A/N: Once again, I own nothing.
I woke up at 3:42am. I never really had trouble sleeping. If anything, I only dreamt of the blackness from the fall. I had no idea what was causing me to wake up at this hour. Thinking nothing of it, I started to return to the cold, black abyss that awaited me. That's when I heard it. The tossing and turning. I looked at the bed that Tifa lay in. She was having a nightmare.
Carefully, I shook her shoulder shyly. "Tifa," I whispered.
Still she remained asleep. But, she did toss and turn more violently. After a bit she cried out, "Mom, don't go!"
She continued to scream like that in a mantra. "Tifa! You've gotta wake up! Tifa!"
She sat up in a rush. She started breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath. She turned to look at me. She started to gather tears in her eyes. "You're still here." I nodded. "You woke up because of my nightmare?" Again, I nodded. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and started to sob. I guess my being there and her nightmare were too much to take in. "I-I-I'm sorry."
That broke my heart. I couldn't bear to hear her apologize to me. Me. She continued to apologize to me against my chest. To get her to stop, I began stroking her back to calm her down and said, "Don't ever apologize to me again. You never need to."
Realizing that I quoted her words from that day, she chuckled while sobbing a bit. Tifa tightened her grip on me. She asked quietly after we pulled apart, "Can you promise me something?"
"Sure," I answered.
"Promise me that we never have to apologize to each other for anything."
I could do that. I nodded, saying, "Yeah. I promise.
She looked into my eyes with tear streaks and happy tears in her doe-like eyes. "Thank you."
I nodded and moved from her to return to my seat to resume my rest. She didn't let me get far, though. Her hand gripped my arm tightly.
"Cloud, don't go."
I reassured her, "I'm not. Just going back to sleep."
She visually grimaced. "No, that's not what I meant," she clarified.
It took a moment for it to click into my head. Oh.. I thought. I gulped. "O-only if you want me to," I responded with a blush on my face.
Tifa shifted to the other end of the bed to make room for me. Slowly, I laid myself down next to her. She brought the blanket around us both. Sleep still felt so far away, especially being as I was this close to my crush. Tifa didn't seem to mind because she wrapped an arm around my waist and laid her head on my chest. I froze for a few seconds. Eventually, I got used to it. In fact it seemed to be something I was enjoying. I put an arm around her protectively.
Sleep seemed to come faster than I would have thought that night. She just made me feel comfortable.
-
The next morning, her dad came to the hospital to check Tifa out. We were waiting in the lobby when he came and greeted us both with hugs. My eyes became the size of saucers when he did.
"Thank you so much, Cloud. Thank you for looking after my baby girl," he thanked me gratefully.
I returned the embrace. "Anytime, anywhere, anything you need from me, I'll do my best to be there and help.
Mr. Lockhart signed Tifa out and we exited the hospital. Outside was every kid in Nibelheim, even the Faunus children. They yelled out her name with such excitement, that it shook through my bones. I don't know why, but Tifa clung to my arm as we walked towards the square. While I'll admit that it felt nice, it was a little weird.
We didn't get far before I was shoved aside by Johnny, one of Tifa's friends. Taken by surprise, I fell on my side. "Tifa doesn't need you, freak!"
The next thing I heard took me by surprise. I looked up and saw Johnny getting punched in the face by Tifa. "Shut up, Johnny!"
I guess the surprise went through Johnny as well. "Tifa, why are you-" he began to ask.
"Cloud went up there to help me realize the truth about Mom and to bring me back home and to make sure that I was okay!" Tifa shouted. "Which is more than any of you tried to do! You left me! You abandoned me! If that's the kind of person you are, then I don't want you guys as my friends," she finished bitterly.
Not knowing what to say, Johnny and his friends stood there with their mouths open in shock. The town just stared at the scene in surprise. Tifa and her dad helped me up and inspected my left leg. My left knee scab lost its bandage and started to bleed again.
I heard some foot steps. "What is going on out here?"
"Mr. Belladonna, it's just a dispute between children. These children have been bullying this..boy every day."
"It doesn't look that way to me. The boy is bleeding," he said. The mountain of a man walked over to inspect my leg.
"It's an old injury," I said trying to get him to back off.
"It's new enough for cause of concern. I'll have my healers take a look at it." The strong man led Tifa and her dad with me on their shoulders into the guest inn.
Some of the Faunus children came with us. I guess they were more comfortable around their defender than out there with the townspeople. Here and there I would get congratulated by them for what I did. I always wondered what it would be like to be praised by a group. It felt..disappointing. It didn't feel the same as the praise from individuals.
The healers were gentle. I'm surprised that they were considerate to help a human like me. Maybe it's because they know what it's like to be the outcast. I was asked if my knees were checked by doctors. I was honest and said no. I did notice a bit of surprise on the faces of Tifa and her father. I was more concerned about Tifa than myself.
