"What do you mean it's closed until further notice?" Yuffie demanded from the Second Class Soldier who was standing guard by the entrance to the Nibelheim Reactor.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but President Rufus has ordered that this area be closed to tourists and other outsiders. It's pretty dangerous around here… besides, it's nighttime. Aren't you ladies supposed to be at home now?" the Soldier replied while eyeing the three women standing before him.
"Looks like he doesn't recognize you in that attire, Tifa." Aerith whispered.
Tifa stepped forward. "Look, sir, I have all the permission in the world to step inside that place," she insisted.
"Why? Who are you?" he asked mockingly.
"Only the First Lady?" she replied with an arrogant tone.
Silence.
He turned to his other comrades, "Didja hear that? She said she's the First Lady!" he said before laughing with the others.
Tifa raised her eyebrow. He smiled mockingly at her, "Listen, missy. You are just… a peasant girl. Just look at you! Your clothes are basically nothing compared to the lovely dresses of Mrs. Tifa ShinRa! Now get out of here before I call for back-up." He said.
She placed her hands on her hips. "Oh really now? Well maybe you should stop judging people by their appearance…" she said with an annoyed tone. She felt so insulted. The man cut her off by saying, "Okay, miss. I'll let you pass if you give me what I want first."
Silence.
"Tifa do you want me to kick his ass right now?" Yuffie asked airily.
Tifa just raised her hands at her friends to make them stop their attempt to defend her from the maniac. She just smiled calmly at the man, "You want a salary deduction?" she asked coolly.
He laughed at her, eyeing her from head to toe and up again, "No, I want you…. I can even pay a good deal if…" he trailed off when he caught sight of the necklace and the pendant that Tifa was wearing. He gasped and he turned pale all of a sudden. "HOLY SHIT!?!?!???!!!??" he cried out in sudden fear like he had seen a ghost.
She noticed him looking at her lower part of the neck and that's when she remembered that she was still wearing the heart-shaped silver locket with the ShinRa logo on it that Rufus had given to her as an engagement present. "Oh this?" she asked, touching the locket. "It's a gift from the President." She told him.
All the soldiers in that place were awe-stricken and became speechless. All they could do was gape unbelievably at her.
"All of you are fired." She said simply before pushing one of them aside and went through the entrance to the reactor.
Yuffie and Aerith followed after her. "Gee, Tifa… you really gained a lot of power just by marrying that blonde imp." The former remarked.
"You sound like I'm just using him!" Tifa said defensively with a hurtful look on her face.
"At least Rufus is not a black-haired imp!" Aerith giggled. Tifa joined in, laughing at the joke.
Yuffie sneered at them, "Tell that to Sephiroth, he might freak out and go on a killing spree again!"
The two stopped laughing. "Hey isn't this the place where he supposedly died?" Tifa asked with a playful tone.
Yuffie just raised an eyebrow at her.
Tifa winked before turning to the reactor. There were several bad memories in that place… but she tried not to think so much about it and let those memories bother her.
Aerith stared at the glowing light. "Reminds me of Cloud's eyes…" she said softly.
Tifa scanned the surroundings. "It's too dim in here… let's just go back tomorrow." She told them with a soft tone.
Aerith nodded. "Okay. But hopefully, your Soldiers won't tell Rufus that you were here and you just fired them because they were so rude." She said.
Tifa just smiled at her friend. "I know that he'll eventually know where I am even though he's still in Junon right now." She said.
"I thought he'll just be in Junon for a one-day conference and an inspection?" Yuffie asked.
"Knowing Rufus, he extended the conference so that he can forget his household problems and focus on his work." Tifa said with a silly smile on her face before following Aerith outside.
"Don't tell me… you're the one who gave him that advice, huh?" Yuffie asked with a weak smile on her face.
"Hey, it's a chance for me to get out of ShinRa for a while and experience traveling without the luxuries that he could offer! Heehee!" Tifa replied with a wink.
"Yeah, right…" Yuffie turned to Aerith with a wicked smile on her face, "I told you, Aerith, Tifa is just using that blonde imp." She sneered.
Aerith just frowned slightly. "Huh?"
"Yuffie?!" Tifa exclaimed.
