By a Fraction of a Degree

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

On the Way to a New Future (Interlude)

Chapter 52, Moving Beyond the Past (Case of Yuffie)

June 12th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

Yuffie was furious as she marched towards the pagoda at the end of the courtyard. She had hoped her dad might not act like such a pathetic jerk around Zack; that the ex-SOLDIER might even be able to get him to see things her way. But even Zack, incredibly gullible, happy-go-lucky, idiot Zack, with patience that would rival that of the ancestors was no match for her father's cowardice. It was infuriating, and she was tired of sitting around and taking it. She'd fought Sephiroth and lived to tell about it! She wasn't going to let this stand in her way! The White Rose of Wutai could not allow it! She'd show them all!

"Yuffie!" Aerith called after her and soon she and Zack had caught up to her.

"You didn't have to storm off like that. I'm sure we could have talked it out," Zack said.

She shook her head and continued to scowl. "No, I'm gonna teach him a lesson, you'll see!" She brandished her bangle and the materia she had glittered within it. Titan, the Curaga Zack had let her have when he'd switched to a Restore, the Poison materia Tifa had let her have when she'd mastered hers, and a Barrier materia she'd purchased before coming here, along with an Ice she had dutifully mastered after someone else had let it go since their mastered materia was all they needed. She had the spare from mastering it too, but she didn't need more than one.

Once she'd shown them she continued her march to the pagoda. "You don't have to do anything in there," she said over her shoulder. "I just want you to watch me."

She walked up the stairs and threw open the doors before them before marching up to the old man that was meditating on the other side of the room. He looked up and saw her figure in the glare coming in from the outside and only barely squinted. "Yuffie, what a surprise. Are you planning to climb the pagoda today?"

"Yeah, that's it. And I want these two here as witnesses," Yuffie said sticking her thumb at Zack and Aerith.

The man nodded and walked to the stairs. "The princess wishes to climb the pagoda." He walked to a position in front of them. "I, sacred Gorky, will be your opponent on the first floor."

At that point, Shake, the young girl who waited on the second floor appeared. "Yo! I'll be watching your fight!"

"Put a sock in it!" Yuffie taunted.

"What's got you so worked up?" the younger girl demanded, but took a position on the right side of the room.

"Now, we begin!" Gorky said. As everyone finished finding a place to watch and Yuffie and Gorky met in the center of the ring, the old man made a series of symbols with his hands. "Power… Change!"

In a puff of smoke the old man vanished to reveal a demonic Valron hovering in the air on a pair of wide bat wings. Yuffie assumed a low fighting stance and she cast from her Barrier materia before she leapt out of the Valron's way, running up the wall in a flash to gain purchase on one of the window ledges. The Valron flew after her but was surprised when instead of fleeing, she leapt at him, delivering a hard kick to his gut, knocking him out of the air and landing in a crouch on the other side of the room. At that point, a barrier spell also took shape around Gorky's Valron form and he picked himself up preparing to cast again. She couldn't let him, and so she called on an Ice 3 which collapsed around him like breaking glass. He backed away, but continued working the spell, and Yuffie felt exhaustion beginning to overtake her almost at the same time she connected with her shuriken.

"Hey! That's not nice!" she said, going for Curaga and then she saw he was going for a Dive Kick.

"Oh no! Not happening!" she called to the transfigured demon. Rolling out of his way, she threw her shuriken to divert his attention before landing a punch to his gut. Almost immediately, the demon disappeared to reveal the old man, clearly exhausted. "And here I thought you were just a wild girl…" he mumbled, before sitting down on the floor to rest. Shake went up the stairs to get ready for the next fight, though Yuffie was pleased to see she looked a little afraid.

She gestured that Zack and Aerith follow her up the stairs after the girl. As they found a place to watch on the next landing, Yuffie walked to the center of the room and narrowed her eyes. She hadn't expected this. "All right, who's really next?" she demanded.

Shake frowned indignantly. "I'm right here!"

Yuffie laughed. "I have to fight a punk kid? This is stupid!"

"Well at least I'm more of an adult than some arrogant princess!" Shake taunted.

"Oh really?" Yuffie shot back, leering over her opponent.

Shake looked right back up at her, wagging her finger in her face. "You see? That's why you're trying to climb, and I'm going to put you back in your place. Don't pat yourself on the back until you beat me."

Yuffie scowled at her and readied her shuriken. "Just watch me!"

