Hiragi Ryokan
Tifa smiled to herself as she watched Denzel and Marlene run around the bridge of the Shera, looking out of the large window in front of them before running off to lookat something else the next second. It being their first time on the airship made the kids want to explore every nook and cranny it had to offer.
Next to her, Cid chuckled as he held onto the helm.
"Thanks for doing this for us," she said to him with a grateful smile on her lips.
"No sweat. A promise is a promise."
Cid had promised her that he would take her on grand tour with the Shera, but Tifa had opted to use his offer for their little trip instead.
"Just make sure the little ones ain't picking the Shera apart," he added with a smirk in return.
"I can tell them to stop if you want?"
"Nah. Let 'em play. So, Spike's holed himself up in the cargo room?"
"Yeah." She chuckled. Not long after they had taken off, his motion sickness had reared its ugly head again. Luckily for him, the cargo room was spacious enough that he could train to take the edge off and focus on something else.
Cid just laughed to himself and put a cigarette between his lips. He was about to move his hand to grab his lighter, when he noticed her putting a hand on her hip and giving him a pointed look. "Shit! Shera told you?"
"That you were admirably trying to quit smoking? Of course." Now it was her turn to smirk. "Not the only habit that dies hard, huh?"
Cid grumbled and pulled the cigarette out again, before throwing it across the bridge. "The damn patches don't work as much. I need to get better ones."
"Still. It's great you want to quit."
"Yeah, well, Shera having been sick was kind of an eye opener. And I ain't gettin' any younger either," he said.
"Ah, that explains why you two married out of the blue, too." Tifa shook her head. "You didn't even invite us over."
"We all had our own stuff to deal with," Cid retorted before looking up ahead and snorting. "Besides. You and Cloud are practically hitched yourself!"
Tifa felt heat rush into her face. "No we aren't!"
"You say that now, but soon you'll be arguing who takes the last name of the other."
"I'll take both last names," Tifa mumbled to herself.
"What's that?"
"Nothing!" Tifa said and turned around to leave the bridge and this conversation behind. "I'm gonna check on Cloud."
Outside the bridge, she took a deep breath and headed down to the cargo area. Marriage was still nothing they were really giving much thought to be honest, but when Tifa did catch herself entertaining the idea, she liked the idea of being Tifa Lockhart Strife. Lockhart was one of the few things that she had left of her parents, so she would like to hang onto it. Knowing him, he'd just tell her to keep her last name. His parents had done the same; something that had raised more than one eyebrow in their little mountain town.
Well, tough luck. She'd wear both their names with pride!
Her blush intensified as she realized just where her thoughts were going. She covered her face with both of her hands out of embarrassment.
Get a grip, Tifa, she chided to herself.
Not being able to see where she was going, she only noticed the wall in front of her when her forehead collided with it. Hissing in pain, she removed her hands and placed one of them on a soon to be bruise while glaring daggers at the wall, like it had personally attacked her.
She was still holding her forehead by the time she made it to the cargo hold where Cloud was currently busy doing squats. For just a brief moment, Tifa found her eyes flicker down to his behind. His baggy pants didn't exactly show off a lot, but she had seen what was underneath and could confirm that the training was doing wonders in that particular area.
Having noticed her presence, Cloud turned his head to look over his shoulder.
"Hey," he greeted her, causing her eyes to instantly shift to his face. A small frown formed on his face, but he didn't stop what he was doing. "You alright?"
"Just stumbled," she lied and removed her hand from her head. Luckily there didn't seem to be a bump forming. That would have been even more embarrassing.
"How are you holding up?" she asked, immediately changing the topic.
"As expected," Cloud said while he did one more squat before walking over to her. "I just wish there was a deck where I could get some fresh air."
"We'll be there soon," she said with a smile.
"Yeah. Let's just take the ferry on the way back."
Letting out a giggle, she nodded. "Fine."
As if on cue, the intercom sprung to life and Cid's voice echoed through the cargo hold.
"ETA 15 minutes. Better find your little rascals."
Cloud and her shared a little grin, then left to do as Cid suggested. It took a little bit, as the Shera wasn't exactly small, but they eventually found them in the sick bay, looking at the computer in utter amazement. By the time they made it back to the bridge, they were about to land.
