Author's Note:
Well, crap. I haven't had the chance to edit the previous chapters yet. Maybe tomorrow. We'll have to see. In the mean time, I appear to have shot myself directly in the foot, blowing away several of my own toes. The problem being, I need about a week to pass by in the story, and I have no desire to do another chapter where nothing but time floats by.
So I got stuck with doing this. I thought I had finally gotten rid of her, but...
Yuffie: Most men would appreciate having a hot babe like me around!
Tyramir: Oh please. Go be jail bait somewhere else. I hated your character, but I'm stuck with you, so get to work, hoochie!
Yuffie: Oh gawd! Do I have to say the disclaimer, too?
Tyramir: Yes!
Yuffie: Tyramir doesn't own the rights to Final Fantasy.
::a swarm of fan girls jump Yuffie::
Reno: What the hell??
Reeve: ... I have to agree with the dimwit here. What the hell just happened?
Yuffie: Someone save me!
Reno: Gotta admit, the way those girls are groping her, it's kind of hot.
Yuffie: Can we please get on with the story?!
Chapter Twenty Eight
The First Tear
"I'm bored!" Yuffie yelled, throwing her full sixteen years behind the cry.
Godo sighed and wondered when puberty would banish his daughter's adoloscence and bring on something resembling maturity and wisdom. She was like a typical teenager, only more so. Her obsessive hunt for Materia and compulsive need to steal drove him to distraction. He didn't even understand why. Materia was rare, but not terribly important to making life in Wutai easier. And as for stealing? She had everything she could ever want. Why would she want to take the possessions of others?
And this behaviour of hers around the Pagoda was odd. She constantly complained of her boredom and lack of things to do in Wutai and how she missed Cloud and the others, but when asked, she insisted that hanging around with Avalanche was even more boring.
His daughter always confused him so. She was such a creature of whim, so unlike himself. She so rarely thought of the consequences of her actions, save the benefits for her.
"Daughter," Godo began, "maybe if you returned to your--"
"No! Cloud and the others are too boring. They don't need a hot babe with my skills to help them. They're too busy helping some dirty refugees to have adventures right now."
Godo half-smiled. So unpredictable were her temper tantrums, yet at the same time, consistent. She would long for adventures with Avalanche, and then immediately resent her former companions for their steadfast heroics in helping the refugees of Midgar.
"Train, Yuffie. Keep in peek condition, and then when the time comes, you will be ready for your adventure."
Yuffie groaned loudly, but a look from him silenced her. He turned away and left the training room. She would find her own way, but she would have to do it on her own. But he so wanted to help her find her path.
Godo wandered the hallways of his home, lost in his own thoughts. Worries of Yuffie, his daughter, memories of his dead wife, thoughts of what to do with Wutai now. And worse. Fear of Shinra.
Whispers from the east told of the tale of Rufus of Shinra, and his quest to rebuild his ... Empire. The word made Godo shudder. Once before had he himself used that word, when he had helped start a war that had depopulated most of the planet and made Shinra a power in the first place.
Soon, Shinra would arise anew, and Godo would not be able to stop that. He hoped that his daughter, brave and full of spirit that she was, would be able to rise up against it, but her flightiness hampered that greatly. She was just as likely to go off hunting Materia than to lead a revolution against a corporate giant that would swallow the world with its mouth filled of promise-coated teeth and money-soaked tongue.
He found himself in his wife's shrine, and held back a choked sob. He hadn't meant to come here. He hadn't been here in years. Not even to devote flowers to her memory. He had been too ashamed, too embarrassed. He had caused the war that had killed her. And so it was with great shame that he had kept her ashes in this room, never to visit them himself.
The room was mostly plain, and undecorated. It had a simple red carpet covering the floor, and an altar with a small urn stood at the back of the area. Flowers decorated the room and altar from the times that Yuffie had come to remember and mourn. And there, hanging above the monument to his wife, was his sword, the original.
It was one of two, but many sword-smiths in Wutai and oddly enough, Gold Saucer, had tried to mimic the brilliant craftsmanship, even to the point of copying the name of the blades. The sword was a long, slightly curved blade, a remarkable silver with a perfectly keen edge. No steel blade could hope to be like it at all. Only one sword even remotely resembled the perfection of this blade. Only one that could be called equal.
