Assassins in Gaia

It had been almost a full year since Desmond started teaching Cloud. Since Cloud already knew the basics of hunting, foraging and survival, they had moved to basic stealth in the first month of their training. Cloud had taken to learning stealth like a duck to water. He already had formed a habit to avoid being noticed. Desmond had taken that and pushed it beyond instinctual act to intentional. After two months of training, Cloud could now move around town unnoticed though it was still impossible around wolves, he was not even going near dragons.

Ace, "Now the next part of stealth movement is the get up."

Claudia's eyes gleamed, "Get up?"

Desmond twitched remembering his teen years, "Yeah, different places have different clothing styles. Mom used to make us try out different styled formal outfits every four months."

Ace laughed, "She insisted it was a good way to bond."

Desmond, "I think she had a little too much fun trying to make us walk in heels while wearing corsets and a dress."

Ace puffed up, "I make a beautiful girl though. Prettier than other girls."

Claudia, "I had a few dresses made before Cloud was born. We were not sure if it will be a boy or girl."

Desmond and Ace's eyes gleamed and Ace took out a corset while Cloud felt a dread go down his spine at the gleam in his family's eyes. Cloud tried to back away but Ace was already on him trying to put the corset on. Cloud squawked at his cousins who had him in a corset in no time and wanted to sink into the ground when his ma came holding blue, pink, green and yellow female dresses.

Claudia, "The pink and blue ones might be too long for Cloud right now but the green and yellow however."

Cloud, "Ma, how long have you had these?"

Claudia, I suppose since I realised you were in my stomach."

Ace, "Let's try the yellow one first. Don't worry, I think this green one will fit me. We can practice our stealth together."

Cloud pouted when he realized there was no getting out but relented when Ace decided to join him. He had fun for two whole months after that, till he heard rumours of two mountain fairies who would appear in the village sometimes. Cloud wanted the ground to swallow him while Claudia grinned like a cat that caught the canary. He should not have let Ace modify the clothes and add more floral motif to it, nor those translucent butterfly wings.

Cloud, 'The only good thing out of this was no one knew it was them thanks to the wigs they were wearing.'

Tifa was irritated, no scratch that she was angry. She had messed up a year ago and instead of her, her best friend was blamed. It was not his fault, but her stubborn Dad just would not listen to her. He even forbade her from being friends with Cloud and on top of that she even missed out on his birthday last year. She had thrown a fit that day and ran off only to stumble into Master Zangan. The kind Wutaian had brought her to a table and given her tea offering to listen to her.

She had spilled everything that happened and how it was her fault. Master Zangan, bless his soul had distracted her by offering her to join him while he trained. Tifa had blinked curious about his fighting style and had watched him first. Something about the fighting style called to Tifa and she requested to learn seriously. She wanted to protect her friend not cause him trouble. Zangan eyed her and told her if she wanted to learn the more serious techniques, she would have to prove it to him. Tifa nodded determined and the next day searched him out early in the morning to train.

Tifa huffed like an angry squirrel, 'Cloud didn't even know any of my plans till that tattle tale John told him anyway. Should have known, he couldn't keep a secret especially in front of Cloud.'

Tifa smirked when she thought about how some of the boys in the village had a crush on her best friend, her oblivious, kind and sweet Cloud. He thought, he was being clever under that disguise but she had followed him in his pretty green fairy disguise, three months ago to their house. His older cousins were teaching him how to blend in and how to dress up. It had also interested Tifa and she had then taken to getting new dresses and modifying them to allow her to move easily and battle.

Then she frowned, she can admit she was not a clever or cunning person but she was good at observing and learning. She knew how the people treated Cloud and his mother all because Mr Strife had passed away. She half wondered, if people bad mouthed her now, behind her back, since her own mother had passed away as well. It was a depressing thought and it hurt her a little.

Tifa looked up from the road she was trudging on, 'I have decided, it does not matter what Father or anyone says. Cloud is my best friend and I'm not leaving him.'

As she was talking to herself she saw the very friend she was thinking about laughing and chatting with the new kid and man in town. Out of curiosity she followed them, they were Cloud's cousins, from his father's side. She had heard about the stories from sweet little Mary, the woodcutter, Mr Lonnie's cute daughter. Mary had gushed about how she had once seen them practice materia (Tifa had no idea how they found a materia probably belonged to Desmond) and how cool they looked and how handsome Desmond was and how they were teaching Cloud to use magic and fight. She was not jealous, okay, maybe she was a little, but it was fine she was training with Master Zangan for a year now.

Tifa ran up to them after a while of watching, unable to contain her curiosity, "Cloud! Cloud! Wait for me!"

Cloud turned around, "Tifa? What are you doing here? Your father let you out?"

Tifa caught up to the three of them huffing at the mention of her father, "Huh! Let me out? That old man? Hah! I sneaked out. I missed my best friend you know. Humph! That old man thought he could keep me from being best friends with you. I'll show him."

Cloud smiled, "I missed you too Tif. It has been a while. Oh! Let me introduce you to my cousins."

Cloud introduced them, "This is Desmond, he's my eldest cousin. He has been teaching me to use the family gifts."

