The Warrior
Chapter 20
I'm baaaaack.
Someone had cut Sephiroth's hair. This wouldn't have been a mind blowing event had it not been for the fact that it had grown back in seconds, twice as long as it had been before. Rumor had it they'd been chopping at it all morning. Now there was a trail of silver spanning two floors – at one point it had gotten stuck in a moving elevator.
Tifa inwardly winced at the thought as she wandered the hall aimlessly. She'd forgotten what she'd come here to do. It was important, of course she could remember that, but nothing else. Her brow rose a fraction as she passed Reno on his knees with a pair of sheers, hacking away at the ever lengthening, ever thickening mass of writhing silver.
The trail lead to a room – Sephiroth's she assumed. Tseng was there arguing with Angeal over what appeared to be a chainsaw sitting on the floor with shredded bits of hair sticking out of the chain at odd angles. She scooted by them with an apologetic smile, but they paid her no mind.
Her eyes widened a the state of the apartment. Sephiroth's hair had gone virulent like some kind of vine, sprawling across every inch of surface area in a mass of tangled locks, up the walls and across the ceiling. It kriss -crossed the room like a spider's web. She was knee deep in beautiful spools of silver, ducking in and out, and weaving around where it dangled from the ceiling.
"Sephiroth?" Tifa called uncertainly.
"Hnn." A muffled sound down the hall to the left.
Her brow furrowed as she picked her way through. She felt her boot catch on something and looked down to find it wrapped around her ankle, thoroughly wedged into the boot hooks. After some grumbling and furious yanking she stumbled away and continued down the hall, the mass of hair now to her thighs.
"I have something to tell you," She hollered.
"I'm right here." His head poked out of the doorway to what appeared to be a large bathroom. He wielded a pair of scissors in his left hand. He looked ridiculous.
Tifa stopped, perplexed. "Have you tried your sword?"
Sephiroth frowned, "My sword?"
"You know, to cut it?" She waved vaguely at his predicament. It grew another few feet from his latest attempt.
"Is that what you came to tell me?" He asked pointedly, though there was a thoughtful crease to his forehead. Then he was pushing past her and delving down the hall to the end, digging through his hair as if looking for something. He disappeared through a door on the right.
"No," Tifa picked her way after him, anxiously wracking her brain for what she had come here to tell him. "I can't remember."
Sephiroth reappeared again from the room at the far end, one brow arched impossibly high, "Then why are you here?"
She huffed, "Because it's important!"
"Ah-ha!" He exclaimed in triumph. There was a loud thud, followed by a muted curse from the room. Then a relieved, "Finally!" before the man himself stepped out into the hall, his hair officially sheered impossibly short.
"Oh my god!" Tifa's hands flew to her mouth, a sound of horror escaping as her face twisted in dismay, "What did you do to your hair?"
Sephiroth scowled, "I cut it. What does it look like?"
"But..." She shook her head slowly, "But it looks awful!"
He blinked at her. His forehead slowly wrinkled as the weight of her words sank in and then he stormed past her back into the bathroom, no doubt to inspect the mirror. A high pitched shriek answered.
"It'll grow back!" It was unclear whether Sephiroth was trying to convince Tifa, himself, or the mirror whose horrified sound had made both of them jump. "I'm sure my father has something for that too..."
"That's it!" Tifa exclaimed suddenly.
"What's it?" Sephiroth peeked out into the hall, eyes narrowed petulantly – oh but he looked so odd!
"Your father!" She cried happily. "I know who your real father is!"
He stared at her like her brains had started spewing out her ears. " Yes," he drawled, "Most people do."
"No!" Tifa interrupted quickly, "That's the thing – Hojo isn't your father!"
"He's not?" Sephiroth straightened, bewildered by this new train of thought. His hand went to tug thoughtfully on his hair, only to come up empty. He dropped his hand like it had been scalded and crossed his arms imposingly, "Well then, who is?"
She bit her lip, "I can't remember."
The engines had stopped. That was the first thought to emerge from the fog of sleep as Tifa woke. Her eyes opened to the 12 by 6 cabin she occupied, roving from wall to ceiling to floor. It was sparsely decorated if one could even apply the word. All the room could claim for itself aside from the cot was a small table in the corner by the port window.
