Chapter 3: Purge
After Cid left, Yuffie demanded to be led to the Canyon's bathing springs, claiming that she would turn into a monster herself if she didn't manage to wipe the grime off. The northern crater didn't generally provide for the luxury of bathing facilities, unless one was inclined to take a dip in the pure energy of the lifestream. And after three months of living in the wilderness and battling constantly, the others could only agree with her assessment.
That was how Vincent found himself trailing after Yuffie and Nanaki as they chatted animatedly about the local residents, the old group, and Yuffie's latest materia finds while climbing down the winding stairs of the canyon. Yuffie was doing most of the speaking, busily relating the gossip Cid had brought her as they had flown out of the crater. The two were so caught up in their chatter, it was almost as though they had forgotten his presence.
"I can't believe how slow they're going. I mean, come on! Tifa must have the patience of a saint!" Yuffie exclaimed, rolling her eyes as she skipped down the steps. Nanaki chuckled at Yuffie's obvious contempt, causing her to huff. "I mean it! If I were Tifa, I'd be all over Cloud like butter on bread! How can she stand it? He's gorgeous! And he obviously likes her, too," she complained.
Nanaki shook his head, his single golden eye glowing faintly as they reentered another cave. "I see you're still not quite over your obsession with Cloud, Yuffie. Don't you think it's a lost cause by now?"
Yuffie laughed, her own eyes giving off their own faint glow in the darkness. "Oh come on, Red! I wouldn't do that to Tifa, and it's not like I'd ever have a chance with Cloud anyway. I have the luck of an icicle in the fires of the Da Chao when it comes to romance!" she lamented dramatically.
The low grunt of the giant lion filled the darkness as they descended even deeper into the canyon. "That's only too true, Yuffie. You always did pick strange sorts to develop crushes on," he purred.
Yuffie winced, her face scrunching up in the darkness. "Hey, I can't help it if I like tall, blond, blue-eyed, muscular men. Now, if Cid was only 15 years younger and unmarried, maybe he could give Cloud some competition," she mused. "Who ever knew that the old fart had such a great sense of humour? Shera's really lucky," she sighed. "How many kids do they have now?"
"Two, Yuffie, and I'm holding you to that bet. He's 37 now and they still only have two children." The glowing end of Nanaki's tale flickered slightly in the darkness. "Cosmo Canyon will appreciate all that effort you're going to put into writing down your collected 'Materia Study' essays." A low rumbling followed afterwards, something that Vincent could only assume was the sound of Nanaki's laughter.
A snort was heard as they emerged once more into light. "C'mon, Nanaki, at least let me have until he reaches 40. I've only got four more years until I have to go back to Wutai, and there's still a ton of materia to master!" She shook her head wildly. "I don't have time to write!"
"Two weeks is plenty of time to start, Yuffie." The many fangs Nanaki showed her with his toothy grin was merciless, eliciting a loud groan from the young ninja.
"Ugh, I knew I should have sent Shera some of those Wutai fertility herbs. I mean, they look like tea!" she giggled. Sighing, she kicked at a pebble on the steps before her, sending it sailing into one of the rock walls. "Cid and Shera are family to me now, Nanaki. I'd almost consider him like a dad." She grinned, abbreviating her observation. "A really foul-mouthed dad, maybe. Still a better one than Godo, though. Hey, you think I can get little Jesse to call me 'Aunt Yuffie'?"
Nanaki did his best impression of a shrug with his low shoulders. "Probably not. You would have more success asking her to call you '§#?$!$# aunt Yuffie'," he growled, sending the girl into peals of laughter.
"You swore, you swore! Nanaki, you bad kitty, I'm going to tell Bugenhagen all about it!" she yelled, dancing ahead on the steps and racing into the open cavern before them. And an impressive cavern it was, with stalactites and stalagmites forming a natural border to a small, rocky pond obviously fed by an underground spring. Steam rose into the air around them, and torches set into the wall reflected strange patterns off of the shining water and rock. Yuffie had already stripped off her shoes and armour, and was making her way towards the small body of water carefully. Nanaki and Vincent paused at the entrance of the cavern, each watching her.
