Dragon-Phoenix's Unbound Embered Ashes (Cloud Strife x Reader) Vol. 2

Chapter 1: Gil, Letters, and Korea!

A year after the nightmare in the Dragon's Triangle, after Yamatai's storms had finally broken beneath the death of the First and Last Queen, after Roth and Grim had become names spoken with lowered voices and raised glasses, Cloud Strife found himself back in Midgar under the metal sky with a sword on his back, exhaustion in his bones, and Zack Fair at his side as the two EX-SOLDIER survivors cut through a pack of demons that had crawled into the wrong alley beneath Sector 7's rusted lights.

The fight should have been simple, and for Cloud it mostly was, because his blade moved with cold precision through claws, horns, and smoke-black limbs, each swing sharp enough to carve sparks from the pavement and send twisted bodies collapsing into puddles of mako-lit rainwater, while Zack fought with louder energy, grinning through the chaos as if demon hunting in the slums was just another rough morning exercise routine that happened to include fangs, broken pipes, and terrified civilians screaming behind overturned carts.

A young woman had been trapped near the end of the alley with a baby carriage wedged between a collapsed fruit stand and a crooked stack of crates, her face pale with terror as one demon lunged toward her, but Zack launched himself in front of the creature with his usual heroic flair, cleaving through the beast before it could reach her, spinning his blade with a satisfied smile as Cloud finished the last two demons behind him without fanfare.

The woman stared at Zack for one breath, shaking so badly the handle of the baby carriage rattled beneath her grip, and when Zack gave her a bright, reassuring grin, she swung her purse straight into his face with a loud smack, snatched the carriage free with a burst of fear-driven strength, and ran down the street sobbing as if Zack and Cloud were worse than the monsters they had killed.

Zack stood frozen in the alley with one hand pressed to his cheek, his jaw hanging open while Cloud flicked demon blood from his sword and glanced at him with the dull patience of a man who had expected the universe to humiliate Zack at least once before lunch.

"Damn it! Hit by a purse. I just saved your life!" Zack exclaimed, watching the woman disappear around the corner with her crying baby carriage rattling across the cracked pavement.

The neon glow of Midgar's underplate cast long, distorted shadows across the cramped interior of the 7th Heaven bar. The air smelled of stale beer, polished wood, and the faint, ever-present tang of mako. Cloud Strife slumped over the scarred counter, his spiky blond hair almost brushing the surface of a half-empty glass of water. He wasn't drinking. He was just... staring.

Across from him, Zack Fair leaned back in his chair, the front legs lifting off the floor. "So, a purse," he mused, rubbing the side of his head where a faint, red mark was still visible. "A genuine, sequined, probably-heavy-as-hell purse. My hero's reward. You'd think the 'damsel' would've been a little more grateful we cleared out those Hellhounds from her alley."

"You startled her baby," Cloud muttered, his voice flat. "The carriage rocked. She was in distress, not a damsel. There's a difference."

"Semantics," Zack waved a hand, but his bright blue eyes were fixed on his friend. Cloud had been like this for a year now—a quiet, hollowed-out version of the already-reserved man he knew. The mission in the Dragon's Triangle had been brutal, but they'd survived Raccoon City, for Gaia's sake. This was different. This was a slow bleed of spirit.

Cloud slid his sword back into place and turned away from the alley without offering comfort. "Let's go home, Zack."

Zack sighed, rubbing the red mark blooming across his face. "Sure, Cloud."

The walk back toward Seventh Heaven was quieter than usual, or at least quieter on Cloud's side, because Zack tried to fill the space with complaints about ungrateful civilians, purse-based assault, demon guts on his boots, and the tragic lack of hazard pay for handsome heroes, but Cloud answered with little more than short hums, flat looks, and the occasional clipped response that made Zack's concern grow heavier with every block.