Finding Your Heart
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts
Chapter Six
Sora clomped back through the murky water, the slimy, green bottom making him internally flinch. You'd think the town would have the courtesy of cleaning the waterway, since waterways are usually not GREEN. The mayor of the town must be very obtuse to not notice the sickening water. Albeit, he probably didn't give a whiz about the color of the water. It's not like anybody went through it, save for Squall and his ally's.
'Squall', he thought with a frown. The man had become a source of endless diatribes to all of them. It was like he was going through an insanity phrase. One minute he was in complete delirium, the next he was blaspheming all over the place. He was like a Cid clone, except worse. At least Cid didn't erratically decide to just slam his fist violently into a wall, then not bother to clean the blood and bandage it afterwards. He was turning asinine because of this incident. Maybe if he would just calm down and help, they might actually get somewhere.
"Argh, of all the agonies," Sora groaned as he slipped on a moss-covered rock. Merlin had some nerve to make a passageway right through this goo. He let out a relieved sigh and the water lowered, until he was standing on dry land again. Personally, he hated going this way because whenever he got out he smelled like old fish.
The brunette climbed up the stairs noisily, his shoes filled with water. Oh joys. Why did he choose to go this way? 'Because I would've fallen into the water if I went through the door anyways,' he reminded himself. That water wasn't much better either. True, it wasn't green, but it was deep. Plus, he always had this creeping feeling that a huge shark or something was just going to pop up and eat him. He usually thought of that right before he smashed face-first into one of those stupid moving rocks.
"Where's Riku?" Goofy asked, not paying attention to Sora's soaked body. Sora shook his head, remembering how the older boy had took off right after retelling his account of Yuffie's location.
"He ran away somewhere. I couldn't find him."
"What happened to you?" Donald's voice interrupted Sora's next words.
"Don't ask."
"I just did."
Sora shot a flagrant look in the ducks direction. Did he always have to be so damn logic? It drove him up the walls whenever the creature corrected him. Sora's obtrusive glare caught the attention of Cloud, who looked about to collapse from reading.
"Why did you go in the first place?" the mercenary inquired.
"To see if Riku knew where Yuffie was."
"Well did he?"
"Yeah."
Everyone looked up. It sounded somewhat odd, to know that the answer had been in front of them all along. Riku knew? But how?
"When he was being controlled by Ansem, he was taken there once." Sora filled in for them. "But what he told me was…confusing."
"Confusing?" This coming from Aerith.
"How?" Cid asked. Sora placed his head in his hands momentarily. Too many questions. It was giving him a headache.
"Riku said it was located between the darkness and the light. Then he ran off because he said he was too useless to give any real information."
No one had an answer for that. Sora figured as much. That was pretty difficult. There were a million meanings to that, and it took a great mind to figure out which one was correct.
Even Merlin seemed perplexed. He kept pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, muttering nonsense words.
"That is confusing," Aerith murmured. "Almost impossible to figure out. Space is literally a huge dark gap within itself, and for the light, well; there are billions and billions of stars that give off brightness. So it could be anywhere."
"Thanks for your optimism," Sora sighed. But she was right. It could be anywhere. The universe was a place of untold wonders and secrets, and humans were far from discovering them all.
Squall watched them all concentrate with an annoyed pallor. God, he didn't think he could take anymore of this. Yes, he knew that everyone thought he was crazy. But it didn't matter. Because he knew he wasn't, so who cared what they thought? They would get the idea that he was just worried about Yuffie through their thick skulls some time or later.
Yes, he did care about Yuffie. He hadn't even realized it at first. Being her guardian for almost all of her life had that effect on you. He had made a promise to her parents nine years ago, and he had failed it. He vowed he would protect and keep her from harm. But he couldn't. He let his weakness overtake him and she was, in turn, taken from him. It was like a part of him was missing now. He couldn't hear her laugh, cry, or get angry anymore. It was a void in his life that couldn't be filled back in until he found her. And by gods, he WOULD find her. Even if it meant giving up his life in the process.
