025
Title: Icarus Complex
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Rating: PG
Word count: 4,958
Character/Pairing: Sephiroth, Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Cid, Leon, Yuffie and Merlin; eventual Cloud/Aerith and Cloud/Aerith/Sephiroth.
Summary: Cloud, Aerith and Sephiroth, and the eight years which bind and break them.
Notes: There's so much tension and hate better Cloud and Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts that has no official explaination, and it's just begging to be written up. Of course, if Cloud and Sephiroth are in the picture then Aerith can hardly be ignored either. This story starts four years before the first Kingdom Hearts game, covers a whole host of KH worlds, and ends some two years after Kingdom Hearts II. The rating is very likely to change.
It was already evening when the two figures descended on the paved streets of Traverse Town. The man on the right, long silver hair illuminated by the cheerful street lamps, landed gracefully and without a sound, while his companion was less agile. He batted his wing awkwardly as he fell the short distance, landing with such force that he ended up on one knee. The younger of the two looked up towards the other, as if waiting for permission to move.
“Why Cloud,” he said with a wicked smile, “Isn't this world pleasant?”
With a firm nod Cloud rose to his feet and brushed the dirt off his knees. Nothing more was said, and the pair began to walk through the streets, two wings framing them. Cloud looked around, taking in the sight of tall, colourful buildings, and streets paved as if they were a puzzle with some interest. He began to wonder if this really could be the place; nothing seemed to be in a state of disrepair, and there was nothing to suggest that Darkness was lurking around the next corner. It was a curious place, where one building did not match the next, and everything seemed subtly jumbled.
Cloud turned to his partner to question him. The other man did not seem as interested in taking in the scenery, for his eyes were fixed forwards, heading towards his invisible goal, as if there was nothing left for him to learn.
“Sephiroth?” He asked, and the man made a 'hm?' noise in reply. “Are you sure we've come to the right world?”
It was more of a rhetoric to satisfy himself, because if there was only one thing you could say about Sephiroth, it was that he never made mistakes.
“Certainly,” Sephiroth replied, “It seems that for once we have had the good fortune to beat the Heartless here.”
Whatever Sephiroth said was good enough for Cloud, so he felt no need to question him further. Indeed, while Cloud could sense no Heartless around him, there was an ache in the bottom of his heart telling him that the tranquility was about to snap. The Darkness was coming, and the thread was stretched out; he knew Sephiroth could feel it too, but did not understand how he could keep such a calm air about him. The tension was building up so tightly in Cloud that he was secretly wishing for the Light to break, out of desperate, aggravating frustration. Mentally he cursed himself for having such thoughts. He knew he'd be able to calm down soon; the feelings were only this intense when he first stepped on new ground.
They had been walking for several minutes before the Darkness from their journey stopped snapping at Sephiroth's heels and retreated. It seemed like a bad after-effect of proceeding to bend the Darkness for their own means, and it confused Cloud; it never did have such a grip on him, and it was lingering longer and longer around Sephiroth. It suited him, somehow.
People had been staring at them as they passed, whispering to their friends without ever taking their wide eyes off them. Still, their reaction was not quite what Cloud was used to; later they would learn that Traverse Town was the meeting place for lost souls, and that they were not the strangest creatures who would ever pass by. It was going relatively well, even though Cloud was not sure at all of where Sephiroth was heading; relatively well, that was, until they walked face to face with a little ninja girl.
Cloud's first reaction was to smile despite himself - the girl, no more than twelve years old, had a small, well-crafted shuriken in one hand and was clinging greedily to a piece of munny. It must have been carelessly lost by someone in the town centre, because her first reaction was to thrust her fist behind her back.
Sephiroth waved at her, more of a polite way to request she move than a greeting, and her eyes became wide as soon she caught a glimpse of his feathery-black wing. Whether she was impressed or intimidated Cloud couldn't quite tell; her lip was quivering ever-so slightly, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't grasp the right words to do so. Noticing the way her eyes had become deep and reflective Sephiroth had the courtesy to tuck it behind his back.
Unfortunately, Cloud had not been so smart, because the moment Sephiroth lost his appeal the ninja girl's eyes darted to him. If soft feathers had awed her, then Cloud's leathery, bat-like wing only scared her. Her eyes flashed with panic and Cloud fumbled to fold it, jerking his shoulder blade to hide it as best he could. After all, he and Sephiroth were there to help the people, not terrify them.
“H-h-h...” the girl began, taking several shaky steps backwards as if it wasn't wise to speak until she was a safe distance away. “Heartless!”
With that word her courage returned, and the girl was bolting through the wide streets, making her way towards the narrows alleys. Cloud heard Sephiroth laugh curtly, and if it had no been for the man's blunt amusement he would have looked behind him to see just where this Heartless was. He mouthed a silent 'oh' in realisation and coughed awkwardly to clear his throat. That had certainly never happened before.
“What a warm welcome. I suppose we'll have to follow her to get this whole Heartless-confusion cleared up,” Sephiroth decided, taking heavy strides forwards.
Before Cloud could protest, Sephiroth was already ahead of him, assuming he knew just where the girl had headed. Cloud sighed; at least the girl didn't have the sense to lodge the shuriken between his eyes.
*
Cloud jogged to catch up with Sephiroth who moved with an almost unnatural speed, making his way through the maze of buildings, head held high as if he actually knew where he was going. Of course, there was little need to doubt Sephiroth, and even less of a reason to question him.
Avoiding the town centre, and consequentially being delayed by a patrol of strange white creatures with tiny purple bat-wings whom Sephiroth could not leave until his curiosity was satisfied and they had formed some sort of vague alliance, the swordsmen eventually reached a one story house, tucked neatly into a corner of the second district.
Sephiroth was inches away from knocking on the door when it burst open dramatically and a boy, several years older than Cloud from the look of him, came rushing out. There was a strange blade in his hand and aggression in his eyes. He halted, glanced at the strangers and tried to warn them off.
