All Places In-Between

By Mihoyonagi

Chapter Eleven: Why Death Gigas came to the rescue

"Where do you plan on going to next?" Godo asked over coffee the next morning.

I shrugged. "Wherever Yuffie wants to go."

"Bone Village."

"Bone Village?"

"Is there a freakin' echo in here, Valentine? Apparently I wanted to go there for a while; there're a whole bunch of clippings taped to the walls of my room about some archeological dig you can do on your own, provided you have a little gil on hand."

"I suppose you'll be asking me for a little donation next, yes?" Godo looked to his daughter, as if daring her to ask for money.

Yuffie smiled, slyly. "Well, you've been skipping out on my allowance for how many years now?"

Godo rolled his eyes. "I'll pay for the boat ride you'll need to get up there, but you can pay to dig in the dirt yourself."

Her smiles were full of cheekiness as of late, weren't they?

It took two days before we set shore on the Northern Continent. Yuffie, more sea sick than I could recall, took half a day to simply lie on the sand and regain her composure. It was warm enough she could make due with a t-shirt and jeans, but the bitter wind that descended from the mountains was cold enough to make her shiver every great once in a while.

Once she was finished, as she so delicately put it, 'puking up everything she'd eaten, ever,' we wandered up to Bone Village.

"Might I ask for a more reasonable explanation as to why you decided this to be our next destination?" She stumbled a bit, and I caught her by the elbow.

She shook me loose and giggled. "Treasure hunting. Duh."

Sneaky little-

"Oh, don't look so surprised. I had a bunch of my memories come back the other night, and... and the part about all the clippings in my room about Bone Village was true. We never really stayed here for long when we were with Cloud, did we?"

I paused, suddenly a little saddened. "No. We didn't have time. Aerith was missing, and Cloud knew she'd come through here, so none of us gave it a second thought."

She quieted. Then, in a whisper, "She used to cook really good soup. And she let me play with her hair at night, when it was all of us girls in a tent together."

An awkward silence invaded the space between us.

"I'm sorry that so many of the memories returning to you are sad ones."

She smiled and shrugged, brushing it off. "I've had good ones return, too."

"Oh?"

"But I'm not sharing some of them with you," she skipped ahead, her voice sing-song.

I rolled my eyes and followed her.

The next two days were the most serious and determined I'd ever seen Yuffie. I had no previous knowledge that she was so into archeology, and it came as a nice surprise that she found something that apparently pleased her before she lost her memories and after.

She, of course, was out the majority of her saved gil. I had to put my foot down when she asked to borrow money from me, however.

"Some things are better left in the past, Yuffie."

"You're like a cock-block, but for fun."

I balked. "Watch your mouth, young lady."

She sneered, angry she didn't get her way, and then stalked off to go dig in her dirt piles some more.

It took her an entire day to apologize. And even then it wasn't much of an apology.

"Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. I know this is fun for you, but if you want to spend your own money, that's your choice. I'll gladly keep mine so we can pay for another boat ride, or supplies when we decide to leave."

She was sad when she had to leave, as was the archeological society, but I was happy she'd made new friends. They all exchanged phone numbers, with Yuffie promising to come back sometime.

It started to rain as we made our way through the Ancient Forest.

"I'm proud of you."

She looked up at me as though I sprouted two heads.

"You were surrounded by all that loot, and you didn't snatch up any of it."

"No, but they gave me all the crap that wasn't of use to them." As she was turning around to pull some things from her backpack, a crash of thunder echoed above us as the light drizzle turned into a heavy downpour.

"Well, this is great."

I smiled. She looked like a little drowned rat. I took of my cloak and draped it around her.

At first, stubbornly independent as she was, she refused. It was only after I insisted that I wouldn't take care of her if she caught a cold did she stop grumbling and wrapped the cloak around her little frame.

"Can't we just set up camp?" She shouted through the thunder.

"No," I replied back, solemnly, a little sick of the rain and wet myself. "We'd only get the tent and our supplies wet. We're not too far from shelter- just keep going."

