Reno and Rude came loudly into the teashop. Shera's delicate nerves nearly made her drop the teacup. She coughed and readjusted her glasses. Yuffie rolled her eyes and didn't stop her task: putting tins back on the shelves. Reno whistled while approaching the counter and watched Yuffie work.
"Rich girl doing hard labor!" he declared.
Yuffie turned and gave him a proper raspberry before neatly scooting a tin back onto a shelf. She took her hands away and cracked her knuckles.
"How do you like your tea, Shera?" Yuffie asked.
"It's amazing," Shera replied. "I never thought that tea could taste this good."
Yuffie smiled and bowed her head before going back to the other two customers.
"If you're here for the usual," Yuffie said, "You might want to wait a while…Tifa's kinda busy with…"
Before Yuffie could finish, Cloud came bursting through the door with a tray in his hands. Tifa filed behind him quickly in protest, with a teapot and full kettle in her hands.
"Stop showing yourself to people," she muttered quietly (so no one could hear). "Wasn't Shera enough?"
"I sensei," Cloud replied. "You senpai. Who obeys who?"
He set the tray on the counter and went to shake the recent customers hands.
Tifa slumped her shoulders in defeat and set the kettle and teapot on the counter. Shera gave her a few sly stares. Her eyes darted from Cloud to Tifa at every few seconds.
"I'm new here," he replied. "My name's Cloud. And you're…"
"Reno…this is Rude…we work at the bakery."
"Why weren't you here this morning?" Tifa asked.
The bakery workers replied in unison: "Tseng!"
"Still mad at you for burning the bread?" Yuffie teased.
Reno gave Yuffie a dirty look. Rude noticed that the Styrofoam cups on the tray had names written on them. One of them had his name. In the middle of the tray was a teacup and a white timer.
"May I," he asked briefly.
"Sure!" Tifa replied.
"No!" Cloud interrupted. "Not yet…we're waiting."
"For what?" Tifa asked.
Zack and Aerith arrived at the door. Like a gentleman, Zack opened the door for his girlfriend, and she walked in while taking off her scarf. She glanced around nervously, while Zack shut the door behind him. Aerith saw Yuffie at the counter and gasped.
"We were waiting for you!" Cloud announced.
Zack gave Cloud a good examination but didn't recognize him as anyone he knew. Aerith, once again, shrugged innocently. Cloud lifted the tray from counter and held it for people to take their teas (all labeled). Aerith was still without a tea. She stayed in the corner and was barely noticed.
"And what tea do you like?" Cloud asked her.
"Me?" she asked. "I like red and green teas."
Tifa turned on her heels and looked at her fifty-odd teas on the shelves. Cloud examined it with her and the conversed together as if they were alone.
"Rooibos Sweet Amore?" Tifa asked.
"With Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls," Cloud answered.
"Clean and fragrant," Tifa declared.
"My beautiful senpai, I believe you're learning."
"I'm not following," Aerith said.
"Get them," Tifa commanded.
Yuffie nodded and retrieved them. Shera watched curiously. Tifa opened up the tins and scooped two generous scoops of each tea. She poured the boiled water into the teapot and closed it. Then she turned the dial on the timer.
"You had it ready for us, Teef?" Zack asked. "Is it fresh?"
"Thank your stars that it's fresh, Zack," Tifa replied. "I almost had a mind to microwave this morning's batch for you!"
The whole ensemble laughed. Zack stopped to drink his tea, but Cloud reached over and grabbed his wrist.
"That tea you have is special," Cloud informed. "Not yet."
Zack raised his eyebrows and gave Cloud a strange look.
"And who are you to tell me not?" Zack replied curtly.
"The shopkeeper's tea instructor," Cloud answered.
"We can't drink ours yet?" Reno asked.
"If were to tell you," Cloud began, "That all of your Maté Vanas were different from each other…what would you think?"
Everyone looked at each other.
"This morning," Cloud said (as if he were a college professor), "I began teaching Miss Lockhart… a bit of magic. Reno, if you please?"
Reno stared at the Styrofoam cup as if it had been poisoned. He tasted it carefully, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"T-this isn't Maté Vana, is it?"
"It was," Cloud answered. "That is a blend of Maté Vana and Rooibos Chai. All shaken together and brewed in the same pot."
"I love it!" Reno answered. "It's… spicy…"
"Yours," Cloud points to Rude's cup, "Is a blend of MV with Rooibos Caramel…and Zack has his blended with Rooibos Toffee…"
Tifa realized that her apron was too loose and tried to tighten the strings. All she accomplished were grunts and strains. Cloud saw her struggling and came to her aid behind the counter.
