AN: Okay, so I was wrong. This was the longest of the introduction chapters. It's also the last one.
It's nice to see everyone again. Got a new computer since the last time I uploaded something, so I've been very distracted with Halo and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters.
So, you guys have been kept waiting long enough, let's get into it!
Introduction: Yang Xiao Long and Tifa Lockhart.
The music in the club was loud, almost pounding. The lights were bright and multicolored, flashing frequently enough to give some people headaches, or worse. The mass of people dancing was almost an inconceivable bundle of moving limbs, some doing… inappropriate acts with other people. The smell of booze hung heavy in the air, thanks to the bar in the center of the room.
It would probably be too much for most people to handle.
Then again, Tifa Lockhart wasn't most people.
She had grown up in this club, knew every nook and cranny, knew the drink preferences of all the regulars, and knew exactly who had been skimping on paying their tab.
And the regulars knew her, too. It was a combination of working as a bartender, and functioning as a bouncer, like she was doing tonight. Most people knew not to try anything when they saw her, and newcomers would learn that lesson very quickly.
And Tifa was a pretty easy girl to spot. She was, frankly, an attractive girl, with long black hair, striking red eyes, and a very developed figure, Tifa knew she looked good. As she patrolled the club looking for troublemakers, she wore a low-cut, cropped white tank top under a short brown vest, a brown skirt, and brown boots.
She continued making her rounds around the club, nodding at the people she recognized that were behaving, and sending a warning look at the ones that looked like they might not. For the most part, she only saw humans and Faunus having a good time, either with their friends or with their dates. She was starting to think that, for once, there wouldn't be any problems.
Until some jerk set out to prove her wrong, as they always do.
After several minutes, she spotted a drunk man putting his hands on a young, pretty tiger Faunus woman who was clearly not interested. Tifa sighed in irritation and marched over to the drunk man.
"Let her go," Tifa said sternly, causing the man to turn to look at her. Unfortunately for him, in his drunken state he couldn't both look at Tifa and maintain his grip on the woman, allowing her to escape and move into the crowd, sending Tifa a grateful smile as she left. It took the drunk a few seconds to realize the woman was gone, but when he did, he have Tifa an angry look.
"Aw, look what you did!" he shouted, his words slurring. "You made her leave! Why'd you have to go and do that?"
"I think you should leave," Tifa said simply. To her annoyance, the man just laughed in his face before picking up his drink.
"Well, sorry, sweetheart, but I'm not going anywhere," he said, taking a sip. "Hey, I just had a good idea. Since you made the last one leave, why don't you keep me company instead?"
"Not interested," Tifa said, trying her best to be patient. "Once again, I'm going to have to ask you leave. If you're too drunk to drive, I can call you a cab to come get you."
"Listen, girl!" the drunk man said, getting right up in Tifa's face. "I paid good gil to drink here, so if you don't leave me alone right now, I'm gonna introduce that pretty face of yours to my fist!"
It was almost funny how accustomed Tifa had become to customers thinking they could take her in a fight.
Almost. It was still just annoying, and her patience was starting to wear thin.
"This isn't Wall Market. We don't allow people to harass out customers," Tifa said. "Now, this is your last warning. Get out."
"That's it!" the drunk shouted, rearing his fist back for the most telegraphed punch of all time. Tifa easily caught his fist and started squeezing. Since she could tell the man didn't have his Aura unlocked, she had to be careful to not squeeze hard enough to flat-out break his hand, but still hard enough for it to hurt, and judging by how his face contorted in pain, in definitely hurt. She quickly threw a gentle (by her standards, at least) right hook at his face, and used her foot to shove him back into a nearby table.
"Had enough yet?" she asked. In response, the man growled angrily, picked up a beer bottle from the table, and swung at her. She ducked and Flash Kicked him in in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Not wasting any time, she picked him up and held him over her head. She nodded to two of her uncle's men standing guard by the entrance. They nodded back and opened the double doors that served as the main entrance and exit. "Now, get the hell OUT OF MY BAR!" She yelled, throwing the drunk man out of the club. He screamed in fear on the way out, only for the noise to be cut off as the guards slammed the doors shut behind him. They then turned around, flashing score cards that had "10" written on them in big bold letters.
