Disclaimer: I own nothing in affiliation with Final Fantasy VII.
A/N: Thank you so much to all who reviewed! The Final Fantasy VII fanfiction fanbase is so welcoming :)
Italics mean thought. I really hope this chapter isn't boring to you...but I didn't want it to be short, and I needed to get some boring stuff described before moving on. Read this the whole way through, please. Some witty lines are kind of hidden within:) A cookie goes to anyone who finds them.
Partly inspired by the World Cup. (Gotta love it :).
"Cloud went down to his knees beside Tifa, lifting her upper-body into his arms.
'Tifa!' he desperately called. 'Tifa!'"
Always In My Heart
Chapter Two:
One Beautiful, Fleeting Moment
Bianka-chan
Tifa Lockhart gazed down at the books she held so tightly to her chest. First period had gone by, leaving her mind to think on and on about a certain chocobo-headed sword-wielder. She walked quietly down the hallway, looking up only to smile at those she recognized. After the Meteor incident, Tifa had managed to maintain somewhat of a low profile. She waved off any compliments, claiming that her role in the battle against Sephiroth was minor compared to the efforts of her comrades. That's what everyone loved about her. Well, that's what most people loved and noticed her for. There were still few--the few that mattered--that chose to tread their muddy feet on her spirit.
Cloud Strife's image came to her mind at that thought. Before she knew it, a male body collided with hers, throwing her off balance. Not wanting to drop her books, Tifa hugged the texts close to her body and shut her eyes tight and braced herself for the fall.
A hand squeezed her arm, forcing her back on her feet and then some. The strength of the obviously masculine hand thrust her even faster on her way to her classroom, her feet moving with a speed not her own. Regaining control of her lower body, Tifa looked behind her.
Cloud Strife, briskly walking in the opposite direction, never bothered to look her in the face.
Was it guilt? He wasn't even sure. As long as he could see her, he didn't want to watch her fall.
"Tifa!"
Tifa imagined Cloud calling out her name, a smile curving up his lips.
Unfortunately, Yuffie's high-pitched voice replaced her fantasy.
"Huh?" Tifa murmured, a tinge of disappointment in her voice.
"Do you have math this period?" the junior questioned.
"Yeah, actually. Do you?"
"Sure do! C'mon in! Mi casa es su casa!" Yuffie practically bounced out of the classroom just to welcome Tifa into her Trigonometry class. Though no such entrance was to be celebrated, the young ninja was one to make a party out of anything.
On top of that, her Spanish accent was horrible. Just an observation.
Tifa, ever the dreamer, looked toward the open window the entire period. With an exhale, she noted that she did not share the class with Cloud. She wondered if he would even notice her presence if they did have the class together.
Probably not. But it was worth hoping for.
Too many math problems and a giant homework packet later, Tifa and Yuffie said their temporary goodbyes, each heading off to their respective third periods. Tifa's shoulders hunched and her feet dragged on her way to her least favorite class, Anatomy.
Honestly, if Tifa were to have sex, she'd know all she ever wanted to know on the subject of Anatomy. Unfortunately, graduating high school wasn't as easy as going at it with someone, so Tifa had to force herself to not skip this class every day. Tifa was a bright girl, but sometimes she just wasn't willing when it came to certain things. Science was just one of those things.
Fourth period, Tifa heaved a sigh of relief. Lunch.
Her relief would soon be replaced with anticipation.
As Tifa sat down with her friends from the old group, she spotted Cloud seated at the water fountain. He crossed his legs, a lunch tray on his lap. The water fountain sprayed water in tiny droplets around him, the occasional drizzle sliding down his hair. And for the first time since the dodgeball incident...their eyes met.
For one beautiful, fleeting moment their eyes were locked. No one else's presence in the lunch room mattered. An ex-SOLDIER and a martial artist gazed intently into each other's eyes, each craving the other's company but neither courageous enough to approach the other.
Cloud looked away first, but Tifa wasn't far behind him in doing so. She was saddened by his choice not to sit with her or their friends from the Meteor days. Instead of going up and asking him about it, though, Tifa ignored it. "Am I…a bother to him?" she whispered to herself.She was beginning to get irritated.
Catching Vincent's gaze, Tifa faked a smile. Vincent, Yuffie, Barrett, Cid, and Tifa continued along with their normal lunch conversation, like Cloud was never there.
He never was, anyway.
-- --
The last period of the day, Cloud and Tifa found themselves sitting at opposite ends of the classroom. Tifa was practically burning a hole into the back of his head. By this time, her heart begged to talk to him again, but her brain stopped her from doing anything rash or regrettable. Their teacher, Ms. Elena, started the class by slamming a ruler onto Cloud's desk.
"Good afternoon!" Ms. Elena exclaimed, startling her students.
"Good afternoon!" the majority of the class replied.
"I will be your Contemporary History teacher. We will learn about Gaia's history starting from about one hundred and fifty years past to just two years ago. Speaking of which, Mr. Strife and Ms. Lockhart, please stand up!"
Tifa was trembling so much that she had to use her arms to stand up out of her seat. Cloud, on the other hand, quickly stood. His eyes remained downcast, and his face showed no reaction to the attention suddenly placed on him.
"Class, these two are a part of history! Just two years before, they defeated Sephiroth and stopped Meteor from falling. We'll have to ask them to share their experiences later."
An excited student at the front of the classroom raised his hand, though he didn't wait until he was called on to speak. "And they foiled Shinra, too, right?"
Ms. Elena's smile flattened out. She glared at the student, her fist clenched. "Y-yes. Silly me...to forget!"
