A/N: Behold. There is plot. It took me long enough to get around to it, but here we are. This is a heavy chapter. Hope you like it!
Thanks to all who left feedback!
Peace
Chapter #7
Breaking Even
"Sephiroth. I need you to listen." His voice drifted over Tifa's head, calm, reasonable. She kept perfectly still, though her heart pounded erratically in her chest, skipping a beat, picking up speed, slowing down.
"Release her." Sephiroth's voice was icy- Tifa hadn't heard him use that tone for quite some time. She was vaguely aware of her body shaking with either shock or fear- she couldn't tell for sure which one it might be. A mixture of both, maybe.
"Hear me out first," Genesis answered. "There's much you need to know."
Sephiroth's eyes searched Tifa's. She tried to look calm, though in truth she was terrified, and disgusted with herself. She knew there was something off about the man now holding a sword to her throat... she knew it, and yet she'd let her guard down. To talk about Sephiroth. She was such a fool. Why did she get so distracted thinking about him that she abandoned all common sense?
"Tifa is not involved. Leave her alone," Sephiroth said to Genesis. Despite her predicament, Tifa felt a twinge of annoyance at being relegated to "not involved."
Genesis sighed in her ear, his breath tickling her cheek, and pulled his sword away from her throat. Being the skilled martial artist that she was, Tifa spun and aimed a right hook at his face with lightning speed. A hand shot out from behind her and caught her wrist in a firm yet careful grip before her fist could make contact with Genesis.
"Tifa, calm down." Sephiroth pulled her back gently. "You're safe now."
"Just let me get a hit on him." She struggled, then collapsed against Sephiroth when it became clear he wasn't going to let her go. She'd forgotten just how strong he was. It took no effort for him to subdue her.
"I doubt you could," Genesis said lazily.
Tifa renewed her efforts to get at him, her anger getting the best of her. She wanted to mop the floor with his face, not just because he'd tricked her, caught her off-guard, but also because she felt humiliated.
"Tifa." Sephiroth pulled her against him in a firm but gentle embrace, his muscular arms wrapping around her shoulders. "Please."
"Astounding. You've learned a new word."
"Quiet."
Tifa slumped into Sephiroth's arms with a groan. "I'm confiscating your materia. That's the last time you put me under a Sleep spell."
He allowed a small chuckle. "I'm only looking after your health." He let her go and turned his attention to Genesis. "You." Again, he used that icy tone that would have made Tifa shiver involuntarily twenty-four hours ago.
Genesis held his hands up. "We need to talk."
"You sack of dirt." There was a soft hiss as Sephiroth pulled his sword out.
Tifa flattened herself against her kitchen wall as Genesis raised his own sword. The two ex-SOLDIERs stared each other down, neither willing to look away. Sephiroth raised his blade- Genesis mimicked him. Sephiroth's biceps strained against his shirtsleeves; for some reason, Tifa took this moment to realize he'd ditched his usual garb in favour of civilian threads. He was dressed in a simple black shirt and basic black jeans. She couldn't decide if it made him look more or less intimidating.
They became a brief blur of movement, and a deafening crack echoed through her apartment as their swords connected. Tifa blinked, and they were squaring off again. She could scarcely believe how fast they were.
"I have no desire to fight you," Genesis stated. He seemed unconcerned with the fact that he was about to get into a swordfight with the greatest SOLDIER on the planet. Tifa would have been shaking in her shoes.
Not that she wasn't.
"Please stop," she said loudly, but both men ignored her. They clashed again, this time overturning her kitchen table. Two coffee mugs hit the floor and shattered, sending lukewarm coffee and chunks of ceramic everywhere.
"You have no desire to lose, you mean," Sephiroth shot back at Genesis.
"My table!" Tifa wailed. Her kitchen burst into a frenzy of clashing swords. She even saw sparks fly from a particularly savage collision. Sephiroth shoved Genesis back against her refrigerator, rattling the ancient appliance and denting the door; the redhead came up with his sword raised over his head, his eyes blazing. Sephiroth blocked him. The metallic thud rattled Tifa's bones.
