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When we first meet Tifa at 7th Heaven, she seems to be a maternal figure, a sweet partner and friend and a tough girl all in one. Obviously enough, each of these sides of her is explored individually through the game for character development: however, prior to Aerith's death, we don't get to see much of the brave leader in her. It is when she, however heartbroken, takes over the leading place on the Highwind, or when she loyally and lovingly stays with a Mako-poisoned Cloud at Mideel no matter what: especially when she finally unloads the weight of her lies at the Lifestream, making it clear that all she has ever done, even the worst mistakes, was actually meant out of love or fear of losing, that we truly realize who Tifa really is. Indeed, before Aerith dies, all we see is plenty of physical strength and a lot of confusion and indecision, all culminating up in a self-sacrificing introverted soul who decides to let herself be pushed into the background, so that we see a lot more of Aerith and Cloud than actually the real Tifa.
This does not mean that in Disc 1 we don't get to witness a lot of sweetness, support and strength on all levels coming from Tifa: surely, we do, but it's when Aerith dies that she realizes it's about her now; there's no more running away, no more lying nor hiding, no more delaying what has to be done or said; otherwise, life will keep slipping through her fingers, love will continue escaping her, and the world itself can be destroyed.
While the first Tifa we see is a scared one (whether it be due to her shyness or simply the fact that she really has no idea whether this new "Cloud" can be trusted, or who he is at all), by the end of the game she has come clean and shown her real self: it had always been there, but she was too scared to let it through. It is important that people realize Tifa is not a perfect character; she isn't immune to jealousy, fear or despair, and this is why she's so easy to relate to. I do believe Tifa felt some relief in taking the backseat and letting Aerith "take care" of Cloud, because it stopped her from realizing the true weight of the real problem and her lies, even if it costed her the love of her life. After all, we know Tifa is used to heartbreaks and losses; she's familiar with making sacrifices, and life has taught her to instinctively act that way out of introvertedness or actual fear.
With Aerith out of the picture (and in such a cruel way, too), it's Tifa's turn to realize how serious the situation is, and how it is up to herself to do what has to be done: to stay with Cloud, to take care of him, to tell the truth, to help him find out who he is, to mentally prepare him for the ultimate battle. The flower girl isn't there to cheer them up anymore; reality is mercilessly cold and she's the only one who can keep the group together and get Cloud to recover in time... and stop herself from missing out in life.
Tifa's character growth is, basically, a road that Cloud and herself walk together out of hiding and into reality throughout the game, a journey of fear and trust, deception and coming clean, towards finding the courage for being themselves, the courage to live. And, surely, one couldn't possibly have done it without the other.
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