“Get out of here!” the brown haired man ordered, “There are Heartless raiding.”
Sephiroth raised a hand to stop his words.
“I believe these 'Heartless' you're looking for are us.”
“You?” he asked, voice full of accusation.
Cloud did not like the way his grip had tightened around his half-sword half-gun, and raised his hands as if to show he was of no real threat. Slowly, Cloud extended his one-wing and the other man's brow furrowed in confusion, as if he could not tell whether they were some kind of new Heartless or not.
“We just arrived, and we walked into a little girl. She mistook us for Heartless because of our wings,” Cloud explained, doing his best to put on a carefree smile and looking slightly uneasy in the process.
“Yuffie?” he asked, features becoming visibly softer and blinking, before turning away from the two men. “Yuffie! Come out right this instant.”
He put his weapon back in its holster and folded his arms impatiently. There was a worrying crash from the house, before the same girl from their previous encounter poked her head around the door. She had obviously been eavesdropping, as she did not look quite as disturbed as she had before upon laying her eyes on Cloud and Sephiroth, but she was biting her lower lip, eyes watery and fixed on the man.
“Leon...” she began feebly, not actually having anything to follow on with.
“You can't scare us all like that, Yuffie! You can't come running in here, screaming the Heartless are back,” Leon's voice was becoming progressively louder as he spoke harshly to the girl, whose eyes were now brimming with tears.
“But I though... I thought that they were...” she pleaded with him.
Leon sighed, and knelt down next to her. He ran one hand through her hair and smiled as gently as he knew how at her.
“I know you were scared that it was happening again. It's not your fault you panicked,” he said, effectively letting her punishment go, and half-blaming himself for overreacting. As he stood back up to face Cloud who was feeling awkward because of the display and Sephiroth who was simply disinterested, Yuffie slipped back into the house.
“I suppose I should apologise on her behalf,” he muttered, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the whole situation. “Yuffie was only young when the Heartless came, so it's not her fault she overreacts.”
“Not at all,” Sephiroth said with a slight bow. “My name is Sephiroth, and this is Cloud.”
Cloud stepped towards the man and shook his hand.
“Good to meet you Cloud,” he said. “I'm Leon.”
“Well, Leon, I'm afraid we're the bearers of bad news,” Sephiroth explained, not looking particularly sorry.
*
Leon studied the strangers long and hard before inviting them into the house. There seemed no reason not to trust them, even if their contrasting swords did not inspire him to feel completely relaxed. The younger boy in particular seemed trustworthy, and they gratefully walked in to the dimly lit room. There were a whole host of people in the room who had apparently been preparing for the elusive Heartless raid: an old man with a long grey beard was fumbling to pull his magician's hat on, while two young women had paused halfway through raiding a chest that seemed to be full of potions and other magic-based drugs. Yuffie had resigned to hide behind a gruff looking man, and was clinging to his arm as he gripped onto a spear, an unlit cigarrete hanging out of his mouth, just in case Yuffie had got the wrong end of the stick again.
The girl with soft-green eyes was the first to speak, and walked over to Leon.
“Leon, who are they?” she asked, looking between Cloud and Sephiroth with a smile. Cloud felt himself relax: it wasn't very often he felt welcome in a foreign world.
“Oh,” Leon said, realising everyone's eyes were on the new arrivals. “Oh, this is Sephiroth, and this is Cloud. Yuffie mistook them for Heartless.”
There was a nervous ripple of laughter through the room, lost amongst mumbles of hellos and nice-to-meet-yous. Cloud felt uneasy under their eyes that were still sparked with a little fear, but he could not blame them for their reaction. After all, he had seen many worlds crumble to dust, and after that kind of trauma he could not ask that they relax so easily and take them in without caution.
The girl who had previously been smiling at him stepped forwards and waved, snapping him out of his trace like state.
“I'm Aerith,” she introduced herself, and then pointed around the room for them, “And these are Merlin, Tifa Lockhart and Cid Highwind. I'm sure you already know Yuffie.”
Sephiroth nodded graciously at everyone in the room, turning to Cid last of all. Out of the all people in the room, Cid seemed to have the least trusting eyes, and had been trying to burn a hole in them with his gaze since they walked in the room.
“Are these your children, Mr. Highwind?” Sephiroth asked, crushing any humour that might have been lingering in his voice.
Cid looked startled and almost swallowed his cigarette. “What the hell?! How old do I look to you?”
“Cid, calm down,” Aerith ordered, “I'm sure our guests are just curious.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cid muttered as he lit a dry cigarette. “You want some tea or somethin'?”
Not intending to wait for an answer, Cid pulled himself to his feet and made his way to the kitchen, but the stale smell of smoke did not leave. There was a drawn out quiet, not silent because Yuffie was tossing her treasured piece of munny against the wall to distract herself, and Leon pulled out two chairs for Cloud and Sephiroth, on the off chance that Cid really was going to be a good host.
“You, uh, said you had some news for us, Sephiroth?” Leon asked, perking everyone's interest. Yuffie let the money fall to the floor and roll under a cabinet as she flung herself on a seat closer to the conversation.
“Unfortunately,” Sephiroth began with an exaggerated sigh.
Cloud let his attention dart else where, because he had heard this speech untold times by now, and he often caught himself unconsciously mouthing Sephiroth's words as he rolled his eyes. The dark haired girl in the corner - Tifa, Cloud thought - was slowly putting the potions back into the oak chest with meticulous neatness, pretending not to listen for some reason or another. Merlin, on the other hand, was tugging his beard as Sephiroth spoke to them, asking all kinds of questions, like what world they were from, and whether the Heartless had been here before, and could not have looked more astonished by his tales.
However, the one person that really caught his interest was the girl in pink, Aerith. She was standing by Leon's side, but her eyes did not reflect any of the shock of his. Leon looked serious, as if he was preemptively trying to guess what the dreadful news was, but Aerith was calm and accepting, almost as if she already knew the truth. She turned her head and caught Cloud watching her before he hand time to look away, and he froze for a moment, before fumbling to turn his attention back to Sephiroth. He heard her laugh under her breath, but it did not seem mocking, and so he decided his attention was better spent on Sephiroth.
