Tifa serenely wiped off the bar with the cloth, using her free hand to brush her dark brown hair out of her eyes. She was grateful that all the people were finally gone.
"Denzel, can you change the sign on the door, please?" she called to the boy as he was coming down the stairs.
"Sure, Tifa."
"Thanks."
Denzel went back upstairs then, and Tifa sighed, glancing towards the locked door for what must have been the hundredth time. Cloud was usually home by now. Where was he? Sighing again, Tifa quickly swept the bar's floor, but after that she was out of things to do. Out of things to distract her from Cloud's not being there.
Suddenly, the sound of the door opening made her turn around again. But she was surprised. She had locked the door, knowing Cloud to have a key.
But the man that walked into the bar wasn't Cloud.
It was a man with silver hair that fell just down below his chin, and he had- as odd as this sounded to Tifa- jade green eyes with slit pupils, like a snake's. He was dressed all in black with long sleeves and shoulder guards. Tifa's eyes narrowed, and she turned warily. This man gave off a sort of... aura. It was dark. But... she thought, maybe, if he wasn't so damn creepy, she might have liked him. But that was a pretty big 'might'.
Bottom line, Tifa didn't like him.
"The bar's closed," she said flatly. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Yes," said the man. His voice was smooth, quiet. Tifa didn't like that, either. Suddenly, before she could even draw breath, the man was only a foot away from her. His hand came down by her head, and she felt a horrible pain behind her right ear. She was barely aware of falling, causing a crash of some sort.
Then her vision faded to blackness.
Cloud wordlessly used his key to unlock the door to the bar.
Only to discover, of course, that it was already unlocked. Cloud frowned. Usually, Tifa wasn't so careless.
Shaking his head slightly, he stepped into the bar. The bar was clean, the floor was swept, the glasses were sitting out to dry, still. But two of the chairs had been knocked over. Cloud's frown deepened. What was up with Tifa? She usually cleaned everything, made sure everything was impeccable, and locked the door.
Then the blonde warrior noticed a slip of paper laying on top of the bar. Assuming it was from Tifa, he sauntered over, picking it up.
Brother
It is truly wonderful to know you are well.
If you would honestly like the girl back, I'm afraid
you're going to have to find her yourself. And by the
way, she's asking for you. Or, begging might be a
more appropriate term.
Kadaj
Cloud froze. Kadaj had Tifa. With a quick movement, Cloud dialed Barrett's number into his small cellphone, paying no mind of the time.
"Barrett. Can you watch Marlene and Denzel for a while?"
I guess, Spikey. How long is 'a while'?
"Don't know."
Well, where you goin'?
"Out."
I'll be there in a few minutes, then.
"Door will be unlocked," finished Cloud in a clipped tone, snapping his phone shut and racing outside, Kadaj's note crumpled in his fist. He was on Fenrir and gone in a matter of seconds, racing down the streets outside of Seventh Heaven. There was one thought running through Cloud's mind, repeating itself again and again and again.
Find Tifa. Get her home. Find Tifa. Get her home.
Find Tifa.