~ Gosh, my first review. *Gushes* Thank you everyone who's reviewed so far
for giving me such praise. I now feel even more obligated to finish.not
that I wouldn't have anyways.*sighs* And now for the uniform disclaimer:
Nah, I don't own these wonderful characters (except for the kidnappers and
Aileen, so far) or this wonderful game. I'm merely using them as my pawns.
Kya-hahaha!!!! ~
Ninja
~*~4~*~
Yuffie yawned and slowly opened her eyes. The ground beneath her was smooth, thankfully, except for a small rock that was pressing into her lower back, causing a dull, throbbing pain. She cursed and sat up, stretched, and looked around.
It was dark, and the faint flicker of low campfire flames barely illuminated the surrounding trees, casting ominous shadows around her. To her left, she could make out Tifa's figure sprawled next to one of the trees, her dark hair splayed around her. Cloud was resting a short ways away from her, the firelight shining dully off his blond spikes, his sleeping bag thrown half-off of his sprawled form. {He looks so cute!} She smiled slightly and continued to survey the area. Four chocobos were resting near a large oak tree; two golds, a black and a white. Rikku, her own gold; Auron, Vincent's black; Cecil, Cloud's gold and Rikku's brother; and Rosa, Tifa's white. Yuffie had bred them all, and Rosa had been one of her favorites; a sweet, gentle chocobo with clear blue eyes and never- ending patience. Tifa had loved her.
She spied Vincent sitting by the fire. Sometimes he would scan the area and others he would just stare into the flames, lost in thought. {Probably keeping watch. Che, doesn't the man ever sleep?} She got up and went to sit next to him. The only acknowledgement he gave of her presence was a sideways glance in her direction as she sat down. She cleared her throat.
"So, I thought you weren't going with us?" she asked, trying to make conversation. She was rewarded with silence. "Or are you just traveling with us until you feel like leaving?"
"....."
She ground her teeth. So he was going to play the recluse again, eh? She shook her head. His silence would not deter her! She pressed on. "Just curious, what's the big deal about that assistant guy, anyway? Just suddenly feel the urge to blow his brains out?"
He turned to face her, an odd expression on his face. " 'Blow his brains out.?' " He echoed. Yuffie thought she saw the ghost of a smirk on his face, but it was probably just a shadow. "My business with him is mine alone. There is no need for you to interfere." His eyes were boring into hers again, and memories of drifting into those dark orbs glided through her mind. She averted her own eyes to his shoulder, deciding it was safer to glance at his face from the corner of her eyes than to stare directly at him. He seemed so much more imposing in the firelight in these dark woods than he had even in battle earlier that same day, and she was scared to meet his gaze now. {What the hell's wrong with me? I was glaring him down just this morning! Gawd!}
"Geez Vinnie, no need to bite my head off." she mumbled, trying to distract herself from her discomfort. She found that the sound of her own voice often did that. "I was just curious, is all. After all, I'm the one who found that journal!" She forced a small grin and turned to watch the fire.
Vincent nodded slightly, and she could feel his crimson eyes studying her face. {Sure wish I knew what went on up there.} He remained silent, and the stillness was too much for Yuffie; she let out an aggravated sigh.
"I sure wish you'd tell me what's up, Vinnie. I mean, I know we were never close," which was true, as Yuffie had always been too hyper and had too sort of an attention span to really care to bother with the brooding man; and Vincent had seldom let on that he was even aware of her existence, "but we're still friends, right? And, well, you seem kinda strange lately; I mean, stranger than usual."
"It doesn't concern you."
She let out a short, exasperated laugh and scratched her head. "Somehow, I knew you'd say that." She yawned and threw a small twig into the flames, watching as it began to catch on fire and burn. "Whatever. just remember that I'll be around to, you know, lend you a. a." what the hell was the phrase again? A leg to lean on.? No.
"A shoulder to cry on?" He finished for her. This time she was certain she saw a smirk. "Doubtful."
She giggled a bit and couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, I think that was it. I'm still not sure, though. You'd have to lean way down to reach my shoulders. You'll probably strain you're back or somethin'."
This time she'd managed to draw something of a chuckle from the gunman. She risked another glance in his direction to see him smiling, his eyes closed, the firelight illuminating his pale skin and shining off his dark hair. {Wow, that's the first real smile I think I've ever seen on his face. He looks. kind of. nice.} She withdrew her gaze before Vincent could catch her staring at him. She balked at herself. {Listen to me; I sound like some boy-crazed bimbo! Sure Vinnie's cute, but still! He's so. Gawd, he's so depressing! At least he hasn't started going on about that Lu- somthin' chick again.} A sound from the other side of the fire startled her out of her thoughts. "What's that?" She asked.
".I believe it's Cloud snoring." Came the reply. Yuffie rose to check.
Sure enough, the blond swordsman had rolled slightly, a thin trail of drool leaking from the corner of his mouth. He snored again and muttered something that sounded like 'Grab the chocobos!', but Yuffie couldn't quite tell for sure. Thoughts of Vincent fled her mind as she silently gushed over how adorable Cloud was as he slept. She giggled, also thinking of what a prime opportunity this was to check out his materia. Not to keep, of course. Just to see. Yuffie had vowed not to try and steal her friend's materia again; seeing as they'd hunt her down forever if she did. Cloud was quite persistent. She sidled up to his equipment.