“... then I'm afraid to say,” Cloud heard Sephiroth say as he once again latched onto his words, “That the Heartless are going to raid this world. And soon.”
The room became silent for a moment, but it was a crashing, cutting silence, not like the quiet from before, until someone managed to object.
“Good heavens!” Merlin exclaimed, “Well, however do you know, boy?”
Cloud winced at the wizard's words, not knowing how well Sephiroth would react to being called a 'boy' by a near-enough stranger, and taking the initiative, decided it was his turn to speak.
“It's... kind of what we do,” Cloud feebly explained, and felt Sephiroth's hand rest against his shoulder before he could say anything else. A good thing, really, as Sephiroth always had a better way with words than him, and could probably do more to convince these people that they were in danger.
“Cloud and I travel the worlds, hoping to preempt Heartless attacks - once you know how, it's not altogether impossible to track them down. Usually we don't have such luck, but fortunately for you we've arrived in good time.”
Cid made his timely reappearance, choosing to ignore Sephiroth's prophetic words and placed two mugs of steaming tea on the table in front of them. Sephiroth thanked him but made no illusions to drinking it. Naturally, Cloud followed in his example. Leon shook his head and asked once again how they could be so sure of their claims.
However, it was Aerith who put his mind at ease. “Leon, I think we should trust them,” she said, letting her gaze linger meaningfully on Sephiroth and Cloud. “And even if the Heartless don't come, there's no harm in being prepared.”
There was a reluctant murmur of agreement through the room, and Aerith's voice became quieter.
“I don't want to lose my heart. I don't want any of you to lose your hearts...”
She trailed off and there was acceptance and understanding amongst the party. Tifa rose up and walked over to her friend, gently touching her on the arm and asking her if she was alright.
“Well, now that it's all settled, we won't be taking up anymore of your time,” Sephiroth said with a slight bow of his head, “We'll meet again, sometime within the next few days; Cloud, come.”
As they turned to leave and the group bid them farewell, Aerith stepped forwards to stop Cloud in his tracks.
“I'll show you to the hotel,” she said happily, waving goodbye to the others as they left the house.
The door shut with a slam, and Cid scowled.
“Wasting their goddamn tea! Who do they think they are?”
*
The hotel was only a few minutes walk from the house that turned out to belong to old Merlin, and Aerith walked with a slight skip, apparently not hit quite as hard by the news as the rest of them. Cloud managed to find distraction in the square below, busy with life but not at all crowded. Couples were walking arm and arm, and groups of friends sat along the wall, enjoying the brisk cold of the night; already Cloud felt a certain attachment to this world, more of a desire to save it than he had for any other before. Then again, he knew deep down that he always felt this way about new worlds. He felt angry, all of a sudden, angry at the Darkness and the plague it was spreading throughout the universe. Each and every time he felt the desire to give up and return home, seeing starts burn out and dull the night sky that little bit more forced him to stick to the bumpy path he was walking.
Lost in his thoughts he had not noticed that he'd fallen behind, and Aerith and Sephiroth were ahead of him, chatting away in high-spirits. Sephiroth seemed to be providing adequate company for her, because her she was pointing this way and that, telling Sephiroth all there was to know about Traverse town. She apologised, assuring him she would have let them stay in their house, if only they had the room.
They waited by the hotel doors as Cloud caught up, talking happily amongst themselves, and with a smile and a friendly word Aerith said goodnight to them, and told them that they were welcome to stop by her house any time they wished. With that she turned and made her way through the dark, no fear in her step of what was to come.
He watched her walk away, maybe for a little too long, because Sephiroth was smirking as he turned back towards the warm hotel.
*
Cloud wasted no time in pulling his clothes off the moment he literally fell into the hotel room's bathroom. Turning on the shower he let the room steam up and lent against the stink with a sigh. Traveling always wore him out so much, and the wing that he was far from mastering the use of was aching even from such a short descent. His skin was still bruised from his last encounter with the Heartless, and there were even some cuts still raw across his body.
Cloud picked away at the black substance beneath his nails with his teeth, hoping that it was nothing more than dried blood, but knowing that it was probably whatever the Heartless left behind when you pummeled them to death. If they even did 'die' Cloud mused, stepping into the hot shower and not flinching. He ran his hands through messy, dirty hair, silently grateful for finding such a peaceful place to stop off at.
After his skin felt clean enough once more and the water had burnt away the ache, he climbed out of the shower, wrapping one of the towels around his waist and throwing the other across his shoulders. Sephiroth had already made himself at home by the time Cloud made his way into the bedroom. He folded his clothes across the balcony to let them air out, and watched suspiciously as Sephiroth laid on one of the single beds, helping himself to room service.
Odd. Sephiroth didn't seem like the type to enjoy sweets.
Cloud shook his head and thought nothing more of it; the three years that they had been traveling together certainly had taught him a lot of things about the older man, some of which he could have done without knowing.
“Cloud?” Sephiroth asked across the room, sounding less formal and more like a friend now they were in private, “Have I finally managed to convince you that these worlds are worth saving?”
Sephiroth's eyes had not left the TV since Cloud had walked in the room, but he sounded delighted in his personal victory; with Sephiroth, it was always as if his attention was attached to the thing he was least interested in. He continued to help himself to chocolates, not looking particularly rushed for an answer. Cloud scowled defensively, even though he knew Sephiroth couldn't see his face.
“I've always known that we have to save these worlds, Sephiroth, but it's... hard. It's hard being away from home, but it's harder knowing that worlds are going to be destroyed if I don't do anything.”
Sephiroth nodded, but Cloud was not entirely sure if he had been listening.
“So you do it out of guilt?”
Sephiroth had caught Cloud out, and the boy could not think of an excuse quickly enough. “Sort-of,” he muttered, feeling ashamed.
