Happy Thanksgiving, my American friends! I hope you all have a safe, healthy holiday weekend no matter where you are.

This chapter follows the age-old premise of "if you can't think of something to do, throw it in a coffee shop." And I think it worked really well! The interactions between Cloud and Aerith in this chapter are my favorite so far. Thank you for following, reviewing, and enjoying. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you as always to my best friend and beta, Rand0mSmil3z!


Aerith

The still-unfamiliar jolting and bumping of being on a train for the second time in Aerith's life had her stomach in knots, but at the same time she felt a small sense of freedom in this new mode of transportation. Seeing as how she had been accustomed to flying by helicopter before now, the agility of the train as it zipped through tunnels and barreled towards her sector one destination felt like a speeding bullet and pumped adrenaline into her veins. However, that also may have just been her anticipation at other activities planned for the afternoon.

Aerith was feeling a bit exposed this time in the city, both due to her not hiding her identity and also because she was with a proper escort. Tseng himself and a new Turk recruit named Elena were sitting on either side of her in their best black suits, which obviously marked them as infamous Turks. She herself was wearing practical clothes for the important occasion: a light jacket over a green sweater, dark jeans, and a pair of sturdy boots that felt more comfortable and supportive than any pair of heels had ever been. Lyla, her hairstylist, had insisted she give Aerith a proper working updo, so her hair was once again up in a sleek high bun and hair chopsticks marked the crown of her head. It was probably a little over the top, but seeing as how she was going into the public eye this time, she had probably best look the part.

Faces were staring at her in wonder as she sat up straight, trying her best not to be jostled by the movement of the train. She offered a tentative smile at a couple children who were gaping open-mouthed at her.

"Mommy, is that princess Shinra?" one sweet little girl asked, tugging at her mom's pants leg. The mom blushed but nodded quickly. Aerith smiled at the girl, trying to ignore the turning in her stomach intensify at the idea of being addressed as proper Shinra 'royalty.'

"Here we are," Tseng said smoothly as the train announced its arrival and slowed. "We will be only a step behind you. Be careful."

"Thank you," Aerith said, smiling back at Tseng as she stood. "And welcome to the team, Elena!"

The new Turk blinked in surprise but nodded with as serious an expression as she could muster. Aerith then led their mismatched team off the train and straight into a disaster recovery zone.

The atmosphere outside the train dropped onto her like a bomb, and Aerith could only stop and stare, stunned speechless at the shellshocked movement around her. While the station itself seemed intact, she could make out in the distance twisted buildings, shattered glass, and concrete rubble. People departing the train with her joined the throng of stony faced and weary residents who looked like they were collectively carrying the weight of the event on their shoulders. Even the air felt heavier down here. A thick cloud of hazy smoke clung to the air and her face, traveling down her nose and into her lungs. She let out a quick cough as she adjusted.

"Get some masks," Tseng ordered behind her, and she turned to watch Elena stride over to a first aid tent set up for triage nearby. That would be a perfect place for her to start. Aerith followed the Turk, eyes on the small group of people that were being helped. As she approached, her eyes focused specifically on a young teenage boy whose leg was stretched out while Shinra nurses attached a splint to it.

"You need to be careful around the debris," an older woman was scolding the teen while a nurse clasped the splint shut and gave it a quick tug to make sure it was secure. "We don't know if it's stable or not."

The boy looked dejectedly down at his leg. "I'm sorry," he murmured. Aerith decided to approach, putting on the best outer public appearance she could muster.

"Excuse me," she interrupted kindly, kneeling next to the boy and softly smiling. "Are you okay?"

The boy and the older woman both stared at her, agape, and Aerith patiently waited as they processed her presence. While she didn't normally get the opportunity to mingle with people in the city, she had no doubt the majority of them at least knew her face from the media, and this seemed to ring true as emotions flitted across their faces.

"Uh…yeah," the boy said after a few moments, sitting up a bit straighter and adjusting his leg. "I'm okay."

Relieved, Aerith replied, "I'm glad. Please be careful. It seems very dangerous here."

He nodded, gulping for a moment. Aerith felt a pressure on her shoulder and looked up to see Tseng draping a mask over her shoulder. She accepted it gratefully and put it on, finding breathing through the disposable material not entirely pleasant but better than the ashy alternative.

She left the tent and began to move through the rubble, walking carefully as she stepped around broken chunks of concrete, scatterings of red bricks, and other strewn debris. A flurry of attention caught her gaze and she watched, transfixed, as a bunch of people swarmed around a fire that had broken out and doused it with buckets of water. There was a grim determination here, one that Aerith found seeped into her very bones and took up residence in her head, resulting in her forcing smiles more and more. Everywhere she went, people stopped and stared at her. A few took out phones to snap pictures. The media would love this. President Shinra will eat up the positive publicity, she thought bitterly.

Inside, Aerith wished she could do more. Walking around, offering words of encouragement, and scoping the range of damage felt like mere pebbles in an ocean of despair and discouragement that she would never be able to fight. Instead of having the ability to heal people, the strength to move debris, and the feeling of being useful, she was stuck as she had always been: watching from afar as others struggled around her.

Under the canopy of the overhang for a boarded-up shop, Aerith paused and pulled out her PHS. Rain was beginning to softly fall, making the misery of the day even more prominent. She wiped a quick tear from one eye and flicked into her messages, scrolling until she found her latest correspondence with Cloud Strife.

Where do you want to meet?

His words were simple and yet left a thrill of adrenaline course through her veins. The rather impulsive decision she had made to trust this obvious member of a terrorist group was about to pay off. She looked around quickly, scoping out what was around.

Sector One coffee shop on the corner of Corel Street, near the train station, she replied with a flourish of her thumbs. She gripped the PHS in one hand and turned around, removing the mask and taking a deep breath as she faced her companions.

"I'm meeting up with somebody," she announced unceremoniously, smiling uncertainly in Tseng's direction. He nodded once, a single eyebrow quirked, but did not reply. Aerith, pocketing her PHS and mask, stepped back out of the safety of the overhang and immediately felt the soft, chilly patter of rain against the bare skin of her face. It seeped into her jacket as she broke into a light jog, her goal to reach the shop before getting soaked moving further from fruition with each passing second. The heavens had really opened now, sending a torrent of water streaming over her face. She watched as everywhere people dashed for cover inside buildings and under canopies made of debris and cloth alike. The sudden onslaught of rain could easily have been more depressing, but she felt light-hearted to see people gasping in a happy surprise at the promise of a past washed away. Drenched faces and shining eyes spoke volumes as she dashed past them and finally reached her target: the now-occupied canopy of the waiting coffee shop. A small sign advertised it being open with the first cup of coffee free to all patrons during the disaster. She smiled at the sign, nudging her way through the gaggle of people and slipping inside the door.

Instantly, the calming scent of coffee wafted over her, relaxing the tension in her shoulders as she looked about herself. The shop hadn't been fully spared from the reactor explosion – Aerith noticed that quite a few glassware on the shelves were broken, cracked, or missing altogether, and the expressions on the workers' faces, while pleasant, bore that same bone-tiredness that disaster recovery brought – but the atmosphere was pleasant and welcoming nonetheless. And the place was packed. A line snaked through the cozy two-person tables and right to where she had entered. Most tables were taken already. She inwardly hoped she wouldn't be stuck standing and talking to Cloud Strife, especially if his news was detailed. She stepped forward and got into line, shaking out her dripping wet sleeves and tucking the stray, drenched strands of hair that had fallen from her updo behind her ears.

"Want anything?" Aerith called out over her shoulder to the Turks she knew weren't far behind. She turned her head and met Elena's eyes with a smile. Elena looked uncertainly at Tseng, who shook his head once. He seemed distracted, his eyes drifting over to the window and remaining fixed there. Aerith took that as a no and turned back to the progressing line, stepping forward to get her drinks.

Luckily not too many people had noticed it was her just yet in the shop, for which she was grateful. While the obvious signs of distress wore on the faces of all inside, the soft, jazzy music that played from a jukebox in the corner set a calm, relaxed ambience that was infectious after the depressing walk outside. Aerith found herself humming a bit as she kept one hand gripped on her PHS in her jacket pocket and the other tapped against her thigh. No responding buzzing yet, but it wasn't like this man was much of a communicator in the first place.

She was nearing the front when the bells chimed as the door opened, announcing another newcomer into the din from the pouring auditory welcome mat of the outdoors. The door slid shut moments later, dulling the pattering of rain once more. Aerith looked back at the door, relief and excitement springing up as she recognized the familiar untamed locks of blond hair drooping under the excess moisture that clung to them and dripped down his bare shoulders.

Aerith was about to wave him over when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Tseng had shifted from his stance against a back wall, eyes narrowing in recognition. Shit. Cloud Strife's eyes found hers and he nodded once, his expression unreadable. She urgently gestured him towards her, aiming to keep as much distance between him and Tseng as possible in this public space. When he started forward uncertainly, she whipped her PHS out and brought up Tseng's name.

I'm meeting him. Please don't tell R, not yet. Give me some time. Trust me, please.

She sent the message and her eyes darted up to make sure he received the message. Tseng was eyeing her with suspicion now, and he pulled his device out quickly to read her message. Aerith could almost see him internally rolling his eyes, but at least externally he kept his composure. He gave her a glaring, curt nod that made his answer clear: fine, but you're making a mistake.

Aerith smiled thankfully at him as she made her way to the front of the line, a dripping wet Cloud Strife falling into step next to her.

"I'll take a mocha, please," she requested politely with a radiant smile. She turned slightly to him. "What would you like?"

Cloud looked put on the spot and he shook his head quickly while crossing his arms, flinging beads of water around almost like a wet dog. She rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Nonsense, my treat," she insisted. When he further didn't give an answer, she turned back to the cashier with a smile. "Two mochas then."

The cashier was staring with her mouth agape, having just realized who was in front of her. Aerith laughed awkwardly, sliding some gil over the counter. This restarted the cashier's brain, and her mouth snapped shut and she quickly took the money. Aerith waved for her to keep the change as she smiled generously and wandered over to the pickup station.

"Will you go get us a seat please?" she asked politely of the other, who still looked a bit uncomfortable at her ordering for him. He nodded with a soft grunt and uncrossed his arms, scanning the room for a table and striding over to lay claim to it. Aerith accepted the two steaming mugs of mocha – one had a chip in the top that she politely didn't notice – and brought them over to the table, which was shoved against the wall and offered the slightest bit more privacy than one located in the middle of the room would. Cloud was standing awkwardly next to the table after removing a gigantic, over-the-top sword from his back and leaning it against the wall. He crossed his arms again as she slid a mug over to his side and sat herself down across from him.

"Come on, silly," she said. "What is it with you and sitting?"

Cloud shifted uncomfortably for another moment, made an internal decision, and joined her at the table with an annoyed sigh. She raised an eyebrow at him, pulling the chipped mug to her lips and blowing on the contents. She studied his expression, his uniform, his everything, and cross-referenced it with what she knew SOLDIERs to be like.

As she watched, Aerith realized that there was no way this man could really pass for SOLDIER. For one, he was pretty small in stature and height, although his serious expression seemed to be a defense mechanism to make him appear bigger than he was. He was antsy, too – kind of like Zack used to be, she thought softly to herself. Zack had always wanted to go, go, go, and it was a rare occasion for him to sit himself down in a chair and enjoy a conversation without some kind of physical activity to accompany him. The thought of Zack made her smile.

"So, Mister Cloud Strife," she said slowly with a careful sip of her hot beverage, "what do you have for me?"

Discomfort flashed across his features, and Cloud looked down at his own mug. She could see him internalizing thoughts again, compiling the words he would choose to say. She set her mug down and waited in the cheerful atmosphere of the shop.

"We're looking," he finally spoke up in a low voice, eyes darting around to nearby tables. Everybody was engrossed in their own conversations and for the time being, anonymity was on Aerith's side. "We may have a lead who claims to have seen a big fight happen outside of town."

Aerith leaned forward, folding her arms in front of her and resting them on the table. "And this was back in September?" she asked cautiously. He nodded.

"He's a farmer. He visits town every few months to stock up on supplies. He was telling some pretty crazy stories, according to my source." Cloud frowned a bit. "Apparently, we can find him in Wall Market until the end of the week. He…unwinds there," he added with a grimace. Aerith giggled, understanding the implications through various message board threads she'd come across in the past.

"When can we see him?" she asked, picking the mug up again and taking a big sip – burning her tongue a bit in the process. I really need to stop doing that, she winced inwardly.

Cloud's expression closed off more, and she realized he was guarding something else – something he wasn't telling her. "I can't now," he said. "Not today."

"Neither can I," she joked as she thrust a thumb over to point out the out-of-place Turks up against the wall. Cloud, who seemingly hadn't noticed them, glanced over. Alarm spread across his face. Aerith reached out to touch his arm, resting her fingers gently on his glove. He started and looked at her.

