Small fingers fiddled with the envelope in her hands. Her expression said it all, she was nervous and a hint of disappointment was clear on her face. The wind began to play with her hair as she sat at the edge of the mountain. She had been waiting the entire day and nothing, absolutely nothing.

"The sun's setting..." Yuffie said to herself softly as she watched the sun's rays were disappearing from Cosmo Canyon. A part of her knew that this was going to happen. Her, sitting and waiting for someone that clearly did not have the time for her. The usual routine was to wait until she got fed up with waiting and went off to find him. But this time, things were different.

The small ninja rose from her spot and ran her fingers through her hair as she continued to watch the sunset. She glanced at the small white envelope before putting it in her back pocket.

I got tired of running after you

She couldn't do it anymore, especially after Shelke came into the picture. She never fully liked the girl from the start but after everything was over, she got used to her but she still couldn't help but feel…-

"Ugh! What's up with me?" Yuffie shook her head as she lightly slapped her cheeks.

"Yuffie, you're still here?" A rough voice spoke from behind.

Smiling, she turned around and waved at the red companion, "Hey, Furball!"

Nanaki couldn't help but chuckle at the name but still shook his head. Yuffie never fully changed, which could be seen as a bad thing for some people but it was refreshing to him.

"Still waiting?" He asked as he sat in front of her.

"Nah! It's getting late and I want to stretch my legs out, maybe take on some nasty monsters!" Yuffie smirked as she punched the air energetically.

Nanaki watched the girl battle with the air and shook his head once more, "Well, you can rest here if you want."

…

No one was there to answer him back, only dirt flowing in the air that was left behind by the ninja running off. As the dirt cleared, there was a small white object on the ground. The red beast walked over to the object and picked it up with his mouth.

Aren't ninjas suppose to more careful with their stuff…?

Yuffie continued to run through the terrain, wondering where her feet would take her. If she went west she'd just meet the water that separates her from Wutai. North? That'd just take her to more forests and Nibelheim. East was probably her best bet, she'd be able to go towards Edge and visit the others. It'd be a long trip but she needed it, anywhere but home.

She stopped quickly as she saw a strange glow in the sky, just above where the Ancient Forest was located. "Well, that seems interesting…and it is on the way." She thought out loud. Reassuring herself, she touched her shuriken and nodded to herself as she ran to the general direction of the forest.

The forest was unscathed, everything had remained the same from the last time she visited this area with the others. The trees was tall, still growing freely. This area was full of lif and nature but the atmosphere was still ominous. Yuffie continued to search through the forest, "Something has to be here for something to be glowing!" She exclaimed as she pushed through some bushes.

"Maybe…a new type of materia!"

Yuffie couldn't contain herself and began to jump around, "Awesome new materia! Just for me!" She pumped her fist up in the air and started to search determinedly. Something to show off to the others when she makes to Edge, "It better not be something stupid like Bio or Sleep…" She muttered as she crawled around the forest ground.

The sound of metal hitting the ground echoed throughout the forest, "There may be some mako here, Shelke." A masculine voice stated while walking. Smaller footsteps followed behind him, the young girl was Shelke. Her face was pale and weakened, desperately needing mako to keep her body going. Now, she seemed like a normal girl than what she was before, which relieved Vincent. The girl reminded him of Lucrecia at times, it was nostalgic but recently the girl was beginning to develop her own personality.

"I hope it's nearby, I don't think I can walk anymore after this…" Shelke spoke softly as she followed behind him.

Rustling was heard nearby, the movements were quick and seemed to get closer to the both of them.

Shelke grabbed Vincent's cape once she heard the sound.

"What was that…?"

"Not sure, could be anything but just stay close."

The rustling started to be come closer, more distinct. Shelke was no longer able to fight and it was all up to Vincent if it was a monster. The cloaked man slowly took out his weapon and began to scan the area. If there was another sudden movement, he'll put it down quickly for their safety. Shelke needed the mako and he had no time to play games. His eyes scanned at each bush that was near him, searching for any movement.

Another rustle and this time, it was much closer. Shelke quickly pointed at one of the bushes, "It's over there!"

Nodding, Vincent rushed over to the area, aimed and squeezed the trigger without any hesitation.

"Vincent!" Shelke cried out as she heard the bullet being deflected.

Crimson eyes met brown eyes, former companions stared at each other. Vincent continued to stand there, watching Yuffie hold her weapon firmly.

"Yuffie…why are you-?" The older man jumped back as he dodged a slash from the ninja.

She was furious, she didn't know why exactly but that was the first emotion that coursed through her entire body. Next thing she knew, she had slashed her shuriken towards him. Right now, he was one of the few people she wanted to see right now, even though less than an hour ago she was waiting for him at Cosmo Canyon.

"Cosmo Canyon…." Yuffie muttered at Vincent.

He stared at her with a blank stare and quickly remembered. Vincent glanced at Shelke for a moment and then at Yuffie, "I didn't do it purposely, Yuffie. Shelke was becoming fatigued…you'd attack me for that?" He asked, dumbfounded by her actions.

The materia thief stared at the ground where she had struck. She held her head in pain as she fell on her knees, "V-Vinnie…" Yuffie muttered as she dropped her shuriken.

Vincent rushed over to Yuffie and knelt down in front of her, "What's the matter with you?" He asked while putting his gun away.

Shelke watched as she began to slowly walk over to the two of them, "Vincent. You sure it's alright to approach her?"

Vincent nodded as he stared at Yuffie, she was never like this. He began to stretch her hand out to her, "Yuffie?"

"There's a Mako Spring…it's a deep in but it's there." Yuffie began, "I came here to check this place out. I saw the spring and got excited, thinking maybe materia was formed or was forming…" She paused before she continued, "I don't remember what happened afterwards, maybe I touched it and I reacted to someone's emotions in the Lifestream."

A part of him couldn't help but feel something was off but for now, he had to make sure that Shelke received her dosage of Mako. Shelke put her hand out to stop Vincent from rising from his spot, "Stay with her, I'll be alright, I can find it from here."

At that comment, Yuffie forced herself up and grabbed her shuriken.

I'm not a little girl, I don't need to be looked after.

She nodded at Shelke, "Go ahead. There's no materia here anyway so no point of me being here!"

Crimson eyes glanced at the ninja for a brief moment before guiding Shelke to the Mako Spring within the Ancient Forest, "Just be careful, Shelke…" He said softly as he looked around the area as the girl walked over to the spring.

What's with her…she's a horrible liar. Vincent couldn't shake that fact out of his mind. He walked around the spring, hoping there was a clue as to what really occurred when Yuffie visited the spring. There was nothing but mako flowing throughout the area, no hints left for him.

"I'm ready, Vincent. We should head back and check on Yuffie." Shelke spoke softly at the caped man.

He thought for a moment and looked over at the girl, "Stay here for a moment, if anything seems suspicious…call out for me."

She didn't seem to understand why he wanted to be alone with Yuffie but she nodded. Maybe Yuffie would say what was wrong if it was only Vincent? Shelke watched Vincent walk off as she continued to ponder on what was wrong with Yuffie. The ninja was always so energetic and always spoke her mind. Regardless, there wasn't much to do but to wait and see what Vincent can get out of the girl.

"Alright, Yuffie…" Vincent said as he walked towards where Yuffie was last.

His eyes widened at the sound, it was silent but he was sure it was sound of crying. Vincent walked slowly towards the sound and the source was none other than Yuffie. But why? Was she hurt? Did a monster attack her when she first went to the spring? He shook his head, trying to shake his thoughts. He needed to remain calm, his mind needed to be clear to figure out what was wrong. He reached over for Yuffie's shoulder with his clawed hand and held his hand back at the sound of her breathing in.

"Mom…why?" Yuffie uttered as she held back her tears.

Her mother? Yuffie never talked about her mother, she rarely talked about her family at all. He stared at the back of her head, the person she connected with in the Lifestream…it was her mother.

"Why did you have to go?" She cried out as she covered her face.

Vincent touched her shoulder and he felt her jump, "It's just me…" He whispered softly as he turned her around to face him, putting both his hands on her shoulders.

She looked up at him and it did hurt to see her upset. Her eyes were red, her cheeks were covered with trails of tears and her breathing was inconsistent. Vincent glanced at her nose for a moment and held back a smirk, she looked interesting with a stuffy red nose.

"Why didn't you tell me what really happened?"

"Because…you're mean!" Yuffie cried out as she hit his chest, "I waited for you to give you your invitation! I waited all day! And the one time I didn't want to see you, there you are! You avoid my calls! You find me annoying!" She continued to rant and hit him repeatedly, "Why do I bother!"

Yuffie's eyes widened as he began to pull her closer to him, her heart beginning to race. They never got this close to each other, did they? No, they never got close like this, right? She couldn't remember, her mind was racing and her face began to reddened.

A scream was heard throughout the forest.

"Shelke." Vincent pulled away quickly from Yuffie.

So close, yet so far…like always.

Yuffie shook her head, snapping out of her daze and nodded as reached for her own weapon.

"If they don't kill her first, I will…" The thief muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" The Ex-Turk asked while eyeing her.

"If you don't kill the monster first, I will!" Yuffie exclaimed nervously while running off to where the scream was coming from.

"Hurry up, Vinnie!"

Author's Notes: Sorry if it seemed too fast paced or anything, I wanted to try this idea out. There's more to come if people seem to be pleased by it. Thank you!