Soon Tifa too began to notice the dark stranger, for he became a regular at Seventh Heaven. He seemed to like sitting in the dimmest corners, often fixing his attention on Tifa, in a way that sent a shiver down her spine, as he stared back in a lustful gaze.
Without Cloud, Tifa kept her gloves under the counter, in case of emergency. Soon though, the dark stranger left, and Tifa's heart began to relax and continued business at a regular pace. She pushed her gloves further back under the counter and continued to serve her customers.
The very next day, at peak hour, the stranger had taken a seat at the counter, right in front of Tifa. Up close, she could see he was truly unattractive. His massive scar gave her a blow in the chest, sending her back, and his dark brown eyes were bloodshot. As he gave a smile with golden teeth, Tifa could see, that his eyes were not at eye level with hers, they were lower.
"Yes, sir?" Tifa asked.
"Get me some black stout, sweety," The man said, sinisterly. Tifa paused from his last word. She'd never heard anyone call her such a thing, except for her parents when she was young, and occasionally Cloud, but nodded it off and came back not long after.
"Say, where's that blonde man who's always kissing you gone?" the stranger asked.
"Work," Tifa said, with a slight blush.
"Work, eh," the man said, "well then, you've all definitely recovered now. I saw that sign you put up last week,"
"Yes, and we're all better now, thank you," Tifa said in frustration. The man sniggered and drank, his eyes glued to Tifa's chest. Tifa ignored him for the rest of the drink before he paid and left. Her body felt quaking as she cleaned up, with goosebumps rising from her skin like ants from their hills. Tifa tried to control herself, tried not to think too much about the man, but her mind betrayed her. His image constantly popped into her head throughout the evening, and not in a good way.
Cloud came home in at four that day and walked in for a hug from his woman. Tifa suddenly felt much calmer in his arms, as he gave her a kiss. The warmth of his lips put Tifa in a state of relaxation, as she forgot all about the stranger and surrendered to the thought of her beloved Cloud.
"Your home early, Cloud," Tifa said.
"I managed to finish early," Cloud told her, "And now I've come home, just for you."
"Oh, Cloud!" Tifa said. The two stood there for several minutes, sharing their warmth before Tifa went back to work, thus separating from his comfort. After the bar closed, she began to cook dinner. Cloud sat on the couch at that time and talked to the children who spoke of school that day. "There was a rat at the canteen," Denzel said, "but it was exterminated,"
Cloud laughed and told him of a similar incident at Shinra when he was an infantryman. Tifa then announced that dinner was ready, thus everyone gathered around the table.
That night, Cloud slept soundly, as did Tifa, for a while. Soon, however, she started to wander the darkest depths of her imagination, where Cloud was nowhere to be found, leaving her all alone. She began to shiver when she saw her past before her eyes, when her birth town, Nibelheim, burnt down, the paths all blocked off by flames. Tifa was trapped, and from the embers came heavy footsteps. A shadow came over her, and whom she expected to see was a man whom she had fought once before, alongside Cloud, as his long katana came into view. However, when she turned around, it was obvious, it wasn't him.
It was the dark stranger, holding the masamune, the sword of the man with violent anger burning inside of him. The stranger brought the katana under her chin and lead her back to the door of a burning house, her own house, where she once lived next to Cloud, before the town crumbled into ashes.
The man grinned, but before the masamune could break her skin, Tifa was brought back to the real world where she sweated and wheezed like she'd run a marathon. Turning around, she saw Cloud serenely sleeping beside her, facing her, and holding a hand out to her as though to invite her.
Tifa shuffled into Cloud's arms, where she stayed the rest of the night. She felt them close around her, and Tifa relaxed. The rest of the night she had a light, dreamless sleep, where silence filled the room.
Cloud woke up to see and feel Tifa in his arms, then found his arms around her. At first, he began to wonder, but then let it come to pass and slept in a little longer. When he woke up again, Tifa too was awake and reached in for her morning kiss.
"Good morning, Tifa," Cloud said, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes…" Tifa said, but not enthusiastically. Cloud brushed it off and went downstairs with her. After Cloud left, the children walked to school, and when Tifa opened the bar, she noticed him again. The dark stranger looked at her lustfully, but Tifa ignored him, except when serving him a pint of porter.
