Final Fantasy VII: Rise Of Rin

(Chapter fifteen)

(POV Rin Knightwalker)

My legs ached and quivered as Cloud and I explore the local red district. It was unlike any place in Midgar, in fact, there were more people here than on topside. I groaned under my breath, pulling my long locks out of my face. Every once in and a while, Cloud would peek back towards me to make sure I was still behind him. I don't blame him. We did get separated for a while and I wasn't really looking forward to getting separated again.

"You okay back there?" Cloud halted in his path, eyeing me down as I briskly walked up to his figure. His arms rested at his sides as he threw me an inquisitive look. I only smiled back, not knowing what to say.

"I-" before I could even get a syllable out, my attention was immediately on a purple hair man who pushed past me. I stumbled back, readjusting my posture. He must've been in a hurry because I was nearly on the ground. I didn't expect anything else but to my surprised, the purple-haired man stopped. Cloud, on the other hand, stepped in front of me. My orbs focused on the loose strands of blond that hung over his turtleneck.

"Hey! What's your deal?" Cloud bit at the man who heaved heavily. His shoulders rose up and down in a rhythmic pattern. By the tone of Cloud's voice, he didn't sound like the cool, calm, collected spirit he always made himself to be. At this point, I probably should've spoken up but the words were stuck in the back of my throat. There was a pregnant pause, allowing only the music and chatter of the people in the red district to be heard.

"Sorry man! I uhh- woman?" The man spat out apologetically with a hint of confusion laced in his voice. He continued to eye me that is until a certain blondie stepped in front of me once again.

"A woman SOLIDER? I would've thought I would run into a unicorn before bumping into you." He laughed, throwing his hands up in defense. Cloud sighed for the millionth time. When does he not sigh.

"It's okay. I get that a lot." I paused, observing the man with slight precision." You from around here? You sure don't look like it." I added

"I could say the same to you--uhh. What was your name again?"

"It's--" My words came to a full stop as I felt my body being tugged away with force.

"None of your business." Cloud finished my sentence, marching in a completely different direction to where we were heading. I frowned as I just stumbled behind Cloud.

"Wait- where are we going? You don't even know your way around here!" I whisper yelled into his ear, not wanting to cause too much-unwanted attention on us. Cloud groaned, loudly enough for me to hear at least.

"He's just- not worth our time." Cloud turned to face me briefly, pushing some of the blonde locks out of his face.

"You talk like you've already met him. Did I miss something while I was gone?" Was it me or was he more moody than usual? He was like a hormone raging teenager yet he was in his 20s. I cocked an eyebrow, feeling the bottom of my boots scrape against the dirt and rocks.

"It's...complicated. Nothing to worry about tho. Enough about that, you still need to get patched up." He slowly pointed his thumb as the blood that trickled down from my hairline. At this point, I had almost forgotten about it. Talk about being busy.

"Yeah...right," I replied with a questionable tone. He was acting weirder than usual. Without much thought, I peeked over my shoulder to see the same guy who bumped into me talking to a bunch of locals. Through twists and turns, I followed Cloud through a fairly medium-sized city. Bodybuilders, party folks to...kids? All kinds of people were here. Coming from little old Niebelhiem was a drastic change and it sure showed from how my intense gaze narrowed down to a timid glance.