General Disclaimer: All Kingdom Hearts characters belong to their respective owners, and certainly do not belong to me.

Following Dawn
A dream is never just a dream, and things are never as they seem.

Hard, pounding music echoed through Yuffie Kisaragi's chest as she made her way towards the main dance floor, the labyrinth of halls leading to dark and smoky unknown places she did not want to wander. Her teeth grinded together as she put one hand on the wall to guide herself through the dark, her way only occasionally lit by rogue laser and strobe lights that broke away from the main dance floor. As she got closer, reds and greens and blues danced across her white top, and then her vision met a mass of people, dancing together, snakelike.

Oh, she really didn't want to be here. Damn Godo. Damn, damn, damn, damn. Sure, she liked a party just as much as the next girl, but this was too much. Only ten minutes ago she'd nearly stumbled into what appeared to be a sex room, and ten minutes before that she'd gotten pushed into someone, who then went on to spill their drink all over themselves – mercifully missing Yuffie, which really would have been a disaster considering the shade she was wearing.

"No, you have to represent me, Yuffie," she mocked to herself, imitating her father, but her voice was drowned out from the heavy techno music pulsing all around her. Did she want to try and squeeze through the crowd to get to the back door, or did she want to risk getting lost in the halls again?

Crowd, she decided, and started half heartedly dancing into the fast moving dancers, pushing her way through the narrow openings that occasionally presented themselves. Hands groped her legs, arms, chest, thighs as she slipped past mysterious disembodied fingers that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The more she moved, the less the door at the back seemed to appear. In fact, she could hardly see it at all anymore. Yuffie painfully turned around to glance at the large doorway she had just come from.

"I only moved TEN FEET!" she nearly shrieked, wishing she could rip their hair out. She was hot, sweaty, tired, hungry, and pissed off. She was not going to battle her away across this snake pit or wait until dawn for the party to end. And yet, the disturbing mental images of the things she had seen in the hallway warded her off.

Yuffie glanced around the dancers, trying to find any familiar faces. Her father, Godo, had been invited to some model's party and couldn't make it, so he had sent her in his place. The party had started out nicely enough – sophisticated, waiters with those little appetizers with a French name that Yuffie couldn't remember, in one room – and of course, this dance floor, which had been depopulated by about three fourths when she had first arrived – until more and more people came, and the party got out of hand.

At least there were multiple sexy male models to stare at. Of course, most of them were far too pretty for her taste, and she had a fifty percent chance of picking out a gay one.

Her eyes looked for a way out, or at least for a familiar face. Finally, her eyes landed on a certain silver haired male that she had known before her father signed him on to the agency. She hadn't noticed him before, probably because she rarely saw him without his dark haired friend, Sora. 'Oh well, maybe he would know a way out!' Yuffie thought excitedly, working her way over to one of the walls Riku was leaning against, hand in one pocket and his hair falling over his face in such a careless way that Yuffie wondered if he had wanted it that way. His startling turquoise eyes glanced up at her as she made her way over to him. She could smell alcohol on him.

"Hey, Yuffie," he said tonelessly. Yuffie could barely hear him.

"Are you trying to look badass again?" Yuffie chirped loudly, poking his side. "Am I ruining your image?"

"You're annoying," he replied, his voice rising over the loud music this time. Good, he could take a hint.

"I'm stuck here," Yuffie moaned, leaning against the wall, too. It was nice and cool. "What are you doing just standing here? Don't tell me you really are trying to look bad—"

Riku put a finger over his mouth. "Shush! He'll see us!"

Yuffie looked around. "Who? Hey, where's So—"

Riku cringed and covered his hand over her mouth, and dragging her through a door that Yuffie had mysteriously overlooked for the past two minutes. The two doors swung open easily with both of their weights pushing against them. Yuffie gasped, but her voice was muffled against his skin.

His hand was still clamped over her mouth as he pulled her down, and Yuffie was trying her best to simultaneously scream and slobber in it. Riku raised a finger to his lips, then let her go. She fell backwards onto the carpeted floor.

"That was a little overdramatic, don't you think?" she demanded, wiping her mouth.

"Shh! I'm hiding," he whispered, the music very muted in this room. All she could feel was the floor throbbing underneath her from the loud speakers. "Besides, I've always wanted to try that."

"You're… hiding," Yuffie repeated, resisting the urge to break into laughter. "You were doing a really bad job of it. I found you in less than a minute."

"Only from one person," Riku said, and by what little light there was, Yuffie could see he looked annoyed. "Sora. I accidentally made out with his ex-girlfriend and now he's pissed at me."

"So how do you accidenta—"

Her last sentence was cut off by the sound of the doors they had just come through swishing open violently. Yuffie ducked behind the couch and Riku did the same, although if there had been any late at all in the room, they would be more than obvious. Riku turned to look at her, his eyes wide.

"Close it and lock it," a voice said as two pairs of footsteps walked into the room. There was a momentary pause, then the door swung shut quickly, apparently by a hand, and she heard a sliding lock move in place.

'Oh my god,' Yuffie mouthed to Riku, huddling closer. She was freaked out now. At first she had thought it would just be a couple wanting to get nasty, but the authoritative, almost sinister voice said otherwise.

"I'm tired of this. You will do what I tell you to do, as your contract says, whatever I want you to do, when I want you to, and et cetera. Do you understand? You know the consequences? As I'm sure you know all too well…"

"And I'm sure you know all too well, as well," replied an angry, strained voice to the sinister one.

"I don't care if you're at your breaking point. I don't care if you have to kill yourself to keep going. And if stop for one second, I will tell him, and things will worsen one hundred fold."

Silence.

"Do you agree?"

"No, I don't."

Silence.

"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter."

There was a thud, and a stifled groan. "Smile pretty. I don't want to keep them waiting… however, if you must, you may go for tonight."

The door unlocked and swung open, letting the music filter into the room, which thankfully covered the squeak that Yuffie mistakenly let out. One of the footsteps walked out of the room. The door swung shut in a moment or two, closing the music out again. A loud bang echoed through the room; it sounded like someone had punched a wall.

She could feel Riku stiffening beside her. The man sat hard on the couch they were hiding behind, his breaths slightly ragged. Yuffie reached out and grabbed Riku's arm, her cold fingers squeezing hard. He flinched and gave her a warning glance by the light that was available in the room. It seemed like hours passed, and the man still hadn't left, although in reality, it had probably been only ten minutes.

Finally he stood up to leave. Yuffie held back the breath she wanted to let out in sheer relief that they could leave and stretch out their legs. The man walked to the doors, yet instead of leaving, he seemed to be looking for something. All of the sudden, light flooded the room, and the back of the couch they were hiding behind was in clear sight. Yuffie felt her blood turning cold.

And he saw them, was facing them, appearing much taller and larger than they from their crouching position. He was obviously a model—he had dark hair on the long side, deep blue eyes, and a body that screamed 'I work out five times a week.' However, his face was twisted into an expression that was neither friendly nor beautiful.

Yuffie's mouth dropped open as he walked towards them. "What the hell are you two doing in here?" he asked, his voice dangerous. They froze, unable to answer, completely in shock. "I said, what the fuck are you doing in here? What did you hear?"

"N-Nothing," Yuffie stammered, as Riku continued to stare, his face pale.

"We were just looking for the exit and we got lost," Riku said, his voice subdued as he seemed to pull himself together. "Calm down, Squall."

Yuffie glanced at him quickly. He knew this man? But, of course he did. They were both models, in the same agency. Why wouldn't they know each other? Her gaze turned back to Squall, who had zeroed into her, staring as if he was trying to place her. She bit the inside of her cheek.

"We'll be going now," Riku said, standing up and pulling Yuffie with him by the wrist. They walked past the man, and despite Riku's blanched face, he seemed pulled together. Yuffie felt like a naked tree in the winter, trembling and exposed. Squall watched them leave. Once they were out of sight, Riku's grip on Yuffie hardened and he dragged her through the crowd, his steps purposeful, until they reached a lit hallway.

"What was that?" Yuffie asked, her voice breathless and her fingers still trembling slightly. Riku didn't look much better.

"Some messed up shit is going on," he said in reply, looking into the crowd of dancers. "I've never seen him like that before. He always seems so composed when I see him."

"What was that guy threatening him about?" Yuffie wondered, crossing her arms. "God, this has been the worst day. I thought we were gonna get killed for sure."

Riku nodded, some of the color starting to return to his face. "Oh, great," he muttered, his tone changing into exasperation.

"Huh?" Yuffie turned around and saw a dark haired boy walking towards them, looking deeply annoyed. Sora.

"Sora? I can explain," Riku said, holding his hands up. Sora glared at him and Yuffie almost laughed.

"I can't believe you. I was dating her for a year, Riku! That's low! And then you actually run away when I catch you?"

"It was a knee jerk reaction, Sora. Really. I was drinking tonight, and I didn't even recognize her, she had so much makeup on…"

"Are you trying to say something?"

Yuffie glanced at Riku, feeling mildly sorry for him. "Hey, guys? I'll just be going now, so uh, feel free to continue this somewhere…" Sora turned to look at her as if he hadn't even noticed her before. Honestly, Yuffie wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't with his complete absentmindedness.

"Yuffie!" he exclaimed, anger evaporating in surprise.

"Hey, hi," she said, her adrenaline and fear from the previous situation making her body transform that energy into some strange nervous energy. She started laughing, suddenly finding this whole situation extremely funny when she knew it wasn't. Both of them gave her weird looks. "Really, I have to… go. I am… exhausted," she said between laughter, and started walking back into the dance hall to find a different exit. She could feel their eyes on her back, probably wondering if she had just cracked.

Yuffie covered her mouth, trying to silence herself. It worked, anyway. She went down a different hallway near the one where Riku and Sora were arguing, hoping there was an exit inside. For the life of her she couldn't remember where she had come in from.

Before long, a door came into view, and without having to wonder if it was an exit or not, a large red exit sign hung above the door. Yuffie grabbed the doorknob like it was a lifeline. The door swung open and a cool night breeze hit Yuffie's face. She paused for a moment, and lifted her face, reveling in the clean smell compared to the sweat and alcohol stench that had lingered inside the party. For the first time that whole day, she felt a quiet sense of peace and pushed the thoughts of the party from her mind.

She sat down on the ground against the wall of the building. This exit had led to the back of the building, into a parking lot, an ideal place for her father's driver to pick her up. Yuffie pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the number she had been craving to punch for the last hour.

"Hello," a deep voice answered after two rings, with no question in it whatsoever. Yuffie smiled.

"Vincent! Please get me out of here. Oh please. Godo made me come to this dumb party, and I've been stuck here for three hours, and I really—"

"I'll be there soon, Ms. Kisaragi."

"Vincent! For the last time, it's Yuffie!"

"Yuffie." And with that, the conversation was terminated. She sighed and rested her head against the wall. Vincent Valentine was her father's personal chauffeur, and seeing as Yuffie couldn't drive, she was left in his capable hands when it came to getting around. He was a tall man, and always wore dark outfits, though Yuffie thought it was because it was something of a job uniform. His hair used to be long, until Godo requested that he cropped it. Vincent had done so without complaint, although it was slowly but surely growing its way back to its normal length.

It didn't take long for Vincent to get there, something fairly surprising to Yuffie, considering she was downtown and her house was on a high hill in the suburbs, where Vincent should have been coming from. Curious, Yuffie watched the sleek, black car roll up next to her. She opened the backdoor and slid inside with a happy sigh.

"Were you on an errand for my dad, Vincent?" Yuffie enquired as they got on their way. Vincent shook his head, and she could see a hanging cross earring in his right ear lobe, which had, moments before, been concealed by hair. "Hey, that's bad ass! Where'd you get that done?" She was trying to put on some semblance of normalcy, to avoid any questions that he may have for her, rather than act like the exhausted zombie she actually felt like.

