R E T U R N I N G H O M E

C.l.o.u.d S.t.r.i.f.e

m y h e r o

&

Y.u.f.f.i.e K.i.s.a.r.a.g.i

m y l o v e

There she was. The Great Ninja had fallen. Through her half opened eyes she could see the heartless coming towards her in a mass abundance. The all blended together in a black liquid dotted with yellow spheres. Was this the end? Was she going to die this way? She sat on her bottom with her legs sprawled out in front of her. A free hand that did not hold her shuriken held her profusely bleeding side. The healer, Aeris, was back at the base probably helping Cid with something. Although she wasn't even sure if a healing spell would work. Sure maybe it would heal her wounds…but it wouldn't make her less tired. How long would she be able to last?

She had stalled long enough. They were coming for her. They were getting closer. Heaving herself up with a heavy pained moan she glared at the heartless in front of her. A prided energy glinted in her eyes. If she was going down she was going to go down in style. "Is that all you got! C'mon! Show me what you got!" Her chapped lips curved into a smirk as threw her shuriken towards the enemy letting it rip through the air. It sliced through the midsections of several heartless before returning to its rightful owner. Unfortunately it was several heartless out of what seemed like an endless number. It would only take a few moments later for the small ninja to get swept away and covered in darkness.

Continuing to fight valiantly she dodged, sidestepped, and moved with the agility of ninja. But it seemed that nothing she could do to avoid the inevitable. A heartless clawed its way on to her back causing her to scream in pain and fall to the floor. The shuriken was jerked out of her hand falling idly out of reach. Her dark indigo brown eyes looked up in worry as saw the heartless coming for her. Closing her eyes and a sharp breath she prepared herself for the inhumane pain she was about to feel.

" Good bye Aeris. Cid Merlin. Those little three ducks…oh! And those moogles at that always synthesize stuff…Those stupid Gullwing Faeries…and and sea-salt ice-cream…yeah I'll miss sea-salt ice-cream. Good bye Traverse Town…Radiant Garden…I know you'll miss my kick-ass ninja skills…Goodbye Leon…Squall…."

She scoffed at her own personal eulogy. She would miss Squall. Leon. Or whatever name he wanted to go by now a days. It was a secret that she had a little crush – was it? – on Squall. Too bad she would never get the chance to tell him…

With her eyes still closed she laid there and waited….and waited…and waited…until she realized that something was wrong or maybe right? There was no inhumane pain and there was no more heartless clawing at her back. As she came to her senses her ears filled with the sound of a clashing sword, like something hitting metal. Her eyes shot open demanding an explanation but not expecting what she saw. Someone was weaving between the heartless, carving out a path towards her. The heartless seemed to be attracted to the stranger more than her and had left her alone.

She was frozen. She wasn't sure if it was because she had just cheated death or it was because of the sight before her. His light green eyes seemed calm in the midst of battle as his unkempt hair clung to the back of his parched neck. He moved with the agility of an assassin, preyed on his opponents like a hunter, and fought with strength of a warrior. Never in her whole life had she seen someone fight like that. Never in her whole life had she seen someone like him. Who was he? He wasn't from Radiant Garden… It didn't take more than a few moments for the warrior to dispose of all of the heartless.

With a calm walk he stepped towards her letting his sword fall to his side only a few inches away from Yuffie's face. Instantly she jumped to conclusions believing in the worst for her fate. Her eyes now widened and she made a small whimper seeing the blade so close to her face. Laying down on her stomach looking up at the man she felt so helpless. Her body was bruised and broken but at least her mouth wasn't.

"Stop! Stop! Don't kill me! Please! I didn't do anything!" she said pulling her arms over her head. There was she was. The Great Ninja of Radiant Garden. She was weaponless and at the mercy of the Heartless Slayer. Again for the second time she prepared herself for a painful experience…and again the pain never was bestowed upon her. She looked up at him behind her upper arm only to see the blonde warrior walk away.

Scrambling to her feet she left a puddle of blood where she once laid. Running after the namless fighter she stumbled to his side. "Hey! Hey! Where you going?" she asked staring at the side of his face. He did have a nice profile…To her surprise he continued to walk…without acknowledging her! Okay so no one ignores the Great Ninja Yuffie! Well she wasn't exactly so great back there…but that wasn't the point.

Seeing that she was getting annoyed and not getting the information she wanted, and she always got what she wanted, she side stepped in front of him. "You're from….." She stopped in mid-sentence as she made eye contact with the nameless man. From up close his eyes were a deeper shade of green and he didn't seem to have that cold sharp stare that he had in battle. Up close he actually looked somewhat innocent or boyish. His normal expression was soft…not like the one he wore in battle. One she realized that she was staring she quickly finished her sentence. "…around here are you?"

The only response she received was a slight shake of the head before he side-stepped around her and began to go on his way. Wherever that was.

"Well hey! Let me thank you for that back there…" she said putting a hand on his shoulder to keep him from going further. A small gasp came from the girl as she felt the whole palm of her hand become warm and wet. Pulling her hand away quickly she looked down at a bloody hand.

"What..? Wait! You're hurt! You're bleeding! Let me help you!" she yelled flailing her hands up in the air and running after him.

"I doubt I'm the one that needs help," was his response as he was forced to stop again when she jumped in front of him. He let out an annoyed sigh at the ninja. Why was she so persistent? He had worst wounds from battles that were far worse than the small scramble that had just happened a few minutes earlier.

Upon hearing this she lifted an eyebrow as she looked up at the blonde questioningly. She was half shocked and half surprised. Shocked at the fact that he had somewhat insulted her and surprised that he had actually spoken. As always Yuffie addressed the lesser of the matters. "Wait…so you…actually can talk!"

Another annoyed sigh left the swordsman's lips as looked at her dumbfounded. Maybe he should've let the heartless eat her? "Yes now will you let me pass?"

Yuffie's lips curved into a toothed smile as she shook her head. Pointing to his wounded shoulder she placed her other hand on her hips. "Nope. You helped me and it's only fair. Let me take you to my friend Aeris. She'll be able to heal you."

Something flashed in the blonde's eyes but as quickly as it was there it vanished. It wouldn't have been noticeable to the ninja who had only known him for a total of a few moments. "No. I don't need healing or your help," he said in a casual tone as he was prepared for the unnecessary amount of times to step around the ninja…although every time he zagged around her she zagged around him. Everytime he tried to zig she would zig right after him. It didn't take him long to realize that he wasn't going to get out of this until she got what she wanted.

"What? You're pretty scared of me huh?" she asked looking up at him with a playful gaze.

His expression didn't change as he just looked down at the girl. She, after all, only came up to his chin. "Petrfied…" he replied.

His answer didn't humor her one bit when she he playful expression disappeared and was replaced by a glare. "Hey! Fine…but you know you're going to bleed to dea…." Suddenly Yuffie felt strangely light headed as her vision began to blur. Her body felt weaker than it did when the heartless were attacking her. When her legs couldn't hold her any longer she collapsed ready to hit the floor…but she never did.

The unconscious ninja fell in to the arms of her blonde savior. The swordsman looked down at the raven haired ninja unsure of what to do. It was a reflex to reach out and catch her before her head slammed down on the ground…but he didn't expect her to pass out in his arms. There was an obvious confusion and discomfort in his expression as he held the young girl awkwardly close to his torso for support. He felt a warm liquid seep through his clothes and instantly knew that it was blood, but it wasn't his. It was hers. It seemed that she was so wrapped up in helping him that she wasn't paying attention to her own wounds.

He couldn't have just as well left the girl there. Maybe if she wasn't in danger of bleeding to death he would've left her there for her friends to find her. And of course he knew that they would find her. It wasn't like Leon or Aeris to leave a solider behind. Shifting his weight he pulled her up into his arms and carried her bridal style. He grunted slightly feeling a slight pain in his shoulder where his wound was. It wasn't that she was heavy…no she was actually surprisingly light. Looking down at her he studied her bruised and cut up body. She had grown since the last time he'd seen her…

If he remembered it right Merlin's house wasn't far from where he was…and that was usually where everyone resided. He began to walk towards the Wizard's house with her in his arms. What a sight this would be: Cloud Strife returning to Hallow Bastion with Yuffie Kisaragi in his arms.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts