Chapter 10, hot off the presses! I tried a little combat in this one, and if anyone has advice on how to better write combat scenes, I'd gladly take it. I tried my best though. There is a lil bit of fluff, and bit of backwards imagery, some jealousy, and some revelations. Oooooh!
Thanks again to my wonderful reviewers. I keep this going just for you!
Disclaimer: I don't own all the people or all the places. I edit and change as I need to. If I was making money off of this, I would not be a poor college student. If you sue me, you'll only get my loans to pay off. In that case...
Chapter 10: Now You're Getting Somewhere.
The next morning dawned cold and bright. New snow had fallen over night, blunting the edges of buildings and giving trees a lacy, ethereal look. Aeris stood at a window, sipping a cup of tea. In two hours they'd all head over to the new Training Center in the Edge part of town. Aeris worried at her bottom lip. They'll all trounce me. I am a terrible fighter. Well, I'm decent with magic. Aeris touched the necklace hanging from her throat and smiled. This is magic no one can take from me.
Aeris watched as the snow continued to fall, not knowing that behind the gentle white clouds something sinister was approaching.
"Aeris." Cloud said as he walked into the room. She turned and gave him a slightly embarrassed smile as she thought about the previous day. Cloud allowed himself a slightly smug smile as he gave her a gentle kiss. "Are you sure you want to spend the day training?"
"Yes I am Cloud. I need to be ready for whatever it is I have to face." Aeris said quietly but with determination.
"But that's just it, we don't know what it is you have to face. How do you know there will be an epic battle?" Cloud asked.
"Instincts. I can feel it. I'm afraid, and I can't be. When the time comes I need to be ready to act. I can't be afraid." Aeris said.
"Of course you can be afraid. You'd be stupid not to be." Cloud said bluntly. Aeris looked at him in confusion.
"When we faced Sephiroth, I was scared. We all were. We knew we could fail. Bravery is not in facing an enemy without fear, but with facing the enemy despite your fears." Cloud looked into Aeris's eyes as he spoke, willing her to take those words to heart. He didn't want her to set herself up to fail by believing she needed to fearless to be brave.
"Where you afraid when you fought the Remnants, Cloud?" Aeris asked.
"Not as much as I should have been. I didn't fear for myself. I had nothing to lose, but the world sure as hell did."
"Breakfast is ready!" Tifa called from the kitchen. "You'd better hurry; we're meeting at Zangan's Hall in less than two hours!"
Cloud wrapped his arm around Aeris's waist and gently steered her toward the kitchen. She felt an apprehension rise within her, similar to the ones she experienced the day before, but she throttled them down. If I want to make t most out of training I can't let myself be held back by fears. Come what may, I love Cloud, and if I'm only here for a short while, I better love him as much as I can. Aeris smiled at her knew outlook on life, and Cloud smiled at Aeris's smile.
They arrived at Zangan's Hall earlier than they were expected so Tifa could help Aeris pick out training clothes.
"Here, you're gonna want a sports bra with lots of support, a shirt that allows for easy movement, like this tank, ooh, it's got built in support, even better! You're gonna want shorts, cause you're gonna sweat a lot. These spankies look like they're your size, and shouldn't inhibit your movement at all. After we're dressed I'll have to do something to keep that hair of yours out of the way. Not that I'm any less guilty in that regard." Tifa said, tossing her hair about in mockery of her admitted vanity.
"Tifa, I don't think I need sports bra WITH a shelf bra tank. I'm not… well… as endowed as you are." Aeris said, her face red with embarrassment.
"Aeris, not everyone is built for a D cup. You're more slender than I am, but really, for your build, you're as busty as I am. What are those, 32 Cs? They look it. Anyways, they hurt when the move too much, trust me. When we're done training you'll probably curse me for not taping those suckers down." Tifa said, measuring Aeris up with her eyes. Aeris's face went redder.
"TIFA!"
"Hey, you said you wanted my help. You shouldn't be so uptight about your body. You're beautiful, and the human, and well, Cetra body is beautiful too. Calm down." Tifa giggled. Aeris looked at her body in the dressing room mirror, turning this way and that, as if seeing her body for the first time. Tifa continued giggling until Aeris lifted off her shirt and she saw the scar. "Is that… what I think it is?" Tifa asked.
Aeris turned and caught Tifa's gaze. Her eyes had gotten wider at the sight of the scar from the front. Aeris covered the scar with her hands, her face reddening with shame. Tifa walked over to her and wrapped her arm around Aeris's shoulder.
"Oh don't let that bother you Aeris, really. I've got a pretty bad scar from Sephiroth too. Wanna see?" Tifa asked with sympathy in her voice. Aeris nodded mutely, and Tifa pulled away, removing her shirt. There was a long scar down her left side, from her shoulder to her hip. Aeris gasped. Though the scar was old and faded, it was still ragged, not like Aeris's thin, seemingly harmless scar. Looking at the two wounds, one would wonder why Tifa had survived hers and Aeris died of hers.
