[FF7][SC] Star Flower

boom--!

A drop of blood fell on the girl's face, and then more, dripping and dripping into a thick line of blood fell down.No one reacted to what happened, Claude didn't understand, neither did the terrorists.Until Sisne took a step back expressionlessly, the ninja's body fell from the sky and spread out on the ground like a puddle of vomit, blood splattered on her camouflage uniform.

She fired a shot into the air.

"Si-s-ne-!"

A blood-curdling howl erupted by the door.In a blink of an eye, Sisne rolled away from his position on the spot, a few gunshots exploded, the silver pistol came out of his hand, and finally blood spattered. "Stop! The rays are intersecting!" Ginade yelled at them to stop, but he had to dodge the stray bullets while the sparks were flying. The chaos lasted for more than ten seconds before it stopped. The frightened child cried out one slice.

"Ha, I knew..." No. [-] strode forward, covering half of his face, staggering.When he was hit, he turned sideways to avoid the ballistic trajectory with amazing reaction speed. The bullet pierced through his right eye and passed out from his temple before it exploded.If he's not a psycho, he's a rare genius. "I can smell your smell... with a rotten stench... and the smell of a whore..." He didn't even have the thought of imposing a reply on himself, and directed at the fallen Sisne He fired a few shots, and finally pulled the girl's curly hair and lifted her up, "Fucking Shinra whore! Is it so fun to betray your own people?"

"Heh." Who betrayed whom?Who made me have nothing, and who gave me a new life?These Sisnes didn't even bother to explain, she just smiled indifferently and spat a mouthful of blood on the young man's face.

Those eyes hurt the young man deeply, he was silent for a while, then a distorted smile suddenly appeared on his face.After throwing Cisner back to the ground, he trembled with excitement, and immediately began to untie his belt.

"I $% you $% stop! Don't be crazy at this moment!" Ginade was about to step forward but was stopped by No. [-]'s gun, his bald head frowned, and his voice became terrifying, "What is this? mean."

"Don't stop me...you too!" The young man turned his head to look at the other companions, "It's just a proper punishment, a holy purification, you don't want to stop me, do you? Do you!"

"You fucking want us to watch you rape?!" Afra couldn't bear to swear, "Ginade, do me a favor and kill her."

"Corpse is fine too." The young man shrugged and gestured an invitation to Ginéd.

Claude watched all this quietly, he forced himself to watch carefully, not letting go of every detail, the opportunity was fleeting.

It's not that he hasn't experienced these things, it's just that those two years were too short in his life, not to mention more important things occupy his heart, and he can't remember the other things clearly.It is true that the military is a breeding ground for rape.They won't force you directly, that would leave a mark, enough to send them to a court martial.But there are many other ways, such as letting you stay in the Death Squad for a whole month. Shinra's army always has endless suppression tasks, and the fear of death is enough to make most people succumb.But he doesn't, he's afraid of fighting but he has to fight, he doesn't join the army to hide behind and pay his bills, but to be a special soldier, to—

So what are you for, Cisner?Is Shinra worth what you pay for it?

Even if it's a sinful, terrible company, it still means a lot to some people?

"Is it worth it?" Gined looked down at the girl's dirty face, the bullet was in the chamber from the beginning, just waiting for the trigger to be triggered, "What did Shinra give you to make you choose to betray your hometown?" He was willing to give The last ounce of mercy for one's own compatriots.The other mercenaries shook their heads and walked back to their positions.

"Shinra has everything to me." Cisne raised her head reverently, then fell down with difficulty, she was about to die.

Suddenly her pupils constricted, she stared fixedly in the direction of Claude, her hazel eyes met with sapphire blue ones, and the boy stared at her expressionlessly.The blood loss made her vision blurred, maybe she was wrong, but no matter what, don't look.Don't look at me.They do terrible things, so don't look at me.

Soon she realized her mistake, and it was too late when she looked away.

