Here is Ch. 10. From now on, I'll probably be posting chapters up every
Friday or Saturday at midnight. I might post earlier though, depending on
how much time I have. ^^;; My brother sorta gets into my files if he sees
them, so I have to type at night... o.O
One more thing, there's a scene in which I'll show what happens to all the characters in the Gold Saucer during this chapter. I don't show what happens to Barret, Cait Sith, and Red XIII cause of course, this is a romance which doesn't focus on them. -_-;; Sorry! I'm not too good with their POVs either...
Person with a space as their name; Um, hi! Thanks for the reviews you gave me, I noticed that you've been keeping up with this fic. ^_^ I sorta wish I knew who you were so I could go read your fics... But if you wanna keep anonymous, it's okay... ^^;;
~*~
{ CHAPTER X ~ AISHITERU }
Birds flew by, just swift streaks of blue. The leaves of every tree waved softly in the wind. It was morning. 'Yesterday was so shaky,' Tifa thought, 'But today is a new day...'
The party stood outside the lab, Bugenhagen beside them. "Take care," he told Red XIII, smiling softly.
Red XIII waved his paw in an adorable manner and turned around. He led the party out of the city.
"Red... Do you think Bugenhagen was acting strange?" Tifa asked as the team walked.
"No. Why?"
"I just... Kinda felt like something was different." Nearly the whole party turned to look at Tifa. Confused expressions graced their faces. "...Never mind," she whispered. She felt something weird about Bugenhangen, but if no one would listen to her, she wouldn't bother explaining things...
~*~
'Tifa.'
'You again?'
'Yes, it's me. Listen!'
'What do you want?'
'They're drawing near. Beware, the Arrow will shoot.'
'What are you talking about?'
'You'll know when the time comes... Just watch out. I'll be here, protecting you and the others, always.'
'Wait! Don't go! Who are you...?'
~*~
Tifa awoke abruptly again, drenched in sweat. Her pillow was on the ground. She threw it down in the middle of her dream, apparently... She leaned back and closed her eyes. Her dream was nearly the same as before. A swift noise, a child's crying. But this time, as the familiar voice approached with a warning, Tifa could actually talk to it.
It was as if she wasn't supposed to know who the one trying to contact her was. But then what was the point of even trying to reach the voice? Tifa leaned over to glance at her alarm clock. 7:30, almost time to get up. She remembered suddenly...
Today, the party was heading to the Gold Saucer. They would enjoy the whole day and then, everyone would separate... Most likely forever. Tifa leaned back, buried her face in the covers, and cried.
~*~
"We should all walk around with partners so we don't get lost. The Gold Saucer is a big place, and we haven't been here in a while." Cid grinned and grabbed Shera. They were back at the Gold Saucer, obviously. It was midday and they would stay til midnight.
Vincent glared at him coldly. "I really wish you'd quit doing that. Now we're left to decide who goes with who amongst ourselves. Yet again."
"We can always take the same partners we had back in Cosmo Canyon," Tifa suggested. She hoped with her heart that Cloud would go with her again. Last night, she had decided something... She would never see Cloud again. This was her chance. She would tell him she loved him, and leave it at that. Tifa knew she couldn't live with coped up emotions. It would bother her for the rest of her life if she didn't get rid of this annoyance now... Even if Cloud didn't care...
Cloud looked at her and smiled. "Great idea." Tifa raised and eyebrow but quickly smiled in return.
"No! I wanna go with Tifa!" Yuffie whined. She was stuck with Vincent, again. What was this now? The hundredth time?
"Don't be childish," Vincent said in monotone.
Yuffie was ready to pout again, as she suddenly noticed something that caught interest in the corner of the Gold Saucer. "I'll be right back..." She pranced off, a smirk on her face.
"I wanna go to the Chocobo Races first," Cid told Shera. "I have something to show you." He took her hand in a knightly fashion and the two headed for the Chocobo Section.
"Hey, don't leave yet!" Yuffie stumbled over, clutching something, a devilish grin on her face. "Look what I have!!"
That did it. This was supposed to be a perfect, fun day. Yuffie just ruined everything! Cloud rushed to her and grabbed the cheap camera she held. "Don't you dare."
"One photo! Pleeease!!" Yuffie cried, falling to Cloud's knees. She was literally about to kiss his feet as he threw the camera down.
