Chapter 7: What a Relief

(Told from Cloud’s Point of View)

“For a second there I thought you two were past lovers or something,” Reno laughed as Rob, the waiter, brought us our food. “The way you two reacted reminded me of those corny movies.”
“We love each other, but not in that way,” Kim said as she smiled at me while placing her napkin on her lap. “We always used to call each other brother and sister. People in ShinRa always thought we actually were related. We never told them the ‘truth’ though.”
“It was none of their business to know if we were actually related or not,” I laughed. “Plus, we certainly do fit the parts of brother and sister. With our blonde hair and blue eyes we could fool anyone.”
In all actuality, there was more to the whole story behind Kim and I. Kim probably doesn’t remember all of it because she was pretty young. I remember the first day I met Kim. I must have been around 12 years old when we were first introduced; she was only 6. My parents had decided to become foster parents for Kim until she was old enough for ‘basic training’ back at ShinRa. They would be paid to watch her of course. They, meaning ShinRa Inc., legally owned Kim entirely. They just didn’t want anything to do with her until she was at least 10 years old.

Years went by like seconds it seemed. Kim and I grew very close in the first couple years we lived together. My parents were always working, so it was my job to watch over ‘Kim Kim.’
I remember the day Kim got taken away by ShinRa like it was yesterday. I was 16 years old, and on the path of a dream to become part of ShinRa’s highest defense group: SOLDIER. That day a young man dressed in a black suit and expensive sunglasses arrived to pick up “What lawfully belonged to ShinRa.” Later I would learn the name of that very man: Rude.

The days after Kim left went dreadfully slow. I was a wandering soul. Nothing could cheer me up; not even Tifa. That’s when I decided I would make it my goal to protect Kim once I did get into ShinRa. About a week after making that goal, I was on my way to Midgar for ‘basic training.’ I had been accepted.
Training was Hell for me. I seemed to be the only guy having a problem completing the tasks. That would soon all change however. A couple of weeks after being in Midgar, I was sent to the labs for some minor testing. It was entirely opposite however. Professor Hojo, the main scientist for ShinRa Inc., used my body to host Jenova Cells. They made me capable of doing things no ordinary human could do. It was as if I became a super human myself.
Shortly after, I finally found Kim in the depths of ShinRa Headquarters. She too had become a host for the Jenova Cells. Little did I know she was already employed as part of SOLDIER. Not only that, but she was part of 1st Class. A few months after finding Kim, ShinRa had me bumped up to SOLDIER 1st Class as well. And from there, Kim and I became partners in one of ShinRa’s deadliest divisions… The only thing that kept us from having the same bond from back home was the fact her memories had been wiped. The cells had affected her in every way.