Butterfly Effect: Chapter 16
Jul. 28th, 2006 03:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bard_linnAuthors: Bard Linn and Kiraya
Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: None, at the moment.
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Summary: Apparently you aren’t the strangest thing under the Plate anymore.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
Chapter 16
It was like living with a ghost.
Sephiroth had never been one to believe in that sort of thing, but it was really the best analogy he could come up with to describe sharing his apartment with the semilegendary Vincent Valentine. Over two months had passed relatively uneventfully (with the exception of Zack once again finding something completely absurd to do for his birthday) since the former Turk had moved in, and Sephiroth knew that if he truly thought back on it, he could count the number of times he’d actually seen the man on one hand.
Gaea, it would have seemed as if he still lived alone, if not for the little signs of his guest’s presence: carefully folded blankets laid out on the end of the couch, missing food, dishes Sephiroth hadn’t used stacked neatly on the drainboard in the kitchenette. The General had even come back from his office early one night to hear the shower running. Not wanting to bother his guest, though he was forced to admit some curiosity as to how the man managed with his arm, he had discreetly retired to his room for the evening with a copy of the Sun Tzu Hyouhou (far more subtle in the original Wutaiian than the Midgaran translation popular among the ranking officers, really).
By the time he had awoken for work the next morning, the other man was already gone again.
Sephiroth had once considered mentioning the situation to Zack, but rather quickly decided against it. The lieutenant would simply encourage him to initiate some sort of social interaction, yet another deliberate attempt to force him to work on one of his few weak points; Sephiroth, of course, would make some sort of noncommittal reply and proceed to ignore his friend’s suggestion. By then, though, the damage would have been done, and Zack would continue to pester him about it until he produced some sort of results, even if it were failure. (And lying about it never seemed to work, either.)
So the General kept it to himself. They were managing just fine as it was, after all, and at least his houseguest didn’t intrude upon his cherished alone time.
It was still a little unnerving, though.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud stretched slowly, wary of the bruises Zack had left on his back during training yesterday. He grimaced and glanced in the mirror. Green and yellow spots told the tale of the rough workouts he’d had recently, but at the same time the youth was pleased. He’d been pushing his limits lately with Zack, and the SOLDIER had raised the level accordingly.
“Hey, Strife. Letter for you.” An intercontinental mail envelope fell into Cloud’s lap. With a nod at the trooper handing out the mail, the blue-eyed teen carefully opened it. A small package fell into his lap; when Cloud opened it and he saw, much to his surprise, that it contained his collection of Sephiroth newspaper clippings. Confused, he read the accompanying letter.
Dearest Cloud,
It’s been barely two weeks since you’ve left, but I couldn’t wait to write when I heard the news. Why didn’t you tell me? Anyway, I hope everything is going well, and I know that soon you’ll be a SOLDIER. It’ll be so wonderful to see you again — especially now that you’re getting married! Tifa is a very sweet girl, and I think you’ll make a good pair. The grandchildren will certainly be beautiful! Let me know if you need advice or anything — I’m always here for my son.
Love,
Mom
P.S. I found these in your room shortly after you left and thought you might like them as a reminder of what you are aiming for.
Cloud stared at the letter for a long moment, face slack with incomprehension. What had his mother meant? Getting married? Tifa?
…then again, Tifa had been acting really weird the day they left Nibelheim, completely different from how she’d been during their trip up the mountain…
“Why that little— She played me!”
His bunkmate stared at him, startled by his usually reticent comrade’s outburst. “Strife…?”
“Never mind,” Cloud replied, brushing off the other’s concern. “I have to go talk to someone.” Angry as he was, though, he wasn’t stupid enough to leave the envelope with his newspaper clippings lying out in plain sight; there’d be no end to the teasing if they were found. After carefully securing them away from prying eyes, the teenager stormed his way out of the barracks, heading for the track.
He made it to the gym and was stomping across the room when a familiar voice called out, “Hey, Cloud! You’re early. Wha— whoa.” Zack grabbed Cloud’s shoulder, forcing the blond to a stop with his enhanced strength. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” came the short reply.
“…Look, why don’t we talk?” The First Class guided his friend outside, keeping a careful eye on him.
Cloud said nothing until they were far enough away that curious observers wouldn’t be able to listen, then he exploded. “Tifa. Tifa Lockhart. That is what is wrong. By Gaea, if I ever get my hands on that girl I’ll—”
“Whoa, time out!” Zack raised his hands in a calming gesture. “Tifa Lockhart, the pretty girl who came up with us to the reactor? The one you were talking to?”
