Disclaimer- I have no affiliation with the characters or plot involved in FFVII.

(A/N) Lol see my fancy disclaimer? So sorry that it took an eon to post this chapter but hopefully the length will make up for it a little. I had a huge writer's block and ended up going for something completely different than I planned on but that's half the fun :) Because of the length, I kinda have to split this event between two chapters so don't flip out. Lemon will be in the next chapter by popular demand.


"Hmm…" Yuffie unraveled the map and paused to hold it in front of her face as she thoroughly examined it again.

"Yuffie," the redhead sighed as he trudged ahead, glancing over his shoulder at the inquisitive girl.

"What?" she tore her seemingly focused stare from the paper and to him as he advanced further away from her.

"You know," he began. She dashed closer behind him and began to place the chart back into her knapsack, listening with alacrity that was a bit abnormal for her, "you don't have to check the map every five seconds."

"Like hell I don't!" she retorted, approaching his side, "We got lost last time."

"We weren't lost," he stopped to glare at her, the spark of a growing argument flashing in his turquoise pools.

"Whatever you say, boss," she rolled her eyes but attempted to omit the sarcasm from her voice in order to keep some level of peace. Reno shoved his hands in his pockets and pressed forward, staring at the sky just for the sake of having something to stare at in the wide expanse. He raised his eyebrow at the all too familiar sound of rustling paper and turned his head to find the young ninja studying the map again. His eye twitched in annoyance before he harshly snatched it from her hands.

"Hey!" she snapped, grabbing at the air that surrounded Reno's grip on the chart, "Give it back!"

"Why should I?" his face read an odd mix of annoyance and slyness as he held it away from her.

"If you don't," she tried to snag the map unsuccessfully, "we'll get lost. If we get lost, we'll have to camp. You don't know this place and I don't know it that well either. Therefore, we'll be eaten by wolves," she cried.

Reno fixed his bewildered gaze on her as she crossed her arms, puzzled by the ludicrous statement.

"We'll be eaten by wolves?"

She nodded.

"You do know how ridiculous that sounds, right?" he laughed, earning a bitter smirk from her.

"So what?"

"So, there's another reason you're not getting the map," he replied.

"You're such a jerk," she whipped her head back and stormed forward, defiance making itself known with each exaggerated step.

1 hour later…

Yuffie blew the bangs from her face as the boredom gnawed at her determination to make it to Wutai. She sighed to break the prolonged silence.

"Reeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

"What?" he cut her off.

"I'm bored," she began to twirl in small circles as she walked behind him.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Fast forward time," she groaned.

"Yeah, I'll just do that Yuffs."

She paused mid-spin and smiled at the name again.

2 hours later…

"Can I check the map?" Yuffie asked, honestly hopeful.

She saw him open said map and examine it quickly before rolling it back up and continuing the agonizingly steady pace.

"Well?" she ran up to his side.

"We just keep going west until we reach the mountain pass," he answered simply.

"No fair! I wanted to check!" she pouted.

"Sorry," he grinned at her and was met with a playful punch to the arm. But damn, for being playful, it held some power behind it.

3 hours later…

Reno winced and awaited the next imminent outburst as he heard the ninja heave a deep breath and hold it there.

Oh god.

He ducked his head down in preparation but nothing came.

Huh?

Still nothing.

Reno began to turn around to see what was wrong with her, but just as he started to make the movement, the Turk heard Yuffie exhale with a sing-song tone.

"99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer," she danced circles around him as she crooned. He rolled his eyes.

4 hours later…

"On the waaaaaaallllll!" she hollered, planting her feet on the ground and beamed at Reno.

"No more bottles of beer on the wall, no more bottles of beer," he relaxed a bit, hearing the end of the song, "Go to the store and buy some more," his eyes widened, "99 bottles of beer on the wall!"

"No!" he interjected, pulling her from her circles by her hands and looked her deep in the onyx eyes that confusion now played over, "No," he pleaded.

"Oh fine…" she waved him off and smirked, "but my beautiful voice paid off."

He gave her a questioning look and she pointed to the rocky caverns that lie ahead.

"Guess you're right," he stared up to the dark passage for a brief moment and continued on.

"Wait, Reno…" Yuffie held her hands close to her mouth and took a step back.

"What now?" he droned.

"Uhh," she remained still and stared beyond him into the cave.

"You ain't scared, are you?" he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Never…" she trailed off.

