While Aiden was sizing up Cloud and having those malicious thoughts, Tifa began to introduce him.
"Aiden, this is my..." Tifa hesitated, seemingly considering her words, then said, "This is a friend I grew up with in the same village, Cloud."
"Hello." Although Aiden hadn't let go of his malice inside, he still reached out his hand. He was quite satisfied with Tifa's choice of words, so his face wore a friendly smile.
"Hello." Cloud's eyes were a bit vacant. He didn't notice anything odd about Tifa's wording. After shaking hands with Aiden, he went back to sitting in the corner, holding a drink that might have been alcohol or juice, dazedly sitting there.
Aiden was somewhat familiar with his condition, after all, he had played FF7's prequel.
As of now, Cloud had already gone through five years of captivity. Because of prolonged exposure to mako and the influence of Jenova and Zack's memories, his own memory was a complete mess. He didn't even know who he really was.
If Tifa hadn't stumbled upon him near Midgar, he'd probably still be wandering outside, or worse, die somewhere due to mental instability.
Looking at the dazed Cloud, Barret frowned and said, "This guy's really your friend? Where did you pick him up from? Looks kinda dumb."
"I don't know why he became like this, but he is indeed my friend." Tifa glanced at Cloud but quickly looked away. Her heart now had a new place to belong to. The past memories were just memories.
"But even though he looks dumb, carrying such a big sword on his back, he must be really strong, right?" Jessie asked curiously from the side. Of course, she was just curious about the sword and didn't mean anything else.
"Of course I'm strong." Hearing their conversation, Cloud's tone turned serious, "I have the strength of a 1st Class."
1st, Shinra's strongest special forces level.
"What kind of joke is this?" Biggs, who had a red cloth band tied around his head just like Jessie, said, "1st, even in Shinra, there aren't many of them, right? Don't tell me your real name is Sephiroth? Or Genesis? But I heard they seem to already be dead."
"I am who I am, I am Cloud, mercenary Cloud." Cloud looked at Biggs and said seriously.
"Since you call yourself a mercenary, are you willing to accept our commission?" Although Cloud's mental state looked very unstable, seeing how confident he was, Barret asked with some interest.
"As long as you pay enough money, of course I'm willing to accept." Cloud's memory was too heavily influenced by Zack. Besides calling himself someone with 1st-class special forces strength, he also defined his identity as a mercenary who only works for money, because of Zack's constant need for money in his memories.
Of course, there was another reason, he didn't have a single cent on him, even eating was a big problem.
"Alright then, as long as you're willing to take the commission, money is not a problem." Barret stepped forward and gave Cloud's shoulder a hard slap, then looked at Tifa, "This is okay, right?"
Tifa understood what Barret meant, sighed helplessly, "Of course it's okay."
"Really grateful to you, Tifa." Barret put his hands together, expressing great gratitude.
However, he didn't forget about Aiden either. After all, it took a lot of persuading from him and Jessie to get Tifa to invite Aiden over.
Because Tifa was somewhat unwilling to let Aiden get involved in their operation.
"Aiden, are you willing to accept our hiring?" Barret turned to ask Aiden.
"Is it an operation against the Shinra Company?" Aiden asked knowingly.
"Yes." Barret nodded.
"Can I refuse?" Aiden asked, his eyes looking at Tifa.
Before Barret could speak, Tifa answered, "You can, Aiden, this matter has nothing to do with you anyway."
"Tifa, how can you say it has nothing to do with him? This concerns the life of the planet. Every one of us has a duty to protect the planet." Hearing Tifa's words, Barret objected.
"And we clearly already agreed." He added.
"But doing that is too dangerous. I don't want him to take the risk." Tifa suddenly regretted agreeing to Barret's request to bring Aiden over. She didn't want her man to risk himself.
"You need to trust in his strength. Besides, didn't your hometown friend say it too? He has 1st-class strength. With him around, there won't be any danger in this operation." Barret continued to persuade.
"Then just let Cloud go with you all." Tifa blurted out, and then she froze, she never expected herself to say that.
Luckily, Cloud didn't think there was anything wrong with her words. Instead, he confidently chimed in, "Tifa is right. I'll go, there's no need for more people. You're called Barret, right? You don't need to hire anyone else."
Right now, his only focus was making money, subconsciously thinking Aiden was competing with him for business.
"Well… alright then." Barret could only nod in agreement, but he still felt somewhat dissatisfied in his heart. After all, compared to the unfamiliar Cloud, Aiden, who currently had a closer relationship with Tifa, was more trustworthy. So even though Cloud was introduced by Tifa and claimed to have great strength, Barret still wanted to take Aiden along.
Feeling a bit frustrated, he took a sip of wine, then stood up to leave the bar with Marlene.
At that moment, Aiden, who had been silently listening to their argument, suddenly said, "Wait a moment, Barret."
Holding Marlene, Barret turned his head and glanced at him, "What is it?"
"I suddenly changed my mind. I'll go on this operation too." Aiden said.
"Aiden." Tifa grew a bit anxious and was just about to speak when Aiden interrupted her.
"Barret is right. As a part of this planet, I do have the obligation to protect it." Aiden said with a smile.
Of course, that was just an excuse. After all, he wasn't even from this world. Moreover, saving the planet also meant saving Aerith. Even if he refused on the surface, he would still take part in the operation in secret.
Also, the only reason he hadn't agreed earlier was to test Tifa's feelings between him and Cloud.
Now that he had gotten the answer he wanted, he could rest assured.
"Haha, I knew it, you still hate Shinra more." Barret laughed loudly, walking over and giving Aiden a strong pat on the shoulder, though he used his huge mechanical arm, so Aiden bared his teeth in pain.
