Chapter 4

His eyes widened as he began to comprehend Aeris's words. Cloud stepped back as she returned her gaze to the building before them. His mind tried to wrap itself around the thought that the woman standing before him was the same girl he hid from Shin-Ra after killing her father on his last mission. Five years ago he did not want to turn over that innocent little girl. Now, his options included surrendering Aeris or allowing Tifa to suffer because of his actions. Neither seemed acceptable, but Cloud could not think of a reasonable alternative. Taking both of the women and leaving Midgar might keep the three alive for a while, maybe even as long as nature would allow, and they might even live somewhat happily, but making Tifa leave her dream was about as likely as him giving up his sword.

"Hey," Aeris interjected into his thoughts. "What are you thinking about? You haven't been listening to me for a while now." In truth, Aeris had been talking directly to Cloud, trying to get his attention until she ultimately stepped in front of him.

"Oh . . ." Cloud stumbled for words. He did not want to reveal the truth of everything to Aeris. Wait a moment. Why am I even concerned with her welfare? I sacrificed my way of life to protect her five years ago. I owe her nothing, but I can't seem to ignore her situation. She can't be aware of the danger she's in right now. "Um, actually I need to get going. I'm running a bit late as it is."

"What are you late for?" Aeris was not moving from in front of Cloud. "Were you supposed to pick up breakfast for your girlfriend?"

Cloud found himself pained at the mention of the word "girlfriend." He had tried to be with women in the past, yet none of them ever made him feel any real emotion. Ultimately, he decided that he would never be with anyone, that no woman would ever know his body in its entirety, especially the only woman who he had dreamt of being with for the past five years. As much as he cared for Tifa, he felt that it was completely unreasonable to assume she would have any semblance of a serious relationship with him if she knew the true reason for his return to Midgar.

"Aeris, I really need to get going." Cloud was now desperate to get away from this woman and return to Tifa's side. "I promised Tifa I would pick up some stuff this morning." He kept avoiding Aeris's gaze, trying to ignore the thoughts in his mind. Dammit, I don't want to be here. I don't want to have to weigh Aeris's fate against Tifa's. Cloud started walking towards the market he had passed earlier that morning.

"Cloud, before you go, I have a question." Aeris's words made his feet feel heavier. "Why are you back in Midgar?"

Cloud stopped walking, his heart pounding and eyes wide. "What . . ." Cloud stuttered as he slowly turned to face the young woman. Did I hear that right? Did she just ask why I was back? Does she remember me? Does she remember what I did? Wait a moment, I mentioned having left Midgar years ago during our conversation last night. She couldn't be remembering me.

"I asked why are you back in Midgar." Aeris's bright green eyes watched him as he fumbled for an answer.

Struggling for a coherent sentence that might somehow double as an answer, Cloud dropped his gaze. "I'm back to see an old friend." There is no way I can tell her. I can't tell her that Shin-Ra is still after her. His eyes returned to hers.

"She must be a very dear friend." That's a relief. She seems to have bought it. Aeris began walking, holding her hands behind her back. "I have one more question, if that's okay with you." Cloud's heart began to race faster, worried about what might happen in the next few minutes. "I was wondering if you really mean what you say."

His body relaxed. That's all she's wondering about, just if I actually meant what I said the last night? Aeris turned to face him, her hair swinging over her shoulder. "I mean everything I say," he responded.

"That's good. I just wanted to make sure that my father's death had some impact on your life."

Fear took hold of Cloud. He tried to maintain his composure despite being utterly terrified of what Aeris might be thinking at the moment. He took a step back, his eyes still locked with hers. "Your . . . father's death?" Cloud stuttered.

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Tifa awoke to find another note on the table. It's contents were the same as the one from yesterday. She laughed to herself as she tossed the note back onto the table. She walked back to her room to finish dressing.

She emerged a few minutes later dressed like usual with her black skirt and white tank top. Looking at herself in the mirror she sighed. I wonder if he gets tired of seeing this everyday. I sometimes do. Tifa stepped away from the mirror walking towards the stairs. As she walked down the stairs she heard a fervent knocking on the door. Looking through the door she saw Cloud. What's going on with him? Why is he banging on the door? And who is that with . . . Aeris?!?!

