Rednightrider: Fiction is based on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. I really don't care if you flame me cause you know what I will do is shove it back at you hatred intended. Now that I got that off my chest, I want to dedicate this fiction to my sister, Alex, and to my future reviewers, (if I have any). To tell you the truth, I have never even played FFVlll so if I have facts wrong deal with it. I did play FFVll and it was funny when Cloud dressed as a woman. Hehe. Enough of the Final Fantasy talk and on with the disclaimer and fic.

[Disclaimer: Developed by SQUARE ENIX and DISNEY SQUARESOFT. Characters from FINAL FANTASY video game series: © 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.]

Summary: Kairi retells the story of the cursed seven princesses and the fighters who travel on an epic journey to save them from King Ansem.

Rated: PG-13

Her violet eyes glowed as the two boys battled with wooden swords. Each child holding determination to win. She longed for fighting. To be taught by the best. A ninja. Her father. Godo.

In her young days, she was told to be proper. A well trained woman. A wife. A mother. Not a ninja. Not someone in a war. A female.

She hated being kept away from her birthright. Her dream. No, but this was her reality. When will her dream become now? Never. If only she could prove to them. The boys. The men. Her father. That she could achieve so much by fighting. She could protect herself from evil. Darkness. However you put it, she, Kisaragi, will never be a ninja. Only a pretty girl in a tight kimono and straw sandals.

Supposedly, she was a mistake. She was the first female in the Kisaragi family for so many generations. Her father accused her mother of having wrong blood. She was to be a boy. Yet, she was not. Yuffie was a girl. No a woman.

It was arranged. Her mother and father were matched. Because of her mother's beauty, she was Godo's wife. Ariana was her name. It was never said after her death. Her death was unknown. She was robbed of her innocence at fourteen from Godo. There she was withchild and to wed to him. After four years of waiting for her husband to be home. He smelt of another woman. Many in fact. He lied and used her. She was tired of his dirty lies. Her plan was to runaway from everything. Only her and her baby girl. Yuffie. She was caught.

She awakened little Yuffie in the middle of the night. Carefully holding her and heading for the docks. Where a ship was to abort to Traverse Town.

"Sweetie, come. We are leaving. Promise me you'll forget this place and live with me always," she whispered while wrapping a blanket around the four-year-old.

"Where are we going, mommy?" she yawned. Ariana picked her up and stopped at the half-opened door waiting for a signal of no one. She quickly slipped through the door with Yuffie at hand.

She shushed the child and kissed her head. "I'll tell you when we arrive there. Be sure you are quiet."

Into the night, they fled to the boats. Ariana instructed her daughter to crawl behind the crates and to stay there until she comes back. She crept towards a line of ropes along the ship pulling them if any were loose.

She whispered to Yuffie. "We're going to climb the ropes just like you climbed the tree, okay?"

"Yes, mommy." They walked down the ramp when the man went into the ship.

"Okay, Yuffie, go up."

Once Yuffie was on board it was Ariana's turn. She tugged the rope for safety the pulled herself on. She was near to the top when a boomerang hit her hand shedding blood onto the rope. She fell to the water and swam up for air searching for the owner of the boomerang. Godo.

She pulled herself up onto the wooden dock. Anger in her eyes. "Godo, be a man and let us leave. Yuffie will be much happier away from here."

"You will never learn. The men control everything, you dirty blood. Your fault my heir to the proud ninja line is contaminated. By you! Oh, yes I will be a man. I will let one of you live. It is your choice, sweet oh so beautiful Ariana. Yuffie or you?"

"You would rather sacrifice your own daughter in pleasure? Why that's immoral and inhumane."

"Now that I think about it. I would rather keep her for the sake of the Kisaragi line. Kill you and keep her. Send her off to some old man. I get a new wife who could produce me an honored heir. Not an heiress. Females curse my family. You and I never been." He climbed up the ramp and strolled to the empty boat where Yuffie was in. Godo threw a shuriken at the hanging rope slicing the connection the rope had with the boat. Yuffie screamed when the boat hit the water with a splash. Godo jumped into the boat and picked up Yuffie. "Say goodbye to your mother, Yuffie."

In others' eyes, she is but a girl. Unprotected. Oh, yes, she would prove to them she was more than that. The Greatest Female Ninja!

