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 Nine

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            After dinner, Cloud just decided to go back to the inn and rest. While walking down the streets of Nibelheim, he passed by the bar where Tifa worked and he saw a bunch of people standing outside. Cloud recognized them: Barret, Yuffie, Marlene, Cid, Vincent and Red XIII. He wondered if he should just pass by the other way or just go to them. "I'm tired right now… that Rufus made me more confused than before about Aerith…" he thought silently as he went the other way, trying to avoid them.

However, he stopped in his tracks when he heard Red XIII say, "Isn't that Cloud?"

"Oh no… it's happening…" Cloud muttered. He turned to them again but he didn't smile. "Hey," he greeted flatly.

The gang ran to him. "Hey, Cloud! How's it goin'? We were lookin' for you but we didn't know where you're staying so we tried to ask Tifa but we couldn't find her either…" Barret explained.

"Where is she? The boss over there said that Tifa worked in his bar but it's her off tonight…" Yuffie trailed off when she realized what Cloud was wearing.

"Why are you wearing that?" Vincent asked, referring to Cloud's black suit.

"Did you go on a date with Tifa?" Marlene asked with a cheery smile.

"Where's Tifa?" Barret asked.

Cloud's frown deepened as he uneasily pointed toward the ShinRa Mansion. "In. There. Gotta. Go. Sleepy. Tired. Bye." He said before walking away from them. "I wonder why Rufus asked Tifa to stay… and she actually agreed? Oh well… probably because of kitty… but I were Tifa, I wouldn't really call THAT kitty… I'd call it MONSTER… nah, it seems a little harmless now… maybe lioness… whatever…" he thought silently as he scratched his head.

The gang was silent for a while and watched him as he disappeared down the streets.

"What the &*&%$&(@@$# did he mean by that? Are you sure that's Cloud?" Cid said in total confusion.

"Yes, that's him, based on his smell…" Red XIII replied.

Yuffie giggled. "You mean, you sniff people?"

Red XIII frowned. "Yes, being one of my kind…"

"Where's Tifa?" Marlene asked her daddy.

Barret turned to the ShinRa Mansion. "I don't know what's going on, guys… but Tifa's in there." he muttered.

"Should we go see?" Yuffie asked.

Vincent stared for a while. "I don't think we should go there now." He told them.

"Wasn't that already ruined?" Yuffie asked.

"Well now it isn't. I smell something fishy here," Barret said while scratching his nose.

***

            The music room was very exquisite, redesigned from scratch. Rufus could clearly remember when he was just a little boy, he and his mother would spend too much time inside the music room just singing or playing instruments. It had been years ever since he last entered that room.

"I like this room," Rufus told her.

Tifa looked around, amazed at its friendly atmosphere. Then, she saw the piano. "You play the piano?" she asked. She wanted to smack herself for asking that. "Stupid, do you want him to yell your head off your neck for asking that stupid question? Of course, he knows how to play the piano, you've seen him already!" she thought angrily to herself.

He was silent for a while until Dark Nation entered the room and circled around him. He looked down at his pet and smiled. "Yes, I know how. My mom taught me. She loved music very much…" he admitted.

Then, Dark Nation purred. She turned to Tifa and said, "Meowrgh."

Rufus patted her head. "Good girl," he said.

Tifa knelt down and Dark Nation came to her. She embraced the panther-like animal and the purr grew louder.

"Would you like something to drink?" Rufus asked.

Tifa looked up at him. "Whatever you say," she replied.

Rufus went out for a while and after a few moments, he returned with Elena.

Elena eyed Tifa carefully and forced a smile.

"I'm sure you know Elena?" Rufus asked.

Tifa nodded slightly, eyeing the Turk carefully. "Did she just cry?" she thought silently.

Elena's eyes were a bit puffy. She walked across the room and placed the tray with the bottle of red wine and two wine glasses on the coffee table. Then, she walked back to the door. "Excuse me," she said before she left the room.

Rufus went to the coffee table and poured them some wine. "Are you sure it's okay if you stayed behind?" he asked.

"It's okay, Rufus. After all, if I went back to my house, I wouldn't be doing anything there. Besides, I just can't leave Kitty behind." She said with a sweet smile as Dark Nation nuzzled her face to Tifa's.

