CHAPTER 6

Ever since they have made their debut, the members of AVALANCHE had been very busy, and sometimes Cloud didn't come back to his apartment for days. And the one who really felt it was Marlene since she always asked Tifa, "Is Cloud going to come home?"

Tifa always reply the same answer, "He's gonna be a little late." And after that she would changed the subject. Sometimes when Cloud returned, Marlene must've already slept. That was why Marlene rarely sees him these days.

Only on that night when Marlene answered the phone, she beamed and ran to find Tifa. "Cloud called and said he'll be home early today," Marlene smiled as she found Tifa in the kitchen.

"Really? Then what should we be doing?" Tifa was smiling herself. Marlene looked around the kitchen and found that the table had not been set up yet. "I'll get the table ready. We'll eat dinner together!"

Tifa laughed a little before she continued her work. Maybe, she would cook something better tonight.

X X X

And to Tifa and Marlene's disappointment, Cloud didn't come back for dinner. Tifa tried to call his phone but she just the voice mail. Tifa sighed as she watched Marlene waited in the living room still watching the TV.

She was about to ask Marlene to eat the dinner when the door sounded as if it was opened from outside. "It's about time," Tifa said under her breath as she made her way to the front. Marlene had already greeted the awaited person.

"Cloud, are you alright?" Tifa heard Marlene asked as she saw the two of them standing at the door. Cloud didn't reply but he had a very different expression on his face. It was as if he was in shock and Tifa noticed there was some bruise on his arms and face.

He made his way into the house and a few steps ahead of Marlene; Cloud suddenly fell down and didn't move. Tifa's first thought was he was joking or he tripped on something but when the blonde didn't move a muscle, worried started to form.

"Hey Cloud?" she called as she made her way to him. Marlene looked a little panic as she rushed to Cloud and tried to shake him. "Cloud? Cloud?" her little voice couldn't hide the worries she felt.

"Tifa!" Marlene shouted although Tifa was near her. Tifa looked at Marlene who lifted her hands and Tifa couldn't believe her eyes. Blood and it was coming from Cloud.

Tifa's intuitive movement was to avoid Marlene from seeing him lying in a pool of blood and Tifa quickly pulled the crying little girl away from him. "You go wash your hand and get the phone," Tifa instructed which Marlene followed diligently.

Tifa lifted Cloud's head and pressed the back of his hand with her hand. His head was bleeding profusely and it scared her a little. She checked his breath and pulse. Although it wasn't normal but there are traces of life in him.

Marlene came back with the phone and Tifa heard she was talking to the emergency line. "He's bleeding in his head," Marlene said. Tifa motioned her to place the phone to her ear and Marlene followed while controlling her shaking hands.

"We need an ambulance. He's losing too much blood," Tifa said without greeting. "What's your address miss?" the operator asked. Tifa gave her the address and hung up the phone.

"Marlene, I need your help now," Tifa looked at the frightened little girl. Marlene nodded with tears in her eyes. "Go and get the house key. Then, help me call for Reno next door," Tifa said and Marlene quickly dashed to get the house keys.

"You call for me?" as if on cue, Reno poked his head through the door. It never crossed Tifa's mind there'd be a day where she would be glad to see him. "Cloud's bleeding," Tifa replied and Reno looked at Cloud lying motionless.

"What the hell..." he stopped his curse just in time as Marlene came back with the house keys.

Then, without wasting anytime Reno helped to bring Cloud down from his apartment and when they reached downstairs, Tifa could hear the siren of the ambulance.

The paramedics quickly took over and carried Cloud into the ambulance. "Let us come along," Tifa requested with Marlene on her side. "And you're..." the woman paramedic asked.

"We're his family," Tifa answer confidently and the woman quickly gave them way to enter the ambulance.

Silently, Tifa prayed for Cloud's safety. He still had his future waiting for him. He can't die, she won't let him. A tear fell down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away.

X X X

"Tifa, Cloud's gonna be alright right?" Marlene soft voice interrupted her thoughts. Tifa just looked at her while brushing her hair. She wanted to say she wasn't sure but instead she said, "Yeah, he's strong."

They were waiting outside the operation theatre for the past hour and she had informed Barret and Yuffie about Cloud. They said they were coming to the hospital. Marlene just held her hand tightly too afraid to let go.

"That's them!" Yuffie's voice could be heard from the other end of the corridor and it made Tifa turned to her. She saw Yuffie running towards her with Barret. Following them was Vincent, Zack and Cid.