"Yuffie, I forgot to bring the towels. I'll get you some right away," Nanaki called after her.
Yuffie only waved back impatiently, already sticking her toes in the hot water cautiously. "Be sure to bring back a pair of scissors, too, Red. I want Vincent to cut my hair when I'm done," she yelled.
Said individual balked at her sudden demand. "Thank you showing me Cosmo Canyon's renowned hot spring, but it would be inappropriate for me to—" he began, but Yuffie just gave him an angry groan. Vincent looked to Nanaki for help, but the giant cat was already making his way back up the long path of steps.
"Oh, get over it, Mr. Clean and Proper!" Yuffie called, bringing his attention back to the springs. To his surprise, he saw that she was climbing into the water fully clothed. "Living in the northern crater surrounded by nothing but beasties for months at a time doesn't leave room for modesty," she said irritably, before submerging herself completely in the pond. Vincent could only agree with her assessment as he watched a plume of dirt rise up in the water around her when she resurfaced. Pushing her stiff hair out of her face in annoyance, she continued her tirade while pointing at a set of smooth rocks off to the side of the small pond. "Why do you think Nanaki took me all the way down here? It takes days for the spring to recover after I've bathed in it. That's why I don't bother using the main pools further up," she added, working busily at the hardened mass that was her wet hair. The dried dirt and ichor trapped within it had softened in the warm water, forming an ugly, gooey mass around her face and neck. "Just… sit there, and turn around when I'm done with my hair," she grumbled in frustration. "Damn stuff is too long, it has to go. I don't know how Tifa managed to keep hers looking so pretty during that entire ordeal…" she muttered under her breath before sinking once more into the water.
Sensing that the argument was lost, Vincent seated herself on the stones Yuffie had pointed out and watched her struggle with her hair for a while. "Yuffie," he began when she had finally managed to restore the chocolate locks to a semblance of normality, "I'm still not quite sure I understand everything you've told me so far."
Yuffie made a small noise and motioned for him to face in the opposite direction. Vincent turned obligingly as he heard her struggle with her sopping clothes. "Forgot this shirt was green…" he heard her mutter. "Yeah, Vince, so whatcha wanna know?" she called out after a moment.
"It's been five years since we parted. But Nanaki stated you've only spent two years living in the crater. Your current level of mako exposure seems to confirm that." He paused for a moment, waiting to see if she would comment. All he heard was another string of curses that would have made Cid proud if he had been there.
"… shorts have got to be the stupidest idea I had since trying to make Nanaki wear those stockings…" she muttered as the sound of another article of clothing hitting the rocks was heard. "Oh, sorry Vincent. You were asking what I've been doing, right? Okay, the short version," she said, pushing back into the water with a sigh. "I knew what I wanted to do with that materia from the start, so I asked Nanaki if I could leave some of my supplies here while Cid ferried me back up to the northern crater. Neither of them were very happy about the idea at first, but after a couple of weeks we worked something out."
She paused, and Vincent heard the sound of splashing water and a few more hisses and curses before she continued. "Nanaki would come with me, and Cid would pick us up after three months. It was hard, being back up there, but the two of us managed to survive. Cid arrived on schedule, and we came back to Cosmo, and I told them I wanted to rest up for a couple of weeks before I left again. Nanaki didn't want to go back the second time, see, he hadn't got that idea for the Cosmo Collection yet," she explained as more splashes were heard. "The second visit didn't go so well, though. I kinda got hurt by one of the monsters there and Nanaki wasn't around to help me out. Cid figured something was up when I didn't make it back to our meeting spot on time, so he came and rescued my sorry butt and dragged me back to Cosmo," she said. "Was a really nasty wound, too, took me about six months to recover from it, and there you have the first year."