"Then let's go," he urged, "the sun's setting."

He saw the anxiety in her expression as she nodded her head and practically attached herself to him, making sure she wasn't a centimeter away. As he began walking, he felt her cling to his jacket and almost laughed at the minor things that affected the girl. She ran away from home and lived in the woods at 16 but can't bear to be on a vehicle. She had stolen materia from one of the most intimidating men and his friends who just happened to be classified as terrorists but despised even the slightest mention of her family. She had helped to take down Sephiroth and save The Planet but she was scared of… caves.

"Reno," she halted him as she dug her heels into the compact dirt, "I can't do this. Can't we just take the long way around?" she begged.

"Look, I thought you were The Great Ninja Yuffie. You can't back out now," he declared.

"I lied! Let's just get out of here," he almost felt guilty at the fear in her tone but there was no way in hell he was going to take the long way around. The Turk sighed and crouched with his back facing her.

"Come on."

"Eh?" she half murmured.

He rolled his eyes and reached back, grabbing her arms and slinging them over his shoulders. She immediately understood and hooked them around his neck as well as curling her legs around his waist. The redhead stood and walked the single corridor cavern, doing his best to ignore her hips grinding against his lower back with each step. He felt her lower her face into his jacket and observed their dark surroundings. Limestone columns supported the heavy ceiling that a few rogue bats hung from, not that he was going to let Yuffie know that. The fossilized minerals above mirrored the shape of the creatures that hid in the cocoon of their wings, adding to the somber feeling of the place. Stalagmites broke through the cavern's floor, occasionally jutting out into the path Reno walked, only slightly worn down by the few travelers that took the shortcut. Yuffie gasped.

"Hm?" he looked over his shoulder to her shining eyes and saw her point to his left. A faint glimmer caught his attention and before he knew what was happening, the girl had jumped off his back and ran to it, kneeling down among the rocks. She picked up the black sphere and brushed it off, revealing its green hue.

"Look," she called, waving it in the air at Reno who was thrown at the complete disregard for her previous fear. The two faltered as they felt the ground beneath them tremble, wiping the happy expression from the girls face. He ignored the materia and fixated his attention on the wall behind her, seeing two sallow discs emerge from the darkness. The Turk bolted to her and scooped her off her feet as the creature unveiled itself from the depths, stretching out the webbed wings that previously concealed its fur-covered body. He bounded back from the monster as it dug its claws into the ground and set her behind a large boulder.

"Stay here," he ordered as they felt the ground shake again.

Yuffie's argument went unheard as he ran back out to the beast, drawing his weapon and dashing from side to side to avoid the barrage it inflicted.

"Hey!" the ninja's scream paled in comparison to that of the enemy, "Damn," she muttered as she helplessly observed the redhead simultaneously dodge the endless onslaught while casting repeated fire spells.

She perked up at the sight of the flames and looked back down to the materia she held in her hand. Unsheathing her shuriken, she placed the orb into an empty slot and waited for the familiar flash before it locked in place.

Reno caught a glimpse of light from the corner of his eye where he left Yuffie and stopped in his tracks, looking over to see if she was okay. Another deafening roar emerged from above and he snapped his attention back to the monster whose claw was already rushing at him. The Turk attempted to sprint to the side but the motion was cut short and pain pierced his arm, his EMR flying from his grip as he held his injury.

Shit…

Reno knelt down and gritted his teeth as the beast began to hurl another fist at him. The redhead commanded his body to move but it wouldn't heed as the creature bared its fangs and put its force behind the attack.

"Haah!" Reno twisted his head around to the cry and saw Yuffie thrust her shuriken above her head, ribbons of emerald pirouetting around her and casting a glow in the darkness. His eyes widened at the sight of blazing rocks that descended from the air, assaulting the monster and causing it to draw back from him. Its arms flailed and it let out a final tormented screech before falling limp and crumpling to the ground with an impact so great, the floor of the cavern rippled again. Silence overtook the area as Reno stared at her in astonishment. She knelt next to him, revealing a toothy grin and holding her hand up expectantly.

"We're so even now, Turkey," she laughed.

His awe-stricken loss for words was soon replaced by a fierce protectiveness he couldn't explain.

"Are you fucking crazy?" he yelled.

Yuffie lowered her hand and frowned at him, "Crazy? I just saved your life!"