She was the only light that shone in his darkened heart. She had unknowingly been the only one to breach his façade and actually reach him. He had always been distant to everyone, but her, well; he couldn't do so even if she tried. She was persistent, and refused to let him go. She was like a kitten. You throw rocks at it and kick it, but it'll just come back, whining and purring like nothing happened. Her insistence drove him mad at times, but he realized that that had been the only reason to actually keep him going. Without her, he had no reason to live. He wasn't one to break promises. He would stay by her side, just for that purpose. Even if she got married, had kids, and moved far away, he would still be there to protect her if she needed it. Of course, he would never admit or tell this to anyone, let alone her. It worried him to some extent to have her thinking that no one cared about her, but at the time he'd rather keep his dignity.
Maybe he was digging too deep into this situation. They would find her, that he knew. They always it. She wouldn't just turn her back on them. It was completely out of character for her. Knowing her, she was probably screaming and slamming around, demanding to be set free.
That was it. He had made up his mind. He had become too useless in these few hours. Everyone had already dubbed him senile. Well, it was time to show them that he really could keep him calm. He hated being at this moment of weakness, but it would be soon forgotten. Closing his eyes, he once again regained his cool, collective attitude, reverting back into the Squall that everyone was oh so familiar with.
"Don't we have an alternative source of information?" The Gunblade wielder asked. All eyes turned to him, slightly surprised that he was normal again.
"We could return to Hollow Bastion and check out the library," Aerith's dulcet voice rang out.
"That would be a very wise idea," Merlin said. "Unfortunately, I will not be joining you. But I am sure you can find the answer all on your own."
"Ummm, I don't think we should go either," Sora said finally. They all looked at him. "I-I'm tired…and we still need to find Riku..besides…I am sick of going onto adventures…I just want to go home."
"If Sora's not going, we're not going either," Goofy announced. Donald nodded.
So Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy stayed at Traverse Town, whilst Cid, Aerith, Cloud, Luxina, and Squall packed up and made a course toward Hollow Bastion. They had planned that if anything went wrong, Sora and his friends would be the second front. They had all hoped it would not come to that. Everyone was split up now, each individual and easy prey. And so their adventure began.
~*~*~*~
A/N: All I have to say is, if you don't like SoKairi, then just skip this scene.
She looked out into the azure sky, her sun greatly reflecting upon her orbs. What time was it, she had no clue. She had lost sense of the things around her since that fateful parting.
Stupid dock. Full of splinters. They really needed to get that fixed. It was stabbing her hand like needles. She didn't know how Selphie could stand to sit on her bum all day on it.
"Kairi, what's wrong?" the younger girl asked, walking up to her from behind. The redhead pushed a stray lock out of her face and smiled lightly.
"Nothing Selphie. Why don't you go play with Tidus and Wakka?" Selphie pouted, waving her hands around in the air.
"Tidus is being all showy again. He won't be quiet. And Wakka hasn't been sleeping that much, so he doesn't care. Have you seen the bags under his eyes? It looks like he's going to collapse!" Kairi nodded, noticing how the boy had gotten oddly sluggish. Was he thinking about what had happened too? He never told of where he had gone when their island disappeared. She had a feeling he didn't want to share.
"Why don't you tell him to get some rest. You can take care of him for now, ok?" Kairi said half-mindedly. She really needed some time to herself.
"Ok!" and the brunette went off running, singing happily as she went.
Kairi turned her attention back to they sky. 'I've been up there,' she thought. 'I've been everywhere. I'm sorry I can't remember. Oh, why did I have to have my heart taken away?!' Kairi felt extremely guilty about that. If she hadn't lost her heart, maybe Riku and Sora would still be here with her now. How she longed to see them. It yanked at her heart knowing that she would wake up everyday and they wouldn't be there. She missed their fights, their races, and all their petty arguments. She felt so lonely now, like her real friends were gone. And they were. The three of them had an intricate bond, that even now hadn't been broken. If only she knew that their companionship still remained.
"SORA!" she called out to the sky, as if he could hear her. But of course he couldn't. He would never hear her. He was probably off saving the worlds again, literally almost getting himself killed. Was he ok? And how about Riku? She knew he hadn't been evil. Just misdirected.
Why didn't Sora return with her? He had to act all brave and not jump on the forming island. I'll come back to you. Bullshit.