Vincent wondered silently as she continued to chatter away; Yuffie was talking about her near death experience as carelessly and animatedly as she had been complaining about her love life to Nanaki, like it was a matter of no importance.
"So anyway, after that little stunt I figured I needed some training before I could get back to the crater. Cid and Nanaki wouldn't have let me go anyway, so I got them to take me to Junon instead. Met up with Reeve there, he's doing really great by the way, you should see him now. He has this cute little goatee, and when he gets mad, he really does look like Cait Sith!" she giggled. "Anyway, I convinced him to let me use the submarine, and after that I started training in the Gelinka," she continued.
"Gelinka… Shinra's sunken cargo plane?" Vincent asked, turning his head slightly in surprise. "It's still there?"
"Oh yeah, you know Shinra built their war machines to last. Well, against everything but the Weapons, heh. Nanaki would come down there with me sometimes, and Cid always had to drive the submarine. Gawd, it's worse than the airship, you know? They'd have to strap me down with a few tranquillizers so I wouldn't yak all over the place!" Yuffie's loud laugh filled the cavern as she slapped at the water. "Spent almost a year being ferried to and from that hellhole, sometimes it made the crater seem like paradise. It worked, though, I managed to get stronger and better at battling." A note of pride touched her voice as she spoke. "I might still look skinny, but I bet I could lift Cloud's sword and swing it around a few times now," she laughed. "After that, going back to the crater was easier. It's been the same way for the past two years now, three months in the crater, two weeks back at the Canyon. Gonna keep doing it until I've finished my quest," she said. "But it gets easier each trip, you know? Maybe it's all that 'mako poisoning' you guys keep going on about," she added lightly.
Yuffie's carefree recounting of her life were at strange and uncomfortable odds with the harsh realities of her story. Each of them had found their own ways to deal with difficult situations through the years, but Yuffie's extreme frenetic attitude was worrying. It was obvious that there was more to the young woman than her jubilant attitude would leave others to believe, but she displayed her cheerful wall of armour to the rest of the world as insolently as Vincent might point his gun at his foes. You better just accept it, or get out of my way, her attitude screamed.
"Gaining power through violence isn't the answer to your problems, Yuffie," Vincent reprimanded her quietly. Believe me, I know this from experience, years of knowledge I wish I had never gained, learned through pain and suffering. You're choosing a dangerous path, he thought. But the words wouldn't come to his lips easily, while Yuffie was always quick to respond to an attack.
"Funny to hear that lecture coming from you, Valentine. Listen, I don't tell you how to live your life, so don't tell me how to live mine," she said hotly. "You wanted to leave us and do your own thing for five years? Fine by me! You won't hear me complaining about how rude that was. I bet Nanaki already gave you a good talking to, though, and you can thank your sorry ass Cloud wasn't here to do it instead. I won't ever give you any of that $"#, so the least you can do is keep your own damn opinions to yourself!"
Vincent flinched as her words rained over him like bullets. She was right; he hated being lectured to, and while he was enjoying the brief reunion with his old companions in the Canyon, the last person he wanted to see at the moment was Cloud. There was still so much he needed to sort out and come to terms with, and being confronted with moralizing friends didn't help. The next words were difficult to form. "I apologize, Yuffie. My comment was … inappropriate," he said morosely.
Yuffie sighed loudly, her tone returning to reasonable levels, at least for herself. "Like I said, get over yourself. It'll take more than a few words from you to crush my 'delicate female ego,'" she replied. Vincent could almost hear her smile as she spoke; she was still the ever-temperamental Yuffie he remembered, quick to anger, and even quicker to forget.
"Where is Nanaki, anyway? If I don't get some soap soon, I think I'm gonna scream!" she yelled impatiently.
The large cat chose that moment to make his reappearance, a bag hanging loosely from his jaws as he padded down the steps and into the cavern. Dropping his parcel by the edge of the pond, he turned back and seated himself next to Vincent. "I'm sorry for the delay, but it took a little time to explain why I needed a pair of shears to Elder Bugah," he grumbled irritably.
