Welcome to Chapter VIII! ^_^ I'm really sorry that this took a while to
post, I know people have been waiting...
~*~
{ CHAPTER VIII ~ MEMORIES }
Vincent yawned helplessly. Cloud glanced over, surprised. "Finally acting human?"
"Shut up." Vincent glared at Cloud from across the room. Cid, Shera, and Barret were already asleep. Tifa was resting on her bed, probably half- asleep. And Yuffie had left minutes ago to check for rooms at the inn. Vincent was clearly bored. He didn't feel like going to sleep at the moment, as he almost never slept. There was nothing to do in a bland city like this at night, and no options were left. Maybe he would go stroll around the field and battle for a while...
A scream pierced the silence. A harsh female scream that sounded almost too familiar. It was immediately cut off. Vincent's eyes darted to Cloud's.
"Yuffie." Vincent stood and grabbed his gun from his holster. His eyes lowered and he ran for the door, not bothering to wait for Cloud.
~*~
The man clamped his hand over Yuffie's mouth again. "Shut up!" he hissed, spitting at her face.
'Well, I probably screamed loud enough...' Yuffie thought, trying to calm down. Her friend were coming. Or at least someone else was. She was sure.
He pulled out a knife and held it before her face. Another knife fell from his jacket and to the ground. He ignored it and kept the one in his hand still at her face. 'How many weapons does he have?' her mind screamed.
"Consider it revenge for messing with the ShinRa." He smirked and brought the knife closer to Yuffie's face, but she realized the next step and darted away from the weapon. It struck her on the lip and blood sprayed out. At least the knife missed it's target, the center of her face... But the wound hurt like hell.
Yuffie pushed the man away and fell to the ground. "Bastard," she hissed, "What did I do to you?"
The door burst open and Vincent ran in, his boots hitting the ground rapidly. He stopped before the desk, hair flying around his face messily. Vincent held his gun to the man's temple and his firey red eyes burned into the opponent's.
Cloud rushed into the inn behind Vincent, his Ultima Sword in hand. He ran to Yuffie's side. The man smiled as an old man and woman ran into the room.
"Akuma!" the woman yelled. She stumbled over, tears covering her face. "What happened?"
"I'm not your son." The man's lips twisted into a smile. "I killed him."
The man and woman stepped back, crying. They fled from the house. The man smirked yet again and leaned down next to Yuffie. Cloud protectively shielded her with his sword.
"Get the hell away from her." Cloud glared into the man's eyes, trying to distract him, to lead him away. No use. The bastard stared at Yuffie with his midnight eyes. Yuffie helplessly lowered her eyes to the ground as tears escaped her eyes. Blood dripped from her lip, some left dried on her chin.
That was it. Surges of emotion hit at Vincent's head. Fear, jealousy, hatred. He aimed, and though his hand shook, swiftly shot. The thunder-like boom of the Death Penalty rang in the air immediately and the man collapsed to the ground, red mixing into blue.
Vincent lowered his weapon. Yuffie looked up. The blood on her lip had dried, but a large scar was there and it would probably remain. She smiled softly and rose to her feet.
"He's a Turk..." she said, looking down at the bloody mess on the ground. "I'm sorry." She glanced back at her friends.
Vincent looked at her for a moment, then turned away immediately. "It's not your fault. He deserved what he got, the ShinRa is dead for good now." Vincent turned, his cape flying behind him. In a state of akwardness, he left the inn. Cloud and Yuffie followed, staying behind.
"So, the rest of us will stay at the Highwind?" Yuffie asked. Cloud nodded. He was still shaken up from what just happened, but they all were. The three walked into the planetarium. Everyone was asleep.
"Vincent and I will go sleep on the Highwind. Take the last bed." Yuffie nodded at Cloud's orders and watched the two as they headed out. Once they were a distance from the planetarium, she walked into the small bathroom and stared at her face in the mirror.