Kairi shook her head as the profane word entered her mind. Cid's language had kind of rubbed off on her while she had stayed with them. She realized that she really missed them. Especially Yuffie. She was so funny to talk too. Especially when the ninja had persuaded her to join her in some dares. Kairi would've never dreamed of dumping a bucket of sugar water and chewed muffins onto the Gummi dealer if it wasn't for Yuffie.
The redhead smiled at the thought. Yes, she really missed them.
Getting up, she walked back to her grandmother's house. She ran her hands across the heliotropes and hyacinths growing around the house as she walked through the ebony door. She could hear the light snores of her grandmother upstairs.
Walking over to the cupboard, she pulled out a plate and some quiche, and placed it into the microwave. (A/N: If they have something as technical logically advanced as Gummi Ships, I think they would have microwaves!!) She then sat down at the wooden table and silently thought.
A loud whirring noise reached her ears. What was that? But before she could ponder on it, the noise abruptly stopped. Shaking it off, Kairi walked over to the oven and took out her now warmed up quiche. She set them down on the table and opened the fridge, rummaging around for something to drink.
Wait. There was someone in the house. She could sense it. She wasn't exactly experienced in fending off burglars, but if they tried to hurt her Granny, would they get a slapping! No one messed with her and got away with it.
Slowly, a hand began to crawl up her side. Kairi scrunched her eyebrows together, annoyed. They had some nerve trying to attack her after all she had been through. Not even a Heartless would've stopped her at this point.
With a scream, Kairi grabbed the hand, and tried to dig her nails into it. She then silently kicked herself for doing so. Hopefully her grandmother wouldn't have heard, and would still be deep in slumber. Meanwhile, the hand yanked out of her weak grasp and grabbed at her sides again, this time running up and down with it's nails. 'Agh!' she thought. Was this person crazy?
Peals of laughter erupted from within her as the hands tickled her crazily. There were only two people who would ever dare such a conniving sneak-up. The body got closer and Kairi almost fainted. That scent was unmistakable. Soft scented soap and a little of ocean air. Turning around, she looked into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.
"SORA!!" she screamed, throwing herself into his arms. He let out a small 'whoa' as he wobbled around from the force of her body. He seemed even more muscular than before. "SORA!!"
"Geez Kairi, calm down," Sora said with his trademark smile. Wasn't her gram sleeping up stairs? What was she thinking, screaming like a banshee? He could already feel Kairi's stubborn frown in his chest at his rebuke. He would be getting some lecture.
"Calm down? You big klutz! You think I can calm down after all that's happened?" Sora shrugged. She was acting so uptight. 'Loosen up Kairi,' the brunette thought. 'I am here, after all.'
"You can try." Kairi eyed him, then smiled cheekily. So simple words, and yet he always had an overpowering effect on her. He wasn't Prince Charming, but he was the sweetest guy she had ever met. And that was certainly good enough for her.
"Alright, you win," she giggled, giving in. There was no point in arguing with him now. If she did she would just end up laughing. It wasn't easy to be angry at Sora, especially with that goofy smile of his.
Kairi grabbed his hand and pushed him into a chair, setting the quiche on the table. She took out two sodas from the fridge and gave one to him. Taking a seat across from him, she watched him intently. She absorbed every detail, to from his soft brown hair, to his perfectly curved lips. God, he was gorgeous. Or at least in her eyes. To her, no other man would ever match the splendour that he held. His childish attitude and sunny outlook was just a cover-up for what he really was. A god. No wonder he was chosen as the Keyblade master.
"Sora," she said after a long pause. Sora looked up from the food he was eating.
"I saw the picture on the wall." Sora gave her a bewildered look.
"What?"
"The picture. Of…you and me. In the secret place. With the paopu fruits."
"Oh, yeah, that," Sora said with a slight blush. "I'm a pretty good artist, aren't I?" he joked. In reality, he really wanted Kairi to know that he loved her. He had yelled it to her as she disappeared within the mists of the returning planets, but he doubted she had heard him. He was really leaving himself out in the open, putting such on obvious mark where anyone could see it, but that was somewhat of the idea. He only hoped that Kairi would return the gesture.
