After seven weeks of being in a coma, Tifa opened her glittering amber eyes. The town of Nibelheim cheered in one glorious voice as she woke from her slumber. There was a massive festival held for Tifa to celebrate her good health. Cloud was overjoyed when he heard Tifa had at last woken up, but he didn’t attend the festivities. For the last two weeks of Tifa’s coma, Cloud had been in and out fights with the children of the town. He never walked away from a challenge. Cloud wanted to see her, but didn’t’ want any altercations with anybody. So he didn’t go. Instead, he spent that night outside the village on the Nibel Plains. What he didn’t know was that Tifa had followed him outside the town. Cloud was surprised to find that she had left her own party to be with him. She asked him why he hadn’t attended the celebration. Tifa was under the impression he didn’t care about her. He explained to her the situation about all the fights he was involved in, and how he was blamed for her accident. Tifa understood his problem, but when Cloud mentioned the incident on Nibel Mountain she didn’t know what he was talking about. The severe blow to her head erased any memory she had of that day. Cloud didn’t go into any details about that event. He was happy just to see her smile again. They spent the whole night gazing up at the stars talking about nothing in particular.

As the years past, Cloud still got into fights and kept to himself. His friendship with Tifa evolved on the other hand. They talked more than before, but Cloud refused to play with her friends. Therefore, he only made contact with the girl when she was alone. Tifa developed special feelings for Cloud during that time. She began to care about him, and saw a side of him little people knew existed. Cloud had become anti-social and emotionally closed off. Tifa was the only one he would associate himself with. As a result, Tifa felt she had a bond with him no one else could have ever reached. They were less than lovers, but more than friends.