CHAPTER FOUR: FROM ELFE TO CAFE

Even though her time in Cocoon had been very short she had managed to spend a productive day with Rygdea, which helped a lot. On the tour bus she saw the wonders of Eden, Palamecia, Nautilus and Lake Bresha. He even treated her out to dinner before they boarded the train, ignoring all her protests to let her pay for it or at least a part of it. She could never get her mind off the people she left behind in Midgar, but this time she found it in herself to be able to breathe more easily. That or it could have something to do with the fact that Midgarian air was thick with pollution and Cocoon is does its best to stay green, despite all that electricity it seems to use up. Rygdea was great company and even insisted that he had no trouble accompanying her all the way to her new home since he happened to have some business in Rubrum to take care of regardless. When they reached Tifa's new home, it was past eleven and she was very surprised to see her new roommate open the door just when she was about to ring the bell.

"Good evening. You must be my new roommate, Tifa. I'm Felicia but call me Elfé," the brunette greeted humbly.

'Elfé... why does that ring a very loud big bell?' But Tifa was too tired and gave her the best smile she could muster with her exhaustion.

"Hello. I'm so sorry for coming so late. I feel so bad that you had to wait till this ungodly hour," Tifa said, shamefacedly.

"Don't worry about it. I was most anxious to see you. Besides it's Friday night. Which means either I go out with my boyfriend or I just kick back and watch some late night TV. Come inside, already," she ushered as she stepped aside. But before Tifa let herself step foot inside the house she turned to face Rygdea and said, "Thank you so much. For everything. All the trouble and… for what you did for me back in our previous train ride…"

Rygdea knew that she was referring to the time she let herself break down into tears. Truthfully, he only comforted her because it was awkward and he didn't want any onlookers to make any unnecessary jugements but later he felt genuinely worried for her so he did what he had to.

"Don't sweat it. Get some rest, okay, kiddo? And remember to call Raines if you don't want him to nag you," he joked.

Tifa let herself smile at this when she knew that in her heart she doesn't mind if her new CID calls her and he will not be the only one keeping tabs on her either. It's good to have people who care. Cid tried to be a fatherly figure to her while still being himself; he was rough around the edges and swears a lot, and also has a very bad temper. But he is kind and did his best as a social service worker; he also never expected anything big and grand from her. Raines was very different in that matter. He expects her to do well in school and she felt almost obliged to prove herself to him that she can do this on her own. So before forgetting to call Raines before, she slid off the handle of her backpack from her shoulder and opened the zip. Her hand shuffled inside for her phone and found it underneath the messy heap of clothes that she inelegantly shoved into her backpack when she was about to leave Midgar. After finding her phone, she tapped the 'contacts' button and scrolled down to find the name 'Cid Raines' and tapped it. It had all his contact details, including his postal address, e-mail address and his phone. She dialed his number and pressed the phone against her ear until she heard his voice from the other end.

"Hello, Tifa."

"Evening. I just want to let you know that I am just outside my new home… I also met Elfé," she didn't have the heart to tell him that she was really tired and wants to go to bed but thankfully, Raines is a sensitive man.

"That's good to hear. Thank you for letting me know. Get some sleep and I wish you all the best. Goodnight."

"Night," and she hung up.

Turning to Rygdea, she thanked him again and he turned to leave but not before giving her one last advice about not being afraid to call Raines if there was anything she needed. Elfé has been very patient as she waited awkwardly outside the door and was relieved when she finally let herself inside and close the door after her. "Come on. I'll show you to your room. I dressed it up myself, so I hope you'll like it." She led her through the living room and up the narrow staircase where they will find themselves in a corridor with three doors. The door at the far left was slightly ajar while the door in the middle ad a charm hanging at the door know. Tifa recognized it to be a Moogle toy with a cute red green tarsal and deduced that it must be Elfé's room. The third door at the far right had the door wide open to reveal a pastel turquoise colored bathroom.

"So you're room's the one in the far right over there," Elfé demonstrated as she lead her there and opened the door for her to see. The room was almost the size as her that apartment in Midgar equipped with a tall wardrobe and a decent study table. Tifa also noticed that she can finally have the luxury of having a bedside table with a lamp on top if she wanted to have a late night read. For some reason, this made her ridiculously happy though she didn't show it. The coloring was cream, off white and dark brown and her bed sheets and pillow cases were maroon colored and her blanket was thick and white in color with tiny black polka dots.

"It's really cozy, Elfé. I like it."

"I'm glad. I'll leave you alone and if you need anything I'll be in my room. You are welcome to come inside anytime," then she politely closed the door after herself to leave Tifa alone to unpack her meager belongings: a small viscose cloth bag containing her toiletries, seven pairs of underwear, three pairs of skinny jeans (one black and two blue), her drab vest that is too big for her, four tee shirts (two short sleeved: one red and one white; two long sleeved: one grey, one black); and a single set of pajamas for the summer. She stared at all her belongings and sighed.

'I really want to get rid of that vest. Maybe I should burn it, nobody is going to wear that. What was I thinking?' Her brief time in Cocoon has forced her to become fashion conscious and she has never cared about it before. She certainly hasn't cared about how she looked before as she was too busy trying to be invisible and studying hard. Cid knew exactly what he was talking about when he told her to get rid of those hoodies. Now that she thought back, the hoodies were pointless in her attempt to be invisible. She took care to fold up her clothes and arranged them in her wardrobe. Then she took off her shoes and snatched her pair of underwear, pajamas and her toiletries and opened the door to cross the corridor in order to head towards the bathroom. Upon closer look at the bathroom tiles she saw that there were themes of sea life with little shells and starfish designed in the tile works and the wooden knobs of the bathroom cabinet had cute little dolphins carved into it. Looking at the sink she saw that Elfé had even arranged for her a separate tooth brush holder since it had a lovely water proof name sticker on it. Smiling at her thoughtfulness, she arranged the toiletries into the cabinet and placed her now empty bag at the top corner of the shelf before closing it.

'Okay, all set. Now to brush my teeth…'

During her nightly hygiene ritual, Elfé interrupted her slightly as she got out of her room and leaned against the bathroom door.

