Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. All rights belong to Square-Enix.

A/N: I figured I'd do this ahead of time for a change. I just want to thank all my reviewers for telling me how much they like the story and wish to see it continue, for I would have stopped long ago if not for you guys. And making an announcement, I will be gone for about two weeks. My sister is getting married very soon and the wedding is in Kentucky. As far as I know I won't be near a computer to update as often as I have been. But rest assured that while I am gone, I will be writing chapters. So when I get back, I'll have more than one chapter for you all to read ! Well, here's the latest installment in my story. Enjoy!

Final Fantasy VII: Sin's Past

Chapter 6: Reunion

The trip to Nibelheim had taken much longer than expected. The road had more monsters in the fields than Cloud remembered. This caused him to spend much time either fighting them off or hiding until the coast was clear. Soon, they made it past the dangerous places and were back on the road. Tifa was starting to realize why Cloud wanted her to stay home. Also, Tifa hadn't been to Nibelheim in well over seven years, and her last memory of it wasn't cherished. However, she wanted to make an effort to spend time with Cloud, not to mention sit him down and talked to him about, well, them. She gritted her teeth and told herself to suck it up as Cloud accelerated down the road.

After nearly two hours of silence, Tifa couldn't take it anymore, and decided to go ahead and be out with it. Guess now's a better time than never.

"Cloud!"

Cloud almost didn't hear her, and wasn't so sure that she did speak. The engines were so loud that he didn't know if it was a bird or something else. While Tifa said his name, she also tapped him on the shoulder. Cloud responded to this and turned his head slightly.

"Yeah?"

"I… I need to tell you something."

"What!" Cloud still couldn't hear her.

Tifa rolled her eyes before trying again. "I said that I need to tell you something!"

After she said this, Cloud had passed a small forest on their right. As soon as they were a good distance away, two riders on motorcycles pulled out of the forest. Soon, they were joined by the man in the black cloak from the bar in Kalm. He stopped right in the middle of the two. After exchanging glances with them, he got on his cell phone. "We're about ten minutes from where you are."

"Are they ahead of you?"

"Yes."

"Spring the trap then." After that, the other caller hung up.

"You heard 'im." The man answered. After reving their engines, the three took off at full speed toward Cloud and Tifa.

---

"What do you need to tell me, Tifa?"

Tifa took a moment to actually think about what she was going to say. Just go with it. Say anything! Cloud was starting to get confused. First she was saying she had something to tell him, now she wasn't talking at all.

Is she just messing with me?

"Well… we've been friends for a while, right?"

Cloud just arched an eyebrow at this question. "Yeah…" was all he could answer, still confused at what she was trying to get at. "… since we were kids I guess. I mean… well, we didn't talk much as kids and didn't really get to know each other until I turned up after seven years. But, I like to think that we've been friends since childhood."

"Sure." Tifa responded. "Well, you know that when you left to join SOLDIER, I started to think about you a lot, wondering if you were doing well. I checked the paper everyday."

"Right." Cloud knew she had done this. She told him herself when he first joined Avalanche.

"Well…"

This was the big one now. Was she really ready to tell Cloud? Tifa had always had problems with expressing her feelings. She never chose to let other people in, not until it was really necessary, if that would be the word for it. Unlike Aeris, who wore her very heart on her sleeve, Tifa was afraid of rejection. The pain of unrequited love was usually to much pain to bear. But, the pain of not telling Cloud had an equal affliction on her heart. She came to the conclusion before they left that it was better to get it out in the open and let him know rather than always wondering "what if?".

As she contemplated, Cloud was doing his normal driving duties, looking in both directions, and using his side mirrors. However, when he looked at his right mirror, he noticed a dot coming in fast on them. He soon saw that the dot was a person, and that person was followed by two others. They pulled out their weapons, two with guns, and a black cloaked man with a club.

"Cloud…. I…." she groaned to herself before finally having the courage to say it. "Cloud, I lo…"

She was cut off by the sound of a shooting gun and the sudden jerk of Cloud's bike. He had made a hard pull to the right, avoiding the bullet that was meant for them. "Hold on, Tifa!" He sped up the bike as fast as he could, trying to put some distance between him and their pursuers. However, they soon caught up to him, still firing away at him and Tifa. Cloud then opened the secret compartments of his bike, and pulled out the base sword of the First Sword. He switched it to its battle mode and started to deflect bullets coming their way. Tifa found it hard to hang on while Cloud was moving so much, but she tightened her grip on Cloud as hard as she could, all the while trying to make sure she didn't suffocate him.