The scar was there. It hurt when she received it, but now... Yuffie didn't care any more. She ran a finger over the dried garnet blood and tried to scratch it off. As that proved useless, Yuffie leaned toward the sink and turning on the water, ran it over her lips. Once her face was clean, she looked at her reflection again.
Yuffie suddenly liked the scar. It made her look beautiful... At least pretty. With her stormy silver-grey eyes, the scar made her appear ferocious. As if she had trained hard and it was a battle wound. Yuffie ran her finger over it one last time, and then walked back to the mini-inn. She collapsed onto the remaining bed and stared up at the crumbling ceiling as thoughts streamed into her mind.
'Why... Why did Vincent come in first? So many things could have happened. Maybe Cloud told him to run ahead. Or maybe Vincent just heard me first. And maybe...' Yuffie smiled. A feeling of being protected, being...loved overcame her. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.
~*~
"What happened back there?" Cloud asked, his moody gaze meeting with Vincent's dark one.
"Yuffie was about to get hurt. So I stepped in and helped her fight." Vincent looked back at Cloud. No, he glared. 'Why does he care?' Vincent thought, keeping his eyes straight.
Cloud continued to walk through the dark, silent field. It was too gloomy, even for a person like him. Cloud glanced back at Vincent. "I mean, why did you want to save her all of a sudden?"
Vincent kept silent. He shifted his eyes to the path ahead, hoping that Cloud would just drop the subject. He himself didn't know why emotions suddenly ran to his head. And he definitely didn't feel like explaining anything to Cloud.
Cloud didn't say anything else. He wanted to burst out laughing, but when you're laughing at a guy with a gun called the 'Death Penalty', there's a small chance of getting hurt.
~*~
CRASH! A sudden noise startled Tifa out of her sleep. Her eyes flew open and she pushed herself up out of the bed. Her red irises darted around, searching for the source of the sound.
Tifa's gaze landed on a knocked over chair in the corner and Cid's figure standing over it. He cursed softly and kicked at the chair.
"What happened?" Tifa whispered.
"I sorta ran into this chair. I was just heading over to the Highwind, since Shera tosses too much." Cid turned and headed for the door, another string of curses following.
"You can take my bed. I don't mind," Tifa called after him. She stood up. Cid flashed her a grin and said his thanks as Tifa walked outside.
The sky was completely black, like a neverending void. Stars were scattered out like grains of sand. Tifa headed for the outskirts of the city. She walked through the silent field, keeping her eyes focused on the Highwind in the distance.
Tonight, the stars weren't glowing. Tifa noticed that they would usually shine a light green and make the sky much cheerier. But tonight... Something bad would happen. Tifa shivered and started to run. Pat, pat, pat. Her boots lifted dust around her and small storms erupted. All that mattered was getting to the airship.
A feeling overcame Tifa, as if something was behind her. She sprinted forward. More dust flew about. Tifa thanked her years of training as her long, steady legs flew toward the Highwind. She made it over and quickly climbed the ladder, tying it up securely.
Tifa then realized that the ladder was down when she reached the Highwind. 'Some of the party members must have gone up here to sleep,' Tifa thought, 'But why? Shouldn't the inn be open?' Tifa walked across the deck and headed toward the room that she and Yuffie shared. She lay down on her bed and relaxed. The sheets were cold, yet soft. Tifa fluffed up her pillow and giggled softly as a flurry of feathers surrounded her. She reached down to the floor to pick up some of the mess. And she noticed it. The photo.
"How did this get here?" Tifa murmured as she picked it up. It was an old, partly torn photo that was taken a year ago. Nearly everyone was shown in it, before the Gold Saucer. Even Aeris was in it. It was the first night that they had all been there together. A tear slipped from the corner of Tifa's eye as she remembered that night...
~*~
"Here, let me take a photo of you all!" Yuffie called. She grinned mischievously and held up the cheap camera she bought at one of the machines.
"Get into the photo," Aeris teased, "You have to be tortured just like we do!"
