A/N: Whew! it'll start picking up soon...I hope...heheh...A special thanks to Rend, who is kindly reviewing on my chapters in A Time For Love and has started on this one...As always, I love you guys for reviews/alerts/faves and what not! Hopefully some inspiration whill smack me in teh face soon! PEACE
Half The Truth
Tifa won't touch the letter, so it's Cloud who reaches forward, picking it up. He reads it once, then crumbles it into a small ball, chucking it away from him.
"What did it say?" She asks softly.
"That they're safe for now...and to wait for them to contact us." Cloud speaks bitterly.
No one says anything. They're afraid to break the silence, knowing if they speak everyone will crack. Tifa stares at her hands, unsure of what to do. Then she realizes.
"We're helpless, we can't do anything but sit here." She states numbly.
Cloud looks up, surprised.
It was true, all they could do was sit there. They had no leads, nothing, only an description Tifa would have of the people who were here.
"What did they look like?" Cloud asks softly.
"It was just another face, just another customer. He was friendly enough at first...but, I don't know...I can't remember anything...except trying to get to them. And Denzel...Denzel trying to stop my bleeding. I remember that." She says, her voice rough.
"Well, I think it's obvious they were using that man as a distraction, so the others could get into the house." Vincent states.
Tifa nods in agreement.
"Did they say when?" Barret speaks suddenly.
"No." Cloud said, shaking his head slowly.
BAM!
Tifa's fists have slammed onto the table before her, making the group jump and flinch. She's standing, anger burning in her eyes.
"I just can't wait!" She yells, her breath coming heavy.
It's surprising to the rest, how quick her strength came rushing back.
But, as quick as it's there, it's gone again, Tifa slipping onto the ground, her knees giving out.
"Tifa!" Cloud shouts, running to her side.
Her body falls limp against him, her head rolling to the side in a dead faint.
"Tifa..." She looks so much like she did that time, in Aerith's flowers.
"No." He breathes, stopping himself from thinking of that.
He pulls her against his body, holding her gently, knowing she could break any moment. Yuffie walks over, a hand on his shoulder. His eyes meet her's, and she backs away so he can stand, Tifa in his arms.
"Like I said before, holy water can only do so much." She says bitterly.
"She needs to rest, and get her strength back before she can afford to worry about this." Vincent says, Yuffie nodding in agreement.
Cloud swallows, nodding. He carries Tifa back up to the room.
The group sits in silence for a moment, until hearing Tifa's bedroom door shut.
"What're we going to do?" Yuffie asks, her heart hurting.
"Kill them." Barret states simply, a look of rage in his eyes.
Vincent looks at him, almost pitying the fool who dared to take his precious daughter from him. Not to mention the fact stealing Denzel, and nearly beating the woman he thought of as a sister, to death.
Almost.
Of course, whoever did do this would have more than the large, gun-armed man, including a man who had defeated Sephiroth twice, a ninja with a bad temper just waiting to shove her shuriken where the sun don't shine, a woman who could take down pretty much anything with just her fists alone, and a furry friend who had a bite to match his bark. Not to mention himself.
Of course, one question remained unanswered.
Vincent cleared his throat, "When do you plan on giving them the rest of the letter?"
Barret swallows roughly, pulling out the other half he'd torn off from his pocket. He stares at it lightly, Yuffie looking up in surprise.
"Another part?" She rushes over, snatching the letter from his hand.
She reads the looped hand-writing over and over again, frowning, feeling fear and anger well up inside of her.
I'll make sure you pay for what you've done. The world may think your heros, but you have no claim to that title...I'll make you bleed like I did, I'll make you hurt like I did, and I'll take the one thing from your life that keeps you alive.
o
O
o
Cloud laid Tifa softly down onto the bed, brushing her stray locks from her face. It's enough to make her wake. Her eyes scrunch together, as she slowly pieces together what happened. She puts a hand to her forehead as Cloud studies her.
"I hate being helpless." She says, her throat locking up.
"I made a promise I'd protect you a long time ago." He takes her hand sandwiching it between his own hands. "...Even if that means protecting your from yourself."
He lifts her hand, kissing it lightly, his eyes never leaving her.
She manages a small smile, and his mouth twitches slightly in response.
"Thank you." She says.
"For what?"
"For being here with me, for making everything feel like it's going to be ok."
Cloud smiled this time, sitting on the bed with her.
"You've always done it for me, I figure it's time to start paying back."
Tifa smiles again, but he can still see the hurt in her eyes.
"It will be okay...we will get them back, you know that, right?"
Tifa nodded slowly, and she pulled Cloud down onto the bed with all her strength. He fell onto the bed beside of her, wrapping his arms about her once more, waiting for her breath to become steady, and for her to fall into sleep.
A/N: Uh oh...someone's bitter!