He didn't see the small ninja for the rest of that day, and somehow he knew he wouldn't until the sun went down and she was forced to get back into their room in order to turn in for the night. If the ninja didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be, that much was obvious. The usual loud ninja would generally surprise the group by how quiet she could be when she wanted to.

As rare as it was; however, it was unsettling.

You truly are dense…

Chaos' words rung through his head again, almost haunting him. He sighed and retired from searching for the tiny woman, returning to his book that had been discarded on the table of the booth. Picking it up, he flipped it open and attempted to read once again. He was however, unable to focus and threw the book across the room, watching it slam against the opposite wall with more force than he had originally intended.

Once again, he sighed, what had the book done to him? He sunk into the couch again and proceeded to brood.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I do not forgive you…" His heated voice sounded in the depths of the room. "… sorry will never be enough for me to forgive you."

Even at the time, he knew he didn't really mean it, but some perverse part of him wanted to make the girl suffer. To watch her wallow in the sin that she had committed and grovel in repentance. Well no, even that was a lie… that was what he wished he was thinking, but it wasn't. In truth, the reason he was being so cold was because he was mad at himself for trusting her.

For allowing himself to be weak.

The shoulders of the tiny ninja proceeded to shake unrelentingly, soft sobs could be heard in the room and he knew that Yuffie was crying. Yuffie was crying because what… did she feel guilty? Did she truly see the wrong in her deed? Something made Vincent want to take back what he said, but immediately he recalled the moment that she had locked them into that large cage and how smug she had looked… he hardened almost immediately.

"I… we trusted you, and you betrayed us." Vincent said coldly, "We almost died at the hand of Don Corneo because we did not have the materia that YOU took from us."

He turned back to the window and gazed out into the distance, a clear sign that the conversation was over.

"O-okay… I-I… unders-stand." She said, still sobbing as softly as she could as she left the room.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bang!

Cloud had just finished powering down the large vehicle that he had named Fenrir when he heard a sound resonate from the bar. Immediately, he drew his main sword from the depths of Fenrir and quickly entered the bar, thinking that it was just another drunk that was causing trouble for Tifa.

As he threw open the door, his eyebrow immediately rose, the bar was completely empty and not even Tifa was manning the bar. Oh. He thought, sudden realization dawning upon him. It's a Sunday, Tifa doesn't run the bar on Sundays.

It was true, in respect for Aerith, their long lost friend, Tifa had refused to do business on Sundays due to the amound of time that Aerith would generally spend in that church of hers. He sighed, painful memories returning to haunt him once more.

Quickly, he shook his head and searched for the source of the noise, almost immediately finding it. There was a book sprawled out in the corner of the room, and in one of the booths sat a lone figure.

"Vincent?" Cloud called out softly, sheathing his weapon and seating himself in the couch that had had one too many occupants for a day in which the bar was not open. Receiving no response, he waved his hand in front of the man's face, Still no reaction.

"… do not forgive you…" Vincent said softly, apparently still in a trance.

"Vincent?" Cloud asked, now exceptionally concerned. Vincent was one that usually tried to atone for his sins, not refuse it to someone else. "Vincent, snap out of it!"

"H-hm?" Vincent blinked, finally focusing on the blonde before him. "Is there something you needed Cloud?"

"Well, no." Cloud said, raising an eyebrow. "Is… there something bothering you?"

"No." Was the response he got, in a flat, monotonous tone that the gunslinger generally gave off.

"Uh-huh." Cloud said, leaning back and crossing his arms, rather unbelieving. "Because you seem a lot worse than the last time I saw you."

It was true, when Vincent had returned to the bar from Lucrecia's cavern, he had seemed… almost lighter on his feet. Now it seemed like he once again held the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"… goodnight, Cloud." Vincent said simply before getting up and leaving the booth, neglecting the book on his way up the stairs.

Cloud raised an eyebrow and pressed his lips into a thin line, slightly irritated. He got up to head up to bed but realized that the book was still laying open. Picking it up, he realized that it was open to a particular page and quickly scanned it.

"Huh… Vincent…" Cloud said out loud, closing the book shut, "What are you getting yourself into…?"

He lay the book on the nearest counter top and left to go upstairs.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

They had been trekking for days now, and once again, Cloud had stuck Yuffie under Vincent's watchful eyes.

Nobody trusted Yuffie at the moment, and it seemed like the only people who had truly forgiven her were probably Tifa and Aerith. Outwardly, Yuffie hid behind a mask of laughter to hide how much it hurt on the inside. It hurt, it hurt to know that no one trusted you, it hurt to know that people she had considered friends almost could not stand being near her.

The only reason Vincent was with her now was because Cloud had told him to watch her. Out of all of them, Vincent was probably the most watchful and needed the least sleep due to his altered metabolism. He only stood being around her because he was told to.

But now, they had been separated from the team. Cloud and the other had gone ahead to look for Black Materia while Yuffie and Vincent had been sent on a 'different' assignment.

Yuffie secretly believed it was just all a hoax to keep her away from such powerful materia. It's not like she wanted to steal from everyone, she had been ordered to. He had told her that in order to save Wutai, to help it reclaim its former glory. She had stolen from unsuspecting strangers, tourists, and travelers… but she had never known that she would have become friends with this rowdy bunch of travelers.

And because the two were alone, Vincent was pushing her non-stop, due to him not needing sleep as often as normal human beings. Under the stress, her façade was breaking, and she had fallen silent. It wasn't like she was loud around Vincent anymore anyways, she hadn't wanted to make him any angrier at her than he already was.

She tripped and fell face first into a puddle of mud, it was raining horribly and she felt that it only mocked her further. She attempted to get to her feet and simply slipped again because of the fatigue she felt. There, she lay on her side and curled up into a ball, wanting simply nothing more but to die there and then.

There was another splash as a falling pebble knocked up some mud into her face and she finally snapped. Her mask broke and she finally began to sob hysterically, immediately hiding her face in her arms and trying her best not disturb a partner that was already more than irritated with her.

It was then that she felt a warm cloak being draped on top her. She looked up with tears still streaming down her face, seeing a cloak-less Vincent looking down at her.

"Stop pretending." He said softly before gathering the tiny ninja into his arms and looking for the nearest place to set up shelter.

"I-I'm…hic.. s-so sorry… hic… V-vincent!" She wailed into his chest, clutching desperately at his shirt.

"Shh… it's okay, Yuffie."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

He finally found her in her bed, a white wrap bandage tied about her wrist that brought further guilt onto his heart. He sighed and walked over to her bedside, hearing that her breathing was at a regular pace, he drew the conclusion that he was already asleep.

"I'm… sorry, Yuffie." He whispered, studying her face, he noticed that her eyelids were a bit puffy and dried tears lay on her cheeks. There was a damp spot on her pillowcase where she was laying on, curled up, on her side.

Did I really cause her that much distress? Vincent thought.

Have you never noticed how much more she pays attention to you as opposed to everyone else in Avalanche. The demon in his head sounded. She's always wanted your approval.

She doesn't need it. Vincent thought sadly, approval from someone as horrible as me is never needed.

With that, he crawled into the bed that lay a couple feet from hers and drifted into a deep sleep.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Author's Notes:

Tseng-San: And there's another chapter.! -closes laptop- You know Elena, you don't have to stay around.

Elena: But I like to watch, you look so serene when you're so focused.

Tseng-San: Ummm… thanks?

Elena: You do remember that you don't own FFVII or any of the characters?

Tseng-San: Yes, yes, but the idea is my own and I like it that way.

Reno: -walks in- Hey guys! What's going on?

Tseng: Nothing.

Reno: -looks from Tseng to Elena, to Tseng again- Ohhhh… okay, I'll leave you guys to your special moment then.

Elena: -turns red- Reno! It's not like that! You sick little--! -chases after Reno-

Tseng: -raises eyebrows- …R&R