I do not own anything except for the plot. But damn, I wish I did.

Yuffie is, by far, one of my most favorite characters in any RPG series.

Pairing: Yuffie.Vincent, Yuffie.Squall, Yuffie.Cloud
Summary: Somehow, she always got the crap-end of things.
Rating: PG

View from the End

Somehow, she always got the crap-end of things. This statement was no lie; no matter what it was, there would always be that tiny nagging part that would screw her over.

First there was Cloud Strife. Lovable, kind, brave, heroic, self-punishing Cloud; she had liked him so much, so damn much, but she knew that there wasn't any room for her. The blue-eyed blonde warrior barely noticed her as he walked past: his thoughts were either on Aerith or Tifa(gawd, they're just way too perfect, dammit. No wonder)And besides, Cloud was always talking about how he had done so many wrong things, and how he had to at least try to pay them back and repent and all that stupid crap about wanting to be forgiven when no one blamed him in the first place. But this was Cloud, and Yuffie cut him a little slack by laughing it off and saying that hey, he was only a crush, and don't get a big head, Cloudy! So Yuffie fell into a mild state of sadness, but skipped ahead, unwilling to let it get her down. After all, Cloud was only a crush, right? (Wrong, that's so wrong, I really liked him, didn't I?)

Then there was Vincent Valentine. Tall, dark, brooding, kind, pained, self-punishing Vincent; she wanted to be his light. She wanted to draw him out of that tainted shell that he forced himself into. Many a time, Yuffie offered a helping hand (hey Vinnie, can't be slackin'!), but the crimson-eyed, raven-haired gunsman merely pushed her hand away gently, and stood by himself (all alone, does this mean he'd rather be alone than with me?) Then, of course, there was Lucrecia, and then there was Shelke, and yes, it was completely obvious that Vincent didn't have time for her, what with his revenge and redemption and all the other re- words there were. Not only that, but he was too horrible, too inhuman for her, although Yuffie was pretty sure that if Vinnie'd give it a goddamn second, he'd realize that she didn't give a shit, and that she liked him--oh, she liked him. But no; Vincent was only a crush, too, right? (Wrong, that's wrong, too, but I guess I have no choice, right?)

And then came Squall Leonhart. Kind, stern, calm, conflicted, self-punishing (anyone see a pattern, here?) Leon; why couldn't she save at least one person from their pain? She wanted to make him smile, make him laugh, make him say, 'Yes, it's okay if you call me Squall.' But, of course, that never happened; it was getting to be a boorish process, what with her saying his real name (not that stupid fake one, gawd that sounds so freakin' stupid), and he would correct her and she wouldn't listen. Then she would skip ahead and pretend like nothing happened, because in a sense, she didn't exist, and it hadn't actually happened at all. Squall (Leon? Hell no--I'll call you that when hell freezes over!) had Rinoa, beautiful, kind, endearing, sweetsensitivelovelyelegantpoised Rinoa. He was too old for her, Squall would say, and he couldn't forgive himself, couldn't let himself relax just yet; there were still Heartless about, still no time, and there would probably never be enough freakin' time.

And so Yuffie waited.

Yuffie waited for Cloud to search desperately for forgiveness. (No, Yuffie, I don't need your help. Thank you, though.)

Yuffie waited for Vincent to redeem himself. (I am sorry, Yuffie, but this is something that I must do on my own.)

Yuffie waited for Squall to exterminate the Heartless. (Yuffie, stay back. It's too dangerous; I can take 'em on my own.)

But she knew that it was hopeless. Cloud was seeking forgiveness from himself, the one thing that he could never have. Vincent was searching for an impossible way to redeem himself, because apparently, saving the world from Sephiroth wasn't enough. Squall was waiting for the end of Darkness, a thing that was surely not to come at anytime soon.

And now that she closed her eyes and thought (truly thought) about it, the view from the end (end of the world, end of the line, end of anything) always sucked.

Wow. Emo.

But I just don't think that anything's fair for Yuffie at all. I love any pairings with Yuffie, but each time there's something that complicates it. (I just happened to focus on these three more, since they are apparently the most popular).

Anyway, I hoped you liked it.

.oblivion's pen