Fire.

Smoke.

Sephiroth.

Those were Tifa Lockhart's last memories of her hometown. Of Nibelhiem. She swore she would hate all of it until her dying breath. Sephiroth... SOLDIER... Mako... Shinra...

That was the last thing she said to Zack. Zack Fair, SOLDIER 1st Class who had never heard of Cloud Strife. He went after Sephiroth, and she might never get the chance to say thank you.

Zangan would not talk about what happened. "It will only trouble you, Tifa-kun. Now, you need rest. You have had enough pain." He would stroke her hair until she fell asleep, hanging the yaku-yoke he made on the bed frame so that no more evil would hurt his protégé. Every night he cast Cure spell after Cure spell, but that barely managed to keep her alive. The only way was east across the sea to the dark metropolis where he could get her to a real hospital. He stayed by her side as long as he could, but once she recovered, he knew it was time to go.

When her mentor left Midgar, so did any hope of getting answers. Just shy of sixteen and all alone, she was a stranger in a strange land surrounded by Shinra and Mako and everything she hated. She always wanted experience life outside of Nibelheim, but she never dreamed she'd leave the town in ashes.

And Cloud...

Where could he be? She wished now more than ever that her hero would come and rescue her. When they were kids she was so sure he would become a great SOLDIER, 1st Class, but that was before the greatest SOLDIER of them all destroyed everything she had ever known.

Her hands felt icy, once she remembered the water running over them. Lowering her face, she carefully avoided her hair and let her fingers linger over her eyes and cheeks. She willed her fears away to make room for a wave of optimism. "This is your fresh start," she told her reflection. She attempted a smile and tried to believe in its sincerity. With a deep sigh, she gathered the few things Zangan managed to salvage from the fires, signed her release forms and was on her way.

As Tifa walked out of the medical center, a few heads turned. Unaccustomed to the attention, she lifted the cowboy hat over her head and tried to find her way down the steel steps and towards her new home. That's when he saw her.

"Come on, Rude, I'm starved." Reno was getting impatient as his stomach grumbled. When his partner didn't answer, Reno gave him a less than friendly jab on the shoulder. "What the hell are ya starin at?" But then he turned and saw her, too. She was walking toward them, head down, and Rude seemed to have lost the ability to move or speak. "Good luck with that, pal," Reno said as he patted his partner on the back and walked on ahead of him.

She looked up and noticed the tall suited stranger watching her. "Um... hi... sir. Do you know how I can get to the Sector 7 slums from here?" Her doe eyes blinked up at him.

"..." Yes, you do know, Rude said to himself. "Uhh... it's just down that way. The rail system… but it's dangerous. He almost manages complete sentences. "Lots of creatures. You know, Mako."

"Yeah, I've heard," she spat almost venomously as she flashed her brass knuckles. "I think I'll manage, mister...?"

"..." She turned her head in speculation before he uttered, "Uh... Rude."

"Hmm," Rude, huh? she thought, figuring she should learn to keep tabs on the enemy. He seemed nice enough... but with a suit like he had to be some sort of Shinra staffer. "Well, unfortunately, this isn't my first rodeo, but thanks for the warning... Rude."

And with that, she ran off to make the next elevator and waved at him through the glass as it descended to the slums. He couldn't help but stare as he made a mental note to spend more time under the Sector 7 plate.