"Hey, what's your name?" The man asked. Tifa didn't answer, and the man continued, "I see, playing hard to get, aren't you!"
Tifa groaned and kneeled under the bar where her gloves hung on a hook. When she reached for them, she pulled back, and told herself, 'No you'll create a scene!' and stood back up.
The door had looked as though it had magically opened before Tifa looked down to see Nanaki, the wolf-lion hybrid walking up to behind the counter. Tifa kneeled to stroke his red mane as some customers watched.
"Hello, Nanaki," she said, "What brings you here?"
"Tifa, I need to ask you something," Nanaki said, "Have you been having any strange occurrences lately?"
"Strange occurrences?" Tifa asked, "We all had the flu, but I wouldn't say that that was strange at all, why?"
"Close to Cosmo Canyon, we've been seeing dragons being trained, or so that's what it looks like. Perhaps I've asked the wrong person,"
"Dragons being trained?" Tifa asked, "That's odd… I'll ask Cloud if he's seen anything like that when he comes home. Is there anything else you'd like?"
"Do you have any bones?" Nanaki asked.
"I'll take a look," Tifa said, and went into the fridge. She rummaged through and found that some of the meat had expired by at most three days but managed to find a beef femur which she took to Nanaki.
"Here you go," Tifa said, giving the bone to him. Nanaki walked off with the bone into the living room, where he chewed. Tifa watched him, then turned back to the bar where it occurred to her.
"Wait!" She said, running up to Nanaki's side, "I just remembered that Denzel told me the other day that there was a rat at the school canteen, and no one knew where it came from. Though that probably doesn't help much either."
"Rat?" Nanaki asked, "perhaps it was a common prank. You know the story,"
Tifa returned to the bar where she saw that the man had left without finishing his porter, and left his money next to it. Tifa took the cup and cleaned it out, then put the money away, as she continued serving. As the day dragged on, the temptation to call Cloud became stronger and stronger before Tifa went into the pantry where she pulled out her phone, dialling Cloud's number.
Cloud had finished his round of deliveries in Kalm and went to mount Fenrir. As he was about to start the engine, however, he heard his phone ring and saw it was Tifa.
"Tifa, what does she want?" Cloud wondered as he picked up. "Tifa, what is it?"
"Cloud, Nanaki came to the bar to ask if I saw anything strange happening lately," Tifa said, "he told me that he saw some dragons being trained near Cosmo Canyon. Have you happened to have seen anything similar lately?"
"I mean, I've seen some weird figures in the desert," Cloud said, "and some lost chocobos near Rocket Town but as far as dragons go, I've only seen a family attacked by one on my way to Junon. I managed to save them though,"
"I see," Tifa said, "Let me know if anything else comes up. Where are you now?"
"Kalm," Cloud said.
"Where's your next stop?" Tifa asked.
"Let me see…" Cloud took out his schedule with there being a section on the wares shop in Edge, "Ah, it looks like I'll be going back to Edge at the ware shop. It's for Cid's paint and polish. I'll stop by at the bar,"
"Thank you, Cloud," Tifa said, "I love you!"
"Love you too, Tifa, bye," Cloud said, snapping his phone shut. Cloud resuscitated his engine and raced his way down to the city of Edge, the wind flying through his hair, as he skated the road.
In only half an hour, Fenrir was stationed next to the bar where Cloud entered. He went to give Tifa a kiss, then found Nanaki by the entrance to the living room, where he sat and greeted Cloud.
"I see you've come here as well, Nanaki," Cloud said, "Tifa told me you were seeing dragons in Cosmo Canyon."
"Yes, they were being trained by a human, a man whom I swear I've seen before," Nanaki told Cloud, "Though I don't know where,"
"I see," Cloud said, "I've seen a strange man myself, and for some reason, I feel like I've seen him before as well. What did the stranger look like?"
"Big man," Nanaki said, "I'd say as tall as Sephiroth, muscular, but I wasn't able to get a good look at his face. He was wearing a black cloak,"
"I see," Cloud said, "Have you asked any of our other friends about these strange occurrences?"