To hell with this, she thought, and scarpered out of her kitchen, into the safety of her den. She heard a spectacular crash and the distinct sound of glass shattering everywhere, and she peeked around the corner to see what had happened.
Plates and bowls everywhere. One of the shelves above her stove had been knocked down. Tifa groaned and retreated back to the couch. She perched on the edge of her seat nervously, wringing her hands and listened to the two ex-SOLDIERs banter back and forth between their scuffles.
"You stuck your nose where it didn't belong." Sephiroth sounded not only angry, but vaguely hurt as well.
"I was dying."
"And you wanted to drag me down with you."
"No, I needed your help."
Tifa gripped her cell phone, her knuckles turning white. She knew she ought to call Vincent. He'd told her to call him if she saw anything strange... and she had two dangerous men, both ex-SOLDIERs, brawling in her kitchen. She was pretty sure that counted as strange.
"I lost my mind in that reactor." Sephiroth's voice turned serrated and raw.
"How could I have known what you would do? You were the strong one. I thought you would shrug it off."
She fantasized for a moment what life would have been like if Sephiroth had simply "shrugged off" the fact that he was the product of experimenting on humans. She would probably still live in Nibelheim. Midgar would still be a glorious, glittering metropolis on top, a pit of filth and despair below the plate. Aerith would still be alive. And Shinra would still be sucking the life out of the planet.
"You were grossly out of line. That was classified information you gave me."
"About yourself! And don't tell me you're bothered by that! I heard a rumour that Nibelheim was going to be your last mission for Shinra. You were going to defect!"
Genesis came flying through the kitchen doorway and skidded on his back across the floor of her den.
Tifa took action. They'd already destroyed one room in her apartment; she was not going to have them trash another. She leapt to her feet and planted herself in front of the stunned man. Sephiroth lurched into the room, his sword held over his head. He brought it halfway down before realizing he was about to slice Tifa in two.
"Tifa." He sucked in a breath, jerking his sword to the side. The tip of his blade punctured the wall of her den, and he had to jerk it out roughly, tearing more of the plaster away.
"Please, don't fight in my house." She held her ground, though her body shook violently and the scar across her torso suddenly burned, as though it remembered the feel of an enormous sword slicing through flesh.
Sephiroth returned his sword to its sheath with a sigh of disappointment. "He deserves it."
Behind her Genesis staggered to his feet. "I don't deny it. My soul, corrupted by vengeance..."
"I don't need to hear you recite that damned poem," Sephiroth cut him off. "Count yourself lucky, Rhapsodos. Yesterday I would have diced you up like the rotten tomato you are."
Tifa put a hand on his tense shoulder. "Calm down."
His eyes shifted from Genesis to her, and it startled Tifa how quickly his expression changed, from furious to slightly rueful.
"You're unharmed?" His voice was gruff, but Tifa didn't miss the concern in his eyes. It stirred something inside her, and she felt a warm tingle somewhere in her chest.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she reassured him, her fingers tracing the sinewy muscles on his upper arm appreciatively. She realized what she was doing and dropped her hand, embarrassed.
"Of course she's fine." Genesis folded his arms impatiently. "Now, will you listen to me?"
Tifa watched Sephiroth's reaction. She knew him well now, she realized. All right, she didn't know him that well. But he certainly wasn't a stranger to her anymore. Right now he looked conflicted. His mouth twisted into a scowl, but his eyes, focused once more on Genesis, were uncertain. His perfectly arched eyebrows furrowed.
Finally, he sighed and answered, "Very well."
"My dear, do you need to make a call?" Genesis asked her, and Tifa realized she still had her cell phone clutched tightly in her hand. She turned it over, contemplating.
She admitted to herself that she wanted to tell someone. Everything that had happened in the past week sat heavily on her shoulders, weighing her down, and she knew that just sharing what she'd been through would ease some of that weight.
