Disclaimer: I only own Vanera.
Note: I'm back! I know I should update more, but I'm so lazy, even though I love this story. It just takes energy for me to make a new chapter on Microsoft Word. Well, READ AND REVIEW!
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Fallen
Chapter 6: Broken Tears
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Yuffie watched him go, her eyes full of painful tears. She watched his shadowed figure swim to the entrance until she could no longer see him anymore. She wiped her eyes and stood up wobbly.
If Squall kept doing this to her; kept pushing her and hurting her, she didn't know when she would snap, but eventually, she would. Living around him in this state was making her depressed and no matter how hard she tried, he wouldn't open up to her.
She wearily walked into the water, ignoring the squishiness at the bottom of her feet, and started tracking herself into the water. Once she was in knee deep, she jumped over onto the water with a kind of belly-flop technique and started swimming to the opening as fast as she could. She had to talk to someone.
Dripping wet and smelling of sewer water, she ran into Second District and up the set of stairs. Without a hint of hesitation, she entered Vanera's Armor and Weaponry shop. A little bell jingled on the doorknob.
The weapons had a clean sheen to their silver plaited hilts and the armor, different assortments of links and leather looked great. Vanera was really keeping up with her shop.
The whole shop was quiet. She walked down the isles, leaving wet foot prints behind her. The counter with the register at it was empty. It was possible Vanera had closed shop, but with all of the people swarming the streets? It just screamed business.
Just as Yuffie was about to leave, Vanera came through a door behind the counter, a disgusted look on her face. She was carrying a clipboard and a pen, writing scribbles down onto a sheet of paper. Must be taking inventory.
Her silky auburn hair was let down to her back, a slight curl visible as it neared the ends of her hair. Her blue eyes gleamed like they always did, alive with a life of their own and a twinkle that wanted adventure and fun. When Yuffie first met her, she could have sworn Vanera was some kind of mischievous little devil despite her looks, until she got to know her to be a sweet, yet still partially demented girl.
She looked around, sniffing the air. Her face just had a kind of 'What-the-hell-is-that-smell?' look on it. Yuffie grinned and came out from behind an isle.
"Oh my God, Yuffie, what happened to you?" she screeched and dropped her clipboard onto the ground.
"What?" Yuffie asked. She looked down at her arms and clothes. She was scratched up badly, and her clothes were stained to hold the resemblance of the water in the Waterway. "O-Oh...nothing happened to me."
"Sure. What's wrong, Yuf?"
Yuffie sighed and leaned against the counter, her head resting in her arms.
"Everything," she murmured.
A little off topic, Vanera said, "God, where have you been? You reek!"
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "I was getting to that."
Vanera leaned against the counter and watched Yuffie's face, waiting for her to continue.
"Well...I can't take the way Squall fights with me. I try to be kind, and I want so badly—no need so badly to get along with him, I can't keep up this ongoing fight. I'm gonna freakin' snap, Vanera, I hate this!" she yelled loudly.
She bit her lip and burst into tears.
"All I ever do is cry now! Cry, cry, and cry, I'm such a baby! I'm the worst ninja ever, damn it, who the hell do I think I am? I'm not the Greatest Female Ninja Ever, I'm just a pathetic little bitch!" she ranted hysterically through sobs.
Yuffie collapsed onto the counter and beat it with her fists. She felt warm arms around her neck. She sobbed into Vanera's shoulder, choking on her breaths.
Vanera stroked her hair and hugged her, trying to make her stop crying.
"It's okay, Yuf, it's okay, just keep on crying," she said in a hushed voice.
After ten minutes, Yuffie had regained her composure and was sitting on top of the counter with Vanera, wiping her eyes.
Yuffie leaned her head against Vanera's shoulder.
"Don't tell anyone what I said, okay? Especially not Squall," Yuffie said.
"Don't worry, I won't," Vanera answered. But she had different thoughts. Squall had to come to realize his mistake, and shape up. She was going to have a talk with him, and he was going to listen. For Yuffie. She couldn't do it herself anymore.
~~~
Vanera went into the back room after Yuffie left and continued up the stairs to get to her bedroom. She lived in her store and ran it almost twenty-four seven. Who knows when someone would need to go to another world or get their weapon fixed?
She opened the door and entered her room. It was a decent size, slightly bigger than most, and had a hard wood floor, a single bed, a dresser, and a desk with a chair. On the other side of the room was a door with a bathroom.
She grabbed some clothes and took a quick shower, dressing into them and fixing her hair a bit carelessly, and not even bothering with make-up. Honestly, she didn't care about looking perfect or wearing dresses every day, she had found that most guys like girls who are a little carefree and ruffled.
She looked in the mirror briefly. Her auburn hair was down on her back and was covering her shoulders. Her blue eyes looked as usual. She was wearing a pair of cargo jeans, a belt slung across her waist. A sleeveless navy blue shirt that brought out her eyes rested on her upper top, a slice of her mid-riff visible.
Satisfied, she grabbed her bag of knick-knacks and left the store, set on finding Squall. It would be just like finding a needle in a haystack. Thankfully he seemed to have a certain set of places to be.
She walked quickly and checked the Waterway, Bell Tower, Gizmo Shop, Café, and wandered through the crowds of people there for the Festival and still couldn't find him.
As a last resort, she looked into the hotel Green Room. He was sitting on the bed, still tending to his wounds.
Vanera crept into the room and closed the door behind her. Squall looked up.
"What is it that you want?" he asked with an annoyed tone.
"We need to talk."
"No, actually we don't."
"Yes we do. It's about Yuffie."
She took a seat next to him. He kept on wrapping a bandage around his upper arm, but then finally said, "What about her?"
