White Flower
run away to find the truth
chp. iii
broken up
*
"Where is he?" Tifa asked irritably. She was sitting on the couch, her knees tucked into her chest, and her head resting on top of her knees. Her long, loose, dark brown hair flowed over her shoulders in cascades of dark chocolate. She glared at the man across the coffee table, as if insisting he knew all the answers.
The man sighed, kneading his, large, callused hands together. His skin was the color of cocoa mix, and his buzz cut was growing out. Yet he remained the same, drunken Barrett, even as he gazed at the twenty-one-year-old across.
"I don't know, Tifa," he said, eyes downcast. The clock read 3:30 AM. Even Vincent had been home by 2:00; proof of this was that Yuffie had found him in a collapsed, drunken stupor on the front porch. He now was in bed, occasionally grunting as his hangover took over. Yuffie and Cait Sith had offered to care for him.
"He better be home soon," Tifa continued, grumbling. Cid, who was sitting next to Barrett, rolled his eyes in annoyance. He was still the same: cursing, drinking, yelling. His looks hadn't changed much, aside the obvious droop of his skin. Old age had finally reached him, and his blonde- ish hair was finally turning white, much to the amusement of Yuffie.
"You're sounding like he's your boyfriend," piped a cheery voice. Yuffie popped out of Vincent's room, reaching for a paper towel, and wiping the back of her neck. She was taller than she had been before, making her a proud height of 5'4. She stood confidently, her hands protected in thin, leather gloves. She wore a khaki skirt with her green tanktop, and her white strip of cloth was sliding down her head, pressing her boyish haircut to her glistening forehead.
Barrett snorted, suppressing guffaws, and Cid smiled, lighting another cigarette. Tifa glared briefly at Yuffie, who cheekily grinned, bounding over with great flounce. She skipped over the table, did a quick twirl in the air, and landed neatly on her bottom, next to Tifa. This managed to make Tifa smile.
"Don't worry," Yuffie continued. "He'll probably be home soon! Why I bet he's on his way no-"
Her sentence was cut off by the ding-dong of the doorbell. The group rushed to the door. Tifa attempted to unlocked as quickly as she could, but she was still not fast enough to please the group. After suffering from their yelling, she thrust the door open, revealing Cloud and... Aeris.
*
Yuffie squealed in excitement. "Aeris! Aeris!" she exclaimed, leaping to grasp the girl in a hug. She toppled over with their weight, landing on the pavement outside. She laughed as Yuffie began to ramble on and on. "Calm down, Yuffie!"
"Aeris, you're back," Barrett said gruffly, grinning ever so slightly. "How'd it happen?"
"I-I don't know," she admitted between Yuffie's giggles. "All I know is that I ended up on the altar."
"What the #$@%!" was Cid's charming words of greeting, the look of amazement never leaving his face.
"You're not Aeris!" Tifa cried, lunging at her. "Yuffie, get off! That's not Aeris!"
"What are you talking about, Tifa?" Yuffie asked quizzically. "Aeris is right here. It's a miracle!"
"Tifa, calm down! I didn't believe at first either, but it's her!" Cloud consoled, resting a hand on Tifa's shoulder. She shrugged it off angrily.
"Yo-You've done something to them!" she hissed at Aeris. "Aeris is DEAD! DEAD! I know she is!"
"Tifa..." Aeris said quietly.
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" she shrilled, running inside. She slammed the door.
"Well, that went nicely," Barrett said.
*
How could they believe that tramp? Aeris was dead, and that was the end of it! Tifa sniffed at the thoughts of her best friend. How come this happened? Who cares if it looks like Aeris, it most certainly isn't! She gritted her teeth.
She rounded the corner. Vincent, slightly dizzy from his hangover, peered out. Tifa failed to notice him. He walked out, shirtless, glancing carelessly at Tifa. "She is back," he said. Tifa turned around and glowered.
"Oh, no," she wailed. "Not you too!"
"You're just afraid," he told her. "Afraid she'll steal Cloud from you again."
"So what!" she spat angrily. "So what if I'm scared? Maybe I don't want to believe my best friend is back!"
"You don't think of her as your best friend," he responded quietly. "Not with all this hate in your heart."
"Well, it's true! She may think of me as a best friend, but I can't! She's always been happier than me, despite all that's happened to her! And look at me! I've been unhappy, despite the fact I have everything I need!"
She huffed angrily, walking up to Vincent. He merely watched her with his smoldering eyes. "You can't let hate consume you like this, Tifa. You'll become like me." He laughed a little, hollow laugh, and walked back into his room.
Tifa was rendered speechless.
