Okay, so I really hope people liked what I did with the last chapter. I decided that a story with two different sides who both feel justified is better than having 'goodguy vs. badguy' sort of thing...
You know what I mean?
Someone else also told me that...
He paced around the area, looking for any sign of his foe. His reason for not riding on Fenrir in this huge region was because it would be easier for him to see if he were walking. Besides, he hadn't really been out the house in a while, taking care of the bar, the kids, and Tifa. His legs needed a nice stretch.
Now that he thought about it, the past couple weeks have been pretty good for him. In fact, they were probably the best in his life. He'd spent more time with his family in the past three months than he had in all of the year before. It startled him, the fact that he wasn't home much. I really should be . . .
Especially with her. As he walked about the plains, his mind drifted to the day before in the bathroom. How he felt kissing her, touching her . . . her hips against him. It was amazing the things that built up inside his body as he held her. Hell, as far as he was concerned, Tifa had never been touched before. Well, up until that. He sighed, thinking about how she ran out.
"I'm sorry. I got scared."
"Of what?"
"I don't know. Of . . . being hurt, I guess."
He didn't want to hurt her. He just wanted her. He craved her, he needed her.
That day told him that she needed him, too.
His thoughts were distracted by a red patch on the ground. Of course, this being the Cosmo Area, the ground seemed to be red anyway. To him, this spot stood out from the rest of the soil. It was near a giant boulder. Blood was what he thought of it, and as soon as he peaked around the rock, he was right.
There, on the dirt, was what was left Seph Furgeison. She kept him intact for the most part, not using him as a meal, for there was plenty of blood on the ground and on his body. No, she's waiting for me. He was more like a warning. But, his throat had been ripped out. That was the tearing sound he'd heard earlier on the phone. As he winced at the thought, he saw the phone in the dirt next to Seph. It had been smashed, the chips and pieces in disarray near the man's hand. Cloud shook his head. What's going to happen to his daughter now?
Seeing this man as, not just his customer, but a fellow human being, he dialed a number. It rang twice, then someone answered.
"Cloud."
"Vincent. I'm gonna need for you to do me a favor."
"Well, that depends. How far away from Wutai?"
"Cosmo Area. Not too far is it?"
The gunman sighed. "I guess not. What is it?"
"How's Yuffie?"
Cloud heard chuckling. "She's fine. Walking--limping--about. She's okay though. Just scars now. How are you?"
"Great. Looking for Sheilia now."
"You left again? Did Tifa ever find out?"
Cloud sighed. "Not only did she find out, Vincent, but she almost died trying to protect the kids from that vampire."
"Hmm . . . Lying is a sin Cloud."
"I bet you'd know. Look, I'm gonna need for you to find someone to care for Seph Furgeison's daughter."
Vincent ignored that first comment. "How come?"
"Because she's just become an orphan." He explained the details to the gunman, then hung up, massaging his temple. About five minutes later, there was that voice.
"Tomorrow Cloud. We shall settle this tomorrow . . ."
He nodded. "Okay," he said, quietly, more to himself. "We will."
Having already called ahead to make a reservation at the Cosmo Canyon inn, he began to walk over to his bike. It would've been nice to see Nanaki, but he wasn't there. His four-legged friend had decided to take a trip around the planet. He said it was wonderful to visit the same places under better circumstances, instead of rushing around in the event of trying to kill a fiend.
The words of Nanaki . . . always so very poetic.
Suddenly, the wind picked up. His hair flew around, as did the dirt near his feet. He brought his arm up to his face, looking up into the sky. There it was, a helicopter not even a league away. He heard the rotors circulate against the air, making a shearing sound through the atmosphere. Not long after spotting it did he recognize the ShinRa logo on the side. No way...
But, as soon as the skids touched the ground, his suspicions were confirmed. The door opened from the cabin, and out rushed Tifa. She looked around, saw Cloud, and ran up to him. She stopped short, staring him in the face. She was pissed, he could tell. Her hand flew across his face, and he let it. He deserved it, after all.
I can't believe she found a way to come here.
But after that, he was given a tight hug.
"I'm so glad you're alright."
He was hesitant at first, but eventually slipped his arms around her waist. "I haven't fought yet."
"And you won't." She pulled back to look at him again. "Not without me."
"Tifa--"
"No!" She hugged him again. "No, Cloud."
They stayed like this for a breif moment, then watched as the helicopter flew off in the distance. As it went, Cloud saw two small faces, smiling and waving at him. He grinned. "Reno dropped you off?"
"Him and Rude. The kids had to come because they couldn't be left alone. They said they wanted to see you." She sighed. "I took the liberty of trying to explain to them what was going on."
He was bewildered. "Why?"
Tifa glared at him. "Why not? They have a right to know. I had a right to know Cloud!"
He gripped her hand, pulling her towards Fenrir. "We can talk about this in the room." She was silent until they got there.
After checking in, he led her up the stairs to the hotel accommodation. Cloud knew that he was in for a mouthful, and that was something he did not want at the moment. He needed to think about how to defeat Sheilia. He needed to be preparing, not arguing with Tifa. But he had no choice.
Once inside, he locked the door, then faced her. "I can't believe you." The problem with that statement was that he could.
