Chapter 2

Tifa awoke once more to the sound of steady beeping. With a groan her eyes fluttered open and she found herself back in bed again. Slowly this time, she tried to push herself into a sitting position again, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. The touch caused her to jump a little.

"Relax, you're safe," said the voice of a man, and she turned to take look at him. His graying hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which accentuated the roundness of his face. A pair of glasses framed kind, brown eyes. "You're in my clinic. You've been gravely injured, so you need to rest and not strain yourself too much."

She let herself be pushed back, resting her head on a pillow. A smell that reminded her of old Martin's antiseptic invaded her nostrils and she caught a flash of faded, white ceramic on the walls. This was a clinic?

"Wa—" as the words left her she started to cough, the dryness in her throat making her body beg for something to drink. She watched as the man opened a bottle of water and filled a glass that had been placed on the bedside table next to her. Adjusting the backrest so that she was sitting more upright, he carefully guided the glass of water to her lips so that she could drink.

After finishing the glass, and another one after that, Tifa felt a little bit more alive. She spoke again, her voice still coming out in a raspy tone.

"Was there anyone else?" she asked as he was putting the bottle away.

The man stopped for a moment, then released a sigh and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. From what I gathered, you were the only one."

Tifa's heart fell upon hearing that. Everyone, just gone. Snuffed out like the flame of a candle.

"I'm sorry but now the most important thing you need to focus on is yourself," he said in a calm voice and took out a penlight, shining into her eyes. "Could you please tell me your name?"

Tifa eyed him with caution. Why was he asking her name? For all she knew he could be some Shinra goon. But she knew that she had no chance to run away, so she didn't see any choice in the matter other than to answer his question. "Tifa Lockhart."

"Birthday?"

"3rd of May."

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three."

"Mental facilities seem to be alright," he said more to himself than to her. He then put the pen light away and proceeded to write something down on a clipboard. Information for Shinra?

She cleared her throat. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Like I said, this is my clinic," he said, putting the clipboard away. "Well, it's also my home. So, kind of a live-in clinic. As for where exactly...We're in Midgar, the slums of Sector 3 to be precise."

Midgar? So she was in Shinra's capital? How in the hell did she get to Midgar!?

"Sector 3?"

"The part of the city that's hanging above our very heads." he pointed a finger towards the ceiling. Tifa looked up. She had heard about it from Jeremy, that there was no sunlight in the slums underneath Midgar. How could anyone live like this?

"Ah, but I'm being rude, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Eisuke Hiragi, doctor by profession but I think you know that by now." The man smiled at her, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"Now then, Ms. Lockhart, I'd like you to move one of your arms, if you please."

Tifa frowned at the man. "Why?"

"Because I need to make sure that there isn't any permanent damage to—"

"Why am I here!?" Tifa shouted. She regretted it immediately, grimacing at the pain in her throat it caused.

He looked at her calmly, not phased by her sudden outburst. "Alright. Zangan was the one who brought you here. I believe he's your teacher?"

Master Zangan is alive? A feeling of relief washed over her. "Is he here?"

He shook his head again. "I'm afraid not. After placing you in my care he left again, saying that he had something to investigate. I can't say where he is now."

He left? But, why? Why didn't he stay with her!?

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying and failing in not feeling abandoned. Her father was dead, so was everyone else, and her teacher, whom she trusted, had left her...here, and took off again. The man must have realized what she was thinking, as he placed his hand onto her shoulder in a reassuring gesture. "I'm sure he will return as soon as he is done with his investigation."

"Now. Zangan and I are old acquaintances, which was most likely the reason he brought you here," he explained to her, his voice never losing that calm tone." You've sustained a grievous wound to your chest as well as damage to your spine. Zangan was wise enough to use his cure materia on the way here and I did what I could, but you've been unconscious for quite some time."

"H-how long?"

Dr. Hiragi sighed and rubbed his hand against the stubble on his chin. "It's been about two months since you arrived here. It's December right now."

Tifa gasped at the revelation. December.

"The wound on your chest is healed, but I'm afraid it will still leave a scar despite the use of magic." Her hand went to her chest. Touching the skin through the gown, she could feel the rough outline of where she had been struck by Sephiroth. "I've never seen such a fine cut in my entire life. It must have been an extraordinary sharp blade. But the upside is that you're still young. Scars fade over time, especially as one grows."

"Now the spinal damage is what worries me the most, so returning to what I asked a moment ago, would you please lift your arm?"

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Alright."

"Please try to move your arms." Following his instructions she lifted her left arm and after that the right one, while moving her fingers too. It was a bit difficult she had to admit, and any faster than this caused her to hiss in pain; a fact that he took note off and wrote down. "Good. A bit stiff, but you spent quite a while not moving. Now, how about your legs, can you feel them?"

"I...think so?" she moved a little but couldn't get her legs to respond the way she wanted, and it took her way too much effort to bend it slightly. "I don't think I can walk though."

"I'm sure your master taught you about the muscles inside your body and how to train them. If you don't keep up your training, your muscles will eventually grow weaker. Same happens when you don't move," he explained to her, taking another note.

Tifa was reminded of when she was 8 years old, how her legs had been all wobbly after only a week of lying in a coma. No wonder she couldn't walk after 2 months. This little bit of movement was already exhausting her like a day hiking Mt. Nibel did. How she even managed to do what she did earlier she didn't know.

"So I have to learn how to walk again?" she asked him after a moment of silence, swallowing a bit as her throat was getting dry again.

"Well I'd like to call it re-training your leg muscles, but in essence it's the same." He pulled the bottle of water back up again and started to refill her glass. "Don't worry, it's part of the healing process, and I'll be here to help you every step of the way."

The doctor helped her drink some more. He then got up from the chair and checked her IV bag, before turning back towards her. "We'll start by giving your body the energy it needs. Now I'm not the most talented cook, but I'm sure I can manage to prepare something filling."

At the mention of food her stomach let out a growl and Tifa felt herself blush. "Actually, now that you mention it, I think I could eat a Chocobo whole."

Dr. Hiragi just chuckled.

Alright, first OC. You'll be him quite a bit, I'm afraid. I hope I can write him entertaining enough for you guys. I always figured that Zangan wouldn't leave his star pupil with someone he didn't trust so I figured it might be interesting to make a character out of such a person. We'll see how it goes, shall we?