Credits where credits are due:

On the Way to a Smile Audiobooks

Written by Kazushige Nojima
Original Translations, LH Yeung “Xcomp”
Narrated by Ryushikaze

Aerith - rinrin0rikuriku
Cloud - strykinglight
Tifa – Christina McBride / AnimazingGamerGirl
Barret - psylentknight
Sephiroth - RemovableAspirations
Cid – Twistedpuppet
Yuffie - Mizura
Vincent - danyetman
Red XIII/Nanaki – Joseph Vitaliano
Reeve – ConVito

(Temporary Note: This is NOT an April Fool’s Day joke).

Just in time for the holidays, XComp/LH Yeung has finished translating the final, and, perhaps, most anticipated “On The Way To A Smile” title: Case of ShinRa. This story begins during the events of FFVII, detailing Tseng and Rufus’ survival, as well as the Turk’s actions during the final night of the Meteor crisis in Midgar.

After that, it focuses on various ordeals that Rufus experiences, the construction of Edge, and what initiated the Turks to search for JENOVA at the beginning of Advent Children.

You can read the full story either by clicking the “Read the rest of this entry” link below, or at XComp’s site. Also, remember you can find links to all the other OtWtaS entries at the Advent Children Complete link under “Coverage” on the left hand side of our site (or by clicking the link in this very sentence). Thanks again to XComp for putting all his hard work into this.

* * *

On The Way To A Smile: Case of ShinRa

* * *

At the Ancient Ruins — The mission assigned to Tseng, leader of the Shinra Company’s Department of Administrative Research which was also known as the “Turks”, was to to obtain the ancient stone known as the “Black Materia”. However just moments before that, Sephiroth appeared and severely wounded him, leaving him leaning against the wall close to the verge of death. The bleeding never stopped and he was passing out. Just when he was already prepared to die, Aerith and her friends appeared. They too had arrived at the ruins in pursuit of Sephiroth.

Keeping surveillance over a descendant of the Ancients and looking for opportunities to assist his company at his own discretion has been his duties for a long period of time. Sometimes he would be under pressure by the violent ways of his subordinates but within Shinra Company, they were considered very gentle operations. Once he had tried to control Aerith’s mother by force and lost her as a consequence. This affected Tseng’s principles and made him reflect on his actions.

Aerith was the last descendant of the Ancients in this world. Tseng thought that someone who represented the darker side of his company like him, shouldn’t be getting close to such a majestic existence like her and because of that, the days when he would just watch over her continued.

* * *

The first time Aerith spoke to him was when she was still just a child.

“Thank you for your hardwork as always.”

Tseng was suspicious of the words he just heard from the young girl. Seeing how silent he stayed, Aerith continued.

“You’re protecting me, aren’t you?”

When Tseng thought about his mission, it was probably best to take advantage of this moment. But Tseng went ahead and told her the truth. That very instance in his life was the time he’s been the most honest.

“I’m Tseng from Shinra Company. I have something to speak to you about.”

“I hate Shinra!”

As he watched the back of the young figure run off, Tseng thought it was best this way and was relieved. He thought to himself that even when the day he has to take her away by force, he still won’t be able to lie to her.

Before long after many years and certain events passed, Aerith came into contact with the anti-Shinra group Avalanche and the situation took a sudden change. Tseng became agitated as he couldn’t get a grasp of the situation at hand and because of that he treated Aerith with an attitude of such pretense evil that even his subordinates turned cold towards him. He would always think of what to say to them.

This isn’t pretense evil. To Aerith, Shinra itself is evil. That’s why evil should act like evil—

* * *

As a result, even though he was aware his death was approaching, he chose to approach Aerith as a Turk.

“Damn it. Letting Aerith go was the start of my mistakes.”

Even so, Aerith shed tears for such a Tseng. She didn’t see him as one of the enemies but a friend who she had known since her childhood. Tseng thought to himself that dying through such an unexpected event wasn’t such a bad end but, he could barely make a joke about it.

“I’m not dead yet.”

