Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 2: Aftermath

TWENTY-FIVE

I paused for a moment in my recollection of Nibelheim and took a sip from the glass of water Elmyra brought me. My throat had gotten a little dry from all the talking I'd been doing, and Jessie had asked her to bring me a drink before I'd even thought of it myself. She watched with a faint smile as my sip turned into a gulp.

"Better?" Jessie asked.

I nodded as I put the glass down. "Yeah. Thanks."

She winked. "You're welcome, merc. Just looking after you the way your mom wanted. Big responsibility, you know."

"Think you're up to it?" I smirked.

"You'd better believe it," Jessie whispered, kissing me.

I returned it for a moment, my heart racing like one of those fabled gold chocobos at the feel of her lips on mine. But then I quickly pulled away, my cheeks flaming, when I heard Aerith and Lena giggling at the sight. I'd almost forgotten the others were there. No one said anything, but I could see Biggs' face twisting into a wry grin while Wedge flashed us a thumbs up. Marissa's eyes were warm as she looked at us, and even Elmyra seemed amused as she sat back down.

"Looks like you trapped now, SOLDIER boy," Barret chuckled. "No way out for ya, an' that's the truth."

I swallowed. "Yeah, well, uh... moving on..."

"So, Tifa, Zangan was the one who taught you how to fight?" Jessie asked, cleverly changing the subject for me.

"Yeah, that's right," Tifa nodded. "I learned it all from him. We did our lessons just about every day for two years, hours at a time, just like you and I used to do, Jessie. Remember?"

Jessie grinned. "Yeah. It was always a lot of fun."

"Sure was," Tifa agreed.

"I'd be cool to meet him someday, you know?" Jessie said. "There's still so much for me to learn. You've been an awesome teacher yourself, of course. Whatever happened to him?"

Tifa sighed. "I don't know. I lost contact with him after Nibelheim. I'm sure he's fine, though. He's strong. If anyone could've survived what happened to the village besides me and Cloud, it would definitely have been Zangan. No question about it."

Aerith gazed gently at her. "You miss him, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," Tifa answered, a small, wistful smile on her face. Then she looked over at me. "Cloud... did Zangan really say all those things? About how highly he thought of me?"

I nodded. "He did. He was really proud of you. Why?"

She laughed softly, almost to herself. "I never knew. He was a good man, firm but caring and kind. Not one to shower me with a whole lot of praise, though—he taught me discipline and humility as well as how to fight. Didn't want me getting too full of myself, you see. Still, he and I were very close. Zangan was like another father to me, along with my teacher and mentor. And a good friend."

"I hope you get to see him again someday," Jessie said.

Tifa smirked. "You mean we."

Jessie's brown eyes lit up. "Thanks, Tifa! I'm really looking forward to it. Guess I better be in top shape, huh?"

"Definitely," she agreed. "He'll put you through your paces."

"Can't wait," Jessie grinned. Then, her humor fading, she looked at me again. "Guess that's enough of a break, though. We should probably get back to the story whenever you're ready."

I took another sip of water. "Yeah. Let's see now..."

"You went to the reactor the next day, right?" Marissa asked.