Tifa Lockhart is the childhood friend and one of the potential love interests of Final Fantasy VII's protagonist Cloud Strife. Despite Tifa's reluctance to verbally express her feelings, her actions often do the talking for her. As she once said to Cloud, "Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking," and this is proven true by her on countless occasions. She keeps going, only out of devotion and loyalty to her friends. She would, and does, risk her life for them, proving that even though she sometimes can't find the right words to show it, they mean the world to her. During the video game, Tifa aids the party in their fight against both the Shinra Electric Power Company and Sephiroth with her speedy and powerful martial arts skills learned from her master Zangan in her teenage years. Later in the sequels, Tifa is the heroine of Advent Children, living with Cloud in a newly established Seventh Heaven. She acts as both a mother to Barret's adoptive daughter Marlene whom is left in her care, as well as the Sector 7 orphan and geostigma-afflicted Denzel, whom was brought home to her by Cloud in the months leading up to Advent Children. The new Seventh Heaven is more of a cafe than a bar now, as it caters to both children and adults alike. Tifa also takes orders for Cloud's delivery service at Seventh Heaven. In the latest sequel, Dirge of Cerberus, Tifa is still seen at Cloud's side, though their relationship status has still been left open-ended.