"Very," Kairi said indulgently to his comment about his artistry.. "Umm….how did you get here anyways?" Sora shook his head lightly. He was surprised that she had taken that long to ask. He thought it would've been the first thing to come to her lips. Her very beautiful lips, he added with a grin.
"The barriers didn't go back up for some reason. I got here by the Gummi Ship. Donald and Goofy are sleeping in there."
"Oh," was all she replied. He said it with ease, as if it happened all the time. Did he not know that this was a big deal to her? Seeing him brought the most unending joy to her heart.
Sora watched Kairi as she fiddled with her hair and her clothing, as if nervous about something. He couldn't think of what. Was it because of the paopu drawing? He really meant it, just didn't know how to tell her. He didn't just want to say it, because it sounded so mundane. He wanted to do something original. And he had the perfect idea in mind.
"Kairi, will you come back with me to Traverse Town?" Sora asked her. Kairi's face brightened considerably.
"I'd love to. But why?" Sora tried to act as innocent as possible.
"Well, I've missed you. And, I have a surprise there for you."
"Really?"
"Really really." Inside, he felt himself droop a little. When Kairi found out that Yuffie was gone, she would be so down hearted. He couldn't keep the fact from her, in all obviousness she would find out. Then another thought hit him.
Sora hadn't even told her that Riku was with them yet. Did she want to know? 'Of course she does,' he thought. 'He's her best friend too you know.' Maybe that could be an additional surprise. If there was one thing that Sora had learned about being Kairi's friend, it was that she loved to be surprised. Although it was getting harder and harder to do so, because she was becoming more and more intuitive.
"Come on let's go to Traverse Town," he said.
"Right now?" Kairi asked, her eyes widening. "But..I'm not ready yet!!"
"That's ok. Just grab a few clothing and we're set. Besides, there's plenty of stores at Traverse Town where you can buy clothes."
"But I don't have money." Sora rolled his eyes. She was being so polite and innocent, as always. Just like me, he thought foolishly. He quickly added that to his secret list of why they were perfect for each other. Riku had only been joking when he had told him to do something like that, but after trying it, it was an actual good idea. Plus Kairi would love the idea of Sora thinking of her like that all the time.
"I'll buy them for you."
"But-"
"No buts." Kairi sighed loudly, as if having just lost a huge argument. Again.
"Ok, ok. I'll get my stuff." And she tromped up the stairs to pack.
Sora could barely contain his glee. She was coming back with him. Maybe his life wasn't so cruel after all.
About ten minutes later, Kairi came back down, and left a very long and wordy letter to her grandmother. Sora glanced at it, reading small snippets.
"Hey," Kairi said, looking at him. "That's personal."
"Anyone could read it," Sora threw back. Kairi punched his arm as they headed out toward the Gummi.
Sora helped her into the ship, where he took the controls and happily headed back to Traverse Town.
~*~*~*~
"God! You'd think these imbeciles would have the decency to arrange these books in some sensible order!!" Cid cursed as he ran his eyes over the many volumes of books. Aerith sighed.
"Cid, they are arranged in order," she stated without looking up from what she was doing. Cid just grumbled some more and continued to play with the books.
In another corner, was Squall. He had a book in his hands and was reading it intently. Turning his head to the left, he saw Aerith and Cloud exit quietly. Gods, what were they doing now? It wasn't exactly the best time to be dawdling. But whatever. What they did together was none of his business. Not that he cared either way anyways.
Placing the book back into its slot, he pulled out another, flipping erratically through the pages. The writers back then were really obtuse, because even Squall was getting bored staring at all the minute words. None of them had really anything interesting to say. They all talked about the same things, just in different words. It was a shame that all those philosophers toiled away for nothing.
"Hey, where are Aerith and Blondie?" Cid asked. Squall rolled his eyes.
"Like I would know. They went somewhere."
~*~*~*~
"Cloud, where are we going?" Aerith asked him as he dragged her along. He just squeezed her hand tighter, a vulpine look in his eyes. Aerith sighed. "This really isn't the time to be doing this," she continued. "Squall might get angry."
"He's always angry. Besides, I'm hungry. We'll just tell him we went to get some food."