Murasame, the true Murasame, was at one point the pride of Godo's life. A perfectly forged Materia blade, made of hardened Mako, hammered with both steel, spirit, and magic. It had taken years to make, and had been used for years in battle, becoming the perfect weapon. Only Masamune rivaled it, the silver sword of Sephiroth, more than likely now lost.
This sword was a joke now. With it, Godo had thought himself invincible, and by extension, Wutai. So arrogantly he had tried to create his own Empire, just as Rufus Shinra was now doing. Now it sat collecting dust, waiting to be forgotten.
Better it happen that way.
But something didn't seem right. A threat loomed in the east, a threat so much like the one he had been once before. And perhaps, just maybe...
Godo's eyes widened and he blinked away the tears that were beginning to form. Perhaps his life's shame would not be a waste. Perhaps it could still do good, live up to his old hopes. Without even really thinking, Godo raced across the room and grabbed the blade, then turned and ran back to find Yuffie.
Surprisingly, she was still in the training room, and even more odd, she was actually training! She was practicing a set of jumps and tumbles when he interrupted her.
"Yuffie! I have a mission for you!"
She stopped, appearing grateful for the break. "What's up, Dad?"
"You will take this blade, my Murasame, and deliver it to a warrior of worth. A champion. One who has the power to save the world from the new threat, the terror of Shinra."
Yuffie seemed to preen under the speech. "Well, thanks, Dad, but I don't think I can use that blade..."
"Deliver it, Yuffie! Find a champion! Listen to me. I love you dearly, but this sword is not for you. You know who this blade is for. Find him, and give it to him. I hope it will serve him well."
Yuffie seemed on the verge of making another comment, but instead she nodded, and reached for the blade.
"I'll do it, Dad. I know just who to give it to."
As Yuffie turned to leave with the sword, a tear rolled down Godo's cheek. He recognized events from his own past. This would end in blood and fire.
Author's Note:
Yeah, it's pretty obvious who's gonna get Murasame.
I hated writing this chapter. I hated almost every moment of it. I forced myself to do this. Ug. Next up will be Cloud. That I'll be willing to write.
Well, crap. I haven't had the chance to edit the previous chapters yet. Maybe tomorrow. We'll have to see. In the mean time, I appear to have shot myself directly in the foot, blowing away several of my own toes. The problem being, I need about a week to pass by in the story, and I have no desire to do another chapter where nothing but time floats by.
So I got stuck with doing this. I thought I had finally gotten rid of her, but...
Yuffie: Most men would appreciate having a hot babe like me around!
Tyramir: Oh please. Go be jail bait somewhere else. I hated your character, but I'm stuck with you, so get to work, hoochie!
Yuffie: Oh gawd! Do I have to say the disclaimer, too?
Tyramir: Yes!
Yuffie: Tyramir doesn't own the rights to Final Fantasy.
::a swarm of fan girls jump Yuffie::
Reno: What the hell??
Reeve: ... I have to agree with the dimwit here. What the hell just happened?
Yuffie: Someone save me!
Reno: Gotta admit, the way those girls are groping her, it's kind of hot.
Yuffie: Can we please get on with the story?!
Chapter Twenty Eight
The First Tear
"I'm bored!" Yuffie yelled, throwing her full sixteen years behind the cry.
Godo sighed and wondered when puberty would banish his daughter's adoloscence and bring on something resembling maturity and wisdom. She was like a typical teenager, only more so. Her obsessive hunt for Materia and compulsive need to steal drove him to distraction. He didn't even understand why. Materia was rare, but not terribly important to making life in Wutai easier. And as for stealing? She had everything she could ever want. Why would she want to take the possessions of others?
And this behaviour of hers around the Pagoda was odd. She constantly complained of her boredom and lack of things to do in Wutai and how she missed Cloud and the others, but when asked, she insisted that hanging around with Avalanche was even more boring.
His daughter always confused him so. She was such a creature of whim, so unlike himself. She so rarely thought of the consequences of her actions, save the benefits for her.
"Daughter," Godo began, "maybe if you returned to your--"
"No! Cloud and the others are too boring. They don't need a hot babe with my skills to help them. They're too busy helping some dirty refugees to have adventures right now."
