13 April 1985
Exhausted, Cloud nearly rolled off the bed and onto the floor. Passing out from lack of sleep was not the same as normally falling asleep, and the heavy, weighted feeling that came with waking up from the latter was unpleasant. He rubbed the sleep out from his eyes and sluggishly trudged downstairs for something to drink to help make him fully awake. He paused in confusion when reaching the bottom of the stairs.
Nobody was around. Everyone else was usually asleep or doing whatever else during the day, but Cloud had not paid much mind to it before Sephiroth had left. The sudden realization hit him hard, making his feelings of loneliness and abandonment escalate into much higher levels.
Lethargy clinging to him, he turned the downstairs lights on, walked to the fridge, and took out some juice, finding a clean cup and filling it up halfway with the drink. He put the juice container away and sat down on the couch with his cup, drinking from it while looking up at the TV for a moment.
The silence was getting to him. He slid off the couch and stood on tiptoe to reach for the switch to turn the TV on but then hesitated. He wanted to chase away the silence, but he didn't want to cause a great disturbance, either. He drank some more of his juice and went back to the fridge, opening it and looking through it more thoroughly.
Nothing he could use to make a sandwich. Cloud finished off the rest of his juice and left the cup near the sink, climbing onto the counter and opening the cupboards. He couldn't find any cereal there.
His rumbling stomach urged him to find something to eat, but the youth could not find anything that he could make himself. He poured himself some more juice in attempt to quell his hunger, but it only dulled the small pangs. Cloud dumped the cup in the sink and went back to the bottom of the stairs, peering up into the darkness. He went up the steps slowly, hesitantly, and stopped at the door to the room Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo shared. He turned the knob and stuck his head through the doorway.
Kadaj and Loz were asleep on their own beds. Yazoo was nowhere to be seen. Not wanting to wake up his terrorist, Cloud silently backed away and closed the door. He went deeper into the dark hallway, passing the room he slept in alone.
Jenova lay in a heap with her back to him when he entered the room.
"Baba?" Cloud asked cautiously, not wanting to startle her. "Are you awake?"
No answer or movement. He walked up to her and shook her and still got nothing.
"Ba, I'm hungry."
"Make your own food," she snapped.
Taken aback from the harshness of her command, Cloud said fearfully, "But I don't know how."
"Learn."
"I need someone to teach me," Cloud reasoned. He scurried backwards when he saw her rise from the bed, and he quickly turned around and covered his eyes when he saw that she was naked. He heard her step around him and heard the footsteps make muffled echoes down the hall. Uncovering his eyes, Cloud took a good look around the room, caught the sight of blood, and ran out of the room and downstairs, where it was less scary.
In the living room now, he heard the familiar, crackling sound of cooking egg, but one peek into the kitchen had him turning around and covering his eyes again.
"Ba, go put your clothes on!"
She didn't say anything to him. He continued to stand there, waiting, until the noises died down and he felt a hand push him. He opened his eyes again, seeing his breakfast on the table, complete with eating utensils, and he immediately slid into his seat and scarfed down the bacon and eggs.
"Thank you, Baba," he said when he was done, taking his fork and plate to the sink. Not seeing her out in the open, he checked the living room again and found her laying on the couch, staring at nothing.
"Thank you, Ba," Cloud repeated.
"Hm," was all he received in response.
"Are you okay?"
"Well enough."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Cloud knew that she didn't want to talk to anybody and that she probably hadn't even wanted to get out of bed in the first place.
"I'm sorry, Ba."
"For?"
"For waking you up."
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Still feeling bad about it, Cloud walked over to the door, pressing his hand against the cold wood.
"Can I go see my mom?" he blurted out.
"Go."
"By myself?"
"Yes."
"But the monsters—"
"They won't."
"Yes they will. They'll get me if I go alone."
"Learn how to defend yourself, then."
"But I can't fight against monsters."
"Then you should learn how to."
"I need someone to teach me that!" Cloud said with frustration. He was tired of trying to reason. He just wanted to go see his mother, even if it wasn't time to visit her yet.
"I suppose you'll have to ask somebody to teach you." He heard more shifting and footsteps, catching a glimpse of Jenova going up the stairs. He sighed and let the back of his head fall towards the door. The realization of how many things he had to do on his own, without help, were slowly sinking into his mind, and he didn't like it. He trudged up the stairs and into his room, looking for his sweater and his shoes.