She sat up with a jaw popping yawn, arms stretched towards the ceiling. The sleep had done her good, but she scarcely remembered much beforehand. A trip to the bridge and she'd nearly passed out in exhaustion. Yuffie and Chaka ended up escorting to her to a cabin for some much needed shut eye, but she was still in the dark as to what was going on or where they were going.
Her shoulders relaxed and her hands settled in her lap as she thought back to the dream, a small frown pulling at her mouth.
He needed to know and keeping it from him would only reflect badly on her the longer she waited. It might not even matter to him, but her conscience would be clear. She just had to work up the nerve to face him again, and therein lay the problem.
A bundle lay on the foot of her bunk. She reached forward, rubbing the dark blue fabric curiously between thumb and forefinger – a Soldier uniform. Well, the bottom half anyway. There was the Soldier belt and a white tank top to go with the ensemble, probably hastily salvaged. Someone must have left it there while she slept.
Tifa hopped out of bed, getting dressed quickly. Maybe someone besides Sephiroth would know what was going on and give her an excuse to postpone her meeting with the silver haired menace.
The bridge was quiet and dark except for one corner of the room, behind the ship's main control platform. Someone had lit a lantern and hung it low over a table, around which sat Chaka, Yuffie, Cid and – to her great surprise – Vincent. She approached curiously, peering around Cid's shoulder as her shadow cast over the table. All heads turned to her.
"Goddamn you – oh, hey Tifa." Cid did a double take, his cigarette bobbing between his teeth as he threw down a card, muttering an offhanded, "Sniveling, pus bucket."
"Yuck." Wutai's princess looked ready to punch him only it was her turn to play. Her eyes narrowed at her cards before deftly choosing one to put down with a vicious gleam in her eyes as she did so . It was a diamond card, like the others, only bigger.
There was a harsh intake of air from the blonde pilot followed by a violent string of profanity that had everyone at the table pausing for the briefest of moments. It was broken shortly by Yuffie's uproarious laughter. In her zeal she fell off the chair, which added another octave to her giggles.
"Woah there kid," Chaka offered a balancing arm as the girl climbed back into her seat wiping tears from her eyes.
"Oh that was beautiful." She said.
"Shut up." Cid had chewed through his cigarette and was retrieving another from his breastpocket.
"Hello Tifa." Vincent addressed her with a quiet nod above the madness that had ensnared their card game. There was a horrible choking sound from the ninja when the Ace of diamonds suddenly landed, taking the hand by surprise at the last minute. The gold gauntlet swept the cards into a neat pile where two others already waited, oblivious to the diminutive one glaring death from across the table.
Something about the man hiding behind a shredded red cape with unruly hair dangling from an equally red bandana and eyes like wildfire casually engaging in a game of cards shocked her to the quick. Not least of which because he'd greeted her for all the world as if this were normal. Last she'd heard he was raiding the underside of Midgar, but then Yuffie and Chaka were to have joined him and they were here now.
She smiled bemusedly, "Vincent...how did you get here?"
"He just showed up." The princess waved a hand in the air, examining the remainder of her hand as if she might eat it.
Someone cleared their throat and spoke, "She means that it was planned that we would rendezvous when Vnicent finished tying up a few loose ends." Chaka offered her an apologetic, if somewhat distracted, smile. "It's been hectic around here, ay?"
"You mean nauseating."
"Motion sickness aside..."
"I'm so hu—ungry!"
"Eat something."
"I can't!"
"They make pills for that you know."
There was a sudden violent jerk under the table followed by a yelp of pain from the tall black man. He hissed through his teeth, scooting back out of the trigger happy foot to his right with a venomous look at the perpetrator.
Tifa found herself slightly transfixed by the game and the interesting group of people it had gathered. Friendly banter had become something alien in her world. It felt like...well, forever since she'd experienced something like that. It was comfortaing.
Another round of cards had been thrown to the table in varying degrees of frustration and possibly amusement, if one noticed the twitch at the corner of Vincent's mouth, just behind his collar. From the looks of things Chaka had won the round with a expulsion of air that announced relief. It was his turned to lead then and a 6 of clubs slid out to center table.
Vincent had followed suit, for that appeared to be the rule of the game, when Cid slapped down a high diamond. He chewed his cigarette once more, waiting for Yuffie's play. His right leg bounced spasmodically.
The aforementioned groaned and tossed up a 3 of spades in answer. "This game is stupid."
"Be quiet. I'm finally gonna win a goddamn round."