He smiled as he turned to her. "You're growing attached to Dark Nation, huh?" he asked.

"I can't help it… I'm sorry if I really adore Dark Nation so much… but if you want, I'll just stay away…" Tifa trailed off when she saw Dark Nation staring at her. "Meowrgh…" she said with a low tone.

Rufus flipped his hair. "I don't think Dark Nation would like that." He told her.

Dark Nation purred again.

Then, Tifa stood up and went to Rufus. "D…don't mind me asking, but since Cloud isn't here anymore… what exactly happened?" she asked.

Rufus stared at her with his icy blue eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I… I mean… What I meant was… uh…" she said, feeling nervous all of a sudden.

Dark Nation tilted her head to the right, looking up at Tifa with inquiring eyes while at the same time, it would seem like she was saying, "Don't worry, Tifa. If he does something bad to you, I'll bite his nuts. Hehehehehehe…"

Rufus sat down in the couch near the piano and crossed his legs and flipped his hair. "I see what you mean… but please elaborate so that I'll know if what I'm thinking is true," he told her.

Tifa hesitated for a while but she finally got the courage to speak up. "I mean… you're being nice and you've… changed…" she finally said.

Rufus smiled slyly. "Maybe… I'm a little surprised too myself… I mean, I should be doing those things which my father had done… but I'm not. Didn't you notice it even before?" he asked.

Tifa was silent for a while. "No, not really… Actually, we all thought of you as someone… well, heartless, I guess…" Tifa said. "I mean, Aerith once told us that no one's ever seen you bleed or cry," she said, quietly.

Rufus was quiet, thoughts whirling around his head. "No one's ever seen you bleed or cry…" he thought. "Damn…" he muttered. "You mean…" he took a sip of wine and stood up again. "…that's what people think about me?" he asked with a sly smile.

Tifa could tell that the smile was forced. "Um… I think so…" she trailed off when he placed the glass on the window sill. He turned to her with a serious but cold look. "What about you? How do you see me?" he asked with a low tone.

The question was unexpected so she didn't really know how to respond. She hesitated for a while but then she finally managed to say, "Uh, me? Well…" she gestured uneasily and a shy but nervous smile could be seen on her face. It was just like a graded recitation from way back in her schooldays and it was a 100-point all or nothing question which she didn't study for. "Uh… based on what others have said about you, you're cold-hearted, uncaring, insensitive, hard, serious, violent, evil… you know, all those stuff that they use to describe an extremely bad villain… until it seemed to so many people that you're more evil than Sephiroth and your father combined. And when you encountered Cloud and had a battle with him, I think that the reputation just kinda got into me and I thought of you as someone who should be loathed…" she trailed off when she saw Dark Nation's tail flipping restlessly and her head tilted to the left. She jerked and turned back to Rufus with a slight blush on her face. "But when I spoke to you, I think everything just changed. I mean, you're not so bad as they say… you're just… well, afraid?" she asked.

Rufus frowned at her upon hearing that. "Afraid?" he asked.

She was quiet.

"Meowrrrr…" Dark Nation circled around Tifa, as if to protect her.

Rufus shook his head and he stood up from the couch. Tifa thought that he would say something harsh to her, but he didn't. He kept quiet, trying to force himself to shut up instead of yelling at her like crazy for telling him that. Instead, he went to the piano and he began to play something. The beat was fast at first but it began to slow down.

Tifa listened carefully and she knelt down again and hugged Dark Nation. Dark Nation nuzzled her head against Tifa's neck as if to say, "Don't worry, Tiffy, I'm here…"

Tifa seemed to understood what it meant so she whispered, "Thank you, Kitty."

Then, someone entered without knocking. "President Rufus,"

Tifa and Dark Nation turned to the door with wide eyes. The latter hissed.

It was Scarlet and behind her was Reno.

Rufus didn't answer. Instead, he stopped playing and the whole room was silent for a while. After a few moments, he began to play again with one hand, The Funeral March. "What do you want?" he asked harshly.

Reno and Scarlet understood what he meant when he said that while playing the scary music. "Um… is this a bad time, sir?" Reno asked.

