Chapter 10

oOoOo

Vincent sat quietly in the dining area as Tifa prepared some tea.

"You seem troubled." She stated flatly as she waited for the water to boil in the kettle.

Vincent was silent for a moment before saying, "Do you need anything from Edge? I think I'd like to go there and do some grocery shopping in the Market."

Tifa looked at him in surprise. "Rufus and I need an extra hand in taking care of Cloud and making sure that he doesn't kill himself! Are you sure you want to leave?" she asked, her eyes widening at him.

He kept a straight face. Of course he was not telling the truth. He was just making an excuse so that he could go to Edge and see the said Dr. Crescent. "I don't want us to run out of food." He fibbed.

Tifa eyed him in disbelief before shaking her head in exasperation. "Alright, it's your decision. I guess I see your point. Now that we're 4 in this house and one of us is ill, we can't risk running out of food." She said before turning away to check the boiling water.

With that, Vincent got up and left as quickly as he could, leaving Tifa perplexed. She turned back to where he was seated and saw that he left his mobile phone on the table. "That Vincent. Now that he has a phone he doesn't really put any importance to it." She muttered. "And I wonder what Cloud and Rufus are doing…" she thought before getting a teabag from the box inside the cupboard where Vincent would normally keep the tea.

oOoOo

"We're home!!!" Elena exclaimed happily as she and the Turks entered the 7th Heaven Bar through its front door. Tseng instantly scanned the whole area for something amiss but was relieved to see that nothing was missing or broken and nothing seemed suspicious at the moment… until Yuffie appeared from the kitchen area wearing an apron. She had a blissful smile on her face. "I swear, I can already be a wife! I can cook decent meals and I can clean the whole house and then take care of kids! Heehee!" she laughed happily.

"Well you look happy. What happened?" Elena asked, wanting to know what went on while they were away.

Tseng eyed Yuffie suspiciously as she and Elena began to converse.

Reno snorted. "Are you sure you cooked the right food? What if you ended up cooking the children?" he joked.

"That's not a very funny joke, you ninny. Of course I didn't cook the children! What do you think of me, a cannibal?" Yuffie argued with a disgusted look on her face. Reno just laughed. "Whatever. I'll go check on them." He said before going over to the living room area where he could hear the sound of late-afternoon cartoons coming from the television set.

Tseng just remained in one corner, pretending to be preoccupied with texting someone on his mobile phone while listening to Yuffie and Elena chatting about the day's events in the household.

Basically, Yuffie told Elena everything regarding cleaning, cooking and taking care of Denzel and Marlene, but she never mentioned about Zack arriving to help her out… until Reno arrived back in the bar area with a disturbed look on his face. "You invited a guy here, Miss Yuffie?" he asked.

Yuffie fell silent, her eyes widening in shock. She forgot to tell the children never to mention Zack to anyone, especially since Marlene was the first to take notice that Yuffie likes him very much. "What do you mean?" she asked, trying to act cool.

Elena blinked. "Oh my gawd! You had a guy over here? Who's he?" she asked quite nervously, remember the dead guy.

Yuffie breathed in. "Uh… remember the guy that I was telling you about?" she asked.

Elena's eyes widened but she was speechless.

Yuffie looked at Reno with a frown on her face. "And what are you going to do? You're going to tell on my father, aren't you?" she demanded.

Reno raised his hands to her. "Hell, no, princess! Of course not! I'm just asking who the guy is!" he said.

"What for?" Yuffie asked in a defensive manner.

"For security purposes, Miss Kisaragi. For all we know he could be spying on us or he's a serial rapist!" Tseng pointed out with a concerned tone as he approached her with a stern look on his face. "Your father has ordered me to watch over and if anything bad happens to you, it's not only me that will be liable but also Cloud Strife and your other friends. We just want to know who the man you're talking about is so that we can verify if he is dangerous or not." He explained.

Yuffie pouted. She took a deep breath but refused to speak. She crossed her arms and just looked away, clenching her jaw.

Tseng narrowed his eyes on her. "Miss Kisaragi, I am just concerned about your safety. Please cooperate." He said gently.

