Year 1
Chapter 8:
Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart…Friends?
Cloud Strife was one of the people I could say I hardly know. I never talked to him, you know what, I hardly ever saw him. He was Sora Brasher's older brother yet they had different last names.
According to Kairi, Sora and Cloud's parents divorced, Sora going with his mom and Cloud with his dad.
Sora's mom remarried and thus the name Brasher came. So that meant that Sora Brasher was originally Sora Strife…
The two brothers hardly saw each other, except for school so they made the most of it. Cloud was the type of brother that would beat up anyone bullying Sora. Otherwise, they never talked.
Summer went to fall, the air turning cold. It was now late October, almost Halloween. I always like Halloween, it was a time you could be yourself by dressing up. Most people thought of me as an angel but I was far from it so an angel in a white dress with black demon wings, wearing a crooked thorn halo, and blood dripping from her mouth would be my costume if I were to dress up.
It was another free Sunday. Riku was practicing for a basketball game with Sora, Roxas, Olette, Hayner, and Pence (who sat on sidelines eating teriyaki.) He asked if I wanted to watch but I said no, after all, I didn't want to be a burden.
Kairi and Selphie were playing volleyball with some friends and I was no good at volleyball so…
In a white, sleeveless turtleneck shirt and black slacks with a golden chain belt. Around my neck was a pearl necklace.
Bored…
Another step.
Bored…
I kicked a can.
Getting border…
I sighed.
Pathetic, everyone had something to do but me.
Then I noticed that I was by the office.
Ms. Futoni seemed to be nagging someone. The girl was tall, 5'5", long brown hair reaching her back and she was very beautiful. She wore a black shirt that revealed her belly and a long black skirt with black heels.
She was pretty.
"I know that you are new but that type of apparel is unacceptable Miss Lockhart. Don't let it happen again."
"I am sorry, Ms. Futoni, I won't do it again," the girl apologized, bowing.
"Oh, Miss Lestraint, I didn't see you there. Can you escort Miss Lockhart"
"Tifa," Tifa subbed.
Ms. Futoni sighed. "Can you escort Tifa to the senior dorm?"
"Yes," I answered.
"Here is your schedule Miss Lockhart and I hope that you remember my words because next time you see me, it won't be so friendly," Ms. Futoni warned. Then she stalked back up to her office.
"I'm Tifa, as you well…know. Your name is…"
"Namine."
"It's nice to meet you, Namine." Tifa and I shook hands.
"So you're new here?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm looking for someone…"
"Who?"
"Um…a childhood friend…"
"Tifa?" a male voice spoke.
"C-Cloud," Tifa choked, her brown eyes widening.
Right in front of us on the green, lush grass was Cloud Strife in his black outfit. One arm was covered, the other was not.
Tifa ran to him and embraced him. "II missed you so much," she sobbed.
"Tifa…"
He put his arms around her back and pushed her further into his chest.
Eventually, they pulled away.
Sapphire met chocolate.
"What are you doing here?" Cloud asked.
"I finally found you, Cloud," she said, tears falling down her face.
"I'll take you to your room, if you want," Cloud volunteered with a small smile. Now that was rare.
"Okay," Tifa agreed with a smile, handing Cloud her bags.
He stumbled a bit. "What the hell did you put in here?"
"What? A girls gotta have clothes," Tifa said.
Cloud sighed and threw the bags over his shoulder.
The two walked off.
But it made me wonder if they were something more than childhood friends.
I went back to my room out of pure boredom and imagine my surprise when I found Riku sitting on my bed, shirtless.
"Riku?"
"Hey, I wondered when you'd be back and I wanted to see you," he said with a serious tone.
"Hmm…" I hummed as I sauntered to him and plopped into his lap.
"I…I need to tell you something, but please, don't let it come between us," Riku said, "I need to come clean."
I snuggled into his chest.