"Vincent," Nanaki said, "he said he heard some roaring echoes near the mythril mines when he passed by but couldn't find anything inside."
"Strange," Cloud said, "we'll let you know if we find anything else out,"
Nanaki later left the bar, with Cloud staying for a small meal and left soon after. Cloud went to pick up the paint and polish and made his way to Rocket town on the western continent. Because of the long drive to and back, Cloud came home late when Marlene and Denzel were put to bed and Tifa was cleaned up.
The two shared a meal, with Cloud eating at a normal pace.
"I have the day off tomorrow," Cloud said, "And Cid told me that he heard an explosion somewhere but didn't see any flame or smoke… surprised he didn't cause it."
Tifa briefly laughed, "Maybe it happened underground?"
"That's what he said," Cloud said, "but it was unusually loud."
"Do you suppose it was a large one?" Tifa asked.
"Must have been," Cloud said. After dinner, the two went to bed, wherein the dark, the demons of the night once again invaded Tifa's mind. That night, she saw the same man who tried to flirt with her, but this time it was in a different place. It was in the Shinra building prison in the cell she shared with Cloud, at the time when she and Barret went to rescue the late Aerith Gainsborough.
But again, Cloud was nowhere to be seen. Tifa nearly stood up before she heard footsteps. From the threshold when one boot came into view, Tifa could guess who it may have been, and when the other foot stepped to the other side, she could see Cloud's blonde spikey hair and mako blue eyes. His face though was stern as he came to take his place next to Tifa.
"Come on Tifa," he said, "let's go,"
This was not the Cloud of the present, this Cloud was the other Cloud, the Cloud who claimed to be a former SOLDIER first class. Despite this, he still wore his Cloudy Wolf outfit, and Tifa got up and took his hand.
However, disaster struck when Cloud was blocked off by masamune from his right. This time, it was wielded by Sephiroth, the very man whom Cloud hated with all his heart, the man who betrayed him, destroyed his childhood, and took away a very dear friend of his. Cloud drew the fusion sword all preassembled and pointed it at Sephiroth.
"Hello, Cloud," Sephiroth said, "I see you've found your friend. How… romantic,"
"Shut up!" Cloud said, "Sephiroth, this ends now!"
Cloud kicked Sephiroth to the floor as he got back up and blocked him from Tifa. Sephiroth laughed softly and approached him.
"Is Tifa that important to you, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked, mockingly, "No, you don't need to answer, I think I already know. I might as well take her from you…"
"Never!" Cloud barked, and turned back to Tifa, "Tifa, get out of here, I'll hold Sephiroth off!"
Tifa took a green orb from her pocket and put it in Cloud's left hand, "Healing materia!" she told him.
"Thank you!" Cloud told her, "Now get going!"
Tifa took off as Cloud began his fight with Sephiroth. She ran down the hall, but it never ended, or she couldn't see the end. She began to worry about Cloud, whether he would defeat Sephiroth and whether he would ever find her once he did. Soon Cloud and Sephiroth were nothing more than specks in Tifa's eyes.
The voices in her head begged her to turn back, to run to Cloud's side, to know if he was alright. Tifa at first resisted them and tried to move on but soon, they pulled her back and pushed her to run back to Cloud.
Unfortunately, after only a few metres, Tifa's arm was trapped by the grip of a giant hand. She turned to see that it was the hand of the dark stranger who made advances towards her, as he grinned and laughed.
"Not so fast, sweetheart," the man said, tugging Tifa's wrist. She tried to turn to punch him but the stranger trapped her other wrist before she could do so. Tifa struggled to break free, as the man counter resisted through great effort, with Tifa's wrists starting to turn red.
An unearthly scream came from down the hall, as Tifa screamed: "Cloud!"
The man holding her arms laughed out, his voice echoing through the never-ending hall. Tifa once again woke up, breathing heavily as she turned to see Cloud, alive, well, and asleep. Once again, she shuffled into his arms, where he unconsciously hugged her, and Tifa went back to sleep, comforted by his warmth. Her sleep once again bore only a vision of a black void where nothing could take her.
