"You stay here. Don't walk out of this cave, or deeper into. I'll bring Elmyra."

Cloud stood up, after the silent session they had, he had assumed it was almost dark, and it would be dangerous to stay. Something had to be done, and done with haste.

"I can go down with you." Tifa said, and as she struggled to stand up, she too struggled not to wince at the pain which almost paralyzed her. It was then she realized that her right leg was swollen, every inch she moved, her leg screamed with throbbing pain.

Cloud stared at her awkward movement, and at her swollen leg. He assumed the bone suffered a crack. "Move an inch and I'll break your leg myself." He did not mean to act that way, but if she moved anymore, the consequences may be dire.

She stared up, her red shine bleeds into the darkened blue, and nodded. This time round, she knew that he was right; her leg was in a position too bad to argue with him. At times like this, Cloud seemed to be the adult, despite his making fun of her throughout the years.

Cloud walked out of the cave, looked down on his torn shirt and frowned. Almost half of his shirt was gone, now wrapped around Tifa's wounds. With a sigh, he took it off. "If it gets cold, use this; and the hay over there." He signaled.

Tifa looked to the direction he pointed, and noticed that there was a small stack of hay gathered around where she was sleeping. Cloud had probably gathered them when she was unconscious.

She turned around, wanting to thank him, but he had gone.

She held his tattered top up, inspecting it. Pieces of mud were stuck on it, with some cuts here and there, nevertheless his warmth radiated through it to her.

She held it against her chest for awhile before pulling it over her top. If she knew that the temperature in Mount Nibel would drop drastically, as the day exhausts, she would have worn the white woolen long sleeve pullover atop her t-shirt, the way she always did for cold seasons. Then Cloud would not have to go out half naked.

He should be freezing, she thought, grasping a torn edge of his shirt, while walking towards the stack of hay.

…

Cloud made his way back into the mountain trail. When Tifa fell, he swore he lunged after; he had yet to prepare for any deaths in his life yet. So much for secluding yourself from the rest, he thought, in the end, your heart can't even take the possibility of someone dying.

He scanned around the surroundings, looking for the marks he left on those trees that seemed to stretch forever into the sky. He dwarfed in comparison; his urge to grow stronger burned within him, his heart heated in determination. He wanted to protect something; more than himself, he knew he wanted to protect everything he ever knew: Elmyra, Zack, Aerith, Tifa, Rude, Rufus, everyone. Protect them so that they would continue to be a part of his life. His childhood insecurity left a hole in his world so huge he would sometimes fall into the pit.

He took about 15 minutes before he reached the clearing again, it was empty; Elmyra had definitely went back to the Home. No one replaced her to wait in the clearing, were they too confident of him? He looked over to the rope bridge and the steep trail that edged and disappeared into the mountain. He was left with two choices.

She positioned herself the way she had woken up, with his shirt over her torso, and some hay around her legs. It was cold. She shivered in the dark cave, and braided her hair to pass time. She played with the tied up end of her hair, and recalled the nights she spent alone in the car with her dead parents. Her body tensed up and her teeth clattered, this time it was not the cold. It was a feeling she had long forgotten; fear.

She bit her lips, until a drop of warm liquid slid down her chin; she had, many times, forcefully stopped her attack, in the process of, she would often hurt herself, but just a small cut that usually pass unnoticed.

The shuffling sound of grass compressed woke her. She immediately sprang up; petrified by the pain and her beating heart, she was almost caught in an attack.

"Hi Cloud." She managed, her voice less lively than usual, not enough to strike his curiosity, but enough to make his eyebrow arch.

"…"

"And Elmyra?"

He shook his head and looked at her. "Gone. And your lips?"

His way of shortening his sentences made her noticeably uncomfortable; it is the direct opposite of how much he pays attention to people.

She shrugged, but paid close attention to the way his expression changed. He seemed to understand something. "Scared?"

Her head darted upwards, and she knew her lie would never work against the cold blue that flushed his pupil; so she nodded.

There was silence again. In the silence, they spoke without words. Perhaps they understood each other. She wondered if he had attacks too, her parents were dead, but they loved her. His was the opposite. Physically, her encounter was harder to bear, but emotionally, his probably shredded his entire world a million times more than her.