“Oh, it sounds as if there could be some Darkness in the famed Cloud Strife of the Light.”
Sephiroth's words were simple, but they hit Cloud hard. All of his life his people had looked upon him fondly as being pure of heart - one of the reasons Sephiroth chose him to be his partner - and at the same time he was nothing more than a little boy who wanted to go home. He searched desperately for something more to say, but it was Sephiroth who carried on the conversation.
“Don't worry so much about it, Cloud. You're still young,” he tried to console the boy, and patted on the bedsheets, signaling for Cloud to come over.
Reluctantly Cloud sat by Sephiroth, back towards him and staring out of the window as he sulked. He felt Sephiroth whip the towel from his shoulders, and began to dry his hair; perhaps too forcefully, because Cloud did not like the way his head rocked backwards and forwards under his pressing fingers, and Sephiroth sounded altogether too cheerful as he hummed away.
*
By the time Cloud woke up the next day Sephiroth had already left, and at first he didn't realise it was morning. The sun hadn't risen, and the town was just as dim as it had been when he arrived. The bedside clock read ten-fifteen and the shower curtain was already wet, and so he got up, not without his confusion. He pulled on his somewhat fresher feeling clothes, and at first considered wearing his heavy cape to hide his wing. Then again, if a town could accept something altogether as bizarre as moogles, then they could put up with his wing for a few weeks. However, he was still sure to pull a leather glove over his metal-rigged fingers. And so he made his way to the reception, where the up-beat woman behind the counter was kind enough to give him directions to the town's café.
It was early, but there were already plenty of people crawling out of their beds to start the day, and after stopping to ask for directions a few times he found himself at his destination. The townsfolk were not as intolerant of him as he had first feared, and after a good night's worth of gossip he and Sephiroth were just part of the crowd. He found himself a table and a hearty breakfast; and it seemed his munny was as good here as it was in any world.
Slowly he made his way through the meal, once again lost in his thoughts and fears. The people here were so gentle and humble, he wondered just how on earth they expected to protect themselves. Together with Sephiroth he could only do so much, and he had seen the death of far too many peace-loving worlds. Silently he resolved to learn to handle both his wing and the Buster Sword better.
He wasn't half way through his meal before he felt a someone poke his shoulder. Turning around he saw Aerith, a smile on her face and a basket of flowers looped over one arm. She waved at him, and he quickly swallowed his mouthful of toast. He tried to speak but the food lodged in his throat, and banging against his chest with his fist in a hope to clear it he felt altogether foolish.
“G-good morning Aerith,” he finally forced out, offering her a sheepish grin.
“Hello, Cloud. Did you sleep well?”
“Uh, oh... yes,” he said, trying to find something a little more fulfilling to say. “Thank you for showing us to the hotel.”
Smooth, Cloud, he thought, thank you for showing us the hotel? You haven't even offered to let her sit down yet...
“Oh!” he said, sounding quite alarmed. “Would you like to sit down?”
Aerith nodded thankfully as she took the seat, and Cloud got the feeling that's what she had been waiting for all along. She seemed quite in a world of her own, looking all around her as if she had never laid eyes on the town before, almost as if she hardly noticed Cloud was there. Cloud was grateful for the not-so-awkward silence, and took the opportunity to shovel down as much food as he could.
“Cloud,” she asked distantly, but with eyes rested on him, “Was your world destroyed?”
Cloud shook his head furiously, not happy with even the thought of his world dying. Aerith looked happier, if not more curious than before.
“What was your world like? Why did you leave?”
Cloud managed to swallow his food with much more grace this time.
“It was - I'm from a place known as the Promised Lands. It's very beautiful, though behind by some world's standards, I suppose. No real cities, or any of this technology I've come face to face with...” Cloud trailed off, not really sure of where he was going, but Aerith was watching with captivated eyes, and somehow he found he had more to share, “We're nomadic people, really, and it's a small place. Small but strong - that's how we managed to fend the Heartless off time and time again.”
“It sounds wonderful,” Aerith said, resting her head on one hand, exempting the Heartless from her affection, “Why would you ever want to leave?”
“I... I didn't, to tell the truth. Four years ago - when I was thirteen - I joined the relief effort to eradicate the Heartless. We had more than enough people to the keep the Promised Lands safe, though, and it just so happened that Sephiroth was the general of my squad at the time. We became... friends, I suppose, and I thought that to do good by him I'd have to leave and help save other worlds.”
Cloud felt down-trodden in admitting so much, and hoped that it did not make him sound to selfish or self-absorbed, at least to Aerith. But she was still looking at him without accusation, and to his surprise she took one of his hands - the flesh one, to his relief - in her own.
“You must miss it,” she whispered gently, “But it's a good thing the two of you are doing.”
Cloud nodded, because he didn't know what else to say to her. She was paying him a compliment, or something similar, and he was not used to it at all.
“I miss my world too,” she continued, memories of endless gardens and blood stained fields ripe in her mind, “And we all have to do our part to help out.”
And just like that Aerith's mood suddenly lifted; she let go of Cloud's hand and abruptly stood up without warning, a mischievous grin spread across her face. Reaching a hand over the table Aerith brushed her fingers across his outspread wing, and Cloud felt it twitch as a natural reaction. He was taken aback for a moment, because he could not remember anyone except for Sephiroth willing to drape their fingers across the dead looking stretched skin.
She ought to be disgusted, he thought - even back in his own world those without wings gilded with feathers were not thought of too kindly.
“Tell me, Cloud,” Aerith asked, leaning over to him, eyes ablaze with wonder that made Cloud sink in his seat, “Can you really fly?”
And in his mind was the image of him falling, falling, if he ever tried to jump off something as high as the clock tower; falling, and there would be wounds more fatal than scrapped knees. He looked up at her, and felt as if just maybe he could obtain the same grace as Sephiroth; as if he could glide like a bird and land softly on his feet.
“Yes,” Cloud said firmly, and despite knowing himself he almost believed his own words, “I can fly.”