When Cloud woke up that morning, he again felt Tifa in his arms, where she silently slept. She looked so serene, that Cloud dared not to wake her and stayed still until she flickered her eyes open. The kiss that morning was more loving as Cloud's thin but muscular arms protected her, as though Cloud realised something was wrong.
The day had Cloud watching the bar as Tifa had served her customers, with him at one point having a beverage of his own at the counter, where he caught a good view of Tifa's ruby red eyes.
The dark stranger again appeared, taking his seat next to Cloud, who paid no attention to him, initially. Being too distracted by the lovely sight of Tifa, the man stared at Cloud as the man chuckled under his breath, as though he had a plan involving him. The point that broke Cloud's lack of attention was when Tifa began to take the man's order, that being some black rum.
Cloud saw that the man was staring at Tifa inappropriately, as the man turned to her and said: "You'd better get it soon, sweetheart!" with the last word causing Cloud to almost throw up, as the man laughed.
"Hey, why don't you do yourself a favour and respect people's boundaries!" Cloud said angrily.
"What?" the man asked mockingly, before turning around to him, "Oh, I see, you was the man whom she was kissing a fortnight ago. Thought I'd never see you again,"
Cloud growled at the man and asked him, "Why does that matter to you?"
"Oh, you'll see…" the man said. When Tifa came out with the rum, her gaze was focused solely on Cloud, through his cerulean blue eyes. She touched Cloud's shoulder as if she wanted to talk to him.
"In the pantry," Tifa said. Cloud finished his drink and followed Tifa into the pantry where she kissed him before asking, "So you've noticed that man too?"
"Mmm!" Cloud confirmed, "I first saw him when I went to buy some food. It was when Marlene was sick."
"I see," Tifa said, "he's been flirting to me."
"Then I'll teach him a lesson," Cloud said.
Tifa stopped him and told him, "Cloud, no, you'll create a scene!"
"Yeah," Cloud said, "then I'll keep an eye on him."
"Thank you, Cloud," Tifa said. The two kissed again before going back outside where Cloud took his seat back and had another beer. The man shifted his focus to Cloud and laughed, asking him what he and Tifa were doing.
"It's none of your business!" Cloud told him, as he sipped his beer. Throughout the couple of hours that the stranger was there, Cloud had kept a good eye on Tifa, with her busy with other customers. The two later had lunch in the living room where they were left alone and spoke to each other, sharing a drink.
By the time Marlene and Denzel came home, the stranger had left, his seat replaced by Reeve Tuesti, who ordered some apple cider. He told Cloud and Tifa of reports of strange noises in the valley beyond Midgar, the sound of louder monsters, he told them. The three became more suspicious, thinking they may have been the dragons reported by Nanaki. But what of the Mythril Mines or the explosion, they wondered.
After closing, Cloud and his family had dinner and afterwards, went to bed. Once again, the terrors of the night came to visit Tifa, this time, at sector 7 in Midgar. She remembered well, the events that occurred that day. It was after being saved by Cloud from Don Corneo, and learning of Shinra's plans to drop the plate. Tonight though, the stairs to the plate were blocked off by the Shinra army who violently threatened to take Cloud, Tifa and Barret to the Shinra building if they did not submit.
As the troops were wiped out, they were replaced by more, the numbers multiplying by two each time. Soon a loud clank was heard and from the sky came the sector 7 plate racing down like a meteorite to crush all those below it. Before the plate crashed, Tifa caught a glimpse of the dark stranger on the ladder before all she could see was nothing.
Tifa was shocked back to the land of the waking where the sun started to wake up and Cloud laid asleep, this time with his arm flopped over her abdomen. Tifa flipped to his side and cried on his neck and shoulder. She gave him a hug as she waited out the hours of sunrise, as she stopped crying and relaxed as Cloud woke up and gave her her morning kiss.
Cloud was away that day, therefore the same stranger who came by made more advances towards Tifa, but she was distracted when the former turks, Reno, Rude, Elena and Tseng took a table and were served by Tifa. When she returned to the counter, the stranger continued his advances, until Tseng approached to touch the man's shoulder, as Tseng shook his head.
Tseng went back to the table, as Tifa continued to work. The hours dragged on, the stranger left, the children came home, the bar closed, and Tifa received a message from Cloud reading: 'Tifa, I'm sorry, but I'll be late tonight.'