Tifa's mind went to Vincent. Would he understand? Would he even believe her, if she told him she had Sephiroth and Genesis Rhapsodos in her apartment? Would he have the sense not to involve Cloud?
"I don't know." She squirmed uncomfortably as two pairs of intense mako eyes scrutinized her. She decided to wait. First she would hear the conversation Genesis wanted to have with Sephiroth. There was no use in jumping into anything at this point. "No, never mind." She set the phone on her coffee table decisively.
"Let's go," Sephiroth said curtly, beckoning Genesis with one elegant finger.
"What?" Tifa raised her eyebrows. "You're leaving?"
"We need to talk, apparently." He looked as though talking was the last thing he wanted to do.
She frowned at him. "You can talk here."
"Yes, let's do that." Genesis flopped down on the battered sofa and propped his feet up on the coffee table. He leaned back, crossed his arms behind his head, and flashed Tifa another smile, to show he'd meant no harm in holding a sword to her throat.
"No," Sephiroth growled.
"Yes." Tifa refused to back down. She fixed Sephiroth with the best glare she could muster. "I deserve to know what's going on."
He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "Tifa..."
"You owe it to me." She knew she was pushing him, but morbid curiosity had her wondering how far she could do so. His temper might be kept in check by his apparent affection for her, but she guessed there was only so much he could handle.
Sephiroth let out an annoyed huff and took a seat in one of the mismatched armchairs- it groaned under his substantial weight- and Tifa collapsed in the other one. She felt giddy with the realization that she had some power over him in their... friendship? Relationship? She couldn't decide which word better fit what they had. Either way, she was pleased.
"Don't look so smug," Sephiroth cut into her thoughts. "You won't like this conversation."
Tifa shrugged. She couldn't stop the small grin that tugged at her lips.
"Firstly, I would like to apologize. I acted out of selfishness, and it caused you great pain. I never meant to cause you pain, Sephiroth." Genesis spoke slowly, deliberately, and Tifa had the impression that he'd rehearsed this moment in his head over and over again, for quite some time.
Sephiroth gave a dismissive wave of his hand, but Tifa caught the brief flash of emotion on his face.
"Secondly, you'll be happy to know I'm no longer degrading."
"I noticed." He didn't sound happy at all.
"Degrading?" Tifa asked.
"The Jenova cells in my body were breaking down. Degrading. Because of my flawed genetic makeup."
"Continue," Sephiroth said impatiently.
"I have a gift for you. A show of friendship," Genesis answered quietly. He pulled something from the pocket of his long black coat.
Tifa had never seen anything quite like it. It looked like an apple, but the skin was a delicate, ethereal purple. It almost seemed to shimmer, cradled in the ex-SOLDIER's hand. "What is that?"
"A Banora White apple." Genesis tossed it to Sephiroth and watched eagerly as he brought it up to his lips and took a small bite.
Sephiroth's face was unreadable as he slowly devoured the fruit. Tifa couldn't help watching him with fascination- she'd never seen him eat. Now that she thought about it, she wondered whether he even needed food. Funny, how something so simple as eating was rendered bizarre by him doing it. He finished the apple off and stared at Genesis, who watched him expectantly. "Very good," he concluded.
"Good." Genesis looked relieved. "Now we can talk. Though," he scratched his head, "I don't know where to begin."
"With Hojo," Sephiroth suggested.
"Very well. Hojo. His soul was rejected by the lifestream, I believe. I don't know why, but I intend on finding out. Perhaps because he's more monster than human. Regardless, because he carried such a large amount of Jenova cells in his body, he was capable of becoming physically whole again. All he needed was a body that also contained Jenova's cells. There were only four options. Cloud Strife, myself, Weiss, and Shelke."
"Weiss the Immaculate? I thought he was dead," Tifa said, folding her arms across her chest in confusion.
"He is now, for all intents and purposes. Hojo chose Weiss because he was already in a severely weakened state. It's my fault, actually. I should have disposed of Weiss, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I left him in Banora and went to Nibelheim, into the basement in the Shinra mansion. I wanted to learn more about the Jenova Project. I thought there might be a way to remove the cells without damaging Weiss's body."
