Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children, or any of their characters.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

" They've all been gone for like a day, what happened to them?" Yuffie whined, concerned for the absence of her friends. She was busy helping Barrett and Nanaki tend to the orphaned children upon the airship.

"Beats me. They coulda gone anywhere for all I know!" Barrett grumbled.

" Daddy, when will Tifa, Cloud, and the nice man come back? I really wanna see them... And Vincent and Cid too! Do you think the nice man will bring his brothers? I wanna meet them!" Marlene was restless, as were the other children, all anticipating Cloud's arrival.

A few children were playing with Nanaki, who would occasionally let the smaller ones ride on his back. He told them stories of his kind, and kept them thoroughly entertained for quite a while.

Yuffie tried her hardest to keep up with all of the children's pleas for food and such. They were all bored, and every one of the people on the High Wind at the moment was concerned for Cloud, Tifa, Cid and Vincent's safety.

Barrett paid attention to all of the children, not just Marlene. Though he seemed to direct the most attention to her, he played games with all of the children.

Trouble broke out very quickly though, as Barrett had managed to lose a watchful eye over his 'daughter' for a moment, and she snuck away as fast as she could. The man was in a panic over her absence and Yuffie and Nanaki tried to calm not only the frantic children, but their friend as well.

"I don't give a fuck what Cloud said for me to do! I'm goin' out there to find Marlene!" And without further discussion Barrett had left to find her, leaving Yuffie and Nanaki with a handful of panicking children.

" Should we... you know... go after him?" Yuffie asked the red creature in front of her, a dumbfounded expression on her face. She didn't look too much different now, just a bit older. Nanaki chuckled slightly, a low growling noise to anyone else. Her attitude hadn't changed much either; she was still as hyper and oblivious as always.

"No. We should let him go... He'll be back with the girl soon. She went to go find Yazoo, Tifa, and Cloud, whom I sense are fast approaching. We have to stay here and care for the little ones right now." He said simply. "Alright everyone!" His tail swished a bit as he spoke to the younger people around him. "It's about time you all got too sleep. It's late enough already!"

The ninja simply shrugged and went to work helping the handful of children get tucked in on the hard floor under some blankets they had brought.

Yazoo had been carrying Tifa for quite a while now, and though she was incredibly light, and it wasn't much of a burden, he decided to set her down and stop to sort the mixed up thoughts in his mind. The silver haired man laid her on the ground very gently, and sat down beside her cross-legged.

Tifa shivered slightly in her sleep, causing Yazoo to realise just how cold it was out. He sighed and took her into his arms once again, hoping that there would be enough heat from his body to keep her warm.

' It should not be too much farther until we reach her friends.' He thought. ' Still, all of these thoughts in my head, and this strange new feeling... I need to think things over carefully...' Yazoo was driven out of his train of thought as the woman in his arms stirred.

Tifa looked up at the expression on his face, and frowned. "What's the matter?" She asked groggily, placing her hand on her head slightly.

" Nothing, I simply stopped for a moment."

" Stopped? I thought we were..." Her dark eyes scanned the area around them and she realised it was different. "How did we get here?"

"I carried you. The sooner I get you home, the quicker I can leave." He muttered coldly.

"Why do you want to leave so badly? You seem in an awfully big hurry to just drop me off somewhere." She gave him an angry stare, and he sighed.

"Tell me. Do you humans have feelings different from myself?" He ignored her question and commenced his own.

"I don't know. What do you feel?"

"That is just it. I do not know what I am feeling." Yazoo let the dark haired woman fall out of his arms and he stood, walking away slightly.

"Hey! That wasn't very nice!" Tifa stared up at him, a glare coming from her eyes.

"What... does love feel like?" He asked suddenly. His voice was soft, and his tone like that of a child questioning an elder of sorts.

Tifa was taken back by the question. Unsure of how to explain it, she tried her best. "Love... feels... warm. Like a blanket that's always wrapped around you in darkened, cold times. When you love someone, you can't help but enjoy that person's company... You feel connected in some way, like there's something that ties you together... They make you feel happy, just being there. I... don't know how else to explain it... I guess, you can just tell when you love someone..." She blushed, explaining such a topic.

He turned back, cocking his head to the side curiously. "I see." Then, Yazoo quickly turned to his original direction, hung his head and continued walking.

"Hey where are you going?"

"Come. We have to get you back to your profane friend's little airship." He gestured with his hand for her to follow, continuing his morbid strides.

" Yazoo..." She got up and darted over to him, grabbing his gloved hand.

Surprised that she had actually made it over to him that fast, and by the fact that she was holding his hand he stopped. Staring down at her, he quickly withdrew his hand from her grasp. Tifa looked shocked, but suddenly realised why he had done so. He removed one of the black leather gloves, and with the pale hand produced from it, reached forward and grasped her hand.

She blushed furiously as the man knelt down, closed his eyes, and kissed the delicate flesh on top of her hand. It was the only sign of adoration he had been taught, and although he had mainly used it as a sign of respect to his superiors before he was sealed, he felt it was the only gesture he could use to express the feeling in him.