"Hey, do you want to watch some late night TV with me? They're going to start the first episode of third season of Devil May Cry. Wanna watch?" she offered.

"Yeah sure!" Tifa replied with a muffled tone as her mouth was foaming with toothpaste. When the sting of the freshness was too much to bear, she spit it out and asked, "I want to take a quick shower though. Is it okay if I can use your hairdryer till I get my own?"

"Oh, yeah go ahead. I'll wait for you downstairs. I assume you don't want any late night snacks?"

"Nah, I'm good," she affirmed and went back to brushing her teeth.

"A'ight," Elfé chirped and she headed downstairs.

By the time Tifa heard the sound of the television turn on she had finished her oral hygiene ritual, thoroughly rinsing her mouth and spit one final time before turning off the tap. Her head picked up to see a reflection of herself on the cabinet mirror. It was clean and unbroken where the one in Cid's place always had cobwebs and cracks and now non-existent since Tifa punished it with her knuckles. This time, she finally swallowed the idea that she was finally in Rubrum, not Midgar, and she has a nice roommate too. She didn't know if she felt any better because the reflection of herself showed her as tired, her skin is pallid and her hair is a mess and didn't make her look any less brooding, especially with her bangs that grew so long that it covered one of her eyes and she still couldn't bother to get a haircut.

She concluded that she never liked looking at the mirror but she will make an effort to buy clothes that will make her forget all about Midgar's gritty lifestyle for the moment. She shred off her clothes and dumped it in the stray laundry basket that sat on top of a pink plastic stool and hung her pajamas next to the hand towels on the towel rods. Then she stepped into the shower cabin, sliding the leak-proof glass door behind her. She looked up at the shower head and closed her eyes as she pulled the valve and let the cold drizzle fall on her face. The water slowly turned lukewarm and comfortable enough to rinse her hair and body, lather with cherry-blossom scented shampoo and soap and rinse again. While this long shower was good for soothing her muscles from all that touring and travelling from one locomotive to another she felt her mind zone into another world; a world that was not familiar to her.

In this world, she found herself again in the strangest outfit where she wore a leather zip-up top, a train-skirt that was long at the back which was attached to a leather pouch at the front (typical of what you would see on waiters and bar hosts), knee-length cargo shorts and on her hand a ring of a silver wolf, the same emblem of the Midgar Wolves Blitzball team. She never remembered being a fan of Blitzball. She then noticed a water droplet fall at her feet (and she noticed that those sneakers are probably the only article of clothing she has seen in her visions). Then she looked up and saw a clear water drop at the railing of some… place she wasn't really sure. She was only vaguely aware of the people around her when mouth moved, but she wasn't sure if it was really her.

"Somehow, I knew you were there. Thank you."

'Who… am I talking to?'

She looked at the people she was with. She saw the back of Cid, Yuffie jumping up and down, a furry red beast that she thought only lives in Cosmo Canyon or Gran Pulse and on top of him a cat toy that looks exactly like Mr. Tuesti's keychain, Barret with a mechanical arm that turns into a gun, and finally a tall imposing dark man with a long red cloak and a golden claw. 'Who is he…? And where is Zack? Where is Aerith…? Aerith!'

"AERITH!" Tifa shouted and she tripped into the shower cabinet in her panic and fell hard on her bum, but she didn't wince in pain. She breathed hard as she saw that vision. "What was that about?" she whispered shakily as she leaned her head against the glass pane behind her. She stared at the showerhead that continued to spray water but it didn't clear out the stinging feeling in her eyes. The last time she has seen something with the cast of people in her vision involved all of them fighting a large dragon in a ruined Edge, a suburb at the outskirts of Midgar. This was alarming because dragons in this world are tamable and fly freely in conserves of Wutai and Concordia, two big countries down South of Gaia. As usual, that vision suffered the absence of seeing Zack and Aerith and she was always stuck wondering about the red furred lion-wolf and that tall man with the red cape. She has not met him yet and she felt that it was unnerving.

But she chose to forget about this and try to start her new life in Rubrum if she was to get anywhere with her sudden plans. She didn't know what she will do after she graduates but she had hoped to find her passion with this simple change of scenery. So far she knew she loves to study, music and sports. But those are large fields and she doesn't know how specified her preferences could be tailored or how deep her passion for those subjects could be. But now… she was free to explore them. She got up carefully by holding a rod and pushed the valve to stop the water. She saw her fingers get wrinkled and easily decided that was too much rinsing for one evening.

She dried herself and then dried her hair thoroughly so she wouldn't get sick and spent some time comping through her hair that was so long that it covered her bottom. 'I shouldn't keep Elfé waiting,' she thought and quickly put on her pajamas and hurried downstairs where she found her roommate in front of the television her body splayed out on the couch.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Elfé. Did it start already?"

"Wow you took a long shower. But you're lucky, I was one half an hour off to the real start of the program," she informed as she curled her legs behind her to give Tifa the space to sit.

"Oh cool," Tifa took her offer to sit and stretched her legs out until she heard the small audible crack of her muscles. Then she leaned back and relaxed as she crossed her ankles.

"By the way I heard you yell something upstairs. Is everything alright?" Elfé asked.

"Oh um…" Tifa sighed. 'I… hate visions. I hate seeing them. I hate talking about them.'

"It's no big deal. Just saw a stupid vision in the shower that ended with a pain in the ass," she replied, waving her hand dismissively.

"Ouch. Visions plus shower, equals an accident and a string of swears against the gods. Assholes," she concluded. Elfé perfectly understood that visions can be a nasty thing to talk about and she only ever told about her visions to her dad and her boyfriend, so she didn't pry and there is something much more interesting than visions and its airing on the television. And both women were staring at the television with interest when the star of the show, Dante arrived in his shirtless glory, straight out of the shower. Then came a scene when the demons attacked him and prevented him from eating his last slice of pizza.

"Oh yes. Now bring out that big sword of yours!" cheered Elfé.

"Innuendos," was the only word Tifa graced to that comment. But she had to agree with her.

