A foreigner's journey

who I am?

I am Claude Strife, the 1st special forces member of the Shinra Company, a respected and powerful warrior.

This can be seen from the battle uniform that only 1st warriors can wear.

Then what? Why am I here?

I seem to have made an appointment with someone to open a master house in Midgar and make a lot of money with my own skills. Being in Midgar now is to achieve this goal.

But... with whom exactly was the agreement made?

When I think about someone, my head hurts like crazy.

Even if he has gradually adapted to the pain and no longer curls up in a ball on the ground, the pain will still make him hold his head and groan.

The surrounding pedestrians seem to be watching me? Indeed, it surprised them that the special forces of Shinra Company would show such weak expressions, right?

I sat down slowly leaning on the railing of the station, slowly rubbing my temples to relieve my headache, when I suddenly heard a familiar voice——

"Claude!?"

——————————————

After hearing Tifa's exclamation, the onlookers looked back subconsciously.

Seeing that Heather was there, the onlookers gathered at Qifan Street Station began to disperse. A few non-residents from this area looked at Heather fearfully and quickly left the scene after others whispered something in their ears.

Heather ignored Tifa who trotted over anxiously, but put her hands in her pockets and looked at the male protagonist in the original game.

This is a young man with blond hair that is as frizzy as spikes. He is not very tall, only about 172 to 173cm tall. The muscles on his body, especially his arms, are very strong. He is wearing only the highest-end 1st grade products from Shinra Company. Special combat uniforms that only special forces are qualified to wear.

To say that he is special, it should be his exquisite face that can be called 'beautiful' and the blue pupils that can only appear after being soaked in Mako. Of course, the giant metal heavy sword that was as huge as a door panel that he held tightly in his hand was also the main reason why onlookers were intimidated before.

Tifa had told Heather a long time ago about her past, her hometown called Nibelheim, the fire that burned everything, her father, mother, and several boys of the same age with whom she had a good relationship in her hometown. And the boy with blond hair tied into a ponytail, Claude Strife.

Now, Claude's situation is not exactly 'good'. His eyes seemed to be difficult to focus due to pain and other reasons, and there was a slight sweat on his forehead. He just sat slumped in the corner of the station, and his special combat uniform was stained with mud and looked dirty.

He tried his best to focus his attention and looked at the beautiful figure running towards him anxiously. He seemed to be trying his best to search in his memory: "Are you... Tifa? Is it really you, Tifa?"

"Claude, what's wrong with you?"

Tifa half-knelt in front of Cloud and found that her childhood friend, whom she had not seen for seven years, was in a very strange state, as if he was suffering from Mako poisoning. But if Mako is poisoned, shouldn't he just lie down on the hospital bed unable to move?

With a clang, the huge metal heavy sword hit the station floor tiles.

Claude covered his head with both hands and closed his eyes tightly, veins appeared on his forehead, and waves of severe pain hit his brain.

"Yes, I am...Special Forces Claude...1st soldier..."

He murmured in a voice that was difficult for others to hear:

"The special forces who left Shinra Company...to make money...Midgar..."

Not far away, Heather watched all this with her hands in her pockets.

Tifa became increasingly worried and reached out to Cloud's sweaty forehead. Before he could really touch it, Cloud suddenly raised his head as if he had woken up from a nightmare, picked up the heavy sword on the ground and stood up neatly. He looked at Tifa with lake-like blue eyes: "I haven't seen you in five years. , Tifa, why did you come to Midgar?"

He seemed to be in good condition, with no symptoms of Mako poisoning that made him confused and confused.

Five years? It's obvious that we haven't seen each other for seven years, right?

Tifa looked at Cloud in confusion, then turned to look at Heather for help: "Brother, he is..."

Heather patted Tifa's shoulder, then walked between Cloud and Tifa, extending her right hand to the former: "I am Heather, Tifa's senior brother and guardian."

"Claude Strife, Tifa's... compatriot."

Cloud hesitated for a moment. Due to his indifferent nature, he didn't intend to pay attention to this man, but the man was Tifa's senior brother and he seemed to care about Tifa in Midgar. He thought for a moment, then took hold of Heather's outstretched hand, shook it, and then separated.

"Stop talking here. Let's go back and talk."

Heather saw that there were still pedestrians around who were curiously looking this way from a distance, so she reminded them.

After getting hints from Heather's eyes, Tifa asked: "Claude, do you have a place to live in Midgar?"

Claude shook his head slightly: "I just came here and haven't found a place to live yet."

"Then let's go to Seventh Heaven to stay temporarily. The lounge there happens to be vacant. Is that okay, senior brother?"

Tifa looked at Heather, who nodded: "Since we are from your hometown, it's okay."