She stood up and walked towards him, his eyes fixed on her leg, and went forward to support her. "What now?" He asked.

"Nothing."

She wrapped her arms around him, over his arms; from the contact, she could feel him cold, like his eyes, like ice; colder than the cave, colder than her.

"You trying to pounce on me again? Are you gonna rape me this time?" He asked, his voice soft. "You perverted girl."

She could feel a smile spread across her face. He was no longer the bully she knew.

It took a while to feel the warmth spreading from the cave opening. Looks like it's morning. And somehow, they had switched positions, no longer Cloud in Tifa's arms, but Tifa in his, barely waking up until Cloud patted her cheeks. Cloud was warm where she lay on, but his back and his arms were icy.

He took her off of him, and squatted in front of her, his back facing her.

"What?"

He shot her an annoyed look, and gestured to his back. "Isn't it obvious? I'm asking to carry a pig on my back."

She giggled and laughed, why does his hurtful words not hurt her anymore? Why does his annoyed look seem adorable to her?

She hopped on his back, and he slowly got up, repositioned himself and balanced her. "God, eat less."

She ignored him and rested her chin on his left shoulder, his back was bare and cold – very cold. He slid his hand under her thigh and lifted her up behind his back, careful not to strain her injured leg. He slowly walked out, towards the route he had marked out.

The mountain trail was steep, and moist. His brows furrowed as he realized that for once, he was thankful towards Zangan's monstrous trainings. He looked to his side, where Tifa's face rested silently on his shoulder, and noticed that she had went back to sleep. He was about halfway down the mountain, relatively faster than the way up, but he kept his pace slower than he normally would.

The trail smoothens, and they had finally made their way back to the familiar village. It was noon. He was perspiring, and she was awake, but silent.

He walked towards the orphanage, a wave of guilt washed over him. He had openly declared his wish to leave. If it had not been Tifa, he would have either died in the mountains, or found that he no longer belonged, anywhere. Then again, he never did.

"Oh dear!" Elmyra squeaked, "What on Earth-"

Elmyra stopped to cup Tifa's cheek; behind him, "Hi Elmyra." She smiled. "I brought Cloud back." Cloud lowered his eyes in thought. She probably did not know the real meaning and the deeper truth behind her words.

"She fell. She probably cracked her bone, her leg's swollen." He paused and watched as Elmyra carefully brushed her fingertip along her swell. "We need the doctor. But before that, pass me some potions."

Elmyra nodded, her eyes slightly widen at Cloud's longest speech in over 8 years. Despite the situation, the ends of her lips curved up slightly. Perhaps she had found Cloud the perfect person.

She winced as something bitter slid down her throat, and her leg burned. Her eyes flipped open and that sudden movement caused some liquid to flow into her nostrils. She gagged and coughed, before realizing that the green and cold liquid was potion. And the person pouring it into her mouth was frowning. "How many times do you have to sleep? You've been doing nothing but that." He rolled his eyes and sighed, but she found his voice gentle and warm. It was spoken in such a soft tone that sarcasm morphed into heart-throbbing gentleness.

Some of the potion had dripped to her bedsheets, and he had to walk over to her study table to pull out some tissue paper to clean it up. Then he realized that the tissues were scented, and smelt like roses.

"Cloud?" She sat upright as he wiped away the spilt potion. She smiled, looking around her room. Cloud was busy trying to feed her potion to stop the swelling, she noted.

She noticed that he had casually worn a grey shirt in replacement of his torn shirt, but noticed that the shirt was made of awfully thin material.

"I'm feeling better now, thank you." She said, still looking at him, his silence was something one would get used to. "You want to change into something warmer?" She flashed him a small grin and tugged at her woolen pullover.

He glanced over and shrugged, then passed her the three bottles of potion before walking out the door. "Feed yourself, pig."

He walked down the corridor to the main hall, where the rest of the children were. He walked up to Aerith, whom he noticed, had red rimmed eyes and a rosy nose tip. "Cloud!" She shrieked, and flashed him the biggest grin ever. "Hey Cloud! You know… Last night… I- no, we, were so worried about you… I'm glad you didn't leave for good."