Yuffie laughed heartily at her, "Gotcha again! Man, you really love that blonde imp, huh?" she asked while jumping up and down around Tifa playfully. Tifa just made a face. "Oh, grow up!" Tifa responded with a look of disbelief on her face.
Cloud was trying to cook a decent dinner for himself… because for the past few days that Aerith had been away, all he ate was fast food delivered to his doorstep. He tried reading one of the cookbooks that Aerith owns, but there were several terms that he could not understand. "What the hell is a pint?!" he asked out loud. He proceeded to read. "…a pinch of salt…" he thought for a while. "…a dash of pepper…" he scratched his head. "What the hell are these?!" he cried out. He almost dropped the book when he heard the doorbell.
He instantly got up from the stool by the kitchen counter and rushed to the door, hoping that it's Aerith, back from her trip to an orphanage (at least that's what he knows…). But he was quite disappointed… but surprised at the same time when he saw his son, Sora, with Leon and a tall blonde guy wearing a trenchcoat. He stared curiously at the blonde guy, "Hey, Rufus, where'd you get the scar?" he asked.
Seifer raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked.
Sora jumped up and down in joy as he exclaimed, "Daddy!!!!!" and embraced his father. Cloud smiled happily as he patted Sora's head, "Hey, Sora. Welcome home!" he greeted with a smile on his face before turning back to the two others with him, "And you brought Leon with you too…" he pointed out.
"Squall." Squall corrected.
Silence.
"And I'm Seifer." Seifer introduced himself.
Cloud frowned slightly, feeling embarrassed because of his mistake, "Oh… sorry if I mistook you for someone else." He said stiffly.
Seifer just smiled slyly, "Oh yes… just like from way back. People still mistake me for him… and he for me." He explained before raking his fingers through his hair.
"And you even have the same behavior with that hair…" Cloud was thinking silently before stepping aside to let them in. "Come in. I'm just… about to order dinner." He told them rather hesitantly.
Sora blinked. "Huh? Why? Where's mom?" he asked.
"She's on a trip with Tifa and Yuffie. Tifa's doing some charity work." Cloud explained as he shut the door after they had entered.
"Oh her. How's Yuffie?" Squall asked.
"She's alright, I guess. So, did you find the box?" Cloud asked, turning to Sora.
Sora thought for a while before remembering about the box. "Oh that! Well…" he smiled weakly.
Cloud's eyes widened at him, "Oh no… don't tell me something happened to it?" he asked.
"What's so important about that box anyway? Kairi even told me about it." Seifer said with an impatient look on his face.
"Well… it is not important to me… but it is important to Rufus." Cloud said.
Silence.
"…and to Teef too." He added.
Silence.
"Who the hell is Teef? I even heard Cid mention her!" Sora said, finally remembering.
"Teef is just a nickname we call Tifa." His father answered.
"And who's Tifa?" Squall asked curiously.
"The First Lady. Tifa Lockheart-ShinRa." Cloud replied, surprised that they do not know.
Seifer just shrugged and sat down on the couch. "Kairi said that Samara is wearing the pendant with the necklace that were once inside that box." He pointed out.
Cloud raised an eyebrow before turning to him. "Samar… Samara?" he asked.
"Some weird girl who even said that I remind her of her daddy." Seifer explained before he grabbed a picture frame with the Strife family photo on it, examining the photo with an eyebrow raised while eyeing each of the people there carefully.
Cloud was quiet for a while before turning away, going to the telephone to call for Chinese food. "What do you guys want? We're having Chinese." He told them.
"Can't you cook, dad?" Sora asked curiously as he plopped down on the couch. "Man, I missed this couch!" he said happily while letting himself bounce up and down on it.
Cloud had this miserable look on his face before smiling weakly at Sora. "I… can cook… but not like your mom." He pointed out.
Seifer snickered at him, "Sora, what your dad is trying to tell you is that, he doesn't know how to cook!" he snapped.
Sora's eyes widened at him. "Oh no!" he turned to his father. "Dad! What will become of us in case mommy doesn't come back here?!" he asked in shock.
"Why?" Cloud asked.
"What if mommy gets into an accident?" Sora stated.
Cloud's mouth dropped open.