"You didn't think maybe you were tempting fate by doing that?" Sephiroth asked sharply.
"Of course I was tempting fate." Genesis waved his hand dismissively. "I returned to Banora three days later. Weiss was gone. He'd been in a catatonic state when I left him- how could he simply get up and leave? I searched the area for days, but found nothing." He flicked his hair back and sighed. "Weiss, having Jenova cells in him and being in a state of extreme mental weakness, was a loose cannon. I had to find him."
"Hold on," Tifa cut him off. "Why would he be a loose cannon?"
"The Reunion theory, of course."
"Of course," Sephiroth echoed. Tifa was glad he understood, because she certainly didn't. She didn't understand much of anything at this point.
"It was probably quite easy for Hojo to plant his consciousness in Weiss's mind, considering the mental state Weiss was in."
"Didn't he already do that, though?" Tifa cut in impatiently. She'd heard this story before, from Vincent. Hojo had created a copy of himself on the World Wide Network before Meteorfall, and...
"No. That was merely a copy." Genesis noticed the confusion on Tifa's face, and smiled humourlessly. "When all traces of Hojo were destroyed , including the copy of him that existed in Weiss, his soul should have merged with the lifestream. Obviously that didn't happen."
"If Hojo is controlling Weiss's body, then why does he look like himself? Why doesn't he look like Weiss?"
"Simple. It is the nature of Jenova cells to mutate and change. Hojo seems to have a great deal of control over the cells in his body, which is worrisome." Genesis glanced at Sephiroth uncertainly. "But it shouldn't surprise you, Tifa, that Hojo has taken on his original physical form. Sephiroth was able to do the exact same thing."
Tifa massaged her temples. She could feel the beginnings of a tension headache coming on. "Is it impossible to kill him, then?" she asked, aware of the desperation that had crept into her voice.
"I don't know, but..."
"Perhaps I can explain." Sephiroth interrupted Genesis, his voice oddly strained. "As I have considerably more experience concerning Jenova than you do."
A creeping dread worked its way up Tifa's spine and mingled with a surge of excited anticipation. She realized that she'd shifted positions in the armchair, propping her elbows on her knees and resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she leaned towards Sephiroth, giving him her full attention.
"Jenova's cells are not sentient in themselves. They act purely on biological impulse- like a plant sucking moisture out of the soil. However, the larger a cluster of cells, the stronger they become. When the cells in a human body become strong enough, the biological response- the Reunion- becomes stronger than the host's own willpower. You saw it with Cloud," Sephiroth said to Tifa, "and the Remnants. The host begins to act out Jenova's will."
"But it gets much more complicated than that," he continued, his eyes distant and brooding. "Because when the willpower of a person who has a very large amount of Jenova cells in their body is stronger than that biological pull, that person gains control over the cells. They begin to take on Jenova's traits. The ability to mutate, to control the cells in other hosts."
"So Hojo had enough willpower and enough Jenova cells in his body to take over Weiss. But...if Hojo's body was destroyed..." Tifa struggled to wrap her head around it. Her skull was throbbing painfully, and the ache worked its way into her neck.
"The physical body becomes irrelevant when your subconscious is fused with Jenova's."
"It can get into your subconscious?"
"Of course. But you already know that, Tifa. That's why Cloud came to the Northern Crater three years ago, bringing the Black Materia with him."
"Apparently I overslept," Genesis commented. Tifa and Sephiroth both looked at him. He shrugged casually. "I missed the near-destruction of the planet."
"I have a headache." Tifa massaged her scalp gently, tousling her hair. She didn't want to hear half of what Sephiroth was saying. It meant he knew what he was doing when he'd done it. Of course she already knew that, but hearing him talk about it made it more real to her.
"I still believed I was after Weiss, until I found Hojo in Icicle. I managed to get some information from him, about you," he nodded at Sephiroth. "He told me you'd escaped. In fact, he asked me to go after you. It seems he's under the impression that you ought to be helping him with his latest endeavour, not slicing off his hand."
