Chapter 4

Broken Glass and Dreams

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Tifa stood scrutinizing her reflection before she pulled on her shoes and left for work. It had been almost two years since Sephiroth had been defeated and AVALANCHE had disbanded. Tifa had chosen to buy the Turtle Paradise bar in Wutai and a small house to live in with the money she had earned while working with AVALANCHE.

As she had suspected, it had been difficult to settle back into a quiet life, but things were working out. She lived back a little way from the main town in a cozy little house which was perfectly suitable for single life. Outside and behind her bedroom was a small garden enclosed by a seven foot tall stone wall that was covered in ivy. Everything beyond the stone wall was forest, and beyond that was the great stone sculpture Da-Chao carved into the mountain.

The quiet solitude of the location seemed to suit Tifa, because while she lived a peaceful life, she also lived a lonely one. True, she had Yuffie's friendship, who lived not more than a few miles from her, but even the bond between the two women could not fill the aching gap longing for comfort in her heart.

Tifa wore a light pink kimono decorated in delicate cherry blossom print to her restaurant in order to maintain the traditional atmosphere of the place. She had hired Yuffie after all and let her have the job of a waitress. Tifa enjoyed cooking and hosting much more than waiting on people, anyway. Soon, the popularity of the bar had grown so much, Tifa had to hire three more helping hands just to keep up.

She took one last look in the mirror before grabbing her coat and stepping out into the evening light, walking down the road toward the restaurant. She unlocked the door and started preparing to open for business. Yuffie soon arrived also wearing a kimono, and she started seating customers and taking orders.

It was just a regular night with the regular crowd when a group of loud, boisterous young men piled into the restaurant and started demanding drinks. Tifa was wearing her usual dazzling hostess smile as she filled the glasses and politely pushed off the young men's attempts at flirting with her.

There was one man, however, who despite her efforts to reprimand his manners, would not take the hint. He was an out-of-towner that Tifa had never seen before, but he was nothing more than a punk. He kept leering and shouting cat calls at her, but it wasn't until he reached across the counter to pinch her butt that she decided she'd had enough.

Before Tifa could land a fist in his face, a person she had not noticed wearing a black cloak with a hood concealing his face did it for her. He grabbed the boy's shoulder and spun him around right into his flying fist. The guy's friends were immediately at his aid, throwing punches and breaking glasses. The cloaked man swiftly evaded their drunken aims and attacked them with the effortless grace of a shadow sliding through darkness.

Tifa watched helplessly as chairs and fists flew through the air. She was mesmerized by the cloaked man's agility and speed, but couldn't sense any form or style to hint at his training. She guessed that martial arts were not his expertise, but he hadn't been hit thus far.

The men ran out of the bar with broken and bleeding faces and shouting threats over their shoulders. The brawl had pretty much emptied the bar of all of its customers leaving Tifa, Yuffie, and the mysterious shrouded man behind. Yuffie grumbled as she got to work sweeping up glass and pieces of broken chairs. The cloaked man simply pulled up one of the few stools that were still intact and sat at the bar with his head bent and hood still hiding his face from view. He placed his gloved hands on the counter and sat perfectly silent. He hadn't uttered a single sound during the entire fight, and appeared to be waiting for acknowledgment. Tifa cleared her throat and prepared to speak.

"Can I...help you with anything? Would you like something to drink?" She said rather nervously.

With the cloaked man's ensuing silence, Tifa was not sure if he had even heard her was about to repeat her question when a gruff, masculine voice answered from underneath the hood.

"...Yeah, just give me whatever..."

The voice sounded almost familiar, if not for the scratchiness that made it sound like the owner had a cold. She fixed up the house special and set in down in front of him. He reached out a gloved hand and took the glass under his hood before setting it back down. Tifa casually leaned against the counter and attempted conversation.

"Um, I'd like to thank you for getting rid of that guy for me, but I should have taken care of it myself." She began.

"...Sorry, I'm not very patient with kids like that." The man replied in a low voice.