When Cloud came home, Tifa was asleep and didn't look terribly peaceful at all and got back into bed beside her. Tifa's nightmares continued, each night they got worse, with them being some of the most traumatic memories written within her mind, such as her journey up Mount Nibel as a child, the fall from the northern crater, and the death of Aerith Gainsborough, all starring the dark stranger, and soon she became afraid to fall asleep.
One night, when Cloud came home, he heard crying in Marlene's room, as she called out Tifa's name. Cloud rushed inside to see Marlene crying, as he came to her side to comfort her.
"Marlene!" Cloud cried softly, "Marlene, what happened?"
"Cloud..." Marlene said, "I had a nightmare?"
"A nightmare?" Cloud asked, "About what?"
"A man chasing after me with some monsters," Marlene said, sobbing, "He was so mean, and I was being chased."
Cloud hugged Marlene and told her, "Marlene, don't worry, it's just a dream - it's not real. Let me see if Denzel is awake."
Cloud went to Denzel's bed, where the boy woke up to see his adoptive father looking at him, "Cloud, what do want me to do?"
"Denzel," Cloud said, "Marlene's just told me she's been having a nightmare and I don't think she's alright to go to sleep again. Do you think you could let her sleep with you, just for tonight?"
"Ok," Denzel said, as he went up to Marlene. He gave her a hug and told her, "It's ok, Marlene, I'll protect you, ok."
Marlene hugged Denzel back, as Cloud told the children, "Thank you, Denzel. I'm going to bed now, you too go back too. Goodnight." and left the room, as the children waved him off.
Cloud entered his own room and got changed. After getting into his pyjamas, he noticed, that Tifa wouldn't go to sleep, as she shuddered.
"Tifa, you've been having nightmares too, haven't you?" Cloud said, "Tifa?"
Tifa turned to face Cloud, and asked, "Cloud, how do you know?"
"You've looked distressed in your sleep," Cloud said, "I've found you in my arms every morning, and sometimes when I wake up, I can feel dried tears on my neck. They were your tears, weren't they, Tifa?"
"Yes... they were..." Tifa said, "I've been having them for a while now. They were our memories. Last night, it was when Shinra tried to execute me, and this time they were successful and because you were comatosed, you never came. Cloud, I'm afraid to fall asleep again!"
Tifa broke down and cried into Cloud's shoulder, as his arms folded around her. They both laid down as Cloud kissed her soft, trembling lips, and Tifa kissed back.
"Tifa, don't worry about it," Cloud said, "I have nightmares too, sometimes, and when I wake up, I tell myself: 'don't worry, it's just a dream - it's not real,' and I feel better. Marlene was having nightmares too just now and Denzel was more than happy to comfort her."
"I see," Tifa said, "So I'm not alone."
"You say you were having nightmares about our bad memories?" Cloud asked, "Well let's talk about a good memory for a change,"
Cloud got under the covers with Tifa and stared into her crimson eyes. The two then kissed before Cloud began to speak again, "You remember when we were teenagers, right? It was in Nibelheim, remember!"
"Yes," Tifa said.
"Ten years ago, to this day," Cloud said, "The night we spent under the stars."
The two travelled into a flashback, to that day ten years ago. The dark curtain of the atmosphere was painted with millions of stars, creating the illusion of a path like sprayed milk. The surface was illuminated by the full moon, as though the artist wanted everyone to see his masterpiece and thus left a lamp, a beautiful lamp that blinded none who stared directly at it.
Below the artwork was a small town, filled with shops and houses that looked as though they were built centuries ago. Behind the town was an old manor guarded by a brick and iron gate. There, legend had it that a vampire, betrayed by his love slept in the darkest, most issolated room in the basement within his coffin, waiting for the day that he would be awoken.
Beyond the manor were the mountains surrounding the village. There was a path by the manor that led to the highest mountain of them all, Mount Nibel, where the town got its name from.
In the centre of the town was an old water tower, with a large barrel for water storage and a white and red fan on the side, transferring energy down into the wooden tank. On the ledge of the water tower sat a boy of fourteen, with blonde spikey hair tied into a ponytail, skin pale like the moon, and eyes the colour of the lake. He wore short cut clothing: a black shirt, some green shorts and a pair of brown boots. This was the young Cloud Strife.
