[¡¡SPOILERS POST-GAME/DLC!!] Final Fantasy VII : Remake INTERGRADE

-Aerith asks Tifa if she's used to walking through meadows and wilderness
-Tifa says she doesn't mind since it's good training
-Tifa mentions she likes walking mountain paths more
-The girls talk about having picnics
-Tifa has never done picnics before, but she had tea parties
-Aerith wants to hear about these tea parties
-Tifa then starts to talk about her past -When Tifa was younger, only she and 4 other boys were around the same age in the village
-She often played with 3 of them, and their parents called them the "Group 4"
-Aerith asks if there were 4 boys, wouldn't it be called "Group 5" but Tifa said the other boy didn't play with them, and his name was Cloud
-She and the 3 boys would have tea parties, but when they invited him, he would always decline their offer
-But it was fine because Cloud would start fights with them on several occasions. He was a strange and dangerous child.
-Tifa was born in 1987
-Her father's name is Brian, her mother's name is Thea. Her mother passed away due to illness. -The women in the village helped raise her
-The 3 boys that she grew up with were named Emilio, Lester, Tyler.
-Their parents were all very close since they were all the eldest kids in their family
-She used to play with them a lot, but all that changed when her mother died.
-They began to pity her
When they were in their pre-teens (a bit after 10 years old), the boys began to see Tifa differently
-They viewed her as a girl and as someone who could eventually be their partner in life
-They all wanted to have alone time with her
-When this happened, she politely dodged it
-Eventually the boys of the village all said they were going to leave
-They said they were going to work for Shinra or go to Midgar to make a fortune.
-Even so, they told her they wanted to take care of her or protect her
-They viewed her as a prize to be won, like a trophy
-When she was 12 years old, her father gifted her a pair of new sandals that were popular in Midgar
-She was walking around the village when the Village Chief Zundar talked to her
-He wishes her Happy Birthday and gave her a kitten as a present
-He said her father approved
-She chose a kitten whose name was Mal from the litter
-As she was walking home, the kitten tried to jump out of her arms -Tifa lost her balance and tripped over her new sandals
-She fell as she tried to protect the kitten
-The village doctor said she sprained her ankle
The incident caused her to have a fever and stay in bed for a whole week
-Her dad mentioned that the cat's name "mal" really lived up to the bad meaning ("mal" means "bad" in French).
-The cat ran away, and the people of the village were looking for it, calling out "Mal, Mal!"
-After a week passed, they were still looking for the cat
-One day, Claudia Strife came up to Brian's house and brought Mal with her
-Claudia mentions that Cloud found it in the mountains
-She said she wanted Cloud to bring the cat here, but Cloud refused
-Tifa was surprised that Cloud knew about Mal -Some time later, Tifa is invited to have lunch with the other 3 boys together
-They bring a basket and some homemade sandwiches
-The three boys talk about going to Midgar and what will they do when they go
-One of the boys mentions that if they all leave, Tifa will be lonely
-Tifa asks them to not forget about her -She feels a bit embarrassed saying that
-The boys try to cheer up and said that this picnic underneath the water tower was fun
-Tifa is curious why they call it a picnic since they didn't leave the village
-One of the boys says it's fine to have picnics in the town
-Tifa says she would like to have a tea party
-She remembers seeing a picture of her mom and dad having tea together
-The boys are puzzled and don't know what a tea party is
-The boys say that if Tifa wants to do a tea party, then they will be more than happy to have them with her
-They continued to have tea parties from time to time even as the boys left the village one by one
-Back to the present, Tifa says the boys kept on talking about Midgar this, Midgar that, she eventually viewed Midgar as her rival
-She wanted clothes that Midgar citizens wore, so she asked the local seamstress to make some for her
-She wanted fabrics not sold in the village
-She tried baking sweets by herself
-She didn't think she would ever try that hard to gain the attention of the boys
-Barret comes around and laughs, saying "Tifa made Midgar her rival? Now that's interesting!"

-Spring came when her friends were going to leave the city
-The time spent with the four of them would soon be at an end
-She wanted to bake a cake for the occasion but noticed she was missing some ingredients -When she was in front of the store, she felt someone watching her
-The person turned out to be Cloud, but he looked a bit different than usual
-He actually looked at her this time, but as soon as their eyes met, he looked away
-He started mumbling, and she couldn't hear what he said
-Tifa tilted her head, and Cloud started making a dash for it
-Tifa also ran after him, and before they were about to run into each other, Cloud stopped and blurted out, "Tonight. Water tower."
-Tifa said "Okay"
-Cloud ran away after hearing her answer
-Tifa forgot about her grocery shopping and went home
-She tries to recall when was the last time she talked to Cloud
-After Cloud first found Mal that one time, the cat ran away several times after too
-Mal usually would come back, but even so, Tifa went to look for the cat
-She went to the foot of the mountains and saw Cloud
-He was coming back from the mountains and said he found Mal.
-Tifa thanks Cloud, and he continues to walk back to the city without stopping
-He asks her if she's been feeding the cat because the cat just ate a small bird
-She finds Mal with blood around the mouth from the bird
-She pets Mal, who likes the feeling
-When Tifa was very young, she used to play with Cloud since their houses were close together -Her mom used to say that Cloud had a very pretty face
-She was praising Cloud, and it made her happy but shy
-She was around six or seven years old at that time
-Her mom noticed and winked at her, but her Dad scoffed.
-This was one of her memories of her mother
-She wonders what happened to make them drift apart
-Perhaps something happened with him and the other boys?
-Or perhaps it has something to do with her mother's passing that caused him distress?

