Halloween morning Sei woke up to find that she was on the ground. She guessed she had fallen out of bed like she used to, back in the day when she was younger and only Jake and her lived in the house. She stood up and crawled back into bed. It was weird somehow, that her bed felt different. It seemed to be missing that hollow on the mattress that was a dead giveaway it was her favorite spot to sleep on. She turned seeking comfort to face a bump next to her, under the covers. She also noticed the bump was moving. Lightly and gently, but it was moving up and down.
She got a hold of her cover and noticed it was a different color this morning. Which was odd because she couldn't remember changing it. She took a deep breath… and flung it off the bump. She screamed and then released a kick towards the guy next to her, her foot landing on his stomach, pushing him off the bed. He landed with a loud THUD, the action awakening him. The boy stayed sprawled on the ground, groaning and rubbing his stomach, breathing with difficulty before he managed to sit up with great effort and huffed. His breath sent his bangs flying upward comically.
"Who do you think you are sneaking into my room?" questioned Sei.
The boy eyed her momentarily with squinty mako green orbs before he stood up and rubbed his eyes. "Isn't that my line since it's my bed you pushed me out of?" replied Kadaj, with sleepy annoyance.
Sei looked around confused. He's right, she thought. It's his room. But… what am I doing here?
"Do you have a habit I should know of, of crawling into other peoples beds when they least expect it?" asked Kadaj as he took the blanket and offered to cover her up, despite the fact that he looked positively pissed off. "Because if that's the case—"
"What's with all the noise?" Yazoo, Loz and Jake walked in. On instinct, Sei took the blanket Kadaj had offered her and pulled the covers up to her chin. Jake frowned when he saw Sei in Kadaj's bed. "What's going on here?"
"Why don't you ask Bed Digger here?" asked Kadaj, pointing to Sei.
"I don't know what's going on either," said Sei. "I woke up on the floor next to his bed!"
"Did she, now." Yazoo looked at his younger sibling and then at Sei.
"Of course she did. I didn't even know she was here until she kicked me out my bed!" said Kadaj. When he noticed Yazoo, he arched an eyebrow and said, "What's the matter? Jealous she wasn't in your room?"
Yazoo's eyes glared at his younger brother with icy calmness. "One more word Kadaj, and the entire city will know every embarrassing thing you have done since you were seven."
"Like what?" Kadaj rolled his eyes.
"Like when you were 14, and you said you weren't afraid of ghosts, but then Yazoo came out with a blanket over his head and you ran out the house screaming like a little girl," said Loz.
Jake and Sei started laughing. Kadaj was trying to smile but at the same time trying to hide an embarrassed blush and Yazoo was smiling and shaking his head. He didn't really mean what he had said...
"Today's Halloween, Kadaj, what are you gonna do?" asked Jake. "There will be ghosts everywhere." Kadaj stood silent. "Oh, that reminds me. I have to go buy some things. Does anybody want to go with me?" added Jake, deciding to give the kid a brake.
"I'll go; I want to buy some things too," said Loz.
"Me too," said Yazoo.
"I'll go too," said Kadaj. "Who knows what these two could say when I'm not around."
At our first meeting that faraway day, you knew immediately how I felt about you. Soon I learned you were Cloud Strife, from the Avalanche team, experimented on by Shinra, used by SOLDIER, mind broken by Sephiroth… Cloud Strife, my brother's friend. You knew my deepest secrets and feelings, and upon knowing my past, you accepted me and my darkest thoughts without hesitation. You also promised me that when you gave me your word, you wouldn't break it. And I still don't know why; if it was actual acceptance, if it was fear, or if it was sorrow. But after that, my feelings for you became a secret between the two of us; a secret hidden from the rest of the world.
When you disappeared for two years, those feelings began to change into something unexplainable; I can tell I do not feel the same way about you, however. And you can feel it too.
It's been six times by now that you have found occasional pauses in your busy schedule and look for me, using my brother's name as an excuse to appear before my door. You wait for me to tell you my brother isn't home, and to invite you in, hoping for a chat. But the same question has risen since I first saw you after two years of your absence in Midgar.