"What are you looking at?" The young man smiled nervously and stood up straight again. He noticed Claude. After all, it was too conspicuous to stare straight at this side among a group of brats who could only shriek and shrink. .And he had long remembered this nasty brat, his eyes were as disgusting as the bitch under his feet. "You want to try too?" He stepped over, but stopped again.

Sisne grabbed his feet, dirty blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, her pupils were dilated, and no one knew why she could still move.

Claude stood up before his foot went down, and his action changed Two's mind, a toy full of life and unyielding eyes was undoubtedly more fun than a dying one.Beautiful things always want to be destroyed, and he realized that would be a better punishment for Cissner.

The girl's feeble hand could not stop him from leaving. The young man walked towards the boy, leaving behind a string of bloody footprints.

Claude's expression didn't change at all, maybe it's because he has always been like this, maybe it's because the person in front of him has no right to make his mood fluctuate at all.The shadow of a young man surrounded him, juggling a small bayonet in his hand, and an unyielding soul reflected in his dark brown eyes.Sometimes Claude doesn't quite understand, does the war change the nature of people, or does it just release the repressed nature of human beings?The soldier who slaughtered recklessly on the battlefield may be an honest and honest farmer in his hometown. He has some cleverness to earn money but has no bad intentions to harm others; to the pain of others?

"I have to teach you, don't stare at people with these wild dog eyes." The point of the knife touched the boy's left eye, but he didn't flinch, tremble, or even blink.The short boy obviously raised his head, but it gave the illusion of looking down.The young man's hand trembled and scratched Claude's eyelids. At that moment, he felt the danger. It was the experience and intuition gained after many times of birth and death.But it seems to be just an illusion, he is still an arrogant and ignorant brat under his hands, except for those glass-like inorganic blue eyes——

Claude smiled.

No one has ever dared to say that his eyes are like a dog's, because they know that this is a wild wolf that will never be tamed, silent, but ready to launch a fatal blow at any time.It was still difficult for him to speak like Sid, but this did not prevent him from expressing his disdain, and he spoke calmly in Cloudstrife's usual light tone.

"Crappie."

The young man was motionless, he could no longer move, a thin line of blood appeared on his bare arm, the blood oozed out and then pooled and flowed down.A lava-like introverted thin line bursts out on the concrete wall, and suddenly thousands of thunderbolts explode. Falling down like fireworks.He watched in disbelief as more blood gushed out of his chest, staggered to his knees in severe pain, and fell to the ground with his body broken in two.

From the beginning to the end, Claude didn't look at him again. The boy stared at the front without blinking.So brilliant, so dazzling, as if all the glory and grace poured out from above.

Too bad, he thought.

It turns out I never forgot.

"What a terrifying power." Wade sighed softly, closed the computer, and did not look at the wreckage of the collapsed building, "One knife. Just one knife cut the building in half. Neither the speed nor the strength Scarlet still underestimated the extent to which human beings can achieve. Sephiroth's control power is far above destructive. Shinra has created the sharpest weapons in the world, but if one day they lose control, no one can Control it." The leader of the Turks seemed to have foreseen a clue of the future, but he didn't say any more, and the current calm was not so easy to break.

"They will have conflicts with Shinra in the future?" Zeng cut off the radio, he had a premonition that this was not a conversation that could be heard, "I thought they had the same interests... The situation may change, but it is hard to imagine that it will evolve to that At this point, Shinra wouldn't be so stupid."

"It's not a secret that I destroyed the town of Cam during my mission." Wade recalled, feeling the pain from the scars on his face, "There will always be conflicts, and we will never know when." , in what form.” Recalling that night, when his hometown was razed to the ground and nothing was left, Wade’s usual resolute voice was somewhat bleak.

