Loud grunts and impact thuds echoed throughout the abandoned church, clattering metal, heavy foot falls, and the rare skin to skin "slap" could be heard. The sounds echoed I'm sure, for at least a kilometre away. Zack and I had begun training together the day I came to Midgar. Well I guess when I say training I mean he spars me and I attempt to keep up. Occasionally I'll hit him, or his sword, with one of my shuriken, and a loud crash echoes throughout the church. But that really was the extent of my damage to the man, he was just something else. A man bred to fight, infused with this raw ability to be... damn awesome.
"Oh come on Yuf, keep up." He jokes, encouraging my progress. He jokes a lot. He likes to see people smile. He's really lovely, so much so that I've begun to consider him to be an extension of my now non-existent family. Possibly a brotherly figure, a violent brotherly figure, but a brother nevertheless.
One last crash sounded as Zack's sword collided with my armour.
"Aahh... Ahh... Shit." Swearing was common in this part of town, I'm sure anyone passing by would think nothing of my profanity. Although, you would have thought I would be accustomed to the attacks by now. But flesh wounds inflicted with Zack's sword never got easier to deal with. His sword is made of fine and very rare metals, he has never actually told me the name of said metals but they hurt all the same.
I collapsed on the floor of the old church, another blood stain was tattooing a pattern onto the old wooden floor, and it would be further evidence of our training sessions. My blood was seeping through the armour Zack had made to protect me, from him, and into my small hands, the pain was almost intolerable but I knew worse was still to come. Stifling my screams with my left hand and grasping my stomach with my right, Zack rushed to my side.
"Oh, Yuf I'm... Shit I'm sorry... Stay still." He pressed his hand to the buckle at the back of the armour and undid it, allowing my body freedom from its unkind grasp. "I think I'm gonna have to take you to the hos..."
"No." I interrupted. "No, I'll be fine... Patch me up like always... And I'll be good." I dreaded the hospital, I hated the smell, the food, sharing a bathroom with some sick random. And most of all I hated the files that documented your stay, you could never be one hundred percent invisible, the whole world, if they tried, could track you down. "No Zack, no... I said n..."
"Okay, okay, sit still and try not to scream too much okay?" He pulled a large first aid box over to my side. We had always kept it within reach when practicing, accidents happened more often than not and it seemed stupid not to have it within close proximity at all times.
Searching through the small box he pulled out a jar, pouring two pain killer pills into his hand, he motioned for me to open my mouth and forced me to swallow.
"This is going to hurt." He warned, taking out a bottle of what I assumed was pure alcohol steriliser, he unscrewed the top and began to pour the devil liquid over the open wound. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say the entire suburb would have heard my screams.
"St... Sto... Stop... Ahh... Pleas... Stop..." Tears cascaded down my face mixing with the blood from biting deep into my lip. Bitting my lip was something I did to give me some form of control over the pain I was feeling.
"Sis. I can't. You need stitches... No. You need to go to hospital." I shook my head. I was not going there, not today, not if I could help it, not if I had any say in the matter.
Due to my protest, Zack began to glue the sides of my stomach back together. Something he likes to call stitches in a bottle, no needle or overly experienced person needed. It always worked really well. He'd patched my lip up with it a few weeks ago, when he had 'accidentally' bumped me with his sword. Tifa was going to kill us. Well she was going to kill Zack, when and if she saw the state of my stomach.
"Damn it Fair, someone would think you were trying to kill me." Fair was his last name, a name he didn't often get called anymore. Yet he chuckled in response.
"How's the pain?" He was always genuinely interested in the pain I felt, I'm not sure if that is because he himself doesn't feel as much pain as a usual human, or if he just generally cares about his unwanted, metaphorically adopted sister?
"Can I at least call Aeris to bring the car? So you don't have to walk?" I nodded, handing him my phone. He smirked his irritatingly obvious smirk as he looked between me and my phone.
'Damn it Yuffie' I thought to myself as I suddenly remembered what my background picture was. 'Why did I have to leave it as that picture of Vincent, then I handed it to the very man I was trying to hide it from?' But this was not the time to worry about such things, I did after all desperately need a lift home.
"Hey babe." He'd dialled her number. Not forgetting to smirk at me and wink in the process. "Hmm, yeah... Hmm. No, no, can you bring the car 'round? Hmm now would be good. Hmm... K love ya too. Bye." Damn Zack and his calmness, he always remained so collected during the most troublesome of times.
"You know Aeris is gonna kill you when she sees me." I winced at the last part of the sentence as pain shot through me each time I moved.
"Hmm. That's why I got the "I love you" in early." He smirked, a double smirk, he had two things to smirk about. It was a strange little smile he had, almost lopsided and his opposite eyebrow always rose, trying to emphasise his remark.
"So Vincent, aii?" His smirk didn't falter when my hand collected his face with a loud slap that echoed throughout the room. "I see." He chuckled, putting his arms behind my knees and under my arms, carrying me bridal style to the front entrance of the church.
"I hate you." I stuttered, pain still coursed through my stomach with every step he took. "I hate you Zack Fair."