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Rating: PG
Word count: 4,958
Character/Pairing: Sephiroth, Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Cid, Leon, Yuffie and Merlin; eventual Cloud/Aerith and Cloud/Aerith/Sephiroth.
Summary: Cloud, Aerith and Sephiroth, and the eight years which bind and break them.
Notes: There's so much tension and hate better Cloud and Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts that has no official explaination, and it's just begging to be written up. Of course, if Cloud and Sephiroth are in the picture then Aerith can hardly be ignored either. This story starts four years before the first Kingdom Hearts game, covers a whole host of KH worlds, and ends some two years after Kingdom Hearts II. The rating is very likely to change.
It was already evening when the two figures descended on the paved streets of Traverse Town. The man on the right, long silver hair illuminated by the cheerful street lamps, landed gracefully and without a sound, while his companion was less agile. He batted his wing awkwardly as he fell the short distance, landing with such force that he ended up on one knee. The younger of the two looked up towards the other, as if waiting for permission to move.
“Why Cloud,” he said with a wicked smile, “Isn't this world pleasant?”
With a firm nod Cloud rose to his feet and brushed the dirt off his knees. Nothing more was said, and the pair began to walk through the streets, two wings framing them. Cloud looked around, taking in the sight of tall, colourful buildings, and streets paved as if they were a puzzle with some interest. He began to wonder if this really could be the place; nothing seemed to be in a state of disrepair, and there was nothing to suggest that Darkness was lurking around the next corner. It was a curious place, where one building did not match the next, and everything seemed subtly jumbled.
Cloud turned to his partner to question him. The other man did not seem as interested in taking in the scenery, for his eyes were fixed forwards, heading towards his invisible goal, as if there was nothing left for him to learn.
“Sephiroth?” He asked, and the man made a 'hm?' noise in reply. “Are you sure we've come to the right world?”
It was more of a rhetoric to satisfy himself, because if there was only one thing you could say about Sephiroth, it was that he never made mistakes.
“Certainly,” Sephiroth replied, “It seems that for once we have had the good fortune to beat the Heartless here.”
Whatever Sephiroth said was good enough for Cloud, so he felt no need to question him further. Indeed, while Cloud could sense no Heartless around him, there was an ache in the bottom of his heart telling him that the tranquility was about to snap. The Darkness was coming, and the thread was stretched out; he knew Sephiroth could feel it too, but did not understand how he could keep such a calm air about him. The tension was building up so tightly in Cloud that he was secretly wishing for the Light to break, out of desperate, aggravating frustration. Mentally he cursed himself for having such thoughts. He knew he'd be able to calm down soon; the feelings were only this intense when he first stepped on new ground.
They had been walking for several minutes before the Darkness from their journey stopped snapping at Sephiroth's heels and retreated. It seemed like a bad after-effect of proceeding to bend the Darkness for their own means, and it confused Cloud; it never did have such a grip on him, and it was lingering longer and longer around Sephiroth. It suited him, somehow.
People had been staring at them as they passed, whispering to their friends without ever taking their wide eyes off them. Still, their reaction was not quite what Cloud was used to; later they would learn that Traverse Town was the meeting place for lost souls, and that they were not the strangest creatures who would ever pass by. It was going relatively well, even though Cloud was not sure at all of where Sephiroth was heading; relatively well, that was, until they walked face to face with a little ninja girl.
Cloud's first reaction was to smile despite himself - the girl, no more than twelve years old, had a small, well-crafted shuriken in one hand and was clinging greedily to a piece of munny. It must have been carelessly lost by someone in the town centre, because her first reaction was to thrust her fist behind her back.
Sephiroth waved at her, more of a polite way to request she move than a greeting, and her eyes became wide as soon she caught a glimpse of his feathery-black wing. Whether she was impressed or intimidated Cloud couldn't quite tell; her lip was quivering ever-so slightly, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't grasp the right words to do so. Noticing the way her eyes had become deep and reflective Sephiroth had the courtesy to tuck it behind his back.
Unfortunately, Cloud had not been so smart, because the moment Sephiroth lost his appeal the ninja girl's eyes darted to him. If soft feathers had awed her, then Cloud's leathery, bat-like wing only scared her. Her eyes flashed with panic and Cloud fumbled to fold it, jerking his shoulder blade to hide it as best he could. After all, he and Sephiroth were there to help the people, not terrify them.
“H-h-h...” the girl began, taking several shaky steps backwards as if it wasn't wise to speak until she was a safe distance away. “Heartless!”
With that word her courage returned, and the girl was bolting through the wide streets, making her way towards the narrows alleys. Cloud heard Sephiroth laugh curtly, and if it had no been for the man's blunt amusement he would have looked behind him to see just where this Heartless was. He mouthed a silent 'oh' in realisation and coughed awkwardly to clear his throat. That had certainly never happened before.
“What a warm welcome. I suppose we'll have to follow her to get this whole Heartless-confusion cleared up,” Sephiroth decided, taking heavy strides forwards.
Before Cloud could protest, Sephiroth was already ahead of him, assuming he knew just where the girl had headed. Cloud sighed; at least the girl didn't have the sense to lodge the shuriken between his eyes.
*
Cloud jogged to catch up with Sephiroth who moved with an almost unnatural speed, making his way through the maze of buildings, head held high as if he actually knew where he was going. Of course, there was little need to doubt Sephiroth, and even less of a reason to question him.
Avoiding the town centre, and consequentially being delayed by a patrol of strange white creatures with tiny purple bat-wings whom Sephiroth could not leave until his curiosity was satisfied and they had formed some sort of vague alliance, the swordsmen eventually reached a one story house, tucked neatly into a corner of the second district.
Sephiroth was inches away from knocking on the door when it burst open dramatically and a boy, several years older than Cloud from the look of him, came rushing out. There was a strange blade in his hand and aggression in his eyes. He halted, glanced at the strangers and tried to warn them off.
“Get out of here!” the brown haired man ordered, “There are Heartless raiding.”