"Ohmygod wait!" A hand shot out, snatching the 3 of spades back just as Cid was reaching forward.
"What-hey! You can't do that!"
"Last card, can too!"
A king of hearts took the previous card's place, to which the pilot grumbled, but no other opposition was voiced as he pulled his winnings into a neat stack. Yuffie stuck out her tongue and hummed in defiance.
Tifa shifted on the ball s of her feet. Now she was definitely stalling. "So what's going on?"
"Oh hell."
The brunette blinked. "What?"
"Oh Hell." Cid repeated, glancing up at her. "It's a card game."
"Oh. Oh. Well I meant why did we stop moving?"
Both Chaka and Yuffie groaned.
An intense gleam had come to the pilot's eye as he paused in arranging his hand. A new hand was being dealt, the previous one having been played out. His teeth bared in a snarl, "Those fucking idiots." He spat, "Don't know two shits about engineering. Engine is a fucking disaster. Moony's out picking up parts – he's one of the crew."
Tifa frowned uncertainly, "He won't just turn us in for stealing Shin-Ra property?"
Cid cackled loudly. "Not if wants to keep that hollow head on that scrawny neck of his. Besides, he's got the hero worship thing bad for ol' Quicksilver."
"Don't ask." Chaka said quickly before the martial artist could voice the question at the tip of her tongue. She looked at him and decided that perhaps he was right. "By the way, you've got a lesson in one hour. Meet me on the ground ."
"A lesson?"
"Ya didn't think you were getting out of that just because we're not Shin-Ra flunkies anymore, did you?" The dark skinned man flashed a bright white smile at her. "We've got some catching up to do, ay?"
"I guess so." She admitted with a blush. "I'd forgotten. So where are we now?"
"Just outside of Corel." Cid replied. "You wanna catch up on the plan I'd talk to Sephiroth 'cause I ain't got the foggiest notion. They just keep me around to fly shit."
Yuffie snorted inelegantly from his right, to which he snapped, "Watch it brat."
"He's in his room – it's the one at the end of the hall." Chaka supplied. He glanced up from his cards, "We're looking for a friend of yours?"
"A friend of mine...?" Her heart skipped a beat.
"Yeah, the pointy haired blond - he's got that Cetra girl with him. They blew Midgar the same night that you were captured." He explained, placing a card down absently.
But that couldn't be...could it? "You mean Cloud? But how did you know...?"
Chaka looked up distractedly, "Sephiroth told us."
"Oh." She looked around uncertainly, "I guess...I'll go talk to him then."
As soon as Tifa had turned her back to the table Chaka received a swift kick to the shin, to which his jaw fell open in a silent cry of pain. He glared back at Wutai's princess, mouthing a furious "What?" as he massaged the bruised flesh.
Yuffie's eyes widened meaningfully, lips scrunched disapprovingly as she jerked her head at the martial artist exiting the bridge.
"I didn't do anything!" He protested once Tifa was well beyond earshot.
She made a sound of exasperated disgust. "Guys are so stupid."
"Settle down kiddies, we got a game going on here." Cid interrupted. There was a smugness about him that belied blood letting to come, figuratively speaking of course. Mercy was scarce at this table.
Chaka and Yuffie looked narrowly over their cards at the old man before turning to meet each others gaze. Between the eye brow wriggling, foot nudging under the table, and not so subtle head jerks a dubious alliance was formed.
Tifa descended the stairs with slow, precise steps. It was hard lifting one foot and placing it in front of the other, yet she felt electrified in anticipation, which seemed somewhat contradictory. She didn't know how to face him now, except to pretend that he didn't make her nerves fly off the handle and send her mind into a jumble.
That wasn't easily done.
Not likely is more like it.
When she came to what she thought was his door as per Chaka's instructions she stood there for at least a minute. Twice she lifted her hand to knock and watched as it fell back to her side indecisively. What if he didn't want to see her? Was he mad at her for leaving the way she had?
What if he told her to go away? Ergh, I'm so awful at this.
The door had suddenly opened and Tifa gasped in surprise, jumping back. Her eyes darted like a deer before the hunter and she ran a hand through her hair, looking in every possible direction that wasn't his face.
"Yes?"
A flush was crawling its way up her neck and onto her face. It assuredly had nothing to do with the heat that she could feel emanating off him or the fact that his eyes were intently on her as she stood there poised to flee. She dragged her eyes to his and felt her skin burning red at the subtle twitch at the corner of his mouth. Was he trying not to laugh? "I...I'm sorry." Tifa stammered, her hands wringing behind her back where they'd hidden themselves, "Can I come in?"
Sephiroth tilted his head a fraction, intrigued, "It's rather cramped in here," He cautioned, stepping aside for her to enter, "But of course you are always welcome."
His voice rippled over her, sinking into the pit of her stomach with a thrilling chill. She moved inside with more grace than her jellied knees should have been capable of. His cabin was bigger than hers, but not by much. Her attention immediately landed on the large cage set on the table on the far side though – a mouse ran in place on a wheel while two others lay inside a plastic shelter. A fourth scrabbled at the glass, bright eyes seemingly intent on the man whose cabin she now shared.
Tifa hadn't realized she was smiling until Sephiroth cleared his throat awkwardly. She started in surprise looked up at the man, "You brought them with you?"
"Yes." He gazed down at the floor, a hint of color traveling up his throat.
There were butterflies ravaging her stomach and she had to tuck her hands underneath her thighs as she promptly sat down on his bed. It was better to tell him sitting down she decided. Better for her so that she couldn't fidget uncomfortably, that is.
Sephiroth took a seat in the chair by the table, bracing his elbows on his knees as he laced his fingers together beneath his chin. "Is everything alright?" He asked after a moment when it was clear that she couldn't get her vocals to work.
The martial artist exhaled shakily and cast a nervous look his way, "I have something to tell you – something I found out, back when you sent me into the Deep Ground base..."
The General made a sound like a groan in the back of his throat, as if re-visiting a particularly bad memory.
"It's about your father."
Sephiroth met her eyes sharply, something dark and unsettling in his gaze, "He's dead."
Tifa frowned worriedly, but shook her head. "No, he's not. Hojo isn't your real father, Sephiroth. He couldn't even have children – he was sterile."
The chair scraped loudly across the floor as he stood up suddenly, hands clenching at his sides. He turned away sharply, head bowed – his hair barely reached past his waist now. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch it.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
"It doesn't matter." His voice was hushed.
Her heart twisted at that and she stood. There was little space between them in such close quarters, "It does matter." She contested firmly, "Because he's alive and so is your half-sister. Or she was."
Tifa watched the lump in his throat move as he swallowed. "I think it would be best that they not know about me." He murmured pensively.
"What? But why?"
His head jerked at her, jaw tight. It astounded her how eyes so bright in color could appear so dark and haunted.
"Oh," Tifa felt her breath hitch and a lump gathered in her throat threatening to burst. "But you know them! Both of them. I think they'd want to know."
He hesitated, looking past her out the window. "Who is he?"
"His name is Veld."
Sephiroth puzzled that for a moment before speaking, "I thought he was dead?"
"It was never verified." Tifa said. "Jesse was the one who read about it though, not me. She was under the impression that he is alive and that Elfe was his daughter. I guess she disappeared around the same time."
"Elfe?" He echoed and moved to collapse on the edge of the mattress, staring off at the wall. "Elfe." He repeated, brows furrowing in confusion. His hair rippled down his back as he shook his head with a dubious look, "But Veld...he hardly knew my mother. Why?"
"Hojo had Lucrecia artificially inseminated. Given his position at Shin-Ra it probably wasn't that difficult for him to acquire a sample from..." She trailed of sheepishly, watching one of the mice chew at a chunk of cheese.
"Veld." Sephiroth finished with an inward sigh and dragged his fingers across his scalp. "Even more reason not to tell them."
Tifa bit back a frustrated sound and felt her shoulders slump in defeat. "I think you should talk to them." .
"We don't even know where they are, if they do still live." Sephiroth dismissed and stood, his expression hardened. "And we have more pressing matters to concern ourselves with at present. As I understand it, if Genesis acquires the Black Materia before we do he could destroy the world."
The atmosphere in the room had dropped from warm to freezing in three short sentences. Tifa felt her anger rising and had to bite down on a sharp retort, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Forget it then." She deadpanned. "I just thought you should know - I'd have given anything for that chance."
With that she marched out of his room and down the hall without a glance back. She wanted to get off the ship and run far, far away. What she would've given for some semblance of family. But he'd never had one to speak of so it didn't mean the same thing to him as it did to her.
Tifa barricaded herself in her own room, staring up at the ceiling with an empty feeling in her stomach. Maybe she was being stupid. He had a point...but to not even care? There was nothing so disheartening to her then his indifference.
A knock on the door startled her back to reality. She sat up, frowning at the puny barrier as if it had done something to offend her. "What!" It came out more irate than she had intended.
"Please open the door." Came a familiar, exasperated voice from the other side.
Tifa stood and did so reluctantly, crossing her arms at he towering figure across the threshold of her room, "Well?"
Sephiiroth looked briefly skyward, as if to implore patience from the Gods, before looking back at her earnestly. "I never meant to suggest that I'm not grateful, or that it doesn't mean anything to me...but we have no time for this."
Her lips thinned slightly, waiting.
The man sighed, letting his forehead fall against his arm where it braced against the door frame. "This is my job. Personal matters don't exist in my line of work."
"You're not working for them anymore." Tifa argued. "If you do away with all the things that matter, what's the point in saving the world anyway?"
"I do away with them so that no one else has to." The General retorted.
"And that just worked out really well, didn't it!"
Silence. It echoed within the tight confines of the room like a thunderous boom. His entire body had gone taught as a bow string poised to fire. She was breathing hard, holding his furious stare with equal umbrage. Something pained flashed in the General's eyes then and his body deflated as he turned away, as if shrinking in upon itself like burning paper. He turned and walked away without another word.
A breath hitched in Tifa's throat where it had tightened. She blinked and was surprised to feel moister stinging the corners of her eyes. Several minutes passed before she remembered to close her door. It wasn't until another knock came to her door, this one crisp and uppity, that she recalled Chaka's appointment.
"I'm coming." She sighed and drew herself up off the bed, her body seeming to way twice as much as usual. When she opened the door it was to a disapproving scowl.
"Something's up." He stared at her expectantly. "It's not like you to forget."
Tifa shook her head. "It's nothing." She offered her best smile and moved past him.
Behind her Chaka followed with a worry line carving his brow.
It was a solemn practice and not many words were spoken, but they were felt in every blow that she landed on him. The taller fighter bit back a few choice words when her aim slipped and she nailed him below the belt. He sagged to the ground with a soundless gasp, hands at his crotch.
"I'm so sorry! Are you...are you going to be okay?" Tifa had scrambled to his side, face utterly devoidof color. "I didn't mean to...I just..."
The dark skinned man nodded, waving her off with a cough as he struggled to breath even. He shook himself, "Whew. Okay." He managed and exhaled. "Let's go break some cliffs."
And so they did. It was, he said, an adequate replacement for trees as Corel appeared sorely lacking in those. He intended to stay true to his promises. The crack in the ground had grown considerably from her last try – big enough to swallow a large man and the force to knock him out.
"You can steal other people's chakra too." Chaka told her. They'd begun exchanging words again now that Tifa had something to focus on that wasn't the conversation she'd had with Sephiroth earlier.
"How?"
"Meditation. Lots of meditation." From his tone Tifa gathered that his own experience in the process had not been a pleasant one, and perhaps still wasn't. "I'm a shoddy monk when it comes to controlling pure chakra forces. If there isn't a punch or kick behind it I can barely make a ripple."
"So how do I get there then?"
"Well, you know the feeling when you release the shockwave, right?" At her nod he continued, "You have to hold onto that sensation you get, because that's the chakra force inside you, and once you've got your hands on that you can make it do other things. Like stealing it from other people to heal yourself. So, practice. Here we go..."
They sat down together in the dusty, sun baked earth and worked on clearing their minds. The heat was relentless in this dry husk of a place. Chaka swatted at a fly intent on landing on his face, grimacing. The air smelled of metal and dirt, slightly cloying in its lack of moister. It reminded her of the slums in Midgar, only hotter.
Searching for that little bead of power inside her was like ambling through a grass field looking for a seed. Instead she found silver hair twining around her thoughts and pulling her from the task. She cursed herself, blinking into a dull breeze as she gave up the hunt. Chaka was cleaning his fingernails off to her left, having already given up on the charade. Her lips quirked.
"My mind is like a mouse on a wheel." She sighed.
Chaka shot her a curious look. "It'll take some time. Probably be good for you though, to clear your mind some. It helps me, when I can do it."
Tifa smiled. "Thank you."
"What for?" He asked, getting to his feet and offering her a hand. She accepted.
"For everything. For helping me and...well...giving me someone to talk to."
