Author's Note: Disclaimer found below.

(Nine)

It wasn't long after that Loz stood and took Tifa's hand, pulling her with him out onto the deck again, leaving his weapons inside. There was no land in sight now; the ship was surrounded by nothing but dark sea and cloud-shrouded sky. The moon seemed to have disappeared, leaving little but the yellow electric light spilling from the steering house to provide illumination.

He didn't waste time. He barely had her out of sight of the door before he'd pushed her against the wall, hands at her waist, his body falling into a rhythm against hers. She barely had time to react before he was kissing her, fierce and invasive and demanding.

She couldn't help it, no matter what her plans were. Her hands came up, pushing against him as she tried to break away. "I- wait, I -"

He pulled back with a wolfish smile, stilling himself. "Would you like to fight again first?"

Tifa blinked, a little stunned. "I... what?"

He laughed, releasing her and backing away. "Not much else to do just now," he shrugged. "No weapons, no Materia. No going overboard or sinking the boat." He was... expectant. Playful. He looked nothing like his brothers when he smiled - not frightening, at least not in the same way. He looked...

She wasn't about to let herself finish that thought. Instead, she frowned, remembering how the last couple of fights with him had gone, for the most part. "You... want me to beat you up?"

He laughed again. "Well, you look so good doing it..." He raised his fists, sinking into a more balanced stance.

Tifa eyed him cautiously as she raised her own fists, the wall at her back. Part of her... wanted to laugh back, and call him a cocky bastard and tell him that if he went overboard it'd be his own fault.

It frightened her, that she could even consider such a response.

"If that's what you want," she said quietly, tilting her head so that the wind would catch her hair and keep it out of her view. She kept her eyes locked on him. "Come get some."

He rushed at her almost before she'd finished speaking, and he expected it when she tried to slip to the side. He twisted before he hit the wall, the impact of his shoulders knocking rust loose, and caught hold of her vest. He threw her into the deck hard enough to dent the metal.

Tifa gasped, but collected herself quickly enough to roll aside before his fist came down, punching another dent into the metal where she'd just been. She was able to kick his side hard enough to send him down, and with a leap, stomped him down with both feet.

He grunted at the added impact, but quickly brought his legs up to clamp around her waist so as to fling her off of him. She sensed the motion and threw herself back at the same time, catching herself with her hands to complete the flip as he released and rolled out of the way.

The sky rumbled, the wind picking up and the waves becoming more forceful. The moon was still hidden - she could barely see him, but for the glow of his eyes. But she knew that he was smiling.

They circled, drew nearer, swatted at each other experimentally, all the while trying to read the each other's next move. Tifa dropped into a leg-sweep, but Loz jumped away. He punched; she caught his arm and threw him onto his back again, but was unable to distance herself quickly enough and took his kick to her side. Rather than resist, she let the force send her flying - less damage that way - and tumbled to a halt at the railing.

Tifa picked herself up with her back to the railing, breathing hard, hair hiding her face. For a second, she was wide open.

Loz... held back, momentarily uncertain.

Her head snapped up, the wind blowing her hair back. Her face was contorted in anger. How dare he hesitate!

She screamed as she rushed at him, punching repeatedly, fast enough that he missed blocking one of her hits and took it in the face. He jerked aside; this time, he was unprepared for the leg-sweep, and he went down again. He couldn't move away fast enough to avoid the stomp to his knee, but he twisted enough to keep the blow from breaking any bones, kicking Tifa aside at the same time.

There was a flash, and cracking and rumbling from above - lightning and thunder again, more insistent this time. The first drops of rain began to fall.

She didn't go down, instead grabbing his leg as she blocked and flinging him across the deck with a feral roar. He nearly skidded under the railing and off the side, but caught himself just in time.

She was coming for him - not running, but walking, eyes intent and gleaming strangely, fists at her sides. This was power.

