Chapter 7 - 10:14 AM, Wutai Standard Time, Day 6

The Confession of Sins

I woke up with a yawn as I heard the sound of birds chirping out the window. I opened my eyes only to see them fly away. I sat upright on the bed and looked down at the floor. There were too many thoughts flooding my mind at the moment. I even had trouble sleeping the night before. I tossed and turned for hours trying to think of what to do next...and I still haven't found a solution. That's why it's so late in the morning. I'm just not being myself...I guess.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It took me by surprise.

"Who is it?"

"It's Yuffie. I tried coming in earlier, but you were still asleep."

Oh, it's only Yuffie.

"Come in."

The door slowly opened and Yuffie walked in quietly; she looked really sad. Was something troubling her?

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"No, it's not that...it's just..."

She seemed really hesitant. She sat down on the bed next to me and looked at me with a piercing gaze.

"I have a confession to make."

A confession? What kind of confession?

"Well, spit it out," I said.

After an awkward pause, Yuffie finally told me:

"I read your diary."

There was another awkward pause. Why would she do that? I write my innermost feelings in that diary. My happiness, my hate, my sadness...everything that means dear to me. I trusted Yuffie more than that...I was really disappointed in her. I then looked away from her.

"Why Yuffie? I thought you were my friend."

"I still am! I'm really sorry Tifa...I couldn't help myself."

I wanted to smack some sense into her. Her little 'confession' made even angrier...angrier than I already was. But at the same time, I felt glad. I don't why, but I'm kind of glad that Yuffie DID read my diary. It was a liberating feeling, I really couldn't explain it. Yuffie looked even more concerned, almost afraid.

"Tifa?" she shuddered.

I turned my head back towards Yuffie, looking straight into her eyes...and I smiled.

"It's okay, I forgive you."

Yuffie was shocked. I quickly saw her give a sigh of relief.

"Really?"

"Yeah," I replied. "But...how did you get your hands on my diary?"

"Well, when you were gone last night, I went into your room to do some cleaning...and well, you probably know the rest."

There was one burning question on my mind. I wonder what she would say...

"So, what did you read?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes; tell me."

"I read the most recent entries...the ones that involved...'you know who'.

"Do you mean Cloud?"

"Yes..."

"So you know what happened?"

She shook her head, but she looked rather curious.

"You don't have to...it's okay."

"It's all right. I was going to tell you eventually, but I was waiting for the right time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's about time that I told as least SOMEBODY."

I felt a little hesistant at first, but I want to do this. I know I will feel better about it in the long run.

"Okay, it involves what happened six months ago...at the Gold Saucer."

Yuffie nodded. I continued on.

"Do you remember what happened there? It was all over the news."

Yuffie nodded again.

"Yeah! According to the press, five people were murdered at the Battle Arena and over 500,000 gil was stolen. After that, there have been more murders and robberies there. They say that the suspect was carrying a shotgun but the authorities still haven't identified the culprit."

"That's right...but I know who's behind all of it...everything."

"YOU DO? Why haven't you contacted the police?"

"It's a long story...but what I'm trying to say is that..."

Well, here it goes. I took a deep breath.

"It's Cloud...he's the one that has been committing the crimes."

Yuffie couldn't believe it; I could see it in her eyes. She just couldn't believe it.

"How can that be? Cloud would never do such a thing!"

It was funny...Yuffie's reaction was the same as mine six months ago.

"I'm not lying Yuffie. I just told you the unclouded truth."

"Cloud would never hurt anyone! It's just not him!"

She was hysterical; I had to calm her down.

"Yuffie, please. You have to believe me. I saw everything. I remember everything."

"But why? Why would he do it?"

"He told me it was for the money. I still don't understand what his true motives are."

"I understand...but are you going to tell the police?"

"Not yet," I replied. "But I swear that I will reveal the truth to the public, I'm just waiting for the right time. He WILL pay for his crimes."

"How are you going to do it?"

"I'm not sure yet...I'll have to confront him in Nibelheim, but there's a problem at the moment."

"What?"

"He's here in Wutai."

Suddenly, Godo walked in. Our conversation hastily stopped.

"Is something wrong, you two?"

"It's nothing!" replied Yuffie.

"Well, breakfast is almost ready. I'll call you when it's done."

"Okay then!"

Godo walked off back into the kitchen and the sound of meat grilling over a stove was heard.

"That was close!" said Yuffie, with a sigh. "Come on Tifa; let's go to the dining room. We can talk about this later."

I nodded in agreement.

"Could you hold a second? There's something I want to do."

"Okay, I'll be waiting in the dining room."

As soon as Yuffie left the room, I picked up my diary that was on the floor next to my suitcase. I took the pen attached to its binding and opened to the next blank page. I began to write:

Entry # 12, 10:26 AM WST

This diary has been officially violated! Oh well, I don't really care anymore. And it was Yuffie, of all people. I'm not mad at her...I'm just surprised that she went back to her normal tendencies, if you know what I mean (the materia, mischief, etc.). Yuffie will always be Yuffie, no matter how you look at it. Old habits die hard, especially in her case.

I closed the diary and put the pen back on the binding. I tossed it like a frisbee into the suitcase and it landed with a thud. I smiled as I got up from the bed. I still like writing in that diary.

As I began walking to the dining room to meet up with Yuffie, I heard a loud knock on the door. It was louder than usual...almost like someone was pounding the door on the other side.

"I'll get it!" hollered Yuffie.

"Wait Yuffie!" I said.

"What?"

"You should be careful...I have a bad feeling about this."

She nodded slowly.

"I'll open the doors slowly," she replied.

Yuffie walked up to the front sliding screen doors and put her hands on both of the handles. She slowly opened the doors and as the middle opened slowly, Yuffie shrieked in fright, and quickly closed them.

"What happened? Who is it?" I asked.

"Keep your voice down!" said Yuffie, in a faint whisper.

In a whisper, I said, "Okay, who is it?"

"It's Cloud."

This is bad.