buInterrupted by Fireworks/b/u by KyuuketsukiShounen
Disclaimer: let's make this short and simple. No, I don't own SquareSoft. Okay?! Was that so hard to take?! I'm sorry. I beg for forgiveness.
A/N: Back into shoujo manga mode again.
bChapter Four:/b uHigher and Higher/u
It had all gone as planned. Tifa and Cloud stayed the night at Cid's and the next day they left at noon. The only delays were caused by Tifa's ability to jab and prod Cid's now vulnerable ego. But other than that, all was well. They were now on the Highwind, heading for Wutai.
The trip was also quite eventful, excepting Cid's chase of Tifa. He was attempting to force her to promise to not tell the others. Cid only caught her because she spent a majority of her energy yukking it up. Finally, the Highwind set down onto the green plain, on which Wutai lay.
"So, we're finally here," Cloud stated. They filed through the gates of the town. It was obviously the time to celebrate. Traditional Wutaian music played as cherry-blossom petals floated in the wind.
"All this, for that little motherfu-" Cid was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. "Holy shit! These assholes must be sacrificin' something!"
Alas, no. The squeal had come from one Yuffie Kisaragi. She ran as best as she could toward her friends, but found it hard to do in traditional costume. She was received by Tifa's open arms. After all, the two had been AVALANCHE's only female members besides...
"I'm so glad you came!" Yuffie wiped some tears from her eyes. She hadn't really expected them to come. "I didn't think you actually gave a damn about me!"
"'Course we do, we're your fuckin' friends!" Cid justified, as she hugged him as well. She led them toward her house.
"So... where's Vinnie?" Yuffie whispered.
"Sorry, we didn't see him," Cloud sheepishly answered.
"Oh," she said, almost inaudibly. She hung her head for a second before Tifa changed the subject.
"So what's this festival all about?" The brunette interjected the silence.
"Well," Yuffie began, "in Wutai, every male has a party when he turns seventeen to mark when he can truly be independent. Well, when it's time for the town leader's son to have this celebration, it's turned into a big festival."
"But you're not exactly a son," Cloud interrupted.
"That's what I'm about to explain. When I first ran away, before you guys found me in the forest, he had wanted me to marry as quickly as possible so that a male would rule Wutai. When I came back after Meteor, my father saw that I would be an efficient ruler. So now their having this celebration for me, but they made it even bigger than usual."
"And why is that?" Tifa questioned.
"You're all looking at the future first empress of Wutai!" She pumped her fist into the air, visibly excited; a light blush upon her cheeks.
"It's fuckin' great to see you, brat!" Cid laughed, lighting up a cigarette.
"I'm not a brat!" Yuffie retorted. "But thanks."
Their conversation continued as Yuffie led them to her house which was significantly larger than before. Before it was just slightly bigger than the other houses. Now it was the size of a small temple. They had numerous koi ponds as well as gigantic scrolls of Leviathan. But what really stole the cake was the courtyard. It was in the center of the house and contained a garden, protected by a mammoth jade replica of Da-Chao statue. Of course the jade replica was much smaller than the actual statue, but it was still a story tall.
They were led to their rooms by a servant and found that each of them had their own room. It almost resembled a hotel. The only difference was that there were sliding doors made from authentic Wutaian rice paper. They all got settled into whichever rooms Yuffie had picked out for them.
Yuffie hadn't expected Cid to bring Shera along, but it didn't matter, since they'd be sharing a room. Tifa went up and down the hall and found her room. It was right next to Cloud's. She slid open the door and found that all the walls in her room were wooden. Except for the wall between her room and Cloud's. It had a grid of wooden strips and rice paper 'panes'.
The only thing separating them was a thin, frail barrier. But she wouldn't dare break it. Cloud wanted his privacy, surely. She ran her fingers through her hair, and realized something.
She hadn't had a real bath since they had left Kalm. It became apparent when she wasn't able to take her fingers out of her hair. After a minute or two she was able to wrestle her hand out, but it was coated in a layer of grime. She felt disgusting and decided it was time to get clean. She grabbed a change of clothes to wear afterwards.
