Suite Dreams - Cloud

[aono]

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Weekend 0, Friday

[aono]

[from here]

You're still gonna pick up a couple along the way, especially if you were one of the ones watching over everything. You probably had to talk to a lot of people, so at least one or two of them tried to be a friend, yeah?

[skyagain]

[ in the most reluctant tone from mister most popular leader; ]

... Yeah, I guess. One or two.

[aono]

See? I knew it.

[He sounds proud of himself for guessing that a grumpy grump would have a friend or two.]

Dad always said that a crisis is the time when it's most important to reach out and help people, so I wanna do that too. Making friends because of it is just a bonus.

[skyagain]

Your dad was one of those helper types, huh? Not really my style.

Week 0, Saturday

[aono]

[Hey Cloud, guess what! You get food rights!

Rin is carrying a plate full of bao and is looking for Cloud, where be the dude?]

[skyagain]

[ i stopped looking at plurk anyway cloud's just hanging out in the courtyard for some fresh air after being stuck in the mess hall all day, and he turns to look at rin ]

You a delivery boy now?

[ what's with the plate ]

[aono]

And the chef too!

[There's bao on it! And he'll hold out the plate to Cloud.]

I figured everyone's hungry after the trial, so we might as well eat something, yeah?

Week 1, Thursday

[aono]

[Me, on Thursday: I'm tired, I can grab a PC with Cloud on Friday.
Me, on Friday: what a fool I was.

ANYWAY this is now Thursday night before curfew and Rin is going to go looking for Cloud. He's injured so he needs to be checked on, yes.]

Hey, feeling any better?

[Everyone got some healing but Rin does not think anyone would be fully healed yet.]

[skyagain]

[ he's fine! or at least he looks fine, because a bitch got changed into his soldier clothes and grabbed his sword like an asshole ]

Yeah. That staff healing is pretty impressive.

[aono]

[Wow who's he going to fight right now, he just got done on a CYOA!]

Yeah. At least a lot of 'em have some kinda healing. Though I dunno if I'd trust that jerky.

[Horrible flashbacks to Chasma...]

Week 1, Saturday

[aono]

[WELL. HE'S NOT DEAD...But wow that trial sucked.

Still, Rin is going to go looking for Cloud, since that trial had to be especially hard on him. For a lot of reasons. So wherever Cloud is, Rin will come over to bother him.]

Hey...you holding up?

[skyagain]

[ cloud is jsut walking around testing his own damn limbs apparently. don't question it. ]

... Better now than back in there.

[ That Sucked ]

[aono]

[At least he's not in the eyepatch club?]

Yeah, it's probably a lot better now.

[The phantom pains must be terrible though.]

...I'm sorry about everything.

Week 2, Tuesday

[aono]

You open the door and find yourself among a crowd. There is a festival of some kind going on - there's bright lights, smiling faces, food, music, dancing... it's almost possible to forget you just came through a door in a murder hotel. The longer you spend here, the more you forget what brought you to the hotel, and the more convinced you become that you have always been a part of this world, where the festival is. Eventually, someone you recognize from the hotel appears before you and asks if you wan to go back. If you say yes, you will return to the hallway, completely unharmed. If you say no, you will become completely immersed in the festivities, and will continue taking part in them until you drop dead from exhaustion, at which point you will find yourself in the hallway, extremely worn-out for the next half an hour. In either case, only four minutes have passed.

[Well. This is honestly better than what Rin could have expected. He's just wide-eyed as he stares at all of the sights and sounds of the festival. He's no stranger to them, but it's been a while since he's been to one.

He'll grab for Cloud's arm to tug him along to look at the stalls. Surely there has to be a game they can play?]