"Soap! Lavender, too! Nanaki, I swear, you're my hero!" Yuffie cooed with delight as the splashing in the water resumed.
"Fickle human," he rumbled in amusement. "I take it you both have had plenty of time to discuss your issues," Nanaki said he settled himself more comfortably on the rocks. "Which leaves me with the opportunity to ask my own. Why do you want to go back to the crater with me this time, Yuffie? The planet is still restless and angry there. It makes me uncomfortable." His tail twitched reflexively as he eyed the ninja in the water.
"That's right! With all the excitement Vince stirred up, I almost forgot to tell you my big-big news!" Yuffie paused in her ministrations long enough to look up with shining eyes at Nanaki. "You're gonna love this! I found a wandering tribe in the northern Crater, things that weren't monsters. They were just like you, Nanaki! A tribe of giant, intelligent flaming cats!"
Vincent noticed how Nanaki suddenly stilled, his muscles growing tense as he lay motionless on the rocks. Yuffie continued on obliviously as she finished cleaning herself off in the water.
"They just moved up there recently, and they've been searching for a home for almost 50 years now. They seemed really interested when I told them about you and Cosmo Canyon, I think they wanted to meet you. Think about it, your love life might actually get better than mine after this!"
Nanaki's voice came out as a low growl. "Yuffie. What did they call themselves?"
"The Gi Tribe! Isn't it fantastic? So, are you gonna come with me this time or what?"
The great lion closed his eye, as memories of his childhood washed over him. The cursed Gi Tribe. The ones who robbed me of my parents, and my clan. They live still! His anger burned through him slowly, causing his tail to flare up and his fangs to bare as he desperately repeated the calming mantras Bugenhagen had taught to him as a child. The physical heat and fury radiating from his body was apparent to the two humans, however, both who had frozen in their actions. At least, Yuffie had frozen. Vincent had long ago mastered the technique of remaining completely motionless when resting.
"Nanaki? Did I say something wrong?" Yuffie began hesitantly.
The low growl that escaped from the cat's lips filled the cavern with its menace. "No, Yuffie. You couldn't have known, it is something only Bugenhagen and Cloud would understand."
A sigh escaped from Yuffie's lips. "I don't get it, Nanaki. Aren't you happy? I mean, I just told you that you're not the last of your kind. There's more! There's a chance for you to have a family, and a tribe again! Don't you want to see that happen?" she questioned in a small, hurt voice.
Nanaki's fur stood on end as he rose suddenly, his one eye glowing fiercely. "The Gi Tribe gave me my scar, Yuffie. The Gi Tribe killed my parents." Stiffly, he rose and left, leaving the two humans alone with the sound of dripping water in the cavern.
"Gawd! I'm such an IDIOT!" Yuffie's shrill cry finally broke the tense silence that followed Nanaki's departure. She climbed out of the water, sniffling slightly as she donned the thick robe the large cat had brought down for her. Plopping onto the rock by Vincent's side miserably, she leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. "That was so stupid! Ugh, he's gonna be so pissed at me for DAYS!" she moaned.
Vincent sighed, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Things had been going so well, and suddenly, here he was, caught between an angry feline and an emotional young girl. He had never been good at comforting anyone, and he wasn't feeling particularly inclined to start. After a very brief consideration of a struggle for fitting words, he gave up, and slowly stood. "It was an honest mistake, Yuffie. It will pass." Blunt, but accurate. Feeling his duty was done, Vincent turned to leave.
"HOLD IT!" came the angry cry from behind him. Sighing, Vincent closed his eyes and readied himself for Yuffie's next unpredictable onslaught.
"Your social skills could use some work, Vince," Yuffie growled at him, wiping the moisture away from her eyes. "That's okay, I forgive you. I bet you're kinda out of practice anyway," she grumbled. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better, even if you do suck at it." She reached for the bag Nanaki had brought down and withdrew the pair of scissors. "But you can't leave yet. I still need you to cut my hair!" she demanded, holding the scissors towards him, pointy-side outward.
