Beyond Seven

By: General Quistis (generalquistis@yahoo.com) and Xu (zhakeena@yahoo.com)

Disclaimer: Oh, ya know… it goes a little somethin' like this… we don't own anything but the story plot and our sanities… duh… whatever… -_-

Authors' Notes: This is part of our plan to sow the seeds of the Rufus/Tifa shipping um… whatever! So there!

Chapter One

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            "Am I dead?" he thought.

"No, you're not." A girl's voice.

He could recognize that voice from somewhere in his memory, but he was not sure… until he saw the girl standing beside him, looking down at him with a smile.

"You," he frowned. He had this urge to move away from her, but he didn't. "Aren't you the Flower Girl?" he asked with a mean look.

"Yes," she replied simply.

He clenched his fists. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Cloud Strife?" he asked.

She looked down, her eyes reflecting sadness as she shook her head sadly. "I can't be with him," she replied simply with a disappointed tone.

He stared up at her. "Where am I?" he asked.

"You're near the Lifestream." She answered.

He rubbed his temples, while trying to stand up. "… Near the Lifestream? Then… I'm near death." He said aloud, but he fell on his knees, feeling so weak.

To his surprise, the Flower Girl reached out a helping hand to him and helped him stand up. She had this kind smile on her face, but her eyes reflected sadness and disappointment.

Rufus refused to take her hand and he stood up all by himself.

"I knew you could do it," she said.

He frowned. "Do what?" he asked.

"Stand up by yourself without anyone's help. You always have, Rufus." She replied.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"I thought you knew me as the Flower Girl?" she asked.

"Your name." He stated.

"Aerith Gainsborough. And you are Rufus ShinRa." She said with a sweet smile on her face.

His eyes narrowed at her. "And as you were saying?" he asked.

Aerith had this serious look on her face. "…But can you stand up again after you fall this time?" she asked with a challenging tone.

Rufus was surprised when he suddenly lost his balance and he fell on his butt. "Ow! Dammit!" he cursed angrily. He looked up at Aerith but she was not there anymore. "Wh…where is…" he was about to ask, but he turned around when he heard her voice from behind him. "Can you?" she asked, her tone getting stiffer.

Rufus frowned at her as he tried to stand up. "What are you trying to imply?" he demanded.

She simply smiled at him. "Can you tell Cloud to wait for me?" she asked with a sweet tone.

He was about to say something more, but she disappeared and rain began to pour down. He looked up at the dark skies. "Aerith!" he called out. He felt panicky when he discovered that he could not stand up anymore. "Aerith!" he shouted.

"No one's ever seen you bleed before, but right now, you are bleeding," she chanted from somewhere.

"She's teasing me," he thought angrily as he examined himself, searching for signs of blood, but there was none.

"I'm not bleeding…" he realized.

"You're bleeding but you don't know it because you have blinded yourself because of your fear."

…