Chapter 2: Turks
Note: Squaresoft legally owns all characters. Yep, that's all I have to
say.
"Sigh.", she breathed as she knew she couldn't stay like this for long. The afternoon light was waning from the sky and dwindling into sunset as Tifa lay there in that hammock next to Cloud. When next to each other like this, it was as if they fit perfectly with another, as if it were meant to be. And perhaps it was meant to be, as the simplicity of being with one another was all they needed. The sunset was a perfect harmony of purples, pinks, and oranges, everything so picturesque. But time never being enough of what it is, Tifa had to leave him here.
"Sorry, but I have to go. Choco gets angry with me if I forget to feed him."
"Take this with you.", said Cloud, grabbing her hand. He kisses her for a while, and then let's her go.
"Mmmm, I'll be sure to keep that.", she says as she smiles back, leaving for the stables.
"Hey there Choco.", she warmly greets to her favorite chocobo.
"Wark!", he says hungrily.
"Yeah, you like your memmit greens, I know, I know.", she says while hand feeding him.
"Wark! Wark!", says Knight, wanting the same attention.
"Don't worry, I'll feed you, too.", she says while rubbing its golden down. Cloud is still lying down on the hammock, enjoying the pastel hues that now consumed the sky. Everything felt in place, in all order, ever since that day, almost exactly 1 year ago when he lost Aeris. He felt it was strange that way, that even though he lost Aeris, something gave him the strength after that dream of Aeris, that he could ease his pain, and try and be strong to comfort Tifa. But he wasn't complaining, as he had learned to try and not think about the past all the time. He somehow understood that going back to only thinking of Aeris wouldn't change a thing, if she were to always leave him, as if assigned by fate. And so he moved on. It's not like he instantaneously forgot about Aeris, as he did feel his heart split with an open wound, but he had to be there for Tifa, as she had always been there for him. He hadn't forgotten Aeris, like he promised he wouldn't, but now, being with Tifa is all he wished and could ever wish for. That, and to keep the calm serenity of this sunset.
"RING!"
"Never fails.", he said as he picked up his PHS.
"Cloud!", yelled Barret into the PHS. "Big news!"
"What Barret?", Cloud asked.
" I am now happy to say, that Corel has been rebuilt!"
"Hey Barret, that's great!", congratulated Cloud.
"Just goes to show you what happens when ya' work hard. We're unveiling Corel tomorrow, so Cid's gonna pick ya' up in the Highwind. I guess I've repaid the people of Corel, not to mention Eleanor and Dyne, and now I can rest easy without a debt on my shoulders.", concluded Barret.
"Uh, why didn't you tell us you were rebuilding anyway?", asked Cloud.
"I heard it was going so well with you and Tifa, I thought I might leave you two alone, heh heh.."
"Yeah yeah, very funny Barret."
"Try and dress nice tomorrow, though. Wanna show of some off to the guys who did my construction the people I know."
"And how did you even fund the construction?", asked Cloud.
"Let's just say Reeve is a horrible poker player."
"Barret."
"Come on! I have to have some fun once in a while."
"Okay fine then, but how much did you win off of him?"
"200 million gil."
"200 MILLION GIL!"
"Yeah, that's how much construction was. And besides, the guy's loaded."
"And what would've happened if you lost?"
"I'm only telling you that it involved a pink dress."
"Eeee..don't even wanna picture that."
"Har har, well just be ready to be picked up tomorrow."
"Fine. See ya'."
"Cloud, I heard you yell. Something about 20 million gil?", she asked curiously.
"That was Barret on the PHS. He and Reeve were playing poker again."
"I still remember the last time they played."
"I know. I feel sorry for those chickens."
"Don't remind me.", she said, wincing at the mere thought.
"Cid'll be here tomorrow. It turns out Barret went and rebuilt a town behind our backs."
"A town? What?"
"I know the feeling. He went and rebuilt Corel using Reeve's cache of well, cash."