"How do the remnants treat you?"
Cloud, I'm still alive, aren't I? I have no abuse markings on my body, can't you see? I am happy with them living here; can't you hear it in my voice? Usually when I answer I'm fine, you stand up and leave without a word. But now I have decided to change my answer, and this is what comes out of it…
Sei was working on a pair of her pants, putting studs through the fabric when she heard a knock on the front door. She left her work aside and went to go answer it. "Cloud," she said. She smiled.
"Is Jake here?" he asked.
"No," said Sei. She signaled towards the open garage. "As a matter of a fact, you can tell by just peeking in there."
Cloud swallowed and nodded. Heavy silence lingered in the air. "Want to come in?"
"I'll pass." He said. "My work has piled up and I can't afford to fall behind again."
You don't fail to answer the same thing every time.
"You work too hard," said Sei, leaning her head on the door frame and crossing her arms. "You look pale."
"Is that so?"
"You know the remnants aren't here. They left with Jake. Want to come in?" she repeated.
"Alright. I guess… I can put my work aside for a while." Cloud walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
"Want some tea?" asked Sei.
"Could you please?" said Cloud.
Sei poured hot water in two cups. Seeing the questioning face on Clouds face regarding the already boiled water, Sei said, "I was planning on drinking tea before you got here." She handed him his cup. "So, how's life?"
"How do the remnants treat you?" asked Cloud, looking down at her mouth, completely ignoring her question. She sighed.
"Just because the snake is smiling, doesn't mean it's planning on eating you," replied Sei. "Had enough of thinking about the remnants you thought were dead but really aren't?"
Cloud bit his lip from the inside. "Do you want to… finish the job?" Sei smiled at him, a mocking, almost malicious grin the blue eyed fellow hadn't seen for quite a while now.
Cloud looked down at his cup of tea. "You are cruel, you know that?" he said. He looked up at her, into her deep brown eyes. "I want them to go away. I want them to leave and never come back." His cold blue eyes were covered by his eyelids as he drank. "But you have no intentions of letting me handle it so such thing happens, because I promised I wouldn't kill them. And you tempt me, when you have long known I could never break my word to you." His eyes opened and they flashed with a hint of annoyance. But more than that, he seemed concerned for her.
Her eyes got narrower and her grin wider. She knew that Cloud's words spoke the truth perfectly well. Cloud stood up. "I have to leave now." Sei stood with him and walked him to the door.
Like always, I make tea for you and you only drink from it once.
Before Sei could close the door, Cloud turned to face her and said, "To you… what am I to you?"
She looked at him and sighed. "A friend," she replied.
"I know I am, but…" Cloud planned on continuing, but thought better of it and fanned the subject away with a hand. "Forget it, it's a stupid question." Before he turned and walked away, he caught a glimpse of Sei's face, wearing a bothered expression.
What's wrong with me? thought Cloud. Making her wear an expression like that? What is it that I want to do? Protect her… or destroy her? He shook his head. Of course not. I want to know… why she smiled at me like that… and what's behind that smile… when he was sure he was out of Sei's sight, he punched a tree. I thought my mood would improve if I took a break and had a chat with her. If anything, I'm angrier.
Before I knew who he was, I never had any friends. When I first came into this town, I was scared to meet people. The first person to come and talk to me… was Cloud...
"We're home!" shouted Jake when he entered the house hours later. Sei had been busy in her room with her pants again, only she had finished in time to admire her work, put it away and go help her brother. She and her four house mates kept pulling bags from the car and setting them in the living room. When they were finally finished, Sei asked, "What'd you buy?"
"A whole lot of shit," said Jake.
"Wait until you check the bags," said Yazoo, putting his hands on his lower back and stretching. "We almost got the whole store."
"Really?"
"No, he says that because he has never gone shopping for so much 'useless' stuff before," said Loz.
"Kadaj, be careful with that." Jake warned Kadaj, but the mentioned remnant only dropped the bag he had picked up wherever it landed. Jake sighed. "Unbelievable. Doesn't Kadaj know what be careful with that means?"
