We rode down the same dirt road for what seemed like hours. Cacti and small patches of crabgrass filled the area around us. Not a word was exchanged between the two of us through the entire journey. Who was this guy and why did he save me? Where was Yuffie, was she alright? I was too exhausted to speak, and I definitely didn't want to break the silence.

I peered over his shoulder and saw us approaching a small town. This must be the town Midgar where Yuffie was bringing me. Maybe this guy was one of her friends. As Midgar came into view, he started to speed up. Reflexively I squeezed his waist even tighter and rested my chin on his back. He smelled like a mix of a weak cologne and earth; it was a beautiful smell and I was surprised that I could sense it through his armor.

We pulled into the town, and it was the saddest thing I had ever laid eyes on. Everyone was dressed in a dull grey and they all looked sick. There were kids laying in the streets and adults walked by them like it was nothing! What was this horrible place, and why would Yuffie ever want to bring me here? We pulled up in front of a small complex called "The 7th Heaven", which appeared to be a small pub. This was definitely one of Yuffie's friends, unless he was some drunkard—though the odds of that being true were very slim. The man began to move, signaling me to get off the bike. He pulled his goggles off and revealed the bluest eyes I had ever seen in my life, they were truly beautiful. A gust of wind blew his scent over to me and tussled his spiky blonde hair. He nodded at me once and walked toward the door of the bar, giving me a nudge as he walked by. I followed him in and was greeted by a familiar face.

"Kaylee, oh my gosh, are you okay!"

"Yes Yuffie, relax and get out of my face, please."

Once I had stepped foot into the bar, Yuffie pinned me against the wall and practically chewed my face off. She stepped back and I noticed there were now eight different people staring at me. A woman stood up and began to approach me, she had long black hair, soft brown eyes, and wore a small body suit made of leather all put together with the red ribbon around her bicep.

"Hello there, Kaylee! My name is Tifa Lockheart, and I'm the owner of this bar."

I smiled warmly at her, I liked the way she carried herself. We would get along nicely. After Tifa came Barret, Cid, Cat Sith, and Red XIII. They all seemed nice enough and I knew I would end up becoming quite close with them. The next figure that approached, I had already met before- Vincent Valentine. We glared at each other, and everyone immediately became uncomfortable. I knew I would be here for a while, so I figured I would melt the ice between us.

"Hey, Vincent! I remember you; it's nice to see you again."

Yuffie and Vincent both looked like a dog bit them in the rear. I loved when people made that face, it was priceless. Vincent was practically speechless.

"Um, it's nice to see you again also, Kaylee."

He moved away quickly trying to hide the blush. I laughed inwardly as another approached me. It was the man who had brought me here! I wondered why he would be the last to introduce himself since he was the one who had saved my life. He stepped up closely, then backed off, and put his head down. His voice was quiet and like a sweet lullaby to the ears.

"My name's Cloud Strife and I live here with Tifa and the children we take care of."

I looked down at the ground, and forced a smile. Looking between Cloud and Tifa, I said:

"So, you guys are married...with kids?"

I had a strange look on my face, I mean, look how young they were! They looked around my age which was about 21, maybe a bit older, but that's so young for kids!

Tifa giggled lightly to herself and Cloud made eye contact with me for the first time. His brow furrowed at the center and he looked as confused as ever. Was it something I said? Tifa cut in:

"No, no, we're not married nor do we have kids. He just helps around the bar and we take children in off the streets whenever we can."

I looked up at her with my eyes full of feeling.

"Tifa, that's beautiful. You seem like the only ones who actually care about the little tykes out there..."

They all smiled, except for Cloud. His eyes seemed to smile, but his mouth stayed firm. Everyone's mouths fell agape when he continued talking to me. Guess he wasn't much of a talker.

"Hm, so you're staying here with us?"

"Yes, Yuffie said you guys wouldn't mind. Do you mind?"

He shook his head and walked over to where everyone else was standing. Guess talking time was over. Yuffie ran up to me and grabbed both of my hands.

"Let me tour you around! I'll show you your room and where I'll be staying whenever I visit."

I ripped my hands from hers and my eyes widened.

"When you visit? What do you mean? You're not staying?"

She looked down at the ground and kicked her foot out a little.

"Well, I live on the airship with Cid, Barrett, Cat Sith, and Red. You're going to be living with Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent."

I looked at the three of them and Tifa was the only one to make a warming gesture. I was going to die here one day, either from Vincent's cold stare or Cloud's inability to speak. Yuffie said I would get along with everyone and I hoped she was right about that.

We traveled up the stairs and into a cream colored bedroom. The bed was queen sized with white sheets, and on the right side of the room there was a bay window with a sill. Yuffie had told me that this room was to be mine.

"Wow, are you serious? It's gorgeous!"

"I told Tifa that you always sat by the window whenever you came to visit me or when we ate over at Odette's, so she gave you this room. Hers is down the hall, Cloud's is the one next door to the right, and Vincent doesn't really sleep that much, so he just hangs around. All the kids sleep in the room directly down the hall, right by Tifa's room. Do you think you'll be alright? I'm sorry to tell you this, but Cid needs to get back to the ship because we have a mission to do. Those three guys that were after us have been causing a lot of problems, so we've been trying to find their hide away."

I nodded at her once and set down the canvas bag that was on my back. There was a black rack next to the bed for hanging one or more swords which was perfect for me since I liked to experiment with the double sword sometimes. I hung my swords up and stuck Angeline in the drawer beside my bed. Yuffie walked down the stairs and I followed her back into the main bar area. Yuffie joined Cid at the door; apparently the others were already outside. I shook Cid's hand and he gave everyone behind me the salute. Yuffie tackled me to the ground once more and started tearing.

"Oh Kaylee, I don't want to leave you like this! You don't know anyone! We only just got together and now I'm leaving! I'm going to miss you so much! At least you've got Tifa, and you're exactly like Cloud, so you should get along well. Vincent's another story; if he bites you I'll kick his ass! And-"

"YUFFIE SHUT UP! Holy crap! You just keep going on! I'm going to miss you too, and I'm sure I can manage, now get the hell off of me!" I yelled.

Yuffie waved her last good-bye and ran out the door. I turned around and was met with everyone's eyes...This was going to be some adventure.