Chapter 4; The dream

The man looked down at Yuffie's slumbering form and frowned. "Really, did she anger you that much? She is just a kid." The man stood up and turned around, facing Arvin who just snorted.

".....and why do you care, Irque? She's only a mere human." She asked arching an eyebrow.

The man, registered as Irque eyed her with an amused look. "Could it really be that the famous Saumi, of the Lizao clan, is being jealous? By a human to add?"

Arvin or rather Saumi almost lost her balance at the remark and shot a death glare at Irque. Her anger was building up every second. "And why would I be jealous?!" She spat at him. Irque just chuckled and shook his head, looking back at Yuffie.

"I'm just kidding Saumi. But don't forget your place."

Saumi calmed downed and walked to be Irque stood, and also staring down at Yuffie. "Like I said, she knew too much." She stated simple and glanced over at her friend for any sign of reaction but found him in total silence, waiting. The woman frowned slightly before turning her attention back to the ninja. She was amazed by the young shinobi; the girl had courage to go off alone after their little so-called introduction. The thought never occurred to her that someone would come after her; it made her a little disappointed. Guess I can never compare to her.

"And?"

Saumi jumped slightly and turned to Irque. His abrupt question echoed through the quiet alley. Saumi blinked in confusion. The man sighed and closed his eyes. "How come she knows too much?" He spoke softly. Saumi opened her mouth to respond but was silenced by a wave of a pale hand. "Besides the bar incident."

The woman stared down at the solid earth under her. She dreaded the reaction she will receive from him, but she could never lie in front of him. "She saw what I did to Dukam." At that sentence, Irque's head snapped up and stared at her rather upset. Saumi saw his expression and quickly added, "B-b-but she didn't hear about the-"Irque silenced her again by covering her mouth.

"Saumi no! Remember, even walls have ears." Even if those words were just an old saying Saumi knew he meant those words literally. She nodded and Irque gently pulled his hand back and gazed up in the sky. The moon shone brightly, like a diamond in sunlight, it made him sad. He began to think back at the conversation between his elders.

Soon there will not be a moon to gaze at anymore.

Irque closed his eyes, enjoying the night breeze. He recalled a person that loved the night, more than anyone he else knew. Of course, that was in the past now and she was now a traitor to his lord.

The sound of wings flapping in the air caused his eyes to shot open. He fixed his gaze at the sky, narrowing his eyes when he noticed a raven sitting on a tree branch not far away, croaking.

"...be quite." He mumbled bringing Saumi in to an embrace, and hid themselves in the shadows. They both watched the raven in silence. The bird turned its head in every direction and then flew off. Irque and Saumi waited until it was out of sight before they stepped out from the darkness.

"We must be careful Saumi; 'she' has friends around the worlds." Irque said in a low voice. He looked down at her and smirked. "Blonde is not exactly your color."

Saumi smirked and stepped back. Her body began to morph into another figure. Her hair curled itself up and turned into deep russet. The skin, once pale changed to healthy pink. She smiled like child at Irque, grey eyes sparkling with glee. Irque smirked at the immature behavior but shrugged it off. He then thought about the unconscious girl at the ground. They must take her back.

Irque walked past Saumi to Yuffie and picked her up in his strong arms. Saumi looked at him confused. "What are you doing?"

He glanced briefly back at her, but continued his way out of the alley. The fog had disappeared and the moon was setting down. "We have to take her back to her friends."

Saumi stared at him. "Why? She knows too much about this. She saw 'me' killing Dukam."

Irque chuckled. "No, she saw 'Arvin' killing Dukam." He hinted before he regained his composure. "Besides it would be a great aid to us, if they were also in search for her."

Saumi smiled at him before catching up with him, beginning their way towards The Kalmer.

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Cloud stared at the clock and tapped his fingers at surface of the table, waiting impatiently. Where is she? He thought while standing up. "She's been out for almost one hour."

Nanaki looked outside the window; he too was concerned about Yuffie. He had a feeling that something must have happened. She often took a walk at night, but she always came back after 20 minutes or so. A feel a stir in the air He thought.

