The noise, it was the first thing Tifa noticed as her brother pulled her up the steps to the stands. The screaming fans, the dull 'thud' as something was hit, the squeak of rubber on canvas. Then the smell hit her, the odor of sweat mixed with leather and canvas. Tifa looked up at the boxing ring, unsure of why her brother had insisted she come here to watch two idiots pound away at each other.
"Vincent, there had better be a good reason for me being here." Vincent Valentine looked down at his adopted sister, the typical brotherly love shining in his eyes somewhere behind the emotionless mask that he almost always wore.
"You're here to get away from those late night work sprees that you always find a way to pull into. So just relax and have some fun Teef." Tifa shot him a glare at the childhood nickname, but settled into the seat to endure, as she thought of it, an evening of pure torture. As she watched the two men currently in the ring, she thought of her comfortable desk and the work that she could be accomplishing. And as the fight below wore on, she found herself dozing.
A sharp elbow in her ribs woke her with a start. "You missed the introduction for the round!" Vincent had to shout to make himself heard over the crowd. Tifa shrugged and focused her attention on the ring. The two men inside were already glistening with sweat, which showered off into the audience with each blow. Tifa decided to at least thank her brother for not placing them at the ringside.
As the bell sounded for the rounds end, Tifa took a good look at the fighters. The man in the red corner was tall, and well muscled. His silver hair was short and shone with sweat and grease. His eyes bore a slightly sadistic quality to them. She rolled her eyes momentarily, 'typical muscle-bound jock.' She thought.
Her eyes shifted to the man in the blue corner. A huge black man in a black sweater that proudly bore the silver words "Spawn of Fenrir" blocked her view of the fighter. "Probably just another muscle-bound idiot with nothing between the ears." She thought.
As the black man moved out of the ring, Tifa finally managed to get a good look at the fighter. The mans well-developed musculature sported several scars, but was impressive to say the least. A shock of spiky blonde hair set him very much apart from most of the fighters she had seen on television and in movies. He moved with a fluid grace that seemed almost hypnotizing.
As the bell sounded both fighters came out to the middle, moving cautiously. An almost eery silence filled the hall.
Vincent turned to her. "The first round was introductions. Each fighter letting the other know a little of what they're capable of. This round will probably be a..." He was cut off by the roar of the crowd as the two fighters began trading blows.
Tifa watched with little interest, preferring to look around the hall at the other spectators. Her eyes snapped back to the ring when she heard the crash of a body on the canvas. Silver hair was down, and didn't look like he was getting up. Ten seconds, and it was official. Chocobo hair, as she had decided to call the blonde fighter, had won.
As she got up to leave Vincent pulled her back down, not willing to let her leave just yet. They stayed for three more fights before Vincent decided he had enough. Tifa breathed a small sigh of relief as they left the hall, not noticing the small group of men standing near the door.
Vincent's hand on her shoulder made her stop before she ran into the man in the dark business suit. "Reeve, you're blocking the door." Vincent's voice made the man flinch. Turning around he grinned sheepishly, brushing a stray lock of hair out of his face.
"I guess I am. Sorry." Vincent just shook his head.
"Reeve, I'd like you to meet my sister." Reeve turned to Tifa, who offered him her hand.
"Tifa Valentine, a pleasure to meet you mister . . . " Reeve took her hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles before answering.
"Tuesti, Reeve Tuesti at your service. I didn't know that my employer had such a lovely sister." Vincent rolled his eyes, eliciting a jab in the ribs from Tifa's elbow.
"So Reeve, do you intend to introduce your friends or do I have to ask them?" Vincent asked. Reeve looked a little embarrassed.
"Sorry Vincent, I forgot." He placed his hand on the shoulder of a man with short blonde hair and a five o'clock shadow. "This is Cid Highwind. He's a trainer at a nearby gym." Cid looked at them.
"Pleasure ta meet ya." Reeve motioned to a younger girl in a pink sun dress.
"This is Aerith Gainsborough. She's a nurse at the local hospital." Aerith looked at Tifa and gave her a smile that melted her heart instantly.
"Hi, I'm Aerith," she said, holding out her hand. "What's your name?" Tifa shook her hand with a smile on her face.
"I'm Tifa, nice to meet you." Reeve then pointed at a tall, dark-haired young man who was looking at a vending machine.
"And last but not least, that is Zachary Fair, an up and coming fighter. He's Cid's charge." At the sound of his name, Zack walked over and put his arm around Aerith.
"Hiya, I'm Zack." He said, holding out his hand. Tifa shook it, then Vincent. Zack opened his mouth to speak but Cid clouted him upside the head before anything could come out.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here. You get back to the damn gym and finish your workout." Zack shrugged and jogged off. Reeve looked at Vincent.
"Sorry to take so much of your time. The article will be on your desk tomorrow morning." Vincent nodded.
"We should be going. Mister Highwind, miss Gainsborough, it has been a pleasure meeting you." Aerith smiled gently,
"I hope that we meet again soon." Vincent nodded. Cid rolled his eyes.
"Okay, are we done with goodbye's. I need to go make sure that idiot Fair is doing his damn workout." Vincent nodded again, and waved to the rapidly departing trainer. Reeve chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow, Vincent."
"Take care Reeve." Vincent said as Reeve got into his car. Aerith stood there for a moment as Reeve sped off, then turned and walked down the street in the direction her two companions had gone. Tifa turned to follow Vincent as he walked toward his car, but ran into a wall of muscle.
"Hey, watch where you're going Spiky." A loud voice boomed out. "Are you alright missy?"
Tifa looked up at the man who had spoken. The large black man from the ring stared back at her, a mildly concerned look on his face.
"I'm fine, just a little surprised." She said. Relief flooded the man's features.
"Okay, good. Spiky here doesn't always watch where he's going."
"Hey Barret, are you just gonna diss Cloud all night, or are we going to get him back to Highwind?" Barret looked at the redhead.
"Right, Reno, we should be going. Sorry about that." Tifa thrust her hand out to Barret.
"I'm Tifa Valentine, pleased to meet you." Barret took her hand gently, as if it would break.
"Barret Wallace. The punk redhead is Reno Tarver, and the quiet fella is Cloud Strife. Sorry about running into ya like that but we've gotta go." Tifa nodded and walked away. Reno paused, looking after her.
"You know, she didn't look half bad." Cloud gave him a glare. Barret rolled his eyes.
"Reno, just get the car." Reno took the hint, and stopped talking.