"I'll get if for you," Cloud offered.
Tifa smiled gratefully and turned around, pulling up her ponytail. Cloud retied the strings around her neck and waist. Zack and Reno let their jaws drop in shock. Rude was too busy—smacking lips over his tea—to care. A big smile was on his face.
"I've been thinking that we need to buy more teapots for this," Tifa thought aloud. "How about two or three?"
"Don't be silly," Cloud replied. "We need four or five more at least."
Reno liked his tea…but he didn't want to. He was frowning.
"Tea blending," Reno announced. "How come I never thought of that?"
"Because you don't know a thing about tea," Rude replied mockingly.
Yuffie opened her mouth and let out a whoop. Reno didn't find it as funny as she did.
"Is that what your doing to mine?" Aerith asked nervously.
"Don't worry," Tifa assured her. "You're gonna love it!"
The timer went off, and Tifa jerked it to a stop because she hated the noise. She poured the tea and handed it to Aerith. Tifa noticed a slight uneasiness on Aerith's face but didn't make a scene about it.
At first impression, Aerith thought that Tifa had given her a hot cup of expensive perfume. At second impression, she thought she was drinking out of a rose. Despite herself, she couldn't hide her amazement.
"It's lovely…I've never…"
Aerith pulled herself together and smiled confidently. "I like it very much. I'll order it again next time."
Cloud and Tifa shook hands behind the counter.
--
"I liked that blend," Tifa confessed. "The one we made for Aerith. There's something about it. It's so clear…like drinking a bouquet of flowers or something."
Suffering from six cup of hunger suppressing Maté Vana, they went light at a restaurant. They ordered a small lunch a Chicken Caesar salad. Split between them. With no bread while waiting. Between them, they brought a thermos, filled with a tea blend that Cloud made behind Tifa's back. He still refused to tell her what it was, but she poured a second cup anyway. Tifa wondered if the restaurant would've minded them bringing their own drinks. She decided that she didn't care.
"It tastes fruity," Tifa observed. "With sour cherries, I think. But I have more than tea with sour cherries in it…Ah, Cloud! Just tell me!"
"Guess," Cloud replied.
"I have over a hundred teas on the shelf!" Tifa complained.
"That's what makes it so much fun!"
Tifa wrinkled her nose in disdain. For a moment, she noticed that people were staring at them from their tables. She took another sip, and half of it came to her.
"An herbal infusion of Sweet Fruit Garden," Tifa said triumphantly.
"And the other?" Cloud asked.
"Not a bloody clue."
Tifa decided to study the color: a light, raspberry red. It had to be a red tea of some sort. But it wasn't flowery, or candy-like, or plain. It was more citrus-y…
"I'm still not getting it!" Tifa whined. "I guess I really don't know all that much about tea…"
"Of course you do," Cloud argued. "If you didn't, you wouldn't have gotten the first one right."
Tifa wished that the food would come. She took one last shot and let herself have a good smell of it. The results shocked her.
"I don't believe it!" Tifa cried. "I thought I smelled Cloud 9 Rooibos in there."
"There you go," Cloud answered.
"I don't believe it!"
"Why not?"
"Cloud 9 has marshmallows in it!"
Cloud became confused, and Tifa saw it on his face. Whenever he got that innocent look on his face, Tifa knew he was being serious.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Cloud asked.
"Sweet Fruit Garden has apples," Tifa began to list, "Candied papaya…raspberries…sour cherries (which I already mentioned)…grapes…"
"But Cloud 9 has citrus pieces and strawberry," Cloud reminded. "Marshmallows goes well with the candied papaya…and don't you like it?"
"I do."
"So why are you complaining?"
Tifa put down the restaurant mug and sighed.
"I'm not complaining," she replied. "I'm just saying that fruit and marshmallows is a funny idea…"
In a strange gesture, Cloud took her hand and gloved it between his. He smoothed it with his palms and patted it gently.
"Tifa, you're going to have to change that attitude."
"What attitude?" she asked.
"Acknowledging ingredients over smell and taste," he replied.
Tifa felt her cheeks go hot, and she smiled.
--
Meanwhile, several tables down, people indeed were watching.
Zack was in a foul mood. He had originally planned a nice lunch alone with his girlfriend, but the party of two had swelled to a party of five at a large table. And lunch was far from their minds.
Yuffie hardly contained the thrill of it and made a point of telling everyone. Her stares were obvious and badly concealed, so much so that Aerith had to scold her every five minutes.
"I can't believe we're spending our lunch breaks like this," Zack mumbled.
"You don't have a lunch break," Reno replied. "Your dad owns half the town."
"And my dad owns the other half," Yuffie cooed.