I wasn't sure if I was hearing things through the rain, or if Yuffie was growling in protest, but either way I ignored it. She knew as well as I did that it wasn't the best of ideas to set up camp in the middle of a downpour, with both of us being soaked to the bone as it was.

She changed her tune soon after when we wandered upon the eerie lights of the trees that surrounded the Forgotten Capital.

"What is this place?" He mouth hung open as she marveled at our surroundings.

"The City of the Ancients. Our friend, Aerith, was the last of Ancients, of the Cetra, and she gave her life to help save everyone. We laid her body to rest here. I... I wanted to pay my respects."

Bending low, Yuffie pulled up a few flowers that lined our path. She smiled up at me, sadly. "I don't remember this place."

"It's another sad place. Perhaps it's best if you didn't for now."

We walked the stone paths that lined the city, slowly and without speaking. There was no headstone that marked Aerith's grave; just the still pool of water I remember all of us standing around it with heavy hearts.

That was the first time I had been there for Yuffie. When Aerith had... when it happened, Yuffie had gone through a state of shock. Her hands had started to shake, and she was crying uncontrollably, and I had been the closest warm body to her. She'd turn to me, sobbing and trembling, and sought my arms.

I hate to say it, but I was more angry than upset. I took Yuffie by the shoulders, sat her down, and... turned my back on her. I helped fight the Jenova creature that Sephiroth had sent after us, in the wake of our grief. It had taken all of my self control not to unleash one of my demons.

Once the hellish creature had been destroyed, I made my way back to Yuffie's side. I held out a hand, helped her up, dusted her off, and patted her shoulder.

There was nothing else I could do, could say, for her. I refused to lie and tell her that everything would be alright. It wasn't alright, and it wasn't going to be alright; we'd lost one of our own, and the future was looking grim at best.

And, call me a little selfish, but I didn't want her to remember that part of me. Not yet. Not after we'd grown so close.

Yuffie laid the flowers next to the still pool of water in front of us. Then, without me having to usher her along, she turned and followed me even further into the Ancient City.

We ended up in the same house we had when we'd first journeyed though, while in Cloud's company. Though the city had been abandoned for years, the houses stood and had stayed kept as though no one had left.

"Ahhh, shit-" Yuffie held up her bag and dumped out the contents. A puddle of water pooled around her belongings.

I scratched the back of my head. "Well, let's lay out your things on the extra bed. They'll dry by morning."

She made a face, expressing something between disgust and anger, and went about squeezing the excess water from her clothing. "The stuff I'm wearing is soaking wet. What am I supposed to wear to bed?"

I took my bag off my back, fearing for the worst. Half of my things were wet, too- as soon as we got to Icicle Inn, it was time to invest in waterproof bags. I found that two pairs of my pants and a spare shirt remained dry, though how I'll never know. After laying my wet things on the floor next to the spare bed, I tossed Yuffie my shirt and the extra pair of pants. "It's all I have, but it will keep you warm enough tonight."

"But what about you?"

"I don't get cold the same way you might. You need it more; you're skinny as a rail, and I don't want you getting sick. Take off your wet clothes."

Ever cheeky she was. Yuffie raised an eyebrow and smiled deviously. "That an order, captain?"

I rolled my eyes and turned around, wishing she wouldn't tease me like that. I heard the rustle of clothing and the wet sound of whatever she was wearing hit the floor, then be laid out on the bed.

"God, you're tall."

I turned around to watch as Yuffie rolled the pair of my pants she was wearing at least three times before I could even see her feet. My shirt could practically serve as a nightgown on her tiny frame.

I spun my finger in the air, motioning her to turn around. Wet pants were not on my list of favorite things to wear, but changing while Yuffie only had her back turned didn't exactly make the list, either. I wished there were a bathroom or a closet or... something. I could go outside... and then wind up in the same exact predicament, as it was still raining.

Changing as fast as humanly possibly while trying to extract my legs out of tight, wet pants, was the most frustrating thing I'd done in a very long time.

"You need some help?" Her button-pushing is endless.