"That at least makes sense.", she says. "And that was the worst pun I've ever heard.", she mentioned as she sat back down on the hammock, as night finally took its toll. She looked magnificent as the moonlight hit her body, but he always thought she was beautiful. In fact, she catches almost any man's eye when she enters a room. But Cloud saw it differently. He could sense something within her, beyond physical beauty. Her heart itself was beautiful enough for anyone to fall in love with. And it seemed he was one of the only people who could see past her dark brown hair that hung down her back and was loosely tied at the end, the radiant glow of her face, the warm brown eyes, her bright pink lips, and not to mention the abundance of cleavage if you looked a little farther south from her face. And that was an amazing feat in itself.
"Cloud?", she asked in a certain tone that made him remember Aeris, despite all that that he loved her. He looked back at her to see two beautiful light brown eyes twinkling brighter than the stars themselves.
"Yeah, Tifa?"
"Somehow today, I couldn't help but remember these things from a year ago. When Aeris died again."
"I think I know what you mean. Don't get me wrong, I love you, but lately my minds seems to wander back on its own."
"So I'm not alone on this one.", she says as she leans against a tree that holds up and end of the hammock.
"I guess you're not. But I want to assure you that you're never alone." She sighs and then leans on him, and she closes her eyes.
"With you, I don't think I'll ever worry about that."
The next morning, Cloud awoke to the same familiar humming sound of the Highwind, landing closely nearby. This time, only Cid was there to greet them.
"Hurry up! We still need to get the others!", Cid urged. Cloud was dressed in a tux while Tifa was wearing a small black dress and had a small black purse to match. They managed to bring Vincent out of the mansion, but he was still wearing his normal clothes, because he lacked a suit. Cid let him use the spare Shera gave him.
"A spare suit?", asked Cloud curiously.
"Always double checkin', that woman. I swear, that stuff has taken her half her life."
"I'm tellin' ya', she likes you.", said Cloud.
"Aw, shut up!", he yelled back at Cloud.
"Now Cid, don't blow up at him.", said Shera, stepping out of a hallway.
"Shera? I didn't know you were here.", said Tifa.
"I'm here to make sure he doesn't put his goggles back on.", said Shera.
"But I look stupid without them!", Cid complained.
"You look fine. Remember, Barret wanted us to be formal. He doesn't even normally like to dress formally himself.", noted Tifa.
"It's a special event. And it really means a to him that he can repay the debt of the accident he blames himself for. Besides, I bet he's getting filthy rich off of Reeve, too.", said Cloud.
"Hold on! We're landing!", yelled Cid as the Highwind began its descent. They stop off in Cosmo Canyon, to pick up Red. Red walks aboard the ship and onto the bridge, and they find he is wearing the top part of a suit.
"Nice Red.", said Cid. "But how did you button the buttons?"
"It took me an hour. And don't get me started on the cuff links. You humans are lucky as you have been blessed with thumbs."
"That's right, you don't have thumbs.", remembered Tifa.
"Woo.", he said, clearly exhausted. "My paws are tired. Who else are we missing?"
"Just Yuffie and Reeve. Come on, we're going to Wutai.", said Cid as they sharply turned in the sky to the west. They streaked the large ship through the sky, the pagoda growing larger as they neared the horizon, where Yuffie was actually standing on top of, waving back to them in a flattering red dress with light satin sleeves and a long slit for the legs going up the thigh.
"How'd she get up there wearing that?", asked Tifa.
"She's a ninja. She found a way.", said Cloud.
They disembarked, and saw Yuffie standing under a cherry blossom tree, smiling back at them.
"YOU ARE NOT LEAVING, YOUNG LADY!", bellowed a man behind her. It was Godo, and he was fuming with rage.
"DAD! I HAVE TO.", she yelled back. The rest were standing there nervously, as the two fought.
"NO YOU DON'T! YOU ARE STAYING AT THE PAGODA UNTIL YOU ARE BEATEN!"
"FORGET IT!" She begins to storm off toward the ship.
