Second chapter...yay! I’ve been playing Final Fantasy X, and I just stopped before that @#$@!! third form of Seymour! I hate that thing...ugh. But I hate Seymour, so...oh, I’m rambling. Oh, and Akki, yeah, I made that part before the actual story up. Onward, to the fic. Note: Please do not assume I have no life and have memorized FFVII’s script from front to back. ^^;; I’m simply consulting an online script, because I can only remember bits and pieces of major conversations in the game. I know I’m making Tifa a bit moody in this next chapter, but I really never saw her as "the cheerful optimist." That was Aeris’s job, to me. And I figure even optimists get aggravated. ^^;; ------------------------------ Despite Aeris’s and Tifa’s worries about being late, they arrived in Kalm far before Cloud and the others. They headed straight for the inn, as instructed, and Tifa paid for the room, grumbling about, "guys being late." ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Being in a room alone with Aeris was big on Tifa’s list of "uncomfortable situations." Aeris seemed oblivious to Tifa’s discomfort and her silence, however, and hummed a song to herself. Tifa fell backwards on a bed and counted the cracks on the ceiling, hoping that the flower girl wouldn’t strike up a conversation. "Hey Tifa?" Man. "Yeah?" "How long have you and Cloud been friends?" "Ages," Tifa responded uninterestedly, staring at an oddly-shaped crack that resembled a mog’s head. "Tifa?" "Yeah?" "You don’t like me very much, do you?" Aeris sounded amused, and Tifa sat up, looking slightly affronted. "What gives you that idea?" "Well, I don’t know," Aeris said, "maybe it’s because you haven’t said more than three words to me since we left Midgar? And even when we were at Midgar, it was always something like, ‘Aeris hurry up!’, or, ‘I wonder where Cloud is?’ And the second one was to you more so than me." Tifa was at a loss for words. "But, but..." she sputtered, her frustration growing, "that, that doesn’t mean I don’t like you! I...I don’t dislike anyone." Gosh, you are such a liar! SHUT UP. "Really?" Aeris walked over to where Tifa was sitting and plopped down next to her. "Well?" "Well what?" Tifa asked, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "Well, tell me something about yourself, silly!" Why am I having this conversation? "Um...like what? "Your full name, where you came from, what you like, something! Do I have to think of everything?" "My full name? Tifa...Lockheart." "You have to have a middle name." "No." "You’re lying." "How do you know?" "Because you’re a bad liar." "Fine! Tifa...Marianna Lockheart." "That’s a beautiful name." Tifa blinked and stared at Aeris. "Really?" "Well, yeah!" Aeris gently nudged Tifa with her elbow and laughed. "You don’t think so?" "I’ve always hated it," Tifa mumbled, staring down at her feet. She felt even more awkward than she had before, if that was possible. Aeris opened her mouth to say something, but just then, Cloud and the others walked in. "You’re late Cloud!" Aeris scolded, and Tifa felt the faintest hint of a smile cross her face. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ "So let’s hear your story......" Barret said after everyone had settled down, "the one about Sephiroth, and the crisis facing the planet...let’s hear it all." Cloud stared at his feet for a moment, and then back up at Barret. "......I used to want to be like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER. After several missions, we became friends." "You call that a friend?" Barret asked, staring at the blonde man quizzically. Cloud shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Yeah well......he’s older than me, and he hardly ever talked about himself." Tifa shuffled a little, but said nothing. "So I guess you’d call him a war buddy...... We trusted each other. Until one day......" He fell silent then, and Aeris frowned a little. "...one day?" she asked, prompting him to continue. Cloud took a deep breath and put a hand to his face before speaking again. After the war it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against the Shinra......that was 5 years ago." "I was sixteen..." ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Tifa was oddly quiet by the time Cloud finished his story. The others were silent too, lost in their own thoughts. Ask him. "...Cloud? How bad was I when Sephiroth cut me?" Cloud looked down at his feet, a pained expression on his face. "I thought you were a goner...I was really sad." Tifa looked down at her feet as well, and Aeris spoke up, sounding slightly unsure of herself. "I...the Ancients...Cetra...Jenova...Sephiroth and myself..." Tifa winced at the mention of Sephiroth’s name. She was tired of hearing it. Today they had opened wounds she thought had all but healed years ago, and she was still so confused... "Let’s go. Barret’s waiting." Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa left, and Red XIII sat by the window, a curious expression on his face. "What a fascinating story..." ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ "Together again, hmm Marianna?" "Don’t call me that Aeris," Tifa all but growled, picking up her pace. She couldn’t quite fathom how a grown woman could be so...so aggravating. Aeris giggled from behind her, and ran to catch up. "But I think it’s pretty. And wait up, would you?" Tifa responded by walking faster. She calls me by my middle name, which is annoying in itself, she walks too slowly, she’s weak in a fight, and she’s always flirting with Cloud... And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? She’s ruining your chance with Cloud. "I wonder why Cloud always puts us together. Don’t you Tifa?" "It’s only been two times now Aeris, and no I don’t." Not even gonna bother calling you a liar this time... "Hmm...actually...it’s been about three or four times. He got chosen by the Don, remember?" This was followed by a giggle. "And he wanted you to ‘look after me’ in the Shinra building. When we left Midgar, he went with Red and Barret, and umm...now we’re going to that Chocobo farm." "That time with the Don just happened Aeris. He couldn’t prevent that." Tifa was beginning to lose her patience. "What about the other three times, Tifa Marianna?" "Would you not call me that? And I don’t know, ok?" Another giggle. "Geez, touchy. Sorry, O Mighty Martial Arts Woman." Tifa rolled her eyes and practically stomped the rest of the way to the farm. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ "Aww..." Aeris cooed, "They’re so cute!" They had finally arrived at the Chocobo farm, and Aeris gently patted one of the large birds on its head. "They are kinda cute," Tifa admitted, watching the other chocobos move around the small stable. "I bet Cloud is already inside," Tifa said, motioning for Aeris to follow her. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ "So...let me get this straight. You caught two chocobos, one for you, Barret, and Red, and you want me and Aeris to use the other one?" "Well yeah," Cloud said, scratching his head, "you don’t mind, do you? I figure since you and Aeris are fairly light, you’ll get there a lot faster than us and um, well...we can’t really have five people on one bird, can we?" Tifa started to crack her knuckles. "That’s just fine." she finally said, sighing. "Alright then. Take care of Aeris, ok?" He climbed on the chocobo, and Red and Barret awkwardly climbed on after him. They took off to the Midgar Swamp, and Aeris and Tifa stood next to the second chocobo, before Aeris said, "Number four..." Tifa mounted the chocobo with ease, ignoring her. "Hmm... How did you hop on that chocobo like that?" Aeris asked. "Practice. Nibelheim is close to a mountain. We used to breed chocobos...since the mountain was pretty hard to climb, you know? That is...until the monsters started to attack...killed them all." "Oh...I see." Aeris tried to climb onto the bird, only to fall flat on her back. Tifa couldn’t help but laugh, and Aeris flushed crimson, glaring up at her. "That’s not funny!" "It is so funny!" Tifa said in between chuckles. Aeris pouted and crossed her arms. "I could’ve broken my neck." "But you didn’t." She extended her hand to the flower girl. "Come on, let me help you up. We’re wasting time." Aeris huffed and refused Tifa’s help, climbing awkwardly on the large bird. Tifa seemed impressed. "Hey, not bad. I mean, at least you didn’t fall this time." "Shut up," Aeris grumbled. Tifa chuckled under her breath and nudged the chocobo’s sides with the heels of her feet. The bird took off, and Aeris gripped Tifa’s waist tightly. "This...is...a...lot less...enjoyable than I...thought it would be!" Aeris said, holding on tighter to Tifa. "We’ll be across the swamp in a minute...and Aeris?" "Yes Tifa?" "I can’t breathe." "Oh...sorry Tifa." ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Tifa gaped in disbelief at the gory visage of the large Midgar Zolom in front of them. The smell of blood lingered in the air, and she gagged slightly, stepping back from the impaled serpent. It had been violently twisted around a sharp wooden spike, and the tip of the stake stuck through the creature’s head. Still-warm blood dripped down the pole, and Tifa heard Aeris take a sharp intake of breath from behind her. "My...God...did...did Sephiroth do that?" Tifa nodded grimly. "Only Sephiroth could do such a thing..." She felt Aeris grasp her hand, and was oddly comforted by it. Together, they headed off into the Mythril Mine to meet up with the others.
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