“Yes.” Cloud started to pace, gesticulating angrily. “That two-faced, no good—”
“Yes, yes, we’ve got all that, but what did she do?”
Cloud paused, fished the letter out of his pocket, and passed it over to Zack. The SOLDIER read through it and raised his eyebrows. “Sounds like you’ve both been the victims of a pretty poor joke.”
“Not likely,” Cloud returned. “First of all, Mom isn’t the kind to pull this sort of thing as a joke. She’s always wanted me to settle down and get a girlfriend. Second, Tifa is the mayor’s daughter — she’s the most popular girl in town, and the one all the local boys want. There’d be nothing for anyone to gain from this, and a great deal to lose. Her father would make their lives utterly miserable, if nothing else.”
“Even so, she said herself that she didn’t want to get married. Couldn’t this be the action of some rejected suitor?” Zack suggested.
“But her father was pressuring her to find a husband,” Cloud reminded his friend. “And then there was her behavior on the last day. Did that seem like the same Tifa that went up the mountains with us?”
“No,” Zack was forced to admit. The image of a typical small-town girl in a dress did not suit Tifa the fighter well at all. “If you are right, and Tifa is behind this, there still should be a logical explanation.”
“I suppose,” Cloud mumbled, resuming his pacing. “I just don’t like being manipulated like this.”
Zack sighed. “News flash, Cloud… everyone manipulates people at some point in their lives. You have to, or else they’ll end up walking all over you.” Cloud made a disbelieving sound, and Zack shook his head. “What exactly would you call your little trick to get us to meet Vi— go up the mountain, then?”
The color rushed from the blond’s cheeks, and he stared at the SOLDIER with no small amount of consternation. “…I’m just as bad, aren’t I?”
“I don’t know if I’d say that,” Zack told him quietly. “What I do know, though, is that manipulating people around you, whether it’s for their good or your own, is a part of life. I do it myself.” He scratched the back of his head, an almost rueful look on his face. “I mean, how else d’you think I manage to keep up with Sephiroth as much as I do? You can’t always approach a problem head on, ‘specially with a guy as stubborn as he is, and, well… underhanded tactics generally include at least a dash of manipulation.”
“…I’m sorry,” Cloud said slowly, still looking chagrined.
The lieutenant smiled at his friend, clapping him on the shoulder. “Hey, you did what you thought you had to do. You meant well, and that’s what matters. Me, I’ve always been of the opinion that manipulating people for their own good is far better than doing it just for yourself, like a lot of people in ShinRa do.”
The blond’s face darkened. “Like Tifa did.”
“But other than you getting all offended that she did it in the first place,” Zack interjected, “it hasn’t hurt you or anyone else, has it?” Without waiting for a response, he continued, “Instead of freaking out in a reply to your mom, leaving all sorts of room for messy confrontations and the like, I think you should write Tifa and ask her what’s going on.” He smirked. “Our dear, hmm, ‘shadow stalker’ would be most displeased with you if you approached this irrationally, especially since you lack full knowledge of the situation.”
Cloud’s lips twitched at Zack’s teasing impression of Vincent. “I guess you’re right.” He shot the dark-haired man an amused glance. “…‘Shadow stalker’?”
“Isn’t he?”
Cloud could hardly disagree with that. “Well, yeah…”
“It can be our secret code name for him! SS for short — how ‘bout it?”
“You’re impossible.” The regular shook his head, fighting down a grin. “How’s he doing, anyway?”
The SOLDIER shrugged. “I haven’t actually seen him since we got back from Nibelheim. Seph hasn’t mentioned anything about him, either. I think you’ve probably seen him more than either of us have.”
“Only once or twice,” Cloud replied wistfully. “Not as much as I’d like.”
Sensing his friend’s dropping spirits, Zack squeezed his shoulder. “Hey, kid… it’s not that much longer until you reenter the program.”
“I know. Just a couple months… but then there’s another whole year, and then I have to pass the exams…” He sighed.
“You will,” Zack replied confidently, smiling at him. “Now, get to writing that letter. You don’t want to wait too long. You know how long intercontinental mail takes…”
“Do I ever.”
“Meet me back in the gym when you’re done, okay? We’ll go a couple rounds. Nothing like getting beaten up to get over girl problems, hmm?”
“I am not going to get beaten up,” Cloud replied loftily as he turned to head back to the barracks. “I’d be disgracing ‘SS’ if I did that.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The topic of their conversation was actually out in the slums at the time, unaware of his developing nickname. Wandering about the dark places of Midgar had only made him appreciate just how long it had been since he had last seen the city. The world was different, harder, harsher, and bleaker than he remembered. True, it had been over two decades since the former Turk had traveled the streets below the Plate, allowing for plenty of change…
::Humankind is rather good at that, aren’t they? At least on the surface. What lies underneath never seems to change…::
Vincent made a face at Chaos’ comment as he moved further into the shadows, perching on a stack of discarded boxes. From here he could see a good portion of the market, and the angle made it easy to observe without being seen.