The three people had different thoughts, one had confused memories and had no clue, one was worried about his old friend, and the other was just watching with cold eyes and was just having fun. No one had the intention to continue chatting here and walked towards the seventh heaven.

After returning to the bar, Heather found that Barrett and Marlene had returned early.

Barrett still looks the same, except that there is a permanent claw mark scar under his right eye due to the attack by the demon wolf. The broken part of his right hand is equipped with an arm-type rotating machine gun. The only weapon of this specification is Barrett. Such a burly body type can be used.

Marlene is four years old this year, and she is sitting on the bar stool obediently and humming a song to Barrett. This is a new song she learned in kindergarten today.

Seeing Heather and Tifa back, Marlene jumped off the bar stool and ran towards them excitedly. But before she ran a few steps, she saw Claude following the two of them. She was so frightened that she turned around and ran back to Barrett.

"Oh, Heather! Tifa! You are back. I'm so hungry...huh? Who is this kid?" Barrett also noticed Cloud and couldn't help but ask.

Claude had no interest in talking to him, and just looked around at this spacious and cozy bar. It seems Tifa is doing well in Midgar, with a stable job and a place to live.

Seeing that the ignored Barrett was about to get angry, Heather took off her coat and threw it on the table aside, explaining to Barrett: "His name is Cloud, and he is a fellow countryman of Tifa. By the way, why are you here? ?”

"Come here and have a meal. Besides, Marlene has been clamoring for you two to come and play." As soon as he was interrupted, Barrett forgot about Claude's disregard for him, turned to Heather and laughed: "Eat for lunch. What?"

"Let's see what ingredients are in the refrigerator."

Heather walked over and opened the refrigerator and took out some frozen chicken, potatoes and carrots:

"The idiots from the Avalanche Club are looking for you, and they seem to want to persuade you to give up that stupid plan... Curry rice, do you want to eat it?"

"Eat it, eat it! The curry rice you made is amazing!" Barrett nodded quickly, and then responded: "Those idiots from the Association, don't pay attention to them. Tifa, you, a fellow countryman, just came to Qifan Street, right?" Wherever he plans to live, I can help him find a cheap place, but he needs to share it with others."

Upon hearing this, Tifa looked at Cloud inquiringly: "Claude, do you plan to live in Qifan Street for a long time?"

Claude nodded: "The environment here is not bad. I plan to open a master house here to deal with all difficult disputes and monster attacks. I am a former 1st warrior, so I still have the strength in this area."

"Shinra warrior? Or 1st?" Barrett, who had a deep hatred for the Shinra Company, stood up and walked to Claude, looking at him condescendingly: "Boy, the lackeys of the Shinra Company are not welcome here!"

"If your ears don't work, get them treated. I told you, it's a [former 1st soldier]. I've quit because I can't stand the way Shinra Company operates." The following sentence was Cloud's explanation to Tifa. .

Tifa nodded, not knowing what to say to this fellow countryman she had a crush on.

Talk about hometown? The hometown has been burned down, and all the familiar people are dead, including Claude's mother Claudia. Even talking about this is just to increase the sadness.

Tell me about your experiences over the years? There seems to be some error in Claude's memory. Although he hasn't seen him for seven years, he is very sure that it is five years. Let's observe it first.

At this time, she noticed Heather in front of the stove, who winked at her. Tifa immediately understood what he meant, turned to Cloud and said, "Sorry, I'll make lunch first. Crow Please sit down for a while. If you don't know anything about Qifan Street, you can ask Barrett. He is very familiar with this place. Barrett, please."

After giving Cloud to Barrett, Tifa trotted up to Heather and lowered her voice while handling the ingredients: "Brother, Cloud's memory seems..."

"Don't talk about past experiences to irritate him yet, and help him recover slowly. Memory symptoms can never be cured all at once."

Heather glanced at Barrett, who was staring at Claude, then lowered her head to cut potatoes:

"Isn't Room 203 in Tianwang Manor vacated by Barrett? Tell Marley to let Claude move in first. It should be okay to defer the rent for a while."

Tifa nodded obediently and washed the carrots in front of the sink. She was so familiar with Heather's character that she could only describe it as "indifferent" to outsiders. This time, she was caring about Claude so much because he was her compatriot, right?

At this time, the bar door was pushed open again.

"It's true! I went to the kindergarten and Dimo's restaurant, but I couldn't find Barrett at all..."

Jesse complained as he walked inside, followed by Biggs and Wiggy.

However, the complaints suddenly disappeared.

Not because Barrett was found, but because Jesse saw Claude. To be precise, I saw Claude's exquisite face that could be called 'beautiful'.

"So, so handsome!!"

Screams echoed through the bar hall.

PS: The setting of FF7RE is used here, that is, the plot of Cloud being bumped into by Tifa as soon as he fled to Midgar.