Tifa remembers.

The older girl had smiled at her, maybe timidly, maybe with encouragement. She can't remember. What she does remember though, however, is beautiful silky brown hair beneath her fingertips. It's too soft, she had said. All of it had been. The silky hair, the pale creamy skin with its light pink tint, those lips.

Sometimes, Tifa remembers more than the silk. She remembers crying. She doesn't care to remember, but she does.

I'll protect you, the older girl had said. It bothers Tifa that she hadn't been the one to say it first. You're too soft to protect me, she countered. But her words fell on deaf ears, and soon she was cradled in the arms of the older girl, crying. Her protector. Nothing could hurt her there. Those soft arms had been her shield against the world.

Tifa knows there had been more moments like those, but she soon forgets, and only remembers the silk.

There had been a ribbon. Once, without asking, she had removed it from the other girl's hair, allowing that impossibly beautiful hair to flow freely. She watched her hand as it moved through the silky strands, and thought about how she felt at that moment. There were a few words that she could think of. Entranced, captivated, fascinated, mesmerized.. But none of those felt right. Later, when the other girl had still not asked for her ribbon, Tifa didn't offer it back. And the next day, there was a new ribbon. Pink, just like the former one, but not as nice. Still, the girl did not say anything, simply offered Tifa that beautiful smile.

The pink silk ribbon, the only remnant of her protector. It's not as soft, she thinks.

And beside the silk, and the tears, there's another memory. Cold steel, mixed with blood, and penetrating mako eyes. They seemed to be trained on her, as if they were saying to her, this hurts you doesn't it.

Somewhere, between seeing the amount of blood pouring from the young woman, the cold steel, and the look of complete detachment, Tifa realized that everything was not okay. She had then vaguely grasped that she had become a background character. There was movement, words being shared, and piercing mako eyes now trained on the new main character. It's then she knows that she'll never have those soft arms to protect her again. It's hollow now, she thinks.

I'll protect you, says the beautiful girl of silk.

"You're too soft to protect me," says Tifa as the silk ribbon slips from her fingers.