The purpose of this visit, and several others like it, was to familiarize himself with the city again. Soon he would feel comfortable enough to bring Cloud down here, and their real training would begin. The theory he had been having Cloud read, teaching it himself when the circumstances allowed, was useful, but no match for field experience. It would also be far easier for Cloud to venture down into the slums than to meet his teacher anywhere inside the ShinRa-patrolled areas above the Plate. The troopers were almost expected to go out into the slums at least on occasion, to sample the offerings of the seedier side of the city.
“Hey there, Mister! Would ye like a fortune?”
Vincent peered out of the shadows to stare at the… cat that had addressed him. Wearing a cape and a little crown, it perched on top of a gigantic stuffed moogle, smiling foolishly as it awaited his reply.
::Hn. Apparently you aren’t the strangest thing under the Plate anymore.::
The dim red glow vanished from the shadows as the man closed his eyes, sighing to himself at Chaos’ amusement. “No.”
“Ye sure? Ye look like ye could use a spot o’ good luck,” the cat informed him, straightening its crown. Vincent shook his head, and the cat shrugged. “All righty, then. Your loss. Good day t’ ye.” And with that the moogle went bouncing off, carrying its strange burden.
Deciding he had endured enough for the day, Vincent left as well, carefully maneuvering his way through the crowds and past the security checkpoints as he made his way back above the Plate. A quick glance at a nearby clock verified that it was just getting towards the end of Cloud’s lesson time with Sinclair. Unfortunately the youth had evening duty tonight, so they wouldn’t be able to meet, but he would have enough time to watch the tail end of his sparring session.
It was more dangerous here, trying to sneak around SOLDIERs (who were by their very nature more perceptive than the average person), but the effort was well worth it. Vincent couldn’t help feeling a touch of pride watching Cloud face off against his First Class friend. The blond’s movements were becoming more and more fluid, transforming into a sort of seamless, instinctive dance as opposed to the sharper, jerkier movements of quickly remembered drills. His lips quirked upwards as his student managed to snag Sinclair’s shaggy hair with his off hand, distracting the SOLDIER just long enough to land a blow. Apparently all that environmental training had finally paid off.
“Dammit, Cloud!” Sinclair quickly struck back. Cloud managed to block the first blow, but the second slipped through his defenses, hitting his right leg with a resounding smack.
The blond’s grin didn’t fade a whit. “All’s fair in love and war, Zack.”
“I’ll show you fair,” Zack growled, his face twisted into an overly threatening expression that could only mean he was joking. “Defend yourself!”
Cloud laughed and dodged out of the way with the quick reflexes Vincent had drummed into him. The former Turk fought the urge to smile, seeing his work so beautifully displayed. He had to admit Sinclair was right, though; watching him, it was obvious Cloud had a good feel for the blade, and needed as much sword training as he could get. Amazingly enough, the SOLDIER First even seemed to be doing a good job of it.
::Beautiful and deadly,:: Chaos commented, his voice surprisingly free of sarcasm.
For once, Vincent actually agreed with the demon. His student truly was a sight to behold.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud came off duty one afternoon about three weeks later to find another intercontinental mail envelope on his pillow. Not recognizing the handwriting, the blond quickly deduced that it had to be from Tifa; the only other person who’d write him was his mother, and he knew her neat script well. Sitting down on his bed with a sigh, Cloud briefly wondered if he should open the letter or not. On one hand, it was only likely to upset him, but… putting it off probably wouldn’t be a good idea either. Finally he decided he might as well open it; his curiosity would only drive him to distraction otherwise.
Cloud,
I’m not quite sure how to word this, so I guess I’ll just come right out and say it.
I never meant for you to find out.
See, I thought you weren’t coming back to Nibelheim for a long, long time. Dad wasn’t giving up on the whole getting married thing — I think I told you about that. Well, the only way I was going to get him off my back was to actually get a fiancé. The logical conclusion seemed to be to find or create one who wouldn’t be around for a long time, thus giving me a chance to get out of Dad’s control.
It was probably a stupid plan, but… it was the best I could think of when we started talking about it. I really should have asked you about it…and Zangan gave me quite a lecture on that, believe me. I was afraid you would say no, though, and I didn’t want to take that risk.
I know what I did wasn’t right. The only thing I can say is that I felt trapped and jumped at the first opportunity to escape.
