Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. This is a non-profit-based work.
Note: Yo, we are back with another chapter for this story. I just want to make a quick announcement first.
I'm not going to update for the next month probably, pretty much only releasing this now because it's been finished for a while now. I have some personal matters irl to take care of, so I won't have time to write. I know that's not optimal, so I'll try and make up for it afterward.
So yeah, I'm really sorry about that.
If y'all are interested in joining a community of readers and several talented authors, consider joining AizenTheGoat's Discord server.
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-Chapter 2-
Long Time No See.
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Cloud's fingers tightened around his fist as he stared out emptily into the air in front of him, humming slightly to himself as he went over the situation in his head again. There was something off about it, though he couldn't quite pinpoint it.
"A Gil for your thoughts?" A soft voice rang out as he lifted his head.
He shrugged his shoulders slightly as he sat calmly on the seat at the bar, "Tifa? Oh, I'm just trying to make sense of something."
The girl leaned over the counter as she crossed her arms. She had dark brown hair, which fell below her waist and was tied at the tips to form a dolphin-tail split. Her eyes were red, and she wore a sleeveless shirt that exposes her midriff, as well as a miniskirt and a white teardrop earring on her left ear.
Tifa hummed a quick tune herself, "Perhaps I can help? What's on your mind?"
The blond stared at his childhood friend with a blank expression before he replied, "There was someone at the reactor, and he seemed to know me. Well, he first came after we blew it up."
"Really? Do you have any idea who it is?" Tifa asked curiously.
Cloud shook his head, "No, it was dark in the tunnel. He also first seemed to notice who I was once the train passed under some light."
The dark-haired girl tilted her head, "Did you get a good look at his face at least?"
Once again Cloud shook his head in the negative, "No, he was wearing a mask and a hood. The only real noticeable thing about him was his weapon, I don't think I've ever fought someone wielding a scythe before."
"A scythe? That seems rather medieval for someone working for Shinra." Tifa joked.
The corner of Cloud's lip quirked upward slightly, "He knew how to fight though, definitely a SOLDIER. Not sure what class, but he was wielding that scythe as if it was the most natural thing in the world."
Tifa remained quiet for a second more before she leaned back up from the counter, "Well, I can ask Barret. We have some contacts and information in-house, so… stick around, I should probably go down and see what the plan for tomorrow night is."
Cloud just gave a small nod of his head as he sat at the bar. Twirling the drink in the glass that Tifa had poured him.
She walked over to the game machine by the side of the bar that he had seen Barret use to get down to a secret underground base and listened without looking at Tifa used it as well to get down to their hideout.
He sat there for a while, not really counting the minutes of how long but it had felt like a while until he heard the door open again and someone entering the bar.
"Hey, you see the news? The reactor bombing was the work of the eco-extremist group Avalanche. Public enemy number one! Gets your heart racing, doesn't it? They don't know our faces, so we're in the clear for now. But we'll want to capitalize on this momentum, speaking of which, you coming on the next one?"
Cloud turned his face as the other female member of the group walked up beside him, a quite excited look on her face, "For the right price."
"Oh, you can bet I'll be pushing hard for a raise." Jessie replied as the armored girl walked toward the game machine the other had used, a slightly sad sigh escaping her lips as she paused, "Tifa will be joining us too, but even a blind man can see her heart's not in it. She was never on board with the bombings, so if it comes down to do or die… If I gotta put my life in someone's hands, I'd rather that someone is a professional. Like you."
She finished and used the game machine to get down. Cloud of course knew she meant nothing hostile with it, the girls were friends and team members after all, but he could see where she was coming from.
In a work such as this, trusting someone with your life could mean everything. Doubting in the wrong moment could lead to immediate death after. After Jessie left, Cloud rubbed his head and began waiting again.
In the end, he roamed around Seventh Heaven for a bit, just staring at the pictures and the flower he had brought. That girl he got it from, still seemed a bit odd. Especially those things that surrounded her.
Sometimes he wondered if he was starting to go crazy, no one else seemed to see them. And the rest of Avalanche seemed to almost laugh when he had mentioned invisible enemies.
He played around with darts as he waited, not surprised when he beat the high scores labeled on the wall. It made him smirk a bit, satisfied with his effort as he walked back over to retake his seat at the empty bar.
It didn't take much longer after that until he heard the floor move again, looking out of the corner of his eyes as the form of Tifa marched by him and behind the bar, quickly gulping down a drink before gathering a second.
Slowly, she made her way around the bar, taking a seat with the glass between her hands. One seat is free between them.
Cloud raised his head, "I hear you're having second thoughts."
"I know we have to think big to make a difference. But not like this… I just.,. I feel trapped."
Not wasting a moment to respond, Cloud looked at her with a serious look, "If it feels wrong, don't do it."
They sat in silence afterward, until the floor moved again. First Jessie exited, followed by Wedge and Biggs, their eyes were on Cloud as they started to form a half-circle around him.
"I guess that's that-" Tifa started to speak, but as the heavy footsteps of Barret walked up to the seat between them, she let out a soft gasp as the man slammed a tablet down on the bar.
Cloud raised a brow, "What?"
