Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Square-Enix and Disney.

A/N: I haven't written in a while, so this is kind of odd to read, but it should get better as the story progresses. Some characters may be out of character, so please keep that in mind. This is a horror/romance/angst story, and contains nightmarish scenes. Pairings in this story are Yuffie x Riku and Leon x Yuffie, with some Sora x Kairi and other possible pairings. I am open to suggestions since I love writing so much. Some things in this story will be kind of awkward, but you may not even notice. This story may also contain some Dirge of Cerberus (FF7) spoilers, but probably nothing you'll be heartbroken to know about if you havn't gotten that far in the game. Some connections between Dirge of Cerberus characters and KH characters may be awkward, given the difference in timelines (ex. Yuffie is 16-17 in KH and 19 in Dirge of Cerberus).

Content warnings this chapter: Scenes of horror/blood and gore.

Chapter One

Absolutely Beautiful.

Those were the only words in her mind as she padded softly through the sparse evergreen forest. The pine trees around her were sprinkled with loose snow, glinting and sparkling in the morning sunlight. She turned slowly to admire the sight around her. Bending down to the earth she scooped up a handful of the glittering snow and smiled to herself as it fell down again through her fingers. Snowflakes fell softly from the sky and she shook some of it out of her coal colored hair. Tightening her scarf she remembered why she was here and pushed onward through the low tree branches. This place was beautiful, though. She could hardly keep from… That was it, before she knew it she had fallen to her knees and proceeded to roll in the snow, kicking up shimmering clouds of snowflakes and pine needles. The heavy coat she was wearing was so restricting, she took it off and threw it from her. Sighing happily she lay on her back in a snowdrift, staring up through the tree branches towards the clear blue sky.

A noise nearby made her jump.

Closing her eyes tightly she felt a heavy panting on her face followed by the putrid stench of rotting flesh.

She gasped and her eyes shot open. Fear and adrenaline coursed through her body, making her shudder. Nothing was there.

She slowly got to her feet again, looking around cautiously. Hearing the thud of heavy footfalls nearby she whirled around and dove behind a snow covered shrub, hugging herself and biting her tongue to keep from whimpering. As the footsteps came closer she held her breath and shrank down ever further behind the bush, trying to disappear. The footsteps stopped behind her and after a moment she couldn't help but sneak a look. When she didn't see anything she stood up slowly and looked around the open forest floor.

She shrugged and turned around again, nearly stepping on a small girl. She yelped in surprise and jumped back, fear gripping her briefly before she caught her bearings. Holding a hand over her heart she stared down at the child. She was wearing a hugely oversized coat and scarf, and upon further inspection, she realized that it was the coat she had throw aside.

She opened her mouth to say something about it when she noticed the girl's eyes grow wide, staring past her into the forest. She turned to look, but saw nothing but snow falling lightly through the branches. She turned back to the girl, nearly screaming when she realized the girl had vanished as mysteriously as she had come. But something caught her eye, and bending down to the forest floor she noticed a puddle of…

Blood. Fresh, metallic, still warm and steaming blood.

And leaning back in horror she realized it wasn't just a puddle either. There were violent splashes of blood across the ground and up the trunk of a nearby pine tree, staining the glimmering white snow a horrific crimson. Looking down again she saw the tattered and bloodstained remains of the coat, and that was all she needed.

Without looking back she ran as fast as she could from that place, feet pounding silently in the soft snow. She opened her mouth to scream and choked on the cold air. Tears streamed down her face and as she looked ahead she noticed the dark outline of a house, smoke spewing from the brick chimney.

A chilling shriek made her stop in the doorway and turn to look out at the forest. It got louder and louder until she clamped her hands over her ears. Suddenly it stopped, as though whoever was screaming had been abruptly dispatched, and she threw herself against the door and barreled into the house without even thinking of etiquette. Just as she closed the door and locked it behind her something heavy slammed into the other side of it and crunched sickeningly. Blood leaked under the door and scratching could be heard against the thick wood. Something slammed against the door again, leaving a hollow echo throughout the house, then slammed into it again. She screamed in terror as the door began to crack under the pounding. Splinters flew from the wood and stuck into her soft skin, making her shield her face with her bare arms. She screamed again as the door cracked in half and a long grey arm appeared through it, the bloody claws scratching for her face. The door finally collapsed inwards and…

"Yuffie, wake up!"

She opened her eyes. The room was spinning and she realized that someone was shaking her. Rather violently.

Eyes wide she stared up at the person holding her, only vaguely aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks. The first thing she saw was a pair of huge aquamarine eyes, and it took her a while to register just who it was. It's not like they had ever been properly introduced.

"Y..you…" She muttered drowsily, brow furrowing as to why he was even here.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in, it's just that you were kind of screaming and I thought something was wrong…" He released his hold on her shoulders and she slumped back against her bedroom wall.

She sighed heavily and wiped the sweat from her face, trying to get her body to stop shaking. Even in her dazed state she noticed how extra pale and frightened he looked. The expression faded quickly and she supposed he had calmed down and was back to normal.

"What are you doing in my room, Riku?" She rested her aching head in her hands and gazed at him wearily.

"Leon wanted to see you, said he had a job for you." He stood and offered her his hand. She gazed at it suspiciously before waving him away.

"I'm fine. Let him know I'll be down in about a half an hour?" She flashed him a fake smile and prayed that he would just go. It's not that she hated him, she just wasn't fond of guys she didn't know barging into her room and waking her up, even if it was a pretty horrible dream.

He took the hint and moved toward the door, giving her one last worried glance before opening the door and stepping out into the morning sun. He stopped momentarily as though he was going to say something, but then sighed and closed the door behind him. It made her wonder if screaming was all he'd heard, she had a tendency to talk in her sleep. And she was fairly certain that anything she had to say during a nightmare could not be fun to listen to.

She shrugged it off and climbed shakily to her feet. Adjusting for a few moments she wobbled into the bathroom and all but fell into the bathtub. She turned the water on as hot as it would go, not even bothering to take off her sleepwear first. She didn't care, she just wanted to be awake.

Fifteen minutes later she was back to her chipper old self, brushing her teeth cheerfully as the morning sunlight filtered in through the window. She removed the toothbrush for a moment to look at her reflection, the toothpaste making her look like she was frothing at the mouth like a rabid animal. She growled at the mirror threateningly then happily continued brushing her teeth.

Well over the designated half hour later she had donned her knee high boots, black shorts, and deep purple tank top and was ready to go.

"Oh!"

She stopped in the doorway and moved back to her bedside table. Taking a bottle out of the drawer she opened the top and a small white pill fell out onto her hand. Popping it in her mouth she swallowed it without water, threw the bottle in her backpack and dashed out of the tiny apartment.

xxxxxxx

"Yuffie, you're late." Leon's harsh voice harassed her the moment she opened the door.

She stuck her tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes at her childish behavior. He opened his mouth to reprimand her but Aerith stepped in between them and cleared her throat.

"Yuffie, we were hoping you could do something for us." She said with a smile, clasping her hands in front of her chin.

"The Great Ninja Yuffie is at your service!" She puffed out her small chest and spun her Conformer impressively in the air. "Ooops..!" She jumped to the side just as she lost her grip on the giant shuriken and it stuck into the floor where her foot had been. She pretended that hadn't happened.

Aerith suppressed a giggle and tried to force a serious tone into her naturally soft voice. "There's a gang organized against the Restoration Committee, but you knew that." Yuffie nodded importantly, but inwardly she wondered how everyone had failed to mention something like that to her. Again.

"So what about them?"

"They haven't been too much trouble, mostly they just run around town at night writing on houses and yelling from rooftops. But last night they started a fight with one of our volunteers, and when Leon got there they ran towards the Bailey. We think they're hiding out somewhere near the Great Maw, but we haven't been able to check it out because the terrain is so unstable." Aerith shifted from foot to foot and tangled her fingers in the hem of her skirt. It was obvious she didn't want to send Yuffie looking for them.

"Don't worry, I'll go check it out and report back before nightfall!" She hopped enthusiastically and turned around sharply when she heard Leon snort behind her.

"Just don't screw things up, I don't want to have to go out there and save you." He said harshly, making her wonder what she'd done for him to act like that towards her. She quieted and watched him walk out of the room.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence…" She mumbled.

Aerith looked horrified, but shook her head sadly when Yuffie looked at her. "Ignore him, he's just having a rough day." She leaned forward and murmured quietly in Yuffie's ear, "One of the gang members kicked him in a sensitive area."

Normally such information would have made her day, but she just couldn't bring herself to laugh. "I'll go get some things from the Item shop and get out of here." She said quietly and walked over to the door.

The walk through town wasn't too bad. It did a lot to lighten her mood and she managed to smile and wave when Kairi walked by with Sora trailing in tow.

"What are you up to this early?" Kairi asked.

