A/N: Thanks for the continued support! Chapter's a little on the short side... sorry!
P.S those who were online when I first uploaded this chapter, I took it down for a little while to add in the last part. SORRY!
Here's chapter 11, quite important, and time skip will be here soon, so Cloud and Tifa will just be apart for a few more chapters. Bear with me!
Take Me With You: Chapter 11
The Ninja and Welcome to Cosmo Canyon
It would be two months before anyone visited Tifa, surprisingly, it was Rufus. Tifa was getting used to the repetition of everyday life, she stopped calling Elmyra a month ago, since there was nothing to tell her. The only variations in her life now are that of food and perhaps the position she slept in. Cissnei had been nice as always though, never failed to comfort her with girls' talk at night about the changes in Midgar fashion, only she wasn't quite interested in them. There's a feminine lady in this Turk that Cissnei fail to conceal at night. Perhaps Tifa will ask about Cissnei's birth, and the reason she joined the Turks.
Rufus looked different. Rather than the casual wear he usually donned on, he now wore a white business suit and a matching jacket over a black shirt. At 19, he looked nothing short of professional. His dirty blonde hair was combed back, with some strains of fringe hanging by the side of his face, framing his angled cheekbones. He was now, officially a Shinra heir.
Tifa was informed of his arrival the night before. Cissnei and the maids went crazy cleaning up any traces of dirt in the East Wing. She had sat in bed thinking of Rufus. She wasn't that close to him, no. But he did teach her math when they were younger, that was his best subject. Often, he would shuffle her hair, pinch her cheeks or treat her to popsicles. To Tifa, he was the elder brother that she paid little attention to. She was glad he came.
Except, he was different. Arriving in a silver limousine, he had two bodyguards beside him and two Turks, of which she could tell from the similarity in their uniform with Cissnei and Reno. Rude stood beside him with another man with a big black mole in the centre of his forehead, and black hair tied tightly behind in a small pony tail. Rufus was no longer the big brother she had. That sent a bitter taste down her throat, choking her.
She didn't address him like Cissnei and the maids. Rather, she walked to him and hugged him, partially in desperation that anyone visited at all, and partially to test just how much he had changed. He wrapped a protective arm around her and waved the other to dismiss Rude and the other man, who came forward to peel her off.
"Let's go to your room." Rufus whispered and she nodded in response before letting go of him.
In Tifa's room, they were left alone. The bodyguards and the Turks all waited outside after Cissnei brought the snacks prepared to Tifa's bedroom from the dining room. When the door closed, Rufus ran the back of his fingers on Tifa's cheeks, down to her chin and up the other cheek before he released his hand. "You've lost weight." He sighed.
She chuckled bitterly. "They fed me so well that I lost all appetite." He nodded, with brows tightly drawn together. "Let's talk." She couldn't help but realize the difference in their relationship, he was still the big brother… but the way he treated her is just… different.
They sat beside each other on the couch and Tifa hugged her legs to her chest while Rufus enveloped her with a caring arm. "I'm like a prisoner here." She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. "It's suffocating."
Rufus released his hand and adjusted himself in his seat, slightly closer to Tifa. "Me too." He exhaled softly. "I don't even know who was my father before this. Now, I'm being trained as his successor. I exist solely to expand his company." Tifa looked over at Rufus. His eyes were fixed to the floor, the ice blue turned into dark indigo, she could sense the anger and hurt left unspoken.
"I thought family members were supposed to… care… for one another." He struggled to find the word. "Not use each other."
She couldn't find the right words to reply, so all she could do was to hold his hand as he spoke. The next few words came in a soft whisper, but she dismisses them, though with much doubt. "Maybe I should use it against him…"
She squeezed his hand and smiled, looking deep into his dim eyes. "Hey, I'm here. Don't worry too much about family affairs in Shinra, you have us. Aerith and I, though we're not related by blood, we've been family for a long time!" He looked up at her, eyes slightly widened. She was sincere, if there was anything at all, she'd wish that they stay together, like a family. "We're here for you."
Rufus pulled Tifa into her arms, burying her face into his chest, the tightness nearly suffocating her. He kissed the back of her head, smelling the wonderful scent of her hair. "Do you really want to be my family?" He asked, softly stroking her head.