"What are you doing?" She heard Vincent ask behind her. After all, he didn't know about her pledge.
"Just checking out the materia," she told him. "I'm not gonna take any!"
"...."
"Really! You can come watch me if you want! I just wanna see what he's got!"
Vincent said nothing, but came and sat next to Yuffie where she was sorting through the bag of mismatched stones. She could feel his eyes boring into her as she sorted them. {Geez, doesn't anyone trust me.?} She huffed. {Gawd, I see Cloud still hasn't gotten into the idea of organization.} Once she had his extra materia sorted, she moved to examine his Ultima Weapon. {All mastered, good. Hm, Alexander, Ramuth, Neo Bahamut, Double Cut, Restore, Ultima, Added Effect and Poison. Cool. Now here, this bangle. Counter, Deathblow, Lightning All, Heal, and a level 3 Knights of the Round. Not bad. MY Double Cut is only level one. Hm. Nah, better not, Vinnie's watching. Besides, Cloud might get upset if I traded 'em.} She placed the swordsman's equipment back against the tree and grinned up at Vincent. "See? I told ya I wasn't gonna take anything!"
"Hmm." he fixed her with a bemused stare.
"Hey! I was good! I even organized it!" She pouted and then looked up at him with her largest, most pitiful of looks. "Hey Vinnie."
"No."
"C'mon, Vinnie! Let me see your materia! Please?"
"I said no."
"Pretty please?" She batted her eyes up at him.
He fixed one of his most intense stares upon the young ninja, and she felt herself freeze up, her grin slowly fading. He was making her nervous again, and she felt her stomach starting to do flip-flops. "Um, Vinnie.?"
"Yuffie," he said, and she felt the mist invade her mind again, as it had the previous evening.
"Yes.?"
"Stop asking me about my materia. I said no," Something in his voice compelled her to comply, to agree completely and totally with his order. She did so.
"Okay." She could feel her eyes starting to glaze over, could sense her thoughts being suppressed, but could not tear her gaze from his. Her mind became blank.
"Yuffie? What's wrong. Why are you acting like this?" she could hear confusion in his deep voice, see worry in those garnet eyes. She struggled to think.
"I-I'm." What was she? Was there anything wrong? She didn't know.
His hand flew up to stop her from speaking as Vincent's gaze went from her to the forest beyond. He seemed to be listening for something. And the red haze seemed to unwrap from her mind. She whispered, "Vinnie, what's wrong?" Then she could feel it, her danger sense, the feeling of wrongness. {It must've been drowned out when I spacing.} The chocobos were starting to shuffle and wark nervously, Rikku tugging on her ropes slightly. Other than the chocobos, the forest was completely silent, without even the sound of crickets that had been deafening earlier.
"Go wake the others and tell them to get ready. I think it's time we left." And with that, Vincent rose and headed towards the chocobos, his cape flapping slightly behind him. She scrambled up and headed towards the sleeping pair, deciding that Tifa would be easier to wake than Cloud. She shook the sleeping woman slightly.
"Tifa? Wake up, I think we're in trouble."
"Yuffie? What's wrong?" The busty woman asked, stifling a yawn with her hand. Confusion showed in her dark eyes.
"I'm not sure, but Vinnie says we gotta go. Help me wake up Cloud." She moved past Tifa and began to shake the sleeping man. He merely yawned and threw his arm out, pulling her down and snuggling her like a Teddy Bear.
".Patches." he snored some more. Yuffie didn't know whether to slap him or laugh at him as she struggled to break his death-grip around her head. {This is not the time to be enjoying the feel of Cloud's muscular chest! We're in danger, and besides, Tifa's right there.}
"Who are you calling 'Patches', you idiot!?" Tifa growled angrily and Yuffie head a slap above her. "Wake up, bear-boy!"
Yuffie inhaled deeply as Cloud released her head, the cool air a relief to her lungs. She glanced at him. The poor boy was fingering a red handprint on his cheek, and was gazing confusedly from Tifa to Yuffie and back again.
".Ow. Tifa, what'd you do that for?" he asked pitifully. She just snorted.
"Cloud, we have to go!" Yuffie interrupted before the older woman could explain. "I think those. things. are on their way."
Cloud instantly sat up, his swelling cheek momentarily forgotten. He began to pack, rolling up his navy sleeping bag, the same color of his outfit, and sticking it in his pack. Tifa began her packing as well, the anger in her burgundy eyes changing to that of remorse for what she'd done to Cloud. {Well, she was kinda harsh.}
Yuffie continued to feel sorry for poor Cloud as she quickly packed her own bag, keeping her Conformer within easy reach. She finished and joined Vincent by the chocobos where she secured her belongings to Rikku's back. Rikku warked worriedly, blue-green eyes darting from the dark forest to Yuffie as she huddled close to her brother for comfort.
