Author's Note: I just can't stay away from this story. I guess because the end is nearing and I always get like this when I'm trying to tie up all the loose ends in a story. Anyways, on with the show.

Note to Annjikika: YOU'RE BACK!!!! :::hugs until annjiriika turns blue::: hehe... sorry, I just missed you. And thank you for reviewing my other story, too.

[Disclaimer: I'm asking Santa to put Squall under my tree this year with a big red bow on him. That seems to be the only way I'll get him because Square still owns him, along with all the other characters in this story. Well, Disney might own a few of them. I don't really know.]

Chapter Nineteen: Flight of the Butterfly

Two days. It had been two days since his world was turned upside down and thrown into the blender. It had been two days since the ninja left, leaving him alone in that bleak hotel room with no one but Aerith to keep him company. And for those two days, he could do nothing but think about her and devise a plan to find her, if only the flower girl would let him go. But, she had insisted that he wait until he could easily read the displays in his Gummi ship. So, he spent two painfully long days pacing the room and waiting for his eyesight to return to normal.

It did. In the middle of his second night of being unable to sleep in his empty bed, Squall noticed that his vision had cleared considerably. And as soon as it did, he jumped out of his bed, grabbed the duffel bag he had packed the day she left, and was gone without so much as a goodbye or a note to Aerith informing her where he had gone. She would know.

The Traverse Town night was darker than normal as the large, bright moon wasn't visible in the night sky. Squall had to rely upon the dimly lit street lamps to find his way. Of course, he still had a mental map of the town in his mind, the same one he had used while he was blind. If he had to, he could find his way around the town in pitch black darkness without hardly stumbling. But he wasn't thinking about that right now. The only thought on his mind was Yuffie and where she might have gone.

Arriving at the Gummi garage, he immediately went to his ship, just sparing a quick glance at the empty spot beside it where the ninja's ship normally resided before he lowered the ramp and entered the main corridor. He threw his the black duffel bag against the wall and went about the task of preparing his ship for the launch. But, sitting in the pilot's seat, the lingering scent of orange blossoms floated to his nose and his breath caught in his throat. Yes, he still recognized that scent. It was the scent he had begun to associate with and only with his ninja.

That thought made him even more determined to find her and he quickly began the take-off procedure, flying out of the garage and into the void of space. Now was the hard part. Trying to decide where she would go and where he should search first. He finally came to the conclusion that probably the best thing to do would be to systematically search each world, asking the inhabitants if they had seen her there. And he would have to do it quickly since she did have a two day head start on him. But, luckily, whereas her ship was not equipped with a warp drive, his was. Therefore, it would take him about half the time it took her to reach a planet and, hopefully, he would be able to catch up with her.

Looking at the display of worlds on the monitor, he noticed that the one he was closest to was the Coliseum. If Lady Luck were on his side, he would find her there, taking out her pain on anyone foolish enough to fight her in the tournaments. He knew first hand how violent the ninja became when she was hurt or angry as he had been victim to her attacks many times in the past. Setting the course for the Olympic world, he put the ship into warp drive and patiently awaited his arrival there.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The obnoxious beating on her door at the ungodly hour of six in the morning awoke the still sleeping flower girl, who uncharacteristically muttered a few curses under her breath as she walked across the room, pulling her red robe around her before opening the door. She glared at the middle-aged blonde man in front of her. "Cid, couldn't this wait until later?" she snapped angrily, causing the man to jump backwards in surprise.

"God dammit, woman! You're cranky in the morning!" he exclaimed, chewing on the small wooden toothpick that was perpetually kept in his mouth. After he had quit smoking five years ago, at Aerith and Yuffie's insistence, he found that he had to have something in his mouth at all times to stave off his nicotine cravings.

Aerith held the door open and moved out of the way to let the man into her room, her green eyes still glowering at the man. "What do you need, Cid? And when did you get back from Hollow Bastion, anyways?" she asked confusedly, remembering that he had left over a month ago to check on the young Keyblade Master, before Leon's fiasco with the Red Nocturne.

