There in the dark, Tifa felt a loss of identity, her typical mask of daily living slipping from her visage and disappearing into the inky sea. She felt like a child, cold and vulnerable, the measured uncertainty slowing her steps some as she clumsily navigated along the dark forest floor. A few steps ahead of her, Yuffie led, her body a vague dark shape amidst the shadows of the trees. No moonlight seeped in through the canopy, and with each chilly breeze, the whispers of the forest floated hauntingly along the air. Garbed in a thick sweater, the cold of the night managed even to pierce through the cotton weave, sending shivers up and down the woman's spine as she glowered at her friend's back. Yuffie had revealed nothing of her intentions when she had suddenly pulled alongside the road sometime ago, the outside of the forest looking as if it were an impenetrable wall of pitch-black darkness. She had simply wheeled the bike out of view of the road, hiding it behind a large gnarled tree. Then, with an arrogant smile at Tifa, she silently walked into the forest. Though Tifa had tried numerous times to get some sort of answer as to where she was being led, the girl refused to give one, proving her stubbornness as well as her tenacity. So resigned, Tifa followed, feet tripping every so often on roots and hair occasionally catching on the gnarled, long-reaching branches of the trees. She didn't understand what it was that Yuffie wished to show her, here, in the middle of nowhere. It was dangerous to be wandering around like this. Creatures of all sorts lurked about the fields at night, and especially here, in the forest, there was no telling where an enemy may lie. Gripping her arms tightly, Tifa stared with wide eyes at the gnarled faces of the trees, their bark twisting into grim smiles as she passed. Body bumping into Yuffie, it was then that the fighter realized the girl had finally stopped. The girl had turned slightly and even in the dark, the woman could make out a smile. "The thing about nature is that it's really sneaky." She turned completely, arms crossing high on her chest. "It sneaks up on you, it keeps things hidden. What people don't realize is that nature is always balanced. For every hideous thing, there is something beautiful. For every death, there is life. For every place of darkness, there is a place of light." She tilted her head to one side, hand reaching up to scratch the back of her head. "Well, as you can see, this forest is pretty grim and spooky and all...but you wanna know what?" "What?" Tifa asked, shivering. Yuffie took hold of Tifa's hand and began to lead her forward. The fighter held her breath as they carefully squeezed through a dense cluster of trees, their branches reaching down and serving to snag on their clothes as they went through. Squeezing her eyes shut, the woman reached a hand up to shield her face from the sharp clutches of the trees. When they broke free, the branches snapping viciously as they pulled forward, Tifa lowered her hand, opening her eyes again. She couldn't help but gasp at what she saw. A clearing wide and open lay before her, the moonlight showering down in a clear rain of translucent silver. The grass reached up to their knees, swaying with the wind as white flowers bobbed above the sea of cool-green. A small knoll rose in the center of the clearing, and there a young tree sprouted, its bark still pale and it's branches still scrawny and short. Still, it cast a long shadow against the rolling grass, the moonlight breaking through its branches in such a way that caused Tifa's heart to leap at the sight of it. Taking a step forward, the woman let out a laugh of disbelief. "Shiva!" Whirling around, Tifa smiled wide, her eyes shining. "Yuffie, this spot is amazing!" Yuffie, her face illuminated in the face of the moonlight, smirked. "I found this place before I met you and the others. It reminded me of Wutai, so I'd come here a lot." Yuffie shoved her hands into her back pockets and walked past Tifa towards the tree. Stopping so that the shadows of the branches streaked across her face, the girl tilted her head back and closed her eyes. "There's something about this one spot that's special. It feels...It...It feels..." she tilted her head forward, eyes gazing down at the ground. "...It feels holy. That's how it feels." Tifa nodded, eyes looking up at the stars with a serene smile. "It's marvelous. Your so lucky to have found it." Yuffie turned a quarter around, her eyes soft. "I was afraid of showing this place to anyone. Like it would soil it or something. People have tendencies to do that...destroy stuff I mean. But I wanted to show this place to you Tifa. Because..." the girl thought for a moment. Then without warning, she laughed. "Gawd! Look at