AN: This chapter's a little longer, and in the usual format. Just in case you're confused, this is in the guys' perspectives, starting with Cloud. I had fun mixing the moods in this one. And thanks again for the reviews... 87! Geez! That's a lot of reading! :) Thanks for following this crazy ride!

Chapter 18 – Bocca Chiusa

He was determined. Once Cloud Strife's mind settled on an idea, once he had a purpose, he could do anything. Or so he felt. After years in Limbo, hanging in between existence and nonexistence, he felt something. He was just on the edge of it, so close to an answer, so close to...

And he knew, once he told her, that she would go with him. She had no real ties to that place, that transplanted city. Her very eyes had pleaded with him, surprising him in the strangest way. In reality, she wasn't pleading so much as demanding; a silent and intense demand, as dark and deep as Wutain ink. Yuffie Kisaragi knew honor, and most of all...

She knows me. The real me. She can see it, somehow.

Neither of them hesitated with goodbyes, as they would have begged for in another time. They had no roots there; they were scattered seeds in the wind, for all that was worth. Her home was not ready for her, and his had long left him behind. They were caught in between time, and he knew he had pulled her into it. But they were too deep now, and he couldn't ask her to stay.

And I don't want her to stay there. It's selfish, but I want her with me.

They dealt with the pain the same way: anger. She had called it hatred, and she had slandered against their failure, but he knew what it really was. Sadness, holding on. She couldn't let go of her either, even though it was slowly killing her. Yuffie had the virtue of being young; young enough to be able to correct her mistakes. And he... did he still have time?

Of course I do. That's what he told me. And I think I... believe him.

He smirked a little to himself. Somehow, he knew that the conversation had to happen. He knew that eventually their paths would cross and some sort of resolution would be made. It didn't quite turn out that way, however...

Earlier...

Vincent quietly dressed, trying not to disturb Tifa's sleep. He left her the cloak, fearing that the night's chill would wake her, and decided against the boots. Instead, he found a pair of softer soled shoes that she had jokingly bought him for his birthday, thrown carelessly in the corner. They weren't good for distances, but they would suit his purposes just fine. He needed to get away for a moment, just to sort out his head. That and something compelled him, he knew not why...

This situation is tired and worn out, is it not, Valentine? She never really answered your question, did she?

He stealthily glided out of the room, and out the door, his muscles remembering a training that his mind had long since forgotten. Like so many things it seemed. And before his mind could respond, he was on the snow covered hill, where Tifa often came to think. Where he often saw her, as he watched just out of sight.

Once a stalker, always a stalker, it would seem. You never learn.

But he didn't have much of a chance to continue with his thoughts. He felt another presence, which was not altogether dangerous at the moment. It wasn't friendly either. A presence that would have surprised him, if the situation wasn't already a crazed mess.

"Couldn't sleep either, Strife?" he said cautiously, not turning his head to face him. He felt some annoyance from the other man, but it dissipated quickly.

"I've slept long enough," he replied, walking over and standing next to Vincent, arms tensely crossed across his chest. The older man gave him an eyebrow raise of greeting, but seemingly forgot about Cloud again.

"So..." Cloud continued, shifting his weight, "What now?" There was almost a humor in Cloud's posture and mannerisms around him. Almost like he was nervous. Vincent turned his head enough so that the younger man couldn't see his smirk.

"Why would you think I have any answers?" Vincent replied, the smirk fading into a line. Cloud shook his head.

"I don't really know," he admitted, with an ease and candor that surprised Vincent, "But I've got a feeling. That you know something." His reply was simple; a frown.

"I've meddled too much as it is," Vincent said quietly. Cloud breathed out heavily.

"Then do it for Tifa," Cloud replied, leveling him with a stare, "She's in this as much, if not more, than I am."

How low, Strife. But I can't deny that there is a shred of logic there...

"...I suppose that you thought appealing to that would work?" he deadpanned, feeling Cloud's immediate reaction. It wasn't angry, like he suspected, like he'd seen quite a bit since joining company with the young man.

It was desperate. And Vincent could almost hear Tifa chastising him. No, he didn't need to hear, the words were etched on the backs of his eyelids.

'Can you really expect people to be kind to you if you're not kind to them?'

Nothing more than an imitation of the golden rule, some widow's wisdom that passed through the lips of the one woman he felt was worth saving at this moment...

"You must cleanse yourself of the evil inside you," he finally said, while Cloud tried to mask his silent elation at the other man's words. It worked inasmuch as they both ignored it. But Cloud couldn't, and it was clear to Vincent that he was thinking... and about what, he could never imagine.

"...Is that what you did?" Cloud finally asked, soberly tired and looking terribly old. It was odd to see him this way, for it seemed to Vincent that Cloud was more of a lost child than a man. A terribly powerful lost child. Three steps away from either saving the world or destroying it. Like another he had met once.

"Hardly," he replied, stern and reprimanding, "...Just a matter of letting go. Nothing more." Cloud blinked, upon hearing the familiar words. Vincent didn't suspect anything, however.

'Cloud... is always looking for something. A part of himself, maybe. But then, I guess we all are, after having lost so much...'

Her words again, surfacing in his mind when he groped for answers. And she... didn't have answers, just fragments. But somehow it was comforting, knowing that. The searching, it could continue.

"You must seek it. The source of evil in this world," he finally let slip from the grasps of his mind. And Cloud let loose a sigh, something akin to grief and relief.

You have to leave this place. So long as you are here, so long as she can see you, suffering that same damn pain... I cannot save her. You would pull her down with you...

"Jenova. That's what this all leads to, doesn't it?" Cloud whispered, brow furrowed. Vincent nodded, not knowing or caring whether he saw. And then an idea seemed to dawn on Cloud, bringing back a familiar gleam to his eye.

"I'll go," he continued, his voice sounding similar to the old days, when the world fancied him a hero, "And I'll take Yuffie with me." Vincent frowned at this.

So you've gotten to all the women, haven't you? You have no shame... or do you?

"Be careful," Vincent replied, more of a command than a concern, "Your deaths will do you no honor. You still have time." Cloud smirked his mercenary smile with a hint of uncertainty.

"...Don't tell her where I'm going," he said, the smirk fading, "...I've done enough." Vincent nodded. Cloud had instincts in regards to Tifa's behavior, like fighting or surviving. Even when he was seemingly oblivious to her, he always handled her with the proper amount of distance and closeness; more distance, than closeness, however. And he understood Cloud's jealousy from before. For now, he felt the tiny pricklings of jealousy in the back of his own mind...

I'll never know her as you have. But then, you'll never know her as I have. Does this make us even?

"You do have time," Vincent repeated, with the commanding tone he'd seen Tifa use with disobedient children, "It's not too late for you, or for Tifa." Cloud shook his head.

"I'm leaving her up to you, Val-" he paused, considering his next move, "-Vincent. It's not too late for you either."

Presently...

"So, do ya have a plan?" she finally asked, breaking him from his thoughts. Cloud turned to Yuffie, who was standing in a position he'd come to associate with her brash tendency towards pushiness. He withheld the smirk.

"Not really," he replied, adjust his sword in its holster. He didn't remember it ever being so heavy. He must be slightly out of shape.

"Well, then what are we doin?" she continued, impatient and demanding. And he saw it now, for all the vulnerability she had display earlier, she was still so essentially Yuffie. And it was refreshing.

"Thank you for coming," he said suddenly, with a nonchalant tone, "It's good to have company." She blushed furiously, but he had turned to the horizon line too quickly for her to see.

"Well, ya need someone lookin after yer spiky ass," she replied, as the red drained from her cheeks, "Ya'd get yourself killed or somethin." And he chuckled, a light and fragile thing.

'Cleanse yourself of the evil inside you'... Maybe that's it. How I can find it. Find Jenova.

"If you were evil, where would you hide..." he muttered to himself. Yuffie, being her usual self, assumed he was talking with her.

"Probably the ruins of Midgar," she replied thoughtfully, "No one goes there, and lots of energy and stuff was released..." He didn't listen to her ramblings right away, but his brain did process it.

"Midgar..." he said, and then whipped around and grabbed her shoulders, "Of course!" She seemed confused by his enthusiasm.

"Uh... ya, that's what I said," she replied, trying to suppress giving him a look that would indicate that she often questioned his sanity.

You're so trusting of me... even when you seem to question me. Is this...

They were walking for now, not having foresight farther than in front of their noses. Yuffie had stopped by the bar long enough to grab a small bag full of clothes and weapons, and left a note for her second in command to take care of the place. It wasn't like they had time anyways.

Did they?

Silence had fallen between them. He didn't know why Yuffie wasn't chattering like she usually did, but he also lacked skills in observation. But he didn't mind watching her as she walked, with determined and slightly bouncy steps. Like the teenager inside of her didn't want to give up all of its hold on her persona, but was quietly slipping away.

And yet, she was serious. Every word she spoke to him was in earnest, every glance deliberate and lingering.

And she blurted something about loving me... in between hating me and Aeris. No, she used the past tense...

For the most part, Cloud's mind was one track: their previous adventure had proven that. One goal at a time. One foot in front of the other. But now, even though he had found some purpose to strive for he felt...