"Yeah…" He smiled back, just slightly, and watched as an almost unnoticeable shade of pink flush over her cheek. "Hey, Tifa's back. And injured, can you go to her room and help take care of her?"

Aerith's emerald eyes widened in surprise -she had almost forgotten about Tifa- and nodded. "Sure, leave it to me." She turned around and looked over, "Zack, let's go!"

Aerith pulled Zack by his wrist and ran off, but not before she winked and flashed Cloud a reassuring smile, while mouthing 'see you later then'.

He walked out of the hall and made his way to Elmyra's office, on his way, he saw, from the corner of his eyes, Rufus and Rude standing rooted to the ground, scattering the cards they were playing with on the floor.

She held her nose and breath, her eyes determined; the look of a young maiden about to fight the battle of her life. She opened her mouth and drank the first gulp. Immediately, she pushed the potion far and threw out her tongue.

Just as she was to try another gulp, the door threw open, and she could see a frantic Aerith and a worried Zack.

"Hey Teefie, you feeling fine?" Aerith asked concern concentrated in her voice. "Gosh, your leg!"

"Its fine, Rith" She said, holding up a bottle of potion, "Just need some of this."

Aerith tilted her tightened lips upwards, a look of sincere concern in her eyes.

Tifa realized that she had smiled back in return.

"Wheres the doctor?" Cloud asked, in Elmyra's office.

"He is on his way, Cloud." Elmyra replied, gentleness filled her words. "I think I still seek some explanation, Cloud."

His eyes lowered after hearing his name being mentioned twice. Elmyra always did that whenever she wanted to have a heart-to-heart.

"… Nothing much." He replied bluntly, casting a void in the distance Elmyra tried to close.

"I think you've heard of Sephiroth?" Cloud looked up. Elmyra was too trained in psychological games to give in. "When I was younger, my sister Jenova used to run this orphanage."

Cloud nodded. He had heard about Sephiroth, but the information he received was rather fragmented. He had always been curious about the history of the orphanage, for Sephiroth is currently the leader for SOLDIER first class, the Military of this country, private army of President Shinra. Somehow, he looked up to Sephiroth, perhaps, that was why he wanted a life outside here. For Jenova, he had a connection to her, he knew her, and he feels her.

"She was a cetra. My mother was too, but since I was adopted, I wasn't. Jenova was a beautiful and mysterious sister to me; she always looked up into the sky in an incomprehensible manner, and she would whisper things to herself, as though she knew the cycle of the world, which she probably did." Elmyra smiled, as though mentioning Jenova had released something within her.

"Sephiroth, is Jenova's son. Jenova and President Shinra's son, the ex president Shinra, that is." Cloud's eyes widened in such an impossible manner that he thought his eyeballs would fall off his sockets. Elmyra giggled at his reaction and nodded, as though she expected it. "He was born… superhuman. When he was three, he broke a bronze statue when he kicked it in anger. Then when he was twelve, Jenova brought him to Mount Nibel. He had climbed up to the summit, killing every monster in sight, and burned the trees on his way up. He made it all the way up. It was then that he decided to join SOLDIER; after he knew that President Shinra was his father."

Cloud's brows kissed in his frustration to comprehend the information as well as possible. He could feel that despite her trying to convey the story, many details –important ones- were missing.

"It was then that we made up the tradition. So that all the other children would not question Sephiroth's sudden disappearance." She paused. "But nevertheless, we would respect the tradition we made."

She walked over to Cloud, and placed a hand on his shoulder; the same way she had when he first joined Home. Cloud could feel a piercing pain across his chest.

"You are free now, Cloud."

Cloud swallowed a lump in his throat and looked up at Elmyra. He sighed and shaked his head, "Elmyra, I did not make it up. Tifa fell and I had to carry her to a cave for her to rest. I did walk around the mountains, but that was to gather hay for her. I'm sorry. I have yet to get my freedom."

Elmyra closed her eyes. His words had burned her in pain; did he really want to leave that desperately? He even used the word "freedom".

