A/N: Hello people. I know it's been a minute. I am terrible with keeping up regular updates. I can't say I have been busy, it's more of a passion thing I guess. Sometimes it hits me, and other times I just don't feel it.Luckily I have had a stroke of inspiration recently and decided to dive back into writing this story. Hopefully I can keep up this momentum for a little bit. But I make no promises. Anyways hopefully you like the new chapter. It has gone under many revisions over the last few months. I couldn't quite pinpoint where I wanted to jump off of from the last chapter. Hopefully everything makes sense.If you guys like my content here please leave a review. I would love to hear your thoughts on my writing or the story in general. Anyway. onto the chapter.
" Alright kids. Today is your first day in Zangan's boot camp. I won't lie to you. My training isn't for the faint of heart. I have seen grown men break under the pressure of my training. It will be so hard, that your arms will be pop off and you legs will turn to jelly. But know that if you stick with it, when I'm done with you two, you both will be great warriors." Zangan yelled out to Cloud and Tifa.
It was the first official day of Cloud and Tifa's training. They stood in a clearing of sorts in middle of the woods in there gym clothes. Cloud stood at attention, ready to learn whatever there gym teacher, and apparently a master martial artist could offer. Cloud had been looking forward to this all week. He couldn't wait to get started. Tifa however was a bit more apprehensive. After seeing Cloud's display of power a week before, she wondered if she could reach anywhere near that level of power. She didn't think she had it in her. That said, Tifa was still willing to try. She would come out and train if only to hang out with Cloud more.
" Now then...Tifa, your first exercise will be one thousand laps around the clearing here." Zangan said. Both Cloud and Tifa were taken aback by this. The two kids weren't sure they heard Zangan correctly. They must have misheard.
" Umm... how many laps?" Tifa asked.
" One thousand." Zangan said completely serious. Cloud knew this training would be difficult but he figured he would start Tifa off lighter. She couldn't access her Limit like he could.
" That's way too much for Tifa to do on her first day! Shouldn't one thousand laps be after she's been training for a while?" Cloud spoke up, ready to defend Tifa.
" I didn't say she had to do them all at once. If she gets tired, she can take a break. If the day is done, she can pick back up tomorrow. However, she needs to complete one thousand laps." Zangan explained. Tifa gulped a little, realising how hard this would be. She wouldnt back down though. Not when she hadn't even tried yet.
" Umm...okay" Tifa said as she began to walk over to the clearings edge.
" Oh and one more thing. Don't lose count. or else you will have to start over again." Zangan said.
" Huh!? But...but..." Tifa tried to complain but Zangan stopped her.
" You said you wanted to train under me, well this is the start of your training. I told you before. Your not on Cloud's level yet. We need to train you up first." Zangan explained. Tifa looked down at her feet in doubt. She wasn't sure she could do this anymore. Cloud was amazing, he could do things that she could never do. Cloud saw the look on Tifa's face and he knew it well.
She was so lost in thought she didn't notice Cloud had approached her.
" You can do it Tifa!" Cloud said as he grabbed her hand. Tifa looked up into his blue eyes and couldn't help but be comforted by them. As if Cloud was transfering confidence through his hand, Tifa felt her motivation return to her.
" Okay, I'll do my best." Tifa said. Cloud nodded and stepped back a bit, letting Tifa have some room. Tifa took a deep breath before she began to run around the clearing. Cloud smiled. Proud that Tifa was able to try. Not wanting to be left in the dust, Cloud readied himself to run as well.
" Hold it kid, where do you think your going?" Zangan asked. Cloud turned back confused.
" Uhh. Am I not running too?" Cloud asked. Zangan couldn't help but laugh out loud a bit.
" Hahahaha, no. You, are going to meditate." Zangan said. Cloud wasn't sure if he heard the man correctly. It seemed like everything Zangan was saying today didn't make sense.
" Meditate?" Cloud asked.