"Deliciously inappropriate," she replied back with a smirk.

Both the girls giggled at their antics as they continued to watch the first episode with appreciation and knew they will probably have good dreams tonight.

The episode lasted forty-eight minutes and Elfé shut the television off before they can hear the classic, 'Next episode...' She didn't mind previews but these days previews gave too many spoilers.

"Call it a night?"

"Yeah. Goodnight Elfé."

"Goodnight."

And they went upstairs to their respective bedrooms.

Tifa kneeled in front of the bed and clasped her hands in prayer. She closed her eyes and thought that this time she will have a different type of prayer. For the past three weeks she has only prayed for one thing. 'Please wake up, Aerith. Please let Aerith open her eyes today'. This time she had a prayer that she felt was more urgent. 'Please. I want to tell Aerith that I made it to Class-Zero. I want to see her smile again. I want her to congratulate me and hug me. I want to see her vivid green eyes again and I want to hear her corny jokes. I want to receive her lovely floral gifts again. I want to see Zack and Cloud happy and fulfilling their dreams. I want Yuffie to steal something from me again,' she knew she wasn't finished just there so for the first time in her entire life, she prayed for herself, 'please, help me change for the better'.

The moment Tifa dug deeply into her blanket on her bed, she felt extreme fatigue quickly wrap around her whole conscious and her eyes shut easily as she fell into a dreamless sleep. She didn't see Aerith, or any of her friends or any nightmares of the current head of police… She didn't dream and tomorrow she will wake up thinking that it was a shame since she would have liked to see Dante come and whisk her away after saving her from some demons.

The next morning, Tifa woke up to the smell of breakfast and her stomach growled. Her stomach seems to do that quiet often but her fogged mind cannot comprehend why. Forcing herself to kick the warm sheets, she slipped out of the bed and opened her wardrobe to slip on some clothes. Then she hurried downstairs to follow the delicious scent and found the door to the kitchen behind the living room. There she found Elfé making stacks of waffles.

"Smells good," Tifa remarked as she helped herself into the kitchen to take out two plates and two sets of cutlery for the both of them, "Do you need any help?" she asked as she arranged them on the table.

"Good morning, Tifa. And no. I didn't think you'd wake up this early since its Sunday, but let me make you some waffles. Could you take out the syrup? It's in that cabinet," Elfé pointed.

"Sure," Tifa promptly found it and placed it on the plastic white kitchen table. She sat on one of the matching chairs while Elfé filled shoved the freshly baked waffles onto each of their plates and poured a healthy amount of syrup on each of their breakfasts. Taking a bite, Tifa found it delicious in all its sugary delight and it showed. "Mm! It's been a while. Thank you so much for the trouble, Elfé."

"It's no trouble at all, Tifa. So… tell me about yourself."

"Well… I come from Midgar. I went to high school there, then I decided that I wanted to move here to study and got accepted to Vermillion Bird Academy."

"That doesn't say much," Elfé remarked.

"… I came on scholarship. I'll be with Class-Zero," she said in the lowest voice possible as she that she would sound arrogant.

Elfé beamed at this and said, "Oh my god, do you know what that means? You should definitely try out for the Scholastic Dissidia Trials. And if you succeed that, you can enter Dissidia Tournament."

Tifa was very much in touch with world events. She knew that the Dissidia Tournaments are a much bigger rage than Blitzball. It is a series of obstacle courses with races, duels, puzzle-solving, board running and much more. It is intense, suspenseful and a huge thrill for not just the contestants but also their fans. Trading cards are made out of the contestants and if they are popular enough they get their own franchise too. Suddenly she remembered something about her roommate. The Scholastic Dissidia Trials put students in each school into a series of highly sportive tests and assess their performance levels to decide which of the best two get to participate in the Dissidia Tournaments. They then have the right to compete each year with new and old rivals and have complete control over their retirement. Some people only compete one year and take their rewards and never come back. Others compete to be remembered and make their standing.

"Wait… my roommate is Felicia Verdot, aka Elfé." Realization has dawned on her like a ton of bricks and Elfé snickered at her reaction. "… Does the world know you make great waffles?" Tifa attempted to joke but this was very overwhelming. 'Raines told me earlier but I was just so tired with all that administrative shit he piled up all over me! Damn it!' Elfé is quiet famous because of her intense rivalry with Sephiroth Crescent. Sephiroth, as far as Tifa knows, is the head of Midgar Police. His rise to power was very fast due to his intelligence and his background with Guardian Corp. He competed with Genesis Rhapsodos (now a famous dramatist and director) and Angeal Hewley (her ex-PE teacher, now in SOLDIER) and won first place for the first two years in his time.

He was expected to win for the third time the Tournaments that had the three aforementioned contestants were said to be the most thrilling and anticipated because the competition was so close. Genesis was the obviously the brainiest of the bunch and people expected him to win with his tricks and knack for escaping traps. But Sephiroth somehow always outshines him. Either he has a lot of dumb luck or he's the god of Dissidia Tournaments. Tifa… always hoped that Sephiroth would lose because she feared him. Even now, if they were to sit across each other, knowing well that Sephiroth was guilty for what his half-brothers have done, she would still squirm. Her hopes came true when Sephiroth Crescent was defeated by one Felicia Verdot. It was the biggest surprise in the history of game change. It had been a close match but Elfé had defeated Sephiroth fair and square. Sephiroth was not seen in the next year's Tournament but he wished Elfé the best for the next year. Elfé competed for the next year and left the Tournament willingly after that. Tifa knew because she has her trading card.

'Come on girl. Get yourself together. Stop slobbering and being a stupid fan girl in front of your idol! Oh my god, I am eating waffles made by Elfé. The Elfé and the one and only. I am sitting next to her. Okay say something, say something. Why didn't I recognize her earlier? Oh because she was in PJs, looking really homely and she's without make up. Not that she's ugly without it… She's very pretty. And a tomboy. Like me. She likes Dante. Like me. She's just so cool! Why didn't I fucking recognize her?! I mean come on who goes on by the name of Elfé. Raines… you sly, sexy, son-of-a-bitch, you were testing me all this time wondering if I was listening to you. I was more worried about paperwork. You got me a first class seat too in the train. Then you let me go to Midgar every month. You pay more than 10,000 Gil for me and you now put me as a roommate next to a celebrity.'