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The two boys fronted with much passion to win. Eldest of the two, Riku, may seem cool and collected for his age, but he is far from the quiet type. Curiosity always gets the better of him. He tests his power against the weak proving to others he, Riku, is not just a seven-year-old boy.

Though Riku is strong, his best friend, Sora, holds a better power. He may seem simple-minded at times, but he has a strong sense of justice.

There they were. Clanking wooden sticks at one another. Seeing who would be the best.

"Think you could beat me, Sora?" Riku jumped on the wooden crates swinging his sword at the brown haired boy.

"No, I don't think I could beat you. I know I can beat you!" he dodged Riku from jumping on him.

"I'll give you a couple of minutes," Riku then ran in front of the exit door.

Sora charged yelling to him he would win. Crack-! He screamed a girlish shriek falling to the floor.

"Man, you did it too hard!"

"Oh, stop being a wuss. All I did was move out of the way. You're the one who slammed into the door," he explained. "Besides you hurt the door more than I hurt you."

Sora glanced at the door and gave his cheesy grin. "Yeah, I guess I did." Riku nodded.

"Is that all? I thought there would be some competition!" he sighed glumly.

"Maybe you'd go against me?"

Both heads turned to the spoken voice.

"What? You want to fight? But you're a girl?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Your point is?"

Riku put his arm over Sora's shoulder nodding. "What my little friend is trying to say is 'Sorry you're a girl and Riku doesn't fight/play girls," he glanced at Sora.

"Thanks."

"No prob."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "I guess you're scared." She slowly walked to the door until Sora called out to her.

"Wait! He's not scared. He just don't want to see you hurt," he said quickly.

"Really?" she grinned. "Cuz I want a fair match."

Riku sorted out the pros and cons. "Fine. What do I get when I win?"

"If you win you choose whatever you want. If I win I get to join your group in fighting." She leaned her head to the side smiling.

"Riku you won't let her will you?!" Sora was surprised at this girl's action.

Of course, they have seen her around the ship but never took any notice in her. She always sat inside by the porthole looking out at the waters. Only boys were allowed to play rowdy. It was natural effort. Girls in dresses and guys with wooden sticks. Simple as that. The customs on this ship was about to change starting with her. Men during this century are really sexist and pigheaded. They don't realize girls can do anything they could do as long as it's changed. (a/n-remember Kairi is speaking and telling the story.)

"Really? Anything?"

"Anything."

'She really wants to do this. Hmm maybe she'd walk the plank. My best idea of torture yet!' "Sure."

Sora nearly toppled over. 'A girl in the group. Hell must have frozen over. Wait she might not win. Riku you better win!'

"Alright then!" Yuffie untie her kimono when-

"Hold on! What're you doing?"

"You expect me to fight while wearing this horrid thing? You must be crazy!" She continued to undress wearing a white lacy tank and garments. (a/n- think of a white tank top and lacy capris) "Done! Now let's get started!"

"Here!" Sora passed his wooden sword to Riku who suddenly passed the sword to Yuffie who barely caught it. They stifled a laugh and Yuffie glared.

"Come on. Let's go!"

Sora raised a black and white checkered flag signaling the two to fight. Riku ran straight at her sending her back into the boxes. She narrowed her eyes and like a cat stood on all fours bending her legs. Yuffie blew away some ebony strands of long hair out of her face. (a/n- I hate Yuffie's short hair but until we get further into the fic right now, she has long black hair up to her waist.) He laughed at her twirling his wooden sword in his hands waiting for her move. She rolled forward with her feet in the air and slamming her opponent in the stomach. He stumbled back a bit.

"Oh, it's on."

"It's been on."

After what's been ten minutes, Sora just sighed continually as both fighters continued to duel. 'When is it going to be Sora's turn?' he cupped his face with his hand yawning. 'Come on Riku beat her so I could eat!'

"Giving up?" he asked spinning around tip of his sword touching hers.

"Nope. You?"

"Same." Riku forwarded enclosing Yuffie in a corner. She looked around quickly searching for a near getaway. None. He knocked her sword out of her hand. It fell. Fell into the side waters.

