The noise outside the window gradually died down.
Shinra’s search parties seemed to have moved to another area.
Aerith’s little house had become a quiet shelter in the center of the storm.
“Your wound… is it all right?” Aerith’s gaze fell on Cain’s back, where a trace of blood was seeping through his worn clothes.
When Tifa heard that, she immediately grew nervous as well.
“Cain, let me see.” Cain shook his head.
“It’s just a scratch.” “No.” Aerith was very insistent.
Without giving him a chance to refuse, she pressed Cain down into a chair, then skillfully took a first-aid kit from a cabinet.
“Take off your shirt.” Her tone was completely natural, carrying a kind of gentleness that made it impossible to refuse.
Cain hesitated for a moment, but still did as she said and took off his shirt.
When his back, covered in old and new scars with clearly defined muscles, was exposed to the air, both Tifa and Aerith drew in a sharp breath.
Hideous scars crisscrossed his skin, recording the cruelty he had lived through over the years.
The newest wound had been torn open by the blast wave from the mako reactor explosion.
Although it was not deep, it still looked shocking.
“Honestly, and you said you were fine.” Aerith scolded him lightly.
She used a cotton ball dampened with clean water to carefully clean Cain’s wound.
Her movements were gentle and focused, as if she were handling a precious work of art.
Cain’s body stiffened slightly.
Aside from Tifa, it had been a very long time since he had been in such close contact with another person.
The warmth of the girl’s fingertips passed through his skin, carrying a strange, comforting heat that made him feel at ease.
Tifa stood nearby, watching the scene, and a complicated emotion rose in her heart.
She felt pain for Cain’s injury, but at the same time, Aerith’s appearance made her feel an inexplicable sense of… caution.
This girl was too mysterious.
She seemed to see through Cain’s heart at a single glance.
That kind of understanding was something Tifa and Cain did not yet have between them.
“There.” Aerith finished bandaging Cain’s wound and clapped her hands in satisfaction.
“Thank you.” Cain put his clothes back on.
His voice was a little stiff, but it was full of sincerity.
“You’re welcome.” Aerith smiled at him, her green eyes seeming almost able to speak.
“But as payment, before I get you two safely out of here, you have to be my bodyguard.” “Bodyguard?” Cain was slightly stunned.
“Right.” Aerith nodded as if it were perfectly obvious.
“You’re being chased by Shinra, so it’s dangerous outside right now.
And I’m just an unarmed flower seller, which means I happen to need a powerful bodyguard to protect me.
See?
We make the perfect team.” Her words were full of playful logic, leaving no room for anyone to argue.
Cain glanced at Tifa, and Tifa nodded to him.
They really did need help from a local who knew the area, and he did owe Aerith a favor.
“All right,” Cain agreed simply.
“Great!” Aerith happily clapped her hands.
“Then, Mr.
Bodyguard, let’s start by getting to know each other.
Why do you carry that sword?” Her question once again touched the softest place in Cain’s heart.
He stroked the cold hilt of the Buster Sword on his back, and Zack’s final smile surfaced in his mind.
“It… belonged to a friend,” Cain said quietly.
“A hero.” Aerith’s smile froze slightly, and the light in her eyes dimmed a little, but she soon returned to normal.
She did not ask any more questions.
She only said softly, “Is that so?
He must have been an amazing person.” She skillfully changed the subject and began introducing them to the different flowers in the house.
“This is a yellow bird-of-paradise.
Its meaning is ‘working hard for love and dreams.'” She pointed to the flower in Cain’s hand as she spoke.
“This is a white lily.
It represents ‘purity’ and ‘the joy of reunion.'” Her gaze turned toward Tifa.
“And this one,” she said, picking up a pot of small, unremarkable flowers, “is a moonflower.
It only blooms at night.
Its meaning is ‘guarding someone in the darkness.'” As she introduced them, she used her unique perspective to connect the meanings of the flowers to Cain and Tifa’s own qualities.
