Sometimes, when she took a good, long look at herself in the mirror, Tifa realized that she'd changed so much in the past three months, yet at the same time, nothing about her had seemed to change at all. But it was still hard to believe that she was where she was. There were still times, though, when she managed to convince herself that she was the same old Tifa Lockheart of Nibelheim, 23 years old, born May 3, brunette, 5'4", perfect figure, always cheerful.
But even those who'd known her only for the past three months could detect a dramatic change in the diminutive brunette. When she first arrived, she had her glove and materia by her side, day and night. She was ever-cheerful, but jumpy and tense and often easily provoked into battle with any of the occasional wandering monsters that ventured too near. Yet shortly after her arrival she began to loosen up. She'd hidden her Premium Heart, materia and ceased battling and training in the fields outside of Nibelheim and went out with her new college friends more and more every week.
She gave up her simple traveling attire of a comfortable skirt and white shirt for more elaborate clothing the young women her age preferred to wear. Simple cosmetics - blush, lip gloss, perfume - found their way into her bedroom. It seemed her two roommates were plotting against her old, well-worn lifestyle, but she didn't care. This particular member of the Planet's saviors was relishing her new life. College life was just as exciting as they said, in that non-dangerous, sweetly boring, not-a-thing-to-do-with-one's-time kind of way. She loved it!
It was a small university outside Rocket Town - so close she could see the rocket tilting at the same crazy angle, and she even imagined she could hear Cid yelling at poor Shera occasionally.
But she never made any attempt to contact either of them, or any of her other comrades. Let them live their normal lives in peace... they don't need me interfering.
"Tif," Megan called out from the bathroom of Tifa's house. "Do you have any of that Cloud Nine lipstick left? I'm all out of my Seventh Heaven. It was such a pretty shade, too!" she pouted as she stuck her red ringlet-framed face out of the bathroom inquiringly. Lindsay, Tifa's second roommate, promptly pitched a pair of dirty jeans at her friend with a laugh and Megan cried out it surprise, laughing as she chucked it back at Lindsay.
Tifa giggled at the two and continued studying for her Cetra History course, which had developed into her favorite. "Go in my room. It'll be on my dresser next to my perfume!" She resumed studying as Lindsay and Megan began arguing over a necklace or something equally trivial. Finding herself unable to concentrate, she slammed the book shut, sighing and standing to stretch. The history of the Cetra was actually quite fascinating, and she often found herself wishing that she could ask Aeris some of the many questions she'd developed since enrolling in the course. She often wondered if even Aeris herself knew some of the things about her people that Tifa had learned.
She thought a minute, then called out to her friends upstairs. "So, where is it you two are going again?"
"Don't really know yet," Lindsay replied, padding down the stairs with Megan in tow. "We were thinking maybe Costa del Sol." She brushed a lock of her blond hair away from her face and cocked her head to the side, thinking.
As if on cue, Megan added, "You should reconsider. You need to get away from this place! Come one, come with us, Tif!"
"I... I don't know, you guys. I was almost thinking about going to Wutai or Corel or Rocket Town or Cosmo Canyon."
"I can see Wutai or maybe even Cosmo Canyon, but Corel or Rocket Town?! At least Wutai is a tourist trap! The others aren't anything special at all! I mean, come on, this is spring break!" Megan laughed.
Lindsay smacked Megan's arm, then nodded knowingly to Tifa. "You should go. It's been a while since you've seen them. You should go visit."
She was right. It had been a while since she'd seen the others. Tifa nodded, looking down at the wooden planks that made up her floor, when the shrill ring of the PHS startled her out of her musings.
"Hello?" Tifa answered, surprised. Who could it be? Cloud...?
"Tifa, this is Reeve. Come to the Sector 7 slums. I'm at the ruins of 7th Heaven. I have something I think might interest you."
Click.
She stood there for a long moment in shock. Her 7th Heaven was still recognizable?! Only did the vacant beeping of the PHS, still being held to her ear, spur her into action. "Oh my God! I have to go!"
"Where?" Lindsay blinked in surprise.
"Reeve found something in my old bar he wants to show me! I have to get going to Midgar!" Tifa rushed upstairs and began packing insanely, throwing this and that into various bags, 6 in all. If this were the old days, I'd only have had one - for food and for clothes! She laughed to herself at her very true revelation. She had changed.
"Reeve?" Megan asked, glancing at Lindsay to see if maybe she knew what Tifa was babbling about.
"You had a bar?" Lindsay asked, wrinkling her nose.
"Remember? Reeve's the ShinRa executive I told you about. The one behind Cait Sith. And yes, when I lived in Midgar, I had a bar in the Sector 7 slums."
Tifa laughed aloud as she remembered that these two younger girls knew virtually nothing of her past outside what was common knowledge, and stopped her packing for a moment to explain in further detail.
