Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Things have been pretty hectic in my personal life, so that kinda delayed the release of this chapter, which would explain its shorter-than-usual length compared to past chapters. It's not due to a lack of motivation or writer's block, so don't worry about that! I spent a bit of time revising and fixing this chapter because of a particular criticism made. Someone has pointed out that I write this story like a manga, and I 100% agree with that statement. Since then, I've been taking more precautions to make sure that the pacing doesn't feel rushed and that I explain things more properly in this chapter and in the future ones. While this may cause the upload of chapters to become a bit slower, I hope that it will do my story as well as both stories in this crossover justice, as well as entertaining all of you.
Like usual, thanks for reading my story. I never expected to get this far, especially for my first story. Thanks for all of the positive comments and criticisms! This chapter may be brief and short, but things will really kick into high gear next chapter. The gigantic turtle awaits!
On a side note: I may include the usernames of people that I mention in the ANs, so please let me know whether or not you want me to include your name or not.
"Uh…"
Cloud stared at Motoyasu and Itsuki, both of which looked completely exhausted. Their bodies were slumped onto the wooden tables and their eyes looked lifeless. Cloud felt like he was looking at two corpses if anything.
"Why...does this feel so nostalgic?" Motoyasu groaned tiredly.
"This feels just like school…" Itsuki complained.
Are they seriously tired after only running for a few minutes? I thought their levels were higher than Eclair's.
"Cloud-sama!" Rishia called out from behind Cloud.
He turned around to see Rishia run up to him and breathed out a sigh of relief. Rishia looked much more healthier and vibrant after a couple days of rest. Seeing his party member well enough to participate in training with so many others made him feel happy in a way. Seeing her so driven to become stronger made him more motivated to become stronger alongside her.
"Done with your break?" Cloud asked as she approached him.
"Yes! I just had lunch with Raphtalia and Eclair, so I'm on my way to learn how to use my ki!" Rishia explained.
"Don't push yourself too much, okay?" Cloud reminded her. Rishia nodded her head excitedly and ran out of the cafeteria while waving at him.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. He had tried to learn how to harness ki along with Rishia, but he couldn't do it. If learning a whole new technique wasn't going to work for him, then he could always practice his swordsmanship. But that could only bring him so far, especially if he was able to consistently beat Eclair in various sparring matches.
Is there anything else I can do before the next Wave?
"Hey, catch!"
Cloud looked to his right and managed to catch two vials of clear liquid before they could hit him in his face. Once the glass bottles were safely secured in his hand, Cloud glanced up to see Naofumi walk towards him.
"That's a bit rude, throwing things at people without any sort of warning." Cloud softly scolded.
"Would a warning matter if I knew you were gonna catch them anyways?" Naofumi retorted. Cloud snorted and turned to face the Shield Hero.
"So, what are these?" Cloud asked as he held up the bottles to Naofumi.
"Well, the guy who sold them to me called it a 'Spirit Healing Water'. It's supposedly meant to restore vitality."
"Wait, 'supposedly'?" Cloud asked suspiciously.
"Well, give it a try and tell me if anything changes. It's not poison or anything, so don't even worry about that." Naofumi said. Once he was done, he was already walking away before Cloud could say anything else.
"Hey, wait!" Cloud called out, but it was too late. With Naofumi gone, Cloud was left standing in the cafeteria awkwardly holding two vials of mystery liquid.
Seeing nothing else to do, he yanked the cork off of one bottle and held the bottle to his nose. The smell wasn't anything familiar, though it did smell a bit sweet. Cloud cautiously drank the contents of the bottle. The drink tasted sweet, but that was about it. It felt like any regular juice that Cloud would find in the cafeteria. He couldn't feel any noticeable difference in his body.
Why the hell did Naofumi give me this in the first place anyways?
Seeing nothing better to do, Cloud decided to make his way to the training grounds where he could already hear the sound of wood clashing against one another. He could see Raphtalia and several other adventurers sparring with one another with wooden practice swords while Eclair was standing off to the side shouting out orders or commands. Maybe it was his imagination going wild, but he felt like Eclair looked a little too much like a wicked villainess with her overlooking everyone and yelling out whenever someone messed up.