Tifa giggled, giving the guards a thumbs-up. She felt someone tap on her shoulder, so she turned around to see her surrogate cousins greeting her, Melanie and Miltia Malachite.
They were identical twins, both sporting heavy makeup and black hair, though Melanie wore hers long and Miltia kept it in a short, fashionable bob. In fact, "fashionable" was probably the best word to describe the two of them. They wore similar lacy, gothic dresses that stopped halfway down their thighs, with thigh-high high-heeled boots, though Melanie's dress was white and Miltia's was black accented with red.
"Nice job dealing with that loser," Melanie said.
"Yeah," Miltia agreed. "We were going to step in, but we knew you could handle it."
"…Thanks…" Tifa said, eyeing the two of them suspiciously. "You two are being unusually nice. What do you want?"
"That hurts, Tifa" Melanie said, feigning offence at Tifa's comment. "We don't need something to be nice to you!"
"…Uh-huh…" Tifa said, not at all convinced of the twins' sincerity.
"But, we did want to ask you something," Miltia said sheepishly.
"And there it is," Tifa said with an amused smile.
"Quit it!" Miltia complained. "We came to tell you that the bartender is late for his shift, and that you should cover for him before the customers start to get antsy."
"Why can't one of you do it?" Tifa asked.
"You've been bouncing people all night," Miltia said. "Take a break, and let me and Melanie take over for a little bit."
"Plus, you'll be leaving for Beacon soon, and Miltia and I want to work you like a horse before you leave," Melanie said with a sly smile.
Tifa sighed in defeat, slumping her shoulders. "You two are the worst."
"Only because we love you!" the twins said in unison, sticking their tongues out at Tifa playfully as they left to patrol the club. Tifa sighed one more time and headed over to the bar.
It didn't take her long to reach it, and a familiar customer immediately flagged her down.
"Hey, Tifa, how you doing?" the man asked.
"Pretty good, Sammy," Tifa said with a smile as she reached for some glasses. "The usual?"
"Of course," Sammy said.
"Coming right up!" Tifa said enthusiastically as she grabbed several bottles of colorful liquid, and mixed them together. Just for some flair, while she was shaking the cup she decided to flip it around just to give the patrons a show. Finally, she poured out the liquid into a small glass, presenting Sammy with a drink that was quite a beautiful shade of red. "Here you go, one Cosmo Canyon."
"Thanks, Tifa," the man said gratefully, picking up the glass and making sure to savor it. "You're the best."
"Oh, stop," Tifa said bashfully.
"No, he's right," a new, very familiar voice said. "You're the best bartender I've ever seen."
"Hey, Uncle Hei," Tifa said to the newcomer. He was a stocky man with short hair and a well-groomed beard. He wore a white dress shirt, black vest, red tie, and black slacks and shoes. His name was Hei Xiong, and he was the owner of the club, though his friends called him "Junior".
But to Tifa, he was just Uncle Hei.
"You know, I'm almost tempted to lock you up here so you don't go to Beacon," her uncle said.
Tifa rolled her eyes playfully. "You can just have the twins or one of your men cover for me when I leave," she said.
"I know," Uncle Hei said. "But they're not as good as you. And I'd have to pay them."
"Oh, the horror," Tifa said sarcastically. There was an awkward, pregnant pause for a few seconds. Finally, Uncle Hei sighed deeply.
"Are you sure going to Beacon is what you really want to do?" he asked.
"It is," she said. "I have a talent Uncle Hei, and while I do love staying here with you and the twins, I don't want my skills to go to waste. I want to see the world, kick some ass, and make a name for myself."
Her uncle gave her a small smile. "I know, and I've accepted that you weren't going to be here forever. It's just gonna be different without you here."
"It's not like I won't be able to visit," Tifa said.
"You'd better," Uncle Hei said. "Because if you get hurt while at Beacon, I'm afraid my sister is gonna rise from the dead and kick my ass."
Tifa chuckled. "I'll be fine," she said. "After all, Melanie and Miltia taught me everything they know about fighting. Besides, the Vytal Festival will be held in Vale this year. A lot of customers will want to come to the club just to see the winner of the Vytal Tournament."
Uncle Hei laughed. "Tell you what, if you win the tournament, you'll be my favorite niece."
"I wasn't already?" Tifa asked, feigning offence.
