Disclaimer: The same as last time kiddies! I don't own anything!

A/N: I just want to thank everyone who reads, as well as everyone who reviews. I really appreciate it everyone! Doumo arigatou!

"Well, it's really for the best. Don't worry about it Reeve."

Those were the last words that he had expected to come out of Kisaragi taishou's mouth.

He was pleasantly surprised by the king's reaction to the fact that Yuffie had met Reno instead of Rude. Reeve had a change of heart on the buggy ride home about his approach towards the matter. Throughout the whole ordeal he had deigned to stay quiet and try to play the whole thing off as if it had gone on without a hitch. However, an unusually quiet Yuffie gave him a bit of time to reflect on the idea. He had figured that since Kisaragi taishou was pretty intent on getting Yuffie to marry Vincent Valentine, that more harm would come out of lying than just plain telling the truth. Somehow or another Kisaragi taishou would have found out the truth about what happened, and surely dishonesty was probably the greater of two evils.

"Really, sir?"

"Really! It couldn't be better! Honestly, I was afraid that she might come to like a quiet, brooding guy like Rude. It was nice that his brash, young partner came instead. Da Chao only knows that she never could get along with someone so much like herself. But, I think it's for the best that we don't let my daughter know the truth. So let's just keep this between us, alright Reeve?"

"Yes sir!"

"You are dismissed."

Reeve scampered off with a satisfied look on his face, eager to find Yuffie and find out why she had been so quiet on the way back to Wutai.

He climbed the stairs to find Yuffie lying in bed, an arm slung over her eyes as she muttered to herself angrily. She had traded worse verbal blows with the migrant bandits she fought while out materia-hunting, but there was a strangely degrading quality to the ribald comment when it came from the feisty redhead she met that afternoon. Reeve sat down gently next to her and poked her side affectionately.

"Hey, what's the matter, Princess?"

"Oooo...I'm just so mad at that Rude guy!" She bit back a smile at the irony of the comment. "I just can't believe that he had the audacity to comment on my...appearence, like that!"

"Now, now...don't let it bother you so much. It's all over, and you'll never have to see that guy again. What should be on your mind is your upcoming meeting with Vincent Valentine. From what I understand, your father hasn't set a definite meeting date, but you should start getting prepared to meet him and trying to win his affections. Don't you agree?"

"But Reeve! I'm so angry at that butthead I can hardly think about anything else! I'd liketa teach him a thing or two about how to treat a princess!"

Reeve shuddered internally at the thought of Yuffie being unable to concentrate on Vincent because of something that Reno had done. He tried once again to distract her from thinking any further about him.

"Come on, Princess! Don't waste your time on such a...douchebag!"

Yufffie laughed at Reeve's use of the word. His usually mature stature didn't match the word that came out of his mouth.

"Reeve, you crack me up sometimes, you know that?"

"I try. Now come on, let's go find something else for you to do. If you can't at least think about Vincent, we don't want you thinking about Re--ude...either."

The young ninja grinned toothily and stood up.

"Alright! Take me to the Pagoda then! Let's go get some sparring done."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"How was it, partner?"

Rude stood behind the counter at his bar in Junon. He looked amused at the sulky Reno sitting in front of him, downing what must have been his fifth beer since getting back. From the moment he stepped in the door he had already reeked of stale liquor, but it was always a bad idea to deny Reno, if drink is what he wanted.

As a matter of fact, it's a bad idea to deny Reno anything, really...Rude mused to himself silently.

"Man! That girl was a cutie! I can't get over it, yo."

Rude raised a bemused eyebrow, hardly surprised at his partner's reaction.

"You shoulda seen her when we were at the dock. I looked at her and I thought to myself that there ain't no way a girl like that would ever interest me, ya know? Then she starts pukin' all over the place coz she got sick and I was definitely thinking the day was over. But we pull back into Costa del Sol, and I go grab some grub and come back to this SIZZLIN' babe dressed in short shorts and knee-high boots, all leggy and pale and I'm like, damn, I'm sold. But then I remind myself that there ain't no way I could ever get with her anyway."

"Really? That's not like you."

"Gimme a break, yo! For one thing, she's supposed to be meetin' you, not me. Secondly, if I blew my cover, the both of us woulda been in a lotta hot water with the King of Wutai. Lastly, I'm nothing but a second-rate member of the Turks...I ain't got nothing to offer a princess."

"That really doesn't sound like the Reno I know talking. You must have done something pretty bad to think that you don't have a chance with her."

The redhead allowed himself to drain his latest bottle of beer and tap the counter agitatedly.

"If I tell ya, you're gonna hafta give me some hards, on the house. Coz that's the only way I'm gonna be able to relive this moment without wantin' to bash my own head with my shock-rod."

Rude nodded as a sign of agreement.