Chaka flashed her an easy grin. "It's nothing. Come on – those parts ought to be delivered by now."
Everyone was waiting at the bridge, including Sephiroth himself. He and Cid were engaged in a heated discussion with Yuffie leaning in so close to eavesdrop that she was on the verge of falling over. She straightened as soon as Chaka and Tifa made their approach, shifting away with a guilty jerk of her head.
A river of braids shimmered down the soldier's back as he leaned in to ask Wutai's princess in a conspiratorial whisper, "What's going down?"
"Somethin' about the Golden Saucer. Choco boy was spotted there with an orange cat and pinky." She whispered back.
"Translation?"
Yuffie glared, "Cloud, an orange cat, and the Ancient Crypt Keeper are going after the keystone that opens the Temple of the Ancients. Some dude called Dio has it."
"O-kay."
"An orange cat?" Recognition stole across Tifa's face and she beamed, "He must have escaped with Cloud. I'm so glad."
"Huh?" Her fellow soldier swung his head around, only half paying attention as someone had elbowed him in the ribs.
"You remember him from Hojo's lab?" She inquired. "The one that was in the glass cage?"
He scratched the stubble on his chin with a quizzical hum before stopping abruptly. "Yeah, yeah I remember now. Huh. Wonder what's up with that?"
"I don't know." Tifa murmured, "but I'm glad he escaped. No one deserves to be locked up in Hojo's lab..."
"Good thing he's dead." Yuffie chimed in.
Chaka's nose twitched, but he said nothing.
A chill seemed to have swept into the room and with it silence. Feet shifted with a grating sound, a dull murmur of voices the only other sound. Tifa chewed her lip pensively, Chaka idly scratching the back of his neck, and Yuffie hovered close to the conversation nearby.
The clang clang of metal on metal startled everyone around at the newest arrival. Red cap swirling at his heels, Vincent approached with an air of urgency. He leaned into Sephiroth's ear, said something that made the General jerk his head about.
Tifa frowned and stepped into the muted conversation without further ado. The others huddled in behind her, curiosity piqued. Something was going on and she had no intention of being kept in the dark about it. "What is it?" She asked.
"There was a massacre." Sephiroth answered her, eyes flickering briefly at her face. "Cloud and his followers have been thrown in prison for the murder of the Battle Square employees."
"That can't be." She shook her head firmly. "He would never."
"Nor would the Cetra with him allow it without a fight I imagine." The General concurred. "Something is afoot. A trip to the Golden Saucer is in order."
"I'm going." Tifa asserted.
Sephiroth nodded, "Of course." He looked to the pilot, "You will stay here with the ship to monitor the installation of parts. Anyone else who wants to accompany us speak now."
"I'm in." Chaka said.
"Well then I'm going too." Yuffie piped in.
When no one else was forthcoming, Sephiroth looked to the red caped man. "Vincent?"
"I will go separately, if that is acceptable." He requested.
"The choice is yours." The silver haired man replied. "Shall we rendezvous at an appointed time?"
"Entrance, 21:00 hours?"
"Alright." He turned to the others. "The rest of you, meet me on the deck in 30 minutes."
The gathering dispersed, Tifa being the last to remain when the others had gone. She had all her gear equipped already, a habit she'd maintained after Solider training. That left just her and Sephiroth on the bridge for Cid had gone off somewhere, muttering about idiot engineers and their lack of punctuality.
Tifa's insides squirmed uncomfortably, a sensation she knew well to be guilt. She could feel the tension roiling off him not far away setting her hairs on end. She studied his face, willing that he say something to her, but his eyes were trained on the horizon out the foredeck.
She stepped towards him hands shaking, courage fleeting, "I'm sorry."
He turned at her words, surprised. A fleeting smile, flat, crossed his mouth. "Don't be. It is the least I deserve, is it not?"
A frown creased her brow, "No." She shook her head. "You don't. I...forgive you. For everything."
Sephiroth looked away, one hand curled in a fist at his side. "Would that I could believe that."
Tifa's heart sank just a little. "I am no saint." She murmured. "I get bitter and pity myself for what happened. Then I take it out on other people. Whatever I've been through doesn't justify that, not to anyone."
The man seemed terribly fascinated by the floor boards before finally facing her with something like resignation, "I will go to see them, if it pleases you."
She started, a fluttering in her chest as met his eyes, "You don't have to. I won't push you."
"I know."