"You could have been killed!" he shouted, his tone tinged with concern.

The girl leaned back and stayed quiet as she discovered the worry in his eyes. He scoffed and looked away.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered.

"Let's just keep going," he stood and clutched at his arm.

"Wait," Yuffie pulled an antidote from her bag and rolled up his sleeve, tending to the wound and bandaging the slight remains of the injury.

"Thanks," he said quietly, regretting his outburst and continued through the abyss, making a point of keeping a closer watch on Yuffie.


"Finally," the redhead sighed as they approached the entrance to North Corel.

Yuffie skipped ahead of him and scanned the town, still worn but striving to better itself after its years of struggle. The people seemed happier, that was certain.

"C'mon," she tugged at Reno's hand, pulling him through the dirt where houses were being built in place of their shabby, hut-like predecessors.

"Yuffie?" an apprehensive voice called from behind her. The ninja spun to meet the inquiring person and beamed at the sight of the face she easily recalled.

"Lina!" she pulled the timid lady into a bone-crushing hug and smiled even wider when she heard her gentle giggle. Yuffie pulled away to look at the woman's soft features, unsurprised by the benign face that hadn't aged a day.

Reno assessed the woman Yuffie was apparently acquainted with. Her chestnut hair was plaited over her shoulder, somewhat held together by a claret ribbon yet letting her short bangs brush just above her long eyelashes. Her eyes were bright amber and her skin was quite fair if you took the other citizens of Corel into consideration. She wore a ruby hued tunic decorated with a white stripe across the shoulder, from which her airy sleeves flowed only covering up to her elbows. The bottom of the top was loosely tucked into a simple charcoal-toned skirt that hugged her legs until it stopped abruptly in the middle of her calves. She donned straw sandals decorated in small crimson patterns to accent that of her shirt and from her wrist hung a dainty silver bracelet.

"Oh right," Yuffie's voice rose an octave friendlier as she held her hand out to him, "Lina, this is Reno. Reno, Lina."

The woman let out a soft laugh and shook his hand, "Kahlina. Very nice to meet you."

"You as well," he smiled at her, "It seems Yuffie's pretty popular all around Gaia," he glanced back to the ninja who was rubbing the back of her head with an embarrassed grin.

"So," she looked back to the girl and cupped her hands together with an ecstatic smile, "you've finally settled down with someone."

"Uhh," Yuffie drew back as a fierce blush blossomed on her cheeks.

"Of course," Reno beamed and wrapped his arm around her waist.

The girl scowled at the devilish grin he directed toward her but her gaze softened as she caught sight of Kahlina's happiness.

"Yeah," she half growled to Reno and was met with a smirk.

"That's great," the woman held Yuffie's hand as her eyes brightened.

"Mhm," the ninja laughed nervously, "How's Barret?"

"Oh," Kahlina looked down slightly, "I was hoping you'd seen him. He left for Edge a few days ago to see Marlene."

"How come everyone decides to have a family reunion when I leave?" the girl grumbled.

"Bad timing I suppose," the woman looked back up and paused, bringing her finger to her mouth for a moment, "Yuffie… if it isn't too much of an inconvenience…"

"No problem," she smiled, knowing her all too well.

The ninja was answered with a grateful nod, "Thank you," she whispered sweetly.

"Well, I'll be sure to say goodbye tomorrow."

Kahlina gave a slight wave as Yuffie turned and began to search for a hotel alongside Reno.

The redhead looked over his shoulder to the woman who'd begun to walk away and then back to the ninja.

"What was that about?" he inquired.

"She misses Barret."

"That his girlfriend or something?"

"Well…" Yuffie stopped to assess their relationship, "I guess… not?"

Reno raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hm," she devised an analogy, "Think of Spiky and Tifa."

"Ahh," he nodded.

"Speaking of girlfriends," she stopped and turned to him, "I guess I 'settled down' with you?" she concluded cynically.

"I thought I was a pretty good catch," he stuck out his lower lip in mock sadness.

She rolled her eyes and surveyed the street, catching sight of a small hostel.

"There," she pointed to the inn. Hearing no response she turned around to see Reno walking toward another shabby building.

"Hey!" she called after him, "Where are you going?"

He raised a hand without looking back, "Bar."

"What about me?"

"That's your choice, princess," he smirked.


Yes, I created another character. Sue me. I figured Barret needed some love ^_^

Reviews are always loved.