"Which is why I wonder," Aerith replied. "Yuffie, why are you working for that girl?"
Yuffie flinched after hearing "that girl". Something flared inside of her.
"My dad wanted me to be responsible," Yuffie answered defensively. "My mother likes her…and it's oodles of fun! And I'm getting extra money!"
Reno sighed loudly, and everyone at the table heard it.
"What's with you?" Yuffie asked.
"It makes perfect sense," Reno jabbered on. "Tifa's a one-of-a-kind girl. Everyone one-of-a-kind girl needs a one-of-kind guy. And I ain't…"
"You'll always have Elena," Zack responded. "She likes you…"
"No, she likes Tseng," Rude replied snidely.
Zack sat back in his chair and laughed. Rude chuckled. Reno cried on the inside.
"You jerks," Reno muttered.
Aerith pinched her boyfriend on the shoulder. He saw the scowl on her face and stopped laughing.
"I wish I was as lucky as him," Reno continued. "Who his he anyway?"
"He's a traveler," Yuffie replied. "He lives here now."
"But from where?" Zack asked.
Yuffie shrugged her shoulders. "Tifa told me that she found him face first in the snow. She says that's all she knows about him…"
"Where does he live?" Aerith asked.
"With Tifa."
Reno opened his mouth in horror.
"He lives with her?!" he cried.
"He can't go anywhere else," Yuffie replied. "And I envy her. He's so cool! He makes really yummy coffee! And tea!"
"So he's a tea enthusiast too," Zack replied. "Wow, Reno…you really are screwed."
Reno groaned and nodded assent. He manned up and smiled.
"Ah, well…there's plenty of fish in the sea…"
--
A few minutes later, Tifa saw lunch coming around the corner. Cloud wasn't paying attention. The salads came to the table, and Cloud barely noticed the waiter come and go. Tifa looked at him, wondering if something was wrong. For a moment, she wondered if it was his injuries, but then she remembered that all his injuries were gone.
"You okay?" Tifa asked.
"Sure…"
"Is something the matter?"
"I don't know…"
Tifa saw his eyes tense and harden… a stark contrast to the kindness she usually saw in his eyes. The mystery behind them hadn't faltered. Five people came through the door; no one but two people were related to each other. Those two included Vincent. The other man was unidentified.
Cloud turned towards their direction like a robot, and he seemed to be preparing for something. Tifa drew her eyes toward the door and saw Vincent. She had a mind to wave him over but didn't. And the man who was with Vincent…she didn't recognize him from anywhere. Tifa started to feel that something was terribly wrong.
The man, as she observed, was a physical contrast to Vincent. He was taller, younger, and had lighter hair. He was attractive, like Vincent, but his looks were more lightly colored. His expression was more mischievous.
But Cloud began to change. For a moment, his hostile alertness lingered to suspicion. Then, his expression changed to bewilderment, as if he were being informed about a misunderstanding. He smiled and laughed at himself before turning his back on the door.
Tifa questioned him with her face and tried to ask, but didn't know how.
"False alarm," Cloud said. "I got worked up over nothing."
"T-the forces of evil?" Tifa asked (trying to joke).
"You could say that."
"I love your indirectness," she replied sarcastically.
--
There was a frightening stillness in the air. Things were happening, and gears were turning. Something was happening in a place that was far way from our world, and yet it was close to our world at the same time. A meeting was taking place, and what a drastic, terrible meeting it would be. The wind was two steps from convulsing.
The shadows took their seats. The head, with a rather young face, sat proudly at the largest seat. His closest subordinates sat near him with grave faces, boiling for a fight.
"Thank you for joining us tonight," the head shadow said graciously. "We have an important matter to discuss…which you must already be aware of."
The shadows hissed in seething, contained rage.
"We have harvested from this village for the past 200 years, my beloved friends…and we've been driven away from villages before. Now, another one of these pests have come to drive us out again. Will you have it?"
"NO!" the shadows cried.
The shadows growled and stomped on the floor, war cries on their breath. The head shadow raised his hand and quieted them.
"But their generations have grown strong," one informed. "This one was not even used to his body…and we sent fifty of us to exterminate him…but sire…only twelve of them came back! He's probably healed himself by now too. We must leave again. There's no way around it…"
The head shadow got out of his chair and walked around all of the shadows. He stopped behind this shadow in particular.
"Go on," the head shadow replied.
"It is something I heard," the poor shadow confessed. "It was another city like us…a man from Over There came to the human town they were feasting on. They had been there for over 400 years…and they decided to attack him…some became frightened and took human forms in the town…"
"And what of this fellow city of ours?" the head shadow asked calmly.
