CloTi Story

CloTi part 5

The sun shone brightly in Cloud's window the next morning, blinding him when he opened his eyes. He remembered the events of last night and leapt up. He dressed quickly and went to check on the girl that came to his door. She sat on the edge of her bed gazing out the window. She saw Cloud and gave him a small smile. Cloud returned the same smile. "So, are you hungry?" Cloud asked her. The girl nodded and followed Cloud downstairs. "What's your name, kid?"
"Yumikia."
"Got a last name?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"What were you doing at my doorstep last night, Yumikia?"
"I'm not ready to talk about that yet," she said quietly.
"Alright. You'll tell me when you're ready, I'm sure." Cloud made ham and egg burritos for breakfast. He watched Yumikia as she quietly nibbled on her burrito. Who is this girl? he thought. And why is she at my house? Judging by her eyes, she was a victim of Mako-experimentation. The girl looked out the window at the busy people walking by. Cloud watched her. "Where are your parents, Yumikia?" he asked her.
"Parents? I have none. None that I know of. I can't remember," was her answer.
"What do you remember?"
"Nothing. I remember nothing that happened before I was....."
"Before you were what?"
"I don't want to talk about it! Please, don't make me."
A tear slid down her cheek. Cloud figured that whatever happened to her was pretty bad. She seemed almost traumatized to think about it. He thought it best to leave her alone for now. The phone rang and Yumikia jumped. Cloud walked to the phone, eyeing Yumikia. He picked up the phone and said, "Strife delivery service. You order, we deliver." The other end of the phone was silent. "Hello?" Cloud said. "Is anyone there?"
Suddenly, a ghostly, creepy male's voice said from the other end, "Give the girl back. Or pay the price." And they hung up.
Cloud stared at the phone. Someone just threatened him and he had no idea why. He looked back at the girl who was watching him. She quietly said, "It was a man, wasn't it?" Cloud nodded. "He wants me back right?" Cloud nodded again. "Please you can't let them have me! You can't!"
Cloud sat down in front of her. "I can't help you if you don't tell me who you are, where you're from, and why he wants you. I might be able to help you if you let me know. Are you in any kind of trouble?" he asked her.
"That depends on how you define 'trouble.' If you mean that I'm in trouble with the law, then no. If you mean that I'm in trouble with regards to my life being in danger, then yes."
"Alright. Now who is that man?" Cloud inquired.
"I don't know his name. But he's some kind of scientist. He experiments mostly on children. I take it that as a former member of ShinRa, you remember how they used to use Mako chemicals on SOLDIERs to enhance their ability?" Cloud nodded a confirmation. "And I'm sure that you've also heard of Deep Ground?" Again, Cloud nodded. "Well, this scientist is using those things to experiment on children. That's where I come in. I don't remember anything before what I'm about to tell you. My little brother and I were taken from our home and experimented on in this manner. I have both ShinRa and Deep Ground technology inside me. My brother died from the experiments. Three days ago, I realized the strength that Mako can give a person. I used it to bust out. I ran and they came after me. I remembered hearing about AVALANCHE and I also heard that you were one of the strongest members of AVALANCHE. So I came in search of you, hoping that you would protect me. Last night, I saw you walking out of that bar. I followed you here. I hid because I was afraid. Eventually, I mustered up the courage to knock on your door."
"I see. Ya know, for a seven year old girl, you sure use a lot of big words that kids your age don't normally use."
"Experimentation. My brain is more enhanced that other children. My experiment ID is Blue XVI."
"Alright. Well, I believe that I forgot to introduce myself, but it looks like I don't need to. You seem to already know about me."
"Yes. I do. You're Cloud Strife. Ex-SOLDIER. Member of the Anti-ShinRa group AVALANCHE. A few years ago, Sephiroth appeared and you fought him off. Then, two years later, after you settled into a more relaxed life running a delivery service, a trio, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz attacked you. They were looking for Jenova, whom they called Mother. They called you Big Brother. Soon, with help from friends, you realized that they wanted to recreate Sephiroth. And recreate Sephiroth they did, using Jenova's cells. You fought off Sephiroth and healed everyone of Geostigma, a disease that appeared after the planet had to save itself. You had it too. As did a boy that you help look after. You discovered a water that would it heal Geostigma, and you helped cure those with it, am I right?"
"Uh. Yeah. You pretty much got it down." Cloud said, flabbergasted that she knew so much about him. "Listen I have to leave. I'm leaving town for a while. But since you came to my house and asked for my protection, I guess I can take you with me if you wanna come."
"Sure. I don't want to stay in this town alone. He might find me. If we leave, however, he'll have a harder time finding me," she said.
"Alright. We can also search for your past while we're at it. Just let me get a few things and we'll be on our way," Cloud said walking to his room. A few minutes later, he was fully prepared to leave. He had his sword ready to go and some cash if they needed anything. He put Yumikia on the front of Fenrir and got on behind her. "If you don't mind, I'd like to say bye to a few friends before we go." Yumikia just shrugged. Cloud put on his shades and drove off toward Seventh Heaven.
As Cloud pulled up to Seventh Heaven, he noticed that all their friends' vehicles were outside. It would save him the trips of going to their houses. Tifa was making breakfast for everyone. Or more like, second breakfast. All the voices in the room stopped as Cloud and Yumikia walked in. The others looked at Yumikia, wondering who the heck was standing next to Cloud. "This is Yumikia," Cloud said. "I found her last night outside my house. I'm taking care of her."
Denzel and Marlene ran to her and asked her if she wanted to play. Cloud said that they didn't have time for her to play with them. "Oh, Cloud," Tifa said. "Let them play together."
"We can't stick around. We're leaving town today," Cloud announced.
Everyone froze and stared at Cloud. Tifa looked sad and said, "You're leaving now? Another delivery?" It almost sounded like she was hurt that he was leaving. But why did she care? It's not like she was going to miss him. She had her dear Peter.
"Yeah. Now. But this one isn't a delivery. This one is because I can't stick around here anymore. I need to get out there and do something. My daily routine is getting tiring. I need freshness. That's why I'm leaving. Yumikia is going with me. I promised to protect her. And I want to know where her parents are."
"Does she remember anything?" Vincent asked.
Yumikia shook her head. "Not a thing," she answered.
"That's because the chemicals Deep Ground used to experiment with tries to keep you from remembering your past," Shelke said. "But I wouldn't worry. For me, my memories started coming back to me after I ran into my older sister after ten years of not seeing or remembering her. Maybe the same will happen for you," she said.
Yumikia nodded. Cloud and Yumikia turned to leave. As they walked toward the door, Tifa shouted, "Cloud! Please don't leave! I need you!"
The group looked at her, surprised. Cloud stared at her, shocked. But then he said coldly, "No you don't. You have your dear loving boyfriend, Peter, here to look after you." And he walked out.
Yumikia commented on his statement, only to be told by Cloud to shut up and get on Fenrir. Together, Cloud and Yumikia left Edge to search for something new and for Yumikia's past.