The chill of the night bit his exposed skin as the hours passed. The boy considered going home but the sight of a girl, only a year younger than him prompted him to stay. She was a very pretty girl with eyes the colour of blood, long hair the colour of ebony and skin the colour of snow, with her attire consisting solely of a short cut, turquoise dress with strapped sleeves, and a pair of sandals. It was Tifa Lockhart, a girl whom Cloud deeply admired with all his heart.
Tifa approached Cloud from the other side of the tank and took a seat beside him.
"Hey, sorry I'm late," she said, "What did you want to talk about?"
"Come Spring, I'm leaving town," Cloud said, "I'm going to Midgar,"
"All the boys are leaving,"
"But I'm different, I'm not just going to find a job…" Cloud got up and leaned in to hold Tifa's shoulder with both hands, "I'm going to join SOLDIER," he said, and turned up to the sky, "I'm going to be the greatest, just like Sephiroth!"
"Sephiroth... the great Sephiroth?" Tifa murmured, as Cloud went around to climb atop the tank. Tifa continued, "Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER?"
Cloud nodded and told her, "I probably won't be back for quite a while…"
Tifa started to giggle, and Cloud turned to her, wondering, 'What's so funny?' before she continued: "Do you think you'll be in the papers?"
"I'll try," Cloud said, proudly nodding.
Tifa stopped and looked up to him and enthusiastically said, "Hey let's make a promise!" she suggested as she turned back to face the moon, "So… If you ever become famous and I'm ever in trouble… Promise, you'll come and save me!"
Cloud stammered and looked down at her before Tifa continued, "If I'm ever in danger, my hero will come to my rescue. I would like to experience that at least once,"
Cloud stammered once again, sinking to sit down on the tank, and Tifa said frustratedly, "Come on! Promise me!"
Cloud willingly nodded and told Tifa, "Alright… I promise." in an honest, generous way as he nodded once again.
Cloud and Tifa returned to the real world, where Cloud had finished retelling this specific chapter of their story and he told her, "And I'm still your knight in shining armour, now and forever…"
"And you always kept your promise," Tifa said, "Even though I don't need it as much as I did back then, and even when I didn't know. Thank you, Cloud for always being there for me. I love you…"
Cloud cuddled Tifa closely in his arms and told her, "Tifa, I'll make sure the nightmares don't haunt you again, ever. I'll protect you, always, I promise,"
The two shared a kiss as Tifa began to relax. The kind words told from Cloud, combined with his loving kiss hunted down and slew Tifa's fears of going to sleep as she kissed back, but parted and began to close her eyes. Although she could no longer see Cloud, she could still feel his presence within her arms, as she felt his lips embrace her own once again.
That night, the comfort of Cloud's arms truly shielded Tifa from the nightmares plaguing her sleep, and instead dreamt that Cloud protected her from all harm that came her way. Eventually, she dreamt of the very scene they talked about, and for the rest of the night, neither the stranger, Sephiroth, nor any other villain they may have known invaded her twilight slumber. They only saw each other.
When she woke up, Cloud's arms were still around her, and hers were still around him. The sun had awoken already, and the clock read 8:00 AM. Tifa closed her eyes again and relaxed in the space of Cloud's sword and shield.
The door was opened, and from it came Marlene and Denzel who had their bags upon their backs and were dressed in their school uniform. The children walked up to Cloud and Tifa, who looked at peace like two children feeling safe together. They stood there, and watched before Denzel broke the silence and told them: "Cloud, Tifa, we're going to school now!"
"See you soon," Marlene told them as the two left.
Cloud and Tifa both woke up and gave each other their morning kiss, "Good morning, Tifa," Cloud said, "Did you have a good dream?"
"Yeah," Tifa said quietly, "You've always kept your promise, thank you Cloud."
The two stayed a while longer before they got up, and downstairs as Cloud held Tifa's hand the entire way down. When they came to the door, their hands separated, as Cloud reached in to kiss her.
"See you soon," Cloud said, "I won't be late tonight, I promise."