Barret scoffed and slid the tablet over in front of him, "Tell me what you see here, and don't play games with me. Got it?"
Surprised by the suddenly hostile tone in Barret's voice, Tifa rose up from her intense seat and walked to stand beside Jessie, looking over Cloud's shoulder to see what exactly Barret had found.
Her red eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the picture of a blond boy that had the same glowing eyes as Cloud, and slowly said, "Wait, that's…"
Though before the blond man could properly respond, a loud ringing in his ears was suddenly companied by flashes of pain that forced him to grasp his head as images of the past began flickering before his eyes.
The intensity of it all, feeling like it forced him back to relive the past.
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As he swung the practice sword around in the air, Cloud panted hard as the training machine began backing away.
He knew he could do better than that. If he wanted to make it into SOLDIER, he needed to pass all the requirements, but it felt impossible. Unless you were genetically created from scratch to beat all these tests at least.
Though as he began preparing himself for another round, taking a quick sip from a bottle of water, he heard the sound of clapping from behind him.
Cloud quickly cleared his throat and turned around, a look of surprise upon seeing who it was.
A tall man with long and flowing silver hair and the very recognizable mako-enhanced eyed him with interest as he stepped forward. And for the first time in his life, he was too dumbstruck to speak.
"Very good, you got talent." He spoke calmly and reached for his wrist to bring the practice sword up above his head again, "But remember to use the weight of the blade, not everything has to be about muscles and your own strength. A weapon provides more than just the ability to cut."
Cloud could only nod as the man stepped backward, "Uh, thanks." He responded with a slow nod of his head.
The man smirked slightly as he gestured for him to continue the training, "Who knows, if you're anything like your brother… We shall be fighting side by side in no time."
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As the images faded, and the two girls in the group looked upon him with concern at the sudden look on his face, Cloud lifted his head again.
"My brother, Naruto." Cloud finished Tifa's sentence with a calm tone as the pain and the ringing in his ears disappeared, turning around halfway in his seat to stare at Barret with a non-caring expression, "What about him?"
Barret snorted and rested his gun arm on the table, his eyes staring intensely from behind the sunglasses, "So you don't deny it? Consider me surprised SOLDIER boy."
Placing a hand on Barret's shoulder, Tifa moved in between them and switched her gaze between the two, "Hold on, what is the meaning of this? Why did you pull up a picture of his brother?"
The large man grunted, "Because you asked me to."
"Tifa?" Cloud asked, confused.
The athletic girl waved her hands dismissively, "No! I didn't ask you to find a file on his brother, I asked you to find a file on a Shinra SOLDIER that is wielding a scythe." She defended.
Barret let out a mock laugh, "Which I did! So tell me Merc, why exactly is your brother out to kill you? You somehow didn't find it important to tell us that a first-class SOLDIER would be after your neck."
The spiky-haired boy stood up from his seat with a passive-aggressive look on his usually calm face, "My brother didn't try to kill me."
A dismissive snort let Barret's opinion be known as he took the tablet up and pushed it up in the younger man's face, using his thumb to swipe to another picture which made Cloud's eyes widen in surprise, "Oh really now, then care to tell me why your brother is wielding the exact same scythe that almost cut you in half if it wasn't for me?"
"I don't get it… Do you have a bad relationship with your brother?" Wedge asked with an uncomfortable look on his face.
Cloud looked at him and crossed his arms over his chest, "I haven't seen him in years. I've only seen him in passing a handful of times when I was a SOLDIER."
Biggs sighed, "Still, it is a bit suspicious. That guy leaped from a damn building to get you and almost cut you in half with a giant damn scythe, not trying to make it worse but that feels like family issues to me."
"As I said, I haven't seen or talked with my brother in years. I had no idea he'd be there," Cloud frowned.
With a shake of his head, Barret slumped down on a seat and pushed the tablet across the table, "Still find it quite suspicious that you didn't bother telling your employee that your brother is a Shinra lapdog."
"How can you judge him, you don't know him." The blond snorted in return.
Barret laughed out loud in disbelief, "Take a look for yourself, your brother is pro-Shinra. A real man of his people."
Cloud shook his head and took up the tablet, swiping across the pictures as his face fell into a bigger frown. Each picture represented before him made him question himself.
He could see Naruto on all of them, wielding the exact same scythe from last night, standing in front of a literal army of Shinra troopers and infantrymen.
One of them specifically made his fingers tremble a bit. His brother, standing in front of the camera with a battalion of men behind him. He was wearing a standard uniform with a sword strapped to his hip, his brother's hand calmly resting on the blade's hilt as he stood with the blankest expression he'd ever seen.
Even compared to himself.
Seeing the distressed expression on Cloud's face, Tifa intervened, "Come on, it was one encounter. He's not that bad really!"
Jessie looked at her in surprise, "You speak as if you know him?"
Tifa blinked and nodded her head, "Well yeah, I used to know him. When we were kids. All the kids in our hometown used to love him, he was like that older sibling we didn't have. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding! He was a really good guy."
"People can change," Biggs intervened.
Barret gave a quick nod of his head, "Especially when they work for those bastards at Shinra, no telling what they've done or said to him to make him their personal killing machine."