I’m sorry.
Tifa.
Cloud frowned, a bitter taste in his mouth. It sounded pretty good, all right, but… well, the blond couldn’t tell if Tifa was sorry for what she had done or simply sorry she had gotten caught. He stuffed the letter back inside the envelope, deciding to respond to it later, once he’d had time to mull over its contents. Rummaging through his footlocker, he fished out one of the books Vincent had given him to read, carefully tucking the letter inside its jacket.
As he bent to put it away again, though, his bookmark fell out. Groaning, Cloud grabbed it and flipped the textbook back open, looking for the section on support materia. Glancing at the bookmark, he couldn’t help smiling. He had made it by carefully drying a flower between two books and mounting it on a sheet of paper, just like his mother had shown him.
Carefully replacing it between the correct pages, Cloud idly wondered what he was going to do with the rest of his evening. Ordinarily he’d have training with Zack in two hours, but the SOLDIER had canceled the appointment just that morning because of a meeting that had cropped up unexpectedly, one he was required to attend. (Zack had once told him that he went more for Sephiroth’s sake than anything else, since “it really wouldn’t help publicity for their precious SOLDIER poster boy, finally fed up with all their backstabbing office-politics bullshit, to snap and do something regrettable and messy and likely permanent, though damned if I wouldn’t happily lend a hand in that case.”) Vincent hadn’t been around much of late either, so since he’d just gotten off for the night Cloud had plenty of free time.
Deciding to take a page out of Zack’s book, the youth changed into a comfortable pair of grey pants and a green shirt, checked he had his ID and some cash on him, and then headed out to the train station. He might as well take the opportunity to explore things down below on his own for once.
Going below the Plate was completely different without Zack. The SOLDIER’s presence had undoubtedly been a boon, as he both knew the areas to be careful in and was intimidating enough to keep most unwanted attention away. Cloud quickly grew bored with aimlessly wandering the cluttered streets, though, and so decided to try his luck and find the young woman he had met before. Aeris had mentioned she grew her flowers at a church, so that was the most likely bet.
The lack of Zack’s presence proved to be a blessing in its way, though; people in general seemed less wary without those tell-tale Mako eyes on them, more willing to talk. It didn’t take Cloud long to find out the church was in Sector Five. There wasn’t much in the way of public buildings down here aside from small businesses, and everyone apparently knew where the last religious structure stood, now long since abandoned. Getting there, though, wasn’t so easy. Cloud found himself crowded in the narrow streets, bumping into people more than once… or had someone run into him, just like—?
“Hey!” Cloud grasped quick fingers and held them tightly. “What do you think you’re doing?”
The pickpocket, for that was who his latest encounter was, paled and tugged his hand away, trying to flee. Cloud scowled and twisted his grip, bending the fingers backwards just a bit… “Ow!”
“Be thankful I’m not breaking them,” Cloud growled, though he wouldn’t really have hurt the thief, who appeared to be only about twelve. “Don’t try it again, understood?” The youngster nodded fervently, and Cloud released his smarting fingers. “The pickpocket melted back into the crowd, but the regular kept an eye on him. The boy was nowhere near as good as Vincent, of course, but that had been how the blond had caught him in the first place. Shaking his head, Cloud moved forward through the crowds again.
It wasn’t much longer before he reached Sector Five. Within minutes the crowds about him had begun to disperse, and the trooper found himself alone on the hard-packed dirt that passed for roads down here. He was nearly at the edge of the city when he saw it.
The place had been beautiful once, Cloud decided as he examined the building. He wished he could have seen it when it was first built; it was a real shame it had suffered this badly over the years. A moment later he pushed the door open slightly, cautiously poking his head inside.
It wasn’t hard to see that the flower girl was indeed here. Her pink dress stood out even among the lush green of the plants she was tending, the bright colors a marked contrast against the smooth stone, dust-dimmed stained glass, and age-darkened wood of her deteriorating surroundings. Feeling an odd smile cross his face, Cloud carefully opened the old door further. Though he did his best not to make a sound, afraid to disturb the almost sacred aura of the place, Aeris still noticed his presence. She looked up at him and smiled warmly. “Hello, Cloud.”
“Hello, Aeris,” Cloud replied, crossing the church’s creaking floor with quick, sure steps, irrationally pleased that she had remembered his name.
“What brings you down here?” she asked, sitting back on her heels as he drew closer.
“I came to see you,” he answered, feeling oddly light as he looked into her bright green eyes. “I don’t suppose I could buy another flower? That is, if you can spare one.”
