Across the Divide and Through Valhalla

Finding Aerith

Chapter 64

They had been silent on the train, even though the other passengers had made a point of leaving the car they got on. None of them wanted to chance it. When they got to the slums, they immediately headed toward Sector 5. Again, anyone that caught sight of them took off running. Sherry sighed at the sight and wondered if she would be able to find Aerith under these circumstances. Not to mention, it wouldn't surprise her if there was a Turk following them. She would expect it of Tseng. Although, that did put another kink in her plans.

Sherry sighed and walked a little faster, so she could talk to the other three. "Let me go into the Sector 5 market area alone. I have a feeling it will be hard to find someone that hates Shinra if I'm walking with the three of you."

Sephiroth paused and frowned at her. "Why are we seeking someone that holds hate for Shinra?"

Sherry gave him a questioning look. "I thought you might be able to understand that there are people in the company that are deserving of that attitude. As for someone as young as she is, and that has lost as much, it isn't surprising that she fears the company as a whole. Don't worry that she is a terrorist or anything. If she never laid eyes on another Shinra employee, she would probably be ecstatic."

His frown had not cleared, but it was Genesis that took her hand and was glaring at her. "You do realize that we are being followed, correct?"

She gave him an exasperated look. "I hadn't heard them, but it would be silly of me to not expect it. They are Turks, after all." She pulled her hand back and looked at them all. "Look, I know this feels like we are rushing into an unknown, but once we speak to Aerith, then I think we can take time to answer questions as they come up. Good enough for now?"

Genesis still looked stormy at the idea of her walking through the slums alone, but he knew she could handle this much. Plus, he had no plans to let her out of his sight, even if they were not by her side. He didn't get to voice any of that, as Angeal spoke up.

"I agree with them. I do not like this situation, but there is no denying that our presence is causing an uproar." He paused and pointed down one of the roads at the fork they were nearing. "If you go to the right, you'll come to the market. We'll be close, even if you don't see us."

Sherry gave him a nod and a smile before she reached up and gave Genesis a kiss on the cheek. Her words were whispered. "I'll be fine. Especially with you watching like a hawk." He huffed at her teasing but didn't say anything else as she walked in the direction Angeal had pointed.

When she came around the corner, she was glad they had stayed back. The space wasn't packed, but there were enough people that the sight of the three Soldiers would cause problems. As she walked around and pretended to look at some of the goods, she noticed how much attention she was drawing on her own. For every person that gave her a wary look, two others tried to get her attention or were looking at her like she was their next target. Those she avoided making eye contact with.

As she was going through the items at another table, she was nearly knocked off her feet when a small body rammed into her. She grabbed the boy by the shoulder to help keep him on his feet as well. He looked up with eyes widened. Sherry sighed as she realized that he had probably been put up to doing it. Luckily, she wasn't carrying any kind of wallet or pouch.

This might help her. She knelt and gave him a smile without letting him go. The proprietor was giving them both a nervous look, but she ignored him for the moment. "I'm glad I caught you before you fell. You must have been in a rush to get something if you weren't paying attention."

He shook his head and stuttered out an answer. "I'm sorry, miss! I didn't mean anything, I promise!"

She chuckled and tried to put him at ease. "It's fine. I understand that sometimes you are too focused to see what's right in front of you. If it is that important, I might be able to help you."

He paused and gave her a confused look. He wasn't sure if she was super smart, or really stupid. Still, he knew he couldn't get away without a fuss now, so he shook his head. "Nuh-uh, it's nothin'."

Sherry finally let go of his shoulder and shrugged. "That's too bad. I needed a little help finding someone too, and had hoped we might be able to help each other."

Even though the boy was freed, he paused and gave her a hard look. "That depends on who you wanna find and why."

Sherry knew Genesis would not like what she was about to do, but she needed the gil. Luckily, the materia she had on her fake bangle, were all low level and easily replaceable. She popped one out and stood. "Give me a moment."

The boy watched with wide eyes as she then turned to haggle with the man to get as much gil as she could for the materia. Once a price was settled, she managed to get him to throw in a sucker. She had to hide her smile as the boy watched her put it into a small bag she had bought as well. She then gestured back toward the playground. "Do you have more friends out here?"

He nodded absently as he followed her. She wasn't fond of what she was doing, but she hoped, in the end, it would help the kids out too. She smiled down at him. "My name is Sherry, by the way. What's yours?"

At her introduction, the boy finally realized that he had been following her toward the playground where a couple other kids were playing as well. He looked at her nervously. "You can just call me Kid. Most adults do."

Sherry wasn't impressed with his suggestion but didn't want to press. Instead, she pulled out the sucker and handed it to him. "It's yours. I wanted you to know I'm not upset that you bumped into me. Thanks for talking to me."

He took the sucker and looked between it and her for several seconds. He finally spoke up. "Wait, you never did tell me who you were lookin' for."

She nodded as she sat on a nearby bench. "I was looking for Aerith Gainsborough or her church."

The boy's eyes widened, and he took a step back. When it looked like he might toss the candy down too, she stopped him. "Wait! Keep that, even if you don't want to help. That wasn't what it was for. I really did want you to know I wasn't upset."

He frowned and gave her a worried look. "Why do you wanna talk to Aerith?"

Sherry sighed and decided to share part of the truth, at least. "I have some friends that are sick. I was hoping she would be able to help me get them better."

He still didn't look convinced, so she shrugged. "Tell you what, if you happen to see her, would you let her know I'll be here for a bit. That way, she can decide on her own if she wants to talk to me."

The boy took a few steps back. "You ain't gonna follow me, are ya?"

Sherry chuckled and patted the bench. "Nope, it wouldn't do me much good to pass on a message like that if I wasn't going to be here, don't you think?"

The boy finally nodded and turned to run. He hadn't even started when he froze at the sight of another person that entered the tiny playground. Sherry was already on her feet and waved to the girl. "Aerith! I'm glad I ran into you!"

Aerith was giving her a cautious look, but Sherry could tell she was coming over anyway. She raised up thanks that Minerva was at least willing to help this much. It was something. Before the boy could run off, Sherry called out. "Kid! Here, for helping me." His eyes widened when he caught the five gil mark she threw his way. He grinned at her and took off running. She barely heard his thanks as he disappeared.

Aerith was smiling at the exchange as she sat down. She gave Sherry a curious look. "You know me, but I don't know you. Although, I have a feeling we won't be strangers for long."

Sherry smiled and tried to seem as non-threatening as possible. "I hope not. Did you catch any of that conversation before you came up?"

Aerith nodded slowly. "Enough to know you wanted my help. I'm not sure why, though, I don't have much experience with materia or potions. You look like you don't need that kind of help anyway."

Before Sherry answered, she looked around. She saw a flash of red, but it was gone when she looked again. It could have been Genesis, but it could also have been Reno. She gritted her teeth and lowered her voice, though she did keep her smile on. If they were being watched, she didn't want any of the others to think this was more than a normal conversation. "No, it's a special kind of help we need. And this is probably not a great place to talk about it since I am certain we both have a Turk watching us."