By: General Quistis
Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…
Author's Note: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_;
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Chapter Thirteen
"Are you sure about this? What if he starts looking for us?" Reno asked while looking at his watch with a sleepy look on his face. "It's 5 am and we still haven't got some sleep!" he complained.
"Stop complaining, we need to catch the first boat to Junon. It'll be leaving at around 5:30." Reeve snapped impatiently.
"You still did not answer my question; what if he starts looking for us?" Reno asked as he and Elena continued to follow Reeve.
"Reno's right, Mister Reeve… what if Boss Tseng starts looking for us… or even President… President Rufus?" Elena asked with a nervous look on her face.
"They won't be looking for you or me. And don't call him Rufus because he is not! Now, we're going to Junon because we are getting the real Rufus out of there while there's still time," Reeve explained as they headed for the docks.
Reno and Elena just exchanged uncomfortable glances with one another as they followed behind Reeve with quick paces.
***
"Great… just great! 7 am in Sector 6… looking for that girl…" Scarlet muttered glumly as she continued to walk with Tseng and Rude. "And don't they even shovel their walks? Kyah?!" she complained as she realized that the reason why she was already tired and annoyed was because she was having a hard time walking in the snow with high heels.
"If you just wore boots, you'd be okay," Tseng told her.
"Kyah… I didn't know that the snow here is this bad!" she snapped.
"…" Rude reacted with a dull look.
"Kyah… Rufus said that he first saw her with a basket of flowers… maybe she sells them or something… kyah… and she has long braided mahogany hair. He isn't really sure about the color of her eyes… but he guessed from his memory that they're green. Kyah…" she said, wanting to change the subject as she adjusted her fur coat.
"I really don't know if I'm gonna call him Rufus or Cloud… Can I just refer to him as President?" Tseng asked with a confused look on his face.
"Can't we just call him Cloud whenever we're outside the building? It's really beginning to confuse me," Rude admitted.
"Kyah… you've got a point there, Rude…" Scarlet stopped when she saw some ladies selling some poinsettias beside the Church.
Tseng and Rude followed her gaze; the former said, "Maybe we could ask them?".
"Go," Scarlet commanded.
Tseng proceeded, putting his gloved hands inside the pockets of his trench coat before smiling kindly at the ladies. "Excuse me, madams… I would just like to inquire something," he said.
"Kyah… he's still too formal," Scarlet muttered.
The ladies looked up at him. "Yes?" one of them asked.
Tseng examined their faces. He didn't like any of them. "I trust that boy's taste would be good but… oh well, I just hope that Aerith isn't one of them…" he thought silently before saying, "Do you know a girl named Aerith? She's got long braided mahogany hair… and I think her eyes are green?"
The ladies stared up at him for a few seconds in silence before one of the replied with a sorry tone, "We haven't heard from her for the past couple of days, but yes, we know someone named Aerith Gainsborough. She used to take care of the flowers inside this Church."
Tseng blinked. "Do you know where she lives?" he asked.
"She used to live here in this Sector but she transferred to Sector 7 with some friends of hers…" one of the replied.
"Do you know where in Sector 7? I really need to talk to her," Tseng told them with a determined look on his face.
"You can just ask the people there."
With that, Tseng ran back to Scarlet and Rude with a pleased smile on his face, but because of the deep snow, he tripped and fell face-first.
"Kyahahahahahahahaha! Next time, you'll know better than to run in that kind of snow!" Scarlet said mockingly.
Rude helped his boss stand up with a ridiculous look on his face.
Tseng got up and brushed off the snow from his coat and his hair, but he still had that smile on his face.
Scarlet raised her eyebrow. "You look happy," she pointed out.
"She's in Sector 7." He said.
Scarlet placed her hands on her hips and smiled slyly at him. "Kyaha… there seems to be something in your eye… like a glint of someone who's got a crush on someone!" she said, probing him.
Tseng raised an eyebrow but he looked away, pretending not to know anything.
"Kyahahahaha! The spiky-headed boy's going to kill you once he finds out that you also like the girl," she said before turning away with an impish smile on her face.
Tseng's eyes grew wide in shock as he marched to her. "Excuse me?" he demanded.
She faced him again. "You can't hide it from me, Tseng. You like that girl, huh?" she asked.
Tseng just smiled proudly at her. "Don't worry, it won't get in the way of our dear President," he reassured before walking ahead of her and Rude.
***
"How did you end up in such a place like this anyway?" Yuffie asked Tifa as she handed her a cup of hot tea.