"It's okay, they're on their best behavior," she promised. "I can't guarantee this will look good for me back up there," she jerked her head up towards where she knew the Shinra building was looming above them, "but for now Tseng promised to trust me."

Cloud looked at her cautiously, his eyes darting between hers and shifting back over to the Turks. He was clearly on edge now. "Okay," he said unconvincingly.

"Relax," she insisted. "Drink some of your mocha!"

Cloud looked down at the artful brown liquid in the mug in front of him, uncertainty on his face. He slowly picked it up by the handle, sniffed it curiously, and then took the lightest of sips. He made a face, which made Aerith laugh out loud.

"Never had coffee before?" she joked, grinning at his clueless expression.

"Nope," Cloud answered.

Her laughter died and she frowned a bit at him. "Never?" she insisted. "Not even when as a SOLDIER?"

Cloud shrugged noncommittally, setting the mug back down and studying the woodgrain tabletop. This made Aerith think more about the differences between him and the SOLDIERS she knew – for one, they lived on coffee with their ridiculous schedules. Secondly, they kept their uniforms in much better shape than this one was. In fact, Cloud's uniform looked faded and just plain old.

"Cloud, which class are you?" she asked carefully, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as the other still gripped her mug. Cloud looked up at her.

"First," he replied easily, glancing back at his sword. Aerith followed his eyes and realized that she knew that sword – not well but well enough. She gasped a bit, chair scraping back against the floor as realization dawned on her. That was Zack's sword.

Cloud was looking surprised, following her stare back to the sword.

"Are you okay?" he asked, confused. Aerith put a shaking hand to her mouth, memories dredging up from their vault in the back of her mind from five years prior. Zack, inheriting the sword from his First Class mentor Angeal Hewley upon his death; Zack torn apart by how he got the sword; Zack, swearing to only use the sword sparingly to keep the sword clean. It didn't look very clean now. In fact, it looked rusty and dirty.

"Where did you get that sword?" she asked breathlessly, leaning forward again and staring at him. His eyes, baby blue swimming in a pool of intense green mako, narrowed a bit as he thought.

"I can't remember exactly," he said with a shrug. "I've had it as long as I can remember being in SOLDIER."

A shadow fell over their table then, and Aerith glanced up quickly to see Tseng standing there, eyes studying her face.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked smoothly, directing the question to her. Behind him, Elena was still up against the wall, eyeing them with distrust.

"No, everything is fine," she replied, a bit shakily but otherwise confidently. "Thank you for your discretion."

Tseng frowned at Cloud, who was looking defiantly back, eyes blazing as he stared. "You have five more minutes," he instructed shortly, eyeing Cloud. "Afterwards, the president's ward will be returning home safely and alone."

"Of course, Tseng," she interjected, shooing him away with a hand as she realized that people had noticed the commotion and were beginning to realize she was there. Tseng hovered for a few more moments before stalking back to his original spot against the wall. She sighed heavily, bringing her hands back around her mug and staring at the drink.

"They know you're not currently in SOLDIER," she told him under her breath. "Rufus warned me yesterday to be careful whom I hang out with. Tseng isn't happy I've asked him to keep our meeting quiet."

There was a pause where he digested what she said.

"Have they…hurt you?"

Cloud's line of questioning was softer than she was used to, and Aerith looked up sharply. His face was unreadable, a slightly more pronounced frown gracing his features as he met her eyes. He was concerned, she realized with a start.

"No, of course not," she replied quickly. "They don't hurt me. At least not physically. If anything, being with the Shinra family has kept me from further harm." She offered a tentative smile, but this seemed to make him only more perplexed.

"Further harm?"

Aerith sighed, looking down. "Professor Hojo," she explained simply. "He was holding my mom and I when I was little. We tried to escape…and she didn't make it." The rush of emotions that flooded into a pit in her stomach reminded her of the loss she still felt to this day. She took a slow sip of her mocha. "President Shinra brought me in as his ward, and it's by his decision I don't have to deal with more than simple, non-invasive tests by Hojo. I have him to thank for that, really." She smiled wryly into her drink.

Cloud didn't answer, and she hazarded a glance his way – his face was scrunched up a bit, hand pressed against his temple as if fighting off a bad migraine.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently. It took a few moments, but Cloud slowly lowered his hand and met her gaze. He nodded.

