Hello. I've put a lot of work and thought into writing Hazen Fire. It's a
rather unusual story, so I hope you'll enjoy it. Thank you to those who've
given me reviews so far, they're very helpful and encouraging!
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Prelude
Yuffie Kisaragi fidgeted uncomfortably, uneasily toying with her shuriken. This place gave her the creeps. The whole damn ancient city did. Why was she here? she asked herself for the millionth time. Cloud had asked her to accompany him and Tifa, that was why. There wasn't even any useful materia around, she reminded herself bitterly. Perhaps that was a blessing, considered she'd nearly blown everything back at Wutai and was finally gaining back her companions trust.
The ninja followed obediently, walking quietly beside Tifa as the trio ascended the spiraling staircase, leading to the tranquil city underground. The eerie atmosphere rose the hairs on the back of Yuffie's neck. It was too clean, to preserved, for something that had been abandoned for generations. The remains of long dead people should be decayed, clothed in cobwebs.
Get a grip, the petite teenager thought, running her hand through her dark, bob cut, pulling it out of her face only to have it fall hopelessly back in place. She looked to Tifa, trying to follow her example. The martial artist loyally followed Cloud, her face showing no fear, only determination. Yuffie held no doubt that the tall, top-heavy brunette would follow Cloud to the end of the Planet.
Were they already there? As she wondered, a chill ran through her small frame.
Despite Tifa's obvious devotion to their enigmatic blonde leader, Cloud seemed oblivious to the feelings his only childhood friend had for him. Yuffie reckoned he was blinded by his obsession to find Sephiroth and distracted by the charmingly beautiful Aerith. The Cetra openly flirted with Cloud, making it clear, it seemed to Yuffie, that she was interested in him.
If only I could be so bold, Yuffie thought as she had so often recently. Tifa and I aren't so different, really. The one she admires acts like he could care less what she feels, while she has no idea how much I admire her. Admire her? More like crush after her, a nagging thought suggested. We've been over this, I am not gay. Queer! Oh, shut up, you! Yuffie sighed and almost giggled aloud to as she realized how silly it would seem if her friends knew what kind of arguments she held with herself.
Cloud stopped walked so suddenly that Yuffie rammed into his back. "Hey," she snapped, being jarred from her daydreams. "Watch where you're goin'!"
"Look, it's Aerith!" Tifa said in an excited whisper as Yuffie spotted the flower girl kneeled over an opening in the floor. The lifestream flowed beneath her, casting a pale green light on the face of the praying ancient. Cloud seemed as if he expected to see Aerith there. The ex-SOLDIER approached the woman with confidence. Yuffie hung back, hovering by Tifa's side, cherishing the security she felt near the older woman. Tifa would know what to do if Cloud turned psycho again, right?
"Gawd, this place sucks," Yuffie complained in her usual manner, managing to get a faint smile from Tifa. Then the woman's face melted into deadly seriousness as she watched Cloud. "What is it?" Yuffie asked, following her gaze.
"Cloud! Stop!" Tifa shouted. Yuffie's jaw hit the floor as she watched Cloud raise his sword, preparing to strike a fatal blow to the oblivious and praying Aerith.
Cloud stepped back, Tifa's cry lifting him from his possession. Yuffie crumpled to her knees beside Tifa, overwhelmed by relief. The feeling was only momentary. Yuffie stared wide-eyed at the sword wielding Sephiroth, who materialized from the ceiling. The silver haired angel descended in slow motion towards Aerith.
"No!" she could hardly gasp, but was unable to do anything more to prevent the sword from plunging into her friend's chest. The gruesome murder was a blur. The nonchalant look on Sephiroth's face, completely unmoved by taking the life of the last Cetra, the was blankness in Aerith's expression, as if she felt nothing, knew nothing was happening, it all seemed to happen in a split second yet those images imbedded themselves deep in Yuffie's mind. She found herself clutching Tifa, transformed into a frightened little girl.
Aerith dead? How could it be… Yuffie'd just been with her just few days before, laughing, smiling, and flirting with the unreceptive Cloud. She'd been kind to Yuffie when the rest of the gang didn't give a damn, especially after the materia incident. Now Yuffie would never have a chance to thank the Cetra for believing in her.
Damn Sephiroth. Yuffie hadn't wanted to fight before. Stories of the gray- haired man gave her beyond the creeps before she even had laid eyes on him. Now she understood what it all meant. The one winged angel was insane. If he could take life so casually, so unemotionally, so unregretful, that meant summoning meteor wasn't just an idle threat. He would actually do it. Everything she knew would be destroyed. Her town, her friends, even the materia she strove so hard to pilfer would be dead. As dead as Aerith. She'd joined the motley gang with eyes clouded by greed. Perhaps her dreams of finding wealth in materia goal wasn't entirely gone, but she knew what had to come first. Cloud would have a hard time getting rid of Yuffie Kisaragi now.