Aeris laughed, looking around at the flourishing plants all around her. “Well, I suppose I could spare one…”
Cloud smiled.
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Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: None, at the moment.
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Summary: Apparently you aren’t the strangest thing under the Plate anymore.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
Chapter 16
It was like living with a ghost.
Sephiroth had never been one to believe in that sort of thing, but it was really the best analogy he could come up with to describe sharing his apartment with the semilegendary Vincent Valentine. Over two months had passed relatively uneventfully (with the exception of Zack once again finding something completely absurd to do for his birthday) since the former Turk had moved in, and Sephiroth knew that if he truly thought back on it, he could count the number of times he’d actually seen the man on one hand.
Gaea, it would have seemed as if he still lived alone, if not for the little signs of his guest’s presence: carefully folded blankets laid out on the end of the couch, missing food, dishes Sephiroth hadn’t used stacked neatly on the drainboard in the kitchenette. The General had even come back from his office early one night to hear the shower running. Not wanting to bother his guest, though he was forced to admit some curiosity as to how the man managed with his arm, he had discreetly retired to his room for the evening with a copy of the Sun Tzu Hyouhou (far more subtle in the original Wutaiian than the Midgaran translation popular among the ranking officers, really).
By the time he had awoken for work the next morning, the other man was already gone again.
Sephiroth had once considered mentioning the situation to Zack, but rather quickly decided against it. The lieutenant would simply encourage him to initiate some sort of social interaction, yet another deliberate attempt to force him to work on one of his few weak points; Sephiroth, of course, would make some sort of noncommittal reply and proceed to ignore his friend’s suggestion. By then, though, the damage would have been done, and Zack would continue to pester him about it until he produced some sort of results, even if it were failure. (And lying about it never seemed to work, either.)
So the General kept it to himself. They were managing just fine as it was, after all, and at least his houseguest didn’t intrude upon his cherished alone time.
It was still a little unnerving, though.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud stretched slowly, wary of the bruises Zack had left on his back during training yesterday. He grimaced and glanced in the mirror. Green and yellow spots told the tale of the rough workouts he’d had recently, but at the same time the youth was pleased. He’d been pushing his limits lately with Zack, and the SOLDIER had raised the level accordingly.
“Hey, Strife. Letter for you.” An intercontinental mail envelope fell into Cloud’s lap. With a nod at the trooper handing out the mail, the blue-eyed teen carefully opened it. A small package fell into his lap; when Cloud opened it and he saw, much to his surprise, that it contained his collection of Sephiroth newspaper clippings. Confused, he read the accompanying letter.
Dearest Cloud,
It’s been barely two weeks since you’ve left, but I couldn’t wait to write when I heard the news. Why didn’t you tell me? Anyway, I hope everything is going well, and I know that soon you’ll be a SOLDIER. It’ll be so wonderful to see you again — especially now that you’re getting married! Tifa is a very sweet girl, and I think you’ll make a good pair. The grandchildren will certainly be beautiful! Let me know if you need advice or anything — I’m always here for my son.
Love,
Mom
P.S. I found these in your room shortly after you left and thought you might like them as a reminder of what you are aiming for.
Cloud stared at the letter for a long moment, face slack with incomprehension. What had his mother meant? Getting married? Tifa?
…then again, Tifa had been acting really weird the day they left Nibelheim, completely different from how she’d been during their trip up the mountain…
“Why that little— She played me!”
His bunkmate stared at him, startled by his usually reticent comrade’s outburst. “Strife…?”
“Never mind,” Cloud replied, brushing off the other’s concern. “I have to go talk to someone.” Angry as he was, though, he wasn’t stupid enough to leave the envelope with his newspaper clippings lying out in plain sight; there’d be no end to the teasing if they were found. After carefully securing them away from prying eyes, the teenager stormed his way out of the barracks, heading for the track.
He made it to the gym and was stomping across the room when a familiar voice called out, “Hey, Cloud! You’re early. Wha— whoa.” Zack grabbed Cloud’s shoulder, forcing the blond to a stop with his enhanced strength. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” came the short reply.
“…Look, why don’t we talk?” The First Class guided his friend outside, keeping a careful eye on him.
Cloud said nothing until they were far enough away that curious observers wouldn’t be able to listen, then he exploded. “Tifa. Tifa Lockhart. That is what is wrong. By Gaea, if I ever get my hands on that girl I’ll—”
“Whoa, time out!” Zack raised his hands in a calming gesture. “Tifa Lockhart, the pretty girl who came up with us to the reactor? The one you were talking to?”
“Yes.” Cloud started to pace, gesticulating angrily. “That two-faced, no good—”
“Yes, yes, we’ve got all that, but what did she do?”
Cloud paused, fished the letter out of his pocket, and passed it over to Zack. The SOLDIER read through it and raised his eyebrows. “Sounds like you’ve both been the victims of a pretty poor joke.”
“Not likely,” Cloud returned. “First of all, Mom isn’t the kind to pull this sort of thing as a joke. She’s always wanted me to settle down and get a girlfriend. Second, Tifa is the mayor’s daughter — she’s the most popular girl in town, and the one all the local boys want. There’d be nothing for anyone to gain from this, and a great deal to lose. Her father would make their lives utterly miserable, if nothing else.”
“Even so, she said herself that she didn’t want to get married. Couldn’t this be the action of some rejected suitor?” Zack suggested.
“But her father was pressuring her to find a husband,” Cloud reminded his friend. “And then there was her behavior on the last day. Did that seem like the same Tifa that went up the mountains with us?”
“No,” Zack was forced to admit. The image of a typical small-town girl in a dress did not suit Tifa the fighter well at all. “If you are right, and Tifa is behind this, there still should be a logical explanation.”
“I suppose,” Cloud mumbled, resuming his pacing. “I just don’t like being manipulated like this.”
Zack sighed. “News flash, Cloud… everyone manipulates people at some point in their lives. You have to, or else they’ll end up walking all over you.” Cloud made a disbelieving sound, and Zack shook his head. “What exactly would you call your little trick to get us to meet Vi— go up the mountain, then?”
The color rushed from the blond’s cheeks, and he stared at the SOLDIER with no small amount of consternation. “…I’m just as bad, aren’t I?”
“I don’t know if I’d say that,” Zack told him quietly. “What I do know, though, is that manipulating people around you, whether it’s for their good or your own, is a part of life. I do it myself.” He scratched the back of his head, an almost rueful look on his face. “I mean, how else d’you think I manage to keep up with Sephiroth as much as I do? You can’t always approach a problem head on, ‘specially with a guy as stubborn as he is, and, well… underhanded tactics generally include at least a dash of manipulation.”
“…I’m sorry,” Cloud said slowly, still looking chagrined.
The lieutenant smiled at his friend, clapping him on the shoulder. “Hey, you did what you thought you had to do. You meant well, and that’s what matters. Me, I’ve always been of the opinion that manipulating people for their own good is far better than doing it just for yourself, like a lot of people in ShinRa do.”
The blond’s face darkened. “Like Tifa did.”
“But other than you getting all offended that she did it in the first place,” Zack interjected, “it hasn’t hurt you or anyone else, has it?” Without waiting for a response, he continued, “Instead of freaking out in a reply to your mom, leaving all sorts of room for messy confrontations and the like, I think you should write Tifa and ask her what’s going on.” He smirked. “Our dear, hmm, ‘shadow stalker’ would be most displeased with you if you approached this irrationally, especially since you lack full knowledge of the situation.”
Cloud’s lips twitched at Zack’s teasing impression of Vincent. “I guess you’re right.” He shot the dark-haired man an amused glance. “…‘Shadow stalker’?”
“Isn’t he?”
Cloud could hardly disagree with that. “Well, yeah…”
“It can be our secret code name for him! SS for short — how ‘bout it?”
“You’re impossible.” The regular shook his head, fighting down a grin. “How’s he doing, anyway?”
The SOLDIER shrugged. “I haven’t actually seen him since we got back from Nibelheim. Seph hasn’t mentioned anything about him, either. I think you’ve probably seen him more than either of us have.”
“Only once or twice,” Cloud replied wistfully. “Not as much as I’d like.”
Sensing his friend’s dropping spirits, Zack squeezed his shoulder. “Hey, kid… it’s not that much longer until you reenter the program.”
“I know. Just a couple months… but then there’s another whole year, and then I have to pass the exams…” He sighed.
“You will,” Zack replied confidently, smiling at him. “Now, get to writing that letter. You don’t want to wait too long. You know how long intercontinental mail takes…”
“Do I ever.”
“Meet me back in the gym when you’re done, okay? We’ll go a couple rounds. Nothing like getting beaten up to get over girl problems, hmm?”
“I am not going to get beaten up,” Cloud replied loftily as he turned to head back to the barracks. “I’d be disgracing ‘SS’ if I did that.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The topic of their conversation was actually out in the slums at the time, unaware of his developing nickname. Wandering about the dark places of Midgar had only made him appreciate just how long it had been since he had last seen the city. The world was different, harder, harsher, and bleaker than he remembered. True, it had been over two decades since the former Turk had traveled the streets below the Plate, allowing for plenty of change…
::Humankind is rather good at that, aren’t they? At least on the surface. What lies underneath never seems to change…::
Vincent made a face at Chaos’ comment as he moved further into the shadows, perching on a stack of discarded boxes. From here he could see a good portion of the market, and the angle made it easy to observe without being seen.