Shake simply laughed and retorted "'bout the only thing you do really good is breathe. Sure you're brave enough to back up that tough talk?"

"Stop yappin!" Yuffie demanded. "Are we gonna fight or not?!"

"I'm just surprised someone got past Gorky." As Shake spoke a woman walked down the stairs to the next level to observe. "I guess it's time for Chekov to watch us." Nodding to the woman, Shake took a couple of steps onto the mat and then took stance, making a couple of quick hand motions. "Speed! Change!"

Shake did not last a minute. Titan pretty much wiped her out in one quick casting. Chekov followed with little trouble. Yuffie was quickly proving that this pagoda was out of its league. Why had she not done this earlier? Perhaps in her mind she'd still been thinking that there was something she needed to do before she was ready. Snag everyone's materia maybe, but here she was, doing just as well on her own.

She had made it to the fourth level and was still going strong. Yuffie Kisaragi, unstoppable ninja hero and slayer of Sephiroth… yeah.

As Staniv aborted his transformation and fell to his knees, he demanded in a breathless voice "Wh, what…!?"

Yuffie looked down at him haughtily. "Of course I beat you! There was no other way this was gonna go!"

At that moment Gorki peered up the stairs along with Shake and Staniv. "Well, your skill has definitely improved."

Shake considered what she saw and then added "Maybe I was wrong about you being an arrogant princess."

Staniv gave Yuffie a hard look. "Well, if we lost to her…" She didn't finish the thought, her expression serious as she addressed the rightful victor in this fight. "You have defeated four of our best, but now you will have to face HIM." She pointed at the next flight of stairs.

Yuffie didn't know who lay beyond the next flight, but she was certain she'd mop the floor with him just like she'd donewith all the others. As the first four warriors of the Pagoda climbed up the steps, she fell in behind them with Zack and Aerith behind her. However, it was with great surprise that she finally beheld the person waiting for them on the fifth and final level.

"D…Dad!?"

Her father stood before her in his usual purple kimono and he was regarding her sternly. "I'm glad you made it this far, Yuffie!"

"Why… why are you…"

Her father shook his head. "I'll answer that by having you try your skills against me! Maybe it will teach you some humility!" The man took stance as everyone found a place to watch. "Hold nothing back. Come as if you are trying to kill me! If you don't… then I'll have to kill you!"

"H-Hey…!" Yuffie wasn't nervous, far from it, but she was uncertain. Sure she was mad, but did her father really plan on coming at her with the intent to kill? If so, he probably wouldn't stand a chance, but at the same time she wasn't exactly sure she wanted to kill him.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Zack called from the back.

She ignored him, her eyes on her father, the two of them taking stance as they prepared for the confrontation that was about to take place. After a moment, Godo made a very intricate set of hand signals in front of him, shouting "OMNI-CHANGE!" and out of a cloud of smoke, appeared a strange humanoid figure bearing three faces, and four arms, wielding a wand in one of his right hands and a scimitar in one of his left.

Moving quickly, the figure in front of her lunged, bringing the scimitar down above her in what would have been a smashing blow, but she rolled out of the way and, throwing her shuriken in the opposite direction as a diversion, the ninja leapt from the ground to grab a handhold on the wall before casting Barrier. Godo's head turned so that the human visage was facing forward before attempting to cast Sleep, but Yuffie had already moved out of range and caught her shuriken out of the air before throwing it directly at her father's back. Blood was knocked free before she could retrieve it and Godo grunted before his head rotated again, this time to the face of the Cheater, and started to cast again as he turned around.

Yuffie darted across the floor, barely avoiding the Trine spell crackling on the ground behind her before running up the wall, grabbing a handhold on one of the lamps and summoning Titan. Several of the onlookers ducked for cover as the gigantic man appeared in the room and Zack hurriedly cast a Wall over himself and Aerith but Yuffie was focused on her father. Titan made short work of the earthen space below him and knocked Godo over in the debris. The humanoid picked himself up once the summon dissipated, already exhausted by this series of attacks and switched back to the human face, casting a Cure before running at Yuffie, his face again changing to the Beast and his sword at the ready.

Yuffie held her ground, instead going for the most powerful Ice spell she could muster. Shards scattered across the floor and her father, completely overwhelmed in the avalanche of ice, suddenly dissipated back into his human form and dropped to his knees in shock. Yuffie stood before him and once she saw that he wasn't going to keep going she smiled.

"Not bad Old Man, but after Sephiroth, this was nothing."