Sephiroth raised a hand to stop his words.
“I believe these 'Heartless' you're looking for are us.”
“You?” he asked, voice full of accusation.
Cloud did not like the way his grip had tightened around his half-sword half-gun, and raised his hands as if to show he was of no real threat. Slowly, Cloud extended his one-wing and the other man's brow furrowed in confusion, as if he could not tell whether they were some kind of new Heartless or not.
“We just arrived, and we walked into a little girl. She mistook us for Heartless because of our wings,” Cloud explained, doing his best to put on a carefree smile and looking slightly uneasy in the process.
“Yuffie?” he asked, features becoming visibly softer and blinking, before turning away from the two men. “Yuffie! Come out right this instant.”
He put his weapon back in its holster and folded his arms impatiently. There was a worrying crash from the house, before the same girl from their previous encounter poked her head around the door. She had obviously been eavesdropping, as she did not look quite as disturbed as she had before upon laying her eyes on Cloud and Sephiroth, but she was biting her lower lip, eyes watery and fixed on the man.
“Leon...” she began feebly, not actually having anything to follow on with.
“You can't scare us all like that, Yuffie! You can't come running in here, screaming the Heartless are back,” Leon's voice was becoming progressively louder as he spoke harshly to the girl, whose eyes were now brimming with tears.
“But I though... I thought that they were...” she pleaded with him.
Leon sighed, and knelt down next to her. He ran one hand through her hair and smiled as gently as he knew how at her.
“I know you were scared that it was happening again. It's not your fault you panicked,” he said, effectively letting her punishment go, and half-blaming himself for overreacting. As he stood back up to face Cloud who was feeling awkward because of the display and Sephiroth who was simply disinterested, Yuffie slipped back into the house.
“I suppose I should apologise on her behalf,” he muttered, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the whole situation. “Yuffie was only young when the Heartless came, so it's not her fault she overreacts.”
“Not at all,” Sephiroth said with a slight bow. “My name is Sephiroth, and this is Cloud.”
Cloud stepped towards the man and shook his hand.
“Good to meet you Cloud,” he said. “I'm Leon.”
“Well, Leon, I'm afraid we're the bearers of bad news,” Sephiroth explained, not looking particularly sorry.
*
Leon studied the strangers long and hard before inviting them into the house. There seemed no reason not to trust them, even if their contrasting swords did not inspire him to feel completely relaxed. The younger boy in particular seemed trustworthy, and they gratefully walked in to the dimly lit room. There were a whole host of people in the room who had apparently been preparing for the elusive Heartless raid: an old man with a long grey beard was fumbling to pull his magician's hat on, while two young women had paused halfway through raiding a chest that seemed to be full of potions and other magic-based drugs. Yuffie had resigned to hide behind a gruff looking man, and was clinging to his arm as he gripped onto a spear, an unlit cigarrete hanging out of his mouth, just in case Yuffie had got the wrong end of the stick again.
The girl with soft-green eyes was the first to speak, and walked over to Leon.
“Leon, who are they?” she asked, looking between Cloud and Sephiroth with a smile. Cloud felt himself relax: it wasn't very often he felt welcome in a foreign world.
“Oh,” Leon said, realising everyone's eyes were on the new arrivals. “Oh, this is Sephiroth, and this is Cloud. Yuffie mistook them for Heartless.”
There was a nervous ripple of laughter through the room, lost amongst mumbles of hellos and nice-to-meet-yous. Cloud felt uneasy under their eyes that were still sparked with a little fear, but he could not blame them for their reaction. After all, he had seen many worlds crumble to dust, and after that kind of trauma he could not ask that they relax so easily and take them in without caution.
The girl who had previously been smiling at him stepped forwards and waved, snapping him out of his trace like state.
“I'm Aerith,” she introduced herself, and then pointed around the room for them, “And these are Merlin, Tifa Lockhart and Cid Highwind. I'm sure you already know Yuffie.”
Sephiroth nodded graciously at everyone in the room, turning to Cid last of all. Out of the all people in the room, Cid seemed to have the least trusting eyes, and had been trying to burn a hole in them with his gaze since they walked in the room.
“Are these your children, Mr. Highwind?” Sephiroth asked, crushing any humour that might have been lingering in his voice.
Cid looked startled and almost swallowed his cigarette. “What the hell?! How old do I look to you?”
“Cid, calm down,” Aerith ordered, “I'm sure our guests are just curious.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cid muttered as he lit a dry cigarette. “You want some tea or somethin'?”
Not intending to wait for an answer, Cid pulled himself to his feet and made his way to the kitchen, but the stale smell of smoke did not leave. There was a drawn out quiet, not silent because Yuffie was tossing her treasured piece of munny against the wall to distract herself, and Leon pulled out two chairs for Cloud and Sephiroth, on the off chance that Cid really was going to be a good host.
“You, uh, said you had some news for us, Sephiroth?” Leon asked, perking everyone's interest. Yuffie let the money fall to the floor and roll under a cabinet as she flung herself on a seat closer to the conversation.
“Unfortunately,” Sephiroth began with an exaggerated sigh.
Cloud let his attention dart else where, because he had heard this speech untold times by now, and he often caught himself unconsciously mouthing Sephiroth's words as he rolled his eyes. The dark haired girl in the corner - Tifa, Cloud thought - was slowly putting the potions back into the oak chest with meticulous neatness, pretending not to listen for some reason or another. Merlin, on the other hand, was tugging his beard as Sephiroth spoke to them, asking all kinds of questions, like what world they were from, and whether the Heartless had been here before, and could not have looked more astonished by his tales.
However, the one person that really caught his interest was the girl in pink, Aerith. She was standing by Leon's side, but her eyes did not reflect any of the shock of his. Leon looked serious, as if he was preemptively trying to guess what the dreadful news was, but Aerith was calm and accepting, almost as if she already knew the truth. She turned her head and caught Cloud watching her before he hand time to look away, and he froze for a moment, before fumbling to turn his attention back to Sephiroth. He heard her laugh under her breath, but it did not seem mocking, and so he decided his attention was better spent on Sephiroth.
