{Cloud} I wanna be a pirate!

Another day, another world; this appeared to be an everyday thing for Cloud ever since he got back into this universe after his bout with Sephiroth. He had landed outside of Radiant Garden, which was something he truly was thankful for but when he went to go see Aerith, she wasn’t there. At least, he thought it was Aerith but it was just some random woman in a pink dress. Cloud was almost embarrassed over mistaking the young woman for one of his best friends, he kicked himself for a little while but he eventually got over it. Nothing was more worse than believing that you were someone that you weren’t and then telling everyone that you were someone that you weren’t, anyway. When Cloud left the blue crystal cliff he came up on a portal, he drove through it with Fenrir, his motorcycle, thinking it would lead him back home, but as fate would have it, it didn’t. This didn’t surprise Cloud in any way, shape, or form. It would have been too easy. Cloud, still mounted on his back, looked around to find himself in a town much like the city of Kalm but much older in architectural style of the buildings.

“What, you think you were just gonna be handed the city of Edge, Cloud? It’s like you don’t know the way this universe thinks at all?”, Cloud uttered sarcastically to himself, rolling his eyes at his new surroundings.

Cloud knew that since he was in an old town, he would probably need to hide his bike. He didn’t exactly know how advanced in technology the city was and he didn’t want to culture shock anyone; he definitely didn’t need that problem on his hands. Protect the world order; that was the rule, as uttered by Sora, Donald, and Goofy, whenever Cloud overheard them talking about some issue or another. Cloud found an alleyway and parked his motorbike there, using a tattered sheet that he found to cover it completely. Before he did though, he took The First Tsurugi, which served as the base of The Fusion Swords, out from one of the sword compartments in the bike. He sheathed it in his back sheath and walked out from the alleyway. Cloud was pretty sure they have seen a sword before so he didn’t think a big one would make any difference. Cloud looked around his surroundings again; he figured he would just wander a little bit until he came across another portal.

As he wandered deeper into town, he saw more and more people. Cloud could definitely that he made the right choice as time went on. Cloud received an odd look here and there but he didn’t mind it, Cloud looked strange even by his own world’s standards, given how his eyes looked. The town sure was dreary, though, even for Cloud’s liking. He heard the sea, though, so Cloud thought he would head there. Cloud had a soft spot for calm sounds and surroundings. As much as he lived in the city, he didn’t mind the countryside. Cloud liked the peace and quiet. Cloud made his way over to the harbor but all of the sudden, he heard ungodly chittering and screeches. It had to be the Heartless, there was no other way around it. Instinctively, Cloud unsheathed his mighty blade and ran to the source of the sound. He ran over to the harbor to see a young woman surrounded by pureblood Heartless. She was, of course, holding her own. In fact, she had been doing so well, Cloud wondered if he should even help at all. However, he knew he couldn’t leave her there, so he charged in, jumped and came down with a powerful vertical slash, cutting one Heartless in half, right down the middle. He then walked over to stand next to the young woman.

“You probably don’t need my help, and I’m not one for wanting to look good and save “the girl in trouble” but, I figured since no one wants to have to deal with guys like this, I would just lend a hand, if that’s alright…”, Cloud said, raising an eyebrow at the young woman.

“You’re not the only one at this point and time, trust me…”, Cloud said, keeping his eyes on the opposition.

Everyone had their own problems and their own questions that they needed answered. He was sure that this woman wasn’t saying what she said with the air that she was the only one with problems out of the countless number of people in the entire universe that she and Cloud happened to be in. Cloud just concurred with her. Cloud had his own mysteries to solve too. How can he control where he goes? Did Sephiroth survive their bout? How come it seemed like the universe was about to end? Did Sora ever beat the men in the black hoods? Cloud knew that nothing was ever truly certain in life and not even optimism could stem the tide of any unfortunate event that has a better chance of happening than things turning out for the better. The best thing anyone could do is the best that they can do and hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Cloud gripped his mighty blade tightly, knowing full well that he had to deal with what was in front of him first and foremost.

He paid no mind to the woman that was next to him; she could take care of herself. Cloud wasn’t really sure why he helped. Sure, it was the right thing to do, but this woman is probably wondering if she could really trust Cloud. Cloud is wondering whether or not this woman was going to attack him from behind, having accepted his help just to bide her time. Cloud shook his head and sneered at himself; he was overthinking…once again. The group of dark beings advanced forward, looking to deal death to Cloud and the young woman that Cloud sought to help. Cloud swung his gigantic blade, taking out two Heartless at once when the group of dark monsters charged, watching the dark smoke cover his blade. Cloud knew very well that he didn’t have the power to get rid of Heartless completely, that power lied within Sora. His weapon was the only one that can truly eradicate Heartless for good. All Cloud was doing was sending them back to darkness only for them to appear again. Cloud wasn’t going to just let the monsters have their way with the town though, that was for sure.