She approached the room, hearing the splash of water. Was someone inside? She threw caution to the wind and stepped inside.
"Hello, miss," an elderly man greeted. He was filling up the tub.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I..."
"No, no, no. I'm a servant here," the man explained. "Miss Yuffie ordered the bath to be filled just in case any of you felt the need to cleanse yourselves."
"I see," Tifa said uneasily. The man bowed to her and left the room. She sighed. "It was only a servant," she said to herself. "Not Cloud butt-naked naked frolicking in the water". For a second she didn't realize what had come out of her mouth. She was shocked at herself, but even more shocked when she realized another thing. She *wanted* it to be CLoud butt-naked frolicking in the water.
She shook the nasty thoughts out of her head, blushing profusely. The actual bath was uneventful and she slipped on her new change of clothes. She headed back to the room. She sat next to the rice-paper wall, wondering about the man on the other side. And then it came. The eventual pang of guilt she always felt. She was betraying the memory of her best friend. Aeris.
And then it hit her. The shirt she wore... was the same she had worn when it happened. She couldn't hold it back anymore. She began to cry. She was an idiot. She was betraying her best friend. And it hurt. It hurt more than anyone could feel.
But she never knew he was sitting there beside her on the other side of the wall, hearing her pain and wanting nothing more than to comfort her.
----------------------
It was in the after noon the next day when Yuffie pulled Tifa out of the house.
"What is it, Yuffie?" Tifa worriedly asked.
"Let's not talk here. Let's go someplace else," the ninja-girl placidly said, gently pulling the older woman along. They walked across the town and found a restaurant, which was buzzing with activity. They were able to get a seat only because of Yuffie's prominence in the town.
"So what was so important you couldn't let the men hear?" Tifa joked. She picked at the dish in front of her.
"Well, it is important. Kind of," Yuffie began.
"And?" The older woman nodded, chiding the other to continue.
"I wanted to talk to you woman to woman."
"I see," Tifa grinned. She pushed her plate away to attend this urgent matter. "It's a guy, right?"
Yuffie slowly nodded. "But he doesn't even-"
"Know you exist," The former bartender finished for Yuffie. "Right?"
"What am I even thinking?" Yuffie sighed, burying her head in her arms on the table. Tifa consoled her, gently rubbing her back.
"Don't worry. He'll see what a great girl you are someday. He'll be your hero and come rescue you," Tifa momentarily frowned, realizing her own words. "You just have to tell him what you feel."
"But what if I look stupid?" Yuffie demanded to know.
"You won't. It'll be fine," she consoled. "Vincent never fails to see things clearly."
Yuffie looked up wide-eyed and on the verge of tears. "How- how did you know?"
"It was obvious," Tifa said, leaning back into her chair leisurely.
"Oh," said the ninja mischievously. "Like you and Cloud?"
Tifa stiffened up. She looked down, suddenly interested in her egg-drop soup.
"Cloud and I have nothing," she stated simply. "We're friends. Nothing more."
Yuffie didn't realize her blow would hit below the belt.
"I'm sorry, Tifa."
"You're sorry? Why?"
"Sorry that you're such a fool!" Yuffie shouted, banging her fist on the table. "Why are you so sure that Cloud isn't interested?"
"He's never shown me any-"
"Have you ever shown *him* how you feel?" The younger girl turned the tables on Tifa.
"I've dropped hints... " Tifa weakly said.
"Tifa?" Yuffie eyed her friend. "If you haven't noticed, Cloud isn't the best at guessing games."
"I know he's a little naive but-"
"A little?! A LITTLE?!" Yuffie screeched. "He is the King of Naiveté! Even if you can't see how much he cares for you, you can see this at least."
"You're right."
"Gawd! Do you realize what a hypocrite you are!" Yuffie accused. "You tell me to take a risk, but then you're afraid to take one yourself?!"
"But- but-"
"No buts! You only have to tell Cloud!"
