Final Fantasy VII : The Final Pledge

Chapter 1

Before anything I write, I'd like to dedicate this story to the creators of Final Fantasy seven, especially its character designer Tetsuya Nomura. Thank you!

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Life felt normal again. People were back to how they were living before, except now there was no Shinra Electric Power Company to make their lives miserable, nor a mad hero who wants to be a god to this world. It's funny how easily people forget, but maybe it's for the best. They rather forget all the pain we had and all the battles. It had been three years after all.

I was back to my delivery job, spending most of the day out. Tifa managed the Seventh Heaven and was taking care of Denzel, and sometimes Marlene when Barret needed her to.
The stigma, the monsters and Sephiroth's remnants were all gone long ago thanks to Aerith once more. If she didn't save us with that rain back then, the result would have been different. Once again she had saved us; she had saved me.

Remembering her was still a fresh wound in my chest as I could never forgive myself for what happened. Even though I have dreams about her sometimes telling me to stop blaming myself or leave in agony, I cannot help it. The only thing that makes me happy is that she is with Zack, the man she truly loved. The man, who also, saved me.

Unlike what others call me, especially after my last battle with Sephiroth, I am not a hero. I am just a man who was blessed with good friends who helped him win the battle. The battle we thought would be the last.

Everything was normal that day. I was out for a delivery when I received a voice message from Tifa. After I was done with my last delivery in the evening I listened to her voicemail. She said there was a girl waiting for me back at the bar. It was not expected and I was not waiting for anyone. Tifa sounded worried. Looking at the time she had left the message, it had already been a few hours. I thought that person must have left by now. Taking my time and trying not to overthink it, I rode back to Seventh Heaven.

Tifa and I had been living together for all this time under the same roof, yet we hardly saw each other. I knew my working all the time was just making her worried, it was now a habit of hers to be worried constantly, but I just couldn't help it. Not that I disliked hers and Denzel's company. It was just difficult to stay put. Sending deliveries here and there was an ideal job for someone who does not necessarily enjoy the company of other people. you give the passage, take a signature, wish them a good day and leave. After all, it seemed Tifa was right, I was not a man of people.

Riding back home,  passing the main highway of Midgar, I could see the ruins of the city after all that happened there: the explosion of Shinra's company and the meteor. They always bring back memories and most of them are not pleasant. It was a miracle we still survived after the nightmare this city had gone through. The city was mostly ruined now and lots of the people who used to live there and survived had moved to other cities. The days of glory for Midgar had already ended.

Arriving at the bar, I parked Fenrir and entered. Inside, I saw one person sitting at a table by the window and was so much drowned in her thoughts. The other tables were mostly empty. It was after the rush hour of the bar. 

I walked to the bar, where Tifa was washing the dishes and Placing my elbows on the tall counter in front of her, I asked about her voice message. "She just came in and said I am here to see Cloud Strife," she explained, "and when I said you are not here, she said she will wait." with her head she gestured to the girl sitting next to the window. I could see she did not have a good feeling about this in her eyes. I nodded and approached the girl.

She reminded me of Aerith. They had the same atmosphere around them. Though their appearances were completely different. She was a girl in her twenties, maybe a little younger than us, and was wearing a white dress in good harmony with her black curly hair and her deep green eyes. Her skin tone showed that she was not from around Midgar. She had olive-toned skin which I had never seen before, lighter than Barret yet more tanned than Aerith. When I approached her, she turned her head and looked at me. 

"Hi," she greeted and gave me a friendly gaze with a warm smile. It felt like she knew me very well yet I knew I had never met her in my life. I wasn't sure how to react. "You must be Cloud," she started after my hesitation, "I'm Kyra Oakly," she smiled showing her teeth. Such an uncommon name, I thought and sat in front of her. 

"How can I help you," I wanted to know, trying to be as polite as possible so that later on Tifa would not scold me. She stared into my eyes and I felt like she saw right through me. I could feel the heaviness of my heart in my chest and become very conscious of breathing. Only a few people made me feel like that and I had never liked it. I moved slightly in my seat trying to get rid of the discomfort. 

"You are having visions again," she stated confidently, "aren't you?" My eyes widened and sat back looking at her. It was something I had kept to myself as I didn't want to accept that there is a possibility and didn't want to make others worried. But I couldn't imagine how she knew that. She laid back and crossed her arms, still waiting for my reaction. I didn't manage to keep a straight face and my eyes were as wide as they could be but I didn't answer either. I could not bring myself yet to say it out loud. I just looked at her unable to find the right words.

She sighed loudly and I looked down. Taking out a pen from her small purse, she wrote something on a napkin that she took from the table with the logo of Seven Heavens. She then tossed it to me, "I know lots of things, and you need to hurry," she whispered and left after she thanked Tifa. I was left there in shock with a number written on a napkin in front of me.