"...Fine... But I won't be in it."
"Yes you will!" Yuffie grabbed Cloud and pushed him into Barret. Barret took a hold of his collar, pulled him to the rest of the group, and waited as Yuffie snapped the photo.
Cloud looked pissed off and annoyed, as if he'd kill Yuffie after this. Vincent was in a photograph for once. A careless frown on his face, right hand set on the gun at his holster. That was the only difference in this photo from the one taken during the last trip. Except of course, Aeris and Yuffie weren't in the photo. Once again, Tifa stood in the most shadowy part... Once again, unnoticed tears saturated the corners of her eyes, concealed for such a long time...
~*~
Cid pulled Shera through the crowd of the Chocobo Racing area and up to a golden chocobo in the center. He grinned softly. "This one's mine."
"It's beautiful..." Shera could easily tell that this was a specially bred chocobo that took a long time to train. Its soft gold fur gleamed as the light caught the streaks, large blue eyes stared up at Shera with curiosity. A single red band with a silver bell was tied to the chocobo's neck.
Cid suddenly picked up Shera and placed her onto the chocobo. "H-hey... What are you doing?! I'm pregnant!" She hissed, struggling to get off.
"It's easy. You just lean to whichever side you want the chocobo to go, and pick up the pace by kicking its sides." Cid's eyes gleamed in satisfaction as he ran off into the crowd. "Good luck!"
Shera shut her eyes. 'I'm gonna KILL him!' she thought fiercely. She pulled on the chocobo's reigns and softly kicked at its thighs. The race began and the chocobo started off. It was a feeling like flying, so light and carefree. But as Shera opened her eyes, the feeling disappeared. She was again determined to kill Cid for ever getting her into this!
The chocobo stopped abruptly. Shera nearly flew forward, but she grabbed the reigns just in time to pull herself back. The race was over already. The bird was obviously smart and well-trained enough to know how to steer itself. Cid ran over.
"See, that wasn't hard."
"Yes it was! DIE!" Shera dove at Cid but ended up falling into his arms.
"Quit it. You'll make a scene," he whispered, pulling her upright. "You have to admit that racing was fun."
"Yeah... That chocobo is well trained."
"No wonder, I trained her myself. Her name's Shera." Cid pulled back the collar on the chocobo to reveal gold letters spelling out 'Shera'. "I've been training her for a year."
"...Thanks..."
~*~
"Let's go to the Event Square!" Yuffie called, running ahead of Vincent. He trudged behind, pretending as if he didn't know Yuffie. "Come on, hurry!"
Yuffie ran to the man standing by the door. A couple was in front of him and he was announcing something. "Congratulations! You're the 100th-"
Yuffie growled. She grabbed Vincent's hand and pushed the couple out of the way. The man stared at Vincent with a confused look. "...Okay, you're the 100th couple!"
Vincent lowered his head in embarrassment. What was next? Oh yes, the play. Just wonderful. Let's see, he would get to be the prince? Yuffie grinned and pulled him into the Square. The man led them backstage to dress as the play began.
Vincent walked onscreen and nodded dumbly as the knight asked him a series of questions. Yuffie trudged on after a while. She was in a frilly pink dress that flew past her feet, covering all of her body. Vincent stiffened a laugh. The dress was much too large for her, as frills hung loosely over her arms. She walked forward, somewhat proud of her horrid attire. But the skirts at the bottom got caught in her legs and Yuffie fell forward...
Guess where she landed.
Vincent glared down at the pile of pink fluff that leaned into him. "Sorry, sorry..." Yuffie whispered, pulling herself up. She ran to the other side of the stage, lifting her skirts this time. The knight coughed, covering his laughter. Vincent glared at him as well, stopping the coughing fit right away.
"Who will you kiss?" the knight asked, motioning toward the actors on the stage.
No. This couldn't be happening! Vincent panicked. He wanted this to be over suddenly. What was he supposed to do now? Kiss the knight? Oh yeah, that would be great. Giving everyone something to talk about. "Hey, have you heard? Vincent's a shounen-ai! Guess he didn't like Lucrecia much after all."
Kiss EDK for humor? Vincent couldn't ruin his reputation of the silent lonely guy. He NEVER laughed, much lest smiled. The slightest smile was a symbol of joy. Vincent was nowhere near that state. He had a hard past, and there was no point in ever changing it. He couldn't just run around making jokes and kissing monsters. 'Well, I might as well get this over with...'
