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! …by the way, we don't hate Aerith. In fact, we hated it when she died… (WHY?????!!! ;_;)

Chapter Eleven

_______________________________________________________________

            Marlene looked outside the window of the restaurant, not really paying attention to Rufus. "Hey, Rufus, how come a red-headed man and a blonde woman kept followin' us all the way here and now they're hiding behind the bushes?" she asked.

Rufus frowned and turned to the bushes outside. "I don't see anyone…" he declared.

"Rufus,"

Marlene's face lit up as she looked up at the man who called Rufus's name. "Cloud!" she said happily.

Rufus looked up and frowned. "Oh, good, you're here. Take a seat." He told the spiky-haired blonde.

Cloud hesitated for a while but he finally took a seat beside Marlene. "Why's Barret's daughter with you?" he asked.

Rufus froze. "Barret?" he asked.

"Never mind… look, sorry if I had to leave early last night. I was just confused…" Cloud explained rather sheepishly.

Rufus remembered that he needed to tell Cloud something. "Listen, Strife, I have something to tell you. It's very important… it's about Aerith." He said.

Cloud stared at Rufus for a couple of minutes before he spoke up, "Shoot," he urged.

Rufus leaned back and stopped eating. "She visited me last night in a dream and told me that…" he stopped. "Should I trust this guy?" he thought silently.

Cloud got Marlene's chocolate shake and took a sip. "Told you what?" he asked. Good thing Marlene didn't notice.

"I should… it's a matter of life and death…" Rufus decided silently before he spoke up again with a stern tone, "Aerith… she came to me in a dream last night. We were in the Lifestream…"

Rufus being in the Lifestream with Aerith made Cloud listen more attentively. "The Lifestream? What…"

Rufus cut him off. "She told me that I would learn something. I don't know what the hell it was about. But, she told me that once I find it out, she'll come back…"

Cloud's eyes widened. "Really?" he said rather excitedly. Marlene, they didn't notice, was listening too.

"Wow! Aerith's gonna come back?!" she said.

Rufus continued. "But… I'll have to die. If she's going to live, I'd have to die." He replied.

Cloud was speechless.

"But why?" Marlene asked with a sad look on her face.

Dark Nation whimpered and snuggled her face against Rufus's leg.

Rufus looked down. "It wouldn't matter anyhow. I know how much you love your old girlfriend," he told Cloud, disgusted at himself when he mentioned the word love.

Then, Cloud looked up at the girl who just revealed herself from the booth behind Rufus. His eyes were wide in surprise. "Tifa," he started.

Upon hearing the name, Rufus lightened up but he stiffened when he thought he heard Aerith's voice chanting, "Does it matter now?"

Tifa remained seated in her place as she forced a smile. "So you have to die?" she asked.

Rufus couldn't bear to take a look at Tifa. "That's what the Flower Girl had told me…" he replied softly.

Cloud smiled and he stood up. He walked past Rufus but patted his back as he did so. "Thanks, Rufus." He said before he got out of the restaurant.

Marlene was looking at Rufus with teary eyes. "You have to die, Mister Rufus?" she asked with a trembling tone.

Rufus couldn't take the pressure. "Damn it! I'm not even sick!" he thought angrily to himself.

Tifa bit her lower lip as she stared blankly at the floor. "Don't think of it as dying, Marlene… he's just going to a journey and… and we'll just see him again after so many years…" she began.

Tifa wanted to punch herself for being so ridiculous. It's only been a few days since she had known Rufus and she had already developed this crush on him. "I hate my life…" she muttered before she got up and ran out.

Rufus sighed heavily. "It doesn't matter anyway." He told Marlene.

"Are you sure?"

Aerith again.

Rufus looked up. "Leave me alone…" he muttered under his breath.

He could hear Aerith giggling from a distance.

***

            Elena saw Tifa rush out of the restaurant and followed Cloud. "What's she up to now?" Reno asked her.

Elena got up from their hiding place and decided to follow Tifa.

Cloud heard some footsteps from behind him so he turned around. The moment he did so, he received a strong blow on the jaw which sent him down to the hard floor.

Tifa was already crying. "How could you say 'thank you'?!" she demanded angrily.

Cloud stood up, rubbing his jaw. "I don't know about you, Tifa, but we should be celebrating because Aerith is going to come back!" he snapped.

