Revised: 4/9/04

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*** = Shift in PoV

' ' = Thoughts

" " = Dialogue

::: = Flashback

[ ] = Suggested Soundtrack

( ) = Disc – Track Number

[ -- ] = No Music, Silence

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[Lady Eboshi – Mononoke Hime (1-11)]

Yuffie had traversed the central hallway in route to the cockpit and Cloud quietly, fingers at her lips once more, in thought of ways to keep Cloud where he was for some time, otherwise it wouldn't be pretty.  She was beginning to notice more and more how she was, well, watching out for Cloud.  She cared for him and knew he'd had a hard life, harder than most people should ever have.  Not that she minded being protective of him.  It was strange to think of a skinny little sixteen-year-old shinobi looking out for the savior of the world.  She just wondered when she had started being this way.  Looking up ahead, she could see Cloud's left wing prominently standing out against his skin.  He…wasn't wearing his shirt.  Yuffie wasn't sure what to think of this.  He'd been trying so hard to hide it before, but now it seemed he didn't care.  But she supposed that was true to Cloud-fashion, after a moment.  Once something came out, he never seemed to give a damn about it and just moved on.  She had paused at the innermost doorway, leaning on the frame and just observing Cloud silently. 

"Did you need something?"

She wasn't surprised he knew she was there.  He and Vincent were the only two she'd ever had trouble sneaking up on. 'Well, Red too,' she amended.  But being called upon forced her hand, even though she had none to play just yet.  She moved to sit in the pilot's chair, facing forward with her feet stuck out to the side in the alley between the chairs.  The fingers of both hands met around one knob, elbows propped on the edge of the console, eyes disinterestedly watching the mundane movements of bored fingers.  "No, not really," she finally replied, still watching her momentary toy.  When Cloud's eyes slid off her once more, Yuffie turned in the chair to face him.  She didn't know how she was supposed to keep him here.  Maybe she wouldn't have to do anything at all.  It seemed as if he had no intention of leaving anytime soon with the way he was slouched in his chair.  But either way, she still felt stupid just sitting here, staring at him, in silence… 'Okay,' she thought to herself, 'this sucks.  Think of something!'  Sliding her elbows to her knees and clasping her hands in front as she leaned forward, she said, "So…"

Cloud glanced at her sideways after she failed to continue, and countered, "So…what?"

"Well, um, how're you doing?  You busy?"

His eyes were hooded as he looked at her from the corners of his eyes, face serious.  "As a matter of fact," he began calmly, "I am.  I have many tests that need to be run, results to record, and reports to give to Cid after he wakes up."  He never took his eyes off her, nor let his face ease, and remained silent after saying what he had. 

Yuffie blinked.  She hadn't been expecting that.  "Oh," she said, stunned.  "Guess…I'll be going then.  Don't wanna bother you," she finished as she stood and walked to leave the room.

"I was kidding, Yuffie," he stated matter-of-factly, still watching her from the side. 

She spun around in the doorway, a foot shooting behind the other, one hand behind her back and the other behind her head as she gave off a short, embarrassed laugh.  "I knew that," and she continued to laugh for a few more seconds before she felt awkward and stopped, gazing at Cloud's back.  She sobered after a few moments, remembering home.  "Ne, Cloud," she started, her voice somewhat sad and wistful as she leaned in the doorway.

"Hm?" 

His voice did not indicate any great interest, nor did it hint at any uninterest, so Yuffie spoke her thought.  "Do y'know what they called you in Wutai after Meteor?  Call you, I mean?"

He turned his head just the slightest bit to gaze at her over his shoulder, the visible eyebrow cocked ever so slightly.  "No."  He was almost afraid to ask, to know.  His self image had never been good and others' image of him even worse.  "What?"

"Shiroi Ryu."

Cloud turned fully in his seat, his arm resting on top of the back of the chair, to look her straight in the face, to read what might be written on it.  "The White Dragon…why?" he whispered, breathless and suspicious for reasons he couldn't fathom.  Why would they dub him that, of all things?  He was familiar with Wutai's history and culture.  All Shinra graduates were.  It was that whole motto of 'keep your enemies closer'; you had to know everything about your greatest wartime opponent.

Yuffie looked at him with a small smile.  "Because many think you are him."