"Like Kuja attacks her and she can't fight back!"
Cloud's eyes widened.
"…or you said she's doing charity work, right? What if the orphans are dangerous and they kill her?" Sora pointed out.
Cloud felt his knees getting weaker.
"And what if the First Lady snaps and she kills mommy!!!" Sora cried out.
Silence.
"Okay, that's enough exaggeration," Cloud began with a stern but shaky tone before picking up the receiver and then dialed some numbers. While talking on the phone, Squall sat down beside Seifer, saying to Sora, "Your dad's been exposed to Mako?"
Sora shrugged. "We can ask him." He pointed out.
After a few minutes, Cloud hung up, "I just ordered four orders of sweet and sour pork rice toppings." He told them before going to his son and messed up his hair, "So where's Kairi?" he asked.
"She went home for a while to her dad to ask some questions." Sora replied with a cheery smile on his face.
Cloud frowned slightly upon hearing that. "Her dad…" he repeated. He sat down on another couch as he asked Seifer and Squall, "Where are you guys staying anyway?"
"We actually flew here all the way from Balamb. We had to evacuate the whole Garden because Kuja totally bombed the whole place… every single city and town he could find in our territory." Squall explained.
"We parked the Garden in Kalm." Seifer pointed out.
Cloud was silent for a few moments before nodding his head. "I see…" he turned to Sora, suspicious that something bad happened to him. Sora just smiled weakly at his father before saying, "I… ran into some trouble… to be honest with you, dad."
Silence.
"Anyway, we'd like to ask you a few questions…" Squall began.
Over dinner, Cloud, Squall and Seifer were still talking about Mako and JENOVA and other stuff from the past like Meteor. Sora just sat quietly, eating his food while listening carefully to the conversation.
"I was… once exposed to Mako. But I was able to survive its side-effects… I guess." Cloud proceeded before turning to look at his son, then back to Squall. "…I'm not even sure but probably, I passed some to Sora…" he pointed out.
Sora's eyes widened. "What?!" he asked in awe.
"And he also has some Cetra blood in him. That's… amazing." Seifer said with a slight frown on his face.
"Cetra?!" Sora asked in shock.
"Don't tell me you haven't informed him about it?" Squall asked Cloud.
Cloud turned to Sora with a serious look on his face. "No."
Silence.
"I'll explain later, Sora." Cloud said with a slight frown on his face before turning back to Squall. "So you're planning to take on Kuja?" he asked.
"If we know how to beat him, yes. He seems quite powerful. He's the one trying to gain complete control over Mako, but I guess he couldn't handle it fully because it seems like he's trying to summon it out of the Planet little by little but he cannot hold on to it." Squall said.
"That's when Samara comes into the picture. Sora and Kairi informed us of what Samara can do while they were recuperating from her attack a week ago." Seifer pointed out.
"Attack?" Cloud asked in disbelief.
"She went berserk and almost ended up killing all of us. Then she just jumped off the Garden and… Riku followed her… and up to now, we still don't know where they are…" Sora said with a hard look on his face.
Cloud was surprised when he heard that. "What? You mean… Riku is… missing?" he asked in awe.
"Hopefully nothing bad happened to him…" Squall began with a low tone as he lowered his gaze to the plate. His eyes were giving off a look that told them that he's thinking that something must've really happened to Riku and Samara.
"What happened? What made her… do that? And how?" Cloud asked.
"Do what?" Seifer asked.
"You said she almost ended up killing all of you," he responded.
"It's so strange, dad. She was running away from… Kuja. I think he wants to do something bad to her… like use her or something, I'm not sure." Sora pointed out.
"Yes… Kuja's all over the news now even though some facts are still unknown on why he's doing those things. Besides, I don't think Rufus would be revealing all the facts that ShinRa had discovered for the last few days of investigation." Cloud said.
Squall was silent for a while before finally deciding to ask, "Is it really confidential?"
"I'm afraid so. You can talk to Rufus about it…" he replied.
Squall nodded slightly. "I think I'll do that now. We have to hurry or else Kuja might destroy another area." He pointed out.
"Dad," Sora began.
Cloud turned to his son, "Yes?" he asked before proceeding to eat.