The purpose of this visit, and several others like it, was to familiarize himself with the city again. Soon he would feel comfortable enough to bring Cloud down here, and their real training would begin. The theory he had been having Cloud read, teaching it himself when the circumstances allowed, was useful, but no match for field experience. It would also be far easier for Cloud to venture down into the slums than to meet his teacher anywhere inside the ShinRa-patrolled areas above the Plate. The troopers were almost expected to go out into the slums at least on occasion, to sample the offerings of the seedier side of the city.
“Hey there, Mister! Would ye like a fortune?”
Vincent peered out of the shadows to stare at the… cat that had addressed him. Wearing a cape and a little crown, it perched on top of a gigantic stuffed moogle, smiling foolishly as it awaited his reply.
::Hn. Apparently you aren’t the strangest thing under the Plate anymore.::
The dim red glow vanished from the shadows as the man closed his eyes, sighing to himself at Chaos’ amusement. “No.”
“Ye sure? Ye look like ye could use a spot o’ good luck,” the cat informed him, straightening its crown. Vincent shook his head, and the cat shrugged. “All righty, then. Your loss. Good day t’ ye.” And with that the moogle went bouncing off, carrying its strange burden.
Deciding he had endured enough for the day, Vincent left as well, carefully maneuvering his way through the crowds and past the security checkpoints as he made his way back above the Plate. A quick glance at a nearby clock verified that it was just getting towards the end of Cloud’s lesson time with Sinclair. Unfortunately the youth had evening duty tonight, so they wouldn’t be able to meet, but he would have enough time to watch the tail end of his sparring session.
It was more dangerous here, trying to sneak around SOLDIERs (who were by their very nature more perceptive than the average person), but the effort was well worth it. Vincent couldn’t help feeling a touch of pride watching Cloud face off against his First Class friend. The blond’s movements were becoming more and more fluid, transforming into a sort of seamless, instinctive dance as opposed to the sharper, jerkier movements of quickly remembered drills. His lips quirked upwards as his student managed to snag Sinclair’s shaggy hair with his off hand, distracting the SOLDIER just long enough to land a blow. Apparently all that environmental training had finally paid off.
“Dammit, Cloud!” Sinclair quickly struck back. Cloud managed to block the first blow, but the second slipped through his defenses, hitting his right leg with a resounding smack.
The blond’s grin didn’t fade a whit. “All’s fair in love and war, Zack.”
“I’ll show you fair,” Zack growled, his face twisted into an overly threatening expression that could only mean he was joking. “Defend yourself!”
Cloud laughed and dodged out of the way with the quick reflexes Vincent had drummed into him. The former Turk fought the urge to smile, seeing his work so beautifully displayed. He had to admit Sinclair was right, though; watching him, it was obvious Cloud had a good feel for the blade, and needed as much sword training as he could get. Amazingly enough, the SOLDIER First even seemed to be doing a good job of it.
::Beautiful and deadly,:: Chaos commented, his voice surprisingly free of sarcasm.
For once, Vincent actually agreed with the demon. His student truly was a sight to behold.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud came off duty one afternoon about three weeks later to find another intercontinental mail envelope on his pillow. Not recognizing the handwriting, the blond quickly deduced that it had to be from Tifa; the only other person who’d write him was his mother, and he knew her neat script well. Sitting down on his bed with a sigh, Cloud briefly wondered if he should open the letter or not. On one hand, it was only likely to upset him, but… putting it off probably wouldn’t be a good idea either. Finally he decided he might as well open it; his curiosity would only drive him to distraction otherwise.
Cloud,
I’m not quite sure how to word this, so I guess I’ll just come right out and say it.
I never meant for you to find out.
See, I thought you weren’t coming back to Nibelheim for a long, long time. Dad wasn’t giving up on the whole getting married thing — I think I told you about that. Well, the only way I was going to get him off my back was to actually get a fiancé. The logical conclusion seemed to be to find or create one who wouldn’t be around for a long time, thus giving me a chance to get out of Dad’s control.
It was probably a stupid plan, but… it was the best I could think of when we started talking about it. I really should have asked you about it…and Zangan gave me quite a lecture on that, believe me. I was afraid you would say no, though, and I didn’t want to take that risk.
I know what I did wasn’t right. The only thing I can say is that I felt trapped and jumped at the first opportunity to escape.
I’m sorry.