"Come on guys, we should be celebrating. Not arguing," Wedge tried, which seemed to catch the attention of the rest of the Avalanche cell.
Barret sighed and stood to his feet with a big smile, though it was easy to see the big man was still agitated and worried at the same time as he tried to boost the morale of his group, "Wedge is right, let's leave it at that. Tifa! Bring out the good stuff, will ya?"
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Naruto panted as he swirled his scythe with ease through the last couple of enemies, watching them disappear from the simulator. Grunting out through gritted teeth as he leaped backward and flipped through the air, pointing his scythe down as a Cutter was simulated.
'Thundaraga,' Naruto thought mostly to himself, as the materia in his scythe glowed and a powerful lightning bolt blasted the machine to pieces.
Landing on the ground in a crouched-down position, he watched as the environment around him disappeared as the level was cleared. He had spent most of the night in the combat simulator, as he still couldn't quite fathom what he had seen the night before.
Whether or not Cloud was really alive, he was still unsure. The tunnel had been dark, and his mind could've just shown him what he wanted to see the most.
It had just seemed so real. He sighed to himself and figured that he should probably get some rest, in case something important came up. It was already afternoon, and he had just been taking up the combat simulator for several hours with just a handful of breaks in between.
So it was safe to say he was both mentally and physically fatigued, though the training was something he appreciated as it kept his mind off things. Well, that's what he tried to tell himself at least, but even in the midst of destroying the simulated enemies he still had that image of Cloud in his head.
He walked toward the exit to the combat simulator, not really paying attention to his surroundings as the door in front of him opened. He barely managed to take one step outside before someone grabbed the fabric of his neckline and shoved back inside, the mechanical doors closing against him as he was pushed up against the wall.
Blinking in surprise, he stared at the less than pleased expression of Scarlet as the woman released her grip on his uniform, and instead grabbed his face to keep him in place against the wall, "Not that I don't appreciate the company, but could you not strangle me?"
Scarlet snorted slightly, "You bailed on me without as much as a call, and I don't exactly appreciate that. So tell me, why shouldn't I strip you of your uniform and push you out of here in your naked glory for everyone to see?"
The blond raised a brow in surprise and pulled himself free of her grip, "That's what this is about? Sorry, I was at the reactor thing. It dragged out, it's not like I meant to leave you hanging. You should know that."
The woman's gaze seemed to soften slightly at the revelation as her hand left his face, "You went to the scene of the bombing?"
He nodded and rubbed the area of his skin that she'd been holding onto, "Yeah, I saw the fires through my window and went to check it out. Almost caught them too, but they got away."
"Almost? Did you hesitate?" She questioned with slight surprise, she was more than aware that the blond in front of her rarely failed when he put his mind to something.
Naruto shook his head, though in all honesty he probably had in the moment of uncertainty "I jumped onto the train but was almost shot. Wasn't exactly anywhere I could take cover, so I was forced to 'abandon ship' so to speak."
"...No matter, those pesky rats will resurface again eventually. You'll get them the next time, I have no doubt of that," Scarlet commented as she dusted his shoulder plate off awkwardly.
'Rats?' Naruto scoffed in his head. If his brother was part of that group, then they definitely weren't the rats. Then the rats were much closer to home than he had originally thought, but he had to make sure first before he'd make a potentially life-changing decision.
Scarlet readjusted his uniform calmly before patting his chest, "Don't beat yourself up over it, now, I have a meeting later. And I very much don't feel like it."
"That's… troublesome?" He replied with an unsure look on his face.
The woman gave a sigh and shook her head, "That was short for 'get your ass to your quarters in less than five minutes, or I'll have you demoted to floor cleaner in Professor Hojo's lab' got it?"
Naruto raised a brow and started, "You can't really do that…" Though he stopped with a small grin at the look she was giving him, "Fine, fine, I'll be there. Don't kill me."
Scarlet let out a huff as her lips quirked upward into a smirk and she started making her way out of the combat simulator, putting more sway into her hip, "Don't worry, you're too useful to me for that."
Gazing downward to her swaying butt, Naruto let out a chuckle. There was at least one thing he could do to distract himself until he properly confirm whether or not Cloud was really alive.
With that in mind, he exited the combat simulator and made his way to the elevator, pressing the button his quarters were located on. As it went up, he figured he probably didn't have time to shower before Scarlet came around. Oh well, she should expect that he was a bit sweaty after his time in the combat simulator.
It wasn't like she gave him enough time to do anything but undress anyway, so she just had to live with it.
Using his keycard to enter his little apartment-like quarters, he first put his scythe against the wall. Afterward, he went through the progress of taking off his armor and putting it away in his closet so it'd be easy to find later.
However, after he had taken his shirt off and tossed it into the closet, his eyes landed on a manila envelope laying on one of the bottom shelves.
"What the… first that note, now this?" He muttered silently to himself as he crouched down and picked it up, slowly opening it as he heard his door open.
Realizing Scarlet had arrived, he quickly shut the envelope and tossed it under the shirt he had just thrown it there a minute prior.
Standing up to his feet, he closed the closet and felt a hand on his chest shove him up against the cool metal.