"As you know, I've known Sora and Kairi for a long time, since we were kids," Riku started. "When we were fourteen, and I was fifteen, we played on the islands often as a threesome. Sora liked Kairi and Kairi liked Sora. They were a couple so I started leaving them alone more often, sitting on the Papou Tree alone. For a time, I liked Kairi but she never liked me back so she doesn't know about it."
"You liked…Kairi…" I repeated, pulling back.
"Liked. I don't feel that anymore. I love you now, nothing can change that. The first day I met you, you…you were different. Your eyes, your hair, how you hardly talked. You were like an angel, untouchable. I never thought that it would be like this."
I looked up at him, my eyes brimming with tears.
His hands took a hold of the frame of my face and placed his lips on mine. Our fingers intertwined as he laid me below him.
"Mm, Riku," I said as he left a trail of kisses down my arm.
He sat up. "Sorry."
I pushed myself up. "We'll do it eventually."
"When's 'eventually'?" he asked, taking my palm, flipping it over, and kissing the top of my hand.
"I don't know, how long can you wait?" I asked playfully.
"Nam, don't do this to me," Riku groaned.
"How does the day of graduation sound?" I asked slyly, faking a smile.
"Of which year?" Riku inquired.
Damn! He figured me out.
"Of senior year," I squeaked.
Riku glowered. "The end of this year."
"No."
"How can I love you when you don't let me?" Riku asked.
"By waiting. Wait for me to be ready," I answered.
There was a moment of silence between us.
"Fine," Riku sighed.
I smiled triumphantly.
Riku hopped off the bed.
"I'm going back to the court to shoot some hoops with Sora and the others. Do you want to come?"
I shook my head.
Riku came to my side and kissed my forehead gently. "I'll see you later."
With that, he left.
Now back to the matter of Cloud and Tifa. Cloud looked happy with Tifa around and she was clearly happy but Cloud loved Aerith…right?
In my sleeveless white turtleneck and black slacks, what I wore earlier, I explored the now lively campus.
Kids slurped up noodles at their tables surrounded by their friends, laughing and chatting amongst each other.
As I explored the center quad, I came across her.
Her hair was tied back in a braided ponytail, strands hanging out on either side of her face. She wore a pink ribbon, one tying her hair and the other pink hair band near the ends of her hair. She wore a maroon, short sleeved overcoat that was unbuttoned, reaching just below her chest, a buttoned, V-necked, bubble pink dress that was left unbuttoned at her knees, brown ankle boots, silver bangles on wrists, and a silver necklace with three pieces of silver hanging, the middle being the longest. On the edges of the maroon coat sleeves were silver strips winding around the entire sleeve.
Aerith Gainsborough…
She was alone, holding her notebook to her chest, her blue eyes gazing into the distance.
"Aerith…?"
She whirled around. "Oh Namine, you scared me."
"What's that?" I asked, pointing to her notebook.
"Oh, it's like my writing journal. I use it to write down my ideas."
"Oh, you like to write?"
"Yes, very much so," Aerith smiled.
"Me too. Can I see your journal?" I asked.
"Sure," she handed her pink journal to me. "My handwriting is a little sloppy."
I flipped through the pages and came across a poem.
I am the perfect girl
Behind this perfection lies a flawed soul
Tears of perfection drawl down my cheeks
Blood of excellence drips off my wrist
Gashes of distinction stain my flesh
Am I really perfect?
Or am I another clone?
I flipped through to another poem.
Sounds of applause fill my ears
The maid of honor smiles at me
My father looks at me with pleased eyes
My mother tells me to live a full life
My soon-to-be-husband strides down the cherry aisle
He holds out his hand
But who is he seeing?
A white dress constricts me, my stomach ready to combust
I look to my friend for reassurance
Her hair twirls as eyes focus on them
Blonde hair and blue eyes lead her
She lives a dream
I'm in a nightmare
"Wow you're really good," I said in awe, handing Aerith her notebook.
"Thanks."
We walked around campus, chatting merrily.
Things like Sora's sanity, Kairi's fashion, and Selphie's ADD came up among other things.