"You need intelligence, skill and motivation for this," was singing the youngest of the three brothers.
Yazoo rolled his eyes. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe those are three things that you lack."
Kadaj was about to respond but then changed his mind when he heard a knock on the front door. "You expecting a delivery of idiotic freaks, Sei?" he asked.
"Haha. Move out of the way, jerk." Anna, stepped into the house followed by Mimi who was apparently playing the role of a mule by the amount of bags she was carrying.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Sei.
"We had a very wonderful idea, we are about to do something today I haven't done in quite a while. The plan is to be someone else, knock on a few doors and receiving plenty of glorious sweets," said Mimi.
Kadaj looked at her for a bit and then said, "Does Mimi come with subtitles?"
"We came to dress you up, because we are going trick or treating," said Anna.
Kadaj's eyes rolled back as he flopped on the floor. Mimi looked down on him before asking, "Does that occur frequently?"
"No, when he hears something uber awesome, he normally jumps out a window, does a 2 hour weird dance all over the backyard and then faints," said Jake.
"Yazoo, you're taking photography classes, right?" asked Anna.
"I was."
"Can you give me your book? I have this teacher that's so angry… she says she's gonna throw me out the third floor window if I don't bring my book next week. Because 'I keep forgetting my backpack'. But the truth is I don't have one."
Yazoo looked at her for a moment and then an arrogant smile spread across his face. "I'd rather see you fall," he said.
Jake started laughing hard. "He'll be on the first floor window under yours, outside campus with a camera waiting for you. He'll take endless pictures and then spread them all over town so everyone can have a good laugh at your face!" Yazoo started laughing along with Jake, but was nodding in agreement to everything he was saying.
"You're so mean!" said Anna, laughing along with them.
"I need to look for it," said Yazoo, a bit more settled now. "But will do that after we come back from trick or treating."
"So we're going?" asked Kadaj, who had regained his consciousness.
"None of us has ever done it, I figure there is no reason not to give it a try," said Yazoo.
"And that's why we came, to dress you up," said Anna.
"With a brainless girl like you, I believe we can handle ourselves."
Jake walked into the living room—he had been in the kitchen putting the bags on the dinner table—to find Anna chasing after Kadaj. "He offended her, didn't he?"
"How'd you know?" asked Sei.
"That's always the story. LISTEN!" Jake shouted, making them both stop running and look at him. "I have some things in the plastic bags on the table. You can use those and whatever Kurosawa and Teki brought to make your costumes. I will be taking a shower so don't disturb me unless it's an emergency." Jake turned, walked into the hallway and into his room, closing the door behind him.
"Okay, let's get to work," Said Anna.
They looked through the bags, took what they wanted and went to their rooms. Anna took the remaining guest room and Sei and Mimi shared Sei's room but with their backs to each other. Minutes later, Mimi was finished doing her costume, and decided to go out and help the guys if they needed it.
She was wearing a fairy's costume, really cute, with big fluffy sleeves and big red wings matching a pair of black stripped red gloves and red wand. Sei hadn't figured out what to wear yet.
Being alone, the events of that afternoon when her housemates where gone came to her mind. She wondered if Tifa was going to take the kids trick or treating. Anna knocked on her door. "Sei, are you ready?" she opened it. "What are you doing, woman? You're not ready yet? Come on! Here, I'll help you." She stepped in, closed the door, and opened Sei's closet. Anna was wearing what seemed to be a dog's costume. She had the little ears on her head, removable glove paws and a tail that dragged behind her everywhere she walked.
"The guys are almost done," informed Anna. "They look really awesome. Too bad I already have a boy friend."
Sei laughed. "Here, put this on, and give it a small contrast with this." Anna began throwing things on her host's bed, giving out ideas and getting exited.
Sei ended up being dressed as a white and black jester; the hat on top of her head had holes in which hair could be pulled through so the hat could stay in place. Since her hair was black and white, it looked as if it were part of the costume. Instead of wearing the pointy shoes a jester would wear, she was wearing her platform black boots with white shoelaces. One of her gloves was white and the other black. As for her makeup, it was a pale face with black designs around her eyes and black lips.