Godo half-smiled. So unpredictable were her temper tantrums, yet at the same time, consistent. She would long for adventures with Avalanche, and then immediately resent her former companions for their steadfast heroics in helping the refugees of Midgar.
"Train, Yuffie. Keep in peek condition, and then when the time comes, you will be ready for your adventure."
Yuffie groaned loudly, but a look from him silenced her. He turned away and left the training room. She would find her own way, but she would have to do it on her own. But he so wanted to help her find her path.
Godo wandered the hallways of his home, lost in his own thoughts. Worries of Yuffie, his daughter, memories of his dead wife, thoughts of what to do with Wutai now. And worse. Fear of Shinra.
Whispers from the east told of the tale of Rufus of Shinra, and his quest to rebuild his ... Empire. The word made Godo shudder. Once before had he himself used that word, when he had helped start a war that had depopulated most of the planet and made Shinra a power in the first place.
Soon, Shinra would arise anew, and Godo would not be able to stop that. He hoped that his daughter, brave and full of spirit that she was, would be able to rise up against it, but her flightiness hampered that greatly. She was just as likely to go off hunting Materia than to lead a revolution against a corporate giant that would swallow the world with its mouth filled of promise-coated teeth and money-soaked tongue.
He found himself in his wife's shrine, and held back a choked sob. He hadn't meant to come here. He hadn't been here in years. Not even to devote flowers to her memory. He had been too ashamed, too embarrassed. He had caused the war that had killed her. And so it was with great shame that he had kept her ashes in this room, never to visit them himself.
The room was mostly plain, and undecorated. It had a simple red carpet covering the floor, and an altar with a small urn stood at the back of the area. Flowers decorated the room and altar from the times that Yuffie had come to remember and mourn. And there, hanging above the monument to his wife, was his sword, the original.
It was one of two, but many sword-smiths in Wutai and oddly enough, Gold Saucer, had tried to mimic the brilliant craftsmanship, even to the point of copying the name of the blades. The sword was a long, slightly curved blade, a remarkable silver with a perfectly keen edge. No steel blade could hope to be like it at all. Only one sword even remotely resembled the perfection of this blade. Only one that could be called equal.
Murasame, the true Murasame, was at one point the pride of Godo's life. A perfectly forged Materia blade, made of hardened Mako, hammered with both steel, spirit, and magic. It had taken years to make, and had been used for years in battle, becoming the perfect weapon. Only Masamune rivaled it, the silver sword of Sephiroth, more than likely now lost.
This sword was a joke now. With it, Godo had thought himself invincible, and by extension, Wutai. So arrogantly he had tried to create his own Empire, just as Rufus Shinra was now doing. Now it sat collecting dust, waiting to be forgotten.
Better it happen that way.
But something didn't seem right. A threat loomed in the east, a threat so much like the one he had been once before. And perhaps, just maybe...
Godo's eyes widened and he blinked away the tears that were beginning to form. Perhaps his life's shame would not be a waste. Perhaps it could still do good, live up to his old hopes. Without even really thinking, Godo raced across the room and grabbed the blade, then turned and ran back to find Yuffie.
Surprisingly, she was still in the training room, and even more odd, she was actually training! She was practicing a set of jumps and tumbles when he interrupted her.
"Yuffie! I have a mission for you!"
She stopped, appearing grateful for the break. "What's up, Dad?"
"You will take this blade, my Murasame, and deliver it to a warrior of worth. A champion. One who has the power to save the world from the new threat, the terror of Shinra."
Yuffie seemed to preen under the speech. "Well, thanks, Dad, but I don't think I can use that blade..."
"Deliver it, Yuffie! Find a champion! Listen to me. I love you dearly, but this sword is not for you. You know who this blade is for. Find him, and give it to him. I hope it will serve him well."
Yuffie seemed on the verge of making another comment, but instead she nodded, and reached for the blade.
"I'll do it, Dad. I know just who to give it to."
As Yuffie turned to leave with the sword, a tear rolled down Godo's cheek. He recognized events from his own past. This would end in blood and fire.
Author's Note:
Yeah, it's pretty obvious who's gonna get Murasame.
I hated writing this chapter. I hated almost every moment of it. I forced myself to do this. Ug. Next up will be Cloud. That I'll be willing to write.