After Aerith left, Tseng quietly awaited for his death. But it never came. As he started to feel faint, he still couldn’t feel his mind merge with the Lifestream.

It was Reeve who saved Tseng. He controlled an odd little robot cat – riding on a Giant Mog – and appeared before Tseng. Reeve was assigned the mission to spy on Aerith and her party using this robot cat.

“That was close, Mr. Tseng.”

“Where’s the Black Materia?”

“…”

There was no answer. The robot stood still as if it had stopped working. However, before long it began speaking again, “Excuse me. I’m controlling both No.1 and No. 2 at the same time – it can be a little difficult.”

“I see.”

Tseng couldn’t understand just how difficult it was but, he waited for Reeve to speak again so that he wasn’t causing any interruptions.

“I’ve handed the Black Materia over to Cloud for the time being. That is a wiser choice than letting Sephiroth have it, yes?”

Cloud. He was linked to everything that has happened so far and was one of the great mysteries that remains to be solved but at the same time, he was a necessity. He’s just a kid, Tseng felt but no matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t know what the outcome will be. In any case, it was best Cloud had the Black Materia to prevent the Ultimate Black Magic, Meteor from being used.

“Cloud has the Black Materia — I see.”

“As for yourself, Mr Tseng — I’ll contact Shinra for you.”

“—Right.”

“One more thing— My identity as a spy has been found out but I will be staying with them. They’re quite an interesting bunch. I’m very interested in what they will do. Right, lets get you moved somewhere.”

There was a number of things Tseng wanted to ask but as he was lifted up by the Giant Mog, the pain that struck him knocked him unconscious. He couldn’t remember what happened afterwards.

Three men carried Tseng onto a boat. They were his subordinates once. Why did Reeve contact these people and not the company directly? He never managed to get into contact with these three men. Question after question came to mind but Tseng didn’t have the strength to say anything. A lot of time passed as he blanked out. Eventually he woke up in a small room. Inhaling the distinct air that was mixed with the smell of the tides and rusted metal, he knew he had been taken to Junon. A doctor appeared almost immediately and began his treatment.

* * *

After Tseng left, Aerith died and the Black Materia was handed over to Sephiroth from Cloud. Using the Black Materia, the Ultimate Black Magic Meteor was cast.

It was said that upon impact, everything on the Planet would be gone in three to seven days. The actual results may not have been different but, no one had ever expected it to really happen.

* * *

Midgar, Sector Zero, somewhere close to the Shinra Building—

Constructed rapidly on iron pillars in Sector Eight, was a dangerous canon that was barely transported by air from Junon and was a last resort against Sephiroth. The “Sister Ray”, connected to the dedicated pipelines in Midgar in which Mako energy surged through, was expected to wipe out all enemies including Sephiroth by boosting the power output with a Huge Materia. They aimed it towards him in the distant Northern Crater where he slept. They thought if Sephiroth died, the nightmare that he had summoned in the skies with the Black Materia, would also disappear. If the Planet was no longer threatened, the Weapons would surely return to where they came.

“Theoretically, it’s perfect,” Rude said looking up at the Sister Ray.

“Theoretically? What about non-theoretically?” Reno asked with a serious tone he didn’t usually have.

“It leaves me concerned.”

“Then I’m relieved.”

“What do you mean?” Rude questioned.

“I thought I was the only one worried. Are we seriously going to fire this thing? Don’t we have to test it out first? Will Midgar be alright?”

“Would you be reassured if I said it’ll be alright?”Rude replied to the torrent of questions with a stern tone in his voice.

“Hey, don’t get mad.”

In the end, the Sister Ray never fulfilled their expectations and was turned into a giant piece of scrap. At the same time, the executive floor of the Shinra Building was destroyed under the Weapon’s attack. As a member of the Turks, Rude and Reno were used to seeing the ruins of buildings during their work. However, they felt differently for the Shinra Building. They had little office work and their missions mainly involved travelling around outside so, the Shinra Building was very much like a home they could return to after work. All the tough times they’ve been through together with their comrades, the times when they got scolded by their superior, the times when they would tease the girls while they had nothing to do and get teased back. When they’re out, their “switch” is on and when they’re in the office their switch is “off”. It was the complete opposite of the other office workers but even so, they had some strong feelings for the Shinra Building.