"You are awfully punctual," He commented as he stared down into the hungry gaze of the women in front of him.
She let out a slight hum as she raised her hand to the back of his neck, "Unlike someone else," She muttered out in a sultry manner as she dragged her hand down, forcing his head backward by the grip of his blond locks as she leaned up to drag her tongue up his throat.
Naruto let out a soft grunt as he felt her smooth wet tongue lap up the skin of his throat, gritting his teeth slightly as he grabbed the strap of her red dress and turned the situation around.
Pushing her up against the closet, he undid the first button but the impatience in his system made him take a hold of the fabric and tear it open. Hearing buttons rip and drop to the floor, he grinned ear to ear.
"That was an expensive dress," She commented with a mock glare.
The blond just smirked and cupped her cheek with his fingers, "Oh come on now, you know you like it when I break things. And I did leave one button, so no one sees the goods but me."
The woman chuckled, "Mmm, you're right. It is kinda hot when you break stuff."
Naruto had to let out a slight laugh as he wrapped his fingers around the straps to her dress, wasting no time to drag them down her arms to reveal her black lace bra that was dutifully covering her chest.
"Is that why you make my weapons?" He asked with a mischievous tone.
The woman's eyes went half-lidded as she flicked her tongue over her top lip, "Oh yeah, there's nothing like a good explosion to make you all…" She whispered and grabbed his hand, guiding it down under her dress, and up along her stockings until he felt his fingers pressed against the wet spot on her panties.
Hearing her soft gasp at the sudden contact along with her lower areas, Naruto reached forward and tore her bra off her body. Wasting no time, he picked her up from the floor by her thighs and felt her nails dig into the scars on his back as he carried her over to the bed.
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Cloud sat on his bed inside the small apartment the landlady was letting him use. As a friend of Avalanche, the member did have some perks. And Tifa had used one of hers to get him a free room as long as he was staying in sector 7, which he appreciated even though the lady didn't seem to like him very much.
A knock on his door interrupted his line of thought as he put down the tablet, which he had borrowed from earlier, "It's open."
The door quickly opened as Jessie peaked inside, "Bad time?"
"As good a time as any," Cloud responded in a monotone voice.
The girl gave a playful snort as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her, an apologetic smile on her face as she gathered her hands in front of her, "Sorry about before, y'know, Barret only wants the best for the group. You alright?"
"I'm fine," Cloud responded simply, not really feeling like talking about said conversation.
Jessie, however, didn't want to let the issue go that quickly, "What was he like?" She asked and took a seat beside Cloud.
The blond gave a passive glance to his side and stayed silent for a minute, clenching his fist slightly before relaxing, "It's like Tifa said. He was the kid in our hometown that everyone got along with, it even made me jealous."
"Because you wanted your big bro all to yourself?" She teased in return.
The corner of Cloud's lip quirked upward just slightly, "I guess you can say that. I learned to live with it, it was just the way he was."
The brunette leaned back slightly, "Tifa seems to think quite highly of him because of that."
Cloud let out a slight chuckle, "Well she always did have an eye for him, so that's not surprising."
Jessie let out an amused laugh, "You mean to tell me she likes him?"
The swordsman shrugged at the question, "She used to at least, can't say if she still does since it's been quite a few years since he was around. We never got to see much of him once he entered SOLDIER, but she always did hang around him the few times he did visit home."
"Attached by the hip, huh?" The girl smiled as she crossed her legs on the bed, "Tell me more, what was he really like."
With a look of uncertainty, Cloud readjusted his glove, "Naruto was, well, happy. He used to be happy at least, and a good brother and son. Our mother was alone with us, so he grew up faster than I did to help out at home. Pretty sure that's also why he joined the program, so he'd be able to make a better living for us."
Jessie's expression turned soft as she leaned over and nudged his shoulder with her arm, "Sounds like a great guy, do you know what happened to him?"
"Not sure, all I know is that everyone respected him for being mature despite his age. And then… he turned into this," Cloud trailed off as he took the tablet and handed it to Jessie.
The brown-haired girl took the tablet as she looked at the picture in front of her. It was a similar picture to earlier, a boy resembling Cloud a great deal but he was standing outside of the Shinra building, wearing a uniform like the one that had been described yesterday. She took a look at the timestamp and saw it was less than twelve hours old.
"How does it make you feel, knowing what he used to be… and then seeing this?" She asked out of curiosity.
The blond's fist clenched tightly again, "Like I don't know who he is."
Jessie's lips fell into a frown as she swiped through the various pictures of the older blond, "Cloud, there is something I got to ask you…"
"Hm?" The boy hummed.
She gave a small sigh and handed the tablet back to him, "If we bump into him again, what're you prepared to do?"
"Nothing, he's my brother, I'm sure there is an explanation for everything." Cloud hurriedly answered as he stood to his feet.
Jessie shook her head and stood up as well, tablet under her arm, "But what if something does happen Cloud, you can't deny that he is Shinra. As Barret said, we have no idea what they've done to make him into something even you don't recognize. The file does call him Son of Midgar…"
Cloud quickly shook his head, "I won't kill my own brother, he's my blood, and all I have left. Besides, if he wanted us dead, we would be."
