Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or FF13.


Life in Academia: a life of training, sleeping, eating, and then training some more. At least that's what it felt like. Training with Lightning was completely different than training with Zangan, while the latter focused on discipline and patience, the former pounded the importance of speed, percision, and accuracy. Although Tifa admitted to finding the last two relatively the same, while Lightning had insisted they were different. "Being percise doesn't mean I'm accurate." Tifa repeated to herself after that distant morning relatively early on in their training where Lightning had literally beaten that notion into her head. Her bones cracked and her muscles were sore from the exertion but it didn't stop her from waking up every morning.

However, this morning would be different. Raines has called on them bright and early, which was very rare because Raines never calls on them. Only Barret did, and it were him, it would never be bright and early. The glass doors swooshed open with the slide of her identification card and she's let into the so-called 'Academy Intelligence Communications Room' or AIC Room, which was nothing more than a large meeting room where there regular get-togethers took place. Granted, it was a breathtaking room; clean, classy, and a lot of windows giving them a three sixty view of the entire city.

As Tifa walks in, she instantly maps everyone in her mind, a little tip that Lightning had given her during one of her simulated battle runs after having her back rammed into by a computerized behemoth. In hindsight, she really wondered how she could've overlooked something so big, but when you've got Lightning wearing what she wore during training, it can get slightly distracting. Maybe it wasn't really much of a wonder anymore then. "Hey." Tifa greets after saying her good mornings as she approaches the pink haired woman standing in front of the coffee machine.

"Coffee?" Lightning offers despite the fact that she's busy preparing tea. The first thing Tifa notices about Lightning's breakfast is her tea. No coffee, no food, where does she get her energy from?

"No thanks. Not today." Tifa yawned stretching before she leaned against Lightning's shoulder lazily, "Don't wanna get addicted." After two months of training with Lightning one-on-one, it gives her a little leeway as to what she can and can't do. At first the soldier seemed taken aback by her, and she quotes 'invasively touchy' habits with all of Lightning's sarcastic glamor, but she seemed to get over the fact that Tifa liked to be touchy. "So..." Tifa starts glancing around the room to let her eyes linger on Cloud and Aerith busy chatting at the table, "I wonder what Raines wants."

"Never anything good."

"Hm?"

"Are you even listening or are you too busy staring?" Lightning asks as she shakes her head deprecatingly.

A blush fights it's way to her cheeks and Tifa recoils as if the soldier had burned her. "O-Of course! I mean, of course I'm listening!" Tifa huffed in feigned offense, "Geez, what kind of person do you take me for?"

"A good person." Lightning responds easily, honest to a fault and also completely clueless to the reddening blush, "Until you think too much. Then you're a pain in the ass."

"Nice to know that's how you think of me."

"Better than most people." Punching Lightning's arm playfully, Tifa stuck her tongue out at Lightning's leveled stare. "If you're so curious, just go talk to them."

"I just think it'll be awkward. I mean-"

"I said talk to them. Not me." Lightning interrupts as she promptly steps away but Tifa pursues and completely discards everything Lightning had said.

"I wouldn't know what to say. They're already talking and I can't just suddenly show up. It'll be obvious that I'm trying to pry but I'm not. I do want to know what they're talking about but-"

"Stop telling me this." Dropping down to her seat, the soldier swivels on her chair so that she's facing the table away from Tifa, "You know I don't care."

"It won't kill you to listen." Tifa huffed, plopping down onto her seat helplessly, "You're the only one I can talk to. Fang doesn't know and if she did, I'll never hear the end of it, and I'm scared of what she would do. Vanille probably won't understand, Jessie, well, we're kind of on the same boat and we all know Aerith's out of the question."

"And so the fact that I don't care doesn't mean anything?"

"Well, less so when I weigh the options." Tifa chose to ignore the half-glare Lightning sent her way and dropped her head on the table unceremoniously, "I'm tired." she mumbled, eyes still bent on Aerith and Cloud too wrapped up in their own world to realize that there were people there beside them.

"You better find a way to wake up then. Today's training is going to be hard."

"What!? You said that yesterday!"

"Does it really matter what day I said it?"

Groaning, Tifa lurched back up and slouched down on the seat. She had noticed the others giving her strange looks, no doubt surprised to see her acting like this. After all, she had always been the prim and proper girl playing the role of the mother hen. "But Light," Tifa whined, "give me a break... I am exhausted..."

"Look," there it was; the scolding. Tifa sat there fully anticipating it but the soldier's words seem to lodge in her throat before she turned around stiffly staring at the glass doors. Tifa instantly sat up as well. Two months worth of training has her familiar with the soldier's expressions.

"What is it-"

As if on cue, the glass doors slid open with a relatively serious Raines stepping in. "It seems like everyone's here." He said quickly, standing at the end of the table. He didn't even bother to sit down. "I'm not here for your status reports but to give you a fair warning. I've been informed this morning that Colonel Jihl Nabaat of the PSICOM will be making rounds."

"Again!?" Fang groaned, "Damn it, it's like she's always breathin' down our necks."

"PSICOM?" Jessie repeats giving the rest of AVALANCHE a weary look, "Aren't they helping SHINRA? Why are they coming here?"

"Due to some... political implications." Raines shrugged off and moved to another topic, "Anyways, it shouldn't matter much if she sees you, but if she talks to you, say as little as possible. I doubt she would pay much attention but to be safe try to avoid her. And Aerith," he says, carefully pinning the flower girl down with his eyes, "do not, I repeat, do not show yourself to her under any circumstances. I have no doubt that Colonel Nabaat knows who you are due to her connections with SHINRA. She may very well be privy on several other matters that do not only pertain to AVALANCHE. It may tip her off as to who these 'new recruits' really are."

"Of course." Aerith answered with a firm nod, which Raines seemed satisfied with. He stood for for another moment in complete silence, leaving the others to wonder if he had anything else to say. He didn't. Instead, he looked over each and everyone of them and the look in his eyes were enough to tell them that he was dead serious about what he had said. It was like an unvoiced warning that this PSICOM was not to be trifled with and Tifa noticed that he had lingered longer on Lightning, leaving the two of them to stare at each other. Eventually Lightning closed her eyes and broke off whatever silent message that was being sent between them. Raines left afterwards with a curt goodbye then.

"So..." Tifa started, breaking the silence, but Lightning immediately stood up abruptly with eyes trained onto the wooden table.

"Let's start training." That was it. Lightning didn't look at her, didn't say anything else as she left the room quietly and left Tifa little choice but to follow behind her.

...

"Lightning! Wait!" Tifa called after the quickly retreating soldier. Jogging up, she rested a hand on Lightning's shoulder for support as she caught her breath, "Geez, why didn't you wait for me?"

"Why should I?"

The fighter's eyes narrowed and with an exaggerated sigh, she continued walking side by side with the soldier. "I'm not surprised, but why are you in such a hurry? You seem distracted-"

"Distracted?" A third voice interrupts but it's not a voice Tifa recognizes. The two women stop, turning to look down the adjacent hallway to see another woman approaching. The way she walked, the way she carried herself, was all in dignified grace. Whoever she was, it was clear that she was in a position of power and influence. Long flowing blonde hair, rectangular glasses that framed her hazel eyes, and she wore a uniform that was distinctly different from the ones she had seen around the base. She had a different epaulette all together. "Lightning, I thought you knew better." The woman purred, her voice silky smooth and gentle, but not without an underlying assertiveness. "Now this," the woman looks Tifa up and down with a certain unidentifiable glint in her eyes, "must be one of the new recruits that Raines was talking about."

"H-Hi, I'm Tifa." Holding a hand out, the blonde woman only glanced at it before she crossed her arms with a soft smile. Clearing her throat, Tifa retracted her hand, already feeling put-off with the interaction. "Uhm... it's nice to meet you."

"Tifa," Lightning started motioning to the new aquaintance, "This is Colonel Jihl Nabaat, of the PSICOM."

"PSICOM?" Already?! Tifa suppressed a gasp at her bad luck. She gave the blonde another quick look again; no wonder her uniform looked so different. Forcing a smile, Tifa nodded before Lightning swiftly took over the conversation.

"What brings you to Academia?"

"Nothing more than a little political intrigue; orders from the main government." Jihl answers easily and with graceful wave of her hand as if to signal that it really was trivial. If Tifa had seen anyone else do that, she would've thought them exaggerated and showy yet the blonde somehow pulled if off. "I thought I'd pay you a visit though you seem... preoccupied at the moment."

"We were on our way to the battle simulators."

"Training? For what?"

"For the same reasons why Guardian Corps as well as the PSICOM conduct training programs for their soldiers. Tifa is a new recruit, therefore she would recieve the same-"

"I'm well aware that we train our soldiers."

"It was not my intention to imply that-"

"You would take extra care that you don't." Jihl said strictly. To say the least Tifa was surprised. Even Lightning wasn't 'humble,' for the lack of better terms, towards Raines yet this woman, a PSICOM of all people, would be treated with such respect. "However, no regular soldier recieves training from you, let alone one-on-one."

"It was in our best interest to make sure that the new recruits realize their full potential and learn from-"

"-the best." Jihl filled in for the soldier. "Of course, you are the best the Guardian Corps has." The hazel eyes drift over to Tifa, warm and kind, such a far cry from the conversation that had just taken place. "You should be honored that Lightning had decided to take you under her wing. Keep in mind that the best only train from the best, that's how you can tell when someone isn't of the common rabble."

"Y-Yeah..." Tifa mumbled.

"You're not from here are you?" Jihl suddenly asks as she looks Tifa over again, "Not an Academian."

"Uhm... I-"

"She was recruited from a small village close to the Pulse-Gaia border."

"A village?"

Lightning nudged Tifa quickly, prompting the fighter to speak up, "N-Nibelheim."

"So from Gaia then." Jihl summed up and Tifa could see the instant change in her eyes. The slight drop of her eyebrow, gaze darkening, and it was like Jihl didn't bother putting up her facade of kindness. "Hm." The blonde hummed in disinterest with just a hint of disgust hidden beneath, "Interesting choice of selection. Though I do suppose she might have some hidden potential, you never know, climbing out from the bottom of the pit is difficult but not... impossible." Tifa could feel her anger boil in her gut. What was with this woman? Acting as if she was at the top of the world. No wonder the PSICOM was helping Shinra; they're exactly alike.

"I'm confident that she will."

Tifa's eyes dart up to the soldier in surprise and even Jihl hadn't expected such a determined answer. Especially not from Lightning. Suppressing a small smile, Tifa could feel herself warm at the compliment, giving her the extra boost to clash head on with Jihl's condescending stare. "Curious." Jihl hummed, "Very well, I'd like to see a soldier of your product. If you've taken such interest in her then I'll be willing to give her some time to prove herself."

"That would be unnecessary. We train for our own reasons, not to seek approval from others."

The blonde clearly didn't like that answer. Her hazel eyes narrowed dangerously on Lightning, "Is that so." Tifa watched wearily as Jihl walked past them before she turned to Lightning with triumph, but it dies immediately when she sees Lightning release a tense breath. "Oh, and Lightning?" The soldier turns to Jihl stiffly, who now stood before an awaiting elevator, "I hope you find your own reason then." With that, the blonde disappears leaving the two in the desolate hallway.

"Geez, what was her problem?" Tifa muttered.

"Raines told you before; it's best if you avoid her." Lightning answered, "She's..."

"Judgemental? Egotistical?" Tifa listed as she fell into step beside the soldier again as they made their way to the simulator.

"Ambitious." Lightning murmurs.

"Well... that's awfully nice of you."

"Just be careful and don't talk to her anymore. The last thing you want is to draw her attention."

"Hmph, fine." Tifa huffed, "I'll listen but only because you said so." A Cheshire grin came to her lips before she latched onto Lightning's arm playfully, "Y'know? I think I can get used to hearing you praise me. Climbing out from the bottom of the pit, the underdog that-"

"You'd wonder why you're at the bottom of the pit to begin with."

Now that was uncalled for. "Lightning!"


Colonel Jihl Nabaat, of the PSICOM, has been formally introduced!

I was slightly disappointed in how anti-climatic Jihl had died in FF13. Thus I made her hugely influential in this story, especially when it comes to Lightning.