Tifa.
Cloud frowned, a bitter taste in his mouth. It sounded pretty good, all right, but… well, the blond couldn’t tell if Tifa was sorry for what she had done or simply sorry she had gotten caught. He stuffed the letter back inside the envelope, deciding to respond to it later, once he’d had time to mull over its contents. Rummaging through his footlocker, he fished out one of the books Vincent had given him to read, carefully tucking the letter inside its jacket.
As he bent to put it away again, though, his bookmark fell out. Groaning, Cloud grabbed it and flipped the textbook back open, looking for the section on support materia. Glancing at the bookmark, he couldn’t help smiling. He had made it by carefully drying a flower between two books and mounting it on a sheet of paper, just like his mother had shown him.
Carefully replacing it between the correct pages, Cloud idly wondered what he was going to do with the rest of his evening. Ordinarily he’d have training with Zack in two hours, but the SOLDIER had canceled the appointment just that morning because of a meeting that had cropped up unexpectedly, one he was required to attend. (Zack had once told him that he went more for Sephiroth’s sake than anything else, since “it really wouldn’t help publicity for their precious SOLDIER poster boy, finally fed up with all their backstabbing office-politics bullshit, to snap and do something regrettable and messy and likely permanent, though damned if I wouldn’t happily lend a hand in that case.”) Vincent hadn’t been around much of late either, so since he’d just gotten off for the night Cloud had plenty of free time.
Deciding to take a page out of Zack’s book, the youth changed into a comfortable pair of grey pants and a green shirt, checked he had his ID and some cash on him, and then headed out to the train station. He might as well take the opportunity to explore things down below on his own for once.
Going below the Plate was completely different without Zack. The SOLDIER’s presence had undoubtedly been a boon, as he both knew the areas to be careful in and was intimidating enough to keep most unwanted attention away. Cloud quickly grew bored with aimlessly wandering the cluttered streets, though, and so decided to try his luck and find the young woman he had met before. Aeris had mentioned she grew her flowers at a church, so that was the most likely bet.
The lack of Zack’s presence proved to be a blessing in its way, though; people in general seemed less wary without those tell-tale Mako eyes on them, more willing to talk. It didn’t take Cloud long to find out the church was in Sector Five. There wasn’t much in the way of public buildings down here aside from small businesses, and everyone apparently knew where the last religious structure stood, now long since abandoned. Getting there, though, wasn’t so easy. Cloud found himself crowded in the narrow streets, bumping into people more than once… or had someone run into him, just like—?
“Hey!” Cloud grasped quick fingers and held them tightly. “What do you think you’re doing?”
The pickpocket, for that was who his latest encounter was, paled and tugged his hand away, trying to flee. Cloud scowled and twisted his grip, bending the fingers backwards just a bit… “Ow!”
“Be thankful I’m not breaking them,” Cloud growled, though he wouldn’t really have hurt the thief, who appeared to be only about twelve. “Don’t try it again, understood?” The youngster nodded fervently, and Cloud released his smarting fingers. “The pickpocket melted back into the crowd, but the regular kept an eye on him. The boy was nowhere near as good as Vincent, of course, but that had been how the blond had caught him in the first place. Shaking his head, Cloud moved forward through the crowds again.
It wasn’t much longer before he reached Sector Five. Within minutes the crowds about him had begun to disperse, and the trooper found himself alone on the hard-packed dirt that passed for roads down here. He was nearly at the edge of the city when he saw it.
The place had been beautiful once, Cloud decided as he examined the building. He wished he could have seen it when it was first built; it was a real shame it had suffered this badly over the years. A moment later he pushed the door open slightly, cautiously poking his head inside.
It wasn’t hard to see that the flower girl was indeed here. Her pink dress stood out even among the lush green of the plants she was tending, the bright colors a marked contrast against the smooth stone, dust-dimmed stained glass, and age-darkened wood of her deteriorating surroundings. Feeling an odd smile cross his face, Cloud carefully opened the old door further. Though he did his best not to make a sound, afraid to disturb the almost sacred aura of the place, Aeris still noticed his presence. She looked up at him and smiled warmly. “Hello, Cloud.”
“Hello, Aeris,” Cloud replied, crossing the church’s creaking floor with quick, sure steps, irrationally pleased that she had remembered his name.
“What brings you down here?” she asked, sitting back on her heels as he drew closer.
“I came to see you,” he answered, feeling oddly light as he looked into her bright green eyes. “I don’t suppose I could buy another flower? That is, if you can spare one.”
Aeris laughed, looking around at the flourishing plants all around her. “Well, I suppose I could spare one…”
Cloud smiled.
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