He sacrificed so much, but in the end Shinra began to distrust him. They didn't think Wade could let go of his hatred, and this was the reason for supporting Heitinga.Heitinga is always willing to sing against him, because Wade is the biggest threat to his current position. In order to keep himself, he must hug the president's thigh tightly.His role is not to advise Shinra. In fact, he has already helped a lot without doing anything. His existence is a thorn between Wade and Shinra.

It's really impossible to say no to hate.But the object of Wade's hatred is not Shinra, although the order was given by Shinra, but he himself who made such a decision chose to carry out the order.

It was he who killed Effie himself.

"If Shinra ordered Banola to be destroyed one day, how do you think Angel and Genesis will deal with themselves?"

After thinking about it for a while, he was not sure why Mr. Wade asked this question, but he still said rigorously, "If the situation is not serious, their relatives will be evacuated, which will basically have no impact; It was dealt with quickly and then pretended to be an accident. At the same time, for the sake of confidentiality, it should be Turks who performed the task. The worst case is that the matter is leaked. In order to appease them, Turks will be pushed on the stage as a scapegoat. Everyone is satisfied with the results."

"Dirty thoughts, Zeng."

"Your true biography."

They looked at each other and smiled, more like two old friends.The superior-subordinate relationship of Taxes is not as strict as in the army. On the one hand, it is because there are really few people, and on the other hand, Wade treats his subordinates like children, and they can talk about everything.It's just that the light-hearted teasing couldn't cover up the deep worry, and there was still some bitterness in Zeng's smile.

"Don't worry, we can't be sad because of something that didn't happen, or an imaginary crisis." Wade patted Zeng on the shoulder, he knew that young juniors are always overly worried, "Besides, this is not the part I am most worried about, Even the revenge of the special forces is not enough to destroy the Turks, Shinra always pays attention to balancing each other in terms of combat power."

"but--"

"Be careful with Sephiroth. If the conflict between Shinra and the special forces is torn apart, then the breakthrough must be Sephiroth."

Wade didn't pay attention to the younger generation's shocked expression, he just shook the mug, and the waves of black coffee blurred his reflection.He's been around Shinra long enough to have been exposed to Sephiroth since he was a kid.He also understands that Jenova's plan is not as simple as the reproduction of ancient species or the enhancement of human beings. Hojo must have concealed something, but Shinra does not allow Turks to stretch his hand so far, so Wade only vaguely smelled something A sign that something is wrong.

"'The Outflow of Divinity', this is the name Hojo gave Sephiroth, because he is perfect. Although the lunatic is unreasonable, he never made a judgment about his own experiments, and Sephiroth is indeed perfect. "

"There is no perfect person." Zeng subconsciously denied, "As long as you are a person, you must have weaknesses. And everything Sephiroth is given by Shinra, among the three privates, he is the only one who has no reason to betray Shinra. "

"Is there no perfect person..." Wade sighed softly, and put down the mug, "You are right, flaws are the essence of human beings."

But that's why he is so wary of Sephiroth, because he is indeed perfect, so perfect... Unlike a human being, he doesn't want to describe the child as a monster, but at the same time he also feels that Sephiroth is not the usual Humanity.

He couldn't understand what it was like to be human.Hojo doesn't seem to realize that the situation is dangerous, although the problems of his living circumstances mask this well.He doesn't understand what hard work is, because everything can be done easily; he doesn't understand what setbacks are, because there is no haze of failure in his life; Perfection also dooms him to have a very weak connection with the world.The so-called "divinity" is actually the opposite of "humanity". Compared with praise, Wade thinks this name is full of irony.

Although Angel and Genesis are also overwhelmingly powerful, they are undoubtedly closer to humans. They have experienced relatives, friends, enemies, setbacks, hard work, and victories. They have experienced everything that humans need to grow up. Added an interesting son, and caused a lot of trouble for Turks... I thought about it.Wade shook his head, pulling his mind back from the Migard lace news.If a man has scruples, he is no longer dangerous,

Your enemy is not a human being, and you can't figure him out with human thinking. Is there anything more terrifying than this?

In this regard, Wade is not optimistic.

"Don't take it to heart, it's just my guess in the end, maybe it won't happen at all." Seeing that Zeng started to think seriously, Wade smiled slightly, sometimes young juniors are so serious, it is an advantage and a disadvantage, " Sort out the matter at hand and hand it over to Sisne later. You shouldn't be directly refuting Heitinga today, so I will dismiss you and give you other tasks."

"Yes."

"Nothing to say?"

The young man hesitated for a while, as if he didn't know whether he should speak, but his confusion finally overcame him, "Mr. Wade...why did you expose Sisne?"

Even if Claude exposed the existence of the tenth person at that time, Wade didn't need to uncover the undercover agent.Leaving aside Heitinga's excuses, Cisner's next mission had to be interrupted. Inaction regarding this attack would even lead to estrangement from the special forces. After all, Angel's adopted son was in danger.He never thought that his teacher would make such a mistake, but he really didn't understand why Wade would make such a move.

"I'm still thinking about when you plan to ask." The man's voice was slightly proud and approving. If he hadn't noticed this, maybe Wade would be very disappointed, "You still have some deficiencies in observing words and expressions, but There is still time, practice hard. The president actually made a decision when he asked Angel, Lazard's plan is imperative, so I can't let some idiot ruin this plan, only the existence of Sisne can Convince him.” But it wasn’t because undercovering made the rescue more successful, it was…exposing Turks’ dereliction of duty made Heitinga feel like he had won the game, so he could shut him up.

Zeng was silent for a while, obviously thinking of many plans that had to be revised due to Heitinga's mood. Heitinga did play a perfect role in threatening Turks.Then he smoothed out the logic and pointed out the flaw, "It doesn't make sense, if you want to shut him up, start by siding with Scarlett, Heitinga will be happy to support Lazard. Everyone knows that the Vigilante Department has three votes in name, but because of that idiot, it actually only has one vote for Lazard."

"The most important thing is, I want Sisne to survive." Wade stared seriously at Zeng's eyes. It was actually a terrible thing to be stared at by Wade, but Tux understood that the falcon-like gaze was to them. There is no danger at all, "At the beginning I didn't know the president's tendency, and Scarlet's proposal Sisne can undoubtedly handle it. But now it is Sephiroth who will do it, if I don't tell the existence of Sisne, What awaits us must be her dead body. In my eyes, nothing is more important than your lives, that's all."

"But the president has no reason to do this..." Zeng put one hand on his chin, vaguely grasping the crux of the problem, "Just because of Angel's son?"

Wade shook his head, "Because of Claude Strife."

Claude Xiulei lowered his head.

Perhaps without bowing his head, Sephiroth immediately denied this idea.From his angle, he could only see the top of the boy's head. The chocobo-like golden hair was flying up and down randomly as always, and some places were stained with blood.Sephiroth frowned slightly, and glanced at Angel calmly.Good, Angel is rescuing that Turks, he's always so dedicated, Sephiroth should be able to cover things up before Angel notices this.

He wasn't afraid of Angel—and he absolutely couldn't be—even if it was revealed that he killed Claude by mistake last time and was justified by his colleagues, he just realized that the boy's injury would make Angel unhappy.But that's enough, he doesn't want his friend to feel unhappy, at least he doesn't want to be caught thinking about it.

Sephiroth picked up the boy by the back collar and lifted him from the pool of blood under his feet, and put him on the open space with no internal organs or stumps, and was surprised to find that the boy was shaking.He was shaking very badly, but he was very restrained, and his body was as tense as a log.

Scared?

Scared.

Fear gripped Claude's heart deeply, and he couldn't help trembling while scolding himself for being weak.Understandable isn't it?He is so weak now, so small, his entire life is in the hands of Sephiroth.It was too close, and the long silver hair brushed against the tip of his nose, and he could clearly see the direction of every grain on the opponent's leather jacket.Zhengzong flashed a cold light, and there was no trace of blood on it. Claude could clearly remember the pain of being pierced every time, and the smile on his face when the winged angel tore him apart.He is not afraid of pain, nor is he afraid of fighting, and even death cannot move him. He is just afraid of being taken away from everything he has so easily.

