Cloud and Sephiroth had traveled carefully throughout the night, stopping every once in a while to survey the area. As far as they could tell, no one was following them, but Sephiroth still kept himself highly guarded for anything that could happen.

Cloud was already clinging tightly to Sephiroth's side, deeply wishing that they would eventually find a place to stop. He was tired, and his feet were starting to feel sore. Without being able to fly wherever they wanted, not wanting to take the risk of being spotted, it was more tiresome than expected.

"How much longer?" Cloud finally asked.

"Hopefully not too much longer, according to this map, there should be a small town. From there we will survey the area and look for a place to sleep for the night."

"Will it be another barn? Or something big like that?"

Sephiroth nodded. "Most likely. Until we are far enough away, we can't risk staying where there are other people. Not that we have much money to begin with."

If it hadn't been for Zack, they wouldn't have had anything. But Zack, being the kind-hearted person that he was, had given them a bag of snacks before they left. What neither of them had expected was to find a good share of money hidden in a small pouch at the bottom of the bag.

"I know… We need to use the money sparingly. But I just want to rest now…"

"Almost, Cloud. Just a little longer, then we can rest," Sephiroth replied in a gentle voice. One that he rarely used, but it was comforting when he did.

"Okay, I can do it for a little longer."

Eventually, the two did reach the town. It was late enough at night that hardly anyone was out, aside from maybe one or two people who were wandering around in the night. It made Cloud wonder what they were doing up so late. There was a lot about human life he had forgotten in his seven years at the facility.

It would probably take some time to readjust, but Cloud found himself mostly thankful just to see the sky again. He had missed seeing how open and vast it was, especially at night when it was filled with stars.

Maybe if they were lucky, and the weather continued to be as clear and nice as it was, they could sleep out under the stars.

"Hm… as far as I can see from here, there doesn't seem to be a barn or any sort of farmhouse. But maybe once we get closer to the other edge of town, we can see," Sephiroth mused.

As they walked along in the shadows of alleyways, both of them kept a close eye out for any place that would suffice in helping them hide for the night. It wasn't long before they got to the downtown area of the town, and that was where they saw several small buildings that were bordered up with signs that read 'For Lease'.

"Here," Sephiroth said as he moved closer to one of the smaller buildings. "Perhaps we can find a way into this building. With no one using it, it could be perfect for us to use."

"But how can we get in without breaking a window or something?"

"Let us try the door first before we do anything drastic," Sephiroth said.

Surprisingly, the door wasn't locked, and he was able to open it with ease. From the look of it, the old lock and bolt had been removed by some point, leaving the door to open with ease.

With that taken care of, the two quietly stepped into the old building and started looking around. It was clear that the place had not been in use for a while, given the amount of cobwebs and dust that cover the place.

"So we're going to stay here? What if they find us?"

"It's highly unlikely they'll search an abandoned building, but if they do, I'll make sure we can escape," Sephiroth said as he made sure the door stayed closed.

"Then what? We really need a plan, Seph… One that isn't just running from town to town."

Signing, Sephiroth came over to Cloud, placing a hand on his head. "I know… and you are correct. I have a plan for when we get to the next town."

"And that would be?"

"We will gather items from the store to cut our hair."

Cloud gasped. "Cut our hair?! But your hair! You spent all these years growing it to be so long! Why change it?"

"Because Cloud, if we need to disguise ourselves, the first place to start would be changing our hair."

"Does that mean we'd have to change the color too?"

"It may have to come to that, but cutting it first may be the cheaper of the options," Sephiroth explained.

Cloud let out a sad hum as he leaned against Sephiroth. "Can I braid your hair then? I'd like to make one long braid before you try to cut it."

"Very well, do what you are able," Sephiroth replied before he sat down.

Excitedly, Cloud knelt down next to Sephiroth, started to part his hair into three sections. He hadn't braided Sephiroth's hair in years, but he could still fondly the first time Sephiroth ever let him do it. It brought back that special memory, helping guide him along as he continued the braid through Sephiroth's long, silvery hair.