The unrest that lay with Rude and Reno grew stronger after they learned their President had gone missing.

There were many witnesses that saw how the Weapon’s fire struck the executive’s office so they didn’t know if he had really simply gone missing. On top of that, they couldn’t confirm the safety of the rest of the staff because the Shinra Company’s management system was a mess. There were many who had already given up their positions a number of days before the expected day of the Meteor’s impact.

Rude and Reno felt they should confirm the well being of their President and waited for the elevator. The elevators to the executive floors weren’t working so they had to try the regular staff’s elevators.

“This thing isn’t moving.”

“It looks like the emergency lock system was activated.”

“They managed to get that working pretty well.”

“Reno, Rude. Take the stairs.”

The two looked at each other at the sound of the new voice before trying to find out who it was. Before long, they spotted a familiar man with long hair who they hadn’t expected to be here.

“Chief!”

They had received reports that Tseng had died several days ago. Elena had acted on her own, pursuing Cloud and his party to the Northern Crater to take revenge. However, she failed and returned to Midgar in a bad state and they remembered how she repeated the word “revenge” like she was under a spell afterwards. In short, every member of the Turks thought Tseng had died.

“What’s wrong?” Tseng asked, looking at the dumbfounded Rude and Reno.

“You’re alive, Chief.”

“As you can see for yourselves. But now isn’t the time to explain.”

“Yeah,” Reno nodded a number of times to show they didn’t need to hear any explanations.

“Chief!”

Suddenly, they heard the voice of a young woman. The three turned round and found Elena standing there. The youngest member of the Turks didn’t try to hide how happy she was to find the Chief who she had thought was dead still alive. She suddenly jumped up and gave Tseng a hug.

“Oh come on, Elena. You know I want to do that too,” said Reno.

“No need to hold back, Senpai.”

“I’ll pass.”

Tseng placed a firm hand on Elena’s shoulder and had a good look at his three subordinates.

“—Come on. Time to get to work.”

The Forgotten City. At a small lake where Aerith had lost her life and saw everyone off, Yuffie and the others had returned once again to let her know that the fight against Sephiroth was over. They all stood silently around the lake’s altar. None of them spoke but each of them were speaking to Aerith with their own words.

“Bye.”

It was Vincent’s low voice. By the time Yuffie turned round to face him, his red mantle was already flailing behind him. What was with him, thought Yuffie. Is that the way he was going to part with us?

“Hold it- Hooold it!!”

She cried out hurrying after him.

“How can you part with us just like that? We’re all war buddies you know.”

Her protesting didn’t stop him. She ran ahead and the two of them stood face to face. He looked as if he was staring at a point far into the distance. Yuffie didn’t know what he was thinking or what was going through his mind but his gaze was very powerful. She stepped back immediately knowing that she couldn’t stop him.

“Take care,” Vincent said as he passed her. Yuffie never expected such words from him and let go of what just happened as she felt his heart for the first time.

Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cid and Red XIII were watching them.

“Looks like he has somewhere to go,” reported Yuffie as she returned to her comrades.

“To his woman probably. Time I got going too,” said Cid.

“Yeah, you’re right. Same for me,” agreed Barret.

Everyone has someone they want to go see, thought Yuffie. She understood but couldn’t hold her feelings in.

“You know… You guys sure are taking this lightly.”

“It just means we know we can always meet again,” said Cid as he started to walk off. Cloud and Tifa nodded. Even Red XIII agreed too. Red XIII’s just forcing himself along, thought Yuffie.

“Yeah.”

As she began to feel the same way they did, she accepted what was about to happen.

“Lets go.”

Cloud and Tifa began to walk off. Yeah. Once we leave this place, it really is goodbye for us all, thought Yuffie. But that’s fine. I’ll enjoy our parting with all the energy I have.

“Hey wait!”

