It's very possible they did. These things seem to seek out the best ways to hurt us, somehow.

[ ough. this question. he looks conflicted - feels it, too, his concern for aerith warring with the responsibility he has to his partner, even if the connection is long broken. ]

...It isn't really my story to share. [ he says softly. ] But... you have his choker. You must know by now, don't you? The one called "Camille Claude," his brother, called Mathis-dono a homunculus.