"I just got back not even twenty minutes ago," the Gummi dealer answered, walking into the room and standing in front of the dresser. "But, that's not the reason I'm here. The reason I'm here is because I'm wondering where Leon and Yuffie went."

The flower girl tiredly shook her head and ran her fingers through her long chestnut hair that she had released from it's braid the night before. "It's a long story. But, Yuffie left two days ago. And Leon's still here..." she muttered, her brows furrowing as she stared at the connecting door to the Green Room. "At least he was here..."

"Well, if he is, then someone stole his damn ship 'cause it ain't in the garage and Yuffie's ain't either." Cid pulled the half-chewed toothpick out of his mouth and flipped it into the small waste basket in the corner of the room and immediately placed another in his mouth. "Now what's this long story you're talking about?"

Ignoring him, Aerith rose from the bed and crossed the room, throwing open the door to the Green Room and looking around inside before letting out a resigned sigh. "Leon," she muttered under her breath, "you better have been able to see well enough before you left." She didn't realize until he spoke that Cid was standing right behind her.

"See well enough? What are you talking about, Aerith?" the pilot demanded, walking into the empty Green Room and taking his seat at the small table in there.

She pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down, pursing her lips as she tried to think up a way to explain the current situation to him, finally deciding that it would be best to start from the beginning. "Not long after you left, there was an accident..." she began, her brow creased as she tried to remember the details. She told him of Leon's battle with the Red Nocturne, his resulting blindness, and of how she had forced Yuffie to room with him so he wouldn't be alone while he was adjusting.

As her tale continued, she came to the part of the quickly forming romance between the swordsman and the ninja, at which point Cid stopped her. "Wait a damn minute!" he exclaimed, pushing his chair back and quickly getting to his feet. "Are you trying to tell me that Leon and the brat not only got along, but actually fell in love?!"

"Yes, they did. Even though I tried to keep them apart at first," the flower girl whispered softly, remembering all the times she had told Yuffie she was too young. After reading the ninja's note the other day, she realized that she was partly to blame for Yuffie's sudden loss of confidence and her quick departure. "I just didn't understand how much they loved each other."

Cid paced the room in shock, trying to absorb the fact that the two fighters had actually stopped fighting each other and fell for each other. "Okay, but that doesn't explain why they're gone."

The flower girl then explained about the pictures Yuffie had found and the note she had left for Leon, mentioning the part where the ninja considered herself a baby. "And it's my fault, Cid. I'm the one who kept trying to tell her she was too young," Aerith said quietly, a few tears coming to her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued. "When Leon and I got back from the infirmary, after he had his sight back, and he discovered that she was gone, he tried to leave right then, but I wouldn't let him because his vision was still blurry. Apparently, he left in the middle of the night last night."

Taking this all in, the Gummi dealer sat back down in the chair at the table, resting his elbows upon it and holding his head in his hands. "Aerith, remind me to never be gone for six weeks at a time again. Too much shit happens while I'm gone."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It had taken nearly two full days to get there, but Yuffie finally caught sight of the Neverland world in the front window of her ship. And it had been a boring two days. Of course, she had spent the better part of the first day picking up all the garbage in her ship, but the second day left her with nothing to do but dwell upon what might have been had she not found that box of photographs. The phrase 'curiosity killed the cat' came to her mind for not the first time in the past couple of days. "But they were wrong," she whispered to herself, remembering the rest of the saying. "Satisfaction doesn't bring it back."

She slowed her ship down and began to approach the world, scanning the area for a docking bay of some sort where she could leave her ship. However, unlike Traverse Town and the Coliseum, which were used to having traveler's from other worlds, Neverland did not have an official landing area and she had to simply land her ship on the small strip of beach between the ocean and the forest.

Cutting off the engine of her ship, she looked out the windows and stared at the view. On her right, the vast expanse of blue ocean beckoned to her with its gently rolling waves. On the left, the calm, peaceful greenery of the heavily wooded forest seemed to call her name. She lowered the ramp and slowly exited the ship, looking from side to side. Mentally, she admitted to herself that when she had originally decided to come here, she had made no plans for what she would do once she got here. It had simply been a rash decision on her part, like most of her decisions.

