Chapter 11

Tifa's hair whipped playfully in the wind. Arms folded, she shut her eyes, relishing in the coolness of the breeze.

Sadly, the luxury was shared by Bernice. It was her first visit to the roof, and the unexpected lack of railings had unnerved her. The height at which she was standing had, by no means frightened her, but the insecurity coursing through her veins was sending chills up her spine. She winced in spite of herself at the thought of falling off. Her legs were starting to feel like jelly, but instead of plopping down (which seemed remarkably tempting just then), she simply gritted her teeth and hugged herself more tightly, hoping to muster just a little bit of comfort, even a little…Surely Tifa didn't expect to have a brawl up here.

She turned her gaze towards Tifa to find her smiling at her. That smile, that reassuring smile…since the first time she saw it (which if you remember, was in the park in her homeworld), she had marveled at the instantaneous effect it had on her being. She felt calmer now, and so she loosened the grip she had upon herself.

"Yuffie will be here soon." Tifa said.

"Yuffie?" The peppy ninja was hardly ever seen at headquarters at all. Why would she be involved in today's training session? On that note, what in heaven's name were they doing on the roof? Her curiosity got the better of her. "Why are we waiting for Yuffie?"

As if in answer, the ninja in question bounded out the door leading up to the roof. She was holding three metallic boards. "Hi, guys!" She said in her usual merry way. She turned to the half-stunned Bernice. "So…you ready for your first flying lesson?"

"F-flying lesson?" Looking dubiously at the boards, she gulped. Isn't it bad enough to be standing on a roof thousands of feet high?

Bernice felt a hand on her shoulder. Tifa was beaming at her. "Don't worry. By the time we're done with you, you won't be able to get enough of it."

Meanwhile, Yuffie had been busying herself with the assembly of the hover boards. And when she was done, they did look rather impressive. Perhaps it would be fun after all…

True enough, at the end of the lesson, Bernice had become an excellent aviator. And I'm lovin' every bit of this!

Before she left for lunch, Tifa took the opportunity to teach her how to land on freefall. "Hey Bernice." Tifa called.

"Yeah?"

"You wanna take the express way down?"

"Express way?" Bernice asked, the word 'huh' was written all over her face.

Tifa gestured towards the edge of the roof.

"You're kidding, right?"

Tifa crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. This was the first time her student had ever questioned her judgment. "Would you quit worrying already? It's perfectly safe…well, maybe not perfectly, but you'll be fine as long as you do it right. You only have to do what I do while in mid-air and then make sure that you kneel with one knee lower than the other when you land. It's important to keep your weight evenly placed between your legs. Leaning out a little helps too." Tifa showed her the posture. "Make sure you land correctly, or you'll shatter your bones."

Yeah, REAL reassuring Tifa… "Alright, let's do this!" Bernice shouted in an attempt to hide her doubt.

"That's the spirit! Now, on three…one…two…THREE!" They hurled themselves off the roof. As they plunged, Bernice felt her viscera rise towards her head. This made her feel slightly nauseated. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Tifa stretch out her hands and arch her body. She's going to somersault. Bernice did likewise. After a few flips, the uncomfortable sensation left her.

The ground rushed up to meet them, yearning to crush them in its hard embrace. Another flip, and THROP…both women alighted, unscathed on the cement platform just outside the headquarters. They straightened.

"Whoa! I actually did it!" Bernice did a once over on herself, still stunned that she had survived the fall uninjured. "That was more fun than flying!" she exclaimed.

"Glad you liked it." Tifa had fixed on her, a gaze which screamed 'I-told-you-so'.

"Thanks, Tifa. Um, I'm gonna go to the shooting range now, okay?"

Tifa nodded. "Have fun…" her voice trailed off "…I guess." It was hard to fathom that anyone could have 'fun' whilst they were with Vincent Valentine, even though he'd become more open with them since the whole 'Omega incident'.

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At the shooting range, Bernice retrieved her gun cleaning kit and proceeded to the lone table. As she polished her gun-blade, she reflected upon her tutors, the people she'd come to love as part of her family. Since she arrived on Gaia, Tifa had been like a sister to her, guiding her and watching over her every day. She made her feel as if Gaia had always been her home. And it is…This…this is where I belong… In fact, Bernice had made the day she arrived on Gaia her official birthday.

