Tifa was sat at her kitchen table but not eating anything even though she had a full breakfast in front of her.
"You have to eat" said Barret who was sat beside her
"I can't" said Tifa who was staring at a mark on the tablecloth.
"Come on" Barret pleaded "Please"
"How can I?" Tifa asked looking up at him "Cloud's over there, only a few meters away, and I feel further away from him now than when he was in Midgar and I was here"
"He'll come around" said Barret
"Yeah, with Sephiroth" said Tifa.
"Maybe Sephiroth will see the trouble he is causing and leave" said Vincent who was leaning against the wall.
"Do you really?" Tifa said
"I reckon he's a stubborn bastard like his old man" said Cid. Vincent's head tilted to the side as he heard the words
"What's that meant to mean?" Vincent asked, his voice barely a whisper
"I reckon he'll stick with Cloud" said Cid
"What makes you say that?" Yuffie asked, she was seated on the bottom step of the staircase with a bowl of soup.
"Didn't you see him?" Cid asked turning to her "He seemed so innocent, he probably thinks of Cloud as a brother or something"
"So we have Cloud and Sephiroth or no Cloud" said Tifa "But how can we forgive him for what he did?"
"Sephiroth or Cloud?" Vincent asked
"Sephiroth" said Tifa "He killed Aeris, he probably doesn't even care!"
A knock at the door, which Cid had refitted, drew their attention. Barret walked over and threw it open, at first he thought it was Cloud coming to say sorry but started when he saw the white tresses of Sephiroth. Barret stepped back and raised his gun arm
"What do you want?" he asked Sephiroth.
"Hear him out" said Nanaki who was stood by Sephiroth's side.
"Can I come in?" Sephiroth asked politely. Tifa was watching from the table; she could see that Sephiroth's hands were fidgeting.
"No" said Barret instantly.
"No, come in" said Tifa softly.
"Tifa!" said Barret turning to her
"It's my house, Barret" said Tifa who had got to her feet "Here take a seat" she said kindly offering up the only spare seat other than one she had been sat in. Sephiroth thanked her and sat down. Sephiroth couldn't help but feel that he had stepped into a place where his presence was uninvited.
All night he had sat awake wondering what he was going to say to them the next day. In the morning he and Nanaki had slipped out before Cloud had awoken as he would have come along and, no doubt, made things complicated.
Sephiroth sat at the table unsure of where to start; Nanaki came over and sat at his side
"Sephiroth lost his memory" Nanaki explained "Cloud left under the assumption that we had died and so he decided to help Sephiroth piece back what he could, that's why Sephiroth is here; he wants to apologise"
"Then why don't he say that himself? Barret interrupted. Sephiroth looked up at Barret who held his gaze until Sephiroth looked away
"I know I can't change" said Sephiroth quietly
"What?" Barret asked loudly "You need to speak up so we can hear you, not that we care what you say" Sephiroth remained silent for a few seconds until he looked up
"I know I can't change what happened but, after what Cloud has told me about you, I'm hoping you'll find it in your heart to try and forgive me" said Sephiroth
"I don't think we'll be able to" said Cid "After all you did kill Aeris" Sephiroth nodded and lowered his gaze
"I understand" said Sephiroth. Tifa bit her bottom lip; she felt remorseful to see Sephiroth as he was now
"In time" said Tifa "We could come around" Tifa reached out and took Sephiroth's hands, which were resting on the table
"You must be Tifa" said Sephiroth.
"Yes" said Tifa
"Can you forgive Cloud?" Sephiroth asked "He only meant to help me; he truly thought you were gone and it really upset him when he thought he had lost you, which is why he chose to help me"
Tifa gazed into Sephiroth's green eyes and knew that he was telling the truth.
"I don't know" said Tifa "Me and Cloud have…history"
"A good history" said Sephiroth "He's told me quite a bit about you and it has all been good"
"Is that all?" Barret interrupted. Sephiroth removed his hands from Tifa's gentle grasp and got to his feet.
"Thank you" he said to the room of people. Sephiroth paused as he turned to leave; he had spotted Vincent. Vincent held his gaze for a second before they both broke it off. Sephiroth turned and left the house.
Tifa and the others sat in silence as they watched Sephiroth walk back over to the mansion.
"I believe he really is sorry" said Tifa
"Me too" said Yuffie who was still looking at the mansion's front doors.
"I don't care if he's sorry" said Barret crossing his arms "He's still Sephiroth"
"Oh come on" said Tifa rolling her eyes "What's in a name? He's got the same name and body, sure, but his character, his essence, they've changed"
"I can't help remembering what happened to Aeris every time I look at him" admitted Barret "I'm sure some of you are the same"
"He's got a point" said Cid
"I have spent a day and night in his presence" said Nanaki who had not followed Sephiroth out.
"What do you make of him?" Cid asked
"Do you think he's lying?" Barret asked
"No" said Nanaki "He truly cannot remember aspects of his life"
"What if he gets em back?" Barret asked "He'd be Sephiroth again"
"He would not" said Nanaki "He already remembers a lot of the things he did when he turned, he's disturbed by them but he's dealing with it"
"How do you know that?" Barret asked
"Because last night he broke down in the square" said Nanaki. The room went silent at this new piece of information.
"He was tearing himself apart but I managed to get through to him" said Nanaki.
"So he's good?" Tifa asked
"He's got a clean sheet, not many people get that chance" said Nanaki "I hope you'll choose to help him" Nanaki walked out of the front door and crossed to the mansion.