By: General Quistis (generalquistis@yahoo.com)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own mind that forced me to write this thing, thank you very much.
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Cloud scratched his head uncomfortably. "Are you sure she's telling you the truth?" he asked Red XIII.
"Give me reasons why I shouldn't trust the black panther." Red replied with a stiff look on his face.
Cloud stared at him for a while before replying: "She came from ShinRa. Rufus owns her. Rufus finds her here, we all die."
"Like you'll let him kill all of us? I doubt if he'll even harm a pregnant woman like Aerith," Red said.
Cloud shook his head. "Red, I don't know what's up with ya!" he said before standing up in alarm and headed out of the room and turned to the direction of the bathroom, surprised to see Aerith and Tifa crowding inside, giving the black panther a bath. He just stood by the doorway of the bathroom, observing them and the way Tifa treats the black panther. He made a face upon looking at Dark Nation, remembering his first battle with her and her master. "Damn it… Tifa seems so attached to that animal… if I tell her that she's Dark Nation, she might freak… maybe Red is right about that animal abuse thing that Dark Nation told him… maybe the cat's had enough… oh well, if she's happy with Tifa… hmf… but I'll have to observe closely… who knows, she could be carrying spy cams under that thick black fur…" he thought silently as he watched Aerith scrub Dark Nation's fur gently with a sponge.
Cloud crossed his arms. "…On second thought, those spy cams could've electrocuted them if she had some under that fur…" he thought as he leaned against the doorway, clearing his throat to get the girls' attention.
Dark Nation turned to him. "Meowrrr…" she told him with a sweet look on her face.
Aerith looked up at him. "Hello, Cloud. Breakfast is ready downstairs. Tifa and I just ate earlier… we're giving her a bath." She said.
Cloud examined Aerith for a while. "You shouldn't be moving too much, it's bad for our baby." He said.
"I'm only 2 months pregnant, Cloud, it's gonna be okay." She said with a wink before turning back to Dark Nation, helping Tifa with the scrubbing.
"Meowrrr?" Dark Nation uttered, turning to Aerith as if asking, "You're going to have a baby?"
"Hold still, Princess. We're gonna rinse you now," Aerith said gently with a sweet smile on her face.
"Princess?" Cloud asked.
"It's her name." Tifa reasoned as she rinsed off the shampoo from Dark Nation's fur.
Cloud raised his eyebrow. "Princess?" he repeated in disbelief.
"Anything wrong, Cloud?" Tifa asked.
Cloud shook his head frantically before running back to Red XIII and closed the door behind him, panting heavily.
Red XIII just looked up at him with sleepy eyes before jumping up on the bed and lied down there on his stomach. "You look angry. Why don't you let it out? Keep it all inside, you'll end up being like Rufus ShinRa." He said glumly but with a nagging tone.
Cloud just took a deep breath and released it as he leaned against the door. "Princess?" he asked, still in awe.
"If I told them her real name, they might get afraid… the poor girl needs to eat." Red XIII replied.
Cloud groaned miserably before plopping down beside the Red XIII.
"You're so out of character today…" Red XIII told him.
"I'm just in awe because of that cat. What if she's just one of ShinRa's traps? I'm the only one here who really knows how nasty that thing is… I don't know about you…" Cloud muttered glumly.
"She looks nice… she's just spoiled…" Red told him.
"Whose side are you on? AVALANCHE or ShinRa?" Cloud muttered.
Red didn't answer.
Cloud sat up, staring at Red XIII with wide eyes. "Don't tell me you're… you're her boyfriend?" he asked.
***
"YEEEOUCH!!!!!"
Tifa and Aerith stopped for a while.
Aerith giggled. "Maybe Red XIII bit Cloud's hand again." She said.
Tifa laughed as she started to dry up Dark Nation's fur with a hair dryer while Aerith rubbed a big pink towel against the fur.
