This is the revised edition of this chapter. I hope that it is a lot better than the previous, thanks to my beta, S.K.Evans. She really helped.
He left three days ago.
Cloud Strife was a man of . . . well . . . expressions. He said what need to be said, never really explaining. Nope, he left that up to someone else. But mostly, he said what was needed with a look. One look . . . that was all he required.
When he walked into the bar that day, he wasn't surprised to see that Seventh Heaven still had customers; it was always a very busy place. On weekdays, Tifa worked while the kids were at school, and on weekends and school holidays, she worked late at night after they've gone to bed. The only day she didn't work was Sunday. They wouldn't be getting out of school for another hour, and then fifteen minutes after that, they'd be home. In about forty-five minutes, she'd start clearing out the bar. That was her schedule. He didn't have a problem with it. It was beneficial to her, and didn't influence the kids.
When he walked in, she was very surprised. He was expecting it, because he never really came home this early. Not usually. He also didn't come up to the bar and act like a regular customer.
The blonde strolled through the door and sat down at the counter. She smiled and came right over to him, settling her elbows on the counter, her chin on her knuckles. He looked up at her, giving her a small smile.
"Hey! Why flirt with him? Why not me? I'm a real man!"
Tifa huffed and held her index finger up to Cloud, indicating that she needed a minute. He nodded and folded his hands on top of the counter, twiddling his thumbs. Looking down his right, he could see her engaged in a conversation with the drunken customer. The guy was smiling at her, eyeing her seductively. It made the warrior angry, but he didn't meddle; it would be bad for her business. Tifa shook her head, aggravating the customer. The chump grabbed her wrist rather hard, to the point where it turned red, and she tried to yank it back. Cloud got up and was behind the guy in a second. The drunk looked up at the blonde, green eyes raging. The warrior gave him a snarl, and the offender reluctantly got up, put his money on the counter, and walked out.
Cloud walked back to his seat, Tifa taking the money and fixing him a drink. She handed it to him and said, "Thank you. I could've handled it though." Her smile lessened his anger, but seeing her rub her wrist refueled it.
"But you didn't," was his reply. He took a sip and said, "Whoa. Either I'm really tired, or this is really strong." She giggled and he gave her another small smile. "Tifa? Does that happen all the time?"
She shrugged, blowing a bang out of her face. Turning around to mix a few more drinks, she said, "Sometimes. A lot of guys just stare, or even whistle. But some will go as far as touching me."
"What do you mean, 'touching'?"
"Hitting my butt or something like that."
She finished the drinks and brought them over to a booth. Cloud turned around and saw that they seemed to be a pretty civilized bunch. He nodded and went back to his own drink. As she came back to the counter, the brunette saw the way he was looking at her and said, "Oh, come on, Cloud. I can run this place. I take care of things, forcefully, if I have to. But only if it has to come to that."
"Okay. But if I come home and you're hurt one day, I'm going to hunt the bastard down and kill him."
She only laughed.
He stayed home for two days, helping with the bar and around the house. In that time-span, Tifa found that he would be gone for two weeks, because he had a lot of deliveries on the western continent. He was taking a ferry from Junon to Costa del Sol, and continuing from there. The only thing she asked was for him to be safe and to check up on Yuffie. She hadn't called in a while and was worrying Tifa. The only thing he asked was for her to keep a clove of garlic at hand. She asked why, and all he said was "just in case."
Cloud's departure became reality three days ago. It was now Saturday, and the last of Tifa's customers had left about ten minutes past two. That left her with some quality time with laundry. Besides, she couldn't sleep. She had a colossal headache and some instinct told her to stay up. She did the laundry, sorting them into different piles. Lights, whites, darks. She tossed a pair of her t-shirts and a bunch of socks into the white pile, and had just picked up a pair of black pants belonging to Cloud when she heard the lock on the door turning and the entryway creaking open. She didn't feel alone anymore.
Cloud urged Fenrir on, trying to beat the rain. The thunderclouds were gathering overhead, making him uneasy. He could see Condor tower, and knew that he had quite a way to go when he felt the first drop of water on his nose. Fuck. As the wind blew it got colder. Too cold to be normal, he thought, hearing a voice that made his breath hitch.
He swerved to the left, stopping. He didn't hear it anymore for a minute, feeling a presence. An inhuman, eerie presence. He kicked off, heading the opposite direction he was previouly going in. Something came up speeding behind him. He felt it, cold and calm. A sudden pain shot up his left arm. When he looked down, there was a large gash. He swerved again, then regained his balance, seeing what had caused the damage. A figure danced ahead of him, its orange hair resembling flames in the rain.