"I know, Rikki. We'll be leaving jut as soon as Cloud ad Tifa are ready, so don't worry." Rikku seemed to cheer up at the thought of leaving, and she warked once more, this time in annoyance at the other two humans' slowness. Yuffie swung onto the golden bird's back as her friends readied themselves to leave. When everyone was mounted, Vincent headed them towards the mountains of Nibel, which they'd have to cross in order to reach Rocket Town.
They were almost through the woods when a demonic 'Waaaarrrrrk' sounded through the night. The first cry was followed by others, several of them, at various points behind them and advancing. Yuffie felt her heart beat faster; she didn't expect the creatures to have chocobos. Cloud signaled for the group to band closer to him.
"We need a strategy!" He told them, their chocobos running so close together they almost seemed a single, large, multicolored chocobo. "Vincent, you and Yuffie stay near the rear and take out any that get too close. We'll try to lose 'em in the mountains. Tiff, call Cid and tell him to have the Highwind ready for takeoff!"
The group nodded their understanding and spread out slightly as they came to the end of the trees. The night was starry and clear, and the moon was almost half full and very bright. Yuffie was thankful for these conditions as they made it easier for her to see what was going on. She glanced back.
Several dark shapes were emerging from the trees. Yuffie couldn't make them out clearly, but she counted at least ten mounted chocobos, the birds' eyes glowing bright red, even from the distance. She could hear their enraged and eerie 'waaarrrrrks' as they began to gain on them. She gripped her shuriken tightly.
One of the chocobo riders pulled ahead, gaining dangerously on Yuffie's group. He was almost within her throwing range when she heard a loud bang to her right. The chocobo stumbled and fell, throwing its rider forward. She turned in time to see Vincent face forward once more, his Sniper CR glinting in the moonlight. {Huh, I didn't even know he still had that gun. Though I guess it shouldn't surprise me, since I keep at least one of every weapon I've ever owned.} Not with her, of course. They were tactfully displayed, scattered about her house, in various places. Generally the floor.
She strained her eyes looking ahead of them. The Nibel Mountains loomed ominously ahead of them, and Yuffie could make out the faint lights of Nibelheim once more. It almost reminded her of last night, when she and Rikku had ridden in, seeking shelter and finding Vincent. Well she could definitely say that her stay in Nibelheim hadn't been boring; in fact, there was more adventure than she'd cared to find. Not that she minded, really, it was just that.
*BLAM!* She looked back in time to see another chocobo fall.
.This wasn't quite what she'd been expecting. Moonlight chocobo chases and zombies with Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent of all people. She turned around in time to see one of the dark birds within her range and threw, her shuriken flying gracefully through the air and slicing through the creature's skinny legs before returning. She grinned, having finally taken one out before Vincent had noticed it.
Cid Highwind had been drinking his tea when the call had come in.
"(*&^%, Shera, answer the (&^%^in' phone!" he'd yelled. She was right there next to it, dammit!
Shera had sighed and picked up the PHS, as she'd been about to do when he'd yelled. "Hello? Yes, this is Shera. What? Hold on," she'd handed the phone over to the foul-mouthed pilot. "It's for you, dear."
He'd taken a drag on his cigarette and taken the phone from her. "Yeah, this's Cid. Yo, Tifa, how the &^%$ are ya? WHAT!?" he'd jumped, he tea spilling over the front of his shirt. "&^%, right now!? Sure, she'll be ready. Yeah, see ya."
"What was that about, Cid?" Shera'd asked as she went to get him a clean shirt.
"Grab my *&%^in' gear while yer in there! Yours too, I ain't havin' ya abducted while I'm gone! I'll be at the Highwind," and he'd left, leaving a very confused Shera to collect their gear.
Now he was out here, in the dead of night, while he and his crew got the renovated Highwind working once again. It made him proud that his new airship was finally going to see adventure; it pissed him off that it had to be in the middle of the goddamn night. He threw his burned out cigarette to the ground and cursed at one of his crew, who'd dropped one of the crates of tools to the ground.
"Damn incompetent SOB." he muttered to himself as he lit himself another smoke and took a drag. He turned in time to see Shera approaching, her arms full of equipment; his spear, materia, clothes, and. "A frying pan, Shera? What the hell are ya gonna do with a *^%$ing frying pan? We got a cook."
She sighed as Cid took some of the stuff from her and followed him onto the ship. "Cid, this is my lucky frying pan, remember?"
He remembered, all right. Shera'd smashed him in the face with that damned frying pan he day they'd met. Accidentally, of course; she'd thought him to be a burglar when he'd tried to bust into the hangar after leaving his keys inside. She never traveled without the damn thing, but Cid still couldn't resist hassling her about it. "Yeah, yeah." he said, dumping the stuff in his- *their*- room and heading towards the deck of the ship, Shera following.
"Cid, you never told me what was going on." Shera complained.
"Yeah, Cloud and them've got themselves in some deep &*^$in' shit," he leaned against the railing, scanning the fields for signs of the bastards.
"Does this have anything to do with the kidnappers?"