"Relax," Elfé roused her from her thoughts. "We're in Rubrum and I don't want any paparazzi. Also it's been a long time ago. I'm surprised anyone remembers me now. The new guys are competing are much more impressive. I hear this Squall guy is quite good. His competition with Tidus was memorable. Some say that he was trained by Lightning herself."

Claire Farron, aka, Lightning is the one woman in the history of Dissidia to compete and guard three Gold Medals where everybody else before after her could only guard two at maximum. Tifa admires her a lot.

"Um… Elfé. I just want to tell you that I'm not one to go gaga over Dissidia contestants but since you defeated Sephiroth, I bought your trading card and it's the only trading card I allowed myself to possess."

Elfé peeled with laughter at that and said, "Thanks! That's really flattering. Honestly, I don't know how I did it, its dumb luck. Sephiroth was a really scary competition. But you know, we respect each other. I wonder how he's doing. I heard that he landed himself into a bit of personal trouble. All he said was that his family is insane and he's no longer cleaning up their messes…"

Tifa knew immediately what Sephiroth was talking about and made no further comment. She wanted to stop all talk about the silver-haired legend and think of something else.

"It's funny… I had visions of him before. I remember feeling somewhere in between nothing to courage; the kind that you feel when you face an obstacle but you feel obliged to face it. But I can't remember them anymore, I can't remember the details. They used to be so clear before, so real. Now, these visions don't mean anything. Sephiroth is not some bloody archenemy with a fancy katana, but he was a worthy opponent. I'm honored to know him personally."

Tifa listened carefully at this and knew that she had never seen Elfé in her visions but she has seen Sephiroth clearly. He was menacing, he had an evil aura and every time they were in battle with him along with Cloud and that mysterious man with the red cape, the way he wielded his sword made him demonic. He was an absolute monster in battle. But Tifa remembered feeling almost what Elfé described: this intense feeling of duty to face your fears. Tifa was facing possible death in her dreams as she landed blows after blows on Sephiroth when he turned into that thing with seven wings and whatever his lower body was made of. Humans can't possibly grow wings and last time she checked, Sephiroth bleeds red blood and he's human… and he doesn't have that ridiculously long hair which must be incredibly inconvenient for battle. His hair was indeed silver, but short and covered up to his neck. He still had strange pupils but he has the green eyes of a cat but in her visions they were eyes of a poisonous viper.

"My wardrobe is drab," Tifa swiftly changed the subject.

"Is it Midgarian?" Elfé grinned.

"Very… very drab. But my skinny jeans are okay. I guess…"

"Today we have Sunday market and there will be some beautiful clothes for you. It's been a while since I went shopping with a friend. Since I moved to University of Akademia from UTAWA, I never really got around it."

"I guess this could be fun… I'm not the sort that goes shopping either. I'm a total tomboy. My best friend—" she choked a little as she mentioned Aerith, "she… she would drag me to every mall."

"Hey, we're allowed to be girly from time to time."

"I concur. Say, do you know this café called Tarot Tea & Coffee House? I was supposed to go there and ask for a job…"

Elfé's eyes widened at the name and said, "Yes indeed I know it. My boyfriend is the manager. I can take you there first and then we can go to the market. By the way, how old are you?"

"I'm fifteen."

"And you're birthday?"

"May 3rd."

"So you're legal enough to have a part-time job and you'll turn sixteen in early spring. The timing is really good for you."

"If you're talking about me entering the Trials, I still need to think about it…"

"Take your time."

They amiably finished their breakfast and Elfé insisted to clean the dishes. So Tifa went upstairs to check her belongings.

'Okay, wallet, check. Folder… I'll leave it behind,' she took out the blue folder but remembered that she had to take her letter of recommendation. Opening it, she flipped through the pages and pages of administrative paperwork and finally found a beige envelope that she recognized to be the letter of recommendation and slipped it into her bag. She ran downstairs to see Elfé ready and waiting for her as she tossed the keys playfully in the air. She looked rather smart sporting a light blue pair of jeans and a bottle green top with matching sneakers.

"Shall we?"

"We shall," Tifa joked back.

"Oh before I forget, here are your keys. Don't lose them because in Rubrum forging extra keys is a steep price compared to Cocoon," she advised as they left the house. The café happens to be right next to the tram station Cid Raines had mentioned that Tifa would have to take to go to VBA. The station was called Agito Middle Street named after the street the café they entered.

"Shears? Are you there?"

A young man with curly blond hair and boyish looks looked up from cleaning his mug and said, "Oh hello. I'll go get Shears, he's in his office." The café had few people in it as most of them must have already gone to the Sunday market in the morning and plan to stop by later. The blond haired boy disappeared into the back entrance and Elfé inclined her head to Tifa to join her to sit on a stool at the bar tab. Tifa didn't let herself have the luxury as she felt it would be rude to sit and then ask the manager of the job. The blond boy came out followed by a serious looking fellow with chestnut brown hair, much like Elfé's and wore an olive-green beanie over his head. He looks like the type that can survive on his own on Midgar slums and maybe he came from there.

"What's up, Elfé? Who's this?" he cocked his chin to Tifa's direction. Tifa… wanted to curl in a corner somewhere. She is not really good with this types and the only way she can handle it is a neutral face and a monotone expression. She's never had a job interview before and she was feeling uneasy. 'Don't mess up. Don't mess up. Don't mess up. Try to smile. Look positive. Don't be gloomy self. Just—'

"She came here asking for a job," Elfé supplied in her stead.

Shears wasn't one to beat around the bush and replied immediately, "Sorry kid. We are already full and we don't have time for rookies."

"Shears!" Elfé scolded.

Luckily for him, Tifa wasn't one to beat around the bush either, especially when she receives this sort of attitude. She had to stand up for herself. So she slammed her backpack on the bar tab with purpose. That grabbed everyone's attention. She unzipped her bag to pull out an envelope and handed it to him. "I have a recommendation letter. But if that's not enough, I'll just look someplace else."