Desmond nodded in greeting to her, "Hello kiddo."

Tifa looked at him in curiosity, "Hi, nice to meet you."

Cloud turned to Ace, "And this is Ace he's older than me by a year. He's been teaching me how to use materia."

Ace, "Sup! It's good to know my little cousin has such a loyal friend."

Tifa smiled, "Hello! I'm Tifa, a family of Cloud is a family of mine. I'm happy Cloud has more people to care for him."

Cloud blushed, "Tif! I can take care of myself."

Tifa laughed, "There's nothing wrong in having another person take care of you Cloud."

Ace grinned, "I like her."

Desmond smirked, "You truly are a good friend Tifa. We're going to the deeper part of the forest. Do you want to join us?"

Tifa's eyes sparkled, "Sounds like fun, I'm in! I have been doing nothing but training for a whole year now."

Cloud looked reluctant though, "Are you sure Tif? I mean, your Dad might not be happy about it."

Tifa scowled but Desmond interjected before they could argue, "You are Master Zangan's student, aren't you? We can inform him and I'm sure he would not mind if his student is getting some hands on experience in fighting."

Tifa blinked at Desmond before facepalming, "Why didn't I think of that before? Ifrit damn! I could have gone out on my own months ago."

Desmond ruffled her hair getting a squawk, "Well, now you know kiddo. Now you know. Let's go to the dojo and ask him. I'm sure, he would give you permission even if your Dad doesn't."

Tifa grinned turning to the road leading them to the dojo, "Yeah, that's a great idea. Your cousin is so cool Cloud. You are very lucky ~"

Cloud smiled thinking about how his mother was smiling more happily now and how he was no longer alone anymore, "Yeah I know."

Tifa sighed, "Man! I kind of wish, I had a cousin who would come searching for me too. It would have been so nice."

Ace laughed, "Be careful what you wish for little Tif. You might just get it."

Tifa huffed, "Then I'll wish for it hard, it would be better than being the only Lockhart kid in this village you know? Oh I was wondering, what's the family gift, you told me about earlier Cloud?"

Desmond smiled, "Since you are Cloud's friend, we can show you later if you want. You'll have to keep it a secret though."

Tifa nodded, "I can keep secrets!"

Ace grinned, "Awesome! We're here."

Tifa went inside and led the others to where her teacher was seated. Zangan was pleasantly surprised at the sudden visit from his student. She even brought three companions with her. Looking at her and the three behind her, he had a feeling where this was going. His student had been restless the last few months and she needed to let loose some of her energy. He observed the young man and he could feel a deceptive strength coming from him, like the shinobi from his homeland but more subtle.

Zangan smiled warmly at them however without letting his thoughts be known, "Welcome my student! Guests! I must say child, this is a pleasant surprise. You don't usually visit on your day offs."

Tifa, "Master! I actually wanted your permission to go out into the forest and get some experience with fighting monsters in the wild."

Zangan hummed amused, "Your father wouldn't agree so you came to me."

Tifa blushed, "Yeah."

Desmond spoke up, "I have heard that Tifa here has been your best student but doesn't have any real life experience. So we were wondering, if you would give us your permission to go monster hunting. Don't worry, we'll watch each others backs and should things get dangerous we'll drop our outing and return to the village."

Zangan looked at the young man, Desmond in front of him, "Yes, I have heard about you going to the mountains and forest and hunting the monsters there while collecting the parts for sale. I would ask for you to watch out for my student, and it is true she does need more experience."

Tifa spoke up, "So, I can go right?"

Zangan's eyes twinkled with mirth, "Yes child, you have my permission to go provided you are careful! While training everyday is fine, getting a real life experience is much more important."

Tifa's smile brightened, "Got it teacher. I'll make you proud."

Tifa grabbed Cloud and Ace, "We are going hunting. How cool is that?"

Cloud smiled while Ace laughed, "Very cool."

Zangan turned to Desmond, "I'm trusting you to watch out for not just my student but those two and yourself as well."

Desmond smirked, "Don't worry, nothing will happen to them. I'll bring them and myself back if things get too much."

The party of four left the Dojo after getting the permission from Master Zangan. Desmond half wondered how Zangan would handle the Mayor but then he shrugged and led the way to the mountain. Ace, Cloud and Tifa followed him like obedient ducklings and the four of them made quite a sight for the villagers who were mingling about during that time.

Before entering the forest, Desmond turned back to Tifa, "Do you want to change your clothes before going? Your dress might get ruined beyond repair if you fight in it."

Tifa shrugged, "Don't worry about it, I modified this dress for battle. I can fight in it easily."

Desmond nodded, "Alright then kiddo. It's your call. Don't say, I didn't warn you. Our fights can get messy."

Tifa smiled, "Warning taken. Don't worry about me."

Tifa Lockhart looked at the three cousins in front of her and she couldn't help but feel happy about her decision to go with them. They didn't treat her like some delicate little princess but like an equal, a trustworthy partner who could watch your back in a fight. Now that she had a chance, she was going to prove to her Dad she did not need protecting one way or another.