Chapter Two
As Fenrir sped across the wilderness, Tifa sat in silence, her mind a whirlwind of what ifs and should I's. Wracked with nerves she found herself frozen in fear, unable to speak at all, even when Cloud paused to ask her what was wrong. The journey was mostly uneventful, until a group of wild wolf-like bandersnatch fiends had the courage or foolishness to dive down towards the bike while they travelled through a mountain pass. Cloud could easily have taken them all out from Fenrir, but he decided to pull over so that Tifa could help as well. As the first bandersnatch dived towards them, the clasps on the side of Fenrir unlocked, striking the leaping fiend with the side panels of the bike and sending it flying into the wall, impaling it on a sharp rocky spike with a spray of dark crimson blood. Cloud pulled over to the side of the path and drew one of his many swords, the core blade around which all of the other blades could be locked in place to form a much larger sword with strength greater than the sum of its parts. As another fiend leapt towards Tifa, she dodged to the left and brought her heel up behind the creature, connecting with the back of the creature's neck with the sickening crack of snapping bones. Two more approached from the high walls and Cloud leapt up to intercept them in midair, slicing one in half. The sole survivor slipped past him, diving down to the floor at Tifa's exposed back. Sensing its approach, she leapt into the air and over the top of the snarling beast, soaring down onto its back, snapping its spine as she crushed it into the floor.
Cloud smiled as she finished off her opponent, glad that her skills had not withered. He heard the pained whimpers of the first attacker, still impaled on the wall, barely hanging on to life. He took pity on the poor creature and finished it off with a deft sword strike to the head. He turned to see Tifa clutching her arm and winching, and rushed over to see what had happened. Thankfully it was an injury she had sustained during the football match when she had fallen over in her absent mindedness. It was only a minor graze but the dust kicked up by the battle had irritated it slightly. Cloud opened up one of Fenrir's many hidden compartments and took out a first aid kit, cleaning the wound before wrapping it in a bandage, just to make sure.
Before long, the high towers of Cosmo Canyon came into view on the horizon. The place hadn't changed much in all these years. Evidently Nanaki favoured tradition. Fenrir pulled to a stop at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the main gate, where Nanaki sat patiently waiting for them. Cloud almost didn't see him at first, his distinctive red fur not quite so distinctive against the reddish brown background of the canyon floor. Thankfully the flame at the end of Nanaki's tail gave him away. He pottered over to greet them as they dismounted from Fenrir, the white feathers in his mane blowing wildly in the wind.
"Glad to see you made it, my friends" he said, his voice thick with a sense of sophistication and intelligence.
Tifa smiled at their old friend, who did his best to emulate the gesture. "Good to see you again, Nanaki. How have you been? It's been so long."
It always struck Cloud as rather amusing that Nanaki always seemed to be busy with running Cosmo Canyon. He could accept that there must be more to it than meets the eye, but it puzzled him how it could take up so much time considering the village never changed at all.
"Indeed, it has been too long. How have you been? I do hope Cloud is not causing you too much trouble?"
Cloud looked rather hurt at this remark, finally joining the pair's walk up the stairs now that he had finished securing Fenrir, brushing the reddish brown dirt from the side panels with a rag he kept handy behind the controls. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"I simply referenced that you do, at times, create a little...trouble."
"I also get the world out of it a lot of the time. With a little help, of course."
The trio all laughed, finding it somewhat inspiring that they could now laugh at their hardships. It was true that Cloud had something of a reputation for being a little difficult, thanks to his usual attitude of emotional detachment. Cloud thought of how he had changed over the last few years, especially since his battle against Kadaj and the reincarnated Sephiroth. He thought to himself that a comment like that from Nanaki a few years ago would have left him sulking.
As Nanaki and Tifa continued to walk up the many stairs towards Nanaki's home atop of the town walls, Cloud paused to look around and reflect on his previous visits to Cosmo Canyon back in the meteor crisis. Nothing had changed at all. Every hut, every tower, every stall in the marketplace remained the same. Even the people looked almost exactly the same as they had all those years ago. It was if the whole town was frozen in time, locked away from the rest of the world. And yet Cloud wouldn't change it for anything. The painted wooden huts and simple lives of the people were far more appealing to him than any modern city. He grinned as he thought how even after all his adventures, he was still a country boy at heart.