Vincent managed to look as impassive as ever, though inwardly he was shaking his head. The girl was certifiably insane. Carefully, he grasped the scissors from her hand and turned them around to a safer position. He looked from the shining pair of shears to her unruly wet hair uncertainly. "One of the village women would certainly be a better choice than myself…" he began.
Yuffie rolled her eyes and spun around on the rocks, her back to Vincent. She smoothed her hair out as best she could as she spoke. "No WAY, Vince! I tried that before. All the women here are really dorky, they keep going on about how I should dress nicer and grow my hair out so I'll look more ladylike. Gawd! It's almost like being back in Wutai again!" she complained. Sensing that Vincent hadn't moved, she turned slightly and glared at him. "Well, come on, it's not like my hair's gonna bite you. At least, I think I washed out anything that might have done that," she grinned.
Vincent moved forward uncertainly, his good hand gripping the scissors clumsily, as one might wield a weapon. Yuffie eyed his approach skeptically, and gave a massive sigh.
"Geez, you're so uptight! Just relax! Trust me, you're not gonna ruin my hair. I don't care how it looks, just make it short-short-SHORT!" Seeing that his posture hadn't changed, she groaned loudly. "But you might ACCIDENTALLY decapitate me if you don't loosen up," she added wryly.
"Are you sure?" he asked her one final time, as he readied the scissors. Yuffie just turned and straightened her back, holding perfectly still. With a sigh, he reached forward and grabbed one of the dark, damp locks in his golden claw. Even though it was still wet, it was clear to see that Yuffie's hair was luxuriously thick. Wutanese hair, always growing straight and dark. The thickness was unusual, however; with her lifestyle it was no wonder she wanted it gone. But it was a shame, he reflected absently as he began to snip away. Had Yuffie been the type to let her hair grow fashionably long, he was sure it would be a beautiful sight.
Yuffie sighed as pieces of her hair fell around her. Unbeknownst to Vincent, she was thinking very similar thoughts at that moment. I have my mom's hair, she remembered. She thought about it; the past, being a young girl, barely tall enough to reach the handles on the shoji screens. Her mother would let her watch as she brushed out her long, beautiful hair, falling to the ground in a shining sheath like a chocolate waterfall. It always looked so soft and pretty, and the young girl had often been scolded by the handmaids for ruining her mother's hard work by grabbing the shining mass in her grubby hands and toying with it. Mother would laugh then, and say it was all right, before scooping Yuffie up into her arms. "One day you will have my hair too, Yuffie, and then you can do whatever you like with it."
She watched another chunk of brown fall to the side of her feet, landing in a messy clump, and remembered that beautiful hair, wet and matted, plastered to her mother's face by all the blood. She had cried, then, cried and cried, because she didn't understand, but somehow she knew that she'd never run her fingers through those beautiful chocolate strands again. Years later, Godo had commented on her hair. "You really should let it grow out, Yuffie. It's fitting to a daughter of Wutai. You'd look just like your mother." She had yelled at Godo, and then to his great shame and disappointment, cut it off and dyed the remainder with streaks of messy, artificial blond the very next day.
Another tendril of hair fell by her feet, and Yuffie realized that Vincent was making an attempt to be careful. Her lip curled, and she spoke harshly. "Do it faster, Vincent. I don't care what it looks like, just get rid of it." She felt him pause, an unspoken query in the air, but she said nothing further, and thankfully, he didn't ask any questions.
… … …
Nanaki loped up the steps, a growl resounding through the hallways as he passed. Beyond the sealed door and into the dripping cavern he raced, the residents of the Canyon wisely avoiding him as they saw him pound through. He burst into the dank underground maze of tunnels, his feet having memorized the path long ago. As expected, the ghosts came out to greet him.
