Saw this on pinterest seemingly showing that Cloud is looking in Tifa's direction during this scene. So naturally I had to go watch the scene and see...
This is when the girls go up to the window
And this is after when Yuffie points and tells them to look at what she's seen.
Since the moment we first met, you have always been an important part of me. The half that makes me whole. When times are darkest, you are my light. When I am lost, you are my guiding star. You are just what I need. You are all I need. You are the greatest gift.
"I think some people noticed this in trailers and such, but Clive speaks differently to Jill. A lot of the time, he has this particular persona, but he completely lets his guard down when he talks to Jill." - Ben Starr (Voice Actor for Clive Rosfield)
*Cloud having a 'flashback' of 'Zack' being swept down the river*
Boyfriend: Oh, so I was almost right, I was this 👌close.
Me: *Teasing* You were this 👌 close.
*Cloud tells Tifa he remembers Zack and she says "Oh..."*
B: ??? What do you mean "Oh..."?!
M: 😆
Cloud: Zack was my friend. How could I just forget him?
B: It's crazy what PTSD does to someone.
M: *Internally* 👀💦
Cloud: Degradation. It's hollowing me out.
M: Or that lol
*Scene ends*
B: No that-that- that's not right. That's still not right. Something's missing here.
M: Yeah??? 😆
B: *Fired up and laughing* There's no way Sephiroth and two actual SOLDIERS now went to a fucking reactor with one random grunt! There's no way that happened. There's no way! I pointed that out the first time, too!
M: 😆
B: "Why are there two random dudes here?!" So there's absolutely no way it was just another random guy! That's wrong! I don't know how it's wrong, but it's wrong!
M: 😂😂😂😂
B: I know I'm right on that one!
M: So what's your theory now?
B: I don't have a theory anymore, I just know that that's true. *Getting fired up again* What I just said has to be true! There is No. Fucking. Way they put Sephiroth, Cloud, and now apparently Zack-- although I don't know what his capabilities are-
M: *Internally*💀
B: - I assume they're on par with Cloud-- and a random dude- Why the random dude?! That random dude is something else, or fake, or there's some missing information, or someone's switched around, but there's no random dude!
I particularly enjoy how they handled Sephiroth's arrival to Nibelheim, juxtaposing his inner state with the perception that the other characters and the public appear to have of him.
Spoilers, obviously.
Consider this scene for example. Sephiroth is visibly disturbed by both the familiarity of his surroundings and the fact that he cannot place the dejavu it created. But when Cloud/Zack asks whether he's okay, he immediately turns the conversation to the other party's well-being and readiness.
This demonstrates how much he embraced the idea that he has to endure and never show weakness or discomfort, that he *MUST* always be okay. It also shows that he's not used to being questioned if he's alright. Anyone who grew up with a narcissistic parent would recognize the internalized rule of not causing trouble for others, which includes not being physically or mentally unwell.
And a part of the general public did support that image, with some even dismissing the idea of a "living legend" being ill, claiming that a hypothetical "mako poisoning isn't going to hurt him".
In some ways, an idea like that stripped its intended target of human nature long before Sephiroth lost his marbles in the mansion’s basement.
Cloud/Zack follow a similar line of thought. It took Cloud/Zack nearly a week to go check on his colleague. A week without sleeping, eating, or drinking. It's kind of mind-boggling, until you remember that his "Sephiroth was in a different league" also meant that in Zack's/Cloud's perspective, human norms didn't apply to him, and the idea of physical and mental deterioration due to stress, starvation or lack of sleep never ever occurred to them.
It's sad really. Sephiroth's reputation fueled by ShinRA marketing rendered him “beyond human” long before Gast’s revelations in the project records did. Even people like Zack, who worked with him on and off for years seemingly couldn't imagine that he, too, had human limits.
Got to the scene in Nibelheim, where Cloud remembers Zack....
Boyfriend: Oh...I think I understand what's going on now.
Me: 👀💦 Oh?
B: Yeah. Since there were two random Shinra grunts there, and apparently Zack has always been there and is wearing the uniform I am, that Cloud must either be the one who fell in the river or the other one. Also the fact that there was always 3 beds, which I thought was weird.
M: That's an interesting theory. *Inwardly* 😳💦💦💦💦
B: But that probably doesn't work because we still don't know where Zack is.