" Correct." Zangan said.
" But why? Shouldn't I learn how to throw a good punch? Train my body until I fall over? Hell, exercise like laps make more sense." Cloud asked.
" All in due time kid. First we need to get your mind calm and collected. Free of distractions. Then we can begin on your physical training." Zangan explained.
" How does any of that help be become stronger?" Cloud asked. Zangan smirked at that.
" All of it helps kid. Having a clear head means better decision making in the field. It helps you remain focused and aware. All things a good warrior must be." Zangan explained. Cloud grumbled a bit in disappointment before sitting down.
' Good. Now relax." Zangan said. Cloud tried to do as he said and loosened up a bit.
" Take a deep breath." Zangan said. Cloud did as he was told and inhaled deep, and then slowly exhaled.
" Now, Close your eyes." Cloud did as he was told and closed his eyes.
" Now listen..." Zangan said. Cloud listened to his surroundings and tried to pinpoint the sounds he was hearing.
He heard what sounded like loud and footsteps. The leafs cracked as Tifa's feet came down on them. He heard the chirping of birds above. He heard the slow rustling of the branches as the trees danced in the wind.
Crunch Crunch Crunch Crunch.
Cloud heard a loud crunching sound coming from right in front of him. What was that? He couldn't help himself and opened his eyes.
' What the?! Are you eating chips right now?!" Cloud asked. Zangan stood in front of Cloud with his hand in a back of Stamps.
" What?! There really good. Plus they were on sale!" Zangan said with excitement as he pulled another chip out of his bag and took a bite
CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH
" Really!? I'm sitting here trying to meditate like you want, and your just sitting there eating snacks." Cloud said getting more irritated.
" And you were doing a fine job so far. Until you got distracted." Zangan said.
" But your the one who distracted me in the first place." Cloud complained.
" So when you hear a new sound you suddenly forget about everything else?" Zangan asked. Cloud tried to respond but he couldn't. Zangan had made a pretty good point.
" Sounds are all around you. You can't let a single loud one ever distract you. Now, try again." Zangan said. Cloud then took a deep breath once more and closed his eyes.
Cloud sat there listening to everything around him. Suddenly he began to smell something. It smelled really good, but it was also really strong. Cloud opened his eyes up once again and saw Zangan applying some sort of perfume.
" You really got to do that now?" Cloud asked.
" It's my special cologne. I always have it on on me just in case." Zangan said with a smile.
" Yeah well it's distracting. I can smell it from here." Cloud complained.
" Oh, another distraction. It seems like many things distract you kid." Zangan said. Cloud was beginning to get impatient. He had only been sitting there for a few minutes now but he hasn't felt any different, or anything. He just sat there and listened to Tifa running in circles and Zangan goofing off. Was he supposed to feel something? When was he going to learn something. Anything?
" I'm done." Cloud said as he stood up.
" Oh...giving up already?" Zangan asked.
" I'm not giving up. I'm just tired of wasting my time. I agreed to be trained by you because you said you would make me stronger. but so far you haven't done anything for me. Tifa is getting more out of this then I am." Cloud said loudly.
" Oh I'm sorry boy. I didn't know you were a master martial artist. Please tell me how should I teach you then?" Zangan asked ready to challenge Cloud.
" I don't know, something. Anything. Show me something that I can use." Cloud said.
" Fine then." Zangan said as he sat down on the ground. He pulled a blind fold out of his pocket and out it on, covering his eyes.
" What are you doing?" Cloud asked.
" Try to hit me kid." Zangan said. Cloud was only getting more confused. Master Zangan wanted him to attack him? But he was blind folded? Cloud couldn't figure out Zangan's game here but decided to play along. Cloud got ready to strike but then the thought came to him.
' Could he predict my movements? Or is it that he is in tune with his surroundings? I know he is trying to prove a point. I'm just not sure what.' Cloud thought. Deciding to throw caution to the wind Cloud charged.
