Adult-FanFiction.org : Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy 7. Tifa Lockhart: Journey to Midgar.	By : Nickamano Category: Final Fantasy VII > General Views: 7312 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 7 is created and owned by Squaresoft, now Square-Enix. Nothing here is owned by me. It was created for entertainment purposes, and I am not profiting financially from the creation and online presentation of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
8. Inescapable.
Zangan lay there, wide awake in a deep, inescapable pit of self-loathing. Tifa lay beside him on her side, fast asleep. Her long, glossy dark hair fanned out across the pillows she had dragged around her. She looked stunning in that smooth-featured innocent look that comes with deep sleep, her features utterly devoid of emotion or pain or stress.

Her upper leg was bent, forming a pretty triangle along with her lower leg. And within that triangle of negative space, following the curve of her perfect buttocks, he could see trails of their combined fluids still seeping out from the exquisite split peach of her pussy. The enticing view brought about another deep heart-wrenching twist of shame in the middle-aged Martial Artist.

How could he have let this happen again? It was simply unforgivable. Was he really that spineless and weak?

It appeared to be late afternoon given the quality of the light streaming in through the high windows and the length of the shadows permeating the cabin. They must have slept through most of the day.

He sat up carefully. As quietly as possible he slipped out of the bed. And, with a heavy heart he stood at its side, looking down at the teenage girl for a long moment. Then he gently gathered up one of the blankets and laid it over her nakedness. She let out a little kitten-like purr at the softness and warmth that enveloped her but she didn’t wake up.

Grabbing a large towel, Zangan crept silently outside, crossed the lush grass of the clearing around the back of the cabin and immersed himself in the bitterly cold November water of the shallow stream. He lay back, letting the current run across him, washing away the dried sweat. Though of course, the shame and bitter self-reproach clung to him.

He didn’t know what do to. He knew he had hurt her the last time he had left. He had seen it, both in her eyes as he had walked away but also in the form of her welcome-home. It had been a snare, to make sure he didn’t leave her again. An enticement. Probably not even a conscious one on her part, none of this was her fault but that was how he saw it.

At least the last departure had been under the guise of necessity, of duty to his other students. He couldn’t claim that again. However, staying was out of the question. He saw that plainly. He was in love with her as much as she him. And it was wrong in just about every way it could be wrong.

He could see it straight away - once the desire and all-consuming lust had departed from him, like a poison wearing off. Or emerging from a dream and finding himself back in the cold hard reality that he had not only betrayed her trust but he had also betrayed the sanctity of their master/student relationship. Again. And this time must be absolutely the last. Their relationship felt irreconcilably broken now.

The unfortunate and painful truth was obvious to him, like a dappled sun beam illuminating a rock half submerged in the shallow stream bed, making it glow like Mythril, making it obvious. It was apparent that he couldn’t be trusted in her company. He certainly couldn’t be trusted to live with her.

Zangan decided, in that icy flow of the stream that he would have to leave Tifa once and for all. He could no longer be in her company, could no longer pass on his knowledge to her. Though, in that particular case, he did not have much left to pass on. What she needed now was experience. Only then would she be ready for his ultimate technique. It would be a little time yet until she was ready for it, but he had no doubts that he would keep a distant eye on her, from this day until his last. And when the time was right, he would find a way of getting the ultimate technique to her but until then…

He rose from the stream, towelled himself dry outside the cabin and then crept back inside. Tifa was still sound asleep. He knew he should wake her and tell her the truth. And yet he knew, seeing the pain in her eyes, her pleading with him not to leave her, seeing her crying and knowing it was him that had brought out that reaction in her, would all be too much for him to take. He would change his mind. Anything to make her happy, anything to maintain this relationship they had unfathomably developed.

So instead he crept around the cabin, gathering up his hurriedly tossed clothes and dressed in complete silence. The shame and guilt he felt was almost physical. He felt sick, weighed down. And yet a grim determination kept him going.

Dressed, apart from his heavy boots and gauntlets, he gathered his satchel and a few handfuls of refreshments to resupply his travelling stocks, and then found a sheaf of writing paper and a charcoal quill and wrote down his apology.

He left the letter along with her late birthday present on the little dining table and then left his cabin for the last time.

Tifa –

An empty shell. So numbed that she felt completely devoid of emotion, she read the letter for the fifth time, sitting naked on the edge of the bed.

