Disclaimer: I own no part of Final Fantasy VII. I am not receiving any payment for this story other than self-satisfaction.

I wasn't going to write any more stories, because my author career is hitting a wall, but I can't hold these back! I have a bad habit of not being able to let an idea go. I have about 2 more fan fics up my sleeve and then I think I'm going to try and take a break. But we all know how well that worked last time! Ha ha! Enjoy Vincent and Yuffie's little love story!

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Chapter One: Time Changes a Person

Yuffie Kisaragi sat in the back yard of her father's mansion. She was glad he was the leader and worked hard to keep their nation out of major turmoil. The only problem was his desire to remain a tourist attraction nation. The beauty of Wutai, the love of the people, and the tough security from the police force meant nothing to her father unless he could make easy gil from the ever coming visitors.

Yuffie rolled her eyes at her dear dad's need for money. She could understand wanting it to get through life from day to day. It was true not every person held her luck to be a wealthy princess, and she wouldn't toss dirt on it any longer. But they were fine and they didn't need any more!

She sighed as she stood up from her seat on the cold ground. Spring was around the corner but some of the lingering chill from winter had yet to subside. She dusted off her butt free of dirt and turned around to face the mansion she now called home.

Being a princess she was forced to almost always dress in a flowered kimono and dress shoes fit for royalty. Her hair was several inches longer than she liked because she needed to become more beautiful for her father's happiness. She felt a little off with her need to do little things like dressing nicely while her father was still alive. Before he left she needed to send him to the Lifestream with happy memories.

When her father announced his battle with a nasty dose of heart cancer. It appeared he had been carrying lung cancer for a bit of time before the disease was caught spreading to his heart. By the time they caught it they were too late to help heal him. Yuffie took his approaching death as a sign she was done running away from her role as a Wutaian leader.

"Princess Yuffie," a young maid said as she stepped outside in her ever so short skirt. While Yuffie was required to wear a long kimono the maids were placed in short skirts. Her father said it was to symbolize her larger importance, but she wasn't young enough to miss the creepy desires of an old man. The maid's outfits would be one of the first changes she made when she got her hands more control. "Your father requested you presence about tomorrow's announcement."

Yuffie crossed her eyes even with the girl in front of her. Everyone knew she was still not all on board to leading their nation. The only reason she was here was because her father stood at death's door. She took a deep breath and followed the girl into the mansion.

The large home seemed even more obnoxious with her father no longer being able to move up and down stairs due to his heart condition. His bedroom was moved entirely to the downstairs guest room. The space was only slightly smaller than the grand, master bedroom on the upper floor. But her old man made a point to complain about the lack of space for almost the entire first month he slept in the room. Yuffie was honestly surprised he didn't toss money to have the space increased. Maybe he was getting a little wiser about foolish spending?

"Hey, old man," Yuffie said as she stepped into the room. The carpet was a maroon shade with dark walls. The darkness of the room made his sleeping a little bit easier and the elegance around him made him still feel like he carried some importance.

"Yuffie, have you looked over the speech I wrote for you to read tomorrow?" he asked. Even if he was to be relaxing he still put in too much work in his final days. A part of Yuffie could find some respect for his dedication.

"Yes, I don't see why I'm holding a presentation for our people," she groaned and sat at the wooden chair angled by his bed for visitors if he actually saw any. "We aren't planning to change anything about this money pit you created. Why do I need to do this?"

"Because this is a process that needs to occur," he said and rubbed his hand over his face as if he were reaching the edge of his patience. No surprise there. "I know if you stick with Wutai as you keep saying you will, there might be changes ahead in your plans. And a part of me understands this as much as I don't. But if you wish to change how things are done here you must do them in baby steps. As the speech reads; you plan to continue leading our people as I always have done, but you will not make promises to leave us behind. Your known strength and exploration of our world a few years ago taught you a lot. Possibly more than I even know."

Yuffie's eyes popped open. Her father rarely spoke about her adventures alongside AVALANCHE. It had been almost five years since those many battles. A part of her wanted to forget them all while she knew it would never be a gift she could receive. She felt a part of Godo was filled with guilt for the hardships and terrors she went through while gaining her knowledge of many factors in the world. She also knew her experience brought home many things he never put thought into. The things she learned outside their nation were things Godo would never have thought up since he never left Wutai. Their people needed Yuffie's lessons.

"Ah, I need to rest. Please, close the curtains over that window by my dresser and catch some sleep yourself," he said. He reached up and touched under her eyes as if he truly was a caring father. "You look tired, my daughter."

"I will," Yuffie whispered and took hold of the caring hand on her cheek. She nuzzled his rough fingers before leaving him to rest. As she stepped out of his room tears fell down her cheeks.

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Vincent Valentine no longer kept himself locked away from the outside world. The battles alongside his friends taught him life was not a thing he could waste with what little time he might have left. It was only a short time after Sephiroth killed thousands of innocent people when Deepground appeared and knocked out a large number of innocents themselves. Vincent could not understand what kind of evil took over a being's mind for them to think killing would be a good idea.

Vincent opened his cell phone to check the time and date. It was nearly five years since their battles ended and the world was finally nearing a sense of calm. He lived a few streets down from Cloud and Tifa's home near Seventh Heaven. His time was spent seeing his friends every now and again. He still preferred his time alone, but Tifa would freak out if he acted too strongly towards his desire of privacy.