[skyagain]

[ imagine if i said rin grabbed his fucked up arm just to be mean. but no before cloud can be skeptical of showing up to the gold saucer a festival, he is literally dragged in and he kind of yelps in surprise ]

Kid, slow down. [ why is he being dragged!! here!!! ]

[aono]

[Cloud your ARM

But no Rin is at least aware enough not to grab an injured arm. He just laughs and points towards one of the stalls. It seems to be one of those 'ring toss' stalls, where you have to get a ring over the top of a bottle to win a prize. For some reason, it doesn't cost money to play the games here. Strange. They'll just get handed a basket of rings so they can toss them.

Can Cloud do it?]

week 2, sunday

[skyagain]

[ hello rin welcome to the void ]

... Doin' alright, kid?

[aono]

[It's the void!

Rin is not really doing alright, Bucky's pleas at his execution resonated with him way too much. He left pretty much as soon as he could, once the execution was over.]

That- that could've been me. That could've been me cryin' because I couldn't save Yukio.

[He knows it was close there at the end. A few more minutes one way or the other, and he could have been voted out and left with no way to save his hostage.]

[skyagain]

[ oh no he is not actually good at comforting, this was a terrible choice. he kind of hesitates ]

There's no point hanging on what ifs. It wasn't you. That's what's important.

week 3, monday

[skyagain]

[ they're here in the wiwaldi campus somewhere idk i didn't think this far ahead. cloud's looking around ]

This doesn't look like anywhere I've been to.

[ there are probably schools in ff7 but cloud has definitely never been to a real big one so ]

[aono]

[Let's put them over at the classrooms because that seems great.]

It's a school! A pretty big one too, with all these buildings. It just stinks that we got stuck in a classroom building, I bet there's a gym or something around here.

[And then he gets hit with starglitter and boom memory time.]

---

"Have you found your answers?"

You don't look up to the demon sitting nearby. Mephisto...Samael...whoever he is, you thought his offer of letting you see the past would give you answers. You thought it would help you find a way to save your twin brother. But seeing it all, it just makes your body feel heavy.

"How does it feel to see so many die? Maybe you wish you had never been born?"

That demon is talking so calmly, but his words cut deep into your soul. You've always disliked parts of yourself- your temper, your lack of learning skills, the way you struggle to make friends- but your self-loathing has never been as strong as it is right now. So many people died, all because of you. Just because you exist. Just because you were born.

It's heavy. Too heavy.

"What do you want," you ask weakly, "Are you trying to make me a vessel for Satan or a weapon to fight him?!"

The demon hums thoughtfully before responding. "Strictly speaking, neither."

You're shocked to hear that, but the demon continues unprompted. "Even I, the king of time, cannot see the future beyond this point. Whatever I may want from you, it's impossible for me to fully control you. As I said before..."

A glint of gold catches your eye. You take that key in your hand, and you really look at it again. You've been using it for ages now, making your way through the past. But it can do more than show you tragedy, can't it?

"...that kamikakushi key will take you wherever you desire. The future is up to you."

The future is up to you, is it? Well, your heart wants to see only one person right now, so the choice is obvious. Even someone who's been trying to be strong all this time wants to see their dad when they're struggling.

You step into a familiar kitchen, surrounded by familiar sounds and smells. Someone's cooking something, but that's wrong isn't it? You're the cook, you make most of the meals, who would be cooking without you?

"You're finally back, huh? Where've you guys been loafing around?"

You can't even answer him at first, because you're shocked to see him there. Even though you know you wanted to see him, you still find yourself tripping over your words when your father faces you. "Who're you?"

You panic and reach for the hood of your coat. That should've made you invisible, but you forgot to put it on before coming through the door. "Um, uh-"

"Oh well." Your father- Shiro Fujimoto- seems to recognize your discomfort and just goes with it. He's always been good at reading people like that. "Have a seat and try one of these."

You recognize the food. It's something your father always made for you as a kid. You take a bite, and the taste instantly brings you back to your childhood days. "It tastes good, but maybe a little bland."

Your stomach growls, and Shiro laughs. "I made plenty, so eat up! You don't look well, are you getting enough to eat? It's a shame they use you young guys in the special corps."