While looking around, Eclair noticed Cloud standing off to the side. The blond couldn't help but sigh when she began to wave excitedly towards him. Seeing no other way out of being discovered, Cloud trudged out from the shadows and walked towards the female knight.
His sudden presence immediately had an effect on everyone present. Aside from Raphtalia and Eclair, the rest of the adventurers gathered stared at him with expressions ranging from shock, fear and anger. Cloud had thought he had gotten used to being looked at so much, but this was entirely different.
"Hey, that guy is…"
"W-what's he doing here!?"
"Eek! I think he just looked at me! He's gonna kill me!"
"Hello, Cloud. What brings you here?" Eclair asked calmly, ignoring all of the whispers around them.
"Nothing. Just wanted to see what you were doing, I guess." Cloud answered, making sure to keep his voice calm and even. He could feel his hand twitch when he noticed several adventurers grip their wooden swords tighter.
"Ah, of course. Someone of your caliber would not need any sort of guidance. We are all humbled by your presence." Elair praised. Unfortunately for her, not everyone present shared her respect towards the blond..
"Monster!" a voice shouted behind Cloud.
Cloud turned around to see who just yelled out to see a young, brown-haired male adventurer. The kid was shaking terribly when he made eye contact with Cloud, but continued to glare at Cloud.
"Y-you're not a Cardinal Hero. You're just a demon that enjoys killing!" the man continued on. "We've all seen what you did on Cal Mira, and we all know what happened when you fought the Church's army. So many people got hurt and killed because of you! A hero doesn't have wings of a devil! A hero fights for justice above all else! You're no better than the Shield Demon!"
"Now listen here," Eclair growled. She stomped towards the shaking boy and placed her right hand on her sheathed blade. "I will not permit anyone to insult Cloud in front of me. Do you know just how hard he has fought in order to save this world!? Without his help, this world would've been-"
"Forget it. I'm leaving." Cloud interrupted, silencing both Eclair and the adventurer. He promptly turned and walked out of the training grounds and he kept walking aimlessly around the castle until he wound up in a vast courtyard all by himself. He then noticed an empty bench nearby and sat down on it.
The young adventurer's insults back in the training grounds continued to ring in Cloud's head. The way everyone looked at him and regarded him as some sort of monster or liability...it reminded him of Nibelheim. How he could never fit in with the other kids and was labelled an outsider. How the entire village accused him of bringing Tifa out into and being the sole cause of her serious injuries. His head began to hurt as he recounted the terrible memories of his childhood.
"Heh. First time?"
Cloud jerked his head to the right in surprise to see Naofumi take a seat right next to him. The Shield Hero had a blank face and he didn't even bother to look at the blond. He just stared out in front of him.
"What are you talking about?" Cloud asked.
"Don't play dumb with me. You've heard what people have been calling me this entire time, right? It's been like that ever since I was summoned into this world. No matter where I went, this entire world treated me as an enemy. It got to a point where if I had a choice to destroy this world, I would've taken it without missing a beat."
"And your point is?" Cloud questioned tiredly.
"What I'm trying to say is that you'll get over it eventually." Naofumi answered. "That shit like this is gonna make you stronger. I have to admit, I was angry over the stunt you pulled on Cal Mira. But in the end, the defense against that Wave happened because of you. We're gonna need your strength in the future, so don't even think about running away just because not everyone likes you."
"..." Cloud couldn't find the words to respond to Naofumi. It wasn't that he thought the Shield Hero was right or wrong. He suddenly found himself speechless. All he could do was look down at the grass and say nothing.
"Speaking of which, how long are you planning on using that?" Naofumi suddenly asked.
"Huh?"
"I'm talking about that sword, dumbass. It looks so rusted and beat up it's a miracle that it hasn't fallen apart yet." Naofumi chastised, pointing to the Buster Sword. "Seriously. How did you not die yet?"
Cloud quickly stood up from his seat and walked over to Naofumi, staring him down. There was no way he could stay still after hearing someone insult Zack's gift to him. "It's fine just the way it is."