The man with the club pulled up beside Cloud and started swinging his weapon at Cloud's head. The ex-SOLDIER ducked and dodged the first few swings before kicking the man's bike away from him. Cloud then pulled to the right again very swiftly. He looked ahead, barely able to make out their safe haven: Nibelheim.

"We're almost there, Tif! Just hang on!" Cloud then pulled back the throttle as hard as he could, making the bike jerk before speeding off. He continued to deflect bullets with his sword, all the while dodging the club swings. Tifa finally lent a helping hand after the man swung his club again by kicking the weapon away. She then used Cloud as a base to spin her body around and use her other leg to kick the man across the face, sending him off in another direction. She spun her body back into place behind Cloud and holding onto Cloud again.

"Nice one!" Cloud complimented. They were just mere seconds away from Nibelheim. Almost there! The other two goons were far behind them, missing the Fenrir every time they shot at it. Cloud didn't even have to deflect the bullets anymore. They were home free!

As Cloud smiled at their victory, he noticed that the front gates were opening. He couldn't see anything beyond that, not until the gates opened completely. He then saw a group of people, composed of a man about Cloud's height with spiked black hair, a large man, and two grunts. Cloud didn't know who they were, so he tried to stop in a hurry by turning his bike on its side and making it skid against the dirt road. However, an imbalance was created by doing this so fast. Because of this, he and Tifa were thrown from the bike. The crowd in front of them parted as the bike skid right past them, followed by a tumbling Cloud and Tifa. The two finally stopped after much hard rolling a few yards away from the crowd that blocked the front entrance. Cloud was the first to finally start moving, albeit very slow and stumbled. He managed to make it to his feet, though falling to one knee again. Noticing Tifa wasn't moving at all, Cloud made his way to her. He held her in his arms with his hand behind her head, holding her head up to stir her.

"Tifa! Tifa, wake up!" He shook her mildly, trying hard not to cause her more pain than she was probably already in. "Tifa!" Her eyes finally started moving as she heard her name called for a third time. They opened slowly as their gaze fell on Cloud's blue eyes. They were filled with relief when she fully opened her eyes. "Tifa, are you alright?"

"Ugh… I think so." She put a hand to her head as she rubbed it to get rid of the massive headache she had. She slowly pulled herself out of Cloud's arms when she laid her hand on the ground to prop herself up. She looked around, familiarizing herself with her old town. Eventually, she and Cloud both noticed that this was a complete ghost town. No one walking the streets or in their houses. She and Cloud eventually got to their feet, still aching from their tumble.

"Where is everyone? This whole town is empty." said Tifa.

"I don't know." Cloud was very confused by this. If there was no one here in Nibelheim, then who called him to deliver a package?

The crowd who had made them fall off the bike before was now making their way toward the pair. Cloud brought his sword up with both hands while Tifa balled up her fists in a fighting position. The man in the center of the crowd, with the spiked hair, smiled at the pair. He then waved his hand around three times, signaling other people in the town to come together and surround the two. They numbered somewhere between thirteen and fifteen. While this was not too large, it was certainly more than Cloud and Tifa were ready for. Most were armed with guns, while others had various weapons such as steel pipes, hammers, axes, etc.

The boss of the group, with the black spiked hair, brought out a massive, double-edged sword with his right hand. He rested the tip of the sword on the ground, still smiling at Cloud. "You finally showed up." He said. It didn't take Cloud long to deduce that this guy was the one who made the call. His eyes were fierce as was his expression at this crazed man.

"What do you want with me?" Cloud exclaimed.

The man simply started to chuckle while he placed his left hand on his head. He then brought his gaze back to Cloud, his brown eyes somehow glowing a hint of green. Cloud immediately noticed this and started fearing the worst.

"It's been a while… hasn't it, Cloud?"

Cloud didn't know what he meant by that. They had just met and this man was talking as if he had known Cloud before. He didn't have time to dwell on this however, for soon he saw the boss running at him while dragging his sword on the ground. Cloud gripped his sword tighter as he prepared to fight.