Nonetheless, they used some kind of concoction that healed the wounds to the point of scars. Mom came by to see what the fuss was all about. The situation was explained to her by Ghira Belladonna—that was his name. She got all huggy and mushy and overprotective again. I could hear laughter from everyone in the room as I blushed from embarrassment.
I guess that Ghira took a liking to me because he gave me a book that gave instructions on self defense. I wasn't that interested at first being as it was mostly punching and kicking. Then, he showed me the sword section. I was drawn to it for learning of the proper techniques for the types of weapons.
"Cloud, was it?" he asked me suddenly. I was so absorbed into the book that I forgot he was there.
"Yeah?"
"I would like to ask a favor." He paused and I waited. "Would you look after my daughter? I need to see to some business in Nibelheim. It's much too dangerous for me to bring her with me."
I didn't know if I had what it took to babysit a kid. Although, it wasn't really babysitting being as she was the same age as me. It was more like an ill-advised play date. Nonetheless, I felt that I owed him for his generosity towards me, so I accepted.
Ghira then introduced me to his daughter, Blake Belladonna. She was a black-haired girl that seemed to have a liking to the color black and had cute cat ears on the top of her head. She also had gold eyes that seemed to have a glow about them.
"Blake, this is Cloud. He's going to look after you tonight," Ghira informed his daughter.
"Mr. Belladonna?" I asked.
He chuckled. "Just 'Ghira' is fine."
I nodded. "Is it alright if I have a friend help me with this request?" I looked at Tifa, hinting that I wanted her to help. I didn't know how to look after a kid, especially a girl. I felt someone more sociable and female would make it easier.
"That's fine. You may."
"I'll help you, Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed. Our eyes turned to Tifa. She cleared her throat as if she was being disrespectful. Trying again, she rephrased, "I would like to help Cloud look after Blake. With your permission, of course."
Ghira smiled at her generosity and agreed to let her help me. Mr. Lockhart said that they could stay at his house. He had some business to take care of as well.
-
"Are you sure you don't want me to be there? I can cook you something," Mom offered her services.
I shook my head as I pulled my bag over my shoulder. "No. We'll be fine, Mom. You need your sleep. You've got a big day at work tomorrow, remember?"
Realizing I was right, she relented and gave me a hug and a kiss and sent me out the door. When I got outside, I saw Blake reading a book as I walked to her. It was a copy of the self defense book Ghira gave me. As I stepped closer, I saw her cat ears twitch at the sound. She bookmarked her page, stood up from the bench, turned around, and asked in a small voice, "Ready to go?"
I nodded and we crossed the way to Tifa's house. The moment we set foot into the house, we were greeted with the scent of tuna. I had no idea Tifa could cook. I saw Blake's mouth comically water at the smell of the cooked fish. I laughed lightly at the cat humor that was going through my head.
"Tifa, we're here!" I called.
"Just a sec!"
I turned to Blake and said, "If you wanna get settled, Tifa said you could stay in her room."
She merely nodded and dashed up the stairs and started to unpack some personal items. I sat on the couch lowzily. I dropped my bag with just as much enthusiasm. How did this happen? I help Tifa, I'm bullied for something I didn't do, I'm cared for by a man with some kinda resentment towards humans, and he asks me to look after his daughter? Still, hadn't sunk in yet.
"-loud? Cloud!"
I jerked my head to Tifa. She had this cute apron on as well as a blue dress and had her hair tied in a ponytail. She looks nice. Wait-what? What am I thinking? Priorities, Strife, I reprimanded myself for thinking like that.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Dinner's done. Where's Blake?"
"Upstairs getting settled. Good choice on dinner," I complimented on her insight on Blake's disposition as a cat Faunus.
Tifa giggled. "Thanks. Thought I'd entertain our guest tonight."
I smiled slightly. A black blur whizzed past us and into the kitchen. A few seconds later, Blake was devouring the meal at the table. She took a few seconds to realize that she hadn't waited for us to get ours. I saw her ears droop as if she'd done something wrong.
"It's fine. Eat," I encouraged emotionless.
Tifa and I went into the kitchen to serve ourselves. I stood at the counter for a bit after Tifa finished serving her own food. Must've lost track of time because I ended up staring at both of the girls. They were talking as I had anticipated. While it took me as little effort as it was taking Tifa to talk to Blake to only get three words, here Tifa was, talking with Blake as if they were best friends.
"Cloud!" My head shot up at Tifa's calling to me. "Aren't you gonna eat?"
I sighed softly and looked down. "Not hungry yet."
I walked over to my bag and pulled out my book that I got from Ghira as well as a package he left me. "I'll be out back."