The other kids said Tifa wanted to meet her mother again and went on the mountain trying to reach the other side (said to be the realm of the dead)
The other kids said they went up the mountain together, but when the weather changed, they realized it's too dangerous and turned back midway, of course taking Tifa with them
On their way down the mountain, Cloud suddenly shows up and convinces Tifa they should keep going. So the two of them went higher up into the mountain, and fell off a cliff
Cloud only got his knee scraped, but Tifa hit her head and was unconscious for a week
Cloud admitted to what the other kids said was true, but couldn't explain his motive of why he convinced Tifa to keep going up the mountain, all he said was "No particular reason"
Tifa didn't really believe it, because Cloud never approached her when she was with her other 3 friends, but she really has no memory of what happened that day, and never had a chance to ask Cloud. Tifa knew she caused a big disturbance in the village, the adults formed a rescue team to look for them, she apologized to them, but no one blamed her. Maybe it's because she just lost her mother and was still recovering from an injury,
She felt like Cloud took all the blame, almost like Cloud is protecting her, but she couldn't figure out why. All this time she just felt like something wasn't right (what they said about what happened), and wanted to one day ask him for the truth, but that one day never came…

-After that, Cloud stopped playing with her
-She holds Mal and wonders what happened
-She asks Mal what should she wear? But of course, the cat does not answer and looks disinterested
-Her dad comes into the room and says he'll be sleeping early today
-She wishes him good night
-She then tries to figure out what to wear
-Since her father will be sleeping, this is the first time she will have to sneak out of the house at night
She remembers that Emilio said this one dress looked nice on her, so she decides on wearing the blue one piece dress
-She leaves her house quietly and steps outside to see the sky is blanketed with stars -She wonders what Cloud wants to tell her at the water tower
-She wonders if he's going to confess to her and tell her that his feelings for her surpass that of a friend?
-If that were to happen, how would she even answer?


Regarding Claudia:
Tifa had learned, according to an elderly woman from the village, Claudia was a rebellious type when she was younger, and talked about leaving the village too. What made her stay was this handsome traveler that Claudia took in (to the inn she was working for at the time) that she found outside. The woman describes Cloud's father as "a man like wind" that cannot stay in one place, he left the house to explore the other side of the mountain (around the time when Cloud was just starting to walk) and never came back. People later found his belongings, but never his remains, they said the monsters got him.

Different from what we saw from OG, which we only saw one truck of Shinra Soldier heading to Nibelheim, there were actually a lot more people, some arriving a day early too The ladies from the village have been working together (taking shifts) to cook for the large crowd, among them, Tifa, off course It was describe that she learn to cook and do house work from other women in the village, and obviously, from Claudia too
Tifa is very excited about the news of Shinra sending Soldier over, she thinks she can see Cloud again and even out on new outfit (the cowgirl look)
When she was chopping vegetables with Claudia, they start talking about Cloud Claudia is very surprised Cloud told her that he is going to become a Soldier, because he never told her that And she seems tom be quite interested to find out what Tifa has to say as well, she keeps going "oh really? he said that?? oh really?" After that, Tifa felt like Claudia wanted to tell her something, but she can't tell what it is