“... then I'm afraid to say,” Cloud heard Sephiroth say as he once again latched onto his words, “That the Heartless are going to raid this world. And soon.”
The room became silent for a moment, but it was a crashing, cutting silence, not like the quiet from before, until someone managed to object.
“Good heavens!” Merlin exclaimed, “Well, however do you know, boy?”
Cloud winced at the wizard's words, not knowing how well Sephiroth would react to being called a 'boy' by a near-enough stranger, and taking the initiative, decided it was his turn to speak.
“It's... kind of what we do,” Cloud feebly explained, and felt Sephiroth's hand rest against his shoulder before he could say anything else. A good thing, really, as Sephiroth always had a better way with words than him, and could probably do more to convince these people that they were in danger.
“Cloud and I travel the worlds, hoping to preempt Heartless attacks - once you know how, it's not altogether impossible to track them down. Usually we don't have such luck, but fortunately for you we've arrived in good time.”
Cid made his timely reappearance, choosing to ignore Sephiroth's prophetic words and placed two mugs of steaming tea on the table in front of them. Sephiroth thanked him but made no illusions to drinking it. Naturally, Cloud followed in his example. Leon shook his head and asked once again how they could be so sure of their claims.
However, it was Aerith who put his mind at ease. “Leon, I think we should trust them,” she said, letting her gaze linger meaningfully on Sephiroth and Cloud. “And even if the Heartless don't come, there's no harm in being prepared.”
There was a reluctant murmur of agreement through the room, and Aerith's voice became quieter.
“I don't want to lose my heart. I don't want any of you to lose your hearts...”
She trailed off and there was acceptance and understanding amongst the party. Tifa rose up and walked over to her friend, gently touching her on the arm and asking her if she was alright.
“Well, now that it's all settled, we won't be taking up anymore of your time,” Sephiroth said with a slight bow of his head, “We'll meet again, sometime within the next few days; Cloud, come.”
As they turned to leave and the group bid them farewell, Aerith stepped forwards to stop Cloud in his tracks.
“I'll show you to the hotel,” she said happily, waving goodbye to the others as they left the house.
The door shut with a slam, and Cid scowled.
“Wasting their goddamn tea! Who do they think they are?”
*
The hotel was only a few minutes walk from the house that turned out to belong to old Merlin, and Aerith walked with a slight skip, apparently not hit quite as hard by the news as the rest of them. Cloud managed to find distraction in the square below, busy with life but not at all crowded. Couples were walking arm and arm, and groups of friends sat along the wall, enjoying the brisk cold of the night; already Cloud felt a certain attachment to this world, more of a desire to save it than he had for any other before. Then again, he knew deep down that he always felt this way about new worlds. He felt angry, all of a sudden, angry at the Darkness and the plague it was spreading throughout the universe. Each and every time he felt the desire to give up and return home, seeing starts burn out and dull the night sky that little bit more forced him to stick to the bumpy path he was walking.
Lost in his thoughts he had not noticed that he'd fallen behind, and Aerith and Sephiroth were ahead of him, chatting away in high-spirits. Sephiroth seemed to be providing adequate company for her, because her she was pointing this way and that, telling Sephiroth all there was to know about Traverse town. She apologised, assuring him she would have let them stay in their house, if only they had the room.
They waited by the hotel doors as Cloud caught up, talking happily amongst themselves, and with a smile and a friendly word Aerith said goodnight to them, and told them that they were welcome to stop by her house any time they wished. With that she turned and made her way through the dark, no fear in her step of what was to come.
He watched her walk away, maybe for a little too long, because Sephiroth was smirking as he turned back towards the warm hotel.
*
Cloud wasted no time in pulling his clothes off the moment he literally fell into the hotel room's bathroom. Turning on the shower he let the room steam up and lent against the stink with a sigh. Traveling always wore him out so much, and the wing that he was far from mastering the use of was aching even from such a short descent. His skin was still bruised from his last encounter with the Heartless, and there were even some cuts still raw across his body.
Cloud picked away at the black substance beneath his nails with his teeth, hoping that it was nothing more than dried blood, but knowing that it was probably whatever the Heartless left behind when you pummeled them to death. If they even did 'die' Cloud mused, stepping into the hot shower and not flinching. He ran his hands through messy, dirty hair, silently grateful for finding such a peaceful place to stop off at.
After his skin felt clean enough once more and the water had burnt away the ache, he climbed out of the shower, wrapping one of the towels around his waist and throwing the other across his shoulders. Sephiroth had already made himself at home by the time Cloud made his way into the bedroom. He folded his clothes across the balcony to let them air out, and watched suspiciously as Sephiroth laid on one of the single beds, helping himself to room service.
Odd. Sephiroth didn't seem like the type to enjoy sweets.
Cloud shook his head and thought nothing more of it; the three years that they had been traveling together certainly had taught him a lot of things about the older man, some of which he could have done without knowing.
“Cloud?” Sephiroth asked across the room, sounding less formal and more like a friend now they were in private, “Have I finally managed to convince you that these worlds are worth saving?”
Sephiroth's eyes had not left the TV since Cloud had walked in the room, but he sounded delighted in his personal victory; with Sephiroth, it was always as if his attention was attached to the thing he was least interested in. He continued to help himself to chocolates, not looking particularly rushed for an answer. Cloud scowled defensively, even though he knew Sephiroth couldn't see his face.
“I've always known that we have to save these worlds, Sephiroth, but it's... hard. It's hard being away from home, but it's harder knowing that worlds are going to be destroyed if I don't do anything.”
Sephiroth nodded, but Cloud was not entirely sure if he had been listening.
“So you do it out of guilt?”
Sephiroth had caught Cloud out, and the boy could not think of an excuse quickly enough. “Sort-of,” he muttered, feeling ashamed.
