Forgiven.

Cloud Strife || Final Fantasy 7 (Post-Advent Children) ||

Generally he is a pretty chill dude.

Really, he tries to not involve himself in conflict unless someone is in immediate danger or it involves a friend.

Takes on plenty of odd jobs, but usually he’ll just be delivering packages. He doesn’t ask what’s in them. That’s not his business. 

If you need someone to stand around and look like a cool bodyguard to scare off some would-be thugs, he’s your man! ( He can fight though.) 

“I wonder if that headache of your’s is ever going to stop.” She muses to herself mainly. She doesn’t know the full detail behind it, only that sometime here and there Cloud would get those headaches and sometime they were bad. 

Cloud glanced towards Kachina again, nodding his head slightly. Although he no longer put on an act about being ‘tough’ or ‘cool’, he still had a tendency to downplay his pain for the sake of those that he cared about. “I’ll be fine. I’m used to it. I just need some medication and a bit of rest.” He reached over and gave Kachina’s shoulder a quick and reassuring pat as he caught up to her.

“In any case, welcome back. You haven’t missed too much, it’s kind of just been more of the same unpredictable island full of the same unpredictable stuff! Though I did meet a guy with a gun for an arm, which was pretty cool.” Except for the part where he called Zack a thief, but, eh, semantics.

Cloud crossed his arms, studying Zack carefully as he did so. “You’ve seen me ...come and go?” The idea of another ‘him’ running around was...disturbing.  He already had enough issues; he did not need to deal with an alternate version of himself. So, he shook his head and waved his gloved hand dismissively. “That’s....” Well, he really didn’t have any words for it, so he just let out a sigh instead. 

Typical Spirale nonsense, and not much of it was an interest to Cloud. However, he did perk up slightly when Zack mentioned ‘a guy with a gun for an arm’. “Gun for an arm huh...that sounds a lot like my friend Barret. ..Guess I shouldn’t be surprised though. With both of you running around you were bound to run into each other eventually. ..How did he seem when you met?” 

“Yeah.” 

If it wasn’t for his precognition, something like this arriving would just be a bad omen, knowing what’s been happening lately. 

“I can’t explain to you how suspicious that package looks, but I’ve had worse left at my door before.”

It’s just a package of someone’s old cassettes they were selling off, and probably assumed they were sturdier than they looked. It’s not hard to tear into the cardboard and peek inside. Yeah. They’re alright. One of em looks cracked but that’s whatever. 

Ah, fuck, this guy’s cute. Blonde hair, similar build, looks to be about his own age. 

“Guessing you can handle yourself pretty well if you’re willing to deliver something that looks like this, huh? What’s your name?” 

“I’m not the one who wrapped it in duct tape.” Cloud shrugged; trying to remain impartial and professional as possible. He pulled out a pen and handed it over to Zero, then he held out the scrap of paper towards him too. “Sign here, please.”

Zero was right though; Cloud was the guy that people would call when they couldn’t or wouldn’t travel into dangerous areas themselves. There weren’t many delivery boys that had his qualifications or skill set, mostly because those types that were similar to him didn’t want to do a job like this. They wanted action, they wanted excitement; but not Cloud. At this point in his life he only acted out when necessary.

Isola NPC 

“THIS is the PERFECT time and place~. I MISSED YOU LOADS!” He may have forgotten about her during his time back home but HAS she forgotten Cloud!????! Yes. Yes she has, actually. 

“We get to do ALL the fun stuff again~.” She leaps right off the ground and into the air just for that short moment then spins on her tippy toes, “Cloud’s BACK, CLOUD IS BACK!”

The pouting does nothing for Cloud; if anything it makes him more determined to avoid her affection. Kachina meant well, he knew that, but...she could be a bit too much sometimes. Plus, like they said, right now was not a good time!

As she cheers and spins around, Cloud moves further away from the Spirale hole; holding his head and wincing as he does so. A sharp shooting pain pierced through his mind. The pain wasn’t unfamiliar; and it was most likely a result of Cloud’s own physical issues and his sudden return to this dimension.

“Can you...stop...talking so loud?” He glanced back at Kachina; his expression tired and irritated.  “Let’s just... get away from the bottomless pit before we start celebrating my glorious return..”