"Since when did you start getting involved with my family? I thought you work for ShinRa?" she demanded haughtily.

"I am still from Wutai after all." He said. "Now answer the question. Who is the man? Is he your boyfriend?" he asked.

Yuffie frowned as she lowered her gaze to the floor and bit her lower lip. She nodded slowly.

Elena swallowed hard as she smiled weakly. "Uh… I'll just check on the kids." She said before rushing to the living room area where Reno had left the children who were watching cartoons.

Tseng crossed his arms. "And?" he asked.

Yuffie could tell that the Wutaian Turk was already losing his patience with her but he's still trying to sound as calm as possible to avoid intimidating her too much. He still respects the fact that she is the daughter of the other man that he's working for after all. She looked up at Tseng, her cheeks flushed in a bright red shade. "His name is Zack. He was from SOLDIER and…" she began, but she trailed off when she noticed that Tseng's jaw dropped. "What?" he asked her.

Yuffie blinked. "…Zack." She repeated. She noticed the surprised reactions from Reno, Rude and Tseng. "…is there anything wrong? Do you know him?" she asked.

The three just continued to stare unbelievably at her.

She frowned slightly as she clasped her hands together as she bowed down her head for a moment. "I… I'd assume you know him because he's from ShinRa too… and he was from SOLDIER…" she said hesitantly.

"Does this guy have black spiky hair?" Reno inquired.

Yuffie looked at them with a slight smile on her face. "Yeah. He does. He says he's from Gongaga and…" she began to explain, but Reno cut her off, "How can that be that he's Zack?" he asked in disbelief.

Yuffie looked at him in disbelief. "Why? Is there anything wrong? Does he have any bad record in SOLDIER or ShinRa in general?" she asked, suddenly getting worried for her own sake that she could be in trouble for choosing a bad boy as a boyfriend.

"No, it's not that. He's a very nice man." Reno said.

"Yes, Miss Kisaragi… he was nice…A good man who did his job very well." Tseng said, eyeing Yuffie with a serious look on his face.

Yuffie wondered why Tseng kept on using past tense to refer to Zack. "Was?" she repeated.

Tseng took a deep breath. "Years ago, there was a first class SOLDIER named Zack. He worked with the Great General Sephiroth and fought in the war with him. Zack made friends with Cloud Strife who was a rookie back then. It was Cloud who killed Sephiroth but Zack also got into trouble. Hojo decided to make them into his specimens, but they escaped. It was then that we Turks were ordered to kill them…" he began. He stopped when he saw the surprised reaction from Yuffie's face; but he still kept his gaze on her while trying to keep a straight face as he proceeded to explain, "We were supposed to let them escape to Midgar, but two SOLDIERs who couldn't hold their fire… well, they were supposed to shoot Cloud, but Zack…" he trailed off when Yuffie turned away from them with a devastated look on her face.

"…he took the bullet for Cloud." Tseng continued.

"And he died?" Yuffie asked as she faced them again with a hurtful look in her eyes.

"Well yeah he did…" Reno said nonchalantly as he shoved his hands uncomfortably inside his pockets.

Yuffie was quiet for a few moments, running Tseng and Reno's words through her head again but she could not wait to react. She felt angry inside. "Are you trying to discourage me from seeing him by telling me lies about him?" she demanded with an offended look.

"Those aren't lies, Miss Kisaragi, what you just heard was true." Tseng pointed out.

"Yeah right! What are you trying to tell me, like I've been seeing his ghost all along? Why would he even haunt me in the first place—just in case he's really just a spirit now?" Yuffie asked airily. "And if and only if he is indeed a ghost, how come even the children saw him? And we talked to him too! And if he's a ghost, how come I can hold him and he doesn't go through things?" she continued.

