On a Woman's Shadow
Yuffie Kisaragi always felt that she was forever living on other women's shadows, be they alive or dead, everyone she knew looked at her through the various women on her life that she could never hope to surpass.
First it had being her mother, the strong and beautiful former ruler of Wutai, that had lead their land through one of the bloodiest wars against Shinra for years, who had faced the white haired general without fear and died with honor. Who was venerated beyond death as her daughter was taken as hostage and the war ended with a forced treaty. She saw her image in her father eyes when she was finally returned to her motherland, as a sign of goodwill and power, and she was part of the reason she left; because she could not bear to be a mirage of a dead woman and the sight of the land that her mother had taken so much pride in turned into a tourist trap.
Then comes Aeris, sweet, calm, self-sacrificing Aeris, who everyone in Avalanche, from Cloud to even the supposedly emotionless Vincent looked in adoration at the kind creature. She loved her, the same as her mother, but she hated her for not asking for help and searching for the most self destructing way of summonding holy. To her, Aeris was a martyr and a fool, but most of all a dear friend. A dear friend whose shadow she couldn't't escape, whose constant pink ribbon wrapped on her arm was more of a burden, besides a necessary equipment against status effects.
With and after Aeris come Tifa, mature and maternal Tifa, who took over Aeris role on their party, who cared, who nurtured, who was understanding, who was beautiful and graceful like Aeris and who she could't compare with, as she was just a brat, so she just took her own role, and after breaking down once, just once to cry for her dead friend, she laughed, bothered and cheered the rest with Cait Sith the best as she could, because she was just a brat, even if she could cut a bolder with a swing of her shuriken or sneak out a ship without detection. She was just an annoyance.
As she grew to knew him, she realized that with Vincent Valentine she was always overshadow by his dear Doctor Lucrecia Crescent, and even if she was an idiotic and irresponsible woman who didn't't love him, the ex-Turk would never completely let go off her. In his eyes, she would always be the beautiful, dramatic victim of Hojo, instead of acomplice, and had excused every action on her part as his own fault, even if she had been a grown woman experimenting on her unborn child. She was just not good enough, even if she saved his hide from scantly clad physopath women or made him laugh when no one else could, she was not a dead woman on a cave on her holy pedestal whispering on his mind.
Shelke, with the added bonus of having the dammed doctor memories, had the oh so dark past, the oh so precious connection to him. She couldn't compare with that, as she guessed long before the other that the ungrateful vampire was on the woman's cave, and it could be the nineteen year old but ten year old looking girl who would be bringing the missing member of their group back. The two were so similar, with their '...', cryptic conversations and we are going to let go of the past... Eventually. In her opinion, they, as well as Cloud should take therapy to archive it though. Vincent had mastered several angst materias during his life after all.
Finally there was Shalua, dear old Shalua, who Reeve grow starry eyed every day when a lapse on a conversation came up, he saw a picture of her or he enter a room that triggered a memory of her. She was like a Aeris in a way, calm and kind, self sacrificing, but different, because she fought for so long to actually stay with what she was fighting for. It was one of the things she had a harder time forgiving Shelke for, for not understanding her sister sacrifice, and one of her proudest moments when she finally, even if it was by the vampire side, with who she thought it would be her, she revived her emotions.
So Yuffie Kisaragi relegated herself to be the brat, the child, the protected, even if she has a ruler, a fighter, a assassin, for the ones she was supposedly the closest to. Because she knew she could never over come so many people for others to see the real her, and she feared, in the deepest of her heart, that they really wouldn't't care too, so she goofed, pranked, smiled, as she grew empty, so empty, and prepared herself for her destiny and began to shape Wutai back to what it one was even before Godo's rule was officially over.
A proud twenty five year old dressed in traditional wutain wear was bowing in front of a golden statue of a dragon adorned with multicolored orbs. The room around her opulent and decorated with more of the shinning orbs and gold, silver and platinum decorations. Incense burned as four figure vower behind the woman, waiting for their dragon lord to accept the new lady of Wutai as their official ruler. Finally the incense formed a dragon shape and one of the azure orbs, the one of the center of the crown on the golden dragon head shone and a voice rang on the room.
"...Kisaragi Yuffie, daughter of rulers, I recognize you as my own daughter and rightful ruler of Wutai. Go with my blessing..." As their god spoke, the mist enveloped Yuffie, Leviatan's blessing falling over the new ruler of the land.
The five rose when the incense apparition disappeared and exited the shrine, where cheers broke as the people of Wutai welcomed their new official ruler. Yuffie had been ruling since Godo had fallen sick a year before and had finally succumbed to his disease a week before. On the front, the former member of Avalanche, including Reeve, Shelke and kids stared in wonder as the new empress of Wutai was joined by her consort, Asano Ayame, now Kisaragi like her father before him, and the new age of Wutai started.
Her daughter clutched her hand as her husband gently cradled her head. After months of fighting Mako poisoning, she was finally succumbing to it. She, after all had token a dip on concentrated lifestream on her youth, and was a wonder how she lived to be forty six. Vincent, who had started to age after Chaos returned to the planet (and thankfully they managed to actually age Shelke to a human pace too.), was immortal at the time so he had not taken any ill effect as he burst them out. She wondered if it was Aeris doing that Tifa had never shown sign of Mako poisoning too or it was simply a much diluted dose... Who knew. Cloud was a bit of a odd case that she was not even going to start to think about.
"...Akio... May Leviatan and my blessing be with you... May you rule fairly and guide... Wutai in the path you believe best... I wish you a joyful life..." Yuffie whispered to her crying daughter then turned to her husband. "Ayame... I go ahead... may we meet again and... your life sweet as you have made mine... thank you for these years...of co...m..pa..n..."
As she closed her eyes and heard her daughter and husband's cries, she wondered if her, if not in the eyes of her people, if her father, her friends and companions, had managed for once being the first woman in his and hers.
A heterogeneous group was gathered in front of the funeral pyre as a the uncrowned heir of Wutai prepared to lit it. A blonde man with a graying woman with touches of raven hair with a handsome brunette and a blonde younger woman stood on the front, the older woman weeping bitterly on the blonde man's shoulder. Besides then, another group, a old man with white hair and a graying brunette with a blonde woman were mirroring the scene with the brunette on the old man's arms.
A little to the right, a black man with a old lady and a chestnut colored woman were waiting for the service to start, a two felines, one red, one white staring at the sky and keeping respectful silence. To the left, a black dressed man with another brunette were standing behind a young man with raven hair, watching the final preparation for the former empress' final place of rest in silent contemplation. Finally, a man dressed in blue was watching, leaning on a cane, a robot of a cat beside him as the husband of the dead woman passed a lit torch to her daughter and the pyre started to burn and crept.
Behind the group, the people of Wutai watched as Empress Yuffie Kisaragi's body burned, her earth vessel reduced to ashes to be returned to the sea, their god Leviatan's eternal domain until world's end. The sky, even if it was rainy season, wasclear a sapphire, and no a breeze interrupted the holy fire as it consumed the whole pyre.
Suddenly, people gasped as the fire went out without warning and the smoke formed the image of a dragon. Akio gasped gain as the ashes of her mother lifted from the pyre and joined their god in their dance on the wind, and with a final graceful salute to Wutai, to her family and to her friends, the spirit left with the image of the dragon in the direction of the sea.
Author's Notes:
On the women mentioned here: Before any hardcore fan starts to flame, take into account that this is how I think Yuffie sees the women around her, and to a extend myself do, and doesn't't necessarily match what you think of them. It is not mean to be a bashing fic for everyone else aside of Yuffie, but the reason why she think she can't compare to them or connect to the people they are connected to.
On Shelke: She or I, which ever you prefer, is not not bashing Shelk, in fact, I sincerely think Yuffie would actively try to help the girl out of her shell as she did with Vincent after she calms down from Shalua death. She is just blunt and a little bitter that Vincent took her in so easily compared to her considering they (and the rest ) travelled for at least months together.
On Lucrecia: She is a character Yuffie would never forgive for what she did. Yuffie is bound by honor, even if it is not obvious at first glance, and what Lucrecia did would make Yuffie hate her with a passion, from experimenting on her unborn child and Vincent, even if she was trying to save his life. Also, Yuffie works most likely as a spy for Reeve and if she found about Vincent's dad, well, she wouldn't't be happy.
On Elmyra and Shera: This two woman are not mentioned not because there are not important, but because I think Yuffie would take with much more grace and comfort their mothering her than Tifa's without feeling they're suffocating her with it.
On Elena: Elena, like Yuffie, is a very overshadowed character like Yuffie and both would easily connect if they ever got the chance to work together. Both are struggling to show that they are competent in their own fields and are not really recognized for it besides Tseng and Reeve… sometimes.