"YOU STAY BACK HERE UNTIL I'M DONE YELLING! HEY!" Yuffie had completely ignored Godo, and she walked right into the entrance of the ship. "Sigh. that can't be my daughter."
"Don't worry Godo. She'll be back before any challenger comes.", said Cloud.
"I can't stop her. She does what she wants. What happens when it is her turn to lead Wutai?"
"The end, that's what.", mutters Cid. "Ow!" He received an elbow in the gut from Yuffie, who came back out to see why nobody else was coming.
"Let's go.", she ordered. They walked back to the Highwind, but they still couldn't get over the argument between her and her father, but even more so, they couldn't get over what she was wearing.
"Where'd you get the dress?", asked Tifa. They all couldn't believe her attire, as they thought she'd just ignore the dress code and go as she normally does. Besides wearing the dress, she was wearing a simple silver necklace, with a circular green jewel in the center, which was actually a fire materia. But other than that, not much was changed, as she was still wearing that green hair thing that was wrapped around a very small section in the back part of her head, but she was also wearing a pair of matching stilettos, and Tifa now wondered more than ever how she climbed up a 500 foot tall building with them.
"Why?"
"Well, it's.different.", said Cid.
"I don't know whether that's an insult or compliment, so if it's an insult, you better go and start that thing up before I go all ninja on your ass.", she said unusually irritably.
"Why are you so eager to leave?", asked Vincent, as he was curious to why she was not her usual cheery self, and to the fact he was still staring at the dress, although very nice, if not revealing a lot of leg.
"I can't stand being around Godo lately. 'You've got an important duty. You must stay here and defend the honor of Wutai.' Now, imagine staying in that stupid pagoda for a year with someone repeating that over and over, and see if you don't freak out."
"You stayed there for a year?!", exclaimed Cloud.
"Yeah. The last real time I left was when I was excused for the Weapon incident.", she said. "But I've actually snuck out every night so I guess it wasn't that bad." Cid pulled a lever, and the Highwind shook as it raised itself into the air. "Urp! See ya'!", she said running to her spot because of her acute motion sickness.
"Wow, for someone with stilettos, she sure can run.", said Tifa.
They now sped toward the industrial complex that is the city of Midgar, where the sky never appeared, and even if you did manage to see it, it was blackened with pollution, and other forms of industrial decay. Reeve however lived in the lap of luxury, being so rich that he was still financially secure, even after paying Barret the money. They landed, entered, and managed to reach the top plate by being dropped off by a rope that led down to the surface of the top plate of sector 2.
"Holy.!", said Cid as he walked up to the door of Reeve's house with the others. It looked to be the only place in Midgar that actually had a lawn, if not some form of plant life, and it was an enormous brick mansion with a huge veranda sticking out on the top floor with big bay windows.
"Uh.", trailed Cloud in absolute shock. He noticed the doorbell and pressed the button, and the chiming of bells began playing. Reeve opened the door, revealing a beautiful living room with a doorway leading to a marble and granite floored kitchen. Reeve was in his usual suit, since he was always dressed formally.
"Hello there. Welcome to my humble abode.", he greeted.
"Humble? This is anything but humble.", said Cloud.
"Really? I tried to make sure it was. Isn't everyone's house like this?"
"Uh, yeah, sure. Everyone has a plasma TV that takes up an entire wall.", said Cid, gaping at the size of it.
"Good. I'm bringing Cait Sith if you don't mind. I managed to make him an automated AI, so he should run perfectly."
"Hey there.", said Cait Sith as he hopped forward, his Mog wearing a little bowtie."
"Aw, it's so cute!", said Yuffie. "And I can steal his materia, too." They left for the Highwind, the entirety of the team finally collected, and they streaked across the sky to the newly rebuilt town of Corel. When they entered, they found it to be rather beautiful; it's tents and shacks replaced by stately houses and lush green lawns. It even had its own commercial district, to attract tourists, filled with casinos and bars, and also they were made most likely out of Barret's wishes.