"But who will take the photo if I'm in it?" Yuffie whined. Someone tore the camera from her hands. That prized 2 Gil camera, that she bought with her own hard-earned money. Someone just grabbed away from her! Yuffie turned to hit whomever was stealing her cheap junk and ended up with a face full of black leather.
"I don't mind taking the photo," Vincent said, his cold tone annoying the hell out of Yuffie. She fumed but turned and stomped over to the rest of the group. Vincent fumbled with the camera and held it up. A single white flash lingered for a second, exactly the kind you'd get from a 2 Gil camera.
The photo turned out portraying everyone in the way they were usually posed. Cid with a cigar in his mouth, Barret just standing there, his gun raised, Yuffie giving someone bunny ears--it was Aeris in this case, Red XIII lying on the ground with his head resting on crossed arms, Cloud leaning on the wall with a frown on his face, Aeris hovering over his shoulder and smiling that way-too-perfect smile, and Tifa... Tifa stood behind them all, a weak smile on her face, hardly showing up in the photo. As usual.
"Okay, let's get going." Cloud stomped off before anyone could annoy his ass off. Before Yuffie could annoy his ass off, to be precise.
~*~
Tifa smiled. It was a faint memory, but she loved that moment. Mainly because she was hardly in the photo. She wouldn't have kept it if she was the center of attention. Tifa loved the way that you could only see her soft red eyes shining in the background, nothing more. Everyone else was more important. More beautiful. Simply put, better than her. They deserved more. So of course, they were featured in the photo. And not her.
Tifa placed the photo into its original spot, inside her dresser, buried under mounds of clothes so no one could find it. Tifa picked up the feathers that had previously flown from her bed and gathered them on top of the dresser. As she closed her eyes to sleep, her other senses came into focus. Footsteps.
Tifa's eyes flew open. Now she couldn't hear them... Again she closed her eyes and the faint sound of footsteps came back. She kept her eyes shut tight and pulled her covers over her head. Whoever it was... It wasn't one of her friends. She could sense someone new.
~*~
Please review!! The more reviews I get, the faster the next chapter will come!! ^^
~*~
{ CHAPTER VIII ~ MEMORIES }
Vincent yawned helplessly. Cloud glanced over, surprised. "Finally acting human?"
"Shut up." Vincent glared at Cloud from across the room. Cid, Shera, and Barret were already asleep. Tifa was resting on her bed, probably half- asleep. And Yuffie had left minutes ago to check for rooms at the inn. Vincent was clearly bored. He didn't feel like going to sleep at the moment, as he almost never slept. There was nothing to do in a bland city like this at night, and no options were left. Maybe he would go stroll around the field and battle for a while...
A scream pierced the silence. A harsh female scream that sounded almost too familiar. It was immediately cut off. Vincent's eyes darted to Cloud's.
"Yuffie." Vincent stood and grabbed his gun from his holster. His eyes lowered and he ran for the door, not bothering to wait for Cloud.
~*~
The man clamped his hand over Yuffie's mouth again. "Shut up!" he hissed, spitting at her face.
'Well, I probably screamed loud enough...' Yuffie thought, trying to calm down. Her friend were coming. Or at least someone else was. She was sure.
He pulled out a knife and held it before her face. Another knife fell from his jacket and to the ground. He ignored it and kept the one in his hand still at her face. 'How many weapons does he have?' her mind screamed.
"Consider it revenge for messing with the ShinRa." He smirked and brought the knife closer to Yuffie's face, but she realized the next step and darted away from the weapon. It struck her on the lip and blood sprayed out. At least the knife missed it's target, the center of her face... But the wound hurt like hell.
Yuffie pushed the man away and fell to the ground. "Bastard," she hissed, "What did I do to you?"
The door burst open and Vincent ran in, his boots hitting the ground rapidly. He stopped before the desk, hair flying around his face messily. Vincent held his gun to the man's temple and his firey red eyes burned into the opponent's.
Cloud rushed into the inn behind Vincent, his Ultima Sword in hand. He ran to Yuffie's side. The man smiled as an old man and woman ran into the room.
"Akuma!" the woman yelled. She stumbled over, tears covering her face. "What happened?"
"I'm not your son." The man's lips twisted into a smile. "I killed him."
The man and woman stepped back, crying. They fled from the house. The man smirked yet again and leaned down next to Yuffie. Cloud protectively shielded her with his sword.
"Get the hell away from her." Cloud glared into the man's eyes, trying to distract him, to lead him away. No use. The bastard stared at Yuffie with his midnight eyes. Yuffie helplessly lowered her eyes to the ground as tears escaped her eyes. Blood dripped from her lip, some left dried on her chin.
That was it. Surges of emotion hit at Vincent's head. Fear, jealousy, hatred. He aimed, and though his hand shook, swiftly shot. The thunder-like boom of the Death Penalty rang in the air immediately and the man collapsed to the ground, red mixing into blue.
Vincent lowered his weapon. Yuffie looked up. The blood on her lip had dried, but a large scar was there and it would probably remain. She smiled softly and rose to her feet.
"He's a Turk..." she said, looking down at the bloody mess on the ground. "I'm sorry." She glanced back at her friends.
Vincent looked at her for a moment, then turned away immediately. "It's not your fault. He deserved what he got, the ShinRa is dead for good now." Vincent turned, his cape flying behind him. In a state of akwardness, he left the inn. Cloud and Yuffie followed, staying behind.
"So, the rest of us will stay at the Highwind?" Yuffie asked. Cloud nodded. He was still shaken up from what just happened, but they all were. The three walked into the planetarium. Everyone was asleep.
"Vincent and I will go sleep on the Highwind. Take the last bed." Yuffie nodded at Cloud's orders and watched the two as they headed out. Once they were a distance from the planetarium, she walked into the small bathroom and stared at her face in the mirror.
The scar was there. It hurt when she received it, but now... Yuffie didn't care any more. She ran a finger over the dried garnet blood and tried to scratch it off. As that proved useless, Yuffie leaned toward the sink and turning on the water, ran it over her lips. Once her face was clean, she looked at her reflection again.
Yuffie suddenly liked the scar. It made her look beautiful... At least pretty. With her stormy silver-grey eyes, the scar made her appear ferocious. As if she had trained hard and it was a battle wound. Yuffie ran her finger over it one last time, and then walked back to the mini-inn. She collapsed onto the remaining bed and stared up at the crumbling ceiling as thoughts streamed into her mind.
'Why... Why did Vincent come in first? So many things could have happened. Maybe Cloud told him to run ahead. Or maybe Vincent just heard me first. And maybe...' Yuffie smiled. A feeling of being protected, being...loved overcame her. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.
~*~
"What happened back there?" Cloud asked, his moody gaze meeting with Vincent's dark one.
"Yuffie was about to get hurt. So I stepped in and helped her fight." Vincent looked back at Cloud. No, he glared. 'Why does he care?' Vincent thought, keeping his eyes straight.
Cloud continued to walk through the dark, silent field. It was too gloomy, even for a person like him. Cloud glanced back at Vincent. "I mean, why did you want to save her all of a sudden?"
Vincent kept silent. He shifted his eyes to the path ahead, hoping that Cloud would just drop the subject. He himself didn't know why emotions suddenly ran to his head. And he definitely didn't feel like explaining anything to Cloud.
Cloud didn't say anything else. He wanted to burst out laughing, but when you're laughing at a guy with a gun called the 'Death Penalty', there's a small chance of getting hurt.
~*~
CRASH! A sudden noise startled Tifa out of her sleep. Her eyes flew open and she pushed herself up out of the bed. Her red irises darted around, searching for the source of the sound.
Tifa's gaze landed on a knocked over chair in the corner and Cid's figure standing over it. He cursed softly and kicked at the chair.
"What happened?" Tifa whispered.
"I sorta ran into this chair. I was just heading over to the Highwind, since Shera tosses too much." Cid turned and headed for the door, another string of curses following.
