Another day, another brush with death; if you could even call it that, considering the drakes he had just faced off against barely put up a fight. Easy gil. Cloud spat at the ground, his primary hand slinging his signature blade over his shoulder as he eyed the slain quarry at his feet. Cloudâs whole life after childhood has felt like one extended tour of duty, he lamented on this realization and realized he was only somewhat unsettled by it. This was the way of the warrior. At least he could make his own choices now. Was this really what he wanted to be doing, though? Clearing various dingy warehouses of monsters for storeowners around Midgar had been paying for his bed for weeks now, but it was quite repetitive work for someone whoâs heart rate was more accustomed to fights to the death. If he had to lift his sword for anything less it felt almost felt like a chore to him, perhaps he was far more masochistic than he realized. After getting his desired payment for the dayâs work, he was always quick to leave out the door, he was never one for idle small talk, this was all business to him and he always kept his dealings prompt. All of that drilling and training as a SOLDIER had fostered a certain almost ruthless efficiency to the way he went about his life and it carried all the way through to even his interactions with other people. No unnecessary time or effort was ever exerted when it came to how he treated others as far as he could help it, he always did just what he had to do and left it at that. His reasoning went along the lines of why bother investing himself into anything more than what was required of him, that way he was never vulnerable.
As much as Cloud tried to keep the rest of the world at an armâs length, the unruly, sprawling nature of Midgar and life in the city often clashed with his lonesome nature, as Midgar was so overpopulated that people were propelled into his trajectory whether he liked it or not, and today happened to be another one of those days where Cloud would be forced to go beyond his comfort zone. However, this encounter was more fateful than most.
As Cloud swung the aforementioned door of the shop open after receiving his payment, his uncaring persona yet again betrayed him as he opened the door a little too recklessly for his own good and it happened to hit a woman passing by, backing her up a few inches for sure. This allowed Cloud to get a perfect look at the person he had just wronged and much to his surprised she had an eye that looked a lot like his. Mako. The realization made him shudder inwardly and most likely scowl outwardly. Instead of giving her the apology she most likely expected, he placed the hand not carrying his trusty sword on his hip and furrowed a blonde brow at her inquisitively, giving her his stern version of a hello in the form of a question,