the girl alive!" shouted the leader. In a single swipe Cloud cut open five of them, throwing them back with bloody gashes in their chests. He followed up by hoisting his left arm up and cracking his knuckles open.
"Well, I can't use fire 'cause we'd all go up in smoke..." muttered Cloud as his wrist flexed. "But lightning's another story." From his palm a large orb of electricity formed, covering the rest of his hand. "Here's hoping your nervous system survives this!" He took his left arm and lunged forward, sword at his side.
The bandits charged with their weapons, only for one to be caught by the face. As he tightened his grip, Cloud poured lightning into the man and fried him until he stopped moving. He quickly dropped him, crouched, and gave a wide whirling slash that took out another six. Eight more rushed towards him, but he slammed his palm into the ground instead.
From his hand a shockwave spread out that caught the brigands by the feet. It spread through their bodies and pumped them with extreme electricity; it took a couple of seconds before they fell to the ground lifeless.
As he dispatched the bandits, the final one crept behind Aerith with his arms outstretched. Though he lunged, he caught a solid blow to the gut from her staff. Aerith followed by snapping it up, sending it into the man's face and shattering it. As he fell to the ground unconscious and toothless, Aerith deftly retracted her staff with a snap of her wrist. Cloud could only stare at her in amazement as she stored it behind her back.
No wonder no one's ever caught her... Does she even need me?
Cloud reattached the Buster Sword to his back. "Looks like we cleared a path. Emphasis on WE." Aerith giggled at that, patting her arms and pumping out her chest. Her bodyguard gestured towards the open area ahead. "Watch for anyone coming out of that house," he warned, pointing to a well-built home made of red wood.
Aerith snatched her staff and snapped it open, rushing towards Cloud. "That isn't a house!" she shouted. "It's a monster!" True to her word, the house's front door burst open to reveal a wicked set of teeth, aimed at Cloud's face.
He detached the Buster Sword and slashed it, but only nicked it and cut off a tooth. From the sides two huge arms emerged and lunged at Cloud. Cloud quickly dodged and slashed back, but was repelled by the arms' hard skin.
"Dammit, it can repel steel?!" Cloud swung and parried the arms, clashing with the ironclad appendages with a series of quick slashes. As he did, though, its entire body broke open into an abomination. Its limbs detached and formed tentacles, legs popped out from underneath, and its mouth widened into a vicious snarl.
The tentacles clashed with Cloud, matching his swings with movements of their own. As he worked to repel the arms, its head broke open and shot towards Cloud's face. With the arms pinning him down, he had no defenses.
As its fangs approached his head, Cloud winced on instinct but opened his eyes to find the mouth frozen solid with ice. Aerith's hand, outstretched, flexed and clenched; the remainder of the body was encased in a pillar of fire, whereby it was burnt to cinders. Cloud whirled around to face her, but Aerith only smiled.
"Are you sure you need a bodyguard?" he asked.
Aerith nodded. "If enough of them attack, I have to just run. I've escaped a LOT of people..."
Cloud tilted his head. He got the feeling she didn't use her materia because of the collateral damage to the sector; she only used magic because there was no time to think. Besides, causing too much of a scene could only cause more trouble and bring down more heat.
"Well... How close are we?"
"We're almost to the slums," Aerith explained. "Just head east. It's only a few meters away."
Scene Five
The Sector Five slums, filled with cobbled-together shanties and a group of stores, now enters the scene. At the northern end, a huge television monitor was used to broadcast the news on a wide scale, in addition to various soap operas, advertisements, and outright propaganda.
On that screen, the news played from the previous day, the same that AVALANCHE had watched. The masses rarely enjoyed seeing the President's fat face, and stomaching his most recent lies was as untenable as ever.
As they entered, Cloud and Aerith came upon the squalor of the slums: bums, peddlers, and drunks abounded. Yet, it wasn't any worse than Sector Seven. The major difference was a huge TV instead of Seventh Heaven being used as a meeting place.
"Looks like a... pleasant neighborhood," Cloud said as he stepped onto the rotten soil. Naturally it wasn't sincere, but niceties seemed warranted. He looked over the hovel and turned to Aerith with a smile. "Which is your house? One of these... uh... fine real estate?"
"No, no!" Aerith laughed, spreading her hand all around the area. "This is where most people live, but I've got a better house further on to the east. I'm not sure how we ended up there, but it even has its own garden!" Cloud titled his head. That had to be where she got her flowers.
Passing through the rows of shanties into an open area, occupied by a single two-story house. It really did look better. And the garden beyond was MUCH larger than the church's. Whether she transported the flowers from the church or grew them there was up in the air. Given that flowers wouldn't grow in Midgar, it was sort of... odd.
After entering the home, Cloud caught sight of its lone occupant: a middle-aged woman looking much like Aerith, with brown hair tied in a ponytail and wearing a simple green dress and a white apron.
"I'm home!" sing-songed Aerith, dashing into the living room. The older woman turned and quickly embraced her daughter, tightly and deeply. Aerith broke the embrace and gestured to Cloud. "This is my new bodyguard, Cloud."
