A/N: I always had this idea in my head. Takes place before the events of Nibelheim. Story will include explicit content and coarse language. Back in 2008, I wrote a story similar to this on Quizilla, so I decided to rewrite the story. If you like this story, please follow because I will update every day if I can. Enjoy my first chapter!

Chapter One
The New Recruit

A young woman stands behind a building in the city of Midgar. The moonlight beams down on her, illuminating her long black hair and her pale complexion. She wears black leather pants with a long sleeve black shirt. Her red leather boots slide in the mud as she groans softly, experiencing a twinging pain in her right knee. Her training isn't going to well and she failed to reach the marker. If I fail… My chances of joining SOLDIER is over…

The thought makes her feel inadequate and dispirited. Shinra troops run pass the stone wall where she hides. Once it is clear of the troops, she forces herself to come out of hiding and starts running to her marker. Eventually, the pain from her shoulder and knee prevent her from running anymore. Her body hunches over as she huffs and puffs, panting heavily while collecting herself. The pain becomes too severe for her to push her body to her limits. As she starts groaning louder, she looks up when hearing the sound of running feet coming her way. Her eyes widen instantly when she sees three Shinra troops wielding their swords in their hands. She automatically throws herself to the left to avoid being gashed by their swords. A sword misses her by inches as she gets up to her feet. As she steps forward, her knee feels like it is shattering into a million pieces. Being weak is something she will not be able to live with. Especially when she falls to her right knee after enduring so much pain. Failure to reach her mark, she gives up after holding herself. Waiting for the moment when she is stabbed, she squeezes her eyes shut. Confusion overwhelms her when she hears two swords clashing against each other behind her.

"You're giving up already? You're not the Tifa I know."

Tifa's eyes open from hearing a deep inspirational voice speaking to her. The sound of his voices makes her body tremble with humiliation. She turns her head around to see a long slender blade blocking another blade from hitting her. Long platinum hair blows in between her and the Shinra troop. Her eyes widen from the sight of Sephiroth who stares at her rather sternly and distant.

"S-Sephiroth?" she asks dumbfoundedly.

The first-class SOLDIER whom she admires and looks up to goes through his phone to cancel her training. The troops start to turn into square cubes as they disappear. The scenery around her changes as well as the training room takes its original form. Her hands tremble with her deep brown eyes staring directly into his. Sephiroth doesn't smile or show signs of encouragement when he takes a step towards her. Embarrassment and the failure to reach her mark shows in her eyes when she looks away from him.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his voice resonating and soothing.

"I'm fine. Don't act like you are worried. If you want to scold me for being so weak, do it already," she retorts back, not being able to hold back her emotions of failing to make it into the SOLDIER trials.

"Why would I do that?"

She almost begins to cry from the thought of failing her mentor. She gets up to her feet, refusing to shed tears. In order to avoid his eyes, she turns her back to him, finding it hard to endure the excruciating pain she feels in her shoulder and knee.

"Because that's what you are supposed to do," she replies quietly. She knew this would happen, so her honesty is blunt as she faces him finally. "I'm done. I can't do this. I am not like you. I told my father if it doesn't work out here, I am going to go back to my old job. I used to be a tour guide in my hometown for Mount. Nibel. I'm not fit for SOLDIER."

Her pessimistic attitude is sudden. It isn't like her to be so negative about herself. If anything, she's always cheerful with an optimistic personality. SOLDIER is ruining her.

"Tifa," she avoids his eyes and keeps her head tilted to the side, afraid that if she looks at him, she's going to get another lecture. "Are you thinking about leaving after all you've been through?"

Tifa can't even answer that. Not Sephiroth. The thought of already having her bags packed kills her. She doesn't have the heart to tell him that she knew this would happen. She walks pass him, pressing her shoulder into his body from humiliation. What else could she do? She walks out of the training room and about cries hysterically since she misses her friends. She misses Cloud. Everyone. SOLDIER isn't the life for her. The only reason she decided to sign up for the SOLDIER trials was because of Cloud and how she admires Sephiroth. It was all a false dream.

"Tifa, stop walking away from me."

Even when hearing her mentor's voice behind her, she doesn't stop walking. Her exasperation shows as she walks down the stairwell with her confidence fully gone. "Leave me be. I already knew this would happen. I'm done. Once you interfered, my chances of joining SOLDIER went out the door," she mutters, not being able to stop herself from disrespecting a first-class SOLDIER. A SOLDIER such as Sephiroth.

"So, you are just going to run away? What happens when you fail as a mountain guide? Are you going to run away from Nibelheim too? You can't run away from all of your problems," he sternly speaks, following Tifa down the stairs, having no intention of abandoning her.

"Leave me alone, Sephiroth. I'm done. I'm going home."

Tifa picks up her pace when she realizes that her mentor doesn't intend to stop following her. Her pace wasn't fast enough when the hero gets in front of her, making her stop abruptly before she could go on any longer.

"If you leave, you may never return. Once you leave, that is it. You're done. I won't be able to get you back in. Why do you doubt yourself?"

Tifa couldn't help but to mock his words by laughing revoltingly. This isn't the first that she argued with the SOLDIER. They argued many times already. Apparently, he sees something in her that she can't fully comprehend. It's unfathomable. He stares at her impassively from her laughter.

"I only came here to be closer with Cloud. I figured that if I try to join SOLDIER, maybe he would notice me more. Coming here was my biggest mistake. I'm not cut out for this," with that, she walks around him to start descending the steps again.

"What about your mission exercise? Does this mean you are not going with us to investigate the faulty mako reactor?"

She sighs from stress as she becomes overly hateful towards herself. "Do I have a choice? I can't leave till the end of this week," she replies, showing so much sadness in her sorrowful eyes.

Sephiroth stands by the entrance of the cafeteria while watching Tifa the entire time. Angeal walks up to his side with Zack behind him bombarding him with so many questions about their upcoming mission. Angeal won't be joining them.

"Is Tifa really done after our mission? Is she really leaving?" Zack asks, revealing to be upset over his friend's irrational decision.

"Be quiet, Zack," Angeal murmurs, pushing the second first class SOLDIER to the side.

Sephiroth's eyes do not leave Tifa's as he becomes obsessed over the thought of her leaving. There's not a damn thing he can do to change her mind. Tifa… You have more potential than you think… His eyes become full of melancholy for the fifteen-year-old until Angeal snaps him out of his deep concentration.

"Why don't you talk to her," he suggests.

"I tried. She gets upset so easily that it's hard to talk to her without her running away," Sephiroth admits.

"You guys will be gone for a few days. That should be more than enough time to convince her to stay," Zack jumps in their conversation.

The two SOLDIERs do not scold him since he is right. "If that's what she truly wants, I will not pressure her into staying," Sephiroth speaks quietly, respecting Tifa's wishes.

Unlike his other students he mentored, she is the first who doesn't obsess over being a hero or the perfect SOLDIER. He's still trying to figure out why she decided to join SOLDIER anyway. She says it's to be closer to her best friend, but he thinks differently.

Tifa… If only you were older… I would kiss you… You're the only person that I wanted to steal… And now you are going to leave me…

Tifa sits outside of the briefing room, waiting patiently until Sephiroth exchanges words with Lazard. It feels like eternity till Sephiroth opens the door to step outside of the briefing room. She's quiet and reluctantly smiles when seeing how calm and composed he is. His patience is outstanding and for that, she will never forgive herself for giving up so easily.

"You know," he starts speaking while looking away from her to focus on Shinra troops that walk around the area, "when I was a teenager, I always felt—different."

She looks at him with her full attention, never hearing him talk this way before. "What do you mean?" she asks curiously.

As her mentor, she looks up to him. Everyone admires Sephiroth. Not only that, he has a cool composer and is always lenient. Loyal and trusting, she will never lose her respect for him.

"I wasn't sure what I wanted to do growing up. I'm here right now, loyal to this company and I still ask myself doubtful questions," he looks back at her when talking, faintly smiling with his charisma charming her.

She looks away from him when he walks over to her. He's never the one to shout or to act irrationally. His words are soothing to her ears. "You're a great person," her voice is quiet, her words full of sentiment for him, "even if you feel different compared to others, you're still Sephiroth."

Their eyes meet for a split moment before she turns away, speaking with her heart. "That's what makes you my hero. Not because of your skills or your rank, because you're human with immense respect and honor."

Tifa looks to her right to see how he looks like he's about to give her friendly advice, but she puts her hand over her mouth and reveals how she truly feels about him.

"I don't want to be pitied. I just want to be known. Nibelheim is my home. My childhood. My heart. Cloud is my best friend. We grew up together, but SOLDIER isn't meant for me. I loved it when I was a tour guide for Mount. Nibel. I miss home," she admits, sighing from the thought of being away from her father.

"As your mentor, I will respect your wishes. Are you sure this is what you want?"

She lowers her head from him, smiling when coming to a permanent decision. "Yes. It's what I want."

The room becomes full of silence when she places her hand over his, looking up at him with her brown eyes glistening with wonder. "Can you make me a promise?" she asks suddenly, tilting her head to the side awkwardly, allowing her hair to fall over her shoulders.

"Yes," he speaks without hesitation.

She curls her fingers into his hand that's a lot bigger than hers. The thought of what's considered moral doesn't cross her mind when she lays her head against his shoulder. Her eyes close lightly as she smiles with so much radiance, she feels like she's escaping into her comfort zone. Only Sephiroth can make her feel snug and secured. Her mentor. Her role model.

"If you ever lose your mind, promise me that we will lose our minds together."

His eyes widen in flabbergast from her astonishing words. Her head moves when he starts chuckling from amusement. If this is her relationship with Sephiroth, she wishes she could spend every day hearing him laugh. Only because she makes him.

"Are you seriously going to make me promise that?"

Tifa starts chuckling herself, unaware of her own feelings for her mentor. Is it more than friendship? Sephiroth… When I am with you… Sometimes… I feel like Cloud doesn't exist and you are my only focus…

"Yes. Promise me that if you decide to go berserk, you must take me with you. If not, I will never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever talk to you again," she moves her head against his silver shoulder guard to look up at him with her innocent young eyes.

"People will talk if they seen us like this," he speaks softly, removing himself from her. She doesn't react or get dismayed when his hand slides out underneath hers. "Well?" she asks, ignoring how he's the one being appropriate. "Well, what?"

She crosses her arms since now he is being difficult. It's just one flipping promise!

"I promise," he finally speaks, brining bliss to her heart.

With his words, she can finally sit in peace, knowing that no matter what, she will follow him. Even if he becomes astray somehow, she will be there to guide him back.

Sephiroth…