(Chapter 2)

Off to Nibelheim

Vincent left the bar just in time to catch Yuffie turning the corner at the end of the street. Edge had so far kept its reputation for being a relatively safe town. There weren't very many other people on the streets tonight and those that were didn't look like any threats. Vincent swiftly moved down the street and peeked around the corner that lead into a dark alley. A normal person wouldn't have been able see anything, but with Vincent's enhanced vision he spotted Yuffie right away. He jumped, appearing to fly as he reached the roof of the building. He followed Yuffie jumping from rooftop to rooftop until she finally arrived at the park. Vincent would have attempted to jump from the roof into the tree near her, but for fear of what would be a devastating event if he fell, he landed himself softly on the ground. He stayed in the shadows and watched his companion as she sat down in a swing. Though he was still many yards away, his sharp hearing instantly picked up her soft sobs.

He and Yuffie had never been especially close. He hadn't considered her as a friend until after his encounters with her in their fight against Deepground. But that was only due to the fact she had saved his life.

He looked down at his watch. It was now a few minutes after three o'clock in the morning. He allowed Yuffie another fifteen minutes to herself before he made his presence known.

"What!?" Yuffie snapped glaring up at him like a child to an intruding parent. Vincent leaned against the supporting pole to the swing set.

"I've come to reoffer you the room at the mansion." He spoke softly with no tone in his voice.

"Oh yeah? Well I don't want it!" The quietness of the night exaggerated Yuffie's shrill voice, making it seem louder than it was.

Vincent pushed himself off of the pole and started walking. "Suit yourself, Yuffie."

Yuffie forgot what it was like dealing with Vincent. He wasn't the type to spill his hospitality all over a person. So there was not a change he'd turn back and offer it again. She sighed loudly and stood from the swing. It was her turn to do the following. Though she tried to stay a good distance from the gunman, he knew all the while she had been following him. After they had passed the bar and walked a good ten minutes further, Yuffie finally caught up to him.

"Where are you going?" she asked awkwardly. He glanced down at her.

"Nibelheim." He answered. "There's a port a few miles up ahead. The ship travels from here to Costa Del Sol, from there we'll take a train to Nibelheim."

"We'll? Nobody ever said I was going with you!" Yuffie crossed her arms and looked away from him. Vincent ignored her and kept walking. A few minutes later Yuffie gave up on pretending she wasn't going to take his offer. She never could hold a grudge for long.

"So, you got the mansion fixed up?" she asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"Mm hm." Vincent replied keeping his eyes on the path ahead. A taxi rolled by and Vincent looked as if he were about to stop it. Yuffie peered into the window of the car and saw the man from the night before. Vincent lifted his arm only to have it nearly ripped off by a frantic Yuffie.

"Run!" Yuffie yelled, but it was too late. The taxi driver had already recognized her. He rolled down his window.

"It's you! Get back here!" he roared, revving up his taxi as if to run over the two.

"What the hell?" Vincent asked giving a rare confused expression to Yuffie who was literally dragging him down the street. She zigzagged down the street, the taxi in tow. She pushed Vincent into a narrow side street that the big taxi couldn't fit down. The man shook his fist outside of the window yelling obscenities out at them.

Yuffie paused holding her chest and panting heavily. "Whew that was close!"

Vincent narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't say a word. This look alone could force a person to confess.

"Don't look at me like that, Vinny." Yuffie said shoving her hand out toward his face as if blocking the glare he was shooting at her.

"Yuffie, don't you think you're getting a bit too old for games like that?" Vincent's tone was stern.

"Shut up! You're one to talk about getting old. Just because you've been around for a hundred years doesn't mean you know everything!" Yuffie took her hand down and crossed both arms over her chest as she stared up at the tall man.

"Tell me what I don't know." He said not taking his hard glare off of her. Yuffie shifted and looked away. Suddenly all the things she had thought were so much fun became too shameful to even admit. She stuck to admitting the obvious.

"I'm poor, homeless, and pregnant, Vincent. I had to do what I had to do, ok? Now can we just get going to wherever it is we're going and get there fast? I'm tired, hungry, and I gotta pee!" She did a little dance to prove her point.

Vincent sighed deeply and they continued on to the port where Yuffie quickly found a bathroom and Vincent bought her food. Yuffie knew it was a bad idea to eat before getting on a ship, but was too hungry to care and stuffed herself full.

Much to her despair the trip was two full days on the ship and since she was going on Vincent's ticket, they had to share a very small cabin. Yuffie spent most of the time with her head hanging off the railing barfing into the sea. Yuffie was sure she'd risen the sea level with the amount of vomit.

She walked back into their cabin literally green in the face. She threw herself down on the twin sized bed and groaned. In the room was the bed, a small wooden chair, a table with a lamp on it, a few pictures on 

the wall, and a plant in the corner. Vincent sat in the chair reading a message from Tifa on his phone. She'd sent him a thank you message for taking Yuffie in.

Yuffie rolled over on her back and looked over at him. "Wow, Vinny are you like actually sending a text message!? Don't tell me you've got a girlfriend or something?" She jumped up and leaned forward trying to read what he was typing.

For this Tifa, a simple thanks may not be efficient enough.

Vincent closed his phone quickly and stood. "You should try to get some rest."

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked the back of his head. Vincent didn't answer her but shut the door behind him. He took a walk around the ship and leaned against the railing looking out at the sky. Never in his life had he lived with a woman before. He knew he wouldn't be able to put Yuffie in a room on the other side of the mansion and expect her to never bother him. He sighed heavily and hung his head looking down at the water. Who in their right mind would want to be within my presence anyway?

Yuffie, with her stealthy ninja ways had followed him, but hid behind one of the support pillars that held up the second floor of the ship. She sighed after watching him hang his head depressively. Don't tell me he's still depressed over that stupid Lucrecia. I thought Shelke had helped him get his closure with that. She watched him a while longer, but eventually got tired after a while. He stood there motionless, but his hair and cloak were blowing softly in the wind.

Vinny, you deserve to be happy. Yuffie thought as she walked away towards the small cabin. She lay in bed contemplating on things she could do to possibly cheer him up. None came to mind and she eventually fell asleep.

AUTHORS NOTES:

titanscave-95- thanks for the review! Um... I dont even know who the dad is! lol!

VisariGrissle- of course I'll keep going! Thanks for reviewing!