She had known something was wrong when she had awoken to find it too quiet, the stillness and silence palpable, and then she noticed it was almost dusk outside. She had been dreaming of Cloud again, but she didn’t want to think about that right then, because she had noticed the lack of Zangan’s clothes and that his satchel was not where he had left it beside the door. And then she had spotted the letter and the little parcel beside it, on the little table left between the bed and the stove. And in that moment, she had known. Known he had left her again, known what the letter would say before she read it. She had even guessed why.

Why couldn’t he have just woken her up, talked it over with her first? She could have convinced him that it would be fine, that it wouldn’t be a problem. That she could marry him and they could travel around Gaia together. She could train her own students; they could double their numbers of students with her alongside him. She had already worked it all out. But had hadn’t woken her, he had sneaked away while she had slept. Like a coward.

No. That wasn’t fair. She did understand his concerns but it wasn’t like he was taking advantage of her! She loved him and he loved her and they both knew it, and they both wanted it. It would all have been alright, she could have convinced him of that, if he had just woken her up.

Weighed down by a building thunderstorm of bitter sadness, she went outside and bathed hurriedly in the cold of the stream. Even though it was the first of November, early winter, this far south the cold didn’t quite match the cold of her village, there was frost and rain but little snow down here. And at least half of the trees in this part of the forest were evergreens. Still, she didn’t spend too long in the water. Just washed off the sweat and bodily fluids and then hurried back inside, got the stove fire going and sat in front of it wrapped in a towel with the letter in her hand.

Then she remembered the little parcel and opened it, looked over the well-made combat-style Leather Gloves. They were beautiful and well made, but she couldn’t bring herself to smile. Who was there to thank? To tell how much she loved them, that they were the perfect gift? He had left her.

She already knew what she would do. But she waited until the following morning before admitting it to herself. There was no way she could stay in the cabin. And there was no way she could forget Zangan or their feelings for each other. She just had to talk to him. She knew she could convince him that they could make it work. So, she would leave the cabin immediately and find him.

She packed a small hide backpack with her clothes, what food she could carry, knotted a drinking flask and a small carry pouch to her hip, locked the Mastered Cure Materia from Zangan’s display into her new Leather Glove’s Materia slot and then gathered together the money Zangan had mentioned in the letter. There was actually quite a lot, she was surprised.

She had selected her usual clothing, packed all but the items she was dressed in. One of her cropped vest-tops and a short skirt, her lightweight combat boots. And then she added leather vambraces that reached half-way up her biceps, which she wore beneath the new combat gloves, and pull-up leather knee-socks. Both were to protect her against the worse of the cold. She wouldn’t need much protection, her core would remain warm through the physical exertion of her journey, only her extremities might need an extra defence from the elements. Still, just in case she also packed a floor length hide duster coat as well.

Finally, to keep it under control, she bound the bottom of her long hair with a strip of red cloth she had kept from Zangan’s old travelling cloak, the one he had torn up to make bandages for her. She teased the ends of her hair into a dolphin tail, just for the sake of it.

And then, checking she had everything she might need, Tifa left the cabin for the last time.

Dearest beloved Tifa.
I love you. I do. I realised it as I walked away the first time, and I am no less sure of it as I walk away again.
However, this situation, these feelings we share for each other, they are wrong. We are supposed to be master and student. You must not shoulder any of the responsibility for this. You are blameless.

I should never have allowed our romantic feelings to develop as they have done. And although the amazing events of this morning and our last night together six months ago were the best of my whole life and will be forever cherished, they should never have been allowed to take place. I should never have allowed it. It was wrong to go down that path. It was unfair on you. You were, and still are, very vulnerable and I took advantage of that. I am the adult and I should have seen this romance developing and should have stopped it before it started.

I truly feel the tragedy of this decision but I have realised that leaving is really the only way I know to solve this. I’m deeply sorry to have spoiled our cherished friendship and the equally meaningful relationship of master and student that we have enjoyed for so many years.

My only consolation for not being able to see or spend any more time with you is the knowledge that you are the finest student I have ever had. And I foresee that within a few short years your skill is certain to surpass my own.

I’m handing my cabin and everything inside it over to you, including my money - you know where to find it. Please accept this as a permanent home for you. Should you wish to leave or remain, whatever you decide it will always be yours from now on.

I love you with all my heart, and I will do until I take my final breath. However, the best thing you can do for yourself is to forget about me.
I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I hope one day you will forgive me for this.

Goodbye my beautiful Tifa.
Zangan.

End of Part one – INTERMISSION.
- 10
- 11
- 12
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Final Fantasy 7. Tifa Lockhart: Journey to Midgar.