He shrugged. "Dunno. Probably. Tifa wasn't exactly in a talkative ^%$#ing mood at the moment." Then he saw it, three chocobos heading towards them at high speeds. He shouted for his crew. "Hey ya *^$%ers! Get ready to house three, wait, four more of the damn birds (damn, that %^$#er's hard to see) and prepare for takeoff immediately after the %^$#ers are on board!" He turned to Shera. "Ya better get inside unless ya feel like getting thrown off the *^$#in' ship. I'll be there in a minute."
She complied immediately, turning to give him a small peck on the cheek before leaving, to which he blushed and stuttered slightly at. He then turned attention back to the approaching chocobos and was surprised to see the host following them. Six other shapes were behind them and closing in. Even from here, he could see the glowing red eyes of the enemy, and hear the unnatural 'waaaarrrrrrrk' echoing through the night. He swore, and frantically motioned for them to hurry. Once they were safely inside the Highwind, he scrambled to the door as the airship began to lift off.
".And then Vincent ran out ammo, so we had to just run for it." Cid and his crew were listening intently as Tifa retold the story of what had happened. Yuffie, however, was sprawled in a corner and waiting for the Tranquilizer to kick in. {Gawd I hate this thing.}
She looked up when she heard Cid laugh and saw him point to Cloud's cheek, which still bore the red imprint of Tifa's hand. "What the hell happened to you, Strife?"
Cloud shrugged. "I'm not sure, actually. I was asleep and just suddenly felt this sharp pain. and then Tifa was glaring at me and Yuffie was sprawled out next to her. I still don't know why she did it."
Tifa went red for a moment but was again interrupted, this time by Shera, who had just returned with a tray of tea. A sparkle caught the busty barkeeper's eye; the sparkle of a large diamond on Shera's left hand. "What's that?"
"Hmm? Oh, this?" She held it out for Tifa to examine. It was a diamond cut in such a way that Tifa could make out a small figure of a crescent moon the middle. The silver band had two stars on either side of the gem, and definitely reflected Cid's obsession with space. Tifa let out a squeal.
"Oh Shera, it's gorgeous! I'm so happy for you! When did he ask you?" She glanced at Cid, who was turning quite red at the mention of his engagement, and grinned.
"Well, he was quite romantic about it. He took me flying on the Highwind about a month ago, when he'd gotten it perfectly restored. He took me out on the deck, the night was gorgeous, and he stared into my eyes." she paused for dramatic effect, and Tifa, Yuffie (sick though she was), and even Cloud leaned forward in anticipation. Even Vincent seemed mildly interested in her story. "Pulled out a dark blue box, took out this ring, slipped it on my finger and said. 'Shera, will you &%^$ing marry me?'."
A curse and a loud thump took their attention from Shera to Cid, who was sprawled on the floor in a faint of humiliation. Shera smiled. "After that, how could I say no?"
Cloud's eyes widened at the unconscious pilot. "Um, don't you think we should get him to his room or something?"
Tifa giggled slightly, not heeding Cloud's words. "Aw, how cute! I didn't know Cid was so easily embarrassed! Anyway, when's the wedding supposed to be?"
"We're not sure."
Yuffie began to tune out the two giggling women as she envisioned her own wedding day. Walking down the aisle, her father's arm in hers, the white ceremonial robes flowing around her; her groom waiting by the priest, his robes a dark blue, a goofy smile on his boyish face, his mako eyes glowing even brighter. Her father would leave to sit off to the side while she joined hands with her blond husband-to-be and they would kneel before the priest as he gave them his blessing. He would pull her forward, their lips would meet, and she'd. Urk! {Oh gawd, there went that romantic fantasy.} she thought bitterly as she pushed the soiled bucket away from her, the smell making her want to heave again. She stood up.
"Um, if you'll excuse me. IthinkI'mgonnagoliedowninmyroom!" she blurted out as she ran for the hall, her stomach threatening to heave up whatever could possibly be left in her stomach. {I must be losing last week's meals as well. I haven't even eaten since breakfast, and I know that's gone.} She threw open the door to her old room and dived for the bed. She didn't get sick when she was sleeping. She groaned and fell onto her stomach, grabbing another bucket from beneath the bed and losing what had to have been her liver or something into it and shoving it back where it'd come from. She then turned on her back and thought about what was happening.
Cid and Shera were getting married. Good for them; Yuffie'd always thought they were a cute couple, even if Cid was a bastard sometimes. She was traveling with four of her old companions again, and falling for Cloud once more, even though she'd promised herself she wouldn't. After all, Tifa liked him, and Tifa was like a big sister to her. Yuffie didn't want to incur the older woman's hatred by breaking her heart and stealing the object of her affection. {But still. I just can't help it! And then there's Vincent.}
Yuffie had felt a sort of attraction to the Gothic gunman as well, though she'd passed it off as fatigue and hormones. After all, he was hot, all dark and cool and stuff, but she found him too. well, Vincenty for her tastes. {Way to depressive. And he's really creeping me out lately. Even more than usual. Now Cloud.} She sighed deeply and threw an arm over her eyes.
She hated being a teenager. Almost as much as she hated flying.
