Maniac studios: emo free since 2007 (smiley face and a thumb up)

Disclaimer: Tifa and canon characters all belong to Square Enix.

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In hindsight perhaps a mini-skirt was not the wisest choice of travelling clothes. Perhaps the whole concept of travelling to Midgar could have done with a bit of thinking through instead of just going on impulse.

One impulse she was trying to contain was the impulse to punch this sick freak's head in if he didn't stop giving her 'a look'.

Part of the reason was that she was currently cramped up in a shuttle trip from Gongaga to Costa del Sol. It took about 2 days off the journey by foot and it had been bad enough getting to the village in the jungle in the first place.

All the training in the world wouldn't had given her enough experience for the long road. Nibel wolves were simple enough on their own. But near Cosmo Canyon they no longer played fair, or at least fair enough to have their fangs kicked towards the four corners of the world. Harpies often flew annoyingly out of reach and followed her with unyielding determination. Her one attempt to jump atop one of the creatures' backs and ride it to the canyon settlement ended in the harpy crashing into a rock and sending Tifa tumbling onto the ground, at which point a small nest of Sahagins had noticed her. Unlike most monsters, the Sahagins didn't attack with claws, fangs, beaks or magic. They fashioned spears out of rock. Naturalists often find it intriguing that a supposedly primitive and bestial species could form tools or weapons.

It wasn't intriguing how they made the things when staring at the sharp end of one about 5 inches away from your nose. They also hid inside their shells when faced with melee attacks. Fortunately, they suffered from the safe evolutionary fault that most variations on tortoises suffered: they couldn't move once turned on their back. To beat them, she first had to roll out of the way of the spears, and seeing as there were around ten of them, that was easier said than done.

She winced at the memories. Although there was no visible sign of an injury because of the restore materia she had managed to use in Cosmo Canyon, there was still a small remnant of pain for each would-be cut and bruise.

Gongaga hadn't been much easier. The whole forest seemed to be after her. Every vine's sole purpose in life was to make her fall flat on her face, or onto a poisonous beetle of some description. The place was as off the beaten track as you could get when coming from the Nibel ranges.

Perverts on public transport didn't help to ease her mind either.

She was just a small town girl, living in a lonely world she took the midnight train going any-where… Damn Journey! That song's gonna be in my head for hours now.

"End of the line, Costa del Sol," announced the driver, causing Tifa to breath a sigh of relief. This leg of the journey had been easy so far. No monsters, no annoying plants, just some guy who really needed to get a life.

Stepping out into the hot sun made her glad that she had opted for less clothing. It was one of the places in the world where you could walk around town in swimwear and not be bothered for it.

"What do you mean, there's been complications?" she overheard a wheezy voice say when she got nearer to the harbor.

"Nothing serious. It just means that the ship to the Junon harbor is going to be delayed for a while. That is all," said another man. When Tifa got so she could see them, it turned out that there was a Shinra grunt and an old man in a sailor outfit. It was almost a cliché. Now all that was needed was an equally clichéd accent.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the… you-know-what at Midgar's little brother would it?" the old man said, raising his eyebrow.

"Sir?"

"Come on, you know that anti-Shinra protest groups are getting edgy, it's like they'er waiting for an opportunity or something."

"The fact that you know this information is a serious cause for your arrest, sir."

"I may be an old sea dog around these parts, but I still know which way the wind is blowing and when there's a thunderstorm a brewing. And I'm telling you, there's a big one coming right up."

"The weather reports would have notified us of a tropical storm, sir."

"Oy. It's a metaphor, sonny. Look it up." The old man walked away shaking his head, muttering "kids these days. Either they go looking for trouble or they make their own."

"Excuse me sir, but did you say that there are problems in Junon?" Tifa asked as she slowly approached the sailor.

"Huh? Well lassie, there be problems all around this rock, but she'll probably get the early warning lights. Big military place, Junon. I been there myself a couple of times. Didn't like it. I prefer the ports near the northern continent; the waters may be a little choppy, but at least when a girder drops it don't bring the whole port with it," the sailor rambled on.

"Umm… about Junon."

"Oh, sorry lass. Like I was saying, Junon is a big military place, see. Where better to attack for a rebel group trying to make a name for itself? Most of the Third Classes and MPs be stationed there and there's all that artillery just begging to be messed with. The big cannon could make one big splash. Why, you're not trying to cross the sea, be ye?"

"Well… I'm trying to get to Midgar, but I don't have enough money to fly there."

"Why didn't you say so? Too bad that there's no passenger trips while Shinra's personal armies are coming off from leave. It's them lot only for a few days." The sailor checked to see if there was anyone listening in on the conversation, then stared at the wall for a why to see if there was any visible bugs before lowering his voice and turning back to Tifa.

"This is just between you and me, but all that security they got down at the docks is just a big illusion. Slap on a Shinra sailor's uniform, and no one would look at you twice! Why I bet that… no. I think I've said too much," he finished, cutting himself off.

"Thanks."

"Better hurry up. The next 'trip' to Junon's gonna be leaving soon."

So close, I hope he's okay, Tifa thought to herself. The talk of anti-Shinra movements seemed to have a really foreboding sense about it

And there we have it. See you next time and don't forget to review.