Cloud grunted as he kept a tight hold of the edge of the bridge with one hand. He didn't think the mission was going to go like this. Meeting President Shinra was a surprise since the man never left his office. And what shocked him the most was that the man mentioned him becoming like Sephiroth because of the exposure to Mako. But he killed Sephiroth… didn't he?

Cloud winced when a sharp pain needled at his temple, almost making him lose his hold.

"It's gonna blow! Let's go, Tifa!" shouted Barrett, grabbing the girl's forearm as the building shook.

Tifa gripped his hand as she kept her eyes on Cloud, "Barret! Can't you do something?"

The gun-armed man shook his head, "Not a damn thing."

She couldn't believe it. This mission was supposed to be easy like the last, but here she was, about to lose her childhood friend again. And even though she knew that Cloud didn't feel the same way about her, Tifa at least wanted him to know about her feelings for him.

"Cloud! Please don't die! You can't die! There's still so much I want to tell you!"

Cloud looked at her regretfully, "I know, Tifa..."

Barrett narrowed his eyes at the blond Ex-SOLDIER. He may not have liked the guy, only because he used to work for Shinra, but that didn't mean he wanted to wish death on him. However, seeing how he had gotten them here so far and fought alongside him, Barrett knew he would be fine but asked anyway.

"Hey, you gonna be awright?"

Cloud grunted. He could feel his grip loosening. However, he didn't want to worry them, especially Tifa, any further and answered, "You worry about yourselves! I'm all right, but take care of Tifa!"

Barrett knew the blond was only pretending to be strong for the ravenette and nodded, "...Alright. Sorry 'bout all this."

Feeling his hold slipping further, Cloud glared, "Stop talkin' like this is the end!"

His hold finally slipped when the reactor exploded, shaking the entire building with the bridge.

"No! Cloud!" shouted Tifa, reaching for him as she watched him fall.

Barrett grabbed her and started tugging, "Come on, Tifa! There's nothing we can do for him right now! We got to get goin'!"

'...You all right?'

'...Can you hear me?'

"...Yeah..." answered Cloud, a sense of familiarity with the voice. But, for some reason, he couldn't remember the face to whom the voice belonged.

'Back then... You could get by with just skinned knees...'

Confused, he asked, "...What do you mean by 'back then'?"

'What about now? Can you get up?'

"...What do you mean by 'that time'? ...What about now?" Cloud tried asking again. However, the voice waved his question.

'...Don't worry about me. You just worry about yourself now.'

Knowing that he wouldn't get an answer from them, Cloud mentally nodded, "...I'll give it a try."

"Oh! It moved! Whew... Am I glad."

A different voice this time. A feminine one that sounded familiar to Cloud, but he couldn't remember the face of the voice.

'...How about that? Take it slow now. Little by little...'

Cloud listened to the voice and tried it again. This time, he could feel his fingers twitch.

"Hello, hello?" called out the same feminine voice.

Cloud frowned at the female's voice as he tried to talk to the mystery voice, "...I know.

Hey... who are you?"

The voice didn't answer him this time. Instead, a giggle was heard in the distance. A peal of laughter that Cloud could recognize anywhere, even in his memories.

"Come on, sleepy head, it's time to wake up."

Feeling her presence moving farther away, Cloud called out, not wanting the owner that the voice belonged to leave him, "No… don't go."

"Hello, hello!" the female voice called out.

"Rei!" shouted Cloud, sitting up quickly as he reached a hand out in front of him.

Hearing the laughter fade, the ex-SOLDIER looked down at his outstretched hand. As his eyes narrowed, he fisted it in front of him, determined that he would find Rei again as he could still hear her echoing laughter.

"You okay?"

Turning to the voice's owner, Cloud saw a brunette female beside him. She was looking down at him in concern. Looking at his surroundings, Cloud found him on a flower bed in some old, run-down church. He turns his attention back to the girl when she sees him inspecting his whereabouts.

"This is a church in the Sector Five slums. It suddenly fell on top of me. It really gave me a scare."

Putting a hand on his head, Cloud tried to recap what happened until he remembered the failed mission and meeting President Shinra.

