A/N: I'd like to apologize for the previous chap. I know it was kinda cheesy (ok a lot) but I've always been a romantic type person so that's just how it turned out. Sorry about that, I hope you enjoyed it otherwise.

Stepping up now: Yuffie and Avalanche, we find out how Yufs is taking Vincent's sacrifice.

Next chap: We rejoin Vincent and see what's goin' on with him.

Chapter 4

Yuffie sniffed as she leaned back against the headboard of her bed in WRO headquarters, clutching a pillow to her as she cried into it.

Bandages wrapped around her from the chest to her waist and a black T-shirt covered them. Thanks to the effects of the Master Restore materia her cuts and bruises had all but disappeared and her ribs would be fully healed in a day; two at most.

The ninja eyed the red cloak that laid across the end of the bed before grabbing it and throwing it over her head, wrapping it around herself. "Vinnie…" She sniffed from beneath the cloak. "You stupid bastard! I'm gonna kill you when I get my hands on you." She'd tried to go after him. As injured as she had been she still tried to go after him. As soon as the Shera had landed at headquarters she had started straight for the Chocobo stables. Her friends had foiled her attempts of course, though not so easily; Cid still had a bruised shin for the trouble.

A knock on the door broke through the silence of her dark room and Shera's voice sounded from the other side. "Yuffie?" Yuffie burrowed deeper into the cloak, hoping that when Shera saw that the bedroom lights were out she'd go away.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way.

Her bedroom door opened and light from the hall shone in on her cloaked figure. "Yuffie? Why are sitting in the dark?"

"Go away Shera." Yuffie sniffled. She wasn't mad at Shera, she just wanted to be left alone to brood in peace. Heh me and brood don't belong in the same sentence. She thought.

She was mad at everyone else. Cloud and Tifa especially; Cloud most of all. He'd held her back.

"Oh, Yuffie." Shera went and sat next to her, placing an arm around her shoulders. Yuffie leaned against her and cried into the older woman's shoulder as she placed a hand to the ninja's head. "It'll be alright Yuffie."

"That's what he said." Yuffie's voice was muffled as she spoke into Shera's shoulder. Shera looked at her questioningly and Yuffie looked up at her with tearful eyes. "That's what Vincent said to me when he was carrying me away. He said everything was alright, that he was there." She shook her head and rested it against Shera's shoulder again. "But he lied. Everything's not alright…and he isn't here."

Shera gave a heavy sigh and held her close; rocking her like a mother would to sooth a child. "We'll get him back, I promise you that."

Another knock sounded and the two looked to the doorway as a spiky haired figure flipped on the light.

"Get out!" Yuffie demanded angrily to Cloud, glaring at him.

"Yufs." He tried to reason with her as she pulled from Shera and stalked towards him. "I said get out! I don't want to see you ever again! Not you, Not Tifa, none of you!" Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stopped in front of him. "It's your fault he's gone! Yours and the others! You're the leader and you just let them have him!" She slammed her fists into his chest and he didn't even flinch. "You let him go! You didn't try to stop him! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Cloud didn't budge as she continued her relentless beating of his chest, then he caught her fists in his much larger hands. "Yuffie, please listen to me!"

Shera stepped forward and grasped Yuffie's shoulders. "Cloud…maybe you should go." She said softly. He protested. "But I have to-" Shera shook her head, cutting him off. "I'll tell her. Go." He sighed and nodded, releasing the shinobi's fists to drop to her side.

He walked to the door then stopped and looked at Yuffie over his shoulder. "I am sorry Yuffie."

Yuffie turned her face away and bowed her head, letting her shoulders sag. "Just get out Cloud." She whispered.

He sighed again before walking out the door, closing it behind him.

Shera guided Yuffie back to the bed and sat her down. "You know it's not his fault."

"He let Vince go and now…" The ninja trailed off and Shera shook her head, making Yuffie look at her. "You know nothing could have stopped Vincent from going after you. He would have gone alone if we hadn't gone with him."

Yuffie stared at the ground before changing the subject. "What did he want to tell me?"

"We have a plan to get Vincent out."

Yuffie looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"And it's a better plan then you going after him on your own like you tried to." She gave Yuffie a scolding but understanding look. "We know where they took him. It was Vincent's idea, even though we didn't want him to do it."

"Do what?"

"Give himself up. We wanted to find another way but he was too stubborn and wouldn't listen. So we went along with him when he threatened to go alone. Do you remember the man who raped you?" Yuffie nodded grimly at the memory. "Well, Vincent attached a microscopic tracking device to the man's clothes. They would have checked Vincent for one so he decided to attach one to one of the guards. We traced them all the way to the base."