"You can take my bed. I don't mind," Tifa called after him. She stood up. Cid flashed her a grin and said his thanks as Tifa walked outside.
The sky was completely black, like a neverending void. Stars were scattered out like grains of sand. Tifa headed for the outskirts of the city. She walked through the silent field, keeping her eyes focused on the Highwind in the distance.
Tonight, the stars weren't glowing. Tifa noticed that they would usually shine a light green and make the sky much cheerier. But tonight... Something bad would happen. Tifa shivered and started to run. Pat, pat, pat. Her boots lifted dust around her and small storms erupted. All that mattered was getting to the airship.
A feeling overcame Tifa, as if something was behind her. She sprinted forward. More dust flew about. Tifa thanked her years of training as her long, steady legs flew toward the Highwind. She made it over and quickly climbed the ladder, tying it up securely.
Tifa then realized that the ladder was down when she reached the Highwind. 'Some of the party members must have gone up here to sleep,' Tifa thought, 'But why? Shouldn't the inn be open?' Tifa walked across the deck and headed toward the room that she and Yuffie shared. She lay down on her bed and relaxed. The sheets were cold, yet soft. Tifa fluffed up her pillow and giggled softly as a flurry of feathers surrounded her. She reached down to the floor to pick up some of the mess. And she noticed it. The photo.
"How did this get here?" Tifa murmured as she picked it up. It was an old, partly torn photo that was taken a year ago. Nearly everyone was shown in it, before the Gold Saucer. Even Aeris was in it. It was the first night that they had all been there together. A tear slipped from the corner of Tifa's eye as she remembered that night...
~*~
"Here, let me take a photo of you all!" Yuffie called. She grinned mischievously and held up the cheap camera she bought at one of the machines.
"Get into the photo," Aeris teased, "You have to be tortured just like we do!"
"But who will take the photo if I'm in it?" Yuffie whined. Someone tore the camera from her hands. That prized 2 Gil camera, that she bought with her own hard-earned money. Someone just grabbed away from her! Yuffie turned to hit whomever was stealing her cheap junk and ended up with a face full of black leather.
"I don't mind taking the photo," Vincent said, his cold tone annoying the hell out of Yuffie. She fumed but turned and stomped over to the rest of the group. Vincent fumbled with the camera and held it up. A single white flash lingered for a second, exactly the kind you'd get from a 2 Gil camera.
The photo turned out portraying everyone in the way they were usually posed. Cid with a cigar in his mouth, Barret just standing there, his gun raised, Yuffie giving someone bunny ears--it was Aeris in this case, Red XIII lying on the ground with his head resting on crossed arms, Cloud leaning on the wall with a frown on his face, Aeris hovering over his shoulder and smiling that way-too-perfect smile, and Tifa... Tifa stood behind them all, a weak smile on her face, hardly showing up in the photo. As usual.
"Okay, let's get going." Cloud stomped off before anyone could annoy his ass off. Before Yuffie could annoy his ass off, to be precise.
~*~
Tifa smiled. It was a faint memory, but she loved that moment. Mainly because she was hardly in the photo. She wouldn't have kept it if she was the center of attention. Tifa loved the way that you could only see her soft red eyes shining in the background, nothing more. Everyone else was more important. More beautiful. Simply put, better than her. They deserved more. So of course, they were featured in the photo. And not her.
Tifa placed the photo into its original spot, inside her dresser, buried under mounds of clothes so no one could find it. Tifa picked up the feathers that had previously flown from her bed and gathered them on top of the dresser. As she closed her eyes to sleep, her other senses came into focus. Footsteps.
Tifa's eyes flew open. Now she couldn't hear them... Again she closed her eyes and the faint sound of footsteps came back. She kept her eyes shut tight and pulled her covers over her head. Whoever it was... It wasn't one of her friends. She could sense someone new.
~*~
Please review!! The more reviews I get, the faster the next chapter will come!! ^^