"Come on. Let's get dressed and get out there. Yuffie'll be here any minute. She doesn't belong in the Scar Sisters Club." Tifa said. Aeris giggled and started to dress in the wok out clothes Tifa had picked out for her. After she was dressed Tifa tightly braided her hair and then set the braid as a bun, snugly secured to the top of her head.
Ten minutes later Aeris was out in the big training room, the first to enter it. It was slightly overwhelming. Well, Tifa told me to stretch. Aeris walked into the middle of the room and began to stretch. She did so with grace and ease, and she smiled as she remembered summer dance camp as a child in Kalm. Elmyra would scrimp and save all spring to send her daughter to dance camp. As Aeris went through the motions of warming up and stretching, she knew the money had been well spent.
As Aeris's muscles began to remember the lessons they learned all those years ago she began to relax and really start dancing. Aeris luxuriated in the simple yet elegant moves of ballet, her face as mask of ecstasy as she demonstrated to the empty room just how flexible she was. From the ballet she moved to soft shoe step dance, a relatively similar style, perhaps one she even preferred. Eyes closed, she let the dance take her around the room, and thus was completely unaware that her audience was changing from shadows to her friends.
As Cloud stepped out of the men's locker room her caught sight of Aeris, still dancing ballet at this point. He stopped in his tracks, unable to take his eyes off of her sinuous form crossing the floor. He had never known Aeris could dance like that, and as she stretched her leg to her shoulder, his brain marveled at her flexibility while other, more primal parts of his body, thought of how much fun that flexibility could be in a more intimate setting.
"You might want to go take an ice shower there Cloud." Cid said as he stepped next to him. Cloud gave him a puzzled look and Cid shook his head. Sometimes Cloud could be so dense, nothing like his namesake. "Glad to see you're up and at attention so early in the morning." Cid tried again. Cloud looked down and went red faced with embarrassment. "I will admit though, she is a fantastic sight out there. If the flower thing doesn't work out for her she could do that professionally."
As the others came out the arena to join them Zack glared at Cloud and his "condition" and walked out to Aeris. When he got somewhat close he cleared his throat. Cloud scowled in return as Aeris faltered and blushed as she noticed her companions watching her. Yuffie started to clap, and Cloud and Tifa followed soon after until they all were applauding, except of course for Nanaki and Edenni, who cheered.
"Well, let's get to business Aeris." Zack said brusquely, trying to take the lead in this situation. "What do you want to do first?"
"Well, I'm really rusty with my staff, and I'd like to learn some basic martial arts, in case I am without a weapon. I suppose I should learn some fencing and work on target practice with guns too. I want all my bases covered. And I want the rest of you to branch out from your specialties too. We don't need to be masters of every style, but proficient enough if we are forced out of our routine."
"That sounds reasonable enough." Vincent said, coming out to meet Zack and Aeris. He did so with speed however, since he could tell Cloud was unhappy. "Perhaps you should spar with Cid first Aeris, since his spear techniques are rather similar to your staff techniques. Tifa and Yuffie can spar, the two fire wolves can spar, Barrett and I will target practice, and …"
"I can spar with Cloud." Zack finished. Vincent glared at him but said nothing. Aeris gave him a worried glance but finally nodded, walking over to Cid.
"Go easy on me, Captain. It's been a long time." Aeris said, pulling out her Princess Guard. She was overjoyed that Cloud had kept it for her. She ran her hand gently along the smooth wood of the handle and the twirled it in the air, relishing the familiar feeling.
"I'll go easy on you until you get used to it again, but if I'm too easy you ain't gonna get any better, and you ain't gonna learn jack shit." Cid said, chewing on a tooth pick violently since he couldn't smoke indoors. Aeris nodded and got into her fighting stance.
Cid made the first move, a lunge that Aeris easily dodged. Cid purposely left himself exposed, but Aeris hesitated to hit him. Cid glared at her. "Come on little girl, you gotta take every hit offered." Aeris frowned at him and took a swing at his legs which he parried. Aeris took a step back as he countered, taking a hit in the shoulder. She rolled her body and took a step to the side, casting a cure spell as she took a swing at his legs again. She managed to trip him but he parried her follow up attack.
Aeris continued to spar with Cid for about half an hour then called a five minute break. Everyone took the opportunity to get a drink of water and stretch. Then Tifa came up to her and said "How bout a change of pace?" Aeris nodded, and resumed her fighting stance.
Tifa's pace was much faster than Cid's. Though she too held back, Aeris spent nearly the entire time on the defensive, though admittedly she was far less willing to attack Tifa than Cid, despite her near constant encouragement to do so.
"Come on Aeris, pick up your speed and hit me." Tifa said in a sing-song voice as she wove around speedily before kicking Aeris in the thigh, albeit lightly. Aeris winced and lashed out at Tifa, driving the blunt end of the staff into her left shoulder. Tifa's eyes went round and she hissed her breath in, dropping out of her stance to grab her shoulder. Aeris dropped her position and reached out to Tifa, who then dropped down and swept her leg under Aeris's, knocking her off her feet. Aeris's back hit the ground and she thought she saw stars. Through her daze she saw a hand reaching down for her. She reached up and grabbed it, and Cloud pulled her to her feet.