Elmyra Gainsborough threw up her hands in frustration. "They followed you again?! Did one of them hurt you?" Aerith shook her head vehemently.
"I had Cloud with me!" Aerith said gleefully. Elmyra sighed, and threw up her hands again before turning to Cloud with a bow.
"Thank you, sir! How much do we owe you?" Elmyra asked. Cloud averted his eyes, remembering the deal. He was supposed to tell this lady to her face that her daughter offered herself as a date?
"We don't owe him a cent!" Aerith chirped. She leaned in by Cloud and whispered "Keep the date on the down-low. She's pretty protective." That was certainly what you want to hear. "I'm sure Cloud has stuff to do, so he won't be staying. Right, Cloud?"
Still unsure of what was happening, Cloud nodded. "I need to get to Sector Seven, to my friend Tifa's bar." At that Aerith's eye twitched, something Cloud didn't catch (but Elmyra did, and she sighed again).
"Tifa's a girl?"
"Yeah," Cloud nodded. This time he saw the insecurity in Aerith's eyes.
"A girl... friend?" Jumping, Cloud's mind darted back and forth along with his eyes.
No, she... She's just...
"She's just a friend," he stammered. Aerith gave a sly smirk that Cloud, again, didn't notice.
He's so shy...
"W-e-e-e-l-l-l-l..." Aerith's voice fluttered, her words trailing like a musical note. Nodding, she offered her hand. "I'll take you! It's not too far!" The fact that she'd hired him as HER bodyguard seems to have been forgotten at this point.
Cloud's eyes widened. "Aren't I supposed to protect you? Having a girl lead me back in all this havoc..." Aerith promptly got in his face and scowled.
"You have a problem with girls?" she asked. Tifa's face flashed over hers in Cloud's mind, Aerith's dismay reflecting how Tifa would have reacted. And if he tried it with Tifa, he might have lost a tooth.
The hell? Uh...
"No... No," Cloud sighed, resigning himself to his fate. There was no arguing with this girl. "I guess I... Okay." Elmyra watched on with frustration, clearly having had the argument before.
"I'm not even going to bother trying..." she groaned, holding her head to stifle a migraine. "But at least wait until morning. Okay?" As Aerith nodded, she quickly dashed up the stairs. Elmyra approached Cloud, her eyes examining his with concern. There was something there she didn't like. "So, you're from SOLDIER?" asked Elmyra.
Why are they so familiar with SOLDIER?
Cloud slowly nodded. "I used to be. How do you..." Elmyra shushed him softly, putting a finger to her mouth. "I get the feeling I'm not wanted..."
With a sigh, Elmyra waved him off. "It's complicated. I AM grateful you brought her here, but..."
"But?" Cloud lifted his eyebrow. Elmyra's eyes darted from the stairs back to the mercenary, returning with clear concern.
"I want you to leave here tonight... While Aerith's sleeping. You're a smart boy, so you ought to understand what I'm saying and why I'm saying it..." Cloud slowly nodded, catching the idea. "She doesn't need SOLDIER interrupting her life again. One time was enough."
SOLDIER... interrupting? Again?
Cloud was convinced. Keeping Aerith safe was the whole point of him bringing her, and putting her in more danger didn't make sense. "I'll leave during the night... after Aerith goes to sleep. Otherwise, she'll just follow me." With a smile, Elmyra embraced Cloud. Her hug was tighter than he'd thought.
Yes... that Zack boy did enough damage to that poor girl's heart...
Scene Six
Dinner consisted of a spicy stew, fortified by the spices Aerith had included in her garden. Spicy being the operative word: Cloud drank more water for one meal than he had for his last three. Night came about and Elmyra retired to her room, leaving Cloud and Aerith the guest bedroom and her own room respectively. Sleeping on the couch would've been easier for him to sneak away, but Aerith would have none of it.
While sparse, Elmyra's guest bedroom was adequately comfortable. She'd maintained the room from back when she'd been married and they'd built the house, for friends to stay over. Finding savory friends these days was, unfortunately, difficult.
"Well, Cloud... Good night!" Aerith chirped as she stood outside her door. Extending her tongue out, she followed by lifting a finger to her lips. "Try and escape and I'll get mad. You wouldn't make me mad, right?" Cloud nodded, and closed the door to his room.
I'm not sure if that's a statement or a threat...
The night came to an end and so Aerith retired to her bedroom, decorated with flowers and a picture of her with a black-haired man. He was well-muscled, his hair spiked, and most importantly he held a huge, broad sword nearly as long as he was tall. Aerith fell onto her bed with a thump, matching the beat of her heart.
That sword... SOLDIER... There has to be a connection. If he knows Zack, he isn't telling. Maybe he got it as a gift after Zack died? Nah... I don't believe he's dead. So what does it mean?
Cloud dropped onto his bed lightly, taking no time to cover himself with the blankets. Wouldn't need 'em, long as Aerith fell asleep fast. As he closed his eyes, he reviewed the day: the raid on the reactor, rescuing Aerith (if she needed rescuing) and the promise to head to Seventh Heaven in the morning. His eyes narrowed, thoughts dashing through his head.