"You look great." Said Anna. "Pretty, deadly, and dark."
Sei smiled and then stepped out into the living room. There she saw Loz dressed as Super man; he had the boots, the cape, the underwear, and the body. Only thing was, he was using a darker shade of red. His silver hair had grown back out, leaving a few black haired tips at the end, which made him look like a unique version of the hero.
Kadaj was dressed as a Vampire; he had the fangs, the cape, the claws, the red lips, the dark circles around his eyes and the evil glare vampires were infamous for before jumping on its prey. His hair had grown as well, a few inches past his shoulders, but he hadn't trimmed the tips away like Loz. If anything, the hair made him look more vampiric.
Yazoo was dressed as a steampunk. He had the Victorian clothing under a leather trench-coat—which looked suspiciously a lot alike the trench-coat he'd been wearing when he'd first been found— the accessories that made his character fully come to life; his hair was pulled back in a low pony tail and he was waving Loz's strange blade-gun around.
Anna had been right, they all looked so awesome. "Wow, you can be my source of entertainment when I someday have my dark castle in some dark place." Kadaj covered his face with the cape like a vampire would as he spoke to Sei.
"We all agree that Sei looks awesome," said Anna. "Now, here's what we'll do. We will go get candy, go around town, and then when we come back, we might order pizza. Any questions?"
Kadaj raised his hand. "I thought the point of Halloween was to dress up as something," he said.
"Whats your point?"
"That you're dressed as a dog. But you're already a bitch," explained Kadaj.
"Just once I'd like to knock him through the roof."
"I believe we still have time for that," said Yazoo.
Anna smiled evilly. She began to near Kadaj, when Jake burst into the living room and shouted, "WAIT!"
Kadaj moved to hide behind Loz as Jake continued. "Damn, all of a sudden, everyone seems to be revolving around the idea of destroying my house. Look, Kurosawa, knowing Kadaj, I'm sure he deserves whatever you have planned for him, but this is my house, and there are certain rules that must be followed. Like No Knocking people through the roof, walls and windows. If possible, kick him out an open door and take it outside."
"You're lucky this table, Jake and your brother are standing between my foot and your ass," said Anna, looking at Kadaj.
"How about we start leaving?" said Jake. They decided to drive to the city, and leave the car near 7th Heaven, and walk around from there. Since Jake was driving, and Loz was the side passenger, the other 5 had to go in the back. Anna refused to sit on anyone's lap, so Sei had to sit on Kadaj's while Mimi sat on Yazoo. They joked all the way until they got out and started walking towards the most crowded streets, filled with kids and adults in costumes.
They parked the car and got out, talking and laughing and pushing. They got to the first house. They had to go through a "haunted" section to get to the front entrance and get candy.
"How about we go to the next house?" asked Loz.
"I agree with him," nodded Kadaj. "You never know what could happen in there; I could get raped or kidnapped or maybe some monster could jump out and go 'OGA BOOGA!'" shouted Kadaj, raising his arms over his head.
"It was amazing how much stupidity you radiated, but yes, you have made a point." Yazoo looked his younger brother over and then came to a decision. "So, if you are afraid of going alone, I will go with you." He began walking in. Kadaj turned to Sei, Jake and Anna, who were staying behind.
"If you happen to see someone running out and screaming like crazy…" said Kadaj, "It's just me." He followed the others as if he was being forced into the military.
"He could be so dramatic sometimes." Said Sei.
"'ELLO! Hic!" they turned to see a stranger swaying on the very edge of the side walk. He was dressed as Santa Claus, and judging by the heavy alcoholic breath of his, he was drunk. He slurred the words once in a while as he talked.
"Shouldn't you be in a corner ringing a bell?" asked Jake.
"I wanna give you this picture, darling." The drunken Santa Claus took out a regular piece of paper and gave it to Jake. The man looked at Sei and his eyes widened. He was about to say something but then Anna grabbed him by the arm and firmly shoved him away. He stumbled and then looked back at her, but Anna's eyes narrowed at him; for a moment something seemed to exchange between them. Then all of a sudden he flipped around and yelled, "YOHO, YOHO hic, MY FINGERS BROKE hic…"
Sei saw how the guy began swaying into the street. "Whoa, hang on mister, if you keep walking in that direction, you'll—"
"—get run over." Yazoo's sudden cool voice made everyone jump in surprise. The drunk tried to run away, but only succeed in taking a few steps before tripping and falling.