~*~End Chapter~*~
~Yeah! Chapter 4 is done! What's going to happen next? Will they all crash and die? Well it'd certainly make this story shorter. Nah, I have a few ideas left, still.~
~Kai~
Ninja
~*~4~*~
Yuffie yawned and slowly opened her eyes. The ground beneath her was smooth, thankfully, except for a small rock that was pressing into her lower back, causing a dull, throbbing pain. She cursed and sat up, stretched, and looked around.
It was dark, and the faint flicker of low campfire flames barely illuminated the surrounding trees, casting ominous shadows around her. To her left, she could make out Tifa's figure sprawled next to one of the trees, her dark hair splayed around her. Cloud was resting a short ways away from her, the firelight shining dully off his blond spikes, his sleeping bag thrown half-off of his sprawled form. {He looks so cute!} She smiled slightly and continued to survey the area. Four chocobos were resting near a large oak tree; two golds, a black and a white. Rikku, her own gold; Auron, Vincent's black; Cecil, Cloud's gold and Rikku's brother; and Rosa, Tifa's white. Yuffie had bred them all, and Rosa had been one of her favorites; a sweet, gentle chocobo with clear blue eyes and never- ending patience. Tifa had loved her.
She spied Vincent sitting by the fire. Sometimes he would scan the area and others he would just stare into the flames, lost in thought. {Probably keeping watch. Che, doesn't the man ever sleep?} She got up and went to sit next to him. The only acknowledgement he gave of her presence was a sideways glance in her direction as she sat down. She cleared her throat.
"So, I thought you weren't going with us?" she asked, trying to make conversation. She was rewarded with silence. "Or are you just traveling with us until you feel like leaving?"
"....."
She ground her teeth. So he was going to play the recluse again, eh? She shook her head. His silence would not deter her! She pressed on. "Just curious, what's the big deal about that assistant guy, anyway? Just suddenly feel the urge to blow his brains out?"
He turned to face her, an odd expression on his face. " 'Blow his brains out.?' " He echoed. Yuffie thought she saw the ghost of a smirk on his face, but it was probably just a shadow. "My business with him is mine alone. There is no need for you to interfere." His eyes were boring into hers again, and memories of drifting into those dark orbs glided through her mind. She averted her own eyes to his shoulder, deciding it was safer to glance at his face from the corner of her eyes than to stare directly at him. He seemed so much more imposing in the firelight in these dark woods than he had even in battle earlier that same day, and she was scared to meet his gaze now. {What the hell's wrong with me? I was glaring him down just this morning! Gawd!}
"Geez Vinnie, no need to bite my head off." she mumbled, trying to distract herself from her discomfort. She found that the sound of her own voice often did that. "I was just curious, is all. After all, I'm the one who found that journal!" She forced a small grin and turned to watch the fire.
Vincent nodded slightly, and she could feel his crimson eyes studying her face. {Sure wish I knew what went on up there.} He remained silent, and the stillness was too much for Yuffie; she let out an aggravated sigh.
"I sure wish you'd tell me what's up, Vinnie. I mean, I know we were never close," which was true, as Yuffie had always been too hyper and had too sort of an attention span to really care to bother with the brooding man; and Vincent had seldom let on that he was even aware of her existence, "but we're still friends, right? And, well, you seem kinda strange lately; I mean, stranger than usual."
"It doesn't concern you."
She let out a short, exasperated laugh and scratched her head. "Somehow, I knew you'd say that." She yawned and threw a small twig into the flames, watching as it began to catch on fire and burn. "Whatever. just remember that I'll be around to, you know, lend you a. a." what the hell was the phrase again? A leg to lean on.? No.
"A shoulder to cry on?" He finished for her. This time she was certain she saw a smirk. "Doubtful."
She giggled a bit and couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, I think that was it. I'm still not sure, though. You'd have to lean way down to reach my shoulders. You'll probably strain you're back or somethin'."
This time she'd managed to draw something of a chuckle from the gunman. She risked another glance in his direction to see him smiling, his eyes closed, the firelight illuminating his pale skin and shining off his dark hair. {Wow, that's the first real smile I think I've ever seen on his face. He looks. kind of. nice.} She withdrew her gaze before Vincent could catch her staring at him. She balked at herself. {Listen to me; I sound like some boy-crazed bimbo! Sure Vinnie's cute, but still! He's so. Gawd, he's so depressing! At least he hasn't started going on about that Lu- somthin' chick again.} A sound from the other side of the fire startled her out of her thoughts. "What's that?" She asked.
".I believe it's Cloud snoring." Came the reply. Yuffie rose to check.
Sure enough, the blond swordsman had rolled slightly, a thin trail of drool leaking from the corner of his mouth. He snored again and muttered something that sounded like 'Grab the chocobos!', but Yuffie couldn't quite tell for sure. Thoughts of Vincent fled her mind as she silently gushed over how adorable Cloud was as he slept. She giggled, also thinking of what a prime opportunity this was to check out his materia. Not to keep, of course. Just to see. Yuffie had vowed not to try and steal her friend's materia again; seeing as they'd hunt her down forever if she did. Cloud was quite persistent. She sidled up to his equipment.