"I'm likin' this already.", said Cid, about to walk into a bar.
"Get back here.", said Shera as she pulled him back into the group.
"Hey there!", yelled Barret. "I'm about to give my speech for-"
"Well well, look who it is.", said a man in a blue suit. He had flaming red hair and a blue bandana, wrapped casually around his head. He was eyeing both Tifa and Yuffie, and walked closer.
"What are you doing here?", said Cloud with a little tension in his voice.
"I'm just here for the gambling.", said Reno. "And maybe for the company.", he said looking even closer now at Tifa. Barret stepped forward, and put his gun-arm up to the Turk's forehead. "Hey there big guy, there's no need for any of that. It's not in my orders to hunt you down. In fact, for quite a time, I haven't received any orders. The last time I received orders was about a year ago. And even then, they were canceled a week after some strange energy in the north. But the numbskulls at headquarters were probably just mistaken." Cloud reeled back a little, remembering the time he spent unconscious after falling in the Lifestream, as it was exactly a week. Barret's arm fell back to his side.
"Come on, I got a speech to make. And I ain't wastin' any of my ammo on his skinny ass." They all left Reno back there, as he called back, "Hey Tifa! Maybe after that big ogre over there is done, we could see each other!" She however just kept on walking and never looked back.
"Heh, she'll come around.", said Reno to Rude who walked up with Elena behind him. "They always do."
---------------------------------- Huzzah! And that's the end of chapter 2. But even though this chapter was horrible and mediocre, chapter 3 promises to be excellent, I swear. I'm writing it currently, and it may take day or two for me to finish writing it and posting it, not to mention the typing. But I already have a lack of sleep, which is why this one pretty much sucked, as it doesn't seem to have much feel yet. But then again, it was one of those rushed ones when your consumed by stress and the fear of failure, as you must be in touch with oneself and feel the story flowing out of you, instead of mercilessly stabbing the paper with your pen. But anyway, like I said, I promise you the next one is worthy to be seen by the light of day, so just hang on and send those reviews! (really, I desperately need them!)
"Sigh.", she breathed as she knew she couldn't stay like this for long. The afternoon light was waning from the sky and dwindling into sunset as Tifa lay there in that hammock next to Cloud. When next to each other like this, it was as if they fit perfectly with another, as if it were meant to be. And perhaps it was meant to be, as the simplicity of being with one another was all they needed. The sunset was a perfect harmony of purples, pinks, and oranges, everything so picturesque. But time never being enough of what it is, Tifa had to leave him here.
"Sorry, but I have to go. Choco gets angry with me if I forget to feed him."
"Take this with you.", said Cloud, grabbing her hand. He kisses her for a while, and then let's her go.
"Mmmm, I'll be sure to keep that.", she says as she smiles back, leaving for the stables.
"Hey there Choco.", she warmly greets to her favorite chocobo.
"Wark!", he says hungrily.
"Yeah, you like your memmit greens, I know, I know.", she says while hand feeding him.
"Wark! Wark!", says Knight, wanting the same attention.
"Don't worry, I'll feed you, too.", she says while rubbing its golden down. Cloud is still lying down on the hammock, enjoying the pastel hues that now consumed the sky. Everything felt in place, in all order, ever since that day, almost exactly 1 year ago when he lost Aeris. He felt it was strange that way, that even though he lost Aeris, something gave him the strength after that dream of Aeris, that he could ease his pain, and try and be strong to comfort Tifa. But he wasn't complaining, as he had learned to try and not think about the past all the time. He somehow understood that going back to only thinking of Aeris wouldn't change a thing, if she were to always leave him, as if assigned by fate. And so he moved on. It's not like he instantaneously forgot about Aeris, as he did feel his heart split with an open wound, but he had to be there for Tifa, as she had always been there for him. He hadn't forgotten Aeris, like he promised he wouldn't, but now, being with Tifa is all he wished and could ever wish for. That, and to keep the calm serenity of this sunset.
"RING!"