'A girl must do what a girl must do.' Yuffie did the impossible. Well, you could call it impossible but she did it making it possible. Oi, this is confusing me. She did it and it was done.

He grasped his shin. His eyes widened. "You kicked me in the shins!" Riku sat down taking off his sock seeing a reddened mark. Sora signaled the flag and raced over to Riku. "Go get ice, Sora."

Yuffie winced trying to apologize. "I'm sorry. I thought-if so am I in?"

"No, you lost your sword and injured me."

"What?! All that for nothing?!"

"That's why girls aren't in the group. They whine too much."

Yuffie clenched and unclenched her fist from pounding Riku. Through gritted teeth she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Why does this have to affect me from getting in?! It's unfair!"

"The right thing you could do now is get Sora's wooden sword," he breathed steadily trying to keep his cool.

"You want me to go climb down that rope and search the waters for a dang stick. You are crazy!" Yuffie folded her arms starting to get irritated with guilt. "Fine!"

She lifted one of the crates and jumped on. She quickly glanced at the water below her and took a breath. 'I'm not afraid of water. I'm not afraid of drowning.' Yuffie carefully grabbed onto ledges going down. Wind blowing her hair out of place. She caught a glimpse of the sword by the carving of a woman on the ship. The sword began to float away and came to her was a brown leather jacket. 'Odd. When do coats appear on water?' An umbrella spinned by passing the jacket. 'And umbrellas?' Then, brown hair peeked by and a wooden board. A man who owned that brown hair lay unconscious on the plank holding something in his hand tightly. 'And men?' She grabbed the sword and threw it back up on the boat. "Get me a rope! I need some help," she yelled back up. With all her might, Yuffie pulled the unconscious man out of the water. 'Smells like salty fish!' "Call my father! Anyone! There's a body down here!"

The healer who worked on Shikyo motioned Yuffie to retrieve liquid vials. Still in her under clothes, Yuffie climbed the shelves searching for vials labeled medicures. "Aha!" she yelled out. The nurse gave her a look and returned to the unconscious patient. He moaned turning toward the Shikyo nurse.

Yuffie handed the vial to her standing for any more instructions. "Yuh-ffie," the nurse called.

"It's Yuffie," Yuffie corrected.

The nurse ignored her. "Please stay here with him while I have words with Godo."

When the healer closed the door, Yuffie kneeled next to the bed where the patient lay. She was about to dab a wet cloth on his face when he out of no where grabbed her wrist gripping it tightly. She let out a shriek trying to move from his grip. His body shot up his face inches from the eight-year-olds. A strange silver mist swam to Yuffie's opened mouth. She felt as if she was held captive in an unknown dream world.

Voices echoed within the burning ship. Flames engulfed its wondrous structure and its occupants. Women and children scurried like rats to the empty boats. Soldiers surrounded the ship trying their best to put out the fire. A man with brown hair came into view his azure eyes staring at Yuffie lifelessly. She shook her head confused trying to read his lips.

"What? Who are you?" Yuffie asked running up to him.

She was pulled out of the premonition when the man with brown hair and azure eyes stuffed a chained piece of a jewel in her hand. She looked at him then at the golden triangle that had a maroon ruby in the middle.

"Darkness is near," he whispered gazing into her soul. "Protect the princesses. Find the light." He fell back on to the bed releasing his hold on her. He moaned louder. Yuffie stepped back still holding onto the shard jewelry. The nurse rushed in with Godo behind her.

"Move, child. He is in pain. Godo please take her away," she ordered feeling the man's forehead. "Oh, dear. He is very ill."

"Come, Yuh-ffie," her father said.

"It's Yuffie!"

Godo grabbed her arm lugging her out of the small room and out onto deck. 'Do they have fun pulling me or something?' she thought. He turned to her.

"Where the hell is your kimono, girl! Why the hell are you in your under garments? You would rather run around naked?! You make a fool out of me!" he shouted. The boys she was playing with peeked out at her wondering what the shouting was about. She glared at them, then at her father. Shaking her head. "Go to your pit!" he shoved her away.

'Luckily he didn't slap me this time.'

Yuffie leaned against her headboard fingering the chain. 'What is this? What did he say? Darkness? Princesses? Light? What?' Her breathing slowed as she closed her eyes.