Aerith moaned. Geez, he was stubborn. She cast her eyes upon his opposite hand, the metal glinting in the sunlight. He still hadn't told her of how he had acquired it. Or of why he kept that stupid cape on, even in the sizzling heat.
"Clooouuudddd," she whined a little playfully. Cloud rolled his eyes.
"Whhaaatttt," he whined back, imitating her. Aerith slapped his arm, which made him emit a low chuckle. "Calm down. You're acting like Squall's gonna kill us when we get back."
"That is a possibility."
Cloud didn't answer. Every time she spoke, it was if she was holding back something. Was she still nervous around him, after all this time? Or was it his hideous appearance that scared her? He had to admit, the cape and artificial hand were very questionable. But she could find about that later. Now wasn't the time to be pondering on her strange attitude. He would just have to ask her once they got to his selected spot.
Unfortunately, he had no idea where that would be. He hadn't been here in ages, and knew nothing of the location of anything. He had been so anxious to get out with her alone, that he hadn't paid any attention of where they would go. 'I'm an A class genius,' he grumbled silently.
"You've changed." Cloud glanced back at the fragile woman.
"How so?" She covered her mouth with her hand, as if she was going to say something extremely funny, and was covering up her laughter.
"You aren't so grumpy anymore," she said, though playfully. She had her head tilted toward the sky, as if able to read her answer up there. "You used to be quiet and morose. You're so…nice now," she said, picking her words carefully so as not to say something to would sound offending. Cloud though, seemed to look as if it were all true.
"I know. I have changed, because of you," he added. And it was true. If it wasn't for his discovery of her being in Hollow Bastion, he would still be a mercenary with a do-or-die deal with the god of the underworld. At the time, he had thought that the violent way was the only way to find of what he was seeking. But apparently not. He had learned so after meeting the Keyblade master, Sora. That young teen had taught him that not everything had to be resolved through fighting and brute strength. It was because of that kid's determination that had gotten the blonde mercenary to begin a search for his beloved angel, his light. And now that he had found her, he refused to let go.
"You don't know where you are going do you, Cloud?" her dulcet voice broke through his thoughts.
"No," he said with a sheepish smile, fortunately hidden by his cape. He had been smiling a lot lately, something he hadn't done in years. But then again, finding the love of your life had that kind of effect on you.
He felt a tug on the edge of his cape, as the girl he had formerly been dragging, was now dragging him. She weaved them through the throng of people, as she hummed a poignant tune. It seemed her trepidation of being with him had worn off. And, thankfully, she knew where she was going. He silently promised her that their next outing, he would be the gentleman and whisk her away, not the other way around. It sounded foolish that the female was the one leading around, not the male.
"So madam, where are we going?" he asked, his accent making the pink-clad girl laugh.
"We have to work on your impersonations. And I can't tell you where we're going, or it won't be a surprise."
"Surprise?" he asked bemusedly. "Excuse me, but I would appreciate it if you would tell me where we are headed, so I won't have to look like a fool when I have to pay up."
"You are not paying."
"Yes I am. Besides, if I don't, who will? I refuse to let you do so," he said sternly.
"You want to avoid looking gay, right?" Cripes, did she have to be straight forward?
"I would prefer not being perceived as gay, but that's not the reason."
"Whatever you say Cloud," she said, trying to hold in her glee. It was so fun teasing him sometimes. He took things way too seriously. Which was why his reactions were so hilarious. It seemed that he had not been treated to such playfulness for some time, the way he gawked at all of them and stuttered over his words when they said something unreasonable. Like when Yuffie had told him that sex joke with all the vegetables in it, he had blushed furiously and almost fell over himself trying to run away from the ending of the joke.
Her smile decreased slightly. 'Oh Yuffie, I pray you are alright,' she thought. Was she doing this because she believed none of them cared about her? Oh, if only they could make her see how much they all loved her. Each of them considered her as a special person. She was Cloud's little sister, Cid's niece, and sometimes the daughter he never had, and she was her best friend. Not to mention Sora and his companions felt the same way about her. And Squall…well Squall was one hard character to read. But Aerith had the premonition that maybe he thought of her as…a lover?