The three Turks exchanged confused looks, but before Tseng could say anything, Yuffie just walked away and stomped her way upstairs.

oOoOo

Vincent Valentine arrived in Edge around evening already because he walked all the way from the hacienda. Upon arrival, he decided to look for the said clinic himself but once he already toured the whole area, he realized that maybe the clinic does not even have a signboard. "Maybe it doesn't even look like a clinic at all…" he thought as he turned around and saw an old-looking house with vines and cracks on its walls. "Should I ask for directions?" he was wondering to himself when he saw that there was a single light illuminating from one of the rooms from that house and he could see it through the second floor window. He saw that the streets were already deserted and he wondered what time it was. "Maybe everyone's having dinner now…" he was thinking before walking away. "I mustn't disturb that house's peace. Its owners must be having dinner too… I wouldn't want my own dinner interrupted too." he thought with a serious look on his face as he continued to walk around Edge for the second time, then a third, and a fourth.

By the fifth time he was walking around and searching for clinics, he realized that he ended up standing before that same old house once more. There was still that single light coming from inside.

Keeping a straight face, Vincent decided to finally approach the house. The light, for some reason, attracted him. He could tell from the way the light would seem to move at times whenever the wind would blow that it was coming from a single candle.

When he was already in front of the door, he took a deep breath before knocking three times.

Then the whole area fell silent. Even the wind died.

He looked behind him to inspect his surroundings, wondering why it was suddenly very quiet.

He was interrupted when he heard the door creaking open and he turned his gaze back in front of him to see who opened the door… and his red eyes widened in bewilderment.

A lady who appeared to be in her mid-20's stared up at Vincent with her eyes wide in surprise. She was wearing a blue top with white lace and an asymmetrical black skirt. She was barefoot.

Vincent continued to stare at her, wondering if he was hallucinating or not, but then he heard her speak in a gentle tone: "Vincent, you came."

He opened his mouth to speak her name, but no sound came out.

She just smiled at him. "Come inside." She said as she opened the door further for him as she stepped aside to give way.

oOoOo

Yuffie was looking outside the window from Tifa's room. She decided to hang out there until she is sure that everyone's asleep; after all, Tifa isn't around to tell her to get out and not to mess her things.

She looked back, scanning the bedroom. "Well her room's messy in the first place anyway so what's the warning for?" she thought with a silly smile on her face before turning her attention back to the night sky. Her facial expression saddened as she took a deep breath. "I'm sure she's having a better evening. Stupid Turks who like to snoop around. Gawds! Especially that Tseng! I'll bet he's just trying to be concerned about my safety for the sake of having someone to watch over since Rufus isn't here. Hmf. If he and his Turks are just missing Rufus, why can't they just go live in the hacienda with Tifa and Vincent?" she muttered as she crossed her arms.

She observed the quiet streets of Edge. She could tell that it was already late—probably past midnight already. She did not even notice the bar opening. "Hmf. I'll bet Tifa would like to know that the Turks didn't run her business tonight." She said before getting her mobile phone from her pocket to start texting Tifa about it, but she was interrupted when she heard a "Psst" coming from the streets.

She did not bother continuing her message; she just erased it and placed her mobile phone inside her pocket again before looking down at the streets. Her eyes widened in joy as she smiled.

There he was, standing there with the same kind and gentle smile on his face. He reached out a hand to her.

She chuckled lightly as she blushed. She looked behind her, cautious of her surroundings, and then jumped out of the window, landing safely on her feet.

"You're really good." He told her.

She smiled sweetly at him. "I was trained to do that." she said before taking his hand.

He observed her eyes. "You look distressed." He remarked with a concerned look on his face.

She pouted. "Just get me out of here, Zack." She said with a miserable tone.

His smile faded a little. "But where are we going?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Anywhere." She answered.

He looked up at the skies and squeezed her hand. "I know a place where you can chill and relax." He said before leading the way.

oOoOo

On her way to the kitchen to have a glass of water, Tifa took a glance at the old grandfather's clock in the hallway leading to the living room area. It was already past 1 in the morning and Vincent has not even returned.

She continued her way to the kitchen and when she arrived there, she jumped in surprise when she saw Cloud seated on one of the chairs. He just looked back at her with a blank look on his face.

Tifa placed the candle that she was holding on top of the dining table carefully. "You're here." She said.

Cloud looked at the candle.

She wondered what he was doing in the kitchen in the middle of the night… and even more, she wondered why Rufus did not notice him go there since he was the one guarding the sick Cloud.