Yuffie jumped from the bed, her ribs giving a twinge of pain in protest. "Then let's go! If we know where he is then let's go get him!"

Shera grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "You aren't going anywhere until your ribs are healed."

"But that'll be a day at least!" Yuffie protested.

"I know, and so does Vincent. He knew you would probably be injured when we rescued you, and he also knows how stubborn you are. He knew we wouldn't be able to find a way to leave you behind without you finding some way to come. So, he's going to hold them off as long as he can. He's going to try and hold out until we arrive." She shook her head as Yuffie tried to protest again. "I'm sorry Yuffie, but you'll only injure yourself further if you go now."

"But Vinnie needs help now! Who knows what they're doing to him! What if he didn't last long against them?! Brookes would be prepared for someone like Vincent! He knows what Vince is capable of!" She stopped to breath before asking, "Where are they?"

"By the Forgotten City; a days ride with the Shera."

The ninja thought for a moment. "What…what if we left in the morning?" She held up a hand to keep Shera from interrupting. "I'll have all night to heal and I promise not to leave my room on the Shera until we reach the base. If we bring the master Restore I should be healed by the time we arrive."

Shera sighed as she thought about it. "Please Shera." Yuffie gave her a pleading look. "The longer we wait the more-"

"The more suffering he endures, I know." She said heavily. "But, I think Vincent would want you safe and healing here, than on the battle field with the chance that you aren't healed."

"Right now, I could care less about what Vincent wants."

Shera gave a small smile at that before nodding. "All right. I'll go talk to the others. You lay here and rest." She stood and walked to the door.

"Thanks." Yuffie said as she laid back.

"You're welcome." The older woman replied. "I understand. If it were Cid I'd be the same way." Then she was out the door.

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Next morning

"You are to stay right here." Shera said sternly and Yuffie rolled her eyes as she sat on her bed on the Shera.

"I know Shera. I promised I'd stay here. Now let's get this hunk of junk in the air!"

Shera nodded before heading to the door. "Hey, Shera?" Cid's wife looked back. "Will you…will you ask Cloud to come here. I have to talk to him."

Shera gave an understanding smile and nodded before walking out the door.

Yuffie released a breath and picked up her pack from the floor before lying back gently on her bed. She pulled Vincent's tattered Cloak from inside and trailed her fingers over the frayed edges. He really needs a new cloak. She thought, slightly amused.

A knock on her door broke her from her thoughts. "It's open." She called as she sat up.

The door opened and Cloud stuck his head in. "That was fast." Yuffie commented as he stepped in.

"I was right down the hall."

She nodded in understanding. They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, until Yuffie spoke. "Listen, about yesterday…"

Cloud shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I understand. You don't have to apologize."

"But I do. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was upset and I didn't know what to do. I took my anger out on you and I'm sorry. I don't…I don't blame you or Tifa or anyone else; though I do kinda blame Vincent for being the self-sacrificing ass he is."

Cloud snorted in amusement before sobering and resting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We'll get him back, I promise."

"I know we will." She gave a half-hearted laugh. "Hell, we have to so I can kick his ass!"

Cloud only gave a slight smile and shook his head.

"Hey Cloud?" She asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence this time. He looked over at her questioningly. "Has the sun risen yet?"

He shook his head. "No. Why?"

"I want to watch it rise, from the deck. Think you can cover for me and keep Shera off my back until I get back?"

"Didn't you promise her you'd stay in your room?" He raised an eyebrow at her, crossing his arms in a way that told Yuffie he'd been spending too much time with Tifa.

"Yeah, but what Shera don't know won't hurt her." She flashed large puppy eyes at him. "Please?" She blinked innocently and Cloud rolled his eyes. "Alright, Alright. Just hurry back; I don't know how long I can keep her away."

Yuffie grinned and gathered up Vincent's cloak. "Thanks Cloud." She thanked him before running out the door

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Yuffie sighed as she watched the sun rise from under Vincent's cloak. She'd made it just in time; the sun had just started to rise when she had walked out onto the open air deck. In the years before she met Avalanche, she would watch the sun and remember her mother, all the memories they had, the many sunsets they had watched together before the war of Wutai.

But now she had new ones to remember, memories from the last four years. She fiddled with the frayed edges of the cloak as memories flooded her mind.