Sora smiled weakly, "So… the bright light that you were telling me about… has something to do with Mako?" he asked while looking into his father's eyes. There seems to be a strange glow in it… a glow that he could not understand when he was still a little boy. His mother just told him that his father is special that's why he's got eyes like those…
Cloud's lips twisted into a slight but painful smile but he did not say anything else. He just got up from his seat, "If you guys are ready to leave, just tell me. I'll be in the Living Room. I'll accompany you guys to Rufus." He told them with a serious tone, avoiding their stares as he left the dining area.
Sora frowned slightly before he rushed to his father, following after him. "Dad," he began.
Cloud just seated himself on the couch, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his thighs while his hands were clasped together and his forehead leaning on them. Sora slowed down, staring at his father with an inquiring look on his face.
Back in the dining area, Squall was staring strangely at the doorway leading to the living room area.
Seifer just continued to eat, "Leave them alone, puberty-boy." He instructed.
Squall looked away from the door and just continued to eat quietly.
Sora sat down beside his father. "Dad," he began softly.
Cloud moved his hands away from his face as he leaned back on the couch. He turned his gaze to his son with a serious look on his face.
"Dad, you can tell me everything you want to tell me… I know I'd understand… I'm not a little kid anymore." Sora said with a pleading look on his face.
Cloud just smiled calmly at him before looking up at the ceiling, "When you told me that you were hearing those high-pitched sounds, I thought I would panic immediately… but thought to myself, hey, it's natural. He's my son." He sighed heavily and looked at his son. "I used to hear those too. It just signifies that we are… connected, not just as father and son but… something else that I cannot even explain… just as we are connected to that king of unexplained force that's making us hear those sounds. There could be instances wherein… someone might take advantage of that connection… those more powerful than you are… but don't let them do that to you. You must always… know yourself." He explained with a slight frown on his face. As he was explaining those things to Sora, several flashbacks returned to his consciousness… the times when Sephiroth would control him and appear in his thoughts like he's going to drive him crazy. And the incident with the Black Materia… He felt so ashamed of himself when he remembered that he beat up Aerith just because of Sephiroth. Cloud shook his head in annoyance before forcing a smile at Sora, "Kairi's not hearing those?" he asked.
Sora thought for a while before saying, "I don't think so. She hasn't told me anything… why?"
Cloud just chuckled lightly, "Okay, so it looks like you are more prone to danger than your friends, huh?" he asked, meaning it as a joke as he messed up his son's hair. Sora cringed. "Aw, dad! Stop doing that!" he moved away from his father for a while, watching him laughing lightly. Sora sat down on another couch adjacent to his dad.
Cloud stopped laughing and crossed his arms with a smug smile on his face. "Don't worry, Sora. Daddy will not let you fight alone. I'll be with you when you face even the toughest of all enemies… of course, there would be some instances wherein I cannot always be there…" he began, but Sora smiled calmly at him. "Don't worry, dad. I know how to take care of myself… thanks to you and mom." He said.
Cloud just smiled at him, observing the determined look in his son's eyes. He hasn't seen such of that kind of too much determination when he was that young… and he was proud to think that his son isn't anything like him from before. He could remember clearly what he had sworn to himself and to Aerith the day Sora was born: He would never let Sora experience the unpleasant things that he had experienced from before.
With that, Sora got up and moved to his father, sitting down beside him and embracing him tightly. Cloud was surprised at first, but he eased up. He put his arms around his son and patted his back reassuringly. "Atta boy," he murmured softly. Slowly, he turned his gaze to the doorway to the dining area. Squall and Seifer were watching them with smiles on their faces. Cloud just smiled slightly at them before they got back to the dining area to finish their dinner.
Sephiroth was gazing at the whole city of Midgar which would be seen from ShinRa's 70th floor windows while waiting for Rufus to finish his phone call.
"By… around before midnight. Yes." Rufus was saying to the other person on the line before hanging up. Sighing heavily, he got his mobile phone and began to dial some numbers before putting it by his right ear, listening to the ringing. He turned his chair to face Sephiroth who was standing a few meters away from him, staring outside the window.
And someone finally answered, "Hello, darling!" greeted the person from the other line.
