Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 1: Arrival

FIFTEEN

I walked across the bar toward the front and sat on the edge of one of the tables to wait for Barret and try to get my emotions under some kind of control. He'd gotten under my skin downstairs and I had ended up losing my cool. Though I'd kept it down more or less while I'd been saying goodbye to Jessie and the guys, that anger still simmered inside me like a pot boiling on a hot stove.

When the elevator went down and then came back up again, I saw it wasn't Barret who had ridden upstairs, but Tifa. I wasn't surprised to see her, really. She could be as persistent as Wedge sometimes. Seemed she hadn't given up yet, but I didn't think there was anything she could say that would get me to change my mind.

"Cloud," she said, walking up to me. "Stay with us. Please. We need you. I'm asking you, as your friend."

I shook my head. "Sorry, Tif. I can't do that."

But she didn't stop. "The planet's dying, a little more every day. We have to do something while we still can."

Hadn't Tifa figured out by now that I didn't believe in that stuff? It didn't make sense to me. Never had. I understood that she and the rest believed in what they were doing and that it was important to them. It just wasn't my problem, and I didn't see any reason to change that. And while I hated Shinra as much as they did despite what I'd said down in the basement, I wasn't ready to join this fight.

"Barret and the others can handle it," I said. "It's not my problem."

Tifa put her hands on her hips. "And what about Jessie?"

I frowned. "What about her?"

"I've seen the way you look at her," she replied, folding her arms in front of her. "You've spent a lot of time with her these past two months, and not just on the job. She's told me."

"So?" I shrugged. "She's a friend. Like you."

Tifa fixed me with a knowing gaze. "Maybe at first. But what about now? Sure you're not just trying to run away from something you don't know how to handle?"

I blinked. "What do you mean? I'm not running away."

"You're leaving, aren't you? Once you get your money? We grew up together, Cloud. You and I. How can you just forget about that? I need your help. Jessie needs your help. We all do."

"I haven't forgotten, Tifa," I argued. "How can you think that?"

She sighed. "Maybe because you're trying to walk out on us, Cloud. On me. Your childhood friend."

I stared at her. "You know it's not like that!"

"Then show me! Because I'm not buying the selfish mercenary act anymore. I know you care. You're just afraid to really show it. I've seen enough of you over the past eight weeks to know that much. So, Cloud, I'm asking you... please don't go."

"I don't know," I said. "Barret's a real headache."

Tifa laughed. "He can be, but he means well. You'll see."

I wasn't so sure about that. "Maybe."

"Hey, Cloud," she went on, sitting next to me on the table. "Do you remember our promise? From back home?"

At first, I didn't. My mind was strangely muddled, almost blank. It didn't make any sense. But then I saw an image in my thoughts, a water tower under a night sky sparkling with a thousand stars. Something I'd seen a long time ago. I had been there, but not alone. Tifa had come to see me, just as I'd asked her to. The memory was clear now, and I knew exactly what she was talking about.

I nodded. "Yeah, I do. Our promise..."

Tifa smiled. "Seven years ago. I'm so glad you didn't forget about it. I thought you might have."