Life, or Something Like It
Chapter Two: November Rain
Yuffie awaited the blissful black of unconsciousness, but it never came. Instead, tiny lights exploded before her eyes and a searing pain shot up her spine. I didn't know being dead would be so...painful, she thought to herself as she struggled to open her eyes. Riku and Sora were running over to her, people were crowding around the accident scene, and one pissed off man was cursing obscenely. She looked down at her body. To her relief, she wasn't a Yuffie!pancake after all. The Mercedes wasn't so lucky, however; it was wrapped around a streetlight, and the wind shield was cracked.
Riku froze for a second, overwhelmed with relief that Yuffie hadn't been crushed by the car. "Are you ok?" he asked immediately as he skated up to her, Sora on his heels.
"Oww…my head…" Yuffie moaned, shutting her eyes to stop the spinning.
"Is anything broken?" Sora asked eagerly. "Maybe we could sue that guy! He has a Mercedes, so he has to be rich."
If she had the strength, Yuffie would've rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head. Typical Sora. Always looking at the bigger picture. "I don't think so. I think I'm okay."
Riku and Sora helped Yuffie to her feet. Immediately she swayed, and Riku caught her before she could hit the pavement. "We need to get out of here. Let's get back to the orphanage."
"I don't wanna go back," Yuffie whined. "I'm never going back. Ansem's a sadistic bastard, and you know it."
"Yuffie, you're barely conscious. You're not making sense."
"So?"
Riku groaned and handed his skateboard to Sora. "You carry the boards, I'll carry Yuffie."
They began to walk away when a man called out to them. "Hey, where are you going?" the man asked them. "Is she okay?"
Riku and Sora exchanged a look. "Come on!" Riku said urgently to his friend. He hoisted Yuffie onto his back, piggyback style, and the two took off, ducking into a dark alley.
Squall sprinted after them and stopped at the entrance of the alley. He sighed exasperatedly, running his fingers through his hair. After a moment, he decided to head back to his car. He really didn't have time for chasing a bunch of kids around.
Well, at least she wasn't seriously injured from what I could see, Squall thought as he climbed into his dented Mercedes, pausing for a moment to gather his wits. He couldn't get the image of the terror etched on the girl's face as he nearly ran her over…
He shook his head firmly. There were no skateboarding laws around this part of town anyway. So it was just as much her fault as it was his. Squall started up the engine and backed out onto the road. He would have to see Cid about the damage...the girl did look a little pale...
Squall sighed and dragged a hand across his face. Why was he feeling so guilty about a girl he'd only seen for two minutes?
Yuffie bit her lip to keep from crying out. Her bruises and cuts hurt like hell. Riku carefully bandaged up Yuffie's arm to the best of his ability. "Does it hurt?" he asked softly.
"No, I'm making this face because I'm constipated," Yuffie answered darkly.
"Ah."
They sat on Yuffie's bed up in the bedroom, where forty-two of the three hundred kids at the orphanage slept. It was nightfall now, and Riku had swiped a first-aid kit from downstairs. Sora, who nearly fainted at the sight of blood, had thought it best to go downstairs and hang out with Tidus and Wakka.
"Ow!" Yuffie couldn't help but hiss when Riku applied peroxide.
"Shh! You want Ansem to hear you?"
Yuffie shut her mouth and grit her teeth. Damn. The one day she hadn't been wearing her elbow and knee pads or helmet, she nearly got run over. "Ouch," she muttered.
"You know, you oughta be more careful," Riku said thoughtfully.
"Me? Be careful?" Yuffie repeated, managing a weak grin. "Sorry, it wasn't in the job description."
"If you don't watch out, Ansem will - "
" - kick me out," Yuffie finished. "Which, might I add, wouldn't be so terrible."
Riku frowned, but didn't say anything. He wasn't a worrier; he took whatever life threw at him in stride. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if Yuffie was really planning on breaking out. Having known her for ten years, Riku decided that he wouldn't put it past her. "I'm just hoping we don't get busted."
"Busted? How?"
"You know how many cronies Ansem has hanging around downtown. They might blab something."
"You mean his job. I certainly don't plan on stealing all my life to get by."
"Point is, Ansem might found out that we were downtown and didn't swipe anything."