Rufus stiffened his jaws and deepened his frown to stop himself from smiling. Sephiroth turned around to look at him, studying the stiffness of his face and smiled teasingly at Rufus's effort of stopping himself from smiling.
"Hello, darling. Where are you?" Rufus asked, his voice growing louder in the next sentence. Sephiroth just raised an eyebrow at Rufus.
Rufus sneered at him while listening to Tifa, "I'm just here in Nibelheim with Aerith and Yuffie." She said.
"And what are you doing there? I thought I already told you to come back here?" he asked stiffly before he got up and went to Sephiroth, pushing him aside before standing stiffly by the window, looking at the nightlife of Midgar.
"Rufus, I need more time here…" Tifa began, but he cut her off, "Tifa, you took my yacht without my permission and you left without any permission! Now I received word that you just fired several of the Second Class Soldier that's why Sephiroth is here right now discussing the matter with me. And Theodore and Lavinia are missing you already; Tifa, they need a mother to take care of them. And I'm about to leave to Junon tonight with Cloud and the others to discuss some matters about Kuja and his plans." He snapped impatiently at her.
She just giggled. He raised an eyebrow.
Tifa was soaking in her tub with a solemn smile on her face. "Rufus, Rufus, Rufus… I knew you'd react that way." She said softly.
He was silent.
She followed one of the floating bubbles with her gaze and used her free hand to catch it, eventually popping it. "But I'm doing this for our family… and for Samara." She told him.
Sephiroth stepped away from Rufus, observing the blank look on his face. "Tifa must've said something to counter what he said…" he thought silently before proceeding to the desk. He saw a framed family picture of the ShinRas. He proceeded to the big office chair and sat down on it, staring closely at the picture as he leaned forward and resting his elbows on the desk. A red curtain was behind them and it was parted enough so that the big ShinRa logo could be noticed. Rufus and Tifa were standing behind a white divan, while three others were seated on it. Seated in the middle was a blonde girl with blue eyes and she was all-smiles… and she was very beautiful. She's wearing a red gown. She had her arms around the shoulders of the two kids on both her sides. One is a little girl with very long jet-black hair and she's wearing a white dress. She was not even smiling and the way she's looking at the camera seemed to reveal that she was not really excited during having her picture taken, unlike her older sister. Her blue eyes were similar to Rufus's; seemingly giving off a cold glare. The other one was a little boy who looks like a carbon copy of Rufus but his eyes are crimson like Tifa. He had a pleased smile on his face… and somewhat proud-looking too. Then there was another little girl but she was seated on a small footstool positioned between the left foot of the blonde young lady and the right foot of the raven-haired little girl. She has blonde hair and crimson eyes just like the little boy, and she's also smiling happily. She's wearing a white dress. And finally, lying by her feet was Dark Nation.
What caught Sephiroth's attention was the little girl with jet-black hair. He stared closely at her with a curious look on his face.
Finally, Rufus ended the call and approached Sephiroth with a curious look on his face, "What are you doing sitting on my chair?" he demanded rather harshly.
Sephiroth slowly got up, but still keeping his eye on the little girl on the picture. "Who's she?" he asked.
Rufus followed his gaze and stared at his family picture. "Which?" he asked.
"The little girl beside Morrigan… the one behind Lavinia?" Sephiroth asked.
Rufus's facial expression eased up a bit, but his tone was still stiff. "That's Theodore's twin sister." Was all he said.
Silence.
"Well, what's her name?" Sephiroth asked with an impatient tone.
Before Rufus could answer, they heard footsteps climbing up the stairs leading to the office. It was Cloud Strife with Sora, Seifer and Squall. He frowned slightly, smiling rather arrogantly at the newcomers as he sat down on his chair. "Pleasant evening," he greeted stiffly.
"Good evening, sir!" Sora greeted cheerfully while Cloud just nodded his head in greeting before introducing Squall and Seifer, "Rufus, these are Squall and Seifer from Balamb…" he began.
"Yes, I know Seifer." Rufus said with a slight smile on his face as he got up and flipped his hair.
Seifer smiled slyly at him. "Well, I'm glad to know that you still remember me." He said before turning to Sephiroth.
Sephiroth also smiled at him before turning to Cloud, "I know him too." He pointed out.
