Denzel Denzel is a recurring character in the " Compilation of Final Fantasy VII " . A young child , Denzel ' s life is one of many misfortunes . He fights with a metal rod , similar to the weapons used by Aerith during " Final Fantasy VII " . Profile . Appearance . Denzel has wavy light brown hair and blue eyes . He wears a short sleeve dark green button down with a undershirt . Underneath he has dark wash denim jeans and sneakers . He wears a necklace with a fenrir ring attached . Story . " On the Way to a Smile " . According to the novella , " On the Way to a Smile : The Case of Denzel " , Denzel grew up in a well - to - do family in Midgar ' s Sector 7 . His father , Abel , worked for Shinra Electric Power Company , while his mother , Chloe , worked around the house . Denzel was eight years old during the events of " Final Fantasy VII " . Abel had recently received a promotion and they were planning on moving to a new house in the upper - class Sector 5 . Before they could move Shinra had made plans to blow up the Sector 7 pillar to take out AVALANCHE ' s headquarters and place the blame on them . Abel had been informed of this , and attempted to get his family to Sector 5 before Sector 7 ' s destruction . Upon telling his family about the circumstances , Chloe panicked and rushed off to warn her friends and neighbors . Abel went to go look for her and had an associate named Arkham take Denzel to their new house in Sector 5 . Abel promised Denzel that he and his mother would make it back in time , but they were unable to do so . The first day after Sector 7 ' s fall , Denzel lived alone in the house his family had planned on moving into . Arkham had said he would check in on him every once in awhile to make sure he was okay . Denzel was overcome with anger and grief over the loss of his parents and left the house looking for them clinging to a small hope they might have made it out in time . He got lost but found a Shinra model airship , which he threw at a nearby house and accidentally broke a window . The old woman who lived in the house , Ruvie Tuesti , scolded Denzel , but sympathized with him when she discovered he lost his parents in Sector 7 . Upon learning Denzel lived alone , Ruvie let him live with her . Denzel and Ruvie led a peaceful life together , Denzel ' s days consisting of helping Ruvie around the house and yard . When the Meteor appeared in the sky Denzel and Ruvie were shaken up , but continued to live out their lives and did not evacuate Midgar , as they considered it meaningless if Meteor was going to destroy the world anyway . As Meteor began to crash down onto Midgar Denzel and Ruvie awaited the end to come . The Lifestream surfaced to destroy Meteor , and Ruvie ' s house filled with its light . Ruvie protected Denzel from the Lifestream by throwing herself in its path . The next morning Denzel found Ruvie barely alive , and not long after she died , one of the first victims of Geostigma . In the wake of Meteorfall Denzel was found by a man named Gaskin who was helping get everyone who did not evacuate to the Midgar Slums . Denzel received help burying Ruvie and left with Gaskin and other survivors to the railroad tracks and used them to descend Midgar ' s main pillar . Denzel witnessed people suffer and die from Geostigma . In the slums , Denzel and a group of orphaned kids his age made a living looking for scrap metal people needed to build the new city of Edge in exchange for food . Denzel and his friends called themselves Triple S , for Sector Seven Scavengers . When Gaskin succumbed to Geostigma the members of Triple S set off to live at homeless shelters in Edge . At first many of the kids , Denzel included , were too prideful to stop living independently , but once heavy machinery was brought into Sector 7 to clear the ruins , they saw little business and food became scarce . Denzel was the last remaining member of Triple S along with a boy named Rick , but after making an offensive comment about slum - dwellers , not realizing Rick is one , Denzel found himself alone . After an unsuccessful search for food Denzel wandered the ruins and made his way to the Sector 5 slums where , just outside of Aerith ' s church , he came upon Cloud ' s motorbike , Fenrir . He noticed Cloud ' s phone hanging off the bike ' s handlebars and examined it . Denzel decided to call one of the numbers on the phone ' s incoming call list . The number he called was that of 7th Heaven in Edge and he was answered by Tifa , surprised to find the person calling is not Cloud . Denzel felt a sharp pain and , upon realizing black liquid was dripping from his forehead , he knew he had Geostigma . He collapsed and was found by Cloud . Cloud felt that him finding Denzel was no coincidence , and thought Aerith brought Denzel to his bike so he could find him , so rather than dropping him off at a hospital Cloud brought Denzel home . Denzel recovered and told Tifa and Cloud his story . As they felt responsible for what happened to Sector 7 , Tifa and Cloud felt it their obligation to take care of Denzel , and Marlene was happy to have a new friend . Denzel tried to be of as much help around the bar as he could . He looked up to Cloud as his hero , and always looked forward to spending time together . Denzel enjoyed hearing stories of the places Cloud visited during his travels , as did Marlene , and both would listen to his stories late at night and ask Cloud as much as they could about the places he had been . Denzel suffered from the effects of Geostigma , but tried his best not to think about it or how it may soon lead to death . Denzel ' s condition worsens and he begins to lose hope . He hears about men who can cure Geostigma , and is taken with the other children to " be cured " . The men are Kadaj , Loz , and Yazoo , who take Denzel and the others to the Forgotten Capital where Kadaj has the children drink water tainted with his will . The water enables Geostigma to run its course , and allows a complete takeover of their bodies and minds by Jenova ' s will . Kadaj ' s group uses Denzel and the other kids to track down Jenova ' s remains , a plan which proves unsuccessful . Denzel is freed from control during Bahamut SIN ' s attack . When he comes to , he finds a hurt Tifa , injured while trying to protect him . Denzel charges at the Bahamut , but is stopped by Barret , who opens fire on the dragon along with the other former members of AVALANCHE . After a promise from Cloud to return home , Denzel returns to 7th Heaven where he and Marlene await the outcome of the battle . Having missed Aerith ' s healing rain , Denzel is the first Geostigma victim Cloud cures by using the water infused with Lifestream pooled in the church . " Advent Children Complete " expands Denzel ' s role by including the scene where he came upon Cloud ' s motorbike . He later returns the doll of Moogle Girl ' s dead brother after she is knocked down in front of 7th Heaven carrying him on her back . Denzel , with the other children of Edge , rides in the back of a truck driven by Yazoo in reference to the ride Cloud Strife and Zack Fair took while on the run from Shinra . He is present for more of the battle against Bahamut SIN , being saved from Shadow Creeper s by Tifa and Cloud , the latter seeing an image of Zack superimposed over Denzel ' s form just before the rescue . Denzel battles the monsters created by the Remnants of Sephiroth , using an imitation of Cloud ' s Limit Break to crack open a fire hydrant . Denzel runs to Aerith ' s church with Marlene , Moogle Girl , and the other children of Edge to be healed by Cloud . Aftermath . Denzel and Marlene are not seen during the Deepground / Omega crisis the following year in " Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII - " , as they were spirited away by Cloud and Tifa to be safe from the Deepground . In the year following the Deepground crisis , Denzel decides he is tired of having everyone helping him and wants a chance to give back for all that had been done for him . Denzel requests an interview for the World Regenesis Organization ( WRO ) , which was still accepting kids . Denzel was to meet for the interview at Johnny ' s Heaven , an outdoor cafe owned by Johnny , Tifa ' s old friend and regular customer in Sector 7 . When the interviewer arrives , Denzel is surprised to find the person interviewing him is the head of the WRO , Reeve Tuesti . Reeve asks why Denzel wants to join the WRO . Denzel relates his story and at the end , Johnny , who had been listening in , objects to Denzel joining the WRO , thinking it would damage his image if the word got out that a kid was recruited by the WRO at his cafe , especially when that kid belonged to Tifa . Reeve tells Denzel the WRO would no longer be accepting kids , his heart changed by the boy ' s story . Reeve thanks Denzel for taking care of his mother and produces a handkerchief made from the same pattern as the one Ruvie gave Denzel , who realizes Reeve is Ruvie ' s son , whom she had always talked about . Johnny questions why Denzel wants to join the WRO and Denzel says he wants to be strong like Cloud . Johnny says that instead of a guy who swings a sword , it is a guy who rubs away the pain of getting all the girls , which Denzel declares is not the case , before leaving with encouragement that everyone , including the women and children , can be strong . Sometime during the year , Denzel and Cloud visit the outskirts of Midgar where yellow flowers grow in the place where Zack died . Denzel asks if this is someone ' s grave and Cloud replies the spot is where a hero began his journey . Voice . In the Japanese version , Denzel is voiced by Kyousuke Ikeda in " " . In " Advent Children Complete " , he is voiced by Kazumu Izawa . Koki Uchiyama was among those who auditioned for Denzel ' s role . Although Tetsuya Nomura found his voice too mature for Denzel , he did choose to cast him for the voice of Roxas , and later Ventus , in the " Kingdom Hearts " series . In the English version , he is voiced by Benjamin Bryan in " Advent Children " . In " Advent Children Complete " , he is voiced by Aaron Refvem .