Barret suddenly raised his voice. Man, this parting’s ruined. That’s why I don’t like the old man. She looked over at him and saw him removing the materia from his prosthetic arm, handing it over to Cloud.

“What do we do with this?”

“Hey wait!”

Realizing she had forgotten something very important, Yuffie raised her voice. She had almost forgotten the whole purpose of her journey.

“Can I have all the- No, I mean can I just have half of all the materia? I’ll bring them back to Wutai with me and keep them in safe custody. Well, I’ll use them too maybe. Just a little.”

The eyes of all her comrades gathered on her. She loved to be the center of attention but this time she felt a little guilty. She continued to speak in an effort to hide that guiltiness.

“I was in the middle of hunting for materia you know. I got close to you all because I was following my instincts as a materia hunter. The materia you all had was just too tempting.”

Shinra’s research, technology and knowledge of the planet’s life allowed them to bestow “powers” into the materia Cloud and his party possessed that wasn’t possible to produce naturally.

“To be honest with you all, I didn’t really know what you were all after or know much about your past. Even now, I think it’s the same. But I fought with you all didn’t I? And it wasn’t because of the materia. I just wanted to be of use, even if I wasn’t much. We’re friends now. Come on, think about it. How many times have I saved you all from pinches?”

After she finished, Yuffie thought, Damn. There’s no truth to that part.

“Yeah, you helped us many times,” said Tifa.

Yuffie was confused.

“You’re an ideal child, so cheery and strong.”

“Huh!?”

Yuffie was surprised and waited for Tifa to continue. But Tifa just smiled and stayed silent.

“Are you serious?” Yuffie asked without thinking.

“Mmhmm,” nodded Tifa immediately.

“Eheheh.”

Yuffie thought about what she just heard as she blushed. She was surprised that she just might be getting the materia with no objections.

“What do you think, Barret?”

Cloud had suddenly turned round to ask him. Why the hell are you asking Barret for? Yuffie thought but remained silent.

“Hmmmm—” mused Barret. “It’s true that Yuffie’s a good friend of ours. But it’s a whole different matter when it comes to materia, isn’t it?”

“No it isn’t! It’s the same. The same! I know it may be all over now that we’ve defeated Sephiroth but, I have a great dream and that’s to restore Wutai. To do that, having materia is crucial.”

“Restoration eh—”

This time it was Cid who piped in. Shut up old man! Yuffie glared at him.

“If that’s what you need it for, isn’t Midgar much worse off?”

“You’re right.”

After agreeing with Cid, Cloud fell in thought.

“Hey, Yuffie. How about this? We’ll give you all the materia.”

“Alright!”

“But I keep it in safe custody.”

“Er— Are you trying to trick a child here! ”

Thinking she was being made a fool, she stood up tall in protest.

“You got it all wrong. Most of our materia are used for battle right? It really won’t be of much use for Wutai. So we’ll just share the ones that will be of use in healing and I’ll keep the rest. I think I’m the one that’s the most experienced when it comes to dangerous materia.”

“It’s true we don’t need any equipment for battles any more but—”

“Yeah?”

“Even if we can’t use them, we’ll feel much more at ease with them won’t we?”

“Then lets do this. You return to Wutai but if you feel uneasy without materia then contact me. We’ll think about it again then.”

Cloud was speaking in a gentle tone but in the end, his decision to keep the materia was clear to Yuffie. And just as he said, even if Wutai had a lot of materia with immeasurable destructive power, they may not be of much use. Times have changed. Even Yuffie understood that.

“Fine. You be sure to take good care of my materia.”

* * *

Once again, thanks for your hard work Xcomp! Below you’ll find his translation of the story.

Oh, Gilligan please begone. Just who are you? Nanaki who was also known as Red XIII faced the moon and howled as he tried to spit out the pitch black monster that had nested itself inside him. His howl echoed across the cold plateau of the night. The burning flame at the tip of his elastic tail lit up the red fur that covered his entire body as he shook and howled.

There was nothing around to answer Nanaki’s distant howl. It had always been the same but just this time, he thought there was a sign. It was one that told him he will most likely have to resolve this problem alone. Gilligan was inside him and was his enemy alone.