"Not even second," Uncle Hei responded, prompting the two of them to laugh. "So, since you're already back there, how about you make me a martini?"
"On the job?" Tifa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"When you're the owner, you can drink whenever you want."
Tifa shook her head playfully. "Fine, but we're out of vermouth. I'm gonna see if there's any more in the back. Watch the bar for me?"
"No problem," Uncle Hei said.
Junior's club.
This was the place.
A yellow motorcycle slowed to a stop in front of the club, run by supposedly the best information broker in all of Vale. The rider was the kind of girl that could catch anyone's eyes. She had a knockout figure, and loved to show it off. She wore a yellow tube top under a beige cropped jacket with short sleeves, and tiny black shorts.
Her name was Yang Xiao Long.
She pulled her orange helmet off her head, letting her golden hair cascade down her back. Her lilac eyes looked at the doors of the club, and she could hear the music from out here. She strolled her way into the club and made a beeline straight for the bar, turning heads as she went. There was a man with a beard standing near the bar, and Yang wasted no time walking up to him. He may have looked like a bartender, but she already knew he was.
Hei Xiong, better known as "Junior", the owner of the club, and the man she was here to talk to.
"Strawberry Sunrise," she said, and the man raised an eyebrow at her. "No ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas."
"Aren't you a little young to be in this club, Blondie?" the man asked.
Yang laughed. "Aren't you a little old to have a name like 'Junior'?"
"So you know who I am," Junior said, giving her an appraising look. "You got a name, sweetheart?"
"Yes, Junior, I've got several," Yang said. "But instead of sweetheart, you can just call me 'sir'." She quickly reached down, grabbed hold of his balls and give them a squeeze, making Junior squeal out in pain. Seeing their boss in pain, all of Junior's men quickly surrounded the bar and pulled out various weapons, all aimed in Yang's general direction. Though, none of them dared attack her, not while she still had their boss's family jewels trapped in a vice-like grip. "People say you know everything," she said, pulling her scroll and showing him a picture of a certain black-haired woman. "Tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go."
"I've never seen her before, I swear!" Junior yelled in pain.
"Excuse me?" Yang asked, raising a threatening eyebrow.
"I swear, sir!" Junior cried out in a panic. His men advanced closer, tightening their formation around Yang and Junior.
"Hmm, looks like we have an audience," Yang said. "This must be kind of embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward…"
Junior looked past Yang and towards the other side of the clun, a strained smile appearing on his face. "You have no idea what's in store for you, blondie."
"Oh, please, I can handle—OW!" Yang yelped as someone grabbed her hair from behind and yanked it as hard as they could. Yang could feel her eyes turn crimson as her anger began to rise, and she let go of Junior's balls and turned to face whoever in the hell was stupid enough to touch her hair-!
Yang briefly paused upon seeing the girl in front of her. And no, it wasn't because she was gorgeous, had a figure that rivaled Yang's, and had a similar flair for skimpy clothes!
It was her black hair and red eyes. So similar to the woman she had spent so much time looking for.
But no, she couldn't have been related.
Besides, it didn't matter who this mystery beauty was. She had grabbed Yang's hair.
And she was gonna pay.
Red eyes stared into red eyes, as Yang glared at the girl and tightened her fists, preparing to deploy her golden wrist gauntlets, Ember Celica.
"Nobody touches my hair," Yang growled.
"And Nobody manhandles my uncle," the black-haired girl said. "Now, I'm gonna be nice and ask you to leave. Before this gets ugly."
"I'm not going anywhere until Junior here gives me the info I need!" Yang declared, pointing at Junior.
"You know most people pay for things, right?" the girl asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "They don't usually make threats or cause a scene." The girl smirked. "Unless, it's true what they say about blondes?"
"Well I'm smart enough to know not to pick a fight with a Huntress-in-Training unarmed," Yang shot back.
The girl's eyes narrowed. "I don't need a weapon to deal with you," the girl said. Now, last chance. Get out, or else."
"Or else what?" Yang challenged.
"Or else I'm gonna shove my fist so far up your ass that everyone's gonna think 'Wow, that is the most disheveled-looking puppet I've ever seen!'" The girl threatened, bringing her fist up so Yang could see it.