"You instantly know you have drinking problems when the bartender and the city know your entire life and that's the first time you've visited the place," said Kadaj walking up beside them. They agreed with him and went on to the next house, leaving the drunken Santa Claus on the floor.
"Oh look!" said Anna waving her hand in the air. "It's my boyfriend!" The guy came over; he was dressed as a gentleman, if he wasn't already. He hugged Anna and kissed her ear.
"What's he doing?" asked Kadaj.
"I think he's trying to suck her brains out." Said Loz.
"Poor guy is going to starve," teased Yazoo.
The gentleman was pretty tall, slender, with short brown hair, hazel eyes and with a hypnotizing smile. He introduced himself as Toki. He eyed the others with a rapid scan and stopped when his eyes fell on Sei's face. Before she had the chance to smile at him, his eyes shifted again towards Anna and whispered something into her ear.
"Toki says that we should get going because the people giving candy are running out of treats." Anna spoke to the others with a smile before she got a move on.
They began walking around the whole neighborhood, ringing bells, shouting "Trick or Treat!" and collecting candy. Toki was behind them throughout the whole time, almost as if trying to pull himself out of the rest who were having a great time, but at the same time trying to stay close enough to them. He was invited to go to Sei's house for some Pizza later that evening, and he accepted with a single firm nod. For some reason, he kept eyeing Sei and Jake, and Sei was the one who noticed it, but she set the uncomfortable feeling aside, thinking that maybe it was just her huge imagination working full time again.
"HOLY SHIT!" screamed Kadaj. They all stopped on their tracks alarmed. "Find a penny; pick it up… something, something, Good Luck!" They all rolled their eyes. "Wait guys, let's go in there." Kadaj signaled to a house that was locked, fenced up and with a huge sign that read "KEEP OUT" and in small letters underneath "Beware of Dog".
"I don't know, it could be dangerous," warned Jake.
"Oh, C'mon," pleaded Kadaj "Nobody puts a 'KEEP OUT; Beware of Dog' sign if there wasn't something fun on the other side."
"I can't find any faults in his logic," said Mimi, throwing a wrapper away and chewing her candy furiously.
"Yeah, I mean, nothing bad ever came from ignoring a sign," said Kadaj, as he and Mimi began to climb over the fence.
"What is she, insane?" asked Jake. "Isn't she supposed to be the brains of this group? What does she mean 'No faults in his logic'?"
"She ate candy," began Anna, "And so the thing would be, that Mimi is stupid when she eats candy. Not just stupid, stupid, I mean really stupid."
"DOOOOOOOGGGGGG!" screamed Kadaj.
"You better not be talking to me like that or I'll…" Anna turned and when she saw Kadaj, she started laughing. They all turned to see Kadaj and Mimi were on the other side of the fence, backing away from a fierce looking dog.
"Oh, no," said Sei.
"What do we do? WHAT DO WE DO?" was screaming Kadaj.
"You're asking me?" yelled Mimi. "A retarded, sugar high, brainless girl? ARE YOU CRAZY?"
"SHUT UP! The only one allowed to release hysterics here is me!" shouted Kadaj. Without a warning, Toki jumped over the fence and pulled a maneuver as if trying to shield Kadaj and Mimi from the canine. The dog looked at him, and it wagged its tail in recognition for a moment; Toki grabbed a stick from the floor and threw it really far away, hoping it would go get it. The plan worked. With that, he helped Mimi and Kadaj jump over the fence, and then he himself followed in rush.
"So much for good luck!" said Kadaj, throwing the penny away.
"Hey, you're still alive, right?" asked Toki. "Isn't that good luck?"
"I guess Bitches are really scary sometimes," teased Anna, putting her arm around Kadaj's shoulders. Toki's laughter echoed in the cool, night air, along with Loz's, Jake's and Sei's laughter.