It was just a few days ago that he realised its existence. Gilligan was born after Nanaki was— Or so that was the order it happened as he thought back.

* * *

After the journey with Cloud and the others to defeat Sephiroth and save the planet ended, Nanaki returned to Cosmo Canyon. The people of the valley warmly welcomed the return of Nanaki who helped end the battle and listened to the story of his travels with deep interest. Nanaki was filled with pride.

Then Nanaki went to see his father, the brave warrior who fought the Gi Tribe and now stood petrified watching over the valley.

“Father, you and mother were fine warriors who watched over this valley. That’s why I tried to protect it just like you did. And I think I managed to do it. That’s why I will be travelling again, father. This time it won’t be about fighting. I will look at life around the world. Chocobos being born, trees withering and hmmm— I don’t know what else but, I’ll look at all sorts of things, everything. Grandpa told me. He told me that it’s my errand to continue watching such things, remember it all and tell my descendants all about it. Oh and—” Nanaki’s gaze ran over his father looking at his petrified eyes and ears as he thought, “And I will tell you everything too, father. Yes, I’ll do that.”

Nanaki then told the people of the valley the very same things. That he was going to obey the last words of his deceased grandfather Bugenhagen—And make “the journey to record the world” his new errand. They all encouraged him saying it will be very meaningful. And reassuring him that they will always be here for him, they saw him off.

Leaving the village through the plateau, Nanaki looked back after going down a steep path. The people of the valley were still waving to him. In answer, he sat back and raised his front legs, head high in the air and howled. Farewell. I will be back. Take care. With that, he ran down the rest of the path in a single breathe. Before long he arrived at a crag. It was the spot he would always stop to look back whenever he left the village. After he leaves it, the village will be out of sight. Just like those times he looked back up—but he couldn’t see it. A giant boulder that he was sure wasn’t there before blocked his view. Ah yes, Nanaki thought to himself. The lifestream passed through here. That must have caused the boulder to fall down from somewhere. When I made my way back here, I noticed the geography has changed in many places. At the very least when he went to check nearby, he found layers of rocks and parts that had once protruded out of ledges had all collapsed. It can’t be helped, thought Nanaki. The changes weren’t troubling anyone. When compared to say Midgar’s reconstruction and its destroyed cities, this was nothing. Nanaki leapt off a small boulder and moved on. He took care as he walked on his feet. He took one step. Then another. Then he realised something was wrong. It had nothing to do with his surroundings but his body—No, inside his heart. Nanaki stood still and closed his eyes. He looked deep into his heart. There it is. This must be it. How to describe it, thought Nanaki. This was the way Nanaki looked at and tried to understand matters. This was—pitch black. It was as if a hole had opened up in his heart. No it wasn’t a hole. It was like a black “soul of memories” sitting there. Something was attached to his heart very firmly. Before long he could feel it starting to vibrate violently. He believed it was changing shape. I wonder what’s it changing into—Just as the thought came to mind, Nanaki trembled all over with fear.

“—” He shuddered so much he couldn’t even make a sound. Nanaki grit his teeth and tried to endure it. No, he couldn’t endure it. Letting out a deep breathe he turned round and ran back towards the village, leaping over the cliff.

The people of the valley who had just saw Nanaki off were surprised to see him again and gathered together.

“What’s wrong, Nanaki?”

“Hmmm—” he started. He knew the black soul had disappeared.

“Don’t tell us you were already missing your home,” someone jeered. The others laughed.

“Yes, that maybe so.”

“Nanaki, you have to be firm with yourself! It’s not like a brave warrior at all!”

“Yes, you’re right.”

For a while, Nanaki exchanged words with the poeple of the village. Then once again, he said his goodbyes and started his journey. He could have went a different way but he challenged himself to go down the same path again. He thought it was necessary to ascertain whether the reason for the fear he had felt was because of that very place. However, nothing happened.