Tifa frowned in confusion. The way Rufus phrased it, sounded a little different from the way she did. But she dismisses the thought and nodded. "Of course."
Rufus slowly pulled her beside him again, and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'm glad I have you." He murmured. "I'll visit again."
The place Rufus kissed sent chills down her body. It was different from the lingering heat Cloud left on her body. She shifted unnervingly but kept up with the smile on her lips. She wasn't that keen in seeing Rufus again, less than what she had expected before. "If you need anything, just call me." He smiled warmly, passing a PHS to her. "I've set my number, Aerith's number and Elmyra's number."
He placed the PHS back into a white box with the Shinra Electric power Company seal on it. "Thank you!" she beamed at the thought of talking to Aerith again.
"I'll see you soon." He grinned, before exiting the door.
A pair of wide brown eyes shimmered from the ventilation channel above Tifa Lockheart.
xXx
Cloud and Zack stared blankly at the talking animal. Unlike the wolves in the train cabin, this looks more like a feline. Its burning tail shot up and the ochre eyes scrutinized them. "Young men travelling from…" He sniffed the air. "Nibelheim." The feline growled deep in his throat as recognition hit.
"Country boys travelling past Cosmo Canyon… To Gongaga perhaps? To join SOLDIER?" The animal snarled, baring its fangs, ready to strike. "SOLDIERs, Turks and Shinra took Deneh from us! Anyone related to them is an enemy to Cosmo Canyon!" He howled raucously and all the wolves jumped from the train cabins. "No trains, no men, no Shinras shall pass!" Cloud and Zack pressed their backs against each other and looked at the wolves surrounding them.
Cloud could feel the fear building in his chest as the wolves move in closer to them under their red commando. He flinched slightly when Zack spoke in a confident and strong voice. "We are not going to join SOLDIER." He lied, "We are going to the Ancient Forest. After which, we were thinking of going to the temple of Ancients through Gongaga."
"Ancient Forest?" The red Feline moved forward, its tail slightly lowered. "Only the chosen few can enter Ancient Forest. It is the place of the planet's calling where the legendary Ultimate weapon guards. What business do you have there?"
Zack spoke with an alien maturity and composure which sends beads of perspiration down Cloud's temples. "We are the chosen few with Cetra blood. The only few left in the world. My friend here," he points to Cloud. "is especially gifted." Cloud frowned at that. Zack didn't have to include him in this lie. "We are here under our guardian's command to listen to the voices of the planet, and decide our future."
Zack looked over at Cloud and nodded to assure him. He knew that Cosmo Canyon is a place for those who wish to pursue the study of the planet life. The guardians are extremely concerned about the dying planet, and he knew just what would get them on Cosmo Canyon's good side.
The red feline moved in closer to them and sniffed their scent before it sighed. "I can sense Cetra blood..." It nodded before continuing, "The planet is facing its end soon. According to Cosmo Canyon study, it will only be a few decades more before the end. Yet there is not much we can do." It moved its tail and the wolves disperse, forming a triangle formation behind it. "I'm glad to know that real ancient blood still exists today. I am Nanaki, and we welcome you to Cosmo Canyon."
xXx
That night, Cissnei didn't return to the bedroom. Tifa slipped under the covers, trying to sleep, knowing better than to question what a Turk does. When she moved her legs in, she kicked something soft and pushed the blanket away.
"Oooow! You kicked my ass!" A young girl around the age of 11 or 12 shrieked. Wearing a white singlet and matching shorts, she looked like a hyperactive kid in her shoulder length ebony hair. "How dare you injure the single White Rose of Wutai! Haven't your parents taught you to treat rarity with care?" She frowned, crossing her arms and kicking the blanket off the bed.
"Hello, little girl." Tifa tried to retain her cool with this young lady. "What business do you have under my blanket?" She smiled, trying to be as affable as possible.
