Final Fantasy VII : The Final Pledge

Chapter 2

Lying down on my bed, I couldn't stop thinking about Kyra. The way she suddenly mentioned my visions without the slightest doubt in her tone and what she said were the scenes repeating over and over in my head. I was curious of course of what and how she knew, but I didn't dare to follow it up. I had not said anything to Tifa either. 

Every time I fought Sephiroth, he was stronger than the last time. We managed to beat him every time but I just could not stop wondering, if there was a possibility of him coming back, will I be able to beat him again? "I will never be a memory," were his last words. What if he could come back again? After all, I never felt like I actually had killed him. He just disappeared and left his remnants behind. Could he come back? The thought tightened my chest. 

A knock on my door brought me back to reality. It was Tifa, calling me for dinner. "Are you OK," she asked and I nodded, sitting on the bed. I was fine. I shook my head to get rid of those disturbing thoughts and left my room with her. "I killed him, he won't come back," I tried to convince myself. 

At the table, Marlene was sitting next to Denzel. It was nice to have dinner together, "like a family you pretend to be, playing house," I heard his voice in my head which made me curse almost loudly in front of others. I frowned and made a fist. Denzel and Marlene were not kids anymore, yet I had to be careful. It was not "don't swear in front of them" anymore. It was more like, "conceal it so they won't get worried." Seeing me Marlene got up and oblivious to my frown hugged me. Placing my hands around her shoulders, I realised how much taller she was now. "Hide it," I told myself and forced a smile. Tifa's sharp eyes did not leave me for a moment. yet she never said anything. 

That night I had a dream about him. A dream I had been having for the last few months, every now and then. I tried my best not to take them seriously but after meeting Kyra, it was difficult to ignore them. But recently, they had become more frequent. 

In my dreams, he again had his sword in my chest. I could feel the pain and the wetness of my blood as if it was fresh and real. My breathing would slow down and my chest would hurt with each inhale. He was smiling saying his last words, "I will never be a memory." I sat up with a silenced shout in my throat in the middle of the night and started crying with misery, begging the world for Kyra to be wrong. 

The TV in the corner of the room was talking about the sixty-seventh victim of a horrible murder around the country. These people had been murdered brutally and a part of their bodies had been missing. They had started four months ago and no one had any idea who was behind them.

Tifa changed the channel when she saw Denzel entering the room, but they did not leave my head. Now that Kyra had pointed out what I did my best to ignore, it was difficult not to see the pattern. I had a theory, not sure if it was right but I had to find out. I went to the house, back of the bar, to see if I can get any information. I was looking for a link between the victims. But I realised what I was looking for was top secret and so, not accessible. "You can't access this stuff from outside of their network," I heard Denzel from behind me.  He had appeared out of nowhere. "What?" I wanted to know more. "These kinds of information are only accessible from within their own network. Like, if I want to access the information from this house, I can do that by coming in the house or finding any other house which uses the same network," he explained. I looked back at the monitor again. "Other house?" I murmured to myself.

I needed a plan. I wasn't sure where this plan might take me but I knew I would be gone for some time and I needed to tell Tifa. That was the most difficult part; to tell her that I had to leave without mentioning anything. At night, after dinner when I was helping her to clean the table, I tried my luck.

"I am planning to go somewhere tomorrow," I started avoiding her eyes and could see her looking at me from the corner of my eyes, "I don't know when I will be back." she stared at me for a short time deciding how to react. She could not stop me, but she could not come with me either. "Is it dangerous?" she asked eventually, knowing that  I would not say so if it was. "No," I answered. She did not say anything else. But in the morning she was awake to see me off. She put her arms around me, "don't put yourself in danger," she whispered in my ear. "I won't," I reassured her and placed a kiss on her head. She deserved better and I knew it. Before she let go of me, she murmured again, "promise me you will come back." I patted her hair. "I will."

I was being unfair, I knew that. I knew how she felt about all of these, about me. Yet I had so many things in my head that I could not return her feelings. The guilt I was carrying from long ago was preventing me from returning her feelings, I thought. She was yet my best friend. The only one who probably was there every single time I needed her without judging me. I left her while thinking that one day she will find someone to give her heart to, instead of kicking them. The image of her getting married to someone made my heart ache, but that was how it was supposed to be.

------------------------

Hope you liked it up to now. I tried to give a view of where Tifa and Cloud are standing while not getting too emotional. It is difficult writing about Cloud. The man doesn't talk much so I have to include most of the things in his thoughts. 

Do you like the new cover more or the last one??

Let me know how you liked it from any aspects! comments are always welcomed!