Vincent walked across the stage and stopped before Yuffie. As he brushed past her, he placed a swift kiss on her cheek.
Yuffie froze. What the hell just happened? Vincent, kissing her? This was too weird. 'Am I misunderstanding things?' Yuffie thought in sheer confusion. She glanced Vincent's way. He was back in his previous position, but now his eyes were directed to the ground. His face was lowered, hair falling over the front so you couldn't see any expression.
A soft smile suddenly formed on his face. 'I'm not imagining things. Vincent is -smiling-. ...Holy shit! He LIKES me!' Yuffie grabbed the edges of her dress and jumped off the stage, into the crowd. She ran for the exit. The last thing she saw, glancing back, was a flurry of red and black chasing after her.
~*~
"Beautiful, aren't they?"
Tifa spun around to meet the voice. Cloud laughed at her astonishment. "I'm sorry I wandered off..." Tifa said, blushing slightly.
"No problem. You didn't go far, at least. I would have killed myself if I'd lost you in such a big place." Cloud walked over beside Tifa and leaned on the rail. They stood outside the Gondola entrance, looking up at the stars that were scattered in the pure sky, and just waiting for the line to the ride to shorten.
'He's talking to me as if I'm a child...' Tifa's hopes fell. She wanted to tell Cloud everything on the Gondola ride. But her ambition kept lowering. She looked up at the stars and realized that the feeling of wanting to die had returned.
"Tifa? We can go on now." Cloud motioned toward a couple exiting the ride. Tifa nodded and followed him to into the Gondola. The ride began and the whole Gold Saucer appeared before their eyes.
Tifa focused on staring out the window. She didn't want to look in Cloud's face, especially not at this moment. Maybe near the end of the ride she would admit her feelings. Tifa was never a person to put something off until the last minute... But right now, she just didn't have the courage.
The Chocobo Racing area was shown and Tifa noticed Cid and Shera standing together with a gold chocobo, laughing and hugging each other. She smiled. Dreams of her and Cloud together like that flew into her mind. Impossible, but hopeful dreams...
'Dreams are nothing. They're only in the way of reality,' Tifa suddenly assured herself, for once turning pessimistic. A frown formed on her face and she glanced away from Shera and Cid. But the Gondola had passed the Chocobo Racing section already anyway. Tifa looked back and glimpsed a pink form running by the Event Square. Leaning closer, she could see that it was Yuffie, slight tears covering her face.
Tifa tried to look closer, but the scene shifted to the Wonder Square. Why was Yuffie crying? Oh well, the kid could figure things out by herself... She wasn't gonna rely on Tifa or anyone else for the rest of her life...Tifa looked over the Wonder Square and saw Vincent running through the place, his eyes searching the area.
'He must be looking for Yuffie,' Tifa thought as she watched him crash into Barret, who was playing G-Bike with Red and Cait Sith watching. Barret pointed a direction and Vincent frantically ran that way. Tifa almost laughed, seeing him so worried. How...human. Tifa glanced at the small clock etched into the Gondola wall and realized that it was almost midnight. The ride started a few minutes ago and would end soon.
"...Cloud..." Tifa turned to him, her eyes begging. He immediately directed his attention at her. "I've felt this way for a long time... Now, it's like I'm trapped in a never ending circle. And I'll never get out unless I'm set free. We'll never see each other again, probably, so I just wanted to say..."
Cloud's eyes softened. "What is it?"
12:00 PM. A single firework shot into the sky, spreading its crimson and silver sparks into the darkeness. It was followed by a group of others, all lighting the sky. But the darkness would never disappear anyway. The colors of the sparks would fade and the sky would once again become black.
Like Tifa's heart, it was forever eclipsed with darkness. -Nothing- could ever take that darkness away, even if small bits of happiness, like the sparks of the fireworks, tried to change things.
Then Tifa remembered. Night can disappear. And then, day follows and everything is new again, the sky is clear.
"That I love you."
~*~
^___^ It's been fun writing this chapter. I finally put in all of Tifa's feelings and emotions! ...I think. O.o Well, if this chapter was good, please support my will to continue writing by reviewing! =D I hope everyone understood how the sky relates to Tifa in the last bit of this chapter. It was hard writing that. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter, it'll hopefully be up soon.
