We Have A Reason
For My Mother.

Thunder rumbled off in the distance. The pale gray eyes of Yuffie Kisaragi looked up at the storm clouds gathering. She wrapped her arms around her knees more tightly and rested her chin back on her arms. Deep down, she knew she should make the trip down Da Chao to Wutai. She also knew that if she went to Wutai she would have to spend the storm with her father in the Pagoda of the Five Gods. Yuffie was anxious to get back home for the week, but she'd wait out this storm on Da Chao.

She had spent the whole day sitting on Da Chao trying to decide what she was fighting for. Ideas had come and gone, but none seemed good enough. Her first thought had been, "I'm fighting for Wutai!" As the future Empress of Wutai she should be fighting to save her people. It felt… false. She was still too young to really care about her duty to her country. "I'm fighting for me! I don't wanna die!" Yuffie smirked at that idea. While it was true, it was not the force driving her to fight with Avalanche. So what was it?

Lighting flashed across the sky and thunder rolled making Yuffie shiver. She had hated storms ever since she was a child. Storms always made her think of the final days of the war and her mother. Even now, years later she could still hear her mother's voice in her ear, telling her to wake up and run.

As she and her mother ran through the doors of the Pagoda, rain began to fall. The doors slammed shut behind them and the royal guards took up positions to defend the bottom floor. Lady Naomi took Yuffie by the hand and nearly dragged her up the stairs. On the top floor, Naomi felt along the wall for a seam to the hidden room built in case of emergency. The door slid open and Naomi pulled Yuffie into the room.

"Hush my darling." Naomi whispered, pulling Yuffie into her lap, "We must be silent. You father said that he would return for us when it was safe."

For the first time in her life, six-year-old Yuffie listened when told to be quiet. Naomi smiled down at her daughter, tucking a few stray strands of chocolate colored hair out of her fearful gray eyes. Before Naomi's own mother had died the year before, she had often said Yuffie looked just like Naomi had as a child. Naomi was looking forward to seeing her daughter grow into a beautiful woman and ruler of Wutai.

The sound of a door slamming against the wall downstairs made Naomi and Yuffie stiffen. The fighting sounded fierce and Naomi closed her eyes in a silent prayer to Leviathan for strength. Suddenly the battle stopped. The sound of slow footsteps echoed off the walls of the Pagoda. Naomi shifted Yuffie off of her lap and onto the floor.

"Someone has broken into the Pagoda." Naomi murmured. She turned to Yuffie," Mama's has to go protect the Pagoda. You must sit here and be silent."

"Yes Mama." Yuffie said, straightening her nightgown so she could sit on the floor.

Naomi unclasped a necklace from around her neck, a red orb catching the faint light in the room. She put the necklace around her daughter's neck and tucked it underneath her shirt, "You must protect the Leviathan materia for me. Give it to your father when he comes for you."

Yuffie touched the materia through her nightgown, "No one will take it from me, Mama."

"That's because you are my daughter." Naomi said, smoothing her hand over Yuffie's hair, "Never forget that."

Yuffie crept to the door to peek out at the main room. She saw her mother take a katana off the wall. Ever since Shinra Inc. had invaded Wutai, Naomi had stopped wearing the traditional style kimono of the Empress of Wutai. Instead she took up a Western style dress that allowed her mobility while still being feminine. Tonight she was grateful for that. She knew that she would need the extra mobility. Naomi drew in a deep breath and waited for the intruders.

The door slammed open and three men walked into the room. The tallest signaled the other two to wait by the door. He walked to the center of the room, eyeing the blade in Naomi's hand.

"Stand aside and you will not be harmed." Sephiroth said in clear Wutian.

"I cannot do that, General Sephiroth." Naomi replied in fluent common, adjusting the grip on her sword, "You have destroyed my country and slaughtered many of my people. I cannot stand by and allow you to defile the Pagoda as well.

Yuffie's eyes widened. This was the Great General Sephiroth who was ravaging their country? He was tall with broad shoulders, but still slender for a man. His hair was longer than even her mother's was and silver in color. The most striking thing about him were his eyes. They were shaped like a cat and glowed green in the darkness.

Lightning lit up the room as Sephiroth bowed to Naomi, "Lady Kisaragi. I am impressed by your bravery. Few would stand against me when I offer them freedom."

Yuffie knew she would never forget the fight that followed. Naomi was a woman who was both beautiful and deadly. She had been trained on the sword from the time she was strong enough to wield it. Rumor was Sephiroth had been trained in the same way. While he knew how to use many weapons, he preferred a sword.

Together they moved as if they were dancing rather than fighting. Sephiroth's sword sliced through the air. Naomi rolled and dodged before smoothly countering Sephiroth's attack. The fight continued for several long minutes, then the moment came when the lesser swordsman fell. Sephiroth's blade caught the hem of Naomi's skirt, tearing it. Naomi's foot caught in the fabric, causing her to pitch forward onto Sephiroth's blade.

Sephiroth looked down almost mournfully at Lady Kisaragi as he pulled his blade from her chest. He pulled a rag from his pocket and wiped the blood from his blade.

"It's not here." Sephiroth said to the Soldiers who had accompanied him, "She knew we were coming tonight. She'll have it well hidden away already."

Yuffie knew she should stay hidden, but she could not force her body to stay still. She slid out of the hidden passageway and ran to her mother's body. Yuffie slid to the floor, tugging on her mother's skirt. Tears flooded her eyes. It seemed as though her mother were only sleeping. No matter how Yuffie tried, Naomi would not wake.

One of the guards unsheathed his sword and walked toward Yuffie. Sephiroth scowled darkly at the man, "Leave her."

"B-But sir!" The man stammered, "Orders were to kill any member of the ruling family."

Sephiroth looked down at Yuffie, sitting in a pool of her mother's blood, clutching a tattered skirt in her hand. Her eyes were bright and unafraid… so like the late Empress. His eyes softened slightly for a moment before looking back at the guard.

"I do not care." Sephiroth said coldly, "My orders are to leave her. Are you going to disobey me?"

The guard quickly sheathed his sword, "No sir."

Sephiroth glanced back at Yuffie again before leading the two Soldiers out of the Pagoda. Yuffie could not remember how long she sat there before she heard the pounding footsteps of her father. He ran into the room, his eyes coming to rest on Yuffie and Naomi. Yuffie's hand still clutched in Naomi's skirt, her teary eyes looking to her father for reassurance. Godo sank down beside them, crying for the first and only time Yuffie could remember.

It did not matter how honorable he was, Yuffie knew she would never forgive Sephiroth. He was the one who had killed her mother, ruined her father, and destroyed Wutai. After her mother's death, Yuffie threw herself into intense training. She hoped be as skilled as her mother was with enough practice. One day she would avenge her mother and her country.

Yuffie shook herself back into reality as the first raindrops fell. She collected her pack and shuriken before retreating into Da Chao's Fire Caverns. Home would wait a few hours now that she knew what she was fighting for.

A.N. Hopefully I'll have the time to sit down and crank out the other parts of the story in the next few weeks. Hope you enjoyed Yuffie's piece.