(no subject)
Prompts: Hero, Memento, Bad End
Title: Seven Small Wishes
Some of this will only make sense if you've beaten the game.
i. It dawns on him one night, as he's leaning up against the motorcycle and Cloud is propped up against it next to him, as unresponsive as ever, that he's got quite a few promises to keep. That's never been an issue; Zack's always been very good at keeping them, but one is nagging the back of his mind. Write a letter. Write a letter about how you became a hero. Send it off to Kazuha. It's one of a handful of promises he made on the island, which were always the hardest ones to keep, because it's so easy to doubt if you were even there, but it's a promise and doubting his own memory is just something he doesn't do. He stands up, makes sure Cloud is sufficiently obscured from the view of the road, and slinks off to a nearby farmhouse.
He'll pay them back, he tells himself, he'll pay them back when he reaches Midgar and send some gil in return for the stationary and pens he's stealing-- for the greater good, and a necessary one at that. He doesn't like doing things like this, but when you're on the run, it's mandatory. After sneaking back out and taking a seat next to Cloud, he smooths a piece of paper out and begins to write using his knee as a solid surface.
"Kazuha!
You didn't think I'd forget to write, did you? I would've saved this for another time, but a lot of stuff happened lately, so I thought I'd get it out of the way and hopefully to wherever you are. I told you I write long letters, so brace yourself, this might take a few pages... I'll start at the beginning. The stuff I didn't get to tell you yet on the island. All of this started back when I was still in 2nd Class..."
ii. He never has enough peace and quiet to finish it, so it's written in segments as time goes on, when he gets a moment to himself, when he's sure he and Cloud are under Shinra's radar. Occasionally, he'll have somewhere nice to hide away and write all about training with Angeal, Sephiroth's backstory, the off-kilter Genesis, and Aerith, of course, he couldn't leave out Aerith-- and occasionally all he'll have is the night sky, and sometimes he'll have the rain and he'll be desperately trying to wipe away the drops that land on it and hope that it doesn't smear-- it doesn't to the point where its unreadable, but the faint, damp wrinkle remains on the papers. He notes in a margin that he's sorry for it, but he doesn't have time to rewrite it on a new piece of paper.
"And then when I fell through the plate, I thought I was a goner. I was lucky, though! I landed in an angel's flower patch-- okay, you're rolling your eyes. I'll admit it, that was bad. But that was where I met Aerith. You know, she's kind of like you in that she always wears a ribbon in her hair. Not to mention, she's really sweet. She can't flip people, though, but I'm sure if someone taught her to-- anyway. It's been a real long time since I've seen her, and it's been even longer since she's seen me..."
iii. He doesn't forget about his other friends on the island. He occasionally sets aside Kazuha's letter to write short notes to others. They're never as long-- they weren't the ones who asked for the whole story, after all --and he feels bad for it, but he thinks they're less 'letters' and more 'status updates'. He tells Sheryl in her's that if she's planning her intergalactic concert anytime soon, their date through Midgar might have to wait awhile (and he pauses on that sentence, contemplates writing an apology, but instead writes "I'll just make it an extra amazing date to make up for the lost time" and leaves it at that) and he writes a letter to Ranka that her third big brother is doing fine even if things are a little rough on his end, and that he'll write more when he gets the chance.
Occasionally, his pens break or run out of ink, so as time goes on, sections of the letter are written in different colored inks, in pencil; the paper is getting more and more beaten up with every time he has to hastily stuff it into his pocket to load Cloud back onto the motorcycle and make a getaway, but otherwise, he treats it with the greatest of care. He addresses the envelope ahead of time, copying the way he taught her to write her name and where she lived in her language's alphabet. He doesn't have any stamps, but if the island is the postal carrier, he doesn't think it'll matter anyway.
"You know, the more of this that goes on, the most I think I took my time on the island for granted. I mean, sure, it wasn't the greatest place to be, and beating myself up for not getting stronger while I was there isn't going to do me any good, but I think about it a lot. You know, if I had one more day, or week, or month... and if you get this letter, I bet you think the same thing too every now and then."
iv. True, spending most of his time in the back of that pickup truck talking to his still-comatose friend might seem a little unhinged, and after all he's been through, maybe Zack is losing it just a little bit, but he thinks of Angeal, Sephiroth, and Genesis, and he realizes how easy he's got it in comparison. His other letters were left in odd places. Sheryl's was left on the branch of a tree. Ranka's was left on a rock near the shore. They're not going anywhere in a regular mailbox, so he'll leave it to the island to handle the rest. Kazuha's letter is almost done, but not quite there, so after he sits back down after doing a few squats, as he's talking to Cloud, he starts to finish it up, lightly annoyed that his last pen is beginning to dry up.
"What a ride, right? But I told you I'd tell you all of it. Right now, we're on our way back to Midgar. It shouldn't be that far of a drive from here... we just gotta lie low and soon, things'll get better. My friend here's still out of it, but it's to be expected--mako addiction can really mess you up. You know, I told him about you-- he wasn't really all here for it, but... I'm sure some of it reached him. You'd like him, if you met him when things were more normal. Hell, you'd like most of them when things were more normal... but I rambled on and on about that stuff earlier. Now you know it all! And as soon as we get back, I'll start another letter, and don't forget I'm waiting for one from you too. You said you get involved in all those mysteries, right? Tell me all about them. I know this letter'll be tough to match in length, but I still want a long one! And don't stop your training, because if I get the chance to see you again, you bet I'll be making sure you've been keeping up with practice.
And, one more thing...
v. Now that Cloud is safely hidden, he can go and confront what lies just a few steps ahead, near the cliff that overlooks Midgar. He turns the sealed envelope over and over in his hand, wondering what to do with it. He could stick it with Cloud, but Cloud probably won't have the slightest idea what it even is when he comes to, and he just doesn't want to leave it there, where the Shinra troops could backtrack and confiscate it, or worse. As if on cue, the wind picks up in a strong gust, and Zack doesn't waste a second in whipping it into the current, watching it to make sure it doesn't get caught on anything or that the wind doesn't let go.
When it's out of sight, he dusts off his hands, and he goes to meet the Shinra army.
vi. Soon, mantras of 'it's only one bullet', 'it's only one grenade', 'it's only one army', 'it's my honor', 'it's Aerith and Cloud', 'it's everyone' build up in his head as he hacks away at the never-ending hoard of infantrymen and he keeps telling himself that he'll be able to do this, that he keeps catching Midgar in the corner of his eye over the cliffside in the heat of battle, that it's so close, but another sharp pain will pierce yet another limb and he'll be drawn back into the fray, and soon, the shouts of war are drowned out by the words in his mind.
"I have a present for you."
"Hm? Well, let's go find my inspiration, then."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tseng, of the Turks."
"It's my duty."
"Now I have an older brother here, too!"
"If you take it too lightly, you'll fail."
"I'm from the countryside, too."
"Pride is quite a troublesome thing."
"Aha, so this makes you Zack-sensei...!"
"Just wait a moment!"
"If it's that sky I'm looking at, then I'm not scared at all."
"Then let me assure you that I'm not most guys."
"I'll be here."
vii. The envelope is the most weatherbeaten thing Kazuha's ever seen when she opens her mailbox that morning. It's fragile to the touch and feels like it could fall apart even if she just slightly tried to tear at it, and the handwriting her address is written in is clunky and almost childish, as if it'd been the first time someone had ever written it. She takes extra care in opening it, withdrawing dozens of wrinkled papers that still managed to be carefully folded together, and she doesn't wait to go back inside to read it, standing fixed to the spot as she leafs through pages of history and trials, the occasional joke even if the topic at hand was serious. It's as if she can hear him narrating it as she reads; he writes just the way he talks. She stares at the last line for a good, long while.
Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself... but after all that, do you think I've become a hero?
Hope to hear from you soon,
Zack
Title: Seven Small Wishes
Some of this will only make sense if you've beaten the game.
i. It dawns on him one night, as he's leaning up against the motorcycle and Cloud is propped up against it next to him, as unresponsive as ever, that he's got quite a few promises to keep. That's never been an issue; Zack's always been very good at keeping them, but one is nagging the back of his mind. Write a letter. Write a letter about how you became a hero. Send it off to Kazuha. It's one of a handful of promises he made on the island, which were always the hardest ones to keep, because it's so easy to doubt if you were even there, but it's a promise and doubting his own memory is just something he doesn't do. He stands up, makes sure Cloud is sufficiently obscured from the view of the road, and slinks off to a nearby farmhouse.
He'll pay them back, he tells himself, he'll pay them back when he reaches Midgar and send some gil in return for the stationary and pens he's stealing-- for the greater good, and a necessary one at that. He doesn't like doing things like this, but when you're on the run, it's mandatory. After sneaking back out and taking a seat next to Cloud, he smooths a piece of paper out and begins to write using his knee as a solid surface.
"Kazuha!
You didn't think I'd forget to write, did you? I would've saved this for another time, but a lot of stuff happened lately, so I thought I'd get it out of the way and hopefully to wherever you are. I told you I write long letters, so brace yourself, this might take a few pages... I'll start at the beginning. The stuff I didn't get to tell you yet on the island. All of this started back when I was still in 2nd Class..."
ii. He never has enough peace and quiet to finish it, so it's written in segments as time goes on, when he gets a moment to himself, when he's sure he and Cloud are under Shinra's radar. Occasionally, he'll have somewhere nice to hide away and write all about training with Angeal, Sephiroth's backstory, the off-kilter Genesis, and Aerith, of course, he couldn't leave out Aerith-- and occasionally all he'll have is the night sky, and sometimes he'll have the rain and he'll be desperately trying to wipe away the drops that land on it and hope that it doesn't smear-- it doesn't to the point where its unreadable, but the faint, damp wrinkle remains on the papers. He notes in a margin that he's sorry for it, but he doesn't have time to rewrite it on a new piece of paper.
"And then when I fell through the plate, I thought I was a goner. I was lucky, though! I landed in an angel's flower patch-- okay, you're rolling your eyes. I'll admit it, that was bad. But that was where I met Aerith. You know, she's kind of like you in that she always wears a ribbon in her hair. Not to mention, she's really sweet. She can't flip people, though, but I'm sure if someone taught her to-- anyway. It's been a real long time since I've seen her, and it's been even longer since she's seen me..."
iii. He doesn't forget about his other friends on the island. He occasionally sets aside Kazuha's letter to write short notes to others. They're never as long-- they weren't the ones who asked for the whole story, after all --and he feels bad for it, but he thinks they're less 'letters' and more 'status updates'. He tells Sheryl in her's that if she's planning her intergalactic concert anytime soon, their date through Midgar might have to wait awhile (and he pauses on that sentence, contemplates writing an apology, but instead writes "I'll just make it an extra amazing date to make up for the lost time" and leaves it at that) and he writes a letter to Ranka that her third big brother is doing fine even if things are a little rough on his end, and that he'll write more when he gets the chance.
Occasionally, his pens break or run out of ink, so as time goes on, sections of the letter are written in different colored inks, in pencil; the paper is getting more and more beaten up with every time he has to hastily stuff it into his pocket to load Cloud back onto the motorcycle and make a getaway, but otherwise, he treats it with the greatest of care. He addresses the envelope ahead of time, copying the way he taught her to write her name and where she lived in her language's alphabet. He doesn't have any stamps, but if the island is the postal carrier, he doesn't think it'll matter anyway.
"You know, the more of this that goes on, the most I think I took my time on the island for granted. I mean, sure, it wasn't the greatest place to be, and beating myself up for not getting stronger while I was there isn't going to do me any good, but I think about it a lot. You know, if I had one more day, or week, or month... and if you get this letter, I bet you think the same thing too every now and then."
iv. True, spending most of his time in the back of that pickup truck talking to his still-comatose friend might seem a little unhinged, and after all he's been through, maybe Zack is losing it just a little bit, but he thinks of Angeal, Sephiroth, and Genesis, and he realizes how easy he's got it in comparison. His other letters were left in odd places. Sheryl's was left on the branch of a tree. Ranka's was left on a rock near the shore. They're not going anywhere in a regular mailbox, so he'll leave it to the island to handle the rest. Kazuha's letter is almost done, but not quite there, so after he sits back down after doing a few squats, as he's talking to Cloud, he starts to finish it up, lightly annoyed that his last pen is beginning to dry up.
"What a ride, right? But I told you I'd tell you all of it. Right now, we're on our way back to Midgar. It shouldn't be that far of a drive from here... we just gotta lie low and soon, things'll get better. My friend here's still out of it, but it's to be expected--mako addiction can really mess you up. You know, I told him about you-- he wasn't really all here for it, but... I'm sure some of it reached him. You'd like him, if you met him when things were more normal. Hell, you'd like most of them when things were more normal... but I rambled on and on about that stuff earlier. Now you know it all! And as soon as we get back, I'll start another letter, and don't forget I'm waiting for one from you too. You said you get involved in all those mysteries, right? Tell me all about them. I know this letter'll be tough to match in length, but I still want a long one! And don't stop your training, because if I get the chance to see you again, you bet I'll be making sure you've been keeping up with practice.
And, one more thing...
v. Now that Cloud is safely hidden, he can go and confront what lies just a few steps ahead, near the cliff that overlooks Midgar. He turns the sealed envelope over and over in his hand, wondering what to do with it. He could stick it with Cloud, but Cloud probably won't have the slightest idea what it even is when he comes to, and he just doesn't want to leave it there, where the Shinra troops could backtrack and confiscate it, or worse. As if on cue, the wind picks up in a strong gust, and Zack doesn't waste a second in whipping it into the current, watching it to make sure it doesn't get caught on anything or that the wind doesn't let go.
When it's out of sight, he dusts off his hands, and he goes to meet the Shinra army.
vi. Soon, mantras of 'it's only one bullet', 'it's only one grenade', 'it's only one army', 'it's my honor', 'it's Aerith and Cloud', 'it's everyone' build up in his head as he hacks away at the never-ending hoard of infantrymen and he keeps telling himself that he'll be able to do this, that he keeps catching Midgar in the corner of his eye over the cliffside in the heat of battle, that it's so close, but another sharp pain will pierce yet another limb and he'll be drawn back into the fray, and soon, the shouts of war are drowned out by the words in his mind.
"I have a present for you."
"Hm? Well, let's go find my inspiration, then."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tseng, of the Turks."
"It's my duty."
"Now I have an older brother here, too!"
"If you take it too lightly, you'll fail."
"I'm from the countryside, too."
"Pride is quite a troublesome thing."
"Aha, so this makes you Zack-sensei...!"
"Just wait a moment!"
"If it's that sky I'm looking at, then I'm not scared at all."
"Then let me assure you that I'm not most guys."
"I'll be here."
vii. The envelope is the most weatherbeaten thing Kazuha's ever seen when she opens her mailbox that morning. It's fragile to the touch and feels like it could fall apart even if she just slightly tried to tear at it, and the handwriting her address is written in is clunky and almost childish, as if it'd been the first time someone had ever written it. She takes extra care in opening it, withdrawing dozens of wrinkled papers that still managed to be carefully folded together, and she doesn't wait to go back inside to read it, standing fixed to the spot as she leafs through pages of history and trials, the occasional joke even if the topic at hand was serious. It's as if she can hear him narrating it as she reads; he writes just the way he talks. She stares at the last line for a good, long while.
Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself... but after all that, do you think I've become a hero?
Hope to hear from you soon,
Zack