"I was running away from the Turks…" Tifa answered simply with a disappointed look on her face before taking a sip. "I was wondering… where is Aerith?" she asked with a gentle smile on her face.
"Why are you looking for her?" Yuffie asked.
"To thank her for bringing me here. If it weren't for her, I'd be dead and I wouldn't be able to do anything about Rufus with the help of you guys from AVALANCHE." Tifa explained.
It took a few moments before Yuffie was able to think of an answer, but before she could say it out loud, the door opened and there was Aerith, standing there with her big green eyes staring down at Tifa.
"Oh, here she is now," Yuffie said.
Tifa wondered why Aerith was staring at her like that; it intimidated her but she did not look away.
Aerith smiled gently at her. "You must be Tifa Lockheart." She said.
Tifa blinked for a while before nodding uneasily. "Y…yes." She replied.
Aerith nodded as she approached the bed and sat down beside Tifa. "Vincent told me." She continued.
Tifa did not really know what to say so she just said, "…yes… I know Vincent…"
"You're Rufus ShinRa's girlfriend?" she asked.
"I'm his fiancée," Tifa explained with a slight blush on her face.
Aerith nodded slightly. "Is he really in Junon right now, and that the person in ShinRa is an impostor?" she asked with a hopeful look on her face.
Tifa smiled gently as she placed the cup of tea on the bedside table before holding Aerith's hand, finally understanding everything about Aerith. "The Rufus ShinRa that's in your eyes is Cloud Strife." She said gently.
Yuffie smiled in silence at the two, hoping that the issue would be settled already. With that, she stood up. "I think I'd better go downstairs for awhile," she said before leaving the room. As she closed the door behind her, her smile widened in joy when she heard the two girls laughing gaily. "Oh well… at least Aerith's happy now…" she whispered before heading down the stairs. The moment she got down, she saw Vincent, Cid and Barret leaving the house. "Hey, where are you guys going? Aren't you gonna take me?" she wailed.
"You can come with us if you want to. Is Aerith upstairs?" Barret asked.
Red XIII was about to follow them too, but Barret stopped him, "Hey, hey, hey! Hold it… you stay here to guard the girls… and don't you dare let anyone in here, okay?" he commanded.
Red XIII snorted before turning away, heading for the kitchen. "Fine… guard the girls…" he thought miserably as he plopped down on the floor. "Oh well… at least I won't be walking on that snow…" he muttered with a slight smile on his face.
Five minutes later, just when he was about to fall asleep, he heard someone knocking on the front door. He rushed to window to take a look outside, and when he saw three familiar people standing outside the door, he instantly sprinted to the second floor. "Aerith! Aerith!" he called out as he pounded his front paws on the door to her room.
Aerith instantly opened the door with a curious look on her face. "What's wrong, Red?" she asked.
Red XIII saw Tifa and he frowned, "They could be looking for her," he thought silently before saying out loud, "The Turks are outside… with Scarlet…"
Aerith's eyes grew wide in surprise. "What?" she demanded.
Tifa got out of the bed and joined them. "No… they couldn't possibly tracked us down here?" she asked.
Aerith bit her lower lip before rushing down the stairs. "I'll take care of this. You guys stay here. If I can't handle them, I'll scream." She said.
***
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Scarlet asked.
Before Tseng could answer, the door opened. The three of them turned to the girl with long braided mahogany hair and green eyes. She was wearing a pink dress and a reddish jacket. She looked gentle and it gave them the impression that she could just be someone whom they could easily lure back to ShinRa… however, upon staring hard at her, Scarlet realized that she was an AVALANCHE member.
"Yes? May I help you?" the girl asked, pretending not to know them.
"A…are you Aerith Gainsborough?" Tseng asked, eyeing her carefully.
Aerith nodded. "Y…yes…" she replied nervously.
"Kyah… you're invited to come with us. President Rufus is expecting you," Scarlet explained with a fake smile on her face. "Icks… how could he choose someone from the slums?!" she thought silently as she eyed the girl.
Aerith's eyes grew wide in surprise. "M…me?" she asked. "No… he's not Rufus… remember that…" she thought silently as she stared at Tseng and Scarlet. "But why?" she asked.
"Kyah… just come with us and we'll explain everything to you when we get there," Scarlet snapped before grabbing her wrist and dragging her outside the house.
Aerith did not react; she just stared blankly at them as she let them drag her with a fast pace, not caring if she was cold, leading her out of Sector 7. "If it's Cloud… I'm going to be okay… I know…" she thought with a secret smile on her face.