"It's true then?" Godo looked first at Yuffie, and then at Zack for confirmation.

Yuffie looked back in time to see Zack nod. "Every word. She helped us destroy him."

Her father considered for a moment, and then sank the rest of the way to the floor, laughing. "All this time, I thought you were lying…" No one could get another coherent phrase out of him for several minutes and everyone had to wait for him to compose himself.

A short while later, once he had regained his composure, Godo stood at the head of the room, a new respect in his eyes. "It's time I gave this to you, Yuffie… this is the Leviathan Materia. Take it." He pressed it into her hand.

At that point, Staniv spoke up. "Lord Godo, that materia is only supposed to go to the one who takes over this Pagoda. It's our custom…"

Yuffie looked over at him with a glare. "CUSTOM, CUSTOM, CUSTOM… I'm so sick of hearing that! It's so stupid!"

Gorky looked affronted. "Silence, Miss Yuffie!"

Yuffie was not about to stand for that as she directed her anger in the direction of all five fighters. "And what about the rest of you? You have so much power, but all you do is sit around here! Are you happy being stuck here!?"

"Yuffie…" Godo sounded like he was going to try and protest but the little ninja was having none of that.

"You too, dad! Just because you lost the war, you turned Wutai into a cheesy resort, and now we can't take care of any of those sick people out there! How dare you!? Da-Chao Statue and Leviathan are ashamed!"

Godo seemed completely at a loss for words but Shake interjected "She really is a spoiled brat."

Yuffie glared back at her and was about to run over to teach her a lesson but then she heard her father. "Yuffie!" She turned to look at him as he spoke. "Forgive me… It's all my fault…"

"But, Lord Godo…!" Gorky began.

The leader of Wutai shook his head. "Losing the war… and turning Wutai into what it is now was all my fault…"

"My lord!" Chekov tried to interrupt, but Godo glared in her direction.

"Silence!" Godo turned back to Yuffie. "After we lost the war, I began to wonder, is strength only for defeating the enemy, or just something to show off to others…? Might begets might. That's the same way as the Shinra…" He looked down at the floor as he considered his words before he turned away from her. "I knew you were looking for materia for the good of Wutai. But, the reason I hide my strength now, is also for the good of Wutai… And now I realize both are necessary. Strength without determination means nothing. And determination without strength is equally useless…!"

"Lord Godo…" Staniv tried but could not bring himself to continue.

Godo turned to Zack. "It seems I owe both of you an apology for the harsh words at my home. I had feared that my daughter had fallen in with a fool and a liar, and perhaps my prejudices from the war colored my judgment… but it seems that you are indeed a man who is everything Yuffie has said you are. We can see about discussing your access to our sea lanes first thing tomorrow morning. "

Zack smiled with relief. "No harm done. I understand. Shinra wasn't exactly the best of house guests during the war, and I totally get why you wouldn't be all that trusting of someone who used to work for them, even if I wasn't a SOLDIER. But thank you! You won't be disappointed, that I can promise!"

Godo nodded. "In that case, one of my conditions is that Yuffie go with you, to aid you in your struggle until peace has been restored."

"Not a problem!" Zack said. "Isn't that right Yuffie?"

"Of course not! It'll be a hell of a lot easier than getting things done here, and maybe we'll find a cure!"

"Princess, language…" Checkov whispered.

Godo cleared his throat. "I'll take care of the Five Sacred Gods until you're ready to come back. Just make sure you return alive."

Yuffie brought up her fist in a salute across her chest. "Of course I will." As if everyone had been signaled it was time to leave, they walked out of the room, leaving just Yuffie and her father there.

Before she was about to leave she heard her father whisper "Yuffie, wait a minute." She waited as he came closer and spoke low enough she doubted even Zack would have been able to hear them if he'd been in the room. "The materia they have… After Shinra has been defeated, you think they'll still want it?"

Yuffie grinned. "I'll see what I can do."

Godo's expression mirrored her own. "I'm glad to hear it." As she left the room, she could hear him chuckling behind her. Zack needed the materia for now, but she was sure once their fight with Shinra was over, there'd be no way they still would.

A few minutes later, she was about to leave the pagoda when just behind her, she saw Godo walk down the stairs. "Lord Fair," he called out. Zack looked back at him, somewhat surprised at the title but paused. "It seems in this soup of politics where we sometimes don't know who we can trust and who our enemies are, some things do get over looked." Godo gave Aerith a kind smile before continuing. "I know after my display at our house, it may seem somewhat out of place, but… congratulations… on your wedding."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Thanks…" he said at last.