"There we go," Cloud said when he finished. "Let's see if it stays long… Wish I had a tie for it…"

"I still appreciate it, Cloud," Sephiroth replied as he carefully moved the braid to drape his shoulder.

"Now we just gotta get rest right? Then we'll keep moving?"

Sephiroth nodded before he moved over to one of the walls that weren't in sight of the front windows. "Yes."

"Okay… guess I can try and get some sleep. You'll sleep too, right?"

"Someone has to keep watch."

"But you'll be too tired if you don't sleep!"

"I'll sleep then after a while, but first I want to make sure that you are able to rest up," Sephiroth replied.

"Wake me up when you do, so I can watch you, Okay? It has to be fair that way," Cloud replied.

"Very well, you are right about that," Sephiroth said. "But now, try and sleep."

Cloud fell asleep rather easily once he snuggled up next to Sephiroth, finding that usual warm comfort from his brother. Despite the awkwardness of having to sleep against a wall, Cloud tried to get as much sleep as he possibly could.

Hours passed, and eventually Sephiroth carefully woke Cloud up, telling him it was time to keep watch. Cloud was quick to sit up, stretching his arms out as he looked around the room again. It was still just the two of them, with no signs of anyone passing by the front of the building. It was still early enough in the morning, so Cloud figured that most people were still sleeping.

It helped ease him a little as he watched Sephiroth fall asleep next to him. Now all Cloud had to do was keep track of the passage of time moving with the light outside. He wasn't too sure when it would be safe to leave, knowing how risky it would be to head out during the day.

"Could we really just stay in this building the entire day…? It is abandoned after all…"

Leaving that thought lingering in his head, he tried to focus on other things, keeping himself occupied as the minutes ticked by. He wished they had gotten some items from Zack before they left, just something simple to keep his mind busy while waiting.

By the time sunlight was brightly streaming outside, Cloud was ready to nod off again. He let out a yawn as he turned next to him, seeing Sephiroth was still fast asleep.

"Seph?" he asked softly.

Slowly, Sephiroth's eyes fluttered open. "Cloud? Ah… it's morning."

"Morning, Seph. So, now what are we going to do?"

"We'll eat, and then try and move out."

"We will? During the day and stuff?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "We will wait here until the sunsets. We can't risk being spotted easily."

"Do we even know if this building has bathrooms?" Cloud asked as he stood up.

"Only one way to find out. It would seem plausible, I can't imagine a building without one."

Together they got up to walk around the building, finding there a couple doors down a small hallway. One door was wide open, revealing there was at least one small bathroom, with a toilet intact. Whether or not they would still work without power to the building was another story. But the fact that they had a bathroom was good enough for them.

Even though the building was mostly gutted, Cloud started walking around carefully, still wary of going near the window. He didn't find too much, outside noticing there were some faded letters along one of the walls.

It seemed that this building was once some sort of repair shop for shoes, watches and other various items. It was an odd store to consider in Cloud's mind, never having any experience in his life that would lead him to needing repairs on any clothing items.

"There's a lot to learn about the world… everything we've forgotten, and all the stuff we ever got to learn about," Cloud thought as he continued his investigation.

A thought occurred to him, one that he should have thought about long before.

"Hey, Seph?"

"Yes?"

"Once we get to the next town and do the whole hair cutting stuff, maybe we could go to a library?"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "A library? Hm… I suppose it couldn't hurt to do it… Research would be beneficial if we are to try and adjust to a world outside the facility."

"There's probably a lot we gotta learn, right?"

Sephiroth nodded. "Yes. We have many years of learning to catch up on."

"Does that include having to learn math?" Cloud groaned.

"Ha, I would assume we should try and brush up on some basics," Sephiroth replied.

"That sounds boring though! I just want to learn about the world… Oh! And chocobos too!"

Sephiroth walked over to Cloud, patting him on his head. "We will get to that, all in due time."

Everything before them still would come in time. Cloud knew he wouldn't forget that, but it still left so much to ponder and wonder about. There was so much he considered now that they were free from the facility, and of course, as long as they could keep it that way. Now that Cloud was free, he never wanted to go back, and he wanted to remain in the outside world with Sephiroth by his side. He could only keep hoping at this rate that it would stay that way.