Cloud made a face, "Don't tell me… you all met at the UVA?" he asked rather sarcastically.
"What the hell is UVA?" Seifer asked in confusion.
"United Villains' Association." Cloud pointed out.
Silence.
"Very funny, Strife," Rufus said with a sarcastic smile on his face.
Squall just stared blankly at Rufus. "It's nice to meet you, Rufus." He said.
Sephiroth stared curiously at Squall. "I thought your name's Leon?" he asked with an inquiring look on his face.
"Squall." Squall corrected with a stiff look on his face.
Silence.
Cloud and Sora just gave Sephiroth a look which told him to just stop asking questions and leave the guy alone. Sephiroth just sneered at them before he stepped forward. "Anyway I guess it's nice to see you here again… all of you." He told them rather casually.
Rufus followed after him, his hands inside his side blazer pockets. "I've heard of your Garden's arrival a week ago but I was in Junon back then. Took longer than expected for me to return here. I had to do a lot of things all at the same time like closing a deal with clients and then doing some investigations regarding this silver-haired dork's daughter." He pointed out while eyeing Sephiroth with a nasty look on his face.
Sephiroth rolled his eyes before he turned around to face Rufus, "For the last time, ShinRa, Kuja is a man." He pointed out.
Rufus just smiled nastily at him, "What-ever." He said without any care before stepping forward to stand face-to-face with Squall. "So what is your business here?" he asked coolly.
Squall stared at him for a while before answering, "We would like to help you in your problem…"
"Like we join forces. ShinRa and some of our best SeeDs…" Seifer summarized.
Silence.
Sora was staring at Seifer, and then at Rufus… then back at Seifer again. "Hey!" he suddenly mentioned.
All eyes turned to him. He blinked in awe staring at Seifer, "Didn't Samara mention that you look like her father?" he asked. The mention of the name made Rufus instantly turn to him and approached him, removing his hands from his pockets. "What?" he asked with a frantic tone.
Sora was quite surprised because of Rufus's sudden reaction. "I…" he began, but he froze when Rufus suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and stooped down so that he was face-to-face with him.
"I… do you know Samara?" Sora asked with a confused look on his face.
Rufus's eyes widened as he slowly let go of the boy and stood up straight, turning to Seifer. Sora ran to his father and stood beside him.
Seifer just frowned slightly, confused because of Rufus's sudden reactions. He raked his fingers through his hair, "What's wrong with the girl telling me that I look like his dad…" he trailed off upon realizing something. "Shit… don't tell me…" he began.
Rufus rushed to his desk and grabbed the family picture, showing it to everyone. "Does she look like her?" he asked.
Sora's eyes widened in shock. Seifer's frown deepened as he examined the girl on the photo.
"That is her!" he declared.
Samara already felt so tired but she could not close her eyes. She just stared blankly at the ocean, watching the waves crashing against the shore and some rocks as she remained seated a meter away from the bonfire that Riku had managed to start by gathering some sticks and stones.
Meanwhile, Riku was just standing by the shore, observing the waves as they crashed on his feet.
Samara started to observe him when she was able to read his thoughts and know what he is feeling… loneliness. She bowed down her head, letting her hair frame her face as she slowly got up and walked to him, but would not come any nearer than a meter away from him because she really feared the ocean.
Sensing her presence, he turned his head to the side and saw her through his peripheral vision. He just smiled faintly before turning away from her and looking up at the stars and the moon. "You should be asleep now," he told her.
She was just silent, observing his back view while recalling the days when she was in the laboratory… she would not sleep. She could not sleep.
And she wasn't sure if the 7-day unconsciousness she had to undergo after jumping off the Garden could be considered as sleep.
And it came to her: she hasn't been sleeping for a year that she had forgotten how to close her eyes and sleep. She lowered her gaze to the sand as she thought about that.
Riku, noticing her silence, turned around to face her with a curious look on her face. She looked more mysterious… and scary under the moonlight with that kind of appearance. "Why don't you come closer? Don't you like the water?" he asked curiously, also remembering that she was supposed to go into the ocean some hours ago when she almost killed him but she just stopped herself.
She looked at him again, then at the ocean, then back at him again. She did not say anything but her eyes revealed to Riku that she did fear the waters.