"Shut up." It was the best retort I could man manage. Sarcasm wasn't a strength of mine, especially given how awkward the situation was.

She turned around as I tied a knot in the pull-string of the pants. "Shit, Vincent; you're sculpted out of fucking marble."

I felt my face heat.

Placing a hand against my abs, she pushed. "Jeeze, your stomach is made of steel, too."

"Can you not tease me, Yuffie?" I felt awkward. So. Damn. Awkward.

It had been the better part of thirty years since I was last in a relationship – if you can call my infatuation concerning Lucrecia such – and, well, to be honest, it was Yuffie- I couldn't tell if she was flirting, or just being silly.

"I'm not sleepy yet. Wanna play cards?"

I hoped it was humor.

'I sure don't,' Chaos giggled.

Three hours later, the rain had abated to hardly more than a drizzle.

"Hit me." Yuffie had a mean poker face.

I tossed her another card, and picked one for myself.

I hated poker. I was bad at card games- very bad. I had bad luck, and no patience when it came to weird things like poker and blackjack. The latter we'd tried first, and it frustrated me to no end.

The lantern next to my bed lit the room with a soft glow, and the sound of the rain hitting the roof was calming. We ate little for dinner- neither of us had been very hungry.

I laid down a pair of sevens.

She smirked, then placed down a royal flush.

"Are you cheating?"

Her smirk widened. "I just have a knack for this kind of thing. How do you think I managed to eat after I'd run away from home? It's a good thing we aren't playing strip poker. You'd be butt naked by now. In fact, that's a great idea."

"Yuffie, must you-"

"Hair wrap. Take it off."

"...What?"

"Hair wrap or your pants."

"Yuffie, I-"

And then she attacked me.

Chaos couldn't stop laughing.

I couldn't managed to function.

She'd practically jumped on me, and her little fingers went to work on the wrap around my hair and eyes. I tried to move, to get up, but I only managed to tangle our legs up.

Yuffie's laughter made me smile, despite everything that was going on. She laid atop me, her arms stretched up as she pulled the cloth from around my forehead. "Why must you always be such a little monkey?" I tried to chide her, but found I couldn't stay mad.

"There!" she announced, holding the wrap above her head like some kind of amazing prize. "Now I can see your face."

She paused a moment, and the world stood still as she looked into my eyes.

"You've got the prettiest color of eyes, Vincent. Why do you always have to hide your face from the world?"

The conversation took a turn for the more depressing.

"I'm ashamed of myself, Yuffie; of my past. Why would I want the world to see me?"

The look on her face broke my heart.

"You're ashamed of yourself? Vincent, you're the nicest, most patient and understanding person I've ever met." She blushed, and for the first time I knew what Yuffie Kisaragi looked like when she turned shy. "Yeah, you've done some shitty things in your past, but no one is perfect. You feel bad about what happened, and you've come to terms with letting it go, right? So, what do you have to be ashamed of?"

People have always said that love hurts, but it couldn't be farther from the truth. Love is the only thing in the world that can erase pain, that can ease the heart. It's not love that hurts; it's rejection, it's loneliness, it's losing the ones you love that hurts.

And, to be honest, I didn't want to hurt anymore.

So, barring my better judgment, and just about every moral code in my book, I leaned up and kissed Yuffie.

Now, it's not often I get to see a surprised Yuffie. In fact, it's quite less often I get to see a surprised Yuffie who is also too shocked to spout off something sarcastic and asinine.

I liked it.

Well, all of it, to be fair; the kiss, the Yuffie without a witty retort.

Maybe she was just what I needed.

As soon as she began to kiss me back, her initial shock having worn off, she became exactly what I needed.

One must understand something about Yuffie; she doesn't half ass things. Sure, she might do a crappy job just to piss you off, but she went through the trouble of figuring out how, exactly, it would piss you off, she pulled out all the stops to make sure you blew your top.

So, when I say she kissed me back I mean she -really- kissed me back. Her little hands went to my hair and she raked her fingernails against my scalp. Trails of fire burned where she touched me and I couldn't help myself from running my good hand up and across her back. My other arm supported me in a half-sitting position, bent at the elbow and taking most of the weight from my upper body as I leaned against it.

