Of Thorns and Roses
By Lost Mercenary

Note: Finally, the fifth chapter. I know, I know, you're all probably pissed off with me for taking so damn long, but never fear, Mercenary's here. And now I present to you "Of Thorns and Roses" chapter 5. Enjoy!

Taking her Shrukin in hand Yuffie prepared herself for the battle that was immediately in front of her. Despite being outnumbered and clearly outmatched she knew that she had to do this in order to prove something to herself, and her father of all people.

Surrounding her must have been at least 15 ninjas all with Katana blades at the ready. She could see the determination that filled their eyes. They glistened so brightly that it almost made them appear to have been infused with mako. They each gave her a stare that was similar to the one Cloud gave her when she stole the party's Materia. But no matter how they looked at her, she knew deep down they had a sense of fear within them. I mean they were going up against Wutai's finest (and youngest) ninja. They may have numbers in their favour but in terms of skill, that was an almost a different matter entirely.

Yuffie knew that none of them were going to dare make the first move, these guys weren't stupid. They could wait all day, all week for that matter, and they wouldn't budge. It was because of some ancient technique that was taught to all ninjas. "If you see where and what your opponent is going to attack then you will always know where and how to defend it." Yuffie had never listened to this teaching, thinking it was for old fogies, and she would always draw first blood. More like a soldier than a ninja.

The Shrukin flew out of her hand with great speed and soared straight for its target. Like all the other ninjas, he was prepared in case the first strike was aimed at him. He raised his Katana and managed to deflect Yuffie's incoming weapon but it came very close to getting him if he had made his move only an extra second later.

"Let's dance." Said Yuffie.

She quickly recovered her Shrukin and got ready to defend. Two ninjas came at Yuffie from both her flanks, but as their Katanas swung through the air to strike the young ninja all they met was her weapon. With great speed and agility the blades were deflected away which left both of the opposing ninjas open to an attack. Taking the immediate advantage, Yuffie hurled herself at the one to her left, and struck him with a kick to the chest. While still in mid-air she used the thrust of this move to deflect herself off the now falling opponent, twist round and kick the other ninja in the head with a massive blow. Yuffie landed the same time he hit the ground.

All the other 13 ninjas did their best to ignore those eventful few seconds and everyone of them came at Yuffie with tremendous speed.

"Aw, the rest of you want to play?" said Yuffie in a childish menacing way.

She smiled even as the long sharp blades came swinging towards her. Using the Armlets on her wrists and her Shrukin in hand Yuffie blocked, defended or counter attacked all of the Katanas that came towards her. If it wasn't for her speed and expertise at Martial Arts this battle would already be finished. A ninja tried to swing for her legs but she jumped over it with ease and slashed the attackers arm in the process, leaving a trail of blood wherever he now went. Another hurled himself at her but missed, as she ducked just in time. That ninja landed on several other ones that were now on the ground, but were already regaining their composure. Yuffie dodged a blade that was coming in on a stabbing motion, which was heading right for her chest. She grabbed the sword, put herself in line with it and elbowed the wilder of it in the face, which sent him to the ground with a nosebleed that didn't seem to stop gushing.

There was a brief pause in the fighting, just long enough to let Yuffie think.

Is this all they've got? I was expecting much more.

Yuffie had always liked a good challenge. After the war against Shinra and the battle with Sephiroth, this seemed like a walk in the park to her. If she was ever gonna lose a fight in her life it was sure as hell weren't going to be because of these guys. But these ninja's wanted to prove her wrong and she more than welcomed them to try.

Bring it on.

She thought to herself, just as the remaining opponents regrouped themselves, preparing for another attack.
"That was pathetic."

The cold harsh voice of Godo boomed into the large training room, which was now littered with unconscious or otherwise injured ninjas, thanks to Yuffies handiwork.

"You lot reckon you have the right to bear the name Wutai ninja when you can't even beat my daughter? There were fifteen of you for God's sake!" Godo kept bellowing at his trainees telling them to get themselves off the ground and get their injuries sorted at the clinic. If he'd been a member of SOLDIER Godo would have made a great general. He had the right kind of voice for it. Yuffie knew that from experience with the constant arguments and fallouts that have had during he years.

"Come on, give 'em a break dad!" Interrupted Yuffie. "They are new to the military after all. They just got out of basic."

"Hey! I don't need you to tell me how to train my men!" he snapped back.

Yuffie gave off a sarcastic laugh. "You? You train them? You have gotta be kiddin. I'm the one that has to fight them all the time. All you do is just sit on your ass and watch! Sometimes I think that's all you're good for!"

"Why you little..."

"Oh shit. Here we go again."

Godo ran after his daughter, chasing her around the gymnasium sized training room determined to put his smart-ass girl in her place. Yuffie never did have much respect for authority and always had a knack for breaking, or just plain spitting on ancient Wutai tradition and that was what annoyed him the most. In instances like now he would more or less lose it with Yuffie and start chasing her and throwing things as well. He didn't do this just to try and put Yuffie in her place, but it also showed the men that if they crossed him they would have to go through this. Godo gave up after a few minutes and decided not to bother chasing his daughter anymore.

Give her a little time, he told himself. Soon she might respect you.

Now, Godo had to get these new recruits for Wutai's Army trained and ready. But first he'd have to let them recover after their little "session" with Yuffie.

Yuffie was breathing heavily, as she stood outside the Training centre with her hands on her knees, trying to regain her composure.

"Damn, for an old fat guy he sure can run fast." She said to herself.

It was now nighttime in Wutai. Besides a few of the military, most of the citizens were asleep. She liked it when it was like this. Peaceful and calm, which was kind of the complete opposite of Yuffie. A few members of the military who were chatting during the night watch only broke the quiet but Yuffie didn't mind as long as they weren't shouting. Wutai's military was more or less fresh out of the cradle and had only been around for a couple of years. Ever since the fall of Shinra Wutai had the chance to thrive again, and they weren't going to let this chance slip. Yuffie came up with the idea for a new army almost right after Meteor. She had known that the other major towns like Junon and Cosmo Canyon would try to fill the power gap but thankfully with her being so hasty Wutai was one of the first to fill it. Wutai was strong again, no longer oppressed by the Shinra, no longer some crappy resort town, Wutai was a major power.

Hopefully, there strength would not need to be tested again. The last thing they needed was another war.

"Yuffie!"

The yell had made her lose her train of thought. Despite being annoyed about it she turned round to acknowledge that she had heard whoever had spoken her name. She saw a young ninja, about 15 years old, running towards her. By the way he was running it must have been pretty urgent whatever he had to say.

"What is it, kid?"

"Well, eh, apparently there was meant to be a supply convoy in this morning but it hasn't shown up all day." He said with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"And what has that got to do with me?" she replied, sounding a bit harsh.

"Um, you're father decided for you to lead the team that has to find them."

That bastard! She yelled in her head. If chasing me around the training centre wasn't enough! He has to send me off to find some idiots that have gone and gotten lost in the mountains!

Despite it being a right pain in the ass, Godo was head of Wutai and what he said, goes. He was her Superior and she had to follow orders, whether she liked them or not.

"Fine! Let's go!" She said to the boy.

She assembled a small unit of ninja's together, there weren't that many since it was the night shift and all, but it would have to do. They brought their Chocobos out of the barns and mounted themselves onto them.

"Alright, you've all been told the mission. Let's go find that convoy, give them directions, and tell them to fuck off when they are delivering their goods."

They was a quiet shared laugh amongst the men. Yuffie smiled at this. It was good to see some humour among the troops, even during a crappy mission like this.

And with that thought she led them out of Wutai and into the night.
And there you have it. Chapter 5 is done and done. Good old Yuffie, I'll never get tired of that girl and the nightmares she causes.

Chapter 6 will be up as soon as I finish writing it.

Please R&R.