CHAPTER 4

Reunion

The setting was still dark, the trees illuminated their soft glows while fireflies floated blissfully through the air. Marlene was now asleep in Cloud's arms, she was exhausted. Cloud and Yunai were silent for a while. They both seemed shy. It's been a while since they last talked, and when they did, it was usually brief."Cloud," Yunai broke the silence," why didn't you tell us that you have geostigma?" She asked nervously. Cloud slowed down and then returned to normal pace.

" I didn't want anyone to worry." he finally said. Yunai sighed heavily. Cloud looked at her with curiosity.

"Sounds a lot like myself." Yunai said, almost mocking herself. She then lifted her shirt only to her belly button revealing a much larger dark marking than before. Cloud gave out a gasp.

"I have it too." she stuttered looking to the ground. Cloud moved in closer to her, examining the bruised mark.

"This looks really bad," Cloud said under his breath," You should have told someone." he finally said aloud. Yunai looked disappointed.

"Well, then what gives you the right to keep a secret like this to yourself?" Yunai asked impatiently. Her voice was shaky. Cloud looked up at her and saw the seriousness in her eyes, tears seemed to almost form. She looked away, ashamed of what she just said.

"I'm sorry." she said embarrassed. She looked down as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. She hated crying in front of people. There were a few moments of silence. Yunai stood there feeling embarrassed. Then all of a sudden she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Your not at fault." Cloud said sincerely. She looked up at him while wiping her eyes. His eyes glinted, reassuring her that he was telling the truth. Yunai smiled in return and laughed.

"What?" Cloud asked anxiously. Yunai smiled to herself.

"I think I just saw you smile for the first time." she said gleefully. He looked embarrassed.

"But, I don't think I did just now." Cloud explained a bit confused.

"You smiled with your eyes." Yunai explained with a smile. Cloud patted Yunai's back gently, his eyes smiling again. They started walking again, making their way back to Cloud's motorcycle so they could go home.

After a couple hours of riding, Cloud stopped for a break. There was more grass and less trees in this area, meaning that they were only a few hours away from Midgar. Cloud helped Marlene off the motorcycle first. She quickly fell asleep in some tall grass. Yunai was helped off next, she dragged her body tiredly towards Marlene and collapsed as well.

"Man, I can't believe I lost my phone." Yunai said tiredly as if it was her only worry in the world. Cloud made his way over to the two, slightly dragging himself as well. He sat beside Yunai. As Yunai was about to shut her eyes, she heard Cloud give out a small groan. She sat up quickly, causing Cloud to jump a bit. Cloud sat there holding his wrist.

"Is it broken?" she asked nervously. He examined his wrist. He tried moving it but once he did, his wrist tightened and felt like it was twisting, causing him to clench his teeth.

"Yeah, I think so." Cloud replied, his voice was a bit shaky. He sounded like he was uncomfortable. Yunai examined his wrist, and then tried to touch it. Cloud pulled away slightly, but Yunai reassured him that she only wanted to see it.

"Let me fix it." Yunai said. This time she looked Cloud in the eye, letting him know that she was serious. Cloud nodded in approval. Yunai slowly reached for his wrist, grasped it very gently and waited. Cloud sat there a bit anxious and nervous, this would be the first time Yunai practiced her healing on him. Yunai drained her mind, only focusing on Cloud's wound. She usually could cure the average cut or a small opened wound, but a broken bone was much more challenging. They sat in silence for a few moments. Suddenly, she felt herself feeling drained. She grew sort of dizzy. Cloud began to groan a bit, his arm was feeling something now. Yunai sighed and removed her hand from Cloud's wrist.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure if that helped at all." she said with disappointment.

"No, it doesn't hurt anymore." he said almost happily. He even bent it to show Yunai that he wasn't lying.

"Thanks Yunai." he said, his eyes smiling again. Yunai smiled back, she couldn't help but feel a bit proud of herself.

"Of course." she replied.