"Well, well. Shinra woman, I am here to conquer evil! For my homeland!" She shouted, and lunged forward at Tifa with a loud 'HYAAAAAAAAA!'. Tifa dodged her unbalanced kicks but the little girl countered by pulling a metallic cross from beneath the bed and threw it at her. Tifa knew better than to risk a scrape on the sharp edges and kicked herself off the bed. The metal cross hit the nearby closet and pierced through the wooden frame, breaking the door apart before falling back to the floor with a loud 'clang'. Tifa turned just in time to block the next weak punch the little girl sent, aimed at her jaw and pushed her away from where the metal cross landed. "Ungh!" The little girl struggled in her arms, but Tifa continued to hold her by her neck and crushed her into the wall beside them.
"Hngh!" The little girl struggled to breathe. Tifa wanted to give her a warning, but stopped before she suffocated. The next moment came in complete surprise as the little girl started crying, wailing and weeping. Tifa loosened her grip and the little girl fell to her knees, tears flowing from her eyes like a fountain. "How dare you disgrace me!"
Tifa kneeled by the girl and wiped her tears away. "Now, now. Who was the one that attacked first?"
"It's because strong people like you keep helpin' Shinra that so many of our people hafta die!" She screamed, punching softly on Tifa's chest. Her voice was shrill against her ear, but Tifa didn't flinch at her thunderous cries. "I wanna go home!"
Home? Tifa wanted to go home too, away from this imprisonment, to be in Cloud's arms, showered with his kisses. She missed him. This little girl missed her parents, but Tifa doesn't even know if her parents remember her. If Tifa was more expressive, she would cry like this little girl too, throwing tantrums about wanting to go home. Wanting her parents, wanting to know what exactly happened. But she couldn't. In that moment, Tifa envied the girl.
Tifa pulled the girl into her arms and rubbed the back of her head. "I'm not helping Shinra, if that is what you believe." Tifa whispered. "I'm being held prisoner here, well, kinda."
The little girl sniffed and looked up to stare into Tifa with her reddened brown eyes. "But President Shinra's son kissed you! I saw it!"
Tifa shook her head. "We aren't what you think we are." She smiled at the little girl and reached into her pajamas' collar for the pair of rings. "I already have someone I intend to spend my life with. And he's not Rufus Shinra. Rufus and I are just from the same orphanage before we came to Midgar."
Yuffie stared at the ring, a suspicious gleam of glee shone in her eyes before it dimmed with a closer inspection of the rings. "Pfftshh… it's just some cheap stuff."
Tifa nodded, but stroked the rings with such tender affection in her eyes that Yuffie wondered about the guy she spoke about. "You miss someone too?" She asked.
Tifa smiled at the little girl and nodded again, a gentle smile on her lips. "Someone more important than my life."
Yuffie stared at the older woman, and touched the rings that were held so close to the woman's heart. It was rough and badly molded, too cheap to be near princess Yuffie, but this woman treated it like the most precious treasure in the world. Is this the power of love? She wondered. Maybe when she falls in love, her eyesight will turn bad and the cheap stuff will look like gems… Not a good thing for Ninjas that steal only the most expensive of gems. She will be out of business!
"What is your name, little girl?" The older woman asked. Yuffie isn't a little girl! Yuffie is The Great Ninja of Wutai, the only White Rose!
"Don't call me little girl! I am the champion of the earth and the sky. I am the conqueror of evil. The single white rose of Wutai... Yuffie Kisaragi! Eleven years old now, but wiser than many!" The little girl stood up, with her right hand fisted in the air. "Woman! Since I like you, you may address me as the Great Ninja Yuffie! Yuffie for short!"
Tifa giggled at the energetic young girl, naivity showing in her dark irises. "Hello there, Yuffie. I am Tifa Lockheart, nice to meet you."
"Tifa?" Yuffie asked. "Your name sound Wutaian! Are you from Wutai as well? Hmmmmn. Wow, look at your hair, and your eyes! You look Wutaian, no doubt! We have the most beautiful brown hair and eyes! Though yours is a shade lighter, and redder. Tifa… Tifa…. Yep! We have a few Tifas in Wutai, and a few more Yunas and Rikkus and Namis and Ayumi Hamasakis and and and!"
Tifa laughed at how active this girl was but shook her head. "Sorry… I don't know whether I'm Wutaian or not. I'm here to find out about my birth, actually."