* * *

Nanaki named the “something” that suddenly appeared and struck him with fear, “Gilligan”. There was no meaning to the name but by giving it a name, he won’t forget about it at the very least. Names were what reminded him of various matters. And so it was, Nanaki continued to raise this Gilligan as he travelled. Sometimes when he remembered about it he would think about finding out what it truely was but every time he did, he would be gripped with fear. Until he could deal with it calmly, he thought he will leave it for the time being.

* * *

Leaving Cosmo Canyon, Nanaki made a rough plan of his journey. First he will go west where Yuffie’s hometown Wutai is and then he will travel around and see the long narrow islands to the north south. After that, he will go east. On a big island there was Rocket Town where Cid is, Barret’s hometown Corel and, Tifa and Cloud’s hometown Nibelheim. Then he will try going north. He’s also thought about visiting the uninhabited borders as well as every nook and corner which was going to take a lot of time but, Nanaki wasn’t worried about that at all. To Nanaki whose tribe has a lifespan of five hundred or even a thousand years that no human could ever have, what meaning could it have?

“Being rash is forbidden. I will be living on much longer than everyone else after all.”

* * *

Wutai was Nanaki’s destination . If it was possible, he planned to go see Yuffie. Yuffie would always come to him and treat him as if he was her pet but, Nanaki accepted it thinking it was Yuffie’s way of being friendly with him.

“It’s easy to understand what Yuffie’s thinking,” thought Nanaki. Surrounded by comrades who were older than her, Yuffie would always be challenging them. Outside of being in the same battle together, she would insist the difference in age didn’t matter. Nanaki understood those feelings very well. She was probably referring to one’s psychological age. However, he had very mixed feelings when it came to not understanding the fifteen or sixteen year old Yuffie’s behaviour very well even though he has lived for close to fifty years but, because humans matured in a different way than he did, he just had to give up in understanding her better.

As Nanaki reached close to Wutai, he found Yuffie by coincidence. Mischievously he was planning to give her a fright and pretend she was being attacked but, looking at Yuffie from the plateau, it didn’t seem like a good time for that. Her back was facing Wutai as she dragged a young boy around her age by his ankles. She’s probably been doing that for a long time. A long trail was made behind the boy in the grassy field. He didn’t know whether the boy was still alive but Yuffie was desparately speaking to him. Before long, Yuffie stopped. Just as Nanaki thought she was taking a break, Yuffie lifted up the boy and was somehow trying to get him on her back. However, Yuffie wasn’t strong and it looked like she was having some difficulty.

“Guess it can’t be helped,” said Nanaki to no one in particular and headed towards Yuffie. The feeling of going to help someone who wasn’t expecting any help didn’t feel too bad. Nanaki quielty crept towards Yuffie who didn’t notice him at all and asked:

“Shall I give you some help?”

Lifestream Black 1

The man could sense the Lifestream trying to erode his spirit– the memories of his former experiences, thoughts and emotions. If he allowed himself be taken into the current, the being he once was would soon disseminate and disappear amongst the spirit energy cycling around the planet. The man thought this unacceptable. The planet was to be his to rule, and to become a part of that system would be nothing short of defeat.

The man sensed a large flux in the Lifestream. A sign of another, different defeat. When the Lifestream erupted onto the surface of the planet, the man thought that Cloud was no doubt certain of his victory. Cloud was the one who had twice sent the man into the Lifestream. The man knew that if one could hold onto some core of their spirit, then one could remain a separate entity, independent from the planet’s system. Cloud. The man decided to make Cloud that core. And he wanted to let Cloud know of that. I’m still thinking of you. And I’ll show you the proof of that as well.

Lifestream White 1

The woman was an Ancient. Which explained how she was able to maintain her individuality even within the Lifestream. If she so wished she could become part of the planet at any time, but the woman thought it too early for that just yet.

The woman had sensed a different presence within the Lifestream cycling around the planet. It was the vehemence of a strong will, one that would never join with the planet. She knew this consciousness. It was the man who had taken her life. A merciless spirit hidden behind a beauteous wall. That spirit was now operating from within the Lifestream. The woman sensed that he was planning to exert his influence to the surface of the planet. She wondered what she could do.