But one thing had changed. He barely noticed the glint of silver over by the old plateau where the group had once sat to discuss their plans. It caught the light of the midday sun, grabbing his attention. He called to Nanaki to ask what it was and how he had never noticed it before, and Nanaki paused to explain.
"It is a commemorative plaque the villagers put in place to honour all of those who have battled to save our world through all the battles we faced together. It honours us all. You, Tifa, myself. Even...her. Especially her. She made the greatest sacrifice of all.'
"I'm sure Aeris would be touched."
Tifa breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment there, she was afraid that the mention of Aeris would send Cloud into another fit of guilt and depression. Cloud had never told her that the reason he had moved on was that Aeris herself had spoken to him on several occasions throughout his battles against Kadaj and Sephiroth, urging him to forgive himself. He had finally let go of his guilt and the restoration of his inner strength was what allowed him to finish off his nemesis once and for all. He had never told the others about Aeris' involvement, although Tifa seemed to know she had been there.
"Is this what you called me for, Nanaki?"
"Oh my word, no. My news is of far greater importance."
Nanaki led them to his home, Bugenhagen's old observatory. Tifa smiled as she remembered their first visit here years ago, when Bugenhagen had shown them his holographic presentation about the planet and the Lifestream. The images of space and the Lifestream coursing through the world had been rather beautiful and had stuck with her. She sat down on the couch while Nanaki sat across from her on the carpet.
"The truth is, I am in need of some assistance. Have you heard the rumours of late?"
Tifa and Cloud both shook their heads, puzzled.
"Well, there are stories going around that I was spotted chasing down a group of Fiends around the Gold Saucer area about a week ago. Witnesses swear that it was me, but it wasn't. I was here. There are too many witnesses for them all to be just dismissed, so I have to look at the alternatives."
Cloud and Tifa exchanged more puzzled glances. Costa Del Sol wasn't exactly a hotbed for gossip any more, but they found it strange that this information had totally slipped by them.
"I can only think of two possibilities myself. Either this is some sort of new fiend which has started some sort of fiend civil war, or it was...well, another me. Another of my species."
Tifa looked confused. She looked at Cloud, who simply shrugged. "I thought you were the last of your species, Nanaki. "
"Well, not exactly. You remember how my father Seto died fighting the Gi tribe in the caves? He was covering the escape of the rest of my species. Nobody knows what became of them after that. They seem to have simply vanished. Perhaps they were all caught and killed. Perhaps they have been in hiding all these years. Nobody knows for sure. "
Cloud sat down next to Tifa and thought back to their last visit to Cosmo Canyon when Bugenhagen had passed on. He had made a fleeting comment about Nanaki not being alone before he died. Perhaps another of Nanaki's species had survived. On the other hand, if there was some new breed of fiends around, it would explain the very noticeable drop in fiend sightings over the last few months.
"We'll keep our eyes open for you. See what we can find out. Try not to get your hopes up though, ok?" said Cloud. "Is there anything else we can help you with?"
"Actually yes there is. If I need to leave to pursue these rumours, I should leave somebody else in charge of the village. There are a few good candidates and I was hoping you could perhaps help me chose between them, they all seem to have their own unique qualities."
Cloud nodded, secretly wondering why Nanaki was asking for his advice on leadership, suddenly realising that he may well have been talking to Tifa. After all, Tifa had run Seventh Heaven for years. He looked over at her and she smiled at him, perhaps sharing his chain of thought.
"And one last thing, Cloud. I was looking up at the sky through grandfather's telescope a few nights ago and I thought I saw something strange. A sort of flash in the sky. I called Cid over in Rocket Town and he says his observatory didn't see anything, but I'm sure I saw something. It's probably nothing, but if you hear anything, let me know. Just so I don't think I'm going crazy."
"Consider it done."