"You can't drop your guard for anything Aeris." Tifa said, ignoring the glare Cloud was sending her way.
"I thought I'd hurt you!' Aeris said, nearly in tears.
"Oh trust me, you did." Tifa said, casting a cure spell on her shoulder. "But you still should have pressed on. Hmm, we should have some sort of safety word if we do need to stop fighting. How bout Gold Saucer?" Tifa asked. Aeris nodded, reminding herself to tell the others. She then swept Tifa's legs out from underneath her and placed the staff on her sternum.
"How's that for not dropping my guard?" Aeris asked.
"NOW you're getting somewhere!" Tifa said with a smile.
After sparing with Tifa Aeris tried Yuffie, who attacked from distances with her shuriken and martial arts when Aeris got too close. After ten frustrating minutes Aeris cast Haste on herself and Slow on Yuffie, and then went to town. The ninja could barely avoid Aeris's super-speed attacks, so Aeris put less strength into her attacks. When the spells wore off the match was declared over, and Yuffie limped away to cure herself.
"I think we all need a break at this point." Cloud said, wiping sweat off of his forehead. "Let's take forty-five minutes off for lunch and a bit of a rest. But nobody think of drinking soda or alcohol. We need water to rehydrate and nothing else. Stick to high protein, high carb lunches too, to replenish what we've burned."
The group hurried over to the cafeteria of the training hall. Since Tifa was Zangan's prized student he gave the group pretty hefty discounts. After Aeris received her order of a Caesar Chicken Salad and garlic bread she took a seat near the window to observe the view of snow still falling on Midgar. It softened everything and the city looked nothing like it used to. Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie and Vincent came to sit with her, though no one really had the energy to talk. Aeris took a guilty look at Yuffie, who was moving stiffly, and cast a gentle healing spell. Yuffie just smiled her thanks.
After they'd finished eating Cloud gave Aeris a gentle kiss on the cheek, and went to the bathroom. Aeris walked over to a lounge area and lay down on a sofa, shutting her eyes. She rested in peace for a few minutes until a shadow came over her. She opened one eye to see Zack standing over her with frown on his face.
"We need to talk Aeris," he said, sitting in a chair next to her. Aeris sat up and looked at him and he took a deep breath. "I don't think you should be putting so much trust into Cloud. This mission is too important to trust to people who perhaps have not earned that trust," he continued.
Aeris frowned at Zack. "What makes you think you've earned the Planet's trust?" she asked.
"The planet DID send me back to protect you, remember? And it's not just the Planet's trust. It's your trust. How can you trust him after he let you die? He just stood there and let Sephiroth kill you!" Zack whispered so as to not draw attention to himself.
"I needed to die then for Holy to be summoned. I knew what I was doing Zack. It was a subtle impulse from his soul which held him back. It recognized, even when his conscience did not, that what was happening was inevitable. I don't know if he will ever understand, but I needed him to let me die. He protected me until that point; he did exactly what I needed of him. I trust him now because I know he has fought off, at great personal pain, any control that Sephiroth had over him. I trust him because I love him."
"Then you are prejudiced in his favor that what will not serve you in the end! By God, Aeris, you're making a huge mistake!"
"Why, because you are jealous of him? I know you had feeling for me once Zack, but they were not truly love and you hurt me. You know you did. I love you Zack, as a brother and a dear friend, but if you're jealous of my feelings for Cloud you need to get over it and soon, because such pettiness is going to be detrimental to what we came here to do!" Aeris said, before standing and walking away. Zack planned on following her, but stayed rooted in his seat. He had a lot to think about, and he didn't want to get yelled at again.
Aeris stormed away, both angered and saddened by Zack's behavior. I need support now, not cheap shots like that. Aeris was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't see Tseng approaching her until she walked into him. He steadied her before she had a chance to fall.
"Sorry Tseng, I didn't see you. What are you doing here though? I thought you were supposed to be researching for the Denizen. Do you have a lead?"
"I found the name you asked me to search for. Deringer? A woman named Perdita Deringer used to work in the Science Department of the Shinra Tower in Midgar. She took a four month medical leave of absence, prior to which several of the lower level professors complained to the President that she seemed to be pregnant and shouldn't be working in such a volatile laboratory." Tseng told Aeris. "We don't have much other information on her however. It seems that a lot of what should be there was removed."
"Get me all the information you can on her, please. And look for any records of Denzel Deringer, please."
"Still following that hunch, Aeris?" Tseng asked, noticing the determined look on her face.
"Yes. I finally feel like we're getting somewhere. I don't exactly know where, but it feels like it's right."
"Then let's hope it is."
So, it seems Cloud is the one reaching down for Aeris now. Hmmm... I like that. A lil role reversal never hurt anyone. Poor Zackie, all mixed up in his little head. And now we've found Denzel's mommy. I wonder who his daddy is? wicked laughter I already know, you'll have to wait to find out! HAHAHA!
Since its taking me a lot long to post chapters up I no longer require two reviews before a post, since I usually get them before the chapter is ready anyway. Damn school work, always interupting my fun! That doesn't mean that reviews aren't welcome, or desired. They make me feel oh-so-happy.