He…didn't know how to even begin interpreting that.  The White Dragon, Wutai's supreme god, master of Leviathan…they thought he was…him?  It was…a tremendous honor, and very frightening on several levels.  They thought he was a deity, their god, even.  "No," he said.  "No, that's not…Why?" he changed his thought.  "How could they even think that?" his intense blue eyes begged of her.  "I'm…nowhere near that great...or powerful."

"Oh, Cloud!" Yuffie exclaimed as she rushed around to kneel in front of him, grabbing the right hand, which rested in his lap.  "But you are! Don't you see?" her eyes pleaded back at him.  Of course she had known he hadn't, and his previous questions and current facial expression said as much, but she was unable to keep those words back.  "It's not just your power, or your tactical knowledge, or your persona, it's-it's just you.  And your ever-present modesty about everything just magnifies it, makes it all so much more believable!"  She took a moment and breathed deeply before continuing.  "And now with those wings, it's almost undeniable.  Surely, you could be his incarnation?"  She hadn't meant to make it a question, but perhaps he could confirm Wutai's faith in some manner… 

Cloud's mind rushed with thoughts, and yet, somehow, remained strangely blank at the same time.  Her large, brown eyes were so full of…hope? Awe?  He could certainly see those two emotions, but there were definitely others running rampant within, as well.  'No,' he thought, 'this isn't real.'  Aloud, he spoke, unable to hide his skepticism. "Surely you don't believe that."  But as he looked into her eyes, he knew that know matter what came out of her mouth, some part of her did.

Yuffie's face froze, she…had never really thought about it like that.  But now that he'd asked her that, heard it voiced, she found she'd surprised herself.  "Well, actually…I think I do…a little." Her eyes dropped, only to return to his when she next spoke.  "I mean, I know what you've been through and how you came to be the way you are, but I…I just can't help believing in it, if only a tiny bit.  It's just a little too real," she finished breathlessly, her hands grasping his more.  "And there's this song, passed down within my family…  It's perfect.  You fit it so well, too well, Cloud." Her eyes… "Now that I think about that, there's no way you can't be hi—"

"Stop!" he almost shouted, shaking his head slightly.   "Stop it.  Just…  I'm not.  I'm not him.  I'm just me."  He knew the homage song she spoke of, depicting the relationship between the imperial family of Wutai and the White Dragon.  "I can't be him.  Anyway, I don't have blue hair," he said looking at her.

[Mononoke Hime – Mononoke Hime (1-18)]

Yuffie knew exactly what phrase of the song he was referring to, and answered his small challenge.  "No, your hair isn't blue.  But the color of the dragon's hair comes from the eyes in human form."  Cloud's eyes widened as the implications hit him, and his lips parted as he shook his head in disbelief that she'd been able to counter his arguments, before closing them to adamantly voice the impossibility again.  "So the hair would be blue…"  Yuffie wasn't trying to force him to believe what her people did, only wanted to tell him of it.  Although as to why, she couldn't say.  Perhaps a bigger part of her thought that than even she herself knew.  After all, peers and elders did have a large effect on one's beliefs and outlooks.  "Cloud," she started, rubbing his one hand with her two thumbs as she watched their movements, "I'm not trying to get you to accept this.  I…hell, I don't even know why I brought this up.  I guess…I just couldn't help myself.  It was just such a romantic idea, after all.  That you could be a god, our supreme god," she finished more to herself than him.

Something within him froze.  'NO!' his mind screamed.  'I'm not a god!  I'm not like him!  I'm not crazy like him!  Wanting to become such an impossible thing!'  He was squeezing his eyes shut so tightly that he was actually beginning to feel a headache starting.  'I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy,' he repeated to himself several times until he calmed down.  'I didn't attempt kill millions of people to attain godhood.  I'm…not like that.'

Yuffie's face was etched in worry as she looked into his.  Cloud was clenching his fist so tightly…it hurt.  "Cloud," she said softly, "you're hurting me."

He snapped his view down, to her cautiously parted lips, the large eyes that were silently pleading with him, and the hand that was slowly crushing her smaller ones.  Small hands he knew to deal lethal amounts of skill and damage.  He opened his fingers slowly, releasing her from his unintentional vise.  He gazed into her eyes, taking her in in silence.  He'd been gone for only a short time, and she hasn't even celebrated another birthday.  And yet, there was a sense of maturity about her that hadn't been there when he'd…left.  She'd changed, subtly, but for the better.  And he found himself wanting to check in on her every once in a while to see just how she was progressing.  "I'm sorry," he whispered.  "I…didn't mean to."

