Chapter II
"You sure you're gonna be fine, Yuff?" Cloud said to the young girl as they looked to the ground from the dock of the Highwind, his Mako blue eyes filled with concern.
The teenager laughed, pulling back the few strands of black hair that had made their way over her eyes. "Stop acting like a grandpa. I'll be fine." The pagoda of Wutai could be seen in the distance as the massive airship approached and landed outside the oriental city shortly after. "Bye, guys!" She yelled, waving her hands in the air as she leaped off of the departure bridge. The gang gathered as she ran off, returning her waves and shouting out to her.
"Yuffie . . . "
"Yeah?" She asked as she turned around to see Cloud running up to her. "Aw, crap . . . " She thought to herself, scratching her head with nervousness, "he figured it out . . . "
The spiky blonde stopped a few feet away from her, and scratched his head with nervousness. "I'm not good with these sorts of things, but . . . "
"Spit it out, dork. I ain't got all day." She blurted out bluntly, placing her hands on her hip. "Okay, Yuff," She said to herself, "you can do this. If he tries to grab ya, just run. Simple as that . . . right?"
"...Thanks . . . "
Yuffie's eyes became wide as she flinched with surprise. "T-That's it?!" She quickly reassembled herself, shaking off the surprise. "I mean . . . oh, no problem! Had loads of fun." She replied with that obnoxious tone of hers. "Well, gotta go!" Before he could say anything else, she had already disappeared within her homeland, laughing to herself as she watched Cloud from behind her with brightly-colored rocks in the materia slots on his belt.
Cloud laughed to himself. "See you around, then."
"Not much has changed . . . " Yuffie said to herself as she looked around the all too familiar town of her birth. She would have never seen herself coming back here, but she had sworn to herself that if she survived the Meteor Crisis then she would return. As much as she hated to, she kept her promise and held her head high as she walked up the steps to the pagoda.
One of the servants of the oriental temple had been sweeping the flower petals from the cobblestone walkway, and immediately noticed the daughter of Master Godo when she had approached so suddenly. "Lady Kisaragi?" The servant asked as he immediately bowed down to her.
"Yo." She replied, popping the bubble gum that she had picked off of Cloud only hours before. "Don't bow. It gets on my nerves."
The servant quickly raised his body. "Lady Kisaragi, I'm sure your father will be thrilled to see you. Please, allow me to guide you . . . "
"I know my way around!" She shouted with an aggravated tone in her voice. Huffing with annoyance, she marched into the pagoda to the top floor, but not before calming herself down before presenting herself to her father. After she had pricked at her hair, stretched all the creases out of her clothing and retied her shoes, she walked into the fifth and final floor of the temple. "Long time no see, dad." The wise leader had his back turned to his daughter, and said nothing upon her sudden statement. "Look. I'm sorry I ran off . . . again . . . " Still, he gave no response, causing her to lower her head in shame.
She suddenly heard the sound of steel as it cut through wood, causing her to look up. She dropped her mouth in surprise to find that one of her fathers' many swords had been thrown only inches away from her, and now was lodged in the wall. "Such an ungrateful girl . . . " He said as he walked toward her. She tried to speak, but she could not find the words to say. Before she could run, he grabbed her wrist.
"D-dad, you're hurting me! Stop!" She yelled as she tried to run from him. Her efforts were in vein; the man before her was very obviously more powerful than she. There was nowhere to run, and she found herself staring into his eyes . . . those kind, yet firm eyes were now replaced with ones filled with nothing but hate, and now hinted a glint of crimson.
"Such an ungrateful girl should be punished at once." Godo muttered as he threw her to the ground. Her body hit the hardwood floor like a rock, and she lost her breath upon impact. Without hesitation, the man unsheathed the second blade from his belt and held it above his daughter. Turning it upside down, he raised it, then quickly thrust it downwards in an attempt to stab her.
The agile girl easily rolled out of the way of danger and grabbed the shruken that was strapped to her back securely, then brought it in front of her in a defensive stance. "Who are you!" She demanded as she narrowed her eyes in distress. The man said nothing as he walked toward her with his blade held high. "I won't ask again; who are you!"