"I knew that I had to blow it, but I just couldn't help myself. One thing I knew I was thinking about her skin, and how pale and beautiful it looked. Then the next thing I'm pullin' her up outta the sand and she falls into my arms and shoves me away. And I get bitter so I decide to blow that joint and make some smart-ass comment about her butt, and blamo...it's all over for me. Time to pack up and go home."

Rude turned around and handed Reno a tall bottle of whiskey and a shot glass as a means of condolences for the most certainly, least-smooth move...ever.
somber silence fell over the two as Reno downed three shots in under a minute. His blue eyes glassed over and he slurred as he began to try and console himself while slowly hopping off the barstool and staggering to a room.

"Yanno...I dun need no broad anyway. And there's prolly plenny o' hotties out there that jus' wouldn't be able t'resist my charms. So fugget it."

His partner watched him fall face first into a bed as he put the bottle of whiskey back over on the display racks, throwing the shot glass in the sink, and swiping a damp cloth over the watermarks where Reno's beverages were.

"Something tells me that this is going to be a long day..." Rude muttered to himself as he clicked on the open sign that hung above the bar entrance and walked to the room to shut the door Reno had left open, hiding the sorry state of the person in it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had been an hour or so since he had woken from his nap. The sunset turned the room a candy-colored orange-red, and yet he still did not rise from the bed to head down to supper. Instead, he lay there thinking about the charming young scientist he had met while he was in the army. It was only in the most sullen of his thoughts that he let the pretty-faced angel linger. She worked alongside Hojo in the biological sciences department of Shinra Inc., and was directed to care for Vincent while he was recovering from his prosthetic arm surgery. Vincent had been going through a hard part of his life at this point; finding out that his brother had been tricked and killed, along with losing his arm. He was angsty and full of rage, and for the most part, refused to be cooperative with people. At first he didn't do a thing the young woman had told him to do. She had asked him to start doing some of the rehabilitative exercises that would adjust him to his new limb. He refused. She had asked him to take the medications that would help his new arm fuse to the remains of his old one. He had told her to go to Hell. Yet there was not a day where she did not come in and sun him with a smile while gently suggesting that he do what she told him to.

This beautiful, patient girl, Lucrecia, was surprised one day as Vincent grabbed her arm as she started to leave. She was almost certain that because of his stubborn refusal to cooperate with the procedures, he would never have use or control of his arm. Contrary to her belief, the metal tips of his fingers gently caught the end of the sleeve of her lab coat, and tugged for her to turn around. She threw a startled look at the brooding young man before her. She quickly recovered and tried to hide her astonishment.

"Yes, is there something I can do for you?"

"I...I just wanted to apologize to you."

"Oh?"

"I know that I haven't exactly been the most cooperative, or pleasant patient to deal with. And I feel pretty terrible about my behavior. After all...you've only been trying to help me."

"It's really no problem Mr. Valentine --"

"Please, call me Vincent."

"Vincent. Please, let me know if there is anything I can do to make you more comfortable."

With a small smile, she turned and walked out of the room, clutching her clipboard to her chest much more tightly than usual.

Hojo caught her as she came around the corner and slipped a pale arm around her back.

"How is our patient progressing?"

"Doing quite better than expected, Sir."

"You know you don't have to address me so formally, Lucrecia. After all, you're going to bear my child!"

She half-smiled and nodded gently at the older man. Hojo proceeded to take his arm away and walk off, slightly muttering to himself.

With a bit of hesitation, she glanced back in the direction of Vincent's room, where he lay sleeping.

Of course he did not know about that last part until a couple of weeks later, when the bump had become slightly more prominent in her tiny tummy. He also happened to overhear a disturbing conversation occurring between the two scientists about an experimental procedure that Hojo had wanted his child's mother to undergo. Injecting some kind of cells in her unborn baby to try and perfect him as a human.

From this conversation now only fragments flashed in and out of Vincent's head. Quietly confronting Lucrecia about what he had overhead. Confronting Hojo about his plans. Being thrown out of the hospital. Sneaking back in after receiving a call from Lucrecia that she was about to deliver, and that Hojo was refusing to leave the lab to be by her side. A baby screaming, with a too-quiet mother sweating and barely breathing above it...

"STOP!"

He screamed to himself as he heard a door fly open.

"I'm sorry!" A pale, startled maid quickly bowed out of the room.

"No, no, I'm sorry. I was thinking of something else. Please, what is it?"

"I just wanted to inform you that dinner was ready Sire. I truly am sorry for interrupting you."

"No, don't be. I'll be down in a few minutes. I'm sorry I startled you."

"It's quite alright sire."

Wiping the sweat from his brow and straightening his cloak as he stood, he headed down for dinner, trying to keep these horrible memories from his mind.