Lots of fun! Right? Maybe not, it's Cloud after all...

Important Info:

1) Meta Knight is based on the anime Hoshi no Kaabii, where he's more of a father/teacher figure to Kirby

2) Lucario is female and Greninja is male.

Disclaimer: Eh...eh...all characters belong to their respective owners. Though I really wish they would produce a Advent Children Cloud amiibo...(can't quite afford a AC Cloud action figure/figure). Still, I'll be pretty happy with that Cloud amiibo, whenever it comes out...

He Who Fights

Sum: Fighting. He knew how to fight, so that is what he would focus on. It was familiar and simple.

~ ~ ~ Us ~ ~ ~

He wished he could've brought Fenrir, but Tifa strictly forbid it. Plus, with a portal it wouldn't be necessary.

Cloud absently looked at his clothing. She'd also suggested his old fighting uniform along with his current set. The simplistic outfit always brought a mixture of sad and happy memories.

Standing in front of the mansion doors, he wondered if he should walk in or knock. The blond swordsman shifted his weight, his Buster Sword swaying slightly with the moment.

To knock or not to knock...

Then he heard a muffled voice, picking only a few words. "...-ait for-...-o long-...around." A long pause.

The door swung open, and Cloud took a step back into a loose fighting stance.

A man stood before him grabbed in a red cape, sparsely placed armor, and strange clothing. "Oh, hey." Surprise was evident on his face, but it quickly melted away to a small grin. "You must be the new Smasher. I'm Ike." The swordsman introduced himself.

The Midgar inhabitant forced himself to relax, and nodded. "Cloud."

"Master Hand assigned me to show you around. Come on. There's a lot to take in." Ike stepped back, making room for Cloud to enter. The Buster wielder glanced around, taking in his temporary home. He stood in a large foyer with a large staircase before them. It led to the second floor and branched off to the left and right side with a single set of stairs leading up to a third floor.

"You'll get to meet Master Hand later. He's participating in a Classic Run so that's why he's not here right now." Ike stated. "This way." He waved a hand towards the steps.

Cloud nodded. They'd only taken a few steps when there was a commotion from the second floor. The pounding of feet and then a group of kids appeared.

"There's the new Smasher!" A boy with black hair declared. They clambered down the steps and huddled around him, all talking at once.

"How heavy is that sword?"

"How fast are you?"

"Are you in the army?"

"Why is your hair so spiky?"

"Are you stronger than Ike?"

"Stronger than Bowser?"

"Give him some space!" A voice barked, making them jump.

The one with the baseball cap shook his head, "What?"

The Midgar inhabitant saw two boys enter from the right side of the first floor. One had white wings with a bright smile and the other...he tensed at the sight of black wings. A brief image of Sephiroth flashed over the raven haired fighter and Cloud curled his hands to refrain from brandishing his Buster Sword. The one with the dark wings strolled over and addressed the kids. "Give. Him. Some. Space. Need to spell it out for you Pickles?"

The black haired kid growled and shoved the other. "Ugh! That stupid name!"

"Just curious." A girl in a stripped dress defended.

"That's how we roll!" A boy with a yellow stripped shirt laughed. "Don't be a turkey!"

"We're not harming him, geez!" The one with a green cap argued.

"No, but he's right." The white winged one replied. "Come on, guys. You can talk to him after he's rested."

The black winged one gave the blond swordsman a once over. "So you're the new Smasher..."

Cloud nodded, still tense. It was the vanguard who intervened. "Smash with him later. He needs to get settled."

"Yeah, Pit-"

"Don't. Say. It." The dark winged angel growled at the white winged one and began an argument with him.

Ike glanced at the kids. The girl shrieked, as did the boys. "Run!" The kids rushed out, making comments about the vanguard being scary. However, a boy with blond hair tentatively stepped towards Cloud. "...um...sorry...about...about that..." He kept his head down.

"It's okay, Lucas." Ike replied, ruffling the boy's hair. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Lucas peeked up at the Buster wielder. Cloud nodded, affirming he was alright. Lucas smiled before ducking away and back to his friends. Taking a quick glance around, the Ex-Solider couldn't find the two winged ones. Ike nudged him away, and the Buster wielder was happy to leave. As they walked they encountered more fighters, many tried to introduce themselves, but the vanguard usually waved them away as he explained the tournament. The blond swordsman's mind was swimming with names, locations, items, stages, and the different matches when they reached his assigned room.

"Looks like Roy and Mewtwo are your neighbors." He gestured to the two doors beside his. "And that's Mac's room and Pacman's." The two doors across. The Midgar inhabitant quickly opened the door to examine his new residence. A simple room, nothing personal within it at all.

"Got any questions?"

"No..." The Ex-Solider replied. He hadn't enough time to digest the given information to even form a question.

"Okay. I'll leave you to it." And Ike left, polite enough to close the door. Cloud sighed and stared at the ceiling. After Sephiroth's defeat and the curing of the Geostigma, he'd found forgiveness for his past deeds. And the guilt no longer weighted him down.

Yet, he hadn't really known what to do with himself.

A little bit more open with his friends, but he didn't know what he should do. He basically floated through life; still made delivers, still watched over Denzel and Marlene, and…that was it. He wasn't quite sure how to acclimate to this new life.

And then the invitation came. His friends had been rather adamant about him attending it and it was only because of their coaxing he was here.

But he was starting to think he shouldn't have come. Cloud leaned his weapon against a bare wall and then laid on the bed, eyes drifting shut and eventually he slipped into a dreamless slumber.

~ ~ ~ Us ~ ~ ~

He woke to the sound of knocking and someone calling his name. Cloud recognized the voice. He stretched before rolling off the bed and answering Ike.

"Hey." The vanguard greeted. "You hungry?"

The Ex-Solider shook his head, half expecting Ike to ask why. He was momentarily surprised when the blue haired swordsman shrugged. "Kay. You know where the cafeteria is, right?"

A nod.

The vanguard mirrored the action. "Alright. See you later. Oh and if you need help just find me or ask Marth or Meta Knight." Ike offered a small grin, turned on his heel, and walked away. Cloud watched the other leave. When the other swordsman was out of sight the Midgar inhabitant sighed, slipped back inside, and closed the door. Mako eyes landed on his weapon. Fighting. He knew how to fight, so that is what he would focus on. It was familiar and simple.

Maybe that's all anyone wanted from him here. Fight and win. Stay focused on the battle. Out fight his opponents.

Win.

Cloud's eyes drifted to the window.

"So...this is my life now..."

Cloud's...interesting. In this lovely universe, he arrives after the events of Advent Children. So, he's...well to be honest, he's not going to be emo and angst filled. Only somewhat. I do think he got some peace after AC, but he no longer has a goal or guilt to kinda guide him. So, he falls back to fighting. A defense mechanism one could argue.

I hope this one was okay and my interpretation of Cloud is okay.

Moving on, the girl in the stripped dress is one of Villager's alternative. The same is with the boy in the stripped yellow shirt. I'll make a oneshot about them at a later date. I'm trying to make different personalities for them. And by the by, the yellow stripped shirt boy...well he likes to make puns. I'm debating about the type of puns. Should I keep it only on a single topic/interest, or let him make general puns? I'll figure it out.

I'm gonna try to update at least once a month (crosses fingers). We'll see, but I'm gonna try to keep updating more often instead of leaving such large time gaps.

ZGDog out!