Shears blinked and secretly thought, 'This girl has guts,' and wordlessly took her envelop and ripped it open to unfold the letter before him. His eyebrows rose slightly when he saw where it came from and his eyes scanned the letter quickly. "Well… if Raines insists, then I got no choice," he muttered and gave back the letter. "Do you have your visa?"

"Yes."

"Is it with you?"

"It's at home."

"Always keep your visa with you, kid."

"Got it. My name's Tifa. Tifa Lockhart."

"Shears Villiers. At your service."

Tifa thought that it was funny he said that since she'll be the one to be giving the services and doing whatever he says since he's the boss.

"Well then. I'll show you the ropes today. So you start tomorrow. When does your school start?"

"September 1st".

"Tell you what? You do well this week, and I'll give you a PGC: Permanent Guarantee Contract. You call the shots when you want to come, how many hours you work and when you want to quit. You get paid 20 Gil per hour."

"That… sounds like a good deal."

"By the way, I lied. I do need people…" he took the moment to look slightly shame faced. "It's just the last time I had a rookie, he fucking set the kitchen on fire. And you're just in time. Felix here goes back to uni next week."

"Hello! Guess we'll be working together from tomorrow. I'm Felix. Felix Nunchaku. It's too bad we only get to know each other for a week but let's get along okay?" the blond male, Felix, chirped.

"Sure," Tifa nodded.

From her speech patterns, Shears already knew that she wasn't much for talking. Much like himself. Even her disposition was like someone that was a hard case. Fortunately, in a quaint café like his, they didn't always have to be as chipper as Felix. Being polite and welcoming as enough.

"By the way Felix… why is your last name a weapon?" Tifa wondered.

"Because… maybe my ancestors have a weird sense of humor? I happen to have a variety of nunchakus in my Heirloom," he shrugged with a smile. Tifa… didn't know what to think of that. Her Heirloom that keeps coming down from parent to child are a pair of knuckles known as Premium Heart. The last time she has seen her Heirloom was when she was eight. After her mother died it disappeared.

"Enough socializing. Time to show you the ropes, kid."

Tifa was tempted to roll her eyes when Shears wouldn't stop calling her a kid. But he slid off the bar tab and followed Shears behind the kitchen where all the 'fucking wonders of pastries, coffee beans and tea leaves' happen and where things are, where to clean the dishes, the uniform cabinet, the store room, the place where you check the inventory and finally, he told her to 'buy herself a fucking hairband since her hair look like a moody teenager that's going to throw off the customers'. Etiquette is not his forte. She wondered how he manages to keep the café going with an attitude like that.

He was about to give her more 'fucking' advice until Elfé reprimanded him, "Shears. Language. And she'll be fine, she's smarter than you are. She happens to be Class-Zero with scholarship even if she's new here. And I have a shopping date with her."

"Wait seriously? Congrats kid," Shears took the decency to offer a small congratulatory smile for that.

"Wow… what are the chances I get to meet a bona fide Class-Zero student? Man I wish I could stay longer just to get you know better. And scholarship? You must be really smart. Hey you should seriously consider going to UTAWA. It's awesome!" Felix rambled excitedly.

"Thanks… I'll think about it," she really doesn't know how she should handle people when they find out that she is a scholarship student. She has achieved an amazing feat but she doesn't want to rub that into people's faces. She knew that Cid Raines was a scholarship student too, so perhaps there will be one just like her. There are two ways to get to class-zero: exceptional test results and overall fair performance in class or one special skill and lots of money behind you. Tifa fell into the first category.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Shears. Felix," she offered a simple nod to the blond waiter and he cheerily waved, genuinely looking forward to tomorrow. Elfé took this as her cue to leave the café but not before pressing a gentle kiss on her boyfriend's cheek. "I'll make sure to call. My dad is planning to visit mid-September," she informed with an apologetic expression. Shears winced but didn't say anything as he watched her leave.

"Say… I'm curious. What do you think of our new recruit?"

"A hard case."

"She… kind of reminds of Midgar for some reason. I think I've seen her once in my much older visions but I can't remember the details."

"Nah, she's definitely from the slums or at least at the outskirts of it. Maybe that's why she moved. And Felix… learn to mind your own god damn fucking business."

Felix gave him a shaky sheepish grin and raised his hands to surrender, "Hey, you're already getting overprotective of your new pretty employee. How cute."

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up."

In the meanwhile, Tifa learned a lot about Elfé, more than Elfé could learn about her. Every time she asked her for her origins she would evade it somehow, make her think that she was from a small village near Icicle Inn and it was a half-truth. The only thing Elfé knows was that she learned martial arts from the late Master Zangan. Then during her time in Midgar, she would take the train to JIGS and train with two martial arts experts who shared the same teacher. Elfé knew them well because they were once students of UTAWA.

Tifa on the other hand learned that Elfé likes the color green and came from Kalm Town and lived in Midgar with her father briefly before leaving due to her visions. She got her Bachelor's Degree in Management of Non-Profit Organizations and is currently doing a master's program in Akedemia University. During her free time Elfé likes to go to JIGS and practice Kendo, go to cinema halls and concerts or just sit at home and watch TV. She also knows that she's been going out with Shears for four years and her dad still doesn't like him.

After knowing her this much already, Tifa already felt the ugly head of inferiority complex when she tries to make a list of her own personal hobbies; she has very little hobbies. Sure, there is the piano and the sports but Elfé has a much more colorful life even when her activities are so relatable and homely enough; she's such a regular girl and it's easy to forget that she defeated the once three-times-in-a-row champion, Sephiroth. There is much that Tifa doesn't know about herself and she doesn't just hope anymore for something to happen in Rubrum. Rather, she is counting on her future experiences in Class-Zero to change her for the better; make her happier and stronger, make her somebody that can care for others and protect them; be a person that can love herself a little more.