As if on cue his cell phone rang and the number for Seventh Heaven lit up the screen. It was rare for Tifa to use the business phone. Chances were Cloud lost his cell and took hold of Tifa's until his was found. The man was growing ever more clueless as time ticked by.

"Hello, Tifa," Vincent answered. He could have ignored her call but then she'd leave a voicemail. If she left a voicemail he would need to call her back. There truly was no point to ignore his friend.

"Hey, Vincent," she said an obvious smile on her face. "Did you see the news this morning?"

Vincent rolled his eyes. He didn't find the need to watch news updates because if there ever was anything big Tifa would spill it for him anyway. No need to waste his time if he had his own updater.

"Probably not," she said once he remained silent. "It turns out tomorrow the Princess of Wutai is holding a live broadcast to be announced all over the world!"

Vincent gave a confused look to his empty living room. He knew Yuffie moved back home when her father was diagnosed with cancer soon to claim his life. He knew she wanted to be by his side in his final days. Any caring daughter would feel that way even if h had been a little harsh through her young years. But he did not expect her to be taking such a strong act as Princess of Wutai.

"How about that?" Vincent said with a smile actually appearing on his face.

"I know, right?!" Tifa yelled. He could picture her jumping like an excited child. "Tomorrow we're all going to gather here to watch the live showing. You should come too."

And there it was. The main reason for her calling about the update. Tifa did her best to keep all of her friends up to date on major issues going through their lives. Especially when the matter was something as large as this. Chances were she already called or was planning to call the rest of AVALANCHE about the little party tomorrow. It would be cruel for Vincent to deny making an appearance.

"I'll stop by for the show," he said standing from his chair. He was wearing his ever popular leather pants and stylish sweater. His cape was tossed aside because it mostly got in the way those days. Of course, his hair was still long. He didn't need to look in the mirror and resemble his old self any more than needed.

"Great! See you tomorrow around lunch time!" Tifa said happily.

Vincent ended their call with a small smirk on his face. The idea of Yuffie actually making a public announcement like a true princess was almost a joke. It was bound to end up in a mess with chaos from the start to end. He knew his friend didn't have the poise of an elegant lady. Yuffie Kisaragi would never hold the idea off a princess in his eyes.

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Vincent drove his motorcycle to Seventh Heaven the next day with a large amount of doubt for the whole presentation ending as a smooth event. If he knew Yuffie as well as he thought he did they were in for an entertaining show. Yuffie was not a girl to be seen in a prissy kimono with her hair done in a stylish way. Not to mention her hair was always cut as a bob so short there was nothing anyone could do to it. Vincent let another chuckle out to the idea of Yuffie's show about to be displayed.

He stepped into the bar to see several of his comrades already seated at the bar in wait for the television to display their show. Jokes were told in laughs and stories were shared. Vincent sat on a stool next to Cid as he chewed on a toothpick. His smoking habit was cut down in place of this new trick. It worked but Vincent didn't think there was much point with how often he once smoked. Whatever he could do to please Shera.

"Hey, Vince!" Cid said as Vincent took his seat. His friend pat him a little rough on his back as he sat down.

"How are you doing, Cid?" Vincent asked barely able to fight off a wince from Cid's surprisingly hard pat.

"Eh, can't complain. Ships doing well and Shera hasn't kicked me out of the house yet. What about you, old timer?" Cid asked with a small chuckle as Tifa placed a small glass of water for Vincent on the bar.

Vincent smiled to his friend's joke while shaking his head. He was a bit older than all his friends but carried the appearance of a thirty year old man. With his demons out of his body he assumed he would begin aging and living life as an average human. His first battle against a simple cold told him how true his belief was.

"Just doing small work around the city. Helping people with simple jobs," Vincent said before sipping his drink. "Not much to do with all these bad guys out of business."

Ever since their win over Deepground the problems in the enter world were almost done. Small matters here and there handled by local law enforcement were the only problems known from day to day. Even Reeve was finding life to be a bit easier than he expected.

"Don't complain too much," Tifa warned pointing a water sprayer from the sink at the men. "I don't want to get thrown into anymore battles. We deserve this peace."

"Attention all! Princess Yuffie Kisaragi will now be taking the stage for her latest announcement!" a voice called from the television.

All eyes looked to the screen while Tifa yelped with joy. It had been a long time since any of them had seen the young ninja. Sure, Tifa spoke to her on occasion but that meant nothing. Seeing the young girl step out threw everyone's excitement out the door. They were all shocked by the sight they saw.

Vincent took in her slim body wrapped snuggly in a dark blue kimono. Her hair was almost at her shoulders with half of it pulled back into a blue twist to match her outfit. A light amount of makeup decorated her face making her eyes jump at the onlookers. At some point the crazy girl they all knew grew into a beautiful, young woman. When she spoke faces filled with shock.

"Thank you all for attending this meeting my father and I wished to hold," she said with poise and elegance. "As you all know, my father was diagnosed with heart and lung cancer a little while ago. In these past few months I have worked with him to develop plans for our great nation."

Vincent took in a slow breath to her grown up personality. Where was the child he fought alongside many years ago? When did her eyes begin to shine with such darkness? Where was the heart her smile always brought to their lives? Where was the Yuffie he always knew?

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Well? 5 years can really change a person, huh? Well, let's see what exciting news Yuffie has for her people and her friends