“Oh, it sounds as if there could be some Darkness in the famed Cloud Strife of the Light.”
Sephiroth's words were simple, but they hit Cloud hard. All of his life his people had looked upon him fondly as being pure of heart - one of the reasons Sephiroth chose him to be his partner - and at the same time he was nothing more than a little boy who wanted to go home. He searched desperately for something more to say, but it was Sephiroth who carried on the conversation.
“Don't worry so much about it, Cloud. You're still young,” he tried to console the boy, and patted on the bedsheets, signaling for Cloud to come over.
Reluctantly Cloud sat by Sephiroth, back towards him and staring out of the window as he sulked. He felt Sephiroth whip the towel from his shoulders, and began to dry his hair; perhaps too forcefully, because Cloud did not like the way his head rocked backwards and forwards under his pressing fingers, and Sephiroth sounded altogether too cheerful as he hummed away.
*
By the time Cloud woke up the next day Sephiroth had already left, and at first he didn't realise it was morning. The sun hadn't risen, and the town was just as dim as it had been when he arrived. The bedside clock read ten-fifteen and the shower curtain was already wet, and so he got up, not without his confusion. He pulled on his somewhat fresher feeling clothes, and at first considered wearing his heavy cape to hide his wing. Then again, if a town could accept something altogether as bizarre as moogles, then they could put up with his wing for a few weeks. However, he was still sure to pull a leather glove over his metal-rigged fingers. And so he made his way to the reception, where the up-beat woman behind the counter was kind enough to give him directions to the town's café.
It was early, but there were already plenty of people crawling out of their beds to start the day, and after stopping to ask for directions a few times he found himself at his destination. The townsfolk were not as intolerant of him as he had first feared, and after a good night's worth of gossip he and Sephiroth were just part of the crowd. He found himself a table and a hearty breakfast; and it seemed his munny was as good here as it was in any world.
Slowly he made his way through the meal, once again lost in his thoughts and fears. The people here were so gentle and humble, he wondered just how on earth they expected to protect themselves. Together with Sephiroth he could only do so much, and he had seen the death of far too many peace-loving worlds. Silently he resolved to learn to handle both his wing and the Buster Sword better.
He wasn't half way through his meal before he felt a someone poke his shoulder. Turning around he saw Aerith, a smile on her face and a basket of flowers looped over one arm. She waved at him, and he quickly swallowed his mouthful of toast. He tried to speak but the food lodged in his throat, and banging against his chest with his fist in a hope to clear it he felt altogether foolish.
“G-good morning Aerith,” he finally forced out, offering her a sheepish grin.
“Hello, Cloud. Did you sleep well?”
“Uh, oh... yes,” he said, trying to find something a little more fulfilling to say. “Thank you for showing us to the hotel.”
Smooth, Cloud, he thought, thank you for showing us the hotel? You haven't even offered to let her sit down yet...
“Oh!” he said, sounding quite alarmed. “Would you like to sit down?”
Aerith nodded thankfully as she took the seat, and Cloud got the feeling that's what she had been waiting for all along. She seemed quite in a world of her own, looking all around her as if she had never laid eyes on the town before, almost as if she hardly noticed Cloud was there. Cloud was grateful for the not-so-awkward silence, and took the opportunity to shovel down as much food as he could.
“Cloud,” she asked distantly, but with eyes rested on him, “Was your world destroyed?”
Cloud shook his head furiously, not happy with even the thought of his world dying. Aerith looked happier, if not more curious than before.
“What was your world like? Why did you leave?”
Cloud managed to swallow his food with much more grace this time.
“It was - I'm from a place known as the Promised Lands. It's very beautiful, though behind by some world's standards, I suppose. No real cities, or any of this technology I've come face to face with...” Cloud trailed off, not really sure of where he was going, but Aerith was watching with captivated eyes, and somehow he found he had more to share, “We're nomadic people, really, and it's a small place. Small but strong - that's how we managed to fend the Heartless off time and time again.”
“It sounds wonderful,” Aerith said, resting her head on one hand, exempting the Heartless from her affection, “Why would you ever want to leave?”
“I... I didn't, to tell the truth. Four years ago - when I was thirteen - I joined the relief effort to eradicate the Heartless. We had more than enough people to the keep the Promised Lands safe, though, and it just so happened that Sephiroth was the general of my squad at the time. We became... friends, I suppose, and I thought that to do good by him I'd have to leave and help save other worlds.”
Cloud felt down-trodden in admitting so much, and hoped that it did not make him sound to selfish or self-absorbed, at least to Aerith. But she was still looking at him without accusation, and to his surprise she took one of his hands - the flesh one, to his relief - in her own.
“You must miss it,” she whispered gently, “But it's a good thing the two of you are doing.”
Cloud nodded, because he didn't know what else to say to her. She was paying him a compliment, or something similar, and he was not used to it at all.
“I miss my world too,” she continued, memories of endless gardens and blood stained fields ripe in her mind, “And we all have to do our part to help out.”
And just like that Aerith's mood suddenly lifted; she let go of Cloud's hand and abruptly stood up without warning, a mischievous grin spread across her face. Reaching a hand over the table Aerith brushed her fingers across his outspread wing, and Cloud felt it twitch as a natural reaction. He was taken aback for a moment, because he could not remember anyone except for Sephiroth willing to drape their fingers across the dead looking stretched skin.
She ought to be disgusted, he thought - even back in his own world those without wings gilded with feathers were not thought of too kindly.
“Tell me, Cloud,” Aerith asked, leaning over to him, eyes ablaze with wonder that made Cloud sink in his seat, “Can you really fly?”
And in his mind was the image of him falling, falling, if he ever tried to jump off something as high as the clock tower; falling, and there would be wounds more fatal than scrapped knees. He looked up at her, and felt as if just maybe he could obtain the same grace as Sephiroth; as if he could glide like a bird and land softly on his feet.
“Yes,” Cloud said firmly, and despite knowing himself he almost believed his own words, “I can fly.”