Looking up at the ceiling, the ex-SOLDIER could see the hole he probably made when he fell, "...I came crashing down?"

"The roof and the flower bed must have broken your fall. You're lucky," said the brunette, smiling when she saw he was fine.

"Flower bed... is this yours?" asked Cloud, looking down when he saw that he was lying on some of the flowers. Guilty about crushing the flowers with his weight, he leaped onto his feet and stood on the hardwood floor, "Sorry about that."

The brunette shook her head, "That's all right. The flowers here are quite resilient because this is a sacred place." Looking down at the flowers with her hands held behind her, she smiled, "They say you can't grow grass and flowers in Midgar. But for some reason, the flowers have no trouble blooming here. I love it here."

Cloud looked down at the flowers and agreed with her. With most of the time he had spent here in Midgar, not once had he seen flowers this flourishing, considering the city was made of only steel and scraps.

"...So, we meet again," said the brunette.

Cloud raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was talking about, considering he had never met her. Of course, he'll immediately forget the person if he had only met them once as a passerby, which is most likely the latter.

When the girl saw the confusion on his face, she lightly touched one of the flower's petals, "...Don't you remember me?"

Seeing her downhearted look, Cloud immediately feels guilty and tries to remember who she is until he sees that the flowers look somewhat familiar. The flowers reminded him of someone who always smiled when they saw him.

"Come on now, Cloud. Don't tell me you forgot?"

Hearing the memory of her voice, Cloud smiled, "Yeah, I remember you… You were selling flowers."

His smile dropped when the girl quickly stood up and clasped her hands as she approached his face. With a bright smile, she exclaimed, "Oh! I'm so happy!"

When she saw that the ex-SOLDIER was uncomfortable with her closeness, she embarrassedly took a step away with an apologetic look while thanking him, "Thanks for buying my flowers."

Cloud nodded, a silent 'You're welcome' to her.

The silence between them soon became awkward as the girl decided to check on the flowers that Cloud had landed on top of. It was quiet between them for a minute until she asked, "Say, do you have any materia?"

A bit surprised by her question, Cloud answered, "Yes, some. Nowadays, you can find materia anywhere."

She smiled, touching the materia that Cloud hadn't noticed that was tied on the ribbon in her hair, "But mine is special. It's good for absolutely nothing."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, confused about how that could be possible, "...good for nothing? You probably just don't know how to use it."

The brunette shook her head, "No, I do... it just doesn't do anything." She lightly touches it, "I feel safe just having it. It was my mother's..."

Cloud watched as she reminisced through a memory she only remembered until she quickly snapped out of it and stood up, smiling at him, "Say, I feel like talking. Do you feel up to it?

After all, here we are meeting again, right?"

Cloud crossed his arms and looked away as he replied, "Got nothing to talk about."

His reply made her feel dejected as her smile became sad, and said, "...oh, I see." Looking over at the flower bed, the brunette tried to change the subject to get her out of the awkward silence, "Ahhh. I wonder whose fault that is. It takes a lot to grow them, you know. Poor flowers."

Watching her crouch down by the flower bed to inspect the flowers, Cloud rubbed the back of his neck. He felt guilty about what he said, but his mission wasn't to stay in Midgar any longer than he had to be. Finding Rei was his main priority, and what happened at the last mission with Barrett and Tifa became a minor setback in his plan to search for her.

Cloud needed to get back to Sector Seven. So turning to the flower girl, he started, "Hey."

He was interrupted when the brunette said, "Just a little longer."

Thankfully, it didn't take long until she stood back up and realized what he said, "Oh! Now that you mention it… We don't know each other's names, do we? My name is… I'm Aerith, the flower girl. Nice to meet you."

The ex-SOLDIER, deciding to be polite since he had already been a jerk to her earlier, replied, "The name's Cloud. Me…? I do a little bit of everything."

Aerith looked away as she tried to hide her giggle when she heard his profession, "Oh… a jack of all trades."

"Yeah, I do whatever's needed," said Cloud, stopping when Aerith couldn't hold her laughter. He raised a brow, "What's so funny? What are you laughing at?"