"Sure it is." Naofumi sarcastically remarked. "Does it even have any sort of special abilities? Have you even tried to copy any other swords?"
Naofumi's words quickly caught Cloud's attention. "Copy? What are you talking about?"
Instead of answering Cloud's question, the Shield Hero simply sighed. Now Cloud was starting to get annoyed. Why did Naofumi care so much about the way he fought? Everyone had their own style of fighting. Cloud liked the more direct approach, while he could tell Naofumi obviously favored a defensive strategy.
"Follow me. There's a place I want you to see." Naofumi ordered. With a flip of his green cape, Naofumi turned around and began to walk away from Cloud. Seeing no other choice, Cloud chose to follow him.
"...Why the hell does he act so dramatic?" Cloud grumbled to himself.
"Well well. Look who's back from the dead," the familiar weapons store owner greeted as soon as Cloud entered the store. He grinned and waved to the blond, who in turn looked off to the side. "Still, never thought I would see the two of you together like this. Finally decided to give other people a chance, Shield?"
"Don't think about it too much. This is purely a business venture," Naofumi quickly corrected. "Now, can you show us your best swords?"
"Oho! Has blondie over there finally decided to get an upgrade?" the shopkeep cheered. "Have no fear! I'm sure you'll be able to kick a lot more ass with my weapons!"
The shopkeep pointed to a section of the store to Cloud's right. He could see various blades lined up neatly on racks.
"Take your time!"
Cloud silently walked over to the swords on display and began to browse through them. They all looked pretty and well crafted, but something felt off. All of them were regular sized swords. None of them came even close to rivaling the Buster Sword's size. At most, they were the length of the standard SOLDIER sword. Even the biggest swords looked like toothpicks to Cloud.
"...Don't you have any broadswords?" Cloud asked.
"Well, I do…" the shopkeep trailed off uneasily. He entered a room behind the counter and emerged a few seconds later and lugged out a long, double-edged broadsword and slammed it onto the counter with a metallic thud. He took a few deep breaths before addressing Cloud. "But they're not the best things I have to offer. Unless you got the materials to make something better, this is what you're gonna have to deal with. Not too many people use these types of swords, so I never found the need to stock up on them."
Cloud walked over to the counter and grabbed the massive blade. Compared to the shopkeep who obviously had difficulty carrying the thing out, Cloud lifted the thing up with one arm. As soon as he grabbed it, a pop-up displaying all of the weapon's qualities appeared in front of Cloud.
The weapon was classified as a regular broadsword. It didn't give Cloud any significant stat boosts. In fact, they were lowered because of the weapon. He couldn't see any sort of abilities listed under the tag 'Special Abilities' either. It was a mediocre weapon meant for an ordinary person, if they could even wield it.
Still, Cloud wasn't interested in what the weapon had to offer. What he was interested in was whether or not Naofumi was telling the truth or not. If he really could copy any sword-type weapon…
Concentrate. Focus on the weapon's core and envision it in your own possession.
Cloud suddenly felt the weight on his back change. He opened his eyes in surprise and reached behind him to check his weapon. He was now holding the same exact broadsword that the shopkeep had given him.
"...Can't believe it actually worked." Cloud muttered to himself in astonishment. Naofumi was telling the truth. With this ability, Cloud's combat potential went through the roof. He now had the ability to wield swords that had different effects. While he was used to using the Buster Sword, it could only do so much against future enemies. But now…
"Heh. Told you so." Naofumi remarked with a grin.
"I can't believe it. I'm gonna go out of business at this rate…" the shopkeep groaned. First there was Naofumi that had basically stolen all of the shields in his shop by copying them, and now Cloud was doing the same. Granted, the sword he gave Cloud wasn't very expensive, but the idea of Cloud waltzing around the store and copying every single blade he had in stock made him shiver.
"Too bad you don't have any materials so that you can forge a better sword…" Naofumi grumbled. "Well, it's a bit too late to go monster hunting right now. All that matters is that you now know how to copy bladed weapons. Remember that the next time you see a sword lying around.