"You're ruining her, Squall. You can't keep pushing her and hurting her feelings. She has been really sensitive lately and..." she trailed off, wondering if she should tell him about her crying. But Yuffie told her not to.
She shook her head. "Never mind. It's not important. But she needs you, now, Squall. She's obviously going through some kind of emotional transition, and you're not helping her."
He kept his face straight. Something that annoyed her very much. She showed her emotions easily, and she thought it was abnormal at how he could keep such an emotionless face.
"Hey Squall?" she asked, a hint of laughter in her voice. He turned to look at her, a bemused expression on his face.
A smile spread across her face as she hugged him firmly, something no one but Yuffie had dared to do. For once not being a limp rag doll, he responded to her hug. Sort of.
She pulled away and patted his arms. "Think about what I said."
"Yeah...whatever. See you later."
"See ya!" she called out.
Well, that went better than I thought it would, she thought to herself. Hopefully things will get better...
~~~
Yuffie left the shop and wandered down the steps. It was growing later outside, and everyone was leaving Second District to get to the rides and the games. The stands were closing up for the next day ahead.
She walked past the darkened alley door and saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She paused for a moment and tried to see beyond the darkness. Something moved again.
She took a step forward and narrowed her eyes in an attempt to see well. Nothing. She turned around and started to walk when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
A gasp was ripped out of her throat as she was pulled into the dark alley. Her eyes were wide with fear. Someone was keeping a firm grip on her shoulder, and was breathing heavily.
She squirmed and started to kick with her feet, trying to find a sensitive spot between the legs. She could easily tell this was a man by the breathing and roughness of the hands.
Yuffie let out a sharp, high-pitched scream, hoping someone would hear her. A hand clamped down on her mouth. She quickly bit into the hand and tasted blood in her mouth.
"Ah!" said the man. She started gagging on the metallic blood in her mouth that definitely did not belong to her.
With this distraction, she kicked him as hard as she could then pushed him backwards. There was a thump then a loud groan.
Yuffie made a dash for the door.
"Can't get away from me that fast, Yuffie," said the familiar, husky voice from the Waterway.
He grabbed her ankle and she fell over a few feet from the door. She hit the concrete, unguarded, and pain hit her body like a thousand needles.
She couldn't move. She was paralyzed by fear.
Damien stood up and knelt down next to her. Her heart raced and her breaths were in short gasps. She felt a hand traveling from her neck, down to her back, and reach...
She jolted out of the trance like state and pushed herself away from him. But he was on her quickly enough, and held her down roughly.
"Stop it, Yuffie. Stop running from me. I'm safe. Perfectly..." he said and paused to trace a little circle on her chest, "...safe."
She closed her eyes and pushed down the urge to puke.
"Leave me alone," she whimpered weakly.
He lowered his face close to hers, breathing on her neck. "Hush, Yuffie...shh..."
"How do you know my name?" she asked with a tremor in her voice.
"You don't remember me? But...you begged Squallie so. You just had to have me...don't you remember?" he purred.
She almost laughed out loud at the thought. It seemed like he was saying he was that mysterious cat.
"Meow..." he whispered into her ear.
"No! Stop it!"
"I have something for you..."
He pulled something out of his back pocket. It was a leather box, and it looked old and cracked. He opened it. It was a silver necklace...it glittered radiantly, and had a ring at the end. Intertwined circles were engraved with perfection.
"The love ring..." he whispered. She could even see it in the dimness of the alley. His eyes flashed with a feral quality that only belonged to a cat.
"It means nothing coming from you," she said bitterly.
He continued speaking as if she had said nothing. "I saw the longing on your face to have it, and I knew I must give it to you as a symbol of my love. I knew you would never indulge yourself to buy the ring."
"You don't even know me."
"We'll get to know each other. Enough talk."
He slowly pulled out the necklace from the box with shaking hands and strung it around her neck. She felt a tear slip down her cheek. All of her energy had evaporated. She couldn't do anything to stop him.
With a powerful lust, he took off her shirt and continued with her shorts. Her eyes grew blank and faced toward the open sky. Tears slipped down her cheeks without emotion attached to them. She felt...empty.
Her lips parted and she took in deep breaths as he continued. Tears wet her whole face...an emotionless face.
Her hands curled and uncurled, feeling numb everywhere and only feeling the pressure of Damien. Why wasn't she screaming? Why couldn't she feel?
It seemed like an eternity passed. She slipped in and out of consciousness; her thoughts ran across her mind slowly.
She heard footsteps, and felt the pressure being lifted off of her body. She watched without fully registering as Damien skittered into the Waterway.
~~~
Squall walked into the alley, looking for Yuffie. After Vanera came and went, Aerith had found him and said that she couldn't find Yuffie anywhere. That she had left them at Third District and she hadn't returned.
He was sure she was fine. And he didn't really feel like looking for her and talking to her, either.
It was dark in the alley; only a little bit of light came through from the hotel rooms. He saw a dark, lifeless figure laying on the ground, and what looked like clothes scattered around it. He approached cautiously.
It was Yuffie. She was on the ground, scratched, bruised, and bleeding. She was completely naked and limp. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, falling out on by one, and her eyes held a blankness he had never seen.
And for the first time that he could ever remember, Squall Leonheart was scared.
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Wow. I am so cruel. But you all knew it was going to happen. I know this is a cliffy, but it was a good sentence to end it with.
So, give me your reaction! Was this too inappropriate for a PG-13 rating? I'm not sure...but I really wouldn't want to raise it to R.
Oh, and I tried to finish this fast. It might be a little shabby because I spent about forty-five minutes on it, and yes, I KNOW it's short.