me!" the girl laughed again, and Tifa gave her a puzzled look. Calming down, the ninja realized the woman wasn't laughing, and so nervously, she coughed out, "It just...uh...it seemed natural to show you this place, Tifa. That's all." "Your nervous." Tifa said after a moment, a smile on her face as she shook her head. "I don't believe it. You're actually nervous!" The ninja glared at her. "What're you talking about? I'm not nervous!" she returned huffily. "You are! You're all tense! I can tell from where I'm standing!" Tifa laughed, walking over. "Yuffie Kisaragi does not get nervous." "So are you afraid then?" Yuffie snorted, crossing her arms and turning away. Tifa rolled her eyes to the sky, a soft smile on her lips. The woman supposed she should give the ninja some slack, and just take into consideration the fact that she was showing her something very special, after all. Stepping forward, Tifa wrapped her arms around Yuffie's shoulders. Speaking softly into her ear, the fighter said, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to tease you. It's just..." she grinned and squeezed the ninja, "You've no reason to be nervous!" Pulling away, the woman watched the girl turn, a grumpy expression on her face. Laughing slightly, Tifa sat at the base of the small tree. Patting the ground next to her, she said, "Come on, sit with me. Tell me everything that's on your mind. This place offers a kind of quiet and tranquility you can't find in many other places, and I want to take advantage of it." Yuffie gazed down at her, her body standing rigid in the moonlight. Then after a moment, she sat down. For a moment neither said anything. Tifa, though she could probably think of a few things to say herself, decided to keep quiet. She wanted to hear what Yuffie's innermost thoughts were. Wanted to see what her opinions and aspirations all culminated to. The woman could not decipher her sudden thirst for conversation and interaction. She felt as if she were a teenager again, there in the moonlight. Looking up at the stars, she recalled the cold breeze of Mt. Nibel, the passionate fight of a girl escaping from the suffocating embrace of childhood into the dangerous clutches of adulthood becoming alive once again in her heart. Her teenage years had not been easy... "You know, my mom once told me," Yuffie suddenly began, leaning forward. Tifa's eyes snapped onto her and she shook away her earlier thoughts. Licking her lips, the ninja continued. "My mom once told me that when men spilled one another's blood, the gods above would cry, and their tears would fall into the sky and stay there. That's where our stars are supposed to come from." She looked at Tifa with a smile. "How many tissue boxes do you think they went through because of me?" At first Tifa stared at her, surprised at her sudden show of humor. Then she laughed and gave the girl a slight shove. "I bet they've got an entire galaxy of stars because of you." The woman said jestingly. The girl chuckled and looked down at her lap. Then the smile faded from her face and she sighed. "How many people do you think we hurt? As Avalanche?" Tifa's smile faltered and she looked down at her hands. "I'm...not really sure." "Looking back on it...is there anything you regret?" Yuffie asked, turning to the woman. The fighter leaned back against the tree, her eyes looking up through the branches at the sky. "Anything I regret?" the woman thought for a moment. Then she slowly nodded. "There are plenty of things I regret." "Like what?" Yuffie asked, leaning back as well. "I regret..." Tifa closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she began. "I regret not telling Cloud the truth about what had happened back at Nibelheim, and following along with his false memory when I knew it was wrong. I regret hurting the people I did back in Midgar. Barret and me were rash in blowing up those reactors. We destroyed hundreds of lives and didn't even know it. I regret...I regret not being able to stop Aeris' death that night at the Ancient City, when Sephiroth ran her through with his sword." Tifa grabbed a fistful of grass, her throat beginning to tighten. Yuffie watched her silently, a soft frown on her face as Tifa continued. "I regret that Marlene and Elmyra were kidnapped, and we could do nothing to save them, not even Reeve. I regret that I never told Aeris how great a friend she was to have. I regret never telling Cloud how I felt about him...how...how special he was to me...And I regret wrecking Cid's Tiny Bronco, when we tried stealing it to get to the Temple of Ancients." Tifa laughed, tears rolling down her face and dripping onto her sweater. Wiping them away, she said with meek honesty, "I really think that was my fault. I had no idea what I was doing, trying to fly that plane!" Yuffie laughed slightly, her face breaking into a smile. "I remember that! When I saw you guys crash into the water, I thought my heart was going to stop!" The two laughed together, Tifa sniffling every now and then as she wiped the last of her tears away. "You wanna know what I regret?" Yuffie said leaning over onto Tifa's shoulder and snuggling closer. "What?" Tifa asked quietly as she laid her head against Yuffie's. "I regret stealing your materia the day we arrived at Wutai on Cid's plane." The girl reached over and grabbed Tifa's hand, interlacing her fingers with Tifa's as she continued on quietly, "I regret not being nicer to Aeris when I first met her. I regret thinking of only money and materia and my own well being when I first started traveling with you all. I regret being so young and stupid when the situations we were in called for someone mature and intelligent. I regret..." the girl began to chuckle. "I regret vomiting all over Cid's airship the first day we rode it. I regret spilling orange juice all over Vincent's cape. And I especially regret kicking a soccer ball into Nanaki's head back in Costa del Sol, because honestly, I completely forgot I even did that!" Tifa threw her head back and laughed, Yuffie giggling as she buried her face in the woman's shoulder. When they both calmed again, the girl sighed. "But you wanna know something else I regret, Tifa?" Tifa turned her head slightly. "Hmm? What's that?" Yuffie's eyes grew soft and she gave the woman's hand a tender squeeze. "I regret not getting to know you sooner." Tifa lifted her head, looking down at the girl with a wide-eyed look. Her reaction was not so much inspired by what the girl said, but more how she said it. Gaze flickering toward their hands grasped together, the woman felt her heart begin to freeze with fear and the insecurities that had been plaguing her as of late began to creep from the shadows of her mind. But when the ninja sighed again, the sound brought warmth to Tifa's heart, and she chased away her fears. If only for that one night, she didn't want to be scared of anything. Reaching over with her other hand, Tifa placed it over Yuffie's and squeezed. Nuzzling the girl's hair, the woman whispered. "Yeah...I regret not knowing you sooner too." There they sat, beneath the young tree and the open night sky, the moonlight raining down on their heads and the trees surrounding them making a chorus of hushed voices. Tifa didn't want to move from where she was. Her senses were filled with the sweet scent of vanilla, and before her eyes, she could see with blurred vision, the dancing bulbs of the long stemmed flowers, still swaying above the reaches of the grass. The moments stretched on. And then... "Should we be going?" Yuffie breathed. Tifa closed her eyes. "Let's stay a little longer." "But it's getting late." "Please, just a little longer..." "...Okay." The girl moved her legs so that they stretched alongside Tifa's. Tucking her head beneath the woman's neck, Yuffie breathed, "It isn't so cold." "Body heat." Tifa muttered, feeling drowsy. Yuffie quirked an eyebrow and smirked. "Sounds dirty." She said. Tifa made a disgusted noise, but a smile was on her lips. "You're so vulgar." The ninja grinned. "'Vulgarity is my charity. Sincerity is my clarity.'" Tifa cracked her eyes open, her eyebrows rising. "Um...what?" Yuffie chuckled. "Never mind...it's from a song." The fighter rolled her eyes. "Guilly again?" "Yep. Guilly." "Ugh...he's god awful. I don't know why you like him." Yuffie shrugged, smiling sleepily. "He's fun. What's wrong with fun?" "Well, I've got nothing against fun, myself. But listening to his music, I feel like I'm in the diminutive." "...In the what?" "I mean listening to his stuff makes me feel like I'm small and idiotic." "Oh..." the girl shifted slightly. "But you didn't seem to mind him so much before when Meteor was singing one of his songs." Tifa frowned. "Meteor?" She blinked, and then her eyes brightened. "Oh! The band from the crafts festival! Yeah well," the woman shrugged one shoulder, "The difference was that they were singing the song. Not him." "So you dislike Guilly? Not his music?" "I guess so." A pause. "...That's really messed up, Rusty." ---------- She could hear the rustling of leaves and smell the scent of dirt and bark. Warmth rained down on her face, and the woman smiled pleasantly, her mind rising from its deep slumber. Eyes beginning to ease open, Tifa wondered just where she was, when her chocolate brown eyes met cerulean ones. But what really frightened the woman, was that these eyes... ...Weren't human. Neck craning down so that it could gaze closely into her face, a full-grown chocobo with long, powerful legs and clawed feet, gave a low warble as it tilted