"What do you think?" Rufus asked as he slammed his fists on the keys, making everyone jerk. Dark Nation hid behind Tifa. Tifa stood up and moved away from them, going to the window and looking outside.

Scarlet gritted her teeth. "Kya… I guess it could wait."

Reno stared at Rufus, rolled his eyes at Dark Nation, and then walked off, but he stopped in his tracks when he heard Scarlet finally say to Rufus, "How come that slut's in here?"

Reno felt nervous all of a sudden. "Uh-oh… there goes our salary…" he muttered as he turned back to Scarlet. He ran to her and grabbed her hand, forcing her to come with him. "Let's go before he blows up the place!" he whispered.

She pushed him away. "I'm not going until President answers the question! I'm not going to let this AVALANCHE slut take President Rufus away from us!" she snapped.

Reno turned to Rufus and he thought that it was creepy that the President was just seated before the piano and staring at the keys, though his eyes reflected too much of undefined rage. Reno turned to Tifa and there was this hurtful look in her eyes as she tried her best to stop herself from saying something bad and cry. Dark Nation was ready to pounce as she was hissing at Scarlet angrily.

"What, President Rufus? I know that you are a man and you have urges but why do you have to take her? If I know she's been sleeping around with several men including Cloud Strife!" Scarlet stated with a panicky tone.

Tifa's mouth dropped open. Finally, she shook her head in annoyance. "Look here, Miss. I may not be from the same caste as Rufus and I may be working at this bar to earn my living, but that doesn't mean that I am a slut! You shouldn't be judging people from where they came from!" she snapped angrily.

"Aha, and you have the guts to answer me like that? Well then," Scarlet was about to say something nasty again, but she trailed off when Rufus pulled out his shotgun as he stood up and pointed it at Scarlet. "Looks like Scarlet needs to learn some manners about respecting the President's important guest… I don't like the way you're treating Miss Lockheart." He threatened.

Scarlet froze. Reno frowned and he just looked away.

"Rufus… I think I'd better go now. I don't want to stay in a place where I am not being accepted," Tifa told him with a shaky tone. Rufus turned to her and saw her tear-stained eyes, then back to Scarlet, giving her an oh-look-what-you've-done look.

Tifa went to Dark Nation, and scratched her head. "Bye, girl… I don't think I'll be coming back here soon…" she whispered. She walked out the door, Scarlet narrowing her eyes at her and Reno looking at her, sort of shocked.

When she felt the first tears drop, she felt like running, but just as she was about to, she heard Rufus's angry shout, "You imbeciles! Fools! Idiots! Get out of here before I fill your asses with gun powder!"

Then, she heard heavy footsteps from behind her. "Tifa!" he called out.

Tifa clenched her fists, her long nails digging deeply into her palm, and she never even cared when she felt the blood. She sniffed before she completely ran off. She didn't want to look pathetic with Scarlet and the other Turks around.

The moment she got down the stairs, she was already crying her eyes out and Rude saw her. He was about to stop her but she was too quick. She kept on running until she got out of the mansion. She stopped when she reached the streets near her house and she fell on her knees, covering her face as she sobbed helplessly.

She tried to calm down, but it was too hard for her. She wanted to go back to Rufus and tell him how she really felt, but she stopped herself and thought miserably, "Hey, Cloud's just in his room, I can go there and spill all my sadness since he's a good friend, but why would I wanna go to Rufus instead?"

"You alright?"

Tifa heard the familiar voice and she immediately stood up and turned to the woman who asked her the friendly question.

It was Elena.

The female Turk smiled gently at Tifa. "I saw you run out of the house. I was standing by the gate coz I don't like to see Scarlet and the others and hear them make fun of me for brooding over… over someone…" she admitted.

Tifa thought for a while if she should really trust Elena, but the smile convinced her to smile back. She wiped her tears away.

Elena approached her and patted her back gently. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Tifa nodded as she sniffed. "Yeah… but I've never been so insulted my whole life… it just hurt me… I mean, I know that what Scarlet had accused me of wasn't true, but in front of Rufus? It was all too much…" she explained miserably.

Elena smiled gently and shrugged. "So, would you like a cup of tea?" she asked.

Tifa shrugged. "I don't know… but if it'll make me feel better… okay," she replied before they went to the nearest coffee shop…