The history teacher/ex-Turk smiled at the excited student, pointing the ruler at his face. "Now, Johnny, what's your least favorite sport?"
"Soccer! I hate it! All they ever do is kick a ball around--"
"Let's go play soccer!" Ms. Elena interjected, dropping the ruler onto Johnny's desk.
The rest of the class hurried out of the classroom, leaving Cloud and Tifa behind. Tifa, sensing an opportunity, rushed up to the front of the room to try and catch up to Cloud. Noticing this, he took advantage of the distance between the two of them and made a quick exit.
Disappointed, Tifa dropped her gaze once again to the floor.
-- --
"Captain of the Red team, Captain of the Blue team, come up to the middle circle!"
Tifa and Cloud stood in the middle of the soccer field, staring at Ms. Elena. She had been picking on them, and that was certain.
"Red team captain, pick heads or tails while it's in the air."
Ms. Elena flipped the coin up into the air. It made a slow arc in the air, switching faces by the second.
"Tails!" Tifa shouted, too excited to control the tone of her voice.
Tails it was.
Ms. Elena glanced at Tifa, waiting for the brunette to decide if her team was to get the ball first or Cloud's.
"You, I mean, the Blue team can go first..." Tifa stammered, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. She really was speaking to no one in particular.
Cloud ran off from the middle circle and toward the goalie box. Tifa stared on as he ran, her hair swaying in the opposite direction of his jog.
The ball began rolling. Tifa, as the center player, chased after it with deadly intentions. She had to get her anger out somehow, right?
As expected, no one else in the class was a match for her. Dribbling the ball with her feet, Tifa easily made her way through enemy territory and toward their goal.
Cloud Strife's glowing eyes glared at her. Tifa was startled for a moment, hurt by his cold stare. She kicked the ball anyway, sending it flying off toward the net. Her hero, her Cloud, slapped the ball away from getting in a goal. The ever competitive Tifa, ignoring the feeling in her heart, ran forward still, craving the goal he took away.
Cloud lunged forward, kicking the ball as hard as he could. Tifa threw herself onto the ground. If she hadn't moved, the ball would have hit her directly in the face. Though such a thing typically happened to poor Tifa's face, she never expected it from Cloud.
Furrowing her eyebrows in emotional pain, Tifa slowly lifted herself from the ground. Running back in an attempt to get the ball again, her eyes watered.
-- --
They were deep into the second period of the game, and still neither side was winning. Every player had to admit, though, that Tifa was playing exceptionally. She seemed to hit the ball harder and harder each time Cloud Strife sent it away from the goalie box. Her eyes fired up, while her heart steadily became cold as ice.
The school's soccer ace was playing on the Blue team, but he still stood no match for the brunette heroine. Angry and embarrassed, he decided to take the game up a notch. Running after her, the sharp cleats on the bottom of his shoes kicked up the grass in his path.
Meanwhile, Tifa passed the ball to a fellow classmate, wiping the sweat off her brow. Yet again, the Red team was approaching the Blue team's goal. Jake, the soccer ace, decided in that moment to change that.
As Tifa was passed the ball yet again, Jake ran up to guard her. Noticing his aggression, she tried to pass the ball to someone else. Before she could do so, Jake had apparently had enough of her. Raising his leg much farther up than rules allowed, Jake kicked Tifa directly on the stomach.
Having lost his balance, Jake began to fall on top of Tifa, his leg still raised. The two landed but not without damage. Jake stood, complaining of a sprained ankle, but Tifa's still form proved something more serious. His weight, in combination with the force he had exerted, brought her head to the ground first. In addition, his cleats had managed to scrape through her shirt and into her skin; he had cut her face as he lifted himself onto his feet once more, as well.
A crowd immediately formed around her.
"Tifa's hurt!" one called, attempting to stir the attention of Ms. Elena.
Instead, the words hit Cloud Strife like a lightning bolt. He ran out of the goalie box and toward the crowd of his fellow students. Breaking through the crowd violently, Cloud was struck still at the sight of Tifa on the floor. Her bangs covered part of her face, but they did not hide the streaks of blood along the side of her cheek from the cleats. A number of slightly bloody holes were apparent in her shirt, too.
Cloud went down to his knees beside Tifa, lifting her upper-body into his arms.
"Tifa!" he desperately called. "Tifa!"
No such luck. Tifa remained unconscious in his arms.
The outside bell rang, signifying the end of the school day. The crowd scattered, heading home or out with their friends. Not even Jake stayed to question Tifa's well-being.
And through the breaking of the crowd, Cloud was seen carrying the unconscious Tifa bridal-style toward the parking lot.
You loved me so much, so much
That love exhausted you.
But I kept on moving farther away,
Increasing your pain.
--
And you loved me without measure
With insanity and passion.
While the more you loved me,
The more I ignored you.
A/N: I translated the italicized part from Spanish to English, which explains why it doesn't rhyme. I still think it's beautiful, though! And very Cloud/Tifa, if you ask me! Hope you liked this chapter! As always, please review! It only takes a couple of seconds!
Silencio by Cristian Castro (Silence) does not belong to me. I translated the song from Spanish to English, possibly leaving some awkwardness in the phrasings. Though I changed some words to better suit the English language, I still credit Cristian for having inspired me :)
Johnny—remember that kid from around the Seventh Heaven in the game? He liked Tifa a lot. Elena is in there as the History teacher, too. Notice the Shinra crack? Turks will kind of be put in this story here and there, mostly because I don't much like OCs.
'Til next time! Don't forget to review!
Bianka-chan.