"The punishment for thievery," Sephiroth answered casually.
"So you did cut his hand off." Tifa shook her head.
"You were following me," Sephiroth said to Genesis. "The entire time?"
"Yes. And I must say, shame on you for how you treated the poor thing." Genesis gave Tifa another charming smile.
"We've moved past all of that," Sephiroth said dismissively.
"Have we?" Tifa raised her eyebrows.
He glanced at her rather uncertainly. "I thought... I was under the impression..."
As much fun as it was to watch him stumble over his words, Tifa decided to put him out of his misery. "Relax. I'm just teasing you. So," she turned her attention back to Genesis, "what are you going to do about Hojo?"
"Ah." Sephiroth coughed, and Tifa saw him shoot Genesis a meaningful look. They nodded to each other, silently communicating something.
"Well?" She waited for an answer, but Genesis looked suddenly noncommittal. It made her suspicious- he'd been so forthcoming up until now.
"Genesis. A word with you in private," Sephiroth stated, leaping to his feet gracefully. Genesis nodded and heaved himself up off of the sofa. He extended his hand to Tifa; she grabbed it, thinking he wanted to shake hands, but he raised her hand to his mouth and gave her calloused knuckles a chivalrous kiss.
"I see you prefer hand-to-hand combat. Do you know what that implies, Tifa?"
She tapped her foot, irritated. They were leaving, going off to discuss what they would do about Hojo. She had no doubt they were probably the best candidates to handle the situation- they would probably have it taken care of before Cloud even knew what exactly was going on- but Tifa didn't appreciate the fact that they were leaving her out of the loop. "What?"
"It implies that you are honest, loyal, rarely impulsive, and dedicated."
"Genesis." Sephiroth slapped him on the back. It was the closest thing to a show of companionship that Tifa had seen from him. "Stop flirting."
She snorted, and to her amusement the redhead's cheeks turned pink. He whispered something in Sephiroth's ear. Sephiroth laughed.
"If you two are going after Hojo..." she began, but Sephiroth cut her off.
"You aren't missing out, Tifa. We're merely going to discuss more personal business."
"We're just going to catch up," Genesis supplied, sensing her confusion. Tifa stood and placed her hands on her hips, frowning at both of them suspiciously.
"Don't leave your apartment," Sephiroth added. He stood in front of her and lifted her chin, looking into her eyes. The sudden closeness, the intimacy between them, startled her, though it wasn't unwelcome. "I'm concerned for your safety. Hojo has people working for him, people you wouldn't suspect. I know you can take care of yourself," he said quickly, a smile gracing his lips, "but I don't want you taking silly risks. Don't answer the phone if you don't know the caller."
Was he that worried about her? Should she be worried? Hojo had managed to abduct her before, she supposed it wasn't a stretch for him to do it again. She shivered involuntarily.
"I didn't mean to frighten you," Sephiroth murmured. Tifa found herself in a bone-crunching embrace as he hugged her, his arms holding her to his chest firmly.
"Mmph," she mumbled into his shirt. He smelled like laundry soap and, incredibly, like smoke.
"I assure you Tifa, you're very safe," he murmured in her ear.
"Can't breathe," she gasped. He let her go and stepped back. Behind them, Genesis shook his head. He gave Sephiroth an odd, calculating look, then chuckled quietly as though sharing a joke with himself. "Thanks," Tifa added weakly, and touched his shoulder.
He nodded and left with Genesis, exiting out the back door of her bar. Tifa meandered into her kitchen to surveyed the damage. The sight made her suck in a breath of sullen resentment.
Her kitchen was destroyed.
And her phone was ringing. She didn't recognize the number, and immediately Sephiroth's warning echoed in her mind.
She answered it anyway. She never could ignore a phone call, a by-product of all those hours she'd wasted waiting around for Cloud to call her, she supposed "Hello?"
"Oh, you're safe."
Tifa recognized the caller immediately. As if she could ever forget that voice. "You! Why are you calling me?"