Divided.

When have you ever been whole? You're a mosaic of other's experiences.

He was really beginning to hate that voice in his head. That part of himself. It made him want to kill and destroy and scream any time it's slithery consciousness made it's way into front of his brain. Yes, he knew he had faults. But that didn't mean he liked them being shoved in his face.

And there is good in me too. There has to be. What else would I be fighting for?

"...Do you think Tifa'll be worried when she finds out I'm gone?" Yuffie interrupted his train of thought, with a quiet and startlingly bold question. She certainly knew when he needed a distraction...

"I dunno," he said running a hand through his hair, which felt strange considering it was still down, "Probably. But don't worry yourself." Yuffie smiled at his unintended act of consideration. He was never the reassuring sort, the opposite in fact, and didn't quite understand what she was smiling about.

She's just being Yuffie, I suppose.

But what was Yuffie? She used to be rather annoying, with her thievery and total disregard for other's feelings. But she was always honest in a way. Crooked, but honest. And those were the parts of her that managed to survive all those years. She was funny, and real and so damn honest. She would never hold his hand and lead him along...

Now that he saw her...

There was no telling what trouble they would get into.

"Hey! Let's get movin!" she barked out at him, as he almost stopped moving in the middle of his thoughts, "The sooner we figure out what's going on, the better!"

And it flashed through his mind, brief and completely overtaking his mental processes...

Maybe I don't want this to end so soon.

Elsewhere...

She hadn't woken up when he crept back into the house, depositing his shoes back in the corner. She didn't wake up when Cloud and Yuffie crept out either, as he sat at the table, shuffling through his papers without reading them. In fact she was still asleep now, one arm slung carelessly across her eyes, shielding her from the light that was gradually coming in through the window.

And he was staring again. She would probably be sickened if she knew how many times he'd stared at her. He had gotten quite good at it too, with all sorts of tricks to appear aloof and uninterested. He didn't acknowledge them for the tricks they were, but ways to be aloof and uninterested. Now, though, he didn't feel like pretending.

He wanted her to see his staring, and to see her staring back. He wanted her to wake up, and experience the day. He felt so goddamn... alive.

He crouched down beside her and tucked the hair away from the side of her face. Her fingers twitched, and he grinned a little at her reaction.

"Tifa," he whispered in her ear, "Wake up." She snored in his face. He decided that shaking her would work. But he forgot one important thing...

Tifa was a martial artist. And her arm was free.

Smack! The arm that was once covering her eyes had moved, connecting her fist with his face. He lost his balance, tumbling out of the crouch into a sprawled position on the floor. He was a strange sight, legs and arms and hair splayed about. He blinked once or twice and started to move.

But that's when he started laughing. A long hard and loud laugh. His sides ached from the exertion, not having laugh in quite some time. And still he laughed, undoubtedly waking up everyone within a five mile radius. Well, he thought so at least.

And he did wake a few people up.

A face, smiling like a thief, hovered over him, the tips of her hair inches from tickling his face. It only made him laugh harder, when the smile turned to a look of confusion. But soon he stopped, abruptly snapping his mouth shut. She looked even more puzzled.

Your turn to look like a fool.

He smirked as he quickly sat up, pulling on her arm and dragging her onto the floor with him.

"Vince! Ah!" Tifa screeched as she fell with a thud next to him, her bum taking the brunt of the landing. Her face was a flush of red and she scowled as she rolled over to face him.

"What was the meaning of that?" she asked, trying her best to keep a serious tone. He smiled broadly.

"You have wicked reflexes in the morning," he teased, patting her arm, "You could have decapitated me." She grinned.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to kiss her or something?" Rinna's all too familiar voice floated from somewhere else in the room. Tifa's eyes grew wide as she shot up, and scanned the room around them.

Everyone was awake. And every single pair of eyes were watching her and Vincent.

"Eww, gross!" Kale replied, pretending to vomit, "Your stoopid Rinna!"

If he weren't already partially acclimated to this setting, Vincent would have begun to have serious thoughts with regards to Tifa. She was in some ways a single mom... of twelve.

And another day begins...

"I'll handle the red haired one," Vincent whispered to her, as she silently picked out the potential trouble makers.

"Rinna's mine," she whispered back, an almost evil gleam in her eye. She fixed a stare on the girl, who swallowed hard.

"Don't you have dishes duty today?" Tifa asked her sweetly, causing the girl to cringe.

Poor girl... she cannot help that she is the evil reincarnation of Yuffie...

"Um, no?"

"Guess again."

Theme songs: Clocks Coldplay and Orestes A Perfect Circle