One more thing, there's a scene in which I'll show what happens to all the characters in the Gold Saucer during this chapter. I don't show what happens to Barret, Cait Sith, and Red XIII cause of course, this is a romance which doesn't focus on them. -_-;; Sorry! I'm not too good with their POVs either...
Person with a space as their name; Um, hi! Thanks for the reviews you gave me, I noticed that you've been keeping up with this fic. ^_^ I sorta wish I knew who you were so I could go read your fics... But if you wanna keep anonymous, it's okay... ^^;;
~*~
{ CHAPTER X ~ AISHITERU }
Birds flew by, just swift streaks of blue. The leaves of every tree waved softly in the wind. It was morning. 'Yesterday was so shaky,' Tifa thought, 'But today is a new day...'
The party stood outside the lab, Bugenhagen beside them. "Take care," he told Red XIII, smiling softly.
Red XIII waved his paw in an adorable manner and turned around. He led the party out of the city.
"Red... Do you think Bugenhagen was acting strange?" Tifa asked as the team walked.
"No. Why?"
"I just... Kinda felt like something was different." Nearly the whole party turned to look at Tifa. Confused expressions graced their faces. "...Never mind," she whispered. She felt something weird about Bugenhangen, but if no one would listen to her, she wouldn't bother explaining things...
~*~
'Tifa.'
'You again?'
'Yes, it's me. Listen!'
'What do you want?'
'They're drawing near. Beware, the Arrow will shoot.'
'What are you talking about?'
'You'll know when the time comes... Just watch out. I'll be here, protecting you and the others, always.'
'Wait! Don't go! Who are you...?'
~*~
Tifa awoke abruptly again, drenched in sweat. Her pillow was on the ground. She threw it down in the middle of her dream, apparently... She leaned back and closed her eyes. Her dream was nearly the same as before. A swift noise, a child's crying. But this time, as the familiar voice approached with a warning, Tifa could actually talk to it.
It was as if she wasn't supposed to know who the one trying to contact her was. But then what was the point of even trying to reach the voice? Tifa leaned over to glance at her alarm clock. 7:30, almost time to get up. She remembered suddenly...
Today, the party was heading to the Gold Saucer. They would enjoy the whole day and then, everyone would separate... Most likely forever. Tifa leaned back, buried her face in the covers, and cried.
~*~
"We should all walk around with partners so we don't get lost. The Gold Saucer is a big place, and we haven't been here in a while." Cid grinned and grabbed Shera. They were back at the Gold Saucer, obviously. It was midday and they would stay til midnight.
Vincent glared at him coldly. "I really wish you'd quit doing that. Now we're left to decide who goes with who amongst ourselves. Yet again."
"We can always take the same partners we had back in Cosmo Canyon," Tifa suggested. She hoped with her heart that Cloud would go with her again. Last night, she had decided something... She would never see Cloud again. This was her chance. She would tell him she loved him, and leave it at that. Tifa knew she couldn't live with coped up emotions. It would bother her for the rest of her life if she didn't get rid of this annoyance now... Even if Cloud didn't care...
Cloud looked at her and smiled. "Great idea." Tifa raised and eyebrow but quickly smiled in return.
"No! I wanna go with Tifa!" Yuffie whined. She was stuck with Vincent, again. What was this now? The hundredth time?
"Don't be childish," Vincent said in monotone.
Yuffie was ready to pout again, as she suddenly noticed something that caught interest in the corner of the Gold Saucer. "I'll be right back..." She pranced off, a smirk on her face.
"I wanna go to the Chocobo Races first," Cid told Shera. "I have something to show you." He took her hand in a knightly fashion and the two headed for the Chocobo Section.
"Hey, don't leave yet!" Yuffie stumbled over, clutching something, a devilish grin on her face. "Look what I have!!"
That did it. This was supposed to be a perfect, fun day. Yuffie just ruined everything! Cloud rushed to her and grabbed the cheap camera she held. "Don't you dare."
"One photo! Pleeease!!" Yuffie cried, falling to Cloud's knees. She was literally about to kiss his feet as he threw the camera down.
"...Fine... But I won't be in it."
"Yes you will!" Yuffie grabbed Cloud and pushed him into Barret. Barret took a hold of his collar, pulled him to the rest of the group, and waited as Yuffie snapped the photo.
Cloud looked pissed off and annoyed, as if he'd kill Yuffie after this. Vincent was in a photograph for once. A careless frown on his face, right hand set on the gun at his holster. That was the only difference in this photo from the one taken during the last trip. Except of course, Aeris and Yuffie weren't in the photo. Once again, Tifa stood in the most shadowy part... Once again, unnoticed tears saturated the corners of her eyes, concealed for such a long time...
~*~
Cid pulled Shera through the crowd of the Chocobo Racing area and up to a golden chocobo in the center. He grinned softly. "This one's mine."
"It's beautiful..." Shera could easily tell that this was a specially bred chocobo that took a long time to train. Its soft gold fur gleamed as the light caught the streaks, large blue eyes stared up at Shera with curiosity. A single red band with a silver bell was tied to the chocobo's neck.
Cid suddenly picked up Shera and placed her onto the chocobo. "H-hey... What are you doing?! I'm pregnant!" She hissed, struggling to get off.
"It's easy. You just lean to whichever side you want the chocobo to go, and pick up the pace by kicking its sides." Cid's eyes gleamed in satisfaction as he ran off into the crowd. "Good luck!"
Shera shut her eyes. 'I'm gonna KILL him!' she thought fiercely. She pulled on the chocobo's reigns and softly kicked at its thighs. The race began and the chocobo started off. It was a feeling like flying, so light and carefree. But as Shera opened her eyes, the feeling disappeared. She was again determined to kill Cid for ever getting her into this!
The chocobo stopped abruptly. Shera nearly flew forward, but she grabbed the reigns just in time to pull herself back. The race was over already. The bird was obviously smart and well-trained enough to know how to steer itself. Cid ran over.
"See, that wasn't hard."
"Yes it was! DIE!" Shera dove at Cid but ended up falling into his arms.
"Quit it. You'll make a scene," he whispered, pulling her upright. "You have to admit that racing was fun."
"Yeah... That chocobo is well trained."
"No wonder, I trained her myself. Her name's Shera." Cid pulled back the collar on the chocobo to reveal gold letters spelling out 'Shera'. "I've been training her for a year."
"...Thanks..."
~*~
"Let's go to the Event Square!" Yuffie called, running ahead of Vincent. He trudged behind, pretending as if he didn't know Yuffie. "Come on, hurry!"
Yuffie ran to the man standing by the door. A couple was in front of him and he was announcing something. "Congratulations! You're the 100th-"
Yuffie growled. She grabbed Vincent's hand and pushed the couple out of the way. The man stared at Vincent with a confused look. "...Okay, you're the 100th couple!"
Vincent lowered his head in embarrassment. What was next? Oh yes, the play. Just wonderful. Let's see, he would get to be the prince? Yuffie grinned and pulled him into the Square. The man led them backstage to dress as the play began.
Vincent walked onscreen and nodded dumbly as the knight asked him a series of questions. Yuffie trudged on after a while. She was in a frilly pink dress that flew past her feet, covering all of her body. Vincent stiffened a laugh. The dress was much too large for her, as frills hung loosely over her arms. She walked forward, somewhat proud of her horrid attire. But the skirts at the bottom got caught in her legs and Yuffie fell forward...
Guess where she landed.
Vincent glared down at the pile of pink fluff that leaned into him. "Sorry, sorry..." Yuffie whispered, pulling herself up. She ran to the other side of the stage, lifting her skirts this time. The knight coughed, covering his laughter. Vincent glared at him as well, stopping the coughing fit right away.
"Who will you kiss?" the knight asked, motioning toward the actors on the stage.
No. This couldn't be happening! Vincent panicked. He wanted this to be over suddenly. What was he supposed to do now? Kiss the knight? Oh yeah, that would be great. Giving everyone something to talk about. "Hey, have you heard? Vincent's a shounen-ai! Guess he didn't like Lucrecia much after all."
Kiss EDK for humor? Vincent couldn't ruin his reputation of the silent lonely guy. He NEVER laughed, much lest smiled. The slightest smile was a symbol of joy. Vincent was nowhere near that state. He had a hard past, and there was no point in ever changing it. He couldn't just run around making jokes and kissing monsters. 'Well, I might as well get this over with...'
Vincent walked across the stage and stopped before Yuffie. As he brushed past her, he placed a swift kiss on her cheek.
Yuffie froze. What the hell just happened? Vincent, kissing her? This was too weird. 'Am I misunderstanding things?' Yuffie thought in sheer confusion. She glanced Vincent's way. He was back in his previous position, but now his eyes were directed to the ground. His face was lowered, hair falling over the front so you couldn't see any expression.
A soft smile suddenly formed on his face. 'I'm not imagining things. Vincent is -smiling-. ...Holy shit! He LIKES me!' Yuffie grabbed the edges of her dress and jumped off the stage, into the crowd. She ran for the exit. The last thing she saw, glancing back, was a flurry of red and black chasing after her.
~*~
"Beautiful, aren't they?"
Tifa spun around to meet the voice. Cloud laughed at her astonishment. "I'm sorry I wandered off..." Tifa said, blushing slightly.
"No problem. You didn't go far, at least. I would have killed myself if I'd lost you in such a big place." Cloud walked over beside Tifa and leaned on the rail. They stood outside the Gondola entrance, looking up at the stars that were scattered in the pure sky, and just waiting for the line to the ride to shorten.
'He's talking to me as if I'm a child...' Tifa's hopes fell. She wanted to tell Cloud everything on the Gondola ride. But her ambition kept lowering. She looked up at the stars and realized that the feeling of wanting to die had returned.
"Tifa? We can go on now." Cloud motioned toward a couple exiting the ride. Tifa nodded and followed him to into the Gondola. The ride began and the whole Gold Saucer appeared before their eyes.
Tifa focused on staring out the window. She didn't want to look in Cloud's face, especially not at this moment. Maybe near the end of the ride she would admit her feelings. Tifa was never a person to put something off until the last minute... But right now, she just didn't have the courage.
The Chocobo Racing area was shown and Tifa noticed Cid and Shera standing together with a gold chocobo, laughing and hugging each other. She smiled. Dreams of her and Cloud together like that flew into her mind. Impossible, but hopeful dreams...
'Dreams are nothing. They're only in the way of reality,' Tifa suddenly assured herself, for once turning pessimistic. A frown formed on her face and she glanced away from Shera and Cid. But the Gondola had passed the Chocobo Racing section already anyway. Tifa looked back and glimpsed a pink form running by the Event Square. Leaning closer, she could see that it was Yuffie, slight tears covering her face.
Tifa tried to look closer, but the scene shifted to the Wonder Square. Why was Yuffie crying? Oh well, the kid could figure things out by herself... She wasn't gonna rely on Tifa or anyone else for the rest of her life...Tifa looked over the Wonder Square and saw Vincent running through the place, his eyes searching the area.
'He must be looking for Yuffie,' Tifa thought as she watched him crash into Barret, who was playing G-Bike with Red and Cait Sith watching. Barret pointed a direction and Vincent frantically ran that way. Tifa almost laughed, seeing him so worried. How...human. Tifa glanced at the small clock etched into the Gondola wall and realized that it was almost midnight. The ride started a few minutes ago and would end soon.
"...Cloud..." Tifa turned to him, her eyes begging. He immediately directed his attention at her. "I've felt this way for a long time... Now, it's like I'm trapped in a never ending circle. And I'll never get out unless I'm set free. We'll never see each other again, probably, so I just wanted to say..."
Cloud's eyes softened. "What is it?"
12:00 PM. A single firework shot into the sky, spreading its crimson and silver sparks into the darkeness. It was followed by a group of others, all lighting the sky. But the darkness would never disappear anyway. The colors of the sparks would fade and the sky would once again become black.
Like Tifa's heart, it was forever eclipsed with darkness. -Nothing- could ever take that darkness away, even if small bits of happiness, like the sparks of the fireworks, tried to change things.
Then Tifa remembered. Night can disappear. And then, day follows and everything is new again, the sky is clear.
"That I love you."
~*~
^___^ It's been fun writing this chapter. I finally put in all of Tifa's feelings and emotions! ...I think. O.o Well, if this chapter was good, please support my will to continue writing by reviewing! =D I hope everyone understood how the sky relates to Tifa in the last bit of this chapter. It was hard writing that. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter, it'll hopefully be up soon.