Kay, this one is actually sort of inspired by this super cute fan pic I saw of Yuffie laying her head on Vincent's chest to hear his heart beat, I can't remember where I saw it, but I'll find it and let you know. The song is "Far Away" by Nickleback! I don't own anything! Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Far Away

3 days into the Omega Crisis

This time, This place
Misused, Mistakes
Too long, Too late
Who was I to make you wait
Just one chance
Just one breath
Just in case there's just one left
'Cause you know,
you know, you know

Yuffie Kisaragi, noted ninja and kick ass princess, sighed rather gruffly, looking up at the imposing ziggurat known as Shinra Manor. Okay, so it wasn't that huge, but it was still big… and dark… and monster infested. "Why did Reeve send me here?" Oh, she knew, she had known since the moment she left WRO headquarters.

She was a babysitter…

Well not exactly a babysitter, more like a gothic, depressed man sitter, who incidentally hadn't bothered to call her in oh, a whole year. She hadn't called him, because the bastard had told Cloud to tell her not to call him ever again. "Jerk," she muttered, tapping her foot in the moist ground. It seemed like it was going to rain again, but a little water didn't deter her. She was the Great Ninja Yuffie after all.

And said Great Ninja felt guilty, really guilty. The reason she bugged Vincent so much wasn't just to be a bother, though that was fun too. She had much deeper reasons for trying to put some sunshine in his life. And she'd failed, ran away at the first hint of adversity. Not something she was proud of, but it was the truth. She'd waited too long, and now Vincent Valentine actually needed help. That was frightening in its self, that big, strong, handsome… alright gorgeous Vincent couldn't handle some Deepground punks on his own. What if she was the last person to see him? What if she was too late already? She'd made a mistake not disregarding his command; it wasn't like he was really serious anyway? She'd been away from him for too long, then what if she went into that mansion and found that she really was too late.

Was Vince already dead? Could he even die? She didn't know, and it hastened her steps up the walk. She could hear gunfire, and her heart started beating a mile a minute. "Shit! Oh gawd Vinnie, please don't die!"

That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me
and you'll never go
Stop breathing if
I don't see you anymore

She didn't really remember the first time she looked at him and didn't see a scary, vampire guy who was locked in a coffin for years. I think it was when we found that cave, and Lucrecia was there, and her whispers reached us. The look on your face was heartbreaking, especially for you. As she ran for the front door, she was cursing Reeve in her head for even sending him in the vicinity of this haunted place. He died here, fell in love here, was imprisoned here… it broke her heart.

Yuffie missed him so much, her heart was pounding against her ribs, and then as she reached the door there was an explosion. That only caused her to fight back the fear and go into awesome ninja mode, she was going to save the man she loved, and it didn't matter if she died in the process. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that Vincent wouldn't want that, it would just add to his self imposed sins, but that was what people did when they loved someone. They day dreamed about being in their arms when they couldn't be, they missed them when they were far away, the bled for them when it was needed, and even died to try to let them stay just a bit longer.

On my knees, I'll ask
Last chance for one last dance
'Cause with you, I'd withstand
All of hell to hold your hand
I'd give it all
I'd give for us
Give anything but I won't give up
'Cause you know,
you know, you know

The angry ninja pulled the door open and ran into the main hall, her gray eyes smoldering as she saw some red haired bitch pull something out of Vincent's chest. For a split second she thought that it was his heart, and tears sprang to her eyes. She pulled the cowl of her cloak down farther, not wanting to see that, but the glow caught her attention.

Materia… Vincent has materia in his chest?

Without thinking she launched her shuriken at the woman, activating her flare materia to blind the woman. She didn't wait a second and she ran to Vincent, who was shaking and acting like he was going to change, but he just slumped again. "Shit!" the girl whispered and knelt down, her knees in the small pool of blood forming under him, and she tugged him up against her chest. She activated the materia Reeve had given her for emergencies, an Exit that took them back to the Shadowfox in the blink of an eye.

So far away
Been far away for far too long
So far away
Been far away for far too long
But you know, you know, you know

In another flash of light, Yuffie found herself on the ground outside the truck. The WRO drivers that Reeve had assigned her looked up in shock as the ninja appeared with the unconscious gunslinger. "Hurry up you idiots, don't just stand there and gawk! He's dying!" The soldiers ran over to help lift him up into the truck; she threw her hood back to get a better view of the wound. She motioned them to place him on the bench, then went to grab her bag of materia, searching frantically for her Restore. "Where is that thing!" She was trying to rush, so every single green materia ended up being a fire or something completely unhelpful. Once of the soldiers gasped a bit and called to her, "Miss Yuffie! Something's happening!"