Vincent glanced around the bar. Tifa had left for the inn, Barret and Cid sat comfortable in chairs with their head downs, snoring. Some drool came from Cid's mouth and fell to the floor. Reeve read the day's newspaper, also waiting for Yuffie's arrival. The Turks had not reported for a while either.

Vincent took a deep sigh and closed his eyes, leaning against a wall. He remembered those grey eyes, which was filled with horror when Arvin stared in his crimson orbs. Why would she be frightened? She did not seem like a person that would not be scared of small details. Then the thought struck him.

She must have seen Chaos... He nearly smirked at the thought. It was no surprise; everyone and even he feared Chaos. He was the demon Vincent almost had no control over, Chaos was far stronger than the others.

His trail of thoughts was put on an end, when a hard knock came on the front door. Cloud walked to the door and opened it. He felt a wave of relief when he thought it was Yuffie. To his surprise he found two strangers wrapped in cloaks in front of him, but gasped when he saw Yuffie's limb form in the taller stranger's arms.

"Yuffie!"

Both Nanaki and Vincent were there on the second. Reeve quickly stood up from the table, knocking his chair the same time. Neither Barret nor Cid woke up by the sudden commotion, but their snoring ceased a little.

Cloud urged the two strangers inside and closed the door. The tall walked towards a couch and put Yuffie down. Cloud glared at them. "Who the hell are you? And what happened to Yuffie?!"

The strangers pulled back their hoods; revealing a young man in his thirties, and a younger woman. The man had short snow-white hair, slicked back. His eyes were steel blue and two black eyebrows hovering above them, the pale face was well chiseled and high cheekbones pointed out. The woman was sweet looking, grey eyes, heart shaped face and long brown curls framed her features. Cloud, who was still glaring at them, waited for a reply. The man saw his angered eyes and waved his hand. "Don't worry she's alright."

Cloud, Vincent, Nanaki and Reeve narrowed their eyes at the two, not uttering a word. Well....this goes far. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Irque." Irque bowed politely. The female stepped forward and also bowed.

"And my name is Saumi."

"Forgive us for being rude, but like I said earlier, your friend is alright." Irque stated.

"What happened?" Reeve asked concerned while eyeing Yuffie. Irque looked over at him.

"We found her in an alley getting beat down by another figure. The figure disappeared and we checked the girl for any injuries. Thankfully, Saumi had some healing experience and healed her." Irque answered calmly, gesturing towards Saumi who stood a few feet from him, proud.

"Another figure?" Cloud arched a golden eyebrow.

"Yes, it was a girl with blonde hair and whore a dark robe..." Irque said pondering.

Arvin. Cloud thought. She must have followed Yuffie. Reeve went over to shinobi and knelt down picking her up. He turned his head at his companions and said that he would take Yuffie to a room, were she could rest up. His friends nodded and turned their attention to Irque and Saumi. Reeve left towards the inn.

Vincent looked at Saumi and frowned, he had seen those eyes before. Saumi glanced towards the gunslinger, when she felt eyes on her. Once she locked her eyes with his, she wished that she never did. It was the same dark man from earlier, he with the crimson eyes. A moment passed before she cast her gaze to the floor. Irque saw his companion's nervous form and turned his eyes to Vincent. Vincent also turned his gaze to Irque. When their eyes locked, they both felt something snap inside them. The former Turk glared at the man; not trusting him by the look in his eyes. Irque's eyes were almost steel blue and held lies.

Irque did no trust the other man either, that man's eyes were blood red, like a demon's. But he had to admit, he looked like a man of Irque's lord. They both seemed to stare at each other for ages, without blinking.

Saumi stared between them both, wondering what was going on. She touched Irque's arm breaking the eye contact. Irque looked down at Saumi and saw the concern written in her eyes. He then shook his head. "....we should get going." He put his hood back on and strode towards the door. Saumi looked confused at him then pulled her hood back on, she followed him out. The door closed leaving Cloud and the others alone in the bar.

Cloud glanced at Vincent with a questioning look. Vincent just walked back and leaned against the wall, ignoring Cloud's stare. Nanaki and Cloud exchanged glances before dismissing that event. Reeve came back from the inn and searched for the couple.

