Terrorized
By October Girl
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Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or the characters or anything. I MIGHT decide to make a few characters, but I'll notify you if I do.
Note: Read and review! Tell me what you think, c'mon, you know you want to!
KEY: '~~~' means a character shift
'___' means time lapse
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Yuffie stood outside the hotel of Second District. The breeze ruffled her short, black hair that was always held back by a white headband. She had her hands in the back pockets of her shorts. She gripped a shuriken in her hand and watched as people scattered and ran.
Confused, Yuffie pushed past the people screaming and yelling out names of friends and family. Her eyes searched the crowd for Aerith, Cloud, or Squall.
She knew they all thought she was just a baby. Compared to them, she was. She was only about seventeen, going on eighteen, and they were in their twenties. Aerith acted almost motherly at times, Cloud like a consoling older friend, and Squall a hateful, annoying older brother. The way they tried to protect her and leave her out of important conversations tore her apart.
After fifteen minutes of unsuccessful searching, her eyes stung with tears. She wiped her eyes in vain. The tears kept coming.
'What kind of ninja ARE you? All you ever do is cry.'
Squall's words from two months ago repeated over and over in her head. It was true. She wasn't a good ninja, she was probably the worst, most unworthy ninja that there was.
People ran past her, heading towards First District. The word 'Heartless' caught her attention. Heartless? Those had been defeated over four months ago. What was happening?
Alarmed, Yuffie followed the crowd into First District. Everyone was shoving and yelling nasty words at each other, and pushing at the door. It flung open and the large abyss of different people pushed to get inside.
Yuffie spared a glance behind her and did a double take. Small, little pools of inky darkness spread across Second District, coming from Third District. From the spots raised the ugly, yellow-eyed shadow Heartless that spurred fear in every heart in every world.
She was the last one in to First District. She slammed the doors shut and collapsed on them, breathing hard. What if her friends were still out there? As far as she knew, they weren't armed for combat. The last she had known was that Squall was in the Waterway and Aerith and Cloud were with Cid in one of the shops near the hotel.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and counted to three.
"One, two, three. One two three. One, two three," she said softly to herself. The wave of people spread out, their voices mixing together to make one large octave of sound. The three ducklings glanced out of their shop, confused, and even the clueless Moogles were running about.
"Yuffie! YUFFIE!"
Startled, she looked up. Aerith, clad in the usual pink, was running toward her, looking relieved.
"Yuffie," she said again once she got to her. "Where were you? Everyone is running around in a panic. I sent Cloud and Squall out looking for you!"
"I can take care of myself," Yuffie said, and quickly wiped her cheeks of her tears. "I thought you were all in Second District."
"We were. I have no clue what has been happening, but whatever it is it's involved with the Third District. Heartless are coming out through the doors, and the whole sky is pitch black with what looks like a strange fog."
"The sky is always black."
"Not like this. Right here you can see the moon and the stars, and the sky is bluish looking, but not there. It's so ugly," she said with bitterness.
"What are we going to do?" Yuffie brushed the hair out of her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest in a means of making herself feel protected.
"First we have to get Cloud and Squall back, then we're going to have to find a leader for us. This town should have had a mayor a long time ago. Everything was out of order with the first wave of Heartless."
Yuffie bit her lip. She hoped to God that Squall and Cloud was all right. Even if they sometimes got on her nerves, especially Squall, she still wanted them safe. Aerith looked at her in sympathy, as if she could tell what she was thinking.
She wrapped an arm around Yuffie and said, "They'll be all right. Don't worry about them. They'll come back soon enough."
~~~
Squall and Cloud walked across Second District. The weaker class of Heartless surrounded them. He glanced over at Cloud. His blonde hair was falling into his eyes and a layer of sweat covered his face, although it was mostly hidden by his bold red cape.
Squall gripped his Gunblade and heaved it high over his head and swung down hard and sliced through one of the Heartless. It screamed in a high pitched voice. It sounded so inhuman, unlike anything he had ever heard in his life.
He struck again, splattering black ink like blood across his white shirt. Cloud battled with the other side.
The blood on his arms started to sting and smoke on his arms. Without a word he wiped it off and made one large swoosh with the Gunblade and sliced through the remaining Heartless.
"Hey," Cloud whined. "I wanted to do that."
"Sorry," he said bluntly.
Cloud heaved a heavy breath in and sounded sad and defeated. "We've been looking for Yuffie for almost a half hour, Leon." He motioned his hand to the lifeless people lying slain across the cement. "Maybe we should start checking bodies." He choked on his words.
"No," he said harshly. "Yuffie is not dead. I can feel it. Do you really think she would give up that easily?"
"No...I guess not."
"C'mon, let's go."
Cloud reached out and grabbed Squall's sleeve.
"We have to go back to Aerith. If we keep fighting these things we'll collapse. We can look for her later."
Squall removed Cloud's hand on his arm. "You can go if you want."
The truth was, for the split second Cloud had implied Yuffie was dead, terror had struck his heart. He had been thinking along the same lines, but when Cloud had said it, it was like making it final. The only way he could keep going was to fight.
"No, we're leaving, now."
Squall ignored him. He was thinking back to all of the mean things he had said to Yuffie, and did to her, and he had never gotten to say he was sorry. He had always thought he was protecting her from the worst when he turned out to be the true enemy.
He knew she could protect herself. Instead of praising her for a job well done when they practiced, he pushed her down to a lower level and criticized her. He was doing the right thing. You can never get too full of yourself, because that's when you fail, right?
Now he realized he had to be wrong. He never noticed how much she must have craved for praise. She was always going out of her way to take the longer path, or push herself harder.
He wasn't really surprised. She was so much younger than all of them. She probably always felt she had to do everything right or else.
'Or else what?' something whispered across his mind.
Squall started walking to the First District doors like it was his idea to turn back.
"Are you coming or what?" he called over his shoulder to Cloud.
He heard his heavy footsteps running to catch up with him.
He pushed the door open, his mind screaming. Yuffie was gone. Gone out of his reach. He had seen her last just today, getting ready to do something or other to annoy someone...
He stopped short. Aerith and Yuffie were both sitting at the café, looking worn out. He almost passed out. Was this a hallucination?
Cloud ran past him toward the table and lifted Yuffie high in the air like a father and little kid would and swung her around. She laughed and squirmed, embarrassed at his show. Squall composed himself and walked towards the table.
~~~
They were back. Yuffie's fear washed away like it was never there and was replaced with contentment. Well, as content as you could get in the situation. When Cloud released her she sat back down at the table.
She looked around, wondering what happened to Squall.
She saw him headed towards them, his face as emotionless as ever. When was the last time she had seen him smile?
