To whom who has her birthday on April the first. *points* I even forced you to take out your identification card. Hah. My bad. Lawl, you won't probably review but just enjoy and…
Happy birthday, R-hime. Heart, K.
Note: Phony names, AU, ReTi, and a weird style that you might (or might not) understand. Just squint and nod. xD Sorry for ooc and all.
Enjoy teh pretty calm April.
'April. What do you see?' The piece of paper with the neat cursive writing was scrunched up. Someone had left it on the way to your favored spot up here. You gritted your teeth in annoyance. The five words had managed to puzzle you to no ends.
What do I see? You scoffed.
Nothing, you told yourself. You were currently shutting your eyes and ears from the whole world so of course you're seeing nothing. Still lying on the roof, you hum a song you hear in your iPawd with the other earpiece hanging loosely. You used your coat as a makeshift pillow. Bored, you sat up and stared at the sky and to some random things, sliding your irises this way and that, looking for something that can relieve your boredom. Footsteps thudded. Two of your friends stared up at you.
-- -- --
Tseng sighed. Reno was slacking off again.
"Reno, get down from there."
"Heeeh…" Reno replied, smirking. "What gives the likes of you the permission to talk to me?" Tseng shrugged at his friend and nodded at Rude.
"President Rufus. He needs our presence," Rude stated. Reno hopped off the floor with his coat tailing him.
"Ah, right, be right there. I'm needin' the loo."
"You have twenty minutes left," Tseng warned before leaving with Rude.
Twenty more minutes slacking off, he thought. He walked along the corridor and the planks creaked beneath him. He dug a coin and pushed it to the vending machine slot. Pressing a KokaKola button, his desired drink rolled down. He never had the urge to pee, honestly speaking. His eyes strayed to an enormous cherry tree in the garden. He gulped his drink once. Twice. There was obvious shuffling around that area. He waited, wondering if it was an intruder.
Appearing from behind the tree, a dark-haired maiden emerged. She was fair as the already dying snow, and lips red as cherry. And bewbs, obviously. She was like the real life version of Snow White. She wore something like the traditional dress of Wutai—a long, flowing kimono.
"The blossoms are late this year," she spoke suddenly, snapping him out of his reverie.
"Ah… You're right."
He knew he shouldn't be talking to strangers, let alone one he didn't know whom and where that person came from. But he couldn't help it. Questions upon questions flashed here and there around his head.
"Who are you and what are you doin' here?" She chuckled. He was mildly surprised he liked to hear that.
"I am Tifa and I am here merely to watch this tree." He shot her an 'uhuh,idon'tbelieveyou' look. She shook her head lightly. "It's up to you to believe me or not." She resumed staring up the tree. He narrowed his eyes at it.
What's so interesting about that tree?
"You know…" she began. "They say underneath the deep colored blossoms of a cherry tree, you will find a corpse buried under it." Reno blinked.
"What?"
"This tree has an unusual brighter color from the rest. Why do you think that happens?"
Reno repeated her words in his mind. …underneath the deep colored blossoms of a cherry tree, you will find a corpse buried under it.
"…corpse," he muttered. Someone was buried here?! Why didn't anyone tell him about this before? "…Are you sure?"
"Who said there's a corpse here?" she quipped, facing him with laughter in her eyes. Reno drank some more.
"Just making an assumption." Tifa nodded and circled the tree, brushing the bark softly. "So how did you enter? This place has lotsa surveillance cams and detectors." She flashed him a small smile and tilted her head, letting her black locks brushing softly against her.
"I was carried with the wind," she said, smiling still. And it irked him somehow.
"Alright, I'm done with the cryptic talk. State your reason for being here."
"A light of which shines with the same luminescence as the stars calls me here."
"Yeah, whatever, yo." She walked with pure elegance to him; showing up to her knees at the slit of her outfit and curled her fingers at the can he was currently holding. Gently, she raised it to her lips and took a sip.
"This goblet holds a memory for the two of us."
"…You're okay with it?" She just stole a few gulps from my drink. …And…'goblet'? This can? What the eff…
"Yeah." Reno looked at her incredulously with overwhelming perplexity.
"Why?"
'Why not?" she returned. Reno sighed. Because that's an indirect kiss, dammit. She's an enigma, 'fcourse.
"Like I said, what are you doin' here? People aren't allowed to—" She raised a hand and he halted his words.
"Because something—or rather someone I have learned to love is here. And you should love when you have no reason not to."
Well, that was surprising. She didn't speak about stuff with hidden meanings. Reno shrugged, finishing his drink up and smirked at her.
"Really? How 'bout you ditch him and go out with me instead?" She giggled before she padded to a different direction from where he came from earlier.
"That is not possible Reno."
"Cute. There aren't many girls…" He paused. Reno… "Hey, wait—"
She kept increasing their distance and his phone rang. He muttered a curse and answered his phone. Elena was totally pissed off at the other end.
"Reno, get your ass here!"
'Yeah, yeah…"
-- -- --
Rufus nodded to all of the Turks.
"Good morning, all of you. As you all know, this is my blood-related brother, Cloud."
"Morning," Cloud greeted. His mind was somewhere else. "Ah, hey, Rufus, she's not here yet. Looking for something, she said." Rufus chuckled.
"Figures. She's always late for everything. That's like her." Cloud began to play with the hourglass paperweight.
"Your chopper's pretty cool."
"Naturally."
The sound of light pattering feet made their way to their conference room. The door was thrown open, revealing Tifa, still in her kimono. Reno's eyes widened. Tifa?!
"Sorry, I'm late," she huffed.
"Right. Turks, meet my half sister, Tifa," Rufus said.
"My little sister, we're here to discuss about that, remember?" Cloud narrowed his eyes at Rufus.
"Ah well, yes. The reason I called you all here is because you need to be the witness…"
Rufus rambled on. Reno didn't really paid attention. He was focused onto Tifa. Her words earlier rang. He began to decipher everything.
I was carried with the wind. She came here with Cloud on a chopper.
A light of which shines with the same luminescence as the stars calls me here. Same light? Rufus and Cloud. They're her brothers. He smirked inwardly.
This goblet holds a memory for the two of us. …Uh… First meeting?
He realized that she was grinning in mirth. What do I do?
When he didn't give her even the slightest reply, she pouted—which he found adorable. …And she excused herself. He couldn't hide the feeling of guilt.
Damn. Was it my fault?
When the meeting ended, not minding what agreements Rufus and Cloud made, Reno made his way back to the tree. Nobody was there. His shoulders drooped in disappointment. He leaned on the tree, digging whatever was in his pocket to play with—iPawd or something. Instead, he found the note.
And at the same time, he heard her laughter from behind the tree.
"You came."
-- -- --
'April. What do you see?' It wasn't a mockery. It was a hint, you thought.
Your lips tugged up to a grin. You knew the answer now. It wasn't exactly the overly pink blooms drifting about.
I see someone waiting for me under the cherry tree.
You smiled at her and she returned it with equal fondness.
"Now why are you looking for me?" she asked you, her eyes brightly lit with amusement.
"Why not?" you asked. You chuckled at her surprised face. That was her answer to your 'why'.
"You should love when you have no reason not to," both of you stated, now laughing.
-- -- --
Later she would tell him that she was actually looking for a box she buried underneath the tree—which kept a picture of her together with her half-brothers, Cloud and Rufus.
And she would tell him how much she had adored him just by listening to Rufus's story about his daily life with the Turks on the phone all these years.