"Right…" Cloud mumbled in response. He placed the ordinary broadsword back onto the counter with his left arm and imagined the sword in his right hand to be the Buster Sword. Cloud felt the weight and grip change in his hand. Satisfied, Cloud sheathed the Buster Sword back onto his back. He could see the sun beginning to set through the shop's windows. He had to get back to the castle fast. The last thing he wanted to do was worry Rishia.
"Thanks for helping with the experimentation, old man." Cloud mumbled under his breath. If it wasn't for Cloud standing near the shopkeeper, no one would've been able to hear him. Cloud turned away from the old man and began to walk towards the store's exit with Naofumi following behind him..
"H-hey! Aren't you gonna pay for that sword!?" the owner exclaimed. "Even though it was gathering dust in the storage room back there, I still need to run a business! The price of that sword comes down to-"
The middle-aged store-owner barely finished his sentence when he suddenly brought his right hand up to catch a silver object Cloud had suddenly tossed at him. He grabbed the object out of the air and examined it in his palm. The aloof blond had thrown him a singular gold coin worth thousands of rusted broadswords.
"Geez, can't that kid at least loosen up a bit?" the shopkeep mumbled to himself as Cloud and Naofumi exited the store. "Even the shield kid loosened up in the end. His face is gonna become permanently formed into that scowl at this rate…"
"..." Rishia continued to sit completely motionless as the old lady continued to walk around her. Despite how it looked from the outside, Rishia didn't feel like she was meditating one bit. She found it extremely difficult to find the 'spiritual core' that her instructor had told her to find. The sound of the old lady's footsteps and the crackling fire from the nearby torches kept on messing up her concentration. That was why it surprised her so much when the master of the Phantasmagoric Peerless Style got really excited.
"That's it! Just like that!"
"Fueh!?" Rishia blurted out. Her eyes shot open and saw the old lady dance excitedly around her. As she got up from the ground, she felt a wave of dizziness slam into her.
"Now onto the next part, my disciple." the old lady explained. She walked over to a massive boulder in the training grounds. Rishia couldn't help but slump her shoulders forward in exhaustion when her teacher gestured towards the rock. "Destroy this rock like how I destroyed that statue back then."
"Fueh…" Rishia slowly made her way up to the boulder. The thing was massive, towering over her small frame. Break this stone with one finger? It sounded impossible. But it was too late to back out now. The old lady would never listen to her complaints. And Cloud was constantly training to become even stronger in time for the next Wave too, even though he was already strong. She couldn't just do nothing. She had to become stronger so that she wouldn't be a burden to Cloud.
"Take this!" Rishia yelled out. She raised her right arm and jammed her right index finger right into the stone, only for a shock of pain to shoot up her arm as her finger bent uselessly against the surface.
"Fueeeeh!" Rishia cried out in pain.
"That's no good, Rishia. You're not concentrating at all." the old lady scolded. "Remember that feeling when you crushed that small stone before! You've already succeeded before, so it should be no problem for you!"
"That's easier said than done…" Rishia groaned as she massaged her sore finger.
"Huh. You're still at it, huh?"
The pain around Rishia's finger instantly faded away as she whirled around to see Cloud standing outside the training ground boundaries a few feet away. She could feel her face heat up and a smile automatically forming on her face as she ran towards her hero.
"Cloud-sama!" Rishia called out. "Are you done with your training today?"
"Yeah," Cloud answered. He noticed that Rishia's face was a bit red and she was breathing heavily. Sensing that she was fatigued, Cloud remembered the vials that Naofumi had given him. While it wasn't exactly water, it was better than nothing, He reached inside his pocket and handed the vial to Rishia.
"You seem pretty tired, so drink this." Cloud said. Rishia took the vial from Cloud and quickly drank its contents.
"So, how's she doing?" Cloud asked the old lady.
Instead of answering Cloud's question, she continued staring at Rishia with a serious look on her face. This caused Cloud to look at Rishia in confusion. He didn't see anything wrong with her physically. In fact, her face seemed to light up as she finished drinking the bottle.
"Fuwaa~this water is amazing!" Rishia commented. "It feels like my body's warming up from the inside!"
"Really? I didn't feel anything like that when I drank it…" Cloud noted.