"Disheveled?! My hair is perfect!" Yang yelled. "And I'm not gonna be intimidated by some skimpy little bar waitress!"
There was the sound of a record scratch, as the music abruptly stopped playing after Yang's insult. A shocked hush fell over the crowd, and the black-haired girl's demeanor changed. While before she looked annoyed, now she was furious.
But it wasn't an overt display, with bared teeth and clenched fists. No, this girl almost looked tranquil. The only indication Yang had that she was angry was that she could practically feel the girl's aura radiating off her. The girl looked past her and directed her attention at Junior.
"Uncle Hei?" the girl called out to him. "Clear the place out. I need to teach this girl a lesson."
Junior nodded frantically, before quickly moving over to an intercom system built into the wall. "Attention customers, please vacate the premises immediately. All staff, head to the break room." Everyone just sort of stared at Junior, not moving a single muscle. "Didn't you hear me?!Move your asses! Get out of here!" he shouted, and all the people in the club immediately cleared out, heading to the spots Junior told them to go. As for Junior himself, he and two gaudy-looking girls headed to a staircase that led up to his office. Junior stopped and looked at the girl one last time.
"Tifa, try not to cause too much damage," he said. So, her name's Tifa, Yang thought to herself
"That depends on how difficult Blondie here wants to be," Tifa said.
"Yeah, I'm kind of a stubborn girl," Yang said. Junior gave an exasperated sigh, muttering to himself about insurance. The twin girls took one more look at Tifa. "Hey, Tifa," the red-colored twin called out. Tifa turned her head just enough to get a good look at the twins.
"Kick her ass," they said in unison before entering Junior's office. Tifa smirked and turned her attention back to Yang, pulling out a pair of red fingerless gloves from her pocket. Yang threw her arms out to the side, engaging Ember Celica and taking a boxing stance.
"So, Tifa. My name's Yang, in case you were wondering," Yang said.
Tifa put the gloves on over her hands. "I don't care," she said, taking a stance similar to Yang's, with ice forming over her gloved hands to make a pair of her own gauntlets. The two fighters stared each other down for several seconds, waiting for the other to make the first move…
Until finally, they both charged.
Tifa jumped forward and kicked at Yang, but the blonde girl fired Ember Celica at her foot, knocking Tifa back. The black-haired girl flipped backwards to recover, and Yang ran forwards, throwing punches and firing her gauntlets. Tifa blocked as many of them as she could with her forearms, and any attack she couldn't block she dodged. After a few blows, Tifa kicked at Yang to knock her off balance, and slammed both fists into her stomach, knocking her away.
Yang rolled backwards as she landed, and fired her gauntlets behind her, launching herself forwards. She threw a right hook at Tifa, catching the girl off-guard and sending her flying backwards to the wall above the DJ booth. Tifa flipped backwards, and landed on the wall feet-first, bending her knees and using one hand to slow herself down. Yang grabbed a chair and threw it at her while she was still on the wall, but Tifa dropped down into the DJ booth, causing the chair to shatter when it hit the wall. Tifa looked down at the broken chair and glared at Yang.
"I hope you have enough Gil to pay for all this," Tifa said.
"Eh, you can put it on my tab," Yang said with a smirk. Tifa scowled and pulled a green orb out of her pocket. She placed the Materia in a slot in her glove, setting her ice gauntlets ablaze and using her Aura to keep the ice from melting. Now things are getting interesting, Yang thought.
Tifa leaped off the DJ booth and launched some fireballs from her hands at Yang, which the blonde girl backflipped to avoid. Tifa landed on the ground, surrounded by green energy. "Fire!" she shouted, and Yang quickly rolled out of the way, a small fire appearing where she had been standing. Both girls charged at each other, and exchange a series of punches with each other, bobbing, weaving, and blocking, until finally slamming their forearms into each other and locking up. The girls glared at each other.
Man, this girl is tough, Yang thought. It's been a while since I've had a fight like this. It's actually pretty exciting. But, she messed with my hair, so she's getting her ass kicked!
Ok, Blondie's got some skill, I'll give her that, Tifa thought. But there's no way I'm letting her get away with disrespecting me and my uncle. She's going down!
The two brawlers separated their forearms, and Tifa threw a punch, which Yang caught. Yang threw her own punch, only for Tifa to catch it, too. They interlocked their hands and pressed against each other, both trying to overpower the other. Though neither gained any ground.
