Chapter 12

Tifa's Story

Marlene and Tifa sat behind the bar, staring into the distance with their faces the picture of boredom. It had been a slow day. In fact, an hour into opening and they had had no customers. The little girl turned to Tifa.

"So, what did you do when you were a girl. You used to live far away right? Why did you come here?"

Tifa sighed a pained sigh. "That Marlene, is a long story."

Nibelheim, 15 years ago

A young dark haired girl came down the stairs, answering a knock at her door. An equally young boy stood at the door, dark brown hair covering his head. She could hear the voices of the other kids in down coming from the square.

"We are all playing tag Tifa, wanna come?" Tifa nodded, yelling to her mother that she was just going outside to play. She then bounded off, joining the gagging of laughing kids as they chased each other around town. As they did, they began straying towards the mountain before one of the towns adults came rushing over.

"Don't go towards the mountains. Its dangerous up there. Haunted by the spirits of the dead."

The kids ran off, most of them screaming and vowed never to go near the mountain again. As Tifa ran back into town, she looked up as she came down the stairs. She saw a boy looking out the window, his hair blonde and spiky and his eyes sad. She hadn't even noticed he wasn't out again. She didn't really understand why the other kids didn't like him.

"Must be sad to be so alone."

Wiping the thought from her head, she ran back to the pack as they called out her name, spending the rest of the day having fun as the boy in the window looked on.

Nibelheim 12 years ago

"Where's Mum?" Tifa had just arrived home from school. Mum was always cooking dinner when she came in. Dad was sat on the sofa, looking sad. "Dad? Where's Mum?" she repeated, her words almost catching in her throat as she instinctively knew that it was something bad.

"Tifa. Shes." his words were even more choked. She fell to her knees before reaching him. "Shes gone Tifa. She is with the spirits now." Mr. Lockhart broke down, tears falling as the reality of it hit home once more. Tifa joined him in her own face soon streaked too.

"She, she can't be gone." Fists pounding the floor, she got up and ran, leaving her father alone in the house. She climbed the water tower in the centre of town and sat their, silently sobbing as she tried to take it in.

"Gone. Mum, shes... gone. A spirit. I have to find her. Where to find a spirit."

As she sat and thought, one of the children from the town headed over. They had been told what had happened from their parents and both adults and kids thought she might need her friends. The first boy to approach asked her how she was. She gave him a nondescript reply, she didn't really know herself she felt. As he spoke, she gazed at the horison, scanning .

"Remember what they told us about Mount Nibel? How its full of spirits. Maybe that's where Mum is." she wondered aloud. Her friend was against it, saying it was just a story and that it would be far to dangerous. With Tifa being untalktive, he eventually left. The next hour followed a similar pattern, all her friends coming, talking and leaving, none really feeling they had helped. Finally once they had all came by, she had her solitude.

She stared up the mountain. She had to go. She would go alone if she had too. She hadn't asked anyone to go and she wouldn't. But she wished one of them had helped her. She didn't want to have to do this alone.

"What you thinking about?"

The voice came from behind her. She hadn't heard anyone approach, or been expecting it. She turned round to see the other kid in the town. She hardly knew him, so she wouldn't really call him a friend. She waved to him through his window sometimes. Would say hello at school. He wouldn't ever talk much.

"That mountain. I think that's where my mum is. She's a spirit now and spirits go to Mount Nibel."

The boy was quiet, as if taking in her words. He too gazed out to the mountain. "You can't go alone."

Tifa got to her feet, offended. "Yes I can!" She quickly scampered down the tower and began heading off to the mountain trail. As she did, she heard the boy yell "Wait!" She turned and found him also climbing down before running over.

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

She smiled at his words, almost letting out a sigh.

"Thank you Cloud."

"What happened then?" Marlene exclaimed. Tifa had stopped telling her story, much to the young girls disapproval.

"Well, I didn't find her. And I got hurt." The young woman got up from her chair, walking to the bar and leaning on, looking towards the door in hope. "Plus, you asked me what I did when I was you age. I was eight when I lost my mother which is twice your age."

"Pleeeeeease!"

"Maybe when your older." As she gazed at the door, through the shrouded glass the silhouette of a figure climbing up the stairs to the door. "And look. Customer."

Tifa readied herself, wearing her friendliest smile. As the door opened, her eyes took in the young man in the doorway Dark military gear, not like any standard fare. Eyes of the brightest blue, like the sun on a clear day.. Her face slipped to shock. The hair. That hair. She tried to speak, but words wouldn't form. One thought consumed her.

"Its him"

A/N: Thanks dragonball256 and Ghost 42 for the review, and renofan for repeat reviews. I do indeed love to string things out though. Not too long this time though. I don't think. Yeah, I like the shorter faster updates. I'm basically posting as i write, i've not got chapters stacked up to go so it works for me. I'm a RPG fan anyway, so i like seeing the numbers go up XD. And lol, Cloud is always a mess XD.

Slightly non-canon here I know, but i felt it kind of better demonstrates how the Cloud/Tifa things develops. Might do a few more of these as it helps to get feel for char's. I've been wanting to do an AVALANCE scene for a while but i'm finding Barret quite hard to get a feel for. Oh, and Tifa's Story p2 prolly won't be next.