A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FF7 characters, Square Enix does.
Anyways, this is the first "official" chapter of the story. It's in Tifa's point of view. Hope you like it. Its two years after the incident, by the way.
Chapter One
She stood at the opening of the door. She had a way to start over now. Not a good one, that is. She was forced to begin anew. She hadn't even wanted to. With both parents gone, she had no choice but to move out of her "hometown." Her master had suggested a place where she could live. An old master of his would take her in. If this master was anything like him, the person would be ancient. Her Master was progressing in years, so anyone who'd taught him must be ancient. She would be cared for, he had said. The person she was looking for was in the Seventh Sector of the slums. Not much to them. There was a lot of debris everywhere. But it was kind of homey. Tifa couldn't put her finger on it, but it felt familiar.
She found a bar right in the middle of the slums. She quietly opened the door. She was taken back by the homey feel of the place. It had beige and tan tones on the walls and different photos of different parts of the world.
"Whoever's there, I'll be up in a minute!" a female voice called out. Suddenly, a woman with a crate of booze came out of a doorway at the end of the room. There was a set of stairs adjacent to them. The woman's long blond hair was pulled back into a bun. She heaved the crate onto the bar counter. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve. She looked up and saw Tifa.
"So, who're you?" she asked. She sat down in a chair near the bar counter and looked totally relaxed.
"Tifa Lockheart," she said bluntly. The woman laughed at her. Her blue-gray eyes sparkled with merriment.
"You are the new student… huh. I thought you'd be bigger. Hm. You must be really talented to be suggested to me," the woman said. She looked over Tifa's profile. Then she looked piercingly into Tifa's eyes. She nodded and stood up.
"Alright. Here are the rules: you will go to school. You will be home before the streetlights go out. You have to maintain a minimum of a B average. You train with me on weekends. You try to help out with the bar, but your studies come first. No drugs or getting into trouble. And, if you want, I'll give you some money for shopping. Don't worry about the money issue. Just cause we're in the slums doesn't mean that I'm poor. I've lived so long that I have three fortunes built up," she said. She pointed to the stairs.
"First room on the right is yours. Take your belongings and get settled in."
"Wha-? You mean that you're my new teacher?" Tifa literally exclaimed. The woman raised one eyebrow at her.
"Why the hell not? Did you really think that I would be an old geezer? Please. Bright but has no imagination. By the gods, you are an imbecile. Just because I look young, doesn't mean I am. I can't age. Get over it. I don't give a damn about you're hang-ups. A SOLDIER may have killed your father, but he didn't kill you. Besides, if he did, I would have killed him. As my apprentice, you're going to be demanded a lot. I train kids harder than Shin-ra ever thought of. I was the original, and I intend to stay that way," the woman huffed. "The name's Adair, by the way."
With that, she left Tifa to tend to her own. Tifa only nodded dumbly as she went up to her room. It was small. It had a bed, desk and dresser. She was grateful to have a roof over her head.
Somehow she would deal with this. She had to.
A/N: Hm. This is an introduction to one of my characters. This story's slightly AU because of the fact that it is. It might be a while before I update. But I hope to soon. The next chapter is Tifa's first day of school. I wonder who she'll see. Not Zack yet. But maybe an old friend.