B e N o t N o b o d y
By: Empyreal Gemsteel
Disclaimer: I do not own the Kingdom Hearts series. I am just a fan, no more, no less.
Summary: The Great Maw. A place where one can come to sit and view the horizon is now the place where adventure begins anew for those who fight further. The story of a young girl's hidden emotions. Sephiroth/Yuffie/Riku. Set after Kingdom Hearts II. Revised, with a better summary (I hope) and fixed errors in the story.
Rating: Mature
Genre: Angst/Romance
P r o l o g u e: B a t t l e a t t h e G r e a t M a w
Soldier Battle, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
"In the event of an emergency," Yuffie stated harshly, her usually chirpy voice replaced with a kunoichi-esque growl, "Kisaragi Yufi would like to remind you, to put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye."
Sephiroth sneered at the slip of the girl standing before him, battle ready stance held with honed experience. In the shadows of the Great Maw, was decorated with the blood of the battered and bruised warriors of the keyblade and the buster sword. Single handedly, he had struck down the greatest of fighters in Radiant Garden and the back up she had sent for fifteen minutes ago was nowhere in sight.
His initial target had been the girl, forever dressed in pink, Aerith who so often visited the area to sit and think. An easy target, to draw out Cloud, but alas, the first three people to come to her aide had been the keyblade bearer, the shinobi and some useless bystander female. The bearer had put a pretty good fight--for trash of course--but had fallen easily enough once he started taking aim at those around.
Despite the assistance of the shuriken user, the battle fought was a losing one. And then, after he toyed around with the chosen one, was when that poor excuse of a swordsmen appeared. It only took the mauling of one of the important persons in the universe. He honestly did not care, it was after all Cloud's choice of how pain he wanted go through until they finally settled their difference...
"Please, Miss Kisaragi. I have no intention of maiming any more women today. Kindly flee and meet up with that redhead and the flower girl—don't think they'll make it without you there to help." He responded coldly, positioning the Masamune over the struggling owner of the Buster Sword.
Violet eyes shone with determination, a skilled honed through countless times of being lost to darkness with no hope but one's self. "Stop," She said simply, "They fought…to ensure that Aerith, Kairi, and I could escape safely. They both put their life on the lines for that chance, when you so cowardly jumped Aerith when she did nothing to you! I won't stand back and watch as you kill them!"
"And you throwing away your worthless life is how you'll repay them," He said coldly, bringing the Masamune, a nodachi almost as tall as was, to the young shinobi's face.
"If I have to die to save Cloud and Sora, my life is not worthless… I won't lose to some bastard who cows about in the darkness, waiting for his chance to strike."
"So be it," Sephiroth said, aquamarine eyes losing any sign of life—or even a soul inside.
With those words, the tall, muscled man rushed the kunoichi with an unrivaled speed that took every ounce of concentration she had to dodge, the great sword slashing and thrusting within centimeters of her petite body in an endless barrage. Breathing heavily, she tried to shake off the tenseness within her body, knowing it would hinder her potential to fight, and readied her first strike with her shurikens.
As the barrage came to an end, she found her opportunity to strike, and threw the miniature four-points with an accuracy and speed few could match. And watched Sephiroth knock them away—as if they were flies to be batted away. She seethed inwardly at the smirk appearing on his face.
"Poor girl, having to go into battle with toys. It's a wonder you manage to inflict any damage at all with those things," He mocked, "But don't worry, your father, your mother… They did piss poor with those things as well. No wondered they--!"
"Shut up! Right this instant. Shut up and never speak of them again! I'll follow the shinobi tradition until...until its no longer of any value to this world," She shouted, shaking slightly with anger and fear.
Sephiroth chuckled, "Carry on, will you. Look around you. Your friends are on their knees, your weapons and fighting style are ineffective, you don't know magic, and help is a long ways off… Even you did have any of those to rely on, you're shaking so badly, they'd be of use."
The young kunoichi lashed out at the man with all she had, vehement hatred, an over sized shuriken and the speed and prowess of a skilled ninja. She rushed him fiercely, and began a series of rapid slashes with her massive four-point shuriken. On the fifteenth and final slash, she poured most her energy and force to knock him away.
With her last bit of energy... "Clear tranquil, heal us..." She whispered.
Before the healing energy dispersed to its intended targets, a sharp pain fired through her upper right shoulder as she stared in surprise at the Masamune sticking out from it, without even a trace of blood on it smooth, shiny blade.
"Never turn your back on me, child," Sephiroth growled.
"What did you—aaaaahhhhhhh!" The ruthless swordsman twisted the blade still embedded in her shoulder.
"But, I fear that a lesson, you won't be able to put to use in the future. Much like your parents, pride of Wutai, you are."
She heard her four-point shuriken fall to the ground, as the sickening feel of her shoulder being twisted, until the arm was disconnected from it's socket caused her to cry out in pain. Then and only then was the massive nodachi Forcing her to drop to her knees and the vial rolled away from her hand, stopping just by the form of the wounded Cloud.
"Clinging on to hope?" Sephiroth said, approaching the struggling form of the swordsman as he vainly reached for the potion he desperately needed, but was just out of reach. He crushed it with his foot, shortly after the blond found a grip on it.
"You little worm. Constantly hiding behind some woman… Tifa, Aerith, Yuffie. In the past I was merciful, because frankly I couldn't bring myself to hurt a pitiful woman doing her best to protect a pitiful man. But now I see, you're both pathetic. So, I'll start putting them out of their misery now…"
"Yu-Yuffie! R-r-run…" Cloud hissed, his bleeding hand clinched into a stinging fist of glass as the royal liquid seeped in his wounds and navy tinted land of the Maw.
"Don't please," Sora begged, "K-keyblade..." At his beck, the mystical weapon appeared and the legendary boy tried to rise to his feet.
"Too late…" He smirked, eyeing the young woman as she struggled with her bum right shoulder.
The blond swordsman watched inattentively as his vision began to blur as the dark form of Sephiroth prowled over to her, watching her struggling with her shoulder and weapon…
"Stop! Enough! I am over here, Sephiroth! You've won, you can finish it now! But I am OVER HERE!" Cloud pleaded, struggling to get to his feet.
He raised the Masamune over her head, and brung it down full force, barely leaving the girl time to roll out of the way, as he started his next sucession of strikes. Blood spilled from the cuts she accumulated.
"Hold still and I'll make it quick," He seethed, knocking the girl against the cold granite walls of the Maw. "Stay down, die the shinobi death that your parents did."
"Yuffie!" Came the simultaneous cries of voices he knew but could not place…
At the arrival of the newcomers, Sephiroth smirked—dared to laugh even. "Is this all that's left? An old man, a young boy, and a poor man's Cloud? Literally." Stopping his laugh, "Even those women will be a better challenge than you three."
The three quickly scattered to reach their injured companions, Riku covering Yuffie, Leon defending Cloud and Cid guarding Sora. For all of his physical prowess, the man never could guard and rarely finished off defeated opponents. Arrogance was his downfall.
"This will help," Riku whispered soothingly to the shinobi. Gently, he eased the battered girl into his arms, taking great care to avoid unnecessary pain, while administering the elixir Cid had given him before.
"Yuffie," Leon said, glaring at her fallen form in the silver haired teen's arms, "Sephiroth, launching a sneak attack on a woman is low. But beating another woman senseless, who intervened in the defense of her friends is lower still. There really is no bottom for you, you pus sucking, gangrenous malignancy of a mental ameoba…" He stopped himself, far too angry to continue with his tirade.
Sephiroth chuckled, "It was her choice. 'If I have to die to save Cloud and Sora, then my life is not worthless…'"
"Don't mock her with your poor imitation." Leon said, glaring.
"Imitation's the sincerest form of flattery," Sephiroth replied, smirking confidently.
"Let's take this guy out Leon, once and for all," Cid said, joining the battle.
"Gladly…"
To be continued…
Author's Note: Feedback would be appreciated, can't really improve without it. And yes, the title of the prologue and the story is derived from Vanessa Carlton. Love her, begrudgingly. Also, whoever spots the X-2 reference (in dialogue) will get 1,000 intarwebs. : )