Cloud continued to beat on the door with a look of terror on his face. Hurry up, Tifa. Open the damn door before I have to break it down. He hit the door one last time before sighing and leaning his head against the door with a thud. With a deep breath, Cloud opened his eyes and stepped back to knock the door down. Pulling his fist back, Cloud prepared for the impact when Tifa opened the door.

"What the hell is your problem, Cloud?" Tifa, both curious and angry about his behavior, stood in the doorway, arms folded, leaning against the doorframe. He told me that there was nothing going on between them and yet, here they are standing in front of my bar trying to beat the door down.

We don't have time for this, Tifa. Cloud stood, looking perturbed. "If you want to know, you need to let us in right now and lock the door behind us." His impatience was growing as Tifa stood, blocking the way.

After a moment Tifa relented. "Okay, get in here." She stopped moving long enough to stare into Cloud's eyes. "But you have a lot of explaining to do." As she cleared the path, Cloud rushed in pulling Aeris behind him rather forcefully.

"Explanations we have time for." Cloud turned and locked the door as soon as Aeris was clear of it. "We don't have much though." The sense of urgency in his actions began to affect Tifa. She was becoming more anxious and checked the door and windows several times as the three rushed up the stairs.

Cloud quickly checked all the windows on the second story. Convinced they were all locked, he looked down the stairs one last time. The stairwell was empty, so Cloud walked over and stood in front of Tifa and Aeris, both sitting on his bed, Tifa's sofa. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"We have a big problem." Tifa looked at Aeris with a puzzled look. She could not figure out what this strange woman was doing with Cloud in her living room. "The Turks are after us." Cloud paused for both dramatic effect and for his own sanity. What the hell am I doing? I'm dragging both of them into what should be my fight and mine alone.

Tifa sputtered. "The Turks? What do they have to do with this?" She could not believe her ears. I've heard some strange things since Cloud came back, but this one tops them all. Why would the most feared group want anything to do with us?

"They're after me," Cloud responded.

"What do you mean 'they're after me'? I thought all of that was settled five years ago." Aeris had not been informed of Cloud's conversation with Reno the day before. Wasn't it enough that they killed my father?

"Five years ago?" Tifa interjected. "Okay, everyone back up. Cloud what the hell is going on? Why are the Turks after us, I mean Aeris? What is the deal with five years ago and how did I get wrapped up in this?"

"I'd like to know that, too," Aeris chimed in. "Why are the Turks after me? I know that my father's company was a threat to Shin-Ra, but how do I fit in?" Time passed with the young women staring at Cloud.

How the hell do I talk my way out of this one? I don't want Tifa to know I killed Aeris's father, and I don't want them to know that in half a week we're all going to be running from the slaughter. He stood thinking for a moment before responding. "Five years ago I was hired to kill a certain man. I'm not proud of it but I carried out the mission." A look of disbelief came over Tifa's face. A look of understanding came over Aeris's. "Shin-Ra is in trouble because their takeover of that man's company happened right after his death and a lot of suspicion is starting to go around. I am the only living tie to that conspiracy so they are threatening my life."

Tifa spoke up, "Cloud, this is all staring to scare me but . . ." she faltered for a moment. "Are you sure that you aren't just making this up? I mean, why would Shin-Ra need to kill you for something that happened five years ago? They control pretty much everything here in Midgar, so couldn't they squash any rumor like that?"

Cloud began to see the holes in his story. He had to recover somehow. Dammit, I need to think of something. This just isn't working. "Well, I don't know about covering it up, but the threat they made against me . . . let's just say it got my attention, in a really big way." He scrambled to check the windows again.

"Cloud . . ." Aeris spoke up after a brief period of silence. A look of concern caught his attention. "If they are after you, why did you drag me here? Why did you drag the two of us into this? I mean I only met you a few days ago."

Thank you, Aeris for not bringing up your father, but God damn, why did you have to ask that question? Cloud fumbled for a response as he checked the stairwell again. Tifa stood and walked over to him.

"Cloud, stop this. You are really freaking me out." He stopped running around checking windows. "Please, just calm down and look at me." She placed her hand on his shoulder. He slowly turned, his head hung so as to avoid eye contact. "Just look at me, please." Her other hand gently brushed his chin, hoping to raise his eyes to meet hers.

