CHAPTER 4: Where It Begins, How It Began (Flashback)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the characters, ideas, worlds, ect. of FFVII

Author's Note: Yes, I know it took me half of forever to post this, but Senior year is becoming a little hectic… I swear my English teacher is purposely trying to fry our brains with the buttload of essays she's assigning! Ugh! Anyway, on a good note, here's the new chapter!! Hope you enjoy it!! It's a filler! ;)

--Y--

--Flashback--

The tumult of drunken customers hollering and laughing resonated throughout the 7th Heaven bar. It was becoming a long night for Yuffie; she was repetitively washing dishes and mixing alcoholic beverages, never finding a moment to sit down and rest. Being a bartender was a very exhausting job and, after experiencing it first-hand, she quickly began to respect the fact that Tifa could do it so well while putting up with intoxicated men.

Since Tifa's belly had begun to swell with pregnancy, she had been prohibited to do anything strenuous or fatiguing; thus, leaving Yuffie to bartend. Even though the young ninja had initially come to Midgar solely to visit the Strifes, it wasn't long after her arrival that she had been forced into 'helping out.'

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled, although barely heard over the loud commotion in the bar.

The novice bartender curiously looked over her shoulder towards the staircase where a disgruntled Cloud was descending hastily. Tifa struggled to hurry after him, holding her belly fragilely.

"Cloud!" Tifa called after him. "Wait!"

The spikey-haired blonde stopped and slowly turned around. His face formed into an expression of horror as he watched his delicate wife hurry down the steps. "Tifa! What are you doing?" he cried angrily at her.

The brunette reached the bottom and placed her hands on her hips in disgust of his question. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm chasing after you!"

Cloud shook his head irritably. "Tifa, you're going to hurt yourself. Please don't do that again!"

Tifa frowned deeply at him. "Whatever gets your attention, I suppose!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he questioned despicably.

She exhaled in frustration. "We're married, Cloud! And we have a baby on the way! Is there really nothing here that will convince you to stay longer than a week?"

"Tifa…" he began sadly. It was definitely an argument that had never ceased between the couple.

"How long, Cloud? How long is will it take for you to realize she's dead?"

He rubbed his forehead as though she were giving him a migraine.

"I don't get it! Why can't you just stay home?" Tears began to flow from her saddened maroon eyes. "I need you here… I can't do this by myself…"

"I… it's not that simple -" Cloud went to put his hands on her forearms, but she shoved him away.

"If you didn't want the 'obligation' of a family, then why the hell did you marry me?!" Tifa sobbed, wiping away the trickling water trails.

"Tifa…"

"No!" she shouted, burying her face in her palms. "Go away!"

Without even looking up to see his expression, Tifa began walking back up the staircase, her body racking with sobs as she made her ascent. Cloud stared after her for a moment, extremely hurt by her words.

Yuffie watched as the troubled warrior glumly trudged out of the bar with a very pained face. She knew she would hear about the quarrel later since she was the only one Tifa could divulge her feelings to recently. Yuffie turned back to the counter where beer-greedy customers awaited her diligent service.

An hour passed before the last of the regulars had left the bar in their drunken states, leaving Yuffie to wipe down the counters and tables.

"Thank the Gods… peace and quiet," Yuffie sighed with relief at the pleasant silence.

Taking a seat on one of the barstools, she laid her head down on the cool, clean surface, enjoying the subtle tranquility. Tiredness overwhelmed her petite frame, she didn't even think she'd be able to make it to her bedroom without falling asleep. Closing her eyes never felt so good as did then. Slowly, she felt her consciousness slip away…

A sudden raucous of shattering glass sounded from upstairs, alerting all of Yuffie's senses instantly. Eyes wide and heart pounding rapidly, Yuffie slid off of the tall seat and crept toward the start of the staircase.

"Wha-?" she heard Tifa's tired voice croak.

Quickly and quietly, Yuffie grabbed a butcher's knife from the knife block and hurriedly tip-toed up the stairs.

"Wh-Who are you?!" Tifa screamed, followed by the thrashing of bed sheets. "What are you doing?! Stop it!"

The sound of a heavy thud against the floor made Yuffie sprint to her friend's bedroom. She kicked open her door, immediately noticing Tifa's motionless body on the ground beside the bed. She furiously searched the darkness for the assailant.

Slowly, Yuffie inched her way inside the room, hugging the wall as she did so. Her heartbeat raced with fear as she felt a firm grip around her throat, lifting her off the ground. She gasped for air as the grasp tightened around her trachea.

Instinctively, Yuffie sliced the small blade at her attacker's arm, successfully causing him to drop her and hiss in pain. Scrambling to her feet so she could fight the intruder, she quickly realized he had disappeared once more into the darkness of the room.

'Shit!' she thought, searching for some sort of silhouette in the pitch black. She swallowed painfully to ease the burning in her throat before speaking aloud, "…What do you want?"

A guttural chuckle reverberated from the other side of the room. "My main ingredient, of course."

Alarmed, Yuffie continued to peer through the nightly room, still keeping an eye on Tifa in her peripheral vision. "…Main ingredient?"

"Yes, for my experiment," the raspy voice spoke, sounding closer than before.

Yuffie began to panic. There was no getting through the darkness without being attacked, but she had to try. Just as Yuffie lunged to Tifa's immobile body, a fist as strong and heavy as iron slammed into her cheekbone, bashing her to the hardwood floor. The excruciating pain throbbing throughout that one side of her face had knocked her senseless; she couldn't even think straight.

Blinded by the agonizing pounding, Yuffie didn't even notice that her attacker now towered over her triumphantly. Her upper body was suddenly wrenched upwards at the fierce jerk of her leather vest.

