Hello, and thanks for finding interest in reading my first fanfic! This story is a highschool based fusion of all Final Fantasy stories above FF7 (including FF7 itself) but excluding FFXI. Yes, I know these stories come a dime a dozen, but gimme a break! By the way, I really hope you don't mind that this chapter is extremely long. The point of view will change, so don't worry, it won't only be from Tifa's point of view, though she is my favourite Final Fantasy female character. Please read and review!
The small, slightly chubby fourteen year old nervously waited in front of her suburban home for the large bus that would carry her away to her summer vacation. Fresh out of eighth grade, Tifa Lockheart was a small, intelligent and sarcastic girl with ebonite hair and twinkling eyes that glowed a deep blood hue. Her pale skin glowed in the summer sunlight, as did the small metal studs protruding from the leather belt that held up her loose black pants. She wore a men's T-shirt that bore the logo of her father's company, and next to her was a large black suitcase that held her clothes and necessities.
Suddenly, a group of deep, carefree voices approached her, paralysing her in embarrassment as she stood awkwardly alone.
"Like you're not enough of a loner…you have to prove it by standing in the sidewalk staring into space," sneered a tall blonde boy with an evil grin. He strode proudly on the sidewalk until he decided to lean casually on a streetlight post. Tifa hated him, for she had the misfortune of growing up with this boy. His friends knew him as Cloud Strife. She knew him as Satan.
"Ehhhhhh, leave her alone!" shouted yet another blonde boy, walking up to Tifa and ruffling her hair. She chuckled lightly, as she was used to being treated like a child by Zell, even though, like Cloud, he was only a year older than her. Zell was the kind of big brother figure that was there to protect Tifa when Cloud felt extremely mean and mischievous. Tifa was glad that he was coming along to the martial arts camp in which she would spend the next two months.
"Yeah, ease up, she's gone for two months anyways, give her a break", smirked Tidus, as Zidane, Zell and Irvine nodded their heads in agreement. Squall merely situated himself next to Cloud. Zack followed Squall, still chuckling at Cloud's remark. He also enjoyed making fun of Tifa's image.
Thankfully, the bus rolled down the street and screeched to a stop in front of the group, and Tifa exerted a large, long sigh of relief. The driver, dressed in his crisp company uniform, opened a compartment of the bus in which he directed Tifa and Zell to put their luggage. He then closed the compartment and asked the two teens to board the bus. Zell waved excitedly to his friends as he boarded the bus, but Tifa merely smiled awkwardly and followed Zell.
"See ya, nerds!" shouted Zidane with a wide grin, the only ninth grader in the group of male friends.
"Hey Tifa!" yelled Cloud suddenly. Tifa curiously poked her head out the window of the large bus. "Maybe if you're lucky, you'll lose a pound!" he yelled with a mischievous smile. At this, Tifa's face cracked into a large, sarcastic smile as she raised her hand to the window to show Cloud a certain "special" finger. With a large puff of smoke, the bus roared and began its 2 hour drive to the most well known martial arts camp in Japan.
"Hey, how long have you known Cloud?" Zell inquired while occasionally throwing glances to a blonde girl that was sitting in the seat beside him on the opposite side of the isle.
"Unfortunately, since we were about four years old…just about four or five years before you came around. I've known Zack and Squall for just as long also, but Tidus, Irvine and Zidane are all friends I just met," she explained, adjusting her seat to a comfortable angle. She knew that she may as well enjoy her comfortable bus ride, because she knew that the following two months would probably be the most straining her body would ever experience.
Tifa and Zell chatted animatedly for most of the two hour bus ride. Tifa had saved up all of her money to go on this 1500 gil excursion, as had Zell. The main point of the camp was to learn martial arts and self discipline, and Tifa was extremely anxious to go, awaiting the day she would get on the bus. She vowed to herself that she would try as hard as she could to learn as much as possible so that maybe, just maybe, she would win the prize that was given at the end of the program to the person that would win the martial arts tournament. The prize was a large punching bag and a pair of expert gloves, and Tifa was anxious to prove that she was good enough to win it.
When the bus arrived at the huge camp, Tifa separated herself from her friend and headed towards the women's cabins, where she would pick up her uniform and drop off her luggage before rushing to her very first workout. She quickly changed into the uniform she was carrying and examined herself in the mirror with a sense of pride – she was wearing the uniform of Japan's finest martial arts training camp. It was black and sleek with a small crest in the shape of a flame in which her name was embroidered. The tank top was slightly tight, but breathable, and the pants had small hidden zippers that could be pulled to remove the length of the pants, turning them to shorts. She then tore herself from the mirror and ran into the open field outside, which was separated from the men's training feild by a small strip of forest.
"Alright, ladies. We will begin by testing your flexibility with some simple stretches. Then we will do ten minutes worth of jogging, which will increase by three and a half minutes every day. We will be doing this four times a day. We will be taking part in sports that improve our hand-eye coordination, and then, finally, we will be doing 4 hours of martial arts training per day, distributed over the course of the day. Our objective is not to gain bulky man-like muscles," the beautiful instructor explained with a grin, "but we will improve our strength drastically. Does everybody understand? Ok, now START!"
Tifa returned to her cabin after dinner extremely sore, but smiling none the less, internally laughing at the fact that 'big, strong, tenth grade Zell' was as sore as her. She pulled her body into one of the only vacant showers in the cabin and embraced the warm, soothing liquid before drying off, brushing her hair, getting dressed and plopping on her bed, which was the top bunk of a bed that was pushed into a cozy, concealed corner of the cabin. Soon enough, she was cuddled in her blankets and fast asleep. At 5:00 am she was awoken for a workout, and this routine continued for the next 6 weeks.
Tifa started to notice her strength increase as she learned the moves of the martial arts sensei. She began to improve her skills drastically, and was soon at the top of the female class of her age group. The tournament was fast approaching, and she believed that she was ready for it. There were four tournaments – the junior men, the senior men, the junior women and the senior women. They would all take place over the course of the last week of the camp program, and the first tournament would be the Junior Men. Zell was becoming excited, and was often seen swatting at the air with fists, much to the enjoyment of many giggling girls around him, as, truthfully, there weren't many attractive men there, and Zell was probably as close as the girls could get to attractive during the program. He would compete in the first tournament to be held.
Tifa sat anxiously in the stands as the golden sun shone brightly over the crisp green grass of the stadium. She watched as the junior men came striding onto the field, two at a time, to begin the challenge, all pumped up and ready to go. She stood up and screeched for Zell as he pummelled his fists into the opponent, however, that's all he seemed to do. When the match ended, Zell was defeated, though he had made it pretty far in the tournament – he was one of the final six contestants. The sensei explained why he had lost to the screaming mass that filled the stands, as he had done for every other defeated contestant.
"Mr Dincht, you have a problem that I have noticed throughout the program. Your major problem is lack of discipline – a disregard for the rules and proper form of martial arts. However, you have still improved your strength and some of your skills in this program, and the change of your respect towards myself and other means of authority has truly been a dramatic improvement. For this, I am proud. And one more thing, Mr Dincht…be patient. It took me many years to become the sensei that I am, and you shouldn't try to become the best over such a short period of time. Take it slow. Thank you."
The match was won by a tall, bulky man who was at the maximum age to qualify for the Junior games, but now that Zell was out of the competitions, Tifa began thinking more about the competition in two days – the one SHE would be competing in. She spent that night practicing her form and movement, and the next night focusing on her strength. She was ready.
The adrenaline pumped through her veins as she strode onto the field in her uniform, her hair tied loosely at its base and a look of determination sharpening her facial features. She approached her first fight, and although she could faintly hear Zell's cheers, her ears blocked out any unwanted sounds that might shatter her concentration. She bowed to her opponent – a tall, strong older girl – and the battle began. She flawlessly carried out her battle skills and patterns which her opponent tried desperately to synchronize, but she failed, and Tifa won the battle in under five minutes. Soon enough, she was in the final four, and as she spit the blood from her mouth and wiped the sweat from her brow, she strode, yet again, into the stadium for her last two battles, with her only motivation being her thirst to prove herself - and the picture in her mind's eye of Cloud and Zack, bruised and broken.