Yazoo looked up at her, eyes blue, with the same warm smile on his face that he had worn earlier. He stood once again, his hand not letting go of hers, and he began to walk once again. She followed; shy to be holding hands with him. There was no conversation for the next half an hour or so. Tifa was felt too awkward to say anything, and Yazoo was occupied with caressing her hand with his pale fingers.

" TIFA!" A tiny voice cried out. Yazoo let go of her hand as Marlene ran up and hugged the older woman with all her might. "You're okay! Where's Cloud? And Cid? Oh, and what about Vincent?"

Tifa's expression became glum, and she hesitated for an answer. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find an answer. "Marlene! What are you doing out here?!" The woman suddenly cried, realizing in her groggy state how the girl had just risked her life to find them.

Marlene looked over at the tallest figure. "You came back!" She hugged him as well. "Did you bring your brothers? Do you know where Cloud and them are?" She seemed awfully cheerful.

" Marlene... We don't know what..." The woman began, in a low shaky voice, as she remembered the situation she had left her friends in. Marlene suddenly lost her cheerfulness, and began to look awfully upset. Her eyes were a bit teary.

Yazoo cut in, kneeling down so he was relatively equal in height to the little girl. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Do not worry, Marlene. Strife, Highwind, and Valentine are fine. They should be back in just a little while."

She looked up at him. "Really?"

"Yes. Kadaj and Loz I sense are preoccupied. They will not harm Strife or any of you friends in their current state. In fact, I sense your friends are fast approaching, they should be here in an hour or so." Yazoo stated softly.

"Your brothers would harm Cloud? But... why?" The little girl had a look of worry on now, and she didn't seem too happy.

"They are not my brothers..." He glared to the side slightly, but transfixed his gaze back to the little girl with a calm expression. " Let us not get into that right now... It is time both of you got to the airship and slept."

" MARLENE!" Barrett's voice called out loudly as his large form was seen running towards them. "THERE YOU ARE!" He picked his daughter up. "You had me so damn worried! Don't you ever go runnin' off like that again!"

"I'm sorry papa, but I wanted to find Cloud, Tifa, Cid, Vincent, and the nice man... I was worried about them." She said sadly.

" That's ok darlin', but you had me worryin' ta death! You're startin' ta take on after that spiky ass!"

Marlene pointed to Yazoo. "He said Cloud, Cid, and Vincent would be ok..."

Tifa finally cut in, to correct the little girl gently. "His name is Yazoo." She whispered.

" Sorry..." Marlene said to him, feeling silly for not knowing his name earlier.

"It is alright." Yazoo had since risen to his feet after Barrett had picked her up.

More voices could be heard in the distance, and over the horizon the four of them could see a slowly approaching Cid, Vincent, and Cloud; the latter with his head hung.

"I understand! You couldn't fucking kill the guy! It's not your fault. Killin' someone who hasn't done no wrong is pretty hard..." The familiar voice of a certain airship pilot echoed into the night.

"Don't feel bad, Cloud. Sephiroth may not understand you right now... But I do. It's hard to kill someone that's young..." Vincent's low voice could faintly be heard.

"Why couldn't I do it? The planet is still endangered and it's thanks to me!" Cloud sounded upset.

" Cloud!" Marlene cried out, and the three approaching men looked around a bit before catching sight of their friends and the experiment up ahead.

They quickened their pace to meet them. Cloud walked up front.

"Kadaj is still alive." He stated dully.

"Kinda figured that from what you'se were sayin'." Barrett grunted at him.

"Hmph. I don't wanna talk about it." The blonde continued on his way towards Cid's ship.

Without any further conversation, everyone else followed him quietly. Yazoo strayed towards the back of the group.

"What are you doing back there, ya fuckin' garbage!" Cid joked at Yazoo.

"Shut up, pilot. I have no use in your pathetic conversation." He growled, eyes turning an emerald colour, as both his pupils and his eyes narrowed.

"Hey at least I function at my job. I'm a working pilot. You're a failed experiment!" Cid laughed at him.

Yazoo felt fury building up inside of him. His eyes became red, and he raised his voice. "And how would YOU know? Were you there upon my creation? No? I didn't think so. I suggest you shut your mouth, if you want to live Highwind." He grasped his gun blade's handle.

By this time, everyone had stopped and was staring in shock that they would actually fight right now. Marlene shrank back behind Barrett and Tifa, looking at Yazoo in a whole new light.

"I know, because of your pretty little tattoo on your hand." Cid spat.

Yazoo looked down, realising he had been carrying his glove in one hand, and had it off the other. He stared at the black printings on his un-gloved hand. Then he looked back at Cid.

" Funny. Your tattoo ain't a number like the rest. What the fuck is that supposed to mean anyway? Looks like some funny wing thing."

"Stop your arguing!" Cloud hollered. "No one is in the mood for it, so shut up."

Yazoo gave one last cold glare to the pilot who laughed at him, then they began walking again back to the High Wind, all of them decently tired from the day that had passed.

A/N: Once again, I apologize for ending it like that but I hope it was good. Review please!