Dark Nation sat up stiffly but still with poise, like a royal cat.
"This cat really has bearing, don't you think?" Tifa asked.
"Uh-huh." Aerith agreed as she nodded her head with a smile on her face before giggling again, "What if a handsome prince owns her and he comes looking for her and he finds you with her and then he's gonna fall in-love with you and he'll take you away back to his beautiful castle! That'd be so romantic, don't you think, Tifa?" she asked with excitement in her green eyes.
Dark Nation twitched her ears. "No Prince… but my owner's looks could qualify him to be a prince." She wanted to say out loud to them but she just can't; all she could do was say, "Meowrrr"
Tifa patted Dark Nation's head upon hearing her meow. "I don't think so, Aerith… what kind of Prince would fall in-love with a girl from the slums like me?" she asked.
"You came from an upper-middle classed family in Nibelheim, you're not really from the slums." Aerith reminded her.
"That was in Nibelheim. I'm in Midgar now. Sector 7, Midgar: a.k.a. The Slums." Tifa corrected with a stern look.
Aerith examined Tifa, noticing how she was avoiding her gaze. "You sound pessimistic. Is it because of me?" Aerith asked.
Tifa shook her head sadly as she turned the hair dryer nozzle toward Dark Nation's right side. "No… it isn't. I told you, you and Cloud do not have anything to do with any of my problems, okay?" she asked with a reassuring smile as she turned her gaze to Aerith.
Aerith noticed Tifa's eyes glistening with some tears. "…Tifa," she began.
Tifa just smiled bitterly as Dark Nation turned to her. "Mew?" the cat asked, meaning to say, "Are you okay?" To her surprise, Tifa just embraced her and she felt the girl crying against her fur. "Why…why is she crying?" she thought as she moved away from Aerith and moved closer to Tifa, nuzzling her head against her neck and started to make whimpering noises. Aerith smiled gently as she stroked Dark Nation's fur. "Where did you come from?" she thought sadly.
Yuffie watched quietly from their bedroom, eyeing Tifa with pity in her eyes. Marlene sat down beside Yuffie. "Why is Miss Tifa crying?" she asked softly.
Yuffie patted Marlene's shoulder. "Same reason as always, Marlene…" she replied softly.
Marlene looked down at the floor. "Does he even know she exists?" she asked.
Yuffie shrugged. "Even if we say maybe, I really think it's too late… she can't reach him now…" she replied sadly.
They looked up, turning their gazes to the door facing their room, curious to see Vincent standing by the doorway and staring unbelievably at Dark Nation and Tifa, but he didn't say anything though his eyes were wide. He just walked away, knocking at Cloud's room.
"Yeah?" Cloud called out from inside.
"May I have a word with you?" Vincent asked, still keeping his eye on Dark Nation.
Cloud opened the door with a bandage around his right hand and noticed Vincent still staring at Dark Nation unbelievably. Cloud made a face. "That's Dark Nation's mate." He said airily.
"Are you going to stop teasing me or you want your left hand to have a bandage around it too?" Red XIII snapped from the bed, wagging his tail back and forth.
Cloud rolled his eyes and turned back to Vincent. "Wanna hear the story of the Lady and the Tramp? Come inside, this tramp will tell ya," he said, referring to Red XIII.
Red just looked away.
"I don't know what's going on here but I think you'd better get rid of that cat before the Turks come looking for it." Vincent whispered as he got inside.
"Tell that to Tifa. She loves it." Cloud said.
"She means no harm. She's hungry. Just let her stay here for a while and then Cloud could just take her back to ShinRa after the girls feed her." Red XIII told them reassuringly.
"Oh yeah? How can you say that? Have you seen that nasty thing stand beside her master and fight me?" Cloud told him.
"I can smell her. She really means no harm, based on her scent. She's just spoiled and she's hungry and she needs food and water and that bath." Red XIII said sleepily before yawning.