Her laughter dying, Aerith apologized, "Sorry… I just-" Her words died when she noticed a familiar red-haired wearing suit. Reno, a Turk, one of Shinra's men who had been trying to get her to go with them willingly back to a place she did not have fond memories of.

Confused about why she stopped talking, Cloud turned to look at where she was looking and tensed when he noticed the red-haired male.

Aerith apologetically smiled, "Sorry, bad timing on my part."

Cloud grabbed hold of the handle of his buster sword, narrowing his eyes as he confronted them.

He stepped forward until Aerith grabbed his arm, shaking her head, "Cloud! Don't let it get to you!"

Cloud looked into her eyes. It showed her desperate for him not to fight. Sighing, he lets go of his hold on his sword and softly shrugs her hands away. A silent 'okay.'

Aerith smiled in relief. Glancing at Reno, she saw that he was getting closer. Not wanting to confront him again, the flower girl remembered the ex-SOLDIER's occupation, "Say, Cloud. Have you ever been a bodyguard? You can do anything, right?"

Knowing where this was going, Cloud slowly replied, "...Yeah, that's right."

"Then, get me out of here. Take me home," said Aerith, clasping her hands before her.

Cloud looked away, pursing his lips as his eyes narrowed at the ground. He didn't want delays in leaving this city to start his search. But seeing how he had treated the brunette, who had been nothing but nice to him, Cloud could mentally see Rei scolding him for his attitude. And knowing that the silver-haired girl would rather he helped others when needed. Then instead of finding her, Cloud gave in. Even though to him, Rei would always be first, then anything else.

Looking back at Aerith, he nodded, "Okay, I'll do it… but it'll cost you."

What? Just because he accepted doesn't mean that he'll be doing it for free. However, what she said next caught him off guard.

"Well then, let's see… How about if I go out with you once?"

Taking a couple of steps away from her, Cloud frowned at her words. Guess he should've specified his payment if he knew that was what she would say. Then again, seeing that she does live in slums and was trying to sell the flowers for only one gil, he knew she wouldn't have much. However, he didn't know how to feel about a date that wasn't Rei. But then, this was only payment. Payment for his service to protect her.

Sighing, Cloud accepted it and made it up to Rei when he found her. Walking up to stand before Aerith, Cloud narrowed his eyes at the red-haired male, "I don't know who you are, but… You don't know me…"

Something didn't seem right to the ex-SOLDIER. He knew he had encountered him before. Or rather, someone who was almost the same as this guy. But for some reason, it was as if his memories were jumbled. He knew them, and yet… not at the same time.

Just then, his head hurt. He winced as an unrecognizable voice that sounded like his, yet wasn't, spoke, '... I know you.'

As if something clicked in his mind, Cloud remembered, "Oh yeah… I know you. That uniform…"

It was odd to see Turks, and to see them meant that it was bad news. They were Shinra's top men besides SOLDIER. Loyal dogs to only Shinra. So to see them down here makes the ex-SOLDIER wonder what their mission was.

Cloud's attention was soon on three soldiers in their blue Shinra uniform. They entered the building, standing behind Reno as they started laughing at the blond.

"...Hey, sis, this one's a little weird," snickered one of the soldiers, talking to Aerith, who still hid behind Cloud.

That earned them a glare from the ex-SOLDIER, "Shut up! You Shinra spy!"

His words seemed to tick the soldiers off as they brought their weapons up, "Reno! Want him taken out?"

Reno raised his hand before rubbing his chin as he looked closer at Cloud, "I haven't decided yet."

Looking at him closely, Reno wondered about who this was. The man standing in front of him wore a First-class SOLDIERS uniform. And yet, not once has he seen him before. Which intrigued the red-haired male who this impersonator was. And what's even more interesting was that the blond had Mako eyes. Eyes that only SOLDIER has.

The Turk didn't get to dwell on this thought for long until Aerith shouted, "Don't fight here! You'll ruin the flowers!" Seeing her run, Cloud started to follow her, seeing as he was her bodyguard. They both ran towards the door to the left of the altar as Aerith put a hand on the entryway and pointed at it, "The exit is back there."

