It was dying. Fire leapt from home to home and none could free themselves quick enough to escape it. They died with their homes regardless of gender, age or occupation. Death isn't particular about who it claims.
And what was there to do for the only observer? Could one person really make a difference in this perjury? No, there was nothing that could be done, so Cloud Strife only watched as his childhood home burned to the ground. He was so close he could feel the heat on his skin but he was still.
Once the last house collapsed, he finally deemed it safe enough to venture in. He knew that no one survived this tragedy but as an observer he needed to see for himself.
Passing the Inn, he could see the Innkeeper and his wife in the remains of the front room. It seemed that they had almost freed themselves. They carried some belongings that were mostly ashes now. He stepped forward and pried a photo frame from the smoldering pile. He glanced at it and it showed the couple so much younger in front of the Inn when it must have opened.
He sighed and let the photo drop into the remains of the couple before turning to leave. He cast around for another home and his eyes landed on the Lockheart residence. He walked across the square, avoiding the small patches of fire that still burned.
Once there he took more care than he had in the Inn. He picked through the charred pieces of wood of the front door before carefully removing a decorative stone plaque that had hung near the doorway. He wiped away the soot until he could clearly read the word "Lockheart" on it. Tifa painted it herself. He fixed it on the pile of charred bits that would have been the entryway out of respect before stepping over it and continuing forward.
To his surprise it seemed that the first floor was mostly unaffected by the fire. He carefully moved through it, wary of any collapses, until he found another body, this time the one of the mayor. Cloud laughed then, long and hard. In the man's hand was a gun and in the man's head a hole.
Cloud bared his teeth in a grotesque impersonation of a smile, "You bastard... You would have lived."
And he would have. The fire didn't touch this room.
He shook his head once the laugher died in his throat and continued upstairs to where Tifa's room lie in wait for his inspection. He couldn't keep the same indifference when it came to Tifa. She was one of the only two links to Nibelheim he wanted. In fact, he wanted to bring her with them back to Midgar -
But wait. They left. He was here. He shrugged it off and figured he'd think more later. Now he had to gather his nerve to see his friend's corpse. The stairs ended much too soon and he looked around for a safe place but there was none. He kept his position on the top stair and looked towards where Tifa's room was. There were flames still roaring through the area. He squinted and tried to make out whether or not Tifa was there but couldn't.
He hesitated but conceded that even if Tifa was there, there was no way to rescue her. He turned his back on the scene and walked back down the stairs and carefully stepped over the front door pile. He looked over the smoldering town and moved toward his own house, a burnt out shell of what it used to be. There wasn't even a pile of wood that was probably the front door. He supposed it all burned to ash and blew away. He climbed into the ruins and turned to gaze over the ruined home. The bed was curiously free of debris and upon it lay his mother.
She wasn't moving but it didn't seem like the fire really got to her. Cloud supposed that it was smoke inhalation. He moved forward and placed his hand on her cheek. He bent down and whispered, "I did what I had to."
-o-o-
"You think he's okay?" Zack asked worriedly. He looked towards his mentor for confirmation and found it in the form of him nodding. He bit his lip anxiously and returned his gaze to Cloud, who was sleeping with his head on his lap. He could see the stress in the slight crease between his brow.
"Cloud was a mama's boy," Tifa said sympathetically. "It's hard to leave it all behind. I have to admit I have a lot more respect for Cloud. He managed to do it all alone before."
"He's not alone anymore," Sephiroth commented. "He's got all of us. I don't plan on leaving him."
"Same here," Zack affirmed.
"Angeal, I think we're being pressured into staying even more," Genesis commented. He smiled when Zack looked up at him.
"We're in for the long haul," Angeal said wearily. He tried to smile at Zack as well even though he was caught in his thoughts of what Hojo would do to Genesis when they showed up.
"Stop worrying," Genesis ordered. When Angeal looked at him he smirked. "You forget that I can't die until I get you an apple from my family's tree. I promised I would and nothing's gonna stop me until I do that. You got that?"
Angeal finally found it in himself to smile, "Yeah."
After all, Hojo was just one man so how could he cause that much damage?
-o-o-
When they left Nibelheim, they brought Tifa with them and the mayor saw them off with a grim expression. He didn't say anything and Tifa had to leave without his blessing but that really didn't matter to her now. She was going to Midgar with the most famous SOLDIERs to live a life that she was picking.
When they reached the bottom of the mountain, she helped them load it up and laughed with them when Zack earned himself a punch from a startled Cloud. Once he realized he hit Zack, he just shrugged and disappeared into the helicopter. That's what he got for waking up Cloud too soon.
"Tifa," Angeal hailed. She walked over and ignored the other army men flowing around them. "We four need to report in, can you wait in the 'copter with Cloud?"
"Sure, but shouldn't he be going with you?"