"Never fails.", he said as he picked up his PHS.
"Cloud!", yelled Barret into the PHS. "Big news!"
"What Barret?", Cloud asked.
" I am now happy to say, that Corel has been rebuilt!"
"Hey Barret, that's great!", congratulated Cloud.
"Just goes to show you what happens when ya' work hard. We're unveiling Corel tomorrow, so Cid's gonna pick ya' up in the Highwind. I guess I've repaid the people of Corel, not to mention Eleanor and Dyne, and now I can rest easy without a debt on my shoulders.", concluded Barret.
"Uh, why didn't you tell us you were rebuilding anyway?", asked Cloud.
"I heard it was going so well with you and Tifa, I thought I might leave you two alone, heh heh.."
"Yeah yeah, very funny Barret."
"Try and dress nice tomorrow, though. Wanna show of some off to the guys who did my construction the people I know."
"And how did you even fund the construction?", asked Cloud.
"Let's just say Reeve is a horrible poker player."
"Barret."
"Come on! I have to have some fun once in a while."
"Okay fine then, but how much did you win off of him?"
"200 million gil."
"200 MILLION GIL!"
"Yeah, that's how much construction was. And besides, the guy's loaded."
"And what would've happened if you lost?"
"I'm only telling you that it involved a pink dress."
"Eeee..don't even wanna picture that."
"Har har, well just be ready to be picked up tomorrow."
"Fine. See ya'."
"Cloud, I heard you yell. Something about 20 million gil?", she asked curiously.
"That was Barret on the PHS. He and Reeve were playing poker again."
"I still remember the last time they played."
"I know. I feel sorry for those chickens."
"Don't remind me.", she said, wincing at the mere thought.
"Cid'll be here tomorrow. It turns out Barret went and rebuilt a town behind our backs."
"A town? What?"
"I know the feeling. He went and rebuilt Corel using Reeve's cache of well, cash."
"That at least makes sense.", she says. "And that was the worst pun I've ever heard.", she mentioned as she sat back down on the hammock, as night finally took its toll. She looked magnificent as the moonlight hit her body, but he always thought she was beautiful. In fact, she catches almost any man's eye when she enters a room. But Cloud saw it differently. He could sense something within her, beyond physical beauty. Her heart itself was beautiful enough for anyone to fall in love with. And it seemed he was one of the only people who could see past her dark brown hair that hung down her back and was loosely tied at the end, the radiant glow of her face, the warm brown eyes, her bright pink lips, and not to mention the abundance of cleavage if you looked a little farther south from her face. And that was an amazing feat in itself.
"Cloud?", she asked in a certain tone that made him remember Aeris, despite all that that he loved her. He looked back at her to see two beautiful light brown eyes twinkling brighter than the stars themselves.
"Yeah, Tifa?"
"Somehow today, I couldn't help but remember these things from a year ago. When Aeris died again."
"I think I know what you mean. Don't get me wrong, I love you, but lately my minds seems to wander back on its own."
"So I'm not alone on this one.", she says as she leans against a tree that holds up and end of the hammock.
"I guess you're not. But I want to assure you that you're never alone." She sighs and then leans on him, and she closes her eyes.
"With you, I don't think I'll ever worry about that."
The next morning, Cloud awoke to the same familiar humming sound of the Highwind, landing closely nearby. This time, only Cid was there to greet them.
"Hurry up! We still need to get the others!", Cid urged. Cloud was dressed in a tux while Tifa was wearing a small black dress and had a small black purse to match. They managed to bring Vincent out of the mansion, but he was still wearing his normal clothes, because he lacked a suit. Cid let him use the spare Shera gave him.
"A spare suit?", asked Cloud curiously.
"Always double checkin', that woman. I swear, that stuff has taken her half her life."
"I'm tellin' ya', she likes you.", said Cloud.
"Aw, shut up!", he yelled back at Cloud.
"Now Cid, don't blow up at him.", said Shera, stepping out of a hallway.
