Chapter 10

Remember me

"HA!" Yuffie exclaimed grinning as she rolled the last screw in place and closed, in a squeak, the small sort of plastic cover of a small engine which surface was a simple red round button and a thin screen. "You can now call me, Yuffie, the great! Or, or Yuffie the greatest ninja! Oh- or Yuffie, the ninja who is the master! Or, oh this one is good! Yuffie, the sexiest, smartest, drop dead gorgeous, greatest scientist slash ninja of all times!" She put her hands on her waist and grinned dreamily at the sky.

"Aammm…" Rinoa blinked as she looked up at the girl. "May I know why?"

"Well, duh!" Yuffie sat down again next to Rinoa. "What have we been doing for the past, like, five hours or something?"

"Humm… Getting tummy aches by all the fruit we've been eating in this God forsaken jungle?"

"Rinny….!" Yuffie called. "Weren't you paying attention to what I was doing? Do you see this thing?" Yuffie extended her arm and opened her hand to show Rinoa the small gadget she had been focused on. Rinoa stared at it for a moment and looked back at the ninja shrinking her shoulders. "Well…" Yuffie sighed. "This is none-other than a teleporter, which means, our way out of this God forsaken jungle!"

"Really??" Rinoa aimed for the small teleporter and held it in her hands. Yuffie shrieked and quickly stole it back from her friend.

"Are you out of your mind?" The ninja started. "This took me hours to fix you saw it! Oh how I paid attention to what actually Cid was talking about when he explained how all those machines worked I still don't know but I think him for explaining, you know! Everything I learned by spending time with Cid I used it to fix this little button right here!"

"Yes, but how did you get that thing?" Rinoa asked amazed.

"I found it in one of the many trips we did around the worlds trying new gummi ships! I never new what it was for until Cid told me it was a teleporter! But since we always travelled by gummi ship, we never really got a chance to use it! Plus, he said this thing contains some sort of magic that will eventually run out so we have to use it carefully and wisely! I tried pushing the button by the way but it did nothing and that's why we've been sitting here, so I could try and fix it."

"Well… does it work?" Rinoa's eyes widened.

"I think so!" Yuffie replied. "Only one way to find out!"

Yuffie swallowed dry, she nervously placed the palm of her right hand above the button, holding the teleporter with her left hand. She looked down at it and—

"WAIT!" Rinoa asked making Yuffie jump back, slip on a leave and fall on her back.

"Ouch!" Yuffie cried on the floor. "What was that for?"

"I'm sorry!" Rinoa couldn't help laughing as she helped her friend up. "I was just wondering you should give me your hand just in case it only teleports you!"

"Ah, right! Almost forget about that! Weew! I almost left you alone here! Haha haaaa…" Yuffie laughed nervously.

"Ok… Ready?" Rinoa asked. Yuffie nodded, Rinoa pressed the button.

"Who's that boat from?" Squall asked the young boys.

"Hummm… I think I've seen its' owner around here. Long silver hair, long thin sword, tall man… Not the most talkative person though." Tidus answered.

"What did you say?" Cloud froze, staring at the boy.

""Hummm… I think I've seen its' owner around here. Long silver hair, long thin sword, tall man… Not the most talkative person though." The boy repeated, Squall rolled his eyes and looked at cloud.

"Do you know him?"

"I think so. Is he here?"

"I dunno man. I hope not. That guy gimme the creeps ya know?" Wakka answered shaking his head.

"How can we get there? To the boat?" Cloud asked.

"Well, we have other boats shipped around but they have their owners, I guess if we talk to one of them! Or you could try swimming!" Tidus informed the men.

"Swimming? Are you crazy or something? Do ya know the distance? Do ya know there are sharks? Lots of 'em!" Wakka shrieked at his friend.

"Well I'm just trying to help them you big baby!" Tidus replied.

"Why you little—

"Never mind!" Squall interrupted loudly. "We're not going there!"

"I'm sorry, do you make the decisions around here now?" Cloud started.

"And just when did we agreed that YOU would make the decisions around here exactly?" Squall replied back in a glare.

"I believe that was agreed since the very beginning."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

"Well, I guess we have to change that don't we?" Squall held his gun-sword in his hands preparing for battle with Cloud, who smirked and returned the gesture with his long huge sword. The boys blinked and ran away to a safe distance.

"I'm tired of being here." Aerith confessed, getting up from the flowered floor. "I want to go. Let me go. LET ME GO!" She yelled at the silver haired figure who stood there, looking at her.

"You're free to leave anytime you want." Sephiroth answered calmly.

"You're insane!" Aerith replied losing her patience. "If I'm free to leave, why did you take me away and bring me here?"