"They left." Cloud stated to him. Reeve nodded and walked back to the table, finishing his reading.

Vincent thought about Irque, he felt something inside him at the presence of him. It also made his demons react. And that girl, she had the same eyes as Arvin. Could they be related? He thought. This made his decision much clearer, Arvin had caused more pain for his friends, and for that, Arvin will pay.

Reeve's PHS started to ring, and he answered quickly. "Yes.....where......alright, yes of course.......bye." He switched it of and glanced at his friends, his face held shock.

"There's been a murder in an alley...."

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Yuffie stirred in her sleep. She was standing near a cliff, staring in horror at the scene before her. A big city with a beautiful palace was engulfed by raging fire. The people were screaming in pain and agony. Some of them lay dead on the ground, blood oozing from big cuts, while some were alive enveloped in those flames. She then saw a figure at the end of the cliff, its back facing her. Yuffie ran to the figure and stopped a few meters away. Long hair danced in the wind and a witch hat with a long tip, swayed. In its right hand was a long staff that was clenched tight by the grip. The ninja gasped when she noticed two ebony feathered wings, sprouting on the back. The figure turned around and Yuffie jumped back in shock, it was Arvin. Except this time, Arvin was not smiling or smirking, instead she saw something much more terrifying; she was crying. Thin lines of crystal tears streaked down her cheeks. Yuffie was shocked; she gazed in her eyes and found them not grey, but red. Red, like fresh blood.

Yuffie screamed waking up in cold sweat. Her body shook and she felt someone's arms encircling her frame, in soothing way.

"Relax Yuffie, it was only a dream."

Yuffie glanced up at the figure's face, it was Tifa. She had been worried when she heard the news about Yuffie from Reeve, and decided to watch her incase something happened. The small ninja hugged Tifa tightly, letting some tears flow down her face. Tifa stroke her hair and whispered calming words. When Yuffie calmed down she laid back down the bed and let out a deep sigh. She looked around, trying to register were she was. She was in a room with cream-colored walls, some light-blue curtains hung by the window. The bed was deep brown and the sheets were also blue. Near the door were an armchair, were Yuffie's clothes hung neatly. Yuffie cast a confused look at Tifa, who smiled back at her. Suddenly the door opened and in came Cloud and Vincent.

"We heard a scream, are you too alright?" Cloud asked concerned.

Tifa nodded. "Don't worry, we're okay."

Cloud nodded and made his way towards Yuffie, he put his hand on her shoulder. "Yuffie, can you tell us what happened?"

Yuffie thought for a moment before nodding.

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"So you saw Arvin rip out his heart?" Cloud asked feeling his anger rise.

".....yes, but not only that. That man's blood was also black." Yuffie said in fear, hugging her knees. She had told them the whole story about the whole event in the alley, and the man who saved her. The young shinobi was glad that the man had brought her here, but knit her brow when only small details were recalled.

Cloud sat in deep thought while Tifa was stroking Yuffie's hand in comfort. Vincent leaned against the wall, pondering over the story. Tifa got up from the bed. "Yuffie get some rest, we'll go down and talk with the others."

Both Tifa and Cloud left the door and Vincent followed shortly. "Vincent?"

Vincent turned around to the addresser. "Yes?"

Yuffie hesitated a moment before answering. "I had a nightmare....it was about a city. I was terrible! The city was in flames.....and Arvin was there-"

"It was only a dream Yuffie." Vincent replied and began to walk out down the hall.

"But....I could feel the heat." Yuffie whispered not knowing if Vincent heard or not. But Vincent did hear and stopped in his tracks. Why was he bothered with this, it was only a dream after all. True that dreams was a way for the body to relax, but he himself had nightmares every night and they felt so alive, like he was there physically. Dreams came for a reason, not just by exhaustion. Vincent shook his head and continued his way down.

To be continued...

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It may have been shorter I don't know. I guess not all chapters will be equally long but they will improve if you don't like them at all. I'm rewriting the next chapter and it will update about next week or so. Thanks Crescent-Wish-Forever for your encouraging reviews and support. Please send me reviews in all kinds of your like.