Flashback

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"Aww come on Vinnie!" Yuffie whine as she shivered. "Just let me borrow it!"

"No." Was his curt reply as he watched Cloud Tifa and Cid walk into the Forgotten City. She was bugging him to let her use his cloak while their three comrades went in search of Aeris. Being so close to the snowy mountains, it was quite cold.

Something pressed against his side, shivering, and he looked down at Yuffie as she covered herself with part of the red material. "I'm not very good at taking no for an answer." She said and Vincent sighed, consenting to let her stay there.

Flash

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Yuffie cried into the pillow of her bed in Icicle Inn, the dead flower girl's staff in her hands. She hadn't even bothered to cover up; she just collapsed on her bed and cried, to emotionlessly drained to pull the covers over her freezing body.

"Why Aeris?" She whispered in a choked voice. "Why did you go alone?"

She suddenly felt a presence next to her bed and a thick, warm material was draped over her body. She didn't open her eyes as the person brushed hair from her face and gently stroked her hair soothingly. It wasn't long until the soothing motion made her drift into an uneasy slumber.

She awoke the next morning and blinked, sitting up and causing the red cloak to fall from her upper body. She fingered it in her hands and blinked in surprise, before looking over and finding Vincent asleep in a rather uncomfortable looking chair next to her bad. She stared silently at him for a moment before smiling and getting to her feet. She quickly shook out the cloak and draped it over his sleeping form. She bent forward and placed a light kiss to his cheek. "Thank you." She said quietly as she straightened before she walked from the room.

Flash
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It was a party. Even though everyone was exhausted from the day's events and fighting Bahamut SIN, Yuffie still managed to convince them to have a party on the Shera. Marlene and Denzel had fallen asleep long before drinks were handed out and Cid and Barrett were down right drunk at around midnight before they passed out an hour later. Cloud and Tifa had fallen asleep against each other not too long after and Nanaki had just curled up in the hold while Cait Sith powered down.

It was around dawn when Yuffie walked out onto the deck yawning, spotting Vincent looking to the horizon as the sky started to pale.

"Hey Vinnie!" She called cheerfully, ever full of energy even in her exhausted state.

Vincent turned his crimson gaze to her as she came to stand beside him. "Must you call me that?" His deep voice asked.

"Yep! She chimed. It looks like you and I are the only ones not passed out or asleep." She said as she sat down and placed a hand to her head, which was pounding with her sleep deprived headache. Vincent sat down next to her and studied her face. "You look horrible." He commented, spotting the bags under her eyes.

"That's not normally how you compliment a girl Vince."

"I was merely stating the obvious."

She snorted and plopped against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yuffie? What are you doing?"

"You make a good pillow and I'm tired."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have stayed up partying all night."

"Hey! We just saved the planet AGAIN! I think we deserve a little celebration!"

"Hmm, I suppose." He turned his eyes back to the horizon as the sun rose. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Mm hmm." Yuffie answered softly, already half asleep.

Vincent's lips lifted a bit and he moved his cloak to drape it over her as she drifted off. "Sweet dreams." He whispered and she smiled in her sleep.

End
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Flashback
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Yuffie smiled; that was one of her most treasured memories. It wasn't often that Vincent smiled or even made conversation. He only spoke when it was necessary normally. Tifa said he talked to Yuffie more than anyone else and that always used to warm her inside; it still did.

She heard the hatch open behind her and a stern voice rang out. "There you are!"

Yuffie groaned and turned to look at Tifa who had hands on her hips.

"Sorry Yufs." Cloud said from behind the martial artist. "Couldn't keep Tifa away."

Tifa sighed and shook her head in exasperation. "You're never going to heal this way." She said as she came to stand next to Yuffie. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Just…remembering." The ninja stood from her place at the rail. "I'll go inside now." She walked past her two friends and entered the ship again.

Tifa sighed after her and Cloud placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. Let's head back in." Tifa nodded and followed him, feeling kind of guilty now that she had disturbed Yuffie and her memories. We have to get Vincent back soon. I hate seeing Yuffie this way.

A/N: Sooo slightly longer than the last chap. Ok to all who reviewed. THANK YOU!!! Here they are.

Darkened-Skys (very good, you were the only one to mention a tracking device. You get a Sephy plushie for a prize! It is exchangable so you want a different character just tell me lol)

naruto and vincent's girl

Vampyric Ninja

4 the luv of Vincent

JingYee

Chaotic Angel7

moonstarlight

Ya'll get Reno PLushies this time!