Yuffie leaped into her arms, knocking her breath out. "Well, be glad! The Grrrrrrrreat Ninja Yuffie will assist you!"
"Well, the Turks know…"
"Turks? Well, I'll just get them here now!" Yuffie chirped.
"You mean Cissnei?" Tifa asked, eyebrow crooked.
"Yep, Cissnei and Elena. I used "sleepel" on them! So they're sleeping quietly by the corridor with the other maids." Elena must be the other Turk guarding the West Wing.
"Sleepel…? What's that?"
Yuffie gasped. "You don't know magic?"
"M…magic? You mean like making chicken hatch from a hat or something like that?"
Yuffie laughed cheerfully. "No! Tifa! You don't know magic! HAHAHA! You're really just a village girl, aren't you!"
Tifa blushed at her remark. "I'm a martial artist…"
"It doesn't matter!" Yuffie exclaimed. "You can use magic all the same! I'll teach you! And you teach me to throw em punches!"
Tifa frowned a little. "Okay…"
xXx
"You said the planet is near its end…" Cloud asked Nanaki as they took a seat in the Cosmo Canyon observatory. "How so?"
A flash of hurt shone past Nanaki's ochre eyes. Cloud could sense the love Cosmo Canyon residents have for the planet. Knowledge is a powerful thing, yet it renders those who seek knowledge powerless in the face of destruction.
"I will answer that." An old man glided into the room. Yes- glided in, on a levitating green sphere. "Old" is an understatement. This man is prehistoric. His white heard extended to his stomach and contrasts his bald head in an unflattering manner. He wore a pair of round sunglasses and slips off his nose much too often and scrutinized Cloud through it. "Nice to meet you, I am Bugenhagen, ho ho hoo, the elder of this village."
Cloud squinted his eyes at the floating green ball he sat on, and nodded. "I'm Cloud."
"Heya oldie, I'm Zack!" Zack sounded too friendly for Cloud's liking. "How old are ya?"
"Ho ho hoo, young men with cetra blood. How interesting! I am 125 this year. Ho ho hoo!" The old man stroke his beard before turning his gaze back to Cloud. "Young man, you are especially blessed." He looked deeply into Cloud's eyes. "I see, I see… ho ho hoo!"
Cloud frowned at this. See what? Surely he didn't grow unflattering stubbles overnight. "So, about the planet…"
"Ahhh… That… Yes, indeed as Nanaki, my grandchild," as if on cue, Nanaki growled affectionately by the man's green ball. "has said, the end of the planet is reaching. But the stars tell me that five years from now, a group of blessed stars will congregate and a miracle will happen." He stroked his beard again. "But so will a demonic star rise, and a calamity will happen…"
The last part was said in such profoundly dark tone that Cloud couldn't help but swallow. "Is Shinra part of this?"
"Ho ho hoo! Of course! If it weren't for Shinra's Mako reactors, the lifestream wouldn't be as wrecked as it is now, ho ho hoo. The planet is running out of life force: Mako. Diseases are spreading because plants won't grow in most cities… the situation is bad."
Cloud's heart skipped a beat. He wanted to join SOLDIER for a selfish reason: to be strong enough to protect Tifa and those important to him. He had established that in the cave the day she fell off Mount Nibel. He wasn't strong enough to pull her up… And with this simple reason, he wanted to join SOLDIER. Was he being too naïve?
Zack placed a comforting hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Hey, oldie. We are just village boys… you're telling us these to influence our minds aren't you?" Zack retorted, his voice spiteful. "We can't be the heroes you want us to be."
"Ho ho hoo…" Bugenhagen chuckled lowly. "Even when you have Cetra blood?" He asked. "Will you ditch the planet that made you special?"
Zack swallowed the bitter taste at the back of his throat. "We are joining SOLDIER." He said, bluntly.
Nanaki bare his fangs and roared offensively. Cloud jumped forward, "Zack!"
"SOLDIER?" A loud booming voice echoed in the room as a man with biceps almost bigger than Cloud's head walked in. "Why're these punks from SOLDIER 'ere?" Cloud turned to face 6 gun barrels at point blank.
Shit.
Finally! Tifa's gonna learn magic! Can you recognise the man with huge biceps?