*
Dinner was unusually quiet. They all felt uneasy with Aeris there, except Yuffie. She chattered on senselessly to Aeris's deaf ears, pausing to catch her breath, then restarting again. Aeris merely picked at her food, stealing glances at Tifa and Cloud. They too were also thinking deeply, but about different things.
"Remember that time we went to Don Corneo's?" Tifa asked, trying to test Aeris.
"Why, yes!" she said. "How could I ever forget!" She giggled slightly, and Cloud blushed.
"That dress you wore was gorgeous," Tifa continued. "What color was it?"
"Ooo," Aeris said, thinking. "It was a deep wine red."
Damn, Tifa thought. Another question. "Who killed you?"
"Well, Sephiroth," Aeris replied. "But he was possessed by JENOVA, correct?"
Tifa grumbled. "And remember what Cait Sith said about you and Cloud?"
Aeris blushed the deepest red. "... He said we were perfect for each other."
Cloud slightly choked on his food, and Cait Sith nodded affirmatively. Tifa narrowed her eyes. "He did not say that."
"Oh yes I did!" Cait Sith cried from his end of the table. "I knew you wouldn't like it, but I did!"
Barrett and Cid exchanged glances. Uh-oh.
"Well," Tifa said, scowling. "What is Red's real name?"
The wise lion creature rose his head, staring obliquely at Tifa. He tilted his head, causing the headdress of feathers to flutter slightly. "?"
"I-I don't know," Aeris admitted. "I can't remember."
"HA! HA!" Tifa cried out, standing up immediately and pointing an accusing finger at Aeris. "You liar! You aren't Aeris!"
"Tifa, sit down!" Cloud hissed. "It is Aeris!"
"How do you know?" Tifa asked. "How are you so sure?"
"BECAUSE SHE REMEMBERED THE DATE WE HAD!"
A silence ensued across the table. Aeris flushed faintly. Cait Sith chortled. Barrett snorted out his food. Cid's jaw opened. Yuffie giggled happily. Vincent looked somewhat paler. Red smiled slightly. But Tifa got up, and screamed.
The scream woke them all up, and Tifa glared at them all. "You don't understand!" she cried, and she left the table angrily, grabbing her coat. "I'm leaving," she announced. "You people don't understand."
Aeris watched her friend leave with eyes filled with sorrow. Cloud then registered what he had said, then blushed.
"So," Cid began, grinning. "Was it kinky doing it in the gondola?"
"CID!" Yuffie cried, blushing. "GROSSNESS!"
*
Tifa had been wondering for about an hour. She was somewhere in a forest, which freaked her out. Here she was, wondering in a dark, eerie place at night. She shivered slightly, clutching the trench coat closer to herself.
Snap. Something in the bushes.
Tifa turned around, glaring at the small rabbit that innocently hopped out. She slightly sighed in relief, and resumed trekking to nowhere. Just far, far away from that temptress Aeris and Cloud.
*
"We need to go after her!" Aeris cried. "Tifa's stubborn; she won't back down!"
Cait Sith nodded affirmatively. "True. But it's late; a girl like you can't be wondering around the streets at night."
"I'll go with her," Cloud offered, trying to ignore Barrett's smirking.
"Pshaw! You two will be @&#$!" Cid responded carelessly, relighting a cigarette. Yuffie flushed slightly at the colorful word. Even then, she was still slightly embarrassed about his language.
Aeris flushed deeply, and nervously wrung her hands. "No, we won't."
"Right, whatever," Cid said, grinning at her, and wagging a finger. "I just hope you use protection; no need for tiny Cloud's running ar-"
"OLD MAN!" Yuffie yelled for the thirteenth time that hour. "GROSSNESS!"
Cloud brought down his fist upon the dinner table, causing it to shake. Everybody turned to him, surprised. "We're going to get Tifa," he said angrily. "And we're going now."
At that moment, he took Aeris's arm, who came with him with no argument. The two quickly put on their coats, Aeris borrowing Cloud's extra, and they were off into the night.
*
"Cloud," Aeris said, shivering. "I don't like this place."
"We have to find Tifa," Cloud said. "I know she's going through here."
"How are you so sure?" she asked, tilting her head to gaze at the man beside her.
"She's in my blood," he responded. "I can feel her."
Aeris looked down. "Oh. I see."
They didn't talk at all as they finished through that eerie forest.
*
Their chase had lead them to a small cliff. The wind blew fiercely against them, threatening to send Aeris's tiny figure off the edge if it weren't for Cloud's steady hands on her waist. When he first put them on her, she blushed and tried to argue, but he gave a long stare. She couldn't fight against those glowing blue eyes she loved so much.