-
How long I was outside, I couldn't say. I was studying the book for sword stances. I also unwrapped the package that I was given. It was a wooden sword shaped like a claymore—child size, of course—with a single edge. It was sanded and shaped properly for practice usage. It was a little heavy to me but I still swung it alright.
I must've drawn attention to myself with me whacking a tree with the toy blade. I heard footsteps behind me and, by instinct, I swung my blade to position it at the neck of whoever was behind me. It was Blake. Suddenly, I panicked and dropped my sword. I backed away with a blush on my face and curled into a ball.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. I heard timid, quiet steps. I heard a thunk. I looked up and saw Blake sticking my sword into the ground. I gave a quizzical look at the notion.
"You practice?" Blake asked. I nodded nervously. "Then, let's practice."
I nodded, still unsure of myself after what I did. I grabbed my practice blade and joined Blake in the yard. Turns out, she had her own practice weapon—a katana. She stood next to me in a battle stance. I spread my legs apart with my right foot forward. I held the blade with both hands and flexed my arms as I did.
We started doing some practice swings, hitting air and helping me get used to my weapon. After a while, Blake let me practice a bit on my own. I started putting the swings together in combos. I used my body into these swings instead of just my arms. That way I could put more speed and power into my swings.
"You're ready," I heard the cat Faunus say.
"For what?"
My reflexes kicked in at the sound of an object moving through the air at high speed. I ducked and brought my blade in front of the path of Blake's blade. I raised an eyebrow and smirked.
Next thing I knew, I was on the ground. Blake had swept my feet out from under me. I brought my blade up to block her onslaught. I rolled out of the way of the fifth blow and stood up.
"Nice," was Blake's monotone response.
We charged at each other and exchanged a few blows. One time, Blake knocked my weapon out of my hand. Then, she kicked me back. That's when I took a tactic out of my book and rolled to recover.
My blade at this point was a no-go, for the cat Faunus was in front of it. I noticed a thick branch lying on the ground in front me. I broke into a run for it. Blake must have thought that I was going for my sword because she just stood there in defense. I grabbed the branch and brought it down on her blade, footstool with it, and ripped my blade out of the earth. I now had two weapons.
Applause was heard from the porch. Tifa was amused, that's for sure. I guess I was, too. That was..fun. I set my sword on the bench table on the table, went inside, got food, and went back to the table outside to eat. It tasted...great. Tifa's cooking was better than anything Mom ever made me, not that I'll ever tell her that.
"That was impressive," I heard Blake say.
Mouth full with food I said, "Think sbo?
A nod. I nodded back in thanks. "I'm gonna go to bed." Blake stopped just short of the doorway. "Cloud.." She paused as if thinking of what to say. Finally, she finished, "Don't stop training."
I nodded solemnly. "You got it."
Blake smiled. Actually smiled. She retreated back into the house to sleep. I continued to eat in silence. After I finished, I walked into the kitchen. Tifa was busy washing the dishes and smiled at me after noticing my presence.
"How was it?" she asked excitedly, still beaming with joy.
I deposited my bowl into the sink. I smiled. "The truth?"
She nodded, her smile faltering a bit at the possibility that I didn't like it.
I laughed a small bit, saying, "Yeah! It's the best tuna I've had."
Her eyes seemed to light up. "Really? You think so?"
"I know so."
"Thank you, Cloud," she said. Her face seemed red and she tucked a bit of hair behind her ear, whilst averting her gaze from my eyes.
I wanted to make sure that this wasn't a side effect from her coma, so I asked, "Hey, Tifa. Um, are you..okay?"
Tifa looked up at me again. "Huh? Uh, yeah. Just tired." She must've thought that would convince me. It didn't. She just got even redder.
Nonetheless, I left it alone. "Blake went to bed?"
"Yeah," she said, still looking away from me. "She seemed pleased with the food and exhausted from your practice."
"How could you tell?" I asked, dumbly. I could hardly read the girl. Maybe it's my detachment from people.
Tifa shrugged. "I just pay attention to the room and what's being passed around. Try it sometime."
I guessed I could try. I could sense the weariness from upstairs. Blake was drenched in that fatigue. I felt the pouring sense of happiness from Tifa. I felt a small sense of anxiety and nervousness. Did I make her feel that way?
"What about me?" I asked.
"Huh?" Tifa asked confused at my question.
I'm sure I grimaced. "I mean, how do you do it for yourself?"
"Hmmm.. Dunno. Never tried."
I sighed, a bit disappointed. Can't fault her for not thinking like that.
"I noticed you seemed amused by our performance outside," I noted to Tifa. "You interested?"
"In swordplay?" she asked. I nodded. "No, I more enjoy fists and feet."
I was surprised that the prettiest girl in town—did I just say that?—preferred to get her hands dirty.