"Why?" he asked curiously.
She was silent for a while before replying in a low whisper, "Frolic in brine; goblins be thine."
He raised his eyebrows at her. "What?" he asked, moving closer to her with a curious look on his face. It was an old proverb, he knew… and it somehow has a creepy point to it. "Samara, that's just a saying by old people so that kids won't play in the water and drown themselves." He pointed out.
"But it's true," she told him.
They just stared at each other for several seconds without saying anything… until she moved her gaze past him and stared at the crashing waves. "What about you? Don't you want to sleep?" she asked softly.
He was quite surprised by the question, but he still answered, "Nah… I don't think I'll be able to sleep."
"Why not?" she asked before sitting down on the sand. He went beside her and sat down too, lying back on the sand and spreading his arms across himself and then sighing in desperation. "Oh nothing… It's just that… I'm uncomfortable in this place… although I grew up in a town by the ocean when I was much younger." He admitted.
She was silent for a while, pulling her knees closer to herself and resting her chin on them. She was hugging her legs close to herself with a solemn look on her face, "You miss your mommy and daddy, don't you?" she asked softly.
Riku was surprised by what she said. How did she know?! He slowly sat up and stared unbelievably at her. She couldn't determine whether she was smiling or not because of the shadow being cast upon her face by her hair almost covering her whole face. He was just quiet, waiting for her to say something else… and she turned her head to her side to look at him, "Don't worry. I miss my mommy and daddy too." She admitted with a tone that seemed to falter. He smiled sadly at her as he moved closer and placed his arm around her shoulders. She instantly leaned her head against him. They were quiet for a while before Samara spoke up again, "Mommy once told me to sing a happy song whenever I am feeling sad or lonely."
He turned his gaze to her.
She smiled sadly as she kept her gaze at the ocean, "She's almost always away and busy with her duties… same with daddy. She cannot always take me along with her because I have to go to school. I only get to see her before bedtime or sometimes, after I come home from school. I told her that I always want her and daddy to be with me… because I feel so sad and lonely whenever they are away…"
Samara looked up at her mother with a sad look on her face.
Tifa sat down on her bed and took her daughter in her arms, sighing heavily as she gently stroked her long jet-black hair. "Samara dear… mommy and daddy are always thinking of you… but if whenever you feel sad and lonely, you can always sing a song. Even if you are afraid, you can always hum a tune so that you will be happy," she said softly.
"Really?" Samara asked curiously. Her mother nodded. "Yes, dear. Do you remember the song that your daddy and I loved to play on the piano?" she asked with a sweet tone on her face.
Samara smiled rather excitedly upon remembering the song and she nodded excitedly. "You even taught me to play that!" she said happily.
Tifa giggled. "Well, I sing or hum that song whenever I am sad. Do you want me to sing it to you?" she asked gently.
Samara nodded with a pleading look on her face as she embraced her mommy. Tifa cradled her daughter in her arms before she started singing gently:
There's a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I'm safe and warm
For within that summer place
Your arms reach out to me
And my heart is free from all care …
For it knows
There are no gloomy skies
When seen through the eyes
Of those who are blessed with love…
Riku listened carefully to her story with a serious look on his face, the image of his own mother and father haunting him at the back of his mind… followed by several memories of home… everything about it… He smiled gently upon remembering those things.
Samara was looking up at him with a curious look on her face. He just gazed back into her eyes, but his smile faded away as he said solemnly, "Teach it to me, Samara."
Her eyes widened a little before she smiled gently and looked down to the ground. And softly, she began…
There's a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I'm safe and warm
For within that summer place
Your arms reach out to me
And my heart is free from all care …
For it knows
There are no gloomy skies
When seen through the eyes
Of those who are blessed with love…
He was just silent, listening to the sweetness of her voice… and he felt at ease, his thoughts filled with pleasant memories from home. And he looked up at the stars as she continued to sing for him.
She stopped singing when she noticed what he was doing… and she also looked up. She focused her attention on a star that wasn't twinkling and she felt somewhat disappointed again as she said, "Riku,"
He looked back at her with a stiff look on his face.
She narrowed her eyes at the star. "Why do we feel loneliness?" she asked.