"What are you doing?" She heard Vincent ask behind her. After all, he didn't know about her pledge.
"Just checking out the materia," she told him. "I'm not gonna take any!"
"...."
"Really! You can come watch me if you want! I just wanna see what he's got!"
Vincent said nothing, but came and sat next to Yuffie where she was sorting through the bag of mismatched stones. She could feel his eyes boring into her as she sorted them. {Geez, doesn't anyone trust me.?} She huffed. {Gawd, I see Cloud still hasn't gotten into the idea of organization.} Once she had his extra materia sorted, she moved to examine his Ultima Weapon. {All mastered, good. Hm, Alexander, Ramuth, Neo Bahamut, Double Cut, Restore, Ultima, Added Effect and Poison. Cool. Now here, this bangle. Counter, Deathblow, Lightning All, Heal, and a level 3 Knights of the Round. Not bad. MY Double Cut is only level one. Hm. Nah, better not, Vinnie's watching. Besides, Cloud might get upset if I traded 'em.} She placed the swordsman's equipment back against the tree and grinned up at Vincent. "See? I told ya I wasn't gonna take anything!"
"Hmm." he fixed her with a bemused stare.
"Hey! I was good! I even organized it!" She pouted and then looked up at him with her largest, most pitiful of looks. "Hey Vinnie."
"No."
"C'mon, Vinnie! Let me see your materia! Please?"
"I said no."
"Pretty please?" She batted her eyes up at him.
He fixed one of his most intense stares upon the young ninja, and she felt herself freeze up, her grin slowly fading. He was making her nervous again, and she felt her stomach starting to do flip-flops. "Um, Vinnie.?"
"Yuffie," he said, and she felt the mist invade her mind again, as it had the previous evening.
"Yes.?"
"Stop asking me about my materia. I said no," Something in his voice compelled her to comply, to agree completely and totally with his order. She did so.
"Okay." She could feel her eyes starting to glaze over, could sense her thoughts being suppressed, but could not tear her gaze from his. Her mind became blank.
"Yuffie? What's wrong. Why are you acting like this?" she could hear confusion in his deep voice, see worry in those garnet eyes. She struggled to think.
"I-I'm." What was she? Was there anything wrong? She didn't know.
His hand flew up to stop her from speaking as Vincent's gaze went from her to the forest beyond. He seemed to be listening for something. And the red haze seemed to unwrap from her mind. She whispered, "Vinnie, what's wrong?" Then she could feel it, her danger sense, the feeling of wrongness. {It must've been drowned out when I spacing.} The chocobos were starting to shuffle and wark nervously, Rikku tugging on her ropes slightly. Other than the chocobos, the forest was completely silent, without even the sound of crickets that had been deafening earlier.
"Go wake the others and tell them to get ready. I think it's time we left." And with that, Vincent rose and headed towards the chocobos, his cape flapping slightly behind him. She scrambled up and headed towards the sleeping pair, deciding that Tifa would be easier to wake than Cloud. She shook the sleeping woman slightly.
"Tifa? Wake up, I think we're in trouble."
"Yuffie? What's wrong?" The busty woman asked, stifling a yawn with her hand. Confusion showed in her dark eyes.
"I'm not sure, but Vinnie says we gotta go. Help me wake up Cloud." She moved past Tifa and began to shake the sleeping man. He merely yawned and threw his arm out, pulling her down and snuggling her like a Teddy Bear.
".Patches." he snored some more. Yuffie didn't know whether to slap him or laugh at him as she struggled to break his death-grip around her head. {This is not the time to be enjoying the feel of Cloud's muscular chest! We're in danger, and besides, Tifa's right there.}
"Who are you calling 'Patches', you idiot!?" Tifa growled angrily and Yuffie head a slap above her. "Wake up, bear-boy!"
Yuffie inhaled deeply as Cloud released her head, the cool air a relief to her lungs. She glanced at him. The poor boy was fingering a red handprint on his cheek, and was gazing confusedly from Tifa to Yuffie and back again.
".Ow. Tifa, what'd you do that for?" he asked pitifully. She just snorted.
"Cloud, we have to go!" Yuffie interrupted before the older woman could explain. "I think those. things. are on their way."
Cloud instantly sat up, his swelling cheek momentarily forgotten. He began to pack, rolling up his navy sleeping bag, the same color of his outfit, and sticking it in his pack. Tifa began her packing as well, the anger in her burgundy eyes changing to that of remorse for what she'd done to Cloud. {Well, she was kinda harsh.}
Yuffie continued to feel sorry for poor Cloud as she quickly packed her own bag, keeping her Conformer within easy reach. She finished and joined Vincent by the chocobos where she secured her belongings to Rikku's back. Rikku warked worriedly, blue-green eyes darting from the dark forest to Yuffie as she huddled close to her brother for comfort.
"I know, Rikki. We'll be leaving jut as soon as Cloud ad Tifa are ready, so don't worry." Rikku seemed to cheer up at the thought of leaving, and she warked once more, this time in annoyance at the other two humans' slowness. Yuffie swung onto the golden bird's back as her friends readied themselves to leave. When everyone was mounted, Vincent headed them towards the mountains of Nibel, which they'd have to cross in order to reach Rocket Town.
They were almost through the woods when a demonic 'Waaaarrrrrk' sounded through the night. The first cry was followed by others, several of them, at various points behind them and advancing. Yuffie felt her heart beat faster; she didn't expect the creatures to have chocobos. Cloud signaled for the group to band closer to him.
"We need a strategy!" He told them, their chocobos running so close together they almost seemed a single, large, multicolored chocobo. "Vincent, you and Yuffie stay near the rear and take out any that get too close. We'll try to lose 'em in the mountains. Tiff, call Cid and tell him to have the Highwind ready for takeoff!"
The group nodded their understanding and spread out slightly as they came to the end of the trees. The night was starry and clear, and the moon was almost half full and very bright. Yuffie was thankful for these conditions as they made it easier for her to see what was going on. She glanced back.
Several dark shapes were emerging from the trees. Yuffie couldn't make them out clearly, but she counted at least ten mounted chocobos, the birds' eyes glowing bright red, even from the distance. She could hear their enraged and eerie 'waaarrrrrks' as they began to gain on them. She gripped her shuriken tightly.
One of the chocobo riders pulled ahead, gaining dangerously on Yuffie's group. He was almost within her throwing range when she heard a loud bang to her right. The chocobo stumbled and fell, throwing its rider forward. She turned in time to see Vincent face forward once more, his Sniper CR glinting in the moonlight. {Huh, I didn't even know he still had that gun. Though I guess it shouldn't surprise me, since I keep at least one of every weapon I've ever owned.} Not with her, of course. They were tactfully displayed, scattered about her house, in various places. Generally the floor.
She strained her eyes looking ahead of them. The Nibel Mountains loomed ominously ahead of them, and Yuffie could make out the faint lights of Nibelheim once more. It almost reminded her of last night, when she and Rikku had ridden in, seeking shelter and finding Vincent. Well she could definitely say that her stay in Nibelheim hadn't been boring; in fact, there was more adventure than she'd cared to find. Not that she minded, really, it was just that.
*BLAM!* She looked back in time to see another chocobo fall.
.This wasn't quite what she'd been expecting. Moonlight chocobo chases and zombies with Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent of all people. She turned around in time to see one of the dark birds within her range and threw, her shuriken flying gracefully through the air and slicing through the creature's skinny legs before returning. She grinned, having finally taken one out before Vincent had noticed it.
Cid Highwind had been drinking his tea when the call had come in.
"(*&^%, Shera, answer the (&^%^in' phone!" he'd yelled. She was right there next to it, dammit!
Shera had sighed and picked up the PHS, as she'd been about to do when he'd yelled. "Hello? Yes, this is Shera. What? Hold on," she'd handed the phone over to the foul-mouthed pilot. "It's for you, dear."
He'd taken a drag on his cigarette and taken the phone from her. "Yeah, this's Cid. Yo, Tifa, how the &^%$ are ya? WHAT!?" he'd jumped, he tea spilling over the front of his shirt. "&^%, right now!? Sure, she'll be ready. Yeah, see ya."
"What was that about, Cid?" Shera'd asked as she went to get him a clean shirt.
"Grab my *&%^in' gear while yer in there! Yours too, I ain't havin' ya abducted while I'm gone! I'll be at the Highwind," and he'd left, leaving a very confused Shera to collect their gear.
Now he was out here, in the dead of night, while he and his crew got the renovated Highwind working once again. It made him proud that his new airship was finally going to see adventure; it pissed him off that it had to be in the middle of the goddamn night. He threw his burned out cigarette to the ground and cursed at one of his crew, who'd dropped one of the crates of tools to the ground.
"Damn incompetent SOB." he muttered to himself as he lit himself another smoke and took a drag. He turned in time to see Shera approaching, her arms full of equipment; his spear, materia, clothes, and. "A frying pan, Shera? What the hell are ya gonna do with a *^%$ing frying pan? We got a cook."
She sighed as Cid took some of the stuff from her and followed him onto the ship. "Cid, this is my lucky frying pan, remember?"
He remembered, all right. Shera'd smashed him in the face with that damned frying pan he day they'd met. Accidentally, of course; she'd thought him to be a burglar when he'd tried to bust into the hangar after leaving his keys inside. She never traveled without the damn thing, but Cid still couldn't resist hassling her about it. "Yeah, yeah." he said, dumping the stuff in his- *their*- room and heading towards the deck of the ship, Shera following.
"Cid, you never told me what was going on." Shera complained.
"Yeah, Cloud and them've got themselves in some deep &*^$in' shit," he leaned against the railing, scanning the fields for signs of the bastards.
"Does this have anything to do with the kidnappers?"
He shrugged. "Dunno. Probably. Tifa wasn't exactly in a talkative ^%$#ing mood at the moment." Then he saw it, three chocobos heading towards them at high speeds. He shouted for his crew. "Hey ya *^$%ers! Get ready to house three, wait, four more of the damn birds (damn, that %^$#er's hard to see) and prepare for takeoff immediately after the %^$#ers are on board!" He turned to Shera. "Ya better get inside unless ya feel like getting thrown off the *^$#in' ship. I'll be there in a minute."
She complied immediately, turning to give him a small peck on the cheek before leaving, to which he blushed and stuttered slightly at. He then turned attention back to the approaching chocobos and was surprised to see the host following them. Six other shapes were behind them and closing in. Even from here, he could see the glowing red eyes of the enemy, and hear the unnatural 'waaaarrrrrrrk' echoing through the night. He swore, and frantically motioned for them to hurry. Once they were safely inside the Highwind, he scrambled to the door as the airship began to lift off.
".And then Vincent ran out ammo, so we had to just run for it." Cid and his crew were listening intently as Tifa retold the story of what had happened. Yuffie, however, was sprawled in a corner and waiting for the Tranquilizer to kick in. {Gawd I hate this thing.}
She looked up when she heard Cid laugh and saw him point to Cloud's cheek, which still bore the red imprint of Tifa's hand. "What the hell happened to you, Strife?"
Cloud shrugged. "I'm not sure, actually. I was asleep and just suddenly felt this sharp pain. and then Tifa was glaring at me and Yuffie was sprawled out next to her. I still don't know why she did it."
Tifa went red for a moment but was again interrupted, this time by Shera, who had just returned with a tray of tea. A sparkle caught the busty barkeeper's eye; the sparkle of a large diamond on Shera's left hand. "What's that?"
"Hmm? Oh, this?" She held it out for Tifa to examine. It was a diamond cut in such a way that Tifa could make out a small figure of a crescent moon the middle. The silver band had two stars on either side of the gem, and definitely reflected Cid's obsession with space. Tifa let out a squeal.
"Oh Shera, it's gorgeous! I'm so happy for you! When did he ask you?" She glanced at Cid, who was turning quite red at the mention of his engagement, and grinned.
"Well, he was quite romantic about it. He took me flying on the Highwind about a month ago, when he'd gotten it perfectly restored. He took me out on the deck, the night was gorgeous, and he stared into my eyes." she paused for dramatic effect, and Tifa, Yuffie (sick though she was), and even Cloud leaned forward in anticipation. Even Vincent seemed mildly interested in her story. "Pulled out a dark blue box, took out this ring, slipped it on my finger and said. 'Shera, will you &%^$ing marry me?'."
A curse and a loud thump took their attention from Shera to Cid, who was sprawled on the floor in a faint of humiliation. Shera smiled. "After that, how could I say no?"
Cloud's eyes widened at the unconscious pilot. "Um, don't you think we should get him to his room or something?"
Tifa giggled slightly, not heeding Cloud's words. "Aw, how cute! I didn't know Cid was so easily embarrassed! Anyway, when's the wedding supposed to be?"
"We're not sure."
Yuffie began to tune out the two giggling women as she envisioned her own wedding day. Walking down the aisle, her father's arm in hers, the white ceremonial robes flowing around her; her groom waiting by the priest, his robes a dark blue, a goofy smile on his boyish face, his mako eyes glowing even brighter. Her father would leave to sit off to the side while she joined hands with her blond husband-to-be and they would kneel before the priest as he gave them his blessing. He would pull her forward, their lips would meet, and she'd. Urk! {Oh gawd, there went that romantic fantasy.} she thought bitterly as she pushed the soiled bucket away from her, the smell making her want to heave again. She stood up.
"Um, if you'll excuse me. IthinkI'mgonnagoliedowninmyroom!" she blurted out as she ran for the hall, her stomach threatening to heave up whatever could possibly be left in her stomach. {I must be losing last week's meals as well. I haven't even eaten since breakfast, and I know that's gone.} She threw open the door to her old room and dived for the bed. She didn't get sick when she was sleeping. She groaned and fell onto her stomach, grabbing another bucket from beneath the bed and losing what had to have been her liver or something into it and shoving it back where it'd come from. She then turned on her back and thought about what was happening.
Cid and Shera were getting married. Good for them; Yuffie'd always thought they were a cute couple, even if Cid was a bastard sometimes. She was traveling with four of her old companions again, and falling for Cloud once more, even though she'd promised herself she wouldn't. After all, Tifa liked him, and Tifa was like a big sister to her. Yuffie didn't want to incur the older woman's hatred by breaking her heart and stealing the object of her affection. {But still. I just can't help it! And then there's Vincent.}
Yuffie had felt a sort of attraction to the Gothic gunman as well, though she'd passed it off as fatigue and hormones. After all, he was hot, all dark and cool and stuff, but she found him too. well, Vincenty for her tastes. {Way to depressive. And he's really creeping me out lately. Even more than usual. Now Cloud.} She sighed deeply and threw an arm over her eyes.
She hated being a teenager. Almost as much as she hated flying.
~*~End Chapter~*~
~Yeah! Chapter 4 is done! What's going to happen next? Will they all crash and die? Well it'd certainly make this story shorter. Nah, I have a few ideas left, still.~
~Kai~