"B…but what about Rufus?" she asked.

Cloud simply shrugged. "I don't know… he's gonna die for Aerith. At least we know that he would be dying for a good reason." He said simply, trying to ignore the pain his jaw is feeling.

Tifa inhaled sharply. "I don't believe you, Cloud! How did you grow to be so…. So…. COLD-BLOODED?!" she yelled, making everyone turn their heads and look at the scene. Elena stopped in her tracks, shocked at the sudden anger Tifa was expressing to an old friend.

Cloud looked back at her with mixed emotions of anger and confusion. "Wha-WHAT?! How dare you…" he gripped his sword, but he stopped when he heard a voice from somewhere, saying, "Don't! Please!"

His eyes grew wide in surprise. "A…Aerith…" he whispered in disbelief. He turned around but there was no sign of Aerith. "Aerith! Where are you?" he called out.

Tifa was stunned but she continued to speak up, "Cloud, I know how much you love Aerith but what about me?" she asked.

Cloud turned to her. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"If Rufus dies… what about me?" Tifa asked before she turned away. She covered her face and she could feel the cold breeze blowing suddenly against her.

Elena and Reno were surprised.

From behind a tall post, Rufus and Marlene stood there quietly listening.

Dark Nation was hiding in a dark alley, her eyes suddenly wide in awe and her tail wagging frantically like she was mad or something.

"You're only saying that because you're confused." Cloud said finally, then turned to Reno and Elena. "What are you looking at, you Turks?" he demanded.

Tifa removed her hands from her face and looked at Reno and Elena.

"Cloud, can't you at least… consider Tifa's feelings?" Elena asked with a stern tone.

Cloud sneered at her. "Look, I know that this girl likes me for a long time already but…" before he could continue, Elena rushed to him and punched his face. "You're only saying that because you don't know how it feels like to lose someone you love dearly!" she snapped.

"What? You think it didn't hurt me when Aerith died? I just kept quiet but deep inside, I was…" Cloud couldn't continue anymore. Memories of Aerith began to flood his mind again.

Elena was already crying; thinking about Tseng and how she would not be able to see him again made her feel so down.

Rufus bowed down. He knew that Tifa and Cloud had been together ever since childhood and it made him feel a little jealous when he recalled that Tifa had feelings for that spiky-haired moron. Then, he noticed that Marlene was already crying. "Why are you crying?" he asked as he bent down and got a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped her tears away. "Good people don't deserve to die, Rufus… and you're one of them," she said as she sniffed.

Rufus smiled gently at the little girl and embraced her tightly. "But this is for Cloud." He replied.

Then, Marlene noticed the handkerchief. "Mister Rufus… how come your hanky is pink?" she asked.

Rufus was stunned as he let go of the little girl and stared at his handkerchief. It was pink. He unfolded it, revealing the initials T.L. embroidered in one corner. His eyes grew wide.

"Now, Rufus… what can you say?" Aerith asked him from somewhere.

Rufus clenched his fists, remembering the time when his mother died. It was the day that changed his life and it also made him realize how hard it was to lose someone whom he loves dearly.

"I can't take this… I can't… I can't…" he muttered in a voice so low, only he could hear it.

Before he knew it, he was already rushing to Cloud and he pushed him down to the floor. "You idiot!" he yelled.

"Rufus!" Tifa had managed to say.

"I've never seen anyone so selfish than me and my goddamn father! You're worse than me!" Rufus told Cloud angrily.

Tifa went to him and pulled him away from Cloud.

Cloud stood up in annoyance as he dusted himself. "You're nuts!" he said.

"Oh yeah?!" Rufus challenged.

"I reckon you're the one who's gone mad!" Reno snapped at Cloud.

"Oh, and suddenly you are on Tifa's side?" Cloud told him.

"Better than yours, Strife. After all, as a loyal servant of President Rufus, I would only long for his happiness and I can see that in Tifa!" Reno said, making the others look at him.

Cloud gritted his teeth. "Coming from you, Reno, I wouldn't count on that…" he muttered. Not wanting to say anymore, he stormed off the scene. But before he could go, he heard Aerith's voice again: "Cloud… Watch what you say…"

He inhaled sharply before he left completely.