"Do you think Cloud really loves me?" Aerith suddenly asked when we stopped on a hill that overlooked the ocean.
"Huh?"
"I've been wondering if Cloud really loves me for awhile now. I just want him to be happy."
"I see. That's not something to ask me. If you really want to know, ask Cloud. I know you can do it," I answered.
"Thank you, Namine."
"No problem."
Aerith said she had some homework she had to finish so she went back to her dorm room.
She seemed a little depressed…
I pondered how Aerith was acting in my head when I saw Tifa…and Cloud. I dashed to a bush to hide.
The faced a pond, talking quietly.
"So what are you going to do, Cloud?" Tifa asked, staring at her reflection in the pond.
"I…I don't know. How can I break the news to Aerith?"
I gasped, covering my mouth.
Did Aerith know?
Was she aware that Cloud was going to dump her?
I backed up but my foot hit a twig and I fell back onto my behind.
"Namine?" Tifa exclaimed as her and Cloud came by the bush.
Cloud's eyes widened.
Tifa helped me up.
"How much did you hear?" he asked, his blue ocean shaded eyes focusing intently on me.
"All of it," I answered, looking to the puddle my feet were in.
It went silent.
"You're going to breakup with Aerith?" I asked.
Cloud looked to the ground. "Yes."
"Why?"
"Cloud you don't" Tifa started.
"Because Tifa and I were lovers until my parents divorced." His eyes looked to me, glowing with courage.
"Ah…" I felt as if the wind was knocked out of me. "When?"
"Tonight."
"Maybe that's why…" I started.
"Why what?"
The water in the pond shifted with the wind, a pink cherry blossom landing on top of its teal surface.
"Aerith has been…depressed it seems like."
"Maybe she knows," Tifa said.
"No, no one knows but the three of us and I haven't told her," Cloud said.
"Could it be something else?" Tifa asked.
"Maybe. Namine, I need you to do something for me," Cloud said, turning to me.
"What?"
"Find out why Aerith is so depressed," Cloud said.
I nodded.
"Find me when you find out," Cloud said.
"Right."
So, I was supposed to find Aerith and ask her why she was so depressed. That's harder than it sounded. You don' go up to someone and say, 'Hey, why are you depressed?'
I sighed.
"Namine?" a sweet voice said.
"Aerith…" The brunet girl was standing before me, a smile charmed her lips.
"Is something the matter? You can tell me," she smiled.
"No, I just…need to ask you something," I murmured.
"I see," Aerith said. "Let's sit down." She gently pulled my arm and led me to a black bench bordering between the grass and cement.
"So what do you want to ask?" she smiled.
"I…I wanted to know why you seem so depressed," I answered inaudibly.
Aerith's smile disappeared. "So it's that obvious?"
"Huh?"
"I'm…I'm switching schools next week but I can't tell Cloud," she said, tears edging in her eyes.
"Where are you going?" I asked, panic surfacing in my voice.
"To a boarding school in England," she answered, tears dropping down her cheeks. Her face turned to me. "How can I go when I love him so much!?" she cried.
"Aerith…" a male voice came.
"Cloud!" We turned to see Cloud walking up to us. He went straight to Aerith.
"II have a confession too. I found her," Cloud said.
"You mean Tifa, I know."
"Y-You do!?"
"It's pretty obvious that you like her," Aerith smiled, tears falling down her cheeks. "Like you, I have someone waiting for me in England. Zack…"
"Zack! You mean he's in England!"
Aerith nodded.
"I guess this is goodbye, huh?"
"…Yes," Cloud answered, looking to his feet.
With her hair in her face, her expression unreadable, Aerith stood up and began to walk away. She stopped. "I wish you luck with Tifa, Cloud." She turned to smile warmly.
"Goodbye, Cloud."
Aerith was always at the top of her class, an honor student. She was kindhearted, never greedy, and above all, she had a gift for writing. But now she was gone.
Before she left, she met with Tifa. They exchanged words, shook hands, and the next day, Aerith left.
Yuffie took it the hardest, tears streaming down her face as Leon held her.