Since the goal had already been achieved, Barret decided not to leave right away. He slapped the table and asked Tifa to bring out more alcohol, saying they should celebrate properly, then went on to say many motivational things.
His words were very infectious, and since most of the team members held grudges against Shinra, the mood was soon lifted.
"Come on, come on, let's all raise our glasses, a toast to our future just cause." Barret raised his glass and shouted loudly, then downed it all in one gulp.
Aiden had originally wanted to raise his glass too, but Tifa snatched the one in his hand and replaced it with a newly mixed light-alcohol drink.
"Drink less tonight," Tifa leaned close to Aiden's ear and whispered, "I don't want to smell strong alcohol tonight."
"Alright."
Aiden of course understood what Tifa meant, and his heart immediately began to wander, so much so that he couldn't even taste the flavor of the drink in his mouth.
Meanwhile, Jessie, who had been watching them, nodded thoughtfully, then looked over at Cloud, only to see him being forced to drink by Barret.
"Poor kid." Jessie shook her head, not downing her drink like Barret but only sipping a little.
Cloud was already not good at refusing others, and his mind hadn't been great lately either. He was actually forced by Barret to down several drinks in one go.
After just a few drinks, Cloud's eyes became even more dazed, but at the same time he started talking a lot, even shouting loudly that he would become the richest mercenary in the world and fulfill his best friend's last wish…
———
Until deep into the night, Avalanche's members gradually left.
Cloud had originally wanted to leave too, but since he had just come to Midgar and didn't have a cent on him, he stopped again at the door.
"What's wrong? No place to go?" Although Barret had a bad temper and was impulsive, he had a surprisingly delicate mind as the leader of an Avalanche branch.
Cloud nodded, "I have no money and no place to stay."
Barret let out an "oh," then turned to Tifa, "Tifa, I remember there are still a few empty rooms at where you live. Later, take him over and let him stay there for now."
Tifa, who had been mixing drinks for Aiden, froze for a moment and then frowned, because Aiden would also be going later.
"I'll give him money and let him rent a place elsewhere." After a moment of hesitation, Tifa said a bit coldly. Even if she had liked Cloud when she was young, now things were different. She didn't want anyone disturbing her and Aiden's private time.
Also, she knew the rooms at Heaven's Gaze Lodge didn't have good soundproofing.
"That won't do. He's a guest." Barret found Tifa's words strange. Though they hadn't seen each other for a long time, they grew up together, and now that Avalanche had hired him, she couldn't treat him so coldly.
Cloud was also a bit surprised by Tifa's words. Even though his head was still a mess, he hadn't forgotten his childhood memories.
But he was never good at expressing himself. Since Tifa said so, he could only nod, "I'll just go rent a room outside."
Then, he walked to the bar counter and reached out to Tifa, "Give me money."
Just as Tifa was about to take out the money, Barret rushed over and pulled Cloud away.
"Don't listen to her. You still go stay at Heaven's Gaze Lodge. And it's so late now, there might not be any rooms outside anyway." Barret said, then turned back to Tifa, "Save the money for mission funds, Tifa. I'll take him over now. Let him stay in 202. That way you can keep an eye on each other."
"But…" Tifa still wanted to say something, but Barret and Cloud had already left the bar.
"Seriously, they didn't even let me finish." Watching the two disappear into the night, Tifa was very troubled.
"Aiden, why don't we find somewhere else to stay?" Tifa then said to Aiden.
"Looks like that's the only option now."
Aiden nodded. Since he was going to be with Tifa tonight, something was bound to happen. If they went to Heaven's Gaze Lodge, then he might have to switch hair color with Cloud.
Drinking the last sip from his glass, Aiden stood up and helped Tifa clean up the bar. But since the bar wasn't open to the public that day, it was already quite clean, so they didn't take long and soon left the bar.
But just as Barret had said earlier, it was indeed hard to find a place to stay this late. After circling the area, every place was either full or in bad condition, so the two had no choice but to go to Heaven's Gaze Lodge.
When they reached the second floor of Heaven's Gaze Lodge, the light in Room 202 was already off, Cloud seemed to be asleep.
This made both Aiden and Tifa sigh in relief. Then they tiptoed into Room 201.
"I'll go take a bath first."
After closing the door, Tifa spoke to Aiden while taking out some clothes from the wardrobe and entering the bathroom.
But the next second, she peeked out shyly and said to Aiden, "Aiden, want to bathe together?"
"That's not really appropriate..."
Though Aiden said that, his body had already stood up from the couch and headed toward the bathroom. But as soon as he reached the door, Tifa slammed it shut.
"Tifa, open the door." Aiden, already burning with desire, knocked with a bitter face.
"Aiden, just wait outside for me, hehe." Tifa's flirtatious laughter came from inside.
"But I'm really uncomfortable right now." Aiden felt like a cat scratching at his heart and wanted to break in.
"Aiden, just wait a bit longer. It won't be long." Tifa comforted him.
"Alright then."
Aiden had no choice but to sit back on the couch and turn on the TV.
But as the sound of the running water came from the bathroom, his heart grew restless again, and he completely lost interest in watching TV. Feeling parched, he wanted to drink some water to calm down.
But after searching the room, he couldn't find any water. Instead, he found the unfinished bottle of wine from last time in a cabinet. Thinking that drinking might help him calm down, Aiden directly took a big gulp from the bottle.
But after that gulp, not only did it not calm him, his body felt like it was burning with fire.
"So uncomfortable, so uncomfortable, so uncomfortable..."
Just as he was pacing back and forth in the room, trying hard to relieve the physical discomfort, the door was suddenly knocked on.
"Tifa, are you back?" Outside the door, Cloud, still carrying that huge sword on his back, knocked and spoke.
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