She noticed that the chair opposite the place where Cloud is seated is not pushed against the table unlike the other unoccupied seats. When she looked at him again, she saw him gazing at the emptiness of the chair in front of him.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she went over to the fridge to get the pitcher of water before getting a glass.

Cloud still did not answer.

"Vincent's not yet back." She pointed out as she poured herself a glass of water and then returned the pitcher inside the fridge. All the while, she was wondering why he wasn't speaking to her.

"Where's Rufus?" she asked. Maybe he'd answer.

But he did not.

She breathed in, looking at him with a frustrated look on her face. "I really understand now why nothing really worked out between the two of us. You're very uncommunicative." She said before decided to leave him alone there, but then she stopped in her tracks when she heard him speak, "I'm leaving soon."

She felt her heart jump. "…Leaving?" she asked before turning back to him again. She studied the calm look on his face as he continued to stare at the empty chair facing him.

Tifa approached him. "Where are you going?" she asked sternly.

He smiled calmly, "…somewhere."

She settled her glass on the table and crossed her arms, staring at him frustratingly. "Well can't you tell me where?" she asked. She just felt offended at that moment upon realizing that he will never open up to her no matter how much she tries to convince him that she can be a good friend to him too. She had to admit she was jealous of Rufus when she found out that Cloud had opened up to him that afternoon, while compared to Rufus, she had known Cloud for a much longer time. "And why would you leave? Aren't you happy with us?" she asked exasperatingly.

"Tifa," he looked at her with a solemn look on his face. "Sometimes, for the sake of the happiness of others, we have to make big sacrifices." He explained.

She could feel tears welling in her eyes. "But what if I'm… I'm selfish enough to say that I… don't want you to leave? I thought we'd be a family? With Rufus and Vincent and the others back in Edge? What if I tell you that it's like I'm going to lose a brother if you leave? How can we ever be a family without you?" she demanded. Her tears were already falling and she wasn't ashamed to show them to him.

Cloud looked away, bowing down his head. "I'm sorry, Tifa… for making you cry." He said.

She covered her face and she sobbed.

He just sat still, listening to her. "One last request for a friend, Tifa," he said softly.

She swallowed as she wiped her tears away, but they continued to fall anyway. She looked at him sadly. She could already guess where he was going and with that, she was starting to calm down little by little. She crossed her arms as she listened to him: "Please take me back to my room."

Tifa bit her lower lip as she nodded sadly. She reached out a hand to him and the two of them walked together back to the room where he had left Rufus sleeping on the chair by the bed.

Tifa guided him to the bed and aided him in lying down. She brushed back some of his hair from his forehead, stroking his head gently. "One last request for me, Cloud, please?" she asked softly.

Cloud looked up at her with a tired look in his eyes. When he did so, Tifa's eyes widened when she thought she saw an old friend staring back at her too through his eyes. She smiled gently at them. "Watch over me and the others." She said softly with a tone that seemed to falter at the end.

He smiled gently; he seemed to be looking past her shoulders now.

Tifa felt a reassuring pat on her back coming from behind her.

"I've always watched over you too, Tifa. And I'll continue doing so…"

And Cloud closed his eyes.

"Let's go, Cloud."

Tifa's smile faded as she collapsed to the floor.

oOoOo

Yuffie was surprised at Zack when she realized that he had taken her to the old Church in Sector 6. "… Why are we here?" she asked as she let go of him and went over to the flowerbed. She smiled when she saw the flowers and picked one to smell. "Oh well. This place really makes me feel better. Maybe because… this is her Church…" she said. "Thanks for bringing me here…" She said, but she trailed off and her smile faded when she saw someone else standing behind him. Her eyes widened in shock upon recognizing the other person. "…Aerith?" she asked out loud.

Aerith smiled at her.

Yuffie continued to stare unbelievably. She wondered if she was seeing a ghost or not because Aerith did not seem transparent to her. She looked very alive and it was as if she never died at all. She walked over them and reached out a hand to touch Aerith's face. To her surprise, her hand did not go through her. "Aerith, you're here!" she said softly… and she remembered what Tseng and the others had told her about Zack earlier. She withdrew her hand from Aerith and then looked at Zack. He was just standing there, gazing at her with a solemn look on his face. She backed away from them, feeling a cold gush of wind pass through her and it sent shivers down her spine.