Cloud flipped over the opposition. He then spun and used the flat side of his monstrous sword to bat one of the Heartless away to give himself some space. Cloud then used his Rising Fang technique, charging into the Heartless that he batted away and gave an upward slash. Cloud then followed his victim and circled it, giving them multiple slashes with his blade and then giving it one more upward slash to toss it upward to the sky. The Heartless burst into smoke as Cloud landed. Cloud counted three Heartless that were left. Cloud held his sword over his back, walking patiently back over to the young woman to back her up if she wanted to finish off the last three herself, which Cloud thought she was more than capable of doing…

Cloud walked over to the young warrior and stood beside her, holding his blade over his back. There were three Heartless left and there was nothing in the air that said that the young woman couldn’t waste these monsters. However, it had been a while since Cloud had watched anyone beside himself fight. So, he figured that he would let someone finish the job instead of taking all the glory for himself, at least for this particular fight. Cloud stabbed his mighty blade into the ground, wanting to move his arms around to stay loose for the most part. Cloud was keen on watching the young woman work but he also made sure that he was her backup. There was no use in being there with her if he wasn’t going to watch her six and make sure there weren’t any extra Heartless around that might have been drawn into the fight by their ruckus. Cloud made sure to look to his left and right from time to time, just to make sure they weren’t caught unawares. The battle was over; it was just a matter of when and how the young warrior will bring it to an end with her blade.

Cloud’s eyes widened a bit, in order to watch her closely in battle. She was fast, very fast. Speed kills in any fight and in this battle, the rules were no different. Cloud kept his eyes on the fight from beginning, watching the young woman isolate and deal with the Heartless one by one. Cloud nodded to himself and smirked when she finished the last one, knowing full well she was more than capable of doing so. Cloud picked his sword up from the ground and held it at his side. He casually walked over to her. The young woman introduced herself as Sophia. Cloud nodded in acknowledgement, however. Cloud assumed that she would want to know his name but before Cloud could get it out, Sophia asked him about his weapon.

“Oh, you mean this…?”, Cloud said, raising the First Tsurugi up a little, so that Sophia could get a clearer view.

Cloud didn’t exactly have deep ties to the weapon he had in hand. He had only made it recently. He hadn’t really built a strong relationship with it just yet. However, the sword he wielded before hand was a sword of history, friendship, and legacy. It was a sword that his best friend Zack had bestowed upon him before he died. The sword had seen wear, tear, and rust overtime, and Cloud had let it age but because of his newfound zeal and because of him wanting to honor Zack’s memory, he refurbished and cleaned the sword known as the Buster Sword and kept it in Aerith’s church. Cloud looked at the sword and looked at the woman before him, realizing he had been in deep thought and it had shown on his face, when he took a trip down memory lane. Cloud wasn’t going to burden her with all the details. She didn’t ask for the story, Cloud didn’t know her, and it was too long of a story to tell. Cloud let his sword arm rest, and kept his eyes on the woman.

“…I-uh...I made it myself. It was nice to meet you too, Sophia. My name's Cloud. I assume you’ll be ok from here on out?”, Cloud said, wondering which world Sophia might be from, since she clearly wasn’t from the one that they found themselves in.

Cloud stepped back a little, keeping his sword arm elevated, so that the woman could take her gander at his weapon. Cloud wasn’t really into being too close to people he didn’t know, of course, he was sure that he wasn’t the only one with that mindset. Cloud’s mind wandered a little bit, as he usually did. Cloud wasn’t sure if she got all that she hoped for when Cloud literally drew her attention upward when he introduced himself. In the past, Cloud probably wouldn’t have. Cloud, back then, figured the less people knew about him, the better it was for them, and less people for his enemies to go after so he could keep their focus on him and him alone. However, these days, Cloud wasn’t worried, not anymore. He had learned to trust other people and to lean on others, and as soon as he learned to do that, it was as if the weight of the universe was lifted off of Cloud’s shoulders. Cloud knew that he didn’t deserve the people that loved him but he also knew that he was not about to give them up simply because he felt that he didn’t deserve them. You never ask why a blessing was sent.

Cloud sheathed his blade in his back holster. He wondered where the female warrior was from. Could she from a universe like his own? It was highly likely with a weapon like that. Cloud acknowledged her compliment with a nod and a slight smile. She had asked if Cloud was a blacksmith and that she had never seen a blacksmith with the skill that Cloud had. Cloud hadn’t had someone compliment him like that in a long time. He would probably would hear it more often if he put himself in solitude for so long. It felt good to hear that, although, he was no blacksmith. He didn’t make weapons often. He just didn’t want to use the Buster Sword because it was getting ruined and it was more of a memento than a weapon. It was a treasured possession and he didn’t want to disrespect the friend that gave it to him. That weapon meant a lot to Cloud, so he created his own legacy while preserving that of his best friend Zack’s.

“Uh, no. I’m not a blacksmith or anything like that. It was made to preserve a legacy of a friend of mine, that’s all.”, Cloud said, looking away.

Cloud often looked away on sensitive subjects. He was never really good at hiding his intentions or what he is feeling at that moment in time. His best friend Zack and what happened on the day when he handed Cloud the Buster Sword was always a sensitive topic for Cloud. Cloud didn’t really know who this woman was and while to anyone, these questions were run of the mill among warriors, it wasn’t the case for Cloud. It was then that she asked where he trained. Cloud’s glowing eyes then snapped over to Sophia. How Cloud learned to fight was also a touchy subject as well; did this woman not have any other questions to ask? Why couldn’t this woman ask where to go from where she was?

“I'm self-taught.”, Cloud said, wanted to leave it at that. Cloud didn’t want to be rude but he didn’t want to bare himself to a woman he didn’t even know. “How about yourself? Did you make your weapon yourself or did you buy yours? Where did you train?”, Cloud asked, hoping to take the attention off of himself.