She turned to watch the waves in the ocean, the soft whispers of the water rushing to the shore calming her frazzled nerves. Sighing, she lowered herself to the sand and leaned backwards, using her arms as props. With the breeze lightly blowing her hair and the salty smell of the sea wafting to her nostrils, it almost felt like paradise. Only one thing was missing in this quasi-paradise. Squall. A small sob erupted from her throat, but she quickly choked it down. She came here to forget him and forget him she would try her hardest to do.

A rustling in the underbrush of the woods behind her caused her to jerk her head around, her eyes darting around as she looked for danger. She couldn't see anyone, but her ninja senses told her that she was being watched. Calmly rising to her feet, she casually walked to the edge of the forest, acting like nothing was wrong, yet she kept one hand positioned near her shuriken pouch just in case.

Nearing a rather large shrub at the edge of the forest, she saw its branches moving ever so slightly. She very stealthily snuck up on the bush, then lunged for it and grabbed the person inside there. "Gotcha!" she exclaimed as she pulled herself and the person she caught out of the underbrush.

"Hey, no fair!" the boy she had found complained, pulling out of her grasp and floating lightly in the air with his arms crossed haughtily across his chest. He was clad completely in a bright green that blended perfectly with the forest around him and only the slightest bit of red hair peeked out from beneath his cap. "You weren't playing fair!"

"Yeah, well you shouldn't have been spying on me!" Yuffie retorted, her hand still near the small pouch at her side. She still didn't know whether she should be worried about this boy of not. But, he didn't look dangerous, so she took her chances. "So, what's your name anyways?"

Smiling broadly, he uncrossed his arms and thrust one out at her, waiting for her to shake his hand. "I'm Peter Pan. And who are you?" he asked in a boyishly happy voice, his face brightening with the broad smile on it.

The ninja hesitantly took his hand and shook it. "I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie," she announced, her pride in her skills clearly showing through her voice. She watched him curiously as he floated through the air and she followed behind him. "How do you do that?"

"What?" he questioned confusedly, turning around mid-flight to stare at her.

"Fly."

Another grin came across his face. "Oh, anyone can fly. All you need is pixie dust and happy thoughts," he explained, flying in slow loops through the air as he showed off his abilities to her. "You want to try?"

It was Yuffie's turn to smile, the first genuine one she had on her face since the day she found those pictures. "Sure." She decided that maybe flying would be just what she needed to get her mind off Squall. Surely soaring through the air would be enough.

"Okay, I just gotta find Tink first," he said, quickly flying off into the forest and leaving Yuffie behind on the beach.

Not wanting to be left alone, the ninja took off in a sprint after him, dodging the low hanging branches and jumping over the large, knotty tree roots as she ran. "Hey, wait- for me," she called, panting slightly as she ran. The humid air of the forest was making her breathing heavier than normal as she was used to the much drier air of Traverse Town.

Peter stopped suddenly in the middle of the path and Yuffie nearly collided with him, but managed to swerve to the right and narrowly avoid the impending collision. "Where is she?" the red-head mumbled to himself, looking back and forth down the two paths of the wood. A flash of yellow light from a low bush caught his attention. "There you are, Tink."

"Who's Tink?" Yuffie inquired once she got her wind back. She made a mental note to herself to not run through the forest again until she was more acclimated to the humidity. It didn't pay to have to gasp for breath forever after she was done with her run.

Reaching into the bush, Peter pulled out a small green fairy with a yellow glow. As he held her by the wings, she angrily crossed her arms in front of her and stomped her feet, a faint tinkling noise coming from her as she did so. "Tink, this is Yuffie. She wants to fly." The pixie in his hands vigorously shook her head 'no.' "Come on, Tink. Just a little pixie dust." Again, the fairy said no. "Fine, then. We'll have to do it the hard way." Flying above Yuffie, he began to shake Tink over Yuffie's head and small sparkles fell over her ebony hair.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Yuffie yelled, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to get whatever it was he was sprinkling over her out of her hair. "What do you think you're doing?"

"It's pixie dust," he explained, releasing the small fairy from his grasp, who gave him an indignant look before flying away. "Now, all you need are happy thoughts and you can fly."