Yuffie groaned. It was one of the rules of the orphanage. If any of the orphans ever left the streets Brooklyn, they were required to come back with over a hundred dollars in merchandise for re-entry to the orphanage, not unlike paying a twisted sort of turnpike toll. Ansem had come up with the idea to make some quick cash to pay off his gambling debts. "But I don't think we were caught," Yuffie said thoughtfully. "I mean, if we were, Ansem would be pretty ticked off, and he'd - "
"He'd what?" a new voice demanded.
Riku felt his breath hitch in his throat. Yuffie's face mirrored his own terror. He slowly turned to see a furious Ansem standing in the door way, holding Sora by the scruff of his neck. "Ansem!"
"Heard you three were downtown today," Ansem spoke calmly, though his eyes betrayed his true emotions. He effortlessly flung Sora into the room and shut the door. Wordlessly, Riku and Yuffie stood up, preparing for the worst.
Ansem took a step forward, his six foot ten frame trembling with rage. His golden eyes flared with anger, and every fiber of his long, platinum hair seemed to radiate with fury.
This was Ansem at his worst. Well, worse than the three of them had ever seen. They didn't want to see the real Ansem who hadn't smoked his morning joint--ever.
He'd lost over five hundred dollars in poker today. He was low on beer, he smoked his last joint this morning and was fresh out, and these kids didn't have the decency to bring some cash. All in all, today was a bad day.
And for these punks, it was going to get worse.
"A few of my friends told me that they saw the three of you downtown this afternoon. Is that true?"
Silence.
Ansem's hand lashed out and gripped Sora's throat. "Answer me!"
"Y-Yes," Sora managed to choke out. He tried to pry Ansem's fingers from his throat.
"Without my permission?" Ansem hissed.
Sora couldn't answer due to lack of air. Ansem tossed Sora aside and rounded on Riku and Yuffie. "You've disobeyed me again."
"We're sorry, it won't happen again-" Yuffie began.
"You're right," Ansem cut her off, "It won't happen again. I've had enough of your sorry ass, Kisaragi."
Yuffie backed away as Ansem stepped closer. He was close enough for Yuffie to smell the whiskey on his breath. She met his gaze with a defiant glare.
"I've sheltered you, fed you, clothed you, educated you for nearly ten years, and this is how you repay me?"
Don't let him bait you into responding, Yuffie told herself. He just wants a reason to beat you up. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from answering. She wouldn't be able to put up a fight, even if she'd wanted to. She was still banged up from the accident earlier. And as much as Yuffie was dying to pound the living daylights out of Ansem, she kept her cool.
Ansem scowled down at the girl before him. He turned to Riku. "And you. I took you and your friend in as my own two sons. I nursed you both back to health under my care and protection."
"I am nothing like you," Riku spoke up. Yuffie shot him a quick glance. She was the one who lost her cool, not Riku! What was he thinking?
"What?" Apparently Ansem was just as shocked as Yuffie was.
"You heard me," he answered, fists clenched so tightly they began to shake. "I am not your son!"
Ansem didn't respond. "I will give you three another chance. You," he jerked his head in Yuffie and Sora's direction, "take the first half of the neighborhood. Riku, you and Tidus take the second half. I want an average of five hundred dollars all together. Get back before midnight, understood?"
The three nodded and hurried out the door before Ansem could change his mind.
Yuffie wondered what would happen to her if one day a cop caught her breaking into a quickie mart. Juvenile Hall couldn't possibly be any worse than the orphanage. She and Sora walked along the dark, abandoned streets, looking for someone to mug. Riku and Tidus were sent over to the next neighborhood to break into someone's house. She glanced at Sora, who looked deep in thought.
Sora often thought of running away, but he was in too deep and knew too much. Ansem would track him down and silence him before he would be able to tell anyone of the disgusting things going on at the orphanage. He supposed it was better than living on the streets; at least he ate at least once a day and had a bed to sleep in--most nights, that is. Sora could remember the first time he stole something…
"You want me to do what?" five year-old Sora asked incredulously. His big blue eyes echoed his confusion.
"Go up to a person, 'accidentally' bump into them so they drop their things, grab their purse or wallet, and get your butt back into this alley before they catch you," a friend of Ansem's instructed. Otto was his name. He wore a long trench coat over a black polo shirt and jeans. He had greasy black hair and eerie hazel eyes. Not to mention the guy could use a bath or two, Sora noticed, fighting the urge to pinch his nose.
"You want me to steal?"
"It sounds so much worse when you put it that way," Otto said with a fake smile. "Think of it as a game. You lose if you get caught."