"Cool."
Her smile got bigger if you can believe it. "Thank you!"
It was 10:54. I grabbed my bag from outside after taking my blanket and pillow out and putting my book and sword into it.
"I'm gonna crash," I told Tifa.
She glanced at the clock and looked genuinely surprised at the time. "Okay. Where are you gonna sleep?"
Blake was upstairs in Tifa's bed. She seems like she'd prefer to sleep alone, but you never know with cats. "You take the couch and I'll take the bathtu-" I cut off after noticing that the bathtub wasn't nearly big or comfortable enough for me. "The floor will be fine."
"You sure?"
I sighed. "Well if you have a tarp or something, I can make a hammock."
"Where are you gonna hang it?" Tifa asked, gesturing to the lack of anything to tie it to in the house. I simply pointed my thumb back to the yard. I could just tie it to two of the trees out there. "You're gonna sleep out there?"
I shrugged. "I've got my pillow. I've got my blanket. What else do I need?"
"Won't you catch a cold?"
"Tifa, it's summer. It's a hundred degrees out there."
I could see herself mentally facepalm.
I used my senses to read her. It seemed she was kinda disappointed that I wasn't gonna be in the house. "You really want me to stay in the house?" I asked.
She looked away, held her head low, and kept one of her arms behind her, holding the other's bicep with that arm's hand. "I..I g-guess."
I relented. "I'll be right back."
-
I ran back home and grabbed a cot that Mom kept in her closet. When I drew out of my house, I felt the sense of foreboding. I heard a scream and yelp. I grabbed my sword out of my bag and left the pack at home. As I drew closer, I saw Johnny and those punks in a circle around something.
I climbed the tree over them to get a better look. I saw vividly a feminine form. With black hair and ears. CAT ears. BLAKE! I yelled in my mind.
This scene looked just like it did the first time I defended a Faunus girl, Y'shtola. They were bullying the rabbit Faunus with names and pushes and shoves. I could swear one of them kicked her.
I flashed back to what I was seeing. Blake was in trouble and I was gonna help. I slid down the tree swiftly and quietly, sword drawn.
"HEY!" I yelled in rage.
I tackled the biggest one and bopped his head with the blunt side of my sword. I stood up with the biggest glare of my childhood. Apparently my last demonstration hadn't sunk in that I would not tolerate this.
Johnny stepped forward. "First you push Tifa off the mountain, then you lie about it, then you steal her from us-"
I pointed my sword at the boy face with both contempt and hatred. "I didn't push her. I helped her realize the truth about her mother. I never lied to her or anyone. I never stole her from anyone. She chose to stand up to you. She chose to leave you guys. If you can't respect that then you can't be her friend. She said so to all of you."
Finally having reached his breaking point, Johnny swung a fist. Remembering to anticipate, I blocked it with my sword. Flesh met thick would and Johnny staggered back in pain. I could see a splinter poking out of his knuckle. He cradled it to his chest.
"GET HIM!" I heard the boy in pain shriek at his cohorts. I brought the butt of my sword to the head of the first brave soul. I whacked, punched and kicked the others as they attempted to assault me. It took as little effort as it is to sleep.
Then, they caught me off guard and piled on me and began to relentlessly barrage me with wounds. That's when Blake started to punch at them, trying to free me from their clutches. I heard wood thunk on heads. Blake was hitting them with my sword. I heard her scream and I knew they hurt her.
I felt something I'd never felt before. I burning rage. A flame of spirit I've felt spark before, but now it was ablaze. I heard a voice in my head as I watched Blake being attacked by the others.
"Dost thou wish to protect those around you?"
Yes! More than anything.
"Then will the power of your spirit fuel you. Save your allies. Let the spirit wear itself upon you as your guardian. Embrace the flames of strength. Allow your Aura to present itself."
I yelled out as I felt power engulf me. I felt a heat rise within me. I pushed the other children off of me. I saw them shoot a great distance away and they couldn't get up, just writhed in pain. I turned to the others approaching Blake. I pulled the two boys behind Johnny quietly to the ground, temporarily incapacitated. Johnny brought my sword over his head ready to bring it down on the cat Faunus.
I did a reversal to be in front of the boy and swept his feet out from under him. He dropped the sword and I caught it midair.
"You punk!" he yelled angrily. His rage disappeared and was replaced with genuine fear. Whatever I looked like scared him. I felt my newfound power pass to the weapon in my hand and burn with a power I never felt before.
"Enough," I commanded. I kicked him forward. He scrambled to get up. He's not gonna stop. Not until he's put in his place. I leapt into the air. It was higher than I'd ever jumped. I flourished the weapon in my hands and raised it high and flung myself and the blade at the ground below, crying out with power.
What happened after that, I couldn't remember.
At least, not until morning...