"That's okay. Did you get hurt at all? I've got some ice and bandages if you did..." Tifa ventured.

"I'm fine," was the curt reply.

"Oh, that's good...." Tifa said quickly. Butterflies were beginning to inhabit her stomach as she wondered who this man could be.

"Um, I didn't catch your name... Mine's Tifa Lockheart, the proprietress of this restaurant. You can just call me Tifa."

"I already knew your name. ...Cloud told me all about you." The man paused before taking another drink, and Tifa felt her smile disappear and the color drain from her face. This man spoke to Cloud...

"How...how is he?" Tifa said, embarrassed at herself for her reaction to his name. She picked up a washcloth and started to vigorously rub the surface of the bar.

"Lately, I wouldn't know." the cloaked man replied. "I haven't seen him for close to two years. I met him in Gonaga but then we went our separate ways."

He was headed for the Promised Land of the Ancients, Tifa thought, remembering that day two years ago.

"So, are you looking for him? Is that why you're here?" Tifa asked innocently.

"No, not really." the man answered carelessly and paused to take a sip of his drink. "I just happened to be passing through when I heard that you were living here and owned this place, so I thought that Cloud may have found you here."

"Found me here?" Tifa asked with wide eyes. "Was he looking for me?"

"Maybe." the man said simply. "When I met him in the bar in Gonaga, he started telling me about you, as I mentioned before..."

The man trailed off, as if waiting for her to ask him more questions. Tifa was intrigued as to what exactly Cloud had been telling strangers about her.

"What...did he say? About me, I mean..." Tifa smiled, slightly embarrassed.

The cloaked man laughed softly, "I was wondering whether you'd be interested in that."

Tifa blushed at the man's laugh. It suddenly conjured up images of a smiling face and shimmering sapphire eyes. It had been awhile since she had heard such a pleasant laugh. The cloaked man continued.

"He just mentioned a beautiful, talented, intelligent, young woman, that's all," he stated indifferently. "When I asked him if it was his girlfriend, he seemed a little embarrassed and muttered something about it being nothing of my business."

Tifa was blushing even more by now, but she was also even more skeptical. "He really said that, did he?" Tifa asked, still smiling. "And why was he telling this to a complete stranger, I wonder?" The cloaked man was quiet for a moment, and Tifa wondered whether she had said something wrong.

"...He and I had some things in common," the man said mysteriously. "One being our unfortunate past with the Shinra..."

Tifa looked at the man again and gasped. How could she have missed it? The tell-tale black cloak that they all wore, and the tattoos on their bodies. He was one of the clones, created by Hojo and manipulated by Jenova. She couldn't see this one's tattoo because he was covered from head to toe.

"So you understand," the man said upon seeing Tifa's reaction. "I thought that you would. I'm one of the few survivors." Tifa blushed again and hastily apologized.

"That's alright," the man chuckled softly again from underneath his hood. "I get more than a few stares with this outfit."

"So that explains how you know Cloud," Tifa said slowly, "but what is your name? You do have more than a number, don't you?" Tifa instantly regretted these words that had come out more forceful than she had meant them to. The clones had no name at their so-called "birth," unless they had adopted one for themselves later in life. To accuse one of not having a name was like accusing one of not being human, which, unfortunately, was not too far from the truth. The man was quiet for a moment, and Tifa's trepidation grew in the silence.

"..No, it doesn't matter. I just thought that I'd be doing him a favor if I checked up on you, so now, if you'll excuse me, I have no more business here..."

Before Tifa could apologize or beg him to stay awhile longer to tell her more about Cloud, a loud crash behind her issued from the kitchen, followed by several swear words from a voice that Tifa recognized as Yuffie's. She spun around with her back to the bar.

"Are you alright Yuffie?! What happened?" She yelled into the kitchen.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! Don't worry about me!" Yuffie yelled back quickly, with slight panic in her voice. "I'm sure it wasn't too expensive! Don't come back here!"

Tifa sighed and turned around to face the man, but found nothing more than a half-finished drink and a few Gil.