Aeris had stood up and walked up next to Tifa. "Please, Cloud. Tell us what has you so bothered." I can tell you don't want Tifa to know the truth about our past, but what is happening in the present? What has happened that has made you so antsy? Even when you found me a foster mother five years ago, you weren't this upset. She rested her hand on Cloud's bicep.

He raised his head only to be met with a look of horror on both the young women's faces. Tifa openly gasped and pulled her hand back from his chin. His eyes . . . they are so . . . dark. What ever happened to his crystal blue eyes? Why are they almost black?

"Cloud . . ." both of the women spoke. After another moment of silence Tifa continued. "What is going on with you? Are you okay?" What is going on with your eyes? Please, just say something. She continued to gaze into his near pitch black eyes.

My eyes. My freaking eyes. They're giving me away again. Cloud tried to pull away and hide his face but the hands on his shoulder and bicep prevented it. "Look, we're all in a lot of trouble. We don't have time to stand around." Please stop looking at my eyes. Please just leave them alone.

Aeris interjected with the one statement that Cloud dreaded most. "We have enough for you to tell us what is going on with your eyes." Tifa looked wide-eyed at her female companion. Tifa had wanted to know what was going on with them but didn't want to single Cloud out in front of Aeris.

"Aeris!" Tifa finally managed to blurt out her disbelief. "What are you . . ." she couldn't quite finish the thought. There's probably a good reason for it and he would have told us if he wanted to. Why are you bringing it up? Can't you see he doesn't want to talk about it? I want to know too, but . . . this isn't the time or place. Tifa eventually turned her attention to Cloud, and despite her own thoughts about the appropriate time and place, was very curious at the moment to know why his eyes had changed.

With his eyes lowered, Cloud managed to get a few words out. "I'd rather we just get on the move before the Turks find us." This time, rather than pulling away, he pushed his way forward, separating the two women causing them to release their respective grips on his body. Walking to the corner of the room he extended his hand for the Buster Sword. Please forgive me, Tifa. I know I said I would try to leave the sword alone, but I just can't anymore. This is the only way I know to protect you. His hand clasped the hilt, pausing for a moment. He stood there, waiting. For what, he did not know. Maybe he was waiting on some affirmation from Tifa, or maybe it was out of fear. Regardless, the answer he received was not from Tifa, nor his own heart. The answer he heard was a knock on the bar door followed by loud obscenities.

"When are you gonna fucking open the damn bar? It's already three and I'm not drunk yet!" Cloud's answer came from none other than Cid. "Whatever the fucking hell you're doing in there had better involve lots of booze and a couple of orgasm!"

Tifa bolted down the stairs for the door, a look of exasperation on her face. "I'm coming, just don't break the door down like last week," she called out to the belligerent, sober man. Cloud relaxed his hand muttering to himself.

"How could I think of doing this to her? What kind of person am I?" He leaned against the armrest of the couch, exhausted from his efforts to rationalize pulling Tifa and Aeris away from everything they had. The two young women had been caught up in Cloud's anxiety about escaping from his past. I know they won't let this go. Trying to make them drop everything and run, what am I thinking? Sitting down on the couch, he exhaled, trying to calm his adrenaline filled body.

He felt the cushions shift as Aeris sat down. "So what are you going to do?" Cloud looked at her with a confused look. "Are you going to take us away from here? Are you going to turn me over? Are you going to try to protect the both of us?" Cloud stammered an inaudible response. "I'm not dense, Cloud. I know you care for Tifa, and you haven't seen me in five years. You don't even know me. You murdered my father. That should be reason enough for me to hate you, but you hid me from them. You protected me from Shin-Ra by lying to them, risking your life and reputation. I know you haven't lived well the past five years, they've been hunting you down." Cloud's confusion had changed to surprise.

"How did you know? No one would have told you what was happening to me." He could not believe that the woman on his right knew he had been running for his life.

Aeris smiled at Cloud's confused look. He confuses so easily. I guess he really is a naïve little boy in the big picture. "I had a friend of my look up some information on you in the Shin-Ra intelligence database. Jessie is really good with that kind of stuff. Anyway, here is the real question — when are you going to tell Tifa? When are you going to tell her that you aren't strong enough to protect her?"

Anger filled Cloud's face as Aeris stood up and walked towards the stairs? "What the hell do you mean, saying I'm not strong enough to protect Tifa?" Aeris stopped, and smiled. After a moment she turned to face him.