He took another massive swing toward her shoulder, which was easily countered. She stared once again into her father's face as their weapons collided. A tear ran down her face as she realized that there was only one way out of this situation. Shoving the shruken forward, she broke the collision of their weapons and threw her father off balance. Then, with one final breath, she ran past him in a blinding flash and watched out of the corner of her eye as the man lost the grip of his blade, and then fell to the ground.
"Father!" She yelled aloud as she dropped her own weapon, and then rolled the older man onto his back so that his head rested in her lap.
His eyes had returned to black; suddenly the kind, gentle eyes that she once knew returned for a brief instant. Though he could not speak, a gentle smile came over his face as he raised his hand, and was then embraced by his daughter's. The strength in his arm quickly deteriorated as his eyes closed, and his head became limp. The leader of Wutai had died.
"Father . . . "
"Father!" She yelled as she raised her upper body out of the bed to find herself in a cold sweat. She breathed heavily as she realized that she had only dreamed it. She sighed with distress. If only it was just a dream. Since that day, she had distanced herself from Wutai, and refused to ever go back there. After all, she couldn't. Though she later had found out that it was the toxin of the Star Scar syndrome that her father had been poisoned by, the people of Wutai did not know such things. In her heart, she knew that they would never be able to trust her the same way again. It was now well past midnight, but she couldn't sleep. The same dream had been haunting her for quite some time now, even though the events contained in it had taken place nearly five years ago. With many things troubling her, she slid out of bed, dressed herself, and packed her belongings. Before leaving, she looked at herself in the full length mirror. Where once stood a scrawny, immature girl now stood a very tall and powerful woman. She wore a custom-made outfit that resembled the one she once wore, but now she now was dressed in all black. A large sleeve was draped over her left arm, and a pair of one-leg chaps covered her right leg "I don't even know who you are any more..." She whispered to the reflection, then quickly turned away, picked up her suitcase, and left.
"You sure you're gonna be fine, Yuff?" Cloud said to the young girl as they looked to the ground from the dock of the Highwind, his Mako blue eyes filled with concern.
The teenager laughed, pulling back the few strands of black hair that had made their way over her eyes. "Stop acting like a grandpa. I'll be fine." The pagoda of Wutai could be seen in the distance as the massive airship approached and landed outside the oriental city shortly after. "Bye, guys!" She yelled, waving her hands in the air as she leaped off of the departure bridge. The gang gathered as she ran off, returning her waves and shouting out to her.
"Yuffie . . . "
"Yeah?" She asked as she turned around to see Cloud running up to her. "Aw, crap . . . " She thought to herself, scratching her head with nervousness, "he figured it out . . . "
The spiky blonde stopped a few feet away from her, and scratched his head with nervousness. "I'm not good with these sorts of things, but . . . "
"Spit it out, dork. I ain't got all day." She blurted out bluntly, placing her hands on her hip. "Okay, Yuff," She said to herself, "you can do this. If he tries to grab ya, just run. Simple as that . . . right?"
"...Thanks . . . "
Yuffie's eyes became wide as she flinched with surprise. "T-That's it?!" She quickly reassembled herself, shaking off the surprise. "I mean . . . oh, no problem! Had loads of fun." She replied with that obnoxious tone of hers. "Well, gotta go!" Before he could say anything else, she had already disappeared within her homeland, laughing to herself as she watched Cloud from behind her with brightly-colored rocks in the materia slots on his belt.
Cloud laughed to himself. "See you around, then."
"Not much has changed . . . " Yuffie said to herself as she looked around the all too familiar town of her birth. She would have never seen herself coming back here, but she had sworn to herself that if she survived the Meteor Crisis then she would return. As much as she hated to, she kept her promise and held her head high as she walked up the steps to the pagoda.
One of the servants of the oriental temple had been sweeping the flower petals from the cobblestone walkway, and immediately noticed the daughter of Master Godo when she had approached so suddenly. "Lady Kisaragi?" The servant asked as he immediately bowed down to her.
