Tifa was standing at the base of the staircase at the Strife's villa when Cloud emerged from the shadows; she had known her first summons would be early and unpleasant, and as much as Cloud had mentioned the night before that he would be her escort, she still hadn't been expecting it.

He was shorter than his brother, and more timid, she could tell just by the way he held himself; he had good posture, military posture, but there was something in his eyes and his shoulders that made him seem constantly restrained and cautious. Tifa couldn't tell if it made her like him more or less, that cautiousness; it reminded her of herself, but it also made her wonder what he had to hide.

"So," she stated calmly as he reached the bottom of the staircase, "The President is waiting for me?"

"Perhaps," Cloud held out his arm to her, and she took it graciously. "The President is a very busy man, if not him you will meet with, then his son."

"Rufus," she said, but the upward inflection of her voice gave away her insecurity.

"Yes," he replied. "Rufus is his son, his second in command."

"I'm aware," she replied tartly, and they remained silent as Cloud led her to the carriage. After they were both seated inside, he felt her cool eyes on him. It was strange; her eyes were a deep burgundy, a color he associated with warmth and friendship, but the angle of her eyes made them much more hostile and deadly.

"I meant no harm," he found himself saying, as the carriage swung into motion. "It's difficult being in a place you are unfamiliar with."

"Where have you been?" she bit back, sharply.

Cloud held his tongue, momentarily; his immediate thought was the months he had spent overseas in Wutai, in the few cities they had control over. Even when they were the dominant military presence in the area, the civilians were still Wutain, still spoke Wutain, still had Wutain customs, and that had been extremely hard for Cloud to adjust to. This was something he couldn't allude to, with the presence of the Wutain ambassador, so he searched his memories quickly.

"When I was a child we traveled to Cosmo Canyon. It was an extreme difference: the climate, the people, the lifestyle. We were there for a summer because the doctor had told us it would be good for my mother's health. Adjusting to that culture was scary at first, but there are still some things that I remember, things I use in practice today. I know you are startled, scared, and I don't blame you, but give us a chance."

Cloud felt his mouth go dry and turned away; he tried to remember the last time that many words had come out of his mouth without interruption. The health of his mother, and the thought of the assassination had made a deeper impact on his psyche than he had thought before. He realized with grim certainty that this woman would be one who would know him the best; even without knowing how he was to assassinate her, he knew he would have to gain her trust first for it to be believable.

The drive to the capital had never felt so long to Cloud before; each bump, each halt in their progress felt like an invitation for conversation. Cloud kept his eyes turned towards the window but constantly felt and sensed Tifa's eyes on him.

Finally, after much consideration, he looked her full on again, his eyes bold against her own.

"What do you think of the city?" he asked her abruptly.

Tifa placed a hand before her mouth, only barely covering her scoff of contempt; "You live in the old part? It's lovely there, green and lush…but I know where we are heading. The capital, the center, is a world of metal and layers. I've heard of the plate. How do you subjugate over half your population to less than livable standards?"

Cloud hadn't meant to hit a sore note, his conversation was limited at best, and the city was one of the few things he had been coached on to speak of as a young child. However, to hear someone so openly ridicule the city he was born and raised in seem to pierce his normal calm demeanor; Cloud was more than aware of the unfair treatment of the lower class in his city, but he was not the lower class. His eyes were on Tifa menacingly as he considered what he knew of her, and of her history.

"So," he prodded slowly, "If your father had survived, stayed here, then you would've lived in one of the villas. You would've understood how we can live above the plate, and the others not."

Tifa cut her eyes at him, deadly, and for the first time Cloud questioned her capabilities and whether or not she would be able to defend herself. Cloud thought of Rufus, forever mocked on the lower floors of ShinRa tower, considered a marshmallow, someone to be prodded and taken care of, protected. Now, however, Cloud began to wonder if a man who was so prepared and studious as Rufus would allow himself to be in such a vulnerable situation. Yes, Rufus had the Turks, his own personal, body guards, but even they had to have had a beginning. What if one of them had a personal grudge? Could Rufus buy them off? Or would he blackmail them? Or was the man, who was charming enough, able to simply win them over?

Tifa's voice cut into his train of thought. "And if your father hadn't betrayed your country, would you understand the separation of classes better?"

Something deep and bitter took hold of Cloud's heart; his eyes burned as the carriage pulled to a halt.

"And you, would you have snuffed out the people beneath the plate if your father hadn't betrayed us all? I know your history, even if you do not know mine. I may be a second son, but you're an heir. You may hold rank here, but it is tentative at best. It is only with these people you deem too high, us above the plate…those beneath us would tear you to shreds. You're still the daughter of a ShinRa general to them."

Her eyes studied him with little emotion. "A general willing to fight for more than just the privileged."

"A general who was the privileged," Cloud found himself replying; he didn't like this woman. She brought out a deep, and angry seed he had buried in his heart long ago when his father had died. His words came too fast and too easy to her; it made him feel reckless, but at the same time he considered whether or not it would be a way for her to interact with Rufus and reveal some of her secrets. "They'll remember, and some of them will love your father for being a traitor…the rest will hate you and make it hard to live."

"Sound like politics," Tifa muttered under her breath, surprising him.

They arrived at the ShinRa headquarters. Cloud slipped out before the emissary, offering his hand up to her. She reluctantly took it, lowering herself down onto the walkway into the building. People swarmed them immediately; it was a combination of the common folk, the privileged folk, and the press, the press, however, always finding the closest pathway to people of significance.

A reporter Cloud recognized named Jesse, pressed up against them.

"Emissary Tifa," she began in a calm, but firm voice, her microphone pressed into the small space of air Tifa had beneath her chin. "What can you say about the state of your home country?"

Cloud felt Tifa's eyes float over the reporter, almost ignoring her; instead she turned her face and body towards the reporter fully, her attention engaged.

"My country," she began, "is ready for a peaceful alliance with ShinRa. This war has gone on for far too long, cost too many lives, and too many resources for it to mean anything. We are stronger allied than we are fighting each other, despite our differences. As I have walked the streets of Midgar, seen the people of Midgar, I am constantly reminded of the people I left behind in Wutai. They are not so different, even if they look different, they believe in the same things: the welfare of their family, the strength of their country, and the unity they can find in these beliefs. I think with some compromises Wutai and StinRa can soon exist together as a single entity, each there to hold the other accountable, whether in technological advances or in the appreciation of Gaia. There is much we can learn from each other, and it would be foolish for us to ignore one another based on predetermined ideas."

Cloud tried to ignore the small amount of admiration he felt hearing the emissary's diplomatic answer; she neither confirmed or denied anything, but merely hoped for a better future between the two countries. It would be hard to assassinate someone who was constantly covering their back with political prowess.

Cloud maneuvered the door open, Tifa slipping into the safety of ShinRa Tower beneath his arm. He led her quickly to the elevator, after a hush conversation with the receptionist. ShinRa would not be available, but Rufus was.

For some reason Cloud found this more unnerving.
He fought from holding Tifa back, feeling that he was sending her to a den of wolves, even if he was her assassin.

A/N: I'm trying, I promise. 3 you guys :)