She wrapped her fists around my shirt, twisted, pulled to the side, and without my even realizing what she'd done, I was staring down at her. Clever little thing, perhaps too much. It was one thing to kiss, but where she had me now, atop of her, looking down...

Shiva above, Ifrit below- was I really doing this?

Conscious thought flickered in and out of my brain when she attached my earlobe with her little nips and breathless gasps. I reciprocated, biting down on her neck and electing a surprised mewl from her. I gently kissed her skin where I'd bit down, then licked the same spot.

Was I really doing this?

She arched against me, her chest pressing up against mine, when I turned back to kiss her lips once more. Her breath was ragged, her eyes closed and fluttering.

Were we really doing this?

"Oh, Vincent..."

I stopped and pulled back, out of breath, heart hammering in my chest. The room was too tight- the world was too tight. I could hardly think, hardly breathe.

Yuffie stilled beneath me. When her eyes looked up at me, I felt like I'd done something awful. Such adoration in her face, and I deserved none of it...

"This... This is a little too much."

I stood and ran my good hand through my hair, sighing heavily. Leave it to me to ruin the mood, to ruin everything. I had a knack that for, didn't I?

She sat up, adoration replaced with annoyance. "Sorry." Her apology was curt, and I knew she didn't mean it.

"Don't."

"You don't like me like that, do you?"

"Yuffie, I-"

"I'm always the ass end of these situations, aren't I? If you didn't feel the same way, why did you lead me on?"

She stood, walked out of the front door, and left me to my own misery.

Fuck, I had been leading her on, hadn't I? Without even realizing it. All of it had been so small, I didn't realize it until now, until she pointed it out to me. Having Galian come to her rescue, do nothing but protect and help her; indulging her by visiting Wutai and her father of all people; that night, in Wutai, when I comforted her in her sorrows and the next morning when she curled up next to me, then, the same night, when I'd told her that she was beautiful; letting her lead me where she pleased, across the world, and into an archeological dig site just so she could have a little fun... All of the pep talks I'd given her, all of the smiles I'd flashed her way.

To me, I was simply along for the ride, helping a friend I felt who needed it. But to Yuffie...

As far as she knew, I'd given up my life to be with her.

Even though she'd mistakenly kissed me at the Gold Saucer, assuming we'd been together- how could she know we'd never been an item in the first place when she couldn't even remember my face in the first place? Had she taken my denying her the wrong way?

Had she assumed I was lying, just to keep her safe and happy?

'You're such a nut-job, Valentine. Go bring her back inside; she'll catch her death in that cold and rain.'

I didn't have it in me to tell Chaos where to shove it. I, instead, went to the door and followed Yuffie out into the cold, wet night.

And found no trace of her. She was a self-proclaimed ninja, but perhaps her claims had a little validity to them.

"Galian, I need to borrow some of your power. Is that alright?"

Apparently pleased he could be of use, and that I'd asked him outright, I felt power surge through me. I closed my eyes as Galian lent me his keen nose.

There, to the right. Up a... A tree? Another tree, and a third and fourth. I closed my eyes, letting Galian's abilities guide me. Up a hill, through some undergrowth. I stopped and opened my eyes only when my feet became wet.

In front of me, high up on the spines of a conch-shell house, Yuffie sat, her legs hanging off, her back toward me. I was silent for a moment in observation. When she moved her hands toward her face and wiped at her cheeks, I knew she wasn't wiping away the rain; she had been crying.

"Go away." She hadn't turned around.

"Come down and get inside; you're going to catch your death out here."

"Fuck you." Oh, edgy and original.

"Come down and talk to me."

"No. I wanna to brood right now."

"You can brood somewhere it's dry. Please come down."

"Vincent?" She turned around. "Was I always this dense, this dumb?" Her eyes were red, her cheeks and lips slightly puffy and pink.

"You're neither, Yuffie. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Don't. Don't give me the 'it's not you, it's me' bullshit. It wasn't you."

I sighed, knowing this conversation was going nowhere for either of us. "I'm going to be blunt with you, Yuffie. Shit like this isn't easy for me. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I last even kissed a woman?"

"Blah blah blah 30 years, blah blah blah Lucretica, Blah blah blah Hojo, right?"

I bit my tongue to keep from saying something I would later regret.

"Look, I know you've got issues, Vincent. I've got them, too. Yeah, my problems aren't as big as yours, or nearly as brood-worthy, but this crap is still hard on me. Do you know how fucked up it is to not know what to feel when you're around someone you should remember? What did I think of you when I was someone else, when I was the someone that you and everyone else remember? I'm not that person any longer, and even when my memories flood back, it doesn't change how I've come to think now. I mean, I-"

She tumbled right off the spike and fell.

I don't know if she was simply overwhelmed by her emotions, or if she wasn't honestly paying attention, but the moment she began to fall is the moment I sprang into action. Even so, I knew that I was too far to be able to reach her before she hit the ground.

I, however, didn't have to.

'Let me save her. I know I can.'

Death Gigas didn't have to ask twice. I let his power flow into me, through me, and consume me. My world went dark.

XXXXXXX

Oh, she is such a silly girl. Indeed, such a silly little flower. She plummeted toward the cold, hard earth below her, and I watched with great dismay as, when she attempted to reach out and grab something to save herself, she instead missed completely and hit her head on the way down. I watched as she fell ever closer to the unforgiving ground, her body now limp due to her unconscious state.

Large feet usually make for clumsy feet, but not mine, oh no. Years of practice serve my agility well, and I managed to run underneath where the little flower was falling before she actually hit the earth. I caught her safely, her little limp body in my arms, and sighed with relief when I felt her heart beating. Somehwat bruised, somewhat battered, but still alive.

The rain had mostly stopped, for which I was most thankful. I despised getting wet; a body with such great a mass as mine simply takes eons to dry. The leaves of the ancient trees around us glistened with moisture, the entire forest quiet and smelling of ozone.

I took her back to the dwelling they had refuge in earlier, with a little help from Galian. He and I get along well enough, which pleases me just fine- I have no reason to quarrel with him. Since Vincent had closed his eyes and let Galian's keen nose guide him to the girl, I closed my eyes and accepted the assistance Galian offered for our return journey. Such was a perk of our unnatural relationship, all of us demons with our host and how we could each lend and take strength to and from one another.

I am of the opinion that while Hojo was a depraved sadist, he was also beyond brilliant. I hate him for imprisoning me, but in the long run I suppose that I shouldn't complain- there are far worse humans in the world than Vincent. Or, perhaps I just say so because I don't know many others.

Her clothes were hardly damp, which relieved me to a great extent. I gently wrapped her in her sleeping blankets, clothing and all.

I don't know much about Yuffie; she remains a mystery to me, an enigma, mostly because I'm unobservant. Not to say I'm oblivious; no, I'm intelligent- I just don't retain much interest in what Vincent does, or who he associates with. His friends are just that- his friends, not mine. I hardly think that half of them are even aware of my existence.

I cannot blame Vincent for his ways. Compared to the years I've been alive, he is still much a child. But, for what it is worth, he is decent. He is never cruel out of spite, always polite, ever fretting over what goes on around him; the man hardly has time for himself he worries of other so much. In a way the little flower was to blame- Yuffie seems to be able to make him remember that the world, with all of its people, also contains him. Since they began to travel with one another, she's opened his mind and occupied his heart, but not just with her wants and needs, but by showing him that he is also a human, and as such needs interaction and introspection.

Her little eyes fluttered and opened, her pupils taking a moment to focus on where she was and who – or, I suppose in my case one can ask 'what' – was in front of her.

I expected fear. Most people fear me, due to my size, my purple skin, and the fact that, well, I look as though I could devour them up in one bite and go about my monstrous ways. What I didn't expect was the curiosity that shone so brilliantly on her face.

She smiled at me.