"Shera? I didn't know you were here.", said Tifa.
"I'm here to make sure he doesn't put his goggles back on.", said Shera.
"But I look stupid without them!", Cid complained.
"You look fine. Remember, Barret wanted us to be formal. He doesn't even normally like to dress formally himself.", noted Tifa.
"It's a special event. And it really means a to him that he can repay the debt of the accident he blames himself for. Besides, I bet he's getting filthy rich off of Reeve, too.", said Cloud.
"Hold on! We're landing!", yelled Cid as the Highwind began its descent. They stop off in Cosmo Canyon, to pick up Red. Red walks aboard the ship and onto the bridge, and they find he is wearing the top part of a suit.
"Nice Red.", said Cid. "But how did you button the buttons?"
"It took me an hour. And don't get me started on the cuff links. You humans are lucky as you have been blessed with thumbs."
"That's right, you don't have thumbs.", remembered Tifa.
"Woo.", he said, clearly exhausted. "My paws are tired. Who else are we missing?"
"Just Yuffie and Reeve. Come on, we're going to Wutai.", said Cid as they sharply turned in the sky to the west. They streaked the large ship through the sky, the pagoda growing larger as they neared the horizon, where Yuffie was actually standing on top of, waving back to them in a flattering red dress with light satin sleeves and a long slit for the legs going up the thigh.
"How'd she get up there wearing that?", asked Tifa.
"She's a ninja. She found a way.", said Cloud.
They disembarked, and saw Yuffie standing under a cherry blossom tree, smiling back at them.
"YOU ARE NOT LEAVING, YOUNG LADY!", bellowed a man behind her. It was Godo, and he was fuming with rage.
"DAD! I HAVE TO.", she yelled back. The rest were standing there nervously, as the two fought.
"NO YOU DON'T! YOU ARE STAYING AT THE PAGODA UNTIL YOU ARE BEATEN!"
"FORGET IT!" She begins to storm off toward the ship.
"YOU STAY BACK HERE UNTIL I'M DONE YELLING! HEY!" Yuffie had completely ignored Godo, and she walked right into the entrance of the ship. "Sigh. that can't be my daughter."
"Don't worry Godo. She'll be back before any challenger comes.", said Cloud.
"I can't stop her. She does what she wants. What happens when it is her turn to lead Wutai?"
"The end, that's what.", mutters Cid. "Ow!" He received an elbow in the gut from Yuffie, who came back out to see why nobody else was coming.
"Let's go.", she ordered. They walked back to the Highwind, but they still couldn't get over the argument between her and her father, but even more so, they couldn't get over what she was wearing.
"Where'd you get the dress?", asked Tifa. They all couldn't believe her attire, as they thought she'd just ignore the dress code and go as she normally does. Besides wearing the dress, she was wearing a simple silver necklace, with a circular green jewel in the center, which was actually a fire materia. But other than that, not much was changed, as she was still wearing that green hair thing that was wrapped around a very small section in the back part of her head, but she was also wearing a pair of matching stilettos, and Tifa now wondered more than ever how she climbed up a 500 foot tall building with them.
"Why?"
"Well, it's.different.", said Cid.
"I don't know whether that's an insult or compliment, so if it's an insult, you better go and start that thing up before I go all ninja on your ass.", she said unusually irritably.
"Why are you so eager to leave?", asked Vincent, as he was curious to why she was not her usual cheery self, and to the fact he was still staring at the dress, although very nice, if not revealing a lot of leg.
"I can't stand being around Godo lately. 'You've got an important duty. You must stay here and defend the honor of Wutai.' Now, imagine staying in that stupid pagoda for a year with someone repeating that over and over, and see if you don't freak out."
"You stayed there for a year?!", exclaimed Cloud.
"Yeah. The last real time I left was when I was excused for the Weapon incident.", she said. "But I've actually snuck out every night so I guess it wasn't that bad." Cid pulled a lever, and the Highwind shook as it raised itself into the air. "Urp! See ya'!", she said running to her spot because of her acute motion sickness.