Squall. A name from her past, present, and future. Always stoic, impassive, and indifferent. He was always separated from everyone else, lost in his own thoughts. He only cared about himself and what he wanted.
He pulled out a chair and sat with all of them.
"Did you learn anything while you were out?" Aerith asked anxiously.
Cloud shook his head. "Nothing, whatsoever. All we know is that the Heartless are back at full force. And that Third District is locked with an unknown mechanism."
"Unknown? What do you mean?" Yuffie asked shrilly.
"As in we don't know what it is or how to open it," Squall answered coolly.
"Well excu-u-use me!" she replied just as coolly, stretching out the word 'excuse'.
Underneath her indifferent composure, she felt scared and frightened, just like a mouse up against a cat. They had no clue what they were dealing with. For all they knew, Maleficent had risen from her dark grave and taken over the Heartless.
____
Yuffie shivered in her towel after taking a cold shower. Squall had used up all of the hot water and there was no way she was going to bed covered in dust and bloody scratches. She put on her pajamas which consisted off a pair of flannel pants and a matching tank top covered in little fluffy clouds.
After a gathering in First District, a group of people, including her and Aerith, Cloud, and Squall ventured into Second District to get to the hotel. Having number in groups, most of the Heartless left them alone.
She opened the door of the bathroom and the light contrasted next to the darkness of the room. Squall just had to turn off the lights.
She flicked the switch in the bathroom and the whole room was cast into darkness. She stumbled over to the bed and tried crawling over Squall's sleeping lump form.
Squall's hand shot out from under the blanket and grabbed her ankle. She shrieked and fell over onto the other side of the bed after jumping over him at least a mile high.
"You are definitely not sleeping on the same bed as me."
"It's your turn on the floor," she protested.
"It is not."
Yuffie sighed. "I know, I know, but I don't want to sleep on the floor. It's freezing cold and with your snoring combined I can't go to sleep."
"I don't snore."
"Yes you do."
"No I don't.
"Yes you do.
"No I-SHUT UP!"
"I'm sleeping on the bed with you and if you don't like it YOU can sleep on the floor."
Squall didn't answer.
"Good," she said happily. She had actually won a battle with Squall!
"'Night, Squall."
When he didn't answer with a protest of the choice of name, she sat up and looked at him. His eyes were closed shut, and a snore was escaping his lips. She stifled a laugh and silently laid down on the pillow so as not to disturb him. From what she had heard, he had fought pretty hard earlier.
Yuffie closed her eyes slowly, reveling about everything that happened. Right after peace was finally restored among the worlds, the Heartless come again. It wasn't fair. They would have to call Sora once more.
She sighed and fell asleep, wishing everything was back to before the Heartless came.
~~~
Squall lay awake next to Yuffie. Her warm body heat radiated onto him. He was as tired as heck, but he couldn't fall asleep. All of the bodies littering Second District haunted him and danced around his mind. So many people lost to the Heartless...
His eyes stared into the darkness of the room. The moon, which usually shone through the windows, was covered in a black, foggy smoke.
Darkness. Everyone feared the darkness. No matter where you turn, it's there...in hearts, shadows, Heartless, or even in your friends...even in yourself...
He clenched and unclenched his fist. He had had enough. The Heartless took away everything he had ever had. He was going to find out who was controlling the Heartless again, and kill them. He would get into Third District, one way or another.
~~~
A dark, tall woman stood, surrounded by black. It held her there, the inky dark circling her and caressing her skin. Everything was too dark to see, except for her skin. It was all white, and it stood out against the black.
"Come to me, child. I need you. You are the key to everything I need. Come to me. Don't be frightened. Just follow me...follow me..." her voice said. It was smooth and gave off the impression of fingers slipping against water, just skimming the surface. It held high power.
The woman floated forward. Yuffie whimpered and screamed out, calling for anyone to come and save her. The woman shook a dark finger at her, as if scolding.
"I'll come back for you. You must lead me. I'll see you again, dear one," she whispered out. Her voice echoed and vibrated, refusing to leave her even if the woman did. ___
Yuffie gasped and opened her eyes. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and beads of cool sweat was dripping down her forehead. She yawned and closed her eyes again. She was not waking up now. The dream was just a nightmare, and it was already fading from her mind. She snuggled into the covers and against Squall...
Her eyes flew open. She turned her head sideways. Squall's face was right next to hers. She bit her lip to stop herself from yelling out.
She was about to get up and yell into his ear to wake up, but something held her in place. Squall looked so peaceful when he slept. The scowl on his face was not there. And a scowl is usually one of the only expressions his face used. But not now.
His lips looked soft and warm. His dark brown hair fell into his eyes. He almost looked like he was smiling, the way his lips were turned up. He almost looked comical, but in a sweet, cute way...
Squall turned over on his side and a sleepy daze. Yuffie frowned disappointed. She liked sleeping on the same bed with him, to be able to gaze at him without getting nasty comments out of him.
She reluctantly crawled over him and got out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes. A pair of shorts and a belt to hook her shurikens on, a fitting red shirt, and her white trademark headband.
With her clothes in hand, Yuffie went into the bathroom and shut the door quietly. She dressed quickly and ran a brush through her hair, and splashed cold water on her face before she walked back to the room.
'Strange. I wonder why my moving around didn't wake Squall,' she thought to herself briefly.
She stood next to the bedside and shook his shoulder. He didn't move. She sighed and shook him harder.
"Squall," she called in a singsong voice. "Time to wake up and smell the coffee!"
She heard him muttering something. She shook his shoulder harder. Why wouldn't he wake up?
"Squall! Squall, wake up!"
He opened his eyes. "Leon."
He got out of bed and grabbed some clothes. He had blue bags under his eyes. He stopped having those after the Heartless.
'He must have been up late thinking.'
She walked into the lobby. Aerith and Cloud were talking to each other outside of their room. They stopped talking when they saw her. They had fake smiles on their faces.
"Finally, you're up. Where's Leon?" Aerith asked quietly.
Yuffie stretched and yawned again. "I just had to wake him up. I almost had to use the Jaws of Life! Geez, he's usually up at dawn."
Cloud leaned against the wall and pulled his cape up to cover his face. Aerith stared at it with distaste. The bottom was ripped and torn and he looked completely ridiculous wearing it to cover his face.
"Everyone's still scared about the Heartless. We got hold of Sora, and he's going to be here soon. Apparently the world walls are down. Right now, no one is going into Second District..." Cloud trailed off. Aerith had her head on his chest. He kissed her hair.
Yuffie sighed. "No one knows anything?"
"Nothing."
Squall came out of the room in a fresh pair of clothes, gripping his Gunblade in one hand. He slung it over his shoulder.
"What's the verdict?" he asked.
"We don't know," Cloud answered.
"Well, we better go do something. I'm not just going to sit around and wait for the Heartless to destroy again. Let's go kill them."
"We can't kill all of them. They'll just keep coming back," Yuffie protested.
"You're right, Yuffie," Squall said.
She beamed.
"WE can't do anything, but Cloud and I can."
Yuffie rolled her eyes. Of course, when would Squall ever say she was right?
"Let's get something to eat before I pass out," Yuffie suggested, and stared down at her stomach. It was grumbling and demanding to be acknowledged.
"All right. Maybe food will take our minds off of this." Aerith rubbed her temples and walked with Cloud towards the café. Yuffie trailed behind their linked arms, and Squall even further behind her.
They took their usual table and sat down comfortably. Everything was quiet. The usual people who came to eat here were probably at their homes and waiting to see what would happen next. Aerith sat across Cloud, Yuffie sat next to Aerith, and Squall sat across Yuffie next to Cloud. (A/N: It's a bit confusing to read this but if you picture it it's easier to see.)
"Yuffie, why don't you go and get the food?" Aerith asked.
"Why me?"
"Just do it, Yuffie."
Yuffie grumbled and slipped out of her seat and came back a few minutes later carrying sandwiches. They were all leaning forward in their seats in deep conversation. Yuffie frowned and felt cut.
So this is why they wanted her to get the food. So they could talk without her being there.
Yuffie frowned and approached them. They stopped talking immediately when Yuffie sat down. She dished out the sandwiches angrily and bit into hers.
"What's wrong?" Aerith asked her while unwrapping her tuna sandwich.
"Nothing," she said harshly.
"Nothing, eh?" Cloud said around a mouthful of peanut butter.
"Yes, that's exactly right."
"Touchy, aren't we?" Squall said in a rhetorical fashion.
"No!"
"Is it that time of month?" Cloud persisted.
"No! I am totally fine!" she said angrily. She could feel her face heat up.
They ate their sandwiches in silence. Yuffie wanted to say something, but each time she opened her mouth, she glanced at her friends and shut it. She finished her sandwich and threw it away in the trashcan, then went back to the table.
Her heart fell. They were talking without her again. Something felt like it was moving at the back of her mind and clearing out the cobwebs.
'Yes, that's right, do you see them? They don't care at all about you. They just wait for you to leave so they can talk without you bothering them,' whispered a voice in her head. It seemed oddly familiar.
She hesitated, afraid to feel like a fool, but gave in to herself. "Are you...in my mind?" she whispered.
'Yes. I am always with you. I can hear every subconscious and conscious though in your head.'
Yuffie felt something again. But this time, she was reassured. She walked confidently up to her friends and sat down. Before she could stop herself, she asked, "So, what were you guys talking about when I was gone?"
"N-nothing," Aerith stuttered.
"Sure. I really believe you, Aerith. You're the worst liar their ever was," Yuffie said harshly. She touched her hand to her throat. Had she really just said that?
"I'm sorry, Aerith. I didn't mean to say that, I..."
Again, she felt the odd pulling sensation in her mind.
"...really meant to say you and everyone else here are the biggest idiots I know. I know how you really feel about me."
Yuffie's eyes widened. She really hadn't meant to say that!
"Don't flatter yourself," Squall said.
Aerith touched Yuffie's arm. "Are you okay?"
Her eyes filled with tears. "I don't know," she whispered. As soon as she felt the tugging in the back of her head, she forced it back. Strangely, she felt it throb with life. She shook her head. What was happening to her? Her mind was playing tricks on her.
She rubbed her temples and felt a head ache coming on.
"Knew she was PMSing," Cloud said to himself. He rolled up his sandwich in the plastic wrap and tossed it in the trash.
Aerith swatted his hand playfully.
'See,' said the voice in her head. 'She doesn't care about the mean things they say about you. And right in front of you, too.'
Yuffie rubbed her temples a little bit harder.
"Get-out!" she said through clenched teeth.
"What?" Aerith asked.
"Nothing," she said quickly.
Squall stood up and grabbed his Gunblade which was leaning against the wall. He held it over his shoulder and walked to the door, and turned around.
"I'm going to Second District to actually do something to figure this out," he said curtly.
They watched him go and didn't make a move to follow him. When he got like this, they knew better than to follow him.
Yuffie stood up after Squall left.
"I'm going to the hotel. I think I need to lie down," she said softly, and ran to the door. She pushed it open and saw Squall just ahead of her. She crept a few yards behind him. She saw him open Second District doors.
She hesitated. Did she want to follow him in there? Her shurikens probably couldn't do too much against the Heartless. She took a deep breath, and before she could change her mind she pushed the doors open and shut them behind her.
She took a few steps forward, looking for Squall. He wasn't there. She stared ahead. The sky above the District was just starting to turn black with the fog.
"Isn't fog usually white?" she said to herself while taking a few more timid steps forward.
'Not always, my dear,' said the familiar voice.
She concentrated hard on pushing it away.
The voice laughed. 'Each second that passes by I grow stronger and stronger in your mind. Since you obviously are too ignorant to do as I ask, I will soon take your body and lead your friends to me.'
Yuffie cried out and felt tugging at her mind, and for a few moments all she saw was black. She fell on the cement, gripping her head.
Someone was shaking her. She opened her eyes and screamed. She cowered below her. HER. The woman from her dream. It hit her why the voice sounded so familiar.
She was wrapped in the blackness that seemed to be alive, groping around her and caressing her skin like the mist that comes from a waterfall, only thicker.
The woman smiled down at her, and she felt a hard, stabbing pain in her head. She cried out again and felt tears slipping out of her eyes. Colors flashed behind her eyelids. Red and black, then back to red again.
"That's right; I never told you my name. You can call me...Yvonne."
She squeezed her eyes shut and shrieked. The woman smiled and said, "What the hell? Yuffie? Look at me!"
She squeezed the tears out of her eyes to see better and the vision of the woman drifted away. It was Squall who had been there all along. He was kneeling down next to her and was slapping her face.
When she looked up at him, a look of pure terror on her face, he stopped slapping her.
"What is wrong with you? You were cowering on the ground and screaming and crying, and when I tried to stop you, you went ballistic," he said in an unknown tone of voice. Was he actually...concerned?
Yuffie wiped her eyes. "I'm fine."
She stood up unsteadily but balanced herself. She touched her stinging cheek from where Squall had been slapping her. She pulled her hand away and stared at her fingers. They were wet with her tears.
She heaved a shaky sigh and had one hand on a shuriken.
"What were you doing in Second District? If anyone was to come with me, it should have been Squall. Not Aerith, and definitely not you."
