-- Vincent --
I sat quietly, alone in my room reading a book about a young boy who ran away from his family and eventually died from the cold. Not exactly the best thing with thoughts of the little ninja going through my mind, but I was curious on how it would effect real families. I felt somewhat bad for the family because they were arguing frequently. The young boy had an accident a few years before and it came to drastic measures of getting him the right treatment. Then eventually, he found himself being a burden and ran away. I didn't quite understand why Yuffie would run away… It wasn't particularly like her. Though last year, that encounter with the Vlakorados was definitely life changing. She doesn't realise, she was asleep for just over a year. They were only days away from turning off the life-support until she woke up… We all vowed never to speak of it and make sure she never found out. Though, maybe it'd be best for her to know. Yuffie hasn't been the same old mischievous girl she used to be; now she's a lot more considerate. It is nice, but everyone miss's the old Yuffie. The type who'd get jealous quickly, the fierce and feisty girl everyone knew. It's a shame really… I've cared for Yuffie for a long time, mainly when she was in a coma as mean as it sounds. The main reason was that I had to watch her be put into a coma and I wanted to watch her come out of a coma too. I remember everything as if it was only yesterday… That tragic moment, her back bending across the Vlakorados' hand and her body flying head first toward the crumbling patch of sharp rocks. Instead of her falling straight into the rocks, the beast's tail hit the top of her head; wrapped its red spiked tail round her small fragile body, cutting into her stomach and flung her into the air with such force even I wasn't fast enough to catch her. When she came back down, Cloud sprinted fast as he could to catch Yuffie but failed. With me shooting one last blow at the Vlakorados, it began to retreat. Before it completely surrendered, it swished its tail aiming to Cloud forcing him to fly with great force into the side of a small cliff. By then it was over… The Vlakorados gone, Cloud only with mild injuries and a few bruises he could easily shake off, me standing at his side offering a hand and Yuffie laying there helplessly. Unconscious and far from just hurt. He shook his head and signalled me to go over and see if I could get her to wake up whilst he pulled himself to recovery. Poor Yuffie… Her head had split slightly creating a bloody wound, her stomach scratched and bruised severely and both eyes closed. I could feel my stomach drop deep, my emotions beginning to rise at the sight of a team mate and spirit of the team seeming to be almost dead. As Cloud got to his feet and rushed over, Nanaki had already ran up the mountain along with Cid screaming with joy. I turned holding the small girl in my arms whilst Cloud couldn't bear to look at her. Myself and Cloud silent with anger and sadness. Cid and Nanaki, shocked by the sight of their friend.
"Just, get her to the hospital…" Cloud spoke in a low tone, trying to avoid letting out his anger straight away. I nodded and passed Yuffie to Cid. Cid walked over to the bike with me as I climbed upon it. Once the young girl was passed to me, I finally saw the responsibility that lay in my hands. Trying my best to hold her on my lap and driving the motorcycle, I sped straight out of the passageway and down through the forest into the village. Dodging everything that would get in the way. As soon as I pulled up at the hospital, I leapt off the motorcycle and walked in with a fast pace holding Yuffie tight into my chest. A nurse quickly rushed over and asked what had happened, I didn't respond. Another nurse came over and stared deeply into Yuffies wounds then shook her head in shock and walked away. I rushed straight round to A&E and didn't give a second thought about waiting for a doctor to come. Thankfully, almost straight away a group of doctors and nurses came round with a bed and life support then took her to the surgery room. Whilst explaining to the nurse exactly what'd happened, I heard the life support machine begin to beep as normal. They'd started surgery… I was deathly afraid of what might happen to her. I know that she had gravel inside her wounds and some cuts were so deep they had to be closed immediately, but that didn't matter to me so much as it would if she didn't make it…
I sighed deeply and looked over to the small vodka-filled glass sitting on my bedside table. I reached over and picked it up carefully then looked at my reflection staring back from the clear liquid. I didn't bother to smile or ever attempt to, I just looked up at the open window looking out onto the balcony. Wondering what was going to happen now that people were starting to give up after a day of searching, I took a quick sip of the vodka and set it down quietly on the table. Just before I heard the calm clink of the glass against the wooden frame, the door creaked slightly. Putting down my book and shifting my legs off the bed, I looked over at the door. It was Marlene, stood holding tightly onto the door handle watching me. I tilted my head slightly and blinked. She opened the door fully and walked over to me with her head down. Marlene sat on my bed with her hands placed elegantly in her lap. I just watched quietly.
"When's Yuffie coming back..?" She asked looking up at me. I smiled slightly and leaned back against the wall.
"I don't know yet… Maybe soon, maybe Christmas?" I replied trying to bring a little spirit into the conversation. Marlene just shook her head and looked away.
"She said she won't be back though… Does she mean it?"
"I… I really don't know Marlene…" I gazed down to the floor and thought about whether I'm lying to myself that Yuffie actually would return.
Marlene handed me a piece of paper, it was folded twice into a small rectangle.
"When you see her, can you give her that for me?" She asked. I could see a lot of hope in her eyes. I knew she was hoping that Yuffie would come back over the next few days, but even I could tell it wasn't going to happen. I smiled and nodded at the small child. She tried to smile, but couldn't. She just walked away and closed the door behind her. I listened carefully to her footsteps fading away along the corridor. Until I could hear her walking down the stairs, I opened the paper and read it thoroughly. It was written in a grey crayon, the same colour as Yuffies eyes. I read each word over and over again the second time.
The letter read "Dear Yuffie. When are you coming back? Tifa really really misses you. And Clouds really mad now your not here because hes scared. I want you to come back as well cause your like my bigger sister and its no fun anymore here. When you do come back, can you stay please? Because I want us to be a family. Just for Christmas maybe. Or even forever. I know some of us are kind of adopted and we don't all look the same but were still a family…
Come back soon, please? Love Marlene x"
I frowned as I got to the last words, especially about being a family. Marlene was right… we couldn't be a family without Yuffie here. I re-folded the paper and set it down next to the vodka glass. Once again, moving my legs off of the bed, I got up and walked over to the glass doors that lead to the balcony. I opened one to walk outside, until I noticed a small trail of smoke from the nearby forest. Someone was there, making a fire… But it wasn't a signal fire. I supposed for a moment it was the children from the village who usually come on our property to mess around. At least, I thought that until I saw them playing on the third acre of our field. That's when I realised; it wasn't just any fire… It was Yuffie.