Reno's cavalier voice sounded amused. "Just thought I'd check in on you. Make sure you're safe. We heard you ran into a spot of trouble, and the President was concerned."
Tifa snorted. Rufus Shinra, concerned? "What do you really want?"
"All right, you got me. Actually, we're on our way over to Seventh Heaven. The President wants to... debrief you."
"Debrief me?"
"Relax, it's nothing serious. He just wants a rundown of what happened. Come unlock the door, would you?" Reno hung up.
Tifa gritted her teeth. Dealing with Shinra, though she knew the company truly did have the planet's best interests in mind, still set her on edge. She slipped down the stairs and unlocked the door; Reno, Rude, and Rufus Shinra were standing on her doorstep. Rude inclined his head in greeting. Reno barged right past her with a casual "Hey, honey," and Rufus Shinra extended his hand.
Tifa shook his hand. "Hi. Come in, I guess." She stepped aside to allow them into her bar. Rufus strolled casually in- she noticed he still had a slight limp in his walk, but otherwise appeared fully healed. The scars from his Geostigma were gone, though his throat still bore the marks of hundreds of glass shards lodging themselves in his skin. She still marvelled over the fact that he'd survived WEAPON's assault on the old Shinra Headquarters.
"Good to see you, Tifa. How are you?" he asked, looking around casually and taking in her humble establishment.
"Fine." She closed the door and locked it.
"I'll have a scotch." Reno sat on one of the barstools and twirled around.
"I'm not open yet."
"Reno," Rufus said quietly. He pulled out a chair at one of the large round tables and sat down, gesturing for Tifa to join him. She sat across from the President- Reno and Rude sat on each side of her. Tifa felt nervous, sandwiched between the two Turks. Their hostility towards her had always been more amiable than antagonistic, but she still felt a bit intimidated by them. She knew she could take either of them on their own, but wasn't arrogant enough to think she could take them both at the same time.
"We heard from Reeve," Reno said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He withdrew one and lit it up. Tifa wrinkled her nose as the acrid smoke drifted past her.
"We would like to know what happened, Tifa. If you could start at the beginning, please." Rufus folded his hands on the table and waited patiently.
"Why do you want to know?" She crossed her arms and stared back at him defiantly.
Rufus laughed and brushed his hair back from his face, a gesture she'd seen countless times before. "I think you can understand why I would take an interest in this...situation, Tifa. If there is a threat to the recovery of our world, I want to know about it." He held her gaze stubbornly.
Tifa looked away, uncomfortable under his scrutiny. "I don't trust you."
"I'm not asking you to trust me."
She sighed, raking her hair back with her hand. Beside her, Rude shifted in his chair.
"C'mon Tifa. We're just looking out for you." Reno tapped his cigarette and took a long drag. He exhaled a plume of smoke into the still, dusty air.
"Yeah, right." She waved her hand in the air, fanning the smoke out of her face. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything," Rufus said promptly.
Tifa cleared her throat. "There's not much to tell. I was closing up here, somebody knocked me out, I woke up on an operating table in Icicle."
"You got out of there without a scratch," Rufus commented. "That's impressive. How did you manage it?"
Tifa sucked in a breath of stale air. "I was rescued. Professor Hojo had another specimen in that lab." She paused for dramatic effect- Rufus unconsciously leaned forward. "Sephiroth."
"Professor Hojo is dead," Reno said lazily.
"Sephiroth is dead," Rufus added, leaning back in his chair. He settled his hands in his lap and regarded her, his cool blue eyes giving nothing away. He would make one hell of a poker player, Tifa thought, and grinned.
"It's not such a surprise, is it?" she countered.
"No," Rufus conceded. "Continue, please. You were rescued."
"Sephiroth brought me to Bone Village. I called Cloud, and he picked me up in the Forgotten City and brought me home."
Reno coughed and spat into the ashtray. "That's it? Sephiroth just let you go?"
"Yeah. That's it."
