Here we have it! The next installment to "A Beautiful Friendship" Sorry it took forever. P
Anyways, thanks to AngelJeanne and Simple for the review. 3

All italicized speech is Cloud's thoughts, except for the last one, which is Aerith's.

Chapter 4

My Hero


Cloud rushed outside of the Church where he saw three boys crowding around his friend. He had just witnessed one of the boys push Aerith down and quickly rushed towards them to save her. He shoved the two boys out of his way and stood in front of Aerith, protectively spreading his arms out, and glared at the boy who had pushed Aerith down.

"Keep you dirty hands away from her!" Cloud yelled at the boy and looked at the two other boys threateningly. The one who had pushed Aerith down stared at Cloud, raising a brow at him in amusement.

"Oh Who's this little shrimp?" Cloud glared at him even harder and gritted his teeth, shouting. "I'm not a shrimp! My name is Cloud." He felt Aerith's hand on his shoulder and looked at her but when the bullies started laughing, teasing his name, he glared at them once again and emitted a low growl from his throat. The boys mockingly shivered in fear at Cloud and began teasing him again.

"Ooooh, I'm so scared! ..."
"What's he gonna do? I hope he doesn't hurt us boss!" The boys burst out in laughter once again and Cloud could feel his blood boil in anger and mock. He clenched his hands into tight fists and as the boys continued to laugh, he swung his fist at one of the boys and slugged one right in the stomach.

"Cloud!" Aerith was shocked at what Cloud had just done. She went to his side and watched over him with worry glazing her normally bright green eyes. The bullies were shocked as well, they stood over there "boss" and spat out questions at him, asking if he was all right. The one who got punched shoved his followers out of the way and growled, glaring at Cloud who was currently being looked over by Aerith. He held his stomach and walked up to Cloud, clenching his hand tightly. When he reached the two, he stopped, wound his arm back and swung releasing a angered yell from his throat.

"CLOUD!!"

"Boss!"

Their screams were heard just as the bully's fist connected to Cloud's face, unleashing a rather hard sounding 'smack.'

Cloud fell to the ground, the right side of his face was burning with pain and he held it in his hand, a low groan of agony emitted from his throat. The bully was going to hit him again but was held back by his other friends. Seeing the state that Cloud was in, the boys decided to leave and ran away before any adults would catch them.

"Cowards!"

Cloud felt Aerith's arms wrap around his neck and soon felt himself resting on something soft. Aerith's safe hold around him disappeared as she held her face in worry and looked down at Cloud with fear. Her eyes began to water and her voice was soft and timid when she spoke to him. "Cloud... Are you okay?" Cloud took in a breath and slowly sat up, turning around to look at Aerith. He noticed that she was about to cry and put on his best smile, laughing lightly.

"Yeah, I'm okay... You don't have to worry about me, Aerith!" He rubbed the back of his head and continued laughing sheepishly, disregarding the whole seriousness of the mood. Aerith looked away, her tears finally left her eyes and left a trail of salted water down her pale cheeks. She balled her hands into loose fists and let the tears fall freely, seeing a few drop on the ground making the dirt darken from the moisture. "Cloud..." Her voice was so soft, Cloud could barely hear her. He stopped laughing and looked at her remorsefully. "Aerith..."

Tightening her fists, Aerith finally looked up at Cloud, meeting with his sad gaze, and plunged herself at him. She buried her face in his shoulder and tightened her hold on him. "Cloud, you're such an idiot..." Cloud was surprised at the sudden embrace and looked down at her, a little blush had begun to color his cheeks. "Aerith..."

She finally looked up, staring at Cloud right in the eyes while wiping away her tears. "Why did you do that Cloud...?" Her voice was again, timid and gentle and she loosened her arms around him, waiting for his answer. Cloud looked at her and then smiled a smile that Aerith had never seen before. He put on a heroic expression and clenched his hand into a fist in front of them.

"Because, I'm your bodyguard, silly."

Cloud began to laugh and Aerith joined him. Their laughter rung in the air in perfect harmony, creating a perfect song that portrayed their joy wholly. She hugged him again and felt his arms wrap around her.

"Cloud, you're my hero..."