"He hasn't come out yet?" Zack was the first one to ask as they arrived. Tifa shook her head with a sigh. Everyone took the empty seats without saying anything. Barret took Marlene into his arms and carried her.

Tifa was glad at least Barret knew how to make Marlene not to be phobia about seeing Cloud like that. Marlene always looked up at him as a hero. Tifa saw Barret was having a father-daughter talk with her before Marlene hugged Barret tightly.

Yuffie switch to sit next to her and asked, "What happened?" Tifa was confused herself. "He called to say he'll be home for dinner and we waited for him. He's late but when he came back, he just silent. And out of the blue, he suddenly passed out right at the door," Tifa answered and leaned her head against the wall behind her.

"So the wreckage that I saw in front of his apartment was his bike," Vincent stated and it made a few heads turned to see him. "On my way here, I passed a dark lane beside the apartment lot and I thought I saw a bike all messed up. But I wasn't sure so I just ignored it," he explained.

"What exactly happened?" Zack's whispered to himself but Tifa caught his words.

That was when Tifa's cell phone rang. She took it out and her face twitched in wonder. "Cloud?" she read the caller name on her cell phone screen. She quickly answered it.

"Cloud?" She asked as soon as the phone reached her ear. There was silence. "Hello?" she asked again. This time, she heard a breath on the other end. "Who is this?" Tifa demanded.

"I...I called home but no one answered..." it was a voice of a young boy. "And your number was second on the last dialled number list," he added.

"Who is this? Where are you?" Tifa was curious who might be holding Cloud's cell phone. Everyone was listening to their conversation.

"I'm at the end of the corridor," the voice sounded uncertain and...afraid. Tifa turned her head towards the entrance and saw a young boy, barely 7 years old was talking to a phone but his eyes were looking at her directly.

Tifa made her way towards him and as she came closer, she could see that the boy is afraid. His clothing was torn and his face was bruised a little. Some blood was dripping from his forehead but other than that, he seemed normal.

Tifa stopped right in front of him and looked at the boy carefully. "You're hurt," Tifa said in a lower voice but the boy shook his head. He held out the cell phone to her, "Tell him I'm very thankful. He'll always be my hero."

Tifa took the phone and the boy turned to leave instantly. "Wait!" she called. The boy turned his head a little. "Do you know him?" Tifa asked carefully. The boy nodded, "He saved my life. He gave me a ride on his bike but then, a car came out of nowhere and knocked his bike hard. I almost flung across the road but he caught me and covered me with himself. I think we landed on something really hard."

The boy gave Tifa an apologetic look and he stopped talking at the moment. "You're hurt. Let's get you fixed up first," Tifa said as she held the boy's shoulder and led him to the counter.

"What's your name?" Tifa asked as she was about to fill a registration form. "Denzel," the boy simply answered. "Your parents?" Tifa asked again. "I don't have any. They died a few months ago," he replied and Tifa turned a little to have a glance at the boy.

'Such independent boy,' her first thought. "I'll write my name as your guardian."

X X X

The last person to arrive at the hospital was Aerith and her manager. "I'm sorry. I had an appointment just now. I didn't hear my phone," Aerith looked worried as she noticed the heavy air. Marlene was crying softly in Barret's arms, Yuffie looked like she couldn't breathe, Vincent's face was no different, Cid who she bumped into at the door was smoking more than he usually does and Zack, he certainly had those eyes that she always remembered. He was afraid.

"How long had it been?" Aerith asked as she took a seat next to Yuffie. "1 hour already," Yuffie's voice lost her enthusiasm and it was very unlikely. That was when Tifa came out from a room with a small boy beside her. Aerith saw she was talking to him and that injured boy nodded his head shyly.

"I heard what happened," Aerith said without greeting as soon as Tifa arrived. "I'm not sure what had happened. But this boy was with him when it happened," Tifa replied as she held Denzel's shoulders. Denzel was supposed to be hospitalized for a day just to see he's really okay.

After that a nurse came to take Denzel to bring him to the ward.

"Do you think we should make a police report?" Aerith asked. Tifa looked around, trying to find some opinion.

"I don't think so," a male voice interrupted and it made everyone turned. "Rufus Shinra," Vincent said as he stood up. Behind him there were a few people following him including Reno. Now only Tifa remembered he also worked for Shinra. "And why not?" Aerith asked him.