"No, Sephiroth is his guardian as far as Shinra goes. He's his mentor and Cloud's his student. There's no need for Cloud to check in, it's assumed he's not far from his mentor's side."
Tifa nodded and Angeal ruffled her hair on impulse before jogging off, presumably to check in. She huffed and turned back to the helicopter and climbed in.
To her surprised, Cloud wasn't sleeping. He was lying in the back, staring at the wall. He was worrying his bottom lip between his teeth as if he was anxious. The stress lines on his face still didn't fade. He didn't so much as look when he felt the machine shift.
"What's wrong?" she chirped. "Still mad at Zack?"
"I-I'm not mad at him. I'm actually pretty grateful."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she complained, plopping down on the front seat. Cloud finally looked at her. It was intense and only lasted a moment before he just shook his head.
"Nothing, Tifa. What are you planning on doing when we get back to Midgar?"
"Oh, I don't know. I have some money to get me started," she looked at her lap and smiled faintly. "I want to start a business. Something that I can build with my own two hands."
Cloud looked at her again and smiled bitterly, glad somewhere in his mind that Tifa wasn't looking at him. He scrutinized the girl before her and concluded that she was still just a girl. But she had the potential for so much more.
Is that how I am? He thought. Am I still just that boy from Nibelheim? No, I moved past that... But I'm still not an adult. Tifa's gonna be a strong woman and I'm... Gonna find myself. When I'm in SOLDIER, I'm gonna take some time to figure it out.
When Tifa finally looked up, Cloud gave her a grin before ducking under the covers to find a comfortable place to sleep through the trip. She sighed and almost turned away before Cloud's head perked up again.
"Wasn't Vincent in the truck with us?" he asked. "Where'd he go?"
"Only you would be concerned for a kidnapper," she grumbled. "General Sephiroth marched him off to give him to some other people for transport. It's gonna be cramped in here as it is... Sorry about that."
"It's fine. I wouldn't have let you come if it would be a problem," Cloud assured her.
"Let me come? You didn't do anything; it was all the General though!"
"Yeah right, I have him wrapped around my finger," Cloud smirked smugly. Tifa stuck her tongue out at him.
There was a clearing of a throat from the ajar door and they looked over.
"Speak of the devil!" Cloud announced.
"Devil?" Sephiroth asked, brows furrowed. "Never mind. It's not that I deny that you have a special influence over me; it would not do to openly announce it to everybody present. Perhaps when you're a SOLDIER."
"Oh," Cloud had the decency to blush sheepishly. "Sorry, Sephiroth."
"It's all right. Just keep your voice down next time. And get some sleep. We'll be making a pit stop in Kalm for the night but you should get as much rest as you can. The assessments are closing in."
"Don't remind me," Cloud murmured as he lost the red tint he had only just acquired. Before he could lose all his color, Sephiroth smiled.
"I'm sure that you'll do fine. This isn't an official exam, just a way to tell what kind of progress the cadets are making. You've made progress, Cloud. Even your instructors have to give you that. However... If there are any problems with your instructors, I will take care of it."
"What does that mean?" Cloud asked nervously. "Seph, what does that mean?"
"Get some sleep," he smiled again and wandered off.
The two teens were silent as they looked at eachother with wide eyes, thoughts identical.
What did he mean by "take care of it"?
-o-o-
Cloud nuzzled the closest warm body and felt it shift to accommodate him. He breathed in and identified his pillow/heat source as Genesis.
"Sephiroth," Genesis was pleading, "look at him, he's still tired! You can't just force him awake!"
"Gen, he has to get inside somehow," Zack laughed. "Just wake him up so he can walk by himself. He's had more than enough sleep."
"It's morning," Sephiroth said bluntly. "He needs to train more now than ever, he'd appreciate being woken up."
There was a sharp sigh and a giggle before Cloud found himself being wrenched from the warm nest he had created in the blankets. He flailed a bit until he was settled on Angeal's hip firmly.
"Good morning, Cloud," Angeal greeted, kissing Cloud's cheek.
"'Morning," he parroted by way of greeting. "Put me down."
"I know you're angry, but-"
"Put me down!" he demanded and threw himself out of the man's grasp. He managed to make it to the back of the helicopter before retching and spilling his stomach contents onto the ground.
As he was sick, fingers threaded through his hair and pulled him to be cradled between Zack and Sephiroth once he was done.
He was embarrassed but knew they understood. It was so good to know that they understood.
"We have rooms at the Inn, Cloud; let's get you there to clean up."
Sephiroth helped him stand and Zack entwined their bodies so he couldn't fall. Zack slowly helped him to the Inn and Sephiroth just hovered, glaring at anyone who he thought stared too much. It was difficult getting him up the stairs but they managed. Once upstairs, they settled him by the toilet and brought him pillows and anything else he might need.
And then they retreated to wait out the sickness.