-She remembers her mom's words about Cloud having a pretty face
-Her mother also added that Cloud was way more beautiful than Sephiroth even
-Tifa thinks Cloud is like something unreachable. Like a beautiful thing akin to a star.
-She thanks her mother for this memory
Tifa feels butterflies about this meeting with Cloud
-She wonders if she'll be so nervous that she won't even be able to speak
-This nervousness is not just because she likes him, but because she admires him too
-She arrives at the water tower and sees that Cloud is already there
-The last time she actually climbed up to the water tower was when she was a kid
-She tells Cloud "sorry to keep you waiting"
-The confession that she thought Cloud would say was actually rather ordinary
- he told her that he was going to leave the village come Spring as well, that he's not like the other kids
-All the boys say that same thing
-However, she wasn't disappointed at all, maybe because the magic of the starry night sky -Perhaps it was because since Cloud was enthusiastic that she thought of him fondly
-Tifa then had an idea to make a promise
-Tifa asks Cloud "Let's make a promise. When you become famous, and if I'm in a bind, promise you'll come save me?"
-Even though it was just an idea, in that moment of exchange, it became a precious promise
During that night, the Cloud she knew and admired became the Cloud that she came to love, the kind of "love" that made her want to be with him, just the two of them. *Note: 好き can be like or love, but in this context it is interpreted in a romantic sense
-The boys of the village eventually leave one by one, and the parting is bitter sweet
-Tifa laughs and cries at these moments
-When Tifa is 13, Nibelheim grows quiet
-The boys who left the village didn't write to her -Perhaps they were busy with their new lives -Tifa felt lonely
-Back to the present, Barret says "hey Tifa!"
-He looks worried that she went all quiet -She apologizes and says she was lost in thought -Barret says "Anyway, you were sayin'? Midgar being your rival?

Yes, it can be assumed that she just stopped narrating to everyone after she talked about the Midgar Rival part and went silent after, so that's why Barret is like "Uh Tifa? Midgar Rival?" since she was lost in thought.

-She then talks about her meeting with Master Zangan

At their first encounter, Tifa found Zangan in the midst of the river and tried to rescue him.
Actually, he was training there and didn't need to be rescue. But she did.
Before her, many people passed by and they ignored and did nothing to rescue him. He was very impressed by her good spirit.

Zangan taught his ”Zangan gymnastics" to people in the village. And he admired Tifa's phisical ability and grit.
But at the meeting with villager, he criticized Shinra. So they asked him to go out of the village in order to avoid the trouble.

At his last night, Zangan asked Tifa to be his student and gave her his secret textbook.
He said the largest enemy was herself and she needed Zangan-ryu to face it.
He then left, but old villager still wanted to learn Zangan gymnastics. So Tifa trained them instead of her master, asked by village mayor.

After that, her friend in the big city writes to her.
"When I'm at a loss in the city, I think of you. Someday I'll come and pick you up. Until then, I'll write letters and told you about the city life."
She felt her pride was hurt. When Zangan came to the village again, She applied to be a student. From then she trained hard. She want to be stronger, not loosing to those who left the village.
He promised in half a year, if Tifa could pass the final test, he'll teach her the final martial art form and left.

And the Niblheim incident occurred.

Tifa doesn’t remember what happened that day.

Zangan refused to take Tifa to Shinra-related hospital and took her to the clinic in the slum, where his students' parent was working. Tifa had been unconscious for 1 month. Zangan has already left by the time she woke up.

She had to work hard to pay her expensive medical cost. When she gets so tired she couldn't move, she used Zangan-ryu to heal her body and control her muscle.
And now Tifa doesn't know where Zangan is.
She wants a match with him with her "Tifa-ryu" martial art, (she changed the name because she train all by herself for a long time). Because she is a little bit angry at sensei

About Tifa's wound/scar... The injury Tifa sustained from Sephiroth was quite severe

She was cut open deeply from her left collarbone to just below her right breast, a part of her breastbone was crushed

Doctors used metal wire to reinforce the structure of her bones, that wire is thought to be "cannot be removed for life"

When Tifa woke up in Midgar...
She finds herself with a medical bill of 160000 gil (which readers later found out it was actually 3 times more than the regular price)

Ruckus, the son of Tifa's doctor (also one of Zangan's apprentices), had a gambling problem and owes a very large amount of money. The two of them together, lied to Tifa in order to pay of their debt

After Tifa was discharged from the hospital, Ruckus found her a place to live
It was a modified shipping container made into a tiny tiny house. He charges rent by day, which is 15gil per day, and if she wants to shower, that's another 3 gil

When Marle is being discharged from the hospital, she left her contact information and ask Ruckus to give them to Tifa, but Ruckus never passes on that information. The next time they see each other is 3 years later

Ruckus got Tifa a job to work for a friend of his, who owns a sweet bun shop

Sweet buns are 3 gil each, Tifa gets to keep 20% of the sales as her pay, and the shop owner said they usually sold 200 buns a day

Tifa did the math and realized at this rate (earning minus paying bills and food), it'll take her 66 years to pay off her medical bill

Tifa didn't give up, instead, she tries to work harder. On the first day she sold 200 sweet buns, by the 4th month, she can sell 1000 sweet buns in a day!

Tifa doesn't buy anything for herself. No fancy cloth, no accessories, she tries to save as much as she can

She woke up in the morning, goes to work, do martial art training, shower, sleep and repeat

She made up her mind to pay off her debt and get her life back

Eventually she buys Seventh Heaven from and older man and meets Barret and Marlene and decides to share it with them so they have a home.

(That's all I've seen as of now obviously it's incomplete and missing much needed context, but nonetheless pretty cool)