Time was running short now, she knew. Aerith pulled her PHS out and set it out in front of her. "Let's meet up tomorrow at Wall Market," she said with a small grin. "I may have to pull some strings to sneak out, but I think I have a plan."

He frowned at her – an expression she was quickly realizing was his trademark.

"Isn't Wall Market dangerous?" he asked. "Should somebody like…you…go there?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she giggled, winking at him. His face turned a bit pink. "I can hold my own, thank you very much! Just send me a message tonight what time works best for you and I'll meet you there."

"Okay," Cloud answered uncertainly. He absently picked up his drink and sipped it again, before remembering he didn't like it and made a face. "This is disgusting."

"It isn't for everybody," she laughed, finishing hers and standing up. "Maybe start replying to my messages a bit more?"

He looked down at her PHS on the table for a moment. "Okay."

"You really aren't the best with words, are you?" she chastised gently, offering a small smile as she scooped up the PHS and stuffed it back in her slowly-drying jacket pocket. "Thank you for meeting me, Cloud. You're very refreshing to be around."

He opened his mouth but then closed it again, eyes a bit wide in surprise. He gave her one more curt nod, setting his mug down and standing up. He reached for his sword.

Aerith felt a tug at her elbow and turned to see Tseng there, lips pressed in a thin line as he eyed Cloud warily.

"Time to go," he ordered.

Aerith sighed dramatically, waving with an apologetic smile to Cloud. "Thank you again," she said sincerely from over her shoulder as she was whisked away. Tseng led her through the crowded coffee shop of frantic whispers as she passed, steering her outside and away from the comforting smells and sounds and into a less intense version of the rainfall she'd entered the coffee shop with.

"That was highly irresponsible of you," he murmured as he pulled her along back to the train station. "The vice president will not be happy about this."

"Well, maybe you don't have to tell him?" she asked sweetly, giving him her best innocent expression.

Tseng didn't break composure. "Of course I do. He's my boss. Besides, more than one camera caught your little encounter. It will reach his desk sooner or later."

"I know," she huffed, pulling her arm out of his grasp. She walked moodily next to him. Of course there were always cameras around, and hoping for some privacy on a public outing had been stupid of her to think would be possible.

"Aerith…" Tseng started lowly as they approached the train station.

"What?" she shot back, a bit snappier than she initially meant. Tseng slowed next to an empty bench, gesturing for her to sit. She did, surprised when he sat next to her.

"I want you to listen," he said lowly, in a voice that almost promised concern. Her mind was taken back to that evening in the church when he had kept her safe with a similar exterior. He had that same eerily calm voice now. "You need to tread carefully. You don't want to end up in the middle of a war that would leave you homeless and unsafe."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, frowning at him. Tseng's expression, as always, was a vault of secrets.

"Just don't do anything rash," he cautioned.

Aerith sighed, her mood dampening once again due to exposure to the dreary outdoors. She would be wet on her trip back up to the surface, but hopefully she did some good publicity-wise and the café situation would be old news. Rufus wouldn't be happy, but she knew both her and Tseng weren't necessarily thinking about Rufus's reaction to her misbehavior.

She had to accept the consequences – that's all she could do now. And maybe, once plans were set more in motion…she would have a better opportunity to seek the freedom she so desperately desired.


Cloud

The path back to Tifa's waiting spot was too busy for his liking. Cloud gripped the to-go cup in his hands, wishing he could stomach the coffee drink that Aerith had purchased for him, because then maybe the warm liquid would help him feel a bit better against his chilly, drenched clothing. He felt like a wet cat and he was not happy about it.

As he walked farther away from the destroyed reactor, the sector began to look cleaner and the people began to look a bit more alive. The gaunt faces of grief gave way to sympathetic smiles and cheerful greetings as he walked along, trying his best to remember which alley Tifa was waiting in. Luckily, he found her on his first try, and he internally commended his ability to remember at least these details.

Tifa was relaxing on a crate, legs crossed as she looked around warily. She was alone, but she perked up as he approached. "How did it go?" she asked anxiously, only to look confused as he handed her the drink. "What is this?"

"Mocha?" Cloud shrugged. "Not a fan."

Tifa smiled and accepted the drink, taking a quick sip from the slit in the lid. She closed her eyes. "This is exactly what I needed," she said happily, taking a longer drink. "Thanks, Cloud!"

"Don't thank me," he said. "Aerith bought it."

Tifa narrowed her eyes as she stood up from her crate and began to lead the way to their next destination.

"So it's Aerith now, is it?" she joked lightheartedly, but some other emotion he couldn't quite place was simmering underneath. Cloud shrugged again, not feeling that warranted an answer. Instead, he answered he previous question.

"It went okay," he said. "She had Turks with her."

Tifa hummed in thought as she dipped out of the alley and onto the main street. Cloud followed her, adjusting his sword quickly as he did so. People paid them no mind, but he was still wary at being surrounded.

"Does she want us to go to Wall Market?"

"Yup," he answered. "She wants to meet us there tomorrow."

Tifa narrowed her eyes and swung her head – long, black hair arching gracefully over her shoulder – to face him.

"The president's ward wants to join us?" she asked incredulously.

"That's what she said," he answered. "She was pretty insistent, too. She wants me to send her a message tonight detailing where and when to meet."

Tifa groaned. "I can't keep going behind Barret's back like this," she complained. "He already didn't trust you as an ex-SOLDIER, and now we're getting into bed with Shinra's ward. We need to be careful, Cloud!"

"I know, I know," he huffed. He let silence linger in the air as he followed Tifa along the tall walking path that stretched over the 1-2 expressway. The sector two upper plate train station stood glimmering in the distance as its marvelous ceiling of windows reflected caught raindrops back to the clouds. Beneath their feet as they walked, Cloud felt the rumble of vehicles race to their destinations, mixed against a slew of honking horns and road traffic noise. If he had time to pause, he knew he would feel the trains snaking below as well. Today, however, he did not have that time.

Midgar was vastly different than the life he had grown up knowing. As he glanced at Tifa from the corner of his eye, he wondered if she found it just as startling up here in the upper city as he did. After all, he was pretty sure his SOLDIER days weren't spent too often in the big city. Before the last incident his brain remembered for five years, he thought he could remember being in Junon for awhile, as well as a brief stint in some kind of icy place he couldn't remember the name of. He wondered if he was developing some early-onset Alzheimer's or something – not remembering was very frustrating.

"What's the plan again?" he asked her as they reached the halfway point and began angling back down across the other half of the expressway. Tifa sipped her mocha.

"We'll catch the train here and meet up with Barrett in the tunnels down below," she said. "From there, we'll make our way to the underside of the reactor. You said this layout was a bit newer than the last one?"

Cloud nodded. He may not have known the exact layout, but deep in the recesses of his brain he'd pulled out a source for the reactor numbers: the lower the number, the older the reactor. It just made sense that reactor five was newer than reactor one.

"Are you nervous?" he asked her.

Tifa laughed a little, sounding a bit hoarse. "A bit," she admitted. "I understand why we need to do something, but I don't like hurting people."

Cloud remembered her admission of feeling trapped the other day and wordlessly reminded himself that the broad mission was to keep his promise, even if the smaller mission was to go along with Avalanche once more. At least he was getting paid again…no more scrubbing dishes for awhile.

"What's next after tonight?" he asked her then. Tifa shrugged.

"We celebrate?" she replied, sounding unsure. "One step at a time, I guess. If we can get Shinra's ward on our side and pull off bringing down two reactors, we may have a fighting chance at saving the planet."

Cloud grunted his agreement, inwardly conflicted. He could see where Avalanche and its passionate leader, Barret, were coming from, but as he looked around himself at the hustle and bustle of city, he wondered if destroying reactors was the right way to go about doing such a thing.

He unconsciously gripped the PHS in his pocket. Were his helping Avalanche and trying to help Aerith at the same time going to cause conflict? He hadn't been blind; when she had been practically dragged out of the shop by that Turk, people had noticed. They had taken photos. They had whispered and conversed, all sharing the same questions about who Cloud was and what they had been doing there. Cloud felt bad for the girl's lack of privacy, especially when she had such a positive, upbeat personality. Her bright green eyes were also much too trusting for his liking. Then, of course, something about that Turk had rubbed him the wrong way too – he chalked it up to his recent mischief, but in the back of his mind, Cloud didn't believe that for one moment.

They stepped off the walking bridge and finally found themselves in sector two. Tifa led the way to the train station, which would take them to the next destination in their journey. Tonight, after rendezvousing with Barret, they were in for an evening filled with battles, strategy, and unexpected separation.