"Cloud," she gasped. "Are we close?"
"Yea," he responded, grunting slightly as he gave her a push. "We're... there."
They were in a small cave. Darkness hung over it like a thick blanket. An uncanny foreboding aura came from it, making Aeris look at Cloud distressingly. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," he said, staring ahead. "She's in my blood."
They walked closer, until Aeris noticed something on the floor. Droplets of some red liquid... blood.
"Cloud," she whimpered, tugging on his arm. "Look at the ground."
He did so, and his eyes only slightly widened in worry. He took Aeris in his arms, and began to run toward the center of the cave. "Cloud, let me go!" she cried, but he took no notice of her.
He abruptly stopped, and Aeris followed his gaze. Right against the back wall was Tifa, gazing at them saucily. Her arms were crossed in distaste, and she stood up, then rudely asked "What are you two doing here?"
"Tifa, come back!" Aeris cried. She looked at her with such heartache, Tifa found it hard not to go and give her a hug. But the hate in her heart willed her to stay here, to be defiant.
"Why should I?" she said bitterly.
"Because you're in my blood," Cloud said, stepping forward. "No matter where you run, I'll find you."
Tifa looked up at Cloud fearfully. For once, since the day Aeris had been brought back to life, their first meeting back in the church, she looked like a tiny child. Her crimson eyes were wide with such terror, and her face became smoother and milkier than before. Cloud walked over and hugged her.
Aeris recognized that hug. He had hugged her like that. And she, like Tifa was doing now, had leaned into his embrace. She gulped, and turned to them.
"Sorry to break your moment," she said, her voice almost breaking in some parts. "But we most be going."
"Right," Cloud said, and he let go of Tifa. Aeris hid her smile, and turned to find her face to face with something.
Something very large, very hairy, and very frightening.
*
PREVIEW OF THE NEXT CHAPTER: A mini-chapter! While this is all happening, what are the rest of the gang doing? Well, let's get Cait Sith to narrate the messy mayhem ensuing, and estimate how much Cloud will have to pay for the damage!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the third chapter being so rushed. I wanted to get to Tifa, so this chapter would end. I'm excited about the mini-chapter, hee- hee. Anyways, I might slip in some subtle inside jokes between me and my friend's in the mini-chapter, so don't be surprised if you don't understand it.
run away to find the truth
chp. iii
broken up
*
"Where is he?" Tifa asked irritably. She was sitting on the couch, her knees tucked into her chest, and her head resting on top of her knees. Her long, loose, dark brown hair flowed over her shoulders in cascades of dark chocolate. She glared at the man across the coffee table, as if insisting he knew all the answers.
The man sighed, kneading his, large, callused hands together. His skin was the color of cocoa mix, and his buzz cut was growing out. Yet he remained the same, drunken Barrett, even as he gazed at the twenty-one-year-old across.
"I don't know, Tifa," he said, eyes downcast. The clock read 3:30 AM. Even Vincent had been home by 2:00; proof of this was that Yuffie had found him in a collapsed, drunken stupor on the front porch. He now was in bed, occasionally grunting as his hangover took over. Yuffie and Cait Sith had offered to care for him.
"He better be home soon," Tifa continued, grumbling. Cid, who was sitting next to Barrett, rolled his eyes in annoyance. He was still the same: cursing, drinking, yelling. His looks hadn't changed much, aside the obvious droop of his skin. Old age had finally reached him, and his blonde- ish hair was finally turning white, much to the amusement of Yuffie.
"You're sounding like he's your boyfriend," piped a cheery voice. Yuffie popped out of Vincent's room, reaching for a paper towel, and wiping the back of her neck. She was taller than she had been before, making her a proud height of 5'4. She stood confidently, her hands protected in thin, leather gloves. She wore a khaki skirt with her green tanktop, and her white strip of cloth was sliding down her head, pressing her boyish haircut to her glistening forehead.
Barrett snorted, suppressing guffaws, and Cid smiled, lighting another cigarette. Tifa glared briefly at Yuffie, who cheekily grinned, bounding over with great flounce. She skipped over the table, did a quick twirl in the air, and landed neatly on her bottom, next to Tifa. This managed to make Tifa smile.
"Don't worry," Yuffie continued. "He'll probably be home soon! Why I bet he's on his way no-"
Her sentence was cut off by the ding-dong of the doorbell. The group rushed to the door. Tifa attempted to unlocked as quickly as she could, but she was still not fast enough to please the group. After suffering from their yelling, she thrust the door open, revealing Cloud and... Aeris.