"You understand, of course, that we find that hard to believe." Rufus leaned forward, snagging Tifa's eyes with his. "What do you think his motivation was for simply letting you go?"
Tifa shrugged uneasily. She wasn't willing to disclose too much to Shinra. "How should I know what was going through his head? He didn't want Hojo experimenting with Jenova cells."
"You didn't mention that. What did Professor Hojo plan on doing to you?"
"He wanted to..." She trailed off, her throat constricting. It still frightened her. Hojo's hands on her body, the gleam in his eyes. She shuddered. "He was going to..."
Rufus waited patiently; when she didn't continue, he reached forward and took her hand in his. "I understand it must have been... distressing, for you. But please, the more we know, the more we can do about it."
Tifa exhaled slowly to calm herself. "Hojo wanted to create another Sephiroth. A better version. That's what he was going to use me for."
Rufus nodded and squeezed her hand. "Thank you."
Tifa shrugged. She nearly jumped out of her seat when Rude put his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't brush it off. Reno rubbed her back gently, and Tifa's eyes were suddenly and unexplainably wet.
"You're safe now," Rufus added, letting go of her hand. Tifa wiped an escaped tear from her cheek and sniffed. She put her emotional response to their concern down to the stress of keeping everything bottled up inside her, not talking it over with anyone. She had a sudden urge to divulge everything, but resisted. That would be stupid, and foolish. Not to mention they wouldn't believe her.
But it was a real, tangible relief, the comfort of Rude's hand on her shoulder and Reno's gently rubbing her back.
"Thanks," she muttered.
"Did Sephiroth hint at anything? How he's back, what he might do?" Rufus asked.
She wondered if they thought her distress was due to Sephiroth, not Hojo. If only they knew. "Not really."
"And did Hojo divulge anything about himself?"
"No, but he's still out there. Sephiroth didn't kill him. But he cut off his hand." She couldn't stop the smile that pulled at her mouth.
"I assume Cloud is already after Sephiroth."
"Yeah."
"You don't seem happy about it. Are you concerned for Cloud's safety?"
Tifa laughed, startling all three of them. "No," she said, cutting off her laughter quickly, "not really. I don't think Sephiroth is all that interested in fighting."
"I see. Is there anything else we should know?" Rufus leaned forward once more. He was very persuasive, Tifa realized, when he wanted to be.
"That's all I can tell you," she said with a shrug.
Rufus studied her thoughtfully, his eyes going vacant as he contemplated. She shifted her weight around, squirming under his unwavering stare. "Thank you, Tifa," he said finally. "We will look into this. Shinra has many places across the planet that Hojo might potentially use. We will find him."
Tifa was sure Sephiroth and Genesis would find Hojo long before Shinra did, but she nodded. The President and his Turks stood, and she saw them to the door. Rufus gave Reno and Rude a peculiar look and a nod, and they went to the black car parked right outside, as though he'd given them some silent command. The President turned his attention back to her once more.
"Tifa." He spoke quietly this time, his tone of voice much different than before. It immediately put her on edge.
"Yes?"
"If you need anything, don't hesitate to call. Be it a sympathetic ear or..." Rufus glanced over his shoulder at the two Turks, leaning casually against the car and whispering to each other. "Or protection, I'm happy to help."
Tifa was surprised to see genuine concern written on his face. She dismissed it, though- he was a good actor, that was all. "I'm fine, President."
He shrugged, his expression unreadable once more. "Of course you are. We'll be in touch, should anything come up. Take care, Tifa."
As she watched them drive away, she realized what a beautiful day it was. The city of Edge soaked up the early summer sunshine, trapping warmth in the pavement and the concrete, raising the temperature to almost unbearable levels. Tifa felt a strong urge to go for a walk, to soak up the delicious warmth and let the perfect weather wipe her mind clean of the worries that plagued her. Sephiroth's warning came back to her.
"Don't leave your apartment."
Well, she could take care of herself. Surely Hojo or his associates weren't lurking around every corner.
Her mind made up, Tifa grabbed her keys from upstairs and went out into the sun.