Cloud ran as fast as he could to the motionless master. Tifa stopped her running and saw Cloud running toward Zangan. She wondered what sort of exercise they were doing. Cloud cocked his arm back and swing at Master Zangan's head with all his might. To Cloud's suprise however his fist completely missed.
" Huh?" Cloud wondered what happened. He looked to see Zangan's head had moved slightly out of the way. Cloud then punched again and again but each time he would miss. Zangan would move his head out of the way each time.
" How?!" Cloud wondered out loud as he punched once more. only for his fist to be caught by the master's hand.
" Huh" Cloud tried to pull his arm out of Zangan's grip but it was too tight. Cloud decided to hit him with his other arm but it was met with Zangan's other hand.
" How did..." Cloud tried asking as he struggled to get free.
" You only see with your eyes. However, if you are going to be effective in a fight, you must use all your senses. Smell, hearing, touch, taste. Everything is important. And the best way to learn this..." Zangan trailed off as he lifted Cloud off the ground and threw him across the clearing.
" AHHH" Cloud yelled as he flew in the air before skidding to a stop. Zangan then stood up and took the blind fold off.
" ...is through meditation." Zangan finished.
Cloud got to his knees and looked down to the ground in thought. Seeing with every sense. It was something he had never considered before. Could he really learn something like that? Was this why Master Zangan was doing that stuff before? Cloud realised he had failed. He wasn't patient enough. Cloud realised that this was his first lesson. He needed to be more patient. Cloud took a deep breath and stood back up.
" Teach me!" Cloud said. Zangan smiled and sat back down on the ground, he extended his hand forward offering Cloud a seat in front of him. Cloud with out a word walked over and sat down. Zangan's face then turned to a small frown.
" I don't hear you running girly!" Zangan yelled out to Tifa who had been watching the whole thing.
" Ah! Sorry!" Tifa said as she went back to her running.
Over the course of the next few weeks Cloud and Tifa would come out to the clearing with Zangan after school and on the weekends. Tifa struggled to continue her one thousand laps. She would count up to about two hundred before the day would be done. But whenever they came back for training the next day she had forgotten the exact number of laps and would have to start all over again.
Cloud however had only been meditating. He would sit in the middle of the clearing and just listen. But Cloud began to notice little things when he really paid attention. He could tell when Tifa was beginning to get tired by the sound of her footsteps. They would become slower and her breathing would become more noticable. He could tell that small animals like rabbits and other such critters would wander into the clearing. He would hear when Master Zangan would come and go. And he could even tell the direction he would come from. He was beginning to see what Master Zangan ment by seeing with his other senses. Finally after a month of coming out and training Tifa finally made it to one thousand laps.
" ONE THOUSAAAAAND!!!!!!" Tifa yelled as she collapsed to the ground. Cloud didn't look over to her, his eyes were shut as he continued to meditate but a small smile formed on his face.
" Good. you finally did it. Well done." Zangan said. Tifa just lay on the ground for a moment, giving herself a moment to catch her breath. She was proud of herself. She finally managed to do it. One thousand laps. Tifa managed to figure out a system to finally finish the training. She realised that by doing as many laps as she could in a day wasn't working for her and she needed to think about it differently. So instead she began running one hundred laps every day. It was a nice round number and easy to remember. She wasn't overly exhausted after every training session too so she could run better the next day. After a whole month of trial and error she finally made it to One thousand.
"Now for your second exercise, your going to do it again!" Zangan said with a smile. Tifa looked absolutely shocked. Did he just say she had to do it again? She ran so many laps already. The thought of running even one more lap infuriated her. Tifa got up off the ground and looked absolutely livid.
" I have to do all of that...AGAIN!" Tifa yelled.
" Yes...oh but this time, you will wear this." Zangan said as he pulled out a weighted T-shirt from his pouch. Tifa glared at the shirt as if she could burn holes through it.
