fan tweets on the new book:
FF7R Trace of Two Pasts light novel summary/notes will be in this thread! The story starts with Tifa & Aerith overlooking the vast meadow in front of them. This takes place after the group has already left Midgar. The flashback starts when Tifa tells Aerith of her past.
-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
-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
-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 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 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
-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.