A/N: Ah! The Sequel to Human Years is finally up! And, I promise… this won't be a three part thing. So much to cover and I don't want to skip all the ideas I have. :waves memo pad around:

For those who haven't read Human Years, I suggest you read it… soz you can understand what's going in this story. It was only three parts so… it shouldn't take you long to finish.

Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: FF7 doesn't belong to me! Only… the idea of this story and the… Wutai thingamabobs.

Back To Those Human Years
Chapter One

We Remember

After the little incident several months back, we were finally back on our feet and headed straight for… where ever Cloud planned to go. Yuffie kept complaining about how we never visit her hometown, Wutai. I couldn't help but agree with her in my mind. I… actually never really went to Wutai before. I've always been stuck in the Highwind, deep in thought about how we should plan out our attack on Sephiroth. Even though that's still stuck in my head, I wanted to put that aside for the time being and force my mind on something else.

Cid, who had been complaining a lot lately, decided to call out the Highwind, seeing that walking on foot would take forever to where we wanted to go. And, as usual, Yuffie immediately turned airsick the second she stepped foot on the airship, however, that didn't stop her from complaining about going to Wutai. She woozily hung over Cloud's shoulder and panted her complains in his ear.

"Please! Please! Plleeeaassseeee!" Yuffie chanted over and over, trying to hold in the barf that was about to escape from her mouth. Cloud twitched at that and tilted his head away from the anxious girl.

"Yuffie, we can't go on anymore side trips… like what Cid did."

Cid grunted at that. "Hey! Shera was practically calling for me!"

"So you can boss her around again? That poor woman…" Tifa pointed out, poking Cid's back.

"It has been a while since we rested." I pointed out. "We've been fighting monsters here and there. It would be kind of nice to rest somewhere… at least for little while."

"And he speaks!" the happy ninja exclaimed in my face, covering her mouth as she did so. "Please, Cloud! This is the time of year when my village holds a special festival!"

Cloud lifted his head up and sighed, probably thinking that it was pointless to fight back. "Alright, alright. We'll go… ONLY until the festival is done."

"Hooray! Two days in Wutai!"

Cloud groaned under his breath then slapped himself on the forehead. I smiled and stretched out on the ground, knowing that I could finally feel real ground soon… and not hear Yuffie's constant barfing on the other end of the ship.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As quick as the Highwind was, we arrived at Wutai no more than fifteen minutes. We landed right outside of the village and quickly made our way out. Yuffie happily ran in front of me and gently patted my head.

"Thanks, Red ol' pal!" she giggled.

"It was nothing," I responded, shaking the girl's hand off of my head.

As we entered the village, I couldn't help but gaze in awe at all the beautiful decorations that were hung around the houses. People of all ages were helping their friends and family for the preparation of the festival. Many different colored paper lanterns were hung everywhere and kids were getting their outfits ready.

I stepped forward to get a better look, but Yuffie's face blocked my way, surprising me for a second.

"Oh yeah! You've never been to Wutai before, have you?"

I blinked then nodded slowly. "Uh, yeah. It's really beautiful here."

"Yes! Especially when there's a festival! Pretty colors… and lights everywhere!"

"So, what exactly is this festival about?" Tifa asked as she made her way towards us.

Yuffie clasped her hands together and smiled. "It's a tradition in Wutai. It's in honor of the whole village and its great people. Nature… peace… family… anything that comes to your mind! It's mostly about being around with those you care most about. Which is why… I'm… going to attempt to hang out with my so-called father. It won't be pretty, but… I still care for the ol' geezer."

Tifa snickered at that. "Aw, that's really sweet, Yuffie."

The ninja stuck her tongue at that, making me smile and turn away. 'Who you care most about, huh?' I shook my head at that as memories of being human tried making its way to the front of my mind. That was all in the past, besides… my feelings for Yuffie have changed. I wasn't sure about Yuffie, but I could tell by just the way she had been acting towards me… she sees me as a friend.

"Oh, Cloud! Let's get some yukatas!" Tifa squealed as she skipped towards Cloud.

"I'm going to visit the ol' geezer, okay?"

My ears perked up at that. "Oh, okay."

Yuffie smiled and ran to where her house was. I watched her for a few minutes then walked away. I was still interested in Wutai and how they follow traditions like this. How could I not have been here before? I didn't know how much I missed before. Coming here definitely was a good idea.

My ears perked up once again as I spotted Cloud and the rest of the gang enter a small building… I'm guessing where you can get yukatas. Right when I was about to make my way there, the gang came out with their outfits, all in different colors. Tifa modeled her new outfit for Cloud who seemed interested in it, while Cid, Barret and Vincent just stared at theirs with blank looks on their faces. Kind of looked like they weren't planning on using it anytime soon.

Cid fumbled around his yukata and grunted, "Do I have to wear this ridiculous thing!"

"Makes me look kind of girly…" Barret agreed.

"We don't have to," Vincent said, folding his neatly in his arms, "It's not exactly a law or something."

"Ah, you guys are such party poopers!" Tifa squawked in the back. "Everyone will be wearing one and you guys'll only embarrass yourselves, right, Cloud?"

Cloud, who didn't seem he was paying attention lifted his head up at the mention of his name and nodded, oblivious to what the girl just said. "Uh, yeah."

"Ooh! Let's put it on you right now, Cloud!"

Tifa tugged Cloud's arm back inside the building while Cid and the rest slowly walked away.

I sighed to myself, knowing that it would seem kind of awkward for an animal like me to be wearing human clothes. I chuckled at that thought then paused, noticing that a few people were staring at me; giving me scared and worried expressions. I wouldn't blame them, I was a creature that was quite unknown to them, but… if only they knew that I wouldn't do anything to harm them or this small peaceful village…

Just then, I spotted Yuffie running, holding something close to her chest. She stopped in front of me and panted. I tilted my head then leaned forward.

"What's wrong, Yuffie?"

"Your… yukata!" she happily smiled, bringing out the red cloth up to my face. "My father said I could let you borrow it!"

I blinked at her then stared at the red outfit and sighed. "Uhm… you know I can't wear clothes."

Yuffie's eyes widened at that then quickly withdrew the outfit back as a slight blush escaped onto her pale face.

"O-Oh… yeah… I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

We both paused as a gentle breeze brushed by, giving such a nice touch to the awkward silence. I slightly turned my head, still noticing people staring at me with those worried faces. Before I even bothered to turn away, I cleared my throat, which brought Yuffie's attention to me once again.

"I don't want to ruin your festival because of me. Everyone… they don't seem too comfortable with me around."

Yuffie blinked and took a look at her surroundings, noticing the staring people. She gave them a dirty look then smiled at me. "Don't worry about them! They're just a bunch of scaredy-cats!"

"But…"

"Just come! You'll enjoy it! Besides, the festival doesn't start until tomorrow. So, they'll have plenty of time to get used to you!"

"T-Tomorrow?"

The ninja stuck the tip of her tongue at me before patting my head. "Yes, silly! If it was today, there'd be even more chaos!"

I gave out a nervous smile then resumed to my frown. "Okay, we'll see what happens tomorrow."

That seemed to make Yuffie happy as she got down to her knees and hugged my neck… quite tightly in fact. I couldn't help but nuzzle against Yuffie's soft neck. It had been a while since I've been in an embrace… with her.

"Yuffie!"

We both looked up at the sudden voice and turned our heads to the person who called out. A tall man wearing, and I had to admit, a beautiful and exotic-looking outfit that had cranes and beautiful flowers embroidered in it. Yuffie quickly stood up straight and bowed.

"Father…"

"I never told you you could let some total stranger borrow a yukata!" he growled, almost whacking his own daughter on the head as he lifted his arm in the air and brought down quickly.

'My bad, old geezer,' I heard Yuffie say under her breath. "Sorry about that," she finally said to her father.

Yuffie's father grunted at that and finally noticed that I was sitting right behind her. He gave a disgusted look at me before he turned his attention to his daughter.

"What is… that thing?"

That made Yuffie stomp her foot hard, almost making me jump a thousand feet back.

"He's not a thing! His name's Nanaki and I was going to give him this yukata to wear for the festival!"

"You… what!"

"Leave him alone! He has every right to come to this festival! After all, this is the time of year where you get to spend those precious two days with those you care most about! And I care about him!"

I could have sworn my whole body was on fire. I bowed my head, trying to hide the blush that was about to spread out on my face.

Before the man had the chance to retort, one of his associates called out for him. "Sir Godo! We need help with the festival arrangements!"

Godo grunted and turned away. "It doesn't belong here."

Yuffie punched the air several times then stomped her foot hard on the ground. "Damn him! And to think I was going to hang out with him during the festival. Blah! He's always busy anyway and never does fun things."

"Don't say that, Yuffie…"

"You don't know him. He's always busy. Never even saw the whole village lit up. He's always hanging around at the Pagoda, being a jerk and showing off his exotic outfits he's been collecting for a bajillion years. Don't people ever get tired of staring at those old things?"

I paused. My eyes were fixed upon Yuffie's angry brown eyes. "…y-you called me Nanaki. You usually call me Red…"

Her eyes widened at that as she gave out a nervous smile. "O-Oh… eh heh… mind if I call you that? I-I guess I sort of picked that up after… you know."

I remained silent, still shocked that she called me Nanaki and the fact that she was still thinking about what happened many months ago.

"U-Uhm… I-I could… ah! Sorry! N-Na… RED!"

I chuckled at her attempt to stay calm. "I don't mind. That just… sort of came out of the blue."

Yuffie remained silent for a moment.

"Y-Yeah." She stared at the red yukata then gently stroked it with her fingers. "Y'know, my father won't go easy on you… he usually doesn't like things that are… 'out of the ordinary,' but that's quite ironic to say…"

I tilted my head. "Eh?"

"I can tell by the look in his eyes… that he already dislikes you."

"…I… could… you know. Stay in the Highwind and-"

"No!" Yuffie snapped, "I want you to enjoy the festival! I'll just… find a way to convince my father to let you in!"

"It'll only lead to a conflict. Really, it's alright, Yuffie," I lied. I really wanted to know more about the Wutai culture and how the festival would turn out for those two days. But, I didn't want to start a bad conflict between Yuffie and her father. They were both fighting with each other anyway.

The girl shoved her face right into mine, staring directly at my lone eye. I blinked and clenched my teeth nervously. "Wouldn't it… be such a coincidence if you just… suddenly turned back into a human?"

I widened my eyes at that. "W-What?"

"Not in a bad way or anything, but, that would be the only way my father would accept you. Buuuut… wouldn't it be neat-o?"

I slowly nodded. "Yes… it would, but that's quite impossible now… unless we find those dragons again…"

"Maybe we c-"

"No, just… just don't worry about me. I promise, I'll be fine." I sat up and slightly turned away from the broken spirited girl. "… 'spend those precious two days with those you care about the most'… will you do that for me, Yuffie?"

"B-But I…"

I bowed my head then left for the Highwind, knowing that all that talk about me being fine was all a lie… and I had a feeling those words would haunt me for those two long days.

A/N: End of Chapter One! Ooh… can you predict what's gonna happen? Hm? With the human thingy? Hehe. Oh, and if you're wondering what a yukata is… it's a japanese summer cotton kimono that both women and men use. So cool… I want one. Hehe… anyways! I hope you enjoyed and please tell me how you thought of it!