"But their stuff isn't mine," Sora pointed out.
"It isn't," Otto agreed. "It's Ansem's. We're just getting our friend's stuff back. There's nothing wrong with that. Those people shouldn't steal our friend's stuff, now should they?"
Sora nodded. That sounded fair enough. He merged onto the busy sidewalk, shoving his hands into his pockets. As accidental as he could make it, Sora walked into a tall business woman who was chatting away on her cell phone. Her briefcase and purse fell open, and several folders fell from her grasp.
"Oh great," the woman sighed.
"Sorry," Sora apologized, almost forgetting what he had to do. While the woman was busy gathering her folders, Sora picked up her purse. He felt a pair of eyes on him and looked up. A girl his own age with cerulean orbs and auburn hair was watching him intently. Sora scowled at the little girl; girls were icky. In return, the girl stuck her tongue out at him.
"Come on!" Otto hissed urgently. Sora ran into the alley just as the woman realized that she'd been robbed. By a five year-old, no less.
Sora clambered onto the back of Otto's motorcycle, and they shot off down the alley back to the orphanage. "You did great kiddo," Otto congratulated.
Sora nodded and tried to smile, but found himself frowning. If he did great, why didn't he feel so great?
"…Sora?" Yuffie asked. He'd been awfully quiet.
"Hm?"
"You okay?"
"Mhm."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm just thinking, that's all," Sora answered slowly.
"Look! There's someone," Yuffie whispered as she spotted a feminine figure walking down the sidewalk. "Finally. Let's just grab her stuff and get out of here."
"Excuse me?" the figure called out. "Could you give me directions to the nearest subway?"
Sora and Yuffie blinked.
That was strange, Yuffie thought. No one's ever spoken to them before getting mugged. This girl obviouslywasn't from around here. Yuffie exchanged a glance with Sora. His expression mirrored her own.
Yuffie rubbed her forehead in exasperation. It was still sore from the accident earlier that morning. "Listen, you'd better get out of here," Yuffie warned. "If you're not careful, you'll get jumped."
The girl came into view, the dim streetlight shining upon her gentle features. "I'd get out of here if I knew where I was and where to go." The girl suddenly fixed her attention on Sora, giving him a steely glare. "You're not going to mug me, are you?" the girl asked warily.
Yuffie paused for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. "Nah, I guess not. It wouldn't be fair."
Next thing Sora knew, his head was jerked to the side from the force of the slap. He repressed the urge of retaliating. Don't hit girls, don't hit girls, he reminded himself, although, at the moment, he was considering changing his morals. "Hey! What was that for?" Sora demanded, nursing his stinging cheek.
"I think you know," the girl said with a huff.
"What are you talking about?"
"You were that little kid who stole that woman's purse!"
Sora blinked as he thought for a moment. "Wait, which woman?"
"Are you kidding? You stole her purse and then you stuck your tongue out at me."
Oh yeah. Wow. She was still angry for something that had happened nearly ten years ago? "Hey, I didn't want to take it. I had to." He paused for a moment. "And you were the one who stuck your tongue out at me."
"Had to?"
"Yeah, same way I stole from that lady, I'm supposed to steal from you," Sora admitted. Yuffie gaped noiselessly at him. Was he purposely trying to get them into trouble? "But I won't."
"What makes me so different?"
Sora shrugged. "I...I don't know. Something about it seems wrong."
Yuffie was thoroughly confused. Obviously the two had a past. She made a mental note to ask Sora about it later. "Whatever. You need to get home, and we need some cash. Let's make a deal. Fifty bucks if me and Sora get you home safely."
"Fifty!"
"Thirty." They had to bring back something to Ansem. She really didn't feel up to defending herself tonight.
"Fine. Only if you can get me home."
Sora and Yuffie looked at each other. She hoped that Riku and Tidus brought back $470 to make up for their loss… "Fine, it's a deal," Yuffie sighed.
"My name's Kairi," the girl introduced, extending a hand.
"I'm Yuffie, and you already seem to know Sora." Yuffie extended a fist in return, which resulted in an awkward handshake.
"Pleasure," Kairi said a bit sourly. "I'd like to be home before midnight, so lead the way."
Sora studied his surroundings. The large houses and tall, oak trees loomed in the dark of the night. At some point he must've had a house, just like these, and a family to call his own. He shoved his hands in his pockets. Maybe there was still a chance that his parents survived and were looking for him…
He shook his head and forced the thought away, returning to studying the large suburban homes that lined the street.