Suddenly, she had a crazy idea. She rushed to the piano, under which she had stored all of her gloves, and gave it a heaving shove out of the way. After a bit of rummaging, she picked out three and threw two of them to Lindsay and Megan. "You guys know how to use materia, right?"
"Uh... yeah, I guess," Lindsay replied, staring blankly at the glove she'd been thrown.
"Well? What are you waiting for?! Put them on! Now, come here, and I'll equip you with some of my materia."
"Tifa, you're scaring me," Megan remarked sarcastically. "What are you getting at?"
"You guys are coming with me! So go and pack some comfortable traveling clothes, something easy to move around in, nothing restricting in case we have to fight on the way..." Tifa began making a mental list of the things they'd need. Plenty of food, a tent of course, lots of potions and ethers and, God forbid they need them, phoenix downs... she'd have to check the local stables for the fastest chocos available...
"So, why, exactly, have you decided to invite us?" Lindsay queried, interrupting her silent musings.
"Well, I would like to say 'because I would like to let you in on my past,' but if you want the truth, it's because I'm not used to traveling alone and I don't know if I could handle it." Tifa sighed and snatched a piece of paper and a pen from her binder and scrawled out her mental list before she forgot, then ripped it in half, giving each girl one half.
"If you would, please do each thing on the list. We'll be leaving in exactly one hour. I'll get four chocos saddled and readied and-" She stopped suddenly. "You guys are coming, right?"
"S-sure," Megan stammered, staring at the list she'd been given, confused.
"Right on!" Lindsay exclaimed, having always been one to take up the challenge.
"Okay then, let's get to it."
~~~<~@***@~>~~~
The sun was just setting as Cloud arrived at Tifa's old childhood abode. He had more or less constantly berated himself for letting her leave, and even though he'd tried his hardest to continue his research on the Cetra and the city at the Capital, his days were more and more becoming a guilt-ridden torture. After the months of idle worrying had worn him down to near nothingness, he'd determinedly set out for the first place she said she'd be: Nibelheim.
His heart gave a strange little flutter as he came upon her house, as peaceful and inviting as ever. Reining in his chocobo, he hurriedly hopped of his mount and made his way for the quaint front door to her house. After giving it a few uncertain knocks, which sounded sickeningly hollow and empty, he turned away, severely disheartened.
"I'm sorry son," an old man's gravelly voice called out from the other side of the commons. He was rocking back and forth on an old, wooden rocking chair. "The young woman and her companions I assume you're looking for left earlier this afternoon. Think they said they were heading east."
Cloud's heart gave a start, and he quickly made his way to the old man sitting outside his doorway. "You know Tifa well?" he asked hopefully.
The old man gave a laughing cough. "I'd like to say I do. Nibelheim isn't that big, you know. We all know each other pretty well here."
"So... maybe you could tell me what Tifa's been up to in the past few months?"
The old man motioned for him to pull up the other chair and he himself leaned back in his own giving a great sigh and pondering on the question of why this young fellow would want to know about the Lockheart girl. When the young man had seated himself, he began.
"Well, I don't know that much about her, seeing as I like to stay out of people's business. Not polite to intrude too much, I always say. I know she came back home a few months ago. Don't know where she'd come back from, but she'd been all over, she says. I suppose one has to when looking for that character, Sephiroth." Cloud's body unconsciously tensed at the mention of his former hero turned fallen soul.
"Anyhow, all I know is she came back from somewhere, joined up with some college of some sort - Near Rocket Town, I think - she's living with two younger women by the names of Lindsay and Megan, and they sure rushed out of here in a mad hurry, a fourth chocobo all strapped down with traveling bags... poor bird. Seems as if they'll be gone for quite some time, with all the bags they had."
Getting up to go, Cloud thanked the old man. As he made his way back to his chocobo, who was impatiently clawing at the ground and searching the grass nearby for food, the man called out to him. "Say, son, what's your name again?"
"Cloud! Cloud Strife!" He put his foot in the saddle and swung his other leg up and over his steed's back, earning him an angry "wark" for being away for so long. He tugged on the reins and pulled the chocobo's head around and the man questioned him again.
"The Cloud Strife?! The one who lives right on over there?" He pointed to the replica of Cloud's old home.
"That's right," Cloud replied as he trotted past the old man. Leaving the man in shock and disbelief, Cloud argued with himself as to what he should do next. He still had research awaiting him back at the Capital, yet he'd gotten near to nothing done in the past few months, with all his time progressively being dedicated to thinking about his old friend and neighbor. Well, he thought. Head east or go back? Nothing to lose either way... except a friend... and maybe the love of my life.
He wheeled his mount around and urged the chocobo into a gallop away from the setting sun.
End of Chapter 3