"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
- Abraham Lincoln
Gorky barely moved out of the way before a large porcelain vase crashed into the ornate wall behind him. From his stooping position he could see Shake dive underneath a small table as some china was hurled in his direction, and Chekhov sprint out of the room after not having been so successful in dodging a flying lamp.
The warriors of Wutai's mighty pagoda had met their match. And it was in the form of a skinny fifteen year old girl with choppy black hair and violet eyes ablaze with fury.
"I will not greet that piece of slime," she screamed. Her eyes darted wrathfully around her room, looking for more pieces to launch at them.
The girl certainly did not look it, but underneath her frail exterior lay the agility, flexibility, and strength of a cunning ninja twelve years in the making. She could deal deadly damage with a mere flick of her wrist and at the moment this was what she very much intended to do.
Shake rose cautiously from underneath the table, his usually calm face reddened with frustration and impatience.
"You don't have a choice," he spat out through gritted teeth, "Godo wants you out there to welcome President Shinra for their annual meeting. You must listen to your father!"
At this, Yuffie laughed contemptuously, "I don't have to listen to anyone."
Not even a second later one of her jade figurines was racing at Shake's head.
Shake quickly moved to the right, spun around and kicked the figurine in mid air. After it shattered at his heel, he settled back down and eyed Yuffie dangerously. Gorky recognized the look - it was one he wore when his patience had been pushed quite past its limit. Yuffie acknowledged it by moving into her signature fighting stance; both legs bent, with one slightly further back, and her two fists out in front of her.
In the next few moments, all hell broke loose. Countless objects went flying, furniture was overturned, grunts and screams erupted from both fighters, and all Gorky could do was hope that the whirlwind that was Yuffie and Shake's battle wouldn't head his way.
And just like it began, it ended with the door to her room slamming open. A very upset Godo and shocked Staniv were standing at the entrance of Yuffie's room frowning at the display greeting them. Yuffie and Shake froze in their position, with Yuffie straddling Shake, her fist raised ready to strike and Shake's hands around her neck, squeezing the breath out of her.
"What is the meaning of this?" Godo's fists were clenched at his side, and a vein above his violet eyes suddenly became very prominent.
Yuffie clumsily pushed herself off Shake to face her fuming father. There wasn't a trace of fear discernible in her features - her stubborn expression was the carbon copy of the figure opposite her.
"Every year you welcome that filth! Every year you shame Wutai with your cowardice! I'm not doing it this time!"
Godo's eyes narrowed into slits.
"How dare you? You know nothing about what Wutai went through during that war! You have no idea what would happen if it went through it again! Don't be so insolent, Yuffie."
She rolled her eyes, puffing out heavily as she crossed her arms in front of her.
"Fine. If you want to let Shinra walk over you, go ahead. Why don't you just give them permission to set up a mako reactor here as well? Hell, why don't we just move out of Wutai altogether, so that this can be a little vacation spot for that fat bastard to roll around in!"
Godo opened his mouth to respond, his eyes wild with anger. But Yuffie held up her hand and continued before he could say anything.
"I won't be part of it anymore," she said softly.
And with that she brushed past him and fled out of the room. Godo didn't try to stop her. He simply stood at the doorway, staring ahead sternly. He let out a long breath, and for a second there was a look in his eyes that made him appear very old and defeated. But immediately afterwards he seemed to become aware of the others in the room looking at him, and straightened up again.
"Go on with the proceedings as usual. She's not needed."
A single bead of sweat trickled down Yuffie's forehead as she finished her climb up the mountains overlooking Wutai. Over the years she had become an expert in finding her way around the rocky terrain. She could weave her way around trails that would take others hours to pass through in a matter of minutes. She was almost there - at her spot. She loved being on top of the sacred Da-Chao around this time of day, when the sun dipped down into the west, Wutai seemed ablaze with its crimson tint.
Just a bit further.
She grabbed onto the statue's arm ahead of her, and swung her legs over it, accomplishing a perfectly graceful landing. Contentment filled her at being away from what was going on down below. Each year since the war ended, Wutai and Shinra's leaders held a "conference" to "better their relationship." That was its official label and description, but everyone knew it was utter bullshit.
President Shinra only came to embarrass Godo further and to make ridiculous demands of Wutai. He had already subjected the once powerful empire to nothing more than a tourist town where the rich bastards from Midgar could go to have a bit of a "cultural experience." And what did her father do about this? Absolutely nothing.
Yuffie was done with it. Done with it all. She wouldn't go back, she told herself. It killed her to see what her home and family name had been turned into. If she had to sit through the proceedings of these "conferences" one more time, she wouldn't be able to hold back from slicing Shinra up with her shuriken. No, tying him up and breaking each one of his bones then slicing him up with her shuriken. Or maybe even...
Her happy thoughts were interrupted by someone nearby clearing his throat. Yuffie jumped in surprise, turning to face the intruder in a defensive stance.
He was sitting in her spot, leaning back against the statue's long, thick stone fingers. The tint in his hair shifted between blonde and red, depending on where the sun's cherry rays hit, with soft wisps of it brushing his forehead. Clad entirely in white, it was odd to see him sit so carelessly on a ground which was surely dirtying his attire. His right arm hung lazily over a knee pulled in close to his chest, while his free hand busied itself with brushing back his unruly bangs. But the most prominent of his features were easily his eyes - Yuffie had never seen such an icy blue before.
Had it been any other day, and had she been in any other mood she would've very much enjoyed being left alone with a boy as cute as this. But this was the wrong moment for her peace to be intruded upon, and the arrogant expression he wore wasn't helping one bit.
"Can I help you?" he asked impatiently, lifting a brow. Yuffie was sure she'd misheard him.
"Uhm, can I help you? What are you doing here?"
It was his turn to look miffed.
"Look, I don't need anything, you can go." The young ninja's eyes went wide with horror. A simple townsperson speaking to her this way? He looked terribly familiar, so he had to be a local, meaning he had to know she was the daughter of their leader.
"How about if you leave now I'll let you get away with all your limbs intact," she threatened.
The boy's eyebrows creased together at this. "What?"
It was quite the confusing moment for both of them. After a perplexing exchange of stares, the boy squinted at her, inspecting her closely, and spoke up.
"Do I know you?"
Yuffie placed her hands on her hips, "Uhm, you really should, seeing as how I'm ..."
Then a thought occurred to her. This man couldn't be a local, it would be impossible for him not to be familiar with the emperor's daughter if he were. So he was probably one of the tourists passing through, and now she wasn't so sure if she wanted him to know who she was after all. If he was a traveler this was a situation she could use very much to her own advantage.
The look on his face told her he was waiting for her to finish her statement.
"Actually," she chuckled nervously, "You wouldn't know who I am - yet! But you will sooner or later because," Think, think, Yuffie. "Uhm, because I'm gonna travel the world! And make a name for myself..." That works.
"Right." Looking bored with the conversation, he turned away from her, focusing back on the scarlet sky slowly fading into blackness. Not the most social of creatures, she thought to herself, watching him. Shifting on her feet to lean back against a cliff, she spoke up again.
"You're not from here are you?"
He snorted, "No, I'm not."
"You travel a lot?"
"Constantly."
Yuffie's lips twisted into a sly smile. Perfect. She lowered herself into a sitting position with her legs folded beneath her.
"So you'd like, know the perfect place for someone just starting to travel to go?"
Clear annoyance settled into the boy's icy eyes as he regarded her question.
"There's nothing worth seeing, every town I've been to has been filled with pathetic weaklings who can't tend to anything themselves."
Silence grew between the two after his response. Yuffie hadn't expected anything like it, and really didn't know what to make of it. She couldn't help feel that he looked glad that his cynical statement had gotten her to shut up. But after a few moments she spoke up again.
"I know what you mean." Her eyes were cast down at the town below her, displaying a bitterness the boy had not noticed in them before.
"No one has the guts to stand up for anything anymore," she continued, "They'll bow down and kiss the feet of any oppressor. It's almost like they want to be controlled by some tyrant."
"Precisely," The boy responded, regarding the girl with growing interest, "It's the inevitable truth that some are born to lead while most are simply part of the herd that is to be controlled. People practically enslave themselves."
Yuffie took in his words and nodded slowly, surprised that for the first time in her life someone was agreeing with her on this issue, "Yes, it's like in some people's blood. It's virtually our duty to do what others are too afraid and weak to do themselves." Her violet eyes traveled up the form of the boy next to her. She'd just met him but couldn't help feel a sense of familiarity between them, as if they carried the same burdens.
"Do you think there are cases in which it's alright to use any means necessary to gain what you need," she quieted down a bit, "even if it means hurting others? I mean eventually it'll be for their own good."
She was leaning forward now, pride pushed aside, earnestly looking towards a nameless stranger for an answer that would play a vital role in her life.
"Most definitely," he answered, "Everyone is selfish and would take the same measures. Some of us just have higher capabilities than others."
Ice and fire both seemed to dance in the boy's eyes as he spoke. Yuffie had never seen such intensity in anyone.
"I agree," she breathed out, "You know, you're the first person who hasn't called me a brat for stating the obvious truth."
He smiled a bit, the corners of his mouth just slightly twisting upwards.
"That's because the truth hurts."
"Like hell," she finished, her eyes sparkling.
Hours passed as moments between the two. Wutai slept while they spoke on and on, Yuffie feeling as free as the flowing conversation, deeply discussing matters she couldn't even touch with others because of the verbal battle that would ensue. And by the change in his demeanor she was sure similar thoughts were running through him. When she'd first come across him he'd been closed off and short-worded. But something seemed to spark this intensity, passion, and dedication that was all but extinct in the townspeople she'd grown up around.
Neither one of them knew what time it was once lethargy stepped in and slowed their exchange down. Yuffie had initially moved closer to him in order to see him through the blackness blanketing them, and eventually they'd wound up right next to each other, with Yuffie slightly leaning against the boy's side, her head resting on his shoulder as she listened to his words. He had a way with them, she could see him be the kind to make great speeches one day. His conviction of excellence and discipline reminded her of the stories Godo would tell her as a child - tales of cunning ninjas that would stop at nothing when fighting for what they wanted.
The weight on her lids kept increasing, until finally becoming too heavy for her. She felt herself beginning to drift off, and thought that the words she was hearing composed the sweetest lullaby she'd heard in a long, long time.
It wasn't until she felt him stirring next to her that consciousness began to dawn upon her again. A groan escaped her lips when she realized he was softly shaking her. She slapped his hand away and gripped onto his shoulder to get him to stop moving.
"Let me sleep," she ordered.
Much to her disappointment this did no good, as he wrung himself free of her grip and began to get up from his previous sitting position. Having lost her pillow, Yuffie sourly admitted defeat to wakefulness and began to stretch her limbs, when she saw he was already making his way down the mountain. They couldn't have slept longer than a couple of hours, because the sun was barely making a faint appearance in the eastern horizon.
She was on her feet quickly, and called after him, "Where are you going?"
He stopped, and turned around to face her, "My boat's leaving soon." When he saw she was going to follow him, he held up his hand to stop her, "Just stay here and go back to sleep."
Yuffie felt her heart sink a bit, "But wait! You never told me your name!"
The wind picked up some, his coat fluttered around him and his bangs danced restlessly on his forehead. He took a few moments to run his hands through his hair to control them before speaking up.
"Neither did you," he shot her a rueful smile, "but there's no need. Our names will be spread throughout the world in a matter of time, remember?"
She understood and couldn't help but smile back, "You're right."
With a slight nod, he turned around, stuck his hands in his coat pockets and began to walk away. She watched him for a while, pensive until his figure was gone from sight, feeling a distant inspiration swelling within her.
And as the sun rose into the sky, Yuffie swore that she would too.
A/N: It's late (not to mention I'm a bit tipsy), so my proofreading job was probably done very badly. But this has been swimming around in my head for a while and I just wanted to get it out already. I've always seen a connection between these two characters; the main difference between them being the side they were on.