" It's 30 pounds. The extra weight will help you build strength." Zangan explained. Tifa was furious, so much so that she began to shake. Tifa didn't notice but orange sparks began to came off of her.
" THATS IT. I AM SICK OF RUNNING THESE STUPID LAPS. I HAVE BEEN RUNNING LAPS FOR A MONTH. I LOST COUNT SO MANY TIMES ALREADY AND YOU WANT ME TO DO IT AGAIN. THIS TIME WITH A HEAVY SHIRT. WELL GUESS WHAT MISTER. I AM DONE. I QUIT!" Tifa yelled as she erupted the orange limit breaking power.
Zangan looked shocked for a moment before a smile appeared on his face. Tifa in her fury punched the closest tree with all her might. Her fist crashed through the tree trunk completely, leaving only a small bit of the trunk left. Tifa calmed down after she realised what she did and she looked to her hand in shock.
" Did...I do that?" Tifa asked.
" Yes you did. You broke your limit for the first time. Now we can now start your training properly." Zangan said. Tifa didn't know what to say but she felt excited for the first time in a month.
" Does this mean...no more laps?" Tifa asked.
" Haha no. Your days of laps are done." Zangan said. Tifa couldn't contain her excitement anymore and jumped in the air.
" YAY, NO MORE LAPS!" Tifa yelled out in excitement.
Suddenly the tree Tifa punched began to shift. The remaining wood on it broke and the towering tree began to fall. Tifa saw the tree falling in slow motion as it was heading straight for Cloud, who was still sitting in the middle of the clearing meditating.
" CLOUD LOOK OUT!" Tifa yelled as the tree came crashing down toward Cloud. Tifa covered her eyes before the tree finally impacted the ground. Tifa removed her hands from her face and looked over to where Cloud was but she didn't see him. She felt her stomach drop. Cloud was right there. Did the tree crush him? Did she kill her best friend?
" Cloud? CLOUD?!" Tifa yelled as she ran over to where her friend was. However to her suprise Cloud was sitting exactly where he had sat before. The tree had landed just in front of him, it didn't even hit him. Cloud still had his eyes closed, it was as if he wasn't fazed by the tree almost killing him.
" Cloud are you okay?" Tifa asked. But Cloud didn't answer.
" He is more then okay girly. He has done it." Zangan said as he approached the two of them.
" What do you mean?" Tifa asked.
" He is in a true meditative state. He feels everything around him. It's why he didn't move. He knew the tree wouldn't hit him. Isn't that right, Cloud." Zangan asked. Upon his master calling him Cloud opened his eyes.
' Yeah...it felt like I could see everything at the same time. It was different from seeing with your eyes. Its like Master Zangan said, it's like feeling everything." Cloud explained as he stood up.
" Now that you have an understanding of meditation, you should know that any fighter worth there stuff can sense the environment. Don't think you are unbeatable now just because you can sense things around you. It is incredibly common" Zangan a said.
" Of course. Thank you, Master Zangan." Cloud said. Tifa couldn't help herself anymore and hugged Cloud tight.
" Don't scare me like that again okay." Tifa said. Cloud smiled and hugged her back.
" Promise."
" Well since both of you have succeeded in your first task for training I think it's time put your new skills to the test." Zangan said. Cloud and Tifa grew excited and eagerly anticipated what Zangan would say.
" What new skills did I learn? I just did laps." Tifa asked.
" Patience girly. All will make sense come next weekend. Take the week to rest up and prepare. Come Saturday we will be climbing Mt Nibel."
The next week came and it was time to climb the mountain. Cloud was eager to face the challenge of the mountain again. He wanted to get to the top this time and not fall and hurt himself. He felt he needed to prove that he could do it. Tifa however was less then enthusiastic. Over the course of the week she had began to dread returning to the mountain. It wasn't exactly a place with many fond memories. She still had nightmares of the day she and Cloud fell of the bridge. She wasn't looking forward to going. Not one bit.