Perhaps the first step to self-love is a new wardrobe and maybe a haircut. If that was the case, then she is glad that she went out with Elfé and was satisfied with her new clothes. There were clothes that is perfect for going to JIGS, and an array of casual clothing that ranged from dresses to shorts, many stylish tops and skinny jeans that did not make her look drab thanks to their incredibly stylish seams. It had been a good day while Elfé showed her around Rubrum via tram. She even got to see the university campus which had a lovely park and there they had their lunch. So far it went well.

Until Elfé ran out of things to say.

She was usually reserved but social and Tifa, to her, was a little awkward. She was always curt in her replies and she'd ask more simple questions over simple things rather ask the real questions. She was also very evasive sometimes but she decided to overlook it but if her ears heard correctly, Raines is the one that wrote that recommendation letter and that must mean that she is under CID protection, something her father fully approves of and works vigorously in their administrative section. But like Shears she was not one to pry and Tifa is only her roommate during the weekends and holidays. The rest of the time, she'll be at VBA since it is also a boarding school with fully equipped dormitories. She'll have another roommate there and she will never be alone. She wonders if Tifa knows how lucky she is because she always looked weighed down by something. To her credit, Tifa's evasive answers and diplomatic replies are a good shield and she was able to exhibit a sense of humor. She likes to maintain a neutral face most of the time but her newly acquired roommate wasn't someone without expressions. In any case, the awkward silence was killing her and it was the first time she was forced to talk more than usual to anyone before.

"Shall we call it a day? I have to date with Shears later in the evening. Will you be okay at home alone?" she asked.

"Yeah."

There it was again, the curt responses. Elfé almost wanted to roll her eyes and tell her that it is okay to reply with more than one word just to say essentially one thing. "Then let's go home."

Monday came the next day and so was her first day of work, even if it is a week long trial period. She was told to arrive before 8:00AM so that they can prepare the inventory and open the shop. Monday doesn't have many customers but there are always people who eat their breakfast outside before going to work. At one point, she treated the idea of eating breakfast outside everyday as a wastefully expensive habit for rich people who want to show off. But now that she is actually going to work for the café, she would have to thank them for her patronage and doesn't think negatively of them anymore. 'Maybe not all rich people are bad but then again, the people of Rubrum were a lot friendlier and helpful than Midgarians,' she thought as she entered the café through the back entrance. She found Felix carrying boxes and he cheerily greeted her, "Hey, Tifa. How are you?"

"Fine."

Elfé wasn't the only one that noticed her one-word replies.

"Geez, you can say more than one word to me, Tifa. I don't bite," he joked but felt slightly bad when he noticed Tifa looking shamefaced at this and clearly struggling to say something more but he saved her the trouble. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. Say, why you don't help me move those boxes over here? We have a new delivery and we have to open them and rearrange the items in the cupboards."

"Sure," Tifa winced as she did her old habit again. "Of course. I'll be glad to help out."

"That's the spirit! Oi Shears! Tifa's here!"

"Good! Now put her to work, you hyperactive perm-head-on-crack!"

"So mean…" he muttered with an amused smile. Tifa wondered if Shears was actually Cid's cousin.

As they sorted out the inventory, Tifa was headed to the kitchen to take her long bib and was startled when Shears shouted, "Holy! What are you—?" Then he stopped himself as he took another one-look over her. Tifa was wearing a greyish-lavender sundress that reached her knees which was alright… however the neckline of her dress showed a bit of cleavage and it wasn't her fault either. It wasn't as if she was naked and it is not a sin to be an attractive waitress either.

'Damn, she's … uh… healthy for her age,' Shears thought and wondered if he is going to have to have a hard time chasing of male customers that dare to disrespect her. But then again, her looks could mean good business and if she behaves strictly professionally as he had seen from her interactions with Felix, then he doesn't have to worry about Tifa's indiscretions because there won't be any. "Never mind," he muttered as he watched the croissants bake itself in the oven. "Put on your bib. Watch Felix. Greet the customers. Take their orders. Come back to the kitchen. Take out the drinks first. Wait for me to finish making their orders. Take those out and you're good. And when they signal you for the bill, print it out from this pad and give it to them. Then you are free to take an order from another table. Come back to them later and collect the money then put it in the cashier. Felix will show you how to handle it. In the meantime, I'll show you how this order taking pad works."

He took out a device that looks similar to a smartphone but really it is a custom-made bulky tablet for this café and equipped with the ability to print out the final bill from the paper cartridge.

"See these numbered buttons? They each represent a table. Say you want to take an order from table 1. You press it and find yourself the entire menu. That's how you take their order, by pressing whatever they order and it'll register onto the table. The button turns red, meaning that it hasn't been paid yet. Once you print out the bill, it'll turn blue, meaning you gave them the bill. Then after you collect the payment, you have to hover the tablet over the screen on the cashier so that the payment is registered. It's also the only way for you to open the shelf and put the money. Remember to close it after you finish using it. Each. And every. Fucking. Time," he added exasperatedly. "Got it?"

"Got it," she nodded. She put on her bib and took the pad off his hands and headed out of the kitchen to leave her cranky boss in peace. She only needed to be told once most of the time and she knew what to do. She watched Felix and did her best to offer the friendliest smile she could; which was small, dainty and shy but good enough for customers to feel welcome and compliment her for the service.

Most of the time, she felt as though she was doing the same thing. Clean the glasses and mugs, mop the table, brush the crumbs of your bib, sweep the floor a little; lather-rinse-repeat and the only thing that breaks the mundane schedule was when a new customer asks for an order and she found out that she actually likes going to people; even if it was just asking for their orders. Some of the regulars asked if she was knew since they never saw her before and she answered "yes" promptly. Sometimes they ask if she is a student and were particular charmed to know that she goes to VBA, and sometimes they ask where she came from and she felt that she evasively by saying, "I lived in a big city once but decided to move to a smaller town and I like it a lot better here." That seemed to appease the curiosity of the people easily enough even if it didn't really answer their question. Shears would sometimes peek through the kitchen to see how she is getting along with her patrons and didn't find any trouble.

'She learns fast, I'll give her that,' he thought as he went back to the kitchen.