Yang smirked. "So, are you having fun? Cuz I sure am!" Yang said.
"Don't mock me!" Tifa yelled.
"I'm not. I just want to get to know the girl who's butt I'm about to kick."
"Alright. But first, tell me how you got that bloody nose," Tifa said.
"What bloody—" Yang tried to ask, but Tifa's knee came up and slammed into Yang's face. The black-haired girl let go of Yang's hands, allowing the blonde to stumble backwards. Yang shook her head and tried to step forwards, but found that she couldn't. "What the…!" She exclaimed, looking down to see that one of her feet had been frozen to the ground. She looked up just in time to see Tifa's fist careening towards her face. Tifa landed a series of strikes on Yang, with only a few being blocked. Finally, Tifa hit Yang with a spinning back kick so strong that it broke the ice trapping Yang's foot and sent her flying through a glass pillar, which shattered on impact.
"So, Yang was it? Are you still having fun?" Tifa asked with a smirk.
Yang got up and glared at Tifa, brushing some broken glass off her shoulder. "Gee, let me think." She quickly fired her gauntlets into the ground, launching herself forward towards Tifa. The black-haired girl couldn't react in time, and received a punch that knocked her backwards into a table, which broke. "Does that answer your question, Tifa?"
Tifa stood up, glaring at Yang. "That's it!" She held up her hand and used her Semblance to summon an ice stalactite the size of a van and held it over her head. "Playtime's over, bitch!" Tifa hurled the stalactite at Yang. Yang fired her Ember Celica to break it, filling the room with steam. Tifa took advantage of the lack of visibility to get behind Yang, wrapping her arms around the blonde's waist. Tifa lifted Yang off the ground to try and suplex her, but Yang put her hands out to stop her head from hitting the ground.
Tifa let Yang go and they both fell to the floor. Tifa tried to swing her leg at Yang's face, but Yang fired her gauntlets into the ground to launch herself into the air, performing a backflip before landing on her feet. Tifa kicked herself up and rushed at Yang, throwing a punch at her. Yang sidestepped out of the way and got behind Tifa, locking her arms around the brunette's neck and trapping her in a sleeper hold.
Crap! Tifa thought. How could I make a rookie mistake like that? Tifa, desperate to breathe, clawed at Yang's arms, trying to pry them away. But Yang had the hold locked in tight.
"Looks like I got you," Yang said. "So, how about you tap out, I let you go, and we go out separate ways. Sound good?"
Tifa coughed. "G-go to hell," she struggled to say.
"Alright, I guess it's nap time then." Yang tightened her grip, increasing the pressure on Tifa's neck. Tifa continued trying to thrash around, but her vision was starting to turn black and her legs were getting wobbly. In desperation, she threw her hand back in jabbed her thumb into Yang's eye, making the blonde howl in pain and loosen her grip, letting Tifa break free. Tifa quickly grabbed one of Yang's arms and threw her over her shoulder, slamming Yang onto her back and trapping her in an armbar, pressing her leg into Yang's throat.
"That was a cheap shot!" Yang complained.
"I don't remember us agreeing to any rules," Tifa said. She pulled Yang's arm further back, making the blonde brawler grunt in pain. "So, how about you tap out and we can go our separate ways. Sound good?" Yang growled in frustration, using her free hand to slowly move Tifa's leg off her throat. "Oh no you don't," Tifa said. She pulled Yang's arm back further while trying to keep her leg in place. But, Yang was able to move the brunette's leg and lunged at her. but Tifa quickly brought up her legs and wrapped them around Yang's neck while still holding her arm, trapping her in a Triangle Choke. "Nap time it is, then."
Yang tried to pull her head out from Tifa's legs, but couldn't. She started using her free hand to punch Tifa in the side. Tifa grunted in pain, and let go of Yang's arm to grab her head and pull it down, which would serve to knock the blonde out faster. Yang felt the pressure in her neck increase.
Come on, Yang, the blonde thought to herself. How are you gonna be a Huntress if you can't even beat up some dolled-up bar girl? Using every ounce of strength, Yang managed to plant both feet on the ground. To Tifa's shock, the blonde began to slowly stand up, lifting Tifa off the ground in the process.