Cloud, Tifa, and Zangan had begun down the path to the mountain. They had left for the mountain at noon. The sun was high and visibility was good. Zangan had taken lead with Tifa in the middle and Cloud watching the rear.
" Do we really need to do this? Can't we just train in the forest some more? I really don't want to be here." Tifa complained.
" Yes we need to be here. It is part of your training after all." Zangan said. Tifa didn't like the answer she got, but accepted it all the same.
"Now I will explain our roles on this hike. I am the leader so you will follow exactly my instruction. Do you both understand?" Master Zangan asked.
" Yes sir." Both Cloud and Tifa said, Cloud said it with more enthusiasm then Tifa did.
" Good. Now Cloud, your job is to watch our rear. You have learned how to meditate while sitting down, but now we need to get you up to snuff for when you are moving around. It needs to be second nature, constant vigilance if you will." Zangan explained.
" Yes sir." Cloud said.
" And me? Tifa asked.
" You...will be carrying my bag." Zangan said as he handed her his bag.
" Uhh, why can't you carry your own bag?" Tifa asked.
" Because this will be an endurance test for you. You ran your one thousand laps. Now with your increased stamina, the climb would be nothing for you. To make it challenging, you will take my bag, and carry it the entire way." Zangan explained. Tifa's irritation lessened when Zangan explained the reasoning. She didn't like it, but it did make sense. Tifa took it the bag but it was much heavier then she thought it would be.
" Jeez what do you have in this thing?" Tifa asked.
" Only the essentials." Zangan said as he continued down the path. Tifa grumbled a bit before slinging the bag on her back and continued walking. Cloud wondered why he was only doing the meditation part of the training. He was sure there was a reason but he couldn't think of it. He was sure he could have mixed in a little bit of physical training while doing his meditation.
"Master Zangan sir, why am I not doing any of this physical training too?" Cloud said.
" Because meditation training requires focus. If you were training you body as well, you would lose focus easier. So you will master your meditation and sensing training before moving on to the physical side of things." Zangan explained. Cloud couldn't really argue with his logic so he nodded and continued walking.
" Also Young Tifa here needs to build up her strength a bit more. You are older then she is and naturally stronger. She needs the physical training more then you do right now." Zangan continued. Tifa rolled her eyes a little at what Zangan said.
" Lucky me..." Tifa said.
The group walked up the path to the mountain, not stopping for anything. Zangan kept quiet and continued to press on. Tifa continued on and was actually shocked that she wasn't tired. They had been walking up hill for a little while now but she felt totally fine. Her legs didn't burn much at all and she had even adjusted to the weight on her back fast. Perhaps Zangan really did know what he was talking about.
Cloud was listening to everything around him as he walked. The wind howling, the rocks churning as they walked over them. He felt the air get colder and thinner as they continued up the mountain. Cloud was paying close attention to everything around him, at least as best as he could while walking. Suddenly Cloud noticed Tifa had stopped walking.
" Tifa?" Cloud asked but then he noticed where they were and knew why she stopped. They made there way to the the wooden bridge that they had fallen off of the day of the funeral. Cloud looked over the familiar path ahead of him and felt a chill run down his spine. For him, it didn't feel like it was so long ago that he was here. Following Tifa, trying to get her to come back. It wasn't exactly a day of good memories. But even so, it was the day of his greatest triumph. He saved her. Cloud looked over to Tifa and he saw she had a melancholy look on her face.
" You okay?" Cloud asked. Tifa took a breath before responding.
" I didn't realise...how far up we are... how steep this path was back when..." Tifa trailed off.
" It's okay Tifa. You were going through a lot then." Cloud said trying to reassure her.
" You came out here...on your own with no help...just to get me." Tifa said. She already knew this, but seeing the mountain path again brought everything rushing back. Cloud wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she layed her head on him. The two just looked on at the path ahead in silence.