*
Yuffie squealed in excitement. "Aeris! Aeris!" she exclaimed, leaping to grasp the girl in a hug. She toppled over with their weight, landing on the pavement outside. She laughed as Yuffie began to ramble on and on. "Calm down, Yuffie!"
"Aeris, you're back," Barrett said gruffly, grinning ever so slightly. "How'd it happen?"
"I-I don't know," she admitted between Yuffie's giggles. "All I know is that I ended up on the altar."
"What the #$@%!" was Cid's charming words of greeting, the look of amazement never leaving his face.
"You're not Aeris!" Tifa cried, lunging at her. "Yuffie, get off! That's not Aeris!"
"What are you talking about, Tifa?" Yuffie asked quizzically. "Aeris is right here. It's a miracle!"
"Tifa, calm down! I didn't believe at first either, but it's her!" Cloud consoled, resting a hand on Tifa's shoulder. She shrugged it off angrily.
"Yo-You've done something to them!" she hissed at Aeris. "Aeris is DEAD! DEAD! I know she is!"
"Tifa..." Aeris said quietly.
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" she shrilled, running inside. She slammed the door.
"Well, that went nicely," Barrett said.
*
How could they believe that tramp? Aeris was dead, and that was the end of it! Tifa sniffed at the thoughts of her best friend. How come this happened? Who cares if it looks like Aeris, it most certainly isn't! She gritted her teeth.
She rounded the corner. Vincent, slightly dizzy from his hangover, peered out. Tifa failed to notice him. He walked out, shirtless, glancing carelessly at Tifa. "She is back," he said. Tifa turned around and glowered.
"Oh, no," she wailed. "Not you too!"
"You're just afraid," he told her. "Afraid she'll steal Cloud from you again."
"So what!" she spat angrily. "So what if I'm scared? Maybe I don't want to believe my best friend is back!"
"You don't think of her as your best friend," he responded quietly. "Not with all this hate in your heart."
"Well, it's true! She may think of me as a best friend, but I can't! She's always been happier than me, despite all that's happened to her! And look at me! I've been unhappy, despite the fact I have everything I need!"
She huffed angrily, walking up to Vincent. He merely watched her with his smoldering eyes. "You can't let hate consume you like this, Tifa. You'll become like me." He laughed a little, hollow laugh, and walked back into his room.
Tifa was rendered speechless.
*
Dinner was unusually quiet. They all felt uneasy with Aeris there, except Yuffie. She chattered on senselessly to Aeris's deaf ears, pausing to catch her breath, then restarting again. Aeris merely picked at her food, stealing glances at Tifa and Cloud. They too were also thinking deeply, but about different things.
"Remember that time we went to Don Corneo's?" Tifa asked, trying to test Aeris.
"Why, yes!" she said. "How could I ever forget!" She giggled slightly, and Cloud blushed.
"That dress you wore was gorgeous," Tifa continued. "What color was it?"
"Ooo," Aeris said, thinking. "It was a deep wine red."
Damn, Tifa thought. Another question. "Who killed you?"
"Well, Sephiroth," Aeris replied. "But he was possessed by JENOVA, correct?"
Tifa grumbled. "And remember what Cait Sith said about you and Cloud?"
Aeris blushed the deepest red. "... He said we were perfect for each other."
Cloud slightly choked on his food, and Cait Sith nodded affirmatively. Tifa narrowed her eyes. "He did not say that."
"Oh yes I did!" Cait Sith cried from his end of the table. "I knew you wouldn't like it, but I did!"
Barrett and Cid exchanged glances. Uh-oh.
"Well," Tifa said, scowling. "What is Red's real name?"
The wise lion creature rose his head, staring obliquely at Tifa. He tilted his head, causing the headdress of feathers to flutter slightly. "?"
"I-I don't know," Aeris admitted. "I can't remember."
"HA! HA!" Tifa cried out, standing up immediately and pointing an accusing finger at Aeris. "You liar! You aren't Aeris!"
"Tifa, sit down!" Cloud hissed. "It is Aeris!"
"How do you know?" Tifa asked. "How are you so sure?"
"BECAUSE SHE REMEMBERED THE DATE WE HAD!"
A silence ensued across the table. Aeris flushed faintly. Cait Sith chortled. Barrett snorted out his food. Cid's jaw opened. Yuffie giggled happily. Vincent looked somewhat paler. Red smiled slightly. But Tifa got up, and screamed.
The scream woke them all up, and Tifa glared at them all. "You don't understand!" she cried, and she left the table angrily, grabbing her coat. "I'm leaving," she announced. "You people don't understand."
Aeris watched her friend leave with eyes filled with sorrow. Cloud then registered what he had said, then blushed.