"I'm going to get her Cloud. I'm going to kill them. They will bleed and scream. Don't worry-you'll hear it. I shall drink them dry. I will get them, just like you got Shenin. Don't even try to hold me off."
"NO!!" he shouted in the rain. Shaking his head, Cloud pushed Fenrir on, hoping he could make it back in time. I have to make it back now. If I don't . . . no . . . The kids . . .Tifa . . .
The brunette stared at the woman standing before her. Her fiery hair fell to her lower back, wild and wet. She had fever-red eyes that added a creepy glow to the darkened bar. The only light that was on was the one in the back room. For some reason, it seemed a lot dimmer through the curtain at that particular time. Something about this woman sent chills down Tifa's spine. It frightened her, like it would if she were a young girl. There was this supernatural, gruesome air all around.
Suddenly, the woman giggled. It was high, like that of a small girl.
"So, you must be his mate. I've seen pictures of you and your children in his wallet. I guess you're pretty. For a human anyway." Her voice was very high-pitched.
"Excuse me?" Tifa didn't know what the woman was talking about. But she saw Cloud's wallet. Is he . . . seeing her? And what does she mean 'for a human?' "Listen, I have no idea what-"
"You don't know what I'm talking about?" the woman interrupted, cocking her head to the side. "He didn't tell you? My, what a shame. Shenin and I shared everything. But now, we can't do that. We can't do anything together anymore." The brunette stared at her, addled. The woman stomped her foot, enraged. "That's because he killed him! Cloud killed my Shenin!" She brought her hands up to her chest, cradling them. "He was the only thing I had."
In that silent moment, Tifa acually felt sorry for her. What would Cloud want with her . . . mate? But then, that all changed once she started laughing. It was shrill and cynical, and it made Tifa panic-stricken. "But that's okay. I might not have my Shenin, but soon, Cloud won't have anything to cherish. He left, looking for me, you know. But he shouldn't've stepped foot outside this house. There is nothing here to stop me." She laughed again.
The woman went for the stairs, but Tifa was there to stop her.
"I'm not letting you hurt those kids." She already had her gloves pulled on, ready to fight. The intruder smiled, and this alarmed Tifa even more. The barmaid threw out a punch, then another, followed by a kick. It didn't faze the intruder at all, as she just stood there. Tifa tried for another combo, and found that her skin was very pale and hard, and absorbed everything Tifa threw.
They were standing in the middle of the bar floor. Tifa was panting, trying not to show it. Seeing that the woman was still in good condition worried her. Nothing's working. How the hell . . . ? She tried a round-house kick, but her leg was caught. The woman twisted her ankle, swinging her around the room. The bar hostess became dizzy and came in contact with a wall before she knew it. Tifa yelped quietly, hoping the other wouldn't hear. I can't let her see that I'm weak. God, I hope the kids don't hear this. The redhead sauntered up to her and bent down. Tifa got up and ran to her side, jumping, hoping to surprise her. The barmaid learned the hard way that the intruder was a fast one. She grabbed Tifa's left hand, twisting it behind her back, pushing her hard up against the wall. She repeated this twice more, and each time, Tifa felt something snap. All at once, she felt this excruciating pain build up inside her. Holding that hand behind the barmaid's back, the attacker pushed her once more, snapping even more bones.
The visitor leaned forward to hear Tifa's labored breathing. "What broke, hmm? A couple of ribs maybe? That's what I think."
She turned swiftly and suddenly, flinging Tifa to the other side of the room. The martial artist hit the wall, breaking more of the skeletal region inside her chest, and the attacker was there to watch her fall. She lay there on the ground for a minute, trying to recover her breath, and then attempted the action of getting up. It was in vain; the woman already had her to her feet, holding her by the neck. The attacker pulled back a hand and scraped it across Tifa's face. Her head snapped to the side from the impact, and four thin lines appeared on her cheek. Blood oozed from them.
The woman put her hand under the Tifa's chin and made her look up. Her attacker laughed evilly as she had done before.
"Do you not realize what I am yet? Maybe this will give you a hint."
She leaned in, sniffing Tifa's blood. "Mmm . . . don't you smell delicious." The bar hostess gagged, feeling the need to throw up. She couldn't though, for it would make her appear weak. What's the point? The woman took another sniff, and then licked some of the blood from Tifa's face. She then took her hand and swiped it along her chest and abdomen. The barmaid gasped. Tifa slid slowly down the wall when the attacker let her go, blood trailing as she went. She coughed up blood, holding herself with her arms wrapped firmly around her middle, retching all over the floor beside her. The assailant was there to see it all. Tifa shuddered, not remembering the last time she had felt so much pain. When she looked up into the eyes of the woman, she realized exactly why she couldn't beat her.
She was a vampire.