Her words were full of spirituality and wisdom, allowing the tense atmosphere to fully relax.
Cain and Tifa both listened quietly, as if they had been brought into a pure, fragrant world far removed from conflict.
“All right, Shinra’s patrols should have passed by now.” After a while, Aerith walked to the window and carefully observed the outside.
“We’ll go by the rooftops.
It’s safer there.
Stay close to me, Mr.
Bodyguard.” She nimbly opened another window leading to the roof and climbed out first.
The rooftops of the Midgar slums were another world.
Countless roofs made from sheet metal, wooden boards, and scrap materials formed a rising and falling, tangled stretch of “ground.” Aerith moved like a nimble cat, skillfully leaping and weaving across the rooftops, the hem of her dress fluttering in the night wind.
“Hurry up!” she called back to the two of them.
Tifa was also highly agile, and she immediately followed.
Cain carried the enormous Buster Sword on his back, each step unusually steady, yet he did not fall behind at all.
Just like that, they ran across the rooftops beneath the moonlight, chaotic streets beneath their feet and the massive steel plate above their heads.
It was a strange feeling, as if they were carrying out a secret adventure in the gap between two worlds.
“Careful!” At a gap between two rooftops, Aerith’s foot slipped, and her body lost its balance.
She was about to fall.
In the blink of an eye, a strong arm reached out from the side and firmly wrapped around her waist, pulling her back.
It was Cain.
Aerith crashed into his solid chest, the faint scent of sweat and a trace of blood lingering near her nose.
She could feel the astonishing strength in his arm, as well as the heart beating violently beneath his calm exterior.
“Thank you, Mr.
Bodyguard.” Aerith raised her head and gave him a bright smile.
There was no panic on her face at all.
Instead, there was a trace of mischief.
“Looks like I picked the right person.” Cain looked at her face, so close at hand, and at those green eyes shining under the moonlight.
A slight ripple stirred in his heart.
He somewhat unnaturally let go of her and took a step back.
“Are you… all right?” “I’m fine.” Aerith steadied herself and adjusted her dress.
“We’re almost there.
Once we pass through that abandoned construction site, we’ll be on the safe route to the Sector 7 station.” Under Aerith’s guidance, they made it through most of the Sector 5 slums without any serious danger.
Along the way, Cain dutifully walked at the front, using his keen senses and powerful strength to deal with several scattered groups of patrol soldiers before they could become a problem.
A strange kind of understanding formed between him and Aerith.
Aerith guided the way and used her mysterious ability to sense danger, while Cain cleared obstacles in the most direct way possible.
Tifa followed behind them, watching their backs, and the complicated emotion in her heart grew stronger.
She was happy that Cain had found someone he could communicate with, but at the same time, she also felt a faint sense of alienation, as if she had been left outside.
The connection between Cain and Aerith was built on something they could both perceive, something on a supernatural level.
It was a realm she could not step into.
At last, they reached the safe area Aerith had mentioned.
“Once you go through here, there won’t be any Shinra soldiers,” Aerith said, pointing to a dim path ahead.
“You’re safe now.” “Aerith, thank you so much,” Tifa said sincerely.
“Are you… not coming with us?
You helped us.
Shinra might come after you too.” Aerith shook her head and smiled.
“I still have some things to do.
Besides, I’m not that easy to catch.” Her gaze turned to Cain once again.
“Mr.
Bodyguard, our agreement is over for now,” she said.
“But I feel like we’ll see each other again very soon.
When that happens, you’ll have to keep protecting me.” Cain looked at her and nodded heavily.
“I will.” “Then goodbye, Tifa, Cain.” Aerith waved to them, then turned and nimbly disappeared into the shadows of another alley, as if she had never appeared at all.
Looking in the direction she had left, Cain tightened his grip on the yellow bird-of-paradise in his hand.
He did not know who this mysterious flower seller really was, but he knew that their story had only just begun.
And the “bodyguard” agreement between him and her would certainly not end here.