Her thoughts wandered to Cloud. The spiky-haired blonde was, for the most part, a quiet person who seldom joined in the 'social affairs' (as he liked to call them) which the folks at the WRO often held in the mess hall after dinner. However, with his encouragement, he had pushed Bernice into becoming the formidable swordsman she was now.

Finally, her thoughts centered on Vincent. Mr. Valentine (She called him that because she felt that the he had become the authoritative figure in her life.) had never once uttered a word of praise to her. However, it was under the strict tutorship of his that her marksmanship had improved drastically over the two years which she had spent training with him. It had been frustrating at first, but she had come to appreciate her instructor's stoic demeanor.

Of her three tutors, Mr. Valentine was the one she'd seen least outside of their training sessions. And when she did see him, he was usually standing in some secluded corner, arms folded and head bowed, deep in thought. It was as if a heavy burden from some dark past weighed down upon him.

As Bernice had hardly ever been able to strike any proper conversations with him during their training, she came to know him through Cid's reminiscences of the 'good ol' days' after dinners when he had had too much to drink. He often told of the heroic deeds accomplished by their very own 'Crimson Avenger'. However, it did puzzle her that whenever everyone gathered round to listen to Cid's tales, Vincent would slunk off with a pained look on his face. I wonder why he feels so upset about the stories…Cid's said nothing but good things about him…Cait Sith had once told her that despite his apparent indifference, Vincent would always be the first to act if anyone were in trouble.

Presently, Bernice had finished polishing her blade. As she started cleaning the barrels, she recalled a conversation she had with Shelke some months ago…

"I wonder why Mr. Valentine seems so sad all the time."

"It's just the way he is, Bernice. He's been through a lot, especially since the conflict with Deep Ground started."

"But he managed to take out all the bad guys SINGLE-HANDEDLY…"

"Well, the whole experience caused him a lot of pain. You don't get over a crisis just like that, you know? Besides, it would seem that he didn't manage to kill the Tsviets, or rather their leader anyway. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."

"He's…is he upset about my being here?"

"I didn't say that. But I do think he is upset because he failed his mission."

"Well he did destroy Omega and saved the world, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but Weiss is still running loose. No one blames him for it, considering the circumstances, but he still feels responsible for it."

In the present, Bernice took a moment to admire the shininess of her newly-cleaned gun-blade; little did she know that…

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…in an unseen corner, Vincent stood silently, watching his student. She had been an excellent pupil and her marksmanship was (he admitted) comparable to his, back when he was a Turk. She handle's that gun-blade well. He noted quietly.

He thought about that faithful night, two years ago when they had found out that Weiss was still alive. He sighed. Just when he'd resolved the matter between Lucrecia and his past, another tragedy literally falls into his lap. Deep Ground was back from the dead, and what was worst, they were after someone. The familiar pang of guilt tugged at his heart. She shouldn't even be here. She shouldn't have had to face the dangers of our world. My failure has earned her two years of strenuous training and more…

Still, he'd succeeded in making her a skilled gun-slinger. No…her aiming may be noteworthy, but will she be able to kill? He shook his head. This was yet another curse he had bestowed upon her. In order to survive, her hands would have to be stained by blood. At least it'll be her enemy's blood that'll stain her hands. Cloud, Tifa and I have made sure of that.

But the question still remained. Will she kill? He had to find out. He had to be sure. Otherwise, all their efforts would have been for naught.

He gave himself a determined nod and stepped out of the shadows. Holding a metallic ring loosely in his claw, he approached Bernice.

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"M-Mr. Valentine…" she stammered. Her instructor's sudden appearance had startled her.

Vincent nodded slightly in acknowledgement. "Here," he said. In one swift movement, he'd placed the metal band firmly on her head.

She drifted off. He caught her limp body and laid her gently on the table, beside her gun-blade whilst taking care not to let the band slip from her temple. "See you on the other side, Kid." He produced another metal band from underneath his cloak. Sitting down, the placed it on his own head.

Author's Note: The above is a result of my setting aside my ton of homework (yet again). I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I had enjoyed writing it! PLEASE REVIEW!

Oh, and I haven't forgotten my cookie deal. Both and ChaosDynasty gets a cookie each! Thanks, guys!