Trusting her since he doesn't know the building well, Cloud started running behind her to protect her back as they ran upstairs toward the rafters. The ex-SOLDIER grabbed the brunette's arm when he noticed the broad gap in the floorboards.

"There they are, over there!" shouted Reno, pointing up at them down from the entranceway. Cloud narrowed his eyes at the Turk as Aerith frowned, "Cloud… that one!"

The blond pursed his lips, "I know. Looks like they aren't going to let us go."

"What should we do?" asked Aerith, looking down as the Shinra soldiers entered behind Reno.

"Well, we can't let them catch us, can we? Then, there's only one thing left," replied Cloud. Facing the gap, Cloud started running and jumped over the large gap with ease. Turning back to the brunette, he shouted to her, "Aerith! This way!"

Nervously walking up to the gap, Aerith shook her head at how large the gap was. Fear overtook her mind as she thought she wouldn't make it.

Cloud mentally sighs, should've known she might be too scared to jump, and nods, "All right. I'll hold them off."

Aerith held her hands before her chest as she nodded, "Right. Make sure they don't get through!"

However, before they could do anything, Reno ordered the soldiers, "The Ancient is getting away! Attack! Attack! Attack!"

Following his orders, the soldiers raised their weapons and started shooting at her. Startled, Aerith lost her footing at the edge of the gap and fell down the pillar to the bottom floor as she screamed.

Cloud shouted as he looked down to ensure the brunette was all right, "Aerith!"

Reno scratched his cheek, "Think we killed 'em?" Looking down at the bottom floor, everyone saw Aerith returning to her feet as she winced at the bruises she knew she had earned from that fall. Seeing that she was fine, the red-haired male clicked his tongue, "They shouldn't have put up a fight, I say!" Although, he wasn't looking forward to someone getting on his case if the brunette got injured.

Cloud looked over when he saw one of the soldiers jump down to the bottom floor where Aerith was and advanced towards her. Seeing the soldier approach her, Aerith shouted for the blonde, "Cloud, help!"

Narrowing his eyes, Cloud fisted his hand, "Damn!" He then looks around to see if there is anything he can use to help her until he looks up to see barrels on the rafters.

"What's that…?"

"Use them."

Cloud jolted when he heard her voice in his head. Wondering if he'll hear her voice again, Cloud waited a minute longer. However, when he no longer heard her voice, he shook his head and knew what to do with the barrels.

Cloud looked down at her as he shouted, "Aerith! Hold on a minute!"

Aerith brought her rod out and held it before her as she nervously shouted back, "A-all right."

Running up the short stairs to the rafters, Cloud saw four barrels. He went towards the one in front of him and looked down to see the soldier right under him. Cloud nodded, 'Perfect.'

Pushing the barrel down, it falls and knocks over the soldier. The soldier shouted as the heavy barrel knocked him out. Aerith smiled up at him, "Thanks, Cloud."

The ex-SOLDIER did this to the other two Shinra soldiers who blocked Aerith's pathway back up the stairs. But thanks to the heavy barrels, Cloud could get rid of them easily. After dispatching the soldiers, Aerith joined Cloud in the rafters as the latter gestured for her to follow him, "Aerith, this way."

Following him without complaint, Cloud led them through a hole in the roof. Once they finally made it outside, they stopped momentarily to catch a breather. Cloud turned to Aerith when she started laughing, "They're looking for me again."

"You mean it's not the first time they've been after you?" asked Cloud, wondering why they were after her and for how long.

Aerith smiled as she replied, "...no."

He frowned, "They're the Turks."

Her only reply was a hum.

Cloud decided to tell her what the Turks were as he watched her expression closely, "The Turks are an organization in Shinra. They scout for possible candidates for SOLDIER."

Her smile still upon her face, Aerith's eyes shone in amusement, "This violently? I thought they were kidnapping someone."

Cloud narrowed his eyes at her as he continued, "They're also involved in a lot of dirty stuff on the side. Spying, murder… you know."

Her smile then turned solemnly as she softly replied, "They look like it."

Cloud then asked her directly, "But why are they after you? There must be a reason, right?"

He wanted to know what Reno meant when he called her 'The Ancient.' Was it another organization name that Aerith was a part of? Or was it something else? But it would seem he wouldn't be getting the answer to it when Aerith replied jokingly, "No, not really. I think they believe I have what it takes to be in SOLDIER!"

Deciding to ponder this some other time, Cloud shook his head and focused his mind back on the mission so he could finish it and be on his way.

"Maybe you do. You want to join?"

Aerith shrugged, "I don't know… But I don't want to get caught by those people!"

Cloud nodded and gestured for her to follow as he crossed the roofs, "Then, let's go!"

Caught off guard by his sudden action, Aerith quickly followed behind. However, no matter how much she tried to catch up, he was too fast.

"Wait… Wait, I said!" she shouted.

Cloud stopped and turned to wait for her to catch up. When she did, she was out of breath as she wheezed, "Slow… down… Don't leave me…"

Cloud smirked, "Funny… I thought you were cut out to be in SOLDIER."

Aerith pouted at his jab, "Oh! You're terrible!"

They both started laughing until Cloud stopped, pondering the last time he had laughed like this. It was probably with Rei when he left Neibelheim…

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Aerith quietly asked, "Hey… Cloud. Were you… ever in SOLDIER?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow at how she knew. He clearly remembers not telling her what he used to be before being a mercenary, "... I used to be. How did you guess?"

Aerith smiled softly as she looked him in the eyes, "...Your eyes. They have a strange glow…"

Cloud nodded. Should've known that the mako energy in his eyes would be a dead giveaway. Though curious about how she knew about it.

"That's the sign of those who have been infused with Mako… A mark of SOLDIER. But how did you know about that?"

Looking at her, Cloud raised an eyebrow when he saw sadness in her eyes as she sadly smiled, "...Oh, nothing."

"Nothing…?" asked Cloud, now curious more than ever.

However, before he could push more on the subject, Aerith shook her head and brightly smiled at him, "Right, nothing! Come on, let's go, bodyguard!"

Seeing it wasn't his business, Cloud pushed the subject to the back of his mind and started leading them down from the roofs. It took them a while, but they finally reached ground level.

Aerith sighed in relief, "Whew! Finally made it off! Now what…" Looking around, she ran in a direction and smiled at Cloud, "My house is over here. Hurry before he comes."

Cloud quickly follows her as they arrive at the slums of Sector Five. When he didn't expect to hear was some groaning coming from a pipe on their left. The guy noticed where they were looking and answered, "That guy in the pipe's a weird one. No matter what you ask him, he only answers 'uuh' or 'aah.'"

Aerith frowned, knowing exactly who the guy was talking about. She explained to Cloud, "This guy is sick. He passed out nearby, and someone must have helped him here."

Cloud followed her into the pipe to see the sick man sitting on the bed, groaning in pain. Aerith stepped towards him as she sadly looked at Cloud, "This is the one… Won't you help him?"

The ex-SOLDIER shook his head, "Listen, I'm no doctor."

Aerith sighed, "No… I guess not…" Just when she was about to leave until she saw something on the man, "Hey… that man has a tattoo. I think it was the number two."

Curious, Cloud was going to walk up to take a look as well until Rei's voice stopped him, 'Don't go near him…'

Looking around, Cloud tried to see if he could find her. When he saw nothing, however, Cloud brought a hand to touch the necklace that Rei had gifted him before listening to her voice and started leaving out of the pipe, "We should get going."

With his back turned to her, Cloud didn't see the knowing look on Aerith's face as she got up and followed right behind him. Back outside, Aerith started leading Cloud through the slum until they reached an outskirt area that was filled with sunlight and so much green everywhere. The ex-SOLDIER looked at the scenery, quite surprised to see any greens here in Midgar other than the surviving flowers back in the old church.