Howling, the skeletal lions rose, slashing at him with their misty teeth and claws. Nanaki snarled, clawing and biting, causing the ghostly apparitions to fly apart into harmless swirls of mist. They would only come back again later, of course, their vengeful spirits doomed to wander in the canyon's maze for all eternity. "You never die!" he roared in frustration as the ghostly figures faded away.
At last he reached his goal; the frozen form of Seto, forever trapped in his struggle, the stone arrows rising from his hide like quills from a porcupine. Nanaki whimpered, butting his head under the stony chin in a futile search for comfort. "Father," he grumbled, settling on the ground and resting his head on his massive paws. "Why did you and mother have to fight? Why did you have to die?" he asked, a low whine in his throat. He closed his one eye and let the tear that formed fall. Nanaki, Guardian of Cosmo Canyon, never cried. He never showed weakness to his people; he was their protector. But here, alone under the stars with his father, he felt like a young cub all over again, weak and helpless against the cruel machinations of fate.
After some time, Nanaki turned his thoughts to the stories of the Gi tribe that his grandfather had relayed when he was young. "So they live… but to have moved all the way to the northern continent, and into the northern crater now. They are hiding." He wuffled slightly, turning one baleful eye up to the moon. "But from whom? My clan is destroyed, I am the last. Surely they don't fear me…"
He rolled over onto his back, gazing up at the twinkling stars in the sky overhead. "It's an opportunity… my chance for vengeance. I can reclaim the pride of our clan, and fulfill my duty as your son." There was no answer, but the stone form of Seto seemed enveloped in the rising darkness, more distant than ever before. The breeze stirred, carrying with it the soft, sorrowful answer than Nanaki already knew in his heart.
"No. My tribe were protectors of those who appreciate the peace and beauty of this canyon." He sighed, turning back over and regarding the still form of his father. "It would be dishonourable to your sacrifice, and mother's, to throw my life away on such a pointless task." Moonlight broke through the clouds, and Nanaki felt his father's strength and pride flowing through his body as he regarded the regal stone figure. "Yes… it's not my place to search for revenge. My mission is to protect, not to kill."
Immediately Nanaki felt better, having come to at least one decision. But his ears twitched as he considered Yuffie's news. "Father… even if I let the past go, I still don't know what I should do," he grumbled. "The Gi tribe… they still exist, and are searching for something. Are they looking for me? Do they want to finish what they started in Cosmo Canyon?" Again, he already knew the answer as he considered the problem. "No, they would have come here sooner, if they wanted to strike. Perhaps…" Yuffie's eager explanation occurred to him once more.
"…they've been searching for a home for almost 50 years now…"
"Perhaps they also are looking only for peace, and a place to belong." Sadness welled up in his breast as he looked to the silent statue. "I don't know if I'd be strong enough to forgive them, father. Maybe they just want to be left alone," he said wistfully. "I don't need to return to the crater with Yuffie. The past should remain in the past."
Bugenhagen's words floated through Nanaki's memory, like a whisper through the evening sky. "Look at the withering mountain grass. Listen to the warble of the newborn chocobos. Look always to the eternal flow of time which is far greater than the span of a human life. It will teach you more than staying here in the valley… for what you see will eventually become a part of life's dream."
"Grandfather…" he sighed into the night air. "Mother, father… they died, fighting to protect you and the others in the canyon. I can't ignore that. I want to stay here. I want to be with you and the others."
"It's a wide world, and you must go out and see it. You may even find your life's mate. You never know."
The pang of loneliness struck Nanaki once again. He appreciated his friends, and in his own way, he dearly loved Yuffie and the others as much as he loved Bugenhagen. But the love of his adopted family couldn't ease the gaping emptiness of knowing that he would always be alone, the last of his kind.
Not the last. The Gi tribe lives.
Hope and resentment warred in his breast, each fighting for domination. "Father, what should I do?"
Seto looked down on his son with his unblinking gaze, and the wind remained still.