Vincent approached Red XIII and bent down, examining him. "We oughtta castrate you before that black kitty ends up in ShinRa with little red kittens scurrying around Heidegger's ass." He said.
***
"ARRGH! DAMN! ARRGH! OUCH!"
"Was that Vincent?" Aerith asked as she looked up at the ceiling.
They were already in the dining area of the kitchen and Tifa was preparing some tuna mixed with rice for Dark Nation.
Marlene laughed heartily. "Maybe Red bit his nose again! Teeheeheeheehee!" she said happily.
"Meowr?" Dark Nation asked, turning to Marlene, as if asking, "Does he have Rabies shots?"
Marlene jumped down from her seat and went to Dark Nation. "Kitty!" she said happily before embracing the black panther.
Dark Nation twitched her nose, sniffing Marlene for a while, and when she realized the good scent from the little girl, she began to purr and nuzzled her head against her. "Meowrrr…"
Barret smiled. "Looks like Marlene likes 'er too." He said.
Cid just observed them before taking a sip of coffee and got the newspaper from Barret's grasp.
"Hey, you foo'! I wuz still readin' that!" Barret snapped angrily.
"Well I @#$%*# have it now! Take the business section," Cid replied, tossing him the Business Section of the paper.
Barret muttered more curses before he proceeded to read.
Tifa placed the food dish on the floor by the kitchen sink and Marlene immediately let go of Dark Nation. "Go there Princess." She said.
Dark Nation rushed to the food dish and began to eat. "Hmm… not too bad…" she thought before turning her gaze up at Tifa while chewing.
Tifa smiled gently at her and patted her head before placing a water dish beside the food dish. "Drink lots of water afterwards, Princess. It's good for your digestion." She said.
Dark Nation nodded before proceeding to eat again.
Tifa went to the door. "Don't do anything to Princess, you hear?" she asked before she got out.
All eyes turned to Dark Nation, observing her as she ate. "That cat's really big…" Barret said.
"I wish Miss Tifa would keep her forever." Marlene said sadly as she sat down on the chair again.
"Oh no, Marlene. I don't think that panther could stay here forever. She should belong to a much bigger household." Barret said.
"You mean from the elites?" Yuffie asked.
"Obvious from the look of her fur." Barret explained.
Cid laughed. "Maybe we could ask for ransom!" he kidded.
Dark Nation made a growling sound before starting to eat again, "Don't you dare…" she thought.
"No way! Besides, Tifa wouldn't like that. She'll take care of Princess for a while but she'll return her to where she came from." Aerith told them.
Cid's eyes suddenly grew wide in surprise when he flipped to the second page of the newspaper. "@#$%!" he cursed.
"What?" Yuffie asked before pouring milk on her cereal.
"They're restoring Nibelheim!" Cid announced.
Aerith's eyes grew wide in awe. "Really?" she asked as she went behind Cid to read over his shoulder.
Her mouth dropped open before she read some of the article aloud for everyone else in the room to hear, "President Rufus ShinRa of the ShinRa Electric Power Company is planning to restore the town Nibelheim in honor of his deceased mother who was born and died there…"
Dark Nation stopped eating and turned to all of them, uttering a loud "MEOW!" as if telling them proudly and happily, "That's my Master! That's my Master! He's going to restore Nibelheim! He went there!"
"Gee… she seems happy," Barret figured out as he examined Dark Nation's face.
"Tifa is going to be happy when she hears that! Let's tell her once she gets back!" Yuffie said happily.
"Oh, the things we do just to keep that girl happy…" Barret muttered glumly before proceeding to read the Business Section. "Damn the news… everything's about ShinRa! Blah ShinRa, blah ShinRa, blah ShinRa… HAH!" he threw away the paper.
Dark Nation growled under her breath as she ate.
"Now she's angry. What's wrong with that cat?" Barret asked.
"The only thing wrong here is you talking against ShinRa!" Dark Nation thought.