Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.
Blank Awakening
She sat up quickly and her body went stiff. Her head began to pound with the sudden movement and she quickly became dizzy and unstable. She took in a quick breath just before she leaned to her left side in a flash and a hurl of vomit flew from her mouth. Coughs shook her body as the final spurts of her sickness eased away from her throat. She let out a slow breath and collapsed back onto the soft pillow on the large bed under her.
The room she was in, was a complete mystery to her and she could not recall how she arrive in the bedroom. Amazingly, she could not pull a single fact out of her head. Her name was a mystery, her friends were unknown, and her life was a complete blank. She was in a hellish spot and it did not seem promising at the moment.
She took the risk of sitting up in the bed once more and the room did not spin as it had moments ago. On the floor, she caught sight of a pink dress and high heeled shoes. They appeared to be in waiting for her wake of the sleep she had been in. She looked at her body and hissed in a breath of shock. She was completely naked. There were light lines on different locations of her body were scars were formed and she hated to imagine what caused her so many marks of injury. Maybe losing her memory was a blessing?
Since there weren't other pieces of clothing, she slide into the dress and heels next to the bed. The dress gave her a feeling of being open and she hated it. Not to mention the heels were already killing her feet and she barely walked for a minute in them. Her bets were high she never was a dress up kind of gal. Her eyes met a mirror and she approached to get a good look at the forgotten image.
According to the image looking back at her, she could only assume she was around 25 years old. Her dark, brown hair was barely an inch past her chin and her skin was soft and pale. Green danced in her eyes and a small smile completed the young look. It was a conceded thought, but she looked damn fine.
A knock at the bedroom door made her heart jump and she spun around on her heel. The tiny piece of shoe holding her stance nearly buckled under her weight and quick movement. She took a grasp of the chair in front of the mirror and a gentleman chuckled from the door.
"It appears grace of a ninja is only a myth," he said with a smirk as he leaned on the wall.
"N..Ninja?" she stuttered. She could not believe he called her such a title.
"It seems the medicine is still standing strong," he said and walked forward. He caught the smell and sight of her sickness on the floor and he made a face of disgust. "We'll have someone come clean your mess, but I have a date for you to hold."
"A date?" she asked as he took her hand like a gentleman.
"The man's name is Ryker and he is going to be so pleased you have woken from your sleep. We weren't sure if it would all work out in our favor," he said and walked her down the hallway.
"Your favor?" she asked.
"Ryker is madly in love with you and he thought he had lost you in the battle he was given. You were hit badly in the head and were knocked out instantly. We couldn't guess what would happen or the injuries you would gain from the hit. How do you feel?" he asked as they neared a door on their left side.
She chewed on her bottom lip since she could not recall if the man next to her was a friend or enemy. He was being gentle with her, and he smiled ever time she looked his way. An enemy would not do all he was doing with such a calm attitude. He would be in a panic and much more harmful to her. The man holding her arm was a gentleman and she knew she was safe with him.
"My head is pounding slightly and I feel a little dizzy. I can't remember a single fact about myself or any part of my life," she said with a slight frown on her face.
"That would be what our enemies had wanted. We were attacked and they made an attempt to kidnap you. Before my master could reach you, they poisoned you with some unknown drug and you were knocked out. Chances are you will never gain back your memories. We will do what we can to help you build the true stories you may never know," he said and placed his hand on the door. "My lady, may I present to you Master Ryker Sale."
A man dressed in a fine, navy tuxedo turned with a smile of pleasure on his face. He appeared to be dressed in high money and he knew it. His cocky appearance turned the young woman off instantly and she was afraid as he uttered his next words.
"My wife! Yuffie, how are you feeling? ! I am so glad you have finally woken from those fiends' nasty trap." His words gave her a name to call herself and fear as she looked down at the ring around her finger. She was married to a man she could not find a memory around or any form of attraction towards. Something was not right with the story before her.
xXxXxXx
"I hate when he gets like this," Tifa said as she watched Cloud pace in their kitchen. "I married him without a single regret in my heart, but if he doesn't calm down I will go insane!"