"It's ok." Elmyra smiled, and squeezed his shoulders lightly. "You have my permission. You are free now."

Cloud could feel his eyes getting wet, just slightly, but enough to make him grit his teeth. Did he say something wrong? Or perhaps he really was a burden. Either ways, he hoped that Home would be better without him.

Then something struck him. He had nowhere to go. He could join SOLDIER, or he could go to Wutai, or he could even just wander around and die.

"But Cloud, can you at least stay here until you turn 16? I want to be able to at least hold your coming-of-age ceremony." Elmyra suggested, her tone shaky.

Cloud could feel relief flooding his heart; with that, he nodded.

After a few weeks, Tifa could finally remove her leg cast. Cloud had doodled pigs and sky blue stripes all over her cast, Aerith and Zack had wrote a bazillion well wishes whereas Rude and Rufus just signed.

Cloud would check on her daily, she noticed, but in the morning, before she woke up. Then he would put on a nonchalant front and make fun of her immobility. Yet she knew better than to reveal his little secret.

Master Zangan, upon seeing how weak Tifa is, grunted and pulled her by the shoulder the day she put on the cast. "Girl! You have to build up! When you recover, I will train you personally!" Cloud had scoffed, but from the corner of her eyes, she could see that he was glad.

It had been almost a year since the Mount Nibel incident, and a while since she joined Cloud at the rooftop daily after lunch where she always spot Cloud lying on his back, watching the sky, from a tree branch. His eyes were often close when she talked to him, and he gave her the silent treatment at first, but after a few weeks, he would reply with grunts, nods or short sentences.

Tifa found the daily short session with him relaxing. She noticed that he was always troubled, but she knew that it was not his problems; it was just his over sensitivity, he would worry about whether his words had hurt Elmyra, or anyone at all. He would worry about failing the tests and disappointing Elmyra, he would worry about skipping Zangan's classes and leaving Zack with no sparring partner. Then he would make up hundreds of excuses, hoping that he could somehow manage the situation in proper.

Cloud had a secret haven. The apple tree at the secluded end of the Home always provided him the shade from the sun and the soft breeze, melodious bird chirping. He enjoyed every second in the tree, until the little devil found him. Since then, she would be there every day after lunch, talked to him about everything under the sun, while he ignored her. But after days and weeks, he found himself replying.

When she told him she played the piano, he smirked. "Yeah right, play the piano as in breaking all the keys? Good pun there."

Since then, they talked about many things. Sometimes, the topic may be slightly personal, when she asked him why did he always give her the silent treatment, he had kept quiet, and she would giggle.

"… I don't believe in relationships." He replied dryly.

"Liar." Tifa replied softly. He glanced over at her and she gave him a meaningful look. Her ruby eyes shimmered under the sun as she squint her eyes to block out the blinding sunlight. He was almost confident she knew the answer.
Rarely, Cloud would ask her questions.

"What songs do you play?"

Tifa had literally stood up in surprise at his question.

"Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin… those simple ones and I have yet to master them. "But mostly this tune." She hummed and he willingly listened. "I made it myself, I have yet to finish it though." She smiled in confidence.

Cloud realized that he had smiled as well, and that she was dead stunned at his smile.

"YOU SMILED!" Tifa screamed.

Cloud furrowed his brows. "What?"

Then he saw it, Tifa blinked a few times and looked away, her profile facing him as she looked up into the sky. She smiled again. Then she hummed again, this time, the tune had more feelings, and some notes changed. The notes flew about, each note lingering between them, as she pulled the note longer and longer. It seemed like a second instrument was added in.

At first, the tune she hummed was a simple one, just with some repetitive beats and some higher notes, the notes seek completion.

She turned around, and smiled at him, the gentlest smile he had ever seen her wear. "Cloud, I think I can finish the score now. Though it would be nicer with more instruments, I think it would be fine with just piano."

He nodded, and shrugged.

"Cloud," Tifa glanced over to him, her smile faded, "thank you."

And he would not hear this tune again for awhile.

... ... ...

That summer, thirteen-year old Cloud felt something quiver in his chest.