The first thought that came to her mind was the memory of hers and Squall's first kiss, in the secret waterway of Traverse Town the day he had started to train himself to fight blindly. As the scene replayed itself in her mind, she felt herself begin to float into the air. "I don't believe it! I'm flying!" she screamed excitedly, flying higher and higher until she was over the canopy of the forest and looking down at the treetops.

"See? Easy as pie," Peter told her cheerily as he followed her into the sky. "But what's really fun is doing all kinds of tricks in the air. Like this." As he was talking, he began flying straight up into the sky until she could just barely make out the smallest dot of green above her. Then, right before he disappeared from sight, he started into a headfirst dive towards her. And just as she thought he would crash into the forest top, he quickly leveled himself.

Laughing, Yuffie rose a few feet higher and then flew out towards the ocean. As she was flying over the sandy beach, she momentarily forgot why she had left Traverse Town, too caught up in the thrill of actually flying. But, as she passed over her Gummi ship and began flying over the ocean, she suddenly remembered her reasons for leaving. Rinoa's picture and Squall's apparent long-lasting love for the woman.

As soon as that thought entered the ninja's head, she felt herself begin to fall. Opening her mouth to scream, she quickly found it fill with salt water as she was dropped into the cold ocean. She wearily kicked her feet and rose to the surface, immediately hacking up the water she had swallowed as she made her way back to shore. Peter Pan lazily flew right above her head as she swam. "What happened?" he asked cheerily, earning a hardened glare from Yuffie.

"I ran out of happy thoughts," she sputtered as a wave washed over her. While swimming, the ninja soon learned how hard it was to kick your feet in the water when they were clad in waterlogged sneakers and she made a mental note to take off her shoes the next time she went flying.

"Gee... that's too bad," the red head boy said with no remorse in his voice. Yuffie began to wonder if perhaps the boy was physically unable to act anything other than cheerily. And, if so, how much that would get on her nerves.

Finally reaching the beach, she climbed out of the water and shivered slightly as the cool ocean breeze brushed past her. She looked around, taking in all the sand, trees, and water and made a decision. Neverland wasn't the place for her. Even if she would never grow up here, she couldn't stand the thought of being in such a cheery place while she herself was so depressed. "You know, Peter, I really like Neverland and flying was fun... until I took an impromptu swim," she muttered the last part under her breath, but still earned a laugh from the boy. "But, I really gotta get going. You see, I'm... uh... allergic, yeah, allergic to that flower right there." As she said this, she pointed to a bright red flower at the edge of the forest and went into a fake sneezing fit. "So, I think I'll be going now."

She ran to the Gummi ramp, desperate to get away from this place, but Peter followed her. "Yuffie, maybe someday you'll come back and you'll like it better. Maybe someday when you aren't sad," he told her, flying up the ramp and floating in front of the door where she stood.

"Is it that obvious?" she whispered, turning her face away from him and looking inside at her ship.

"Yeah, it is. Especially since you fell into the ocean. Only sad thoughts make you fall when you're flying."

Yuffie gave him a small smile, nodding her head slightly. "Maybe I will come back someday. But, right now, I have to sort things out in my head."

"Okay, then. I'll see you next time you come. And, next time," he paused, a grin coming back across his boyish face, "bring lots of happy thoughts so you don't fall into the water again."

Saying her goodbyes, the ninja climbed into the ship, sitting in the pilot's seat for a moment while she tried to think of where to go to next. She still wasn't ready to face Squall again, knowing that he loved Rinoa. So, running over the list of world's she knew of, and quickly dismissing them one by one, she finally came to the conclusion that there was only one world where she would be able to find a way to forget about him. Hollow Bastion. A place where she would be so lost in other memories, that the more recent memories would be pushed to the far recesses of her mind.

Author's Note: Still enjoying the ride? I hope so. Okay, I apologize if Cid or Peter Pan appeared to be out of character. But, the truth of the matter is, I don't really like Cid all that much, but I needed him and I never watched Peter Pan that often while I was growing up. I didn't like that movie. Anyways, review a way.