He was silent for a while, contemplating her question. Suddenly, he remembered something. He smiled rather excitedly before letting go of her and then reaching for his pocket and pulled out star-shaped object.
A Paopu fruit. He showed it to her. "Here you go," he took her hand and then placed it on her palm. She stared strangely at it. "What is it?" she asked curiously.
He smiled rather proudly, "It's a Paopu fruit." He said.
She examined it closely with a slight frown on her face. "Paopu?" she repeated. She sniffed it before looking back at him, "Is it meant to be eaten?" she asked.
He placed his arm around her again as he said with a gentle smile on her face, "So you will never be lonely again," he began. She looked at him. He leaned his head against hers, "I'm giving it to you." He told her.
She smiled at him before bowing down her head, staring at the fruit. "Thank you, Riku… thank you for being nice to me." She said softly.
"Hmm?" he responded.
She was quiet for a while before replying, "I've… never had friends before…" she looked towards the ocean, observing it carefully before proceeding, "…I grew up in Sector 1, Midgar. I belong to this… very rich and powerful family… and everybody saw that our life was so perfect. Daddy is rich and smart… and mommy is charitable and loving and a strong woman… my older sister Morrigan is a great actress and she's very famous and beautiful that almost all the boys love and adore her… then there's my twin brother, Theodore, who's always happy, like he never had any problems. It's like he can never be disappointed at anything. Then my younger sister Lavinia… she's just… cheerful just like mommy… and even if there is something wrong, she is still smiling. Everybody looks up to our family… and everyone in my family has a lot of friends and acquaintances… except for me. Everyone outside my family had always thought that I was strange… They're not saying it out loud but I could read it in their minds through the look in their eyes. So I just avoided people… and the only people whom I'm close with were my mommy and daddy, my twin and my sisters."
Riku frowned slightly, "Did people avoid you too?" he asked curiously.
She just bowed down her head, "I didn't want to… but there's just something in me that told me that I should just avoid everybody so that I couldn't hurt them… but it just won't stop… and I'm sorry that many people have died because of me…" she said softly. She placed the Paopu fruit inside a secret pocket of her long white dress before she reached for the pendant and stared at the logo behind it. "ShinRa… it's my family name." she explained.
Riku's eyes widened upon hearing that. "What? So…" he did not know how to continue when he saw tears in her eyes. She just smiled bitterly at him. He smiled gently at her and embraced her. "Shh… it's alright…" he said softly.
She sniffed but stopped her tears from falling. They were quiet for so many minutes; but just when Samara thought that he was already asleep, he spoke up with a soft tone, "Me? I really couldn't say that my family is perfect… because… it's weird. My older brother, Dante? He's almost always bullying me and the rest of his younger siblings… then there's Kuja…" he looked towards the ocean before proceeding, "I think the reason why he's doing this is because… he wants attention from our dad."
She looked up at him as he continued, "It's kind of… funny… how dad treats Kuja like he's not even there… Even if Kuja does something nice once in a while, everybody would know except for dad."
"Well that's too bad for him…" she responded rather glumly. "But what does he want with all the Mako energy?" she asked.
He frowned at her, "How did you know that he wants to use Mako energy?" he asked curiously.
She smiled slyly, "It's easy. It's in his eyes… and through his eyes, I read his thoughts. He wants to use me so that I can control it for him instead of using the reactors that my daddy's trying to shut down one by one without disrupting the regular flow of electricity." She explained; but when he did not say anything, she realized that he was not able to understand half of what she had just mentioned. Rolling her eyes, she grunted and said, "In short, I'm like a human Mako reactor."
Riku's eyes widened. "What?! But… isn't Mako… dangerous?" he asked in confusion.
She just looked away from him but she did not say anything. He slowly let go of her and just decided to plop down on the sand, gazing up at the stars. "Well… I will not let Kuja do anything bad to you." Was all he said.
She just sat still, lowering her eyes to the ground as she began to sing again. He just listened carefully to her, as if she was singing a lullaby… and slowly, he drifted off to sleep.
She stopped singing when she sensed that he was already asleep. She decided to lie down beside him, resting her head on his chest. But she did not close her eyes.
She did not sleep.