"Sounds like you know something we don't?" Jessie mused.
The spiky-haired boy blinked, "There is a file among the pictures too, it specifically states scores within a Shinra combat simulator. His scores are second only to one, and that man has been dead for years."
Jessie hummed, "I mean, it's impressive, but what does that say really?"
Cloud gave a small sigh, "Just trust me on this, I've seen him fight. Had he been at that reactor, I'm not sure any of us would have lived to see today."
"That strong, huh? I guess it makes sense. You first-class SOLDIERs are something else." Jessie replied with a slight smirk.
He couldn't help but give a chuckle, "Was there anything else you wanted?"
Blinking in realization, Jessie nodded her head, "Oh! Yeah, I kinda sorta need your help with something."
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Naruto ran a hand through his damp locks as he entered the small room in the basement he'd been given by Scarlet. While he wasn't some kind of scientist, he had taken a liking to the idea of crafting materials and weapons himself, to which the busty woman had satisfied her amusement by letting him get his own little workshop.
After his… less than child-friendly activities had been dealt with, he'd taken a quick shower and got dressed back in his uniform after getting it washed and the armor plating cleaned.
As he sat there under the dim light of the lamps, he pushed his chair up to the table along the wall and picked up a metal shuriken. He had fought briefly in the war against Wutai, and he'd always been amused and intrigued by their use of throwing stars.
Especially what he could do with them if he put his mind to it, along with a little bit of mechanical assistance.
With a small yawn, he put it back down where he'd found it, his eyes landing on the manila envelope he'd found earlier. Once he and Scarlet had finished their final round of fun, he'd snuck out of the room as she slept.
He couldn't help but smirk slightly, as he opened the envelope again. However, as the paper rustled in his grasp, he dropped it on the floor the next second due to the content inside.
His fingers did small trembles as he looked at the now revealed picture, with a timestamp from last night. A face he very much recognized, as he trailed his fingertips over it and the text that had been written down at the bottom.
"Looks an awful lot like you to be a coincidence, don't you think?"
Naruto frowned to himself, 'Cloud… You're really alive.' He thought before his lips quirked upward. There was no reason to be frowning, his brother was alive! What he had seen hadn't just been a manifestation of his deepest wish, but it had been real all along.
Though, he did think of one reason that made his mood sour again. He had seen the official report, Cloud had been reported to have been 'killed in action' a long time ago.
Several questions fluctuated around in his head, 'Why'd they lie? And… what else have they been lying about?'
While there was a very small chance that it had just been a mistake, he highly doubted it. He had always known Shinra to be devious enough to do things like this. Though he didn't really expect them to do it to him since he had been loyal and done as he was told whenever he was tasked with something.
And he knew he was far from blameless in regard to everything that had happened in Midgar. He had been an enforcer for Shinra as part of the private military to ensure what they decided would be done. In simple terms, he'd been weak and thought he'd done the right thing at first.
He'd been weak and continued doing their bidding, and even if it was because he felt like it was all he had left, it was still a sad excuse he kept telling himself. Though since Cloud was alive, there was perhaps hope that he could redeem himself.
He kept staring at the picture for a while until the loud sound of the door opening into his workshop disturbed his line of thought. Naruto turned his head, expecting Scarlet, but instead saw an out-of-breath infantryman staring at him.
"Sir, there's been a request from above that you partake in a chase after four criminals that have ridden motorbikes up the railway and into the city," He managed to speak out in between breaths.
Naruto raised a brow, "From above? Who are we talking about?"
"Head of Public Security, sir." He responded swiftly.
The blond gave a short snort followed by an amused chuckle, "Heidegger? What does that old fart want from me this time?"
The infantryman stood in the doorway and had to fight the urge to smile at the nickname for the scarred man, "He wants you to apprehend the suspects and said he wants you to, and I quote, make an example out of those who dare mess with Shinra."
Naruto let out a small sigh again, it wasn't like he wanted to, but he could use a distraction, "Fine, I'll do it. So what can you tell me about them?"
As if he was relieved, the infantryman slumped his shoulders slightly, "It's supposedly three men and one woman, one is said to carry a large broadsword. He managed to beat third-class SOLDIER Roche, sir."
'Cloud…' Naruto realized and gave a swift nod of his head as he swirled his scythe onto his back, "Where are they now?" He asked next as he walked past his colleague and down the hallway of the basement, putting his mask and hood on in the process.
"I'll tell you on the way, but they're supposedly making quite the commotion at one of the warehouses. We're not sure what they're attempting to steal, but reinforcements are being sent to the scene as we speak."
Naruto gave a nod of his head as they exited the Shinra building. Using a bike he found in the garage to speed toward the scene, passing multiple bikes and trucks heading toward the scene.
The closer he got to the supposed warehouse, the louder the commotion got. He had to fight back the urge to smile as he heard the explosions, figuring his little brother was causing quite the ruckus.
Stopping his bike a few blocks away, he crawled up on top of the wall surrounding the warehouse. He crouched down on top of the concrete, and let his lips quirked upward as he found Cloud standing in between two others wearing similar bandanas.
