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Disclaimer: For all of you who don't know, FF7 is a game created by the geniuses at Squaresoft (obviously, I'm not one of them). I don't claim it or any of their characters found in this story. I'm just a crazy fan! I swear! Don't sue me!

Author's Notes: This is my first fanfic, so I'm not expecting it to be that great! Also, I haven't played FF7 in years. Please excuse me if there are any errors, or if it's just not that interesting. Oh, and don't forget to review! I'm open to whatever anyone has to say, so go for it! Thanks for your support! ~_^ Oh, and by the way, Aerith will not be resurrected in this story. Sorry! I love her, too, but there's just way too many fan fictions based on that… Anyways, on to the story!!!

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Chapter 1

by LadyTifa26

During a cool starry night in Nibelheim, a boy with blonde, spiky hair sits rubbing his arms to keep warm at a large, empty well in the middle of the town's circle. He looks around intently, waiting for someone to come. Soon enough, a slim figure, with a blue top and blue skirt, and long, dark hair comes rushing to the side. She climbs up the towering well and sits a couple of feet from the boy. He stares as she wipes the beads of sweat off her pale forehead and smoothes her dark brown hair with her hand. Those beautiful brown eyes then turn to face him.

"Sorry I'm late. You said you wanted to talk about something?" says the young girl.

Realizing that he was staring, he looked away. "Come this spring... I'm leaving this town for Midgar," he replied.

"...All boys are leaving our town," she returned with no surprise to what he said.

"But I'm different from all of them," he remarks as he stands up and climbs to the top of the well. "I'm not just going to find a job. I want to join SOLDIER. I'm going to be the best there is, just like Sephiroth!" he exclaims as he does a few squats, forgetting that he might tear the nice black suit he is wearing.

" Sephiroth... The Great Sephiroth. Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER?" she questions as she swings her dangling feet.

He doesn't answer her question. "...I probably won't be able to come back to this town for a while." He then looks around to see where Tifa sits, "Huh?"

She turns her face up to find two blue orbs looking down upon her. "Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?" she asks.

He thinks about the question for a while. "I'll try."

"Hey," interrupts the girl as the boy thinks of fame. "Why don't we make a promise? Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind... You come save me, all right?"

"What?" He was pondering her question. Make a… promise???

She looked back down as she explained. "Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once."

"What?" He still didn't understand. He never made a promise to anyone.

"Come on--! Promise me----!" urges the girl.

"All right... I promise," he finally replied, even though he still didn't understand why.

The girl smiled to herself as the boy went back to thinking of becoming a famous SOLDIER.

"Mayor? Mayor?? Miss Tifa! Are you listening?"

The same young girl, a bit older now, sat daydreaming at her chair, staring out the window, with her cheek resting upon her hand, towards that same well. 

A pair of hands interrupts as she indulges in reminiscence.  "Oh!" She finally comes back to reality. "Sorry Cecile… what were you saying?" She sits back up at her desk in her office.

Cecile, Tifa's secretary, glares at the so-called "authority figure" in front of her.

"What?" asks Tifa with an innocent look on her fair face.

"Are you okay today, Miss Tifa? Maybe you need to rest?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks. I've just been thinking about…" she pauses, going into thought again.

"About… what?"

"Nothing… never mind," she says as she shakes her head and looks up at Cecile.

Her eyes move down and widen at a large stack of papers in Cecile' hands, which reminded her of her duties as mayor of Nibelheim. She wondered why she even took the job in the first place, since the only job experience she had was being a tour guide of the town and a bartender in a big city called Midgar.  But how could she refuse the requests of her people? She never imagined following her father's footsteps.  What she really wanted was to be with her childhood friend, Cloud. But ever since Avalanche, the group that saved the world, split up, Cloud has been hiding away in his little house and skulking around town at night. Her busy schedule never gave her the time to spend with him. She wondered what he has been up to lately.

"Ahem!"

Tifa snaps back to her office and rubs her face as she takes the stack of documents into her hands and places them in front of her. She sighs as she reads through the first paper, and her mind immediately goes into wonder, thinking again of that blonde spiky-haired hottie named Cloud. She looks back down toward her paper, picks up her pen, writes out her signature, and hands it to Cecile.

A confused look comes over Cecile' face as she reads the signature before her.

"Umm… Miss Tifa? Your name isn't 'Cloud Strife.'"

"Huh?" She looks over at the document. "Oh my!" She blushes as she hurriedly erases the name and writes in the correct one- Tifa Lockhart. Embarrassed to look at her secretary, she pretends to be focused on her work.

