The next morning, Tifa got up at her usual time of 5:30 a.m. Careful not to wake the sleeping Marlene, she pulled on a pair of workout shorts and a tank top. After a short mediation session, she went to go rouse her sister for a gym session. It was an activity that they both enjoyed and she hoped would help ease some of their tension, especially after their fight yesterday.
Sophia was in better physical condition than Tifa had been at 15. Seoul required every citizen at least three years of military service before they turned 30 with recruits starting as young as 14. The Underwoods ensured she received the best training from martial artists, weapons experts, and trainers since arriving in the city to make sure she was in top form for the military.
Opening up the door, Tifa called her "Hey Sophia, wake up we're going to get started for the day."
Groggily, Sophia realized what was happening cursing to herself. Pulling up the covers wildly, she tried to locate all the bottles in the bed. "Ok, can I just have like five minutes, please?"
But her sister was not one to be fooled. Reaching her sister's bed, she threw the covers off. "I don't think so." Three bottles of wine were in clear view. "You have got to be kidding me!" Tifa put her hands on her hips, feeling her anger grow.
With a sigh, Sophia hugged her legs."I know. I'm sorry. Its not an excuse but I don't sleep well and the sleeping pills make my nightmares worse. At least if I get drunk I get a few hours of sleep."
"I don't even know what to do with you, Sophia. You can't drink til you pass out. We'll talk about this later when I can process it better. But for now, you need to get up cause we're getting some exercise."
"I'm pretty sure I'll throw up if I do push ups."
"Luckily, I know a few things about hangover cures. I'll fix you something that will make you feel better. Throw away those bottles and come to the kitchen as soon as you're dressed." Tifa gave her sister another stern look before turning away to head towards the door.
The drink that Tifa mixed made Sophia feel better quickly. Working out in the gym, Tifa made Sophia do twice as many reps and added more weights to her barbells as part of her punishment. She was reluctant to tell the Underwoods, not wanting to add to their worry. Besides I should take responsibility as her older sibling, she thought. It was a little past 7 am when they finished and made their way back to the kitchen.
Blake, Cristal, and one of their cooks were already there. Blake was helping to make omelets as Cristal sat with her tablet, typing away intermittently while drinking a cup of coffee.
"Good morning my lovelies. I'm glad to see you both starting the day off right with a morning workout."
"Good morning everyone." Tifa smiled. This day turned out wrong so quickly.
"Yup." Sophia sat next to Cristal and put her head on her shoulder. The display of affection instantly had the effect she had hoped for.
Stopping what she was doing, Cristal wrapped her arms around her adoptive daughters waist. "Still not sleeping well, dear? I'll make an appointment to see a herbalist. There has got to be something natural that can help you sleep."
Sophia nodded and hugged Cristal in response. Tifa shook her head as she thought about how clever her sister was. She decided that she would have to get creative with her punishment.
Blake put a tray of omelets on the table. "Tifa, should we wake up Marlene or does she usually sleep til later?"
"She won't be up til after 9, but probably later today. She was so excited about being her last night that it took a while to get her down last night."
"We'll keep some breakfast aside for her then. I've got to attend meetings all day, but I'll be back before dinner. Let's go out to eat and show you the Restaurant district tonight."
"That sounds great, thank you."
Cristal moved a strand of hair from Sophia's face. "Feel free to go where ever you want, Tifa. Me and trouble here are going to be in the library. I'll set her free at 2 so you two have some time together."
"Alright, I'll plan around that. Sophia, I think we're going to start two a days moving forward so you should probably plan to shower again." Sophia groaned in response, knowing full well this was going to be part of her reckoning. "I already know I'm going be sore from this morning."
"Then we'll stick to cardio and some sparring." Tifa responded handedly which her sister could only shrug in defeat to.
Later that day for the second workout, Tifa let Sophia take them to her local gym club that her trainer owned. It had a child day care with a full playground that immediately got Marlene excited.
"Hey Sophia, looks like you're out of house arrest, eh? Don't go starting any trouble here!"
" No worries, I got my probation officer slash sister to keep me in line. " She answered slyly. " This is Tifa. She's visiting for a while from Midgar. And this cute little girl is Marlene."
They shook hands. "Nice to meet you, my name is Jacob Tanger. Your sister told me you trained with Zangan. That guy is quite the legend."
"Jacob was in the Seoul army for like ever. He's pretty much a badass. All the other trainers are former high ranking army or experts from other places in Gaia."
"Its all hard work and persistence that pays off. Sophia's one of our best students we have here but she has a trouble with handling her emotions. Going to have to work harder to learn some control." He patted her head.
"Yes, unfortunately I know this first hand. That's why we're here actually." Tifa had a smirk on her face which made Sophia immediately regret suggesting coming here.
Jacob and Tifa tag teamed Sophia's workout and training for the next hour and half. By the time they were done, Sophia could barely stand.
"OMG, I'm gonna need a wheelchair if we are going to Restaurant district tonight". She complained.
"No pain, no gain." Jacob said laughing.
With a nod, Tifa added "It won't feel as bad if you aren't hungover the night before."
"No shit, Tifa."
"The language again. How many times do we have to have the same talk."
"Hell hasn't frozen over yet."
Jacob laughed. "You're gonna run Blake and Cristal to the ground at the rate you've been going, young lady. Glad you have come to give your sister some guidance, Tifa. You two may look alike, but can't be anymore different!"
"Thanks for the help today, Jacob. Can we plan to come by around on the weekdays this time?"
"Sure thing. I'll send you the training agenda beforehand so you can make any enhancements."
"For the love of Gaia! I'm gonna freaking die!"
"Or hopefully be too worn out to cause anymore trouble", Tifa said with a big smile.
"I give up. Let's get Marlene. At least I can rest for a bit in the car."
They headed back to the house with Sophia lying in the backseat, completely exhausted.
Later that night, the last part of Tifa's plan went into effect. Marlene and Tifa climbed into Sophia's king size bed, sandwiching her in between them. There was no more secret drinking after that.
Sleep was still a challenge for Sophia to get much of the next several nights. Tifa would stroke her head like she used to after Sophia could no longer sleep on her own when their mother died. It would put the teen to sleep for at least a little bit before awakening to another nightmare that would leave her shaking with a layer of sweat.
It worried Tifa to see her sister suffering , knowing that she'd have to wait until Sophia would start talking to her. Their relationship seemed to be improving day by day, but she was no closer to finding out what was bothering her. Although Tifa never didn't specified how long she'd be staying, she'd have to head back to Midgar eventually to return Marlene.
A call from Barret earlier that day made her believe that day would be sooner than later. Avalanche had been tipped off of a large supply of new robo mechs being dropped off in a facility in Sector 6. While they weren't sure what the mechs were for, it was definitely nothing good. The mission would be challenging and would not be likely to involve risking hurting innocent people. Her friends will need her, but right now so did her sister.