"So," Cid began, grinning. "Was it kinky doing it in the gondola?"
"CID!" Yuffie cried, blushing. "GROSSNESS!"
*
Tifa had been wondering for about an hour. She was somewhere in a forest, which freaked her out. Here she was, wondering in a dark, eerie place at night. She shivered slightly, clutching the trench coat closer to herself.
Snap. Something in the bushes.
Tifa turned around, glaring at the small rabbit that innocently hopped out. She slightly sighed in relief, and resumed trekking to nowhere. Just far, far away from that temptress Aeris and Cloud.
*
"We need to go after her!" Aeris cried. "Tifa's stubborn; she won't back down!"
Cait Sith nodded affirmatively. "True. But it's late; a girl like you can't be wondering around the streets at night."
"I'll go with her," Cloud offered, trying to ignore Barrett's smirking.
"Pshaw! You two will be @&#$!" Cid responded carelessly, relighting a cigarette. Yuffie flushed slightly at the colorful word. Even then, she was still slightly embarrassed about his language.
Aeris flushed deeply, and nervously wrung her hands. "No, we won't."
"Right, whatever," Cid said, grinning at her, and wagging a finger. "I just hope you use protection; no need for tiny Cloud's running ar-"
"OLD MAN!" Yuffie yelled for the thirteenth time that hour. "GROSSNESS!"
Cloud brought down his fist upon the dinner table, causing it to shake. Everybody turned to him, surprised. "We're going to get Tifa," he said angrily. "And we're going now."
At that moment, he took Aeris's arm, who came with him with no argument. The two quickly put on their coats, Aeris borrowing Cloud's extra, and they were off into the night.
*
"Cloud," Aeris said, shivering. "I don't like this place."
"We have to find Tifa," Cloud said. "I know she's going through here."
"How are you so sure?" she asked, tilting her head to gaze at the man beside her.
"She's in my blood," he responded. "I can feel her."
Aeris looked down. "Oh. I see."
They didn't talk at all as they finished through that eerie forest.
*
Their chase had lead them to a small cliff. The wind blew fiercely against them, threatening to send Aeris's tiny figure off the edge if it weren't for Cloud's steady hands on her waist. When he first put them on her, she blushed and tried to argue, but he gave a long stare. She couldn't fight against those glowing blue eyes she loved so much.
"Cloud," she gasped. "Are we close?"
"Yea," he responded, grunting slightly as he gave her a push. "We're... there."
They were in a small cave. Darkness hung over it like a thick blanket. An uncanny foreboding aura came from it, making Aeris look at Cloud distressingly. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," he said, staring ahead. "She's in my blood."
They walked closer, until Aeris noticed something on the floor. Droplets of some red liquid... blood.
"Cloud," she whimpered, tugging on his arm. "Look at the ground."
He did so, and his eyes only slightly widened in worry. He took Aeris in his arms, and began to run toward the center of the cave. "Cloud, let me go!" she cried, but he took no notice of her.
He abruptly stopped, and Aeris followed his gaze. Right against the back wall was Tifa, gazing at them saucily. Her arms were crossed in distaste, and she stood up, then rudely asked "What are you two doing here?"
"Tifa, come back!" Aeris cried. She looked at her with such heartache, Tifa found it hard not to go and give her a hug. But the hate in her heart willed her to stay here, to be defiant.
"Why should I?" she said bitterly.
"Because you're in my blood," Cloud said, stepping forward. "No matter where you run, I'll find you."
Tifa looked up at Cloud fearfully. For once, since the day Aeris had been brought back to life, their first meeting back in the church, she looked like a tiny child. Her crimson eyes were wide with such terror, and her face became smoother and milkier than before. Cloud walked over and hugged her.
Aeris recognized that hug. He had hugged her like that. And she, like Tifa was doing now, had leaned into his embrace. She gulped, and turned to them.
"Sorry to break your moment," she said, her voice almost breaking in some parts. "But we most be going."
"Right," Cloud said, and he let go of Tifa. Aeris hid her smile, and turned to find her face to face with something.
Something very large, very hairy, and very frightening.
*
PREVIEW OF THE NEXT CHAPTER: A mini-chapter! While this is all happening, what are the rest of the gang doing? Well, let's get Cait Sith to narrate the messy mayhem ensuing, and estimate how much Cloud will have to pay for the damage!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the third chapter being so rushed. I wanted to get to Tifa, so this chapter would end. I'm excited about the mini-chapter, hee- hee. Anyways, I might slip in some subtle inside jokes between me and my friend's in the mini-chapter, so don't be surprised if you don't understand it.