"If I tell you I'll have to kill you. Top secret mission. Actually I'm just going to the store. Where are you guys off to? I thought Sora was nocturnal, whenever I'm supposed to get him for meetings he's asleep!" She smiled brightly, but Sora caught that something wasn't quite right and gave her a quizzical look.

"We're gonna go visit Destiny Islands! Speaking of which, have you seen Riku anywhere? We tried to get him to come but he said something had come up." Kairi replied, not knowing the ninja well enough to think anything might be wrong.

"Yea, I saw him a little over an hour ago, he barged into my room and woke me up, telling me Leon wanted to see me."

"That boy has gotten so weird! Whenever I talk to him he's always acting like he's either in trouble or worrying about something!" Kairi waved dramatically, as though pretending to slap him upside the head.

"Was Leon being an ass to you again?" Sora said randomly. He looked worried.

Yuffie was surprised and didn't know what to say at first. Her face fell a little at the thought. "Yea, he's been even more critical than usual. Aerith said it was because of earlier this morning, but he's been acting like I ruined his life for at least a week."

Sora pouted at her in sympathy. "It's okay Yuffs, I'm sure he'll come around eventually. After all, you guys have been working together for years. Maybe he's upset that you've been flirting with him for the past year and still haven't asked him for a date!" Sora laughed playfully and Kairi smiled like it was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. Yuffie's eyes got huge and she blushed.

"For the last time, I do not have a crush on him!" She yelled as Sora ducked behind Kairi's shoulders.

Kairi looked at her watch. "Wow, we really have to go. Cid's not going to wait for us forever. Bye Yuffie, see you next week!" The auburn haired girl waved happily and dragged the still giggling Sora around the corner.

Yuffie stood there for a while looking at the place where they had been standing. She thought about what Sora said, and she had to admit, she had been flirting with Leon for at least a year. But that didn't mean she had a crush on him! Mainly she did it because it bothered him.

Not really wanting to think about it she continued down the road to the marketplace. She dug in her pockets for the list she had written as she approached the Item shop's counter.

"Can I help you?" Someone asked from behind the counter.

Still looking at the list Yuffie hummed, "Yeeeaa, I need four potions, a box of wheat crackers, some beef jerky, three bottles of water, two ethers, and a space blanket please." She folded the list, hoping that was all she was going to need and looked up at the man behind the counter as he began setting her order in front of her. She jumped violently when she realized it was Riku.

"Hey." He said simply, offering her a small smile. "What do you need all this stuff for?" he asked when the horrified look still hadn't faded from her face.

She shook her head, "Riku! What are you doing working here?" She realized how dumb she must have sounded, there was usually only one reason why someone would get a job.

"Duh, I need to make money somehow and I was hoping for something calm and relaxing." She couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but she had wondered why he always seemed to be missing when something big came up in town. She realized that she had been staring at him and shook her head again.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Leon gave me a mission to check some things out in the Great Maw. Shouldn't be too difficult, but if I'm not back before nightfall send out a search party!" She smiled jokingly, but he gave her a soft look and nodded with another small smile.

"So anyway, why didn't you go with Sora and Kairi to Destiny Islands? I thought you guys were inseparable or something like that. They seemed pretty bummed that you weren't going." She suddenly felt snoopy and hoped he didn't notice her light blush.

His face fell and he looked like he was concentrating on something. "Yea, well, you know. They're great and all, but when I'm with them it's like I'm a third wheel. I just feel like I'm in the way. Besides, Destiny Islands has some pretty painful memories for me. I like this town, being here makes me feel like there's some hope left. Like I can start new and forget about what I've done and where I've been. Ya know?" He looked at her almost sadly. It made her feel like crying.

"But what about your family? Weren't they in Destiny Islands?" She bit her lip in apprehension at how straight forward she was being, but he didn't seem to mind at all.

"I barely knew them. Never wanted to be home anyway. They never really cared about me, like where I was or what I did, so why should I care about them?" He shrugged. He didn't look upset, but Yuffie felt like he should have been.

"That'll be 2000." He said, not breaking eye contact with her. She was confused for a second then realized what he was talking about.

"Oh, right. Wait, only 2000?" He nodded.

"Restoration Committee members get a discount." he said simply.

"Since when?" She really doubted that, but shrugged and handed him the money anyway.

He handed her some change. "You're not gonna card me as a committee member?" She joked. He smiled again, making her feel better about being so snoopy.

"Don't push your luck."

"Hey, that should be my motto!" She chirped.

"Don't do anything Sora might do!" he said, watching her shove her purchase into her bag and head towards the Bailey. She waved at him as she left the marketplace. "What a weird guy." She said to herself.

End of Chapter One