"I can do whatever I want. The last time I checked, I was my own person."
She felt stirring in her head, and a stab of pain. She cried out and gripped her head. She bit her lip and tried to ignore the pain. She could have sworn she heard the woman laughing in the back of her head, taunting her.
"Go back to Aerith and get to sleep. You're obviously not well."
"I'm fine! Leave me alone, okay?"
Squall raised his eyebrows. Yuffie scowled and ran ahead of him in an attempt to ignore his existence. She REALLY couldn't deal with him at the moment.
She heard his trail of footsteps behind her. Soon they got more and more distant. She looked over her shoulder. She was surrounded by black.
"Squall!" she called out, whimpering. She saw a flick of white skin from the corner of her eye. She turned around in a circle, and ran as fast as she could.
She kept running until her side was aching. She staggered and something was holding her back. She couldn't move.
'I can't move! I can't move!' she thought frantically.
"Squall!" she called out again.
She heard Squall's voice. It was distant, saying her name and words of comfort.
"This is only a sliver of my power," she heard the voice say.
She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them. She was buried in Squall's arms, sobbing and trying to run away.
He stared down at her and didn't let her go. He held her there. She broke down and squeezed her hands around his waist, sobbing into his chest and wetting his shirt. He remained silent until she pulled away, wiping her eyes.
"I'm bringing you back to the hotel. The Heartless won't go into the hotel."
Yuffie wiped her eyes, feeling embarrassed. This was the second time he had seen her break-down. She must be going crazy.
She walked sullenly to the hotel and into her room. Squall closed the door behind her and left the building. She collapsed on the bed.
She marveled at what Squall had done for her. He had been so nice. He had never held her in his arms like that, not ever. It made her feel so happy that she could ignore Yvonne's messages in her head, and her strange appearances.
With a smile on her face, she drifted into sleep.
~~~
Squall strode across the cement pavement. Each Shadow that ran up to meet him got a taste of his Gunblade, instead. He wasn't sure what had just happened with Yuffie, but something made her break down.
She started screaming his name and ran around blindly, seeing right through him like he wasn't there. Finally he had grabbed her and held her close. She calmed down then broke into tears. The only thing he thought he could do was hold her like no one else ever had.
He shook his head and sliced through another Shadow like it was a slice of bread and opened the doors to First District. Aerith, Cloud, and Cid were gathered around the Accessory Shop. Cid was holding out a gummi block and admiring it.
Squall stood next to them and studied the block.
"Hm. Seems good," he said. Cid nodded his head and chewed on his toothpick. He used to smoke, but Yuffie had convinced him to quit and now he had resorted to toothpicks.
"Have you seen Yuffie anywhere?" Aerith asked Squall. "She said she was going back to the hotel but I knew she wouldn't be stupid enough to go alone."
"She started acting strange so I sent her to bed," he said absently.
"WHAT?" everyone but Squall exclaimed together.
"Yeah." He gave them a look.
What was the problem? The Heartless wouldn't go into the hotel, and nevertheless, Yuffie could fend for herself.
"B-but it's dangerous for her to be alone!" Aerith sputtered.
"Awww," said Cid. "She'll be fine, that 'un."
Aerith sighed and crossed her arms. "I'm worried about her. She didn't seem all to well when she left the café."
Squall wondered what she would think if she had seen Yuffie when he had seen her. He gave her a hard look and decided against bringing it up.
"I guess I'll just go check on her a little later..." Aerith trailed off, shaking her head. "This is worse than the first time. Everyone is so afraid."
Cloud wrapped his arms around her and said into her hair, "Don't worry. Sora is on his way. I'm sure we'll get this figured out and get behind who raised the Heartless again."
Aerith smiled and leaned into him.
___
Every passing day, Yuffie started becoming more and more unlike herself. Big, blue bags appeared under her bloodshot eyes. Her hands trembled with every movement, and the littlest noise made her jump.
When Sora came in his gummi ship, she had stared at him blankly and said nothing. When she did talk to everyone, she sounded different, so unlike herself that everyone thought she was coming down with something. Her voice even shifted to a different tone.
Then there were times when she acted like her normal self, only much more frightened. She would practically crawl on the ground to them, mumbling incoherent words and asking for help.
Aerith bit her lip and watched Yuffie from across the room. She was sitting at the table in the Green Room, holding up a glass of water. It shook in her hands. She raised it to her lips, but it spilled all over her first.
"Oh...my...I guess I'll have to...clean that up," she said blankly. She stood up in her chair and sat on the bed, her clothes dripping. Aerith's eyes filled with tears. What was happening to her?
The doctors that came to see her couldn't figure out what was wrong, but they blamed it on the encore of Heartless. And still no one could get into Third District.
Squall and Cloud opened the door of the room quietly, their clothes covered in black Heartless blood. They stared at Yuffie motionlessly.
Yuffie turned her head to them mechanically. She smiled and said, "I'm so glad all of you are here now. I've been waiting to see you all in one group. On the fifth of June, two weeks from now, at midnight, you will come to Third District to save your friend. The doors will be unlocked. Prepare to fight for your lives."
Aerith walked over to her and gripped her shoulder. "Yuffie, stop it, stop it, please, get a hold of yourself!" Tears brimmed over and spilled down her cheeks.
Something flickered behind Yuffie's eyes. "Aerith..." she said weakly. She collapsed on the ground and convulsed. Black mist encircled her body and covered her from view. Aerith screamed.
Before she disappeared, Yuffie whispered, "Sorry..."
Aerith fell onto the floor where Yuffie's body had been. She touched the floor hesitantly, then harder, patting it, trying to bring her back in vain.
"Yuffie! Yuffie, stop playing games! Stop! Please! Come back...!" Aerith cried. Cloud stood at the doorframe, stunned. Squall stood next to him. He had just seen her disappear, with the flick of a wrist and a blink of an eye she was gone.
Aerith cried hysterically. Cloud snapped out of his trance and ran over to her and picked her up from the ground and held her like a baby on his lap, holding her head to his shoulder. She sobbed and beat his chest.
Squall slid down to the floor, his head in his hands. He had lost her, and this time she wouldn't just be mistaken gone when she was really with a friend. She was gone, and he had no clue what to do next.
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I LOVE this story so far! I know there are a few things I can make better, but I really don't know what to do with them. Please, please, PLEASE tell me what you think of this one.
Can you figure out who the villain behind all of this is? It's kind of obvious, isn't it? I think...at least. I hope it was long enough for you. I know some things are unclear but it will start to become more apparent in the oncoming chappies. (Chapters for all of those brain-dead out there. Oh, wait, I am, too! Yippee! Okay, now I'm REALLY scaring myself.)
By October Girl
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Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or the characters or anything. I MIGHT decide to make a few characters, but I'll notify you if I do.
Note: Read and review! Tell me what you think, c'mon, you know you want to!
KEY: '~~~' means a character shift
'___' means time lapse
______________________________________________________________________
Yuffie stood outside the hotel of Second District. The breeze ruffled her short, black hair that was always held back by a white headband. She had her hands in the back pockets of her shorts. She gripped a shuriken in her hand and watched as people scattered and ran.
Confused, Yuffie pushed past the people screaming and yelling out names of friends and family. Her eyes searched the crowd for Aerith, Cloud, or Squall.
She knew they all thought she was just a baby. Compared to them, she was. She was only about seventeen, going on eighteen, and they were in their twenties. Aerith acted almost motherly at times, Cloud like a consoling older friend, and Squall a hateful, annoying older brother. The way they tried to protect her and leave her out of important conversations tore her apart.
After fifteen minutes of unsuccessful searching, her eyes stung with tears. She wiped her eyes in vain. The tears kept coming.
'What kind of ninja ARE you? All you ever do is cry.'
Squall's words from two months ago repeated over and over in her head. It was true. She wasn't a good ninja, she was probably the worst, most unworthy ninja that there was.
People ran past her, heading towards First District. The word 'Heartless' caught her attention. Heartless? Those had been defeated over four months ago. What was happening?
Alarmed, Yuffie followed the crowd into First District. Everyone was shoving and yelling nasty words at each other, and pushing at the door. It flung open and the large abyss of different people pushed to get inside.
Yuffie spared a glance behind her and did a double take. Small, little pools of inky darkness spread across Second District, coming from Third District. From the spots raised the ugly, yellow-eyed shadow Heartless that spurred fear in every heart in every world.
She was the last one in to First District. She slammed the doors shut and collapsed on them, breathing hard. What if her friends were still out there? As far as she knew, they weren't armed for combat. The last she had known was that Squall was in the Waterway and Aerith and Cloud were with Cid in one of the shops near the hotel.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and counted to three.
"One, two, three. One two three. One, two three," she said softly to herself. The wave of people spread out, their voices mixing together to make one large octave of sound. The three ducklings glanced out of their shop, confused, and even the clueless Moogles were running about.
"Yuffie! YUFFIE!"
Startled, she looked up. Aerith, clad in the usual pink, was running toward her, looking relieved.
"Yuffie," she said again once she got to her. "Where were you? Everyone is running around in a panic. I sent Cloud and Squall out looking for you!"
"I can take care of myself," Yuffie said, and quickly wiped her cheeks of her tears. "I thought you were all in Second District."
"We were. I have no clue what has been happening, but whatever it is it's involved with the Third District. Heartless are coming out through the doors, and the whole sky is pitch black with what looks like a strange fog."
"The sky is always black."
"Not like this. Right here you can see the moon and the stars, and the sky is bluish looking, but not there. It's so ugly," she said with bitterness.
"What are we going to do?" Yuffie brushed the hair out of her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest in a means of making herself feel protected.
"First we have to get Cloud and Squall back, then we're going to have to find a leader for us. This town should have had a mayor a long time ago. Everything was out of order with the first wave of Heartless."
Yuffie bit her lip. She hoped to God that Squall and Cloud was all right. Even if they sometimes got on her nerves, especially Squall, she still wanted them safe. Aerith looked at her in sympathy, as if she could tell what she was thinking.
She wrapped an arm around Yuffie and said, "They'll be all right. Don't worry about them. They'll come back soon enough."
~~~
Squall and Cloud walked across Second District. The weaker class of Heartless surrounded them. He glanced over at Cloud. His blonde hair was falling into his eyes and a layer of sweat covered his face, although it was mostly hidden by his bold red cape.
Squall gripped his Gunblade and heaved it high over his head and swung down hard and sliced through one of the Heartless. It screamed in a high pitched voice. It sounded so inhuman, unlike anything he had ever heard in his life.
He struck again, splattering black ink like blood across his white shirt. Cloud battled with the other side.
The blood on his arms started to sting and smoke on his arms. Without a word he wiped it off and made one large swoosh with the Gunblade and sliced through the remaining Heartless.
"Hey," Cloud whined. "I wanted to do that."
"Sorry," he said bluntly.
Cloud heaved a heavy breath in and sounded sad and defeated. "We've been looking for Yuffie for almost a half hour, Leon." He motioned his hand to the lifeless people lying slain across the cement. "Maybe we should start checking bodies." He choked on his words.
"No," he said harshly. "Yuffie is not dead. I can feel it. Do you really think she would give up that easily?"
"No...I guess not."
"C'mon, let's go."
Cloud reached out and grabbed Squall's sleeve.
"We have to go back to Aerith. If we keep fighting these things we'll collapse. We can look for her later."
Squall removed Cloud's hand on his arm. "You can go if you want."
The truth was, for the split second Cloud had implied Yuffie was dead, terror had struck his heart. He had been thinking along the same lines, but when Cloud had said it, it was like making it final. The only way he could keep going was to fight.
"No, we're leaving, now."
Squall ignored him. He was thinking back to all of the mean things he had said to Yuffie, and did to her, and he had never gotten to say he was sorry. He had always thought he was protecting her from the worst when he turned out to be the true enemy.
He knew she could protect herself. Instead of praising her for a job well done when they practiced, he pushed her down to a lower level and criticized her. He was doing the right thing. You can never get too full of yourself, because that's when you fail, right?
Now he realized he had to be wrong. He never noticed how much she must have craved for praise. She was always going out of her way to take the longer path, or push herself harder.
He wasn't really surprised. She was so much younger than all of them. She probably always felt she had to do everything right or else.
'Or else what?' something whispered across his mind.
Squall started walking to the First District doors like it was his idea to turn back.
"Are you coming or what?" he called over his shoulder to Cloud.
He heard his heavy footsteps running to catch up with him.
He pushed the door open, his mind screaming. Yuffie was gone. Gone out of his reach. He had seen her last just today, getting ready to do something or other to annoy someone...
He stopped short. Aerith and Yuffie were both sitting at the café, looking worn out. He almost passed out. Was this a hallucination?
Cloud ran past him toward the table and lifted Yuffie high in the air like a father and little kid would and swung her around. She laughed and squirmed, embarrassed at his show. Squall composed himself and walked towards the table.
~~~
They were back. Yuffie's fear washed away like it was never there and was replaced with contentment. Well, as content as you could get in the situation. When Cloud released her she sat back down at the table.
She looked around, wondering what happened to Squall.
She saw him headed towards them, his face as emotionless as ever. When was the last time she had seen him smile?
Squall. A name from her past, present, and future. Always stoic, impassive, and indifferent. He was always separated from everyone else, lost in his own thoughts. He only cared about himself and what he wanted.
He pulled out a chair and sat with all of them.
"Did you learn anything while you were out?" Aerith asked anxiously.
Cloud shook his head. "Nothing, whatsoever. All we know is that the Heartless are back at full force. And that Third District is locked with an unknown mechanism."
"Unknown? What do you mean?" Yuffie asked shrilly.
"As in we don't know what it is or how to open it," Squall answered coolly.
"Well excu-u-use me!" she replied just as coolly, stretching out the word 'excuse'.
Underneath her indifferent composure, she felt scared and frightened, just like a mouse up against a cat. They had no clue what they were dealing with. For all they knew, Maleficent had risen from her dark grave and taken over the Heartless.
____
Yuffie shivered in her towel after taking a cold shower. Squall had used up all of the hot water and there was no way she was going to bed covered in dust and bloody scratches. She put on her pajamas which consisted off a pair of flannel pants and a matching tank top covered in little fluffy clouds.
After a gathering in First District, a group of people, including her and Aerith, Cloud, and Squall ventured into Second District to get to the hotel. Having number in groups, most of the Heartless left them alone.
She opened the door of the bathroom and the light contrasted next to the darkness of the room. Squall just had to turn off the lights.
She flicked the switch in the bathroom and the whole room was cast into darkness. She stumbled over to the bed and tried crawling over Squall's sleeping lump form.
Squall's hand shot out from under the blanket and grabbed her ankle. She shrieked and fell over onto the other side of the bed after jumping over him at least a mile high.
"You are definitely not sleeping on the same bed as me."
"It's your turn on the floor," she protested.
"It is not."
Yuffie sighed. "I know, I know, but I don't want to sleep on the floor. It's freezing cold and with your snoring combined I can't go to sleep."
"I don't snore."
"Yes you do."
"No I don't.
"Yes you do.
"No I-SHUT UP!"
"I'm sleeping on the bed with you and if you don't like it YOU can sleep on the floor."
Squall didn't answer.
"Good," she said happily. She had actually won a battle with Squall!
"'Night, Squall."
When he didn't answer with a protest of the choice of name, she sat up and looked at him. His eyes were closed shut, and a snore was escaping his lips. She stifled a laugh and silently laid down on the pillow so as not to disturb him. From what she had heard, he had fought pretty hard earlier.
Yuffie closed her eyes slowly, reveling about everything that happened. Right after peace was finally restored among the worlds, the Heartless come again. It wasn't fair. They would have to call Sora once more.
She sighed and fell asleep, wishing everything was back to before the Heartless came.
~~~
Squall lay awake next to Yuffie. Her warm body heat radiated onto him. He was as tired as heck, but he couldn't fall asleep. All of the bodies littering Second District haunted him and danced around his mind. So many people lost to the Heartless...
His eyes stared into the darkness of the room. The moon, which usually shone through the windows, was covered in a black, foggy smoke.
Darkness. Everyone feared the darkness. No matter where you turn, it's there...in hearts, shadows, Heartless, or even in your friends...even in yourself...
He clenched and unclenched his fist. He had had enough. The Heartless took away everything he had ever had. He was going to find out who was controlling the Heartless again, and kill them. He would get into Third District, one way or another.
~~~
A dark, tall woman stood, surrounded by black. It held her there, the inky dark circling her and caressing her skin. Everything was too dark to see, except for her skin. It was all white, and it stood out against the black.
"Come to me, child. I need you. You are the key to everything I need. Come to me. Don't be frightened. Just follow me...follow me..." her voice said. It was smooth and gave off the impression of fingers slipping against water, just skimming the surface. It held high power.
The woman floated forward. Yuffie whimpered and screamed out, calling for anyone to come and save her. The woman shook a dark finger at her, as if scolding.
"I'll come back for you. You must lead me. I'll see you again, dear one," she whispered out. Her voice echoed and vibrated, refusing to leave her even if the woman did. ___
Yuffie gasped and opened her eyes. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and beads of cool sweat was dripping down her forehead. She yawned and closed her eyes again. She was not waking up now. The dream was just a nightmare, and it was already fading from her mind. She snuggled into the covers and against Squall...
Her eyes flew open. She turned her head sideways. Squall's face was right next to hers. She bit her lip to stop herself from yelling out.
She was about to get up and yell into his ear to wake up, but something held her in place. Squall looked so peaceful when he slept. The scowl on his face was not there. And a scowl is usually one of the only expressions his face used. But not now.
His lips looked soft and warm. His dark brown hair fell into his eyes. He almost looked like he was smiling, the way his lips were turned up. He almost looked comical, but in a sweet, cute way...
Squall turned over on his side and a sleepy daze. Yuffie frowned disappointed. She liked sleeping on the same bed with him, to be able to gaze at him without getting nasty comments out of him.
She reluctantly crawled over him and got out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes. A pair of shorts and a belt to hook her shurikens on, a fitting red shirt, and her white trademark headband.
With her clothes in hand, Yuffie went into the bathroom and shut the door quietly. She dressed quickly and ran a brush through her hair, and splashed cold water on her face before she walked back to the room.
'Strange. I wonder why my moving around didn't wake Squall,' she thought to herself briefly.
She stood next to the bedside and shook his shoulder. He didn't move. She sighed and shook him harder.
"Squall," she called in a singsong voice. "Time to wake up and smell the coffee!"
She heard him muttering something. She shook his shoulder harder. Why wouldn't he wake up?
"Squall! Squall, wake up!"
He opened his eyes. "Leon."
He got out of bed and grabbed some clothes. He had blue bags under his eyes. He stopped having those after the Heartless.
'He must have been up late thinking.'
She walked into the lobby. Aerith and Cloud were talking to each other outside of their room. They stopped talking when they saw her. They had fake smiles on their faces.
"Finally, you're up. Where's Leon?" Aerith asked quietly.
Yuffie stretched and yawned again. "I just had to wake him up. I almost had to use the Jaws of Life! Geez, he's usually up at dawn."
Cloud leaned against the wall and pulled his cape up to cover his face. Aerith stared at it with distaste. The bottom was ripped and torn and he looked completely ridiculous wearing it to cover his face.
"Everyone's still scared about the Heartless. We got hold of Sora, and he's going to be here soon. Apparently the world walls are down. Right now, no one is going into Second District..." Cloud trailed off. Aerith had her head on his chest. He kissed her hair.
Yuffie sighed. "No one knows anything?"
"Nothing."
Squall came out of the room in a fresh pair of clothes, gripping his Gunblade in one hand. He slung it over his shoulder.
"What's the verdict?" he asked.
"We don't know," Cloud answered.
"Well, we better go do something. I'm not just going to sit around and wait for the Heartless to destroy again. Let's go kill them."
"We can't kill all of them. They'll just keep coming back," Yuffie protested.
"You're right, Yuffie," Squall said.
She beamed.
"WE can't do anything, but Cloud and I can."
Yuffie rolled her eyes. Of course, when would Squall ever say she was right?
"Let's get something to eat before I pass out," Yuffie suggested, and stared down at her stomach. It was grumbling and demanding to be acknowledged.
"All right. Maybe food will take our minds off of this." Aerith rubbed her temples and walked with Cloud towards the café. Yuffie trailed behind their linked arms, and Squall even further behind her.
They took their usual table and sat down comfortably. Everything was quiet. The usual people who came to eat here were probably at their homes and waiting to see what would happen next. Aerith sat across Cloud, Yuffie sat next to Aerith, and Squall sat across Yuffie next to Cloud. (A/N: It's a bit confusing to read this but if you picture it it's easier to see.)
"Yuffie, why don't you go and get the food?" Aerith asked.
"Why me?"
"Just do it, Yuffie."
Yuffie grumbled and slipped out of her seat and came back a few minutes later carrying sandwiches. They were all leaning forward in their seats in deep conversation. Yuffie frowned and felt cut.
So this is why they wanted her to get the food. So they could talk without her being there.
Yuffie frowned and approached them. They stopped talking immediately when Yuffie sat down. She dished out the sandwiches angrily and bit into hers.
"What's wrong?" Aerith asked her while unwrapping her tuna sandwich.
"Nothing," she said harshly.
"Nothing, eh?" Cloud said around a mouthful of peanut butter.
"Yes, that's exactly right."
"Touchy, aren't we?" Squall said in a rhetorical fashion.
"No!"
"Is it that time of month?" Cloud persisted.
"No! I am totally fine!" she said angrily. She could feel her face heat up.
They ate their sandwiches in silence. Yuffie wanted to say something, but each time she opened her mouth, she glanced at her friends and shut it. She finished her sandwich and threw it away in the trashcan, then went back to the table.
Her heart fell. They were talking without her again. Something felt like it was moving at the back of her mind and clearing out the cobwebs.
'Yes, that's right, do you see them? They don't care at all about you. They just wait for you to leave so they can talk without you bothering them,' whispered a voice in her head. It seemed oddly familiar.
She hesitated, afraid to feel like a fool, but gave in to herself. "Are you...in my mind?" she whispered.
'Yes. I am always with you. I can hear every subconscious and conscious though in your head.'
Yuffie felt something again. But this time, she was reassured. She walked confidently up to her friends and sat down. Before she could stop herself, she asked, "So, what were you guys talking about when I was gone?"
"N-nothing," Aerith stuttered.
"Sure. I really believe you, Aerith. You're the worst liar their ever was," Yuffie said harshly. She touched her hand to her throat. Had she really just said that?
"I'm sorry, Aerith. I didn't mean to say that, I..."
Again, she felt the odd pulling sensation in her mind.
"...really meant to say you and everyone else here are the biggest idiots I know. I know how you really feel about me."
Yuffie's eyes widened. She really hadn't meant to say that!
"Don't flatter yourself," Squall said.
Aerith touched Yuffie's arm. "Are you okay?"
Her eyes filled with tears. "I don't know," she whispered. As soon as she felt the tugging in the back of her head, she forced it back. Strangely, she felt it throb with life. She shook her head. What was happening to her? Her mind was playing tricks on her.
She rubbed her temples and felt a head ache coming on.
"Knew she was PMSing," Cloud said to himself. He rolled up his sandwich in the plastic wrap and tossed it in the trash.
Aerith swatted his hand playfully.
'See,' said the voice in her head. 'She doesn't care about the mean things they say about you. And right in front of you, too.'
Yuffie rubbed her temples a little bit harder.
"Get-out!" she said through clenched teeth.
"What?" Aerith asked.
"Nothing," she said quickly.
Squall stood up and grabbed his Gunblade which was leaning against the wall. He held it over his shoulder and walked to the door, and turned around.
"I'm going to Second District to actually do something to figure this out," he said curtly.
They watched him go and didn't make a move to follow him. When he got like this, they knew better than to follow him.
Yuffie stood up after Squall left.
"I'm going to the hotel. I think I need to lie down," she said softly, and ran to the door. She pushed it open and saw Squall just ahead of her. She crept a few yards behind him. She saw him open Second District doors.
She hesitated. Did she want to follow him in there? Her shurikens probably couldn't do too much against the Heartless. She took a deep breath, and before she could change her mind she pushed the doors open and shut them behind her.
She took a few steps forward, looking for Squall. He wasn't there. She stared ahead. The sky above the District was just starting to turn black with the fog.
"Isn't fog usually white?" she said to herself while taking a few more timid steps forward.
'Not always, my dear,' said the familiar voice.
She concentrated hard on pushing it away.
The voice laughed. 'Each second that passes by I grow stronger and stronger in your mind. Since you obviously are too ignorant to do as I ask, I will soon take your body and lead your friends to me.'
Yuffie cried out and felt tugging at her mind, and for a few moments all she saw was black. She fell on the cement, gripping her head.
Someone was shaking her. She opened her eyes and screamed. She cowered below her. HER. The woman from her dream. It hit her why the voice sounded so familiar.
She was wrapped in the blackness that seemed to be alive, groping around her and caressing her skin like the mist that comes from a waterfall, only thicker.
The woman smiled down at her, and she felt a hard, stabbing pain in her head. She cried out again and felt tears slipping out of her eyes. Colors flashed behind her eyelids. Red and black, then back to red again.
"That's right; I never told you my name. You can call me...Yvonne."
She squeezed her eyes shut and shrieked. The woman smiled and said, "What the hell? Yuffie? Look at me!"
She squeezed the tears out of her eyes to see better and the vision of the woman drifted away. It was Squall who had been there all along. He was kneeling down next to her and was slapping her face.
When she looked up at him, a look of pure terror on her face, he stopped slapping her.
"What is wrong with you? You were cowering on the ground and screaming and crying, and when I tried to stop you, you went ballistic," he said in an unknown tone of voice. Was he actually...concerned?
Yuffie wiped her eyes. "I'm fine."
She stood up unsteadily but balanced herself. She touched her stinging cheek from where Squall had been slapping her. She pulled her hand away and stared at her fingers. They were wet with her tears.
She heaved a shaky sigh and had one hand on a shuriken.
"What were you doing in Second District? If anyone was to come with me, it should have been Squall. Not Aerith, and definitely not you."
"I can do whatever I want. The last time I checked, I was my own person."
She felt stirring in her head, and a stab of pain. She cried out and gripped her head. She bit her lip and tried to ignore the pain. She could have sworn she heard the woman laughing in the back of her head, taunting her.
"Go back to Aerith and get to sleep. You're obviously not well."
"I'm fine! Leave me alone, okay?"
Squall raised his eyebrows. Yuffie scowled and ran ahead of him in an attempt to ignore his existence. She REALLY couldn't deal with him at the moment.
She heard his trail of footsteps behind her. Soon they got more and more distant. She looked over her shoulder. She was surrounded by black.
"Squall!" she called out, whimpering. She saw a flick of white skin from the corner of her eye. She turned around in a circle, and ran as fast as she could.
She kept running until her side was aching. She staggered and something was holding her back. She couldn't move.
'I can't move! I can't move!' she thought frantically.
"Squall!" she called out again.
She heard Squall's voice. It was distant, saying her name and words of comfort.
"This is only a sliver of my power," she heard the voice say.
She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them. She was buried in Squall's arms, sobbing and trying to run away.
He stared down at her and didn't let her go. He held her there. She broke down and squeezed her hands around his waist, sobbing into his chest and wetting his shirt. He remained silent until she pulled away, wiping her eyes.
"I'm bringing you back to the hotel. The Heartless won't go into the hotel."
Yuffie wiped her eyes, feeling embarrassed. This was the second time he had seen her break-down. She must be going crazy.
She walked sullenly to the hotel and into her room. Squall closed the door behind her and left the building. She collapsed on the bed.
She marveled at what Squall had done for her. He had been so nice. He had never held her in his arms like that, not ever. It made her feel so happy that she could ignore Yvonne's messages in her head, and her strange appearances.
With a smile on her face, she drifted into sleep.
~~~
Squall strode across the cement pavement. Each Shadow that ran up to meet him got a taste of his Gunblade, instead. He wasn't sure what had just happened with Yuffie, but something made her break down.
She started screaming his name and ran around blindly, seeing right through him like he wasn't there. Finally he had grabbed her and held her close. She calmed down then broke into tears. The only thing he thought he could do was hold her like no one else ever had.
He shook his head and sliced through another Shadow like it was a slice of bread and opened the doors to First District. Aerith, Cloud, and Cid were gathered around the Accessory Shop. Cid was holding out a gummi block and admiring it.
Squall stood next to them and studied the block.
"Hm. Seems good," he said. Cid nodded his head and chewed on his toothpick. He used to smoke, but Yuffie had convinced him to quit and now he had resorted to toothpicks.
"Have you seen Yuffie anywhere?" Aerith asked Squall. "She said she was going back to the hotel but I knew she wouldn't be stupid enough to go alone."
"She started acting strange so I sent her to bed," he said absently.
"WHAT?" everyone but Squall exclaimed together.
"Yeah." He gave them a look.
What was the problem? The Heartless wouldn't go into the hotel, and nevertheless, Yuffie could fend for herself.
"B-but it's dangerous for her to be alone!" Aerith sputtered.
"Awww," said Cid. "She'll be fine, that 'un."
Aerith sighed and crossed her arms. "I'm worried about her. She didn't seem all to well when she left the café."
Squall wondered what she would think if she had seen Yuffie when he had seen her. He gave her a hard look and decided against bringing it up.
"I guess I'll just go check on her a little later..." Aerith trailed off, shaking her head. "This is worse than the first time. Everyone is so afraid."
Cloud wrapped his arms around her and said into her hair, "Don't worry. Sora is on his way. I'm sure we'll get this figured out and get behind who raised the Heartless again."
Aerith smiled and leaned into him.
___
Every passing day, Yuffie started becoming more and more unlike herself. Big, blue bags appeared under her bloodshot eyes. Her hands trembled with every movement, and the littlest noise made her jump.
When Sora came in his gummi ship, she had stared at him blankly and said nothing. When she did talk to everyone, she sounded different, so unlike herself that everyone thought she was coming down with something. Her voice even shifted to a different tone.
Then there were times when she acted like her normal self, only much more frightened. She would practically crawl on the ground to them, mumbling incoherent words and asking for help.
Aerith bit her lip and watched Yuffie from across the room. She was sitting at the table in the Green Room, holding up a glass of water. It shook in her hands. She raised it to her lips, but it spilled all over her first.
"Oh...my...I guess I'll have to...clean that up," she said blankly. She stood up in her chair and sat on the bed, her clothes dripping. Aerith's eyes filled with tears. What was happening to her?
The doctors that came to see her couldn't figure out what was wrong, but they blamed it on the encore of Heartless. And still no one could get into Third District.
Squall and Cloud opened the door of the room quietly, their clothes covered in black Heartless blood. They stared at Yuffie motionlessly.
Yuffie turned her head to them mechanically. She smiled and said, "I'm so glad all of you are here now. I've been waiting to see you all in one group. On the fifth of June, two weeks from now, at midnight, you will come to Third District to save your friend. The doors will be unlocked. Prepare to fight for your lives."
Aerith walked over to her and gripped her shoulder. "Yuffie, stop it, stop it, please, get a hold of yourself!" Tears brimmed over and spilled down her cheeks.
Something flickered behind Yuffie's eyes. "Aerith..." she said weakly. She collapsed on the ground and convulsed. Black mist encircled her body and covered her from view. Aerith screamed.
Before she disappeared, Yuffie whispered, "Sorry..."
Aerith fell onto the floor where Yuffie's body had been. She touched the floor hesitantly, then harder, patting it, trying to bring her back in vain.
"Yuffie! Yuffie, stop playing games! Stop! Please! Come back...!" Aerith cried. Cloud stood at the doorframe, stunned. Squall stood next to him. He had just seen her disappear, with the flick of a wrist and a blink of an eye she was gone.
Aerith cried hysterically. Cloud snapped out of his trance and ran over to her and picked her up from the ground and held her like a baby on his lap, holding her head to his shoulder. She sobbed and beat his chest.
Squall slid down to the floor, his head in his hands. He had lost her, and this time she wouldn't just be mistaken gone when she was really with a friend. She was gone, and he had no clue what to do next.
______________________________________________________________________
I LOVE this story so far! I know there are a few things I can make better, but I really don't know what to do with them. Please, please, PLEASE tell me what you think of this one.
Can you figure out who the villain behind all of this is? It's kind of obvious, isn't it? I think...at least. I hope it was long enough for you. I know some things are unclear but it will start to become more apparent in the oncoming chappies. (Chapters for all of those brain-dead out there. Oh, wait, I am, too! Yippee! Okay, now I'm REALLY scaring myself.)