"Oh, hey! I didn't know you were here too!" said a familiar voice. They all turned to see Tifa standing a few feet away with Marlene, Denzel and Cloud by her side. Cloud and Tifa were dressed as usual, but Marlene was dressed as Princess, her costume complete with a crown and her Prince, being Denzel.
Cloud smiled slightly, but tensed when the remnants approached them. Thinking that perhaps he should give it a rest for that day, especially because the kids were with him, he forced himself to relax. Surely the remnants wouldn't be stupid enough to attack in the middle of the—who the hell was he trying to kid? They had attacked the city in the middle of day, for crying out loud. He took a look at Sei, and felt she knew he was trying to control his impulses. Don't attack, he thought. Don't attack…
"My Princess, It is an honor for me to kneel before you." Said Yazoo. He kneeled on one knee, took Marlene's hand and kissed it. Cloud repressed the urgency to pull the girl away, but Tifa smiled at how cute that looked. Marlene gasped at first recognizing his green eyes, but relaxed when she remembered Cloud, Tifa, Sei and Jake were there too.
"It's an honor for me to know you… er… your name please?" Marlene played along.
"Yazoo, Princess. The name is Yazoo." He kissed her hand again and then pulled away, giving a victorious dark stare at Cloud.
"Princess! What a charming prince you have here." Sei played with Denzel's hair as the boy blushed. Marlene smiled.
"My, My, is this a weird group of individuals or is it my imagination?" They all turned to the sidewalk to see Reno and Rude standing before them.
"Let's see; we have a low class blood sucker, a super fast hero from another planet, a reality outcast, a horrendous pixie, a boring clown, a tamed bitch, a wanna be pimp and two pretend to be rich kids. What is this, a circus?" asked Reno.
"None of your goddamned business." No one found it strange that Jake's mood had gone from calm to completely filled with hatred.
Reno looked at him. "Long time no see, Jake."
"Cloud. It seems you didn't finish these… things like you told us you would," said Rude, looking at the remnants. Then he added in a mocking tone, "I see you couldn't finish your assignment." Sei, Tifa and Jake looked at Cloud, who didn't say anything.
"Are you so weak hearted you can't kill them?" challenged Reno.
Loz, Yazoo, Kadaj and Cloud looked at Reno with different causes of anger, and knowing what would come next, Jake interfered.
"HEY!" he shouted. They all looked at him. "You two, what do you want?"
"A little bird told me these three were still alive," answered Reno. "We came here to finish the job." He took a step forward. Anna shifted her weight uncomfortably, as so did Toki and Mimi. It was obvious they wanted to know what was going on, but were too afraid to ask.
Yeah, well, I got bad news, thought Jake. "I'm the one who's finishing things here," he said, stepping up to Reno, their chests almost touching. "Take one more step towards them, and you will regret it." His dark eyes flashed. "I want you to get out of here, stay away from us. Leave us alone. Do you understand?"
Reno sighed. "I don't want to mess with you, Jake, but…"
"You see the people standing behind me? They might not all get along, but they're all my family. You mess with any of them, you mess with me. And I guarantee that's the last thing you want to do. That clear enough for ya?"
"Do you know who they are?" questioned Rude.
"Oh, you mean Sephiroth's remnants?" hissed Jake. He smiled at how taken aback both males seemed. "Yeah I knew. I know their story. That includes the time when they were kicking your asses down town. They've been dying to fight someone; I'm sure they'd like to back me up here. That is, supposing you two decide to get it on. Right here, right now." Marlene and Denzel uttered a sound much like a whimper of fear as they pressed their tiny bodies against Tifa's legs.
"Cool it man," said Reno. "We're leaving. Relax." Reno and Rude stepped back slowly, putting their hands up in surrender. "We're not coming back. Just remember, that if anything happens, it's in your hands." Jake frowned, challenging them. They both raised their eyebrows before they turned around and left.
This was bad. Not only had this conversation taken place publicly and in presence of three people who had no idea of who the remnants really were, but it was apparent the group had a snitcher who had gone out to tell Shinra about the remnants survival and location. When Jake turned to face his friends, his eyes were red and puffy and his facial expression showed agitation. "Cloud, can I talk to you for a sec?" Without waiting for an answer, he stalked over to him, took his arm and dragged him away from the rest with Sei following. Tifa and the kids regrouped with the others awkwardly clearly bothered at what she had just witnessed.
When he was sure he had dragged Cloud out of ear reach from the rest, Jake let go of him and turned to meet him straight in the eye. "Want to tell me what that was all about?"
Before Cloud could answer, Sei came up beside Jake and said, "I thought I could trust you!"
"You can!" said Cloud. "I don't know who told them, but I didn't. Sei, I haven't had any contact with them since… the freeway explosion!"
"Then what's with all the business you keep doing?" asked Jake. "What is so important that you can't stop to rest and visit us for a few minutes even?"
Cloud decided not to mention the fact that he had visited Sei that afternoon, especially since it was obvious he was mad and ignorant on the circumstances. "Jake I didn't tell them anything. The business is that delivery service, and I can't stop by because requests come in 24/7. When I go to bed and then wake up, I have about 15 to deliver first thing in the morning."
"So what did Reno mean when he said, 'it seems you didn't finish these… things like you told us you would'?" Sei's eyes flared with disgust.
"I told them I would finish the remnants before I fought with Sephiroth three months ago," said Cloud. By the way he was looking at them both, they could tell he was feeling uncomfortable and weak being questioned like that.
There was a moment of silence. Jake and Sei were looking at Cloud, trying to decide if they should believe him or not. Cloud met them straight in the eye; he had nothing to hide. Jake sighed. He took out a packet of cigarettes from his pants pocket and took one out, lighted it and inhaled deeply. He let the smoke wander in his lungs for a few seconds before exhaling. "You sure that what you're telling me is true?" he asked.
Cloud frowned and then nodded. "Yes, I'm sure." Sei could feel his hidden fury getting more intense. All of a sudden she felt like she should've done a little more digging before jumping to conclusions.
Jake inhaled from the cigarette again, and threw it on the floor, stepping on it to put it out. He let the smoke out and ran a trembling hand trough his hair. "Alright," he said. "Alright. Sorry to have jumped on you like that."
"Me too," said Sei.
"It's okay," Cloud assured, although his gaze revealed it wasn't okay. His cold blue eyes were colder, and they were literally throwing sparks of anger as he looked at Sei and her brother. His hands were also shaking, which was a sign he was fighting the urge to fist up his hands and punch someone—Jake— in the face. But he took a deep breath and decided to leave the matter aside. With a shaky voice, he said, "I have to take the kids trick or treating before work piles up again. Are you coming?"
"Nah," said Jake patting the blond on the shoulder. "We're going home already." They said good bye to each other and then Cloud called Tifa and the kids away from the rest.
The others started walking to the car. "Toki, you are joining us, right?" asked Jake.
"Yeah," he replied.
They climbed back to how they were before, only this time, Anna was sitting on Toki's lap. When they got home, Toki, Yazoo and Kadaj offered to go get the pizza. The others stayed home.
Jake walked to his room with Sei following after him. "So what's your plan?" she asked.
"I'm afraid we can't count on Reno's and Rude's word," he said. "I'm going to have to find them and erase their memories."
"That's too dangerous; it will take up a whole lot more energy than erasing the whole city's memories. You have to find them, find the memories that are to be erased and—"
"We can't risk it, Sei, and you know it." Without waiting for a reply from his sister, Jake sat on the edge of his bed, put his elbows on his knees and pressed his temples with his middle and index fingers.
Within a few minutes, he was breathing fast, like if he had ran a long distance in very little time. His face tensed up a lot, and his eyes were shut hard. He started growling. "Jake, just stop…" whispered Sei. But it seemed to her, he was in the zone, for he didn't make a movement that indicated he had heard her. She paced around the room, stealing glances at his brother, looking for signs that he was near his goal. It was taking longer than expected.
Finally she saw what she had been waiting for; Jake stopped breathing, his fingers pressed down at his temples hard and winced. She came to sit next to him, waiting eagerly for him to finish before something awful happened. Finally his eyes flipped open and his hands released his head. He blinked several times, and then shook his head. The movement might have been too much for him; he collapsed sideways, onto his sisters lap.
"What happened?" she whispered very low. She knew that after her brother had erased memories, his ears where more sensible than usual and that didn't allow her to talk normally.
"I did it. I erased Reno's and Rude's memory, along with your friends," he gasped. "But I had to hurry."
"It's fine," she whispered. "Just rest now, okay?"
He nodded. He was gasping terribly, and that worried her. She bowed and kissed a spot where the neck ends and the back begins. She hugged him and pressed her cheek against the kissed part of his body. That always helped relax him for some reason. And like many times before, it worked again.
She heard a knock on the door before it opened. "Sei, the—"
"SHH!" hissed Sei. Yazoo was at the door and walked in closing it behind him.
"What happened?" he whispered.
"He erased Reno's and Rude's memories." She whispered back. "He also erased Mimi's, Anna's and Toki's memories too. Right now he's exhausted."
"Ah." So that explained the blank look Toki had pulled on the way home from the pizza parlor. "Is he coming to eat later?" Yazoo kneeled in front of Sei and her brother to see Jake's face.
"I doubt it. I think he'll sleep in 'till tomorrow. Help me lay him comfortably, please."
With Yazoo's help, she laid her brother on his bed and covered him. She bent down to kiss his cheek and his forehead. She then sat beside him, caressing her brother's arm tenderly.
"It was amazing," Yazoo whispered. Sei looked at him; he had kneeled beside Jake's bed, with his arms resting on the mattress. "The way he defended us back there. It was amazing. I never thought somebody would appreciate me and my brothers enough to be considered family. You and your brother… are really something else." In the dim light, she could see how Yazoo reached out to move a strand of hair out of Jake's face. That delicate touch traveled from her brother's body to Sei's own, and shivers went up and down her spine.
"I was the one who looked after them," continued Yazoo, pulling his hand back and resting his head on his hands. "My brothers. It was my duty since Kadaj is always running around crazy and Loz is strong but only physically." Sei smiled. "We wanted a mother; that is one of the reasons we caused all the mess Jake is trying to erase. They always looked for a mother's kindness. But even when I cared for my brothers, I could not ever do that for them. The more I tried to be kind, the less it worked, and I ended up being the sarcastic, bitter one of the three. I had no knowledge of how to protect them like a mother does. I was no mother, nor a father; I was not responsible enough to save Kadaj from dying, and Loz also died breaking my fall from the building. I could not ever know how to protect anyone like Jake does. That is why I admire him."
Sei allowed what he had said to sink in. She could feel a knot in her throat as she spoke. "You wanted someone to protect you too. But you never stopped to think about that. You were too busy trying to be parent." She said. Then she added, "You and him have more things in common than you think. Jake took me in, and tried to raise me."
"For a 'try', he did a outstanding job," he said. The way he smiled at her so gently and sincerely made him seem so stunningly beautiful, it was overwhelming, especially as his green eyes appeared to glow in the darkness.
She could hear her pulse on her ears and feel her blood running to her cheeks as she blushed and she bowed her head so her white and black hair could hide her rosy face. Yazoo's hand reached out and tucked her hair behind her ears. "You are hiding," he said. "There is no need to do such thing when you are pretty." Sei's blush grew deeper.
"I can hear Kadaj eating the pizza." She said standing up before things got any further. "We better hurry or we won't get any."
Yazoo chuckled. "True, true." He stood up and then walked to the door, followed by Sei.
"'Night Jake. Hope you have a good rest." They closed the door and ran into the living room when they heard a crash. Surely someone—Kadaj— had tumbled, jumped… or had been thrown out a window.
And so, this chapter is now over. Um... I was having a hard time during my life, which is why I put so much detail into the part where Jake and Sei are questioning Cloud, and also the part where Reno and Rude come across. I'm not sure if those two will be reappearing again in this story, or if Rufus will at all. Review your opinion, please.
(DA36)