Cloud thought back to the day they fell off the wood bridge. He remembered being terrified, and yet he didn't care, because Tifa was in danger. He passed all his former bullies along the way, and didn't hesitate to approach Tifa on the bridge. Thinking back to it now, it seems so reckless. But Cloud knew if he had to do it all over again, he would in a heart beat. He remembered when the bridge began to collapse. The ropes began to break due to their weight and then the bridge fell.
'No...that's not right...' Cloud thought.
The ropes didn't just break, the two of them stood on the bridge for a little while and nothing happened. Something was making the bridge shake...right? What were they again? Something was attacking the bridge. There were a lot of them, they looked like... Ghosts?
" AHH" Cloud screamed as his head erupted in pain. His hand rushed to his head as if it would somehow ease his pain. Tifa jumped back a bit startled by Cloud sudden outburst.
" Cloud? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Tifa asked. Zangan looked back to see Cloud clutching his head in pain. The older mentor was confused, what had happened?
Cloud saw flashes of the day he and Tifa fell off the bridge. He saw the ropes breaking on their own, but then he would see those ghosts ripping the ropes instead. Which one actually happened? He was sure he saw those things. Cloud then saw it again but it was different from what he remembered. He saw the bridge collapse just as he stepped on it, he then woke up with Tifa unconscious next to him.
' What are you doing bringing Tifa out here. What if she dies'.
'Did you even think?!'
'You stupid boy!'
'Stay away from my daughter!'
" CLOUD!"
Cloud snapped out of it and looked to see Tifa holding his head in her hands.
" Tifa... I..." Cloud tried to say something but he couldn't. What was this is was feeling. He felt...angry? Sad? Ashamed? Why though? What was that he saw? That's not at all how he remembered it happening. Then why was it so vivid?
" Are you okay? You got a headache again. This time it lasted longer." Tifa said worried. Zangan walked back to check on the two kids.
" You have gotten these headaches before?" Zangan asked. He had never seen a headache that violent before.
" Yeah. He had one when he came back to school a month ago. It wasn't as bad as this though.
" It's nothing. It's just a headache, I'm fine really." Cloud said. He didn't want them to worry about him. He wondered if he should tell them about what he saw. But how would he even explain it? He didn't even know what he saw really.
" Well if your sure your okay, we will continue." Zangan said as he turned around to cross the bridge.
" But-"
" It's okay Tifa. I'm fine, really." Cloud said as he gave her hand a squeeze to reassure her. Tifa couldn't help but smile.Tifa squeezed back and they continued on to the wood bridge.
Tifa stood right at the start of the bridge and hesitated. She saw Master Zangan almost across already and wondered how the man crossed the whole thing with no issues. Tifa looked down and saw the huge canyon below. Fog still obscured the bottom so she couldn't even see how far the drop would be. She couldn't believe that she and Cloud survived a fall like this. Then again, Cloud almost didn't.
" Take a deep breath Tifa." Cloud said behind her. Tifa did as she was told and inhaled and exhaled slowly.
" Now just one step at a time okay. I'm right behind you." Cloud said.
" You promise?" Tifa asked. She knew how childish she sounded there but right now she didn't care. The memory of the bridge collapsing, and the two of them falling wouldn't leave her mind.
Cloud didn't see the Tifa he knew in front of him He and saw the scared girl who just wanted to see her mother on the bridge that day.
" I promise Tifa. I'll never let you fall again." Cloud said as he put his hand on her shoulder. Tifa felt his hand and it was like at the start of training all over again. As if Cloud was transfering courage through his hand. She felt more invigorated then before. She took another deep breath and then took her first step, and then another, and another. Cloud's hand, never left her shoulder.
"'Thats it Tifa, Your doing it." Cloud cheered. Tifa Looked forward to Zangan who had been waiting patiently on the other side of the canyon. The Master had a smile on his face as well as a look of pride. Tifa couldn't help but smile back. She was doing it! She was crossing the bridge. Something she couldn't do before Something that haunted her for a long time now.