Kairi sighed happily. It was good to be home again. She hated being alone in a strange surrounding with no familiar faces. She'd wisely opted to walk home instead of getting into a car with drunken teens after the party. Although maybe it wasn't such a wise idea after all, she later decided. She ended up wandering the streets of some run-down neighborhood in Brooklyn and almost getting mugged.
She came to a stop in front of a large two story house. Yuffie looked at the house in awe. It was a freaking mansion, complete with a white picket fence. It was the kind of house Yuffie had only seen on TV.
"Thanks a lot, you guys," Kairi said gratefully. "Just because you guys live on that side of town doesn't make you bad. It's those other people who give you guys a bad rep. In fact, you guys make better friends than some of the people I've known forever."
Yuffie smiled. It felt nice to be appreciated, for once. "No problem. If you're ever down in Brooklyn…"
"Only if I'm lost again."
"Yeah, well, stop by anyways," Sora said.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Kairi dug into the pocket of the denim jacket she wore and handed a fifty dollar bill to Sora. "Here."
Sora pushed the money back to Kairi. "I can't take this."
"You can't?" Yuffie and Kairi repeated in unison.
"It wasn't a chore to get you back home. It was actually kinda fun," Sora said thoughtfully.
"You're the best!" Kairi said, beaming. "If you're ever in the neighborhood, feel free to stop by and say hello!" She hugged both Yuffie and Sora before running up to her front door.
"Come on," Yuffie said to Sora. "We better get going and come up with some quick cash before we get beaten."
Sora didn't move. He couldn't. He watched Kairi run up the steps and open the door. Before she walked in, she waved back at Sora and smiled her thousand watt smile. Sora forced himself to wave back at her as she shut the door. Moments later, he realized that Yuffie was desperately trying to get his attention. "Oh, sorry," he apologized, hiding the blush that crept up his neck.
Yuffie grinned. "Kairi and Sora, sitting in a tree--"
"Shut up!" Sora hissed. "She's right inside! She can hear you!"
Yuffie laughed. "Come on, Romeo. We have $250 to steal."
A blond haired man sat in the passenger's side of a police car. He sipped on his coffee, hoping to keep awake. Cloud hated the night shift, especially when he had to tag along with his boss, Sephiroth. The two men sat in a stony silence in the parking lot of a Dunkin Donuts.
Suddenly a voice crackled over the radio. "Break in over on 32nd street at the convenience store. Two kids. As far as can be told, they aren't armed."
Sephiroth groaned. Here he was, the head of the police department, going on a mere break-in and possible robbery.
Cloud let out a breath of relief. Finally, something to do that didn't include drug or rape victims. He downed the rest of his coffee and looked at his boss. "Well?"
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow as if to say, "Well, what?" He definitely wasn't a conversationalist.
"Aren't you going to take this call?"
"Fine. You handle it."
Yuffie ran.
Scratch that. She hauled some major ass. She didn't even know she could run this fast. Some birthday, she thought miserably. She followed Sora through the dark alley, clutching the bag of stolen money in her hand. "Crap oh crap oh crap oh crap," she chanted breathlessly, trying to lose the cop chasing after them. The cop, whose sharp blue eyes closely watched the two running teens, shone a flashlight to light the way.
The two came across a tall chain link fence. They both must've climbed this fence at least two hundred times in the past, so climbing it once more shouldn't be a problem. Sora pulled himself up and over with ease, landing on the other side. Yuffie found a foothold and launched herself upwards, only to have the right leg of her jeans catch on the fence.
"Sora!" she yelled.
Sora looked back. He watched Yuffie struggle to pull her pants loose. He darted over and tried to free the leg of her pants from the fence.
"Hurry!" Yuffie yelled. Panic had finally taken over. She couldn't get caught. What would they do with her? What about Riku and Sora? Finally, Sora freed her, and Yuffie threw the bag of money over the fence and quickly climbed over.
"Oh no you don't," a voice growled, and a hand caught her ankle and pulled her back down.
She struggled against the cop's strength, but it was no use. She fell hard on the asphalt. "Sora! Run!" Yuffie said to the boy as he stood rooted to the spot.
"But--"
"GO!"
Sora scooped up the money and took off into the night. He barely felt his feet touch the ground and didn't notice the stitch in his side. All he felt was the knot that had formed in his stomach. He'd never see Yuffie again…
TBC