It startles you for a moment, but you quickly remember that Shiro is an exorcist too. Of course he would recognize the uniform you're borrowing. You wisely keep quiet while Shiro talks about work stuff though, not wanting to blow your cover. So far it seems like he hasn't recognized you, and you really want to keep it that way. You don't even want to think about how your presence in the past could mess up the future.

"My hands are full being a dad," Shiro says, finishing up what he had been saying, "so would you inform the Vatican for me?"

You speak before you can even stop yourself. "Is it hard, being a dad?"

Shiro scratches at his chin as he considers that. "Yeah, I guess. But I don't really know what a Dad is."

He turns his head to look over to a nearby couch, and you do as well. It's you and Yukio, maybe six or seven years old, fast asleep.

"Look at those brothers over there. The one with glasses is Yukio. He's generous, kind, and a hard worker. Physically he's weak and doesn't eat much. And he can see demons, so he's jittery. I'm worried because he lacks confidence. I want to help him, so I asked if he wanted to toughen up and be an exorcist with me. He said he wanted to become strong enough to protect his brother."

Your heart aches as you hear those words. Even from this young Yukio has been looking out for you.

"I'm taking a teaching position at the exorcist cram school," Shiro continues, "There are things I want to teach him, and above all, I want to teach him."

Then Shiro pauses for a moment before speaking again. "The one with his butt hanging out is Rin. He cares about his family and isn't a bad kid, but he gets violent when he's angry and can't control his strength. So he makes a lot of enemies. Should I teach him how to fight as an exorcist alongside Yukio? I wondered about that for a long time, but I gave up on it."

This isn't a story you've heard before. You never even knew of the world of demons until last April. "Huh?"

Shiro smiles. "Instead, I'll teach him how to cook! That's why I've been practicing, but...anyway, this one will study here with me."

"Why?"

"Because cooking is mental and physical. He needs to learn how to control his strength and to think about who he's doing things for. After all, he wants Yukio to eat his cooking. It means everything that Yukio isn't afraid of Rin."

You feel your heart starting to ache again. He was always looking out for you, wasn't he? Everything he did, it was to help you become a better person.

"Maybe it's wrong for me to be a teacher and a dad in the kitchen, but I don't know what's right anyway. I'm busy, and I guess it's hard, but..."

Shiro's face visibly softens as he looks at the young Rin and Yukio on the couch. "When I look at them, I feel it's more than worth it."

"Yeah...I can see that." You really can, and that's what makes it so hard to stay composed. "Well, I should be going."

"Oh, sorry for talking your head off. Just be sure to relay my message to the Vatican!"

"Right...well, goodbye."

"Bye."

You get up and walk to the door. As you grab the handle though, you stop.

This man, Shiro Fujimoto, he's dead in your time. He's dead and gone, and this is the last time you're ever going to see him. Once you go through this door, you will be back in a present where he doesn't exist anymore. You can't leave it like this, not after you left so much unsaid when he died. So you turn back and look at him. "Father..."

He looks back over to you. "Hmm?"

"...thanks for everything."

For a moment, something flashes in his eyes. Is it recognition? Shiro is a smart man, you wouldn't be surprised if this was enough for him to figure out. But instead he just lifts a hand in a wave and says, "Aw...it's was nothin'!"

[skyagain]

[ well there's a lot to say about all of that, truly. there is a lot of trauma involved, for one, and also maybe timetravel? he is not entirely sure he got that part.

but there's one thing that does stick out to cloud unfortunately ]

Your dad's been Shiro this whole time?

[ WHAT THE FUCK ]

week 4, saturday

[skyagain]

[ whether rin's door is open or not cloud knocks on it i guess ]

[aono]

[It's unlocked but Rin will also get up and shuffle over to the door to open it. He's looking a little pale and red-eyed, but he's standing up?]

Hey...

[He sounds a little unsure, like he's expecting a lecture or something.]

[skyagain]

[ he can tell rin's expecting it, and he just raises an eyebrow ]

I look like your teacher or something? Not here to talk about how everyone loses their shit during trials.