"This is it!" the old lady suddenly cried out, shocking both Cloud and Rishia. She quickly ran up to Rishia and grabbed the green-haired girl's arms, shaking her. "My disciple Rishia! Concentrate on that warm feeling as if you're trying to hold tat energy inside of you!"
"Fueh!?" Rishia gasped out in surprise as the old lady continued to shake her. "H-how do you hold it in?"
"Just strike that rock as you are right now!"
"Hyaah!" Rishia shut her eyes shut and brought her right arm back once more to stab her index finger into the rock like she did before without hesitation. The instant her finger touched the stone, that warm feeling in her body suddenly left her. Instead of her finger bending back and hurting, it felt completely fine. She opened one eye and saw a few small cracks appear from under her finger.
"I-I did it!?" Rishia exclaimed in surprise.
"The stone actually broke!" Cloud shouted. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The usually feeble and shy Rishia had managed to break the stone with just her finger, albeit slightly.
"How was it, Rishia?" the old lady questioned.
"Well, as soon as I touched the rock, the warm feeling went away and now I feel cold…" Rishia explained uneasily.
"I see…" the old lady trailed off while rubbing her chin. "It seems like you cannot hold onto ki yet. This will require even further training."
"Huh. I couldn't feel anything when I drank that liquid." Cloud said. He didn't feel the warm feeling Rishia had felt when she drank. Not even a slight tingle, and it was the same for Naofumi too. "Am I missing something?"
"Not quite, Sir Sword Hero." the old lady corrected. "You just didn't realize it. To gain the perception of ki, you would need to seclude yourself in the mountains for a very long time. It depends for every person, but it is the most effective way to discover and become attuned with your ki. Being in tune with the nature around you and allowing it to envelope you helps with the process, but…"
"We don't have that kind of time." Cloud finished. The old lady nodded in response. Even though Cloud was no expert in martial arts, he knew just how long and grueling its training was. That was what made Tifa go from a usual village girl into a proficient martial artist capable of handling herself. Zangan's training was rumored to be pretty brutal and unforgiving after all.
"Kuh!" Cloud's mind suddenly flickered and buzzed. He was caught off guard by the sudden mental attack since it had been a while since he experienced it. He glanced towards Rishia only for the image of his only party member to briefly flicker, briefly replacing her with Tifa. His childhood friend briefly winked and gave him a slight smile before disappearing entirely.
"Tifa?" Cloud asked softly.
"Cloud-sama? Are you okay?" Rishia asked out of concern. Cloud's headache faded as soon as he heard her voice. Before he knew it, Rishia's face was really close to his own, her concerned expression quickly bringing him back to reality. The blond quickly shook his head from side to side.
"I-I'm fine." Cloud hastily answered. He had to find a way to change the topic quick. "Wanna call it a day? You seem pretty tired after all."
"Yes, I feel like I could use a hot bath…" Rishia trailed off. "Ah, but please don't worry! I can keep on going tomorrow and the day after that, so please do not worry too much about me! More importantly, you should take better care of yourself!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"When was the last time you've gotten a good night's rest?" Rishia lightly scolded. She then began to pat down Cloud's body so that she could get rid of any dust that had stuck onto him. Cloud continued to stand motionless as Rishia continued to dust him off. "It is good to see that you are taking training so seriously, but please remember to take breaks in between!"
"Uh…" Cloud found himself automatically tugging at his red scarf upwards to hide most of his face.
"My my. You two look like a newly-wed couple…" the old lady remarked with a toothy grin. Rishia stopped what she was doing to glance at her teacher. "I can't remember the last time I've seen two party members get this close to one another. Ah, to be young again…"
"Fueh!?" Rishia blurted out. Her face grew bright red as she began to wave her arms around. "I-I just really respect Cloud-sama and care for his well-being! We're not like that, right?"
Cloud simply closed his eyes and folded his arms in response. Rishia's face seemed to grow even brighter as the embarrassment of being called Cloud's wife continued to sink deeper and deeper.
"P-please say something!" Rishia begged.
"...Something." Cloud mumbled.
"Fueh!" Rishia wailed.