Tifa stepped back onto solid ground once again and she exhaled a breath she didn't realise she had held on the bridge. Cloud walked off the bridge as well and gave Tifa a big smile. He couldn't have been more proud of her.
" Now then. Have you conquered your fear?" Zangan asked. Tifa was taken aback by the question. How did Zangan know she was scared of this place?
" How did you know?" Tifa asked.
" A traumatic experience, and seeing a friend injured can leave scars on a persons mind. Especially one so young." Zangan began.
" I figured you both would be afraid to come to the mountain due to your past experience here. But to my surprise Cloud didn't fear the mountain, he saw it as an obsticle to overcome. But you Tifa, I coukd tell as soon as I brought the mountain up that you had complicated feelings about it." Zangan explained. Tifa lowered her head, slightly embarrassed that she was that transparent.
" But despite your fear of this place, you faced the mountain head on. I couldn't be more proud." Zangan said. Cloud agreed with Zangan but he couldn't help but wonder.
" Was that all this was? Just to face our fears?" Cloud asked.
" That is part of it. But the climb up the mountain is not over yet. The bridge was the first hurdle for you. The next part of the climb will be even harder." Zangan said. Cloud and Tifa gulped at there master's slightly ominous statement.
" Tifa, if you would take the bag off and set it down please.' Zangan asked.
" Oh. Sure." Tifa obliged and removed the heavy bag. Zangan took the bag and opened it up. Cloud and Tifa watched in anticipation as they waited to see what Zangan would pull out.
" Where is it...come on...ouch...Ahh there it is." Zangan said as he rustled through his bag. The Master then pulled out a wooden case from the bag and sat down on the ground.
" I think it's time for a snack break!" Zangan said as he opened the case and inside was 3 bags of Stamps chips.
Cloud and Tifa were stunned. Cloud couldn't believe that Master Zangan would bring along a few bags of chips, it seemed so weird to him. Tifa on the other hand was absolutely furious.
" ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I WAS CARRYING AROUND A BUNCH OF SNACKS THIS WHOLE TIME!" Tifa yelled.
" Hahahaha Zangan laughed and his students temper.
" ITS NOT FUNNY!" Tifa yelled once again.
" I'm sorry kiddo. Your face gets all scrunched up when you get mad." Zangan said as he pointed to Tifa's face. Tifa blushed at that and turned away from the master martial artist. Cloud couldn't help but chuckle as well. Tifa however heard Cloud and glared at him. Seeing Tifa's ire directed at him, Cloud immediately shut up. However Zangan continued to laugh.
" Oh man, she already has you around her finger. Boy are you ever in trouble." Zangan said. Cloud didn't really know what he ment but before he could ask, Zangan handed the two kids there own bag of Stamps.
" Here. Eat up and rest up. The rest of the climb won't be so easy." Zangan said. Cloud and Tifa both took there bags.
" Why is that Master?" Cloud asked as he opened his bag of chips.
" Well the closer we get to the reactor, the more likely we will see monster's." Zangan explained. Tifa tensed up upon hearing that.
" Monster's...?" Tifa repeated.
" That's right. Don't worry though. If we stumbled upon any, you leave them to me." Zangan said.
" Yes sir." Cloud and Tifa said.
" Now Cloud. your going to be my ears. I'm not going to tell you if a monster is near by. This is your task as we climb. Got it?" Zangan said. He had to be the group's ears. Even against monster's. This was going to be Cloud's ultimate test for sensing the world around him.
" Tifa, your going to continue carrying the bag. I'm sorry that I don't have a more important lesson for you right now. But for now we need to focus on your physical strength. Believe me when I say it will pay off." Zangan said. Tifa sighed, annoyed that she would still just be carrying a bag, but decided not to complain.
" Okay kids. Once your done eating. We continue up the mountain."