Calm down, calm down, this Sephiroth will not go crazy for a while, he came to save you, you called him.It's a good idea to pretend to be terrified by those terrorists, and when Angel comes over the torture will be over, and then you can stay away as before.

"Are you running away again, Claude?" 』

Yes, Tifa.I know it shouldn't be, I have to face him, but... but just a moment, a moment is enough.If anyone can give me a place without Sephiroth, I will do anything for him.

Amidst the rubbing of the cloth, Sephiroth knelt down on one knee, his light blue eyes met the sapphire blue ones.He stretched out his hand, and the leather glove gradually enlarged before his eyes.Claude stared at him blankly, not understanding what happened.

This Sephiroth was not quite the same as he remembered, younger, with softer features, and what puzzled Cloud most was that he was not smiling.Sephiroth should be smiling, like a cat meeting its prey, without pity or mercy, just smiling happily because of the other party's struggle and despair.Instead of being like this now, he frowned slightly, and there seemed to be something like worry flashing in his eyes, just like human beings, just like... a long time ago, when Claude was a rookie recruit, he lay on the ground and looked up The same as the dragon slaying hero.

hero.

The boy slapped Sephiroth's hand away hard, panting, staring, trembling even more than before.Sephiroth's hands froze in the air, he slowly narrowed his eyes, a storm was brewing in his narrow vertical pupils.He was irritated, and he thought that Angel really needed to discipline the troubled child.But the next second, the storm dissipated suddenly, replaced by deep confusion.

Blood overflowed from Claude's eye sockets, like tears, flowing down the arc of his cheeks.

It wasn't anger or hatred, Sephiroth suddenly realized that there was only deep fear in the boy's eyes from beginning to end.

"Leave me alone." Claude squirmed his lips, lowered his voice, and tried not to say too harsh words, "There are people who need treatment more than me, so leave me alone." He pointed to the man whose throat had been cut earlier. The girl, if you don't care about it, you may really die, but for some reason Sephiroth didn't notice her, "The pen tube must be pulled out first." He lowered his head and no longer looked directly into Sephiroth's eyes, he was afraid that he would die again. out of control.

After a while, maybe not a long time but Cloud thought it was a long time, Sephiroth stood up and finally disappeared from the corner of his vision.

I know they are different.Claude gritted his teeth.I knew it from the very beginning, better than anyone else, because I yearned for him so much.Sephiroth used to be my hero, when I was a kid he was so bright, so dazzling.But he is no longer, and one day he will no longer be, but why do you want me to see this dream that is shattered at the touch of a touch, a dream that is fleeting like a fleeting image?

Why let me see my dream when I have given up?

Unable to relax, Angel asked Claude to stay in the office temporarily after completing the necessary inspections.On the one hand, the stable man insisted that he must be with him at such times, and on the other hand, he didn't want to give Tuckers a chance to attack. After all, the child's behavior today was too abnormal, and Wade seemed very interested.Angel has been waiting for Claude to speak, but other people don't have this kind of patience.

However, when the snowflake-like documents flew to Lazard's desk, he realized that the plan could not keep up with the changes.There are many things that do not need to be handled by the special forces department, but as a related person, it is necessary to go through some procedures. Rather than handing over to Heitinga and causing more troubles in the future, Lazard would rather work hard to take care of things.And the rare and reliable Angel naturally has an unshirkable responsibility. After all, he has to cover up Claude's affairs, which is an exchange condition.

When the hour hand pointed to six, Angel decided that he could not keep Claude waiting any longer.