The trio walked around the village for an hour or so, discussing the pros and cons of the various candidates for Nanaki's temporary replacement, enjoying the views of the canyon around them. They eventually reached a decision that seemed most beneficial to the majority of the village and decided to sit by the fire on the plateau, swapping stories and catching up. Tifa's stomach started to rumble, she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Cloud got up and wandered off without a word, leaving Tifa and Nanaki sat looking perplexed. But soon enough he returned, and with a small box of chocolates under his arm which he handed to Tifa.
"Cloud, these are my favourites! Thank you."
"I figured you'd get hungry on the ride so I picked them up on the way to the school. Sorry for being late."
Nanaki looked at them both, smiling and lost in each other's eyes again, shaking his head at them as he curled up by the fire.
It was late that night before Fenrir finally came to a halt outside the villa. The stars were already out and the streets were quiet, with most people already in their homes getting ready for bed. Denzel was already waiting for them when they got home, having seen them coming and rushed to greet them. As usual, stories of how the day had gone were exchanged, Cloud told him what Nanaki had wanted while Tifa took a shower, and they sat trying to decide what to make for dinner. It had to be something special, but simple enough for Cloud's culinary-challenged brain to understand. In the end they gave up, agreeing that they weren't even that hungry anyway, and Denzel promptly shuffled off to bed, clearly exhausted from a long and hard day at school.
Cloud went back outside, saying he was going to secure Fenrir for the night, but when he didn't return for nearly twenty minutes, Tifa started to worry. She peered out of the window to see Fenrir chained up securely outside, with the worst of the dirty marks wiped from its normally immaculate paintwork, but Cloud was nowhere to be seen. She started to wonder where he had gone and decided to go looking for him, pulling her boots back on and slipping into her black leather jacket.
She wandered down the beach and found him sat on the moonlit sands, staring out to sea. Hundreds of stars reflected off the calm ocean, the moonlight soft and soothing. Cloud sat letting the waters gently lap at his boots, seemingly lost in thought. She had to pluck up the courage to say something, since it didn't seem like he was going to. She always found it strange that Cloud has no confidence problems fighting against sadistic maniacs like Sephiroth but could never find the courage to start an awkward conversation with her.
But to her surprise, it was he who spoke first.
"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" he asked as she sat down beside him.
"Yeah. Peaceful. Calming. Guess this is why we came here."
"This is what we fought for. All those battles, to preserve peaceful moments like this."
Cloud smiled and turned to face her. "And of course the people we share these moments with."
She blushed. "Of course."
"I can't help but feel that it's all over now though. There are no battles left. It's welcome, but it's scary at the same time."
She looked at him, puzzled. "How do you mean?"
"All I've ever known is battle. Now that I don't need to fight any more, I can't shake the feeling that I'm not really needed any more."
She ran her finger gently along his arm, feeling the hairs stand on end in the chill of the night. "I'm sure there is more you can do, Cloud. You're not finished yet."
"Like what?"
"Well...there's always our family, Cloud. There's always...us."
He looked into her eyes and frowned a little. "I'm no good with family, Tifa. What am I supposed to do?"
She drew closer to him and gave him a very suggestive look. "Try something. I'll let you know."
"Something like..." he said, never finishing as he leant in and kissed her gently, their lips meeting for the first time, fulfilling both their childhood dreams in one perfect moment, a moment that lingered, neither wanting to let it go.
As their lips finally parted, he saw the smile on her face and knew he had done something right.
"...that?"
"Something like that, yeah…try it again, I'll let you know…."
And with that they kissed again, like they had wanted to ever since they had known each other. Finally, there were no obstacles standing in the way of their feelings. They could finally show each other how they felt. There were no memories, or maniacs, or diseases, or anything. It was just the two of them, alone with their feelings. They had both wanted this so long ago. Tifa had wanted to tell Cloud how she truly felt about him so many times in the past, but she had never been given the chance. Now she had taken it for herself. And he had returned her feelings. He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her in closer as they kissed with a passion that had been held within for far too long. As they fell back onto the soft golden sand, entwined in each other's arms, she knew her life was complete now. She was sure of it.