Because it would be dangerous for her to come in contact with him, the woman tried to keep away from the man’s consciousness. Because of this, she couldn’t learn much of the man’s plot. However, just once, when the man’s spirit had suddenly appeared near her, she discovered that he had made his memories of Cloud the core of his being.

Cloud was her friend, her beloved — a symbol of what was important to her, and someone to be protected.

Lifestream Black 2

When the Lifestream erupted onto the surface of the planet, the man had already surrendered his inconsequential memories to the planet. Memories from when he was a boy, of his few friends, of the battles when he was still unaware, of his life in bygone days– all these became a part of the inundation, encased around Meteor, and finally receded. At the same time, the core of his spirit, and those memories deeply related to it, moved from torrent to torrent, and traveled around the land, from city to city. When the people who were trying to escape, or those left unable to do anything but stand still, were enveloped by those streams, he decided to leave them with his stigma. If Cloud noticed that stigma, the man was certain that he would never disappear. As long as Cloud remembers me, I can continue to exist. Within the Lifestream, and on the surface. Even if my spirit disseminates, even if just one fragment of a memory courses around the planet, in the end I can count on Cloud’s consciousness to bring me back, the man thought.

Lifestream White 2

The woman discovered that there was a growing number of spirits within the Lifestream who refused to be absorbed by it. While they were different from the man’s spirit, they rejected the Lifestream due to the same emotion. Hatred. Their feelings towards the planet were steeped in hatred, just like that man’s. This is the result of his influence reaching the surface, she thought. The woman drew closer to the souls that had just entered the Lifestream, spirits filled with hate, and tried to heal them. Beneath the surface of enmity were hidden memories. Memories from their lives as normal people. While unremarkable, they had many joyous memories as well. She released those thoughts and dissolved them into the Lifestream. Having lost the core of their emotions, the surface animosity disappeared. The woman had found a solution, however more and more spirits steeped in spite appeared, and it was too much for her to bear. She rushed through the Lifestream in search of other souls to help her. Ancients, on the verge of diffusing. These fragments of consciousness accepted her undertaking. When she found fragments of consciousness of people she had once known– pitifully few in number– she infused them with her own memories and sought their assistance. She had more spirits on her side now, but even so the hatred borne by that man did not decrease. She then thought of Cloud, living in his reality up on the surface. In order to reduce the hatred lingering in the Lifestream, she would have to remove the hatred flooding the real world. The woman wondered if Cloud could help her. However, that might lead to Cloud getting hurt as well. The Cloud she knew had a very fragile heart.

Lifestream Black 3

Despite mankind’s troubles, life on the planet had returned to normal. The man became aware of the increase in spirits— they could be called the darkness of the heart— melding with the Lifestream. He cherished that lingering darkness. Even more so when he considered that the stigma he had left on the surface was what created it. He thought that he could possibly enjoy himself with that. Filling the Lifestream with this darkness.

The man hid himself within the life on the planet and traveled around the world, branding even more people with his stigma. On the surface there were many people who no longer had their normal lives, and at the man’s temptation the dark parts of their hearts grew even larger.

Soon the man thought to himself; I want Cloud to know this is my doing. I want the humans to know this is my doing. For that he needed a body. There were things he wanted to say in his own voice. Things he wanted to shatter by his own hand.

He had decided he would use his Mother’s power. With a fragment of Mother’s body, I too can get a body again, the man thought. And so firstly, he tried to manifest on the surface as just a spirit, but his attempt failed. He had already returned the memories of his own appearance to the planet, and so he was not able to produce an image of himself. So the man found memories of a suitable appearance from the Lifestream, and with that form produced an image. It was the form of a boy. Soon the man remembered that being on the surface was incomparably more limited than the freedom of being a spirit. He created two more agents to do his work. These three were separate entities, and at the same time he himself. These three, created by the strength of the man’s will and detached from the system of the planet, were both at once a part of reality and monsters out of fantasy.