Haven't slept in a room like this in a long time...
Ever since back then.
Whatever that means...
I'll bet you can barely fight the women off!
Nah, not really...
I'm worried, with you being out and about. You should find a nice girlfriend.
Don't need one.
You know, an older one. Someone to take care of you.
What a dream. Must've fallen asleep after all...
By the way, good job for saying 'hi' to her. You did promise.
He zoomed straight up, blood rushing to his head. Holding his head, Cloud shook violently just as he did at the reactor.
"Who the hell ARE you...?!" he snarled, louder than he should've. From the other side of the wall, Aerith took notice and sat up in her bed. "Stop talking to me!"
Sorry.
"You're sorry? For what? Why do you keep bothering me?!" Cloud gripped his face with both hands, slowly realizing how loud he'd been. Looking at the wall separating him from Aerith, he promptly shut up.
What the hell is going on...?! Am I losing my mind?!
From behind the wall, Aerith laid silently. No words, hardly a breath. Yet in her heart, the thoughts wouldn't stop...
Scene Seven
For a few brief hours, he'd slept without meaning to. Arguing with himself was exhausting and, at this point, aggravating. Waking with a start, Cloud opened his door. There was no telling what she'd heard - if anything - but he had to get out before something else happened. What that would be was up in the air, but he had a strange feeling that he needed to get the hell out of dodge.
Slowly he descended the stairs, listening carefully for any noise from Aerith. Hearing nothing, he lightly closed the door and exited the house. From her bedroom, Elmyra was wide awake. She couldn't shake her own doubts.
Doesn't seem like a bad guy, but he's awfully loud... Aerith's better off letting this one go...
After sneaking through the empty slums, which were abandoned at the early morning, Cloud stepped through the streets of Sector Five. There were no bandits, no Hell Houses, only a gentle silence and the morning's dawn. But as he approached the passage to Sector Seven, he put his hand to his face and suppressed a migraine.
Dammit.
Aerith stormed forward, fully dressed and fully awake. And fully pissed off.
"And what do you think you're doing?" she said firmly, not mean, but certainly not cordial. "I told you I'd get mad, didn't I? Well, I'm mad!"
This is EXACTLY what I was afraid of. So was your mother.
"Sorry..." Cloud muttered, scratching his head idly. "But I can't put you in danger. I was hired to keep you safe, remember?" Aerith flashed a sly smile, one he didn't like.
"I -happen- to be going to Sector Seven!" she announced. Cloud held his head in frustration, but she continued by throwing back her ponytail. "You want me to go alone? I can do that, if you WANT..."
G-God damn this girl... I'm done fighting.
With a sigh, Cloud resigned himself. "Fine, fine..." he moaned. "Just stay close to me." As Aerith approached, she got a bit TOO close. He softly distanced himself from her, at an appropriate distance.
What's she doing...?
Shaking it off, Cloud continued on with Aerith through Sector Six, finally reaching the entrance to Sector Seven. They also, however, came upon an abandoned playground. Aerith jumped a bit, whirling about with an eager smile.
"I haven't been here since I was a kid!" Aerith chirped. "Can we stop here? Hm?" Cloud, by this time, just stopped resisting. The flower girl flittered about, examining each attraction, before sighting a head-shaped slide with a long tongue. "There!" She quickly climbed on top, and beckoned Cloud to follow. So, he gave in and did.
For a few moments, they sat silently. Aerith slowly gathered her courage, and turned to him with a gentle smile. "What rank were you?" she asked. Cloud tilted his head, confused. "In SOLDIER, I mean."
"Oh, right..." Cloud muttered. "I was..."
First class.
"First class," said Cloud as he completely ignored the voice in his head. Aerith lifted her head and started to laugh. "D-did I say something funny?" Cloud stammered, to which Aerith responded by shaking her head.
"No... I was just thinking, how you had the same rank he did."
Pausing, Cloud tilted his head. "Same rank as who?" Stifling a laugh, Aerith pulled herself up with her knees to her chest.
"My first boyfriend."
"Huh..." Cloud wondered. "Was it serious?" Aerith shook her head.
"No, but I liked being around him." Now curious, Cloud opened his mouth to speak but paused briefly.
"What was his name? Maybe I knew him?" Suddenly pausing, Aerith shook her head again.
"His name isn't important... Wait, who is that?" Aerith stammered, turning around to see the Sector Seven gate open to reveal a Chocobo-drawn carriage. She caught sight of its occupant, a stunning brunette wearing a shining blue dress. "Wow... she's so beautiful..." Aerith turned to face Cloud, whose face had drained itself white. He stood in shock, trembling.
"Is that... Tifa?!"
Author's Notes
In retrospect, I'm having two thoughts. One, I may have overdone Aerith's assertiveness. Second, Cloud's thoughts remind me of Squall's from Final Fantasy VIII. That's up next, but I digress. The underlined segments are flashbacks; bold come from someone from Cloud's past, with the italics representing Cloud as usual.
Also, messing with Cloud's head is fun as hell. I can get used to that.