Nanaki wakes up, covered in blood, with his comrade, Vincent, nearby after he rushed into a nearby hit in a fit of rage.
Vincent, with no concern in his voice, asks if Nanaki can stand. Before Nanaki tries, both men say they're shocked to see each other, and then we learn what Vincent has been doing all this time.
The short is, he’s a drifter just waiting for things to happen. He’s here because he saw a Turks' helicopter and followed it here. At some point after seeing Elena, who got what she wanted, and the hunter, he found a hurt boy and brought it back to town. The two bears followed and were shot by the townsfolk. As Elena was about to leave, Nanaki showed up and caused the ruckus. And a ruckus was all it was. While Nanaki was, seemingly, about to attack a hunter, Vincent shot him. “But when I looked at you, you weren't the Nanaki I know. You were like a beast attacking humans.” Vincent then threatened the hunters by transforming himself into one of his lame Limit Breaks, confiscated the guns, and shooed them out of the house. He then took care of the wounded “beast”, and that’s where we are now. Nanaki killed no one, but the whole town was quite terrified. Nanaki said he was glad no one died and began to stand up.
Vincent asks if he should have stopped them from taking the bears, to which Nanaki said no and mentioned the rules of the forest. "Or was it also the rules outside the forest?" Nanaki was confused and asked his vampire friend what to do. He then told the whole story from when they separated. Vincent responded with some confusing mumbo jumbo and then said told Nanaki to simply remember the events and don’t forget them. He then said more confusing stuff, mentioned retribution, twirled his cape, and left.
Nanaki followed because, when confronted, said he wanted the company of others. Vincent said, once more, that Nanaki is wrong before jumping off a cliff because he’s still an edgelord. Nanaki then thought that none of it mattered. What's done is done. The past is past, and you can’t change it. The only thing you can change is the future. He then went north to see Cid.
Cid gave Nanaki a place to keep resting his wounds while Nanaki looked at the airship construction from afar. He learned it had been two years since he last saw Yuffie. He also heard that Barrett had recently paid a visit to Rocket Town, to which Nanaki wished he could have spoken with him as well.
One day, Cid asked if Nanaki wanted to come along for a test flight. Cid wasn't concerned if it went wrong since that would he that. Nanaki thought, "that would be that" was a good saying. In the air, Nanaki could see how small the world was, despite him already being in an airship before. He then pondered about all the places on the planet he may see during his long life.
Yuffie showed up one day, and Nanaki apologized for blowing off her request. To make up for it, he joined her hunt for Materia, as she still thought there might be something out there. Instead, they found nothing. After a hug or two, the two separated, but only after Yuffie gave her thoughts on Geostigma. It affected those who had given up hope and cared not for their lives. That’s why she teaches martial arts; to keep people’s minds off of all the darkness in the world.
Nanaki began to wander the world again. There he met many, many people and experiences. He tried to remember, or name, as many as he could, regardless of wither they were good or bad. These days were good, even though Gilligan would often appear. The darkness was growing, perhaps because Nanaki had more to lose now.
After a time, he and Vincent met back up in the Forgotten City, and Vincent shared his own idea about Gilligan. Gilligan did represent loss and everything Nanaki is afraid of, but he could be combated with acceptance. Gilligan began to appear at this thought. Vincent promised that Nanaki would never feel lonely and suggested that Nanaki could one day have kids. I think it's meant to mean Nanaki would always make friends and family in his life. He may lose loved ones, but he’d always be able to make new ones.
Vincent lastly promises that the two of them will always meet up near the ruined Midgar at least once a year. Vincent is immortal, so he’ll always be around. Nanaki then thought that, compared to Vincent, his long life means nothing, and his losses may be even worse. The two began to laugh, and the Forgotten City, a place devoid of life for so long, was filled with activity once more.
Immortality always seems like a wonderful superpower. As a kid, it’s something I thought I wanted, as I used to be afraid of death. Even without all the depression in my life, I realize now the Blessings of Death. That’s the edgiest thing I’ve said in a long time, and I hate it, but that’s my terrible way of saying immortality sucks. All your friends and family die. You'd see relative after relative perish before your eyes. Friend after friend, grow and wither. Assuming you can even remember them all. How much can the brain recall, especially if it happened 1000 years ago? How much impact can a friend have on your life if they were only in it for twenty of your 2000 years? Be thankful for what you have now. Love it, cherish it, and let it grow.
There are four more stories left, but I’ll skip them for now. Two are fragments throughout the book about Sephiroth and Aerith that don’t have much plot in them, and the other two are Yuffie and Shinra. I don’t care about Yuffie, and the Case of Shinra is three times the length of every other story in the book. I’ll finish this in time, but I want to play some games!
Threads of Fate tomorrow!
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