"It's okay, I can go back by myself." The sleepy-eyed boy said without emotion, but Angel understood that Claude had tried to be friendly, and he would usually not speak if he could, "Or I sleep in the living room, sofa, The carpet is fine, we will go back together after work is over." The only remaining right eye blinked, as if looking forward to it.The magic stone's healing effect is limited and it will produce resistance. If it is not necessary, they usually hand over the problem to the hospital. Although it is slow, it is better than safety.

"It's not very good, Claude. The office will be very noisy tonight, and you won't be able to sleep well." As for going back alone, Angel didn't even think about it, "Or I'll find someone to take you back, by the way Take you for dinner... Sephiroth?"

No, I'd die with him, or I'd rather die.Angel guessed that this was what Claude's eyes meant. If it weren't for extreme reluctance, the boy would not have shown any resistance.Probably the last kick left him with a terrible psychological shadow, and Angel also found this situation a bit tricky.

"Are you still afraid of him?"

"No."

"Don't worry about me, it's okay to be afraid."

"No."

"If you try to be brave again, I will consider taking you for psychological counseling." Angel said seriously, there is no shortage of psychiatrists in the army.He knelt down to look at Claude, put his hands on the boy's shoulders comfortingly, "It's okay if you don't like Sephiroth, I won't force you to get along with him, but you can't continue like this. What's the problem? Yes Is it about the hospital?"

……and many more.

Why didn't Sephiroth work and then Angel took time off to bring him home?

It took Claude a half a beat to think of this question, but it was useless, it was impossible for him to make such a request to Angel.What's more troublesome right now is that this time Angel doesn't seem to intend to let him expose it easily-in fact, Claude doesn't hate this kind of trouble, but he always answers badly, which will only make the man more worried, and choosing to remain silent will bring more trouble. Worry in another sense.

"I'm surprised by what happened today." Angel thought about his words. Although he never touched Claude's bottom line once, he was not sure how far he could go.Looks okay so far, you can continue, "Your phone call—"

"Your bookshelf." Claude lowered his eyes, not daring to meet Angel's gaze. He didn't want to see doubts, disappointments or anything else. "There is Shinra's soldier manual on it."

Angel was silent for a while, the silence made Claude uneasy, and the last sigh seemed to fall on his heart.The older special soldier was noncommittal about this explanation, maybe he was just frustrated because Claude was still unable to deliver his trust, in short, he did not continue this topic. "The information you hinted at was discovered by Sephiroth, and only Sephiroth could understand it. At that time, I was really surprised, but also a little happy. Although Sephiroth has some flaws in his personality, it is not as bad as outsiders think. I thought it was because you believed him... If not, why did you come up with such a plan?"

To believe that a person can cut through a concrete building with a single knife, even Angel, who has seen the power of Sephiroth, finds it too amazing.Shouldn't it be extraordinary trust to be able to entrust everything to one person when life is threatened?

"Sephiroth is so strong," Claude asked in confusion, "how could it not be possible?" Has there ever been a battle between them that destroyed the surrounding area so that the prototype could not be seen?

What he said was so natural that Angel couldn't find any room to refute. In the end, he became more confused than Claude, "You are afraid of him, but you still believe in him?"

"I'm not afraid of him." Claude reiterated.

"Then why-"

"Mr. Xiu Lei." Claude felt that his throat was dry and it was difficult to breathe, "I don't believe him either." After saying it, it's good, Angel didn't seem to be angry because of it, "It's not because of the hospital, I know it's because I'm too old Impulsive, that's a normal reaction of a soldier. It's just..." He paused, feeling a little dazed.

just what?Because Sephiroth will destroy everything he owns?No, he must have found a way to deal with it before then, he could kill Sephiroth once and kill him countless times.Because Sephiroth is the perfect host for Jenova?He didn't care, even though Angel's touch would cause him pain every time, he was still willing to stay by the young man's side.

It's all an excuse, isn't it?Since a long time ago, he has been burying himself in countless vain illusions, because only this can make him feel better.The reality is always so cruel, life is always so difficult, if you can't learn to lie to yourself, how can you survive?