Aerith shook the thoughts out of her head, but it didn't disappear. She had often observed them argue. It was no doubt that they usually enjoyed bickering with each other. Their reddened cheeks and sparked eyes told her enough. Yes, unknowingly, a small bond had formed between the ninja and the Gunblade wielder, which explained his morose temper.
"We're here," she announced, trying to drive the thoughts of Yuffie out of her mind. Thinking of the worst usually brought bad things upon the person of whom the thoughts were directed toward.
"It looks like a hotel," Cloud muttered.
"That's because it used to be one. It couldn't stand up to the competition, so they shut it down. They had been planning to demolish it, but they didn't want to waste such artwork and beauty. So they reopened it as several restaurants." Cloud gazed up at the huge, archaic building.
"How many floors are there?"
"Ten. But one of them holds an ice-skating center, so there's only nine floors of shops."
"Only?" Cloud murmured albeit sarcastically under his breath, glancing at Aerith. But she was too entranced by the mall's beauty to notice. She clutched onto his arm, and ushered him inside.
Really, it was beautiful. A huge spiral ramp wound itself up the middle, so you could see all the way up to the top. The railing was made of copper, so bright that it looked exactly like gold. Each floor held it's own theme, like there was a children's floor, and men's floor, and a woman's floor. The rest was just random stores like book stores and pet shops. There was a food court on the second floor, he could easily tell by the smells. Aerith obviously noticed too, because she was walking them up the huge ramp, her head turning from side to side excitedly.
"See, you don't have to worry," Aerith said, oblivious to Cloud's thoughts. "It's fast food!" Cloud just nodded, tightening his hand around hers. The stares he was getting from onlookers was making him wholly uncomfortable. It seemed he was already causing a delirium in the building, having some people the nerve to point. They must come to believe he was some terrorist or something. He really gave that look.
"Ignore these asinine people," Aerith commanded him. Cloud just frowned behind his cape, watching the minute woman maneuver gracefully through the crowds of people. "They don't know you," she whispered quietly, more to herself than anything. And it was right. They didn't know Cloud. These people, with such vapid character and critical judging, would never understand the meaning behind their love. It didn't matter to her that he looked a little different. So what? He had gone through hell and back just to get her, and he bore the proof of it.
They quickly ordered their food, sitting themselves down at a secluded table. Leaning over, Cloud gently stroked Aerith's cheek, who moved in toward his touch. The tangible feeling of being with her was enough to make him ignore the haughty stares from the people around him. She grinned gently, and bent over the table to kiss him. Their lips were about to meet when a loud ring interrupted them. Cloud looked around, confused. Aerith blushed embarrassedly, and pulled out the walky-talky that Cid had given her so they could all stay together at the Coliseum. Cloud forced himself not to look disappointed as she turned it on, muttering a small hello into it.
"AERITH!!! GET UR BUTT BACK 'ERE! SQUALL FIGURED OUT WHERE YUFFIE IS!!" Cid's voice boomed through the receptor, turning more heads toward their direction. Aerith said something into the walky-talky, before turning it off. She then looked apologetically at Cloud.
"Cloud…I'm so sorry," she said, looking pleadingly into his eyes."
"It's ok Aerith. Besides it's about Yuffie, so it's important to me too." Aerith nodded, albeit sadly. They packed up their food and left to return to the castle.
~*~*~*~
Squall smirked, something he hadn't done in some time. He had finally figured out where Yuffie was. Yes, the information Riku had told them was complex with many hidden meanings, but it was easily understandable with the right materials. He flipped again through the astronomy book with which he had found the answer. It was right here, right under his nose, and he hadn't even realized it.
Looking up, he saw Aerith and Cloud entered, looking a bit flustered, like they had run the whole way here. And they probably had, judging on their windblown look.
"So?" Cloud asked, the question directed toward Squall. Squall didn't answer, just walked toward them, opening up the book. He then pointed to a small space on the book's map of the universe. It wasn't very surprising that their faces all showed one of bewilderment.
"There's nothing there," Luxina said. Squall shook his head.
"There is. Or at least, that's where it's supposed to be." They all stared at it for a while longer.
"Why this spot?" Cloud muttered obliviously. The Gunblade wielder let out a silent sigh.