Vincent was trying to keep his attention on the road, but his fingers distractedly covered his right ear. "It was a long time ago."

"Oh, mysterious," Yuffie murmured, sitting back in her seat. Vincent was definitely not the one to go to for conversation. Maybe the earring embarrassed him. He seemed pretty conservative to her, but that earring was definitely not. But she liked it. It had character. Vincent still had hope in her books. The rest of the car ride Yuffie waited for it to appear again whenever they were on turns, or when Yuffie coaxed him to shake his head again (discreetly, of course). It never showed again, and by the time they pulled into the driveway, Yuffie had half forgotten it, not to mention the events of the party.

Yuffie's house came into view, white and on the large side, the black trim around the windows and bushes that Godo never kept trimmed. It looked like the average upper middle class house, despite its location on the biggest hill of the city and its size, larger than the other houses in the neighborhood. Godo would have settled for nothing less, just like Yuffie had refused, five years ago, to live in a house that would make her nose turn up snootily and walk with Gucci bags everywhere. In the confines of her mind, she knew that idea was ridiculous, but she wanted normalcy. Being Godo's daughter gave her a harder time at achieving that than others her age.

Perfectly a gentleman (at least Yuffie liked to believe it was this that drove his actions, and not his job), Vincent opened the door for her, and she ran to the back door in a flash, desperate for a shower. Of course, before she could even get into the sun room, Godo caught her.

"Yuffie! How was the party?" he asked, putting a heavy arm over her shoulder and leading her into the house, looking cheerful. Yuffie scowled and ducked out from under his arm and kicked her shoes off at the doorway, wishing Vincent wasn't always so quick to leave whenever father and daughter were 'reunited.' She could already hear the car pulling out of the driveway, where it would stop less than a mile down the road at Vincent's house.

"I can't believe you made me go to that stupid party. This is the last time, Dad. It wasn't my thing, isn't my thing, and you know that."

"I understand, honey. But I had a very important business meeting and I couldn't make it. I wanted you there to make sure…"

"Make sure, what?" Yuffie snapped rhetorically, knowing she was being ridiculous but refusing to acknowledge it.

"Nothing," he said, following her as she walked into the kitchen and set her bag down on the counter. He took a seat at the island in the center of the kitchen. "There's some lasagna sitting in the oven in case you want any."

"Did you make it yourself?" she asked, turning on him and raising her eyebrows. He hadn't cooked anything since her mother had died nearly ten years ago. He made half hearted attempts at cooking, but gave up somewhere along the way. Her mother had been an excellent cook.

"Ready made."

Yuffie wrinkled her nose and leaned against the counter, studying her father discreetly. He was a nondescript man, with black hair like eyes sprinkled with gray on the sides, which was the only betrayer of his age. Besides their hair color, she looked nothing at all like him.

"The thing is, Yuffie, it might just be your 'thing,' soon," Godo said, his tone turning propositional as he steepled his fingers and leaned back into his chair at the marble island.

"No," Yuffie said in a warning tone, staring at him in incredulity. "No, no, no. Not this year, Dad."

"Yuffie, this could be good for you. Think about it. Extra money, experience in your career of choice—"

"Dad, have we been living under delusions for five years? Every summer we go through this. You want me to work with you at Rain Models. And I always say no! You and I both know it is not my 'career of choice.'" She gripped the countertop with her hands.

"Even if that's true, the agency can open a lot of doors for you later in life."

"Having a father who is a co-owner of one of the biggest agencies in this country will open a lot of doors for me."

"You know, Yuffie, you aren't a carrier of my last name. Not only that, but at this moment, I have the money you need to go to college, which, God knows why, you have your heart set on—"

"That is what I should be doing!" she exclaimed, unbelieving. He was acting like a complete tyrant, trying to manipulate her to do what he wanted. "It's always about you, isn't it, Dad? You don't want me there for my own good. You want me there so I can set a good impression and make you look better, or show me off like a pet. I won't have it."

Godo examined his fingernails nonchalantly. "Then I guess you won't be going to college at the end of the summer after all. Nor will you see Selphie, nor any of your other friends. Until you take some responsibility, I won't give you any privileges."

Yuffie got off the counter, grabbed her bag angrily and walked into the foyer, slapping her hand on the staircase railing. "I guess I have no CHOICE but to take your STUPID job, then!" she yelled, stomping up the steps to her room and slamming the door. Yuffie stopped momentarily there, her heart racing. She could hear Godo walking around downstairs, probably acting smug with himself. She cursed him angrily and threw her bag down on her bed and dug threw it, looking for her cell phone.

When her hands felt the cool plastic, she picked it up and clicked the first number on her phone book, sitting down on her bed and listening to the ringing, distantly wondering what time it was but deciding she didn't care. She had called Selphie much later than this.

"Hello?" said a sleepy voice from the other end. "Yuffie?"

Yuffie took a moment to compose her voice so she wouldn't be throwing her anger onto Selphie. "Did I wake you up?"

"Not really. I just got into bed. What's up?"

"Godo. That bastard. You won't believe he's doing," Yuffie said, gripping her phone. She heard something being muffled on the other end, and some blankets rustling.

"I would believe anything, Yuf. What'd he do now?" Yuffie sighed, lying back on her bed. Selphie was always the one to hear the outcome of her and her father's fights. She and Yuffie had been friends since junior high, when Yuffie had needed glue in art class and Selphie conveniently had three containers of it in her book bag (apparently she had never stopped eating glue in kindergarten, but she would never have admitted it). Unlike Yuffie, however, Selphie was still in high school and would be a senior when school started again.

"He's making me work at Rain Models," Yuffie said, as if he had sentenced her to life as a janitor.

"Is that really so bad? I mean, think about it. Rain Models, Yuffie. Anyone would kill to work there. If you worked your way up, you'd be set for life. Two lives, even. I wouldn't mind working there… I know it bothers you, but… you're really lucky." Selphie's tired voice subtly altered. Yuffie felt her face heat up.

'God, Yuffie, do you have no tact at all?' she thought to herself in annoyance. Selphie had four younger brothers and sisters, and her parents didn't have enough money for them all. Selphie worked two jobs trying to help them stay above water, but it never seemed to be enough.

"I know, Selph," Yuffie said, her voice soft as her anger drained. "I'm sorry for calling so late and ranting at you. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" She could almost see Selphie nodding on the other end, under a pile of blankets in the darkness of her room.

"Okay. Night, Yuffie."

Yuffie ended the call and turned her phone off, and rolled on her side to look at her alarm clock. 12:45. She groaned and got up to find her pajamas. Selphie probably had been sleeping, considering she always was out like a light by eleven at the latest. She had all the qualities of a pushover and more, but her kindness had helped Yuffie out of many fixes in high school. After all, why would a mischief maker be such good friends with a goody two shoes?

Yuffie scanned the room. Her robe was hanging on the door to her bathroom. She peeled her clothes off and turned the shower on, goosebumps rising on her arms as she stepped under the spray, her mind sorting over the events of the party. It all seemed like a distant dream now, including being stuck in that room with Riku—although her exhaustion remained. After she finished washing, she didn't even bother to do her hair, and fell asleep in her robe in under two minutes.

And her sleep certainly seemed to last for only two minutes.

"Yuffie! Get ready! I'm taking you to RM!" Godo's voice pierced into her dreams. Yuffie's eyes opened. She knew she was in for a basket of fun.

I'm excited that I'm writing this pairing again! This chapter didn't take very long to write, and I don't think the ones that follow will, either -- unlike my other stories, I know where the plot is going, and how it will end, and that should make things infinitely smoother for all of us. I really hope you liked this chapter and will continue reading when I update again.

And if you don't review, it's a crime! At least it is for the time that I write this story. ;D