"We don't want to get special attention from the media. Not during this moment. I want everyone in this room remain quiet about this. And I mean everyone," he said as he looked at the receptionist who just bowed and said, "I understand."

Is this man that influential? Tifa looked at the young blond man. It was hard to believe. "AVALANCHE is still under our contract and until further notice it's better for you people to worry about his safety more than anything else," Rufus added and he took a seat.

He was worried about Cloud too. He must be because currently, AVALANCHE is the main attraction for their company.

X X X

Not long after that, the emergency room light went off and the doctor came out looking a little tired. As always, everyone surrounded him eagerly.

"He's lucky because he was brought in just in time. He's stable for now but I advised all of you to go home and rest. He won't wake up until tomorrow anyway," the doctor said and everyone was relieved.

"He really scared me this time," Tifa sighed as she blew out her breath.

"Is there any side effects from the impact?" Cid asked the doctor. The doctor looked uncertain for a while. "Up till now, I don't think he will lose his memory or anything serious but I can't assure you that he will be as he was before this."

"What do you mean?" it was Rufus who was speaking. "Just wait until he wakes up tomorrow," the doctor said in dismissal.

"You heard what the doctor said. Let's get going everyone," Cid said sounding a little more like himself. Everyone started to leave the place.

"Barret, you think you can help me out with Marlene tonight? I think I'm going to stay here," Tifa said to him. "Are you kiddin'? She's my daughter. You're the one helping me out," Barret said in return and Tifa just smiled.

As they were leaving the hospital, Aerith felt the urge to ask, "They're really close huh?" Yuffie heard her and replied, "Who?"

"Cloud and Tifa, those two are really close aren't they?" Aerith asked again. "Of course, they are childhood friends. They always looked out for each other. It's part of the Nibelheim spirit. Us outsiders won't understand it," Yuffie simply explained.

Aerith smiled a little and felt envious for their close relationship. She admitted she has a very strong affection towards Cloud and she had been trying hard to get him to respond to her but so far, it was futile.

X X X

The next morning, before going to work, Aerith thought she would dropped by the hospital to check on Cloud in case he has woken up.

Aerith brought some fresh flowers for him and went to the hospital while her manager waited for her outside. Aerith entered the hospital and asked for Cloud's room number. After obtaining it, she went towards the room direction.

Outside the door, on the corridor bench, she saw a sleeping figure which she recognized immediately. She smiled to herself and stopped beside her. "Hey Tifa, wake up," she shook her softly.

Tifa felt someone touched her and she opened her eyes to see Aerith standing beside her. "Oh, what time is it?" Tifa asked as she stretched herself and looked around. "Almost 8.30 in the morning. I thought of dropping by before going to work," Aerith replied.

"I didn't realize when I fell asleep," Tifa stood up on her feet. "You should go home and have a rest. You'll have a back ache if you sleep here," Aerith said. "It's only a night anyway. I don't wanna disturb Marlene's time with Barret," Tifa said.

"Hey, you're quite close to him right?" Aerith asked and it made Tifa's senses alerted. "Depends on what you mean by close," Tifa didn't answer her directly.

"You know, the girlfriend and boyfriend close. In a sense of romantic relationship," Aerith explained as she looked around sheepishly. Tifa quickly shook her head, "No then, we're not having that kind of relationship. It's true I live in his apartment but it's only temporary. I'm looking for a place for myself anyway."

Aerith looked relief as she blew out her breath. "I'm glad then."

"I thought the reason why he never seemed interested in me was because of you. I was doubtful if I should go all out for him but now, I can be sure about what I want," Aerith explained without being asked.

Tifa just listened at her but deeply something in her felt weird. Tifa quickly shook away that feeling. "I think it's because he just want to focus on his band right now. He doesn't want to get involved in women because he might get distracted and all. You know that kind of thing," Tifa said with a smile.

Aerith turned around to face Tifa. "But honestly Tifa, I just can't seem to exclude you from being my rival," Aerith said and it made Tifa held back her breath.

"Even if there's anything, it's nothing more than a childhood memories. It's a thing in the past," Tifa defended herself. Aerith looked directly into her eyes which made Tifa uncomfortable.

Suddenly the door room was opened. A doctor and a nurse came out from it. Tifa was glad the awkward moment had ended. It apparently looked like they had just finished checking on Cloud. "Is he awake?" Aerith asked.

The doctor nodded but with his expression betrays his actions. "Come in for a moment," the nurse said as she made some way for the doctor, Tifa and Aerith to enter the room.

Lying flat on the bed, the blonde was fully awake. "I'm going to ask you some questions okay?" the doctor asked. Cloud just nodded.

"Okay first one, what is your name?" the doctor asked. "Cloud Strife," Cloud replied clearly. The doctor looked down on his notepad. "Do you know them? Who are they?" the doctor asked as he pointed to Tifa and Aerith.

Cloud shifted his eyes to them. "That's Tifa and Aerith. They're my friends," he answered. The doctor nodded. "Okay, do you remember what causes you to be here?" again the doctor questioned him.

"After calling Marlene, I met a boy on my way back home. He was lying on the roadside. I picked him up because it's not safe for him to be there. We were riding on my bike when I heard a very fast car coming from opposite us. I didn't pay much attention to it. The car skidded and I saw it coming directly at us. I held the boy and we crashed," Cloud managed to recall the incident.

Tifa looked at the doctor in confusion. He seemed normal except for his injuries. The doctor nodded. "Is the boy safe?" Cloud asked back. "Yeah, he's in the next room for surveillance," the doctor replied.

The doctor turned to the ladies, "What you might be thinking now is right. He's perfectly normal but please listen carefully," and he turned back to Cloud.

"And tell me how old are you?" it was just another simple question. "I'm turning 8 this year," his answer made Tifa's eyes widened and gasped while Aerith dropped the flower she brought along.

"Eight?" the word escaped from Aerith and the doctor quickly pulled the ladies to a corner of the room.

"That's the side effect of the accident. He thinks he's eight. That would mean his judgements are like an 8-year old boy," the doctor explained. "I don't think it's a permanent effect though."

"So, when will he start thinking like an adult then?" Tifa asked him worriedly. How can an 8-year old boy work especially in his case perform live in front of an audience without acting suspiciously?

"He will gradually, he has to develop the skills back. It might takes days, weeks or months and maybe years. There might be times where he will easily forget things especially those that are current events," the doctor explained calmly.

Seeing the two women remained quiet, he added, "This is the most critical time for him. He needs all the support he can get from people around him."

Aerith looked at Tifa who looked at her in return. They reached a silent agreement and after thanking the doctor, they went to his bedside.

"Hey Cloud," Tifa greeted with a smile on her face. "Hey," he simply replied. Aerith was still shocked just smiled sadly. "Tifa is there anything wrong with me?" he looked at her with such uncertain eyes.

Tifa shook her head with a smile, "No, you're still the Cloud I know." And the answer settled down the emotion turbulence in him.

"I brought you some flowers," Aerith finally found her voice. Cloud looked at the flowers in her arms and said, "Thanks."

X X X

"What!? I can use my Fenrir for a month!?" Cloud couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew that his bike broke from the accident but not being able to ride it was out of this world. His bike was his life.

"Yep, we've sent it to the workshop and they said it's going to take at least a month to get it back in shape," Yuffie said calmly as she restricted herself from smacking Cloud's head. The only reason she couldn't do it was because he was taller than she was.

"Then, how am I supposed to travel?" Cloud crossed his arms on his chest. Yuffie looked at him, "Get a ride with Vincent or cid or easier, walk. You won't die from walking."

Cloud made a 'you've-gotta-be-kidding-me' face and looked at her in fury. "Don't make it even worse blondie. I've already told Tifa about this and she agreed with me. Plus, you can't ride a bike by yourself without supervision," Yuffie cut him off before he could say anything.

"Why do you always like to involve Tifa in my matters? She's not my mother!" Cloud complained and it made Zack almost laughed but he didn't.

"It's simply because she's the one taking care of you little boy. You only listen to her anyway," Cid replied and it made Cloud even more annoyed. "Whatever."

"Is he being rebellious?" Yuffie leaned a little to Zack. "I think so. It's supposed to be around this age," Zack replied in a low voice.

Cloud admitted that he never liked seeing Tifa angry and it was the last thing he wanted to see even if he lived for thousands of years. Not because she had a scary face when she get mad but Cloud just thought it never suited her expression.

"It can't be helped Cloud, I'll give you a ride today," Vincent ended the conversation in a more matured way. Cloud just shrugged but he followed Vincent anyway.

A/N - thanks for all the reviews..i'm working on all the chapters as fast as i can...yoroshiku!!