"W-What!" Tifa exclaimed. Yang stood up, taking Tifa up with her, who grabbed onto Yang's hair to hold on. Yang slammed Tifa onto her back with a Powerbomb. Tifa gasped in pain, but her legs didn't loosen. Yang lifted the brunette into the air again, but Tifa suddenly threw herself backwards, painfully pulling out some of Yang's hair, and threw the blonde to the other side of the club with a Hurricanrana.
Yang and Tifa quickly got back on their feet and took matching boxing stances. Yang's eyes widened in shock when she noticed the blonde locks in Tifa's hands, before they turned red with rage. She growled and gave Tifa a death glare. The brunette looked at Yang in confusion, until she looked down at her own fists to see she was holding some strands of Yang's hair. Tifa smirked and looked back up at Yang.
"Why are you so angry?" Tifa asked mockingly. "I think your hair looks better with a few less strands." She shook the hair off her hands, and Yang's anger exploded.
"THAT'S IT!" Yang screamed. She slammed her fists together and engulfing herself in the flames of her Semblance. "I'M GONNA BLOW YOU OUT OF THE WATER!"
Tifa pulled out an orb of Earth Materia and placed it in her glove, using her Aura to activate it, never taking her eyes off Yang. "Give it your best shot!"
Yang fired her gauntlets into the ground to launch herself at the brunette, and Tifa used the Earth Materia to increase her leg strength and launched herself at Yang. Both fighters raised their fists for what they knew would be the final blow. They met in the center of the club, and landed their attacks simultaneously, each girl digging their fist into each other's cheek. Suddenly, both of them were sent flying backwards from the force of each other's strike. Yang flew through a window and out of the club, while Tifa was sent flying through the bar, breaking it half and slamming into the wall behind it.
Tifa weakly lifted her head and looked up at the window that Yang was sent through, and chuckled. "And…stay out." Finally, she slumped forward, unconscious.
Darkness.
Silence.
Where am I? Tifa thought. Though she was aware, she couldn't perceive anything about the world around her.
That was until she heard the blood-curdling scream of a woman.
Tifa's eyes shot open in an instant. She slowly got up to her feet and shook off the dizziness. She looked around and took in her surroundings, seeing a mountain village completely engulfed in flames.
"H-How…?" she asked, desperately looking for signs of life. "Where…? Uncle Hei?!" She called out. "Miltia?! Melanine?! Where are you?!" Tifa could feel her heartbeat racing as panic began to set in. The brunette took off and ran deeper into the flaming village in hopes of finding help.
After running for what felt like hours, Tifa stopped dead in her tracks upon finding a horrific sight. A man and a woman lying on the ground in a pool of their own blood, with slash marks across their chests, and their faces frozen in terror. Tifa recognized them from pictures her uncle showed her.
They were her parents.
Tifa put her hands to her mouth, trying to stop herself from vomiting at the horrific sight. With tears threatening to spill from her eyes, Tifa turned to run from her parents' corpses, but froze at the sight before her.
Through the flames of a collapsed house, she saw a silhouette slowly pull a long blade out of the chest of another victim, letting their body fall to the ground in a heap. The figure slowly turned its head to look at Tifa, and all she could see was a pair of green cat-like eyes that pierced through the flames and straight into her eyes.
She let out a terrified scream.
Tifa screamed in terror and sat up, breathing heavily.
"Tifa?" she heard a familiar voice asked. Tifa put a hand to her chest to try to calm herself down, and took a look around her to try to ground herself.
She was in a bed, in her room. She saw her punching bag, her pinball machine, and her posters. She saw that the twins were sitting next to her bed. "Girls?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's us," Melanie said in a reassuring tone.
"You look a little freaked out." Miltia said. "Did you have a nightmare?"
"Yeah," Tifa said, finally getting her breathing under control. "It wasn't… it wasn't too bad, though."
"Are you sure?" Melanie asked. "Maybe you'd like to talk about it?"
"I said I'm fine," Tifa said a little forcefully. The twins looked like they were going to press the issue, but before they could, the bedroom door opened and Uncle Hei stepped inside. He smiled when he saw Tifa was awake.
"Oh good, you're awake," he said. "How ya feeling, champ?"