"Whether you are or aren't is not up to you, me, or Tifa. It's up to the men who will come to kill the three of us. You aren't sure of you own strength, or rather, how strong you are when you don't want to kill. You need to decide how far you will go to protect us, actually, how far you will go to protect Tifa." Cloud felt the anger drain from his body, knowing she spoke the uncensored truth. "I'm going to help Tifa with the bar tonight. I suggest you do too; otherwise she'll worry about you, the situation, and your eyes. Have an answer for us next time."

Cloud watched her walk down the stairs. Beyond Aeris, he heard Tifa calling. "Hurry up, Cloud! I can't do all of this myself, you know." He rose from the couch, shook his head vigorously, and headed to the storeroom.

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Try as he might, Cloud could not push the nagging thoughts from his mind. He tried throwing himself into any job Tifa asked of him: busing tables, moving stock, taking out the trash. The entire night he kept his head down, almost sulking.

Every time that Tifa stopped to watch him, Cloud looked more frustrated. She did not know what needed to be said, what he needed to hear, or what she was hoping him to say. The night passed uneventful, in the bar and between Cloud and Tifa. After last call, Aeris began helping Tifa clean up as Cloud began the nightly inventory.
Tifa called out to Aeris. "Aeris, could you put the chairs up?" Aeris looked up from wiping down the last table.

"Sure, just let me finish up here."

"Once you're finished you can borrow the shower if you'd like."

Aeris smiled gratitude and turned to place the chairs on the tables. Cloud entered the bar from the storeroom. His eyes averted, he spoke. "Tifa, I filled out the inventory sheets. If there's nothing else, I'm going to head upstairs and go to sleep." Aeris looked over.

"Tell you what, Cloud, Tifa and I will finish up down here. You go ahead and shower. I'll wait until you finish to use it myself." Tifa nodded in agreement.

"You've done enough tonight, go on," Tifa said jerking her head in the direction of the stairs.

Without a word, Cloud walked upstairs. Tifa and Aeris turned to look at each other. Aeris leaned back against the wall sighing a bit. Moments later, the women heard the water turn on in the bathroom.

"So what do we do, Tifa?" Aeris gazed at Tifa awaiting a reply. "Cloud is hiding something, and I'm guessing it directly affects both of us in a big way so, what do we do?" Tifa leaned back in the chair before replying.

What are we going to do, huh? I don't know myself. She returned Aeris' gaze. "I'm worried about him more than I am about what he's hiding. I want to know what's going on yes, but I'm not sure we should force him." That's a bold-faced lie if I ever said one.

"Tifa, I can understand what you're saying, but if it's bothering him this much, maybe we need to intervene. Now, I haven't known Cloud for long, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say, that for something to bother him at all, it is probably pretty serious." Aeris began walking over to the bar where Tifa sat.

Tifa recalled the conversation from earlier. Hold on a moment, Aeris said something about five years ago. "Before any of that, I need you to explain something to me." Aeris sighed. "How do you know Cloud, and what really happened five years ago?"

Taking a seat across from Tifa, Aeris began. "I know him from five years ago because I was involved with a job of his." Tifa looked stunned. "He saved my life, but after five years he didn't recognize me. I am guessing that the Turks are after him because of something from that job. All I know is that after he helped me, Cloud left town, and in a hurry. You'll have to ask him if you want to know anything more." It really should be up to him to explain what happened back then. He is the one that has to accept what happened.

Leaning forward to rest her elbows on the bar, Tifa mulled over Aeris' words. His last job from five years ago, him leaving town, him saving Aeris' life, him coming back, her being here, all of these have to fit together somehow. And the Turks, how do they fit in? A few minutes elapsed, Aeris watching Tifa, Tifa staring off into nothing. "You really know nothing else?" Aeris shook her head, remembering how she decided Cloud should tell her. "Then we're going to talk to him tonight." At that moment the shower upstairs turned off and the water finished draining. "Better yet, now is as good a time as any."

Tifa locked up the money and the women made their way up the stairs. They exited the stairwell, starting across the room towards the kitchen when they heard a click. Turning to see the source of the noise, the women grew wide-eyed with mouths opening.

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Outside of the bar, a man watched. He knew that very little time remained before the inevitable would come to pass. Time had started moving, and he could not stand by as everything began to fall into darkness.