"Because," he said. "It's between the darkness and the light."
"Damn, I get it," Cid muttered. It looked as if Squall was tired of explaining already, so he continued for him. "The darkness an' the light. Look there. It's between a warp hole and the sun. What's darker than a black hole? Nothing. The same goes for the sun. There's nothing brighter than it. So it's all simple logic."
"Erm…" Sora said awkwardly in the doorway. The turned their heads to find Sora, Kairi, Riku, Donald and Goofy. "You found her?" the Keyblade Master assumed.
"Yeah, and you're not coming," Squall stated. He could already predict that Sora would start whining, but he was getting short of nerves. "It's safer that way. We told you before."
So like before, Sora and his companions stayed in Hollow Bastion. The rest traveled to Sephiroth's hideout, in hopes of finding Yuffie. And they found her all right.
Yuffie watched the Gummi ship land vaguely in the distance. Closing her eyes, she listened as the low hum of the engine faded away, and a clicking noise opened the hatch. So Sephiroth was right. They had come. She had highly doubted his words to be correct. Well, she was sure they weren't here to adulate her. They would be punished for their foolish blasphemy.
She crouched lower, still in the same position as before, posted on the gargoyle. She waited patiently as she could hear their voices echoing around the corner, their footsteps nonchalantly ringing through the air. Didn't they know it was illicit deed to be walking around here without permission? She gave them a flagrant look underneath her hood as they approached her. She could already hear Luxina's whiny voice complaining up and down the way.
"Excuse me," Aerith yelled up, covering her hand over Luxina's mouth to shut her up. Yuffie didn't answer, just watched the obtrusive group to see what they would do. They did nothing, as if lost and having no way out. Maybe a little fear would get them moving. They weren't as tenable as they thought they were.
Raising her head, she let out a lupine howl, as her call dropped down beneath her, and lingered highly in the air. Yes, they had become slightly shaken. Oh goody, maybe she would just go Lucifer on them and kill them all now.
"What's with that one?" Cid muttered, looking up at the yowling figure. Was she the guardian or something? It gave that look. Or she was just some person kneeling on a gargoyle and howling for no good reason. But either way, their trepidation was starting to build. The figure had stood up now, and had faced them. Metal winked at them in the setting sun, the headgear coving up her face.
Yuffie slowly lifted her hand around her face, and threw back the hood. She may have had a huge metal accessory on her head, but she was still easily recognizable. Her heart palpitated fiercely as all their faces showed ones of recognition.
"Yuffie?!" Aerith screamed. She then smiled joyously. "Yuffie you're alright! Get down from there! You might get hurt."
"Yuffie," Squall called out. His face showed slight remorse. "What's on your head?"
"A headgear," she stated obviously. Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and monotony.
"Yuffie, get down," Cloud yelled up at her.
"No."
"What?" They all said at the same time. But Yuffie jumped down anyways, despite her rebellion to do so. How can she disembowel them from up there?
"Ever wonder what it's like to die?" she asked them, brandishing her shruikens.
"W-we all thing of that sometimes," Aerith said. "But it's not something that we would ever want to do." The teen's words were scaring her. What was she doing, talking about death? She never did such things. Last time she checked, Yuffie was terrified to die too.
"I'm dead," Yuffie murmured. She then cast a haunting glare on them. "But you're not."
"No, Yuffie, no we're not. And neither are you," Squall said to her, trying to soothe her. His words had usually calmed her in the past, but it just seemed to distraught her.
"I wish you were dead…you'll all die for what you did to me!" she said, running her hands along the shruikens edges, drawing forth blood upon her fingers. Then as quick as lightning, she shot all twelve of her shruikens out, aiming each at her former friends. 'They will die.' They would not live to get out of this place, she vowed that.
A/N: Sorry about that. I decided to focus on the other couples mainly. God, this chapter was such a bitch. After going through several drafts of it, I was about to die. I still don't think it's good, but I have no time to make another one. My finals are tomorrow, and I wanted to get this out before they started. . This fic has been totally devoid of Yuffie and Squall romance, even though I said they were the main coupling. So I swear to GOD (or Satan, or Kami, or whoever you chose) that there will be romance in the next chapter between them.