"I told you it wasn't time for you to see him yet. I need his total darkness. The more he stays away from you, the stronger his darkness gets, the stronger I get."

"You're forgetting something." Aerith looked down so he couldn't see her eyes, hands closed tightly, shaking.

"And what is that?" Sephiroth smirked.

"I'm made of light. And the light always wins over darkness." With that a medium sized sharp staff appeared between Aerith's hands, and as quickly as it came, she leaned forward. In a clean sudden move, the tip of the staff pierced through Sephiroth's skin, showing up again out of his back. Sephiroth's eyes widened in cold pain as he fell on his knees with Aerith.

"Now, we're even." She whispered in his ear, tears in her eyes. She vanished.

Cloud felt a strong piercing pain striking his chest, taking away his breath as he kneeled on the floor gasping for air.

"What?! I didn't even attack?" Squall exclaimed in a confused expression towards the blond man. "What's wrong? Can you hear me? Oi!" He called, this time kneeling down before the man in pain, placing one hand on his shoulder, which was abruptly shock away by Cloud's arm. "Hey man!" Squall yelled getting up.

"I-" Cloud managed to say. "I'm ok." But he wasn't. He had felt it before a long time ago. Something was wrong. Sephiroth wasn't there, but he was near, and in pain. Aerith… He remembered her smile and smiled back at the memory. That pain wasn't about the small light still inside him. It was the dark part. It was restless, battling to come out in its full strength. Hope was getting further and further away. He sat up and looked at the sky, breathing heavily, the pain was drifting away but the weight on his chest wasn't. He needed piece.

"Wherever you go… I'll be with you." He whispered at the smiling girl in pink he could see in his mind.

A white flash suddenly appeared without warning in front of the two men on the beach. As it faded they could see the silhouettes of the two women they both new so well.

"Gimme that!" Yuffie yelled, reaching for the teleporter high on Rinoa's hand, laughing at the great ninja. "Now I wanna press it!"

Squall gasped at the woman he was seeing in front of him, back turned at him, but those small white wings on the light blue vest were unforgettable. Rinoa…The woman in blue, as if guessing, turned slowly around, looking around at where they had turned up. Slowly, her heart beating madly inside her chest, she saw Squall, just as she remembered him, except for the expression on his eyes. He had always been serious, closed, unreadable, but now, he also seemed angry and even more distant. Time stopped right that moment as she was looking at the man she always loved and thought had lost forever. Tears started filling her eyes. One step forward, followed by another as it turned into a run that seemed taking forever. As she reached the man, her arms opened wide to hold him.

"Squall…" She managed to say between sobs. She held his body tightly, not letting go, she didn't want to, not anymore. Despite the anger of what he had seen a couple of days earlier, he couldn't help but give in, just for a moment, just for that moment after so long, but to return the embrace he was longing for. "I thought I would never see you again." Rinoa said after a while of breathing back his smell, his touch. He was finally there.

"You were kind of hoping for that weren't you?" Squall coolly said, parting from the embrace. "Why don't you go hug your new friend over there?" He pointed at Cloud. "Bet you miss him to."

"What… are you talking about?" Rinoa asked in awe, eyes widened at the man standing in front of her.

"You know… I had the privilege of watching this same scene you just did here but it wasn't me you were holding." Squall answered, fire in his eyes so full of rage.

"Squall…" Rinoa looked back. Cloud and Yuffie were at a far distance away from the two so to give them some privacy. "I asked Cloud for help when I met him, so I could find you."

"And in the way you seem to have grown into him right?" Squall asked, looking away from her eyes.

"What are you talking about? You saw me hugging Cloud? You were there? You had seen me!"

"I wished I haven't!"

"Squall!" Rinoa cried. "Don't say those things to me! Why are you acting like that? After all I've been trough to find you!" Rinoa cleaned her teary eyes with the back of her hand. "I asked Cloud for help because he was looking for someone too! I had been alone for so long, I needed help! But I never gave up on you! On us!"

Squall listened, not saying a word.

"We all need something to hold on Squall…" Rinoa cried. "I couldn't be alone anymore. All I asked for, was his help. Please…" She placed one hand around his arm and gently pulled him to look at her. She leaned forward again to embrace him, this time he placed his forehead on hers and sighed placing his hands around her face.

"I believe you. I'm sorry if I overreacted. It's just how I am." Squall started. "But things aren't as they used to be anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I need time to think. I promise you now that we're together we'll never be apart again, but give me time to clear my mind."

"But Squall—"

"Please…" He leaned forward and kissed her lips softly. "I love you, but I can't be with you right now."