Her face screamed astonishment. She went over to the bed, grabbed a pillow, and held it. For a minute, he thought she was going to chuck it at him. Instead, she buried her head into it, shrieking. When that was done, she yelled, "I can't believe you! You promised me that you wouldn't keep anything from me anymore."
"I didn't keep anything from you. I left a note."
"Ugh! You know what I mean. Gosh, I thought you'd have the decency to tell me or something. You bastard! Cloud, do you want for me to have a heart attack? How did you expect for me to stay home? I would've been up all night and day thinking about you. About if you were okay or not."
"Tifa, how do you think I've been? Those four days you were unconscious a few weeks back, I went through hell. I got no sleep, always wondering whether not you had died beside me! And even after you'd woken up, the thought crossed my mind constantly."
She scoffed. "Oh please! That's nothing compared to how I felt. How I felt when Vincent brought you back home, broken and bleeding. I didn't know what to do. He told me about Yuffie, which was his reason why he had to bring you home. Do you honestly think he could've taken care of the both of you?"
He was shocked. "Wait? You knew?"
"Not then. I just found out about Yuffie today. Right before I got here, I talked to Vincent on the phone. I knew he had to have at least heard something. I mean, you were in Wutai! It made a lot of sense. And you lied to me. On the phone, you lied to me and the kids! How could you Cloud? Can you even imagine how much this hurts? I feel like you don't trust me at all!"
"That's not it dammit! I do trust you. I care too much about you, which is why I didn't say anything. I thought that if I told you over the phone, you would've immediately began to worry. You would've called all the time to check up on me. You would've tried to come to Wutai, to help me. I couldn't have that. I couldn't have that guilt on my conscious, knowing you weren't getting any sleep or worrying or . . . something."
"But you felt guilty anyway for another reason."
"Yes! I did! And you know what? It didn't do me any damn good. Because you still got hurt. You still almost died for my mistake!"
"I would've been fine if you had said something!!"
Her scream shook the walls. It made them both stay quiet for a brief period of time. Finally, Cloud broke the silence. "No you wouldn't have. Unless I was there, you wouldn't have been okay."
That made her laugh. "Oh God, I wish you'd quit treating me like a child. I know how to defend myself. I know how to fight. If you had told me something about there being a vampire, then I probably wouldn't have gotten hurt as bad."
"But I did say something. I told you to keep a clove of garlic out."
"That's nothing. I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. I had it out for the first day, but then it began to stink up the place. And it was going bad, so I threw it away." She sighed. "Cloud, you just don't get it, do you? I am your friend. I am always by your side, no matter what. Yes, we fight a little, and yes, you annoy the hell out of me, but that's okay. That's what we're supposed to do. We are a family. Ever since you moved back in, we were a family, maybe even before then! Families stick together, through everything. You'd get hurt for me, and I would for you."
"But I don't want you to. I don't want to have to go through that again."
She walked up to him, eyes glistening. "You don't have to. If we're together, then we can get through anything and everything. Don't you see? We are nearly invincible, but only when we are together. You just have to learn to trust me first."
He thought about what she said, and in the end, he knew that it was true. He didn't trust her, not much. Yeah, with his life, but not enough to think that she could care for herself. He knew damn well that she could, but he always felt as if he had to be there for her. When she was eight and fell from the bridge, he had to be there for her, even though it earned him hell in their small community. When she was fifteen and had just been hurt by Sephiroth, he had to be there, to see her in, what they both thought would be, her last few moments. And when he finally saw her again after he left their home, she was lying in the church, hurt, barely able to move. He had to constantly be there, or else she was to get hurt. It was an inevitable pattern that worked in their lives. He needed to be there, especially when she needed him the most.
After all, that was what he promised her so long ago.
"Tifa . . ."
"Please Cloud," she whispered, placing a hand on his cheek, "just trust me."
When he finally met her eyes, they were sparkling. As if she were about to cry. He didn't want her to cry. He really didn't. But he knew that what he was about to say would make her do so, and it pained him.
"I . . . I can't. I mean, I trust you, but I don't trust those that want to hurt you. I don't trust Sheilia. I don't want her to kill you. Or bite you . . ."
"All that stuff happened at the bar because I was unprepared and I didn't have you to help. But now, I know exactly what I'm going up against. I have you to help. Cloud, don't be like this."
He gently took her hand into his own, slipping it down from his face and letting it go. "I'm sorry Tifa. But if me being this way is what's going to save you, then it's the only way I can be."
The expression on her face nearly killed him.
I know I know. I said three more chapters, but I really don't know now...
And I'm only saying that because this chapter was supposed to have what the next chapter will, but, once again, it came to me spontaneously. The idea to separate the two.
So, who's to say that I won't seperate more chapters to come? I mean, put them in two parts so to speak like this one?
But, reviews encourage me. They encourage me to keep writing. If don't get a lot, then I become depressed, and then I won't write anymore.
Besides that fact, I need to know what you guys want. More chapters, or less? I mean, do you like separation, or not? Like, would you rather have three more chapters over six? (although, I don't think I'll write six more chapters...)
Knowing what my readers want is good, because then I can try to make you guys happy instead of pissing everyone off!!