"*Only* Cloud?!" Tifa said, thinking the phrase absurd.
"Well, you were just telling me to confess my feelings for Vincent!" Yuffie pointed a finger at the guilty party. "Vincent!" She repeated the name for dramatic effect. "And now, you can't tell Cloud?!" She sighed in disgust.
"Hey! Don't pin this all on me! Wasn't this about *you* in the first place?!" Tifa went into defensive mode.
"Well..." Yuffie didn't know how to answer, for once.
An embarrassed silence continued as a waiter came to take their plates away, replacing them with jasmine tea.
"But Tifa..." Yuffie finally said, piercing the quiet tension, "he didn't even bother to come." She said this with a defeated sigh.
The older brunette gave Yuffie a sly look, "Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that..."
The ninja's face contorted in confusion. Tifa smiled from behind her tea cup, pointing to the door. Yuffie felt her heart skip a beat. She turned slowly, and surely there he stood, scanning the patrons. She couldn't hide the smile that went from ear to ear. Her eyes twinkled in both surprise and relief.
"He came..." she whispered to herself. "You know what this means, Tifa?"
"Hmm?" Tifa raised an eyebrow, as she sipped the fragrant tea.
"Both you and I have a mission. Something that can change our lives. We can carry it out this week, or forever hold our peace."
"Are you ready?" Tifa questioned, eying Vincent who had finally found them. He began to stalk toward their table. Yuffie was also aware.
"Ready as hell."
Both women had their resolutions, their oaths out in the open. It was time to sign the contract. The two rose their cups with determined smiles. The cups met together with a clink.
"Cheers."
---------------------------
A/N: I hope you liked that chapter. I had a lot of time to write it, but hardly any inspiration came to me. I really felt that the last scene was much weaker than I had hoped, but I'm satisfied with the length of this. I have one more chapter left, and perhaps an epilogue if you really want one. Make sure you review. You can also contact me with any suggestions, etc. at mangaguy@asianavenue.com, or my AIM account: KyuketsukiShonen.
Disclaimer: let's make this short and simple. No, I don't own SquareSoft. Okay?! Was that so hard to take?! I'm sorry. I beg for forgiveness.
A/N: Back into shoujo manga mode again.
bChapter Four:/b uHigher and Higher/u
It had all gone as planned. Tifa and Cloud stayed the night at Cid's and the next day they left at noon. The only delays were caused by Tifa's ability to jab and prod Cid's now vulnerable ego. But other than that, all was well. They were now on the Highwind, heading for Wutai.
The trip was also quite eventful, excepting Cid's chase of Tifa. He was attempting to force her to promise to not tell the others. Cid only caught her because she spent a majority of her energy yukking it up. Finally, the Highwind set down onto the green plain, on which Wutai lay.
"So, we're finally here," Cloud stated. They filed through the gates of the town. It was obviously the time to celebrate. Traditional Wutaian music played as cherry-blossom petals floated in the wind.
"All this, for that little motherfu-" Cid was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. "Holy shit! These assholes must be sacrificin' something!"
Alas, no. The squeal had come from one Yuffie Kisaragi. She ran as best as she could toward her friends, but found it hard to do in traditional costume. She was received by Tifa's open arms. After all, the two had been AVALANCHE's only female members besides...
"I'm so glad you came!" Yuffie wiped some tears from her eyes. She hadn't really expected them to come. "I didn't think you actually gave a damn about me!"
"'Course we do, we're your fuckin' friends!" Cid justified, as she hugged him as well. She led them toward her house.
"So... where's Vinnie?" Yuffie whispered.
"Sorry, we didn't see him," Cloud sheepishly answered.
"Oh," she said, almost inaudibly. She hung her head for a second before Tifa changed the subject.
"So what's this festival all about?" The brunette interjected the silence.
"Well," Yuffie began, "in Wutai, every male has a party when he turns seventeen to mark when he can truly be independent. Well, when it's time for the town leader's son to have this celebration, it's turned into a big festival."
"But you're not exactly a son," Cloud interrupted.
"That's what I'm about to explain. When I first ran away, before you guys found me in the forest, he had wanted me to marry as quickly as possible so that a male would rule Wutai. When I came back after Meteor, my father saw that I would be an efficient ruler. So now their having this celebration for me, but they made it even bigger than usual."
"And why is that?" Tifa questioned.
"You're all looking at the future first empress of Wutai!" She pumped her fist into the air, visibly excited; a light blush upon her cheeks.
"It's fuckin' great to see you, brat!" Cid laughed, lighting up a cigarette.
"I'm not a brat!" Yuffie retorted. "But thanks."
Their conversation continued as Yuffie led them to her house which was significantly larger than before. Before it was just slightly bigger than the other houses. Now it was the size of a small temple. They had numerous koi ponds as well as gigantic scrolls of Leviathan. But what really stole the cake was the courtyard. It was in the center of the house and contained a garden, protected by a mammoth jade replica of Da-Chao statue. Of course the jade replica was much smaller than the actual statue, but it was still a story tall.
They were led to their rooms by a servant and found that each of them had their own room. It almost resembled a hotel. The only difference was that there were sliding doors made from authentic Wutaian rice paper. They all got settled into whichever rooms Yuffie had picked out for them.
Yuffie hadn't expected Cid to bring Shera along, but it didn't matter, since they'd be sharing a room. Tifa went up and down the hall and found her room. It was right next to Cloud's. She slid open the door and found that all the walls in her room were wooden. Except for the wall between her room and Cloud's. It had a grid of wooden strips and rice paper 'panes'.
The only thing separating them was a thin, frail barrier. But she wouldn't dare break it. Cloud wanted his privacy, surely. She ran her fingers through her hair, and realized something.
She hadn't had a real bath since they had left Kalm. It became apparent when she wasn't able to take her fingers out of her hair. After a minute or two she was able to wrestle her hand out, but it was coated in a layer of grime. She felt disgusting and decided it was time to get clean. She grabbed a change of clothes to wear afterwards.
She approached the room, hearing the splash of water. Was someone inside? She threw caution to the wind and stepped inside.
"Hello, miss," an elderly man greeted. He was filling up the tub.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I..."
"No, no, no. I'm a servant here," the man explained. "Miss Yuffie ordered the bath to be filled just in case any of you felt the need to cleanse yourselves."
"I see," Tifa said uneasily. The man bowed to her and left the room. She sighed. "It was only a servant," she said to herself. "Not Cloud butt-naked naked frolicking in the water". For a second she didn't realize what had come out of her mouth. She was shocked at herself, but even more shocked when she realized another thing. She *wanted* it to be CLoud butt-naked frolicking in the water.
She shook the nasty thoughts out of her head, blushing profusely. The actual bath was uneventful and she slipped on her new change of clothes. She headed back to the room. She sat next to the rice-paper wall, wondering about the man on the other side. And then it came. The eventual pang of guilt she always felt. She was betraying the memory of her best friend. Aeris.
And then it hit her. The shirt she wore... was the same she had worn when it happened. She couldn't hold it back anymore. She began to cry. She was an idiot. She was betraying her best friend. And it hurt. It hurt more than anyone could feel.
But she never knew he was sitting there beside her on the other side of the wall, hearing her pain and wanting nothing more than to comfort her.
----------------------
It was in the after noon the next day when Yuffie pulled Tifa out of the house.
"What is it, Yuffie?" Tifa worriedly asked.
"Let's not talk here. Let's go someplace else," the ninja-girl placidly said, gently pulling the older woman along. They walked across the town and found a restaurant, which was buzzing with activity. They were able to get a seat only because of Yuffie's prominence in the town.
"So what was so important you couldn't let the men hear?" Tifa joked. She picked at the dish in front of her.
"Well, it is important. Kind of," Yuffie began.
"And?" The older woman nodded, chiding the other to continue.
"I wanted to talk to you woman to woman."