Cloud and Tifa were together, separating themselves from the group completely, for the next week. Maybe they felt guilty.
No one blamed them…
Kairi and Selphie gave Yuffie a webcam to help her keep in touch with Aerith since Aerith had a webcam.
Sora and Roxas were trying to talk to Cloud, who, you could have guessed, avoided them like the plague. Riku just watched them as they made complete fools out of themselves, well Sora mostly.
Hayner, Pence, and Olette kept to themselves since they didn't know Aerith that well.
As for me, I just kind of ate alone since everyone was so busy.
Today was no different. It was nine days after Aerith left…
I ate on the bench where Aerith and I sat before she left, mostly picking at the food in my bento box.
"Hey Namine," a voice said, obviously not that cheerful.
I looked up to see the brunet girl known as Tifa.
"Tifa…?"
"Can I sit here?" she asked, smiling a little.
"Sure."
Tifa took a seat next to me on the bench.
I put my food away, not all that hungry, not saying a word. This was an awkward silence.
"I know that everyone must hate me because I stole Cloud from Aerith, am I right?" Tifa asked, not smiling.
"N-No, that's not true," I said.
"Did you know that Cloud hasn't said a word to me since Aerith left?"
"What?"
"Yeah, I wonder if he hates me too," Tifa said, looking at her hands folded in her lap.
"I'm sure he doesn't, he just…he's just confused right now is all," I said, looking into the gray sky.
"Cloud and I have known each other since we were kids. What first started as a childhood crush turned into love and we became a couple. Then Cloud's parents got divorced and he moved away, as did Sora. I've been searching for him for so many years and I've finally found him," Tifa said, a tear falling from her eyes.
"I know that he doesn't hate you and neither does anyone else. Actually, Sora was overjoyed to see you again and no one else dislikes you," I said.
"Sora, the famous goofball," Tifa chuckled, "I can't believe he got a girlfriend. Then again, the divorce happened so long ago. Sora left when it happened, when he was…about four…and Cloud left a little after when he was eleven."
"Let's change the subject, I'm getting a little depressed here," Tifa laughed.
"Are you trying out for any sports teams?" I asked.
"Hmm, maybe boxing…"
"Boxing?" I gaped.
"Didn't anyone tell you, I have one hell of a right hook," Tifa said, punching air.
I laughed.
"Tifa," a male voice called.
"Cloud?" Tifa stood up. Cloud was at the other end of the cement pathway.
Tifa ran up to him.
He put a loving hand on her head, smoothing out her hair.
"Cloud?"
Suddenly, his arms draped around her.
"Tifa, I've been…I love you…"
"Cloud!" Tifa sobbed, her arms locked around her back.
A happy ending for the two. I smiled and left the lovebirds.
Good luck, Tifa…
Dear Journal,
Aerith is gone now but I have gained a new friend, Tifa Lockhart. I wish her luck with her love, Cloud, the one she has been seeking.
Tifa has one hell of a punch too.
End of Chapter 8
Aerith is gone but she never had much of a part anyways. Next chapter, tragedy strikes. Someone may die!!!! (Ha, ha, ha, I'm so evil!)
It's one of these characters:
-Selphie
-Kairi
-Riku
-Sora
(It's a two parter that I've already completed. Actually, I finished chapter 9, did chapter 10, and I'm doing chapter 11. I'm already planning the sequal. This one has about five or more chapters left.)
The sequal is: Kingdom Hearts High School Chronicles 2
Namine's a sophomore and Riku's a junior and it's pretty random like this one. More Final Fantasy characters come. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine to be exact. More funny chappies. And maybe some Roxette.
Oh and here are the ages (after March 1st of the next year since it's March in chappie 11):
14: Selphie
15: Namine, Kairi, and Sora
16: Tidus, Wakka, Olette, and Pence
17: Hayner, Roxas, Riku, and Yuffie
18: Aerith, Tifa, and Mikuru
19: Cloud, Leon, Zexion, Axel, and Larxene