"Miss Tifa, if Cloud is distracting you, maybe you should go and pay him a visit? The last time I saw him, he looked lonesome and sad. It'll be good for the both of you," suggests Cecile. She could tell that Tifa had feelings for Cloud because every time she saw him or even if the word "cloud" was mentioned, Tifa's face would brighten with a heavenly glow.

"You really think so?" She looks up at this suggestion, and then turns her head away. "But I need to…"

"Don't worry! I'll take care of things here. Just don't be too long… and don't do anything I wouldn't do." She smirks at Tifa.

Tifa's face turns bright red. She then takes out a round compact mirror from her desk drawer to check herself. Her long, raven hair flows down above her rear as she unties her bun. She then stands and smoothes out any wrinkles in her sleeveless, blue dress at knee-length.

"Alright… Do I look okay?" She twirls around for Cecile.

"You look fine, Miss Tifa," Cecile responds. She would kill to have Tifa's tone body, with long shiny hair, slim legs, and rather large cleavage. It was hard to believe that a girl like her was actually a tough kick boxer.

Tifa takes one last glance at herself and places the mirror back into her drawer. "Are you sure you've got everything covered for me?"

"Yes, Miss Tifa. Just go!" Cecile says to reassure her. 

Tifa takes a breath and rushes out of her office. When was the last time she actually sat down to talk with Cloud? It's been so long. The only time she's been able to talk to him was an occasional greeting when they passed each other in town. What would she talk to him about? Not her feelings for him… she wasn't ready yet. As she approached his house, she slowed her pace and walked smoothly to the door and knocked. A few seconds passed, no answer. She knocked again… Still no answer. She then took a step towards the window on the side and peered in, but there was no Cloud in sight. Maybe he was in the bathroom, she thought. She knocked a bit louder.

"Cloud? Cloud! Are you there? It's me, Tifa!"

She leaned back to the window and saw no one walking to the door. Her eyes moved down towards the doorknob, and she lifted her hand to slowly turn it. It was open! As she pushed the door forward, she walked in slowly to a dark, stagnant room that seemed that it hadn't been occupied for some time. The house was still the same, with Cloud's empty desk to her left, the kitchen at the far-left corner, and his bed straight ahead at the back of the room. To the right, she saw an open bathroom, but no one was in it. It never occurred to her that Cloud wouldn't be home. Maybe it would have been better if she called him first. Looking around one last time, her eyes stopped at the table in the kitchen. There was a small book on top, but not just any book. It was a journal.

Tifa slowly walked towards the table and picked up the navy blue journal. She studied the cover.

Should I open it?, she thought to herself. I never imagined Cloud keeping a journal. What would he write? Maybe something about me?

She was curious to read what was inside, but afraid of what it may contain, or that Cloud would be angry if he ever found out… She had to know, though. Did Cloud have any feelings for Tifa? With that thought, she looked around and then pulled a red ribbon hanging out of the journal, turning the pages to the last entry.

June 26

I sat at the well tonight and looked up at the stars. They constantly remind me of her sparkling eyes and cheerful face. I would give anything to hear her voice once more, to watch her dance like she did that night of the play, to look into those eyes as green as emeralds. She always smelt of flowers, and every time I see one I can't help but remember the first time I met her. I fell from the sky and her small garden of flowers broke my fall. Come to think of it, that same incident is symbolic of her saving the world. She took her time alone to pray to Holy, just as she did in the church to grow her flowers, and she saved lives, as she saved me. I know you're still out there, Aerith, and I will find you. I'm coming for you.

Tears swelled up in Tifa's eyes. So Cloud did have feelings for Aerith. But she's gone! Why can't Cloud accept that?

Memories flashed and Cloud's words echoed through her head, remembering when he held her as he gripped with one hand on the edge of a cliff above the green glow of lifestream. "Let's go find her," said Cloud, talking more to himself than to Tifa.

"So he kept his promise. But he will never find her! He'll only get hurt! I must find him. But how? And where?"

Suddenly, a memory of Aerith's mom, Elmyra, rushed into her head. She remembered her mentioning that Aerith said that people return to the planet after they pass away. That's where Aerith is! That's where Cloud must be heading! He's looking for lifestream, the energy of the planet, but it's never in one place at a time. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, and how much danger Cloud could be in, she decided that she must leave as soon as possible.

You promised me, Cloud, that you would save me when I was in trouble, and you've kept that promise. Now I will return the favor. Tifa made an oath to herself that she would save Cloud, no matter what. But first of all, she had to find him…

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A/N: So… how was it? Be sure to leave your reviews! By the way, the very beginning scene where Tifa is reminiscing is also FF7's, not by my own imagination. I just thought I'd let you know that. Don't sue!

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