After the Shera had sat down, Cid accompanied them to the hangar, where the crew was starting to unload the cargo.
"Thank you again for doing this," Tifa said, accompanied by an affirmative "Mhm" from Cloud as he slung one of their bags over his shoulder. They were traveling lightly, as most would be provided to them at the inn.
"Just tell me if the place is any good. Might be takin' the missus there then," he said with a grin. "And better not let Yuffie know you're here. Wouldn't want to ruin yer vacation."
With one last goodbye, the little family left the airship and walked the rest of the way to town, where they proceeded to rent a Chocobo cab that would take them to their destination in the south.
After Meteorfall, the country had been ravaged by the Lifestream, and many people had contracted Geostigma in the process, but one would never be able to tell with how everything looked. The people of Wutai were nothing if not resilient and had rebuilt everything stronger and better, with many villages growing in size little by little.
The same applied to the place they were heading to right now. It took a while, but eventually Tifa spotted a pagoda in the distance, looming above the tiny mountain town.
After arriving, they paid the driver and gave him a generous tip on top of it before making their way into town. It looked peaceful, not unlike their old home, but that was where the similarities ended. It was surrounded by a small forest of Wutai maple, their leaves having turned into various shades of red, orange and brown that were simply a beautiful sight to behold. The houses were built in the old traditional way of the area. It was amazing.
As they walked, some of the townsfolk gave them curious looks, wanting to know who these newcomers might be. But it didn't last long and soon the people went back to whatever they were doing.
Tifa couldn't help but feel amused. In Nibelheim, people would have already started gossiping.
Guess not every mountain town's the same, she thought as she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket.
"Where are we supposed to go?" Cloud asked.
"It's to the east. At the edge of town," Tifa said after reading the note. Heading into that direction, she couldn't help but smile as she watched the kids look around in amazement.
"This is cool," she heard Denzel whisper to Marlene.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination: a large building resting on a little hill, its exterior giving off a warm and homely feel that was still in line with the traditions of the country. Off to the side of the inn, Tifa noticed steam rising lazily into the air from the onsen. To their right was a small, empty stable.
"Well, here we are," Tifa announced while walking to the entrance. Cloud and her looked at one another. He shrugged and slid the door open.
"Hello?" he called out as they stepped inside. There was a yelp and the sound of something being dropped, followed by a voice calling back: "Just a second!"
Footsteps hurried down the hallway and soon a pretty if slightly dishevelled looking young woman stepped into the entrance hall. Her hair was tied into a messy ponytail and there was something that looked like flour on her brow. An apron was tied in front of the dark green kimono that she was wearing.
"Welcome to Hiragi Ryokan, what can we do—" The woman blinked for a second, before her hands went to her cheeks. "Oh sh-shoot! You're the visitors we're expecting. I totally forgot!"
Before either of them could say something, the woman stepped up to Tifa and took her hand. "That means you must be Tifa! Dad told me a lot about you!"
"H-he did?" Tifa asked as the woman who was obviously the doctor's daughter shook her hand vigorously.
"Oh, yes. Only good things, don't worry." She let go of her hand. "Ah, where are my manners? I'm Junko."
"Nice to meet you," Tifa said, a little flustered. She had to admit, this was not how she imagined Dr. Hiragi's daughter to be. Next to her, Cloud stepped up to the woman, pulling a small package from one of their bags together with a small clipboard and pen.
"Cloud Strife of Strife Delivery Service. I need you to sign this," Cloud said in a professional tone.
"Eh?" Junko looked at him confusion before it dawned on her. "Oh yes, of course!"
After signing the papers, she took the package and gave Cloud a little grin. "Nice to meet you too, by the way."
Cloud just nodded. "Mhm."
"Silent type aren't ya?" Junko chuckled and turned her attention to the kids. "Oh my, and who are you two?"
"I'm Marlene, and this is Denzel," the girl introduced both of them while Denzel did his best Cloud impression by nodding as well.
"Aww, you're so cute," she said to Marlene, then looked at Denzel. "And you're gonna be quite the handsome fellow, I can already tell."