Neither spoke for a while. It was almost companionable if not for the thundering of her heart in her chest. She wondered if he could hear it with his acute hearing or if she was simply being paranoid. A thought occurred to her, brow furrowed.
"So is Angeal..."
"Going stir crazy, probably cursing my name as we speak for electing to leave him behind." Sephiroth supplied regretfully. He cleared his throat, "The surgery went well. Thank you."
"I didn't do hardly anything. The people who removed the chip deserve all the credit." She demured. "I'm just relieved he's okay."
"As am I."
"I hope he doesn't get lonely."
"Soldier is with him."
"The cat?"
Sephiroth snorted softly, "Yes, the cat."
"How...?"
He threw her a sidelong look, trying to maintain an affronted scowl but failing miserably.
Tifa laughed and her eyes came alight, "You didn't!"
The General sighed, "I did."
"That's sweet."
Sephiroth's eyes widened comically in horror shortly before a crimson blush stole across his face. A strangled sound burbled up his throat and he turned away quickly, avoiding her gaze, "We should join the others now. We'll...uh...talk later, about my father."
"Okay." Tifa smiled at his back.
The ride up to the golden saucer was a test of willpower for their suffering comrade, the princess from Wutai. To hear it from her it was ten times worse than the Highwind, which was at least smooth in its ride, whereas the cable car lurched and jerked its way up to the theme park like it hadn't been greased in years.
"She'll make it." Chaka assured them.
Yuffie mustered enough energy to glare in his direction before resuming her position hunched out the window.
It was a mercifully brief trip. The four of them stepped out, surveying their surroundings with no small amount of awe, except for one person; Sephiroth moved through the crowd like a man possessed, neither curious nor seemingly aware of the surrounding splendor. Or the besotted eyes of several female, and a few male, onlookers. At least not until he found himself surrounded by them and unceremoniously ushered forward to the front of the line.
"Oh this is just great." Yuffie grumbled. "He'll spend half the day signing autographs while we get stuck loitering around."
Chaka was scowling at the proceedings as if he might very well agree with that sentiment. A significant distance had been put between them and their dubious leader, most of it full of mingling bodies jostling for a view of the famous general.
"This was a terrible idea." The lanky soldier maintained at last.
Sephiroth almost looked frightened, which caused Tifa to laugh when he looked back at them helplessly, a desperate plea in his eyes.
"Come on." She said and dove headlong into the gathering, pushing people aside. It took her a while, but eventually she reached him, and forced a barrier between him and the gathering of zealous fans. There were more than a few affronted looks among the crowd. She cracked her knuckles; Yuffie and Chaka had come to flank her on either side.
The crowd stepped back.
"That's more like it." Tifa smiled pleasantly at them.
"Who are you?" Somebody demanded.
"We're his body guards." She answered with a gesture to the towering silver haired figure behind them.
Someone laughed and a hand shot out towards her. Tifa shifted sideways in one smooth motion, catching the appendage and bending it back almost to the point of breaking. The man cried out in pain, begged mercy, and she released him.
"Anybody else?"
The gap between them widened substantially.
Tifa turned to the General, hopping on her toes with an apologetic smile and said, "I guess we'd better pay our entry fee."
He almost gaped at her, bemusement shaking his head as he turned to the mascot that handed out the tickets. "Four please." A handful of gill was exchanged, to which the mascot sputtered incoherently and tried to give some of it back to no avail. Sephiroth was already on his way without a glance back.
Their tickets in hand, the three others hastened to catch up.
"Oh my gawd!" Yuffie exclaimed as they entered the brightly lit premises, a cacophony of merriment almost drowning her out. "This is gonna be so awesome!"
"Is that an arcade?" Chaka babbled. "I think that's an arcade."
Tifa chanced a look at the silver haired man on her left, wondering what he was thinking. He caught her eye briefly, a wry smirk in place, before calling out to the others, "We'll meet you at 21:00."
The dark skinned soldier swiveled his head around with a grin and two exuberant thumbs up, "Sure thing, ay." He and Yuffie were instantly swallowed up by the sea of milling theme park goers.
Author's Dubious Notes: Uh, I think I've exhausted my "OMG she updated again" tirades. I'm just going to bow my head in shame and push this forward as my meager offering of apology. Have mercy!
Life goes on. How are you? I hope you're doing well. You probably forgot what this story was about it's been so long, XD. But I'd love to hear from you anyway :).