"Your mom says Zack will take care of you from now on." She heard Aerith speak.

Yuffie dropped the flower that she had plucked out from the flowerbed earlier and she collapsed to the ground.

Zack just looked at Yuffie in surprise. He turned back to Aerith. "You didn't tell me she'd faint!" he said before rushing to her side to aid Yuffie.

He heard her giggle.

He cradled Yuffie in his arms and looked at Aerith with a gentle smile on his face.

She smiled back at him. "I was sure you'd catch her." She said playfully.

He just smiled. "…Thank you, Aerith." He said; and his gaze shifted to an old friend who was standing beside her and holding her hand. "Thanks, buddy." He said.

Cloud smiled at him. "Thanks. Zack."

Zack felt the cold wind brush against his skin and he collapsed onto the ground with Yuffie still in his arms.

oOoOo

"Thank you, Rufus. Take care of Tifa."

Rufus ShinRa opened his eyes and he realized that it was already morning. "Cloud?" he mumbled.

He still felt sleepy as he stared at Cloud lying on the bed without a blanket and looking so pale. He got up from the chair to check on him especially when he realized that he was not breathing anymore, but stopped in his tracks when he felt something bump against his leg when he attempted to take a step forward to the bed. He began to feel more nervous when he saw that it was Tifa unconscious on the floor. "Shit." He muttered in panic as his eyes widened. He knelt down and pressed his index and middle fingers onto her neck to feel for some pulse. He felt somewhat relieved to find out that she was alive and her pulse was normal. "She must've fallen asleep here… but why here?" he thought before he got up and went over to Cloud to see what was wrong.

Rufus was quiet as he slowly got hold of Cloud's wrist and tried to feel for a pulse…

There was none.

Rufus felt as if his heart had sunk and for some reason, he felt the emotions rush to his brain, making his head ache. "…Cloud!" he let go of his wrist and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. He continued to repeat his friend's name sternly as he shook him.

Tifa opened her eyes when she heard the noise and she instantly got up, not caring if there was a sudden rush of blood to her head. She just stared at Rufus, desperately trying to wake up Cloud, even though he knows that he would never wake up again. Tifa thought she was watching a child reacting towards a death of a dear friend… and she wondered if Rufus noticed it, but he was crying.

Her lips trembled as she felt sorry for Rufus. She knew he had found a best friend in Cloud, and she knew he hated losing the ones dear to him. "Rufus, that's enough…" she said with a trembling tone as she went over to him and held him back from Cloud.

Rufus just stared at Cloud with a devastated look on his face.

Tifa embraced him from behind, burying her face against his back as she breathed in to calm herself down. She could feel no tears in her eyes for she knew that she should not be sad regarding her friend's death. "Everything's fine, Rufus, everything's fine." She said reassuringly with a faint smile on her face.

Rufus continued to stare at Cloud with a disturbed look on his face. He stood still for several moments with Tifa's arms still wrapped around him from behind. And he breathed in. "He'll be fine…" he said softly.

Tifa was surprised with his words.

"He's with her now, I'll bet; it's what he's always been praying for, I'm sure. So I guess we should be happy for him instead of mourning." He explained with a solemn smile on his face. "And I'm sure there's a reason for this." He moved away from Tifa and walked over to Cloud.

Tifa watched quietly as Rufus just stood by the bed and stared at Cloud with a faint smile on his face. "…I just don't know what. I wish you could've told me." He said as if speaking to him.

They were interrupted when they heard the sound of the front door closing, followed by the sound of footsteps nearing the room. Soon enough, Vincent Valentine came into view from the doorway with a woman standing from behind him.

Rufus stared at the woman with a surprised look on his face. He could recognize her from old records regarding ShinRa employees from the time when his old man became the President.

Vincent just stared calmly at Cloud in silence before speaking up, "I guess you're right, Lucrecia."

Lucrecia just stood still, looking at Cloud with a peaceful smile on her face.

oOoOo

To be continued.

Author's Note: The last chapter is coming up. La-di-da.