I decided to save the discomfort of what I had in store for another chapter, and went with this instead. After last chapter I think this would be a bit less intense but still hurtful.


"You're such a pain in the ass, Yuffie." Cloud spat. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he was scowling at her like she was filth beneath his shoe. "How many times are you gonna 'misplace' my delivery receipts?"

Tifa had her fists on her hips. "How could you be such a thoughtless girl? That Corel wine batch is ruined!" she snarled.

"I-I'm not. I didn't-"

"When're you gonna ever stop actin' like a damn kid with yo shiny rocks?!" Barret boomed at the anxious ninja, who looked his way. She hadn't remembered stealing materia in a while.

Nanaki growled behind her. "You never stop flicking my nose and choking my neck for fun. What kind of a friend are you?"

"It wasn't like-"

"God damn it, how many times are we gonna have to bail ya the fuck outta trouble? I swear you can be fuckin' useless, Yuffie."

Reeve groaned as he held a paper in his hand. "This intelligence report is completely useless to me."

"Everything you asked for is on that paper!"

"I've told you countless times, Yuffie. Stop calling me." Vincent sighed out.

Yuffie bit her lip in frustration. Yes, she could admit she could be a major pain sometimes. But who wasn't in the group? They had all screwed up somewhere and in worse ways than she. It just hurt a lot more than she let on when they were mean to her.

Which wasn't often. Even if she deserved it. Maybe she didn't say she was sorry as much as she should. Maybe she did screw up little things here and there, but she never meant to. Yuffie wanted them to be proud of her, the princess of Wutai. They were her friends and, even though she had some by blood in Wutai, they were her family.

The group walked away from her, to do whatever it was they were planning on doing without her. Where were they, anyway? It was white and foggy. One by one they disappeared into the mist until she was left alone. Yuffie looked about, then headed towards them. She couldn't lose them, she would be lost in the mists without them.

She ran into Vincent first, in a forest. Her hand came to his and he pulled away as he looked back at her, his red eyes colder than usual. "Why must you pester me? What have I done to deserve this?"

"Uh, who else is gonna bother your boring ass?" Yuffie put her hands on her hips. "Everyone needs company, especially a guy who napped in a coffin for like, thirty years."

Vincent sighed and looked away. "I don't need you to entertain me." He began to walk away. "Go away, Yuffie."

She followed. "What if I don't wanna go away?" she asked defiantly. "Vinny?"

"Leave." The forest seemed to close in around Vincent, the last thing seen of him was his red cape. Yuffie stopped at the wall of branches and bramble and stared at it for what seemed like forever, before turning around-

Now she was at Cid's house. The pilot was smoking a cigarette and downing his tea while cursing about some missing paper. "Fuck, did you steal my damn blueprints, kid?"

Yuffie shook her head, an angry expression on her face. "What would I possibly do with blueprints, you old coot?"

Cid slapped the small of stack of papers down on the table. "The fuck should I know, you're a kleptomaniac. Maybe you gotta god damn nest of shit people needed but can't seem to find."

"I am not a klepto, and I don't have a nest! I'm not a rat!" Maybe she likes to collect materia, but useless papers? Her room had enough useless junk that she bought with her own gil, she thought.

He sat up from his chair and huffed off to his tinkering room, Yuffie taking off towards him. He shut the door before she could enter. "Will you get the hell outta here before more shit goes missing?!"

Yuffie growled at the door but her heart was sinking. "Fine! I don't need to waste my time with a cranky old man like you!" She spun around to a field of jade grass billowing in the wind, hills and mountains far in the distance. Her eyes locked onto a red shape bounding through the field, and she ran over to it.

Nanaki pulled his ears back. "What is it, Yuffie?"

She put her hands up and rolled her eyes. "Easy there, Furball. Wanna look for materia with me again?"

He growled as he shook his head. "You'll just use me as your mount again."

Yuffie stomped her foot, he was being totally unfair. "You offered! We were lookin' for a materia to stop Geostigma, remember?"

"It's cured, so why do you wish to continue this journey? Just because of your lust for shiny things?"

Because I want to spend time with you was the answer in her head. "...You didn't have fun exploring the Planet with me?"

Nanaki huffed before beginning his trot again. "On the rare occasions I wasn't being poked and flicked and used."

Yuffie watched as he disappeared into the high grass, feeling alone again. Her eyes traveled downwards to look at the blades of grass at her feet. The sound of clinking glass and conversation caused her to look up.

She was in Seventh Heaven, and Tifa was busily working on drinks and food for customers. Yuffie walked to the counter, and Tifa gave a quick scowl before returning to her work.

"Do you need some help, Tifa?"

Tifa scoffed. "Last time you spilled six beers on a table. I think I'll be fine."

"You don't look fine." Yuffie said meekly.

Tifa turned away. "No, but better off without your help."

Yuffie stood there pouting for a moment. She didn't have it in her to argue with Tifa. She used to be so nice, even saying of all things that she was an ideal child, cheery and strong.

She didn't feel cheery and strong right now.

Barret was next to her in Junon, with Reeve. They were glaring at her sternly, arms crossed. "Yuffie, you were supposed to get intel on that rebel group that sabotaged Barret's oil field. We can't advance let alone hold civilization together without a steady energy source." Reeve said, irritated.

"I lost five men yesterday 'cause of that new group!" Barret boomed.

"I guess the irony is lost on you, huh big guy?!"

He pointed a finger at the ninja. "Don't you even go there, princess."

Reeve heaved a sigh through his hands. "Forget it. I'll get someone more competent on this."

Yuffie squeezed her fists and clenched her teeth. "I am competent! These things take time, especially when they hide like rats in the countryside!"

"No, Yuffie. You can't ride Fenrir with me."

She turned around to Cloud, the spiky haired experiment-turned-courier glaring at her with a tired expression marring his face. "Why not?"

"You wiggle and yell too much."

Yuffie looked around and noticed she was in the Midgar Wastes, the dusty landscape barren of most life for miles around. "But how am I gonna get to Edge?" she asked weakly.

He shrugged. "You have two legs. I just want some peace and quiet, Yuffie. I don't need you destroying my office or giving the kids tons of candy."

"...You act like I'm a pest."

Cloud put on his goggles. "You kind of are. Between my office and all the screw ups in the bar, it'd be easier dealing with a rat infestation."

"That-that's not fair." her voice was finally cracking. Cloud and Tifa always treated her like a younger sibling. She felt like a gravity spell was placed on her chest. Yuffie looked down and closed her eyes. "What about all the times I babysat when you two wanted to go out, or that time Tifa was so busy and...and you weren't around! We got through that night easy!" She shuddered. "Or the time I helped Cid put together his stupid invention, or when Barret needed help picking out a dress for Marlene, or Reeve needed a pep talk!"

Yuffie took in a sharp breath and continued. "What about when Nanaki needed help with cleaning up Geostigma children in Cosmo Canyon? Or when I got that dragon's attention off Vincent? Huh? I'm not a screw up!"

She opened her eyes to total darkness. There was no one here with her. "I'm not a useless pest..."

"Please, someone be with me. We're friends..."