Yuffie just laughed and walked up to them, "Come on you two, I want to show you some more of the real Wutai, and when Cid gets back we'll go bust some Shinra heads!"

June 13th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

The night after Yuffie scaled the pagoda passed without much of note, aside from Zack calling over the bamboo wall at the nearby hot springs that Yuffie shouldn't badger Aerith about what happened after she left them at the cottage. Yuffie had answered by tossing a bucketful of water over the wall at him (thankfully, for Zack, not with the bucket included even if he could have easily dodged it).

The next morning also went quite smoothly, if a little boring, since Godo and Zack ended up actually coming to accord on the sea routes pretty quickly. Soon Yuffie was leading them along a trail up between the statues on the Da-Chao cliffs. She wandered ahead of the two newlyweds for a while before stopping at a cave entrance and looking in at the lava smoldering within. Soon after, the three of them were sharing the lunch they'd packed along the arm of one of the statues looking out over the capitol as it spread out below them.

"From here, it hardly looks like there's anything wrong," Aerith commented after a while. "I know there is still quite a lot going on, but it is a beautiful city."

"You're not wrong about that," Yuffie said, climbing up to one of the statue's fingers, not minding the wind blowing past her. Her footing was as solid as the stone under her. "There's still a lot that needs to be fixed."

Aerith nodded in agreement. "Though I've been thinking. Perhaps if I explore the Lifestream a little more, maybe we could find the cure that way. It seems to at least be related."

"You sure that's safe?" Zack asked.

"I don't know," Aerith answered, "but even if that doesn't yield anything, I would still like to see if we can help. Maybe Doctor Rayleigh also has some ideas we can look into."

"Why don't we try talking to her first," Zack suggested, putting an arm around her. "Not that I don't think exploring the Lifestream isn't a good idea, but, you know that coming in contact with it'll make it easier for you to catch Geostigma. Everyone's worried about us SOLDIERs but don't forget, we're all at risk. I'd prefer it if none of us got it if it can be helped."

Aerith leaned against him, planting a kiss over top of the scar on his cheek. "Still, if there's something we can do, you know I would do it, not unlike someone else I know," she said.

"Yeah, I know," Zack relented.

"Seriously, can't you two get a room or something?" Yuffie muttered.

"Well, we did, but then we had to come talk to your dad," Zack returned.

Yuffie simply shook her head and turned her attention back out over the rice paddies surrounding the capitol. She'd leave them alone for now. There'd be plenty of time to tease them once they got back to Mideel, and started making plans for the next offensive.

The Case of…?: Fragmented File #3

June 14th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

Deep under the bowels of Mako Reactor Number 5, a lift stirred to life and long ignored machinery activated, delivering its cargo up to the surface. Mako swirled in the air as the tiny box slowly made its way higher and higher. Contained within an isolated shaft, it passed up through the ground, foot by foot, past the ground level and then higher, and higher, past the Sector 5 slums and up further towards a carefully concealed door near the reactor's main entrance.

Once the elevator slowed to a halt, a button was pushed and the secret door slid open, creaking and squealing, the joints long left un-oiled, the motors halting when it was almost half open. No one was inside the reactor itself at the time, save a couple of technicians near the computers, but had anyone been in the main corridor at the time, they would have seen a figure climb out the door, before it slid shut leaving no trace of its existence.

Had anyone looked closer, they would have realized this figure was that of a man with a head of dark hair, cut short, but so matted and filthy it was almost impossible to tell what color it was. His clothes and armor were so covered in dirt it seemed like he had dug himself to the surface rather than taken the elevator, and whatever else could be said about his condition, it was clear the dark rashes along his body had rendered him barely able to do more than crawl.

This the man did, seeming to instinctively intuit the direction of the exit. He soon found the stairs out on the catwalk and he moaned in pain as he looked out at the dark clouds obscuring the Midgar sky with intensely glowing blue eyes. At last, his strength gave out completely and he collapsed down the steps to curl up in agony on the bridge that connected Sectors 4 and 5, far too weak to move any further…

To Be Continued in Part III...

That's right, "Demons" begins next week. I'm definitely looking forward to it, but are our heroes up to the challenge? Stay tuned to find out! ^^

I also wonder if anyone can guess who this guy is. Though technically, there are two correct answers...

See you next week!