I suppose it's important to mention that I'm shy. One might not presume as much, just based on physical appearance alone, but it actually took me nearly three months before I spoke to Vincent for the first time. Even thereafter, I hardly spoke a word to him- just the occasional one to two word sentences while in battle. 'Left' and 'duck right' hardly needed more words to be effective.

"So, which one are you?"

Now I understood why Vincent had become so enamored of her cheekiness. Her spirit was without boundaries, and she spoke what she felt from her heart without hesitation.

Good thing I was purple, else the flower would have witnessed the monster blush.

Instead of answering her question outright, I picked up her water canteen and sloshed it around as I held it in front of her, silently asking if she was thirsty.

"I could use a drink, thanks." She wiggled as to free her hands, but I held up my palm to indicated I wished her to stop. She did, obediently, and watched as I unscrewed the lid of her canteen and carefully held it up to her lips.

I think my delicacy surprised her. She drank, carefully, and thanked me again when she was satisfied.

"So, are you like Galian? Can you understand me, but just can't talk?"

Oh, curse her for being such a conversationalist.

"...I... I can speak."

Her face lit up and I swallowed hard. Yes, I was fearsome in battle. No, I was not used to the company of pretty little women.

"That's so awesome! What's your name? What kind of creature are you? What kind of powers do you have?"

It was strange, both in a good and bad way, to be asked such things- I'd never known anyone, human or otherwise, to ask questions that made me speak more of myself. "...They call me Death Gigas. I am a demon. I have many powers, but mostly rely on strength."

"Finally! A conversational partner who isn't a total stick in the mud!"

We kept talking – well, she kept talking, and I tried to keep the answers to her questions as short as I could manage – for quite some time. She was just as I suspected earlier; a free spirit, without hesitation in her feelings.

"You don't talk much. Am I annoying you?"

"No."

"Do you not like to talk?"

"I... I don't speak often. I have no friends."

She tilted her head to look up at me when I spoke. "Really? What about the other creatures you share with Vincent?"

"There is little need for us to speak to one another. They hold no interest to me."

"Well, what about me? Am I interesting?"

I fidgeted with my fingernails. "I suppose."

"You suppose? Is that a thinly veiled insult, or thinly veiled compliment?"

"Neither. Both."

She smiled at that, my idiotic attempt at humor, which, in turn, made the corners of my mouth turn up slightly.

"So, where do you come from, Gigas?"

She wished to know of my past? "I was born the son of a minor demon lord. My mother was very beautiful, even by the standards of humans. I inherited all of my father's physical genetics, and little of my mother's save her eye color. My father abandoned mother and I when I was small, still a child, and she died of a broken heart not long thereafter."

The concern on her face warmed me. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to dredge up bad memories. I do that a lot to Vincent. I'm pretty sure I piss him off."

"Yes, but he forgives you for it. It is just a part of who you are- your honesty."

"Were you on your own after your mom died?"

"For a little while, yes. I cannot recall how I ended up in the possession of humans, or how they managed to keep me in their control, but I do remember Vincent and his previous lover, that scientist woman. Vincent has no idea how cruel she could be."

"Really?" Her brow furrowed in disbelief.

"Hojo was the one who injected us all into Vincent after he toyed with his body, but it was that woman who figured out how to use us, how to inject us into hosts in the first place. Neither I nor Galian have anything pleasant to say about her."

"Ah. I see. Vincent only saw what he wanted to see."

"Correct. I would never say such a thing to Vincent, though. He's far too willbully stubborn to see her from any other light than complete perfection."

"Oh, I don't know- he's changed quite a bit since I first met him. Well, re-met him. That's weird to say." She rubbed her temples. "I hate being broken."

"You are far from broken, little flower." It felt nice, calling her by a little pet name.

"My mind is broken."

"Perhaps those of us who are broken are truly the only perfect beings."

She tilted her head at that, pondering. "I like you. You know when to say the right things, and you don't botch your speech. Say what you think- that's what I believe."

"Go to sleep, flower, and Vincent will be returned to you when you wake."

"You're going to watch over me?"

"Nothing shall harm you while I am here."

"I bet."

Oh, I liked her.