"Like an Ursa used me as a punching bag," Tifa said.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"Uh, I just knocked that blonde girl out of the club, but everything else afterwards is a blank," Tifa said. "Why?"
"Just making sure your brain is intact," Uncle Hei said. "You've been out for nearly thirty minutes."
"Thirty minutes?!" Tifa exclaimed, sitting up in her bed in surprise. "Is Blondie still laying out front?"
"No, the twins went out to get her, but they couldn't find her."
"Don't know how she was able to get up after that last punch," Melanie said.
"Maybe Tifa isn't as strong as she thought," Militia said with a smirk.
"Watch it, Miltia," Tifa said. "I can still kick your butt." She chuckled, but felt a sudden pain in her ribs. "Ow, it hurts to laugh," she said, gripping her side.
Her uncle chuckled at their antics. "If it makes you feel better, some good did come out of this," he said.
"Really, what would that be?" Tifa asked, sitting back against the headboard of her bed.
"I'm no longer worried about you going to Beacon."
"You're not?" she asked in surprise.
"Nope. After watching you fight tonight, the only thing I should be worried about is Beacon and the bill they'll send me for all the damages you'll cause."
"Awww, Uncle Hei," Tifa said with a smile. "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."
"Yeah, yeah," he said. "Now get some sleep, Tifa. I doubt Beacon would accept you if you're half asleep."
"Yeah, probably a good idea," Tifa said.
Uncle Hei turned and addressed the twins. "Come on girls, let's follow Tifa's lead and go to bed."
The girls nodded and turned to the door, before looking back at Tifa one more time. "Goodnight, Tifa," the simultaneously said.
"Goodnight," she responded. Once Uncle Hei and the twins left, Tifa laid down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't get the images from her dream out of her head.
The burning village.
Her parents' bodies.
And those green eyes.
"It was just a nightmare," she said to herself. "There's no reason for you to be scared."
She reached over and turned off her lamp, before closing her eyes and drifting off into a peaceful slumber.
Thirty minutes earlier…
The sound of humming filled the streets as a brown-haired girl in a pink dress and red jacket happily strolled through downtown Vale with a basket of freshly-picked flowers hanging from her arm. Her peace and quiet was disturbed when a blonde girl came flying out through a window of a nearby building. The brown-haired girl jumped in surprise, and watched the blonde fall unconscious in the middle of the street. The girl looked around nervously, not sure what had transpired, but it didn't take long for her to decide to help this blonde-haired stranger.
It's what her dad taught her, after all.
The brown-haired girl quickly approached the blonde and saw that she looked pretty beaten up. Worried that the girl might have sustained a serious injury, the brown-haired girl grabbed the blonde's shoulders and slowly dragged her to the other side of the street towards the park.
Warmth.
That's the only way Yang could describe this unknown sensation as it enveloped and spread throughout her body, feeling it sooth her muscles and heal her bruises.
Her eyes fluttered open, and though her vision was blurry, Yang could make out a female figure standing over her. Yang's eyes shot wide open, she jumped to her feet and threw a fist straight at the girl in front of her. "I'll wreck your whole-!"
"Eep!" the other girl yelped before recoiling in fear, her hands briefly giving ogg a green glow before fading away as she shielded her face. Yang stopped her punch just inches away, realizing that the girl before her wasn't Tifa. This girl with long brown hair pulled into a braid and held together with a pink bow, was wearing a pink ankle-length dress, a cropped short-sleeved red leather jacket, and brown boots. Yang blinked and took in her surroundings, realizing that she had been laying on a bench in the middle of a currently empty park.
"Wait, what?" Yang asked in confusion. "How did I…"
"I, uh, saw you get thrown out of a building, so I brought you here to heal you with my Semblance," the girl said, peeking from around her hands.
"Oh. Uh, thanks for that…"
"Aerith," the girl said.
"Aerith," Yang said. "Thanks for fixing me up. Probably the only good thing to happen to me tonight." She slumped down on the bench and rubbed her eyes in frustration. Aerith took a seat next to her.
"So, why were you thrown out of a building?" Aerith asked.
"Oh, just some top-heavy brunette who should've minded her own business got a lucky shot and sent me flying out a window," Yang said. Aerith gave Yang's own chest a skeptical look when Yang referred to Tifa as "top-heavy". "Seriously," Yang continued. "All I was trying to do was get some information out of an info broker and she comes along and pulls my hair!"