"Wow, for someone with stilettos, she sure can run.", said Tifa.
They now sped toward the industrial complex that is the city of Midgar, where the sky never appeared, and even if you did manage to see it, it was blackened with pollution, and other forms of industrial decay. Reeve however lived in the lap of luxury, being so rich that he was still financially secure, even after paying Barret the money. They landed, entered, and managed to reach the top plate by being dropped off by a rope that led down to the surface of the top plate of sector 2.
"Holy.!", said Cid as he walked up to the door of Reeve's house with the others. It looked to be the only place in Midgar that actually had a lawn, if not some form of plant life, and it was an enormous brick mansion with a huge veranda sticking out on the top floor with big bay windows.
"Uh.", trailed Cloud in absolute shock. He noticed the doorbell and pressed the button, and the chiming of bells began playing. Reeve opened the door, revealing a beautiful living room with a doorway leading to a marble and granite floored kitchen. Reeve was in his usual suit, since he was always dressed formally.
"Hello there. Welcome to my humble abode.", he greeted.
"Humble? This is anything but humble.", said Cloud.
"Really? I tried to make sure it was. Isn't everyone's house like this?"
"Uh, yeah, sure. Everyone has a plasma TV that takes up an entire wall.", said Cid, gaping at the size of it.
"Good. I'm bringing Cait Sith if you don't mind. I managed to make him an automated AI, so he should run perfectly."
"Hey there.", said Cait Sith as he hopped forward, his Mog wearing a little bowtie."
"Aw, it's so cute!", said Yuffie. "And I can steal his materia, too." They left for the Highwind, the entirety of the team finally collected, and they streaked across the sky to the newly rebuilt town of Corel. When they entered, they found it to be rather beautiful; it's tents and shacks replaced by stately houses and lush green lawns. It even had its own commercial district, to attract tourists, filled with casinos and bars, and also they were made most likely out of Barret's wishes.
"I'm likin' this already.", said Cid, about to walk into a bar.
"Get back here.", said Shera as she pulled him back into the group.
"Hey there!", yelled Barret. "I'm about to give my speech for-"
"Well well, look who it is.", said a man in a blue suit. He had flaming red hair and a blue bandana, wrapped casually around his head. He was eyeing both Tifa and Yuffie, and walked closer.
"What are you doing here?", said Cloud with a little tension in his voice.
"I'm just here for the gambling.", said Reno. "And maybe for the company.", he said looking even closer now at Tifa. Barret stepped forward, and put his gun-arm up to the Turk's forehead. "Hey there big guy, there's no need for any of that. It's not in my orders to hunt you down. In fact, for quite a time, I haven't received any orders. The last time I received orders was about a year ago. And even then, they were canceled a week after some strange energy in the north. But the numbskulls at headquarters were probably just mistaken." Cloud reeled back a little, remembering the time he spent unconscious after falling in the Lifestream, as it was exactly a week. Barret's arm fell back to his side.
"Come on, I got a speech to make. And I ain't wastin' any of my ammo on his skinny ass." They all left Reno back there, as he called back, "Hey Tifa! Maybe after that big ogre over there is done, we could see each other!" She however just kept on walking and never looked back.
"Heh, she'll come around.", said Reno to Rude who walked up with Elena behind him. "They always do."
---------------------------------- Huzzah! And that's the end of chapter 2. But even though this chapter was horrible and mediocre, chapter 3 promises to be excellent, I swear. I'm writing it currently, and it may take day or two for me to finish writing it and posting it, not to mention the typing. But I already have a lack of sleep, which is why this one pretty much sucked, as it doesn't seem to have much feel yet. But then again, it was one of those rushed ones when your consumed by stress and the fear of failure, as you must be in touch with oneself and feel the story flowing out of you, instead of mercilessly stabbing the paper with your pen. But anyway, like I said, I promise you the next one is worthy to be seen by the light of day, so just hang on and send those reviews! (really, I desperately need them!)