Author's Note: I updated this chapter because I left out a little part I had wanted to put into the conversation between Tifa and Yuffie at the end, so go back and read that part. Barfly got a rather hostile review last week. To read my response to the review, as well as a link to my Myspace, visit my profile. I'm not even going to tackle the issue in this author's note, too much for me to say. One thing, I apologize for leading you all to believe that the more you review the quicker a chapter will be posted. For me, I don't write unless I get the fever, and for the past 8 or so years, it's come off and on pretty rarely. Every writer has their own way of catching that fever, and for me, playing one of the FF games or listening to the music from the game helps. As for all my writing, my inspiration comes from something really childish. When I was little, I played with action figures and dolls. Using them helped create my stories, and since I grew out of that, I stopped writing as much, unfortunately. Years from now, I think that'll be my way of focusing on my stories, hah hah. I can be such a dork sometimes.

The mid-afternoon sky was clear and gloomy; not blue, and not grey, but completely white, indicating a storm was to pass within the next few hours. It was an anomaly of life; the fact that with all things depressing, rain was imminent. Funerals especially, it seemed as though the sun would not shine over a cemetery, such weather would distract from the crowd's sorrowful purpose.

Offset by the sky was the large crowd of mourners dressed in expensive black clothing. For this society, the occasion did not matter; it was always required to be fashionable. The women held handkerchiefs, those who did not know the victim so well used the cloth to gently dab the tears from the corners of their eyes so as not to ruin their makeup, while the close friends and family of the deceased let the tears flow freely, soaking the cloth with blackened tears.

An older man with neatly styled gray hair stood closest to the preacher, dressed in a designer black suit and holding a large bouquet of pink roses at his left side, keeping such a tight grip on the stems that they were bending. His right arm was wrapped around the shoulders of a woman with graying black hair whose hands were pressed against the chest of the man next to her, her face buried in his torso. They were divorced, but a time like this could bring even the most devoted of enemies together. But in fact, these two had always been on good terms, even though they had gone their separate ways. The man continued to stare at the coffin hovering over the gravesite in front of him. He was burying his only daughter; it was a parent's worst nightmare.

A light drizzle began to fall, softly spotting the silk dress caressing the skin of President Shinra's daughter. Her dark hair was pulled back to the nape of her neck and wrapped into a bun. Her earrings were simple tear drops made of crystal that expressed what their wearer could not. Tifa stood completely still during the entire ceremony, unable to move or even produce a real tear. The closest she came to crying was a slight, uncontrollable twitch in her left eye that had been with her all day. Her thin shoulders slumped a little and her arms hung limply at her sides, her hands clasped together in front of her. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes drooped with the sorrow that she could not shed for her friend.

Like Aeris' father, Tifa had not taken her eyes off of the coffin that held her best friend. She could not defeat her intense feeling of responsibility—of guilt. No matter what anyone said, she could not escape the fact that whatever had killed Aeris had been intended for her. She had instantly realized that Reno was behind the incident, but it didn't change the fact that Aeris was lying in what should have been Tifa's coffin. If she hadn't traded drinks Aeris would still be alive. Aeris had taken Tifa's place without even knowing.

Tifa couldn't help but imagine her life without her best friend from now on. She had no one else in her life that knew her like Aeris did. It was as if her heart was a window and someone had thrown a brick through it. She felt lost already, and it had only been a week since Aeris had died in her arms. It was an image she would never be able to erase from her memory. She had held her best friend—a woman who might have well been her twin sister—in her arms and watched the life fade out of her emerald eyes. She could never forgive herself for giving Aeris her drink.

The breeze was blowing Tifa's stray locks gently to the west as the crowd dissipated. The young woman still had not so much as shifted her weight as if she were in a trance, just staring at the coffin. Aeris' parents were the only others that remained, but soon they came back to reality and walked over to Tifa. Mr. Gainsborough placed a hand softly on her shoulder for comfort.

"She wouldn't want you to feel like this, you know." Aeris' father in a gruff whisper. "She'd never blame you. She loved you."

After hearing those final words Tifa finally lifted her head and turned to look at Mr. Gainsborough. The corners of her lips lifted just slightly to form a smile and she nodded.

"Thank you." She said before the other couple walked away.

"Funeral services were held in Midgar today for Aeris Gainsborough, daughter of shipping industrialist Warren Gainsborough. Police are investigating this death as a homicide and are looking for leads.

Miss Gainsborough died quickly following the consumption of an alcoholic beverage at Shang Hai's, a popular nightclub for the progeny of upper Midgar's wealthy. Tifa Lockheart, daughter of Shinra's President narrowly avoided her own death by unknowingly trading drinks with her friend.

This was not the first attack against these two heiresses'. Several months ago two Shinra employees were fired for unknown reasons involving the two young women.

In other news…"

Zack had watched the news program as soon as Aeris' named was mentioned. His eyes widened and his jaw had dropped a little. He looked over at Cloud, who had passed out on the lounge chair he had been sitting on. One two many drinks had finally caught up to the young blonde. He hadn't stirred during the report so Zack threw a pillow at his head to wake him. Cloud opened his eyes slowly and groaned.

"What?" He snarled.

"Did you see that?" Zack asked. Cloud squinted at the television screen and shook his head.

"No, I'm going back to sleep, don't wake me up again."

"No wake up man, Aeris Gainsborough died!" Cloud shot up in his chair and parted his lips.

"What?" The blonde exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess she took Tifa's drink and died. They think someone put something in it. My god…she…she's gone…" Zack's voice trailed off and he lowered his head. Cloud raised an eyebrow and stared at him.

"You knew her?" He asked, confused. Zack looked up with a look of despair on his face. He almost appeared as though he could cry.

"She…We dated when I lived in Midgar. I never even realized that she was Mr. Gainsborough's daughter…She never said anything."

"Then don't you know Tifa?"

"Nah, just Aeris. Tifa was away at her private college or something."

"Sheesh," Cloud lowered his head, "Aeris was the one that said I tried to rape her…" Cloud admitting, knowing that he was stepping on thing ice. Zack looked up with a puzzled expression.

"Wha…why would she do that?"

"…I dunno." Cloud lied, thinking it best to spare Zack the details. "Wait, you said she took Tifa's drink?"

"Yeah." Zack replied, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Reno…"

"You think it was him?"

"It had to have been, he got fired because of Tifa and she turned him down. Well, whatever, it's their problem now." Cloud said, standing up and turning to head into his bedroom. Zack looked up at him puzzled, again.

"Wait…so that's it? Whatever? You don't even care?"

"No. Not really. I'm here, they're over there, it has nothing to do with me." Cloud said, shrugging. He stumbled into his bedroom and closed the door behind him. Zack lowered his head back into his hands and fought back tears.

Tifa had reluctantly returned to work a week after Aeris' funeral. Until then she had been lying around the house, barely even leaving her bed. Her best friend's death had struck her hard and she was finding it difficult to move on. Her father had finally forced her to go to work, but had allowed her to lock herself in her office. He felt that just getting her out of the house was a good start to her recovery. She spent the day staring at her desk with her head propped up on her fists, replaying that night over and over again in her head and imagining what would have happened if she had kept her own drink.

"Tifa." She heard her father's voice and was startled. She looked up to see her father standing on the other side of her desk looking down at her. "I'm sending you on a special assignment. I'd like you to go to Gonganga to oversee the construction of the reactor."

Tifa stared at her father as if in a daze. She couldn't believe that after the tragedy that she went through; his solution was to send her to a strange town by herself?

"Papa…"

"I think it'll be good for you—to get away for awhile—you wouldn't be doing much, I just want you to make sure that the team is on schedule and that everything is up to code, I've hired some inspectors, they'll be there next week, along with you."

"I…I can't…really…"

"Listen, Tifa," President Shinra said while sitting on the edge of Tifa's desk and putting a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "work will take your mind off of everything that's happened, trust me. When your mother died…well...I had you to help me, but you…you don't really have anyone to help you through this, you know? I mean, I'm here, but that doesn't help much does it? This trip…I think it will help."

"Papa…Aeris just died…How am I going to be of any help?"

"No more protests, Tifa. I really think this is for the best."

Tifa stood in her stately bedroom at the foot of her bed. A large pile of clothes lay sprawled out on her duvet made of an expensive exotic fabric. Her designer suitcase sat open next to the pile as she carefully picked up and folded each garment before placing it inside of the luggage. Her expression did not change as she packed for the trip she so desperately wished would be cancelled. The last thing she wanted was to be away from home at a time like this.

The curtains were pulled to the sides of a sliding glass door, allowing the how summer sun to shine into her airy room. Outside was a large balcony with black curving cast-iron rails that overlooked the expansive grounds in her backyard. Often she had leaned against the railing at night looking up at the stars and dreaming of the one thing that she was missing in her life.

On the opposite wall was her walk-in closet that could have substituted as a whole other room. Row after row of clothing racks created aisles while shelves lined the walls that stretched up to the ceiling filled with shoes. A large armoire stood next to the closet door to hold accessories: purses, belts, hats and jewelry.

Tifa was jolted out of her own little world by a knock at the door and turned to see Yuffie standing in the doorway wearing the top of a forest green halter bikini and a khaki miniskirt. A large yellow tropical flower was pinned behind her left ear and her skin glistened of body oil. After being acknowledged by her host she entered the bedroom and walked over to Tifa, slowly.

"Hey," Tifa said first. Yuffie smiled and clasped her hands behind her back. "Just packing."

"Your dad told me." Yuffie replied, looking over the clothes Tifa had selected for the trip. "So, Gonganga, huh?" Tifa nodded while folding a white blouse.

"I can't believe my dad's sending me there. I mean, the last thing I want right now is to spend a week in that clay pit." Tifa groaned.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad." Yuffie cooed. "And I think it will be good to get away…I mean, this has been tough on all of us, but especially you."

"You know what the worst part of it all is?" Yuffie shook her head. "I couldn't even cry at the funeral. She's my best friend, and I couldn't even cry for her." Tifa shook her head and looked like she could cry at that moment.

"Tifa…" Yuffie looked down at her friend and put a hand on her shoulder. "Do you remember when your mom died?" Tifa looked up at her as if she were an idiot. Of course she remembered when her mom died, who wouldn't?

"Yes…"

"Do you remember how you felt at her funeral?"

"Yes, I cried my eyes out." Tifa said with a matter-of-fact shrug.

"No. You stood frozen just like you did at Aeris' funeral. You didn't cry at all. Not until the next day. Then you cried for days."

"Really?" Tifa asked, her eyes watery.

"Yeah, that just how you deal with grief, that's how you've always been, you don't cry at first."

"But I should have…"

"You didn't have to, everyone knew how you felt. Whether you cried or not didn't change the fact that it was obvious you were crushed."

"Yeah…I guess." They both sat quietly for a long moment before Yuffie broke the silence by trying to change the subject.

"Hey, whatever happened to that guy you were with?" She asked, knowing the answer. Tifa glared at her.

"Don't remind me. Aeris died horribly, and what's worse is that she had to go through that just a few months ago."

"Yeah…" Yuffie trailed nervously. Tifa looked over at her a little confused.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked her friend. Yuffie shifted uneasily.

"Well, I know this probably isn't the right time to tell you this but…I don't think there'll ever be a good time so…" Yuffie looked down at her feet. "Cloud didn't try to rape Aeris…" She looked up at Tifa to see the brunette's jaw drop.

"What do you mean? Cloud forced himself on her." Tifa reminded her.

"No…he didn't. Look I was coming back from the bathroom when I passed Aeris' room…I overheard him turning her down. I know it was wrong but I stopped to listen because I had seen him show up with you and I was wondering why he was in Aeris' bedroom. When you started screaming he just burst out of the door, he almost hit me in the face. I…just thought you should know…" Yuffie fell silent to let Tifa comprehend what she had just said.

"So…it was Aeris coming on to Cloud?"

"Yes, and…Reno busted up your car, Cloud fought him and he fired a gun at your car." Tifa looked as though she had been stabbed. Yuffie could tell that she was trying to restrain her emotions.

Tifa sat down on her bed, letting the garment she was holding rest against her lap. Cloud had been telling her the truth, and she had turned him away. Not only that, but she had outright cut all ties to him. There was nothing she could do, she had thrown away the one man that hadn't tried to take advantage of her or use her and now he was gone.

"What are you going to do?" Yuffie asked. Tifa looked up at her, thinking about her options.

"What can I do?" She stated, shrugging her shoulders gently. He lives in the slums…this is a big city he could be anywhere. I don't know if he still lives in Midgar, he could be anywhere in the world."

"Your dad's the most powerful man in the world, he can pay to track anyone right?" Yuffie said, trying to cheer her friend up. Tifa scoffed at the notion.

"Yeah, I'm going to stalk this guy, and then what, get down on my hands and knees to beg for forgiveness?" Tifa chuckled. Now it was Yuffie's turn to shrug.

"It's worth a shot." Yuffie said with a smile. Tifa laughed and threw a hat at her friend.

"Look, there's nothing I can do about it now. I was stupid and I don't even know if he was as good as he seemed anyway. I mean, who knows he could have turned out to be a jerk eventually."

"All guys become jerks eventually, the question is, how long would it take him to become one?" Tifa raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, you're not even making any sense anymore." She said.

"I'm just saying you never know what's gonna happen." Yuffie said.

"Tifa, it's time to go." Her father stated from the doorway. Tifa nodded and zipped up her suitcase. She stopped for a moment to look at Yuffie.

"Thanks for telling me."