The afternoon came and there were more people who came in for lunch and coffee. At first, she was a little overwhelmed but with Felix' easy-going smile and encouragement she managed to pull through and sometimes Shears would come out of the kitchen and switch duties with her to let her have a break. Late afternoon when most of the people were gone and a few stragglers remained, Tifa took the liberty to turn on the jukebox at the corner and was delighted to hear the first song.

'I, I will be king

And you, you will be queen

Though nothing will drive them away

We can beat them, just for one day

We can be Heroes, just for one day'

At first her head bobbed slightly to the familiar rhythm that she grew up with, then her feet tapped rhythmically on the floor, finally her hips swayed a little to the movement and in a graceful swaying fashion she walked behind the bar. Her blond colleague had a better idea and took her hand and playfully spun her around. Before they knew it, they were grinning silly and danced behind the bar tab as people watched. A new customer had just joined in and he was greeted with a scene where a young cute waiter and a sultry brunette danced behind the bar. Shears watched from the kitchen and leaned against the door but he didn't plan on telling them off as he was enjoying the show; even if they were being slightly silly and unprofessional. That was the beauty about living in Rubrum; it wasn't like Midgar where everything is cold and people expected a neat square. In Rubrum, you can afford to relax. He still believed that time was money but that didn't mean he couldn't afford to lose a few seconds for the sake of a good working environment.

The new customer was a teenager, maybe a little older than Tifa and he had the makings of what will make him a handsome young man. His hair was golden and came up to his shoulders, but it was stylized into several choppy layers that let the tips of his golden locks defy gravity somewhat as if he was making his own wind. He was tanned with large dark blue eyes full of knowledge and mirth. He couldn't keep his eyes off of the girl that danced to one of his favorite songs. He silently prayed that he will see her again and plans to see her every day until he can get her name.

His heart nearly dropped when the said waitress came to his table and asked politely, "Hello. What can I get you?"

Her demeanor was much more sincere and cheerful now that she has performed her giddy girly dance in front of everyone and was glad that Shears didn't complain either. The boy gaped like a fish and wanted to slap himself for losing his cool in front of a girl that's probably younger than him. "Um… uh… let's see here. I'll take the usual. I mean um… I'd like a chocolate éclair and some, uh… black coffee!" he stammered. Tifa patiently tapped down his order on the tablet and said, "One éclair and one black coffee, coming right up."

This was different as she would usually say, 'I'll be back with your order.' The wonders music can do for the soul.

As she walked past Shears into the kitchen. She didn't notice her boss glaring at the stammering customer and feeling protective of the girl and thought to warn him off a bit. But then thought better of it because he didn't hit on her at all and he is a rich kid and a new regular patron. Tifa simply took out the freshly baked éclair and placed it on a small plate and prepared a cup of black coffee for the new customer and placed it on the tray. Picking up the tray she wordlessly motioned Shears to move out of the way, which he did, and passed by him to give the customer his order. She didn't even feel the customer's eyes roam her body before attempting to look at her eyes and cursed his luck at the way her bangs would cleverly swing over her eyes to block the view but he could tell from the first time he looked at them that they were reddish brown with flecks of amber in them; an interesting combination. He was thinking of ways to have a look at her and decided on something clever. After enjoying his éclair and the small moments where he could allow herself to look at the waitress, he asked for the bill and said that he'll immediately pay up.

She nodded and had her pad ready to bring out the bill. He took out the cash and paid some more as tips before finishing the last of his bitter black coffee and winced.

Tifa went back to the cashier and registered the money. Then she caught a glance at the boy that suddenly left the café as if in a hurry leaving behind his wallet. Little did she know, that the boy 'accidentally' forgot his wallet. His plan worked which made him smirk. Tifa quickly walked out of the bar tab and picked up his wallet. She opened it out of curiosity and her eyebrows raised to find his student ID and saw that he's name is Trey Cognitio; and he was in Class-Zero.

"Excuse me."

"Yes?" he turned almost too expectantly.

"You left your wallet."

"Oh… oh! Right how silly of me. Thank you," he said as he took it from her, hoping that he was good at pretending.

"You're welcome. Thank you for your patronage," she bowed her head and went back into the café.

'Wow… she's all business. But… I still hope to see her again. Wait till I tell King and Jack. Maybe I can make Nine jealous too,' Trey thought as a sheepish grin graced his face.

It was almost evening and Shears thought that it Tifa's working shift is over for now. He explained that there was no way in hell he was going to let her work during 'Happy Hours' when they get to bring out the booze and she understood. She does not really want to get surrounded by drinks plus she was six years underage. She bid her boss and colleague goodbye and took the tram home. Elfé wasn't there but she left a note saying that she forgot to buy the milk and will be right back. So Tifa took the time to call Raines and tell him how her first day at work went. Shears even paid her a total of whopping sum of 280 Gil and the money felt motivated for her to go to work the next day.

"So. What do you think of Shears?" Raines asked.

"He… is nice, I guess," she offered hesitantly.

"Not a people person is he?"

Tifa chuckled at this and said, "Actually, he kind of reminds me of Highwind except he doesn't swear as much as he does. Sometimes I call Highwind Captain-Swears-A-Lot behind his back… Don't tell him that. Please don't."

"Pfft... that just about sums up Highwind. But anyway, I'm glad you're doing well, Tifa. Thank you for calling me."

"Sure," and they hung up.

Elfé came back and conceded in letting Tifa do the cooking after much bargaining and she prepared a delicious Fettucine Alfredo; it's a light dish perfect for dinner and Elfé knew that if she is somewhat decent, then Tifa is a great cook.

"Oh my god, it's so good! Where did you learn to cook like that?"

"I lived alone most of my life and had to learn by myself somehow. I'm glad it payed off."

"Wow. Just wow. You are amazing, Tifa. You really are."

Tifa blushed a little and they passed their first dinner time amiably. This time Tifa didn't join her for late night TV as she wanted to get used to sleeping early and waking up early once school starts. So she asked Elfé for an envelope and a piece of paper and took them upstairs to her room. She sat down on the study table and looked at the blank sheet of paper which is the total opposite of everything Tifa wanted to say in her mind. Tifa used to write letters to Zangan as he told her that sometimes writing helps express ones feelings and lets one have a stronger sense of imagination. She doesn't know about the imagination part of the argument but she owes a letter to someone very important. The clock in her room ticked by and as she thought about how to start this letter. If she doesn't finish it by today, then she'll continue it tomorrow and that's what she did.

'To hell with proper writing, I'm just going to write how I feel!' she thought rebelliously and didn't care for letter writing etiquette. She has done enough diplomacy for today.

'Dear Aerith,

Can you believe that I'm finally in Rubrum? It's a beautiful town, so peaceful yet lively. I have an awesome roommate who likes late night TV, practices Kendo… and by the way her name is Elfé. The Elfé. You know, the one that defeated Sephiroth. I didn't recognize her yesterday night but when I sat down for breakfast with her, all woken up and ready to start the new day, I found myself overwhelmed. Then I got used to it because Elfé was such a normal girl. Then I got a job in the cute café. Elfé's cranky boyfriend owns it. He's a nice person, he's just cranky. I also met a cute waiter named Felix. On the first day of work, I danced with him in front of everybody behind the bar tab to one of my favorite songs. You know the one.'

She stopped there as she didn't know what else to write.

'So this is what it feels like to have writer's block. What a bitch,' she thought sardonically.

But she eventually had things to write.

On Tuesday she added, 'After work on Tuesday, I went to the Rubrum shopping mall to get my sizes for my school uniform. I'll tell you one thing, I am not ever going to wear a fucking skirt. Fortunately, they have pants for girls two which are like skinny jeans and they are really stylish. The only problem I have with that is that they are off-white color which means it'll get dirty but fortunately there is a black version of it too. I can imagine you wanting to take many pictures already.'

And on Wednesday she wrote, 'There is this guy that comes to the coffee shop every day. His name is Trey and he is always losing something. I don't know if he's forgetful or if he's trying to get my number. He's kinda cute… but I'm not into blondes. Aerith, I can feel a teasing comment bubbling up already and I suggest you pipe down.' Even Tifa found herself snorting at that.

On Thursday she wrote, 'I never stopped thinking about you. I miss you.'

On Friday she added, 'Felix is leaving tomorrow. It's a shame because I've grown to like the guy. I'm sure Zack will like him because they are such cheerful people. He kinda reminded me of him except Zack is a flirt and he isn't. Maybe I'll see him in JIGS. You never know, Junon is a huge place.'

On Saturday she finalized the letter with the words, 'Aerith, I wish you were here with me. I want to share my world with you. I'm sorry I didn't before. But that world was so miserable. This world is happier. It's better. It's safer too. I really miss Zack and Cloud too… my two favorite fraternal chocobo-twins. I miss Yuffie too. Even if she is a spoiled brat that steals my stuff… I miss you. I love you so much. Forgive me Aerith.'

Sighing she signed it and put it in the envelope. She did not want to send the letter by post because then someone can find her return address and she does not want to see Zack and/or Cloud outside her doorstep in Rubrum, as much as she loves them. But this letter helped her make an important decision. Every week, she was going to write a letter like this to Aerith and finish it by Saturday. Then when she visits Aerith in Midgar, she will place near Aerith's hospital bed. She'll also make sure that Zack and Cloud are out of the way and visit very late at night so that the only one who can find it is Elymra and she can hand it over to Ifalna. That sounded like a good plan. She was almost proud of it.

She went to sleep that night and mentally prepared herself for her first day of school.

A/N: What do you guys think? Like how I alluded to Dissidia? There are some things I feel you guys should know:

1) In case some of you don't know Elfé is a badass girl in the game Final Fantasy VII – Before Crisis; a mobile game that features the previous incarnation of AVALANCHE and a group of Turks that you have the choice to name. She's in par with Sephiroth himself and that says something.

2) Shears was a member of the previous AVALANCHE who died to protect Elfé. I will not spoil it anymore for you. In this story, I made him related of Snow Villiers, a playable character from Final Fantasy XIII because I felt that their looks and style resemble each other, only Snow is a fun guy whose really rash and Shears is seriously jaded but very good at forming strategies.

3) Nunchaku is a bonus playable character Before Crisis game; where you get to play as a Turk. You even get to choose their real names however you want but their code name is always after their weapon. Nunchaku uses Nunchaku. Most of these playable Turks however, had a name during the sketches by Studio Madhouse. But Nunchaku and Knife didn't since they are 'bonus playable Turks. According to Final Fantasy Wiki, Nunchaku was born in Bone Village and is a cheerful, optimistic guy and gets along with everyone. So that's why I named him Felix which means 'happy' in most European languages. I was too lazy to think up of a surname so I went with Nunchaku.

4) So we finally meet a member of Class-Zero! FINALLY! And we meet Trey. Do you guys know the alternate ending of Type-0? Where everything is normal without history of the crystals? If you, do then you can probably guess where I am going with this ;D I gave Trey's last name 'Cognitio' which means 'knowledge' in Latin. Yes I chose a Latin name for a surname because the word 'Agito' is Latin for 'put in motion' or 'action'. There is also the fact that Trey represents 'knowledge' part of humanity. He's going to be a fun character to play out, I can't wait!

5) The song featured is 'Heroes' by David Bowie and belongs to David Bowie (R.I.P). The reason I chose to mention this song is because... oh the irony. For those who get it, you know what I mean. And those who don't I really don't want to spoil the game or the fanfiction for you.

6) Devil May Cry in our universe is a video game series and in this fanfiction universe, an action television series. Yeah, TV works in mysterious ways there haha xD

7) DISCLAIMERS: Any of the characters mentioned in this fanfiction belong to Square Enix. Devil May Cry is a video game series and property of CAPCOM. 'Heroes' is a song composed and written by David Bowie.

So there you have it! Another filler chapter I admit. But I hope you enjoyed it all the same. R&R and I will love you forever! Thank you so much Carrie88 & JammyWammy for your ever encouraging reviews. You guys make me want to write more!