Entering Aerith's home, Cloud saw an older woman who looked nothing like the brunette walking out of the kitchen area. Aerith smiled, "I'm home, mom." She then gestured to Cloud, "This is Cloud. My bodyguard."

Aerith's mother, Elmyra, frowned as she put her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "Bodyguard…? You mean you were followed again?! Are you all right?! You're not hurt, are you?!"

Aerith put her hands over her mother's and smiled reassuringly, "I'm all right. I had Cloud with me."

Emlyra sighed in relief and turned to the ex-SOLDIER, "Thank you, Cloud."

Cloud nodded to her. As Elmyra headed upstairs, Aerith turned to him and asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

Now that his mission with Aerith is over, Cloud can finally return to his main mission. But first, he needed to collect his money from a certain hot-headed gunman.

"...Is Sector Seven far from here? I want to go to Tifa's bar."

Curious about who this Tifa was, Aerith asked, "Is Tifa… a girl?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow at how she had asked that question, "Yeah."

Aerith hummed, "A girl…friend?"

Cloud frowned at the notion, "Girlfriend? No way!"

The brunette giggled, "You didn't have to get that upset…"

Cloud huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "If you're asking if she's a girl and is a friend, then yes, she is. But a girlfriend? I already have someone else."

Hearing this intrigued Aerith as she put her hands behind her and leaned towards him to get some juicy details from the ex-SOLDIER, "Oh? Do tell?"

Cloud debated on whether he should tell her or not. But before he could decide, his heart moved his mouth for him, "Her name is Rei. Rei is the kindest person you'll ever meet. She never judges you on your background or cares about your past. When I'm in her presence, it feels like I'm under the sunlight. And when she hugs me, I feel safe in her arms…"

He trailed off, knowing he could say much more about the girl. But just thinking about her made his determination to leave Midgar to find her even stronger.

Aerith smiled softly, yet a bit jealous of the girl she knew Cloud had truly fallen in love with, "Well, that's… nice." Changing the subject, Aerith clapped her hands, "Let's see, Sector Seven? I'll show you the way."

Cloud looked at her in disbelief, "You gotta be kidding. Why do you want to put yourself in danger again?"

The brunette shrugged and replied, "I'm used to it."

"Used to it?!" exclaimed Cloud, wondering how much of a trouble magnet this girl was if she was used to danger. He then decided to say something that hopefully would make her back off and let him leave so he could return to Tifa's bar by himself. "...Well, don't know… getting help from a girl…"

He flinched when Aerith angrily exclaimed, "A girl?! What do you mean by that?! You expect me to just sit by and listen after hearing you say something like that?!" Huffing, she shouted out to her mother, "Mom! I'm taking Cloud to Sector Seven. I'll be back in a while."

Elmyra returns down the stairs as she tries to protest, "But dear…" Her words died when she saw the determination on her daughter's face and sighed, knowing fully well that she couldn't argue with her.

"I give up. You never listen once you've made up your mind. But if you must go, why don't you go tomorrow? It's getting late now."

As she nodded, Aerith's anger instantly changed to happiness, "Yeah, you're right, Mom."

Elmyra smiled as she gestured upstairs, "Aerith, please go and make the bed."

Nodding, the brunette followed her mother's request and went upstairs.

Meanwhile, Cloud stood rods stiff and blinked at the girl's mood change as she disappeared up the stairs. Not wanting to experience that again, the blond made a mental note not ever to call her a girl. If Aerith had gotten mad, Cloud wonders if all females would act similarly. If they did… he shivered as goosebumps ran down his spine at how Rei would react if he had said it to her.

Cloud was snapped out of his thoughts when Elmyra started talking to him, "That glow in your eyes… you're from SOLDIER, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Rather I used to be…"

Elmyra inwardly sighed, "...I don't know how to say this, but… Would you please leave here tonight? Without telling Aerith. SOLDIER… the last thing Aerith needs is to get her feelings hurt again…"

Again?

Cloud wonders what she had meant by that. Did Aerith meet a SOLDIER? Is that why the Turks were after her? Knowing that wondering about these things would get him no answer, Cloud nodded to Elmyra's wishes and went upstairs.