They were surrounded by infantrymen and in front of his brother stood Roche who Cloud had supposedly already beaten. Apparently, the guy hadn't taken a hint and gone back for seconds, not that he was surprised.
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"Fall back," Cloud ordered as he looked halfway over his shoulder to Wedge and Biggs, who slowly started to back away from Cloud and his opponent from earlier who had returned for a rematch with the mercenary.
Roche did a few small jumps as he grinned, "It's been a long time since I fought a duel out of the saddle… but," He paused, gazing back at his bike with a seemingly longing expression, "For all the miles on the clock, I'm just as fast as I ever was!" Roche called out as he sped past Cloud, their blades crossing swiftly.
Cloud turned around quickly, holding his sword up ready to right, "Come on."
The blond stared at Roche for a second, before a nervous expression fell onto the older man's face. The long-haired SOLDIER pointed his sword up behind him, and shouted, "H-Hey, this is my dance, I saw him first. We have a score to settle."
The blond mercenary raised a brow before he stepped backward, he turned his head in a slow manner so he wouldn't keep his eyes from Roche for too long, but at the moment his eyes roamed up the concrete wall… he froze in place at the presence on top of it.
He lowered his sword slowly as he watched the fabric of his brother's white suit ripple with the impact of the wind, the scythe neatly placed on his back as he was seemingly staring right down at him from behind that mask of his.
"This is bad…" Wedge mumbled out with a certain amount of fear from beside Biggs.
The said man gazed nervously between Cloud and Naruto before his eyes settled back on the semi-trembling form of Wedge, "Yeah, this is bad news. What the hell is taking Jessie so long?"
"I don't know! She said it'd be like a walk in the park," Wedge stammered out, "You think he is gonna kill us?"
Biggs bit the inside of his cheek, "No… we got Cloud, he is strong enough. We'll get out of here alive, don't worry."
Before Cloud could mutter a word, not that he was sure what he'd even say, he let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as he watched his brother step forward and drop down from the wall. He landed in a crouched-down position before he stood up again.
The entire front of the warehouse was completely silent, aside from the white-clad SOLDIER's footsteps echoing through the area as he walked closer, and closer.
Cloud gripped his hands a bit tighter around the sword's handle as the talk he'd been having with Jessie earlier went through his head. About what he was ready to do if they encountered him again. He'd said then that if Naruto wanted them dead, they would be.
A mix of uncertainty, and hope, flashed through him as he mentally prayed that the other blond wouldn't reach for his scythe and attack him.
The anxious feeling flushed from his body the second his brother passed him and walked in the direction of Roche. Instinctively, he turned his head and stepped forward, "Wait!"
Before he could get any further, Roche stepped in between them with his sword drawn, "Hey now, no stabbing the boss in the back like that, or Director Scarlet might rip you a new one herself. Your battle is with me, remember? The key to the engine has been turned, and it's ready to roar."
Cloud fought the urge to cringe at the metaphor, as he looked past Roche and in the direction of Naruto who had yet to say a word.
Though, as he walked up to the line of infantrymen surrounding him and Roche, he saw Naruto turn his head and look at him again doing a few quick signs with his hand that only he managed to see.
His eyes widened in surprise, as he made out the code "Don't die" and fought the urge to smile. He had been right earlier in his assumption about Naruto not wanting him dead after all.
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Jessie cursed under her breath as she scouted through several different rows of weapons equipment and materials inside the warehouse. The parts and materials she needed hadn't been where she expected them to be, most likely because they had moved stuff around or something.
She bit the inside of her cheek as her hand moved through box after box whilst holding a flashlight, climbing around on the shelves to find the last few components. She'd managed to get a few of the things she was looking for, but the last thing on her list was nowhere to be found.
The ruckus outside had briefly stopped but had begun again. Even louder than before, she amusedly gazed toward the wall as she figured that Cloud and the boys were probably putting in more work than needed but it did give her more time, so she didn't mind.
Shaking her head, she pushed the book she had just looked through back on its spot and sighed. With a quick wipe of her forehead to get the sweat away, her heart skipped a beat as she heard some rustling behind her.
Spinning around on her feet, she reached for her gun but as her fingers just touched the handle her blood ran cold in her veins as she stared right into the barrel of a white gun pointed directly at her face from afar.
"Don't reach for that, please?" She heard the person mutter out quietly, as he sat on top of one of the aisles.
'Crap…' She mouthed and lifted her head. Though as she took in the newcomer, her head tilted a bit to the side in realization once she saw the armor and scythe the man was carrying on his back.
Jessie raised her hands up beside her shoulders as she stared at the man's mask, "Hey, wait a minute… You're Cloud's brother, aren't you?" She asked him slowly.
Naruto looked visibly surprised as he lowered the gun from her face and put it back inside its holster, "So you know who I am? Well, that makes this easier. Though I've got no idea who you are." He answered and dropped down from the aisle, landing with a quiet thud a few feet away from her.
The brunette slowly lowered her hands, "Easier? Like, not killing me for breaking into your warehouse easier, or?"
"How barbaric do you think I am?" Naruto asked with clear amusement.
Jessie couldn't help but smirk a bit in return, "Well you are wielding a scythe, so you tell me."
The blond looked behind him to the handle of his scythe and shrugged his shoulders, "Fair point, I guess that makes sense," He chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest, "So what're you looking for?"
She raised a brow and mimicked his action of crossing her own arms under her chest, "Aren't you supposed to like, ask me to surrender or something?"
"Why would I do that?" He asked next.
Jessie visibly deflated at his question and put her hands up in a questioning manner, "Uhm, because you're Shinra?"
Naruto blinked behind his mask as he took a seat on one of the crates, "Oh, right. Well, the thing with being a first-class SOLDIER is that aside from President Shinra, they can't really tell me to do anything I don't feel like."
With a quick blink of her eyes, Jessie gazed between the different rows of aisles in the warehouse, "So… you don't feel like stopping me?"
He shook his head and crossed his legs on top of the crate, "Not really no, it's just a warehouse. Plus, Roche told me not to step in since it was his fight. While I'm fairly confident he was only referring to his battle with my brother, who am I to assume."
She let out a small laugh, "Won't you get in trouble for that?"
Naruto laughed in return and rested his chin in the palm of his hand, "What're they gonna do? They're all bark and no bite, they just appear tough for the public's sake. Especially Heidegger, man is a total ass kisser."
Besides looking beyond amused, Jessie quickly started going through several crates and boxes again. Keeping an eye on Naruto who just sat and watched her in the meantime, "You know I have to ask, why aren't you feeling like doing what're you supposed to?"
The blond raised a brow, "Hmm, well, my brother is with you guys. It's been a while since I last saw him, and uh… I don't want to hurt him?"
The brown-haired girl paused her actions and looked toward him, "So Cloud was right, if you wanted us dead, we would be."
"That's a grim way to put it, but without sounding overconfident, yeah that's right." He replied swiftly.
She rolled her eyes in return in a slightly teasing way, "At least you're humble."
"Still didn't get your name."
Jessie scratched the back of her head and contemplated whether or not to answer him, until she slowly responded, "Jessie."
Naruto let out a few chuckles at her uncertainty as he readjusted some of his armor idly, "So… How is he? He's all grown up compared to when I last saw him."
"Cloud?" Jessie asked, though she already knew the answer, "He's alright I guess, he's the quiet type. Doesn't smile much, all business and no pleasure, but he's opening up to us so that's a good thing."
The corners of his lips quirked upward at the comment, "Sounds like Cloud, he was always a bit… monotone? Even as a kid, but he means well."
"You seem like you care a lot about him," Jessie thought out loud as she pushed open another box, listening to the swords clashing outside, "I have to know, what's with the mask you're wearing?"
Having forgotten completely about it, Naruto touched the fabric covering his face, "My bad, I just forget that I wear it. It was part of the uniform they prepared, I'm not sure what the reason is aside from aesthetics." He sweatdropped and pulled the uniform's hood down and dragged the mask off his head.
Jessie cupped her chin as she tilted her head, "Like two drops of water, you two look almost identical. Though your hair is a bit longer."
Naruto sweatdropped at the comparison, "Thanks, I think?"
"You're welcome, so… can't you like make my life a bit easier and just tell me where this is?" She eventually asked bluntly, hearing even more commotion outside now with more gunfire than what Wedge and Biggs should be able to produce, so it sounded like things were either going wrong or out of control.
He gave a slight nod of his head and stood up from the crate. Taking a look at the list she was now holding up for him, he gave a brief hum and pointed down the warehouse, "Oh that's easy, it's in section four in the third aisles. Should be around the bottom to the left."
"Easy?" She repeated in a dry tone before jogging off, only taking about four minutes before she returned with the item in hand which she quickly stuffed inside her bag, "Why did you help me?"
Naruto remained silent for a couple of seconds, "We should go, this place will be flooded soon. Your friends and my brother are making a mess out of Shinra's forces, and reinforcements should be arriving any second now."
"You didn't answer my question," She mumbled as she ran up to catch up with him as they made their way toward the back entrance of the warehouse.
The blond rubbed his neck and opened the door for her, "Let's just say it's my way of saying sorry for almost cleaving you guys in half yesterday."
With a visible pout, she waltzed out of the door, "Come on, you can do better than that-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as she was roughly dragged to the side, a hand slapped over her mouth.
She was about to reach for her gun and shoot his guts out until she saw exactly why he'd dragged her away from the road. Four infantrymen were starting to make their way toward the back entrance.
"Stay here, don't move. I'll go take care of it," Naruto whispered out just loud enough for her to hear as he removed his hand. Putting a finger to his lips to signal for her to be quiet before he walked around the corner.
Gazing backward from the corner of his eyes, he soon rolled his eyes as the infantrymen drew their weapons on him, "Come on, get those things away." He called out, watching their confused appearances.
The one at the front lowered his assault rifle and paused, causing his three squad members to halt as well, "Excuse us, sir, we were told to search the back and warehouse for intruders. The front is like a small warzone."
"It's all clear back here, the front entrance hasn't been breached. You can go join the rest of your squad and help flush out the intruders, do we have any idea what they came for?" Naruto asked as if he already didn't know or had helped them get it.