"Couldn't you have just paid for the info like most people do?" Aerith asked.
"I could've, but I don't have that much Gil on me, and I know Junior would've charged me a fortune. So, I figured I'd just force the info out of him."
Aerith giggled. "Well, I guess karma decided to teach you a lesson," she said.
"Yeah well, karma's a two-way street, so that brunette better hope that she doesn't run into me again," Yang said, punching her fist into her palm. Yang and Aerith sat on the bench in silence, until Aerith decided to ask a question.
"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of info were you hoping this Junior would have?" she asked.
"It's… kind of personal," Yang said.
"I'm sorry," Aerith said. "You still seem kind of frustrated and I thought maybe getting it off your chest could help in some way."
Yang gave Aerith a scrutinizing look. The girl looked innocent enough. Maybe she could trust her. There was just something about her eyes.
They actually reminded Yang a lot of her mom's. Granted, they weren't the same color. Aerith's eyes were green while Summer's were silver like her sister's, but Yang could see they had a similar warmth and kindness to them.
Yang sighed. "I was… I was seeing if Junior knew where my mother was."
Aerith looked taken aback. "Oh, I-I'm sorry. Was she taken by someone or…"
Yang found it in herself to chuckle, though there was no humor in it. "I wish it was that simple. No, she just left me and my dad one day, and I've been looking for her ever since."
"Do you know why your mother left?" Aerith asked.
"No. But when I find her, that's the first thing I'm gonna ask her."
"Well, I hope you get to see your mother again," Aerith said before looking down sadly. "Some of us won't get that chance."
Yang's eyes widened in realization at what Aerith was implying. "Oh gods, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"It's alright, you didn't know," Aerith said, smiling at Yang. "After my mother passed, I was adopted by my father. He gave me a home, education, and even taught me how to defend myself."
"Sounds like your dad really cares about you," Yang said, smiling fondly as she thought of her own father.
"He does, although I think he cares just a little too much," Aerith said.
"Over-protective?"
"Like you wouldn't believe. Sometimes, he has one of his colleagues go with me into Vale."
"Colleagues?" Yang asked. "Is you dad a pencil pusher or something?"
"He works at Beacon," Aerith said. "Which doubles as my home."
"Woah, you get to live at Beacon Academy?" Yang asked in slight awe. "Talk about getting lucky. Hey, maybe when I enroll at Beacon, you and I could hang out some more?"
"Yeah, it would be nice to hang out with someone that isn't a complete stranger or a teacher," Aerith said with a smile. The girls laughed for a few seconds before Yang stood up and stretched her back.
"Welp, I think it's time for me to head home," Yang said.
"Wait, before you go…" Aerith said, getting to her feet. She reached into her basket and pulled out a flower before handing it to Yang. "Here."
"What's this for?" Yang asked.
"You may not have found any information about your mother, but it doesn't mean you should go home empty-handed," Aerith said.
"Oh, well, thanks Aerith," Yang said, taking the flower.
"You're welcome…" Aerith trailed off, before chuckling. "Sorry, but I don't think you told me your name."
"Oh. Well, my name's Yang. Yang Xiao Long."
"It was nice to meet you, Yang, and I hope you make it into Beacon," Aerith said, gathering her flower basket.
"And I can't wait to get to know my new friend, Aerith," Yang said. The girls shook waved goodbye and went their separate ways, with Yang heading back to where she parked Bumblebee. She looked down at the flower Aerith gave her and smiled before putting it her jacket pocket. Hopping on her bike and revving the engine, Yang drove back home with a smile on her face.
Unbeknownst to Yang, a raven with red eyes was perched on top of a nearby building, watching her as she rode off on Bumblebee. The raven let out a loud caw before flying off into the night.
AN: And that's a wrap on all the introduction chapters! Next time, we're getting into Volume 1! I gotta say, it's gonna be weird writing that again since I already covered Volume 1 in Aqua's Mission. Granted, this will be very different, but still.
And this chapter also gave us a little cameo from everyone's favorite slum drunk, Aerith Gainsborough! I'm looking forward to you seeing what me and Dyna-Man have planned for her.
As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!