Making it up to the top of the stairs, Cloud was surprised to see Aerith standing there as she continued their conversation downstairs, "You need to go through Sector Six to get to Sector Seven. Sector Six is a little dangerous, so you'd better get some rest tonight."

Nodding, Cloud passed her to go to the guest room she had prepared for him until Aerith stopped him, "Cloud…"

Turning to her, Cloud wondered what she wanted. Opening her mouth to say something, Aerith soon closed it, shook her head, and smiled, "Good night."

He watched her go downstairs before rubbing the back of his neck, "Oh, man…"

~ Dream ~

Sleeping was always hard for Cloud. Especially since he was scared that he would never wake back up. However, ever since that… event… with Sephiroth… Cloud just felt restless.

'...seem pretty tired…"

Cloud tensed as he looked at the darkness around him. The voice… it sounded like him… yet, someone he knew and was very fond of… someone he couldn't remember…

'I haven't slept in a bed like this… in a long time.'

Thinking about it, Cloud agreed, '...Oh, yeah.'

'Ever since then.'

~ Cloud's House in Nibelheim ~

Cloud was sprawled on his bed as his mother put away some stuff in their rightful place. When she was done, she walked up to where he lay and put her hands on her hips, smiling softly at him.

"My, how you've grown. I'll bet the girls never leave you alone."

Cloud shrugged, "...Not interested."

His mother giggled, "Of course. Especially since you have been pining after Rei since you both were very young."

Cloud blushed and turned away so his mother couldn't see his beet-red face. However, his mother already knew and started laughing. She had always found her son's crush on the Silver-haired girl adorable.

"You know, you should confess to Rei soon. Even I know that she holds great affection for you just as you do her."

Furrowing his brows, Cloud pursed his lips, "How do you know?"

His mother winked at him, "A mother's intuition. And it's also because I observe how she acts around you." She then sighs, "Just don't wait too long, Cloud. I want to be a grandmother soon."

That got the boy's face burning bright red as he stared at his mother in disbelief. That got his mother to laugh.

When she finally caught her breath and stopped teasing her son, his mother came and sat next to him on the bed as she ran a hand through his hair, "I just want to make sure that you'll be all right. And I know that Rei will take perfect care of you."

Her words made Cloud frown as he grasped his mother's hand. He could still remember when he was young; his mother's hand dwarfed his as her touch kept him safe. But now, his hands were bigger than hers, dwarfing his mother's hands this time.

"Why are you talking like you won't be here?"

The only answer he received was a sad smile as tears fell from her eyes.

~ End of dream ~

Opening his eyes, Cloud felt a wet drop sliding down the side of his face. Wiping it with his hand, he saw that it was a tear. A tear came from him.

Shaking the dream away, Cloud looked out the window to see it was late. He hummed, "...I must've fallen asleep." Remembering what Aerith told him yesterday to get to Sector Seven, he repeated it aloud to himself, "Sector Seven's past Sector Six…"

Once he knew that he got that correct, Cloud nodded to himself, "I should be all right by myself…"

He was carefully opening the door so it wouldn't make a squeak. Cloud quietly past Aerith's room and sighed a breath of relief when he didn't step on any creaks in the floorboards. Going downstairs, Cloud quietly leaves the house. Once outside, he started making his way through Sector Five. However, when he made it to the exit leading him to Sector Six, he quietly huffed when he found Aerith waiting there.

When the brunette saw him, she skipped up to him with a bright smile, "You're up bright and early."

Cloud mentally sighed at how stubborn the girl was. Especially since she loves heading into danger.

"How could I ask you to go along when I knew it would be dangerous?" asked Cloud, hoping that would change her mind.

However, it was the exact opposite as she raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you done?"

Giving up, Cloud scratched his head sheepishly as he looked away from her.

Smiling brightly again, Aerith clapped her hands before gesturing towards the exit, "You have to go through the slum in Sector Six to get to Tifa's Seventh Heaven. I'll take you there. Come on!"

Seeing her take off, Cloud sighed and shook his head before taking off right after her. Making sure that no danger will come to harm her.