There was another flash of lightning, the rain becoming heavier as the thunder followed. In the wake of the lightning's white-out glare, she could see him clearly, hear his panting - his heartbeat - over the rattle of the rain on metal. She could see him, the roiling ocean behind him, the flakes of rust plastered to his clothing, every drop of rain. She could see everything.

He pulled himself further onto the deck, stumbling to his feet, his shoulder-guards hanging loose from a broken strap. He pulled them away, tossing them aside as he raised his eyes to her. Grinning.

His eyes were brighter than the lightning, and his voice was warm, inviting venom. "Having fun yet?"

She struck first, then again and again, unable to understand why his movements had become so slow. He could barely block her at all now, it seemed. She wondered why he couldn't keep up, why he couldn't hear where the next strike was coming from by the sound of the rain on her fists as she could. His back was to the railing, the waves crashing higher and higher on the sides of the ferry behind him. The ship bucked beneath them, and neither seemed to notice, automatically adjusting to balance.

She landed a blow, then another, knocking the wind out of him. Loz grunted and tried to keep from doubling over, but failed - largely because she grabbed the back of his head and smashed his face into her knee.

Tifa took a step back as he crumpled, making a choking sound. The rain was soaking her clothing; she spared a moment to cast off her apron before it began to weigh her down too much. She wanted to be able to move. She needed to move, before the power building up inside her destroyed her. The storm raging around them was nothing in comparison.

In that moment of distraction, he was up again, lunging forward. His two-fisted strike sent her backward -

- But she neither fell nor lost control, skidding to a stop on the wet metal, leaning forward with one hand to help brace herself and the other already raised to strike.

They were on opposite sides of the deck, nearly as far apart as they could get. She looked up just in time to see Loz throwing himself down, punching hard into the floor. The shockwave headed straight for her, metal panels buckling and rivets flying.

Tifa drew herself up, angled her foot, and stomped back.

The two forces collided. The deck panel where they met flew upward with a metallic screech, momentarily separating them.

Tifa ran two steps and jumped, kicking the panel before it fell. It flipped through the air; Loz spun to one side, the metal mere inches from striking him. He continued the spin as she came at him, throwing as much force as possible into his punch -

She caught his fist, her hand closing over his, stopping him cold. Before he could react, his head was knocked back by a vicious uppercut from her other hand. He barely had time to stagger backward - she took hold of his jacket and threw him.

Loz hit the wall of the steering house upside-down, leaving a dent behind as he slumped.

He'd hardly pulled himself to his knees by the time she reached him. Tifa kicked at his side, forcing him up against the wall, then closed her left hand around his neck and, bracing his body against the wall, lifted him above her head.

He tried to speak, but her hold on his throat was too tight. He could only grit his teeth, gloved hands unable to catch at hers enough to pry her loose, feet feebly kicking and unable to find purchase.

And she only looked up at him, tilting her head slightly, rain soaked hair plastered to her face. Completely detached, she wondered how long it would take him to strangle under his own weight, and what she would do to his corpse.

Next to Tifa's ear, there was a distinct click.

She looked away from Loz's face, slowly turning her head. Yazoo stood next to them, leaning against the wall, thin and ghostly pale without his coat on. His head was tilted to keep his rain-soaked hair from his eyes, his gaze and faintly mocking smile entirely for Tifa now. His gunblade was cocked and aimed at her head.

"He's right, Little Sister, those eyes really do suit you," he murmured, his own eyes hard and threatening despite the conversational tone of voice. "But you need to put my brother down. Now."

Tifa considered throwing Loz into him - it would knock the inevitable shot aside, so that wouldn't be a problem. But as she turned back to Loz, she caught the reflection of her face in the shining blade.

Her eyes.

Those weren't her eyes.

Oh, god.

She suddenly felt sick, weak, Loz tumbling forward with a gasp as her hand went slack. She collapsed, and the world went dark.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII, its story, and characters are the property, copyright and trademark of Square Electronic Arts L.L.C., and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fan fiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fan fiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes.