After taking their lunch, Kairi and Sora helped Cid in doing the dishes because Shera had to go back to the laboratory.
"Where does she work?" Sora asked curiously.
"The ShinRa Space Development Division. She's a scientist there. She helps develop rockets and stuff so most of the time, she's just inside the laboratory developing new stuffs for rockets." Cid explained.
"Stuffs like what?" Kairi asked curiously.
"Nothin' that would interest ya, missy. You're a girl. You won't be interested in technical and mechanical stuff." Cid snapped at her.
She frowned at him. "Well your wife's a girl too, and she's interested in those kinda stuff. So tell me." She said rather airily.
Sora just nudged her lightly while scrubbing one dish with a steel scrubber. She just made a face. She doesn't care if it's dangerous to make Cid angry. "What can he do? He'll just cuss and cuss and cuss." She was thinking silently. To change the subject, Sora just chimed in, "And what about you, where do you work?" he asked him.
"Same place where she works. But not in the laboratory. Instead, I pilot those space and aircrafts." Cid explained with a proud look on his face.
"Cool! Have you ever explored outer space?" Sora asked in awe.
Cid had this frustrated look on his face, "I was supposed to… but that damn girl had to get in the way… that was years before." He muttered miserably.
"Who?" Kairi and Sora asked curiously.
Cid just looked outside the window as he sighed heavily; the backyard could be seen from the window by the sink. He was watching Riku climbing the tall mango tree while Samara just remained seated on the swing hanging by one of the strong branches of the same tree. She was looking up at him. "I tell you, kids. You can really find love in the strangest places." He simply said.
"What do you mean?" Kairi asked curiously.
"Har har har!" Cid laughed heartily before proceeding, "Well, you know how Sora's folks met? Cloud and Aerith? He fell from the skies and landed on her flowerbed!" He froze. "Okay… that has a double meaning…" he muttered to himself.
Kairi just stared at him. Sora blushed slightly before clearing his throat. "Ahem! Eheheh… never mind that… but… what made you say so that you can find love in the strangest places?" he asked with a weak smile on his face.
"Well, in my case, that damn girl, Shera; I just couldn't hate that woman… even if she's the one who ruined my dream before." Cid told them softly as he watched Riku jump down from the highest branch down to the ground before Samara. She just stared blankly at him like she was not impressed. He watched Riku slouch and cross his arms, frowning at her. That's when she smiled slightly… but there was a mocking look on her face.
Cid just shook his head while saying, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk… At first glance, I thought she's Teef." He muttered.
Sora and Kairi looked up at Cid curiously. "Huh?" the latter asked.
"Nothing. Okay short man, finish those and then I'll give you guys a lift home." Cid told them as he patted Sora's head, leaving some soap suds on his spiky brown hair. Cid went over to the fridge and got himself a can of root beer. "Oh darn! The dame Shera didn't buy any beer! Oh well… this fucking root beer will do… for now. Gotta stop by the goddamn grocery later on…" he said out loud.
Sora made a disgusted face upon realizing that there were suds on his hair already. "Uh… no thanks, sir. We'll just walk home. Besides, we still need to find someone." He told Cid.
"Who're you gonna look for?" Cid responded before he sat down on the kitchen counter.
"Some… doctor." Sora replied with a weak smile on his face before looking at Kairi. He nudged her to back him up. Kairi shrugged and turned to Cid. "An… Ooga-booga doctor." She said with a silly smile on her face.
Cid raised an eyebrow, "Ooga-booga?" he asked in confusion. He thought for a while before nodding his head, "Oh… a doctor who practices alternative medicine like using herbs for healing diseases? Why would you even want to see that kind of doctor?" he asked with a perplexed look on his face.
"Well… I want to learn voodoo. Heheh. Goofy told me that it's a useful fighting… tool… yeah. A technique." Sora explained.
"Hmm… I don't trust that dog." Cid muttered with an annoyed look on his face before he gulped down the contents of the root beer can.
Sora and Kairi just kept quiet, proceeding with their work. Finally, when they were already finished with the dishes, they were ready to set out for another journey. "Okay, Mister Highwind, we'll have to go now. Thanks for your time." Kairi said with a sweet smile on her face before she got out through the back door and headed for Riku and Samara.
Sora wiped his hands on a towel before approaching Cid. "Thanks for your help Mister Cid. We really appreciate it." He told him.
Cid just nodded before he threw the empty root beer can in the bin. He let out a disgusting belch before turning his gaze outside in the backyard, looking at Samara. "That girl with you… where is she from?" he asked.
Sora looked outside the window, observing Samara who was still seated on the swing. He just shrugged. "That's why we're going on a journey to find out who she is…" he thought silently, but did not really tell Cid the truth. Then, he remembered something. He turned back to Cid with a curious look on his face, "Hey, you mentioned something a while ago… something about… Samara looking like someone?" he asked.
Cid thought for a while before he chuckled lightly. "Oh… that? Nah. Just a thought when I was looking at her at first glance. Forget about it." He said before patting Sora's head again, "Get outta here, boy." He snapped; but before Sora could go, he called out his name again, "Sora,"
The boy looked back at him curiously. Cid had a serious look on his face, "You watch out for those Mako-hungry goonies, you hear?" he asked.
Sora just smiled and saluted before running out to the backyard. "Alright, let's get going!" he told his companions.
The sun was already setting but she still remained seated by the window inside the masters' bedroom. She hasn't even switched on the lights, but she did not care about the dimness of the room. It did not alarm her if she had to walk in the dark later on.
Sighing heavily, her crimson eyes looked down to her hands holding a girl doll wearing a long white plain dress and white shoes. The doll had long shiny jet-black hair made out of synthetic fiber. She sighed again as she stroked the doll's hair with a bitter smile on her face.
"Tifa,"
She slowly turned around to face her husband who was approaching her with a stiff look on his face. She smiled cheerfully at him, "Hey, Rufus." She greeted as she welcomed him with open arms. He let her hug him, but he did not hug her back. "You alright?" he asked her. There were hints of worry in his voice and in his eyes even though it did not show in his facial expression.
She nodded. "I'm alright. Any news?" she asked.
Rufus stared at her for a while before shaking his head in a "no". She lowered her gaze to the ground before she mindlessly stroked the doll's head again.
Rufus looked down at the doll before speaking up again, "We'll find her… I swear…" he told her.
"But what about the other problems of our company? Aren't you attending to them?" she asked.
"Our daughter is more important than those imbeciles who keep on ruining our reputation. Besides, I'm also asking Heidegger to do some work regarding the person responsible for almost making Reactor 7 explode some days ago." He told her before heading for the window.
Tifa bowed down her head before putting the doll on the chair by the window and she went closer to Rufus, embracing him from behind. She leaned her head against his back as she breathed in his scent. "I'll take care of the search for our daughter. Just take your time with the matters regarding business." She said with a voice that seemed to falter.
He looked up at the orangey skies with a stiff look on his face. "Alright…" he said softly. But he was silently thinking, "I swear… if I ever find out who is doing this, he or she is going to pay dearly with his or her life…" with that, he bowed down his head and touched her hands resting on his stomach. "Let's go back to Midgar. The chopper is ready." He told her.