"I see," Tifa grinned. She pushed her plate away to attend this urgent matter. "It's a guy, right?"
Yuffie slowly nodded. "But he doesn't even-"
"Know you exist," The former bartender finished for Yuffie. "Right?"
"What am I even thinking?" Yuffie sighed, burying her head in her arms on the table. Tifa consoled her, gently rubbing her back.
"Don't worry. He'll see what a great girl you are someday. He'll be your hero and come rescue you," Tifa momentarily frowned, realizing her own words. "You just have to tell him what you feel."
"But what if I look stupid?" Yuffie demanded to know.
"You won't. It'll be fine," she consoled. "Vincent never fails to see things clearly."
Yuffie looked up wide-eyed and on the verge of tears. "How- how did you know?"
"It was obvious," Tifa said, leaning back into her chair leisurely.
"Oh," said the ninja mischievously. "Like you and Cloud?"
Tifa stiffened up. She looked down, suddenly interested in her egg-drop soup.
"Cloud and I have nothing," she stated simply. "We're friends. Nothing more."
Yuffie didn't realize her blow would hit below the belt.
"I'm sorry, Tifa."
"You're sorry? Why?"
"Sorry that you're such a fool!" Yuffie shouted, banging her fist on the table. "Why are you so sure that Cloud isn't interested?"
"He's never shown me any-"
"Have you ever shown *him* how you feel?" The younger girl turned the tables on Tifa.
"I've dropped hints... " Tifa weakly said.
"Tifa?" Yuffie eyed her friend. "If you haven't noticed, Cloud isn't the best at guessing games."
"I know he's a little naive but-"
"A little?! A LITTLE?!" Yuffie screeched. "He is the King of Naiveté! Even if you can't see how much he cares for you, you can see this at least."
"You're right."
"Gawd! Do you realize what a hypocrite you are!" Yuffie accused. "You tell me to take a risk, but then you're afraid to take one yourself?!"
"But- but-"
"No buts! You only have to tell Cloud!"
"*Only* Cloud?!" Tifa said, thinking the phrase absurd.
"Well, you were just telling me to confess my feelings for Vincent!" Yuffie pointed a finger at the guilty party. "Vincent!" She repeated the name for dramatic effect. "And now, you can't tell Cloud?!" She sighed in disgust.
"Hey! Don't pin this all on me! Wasn't this about *you* in the first place?!" Tifa went into defensive mode.
"Well..." Yuffie didn't know how to answer, for once.
An embarrassed silence continued as a waiter came to take their plates away, replacing them with jasmine tea.
"But Tifa..." Yuffie finally said, piercing the quiet tension, "he didn't even bother to come." She said this with a defeated sigh.
The older brunette gave Yuffie a sly look, "Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that..."
The ninja's face contorted in confusion. Tifa smiled from behind her tea cup, pointing to the door. Yuffie felt her heart skip a beat. She turned slowly, and surely there he stood, scanning the patrons. She couldn't hide the smile that went from ear to ear. Her eyes twinkled in both surprise and relief.
"He came..." she whispered to herself. "You know what this means, Tifa?"
"Hmm?" Tifa raised an eyebrow, as she sipped the fragrant tea.
"Both you and I have a mission. Something that can change our lives. We can carry it out this week, or forever hold our peace."
"Are you ready?" Tifa questioned, eying Vincent who had finally found them. He began to stalk toward their table. Yuffie was also aware.
"Ready as hell."
Both women had their resolutions, their oaths out in the open. It was time to sign the contract. The two rose their cups with determined smiles. The cups met together with a clink.
"Cheers."
---------------------------
A/N: I hope you liked that chapter. I had a lot of time to write it, but hardly any inspiration came to me. I really felt that the last scene was much weaker than I had hoped, but I'm satisfied with the length of this. I have one more chapter left, and perhaps an epilogue if you really want one. Make sure you review. You can also contact me with any suggestions, etc. at mangaguy@asianavenue.com, or my AIM account: KyuketsukiShonen.