A small, understanding smile flitted across her face again and Cloud was once again struck with the fact that she had grown up quite a bit…but she was still no adult.  "I know, Cloud."  As he turned away with a slight flush on his cheeks, Yuffie frowned slightly before smiling in amusement.  'That blush was so faint he probably didn't even realize he'd done so,' she thought.  She stood up slowly and let his hand fall from hers.  Walking to the doorway once more, she spoke over her shoulder, "If you ever need to talk, I'll always listen."  And as she walked out, Cloud was left with his puzzlement of that offer and where it came from.

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[Dearest BGM vrs. and Deatta Bashou De – Inu Yasha OST 2 (1-23 and 24)]

Yuffie had just turned her head from Cloud's form to watch the floor as she walked, only to have them caught by something a little farther down the hall.  Ok, she knew what those somethings were, but what those somethings were doing was far more disturbing.  She quickly hopped into the bedchamber on her right and carefully stuck the left side of her face out from behind the curtain, watching the scene unfold while throwing quick, furtive glances in the hopefully occupied Cloud's direction.  She wasn't alone.  Screw Cid and his sleep, this was far more critical! 

They had clearly just come from the lower deck, talking as they came ever nearer to her hiding spot.  As usual, Aeris had that beatific expression on her face, and Leon looked so very relaxed, letting his jacket swing from over his right shoulder.  Yuffie had never seen him smile like that, had never seen that almost full, open grin grace his features.  And Yuffie could not hear their words, could not even read their lips as he came gently to a stop and turned towards Aeris, and just as slowly brought his left palm up to place it flat against the wall next to Aeris's head.  She had been startled, that much was written on her face, though not in an overt manner, and her features took on a ponderous look.  He had lost his smile, and now was only gazing closely at her.  Yuffie's eyes shut as her gut tightened, bad thoughts forming in her head as his moved expectedly closer to Aeris's.  Yuffie could only think feveredly while slightly shaking a clenched fist, the other bracing her on the doorframe, 'Don't do it.  Don't you do it, Leon.  And don't you let him, Aeris!'  Daring to look upon the scene once more, Yuffie opened her eyes to see Leon's lips almost upon her parted ones.  And just when she was sure they would touch, Aeris jerked her head to the left in a short motion.  Leon released his pent-up breath in a puff of frustration as his head slid past hers, forehead just about kissing the wall.  Yuffie felt the hot tears escape.  She had been so afraid for Cloud that the emotion had manifested into those droplets.  That had been so close.  So close.  But the tension had defused considerably, much like Leon's chest with that released breath, and Yuffie felt that they all could breathe easier, now.  But despite that, Yuffie wanted to watch this play out, as she planned to confront Aeris on this, oh, yes, indeed. 

Leon looked up, at the ceiling, through it, and at whatever lay beyond, before releasing another sigh.  Looking down fleetingly at the foot that had stepped to Aeris's side, he slowly pushed off with his hand and moved a fair distance from her.  He looked her over once, but not at all briefly, taking in her still-turned head and hands desperately trying to dig into the metal wall.  His head turned left as he paused in thought, before adjusting his grip on the jacket and continuing down that way, alone.  Reaching the entrance to the shower room, he opened the door and entered without looking back.

Only when the door had been shut did Aeris slowly turn to gaze at her feet and did Yuffie step out from behind the curtain.  Aeris gradually moved to look at the door through which Leon had disappeared, halting as she came across Yuffie's tense frame and fierce set of her face.  She could feel the rigid aura emanating from the smaller girl and her body posture had only confirmed it.  Yuffie's hands were clenched into tight fists, and she could see the girl's chest heaving slightly.  Her face was tight, and her eyes red.  Aeris became quite concerned as she finished taking the shinobi in and tried to console her.  "Yuffie, are you okay?"

Yuffie closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself somewhat so she wouldn't yell or lose control in some other manner.  She didn't want to attract Cloud's attention on a conversation regarding this topic.  She would have to get pretty close to Aeris and speak extremely quietly in order to prevent him from even hearing the whispers with that sensitive hearing of his.  Coming to stand just in front of Aeris, Yuffie looked up into her face with schooled features, steeling herself for this confrontation.  "Aeris," she began, her voice tight, "what the hell were you doing?"

Aeris's eyebrows drew together slightly as her head cocked to the side, "What do you mean?"  And her eyebrows drew even further together as Yuffie made a desperate 'shushing' motion with her finger at her lips.  Only when the girl twitched her thumb behind her did Aeris see Cloud and understood to keep quiet.  This was apparently about him.

"With Squall, of course!  What else would I mean!?" Yuffie responded in a heated whisper, fists shooting down as she jerked her body up to bring herself closer to Aeris's face.  "What if he woulda seen you!?!?  Do you know how hurt he would've been?  Not to mention how impossible it would've been to calm him down," she finished in a near-silent huff, crossing her arms. 

Aeris didn't think anyone had seen that, but the fact that Yuffie had meant that it could just as easily have been Cloud.  She blushed deeply, afraid and embarrassed as to what happened, what could have, and what may come of this.  "I…didn't intend for it to happen, for anything to happen, really…" she started weakly.  What could she say when she didn't even know herself what had been happening?  Yuffie obviously could feel that as well, because the skeptical slant to her eyes told her so. 

"So," Yuffie began, "you were just gonna let him do whatever?  No matter what it was?"  Her arms were once again crossed as she gazed at Aeris in a very disapproving manner.  "You had to have noticed he was getting closer to you, Aeris.  It's kind of hard to miss that."

"Well, of course I noticed, I just didn't know what to do," she explained.  "I was just so confused."

Yuffie's eyebrow rose at that.  "Confused?" she echoed.  "If you're confused, then maybe you should just let Cloud know.  It's not fair to lead him on like this.  Or do you not like him in that way?" she said as she shifted all her weight to one leg. 

Shaking her head, Aeris answered, "I would hope I do.  I did agree to marry him…," came the quiet reply.

'Marry!?!'  Yuffie was quite taken aback and had stumbled a few steps away from Aeris at that quiet admission.  "He…asked you to marry him!?" she whispered heatedly. 

Aeris nodded slowly, almost childlike, "In the library, he asked me, and I couldn't possibly say no."

"Couldn't say no?"  Yuffie asked.  "Not being able to refuse him and not wanting to go through with it are two very different things, Aeris.  And the difference between them is very important," Yuffie lectured her.  "If you're not sure you want to do this, you better damned well tell him now."  Aeris's eyes had shot up to meet Yuffie's at that heated statement.  "Don't you dare hurt him like this, Aeris.  Don't you dare.  You know what it'll do to him."  Yuffie had retracted her finger from nearly stabbing Aeris, but she was still glaring quite strongly at the woman across from her.

"I know I want to, Yuffie, I really do," she said, meeting her eyes.  "There's something about him that I've never seen in anyone else," she whispered gently.  Aeris's hands found each other in front of her as her fingers wrapped around themselves, displaying her distraught.  "But with Squall, so much like Cloud, and yet not, I…"  The confusion was so evident in both her voice and face, but Yuffie refused to feel sorry even the slightest bit for her.  But Aeris's sigh interrupted any harsh thoughts Yuffie had been about to expel and forced her to listen to Aeris once again.  "In Traverse Town, when it was just us, it was like Cloud was there with me.  They just act so similar and it was so comforting to have that familiar presence after the disorientation of 'waking' up."

Yuffie's face softened at Aeris's reference to her revival.  When she put it in that perspective, she could understand why Aeris had been so attached to Squall.  But now that she was back with Cloud, the real thing, why did she persist in hanging onto him?  No one knew how she had come back, but everyone knew the why.  They had found similar cases with the other misplaced peoples in Traverse Town.  The only conclusion that any one could come up with was that with the merging of worlds, the flow of the souls within the planets were disrupted.  But Aeris had been the only person they had run across from their own world that they knew to have been resurrected.  Yuffie saddened as she thought how nice it would have been to see her mother.  'It's been so long and I was so small, would she even recognize me if we did meet?  Would I even recognize her?'  But she often consoled herself that they could have come across much nastier rebirths, like that madman.  And she shuttered at that thought.  She made it a point to ask Cloud later if he'd seen anyone.

"Okay, Aeris," Yuffie began, "I know where you're coming from now.  But I still think you should mention something to Cloud if you're this confused.  Maybe marriage…is what you want, but maybe it's not time for that." She shifted her weight to the other leg this time after she had closed in on Aeris once more.  "You were with us for…such a short time, and I don't think you guys really know each other well enough for that just yet."  At this, Yuffie looked down at her own fidgeting fingers, not sure at the emotions this news stirred within her.  "But I'm sure that outta all of us, you probably know him the best.  But I don't think the three months tops you spent with us were quite enough to get to know him.  He was pretty confused at the time," she sighed, "and didn't even know himself, really."  Yuffie put her hands at her side as she took in a deep breath, calming herself.  Looking into Aeris's eyes, she said, "I think you should spend more time with Cloud to see if that's what you really want."

Shaking her head slightly, Aeris replied, "But I know it's want I want already."

She was tiring of this, and just wanted to go think to herself.  She was finding that this conversation was invoking some things within her that she didn't know.  That wouldn't have been so bad, but she had long ago made decisions that were now being invalidated with these recent occurrences.  She needed time to resort through her emotions.  "Fine," she nodded, "but just give Cloud the chance to get to know you better and you him.  I know there's a lot you don't know yet.  Like his favorite foods and all the rest of the trivial stuffs."  Yuffie straightened and made to walk past her.  "Aeris," she begged quietly, "…if you love him so much, would you at least show it?  Just, don't let Squall get that close again, because next time it may be Cloud's eyes that see you instead of mine."  And she left to think to herself, thinking as she slid down the ladder that she had come out of that confrontation so damned confused.

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Cloud stretched in his seat, arms going up and behind his head as his torso arched into the air off the chair.  Both wings fully extended as he elongated his body in the act of relieving his sore muscles.  Slumping back into the chair, he yawned and didn't even bother to hide it with his hand.  He knew the others were elsewhere.  He smiled as he heard Cid do the same down the hall.  'He must be waking up,' Cloud thought.  It couldn't have come at a better time, too.  He was starting to get rather hungry.  'Musta been here a good five or six hours.  But Yuffie's visit had made the last hour and a half seem not so long.

Cloud looked over his shoulder as he heard yet another yawn, this one louder as Cid folded back the curtain with one hand while the other rose above his head as he emerged from his napping chamber.  He turned in Cloud's direction briefly before making his way to the toilet chamber, as Cloud just turned around as waited for Cid to finish and return, which he did after about ten minutes.

"Who's takin' a shower?" Cid asked by way of greeting. 

Cloud shook his head.  "I dunno.  But whoever they are, they've been in there a long time."  At Cid's raised eyebrow and promise of oncoming rant in the way of the water recycler only working so fast, Cloud quickly added a reassurance.  "But whoever they are, they didn't actually start until about fifteen minutes ago."

Cid nodded, pleased that some inconsiderate fool wasn't one, making his baby work hard, and two, using up all the hot water.  "So, anything happen while I was out?"  Cloud shook his head and proceeded to give Cid a summary of all ship related activity while he'd been resting.

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Squall wiped his face off before wiping the mirror.  He looked a lot better after that shower, but he sure didn't feel anymore relieved than when he had entered.  He just didn't know what he was going to do about Aeris.  He…didn't want to give up on her, but she had turned away from him.  But it's not like she had immediately from the time he began moving in close to her…  He was very confused.  'Maybe,' he thought, 'if I actually make contact with her, it'll be different… Alright,' he pepped talked himself, 'I'll just have to try harder the next time.'  And with that he began to dry himself off, almost anxious now to see her and try again.  As he finished with that, he realized he hadn't brought clean clothes to change into.  "Shit," he said to himself.  'Guess I'll have to go get them.'  He made his way over to the door, pausing as he got to the door to peak out.  Just as he was about to step out, his foot hit something.  Looking down, he noticed a carry-all bag…his bag.  'Who would've…?'  Thinking he knew who, he pulled the bag back inside with him and chose some garments from it to wear.

He pushed all his other clothes out of the way into a small corner to deal with a little later along with his bag and exited the room.  He had just missed bumping into Aeris as she'd walked by, and both were startled.  "Aeris," he said softly, as she nodded demurely, with a small smile.  She held a plate in her hands, but what exactly had been on it he didn't know.  "What's that?" he said pointing to it.

"Oh, nothing, really," she answered.  "I was just bringing Cid and Cloud something to eat."  At the mention of their names, Squall turned to look down the hall to see the two speaking with each other.  Well, really it seemed Cid was doing all the talking in between bites with Cloud just eating quietly.  Squall just nodded slowly as he stepped closer to her, still half watching the other two.  Something was coming over him and he was feeling rather…cocky, brave, whatever.  He hadn't intended to try again this soon but with her so close by, he couldn't believe it wasn't a sign.  "There's more in the kitchenette if you want some…" she trailed off as Squall's hand was once again on the wall, arm crossing by her face.  She remembered her and Yuffie's talk from not long ago and tried to move away from him. 

He'd been watching the two down the hall mostly, but he was aware of Aeris, knew the effect he was having on her.  And his hand shot up to catch her left shoulder before she could move any farther from him.  Putting his eyes on her, he roamed over her face, the features apprehensive.  "Thank you for bringing my bag to me," he said, watching her closely. 

She looked down at the plate she was clutching close to her chest, the blush diffused across her cheeks.  "It was nothing," she mumbled.  "I knew you forgot about it."

[Black Escaflowne – Escaflowne the Movie (1-19)]

Squall's smile held a mix of adoration and calculation as the hand on her shoulder slowly traversed its way across her skin to cup her chin.  "I knew it was you," he whispered to her.  As her blush increased, he had to stop to watch her, caught by her beauty again.  He gently held her head still as he moved in in another attempt to taste her lips, only to be halted as she shifted to peer down the hall.  He had distantly heard the voices bidding momentary partings, but had been absorbed by Aeris.  At the name she breathed, he pulled his head to look as well.  Strife was staring at him with narrowed eyes, and all Squall could do at the moment was to watch the other man with his hands still on Aeris.

**********************

Yuffie hadn't really sorted everything out to the extent that she'd wanted to.  But, damn she was hungry, and all this thinking wasn't really like her, which probably explained the massive headache she was suffering from at the moment.  Removing both hands from her head, she stood up and placed them on the small of her back as she stretched slightly.  Noticing Squall's gunblade laying where it'd fallen, she picked it up, shaking her head.  "Guess I'll bring this to him."  She stopped momentarily, and held it as she'd seen him do.  'It's not as heavy as some of Cloud's swords,' she grunted in thought, 'but it's not that light either.'  And after a few short swings, she trudged it along after her up the ladder. 

Finally reaching the top, she huffed as she lugged the 'blade up the rest of the way.  "Hey, Squall," she called non-too softly, unaware of his proximity, "I've brought your 'blade back to…"  Her sentence halted as she saw Squall and Aeris seemingly where they'd been before.  But something wasn't right.  It felt different this time.  What was it?  Yuffie shifted her weight to peer to the left of them, and dropped the gunblade right then and there.  The resounding clang didn't seem to have been heard by any in the hall, but she was aware of Cid's focus shifting to investigate the sound.  Boy, did he get a surprise.  Yuffie's eyes shot back and forth between Squall's and Cloud's positions, watching and waiting for Squall to back away.  Cloud looked upset, but that was understandable.  Those two were in a very precarious position.  Squall was facing away from her and she scooted closer to see what was on his face.  She was shocked by what she saw.

Squall's hand had loosened from her turning upon seeing the other man, but he felt strangely calm.  In fact, as he looked at the other man staring him down, he felt his resolve hardening and retook Aeris's chin in his hand again.  Looking at Cloud one last time, he turned her to face him as he deliberately moved in and pressed his lips firmly against hers, moving once against them before parting to stare the other man back in the eyes. 

They were all in shock.  Aeris stood there, mouth hanging open in disbelief, with Cid in much the same shape.  Cloud had been staring at the other man with narrowed eyes, but now, they had gone to mere slits, and the previous stare had become a glare of promised death.  Yuffie was horrified.  Rooted to her spot, all she could think of as Cloud launched himself down the hallway, fist outstretched, was: 'Holy shit, Squall.  What have you done… ?'