"All dead!" the shadow cried. "He killed them all! Just one man! And that was the last generation! Oh, they have grown so strong, my lord! Too strong! It is folly!"
The head shadow put his hand on the poor wretch's shoulder. "And do you know why they were all killed?"
"Why, my lord?"
"Because they neglected to destroy the weak link in their chain…"
The shadow felt something slice through him. His mouth opened in shock, and his body fell forward onto the table. The shadows quivered in fear as they saw the point of a sword through his chest. The shadow's body dissipated into thin air, leaving the sword pinned into the chair and still in its master's hand. The head shadow jerked his sword out and made it flashed out of his hands.
"Does anyone have anymore objections?" he replied coolly.
The shadows shook their heads.
"Good…if you are my allies, and you love our way of life dearly…you will follow me…"
--
The shop had closed a long time ago, and Yuffie had left for home. Cloud pulled out tins, again without Tifa's permission. Tifa saw her chamomile tea, along with three red teas, sitting on the counter. Her guest had already plundered them, and the water had already been boiled and put to use.
"I wish you wouldn't do that," Tifa muttered. "Do I have to put a leash on you?"
"I only use what I need," Cloud replied. "Last one's ready."
Tifa noticed a handkerchief on the counter. Cloud took it and began to tie it around her eyes. She grabbed his wrists before he could finish it.
"What are you…?!"
"I will be testing you on taste and smell," Cloud replied. "It's mandatory!"
Tifa submitted. She felt the handkerchief tighten around her head and flinch.
"Is it too tight?" Cloud asked.
She shook her head. "Fire away."
She heard the teapot clanking, the liquid pouring, and the steam coming up. She heard it four times. She was led somewhere in her blindness, and a mug was carefully placed in her hands.
"It's plain old chamomile," Tifa answered.
"That's a gimme," Cloud replied.
Tifa was surprised when she realized that the mug was only filled halfway. She drank it anyway.
"Hit me again," she replied confidently. "This is child's play."
She wished that she had never said it. The next one was tricky, taking several sniffs and tastes to figure out.
"Apple Lemon Pomegranate and Chamomile!" Tifa cried. "You heel! You made it difficult on purpose!"
She roughly gave him the mug back.
"And you said it was 'child's play'…"
"Don't play with my words, you…you…"
She felt the mug being handed back to her. The next one was much easier: Chamomile and Rooibos Orange. The smell gave it away completely.
"Feeling better?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah…what's next…"
"The last one…"
The last one she couldn't quite tell. The last one had a creamy sensation to it, but even that was vague.
"You gave me another hard one," Tifa muttered. "Are you trying to make things difficult for me?"
"Are you giving up?" Cloud asked in mock-horror.
"No, I'm not!" Tifa replied. "It…it's not Rooibos Toffee…that's too strong…it's definitely not Haute Chocolate…so it has to be…has to be…"
Tifa felt a light affectionate kiss on her ear. At first, she reacted by doing nothing. She felt him brush a trail of kisses under her hairline, which migrated across her neck. She turned her head and tugged the handkerchief off. The expression on his face was impish…and yet fearful.
"Rooibos Vanilla," Tifa answered. "It's Chamomile blended with Rooibos Vanilla. I'm sure of it."
"Perfect," Cloud said. "But your senses need work…"
"That wasn't affection between friends," Tifa interrupted.
"I didn't intend for it to be," Cloud replied.
Tifa pulled away from him and went to wash the mug in the sink. She hoped to God that he wouldn't follow her. God had other plans. She felt his hands trail down her arms and stop above her elbows. He smelled her hair gently and made a humming noise. Tifa didn't know how to get away...or how to want to get away. She struggled feebly.
"S-stop," she said softly.
He didn't.
"Stop," she repeated more loudly. She cried out a third time in a louder voice.
"Stop it!"
Cloud finally let her go in slight disappointment. "You don't like me?"
Tifa turned around to face him. "Liking isn't enough…I barely even know who you are…and we've only known each other for less than two weeks…"
"So you don't trust me." It was a statement, not a question.
"I don't know," Tifa replied in distress. "I just…I haven't known you long enough…"
Cloud advanced towards her again. Tifa knew she was backed up against the sink. Trapped like a mouse.
"Knowing someone completely and trusting someone are two different things," he said.
"S-stay away from me!"
He was close to her, but he didn't embrace her or catch her with his hands. He simply leaned forward and briefly captured her lips with his. Too briefly.
"I think it's time to go to bed," Cloud said softly.
Tifa nodded and walked out of the kitchen as fast as she could. Cloud let out a heavy, dejected sigh and put away the tins.