The man thought of the future. As my servants are looking for Mother, if they come across someone who knows me, then from that spirit I can learn of who I once was. And with Mother’s further assistance, I can become fully real. Even if there’s something lacking, it doesn’t matter. Cloud will make me complete.

— That will be the beginning, the man thought.

Lifestream White 3

The woman considered ways of telling Cloud of the crisis. As she thought, all the feelings she couldn’t tell him about came back to her vividly. There were many things she wanted to tell Cloud. However, she did not know what she should tell him or how she should tell him. It had been a while since she had worried. In the end, the woman decided she would see Cloud first and then think about what to do.

Eventually the woman discovered that the man, spreading hatred around the world, was trying to manifest on the surface. She wondered how he was planning to do that. Summoning up all her courage she approached the man’s spirit. However, he spotted her and chased her off, but soon gave up chase. She knew the man was laughing at her. You can’t do anything. However, she had caught what he was planning. He was apparently going to use separate entities to be his agents. The woman asked herself if she could do the same. However, she soon changed her mind. Even if it were possible, I want to meet Cloud the way he knows me.

EDIT: As of 5/18, Danna has gone through the text and edited a few spots to clarify the translation and smooth out the readability. Just to clarify, so enjoy!

Tifa walked the last customer out of her store before returning inside to clean up in the galley. The room was dimly lit, with minimal but adequate lighting. No one else was there besides Tifa. Just days ago, she was working so much that all her bitterness disappeared as she watched families come and go. But now, the water was cold and she wasn’t getting anywhere with all the dirty tableware. Tifa tried turning on all the lights that illuminated the store to try and change the atmosphere. For a brief moment, the store lit up, but due to the instability of the electricity supply, it became dimly lit again. A surge of uneasiness came over her. She wondered if she was all alone in the house. As the thought crossed her mind, she couldn’t stand it, and she called out a girl’s name.

“Marlene!”

Before long, soft footsteps could be heard from the children’s room deep inside the store, and Marlene appeared.

“Ssssh.” She put her finger to her lips and frowned. Tifa apologized but was relieved.

“Denzel’s finally fell asleep.”

“Was he in pain?”

“Yeah.”

“You could have given me a shout.”

“Denzel didn’t let me.”

“I see…” Tifa looked as if she was blaming herself for not paying attention to the children.

“So, what’s wrong?”

“Hmmm… What do you mean?” Tifa answered, trying to hide her feelings. Marlene looked around the store, where only Tifa and her stood.

“Did you get lonely?” This little girl saw through everything. “I won’t be going anywhere.”

“Thanks. You should sleep soon too.”

“I was just about to sleep!”

“Sorry.”

Tifa stopped washing and followed Marlene. Her parents already died and she was brought up by her father’s closest friend, Barret. Ever since Tifa met Barret and got along with him, she found out about half of Marlene’s life. That was why she naturally ended up being the one taking care of Marlene when Barret decided he would go on a journey to settle his past.

In the children’s room were two beds lined up to one another. There, Denzel was lying sound asleep. The Geostigma scar on the eight-year-old’s forehead looked painful. Denzel was suffering, as the illness couldn’t be healed and his condition wasn’t improving. Tifa wiped away the pus from the mark on his forehead; Denzel grimaced a little but continued to sleep. Marlene, who watched over Denzel, went to her own bed afterwards and called out Tifa’s name.

“We’re here with you but you’re still lonely, aren’t you?”

“…I’m sorry,” Tifa answered honestly.

“It’s ok. We’re the same.”

“I see.”

“I wonder where Cloud is.”

Tifa didn’t know and put her hand on her neck. Cloud was in Midgar somewhere. She imagined how the worst could have happened as he was caught in an accident where he went to work or he was being attacked by some monster.

But she soon found out that he was still out there on jobs. There were people who had seen him. He just left the house, that’s all. Tifa was trying to convince the children that there were no problems, but she lost her composure and the children soon realized something was wrong.

“Why did he leave?”

I didn’t know. Maybe all kinds of problems had cropped up. But Tifa remembered Cloud’s last smile. It had the kindness that made her think everything was fine. I wonder if I was mistaken.