Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or the characters. They all belong to Square Enix.
Screams…flames…blood…death…
Yuffie panted as she ran as fast as she could through the broken and dying city known as Wutai, her hometown. Tears streamed down her face as she blocked out the screams of the injured and the dying. No…no…no…it can't be…stop…stop, stop stop STOP!
Angry flames licked her heels as she ran, tears blurring her vision. Dammit, why did they have to come? An army of SOLDIERs had arrived earlier that morning to crush Wutai, mercilessly destroying everything in sight. They spared no one, not even the children or the elderly. Yuffie had just witnessed her best friend being stabbed in the heart with an impossibly long sword by a man with flowing silver hair. She knew who it was: the legendary SOLDIER Sephiroth. When he pulled out his masamune from the dead body, a raging fire came roaring to life within Yuffie. Kill…kill…KILL! Sephiroth had disappeared into the flames before she could run after him, but that didn't stop her from chasing him. There! A flash of long silver hair.
"SEPHIROTH!"
The man stopped when he heard his name. He slowly turned around to stare at the little girl who looked no older than 12 or 13. Yuffie cringed when his eyes met hers, but she steeled herself and got back her composure.
"What do you want, you useless girl?" his deep voice boomed.
"You k-killed my friend! You can't get away with this!" Yuffie whipped out her shuriken and threw it at him, but he easily deflected it with his sword. He raised his sword and approached the girl, ready to stab her in heart like he did to so many others. Fear froze Yuffie's legs in place. Oh gods, I'm going to die, I'm going to die! Noo! Mother! Suddenly, a blur came out of nowhere and put itself between Yuffie and Sephiroth just in time to receive the fatal blow from the masamune. The body slumped to the ground, and Yuffie gasped when she saw who it was.
"MOTHER!" she screamed.
"R-run, Yuffie, run!" her mother yelled at her, face twisted in pain. The sword had gone right through her chest.
"No, Mother, noo!" No, no, no no nonono. This isn't happening! Nonononono! She took a step toward her mother.
"GO! RUN! DON'T LET ME DIE IN VAIN!" she screamed at her daughter, desperate to save her life. She had sacrificed her own, and she didn't want it to be for nothing. Sephiroth pulled his sword out and turned to Yuffie. "GO! NOW!" her mother's body crumpled to the ground, blood quickly pooling around her.
Yuffie fled. She ran and ran until she left Wutai burning behind her. An agonizing scream tore its way out of her, letting the whole planet know of her pain and loss. She slumped to the ground, her legs no longer able to support her weakened body. Gut-wrenching sobs shook her, and tears flowed freely down her dirty face. Gods, I killed my mother! I have sinned! It's my fault, all my fault. Oh Gods…If only I hadn't…My sin…Killed her…Mother! Soon, a comforting darkness embraced her, and she gladly let herself fall into it.