Yuffie approached Cloud in an attempt to offer sympathy, but was lost for words. She only could embrace her companion, leaving a wet streak on his shoulder. Yuffie pulled away and solemnly turned her back. She walked off, head hung low. Her pace quickened into a fast stride. Before she realized it, the ninja was sprinting back up the spiral staircase, away from that hell hole reeking of death.
Dark clouds heavy with moister had been approaching before the threesome had ventured underground and now were raging in full force. Icy droplets stung Yuffie's exposed face and the lightening flashes lit the path before her, setting an appropriate mood for how she felt. The ninja breathed heavily and collapsed onto her knees. "Aerith… dead… Sephiroth…" she croaked between sobs. It was too much to handle. A tiny inkling nagged at the corner of her mind.
She was glad it hadn't been Tifa.
Disgusted with herself and the world, the determination to kill Sephiroth drifted away leaving a frail, sixteen-year-old girl weeping on the ground. So overcome with grief and guilt, Yuffie crumpled into a ball and drifted out of consciousness.
Yuffie's mind slowly arrived in the realm of dreams. She found herself back in the City of the Ancients, standing in her unconscious recreation of the place Aerith had returned to the Planet. Only it wasn't Aerith who knelt before the pool.
It was Tifa.
"Tifa, what the hell are you doing?" Yuffie demanded, her small voice muffled by a vast and pressing silence. She ran, but her feet met air on a slow motion treadmill, arms flailing hopelessly as if she were running through water. The blonde-tipped, purple figure of Cloud descended from the ceiling, taking the place of Sephiroth in Yuffie's nightmare.
"No! Tifa! No! Tifa! Teef? Nonononononoooo!" the ninja wailed, collapsing. She was petrified not by fear but an inability to react. She tried to turn away from the gruesomeness she knew would follow, tried to clamp her eyelids down, but in her mind she still saw every detail. The blade plunged between Tifa's breasts, disappearing into her chest. A ripple of blood slowly spread outward from the wound. Tifa stared directly at Yuffie, a hardened gaze piercing the little ninja's soul.
Why did you let him hurt me? Tifa's unspoken voice pressed with such seemingly infinite sadness. The weight of guilt took its toll, for Yuffie merely shook her head. She searched for a solution, something to make it better, but no words came. Tifa's eyes lost recognition. She spasmed, blood rising from her throat like bile and trickling down her chin. The young woman collapsed at Cloud's feet as she returned to the Planet.
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Prelude
Yuffie Kisaragi fidgeted uncomfortably, uneasily toying with her shuriken. This place gave her the creeps. The whole damn ancient city did. Why was she here? she asked herself for the millionth time. Cloud had asked her to accompany him and Tifa, that was why. There wasn't even any useful materia around, she reminded herself bitterly. Perhaps that was a blessing, considered she'd nearly blown everything back at Wutai and was finally gaining back her companions trust.
The ninja followed obediently, walking quietly beside Tifa as the trio ascended the spiraling staircase, leading to the tranquil city underground. The eerie atmosphere rose the hairs on the back of Yuffie's neck. It was too clean, to preserved, for something that had been abandoned for generations. The remains of long dead people should be decayed, clothed in cobwebs.
Get a grip, the petite teenager thought, running her hand through her dark, bob cut, pulling it out of her face only to have it fall hopelessly back in place. She looked to Tifa, trying to follow her example. The martial artist loyally followed Cloud, her face showing no fear, only determination. Yuffie held no doubt that the tall, top-heavy brunette would follow Cloud to the end of the Planet.
Were they already there? As she wondered, a chill ran through her small frame.
Despite Tifa's obvious devotion to their enigmatic blonde leader, Cloud seemed oblivious to the feelings his only childhood friend had for him. Yuffie reckoned he was blinded by his obsession to find Sephiroth and distracted by the charmingly beautiful Aerith. The Cetra openly flirted with Cloud, making it clear, it seemed to Yuffie, that she was interested in him.
If only I could be so bold, Yuffie thought as she had so often recently. Tifa and I aren't so different, really. The one she admires acts like he could care less what she feels, while she has no idea how much I admire her. Admire her? More like crush after her, a nagging thought suggested. We've been over this, I am not gay. Queer! Oh, shut up, you! Yuffie sighed and almost giggled aloud to as she realized how silly it would seem if her friends knew what kind of arguments she held with herself.
Cloud stopped walked so suddenly that Yuffie rammed into his back. "Hey," she snapped, being jarred from her daydreams. "Watch where you're goin'!"