He'd show Jenova. He was still afraid of the monsters that he knew were out there, but he'd show her that he could do things himself without Sephiroth. He strode back down the stairs and opened the door, leaving the house.
Once he was out there, past the invisible line where he felt safe, he was suddenly struck with the urge to go back. He stopped, panting a little from the cold air. Slowly, his feet began to turn him around, and he felt as if they were doing so of their own accord.
"Any more progress, and I would have thought you were doing fine."
Cloud's head snapped sharply to his left, and he saw Jenova jumping down from a boulder, now fully clothed. She stopped right behind him, but said nothing more. Cloud took an experimental step forward, and she followed. He took another step. She took another step. The boy started on the trail to the slope and Jenova kept following him, but she strayed further behind, possibly inspecting for any potential enemies.
Cloud used the shortcut and slid down the slope, being followed again by Jenova until they reached the bottom.
"I told you nothing was going to attack you."
Cloud ignored the statement. She did tell him, but he was not going to admit it. He went on the path to the town, noticing that he was no longer being followed.
"Thank you for taking me, Ba."
"Hm."
"Baba?"
"Yes?"
"When do you think Sephiroth is going to come back?"
"I don't know..."
Cloud turned around one last time.
Jenova was gone.
The villagers stared at him as he went through town to his mother's house, their scrutiny making Cloud feel very out of place. He practically ran to his mother's door and knocked it with a shaky hand.
The door opened nearly instantly. "Cloud? Where's Sephiroth? Did you come down here all by yourself?" His mother's tone suddenly became frantic at the last question.
Cloud went inside and sat on one of the beds. "He's gone..."
"He is?"
Cloud nodded, trying to keep the memories from resurfacing without much success.
Mrs. Strife went down to Cloud's level and hugged her son, running her fingers through his hair and soothing him.
"He said he'd be back," Cloud said through sniffles, "but I didn't want him to go."
"Oh, dear," Mrs. Strife said sadly, "He should be back sometime. But how did you get down here?"
"Ba took me."
Mrs. Strife stiffened a little at hearing that.
"She said I could come see you." Cloud hugged his mother tightly. "I'm gonna ask her if I can come every day. Can I?" He looked up into his mother's sad face.
"Of course you can. Any time, for as long as you want," she said, patting Cloud on the back. "But don't go up and down the mountain by yourself. I don't want you getting hurt. And don't forget to bundle up more during the colder seasons," she added quickly.
Cloud sighed a little at his mother's worrying, but he welcomed and felt actual comfort from it.
17 April 1985
Cloud...
He pulled the blankets over himself. He couldn't tell if it was his imagination or...
It's me. I'm here.
Are you there yet?
Not yet. Almost.
Are you okay?
I'm fine. Have you been treated well?
Yeah. Ba lets me go see mom a lot more now.
That's good to know.
Will you tell me when you get to the SOLDIER place?
I will.
Sephiroth?
Yes?
We'll always be best friends forever, won't we?
The boy could swear he felt a hand pat him on the head.
Always.
Notes:
Started: 2014年1月15日（水）
Finished: 2014年1月18日（土）
Uploaded: 2014年1月20日（月）
An entire year gone by... *sniffle* Gawd, I'm feeling nostalgic now. I actually kind of miss the way it was exactly one year ago. Too many reasons to list here, though. :'D Maybe this year this fic will finally be complete. *remembers other stuff* Or not...
300 reviews?! O_O Thanks, everybody! :D I might work on a thank-you picture soon. ^_^ Seriously, this means a whole lot to me. A big thanks to everybody that is still putting up with this story, especially those that have stuck around since the very beginning. :')
For those wondering about the other Deal, that was going to be explained in a side story, but I can't write it just yet. Too many fics in the hiatus bin and too many still ongoing. T~T
Baba is a pun with three (or four, but the last one doesn't make much sense) different meanings. Try guessing all of them. ;)
In response to Exia: Glad you like this and Sephiroth's characterization, even though he's OOC. ^_^ I'll try to update this fic more often.
In response to StrikeLightning: Angeal and Genesis? Who are they?
Next chapter is gonna be a fun one.