[ Her fingers are still ghosting the mask, gently caressing it's exterior. Aerith thoughtfully drags the tips of her fingers along the rough yet manicured mask, feeling what it's made of as she outlines the shape of its lips with distant curiosity. She imagines skin there, picks out the face, and wonders if that's what Hibiki's might look like, deep in the recesses of her mind. ]

Six.

[ When she speaks, it is with both emptiness and weariness, as if she's been run through the wringer and spat out by forces unknown. So long ago now, and still... ]

That was his name. I saw him every day, at the crack of dawn— right before the world went golden like egg yolks, and then one day... he didn't show up. [ Just like Zack. The promise of a date, unfulfilled. ] The gyokuto, she... she gave me medicine. Six took it from me. He wouldn't let me take it, and he taught me how to fight...

[ What is it about her that attracts men like that? Meddlesome, but not in the way so many others are. Helpful, holding her up, making sure she can take care of herself. Zack supported her through the beginning of selling her flowers... and Six supported her fighting to defend herself. Just like that flower business, it culminated into something greater. ]

He was kind. I don't think he knew how kind.