Tifa slowly opened her eyes and squinted at the light in the room. She turned her head slightly and saw Cloud slumped on a seat beside her with a red face and tear stains down his face. He was asleep. Tifa began to push herself into a sitting position, stopping as she felt pain shooting up her arms and a headache. Cloud stirred.

"Cloud? What happened?" Tifa asked quietly. His eyes opened suddenly and he sat up, wiping at his eyes and staring at her.

"You're awake!" he said, shocked. The door opened and Tifa's dad walked straight over to her with relief in his eyes. He shot Cloud a look which plainly said 'leave' and he did so without complaint.

"Tifa, are you feeling okay?" her dad asked, sitting in the chair Cloud had been in and pulling it close to the hospital bed so he could hold her hand.

"I guess. I have a slight headache though, and when I put pressure on my arms they hurt." she explained. He dad nodded slowly.

"I'm so glad you're okay though. I was worried you weren't going to wake up!" he admitted. "Why did you let Cloud go with you up the mountain?"

"I.. well he just followed." Tifa shrugged. "Besides, he's my friend."

"It was his fault you fell off the bridge." her dad said sternly, his mind made up.

"What do you mean? I wasn't careful enough. I misjudged my step and.." she paused, thinking about it. Cloud had been holding her and had promised he wouldn't let go. She sighed and looked down.

"Yes, it was his fault wasn't it." her dad repeated.

"He didn't mean to." Tifa mumbled. "Anyway, how long have I been asleep?" she questioned, looking up at her father again.

"A week." he replied, squeezing her hand gently.

"A week!?" she exclaimed. "How could I have stayed asleep for a week?"

"You were in a coma."

"A coma?"

"Yes, Tifa." her dad gave a weak smile and stood up, letting go of her hand. "I'll go notify the doctor that you've woken up." As he left the room, he frowned to see a blonde-haired boy running off.

Cloud rolled over on his side to face the wall. He knew it was his fourteenth birthday today but he really didn't care. No one else would, so why should he? He had been thinking about a pretty large decision the past few months and had finally decided to take action. He had everything planned out for that day, all he had to do now was get up.

Sighing, he stood up and got dressed, going downstairs to eat his breakfast and then leave the orphanage to find Tifa. He needed to tell her, at least.

When he found her, she was sitting with her group of friends laughing at something. They looked up and saw him standing there awkwardly about to leave. Tifa grinned and jumped up, running over to him.

"Hey Cloud! Wanna join us?" she asked.

"Sorry Tifa! Just remembered mum wanted me back home around now." one of her friends stood up and left, the others mumbling excuses and also leaving. Tifa shrugged, turning to face Cloud again.

"Did you want something?" Tifa asked. She secretly liked Cloud a lot. He'd always been there for her and kept coming to find her when she was with her other friends, even though they obviously didn't like him.

"I need to tell you something." Cloud said slowly, a serious expression in his eyes as he looked into hers. Her heart skipped a beat, silently hoping he would admit to liking her.

"Sure, what is it?" she asked calmly, trying to act casual. Cloud glanced around nervously and then back at her, shifting his weight.

"I'm leaving." he said quietly and shortly. Tifa felt like her heart had just dropped to her feet as she stared at the honesty in his eyes.

"Why?" she asked, knowing there was no point in questioning if he meant it or not.

"I'm going to join ShinRa and become a SOLDIER." he said and paused, waiting for the laughter, the mocking. Tifa stared at him. She blinked, continued staring and then flung her arms around him in a gripping hug.

"Please don't get yourself hurt!" she begged, burying her head in his shoulder. Very slowly, he brought his arms up and hugged her back, a small smile creeping onto his face.

"I'll try not to." he said.

"Look after yourself. Make new friends!" Tifa ordered, stepping back and quickly wiping her face to disguise the tears.

"I'll try." was the simple response.

"Try harder." Tifa said, looking up at him with a stern expression. He chuckled lightly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay."

"Will you come back?" Cloud stopped, the words sinking in and his mind whirring to try and find an answer.

"I.." he didn't know. Would he? He sighed and shrugged. "I'm not sure. It'll depend on how things turn out."

"Well all right. Don't forget to write to me!" Tifa said, smiling.

"Yeah, no problem." he said, smiling again and turning to go back to the orphanage. He ignored the other kids as he went straight up to his room and pulled out the suitcase which he had already packed. Lugging it downstairs, a frown appeared on his face again as he realised Tifa hadn't remembered his birthday.

"Cloud?" one of the other kids looked up at him through large eyes and he ruffled the kids hair.

"See ya later, punk." he said, heading out the door and through the streets of Nibelheim to the bus stop. He had found out when the bus would be leaving, so all he had to do was wait for it and soon enough he would be on his way to becoming a SOLDIER and proving to everyone how much he was worth.