"He's too powerful." Claude went on, trying to convince himself of this reason, "I'm just... just not used to it. Nibelheim is a small rural place, and you don't see any big people all year round. Sometimes there will be soldiers inspecting the magic furnace, and they will distribute chocolate and chewing gum that we have never seen before, and the children will swallow the chewing gum at first." He thought he had forgotten these things, but as he narrated, Those faded images suddenly came alive, "I have never seen anything in the world, the most terrifying person to me at that time was Tifa's father... Tifa is the most beautiful girl in our place, all the boys The kind to hang around. Mr. Lockhart is the strongest man I've ever seen, and he can take down three lads much older than me with ease."

There was something incongruous in the boy's statement, so incongruous with his performance that he didn't realize it himself, but Angel did.But what puzzled Angel was that what Claude said now was not false, because Angel knew what it was like in the countryside.

"Sephiroth is different. It's completely different from the power I understand. It's beyond my imagination. I only know that he is omnipotent. Mr. Xiu Lei, you know, sometimes people can't accept things that they can't understand. Don’t the people of Midgar fear the Special Forces too? He can easily hurt me, and sometimes I know why, like in the hospital, but sometimes I don’t understand why.”

"What else did he do?!" Angel was shocked, and at the same time, he obviously wanted to go wrong.

Starting with Nibelheim took away almost everything I held dear.It is really difficult to deny this answer, Claude shook his head, "It's just a metaphor. I'm not afraid of him, but I don't want to be around danger either."

"Claude," Angel swallowed, he looked even more shocked than before, and his expression became shaken, "Do you think I will hurt you too?"

...Too bad, Angel is also a special soldier.

Claude tried to save something, but what he said made Angel even more hurt, "It's okay if it's Mr. Xiu Lei." Even if Starmark hurts, he can endure for that warmth. What is more terrifying than pain is being alone one person.Tifa told him that if he can't learn to live alone, he must learn to be patient. He doesn't want to lose Angel, "I can accept it, it's okay."

Sometimes I really feel like a failure... Angel stood up, wiped his face vigorously, and raked his hair anxiously, not knowing what to say for a moment.What is acceptable?hurt?Has this child always stayed by his side with such a mood?This sentence caused Angel's heart to fall to the bottom. If he hadn't asked today, would Claude never have said it in his life?

"Claude, tell me the truth." He knew that his tone was too harsh, but after a day of tossing and fear, Angel couldn't control his emotions.He also couldn't ask the boy if he believed him a little bit. He didn't have confidence. Even after four months of getting along, he couldn't make Claude let down his guard. He thought he could do it. "Am I doing something wrong? You don't want to live with me, do you? If so, tell me and I can rearrange it now if that's what you want."

"..."

"I see."

Angel turned around wearily, he didn't want to care about this matter for the time being, at least not right now, he knew that no matter what decision he made in this situation, he would regret it.He needed something else to distract him, and the paperwork was fine.

There was a slight pull on the belt.

You know.Obviously knew it all along.

Whether you are deceiving yourself or others, you are just afraid that your dream will be shattered again.

Lies hurt, avoidance brings regret, and now Angel is feeling sorry for you.If you can't be honest, he'll be sad forever, and it's all your fault.You've missed Zack, you've missed Alice, so many important things have never been said, are you going to keep silent now?

But...how should I speak?

The little hand loosened weakly.

"I'm sorry, Angel." He heard himself say softly, without any confusion or hesitation, "I love you."

Before Angel could react, the young child had already run out of the office, and this was the first time Claude called his name.It's not that he can't catch up, it's just that he doesn't know what to say when he catches up. They all need to calm down.The Shinra Building is safe, and Claude can't run out without a pass. He will find the boy later, apologize to him, and then they will have a good talk.

Angel thought so until two hours later when no one could be found.