Happening? That was not a good thing to tell her when she was trying to save her friends life! She hurried over and looked down at Vincent, watching the muscle, bone and skin knitting back together. "Eww, that's grossness!" She squealed and turned around, covering her eyes for good measure until they told her it was done. After that, she ordered the others to go in the front and start driving, then needed to get back to WRO headquarters as soon as possible. Once they were moving, she went to his side and knelt down next to him, placing a hand gently on his stomach, and leaned down. Yuffie knew that she shouldn't be touching him when he was unconscious, but part of her just couldn't help it. He'd nearly died, and no matter what he thought about her… she cared deeply for him. It was probably the only time she'd be able to let her affections out, when she was alone and he was in a deep sleep.

She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat. It seemed to calm her, just feeling better that it hadn't been ripped out, that he wasn't dead. "Gawd Vince, you scared the hell outta me." Tears came to her eyes and a drop slipped down the side of her face to land on the gunman's leather shirt. She reached over and laid her hand over his gauntlet and just sat there for a few moments before righting herself, wiping her tears away and replacing her hood. She'd just sat down on the opposite bench when she heard him move. She watched his ruby eyes open and she had to suppress a sigh of relief.

I wanted
I wanted you to stay
'Cause I needed
I need to hear you say
That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I forgive you
For being away for far too long
So keep breathing
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore
Believe it

Yuffie plastered a fake smile on her face and raised her hand playfully. "Morning!"

The gunman seemed confused, which she understood completely… he'd been fighting, now he was on a strange truck with a strange person. He looked back to her, "Where…?" he trailed off; taking in her appearance, then changed his question. "Who are you?"

Well of course the ninja couldn't help but play it up… it was in her nature after all. But mostly she was just in a better mood because he was alive. She could forgive him for being an ass now, for being gone so long.

"Well, I'm glad you asked! I am the champion of the earth and the sky. I am the conqueror of evil. The single white rose of Wutai." She grabbed the edge of the cloak and pulled it free, sending it flying to the floor and jumping on the bench, making a dramatic flourish. "Yuffie Kisaragi! Feast your eyes on..." she lost her balance as she tried to strike a dramatic pose, falling over and hitting her head. Her face scrunched up, and she rubbed the pain from her head with a whine.

"So, where are we?"

The ninja frowned, even pouting a bit. "C'mon, aren't you at least a little concerned." And to think, I actually shed a tear for you… Jerk!

"Yuffie…" the pouting Ninja didn't look at him when he called her, content on being mad at him. "It's been awhile," he tried, and the girl turned her head enough to see him with one eye, then he continued with, "How's your head?"

What an ass, it had only been awhile because he wouldn't let her call his phone. She frowned at him, putting her hands on her hips. "You... could you at least pretend to be sympathetic!?" She frowned more as he tried to sit up and his hand went to the pain in his chest. Damn it, they didn't know if he had permanent damage or anything, not to mention the weird materia she'd momentarily saw the Tsviet pull out. Before she even realized it, she was running to his side. "Hey, take it easy. That was a big hole you had in your chest."

Vincent frowned, and lay back down, looking to the tiny ninja who was now hovering over him, "a hole in my chest?" He was obviously confused, maybe it was from all those nasty experiments that whack job had done to him and he didn't know about it. She nodded her head sagely, putting her finger and thumb to her chin. "I seriously thought you were a goner, but then the wound healed itself right up." She bounced a bit and smiled at him, "You were always 'different,' but I guess that's why you're still breathing!"

Hold on to me and, never let me go
Keep breathing
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore
Believe it
Hold on to me and, never let me go
Keep breathing
Hold on to me and, never let me go

Vincent just looked up at her, she couldn't tell what emotions were going on inside him, but his eyes were turbulent. "Yuffie, what are you doing here?"

She knew he'd ask that question, she couldn't really tell him Reeve was worried and sent her after him… so she just told him parts of the truth. That would work, and it wasn't actually lying. "Me? I'm just helping out Reeve and his gang. I was poking around Nibelheim and I found you looking all corpse-like in Shinra Manor. So I saved you." She jumped up and down a bit, excited that she could boast that, and with a spin she grinned back down at him. "Imagine that--me, saving the great Vincent Valentine. Do I get any thanks?" She giggled cutely, looking down into his vaguely amused face.

"Thanks… Yuffie."

The ninja girl blinked, warmth started to flow through her, starting at her heart, he actually thanked me? Oh my gawd I can't believe it, and that look he's giving me!

She could barely keep his gaze, her cheeks flushing a bit and she put her hands out, waving them back and forth while mouthing the word "no" a couple times. "I didn't mean for you to take me so seriously!" She turned, going toward the computer, trying to hide the pink in her cheeks. "Anyway, Reeve wanted us to contact him as soon as you woke up." At least that's what his text message had said. She went and sat down, typing on the keys to get the connection with the WRO open. She snuck a look over her shoulder and saw the gunman looking at her, and then he glanced away, closing his eyes. She smiled a bit and went back to work…

Thank Leviathan you're still breathing…

Keep breathing
Hold on to me and, never let me go