Chapter 5:
Tifa woke up, and the first thing she noticed was the change in her surroundings. The last thing she remembered, she was at the bar counter having a drink. Then, she lost herself.
I probably got drunk, she thought. Then, after feeling no clothing on herself whatsoever and experiencing a loud pounding in her head, she added, Okay… I know I got drunk. Dammit!
A knock on the door nearly sent her leaping out of the bed entirely. Quickly regaining herself and pulling the covers so that it covered her entirely with the exception of her head, she accepted the visitor. A well-built man walked into the room, holding her clothes and a tray of breakfast balanced on top of it.
"Good morning, Tifa," he said, gruffly, though kindly.
Tifa was a little spooked to know that someone she didn't know knew her name. "Wh-Who are you?"
The man set his pile down on the table beside her bed and stepped away, avoiding eye contact. "I'm a traveler, and many people know me as Storm Strife."
"You're Cloud's father!"
Strife chuckled. "Well, it didn't take long for you to figure that out." He finally brought himself to face Tifa directly. "Yes, I am Cloud's father. And from what I hear, Cloud's been worried sick about you."
Tifa faced away stubbornly. "Peh! The hell with what you hear, then. Cloud loves Aeris, not me."
She had expected him to scold her and prove her wrong, but instead, he said, smiling, "I must have heard wrongly, then. I am talking to the source, after all."
There was something in that grin and in his words that made Tifa's mind flip upside-down. The pounding in her head came stronger, now, and she collapsed back, moaning.
"Well, I'll leave you be, then," Strife said. "I think you feel rather uncomfortable having me in here when you're not even dressed." As he walked out the door, and not bothering to look at her again, he added, "Eat and drink up. That drunkie's headache is bound to heal after that."