The corners of Tifa's lips rose into a small grin as she watched the boy puff out his chest just a little bit, while simultaneously blushing.
"Well let's get you all settled in, shall we? Ah, please take off your shoes. You can leave them right there," she told them while pointing towards a shoe locker in the corner. After they did so, she led them down a hallway and into one of the rooms. It was spacious and had a table placed in the middle.
"Just let me put this away and I'll be right back," Junko said before leaving. Cloud and Tifa sat down on pillows resting on the tatami floor while the kids looked around the room with curiosity.
"Where are the beds?" Denzel asked.
"In Wutai there are no beds. You sleep on a futon that's placed on the floor," Cloud explained. They both were no strangers to Wutaian sleeping customs from the last time they were here.
Denzel frowned at the prospect of sleeping on the ground.
"Don't worry. They're pretty comfy," Tifa assured him.
Junko soon returned with a set of neatly folded blue yukatas that she handed to them.
"You can put these on. I guarantee you they're more comfortable than the clothes you're wearing right now," she said with a wink to the kids. "The bathroom is down the hallway to the right."
"Mhm. Come on, Denzel," Cloud said and he rose to his feet, before leaving the room with Denzel to give Marlene and Tifa some privacy. Junko excused herself as well and closed the door behind her.
They undressed, and Tifa helped the girl dress in the foreign garment before putting on her own, grateful for all the things that Dr. Hiragi had told her about his culture in the past.
"You look pretty!" Marlene told her once she was finished. Tifa giggled and ruffled the girl's hair.
"So do you."
"You lady's decent?" she heard Cloud ask from the other side of the sliding door.
"Yup!"
As Cloud and Denzel entered, Tifa noticed that the garment was a size too large for Cloud. He didn't seem to be bothered by it and sat down opposite to her, and she couldn't help but enjoy the view as her eyes were immediately drawn to his exposed chest.
His behind wasn't the only thing in top shape.
"Tifa?" she heard him ask.
Her eyes instantly shot up to find his Mako tinted ones looking directly at her, and she felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. "Yeah?"
"Something the matter?"
"No, no. Everything's alright!" she replied. More than alright.
Is it getting warm in here? she wondered.
The door slid open and Junko walked in, looking a bit more put together now and holding a tray with tea on it, which she placed on the table.
"You must be tired from the journey," she said while pouring each of them a cup.
"Not really. We arrived here by airship and took a Chocobo cab on the way here," Tifa replied.
"Ah, I see. Are any of you hungry? Dinner is still a few hours, but I can whip something up real quick if you want?"
"Don't worry. We're good," Cloud said. "By the way, is it always this empty here? I thought there would be more guests, to be honest."
"Well, you're kinda our first guests," Junko said sheepishly while sitting down herself. "Vicky and I only recently re-opened this place."
"Vicky?" Tifa asked.
"My wife," Junko said cheerfully. "She's out of town though. Taking care of some patients in a nearby village."
"You're married to another woman?" Marlene asked tilting her head to the side. "You can do that?"
The Wutaian woman giggled. "You can do a lot of things. But you're a bit too young for that. Anyway, after Meteorfall, this town was pretty much abandoned because everyone had contracted Geostigma. Most of them passed away, you see."
Cloud and Tifa gave her a solemn nod in understanding.
"This ryokan used to be pretty popular back in the day, and I want to return it to its former glory. So please, tell everyone you know about this place!" she said the last part with a huge grin.
"I'll be sure to do that. Maybe make some fliers that I can hand out in my bar?"
"Oooh, that's such a good idea." Junko snapped her fingers. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Sometimes it needs an outside perspective," Tifa said and took a sip of her tea.
"I guess so." Junko rose to her feet and took the tablet. "I should get back to work. You're free to look around, or simply relax. The onsen is open all day and there's some games I can bring you if you'd like."
Tifa turned to look at the kids. "Well, what'll it be?"
"I wanna explore!" Denzel said with a grin, and Marlene nodded vigorously.
"There's your answer," Cloud said with a chuckle. "Let's explore."
Aaaand, enter the Doctor's daughter, Junko. Seems way less organized than her dear father, eh?
More to come, soon.