"Yo." She replied, popping the bubble gum that she had picked off of Cloud only hours before. "Don't bow. It gets on my nerves."
The servant quickly raised his body. "Lady Kisaragi, I'm sure your father will be thrilled to see you. Please, allow me to guide you . . . "
"I know my way around!" She shouted with an aggravated tone in her voice. Huffing with annoyance, she marched into the pagoda to the top floor, but not before calming herself down before presenting herself to her father. After she had pricked at her hair, stretched all the creases out of her clothing and retied her shoes, she walked into the fifth and final floor of the temple. "Long time no see, dad." The wise leader had his back turned to his daughter, and said nothing upon her sudden statement. "Look. I'm sorry I ran off . . . again . . . " Still, he gave no response, causing her to lower her head in shame.
She suddenly heard the sound of steel as it cut through wood, causing her to look up. She dropped her mouth in surprise to find that one of her fathers' many swords had been thrown only inches away from her, and now was lodged in the wall. "Such an ungrateful girl . . . " He said as he walked toward her. She tried to speak, but she could not find the words to say. Before she could run, he grabbed her wrist.
"D-dad, you're hurting me! Stop!" She yelled as she tried to run from him. Her efforts were in vein; the man before her was very obviously more powerful than she. There was nowhere to run, and she found herself staring into his eyes . . . those kind, yet firm eyes were now replaced with ones filled with nothing but hate, and now hinted a glint of crimson.
"Such an ungrateful girl should be punished at once." Godo muttered as he threw her to the ground. Her body hit the hardwood floor like a rock, and she lost her breath upon impact. Without hesitation, the man unsheathed the second blade from his belt and held it above his daughter. Turning it upside down, he raised it, then quickly thrust it downwards in an attempt to stab her.
The agile girl easily rolled out of the way of danger and grabbed the shruken that was strapped to her back securely, then brought it in front of her in a defensive stance. "Who are you!" She demanded as she narrowed her eyes in distress. The man said nothing as he walked toward her with his blade held high. "I won't ask again; who are you!"
He took another massive swing toward her shoulder, which was easily countered. She stared once again into her father's face as their weapons collided. A tear ran down her face as she realized that there was only one way out of this situation. Shoving the shruken forward, she broke the collision of their weapons and threw her father off balance. Then, with one final breath, she ran past him in a blinding flash and watched out of the corner of her eye as the man lost the grip of his blade, and then fell to the ground.
"Father!" She yelled aloud as she dropped her own weapon, and then rolled the older man onto his back so that his head rested in her lap.
His eyes had returned to black; suddenly the kind, gentle eyes that she once knew returned for a brief instant. Though he could not speak, a gentle smile came over his face as he raised his hand, and was then embraced by his daughter's. The strength in his arm quickly deteriorated as his eyes closed, and his head became limp. The leader of Wutai had died.
"Father . . . "
"Father!" She yelled as she raised her upper body out of the bed to find herself in a cold sweat. She breathed heavily as she realized that she had only dreamed it. She sighed with distress. If only it was just a dream. Since that day, she had distanced herself from Wutai, and refused to ever go back there. After all, she couldn't. Though she later had found out that it was the toxin of the Star Scar syndrome that her father had been poisoned by, the people of Wutai did not know such things. In her heart, she knew that they would never be able to trust her the same way again. It was now well past midnight, but she couldn't sleep. The same dream had been haunting her for quite some time now, even though the events contained in it had taken place nearly five years ago. With many things troubling her, she slid out of bed, dressed herself, and packed her belongings. Before leaving, she looked at herself in the full length mirror. Where once stood a scrawny, immature girl now stood a very tall and powerful woman. She wore a custom-made outfit that resembled the one she once wore, but now she now was dressed in all black. A large sleeve was draped over her left arm, and a pair of one-leg chaps covered her right leg "I don't even know who you are any more..." She whispered to the reflection, then quickly turned away, picked up her suitcase, and left.