Vincent shared one of his rare smirks and shook his head. Tifa and Cloud were approaching their three year anniversary in about two months. He found the life they created together a miracle and knew they were at a happy point in their lives. A family surrounded them and friends were a simple phone call away. That was how he had been dragged into the situation before them. The little girl had gotten herself kidnapped and they needed to find her as soon as possible before serious harm was done to her.
"Cloud," Vincent said. The others in the room looked at him with surprise. His friends always appeared shocked whenever he allowed his voice to be heard outside of answering a question. Before the recent time, he was a locked book with a missing key. Now, he opened his mouth each moment he felt he had something important to say. Especially, when it concerned a matter close to his heart. "Tell us again what Mr. Godo Kisaragi told you about Yuffie's disappearance."
Cloud looked around at the room and met the eyes of the many friends there to help in the rescue. Tifa looked at him with the same awe she held they day they met and he even could see the slight annoyance she was failing to hide as she appeared to be trying to chew he lip off. Barrett sat with a beer in his hand waiting to hear the story once more. He wanted to hear it as many times as Cloud was willing to spill so he could catch any details he may have missed. Cid fiddled with the keys in his pockets as he leaned against the wall in waiting for orders. The people before Cloud were some of the most trusted men and women in his life and he needed them now to safe the crazy girl they all held a strong love towards.
"Mr. Godo said they were holding a small dinner for the people of his court when the incident occurred. Yuffie and him were holding hopes to pull in more support to their digging under Wutai to hopefully find gold," Cloud said and leaned back against the bar of their home.
"She told me they hit a high reading on a new monitor they purchased and her father was all about hitting it and getting their city come improvements. I don't know if there really is gold deep down, or not, but that was the dinner's main purpose," Tifa said sharing the gossip. Everyone knew Godo was dying for more money. He would do anything to get an extra buck in his pocket.
"He said at the dinner they were all getting along rather smoothly until a crash sounded from one of the windows in the room. When a window broke several chocobos rushed into the building and started attacking the people as if they were enemies. At some point during the commotion, Yuffie was taken away. He is completely unaware as the to reasoning for her capture or even sure how it was done. He doesn't even know who did it!" Cloud shouted and threw his arm in the air like a young child.
"Well, that's a whole lotta nuttin' to go on!" Cid grumbled and glared at the wall across from him.
"You're telling me," Barrett agreed.
Vincent rubbed his face and closed his eyes with a sigh. It seemed as if they weren't going to get an obvious answer to saving their friend. Her capture made no sense to him.
"Who would want to steal her away?" Cid asked with a smirk. "That girl really knew how to go on and on without stopping. I would not take her if there were other options."
"Maybe it was their best action they could create. Yuffie is going to be 28 and start her training to take over Wutai. No matter how much she hates the idea of leading, she was beginning to take on the role and idea of replacing her father's position," Vincent said and pictured Yuffie as she was telling them her desire to take bigger steps in life only a few weeks prior to the date. "If an enemy of Mr. Wutai caught wind of her stepping up, they may have chosen to act on getting a hold of her and using her as a negotiation tool."
Tifa sat back and stared at Vincent with amazement. Not only was he simply talking, but he was praising the girl most saw as his complete opposite.
"Vincent, what's in that head of yours?" Tifa asked.
"I think we should all go out and dig up as much information as we can about the enemies of Mr. Wutai. Cid, talk to as many of his soldiers and you can, Barrett, travel to the different businesses in that city you hold connections with, Tifa and Cloud, dig up whatever you can from people around our city. I'll jump on the internet and see what things I can dig up through there," Vincent said and everyone jumped as he gave them orders. He couldn't believe they listened to him, but he wanted to get started on finding Yuffie as soon as possible. Since Cloud was in a strange place, he knew one of them needed to take the lead. He turned to jump on the computer but froze when Tifa grabbed his metal arm. He hated when people touched that part of him, and Tifa knew it. When he met her face a smirk was dancing on her lips.
"You've taken a strong interest in this situation," she whispered.
"She is our friend and I want to save her," he twisted his wrist and she let him go. But she kept following him and bent to whisper in his ear as he typed a search into the computer.
"What are you hoping for, Mr. Valentine?" she whispered then walked away from his seat.
was hoping they would find Yuffie unharmed and he could figure everything else out when she was safe. Anything else in his head could wait as it always had until he was ready to take the little nutcracker on.
