... And just when he thought he got rid of her...
"You're up bright an early." Aeris said, arms crossed, and giving him a nasty look.
Cloud sighed. "How could I ask you to go along when I knew it would be dangerous?"
"Are you done?" she asked him cooly. He ran his fingers through his hair, looking towards the ground. She was still feeling quite offended. She huffed and turned to face the junkyard, looking over her shoulder at him.
"You have to go through the slum in Sector six to get to Tifa's Seventh Heaven. I'll take you there. Come on!" Aeris took off running before Cloud could say a word against it. He had no choice but to follow.
They made their way through a ruined highway, with various cranes and piping lying around. Aeris held the lead, running over boards to pass through tunnels underneath, seemingly going in circles. Likely to punish Cloud further for his comment the previous night.
They were almost through the junk yard when a monster crawled out of seemingly nowhere and stepped inbetween them, focused on Aeris. It let out a roar which made Aeris nearly stumble foreward in surprise, but she turned around and pulled out her metal staff to defend herself.
"Aeris, watch out!" Cloud shouted, swinging his Buster sword.
"I know what I'm doing!" she insisted.
The monster, which appeared to have brought it's home along with it, turned to face Cloud at his outburst. Aeris took this opportunity to hit it with her stick, and jumped back just before it's claws could reach her in a desperate counter attack. Cloud spun his sword in a circle, and briefly focused on the materia in it's blade, summoning an ice spell on the monster.
"Hmph, show off," Aeris mumbled.
"What was that?" Cloud shouted.
"I was just telling the monster to shove off!" she yelled back, hitting it fiercely with her staff. This time, though, the monster pulled it's body into it's house, much like a turtle would pull itself into it's shell.
She looked at it strangely. "Did it give up?" she wondered aloud, letting down her guard ever so slightly. From the roof of the house, missiles appeared, and they headed straight for her. She panicked and stumbled backwards, spinning her staff infront of her. The missiles hit just beside her.
"Aeris!"
Thankfully, this monster was no Shinra weapon. The missiles were pretty low yield, though Aeris now had second degree burns on her legs. She wasn't about to give up though, she still had something to prove. She got to her feet quickly and summoned a breeze to heal herself and Cloud. Cloud struck the monster with his sword, gaining it's attention. Aeris leapt in with her staff once more and finished it off, it's body exploding in red spirit energy. She dusted herself off, and walked over to Cloud as she put her staff away.
"Is it really so bad to accept help from a girl? Hmm?" She smiled slyly at him. He shook his head in defeat. She pointed to the large gate ahead of them. "The gate to Sector seven's over there."
"Thanks. I guess this is goodbye. You gunna be all right going home?"
Aeris cradled her face with both hands, pretending to be shocked. "Oh no! Whatever will I do!?" She paused, her hands moving to her hips. "... Isn't that what you want me to say? she continued condescendingly.
Elmyra was right. There was no winning with this girl. "... How about you come to Sector seven with me, instead?"
"I could do that. But won't I be in your way?"
"What do you mean in the way?" Cloud asked her curiously.
"Nothing!" she grinned innocently, and rushed off again.
She spied the playground and stopped, turning towards Cloud as he caught up with her. "Uhm, can we take a break?" she asked, turning to the moogle-shaped children's slide. "I can't believe it's still here..." Before he could garner a response, she was sitting on the top of the moogle head. "Cloud, get over here!"
He climbed up and sat down next to her, wondering what she could possibly want from him. Solemnly, she asked, "What rank were you?"
"Rank?"
"You know, in SOLDIER."
"Oh, I was... First Class."
"Just the same as him." She reaches foreward and clasps her hands around one knee.
"The same as who?" Cloud asked curiously.
She looks up towards the sky. "My first boyfriend."
Aeris had mentionned him before. "You were... Serious?"
She shakes her head slowly. "No. But I liked him for a while."
"I probably knew him. What was his name?" Cloud pried curiously, trying to think over the names of other SOLDIERS he fought with.
She closes her eyes, and forces out "It doesn't really matter."
The Sector seven gate swung open just then, and a cart carrying a fancily dressed brunette appears.
"Huh? Hey, back there..." Cloud leaps to his feet. "Tifa!?"
The cart passes on, ignorant of Cloud and Aeris, and enters Wall Market out of sight.
"That girl in the cart was Tifa? Where was she going? She looked kind of odd..." Aeris hops down from the slide and starts running after the cart.
"Wait! I'll go on alone! You go home!" Cloud barked, but Aeris ignores him. Cloud shakes his head and goes after her.
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