The one to the left shook his head, "No sir, we've been unable to achieve such information. Which is why we were sent to search the inside of the warehouse."
Naruto gave a small sigh, "As I said it's clear with no traces of the intruders had managed to get inside, security measures must've stopped them at the front. I'll lock up and do a sweep, you guys can head back."
One of the infantrymen gripped his gun a bit tighter, "You don't want any backup? You know, just in case?"
With a deadpan expression, Naruto turned his head to him and gave him a blank stare, "I said, I'll handle it."
"Y-Yes sir, we'll leave at once," The one at the front hurriedly answered whilst shooting a glare at his squad member who looked confused, but nodded his head as the rest of the group started to wander back to where they came from.
Naruto waited a couple of extra seconds once they were out of sight before he whistled and waved his hand, "You can come out now."
Jessie peaked her head around the corner and gazed over the area with her eyes before jogging up to him, "Damn, you're cold. Did you know that?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" The blond asked with a distraught expression that made her very amused.
She shrugged her shoulders as she started to lead the way toward the area she'd agreed to meet the others at, "Y'know, telling your own people off like that, aren't you like betraying them by doing this?"
"Perhaps, I don't really care… They've lied to me too much for me to give a damn at this rate," He said truthfully as they hid behind some barrels in the lot.
Jessie kept quiet for a second, trying to figure out what he meant before a question came to mind, "I got a question for you… the reactor explosion, do you think a bomb could've done that much damage?"
He raised a brow, "Depends on the type of bomb you used, but I've wondered about that myself."
"Say you took the components I just gathered, but a step higher in regard to the explosion," She let out in a soft tone.
Naruto raised an outraged brow, "Then there's no way that bomb would've caused that much exterior damage if any, I'm a bit of an… enthusiast on demolition, I build some bombs myself too to experiment. If that's true, then something even fishier is going on."
"What can be fishier than this?" She asked.
Clenching his fist, he closed his eyes for a second, " Telling me my brother is dead?"
The brunette's eyes widened in a sudden moment of realization, "Hold on, you don't mean to tell me that they-"
"Shh, quiet, someone is coming." Naruto shushed as they ducked back down behind the barrels.
The girl slowly stuck her head out until a sigh of relief escaped her lips at seeing Biggs and Cloud run around the corner.
She stood to her feet and waved her hand in their direction, "You made it! Over here!"
The two gave a relieved look until they heard the sound of several vehicles approaching their location, along with the voices of the troopers who were driving them. Quickly they crouched down behind some boxes along the wall to remain out of sight.
"Reinforcements arrived just as you said, seems like we owe you another one," Jessie chuckled silently as she shot a look at Naruto.
The older blond gave a slight smile, "Think nothing of it."
"Stay here for a minute," She told him before she snuck out from behind the barrels and over to Cloud and Biggs.
With a slightly louder tone, she gazed between the mercenary and comrade, "Could you have been any louder? I mean, it made my job a lot easier, but… wait, where's Wedge?"
As if on cue, the large man slumped down the road and fell against the asphalt with a slight grunt as his face landed against the hard ground.
"Wedge!" Jessie called out as she prepared to run to him, but a hand from Cloud stopped her, to which she looked at him confused.
The younger blond first gave a look to her, and then back at Biggs, "We'll go get him," He quickly received a nod, and the two and the two made their way out on the road.
"Hey buddy," Biggs half-chuckled as he and Cloud swung the large man's arms over their shoulders, slowly carrying him toward where Jessie was still hiding as Wedge grunted out in pain, "Come on, let's go."
The brown-haired girl let out a sigh of relief as she looked at the three others, and then toward the barrels. Giving a last look at Cloud who met her gaze with a sense of curiosity, she whistled out.
"Hey, you can come out now," She called out as silently as she could, the rest of her friends looking at her like she had grown a second head.
Naruto, who had been hiding behind the barrels, slightly gripped his chest over his armor, feeling his heart hammering away. He'd heard Cloud was there, and for the first time in a long while he was actually unsure of what to do.
Slowly he stood to his feet and walked out from behind the barrels, almost giving Wedge and Biggs a heart attack in the process.
Both men quickly drew their weapons on him, Wedge biting the inside of his cheek to keep his mind off the pain he was feeling.
Biggs gritted his teeth as he flicked his eyes between Jessie and Naruto, "What the hell is he doing here?"
With a small gasp, Jessie ran in between the two as she watched Naruto reach down for his own weapon to defend himself, "Hold on! He's friendly, put your guns down before you get us caught!"
With an uncertain look, Wedge lowered his weapon, "Looking at him makes me feel like we're already caught though…"
"Got to agree with Wedge there, I'm not sure why you got one of Shinra's best sneaking around with you," Biggs quickly agreed.
Cloud stared at him for a long while. The two blonds stared each other in the eye, which had been the first time they'd actually seen each other's face in person in several years.
The younger brother's mouth opened and closed a few times, unsure of what to say.
Naruto gave a slow blink as his lips quirked upward, the tension in the air almost so thick you could choke on it as he just simply said.
"Hey Cloud, it's been a while."
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