Inheritance (Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth)

꧁ VI ꧂

Standing on the water's surface, Lailah turned around and felt as if a knife plunged into her chest when she saw the horrified expressions of those who called Under Junon home. Many of them were pale, almost as if they had seen a horrific scene. Unable to withstand their gazes, she turned her back to them.

The ribbon that was in her hair had come loose during the battle and came undone. Her half ponytail was gone and the ribbon fell into the water. Knowing she couldn't cause any more trouble, she needed to escape. She barely heard Cloud and Tifa shout her name as she prepared to vanish.

Just before she disappeared into a cloud of dark wisps, Cloud saw the figure of Sephiroth appear in front of the girl. His eyes widen in horror and panic set in at seeing the man. He ran to the edge of the dock when Sephiroth smirked and reached out to grab the girl. At the same time she vanished, so did the silver-haired man.

Heart racing in his chest, Cloud needed to find her. He was just about to rush off when the dolphin from earlier emerged from the water in front of him. The mammal clicked and bobbed his head with something hanging from his mouth. Kneeling down, the boy took the object from the dolphin and realized it was Lailah's ribbon. Standing up, he gripped the ribbon tighter. "Red," he called out to the beast.

"I can track her," Red replied, already knowing what the blonde wanted. "The ribbon will not be needed."

"Really?" Aerith spoke up. "Why's that?"

"Out of all of you, Lailah is the easiest to track because of her scent."

"This might sound like a weird question, but..." Tifa looked toward the beast. "What does she smell like?"

"Flowers," Red answered. "More specifically..."

"Sweet peas," Cloud finished his sentence.

"She loves flowers and smells like them," Aerith smiled. "It suits her, actually. Let's go find her!"

With Red in the lead, they departed from Under Junon. They ignored the chatter of the villagers, who expressed their shock and horror at witnessing the shapeshifter's power.

Barret glared at a few people as they walked past when he heard them question if Lailah was a monster who looked human. "Bastards..." he growled.

Tifa was overcome with sorrow and anger. "I understand they're scared, but Lailah's not a monster. A monster doesn't save, it destroys. And she's the nicest person I've met. If they actually got to know her, they wouldn't be saying any of this."

"They're scared of her power, but she used it to protect everyone," Aerith commented. "Maybe if we talked to them..."

"Don't bother," Cloud said. "They wouldn't understand."

"But we do," Tifa remarked.

"We know Lailah. They don't. As long as we see the truth, it doesn't matter what random strangers think. She doesn't need to prove herself to anyone," Cloud responded.

"Yeah!" Aerith agreed. "We'll be there for her no matter what everyone else thinks of her."

Red sniffed the air and was able to easily detect Lailah's scent. "She isn't far."

"Then let's pick up the pace," Cloud said.

As they left Under Junon, Red led them all the way to the area where they found the chocobos. Unlike before, there was only one wild chocobo in sight. It was lying down near the cliff. Sitting next to the bird, they spotted familiar snowy locks with multi-colored tips.

Cloud stared at the girl as he was overcome with relief. There was no Sephiroth in sight. Gripping the ribbon, he put it in his pocket and approached the shapeshifter.