"Look, it's Aerith!" Tifa said in an excited whisper as Yuffie spotted the flower girl kneeled over an opening in the floor. The lifestream flowed beneath her, casting a pale green light on the face of the praying ancient. Cloud seemed as if he expected to see Aerith there. The ex-SOLDIER approached the woman with confidence. Yuffie hung back, hovering by Tifa's side, cherishing the security she felt near the older woman. Tifa would know what to do if Cloud turned psycho again, right?
"Gawd, this place sucks," Yuffie complained in her usual manner, managing to get a faint smile from Tifa. Then the woman's face melted into deadly seriousness as she watched Cloud. "What is it?" Yuffie asked, following her gaze.
"Cloud! Stop!" Tifa shouted. Yuffie's jaw hit the floor as she watched Cloud raise his sword, preparing to strike a fatal blow to the oblivious and praying Aerith.
Cloud stepped back, Tifa's cry lifting him from his possession. Yuffie crumpled to her knees beside Tifa, overwhelmed by relief. The feeling was only momentary. Yuffie stared wide-eyed at the sword wielding Sephiroth, who materialized from the ceiling. The silver haired angel descended in slow motion towards Aerith.
"No!" she could hardly gasp, but was unable to do anything more to prevent the sword from plunging into her friend's chest. The gruesome murder was a blur. The nonchalant look on Sephiroth's face, completely unmoved by taking the life of the last Cetra, the was blankness in Aerith's expression, as if she felt nothing, knew nothing was happening, it all seemed to happen in a split second yet those images imbedded themselves deep in Yuffie's mind. She found herself clutching Tifa, transformed into a frightened little girl.
Aerith dead? How could it be… Yuffie'd just been with her just few days before, laughing, smiling, and flirting with the unreceptive Cloud. She'd been kind to Yuffie when the rest of the gang didn't give a damn, especially after the materia incident. Now Yuffie would never have a chance to thank the Cetra for believing in her.
Damn Sephiroth. Yuffie hadn't wanted to fight before. Stories of the gray- haired man gave her beyond the creeps before she even had laid eyes on him. Now she understood what it all meant. The one winged angel was insane. If he could take life so casually, so unemotionally, so unregretful, that meant summoning meteor wasn't just an idle threat. He would actually do it. Everything she knew would be destroyed. Her town, her friends, even the materia she strove so hard to pilfer would be dead. As dead as Aerith. She'd joined the motley gang with eyes clouded by greed. Perhaps her dreams of finding wealth in materia goal wasn't entirely gone, but she knew what had to come first. Cloud would have a hard time getting rid of Yuffie Kisaragi now.
Yuffie approached Cloud in an attempt to offer sympathy, but was lost for words. She only could embrace her companion, leaving a wet streak on his shoulder. Yuffie pulled away and solemnly turned her back. She walked off, head hung low. Her pace quickened into a fast stride. Before she realized it, the ninja was sprinting back up the spiral staircase, away from that hell hole reeking of death.
Dark clouds heavy with moister had been approaching before the threesome had ventured underground and now were raging in full force. Icy droplets stung Yuffie's exposed face and the lightening flashes lit the path before her, setting an appropriate mood for how she felt. The ninja breathed heavily and collapsed onto her knees. "Aerith… dead… Sephiroth…" she croaked between sobs. It was too much to handle. A tiny inkling nagged at the corner of her mind.
She was glad it hadn't been Tifa.
Disgusted with herself and the world, the determination to kill Sephiroth drifted away leaving a frail, sixteen-year-old girl weeping on the ground. So overcome with grief and guilt, Yuffie crumpled into a ball and drifted out of consciousness.
Yuffie's mind slowly arrived in the realm of dreams. She found herself back in the City of the Ancients, standing in her unconscious recreation of the place Aerith had returned to the Planet. Only it wasn't Aerith who knelt before the pool.
It was Tifa.
"Tifa, what the hell are you doing?" Yuffie demanded, her small voice muffled by a vast and pressing silence. She ran, but her feet met air on a slow motion treadmill, arms flailing hopelessly as if she were running through water. The blonde-tipped, purple figure of Cloud descended from the ceiling, taking the place of Sephiroth in Yuffie's nightmare.
"No! Tifa! No! Tifa! Teef? Nonononononoooo!" the ninja wailed, collapsing. She was petrified not by fear but an inability to react. She tried to turn away from the gruesomeness she knew would follow, tried to clamp her eyelids down, but in her mind she still saw every detail. The blade plunged between Tifa's breasts, disappearing into her chest. A ripple of blood slowly spread outward from the wound. Tifa stared directly at Yuffie, a hardened gaze piercing the little ninja's soul.
Why did you let him hurt me? Tifa's unspoken voice pressed with such seemingly infinite sadness. The weight of guilt took its toll, for Yuffie merely shook her head. She searched for a solution, something to make it better, but no words came. Tifa's eyes lost recognition. She spasmed, blood rising from her throat like bile and trickling down her chin. The young woman collapsed at Cloud's feet as she returned to the Planet.