She tried not to let it show in her face, stepping off of the airship; she felt her stomach churn, the world spin. Tifa was standing on earth she never thought she'd stand on again.

It was strange to try to remember her life before she had been whisked to Wutai; her life had always been without her mother, but she had her brother, and her father. Tifa could vaguely recall the villa that they had lived at, the hushed conversations her father had in his office, pushing the door shut in her face gently. She hadn't understood then, but she did now; her father had been giving military secrets to Wutai; she didn't blame him, didn't judge him for that, especially after being embraced by that country, being loved and raised with such care. She understood why her father had done what he had; she wondered if her brother had survived if he would've felt the same way.

Her brother had been three years older than her, sharing the same hair and eyes, though she remembered him being tall and lanky, slender in his teenage years when the villa had burned.

The memories would fade in quick and devastating, her home burning, her father scalded and her throat burning and wheezing as he carried her from the blaze; there was no saving her brother. Her father had wasted no time contacting the underground resistance, getting Tifa shipped out of the country before she had even recovered from her injuries.

Tifa's memories of that time were still blurred and confused, and she didn't know whether to blame that on her physical or her mental trauma.

Yuffie was twitching nervously beside of her, bouncing her knee quickly and irregularly; the trip to their host's home had been uneventful but loud. There had been no time to talk with her host family, two sons and a mother. She knew they were the Strife's, and she knew that they had a history with the Emperor; the Emperor wouldn't tell her what it was exactly, but she knew by the way he had spoken of them, and that he wouldn't have allowed her to stay with them if he didn't trust them.

They had been carried in different litters through the wide streets of Midgar; through the thing curtains Tifa had watched Yuffie and her other body guards warily. She still couldn't believe Godo had agreed to send Yuffie with her under a false identity, however, Tifa and Godo both knew that Yuffie would've somehow found her way to Midgar if they had left her behind.

She didn't know if she was ready for this responsibility; the world felt large, intangible and unimaginable. This place was so different from her home, and as she looked at the dirty and sprawling city she found it hard to imagine that this was where she had been born, where she was from. She questioned whether she would be able to accomplish anything at all.

A villa was rising up above them on the hill, set among large vineyards and orchards; Tifa felt her stomach drop and her heart race.

Xx

The litter his mother and brother in where in front of him, and so was the emissary's litter. Tifa.

The name seemed simple, too simple and ordinary, and she looked too ordinary for two countries' fates to depend on her. She looked too young to have that burden on her shoulder. The crowds were pressing against their guards, separating the three litters, and making it more difficult to get the Villa. Cloud hadn't wanted to ride in the litter to begin with but Rufus had sent him a message forcing him to accept the courtesy. The villa was rising on the hill above, although Zack and his mother's litter, as well as Tifa's, had long disappeared into the gates.

The assassin would be the last to arrive at the party.

The queasiness that had first accompanied him down the elevator after his meeting had never fully left him, and now that the Raven's contact had still not shown themselves it made Cloud even more nervous. Cloud could think of ways in which he could assassinate someone but in reality he had no way to know where to start, or how to start. He knew it would take careful planning, and time; that was one thing Rufus had not given him, a deadline, although Cloud was sure one would present itself in due time.

The litter dropped him just inside the gates of the villa, the men carrying it setting it down abruptly. Cloud climbed out of it, feeling stiff, watching as the men picked it up as quickly as they set it down, and disappearing back through the gates. Cloud watched them apprehensively before turning to look up the long, gravel drive to the Villa.

Cloud didn't question, the litter had been sent by Rufus; instead he shoved his hands in his pockets, turned and began walking up the drive.

Up ahead he could the thick crowd greeting the emissary, and his mother and brother, though he was still a ways off. The Villa's drive was lined with clipped evergreen trees, tall and spiraling upwards; for a moment Cloud was lost in the past, lost in the memories of traveling this gravel road with his father after visiting the lake fishing, or after a successful hunting trip.

"Ah, there you are, Lieutenant Strife."

A woman was suddenly beside of him, dressed in a flowing pink gown, a thin, gauzy wrap over her arms, and brown hair twisted into a thick and luxurious braid.

Her face was familiar but he found himself struggling for a name.

"...I..."

"Surely you haven't forgotten me," she grinned cheekily, green eyes glinting against the bright sun. "Gainsborough?"

"Aeris! Ms. Aeris," he corrected himself quickly. The Gainsborough's had one been a prosperous family but what he had heard of recent times was that they had fallen into some debt though from looking at the rich fabrics and strings of pearls Aeris was wearing one wouldn't have guessed that.

"I didn't know, that is..."

Aeris reached out, taking his unoffered arm. "That I was invited?" she quirked an eyebrow, "Yes, I was."

They walked in silence for a few moments, Cloud trying to remember his etiquette training.

He opened his mouth, "Your mother–

"Let's not be coy, Cloud," Aeris was quickly glancing about the empty drive. "I'm not here because my family is in high standing." She turned, looking over their shoulders. "I'm sure you've heard the rumors."

Cloud swallowed, "I'm sure that I haven't–

"I know what you're here to do."

There was something in her voice that made his spine go rigid, as if someone had dumped a bucket of icy cold water over his head. He stopped, turning to look at her; her green eyes seemed strangely calculating and distant; he had flirted with her before in the past, and he had never seen that coldness in her eyes before.

"The Raven sent me."

Those were the words he bother feared, and knew would come from her mouth.

Instead of exclaiming or denying it Cloud, for the first time, felt he had fell into a comfort zone.

"What does he have on you?"

Her eyes turned harsh, and unforgiving, "What does he have on you?"

Cloud studied her before replying. "I'm not sure it's me that he has it on."

Aeris kept her cold gaze on him for a moment, before letting out a tinkling laugh, pressing up the walk as if nothing had happened.

"That's the problem with loving people, isn't it? It doesn't have to be you that's being blackmailed. You're trying to restore your family's good name, and so am I. I can contact you without being seen, because we're on the same level. Disgraced, but our name still hold some value, as minuscule as it may seem."

"Your words are very cheering," Cloud replied tartly.

Her laugh this time was bitter, "She wasn't what you were expecting, was she?"

Cloud swallowed, "No."

"Will your noble nature allow you to do what is necessary?"

"Yes," he didn't hesitate.

"I hope you remember that; if you think crossing the president is bad you don't want to know what crossing the Raven is like."

"Why does the Raven even care if this job is done or not?"

Aeris lifted a shoulder lazily, "He has a deal with the President, and if he has any other reasons he keeps them to himself. It's not as if it's the first time the lower levels of the city have worked with its leaders."

"I'm sorry you've become involved with this," Cloud replied softly; they were nearing the crowd of people.

Aeris laughed, heartily this time. "Oh Cloud, don't waste your time worrying about me. You're the one who's new to scandal." She delicately extricated herself from his arm. "Enjoy your party," he didn't miss the glint in her eye as she said that.

Ahead he could see his mother, supporting herself no longer on his brother, but on the emissary. His gut dropped and pulled, but he took a step forward.

It was time for the second son to introduce himself.

A/N: :)

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