"Care not for the princess, Ms. Lockheart," his cold voice whispered wretchedly into her ear, "She'll be well taken care of… I assure you." He chuckled quietly at seeing Yuffie still in a daze.

Before there a sense of what was happening occurred to Yuffie, another hard punch was thrown in the same spot as before, rendering her unconscious.

Yuffie wearily opened her good eye, seeming as the other was swollen shut. As she peered through the thick darkness of her surrounding, she slowly began to find that she was still lying on the cold floor of Tifa's bedroom. Fear strangled her lungs and she quickly began to grope the floor for Tifa's body, but felt nothing but the smooth wooden surface.

'No…'

Heavy footsteps clunked against the stairs.

The glint of the butcher's knife a few yard away encouraged Yuffie to crawl over and grab it. Straining, but still managing to get to her feet, she swiftly hobbled behind the door.

The loud stomps clattered through the hallway, and then stopped upon arriving before Tifa's room.

Yuffie readied herself inaudibly behind the door as her speedy heart pummeled her ribcage and adrenaline raced through her veins.

The intruder took a cautious step passed the threshold, apprehensive of the eerie stillness.

Yuffie kicked the wooden slab hard against the newcomer, dodging out of its way as it swung back at her. She furiously raised her weapon, prepared to strike. Something heavy and metallic (almost like a miniature cannon) collided with her hoisted arm, breaking it instantly.

The young ninja screamed shrilly before recoiling onto the ground and clutching her fractured arm against her chest. Her eyes began to water with the full strength of the unbearable pain.

Looking up through tear-blurry vision, Yuffie familiarized the robust silhouette looming over her.

"…Barret?" she whimpered, fearfully hoping she was correct.

"Yuffie?" the deep voice sounded shocked to hear the frailty of her own. "What the hell're ye doin?"

"T-Tifa and I were attacked…" She desperately tried to hold her composure before her comrade. "I was knocked unconscious when they took her."

"Who did?" Barret asked anxiously.

"I-I don't know…" she breathed through tightly gritted teeth. She noticed the his brows furrow in bewilderment. "I-I had just woke up when I heard your footsteps, and I panicked… thinking it were the same guy… I had no choice but to defend myself," she spoke in between winces of agonizing twinges.

Yuffie struggled to stand, but without any assistance, her attempt landed her back on the ground. A small cry escaped her lips as the sudden fall sent a shooting pain through her broken arm.

"Sorry about that," Barret whispered apologetically, scooping her up in his strong arms and carrying her out of the room.

"It's okay. We both didn't know what to expect," she replied, still hugging her wounded limb.

A hush fell between the two as Barret brought her down to the bar, his arms securely holding her against his firm chest.

"We need to contact Cloud," Yuffie finally said in a sad voice.

He nodded slowly in agreement. "A'right, but let's first git you fixed up."

With that said, Barret continued to carry her out of the Strife household until reaching his beat up truck. Opening the vehicle door, he carefully placed the injured ninja inside.

Before shutting the door, he said solemnly, "Guess we're gonna be havin' an Avalanche reunion sooner than we thought."

--End Flashback—

The exhausted ninja dazedly stared off into the distance of the snowy landscape outside the cave. Thunder clouds darkened the sky and the wind had started to pick up great speed; a storm was imminent, and Cid had still not returned. At least two and a half hours had passed since he left, and there still remained no sign of the airship captain.

As Yuffie stood leaning against the cavern wall, she wondered if the others had had any luck in their search. They had been on this manhunt for what seemed like months, and there was still no sign of Tifa.

'Gods, this is all my fault,' Yuffie thought, rubbing her forehead in distress. 'Heroes are what make up Avalanche… I don't deserve that title... I only put it to shame.'

"I fail everyone," she whispered, the guilt squelching her lungs and causing her to inhale ragged breaths. "First Tifa… now Vincent –"

A loud buzz echoed throughout the cave and vibrated against her thigh. Yuffie jumped at the sudden tremor in her shorts' pocket. She quickly pulled out her PHS and flipped it open.

"Hello?" she sniffed, trying not to sound suspicious of sadness.

"Hey, brat!" Cid's voice yelled over the loud static ruffling into the speaker. "We got a bit of a problem."

Yuffie gave a quick glance at the peacefully sleeping Vincent. "What kind of problem?" she asked worriedly. The static grew louder with great intensity. "Cid!"

"…seems... big storm… not sure I… make it back…" his voice cut out intermittently with the loss of connection.

"Cid! Vincent needs the antidote! I'm not sure how much longer he can last!" Yuffie cried stressfully, her mind teeming with guilty thoughts once more; she no longer wanted to let anyone down.

"Vince will… fine, kid… keep… safe 'til… storm's over…"

There was a long pause afterward signaling that Cid had hung up.

Yuffie closed shut the PHS before walking over to Vincent and sitting down beside him. As her silver eyes roamed over his lithe body, all burdening guilt seemed to vanish; she couldn't help but marvel at his handsome image. His expression was so tranquil, making it impossible to notice that he was the least bit ill. Continuing to admire his heavenly features, it became incredulous to Yuffie how someone so perfect was not able to find love; he was just so beautiful.

She absentmindedly palmed his soft cheek. Vincent leaned his face into her hand, murmuring something caressingly against it. Yuffie quickly withdrew her hand at the realization of what she was doing.

'Holy Leviathan!' her mind screamed in horror. 'This is Vincent! Mr. Vampire Valentine! …Oh Gods… what the hell am I thinking? He's my friend, nothing more...'

She eyedthe peaceful man curiously. '…Right?'

Hooray for an update! Gives everyone a cookie Sorry this filler might have been a little disarrayed! I don't think I edited this thoroughly, so if there are things that don't make sense, let me know and I'll fix 'em! Anyway, I hope the content was good, though! So let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading! ;)

Coquettish Siren