Disclaimer: I don't own final fantasy 7

Chapter 2: Not your everyday stranger.

A loud burst of music drags her forcefully to reality. Her heart thumped wildly behind ribcage as she glared at her white hand phone. 'Man, I gotta change the stupid ringtone' she exclaimed in her mind. She flipped it open and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?" she said confidently.

"Emm, Tifa, you're already up?" said a gorging voice.

Tifa smirked. "Still with the last minutes huh, Fairness?" she teased.

She heard a groan in the other line. "Don't call me that" he moaned, "So anyway, what's the trans today?"

She frowned. An image of a vehicle popped in her mind. She sighed, "The usual I guess, why?"

"Err, well…"

"Wait, wait, wait, let me guess, you crashed your ride again and needed a transport to school?"

"Tifa Lockhart, did you put cameras on me or something?" he asked.

Tifa laughed. Zack Fair was smooth with the women but with driving, his confidence was as blind as a bat. He was a hyperactive person and great with sports but with studying and homework, his brain as small as an ostrich's. In addition, he usually found in the wee morning, studying when the exams were the next day or doing homework when the hand over will be tomorrow. He was doing so poor at school, he had to do 11th grade again that year.

"Or maybe you found me in the 'boyfriend' ver-"

"Oh please," she scoffed, "with those grades, in your dreams."

"Whatever book hugger, well, see ya in 2 hours later." He said, "I still have Japanese homework, yo baka" he said sarcastically.

"It's yokatta." She corrected.

"So what's baka?"

"Idiot." She translated, trying hard not to slip a chuckle.

A last groan then the line went dead.

Tifa Lockhart was 16 years old but with her high grades, she seated into the 11th grade, along with Zack Fair. There was also Aerith Gainsborough, who was the same age as Zack, though she was not in the same situation as Zack was. She took kindergarten late when Elmyra found her an orphan. Aerith was Tifa's current best friend, next to Zack Fair and Cloud Strife.

Cloud Strife was the only one that was supposedly in the 10th grade. He was good at sports and smart next to Tifa. He has a twin brother, Rain who was studying in Oxford as his late father stated and two little sisters named Claudette and Raine. Claudette study fashion in Paris whiles Raine was an IT student in Japan, hoping to be a Graphic Designer like her late mother.

The Strife siblings were orphans. They ended up along with Tifa in an orphanage, under the care of Edea Cramer with some other unfortunate children there.

Tifa sighed then folded her phone. She took her leather messenger bag and her thick book to her face with one hand while the other carry the tall stack of books then started pacing towards the door, said goodbye to Krysta along the way.

From there she went into the mini library a few meters from her apartment to return a large stack of books she borrowed, and go off 30 minutes later with new stacks of books.

Then she went into a Zangan's Dojo, her martial arts teacher's dojo. She pushes open the door to find Zangan practicing back flips. With the clinging of the bell, he stopped and turned. He wears a white loose tank top with khaki pants. He had his hair pulled back, his medium length hair dangling under his wake. His blue eyes met Tifa's ruby ones. "Ah, same as usual I see," he said, his voice rough.

Tifa put all her things to a corner and pull off her sleeveless coat. "Morning, sensei." She replied.

Zangan was a Martial arts teacher in his dojo. Tifa was one of his students, an excellent student one too. He came from Japan and was the one who raise Tifa when he took her from the orphanage. Zangan Raised Tifa in Japan and was an excellent student. She had accomplish her parent's wishes; being the best student in her age. She was already the best of 'her age' so she did not bother to study like a psycho anymore.

Now Tifa work as a bus girl in the small café he also owned next door in the mean time learning skills with her master.

"Zell came last night, looking for you," he said.

Tifa stopped between putting on her battle gloves then groans. She turns towards her middle-aged master. Zell Dinch was also Zangan's students. Although he was a nice person, he and Tifa were rivals. Both of them had mastered My Final Heaven, the toughest technique of Zangan, and Zell always wanted to spar with Tifa every time he encounters her. However, he was not one of those people who would spar because of hate; he was just testing his skills.

"Again? For the last time, I don't want a rematch."

Zangan shrugged. "So, what about your music?"

She was one girl with many talents. Playing the piano was one of those talents. "I don't know sensei, I mean; it was only a few months since I moved in this town and I still don't have much time to join the club yet."

"Tifa, it's been three months already, you just put yourself down you know? You're wasting your talent, paperclip."

Tifa groans then manage to stiff a laugh. "You know," she said, taking her fighting stance, "I didn't know you even have the word 'soft' in your dictionary,"

"Heh, well you're going to get it now, missy, bring it on." He challenged, lurching forwards for an attack.

She walked off the dojo an hour later with a small plaster on her nose, doing her usual stunts while murmured her usual moves. 'Dodge Sarah, cross jump with the Black sisters, dodge the yellow ball oh-' she exclaimed as she narrowly tilted her pace a little to the middle, avoiding the pouring water 'nearly missed Jennifer's morning watering… shot forwards to uff!' she exclaimed as she was bounced backwards, sending her thick book flying.

She followed the books flying until it landed on a pair of gloved hands. His right hand caught the book Tifa was reading while the other stacks arranged neatly on his open palm. Her eyes went skywards as she eye to eye with a pair of piercing gray eyes.

The man before her was tall almost as tall as her teacher, Vincent Valentine. His piercing eyes divided by a cut across the bridge of his nose. The left eye was jailed by strands of brown locks under a middle bangs that went until it tucked behind his ear. In the middle, a small lock of hair spiked up and the left with the usual feathered bangs. The base cut short.

He wore short black leather jacket with long sleeves and furred collar on top of a white tank top with matching pants and gloves with buckled boots. He has a silver lion pendant hanging on a chain around his neck. There was a unique weapon strapped on his red crossing belts across his lower abdomen, making Tifa glanced at it suspiciously.

'That was unusual, I mean, it's still 6.00 a.m' Tifa said silently. "Err, sorry," she said standing up. She retrieved her book back. "Haven't seen you around, are you new here?" she asked.

"…" was his response.

"Okay, you up pretty early, where did you go to school?" 'Hang on,' she said in her mind, taking in his rather handsome features, 'He looks familiar, why does he look familiar?'

"…" again, there was no response from him.

"Uh huh, well, nice… chatting with you," she said, walking away as he did the same.

She turn back to look at him. 'Shiesh, he's more silent then Cloud.' She said silently. Then she heard the usual bang of music getting nearer. 'And speaking of the devil,' she tilted her head a little to see a blue jeep pulling off beside her. A man walks off the car, followed by a woman in pink on the other side.