its head in curiosity. Eyes widening in terror, Tifa's body tensed, and she shook Yuffie's shoulder frantically. The girl in question had not moved from her position since last night, and so when she jerked her head up, she knocked Tifa's jaw in the process, causing the fighter to bite her tongue. "Wha-?" The girl rubbed her eye. "...Whatizzit?" she mumbled. Tifa didn't answer. Her eyes were watering from the pain blossoming across her tongue, and she let out a small whimper as she raised a hand to her mouth. Yuffie turned to give her a confused frown, but then she froze at the sight of the chocobo staring at her, it's neck still craning downward so that it was eye level with them both. "Uh..." the ninja allowed her eyes to flicker around her, and she realized with a start that there were others. At least five other chocobos stood in the clearing. Their yellow feathers blinded the girl as the sun came shining down. Four of the chocobos were full-grown and stared at her and Tifa with intense gazes that made her skin crawl. Hiding behind one of the chocobos long legs was a chicobo, which peeked meekly at the two girls with bashful curiosity. "Relax, Tifa." Yuffie said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. Slowly getting to her feet, she said, "I guess we just fell asleep in one of their resting spots. If we're slow and careful, they won't attack us." The ninja held up her hands and began to carefully sidle past the chocobo in front of them, smiling nervously. "Good, birdie! I won't hurt you!" Tifa stood and mimicked her, her tongue still throbbing with pain. The chocobo with cerulean eyes straightened, watching the two girls move away slowly with a blank stare. "Yuffie," Tifa hissed as they both carefully moved toward the other chocobos, hands still held up. The mother chocobo took a step back as they approached, warbling lowly. The chicobo chirped and stepped out from behind its mother's legs, head raised in interest. "Yuffie!" Tifa hissed again as they passed the mother and her baby. "What?" Yuffie hissed back, her face still carrying a fixed smile. "We're almost in the clear!" "The chicobo," Tifa hissed. They were nearly to the trees now. "The chicobo, its-" Without warning, the small bird leapt forward, giving an excited wark. Tifa and Yuffie screamed and turned, running full speed into the dense trees surrounding the clearing. The branches scratched and pulled, but their determination to escape was greater than the strength of the trees limbs. Breaking free of the branches, the two girls ran clumsily through the dark of the forest, back toward the road. ---------- "Well that was unusual. Chocobos normally avoid humans!" "Those tree branches wrecked my sweater. Look, I've got scratches all down my arms!" "Aw...I'm sorry, Rusty. You shouldn't worry too much about that sweater though. We're heading to Costa del Sol, now. That place is always sweltering hot." "Still...I liked that sweater." "I'll buy you a new one. Promise. We're going to go shopping anyhow. Without that sweater you'll just have more room to put your new stuff." They were sitting at a gas station, Tifa leaning against a concrete column while Yuffie refueled the motorbike. The sun was now almost overhead and the signature heat of the Costa del Sol coast was becoming a reality. Wearing a white tank top and faded jeans, Tifa fanned herself, her long hair pulled up into a messy ponytail. Yuffie hummed and tapped her foot, her thumb hooked into the pocket of her slim boot-cut jeans. After a moment, she grabbed the front of her gray t-shirt, the front of it showing a print of a moogle's face, and fanned it. "Boy it's starting to get hot really fast!" she exclaimed. Tifa nodded mutely. Leaning her head back, she sighed. The concrete felt cool... Yuffie the pulled the gas nozzle out of the motorbike and replaced it onto the pump. Waving to the man sitting in the building, she sat on the bike. "All right, Tif. It's time to go." Tifa pushed off the concrete column and walked over, grabbing her helmet. As she strapped it on, she asked, "So how far is Costa del Sol from here?" Yuffie shrugged, putting on her own helmet. "I think it's about an hour or two away...why?" Tifa smiled as she took her place behind Yuffie. "There's this restaurant called 'Serino's'. If you're not too tired when we get there...you wanna get a bite to eat?" Yuffie turned to look back at her, her eyes shining. "Are you kidding? I'd love to!" Tifa nodded, grinning as she wrapped her arms around her friend's waist. "All right then!" A large smile on her face, Yuffie started up the bike, and pulling out of the station, the two continued their journey.
Back to Vagrants Rhapsody Index - Back to Final Fantasy 7 Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction