Wowie zowie! I feel so loved with all of these reviews. I just want to apologize now for the shortness of the last chapter—I felt a little rushed and I couldn't really go anywhere with it. The Munny thing has absolutely no significance… well, actually, it does, but it didn't then. It will in this chapter.

Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed. That really makes me happy and keeps me going. I am aiming for this chapter to be longer than the others were, simply because I'm getting warmed up now and because I've finally finished cleaning my room and I have all day with the computer. (Yayy for the VL!)

Here begins the Vulpes Lapis's famous harassments about disclaimers. I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any Squaresoft characters. If I did, you would all be disclaiming them to me, and not Squaresoft, who seems to have a problem with making one damn game with a happy ending! Not that I'm bitter…

                                                                                                              ~*~

"One forty-seven… one forty-eight… one forty-nine… one fifty!" Yuffie finished counting out her share of Munny from the Heartless fight. Since the opponents were only Shadows, their rewards were small. Even so, this was a good chunk of cash for her. She scooped it off of the tabletop and into a clay jar that she kept her Munny in. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Squall polishing the Gunblade and she sighed quietly. He hadn't said a word to her all day since the Heartless fight and she was beginning to wonder if he was thinking of ways to ditch her. Not that she was shadowing him or anything…

          I need to talk to Aerith, she decided, looking away from him. She was fairly certain that her friend was in her room, moping silently about Cloud. It was at this thought that she faltered. Maybe it was best to keep her own problems to herself, since Aerith was so sad about Cloud of late. But then again, the Flower Girl had said it herself that she didn't mind hearing what she had to say, because it got her mind off of things.

          Aerith opened her hotel door at a tap on the door. She smiled when she saw Yuffie standing there, looking a little dirty and a little beaten up. She concluded that she had probably gotten into a fight.

          "Hello, Yuffie," she said softly. "Rough day?"

          "What gave it away?" The ninja grumbled, voice dripping sarcasm. "Can I come in?"

          "Of course," Aerith said, stepping aside and letting her young friend into her room. Yuffie sat down backwards on one of the chairs, crossing her arms over the back and resting her chin on her wrists. Aerith was glaring at her.

          "What?" She asked, looking innocent.

          "Why can't you sit like a lady?"

          She looked down at her seated position. "Ninjas aren't ladies," she retorted. "I gotta talk to you about Squall." She went right to the point.

          "What? Oh, Yuffie, haven't we already been over this? I just feel more comfortable with you rooming with h—"

          "The man is driving me completely insane! Crazy! Nuts! And he calls me a brat. Can you believe that?" She asked, not waiting for an answer. "A brat! Me! I hate his guts and I just wanna strangle him, and… and… and…"

          She looked over at Aerith, who had been listening with an amused grin on her lips. She waited a moment before stating, "And you like him, don't you?"

          Appalled, Yuffie lurched to her feet. "I do not!" She yelled, tripping over the chair and just barely catching herself. "Goddammit, yes I do." She buried her face in her hands. "I don't understand it, either! How do I like him if he drives me so crazy and I hate him so much?"

          "Love works in mysterious ways, Yuffie," Aerith said. Yuffie screwed up her face. When Aerith gave an answer like that, it meant that she herself didn't really know the answer, but she would never really admit it. "You look like you could use some alone time."

          "What I could use is for Squall to notice me."

          "He notices you."

          "Not how I want him to." She sighed. "I dunno, I just think that I'll always be the little annoying kid from Hollow Bastion to him. No way he'll ever see me as anything more than that." She headed for the door. "Thanks for listening, Aerith." With that, she shuffled out of the hotel. She did need some alone time, and the best way to get that was on a nice walk. The First District wasn't particularly crowded today, so she decided that she would stay in it rather than risk getting mobbed by Heartless in the Second or Third Districts.

          The streets were still wet from the earlier rain. She stepped hard in a puddle and made a splash, accidentally getting some of the water on a man who was walking past her. He shot her a vicious glare and gave her a good shove to the side. She stumbled but kept her balance and would have said something entirely rude to him, but by the time she thought of a good insult, he was gone again.

          Soon, she found herself staring at her reflection in a store window. She scowled at it; her hair had not had a good brush in some time, although it was really too short to matter. Her bangs hung over the silvery headband, and her yellow scarf swayed in the breeze. Her shoes were wet and her socks were dirty, and her shorts and halter-top were also dirty. A pouch of shurikens hung from her belt next to her pouch of Munny. In all, her appearance was nothing to look at. It was not wonder Squall never gave her a second glance—she truly wasn't worth a second glance.

          A store bell rang next to her, bringing her back into the present. The shop window she was looking in turned out to be a clothing shop. Perhaps what Aerith had been telling her for the last month was true, and she was overdue for some new clothes. And she did have that Munny in the clay jar in her room, plus what she had from the Heatless fight…

          With that, Yuffie turned tail and made a dash back to the Second District, for the hotel where her money was stored. She reached her balcony breathlessly, swinging effortlessly onto the edge of the upper balcony and into the room. It was empty, which meant Squall had left, but she didn't really care about that right now. She gathered up as much Munny as she thought she might need and scrambled back down the balcony, into the street, and back to the First District in record time. She made it to the clothing shop and leaned on the wall, panting furiously. A passerby or two looked at her strangely, but no one else seemed to notice her. Once her breath was back, she stepped into the shop and looked around.

          She had decided before she even got here that she wanted Squall to notice her and not see her as a kid anymore. That probably meant a skirt. She wrinkled her nose. She never really understood the concept behind a skirt. But she also knew—or she figured, anyway—that Squall would notice her if she wore one. One thing she knew she wouldn't wear was pink. Aerith wore pink, and she thought it to be far too girly. Yellows and greens were more her colors. Earthy colors. She flipped through some skirts, trying to find one that wasn't too girly or, in her opinion, slutty. A denim miniskirt with the ass faded out would make her look like a hooker, and Lord only knew what the perverts in this town would think.

          One skirt caught her eye—a plaid one, but it was simple and classy and it wasn't pink, so she put it over her shoulder. Next game a sleeveless dark green shirt that matched some of the color in the skirt, a black zip-up sweatshirt, and a pair of tan boots that came nearly to her knees—she was in need of a new pair anyway. The laces on her old shoes were falling apart and the soles were wearing away. In the back of the store, she changed into her new clothes and studied herself in a mirror for a long time.

          She didn't quite know what to make of herself, now. She was standing there, looking at herself in a mirror, but it didn't look like herself looking back. The girl looking back was standing there in a tan-black-and-green plaid skirt and a sleeveless shirt and an open sweatshirt. She spun around slowly, and a small smile spread over her face. She decided that she liked the way this looked. Even if she was dressed like a girl for the first in a very long time. Aerith would see her and have a heart attack. Cid would burst out laughing, and she didn't know what would happen if Sora saw her dressed like this, but none of them really mattered to her. She only cared of what Squall thought of her. She hoped that he wouldn't think she'd lost her marbles or something.

          Outside in the cool, late-autumn weather, she decided that she would take a walk, mostly in hopes of locating Squall. As she went, she noticed with a sudden swell of pride that people—guys—were watching her as she walked.

          Checkin' me out, she thought humorously. She couldn't say she didn't like the attention… now if only Squall would react the same; she would be one happy camper.

          Pushing the heavy doors to the Second District open, she carefully took a look around to see if anyone—or anything—was there. The coast was clear, so she stepped in and let the big doors close behind her. She took a deep breath and exhaled through her mouth, noticing that her breath nearly formed a cloud in the air. Well, it was that time of the year again… Yuffie snorted softly and pulled her backpack back up onto her shoulder. It contained her old clothes, ones she didn't want to carry around in her arms all over the place. The backpack, she decided, had been a wise choice to bring along.

          Her footsteps echoed in the empty District, making a steady clip-clop as she walked. She liked the way it sounded—grown-up. She purposely dragged her heels a little to make the sound louder, not stopping to think that maybe the sound would attract Heartless. [A/N: …Or am I the only person who does that when I wear boots?]

          She made it to the edge of the Second District, and pushed open the doors into the Third. This was her favorite of all the Districts. It was small, with a huge, open space in the center that made for a nice place to spar when the Heartless weren't around, but also a very nice place for Defenders and Darkballs to congregate, so her sentiments were mixed. Right now, it seemed, there were no Heatless about. Sora must have been able to keep them at bay—for a while, anyway. Good for him. Yuffie made a mental note to thank him for it the next opportunity she got.

          She was halfway through the wide space in the center of the District when she heard a very heavy metallic clank on the stone ground, and every muscle in her body tensed. She was pretty sure she knew what this was… and this time, it wasn't Squall.

          The Defender came walking slowly down the ramp opposite her, looking from side to side and shifting the position of its' enormous shield. Maybe it didn't see her. Maybe it wouldn't see her. Maybe it would just walk away. Maybe she would be all right. And maybe all of the birds would drop into the Waterway and fish would fly over the buildings instead. Yuffie knew it was pointless to hope. Defenders could smell fear, and she knew full well she was dripping with it.

          Hands shaking, she fumbled for a shuriken. She tried to unhook one from her belt, but it cut her hand with one of the points and she yelped, dropping it. It clattered to the ground, and that was enough to get the big, dumb creature's attention. The Defender turned toward her, and her terrified eyes were locked onto the red gem "eyes" of its' shield. Mentally slapping herself, she frowned. She would have to get herself together. She had fought Defenders before! She had the edge of speed on them—they were just another Heartless! But then… she had always fought them with Squall right there in case something bad happened to her…

          Red gems glowed white-hot, and before she knew what had happened, the monster fired a pair of spiraling fireballs at her. She threw herself to the ground and it hit the wall behind her, making the stone crack. She looked up just in time to see a second set of fireballs come at her; she covered her eyes, and she heard a loud yell, a metallic kang and the skidding of leather boots on stone ground.

          Squall had come to her rescue, though from where she couldn't begin to guess. His blocking the fireball had sent it heading right back to its' creator, temporarily stunning it. He went up behind it and began to beat it furiously with his sword from behind, on its' back where it was unprotected. After composing herself, Yuffie lurched to her feet and joined the fight, whipping shurikens at the Defender until the thing collapsed into a heap and became a pile of Munny gems.

          "Are you okay?" A deep voice broke her thoughts and she looked towards Squall, who was standing near her and walking closer. He looked stoic, as usual. She just wished that she could read his eyes… She wanted to know what he thought of her, now.

          "Y-yea. I'm fine," she said after a beat.

          "C'mon, I gotta walk you back to the hotel. Aerith says the Heatless are comin' back out again and she's a damn nervous wreck," Squall said, reaching out a hand to her. This confused Yuffie some. He would willingly let her touch him? This was weird… but she took it anyway.

          Neither said a word on the way to the hotel. It wasn't until they got to the lobby that Yuffie remembered her manners and got up the nerve to do something.

          "Squall?" She asked in an uncharacteristically timid voice. He glanced down at her and she quickly stood on her toes and pecked him on the cheek, feeling her cheeks and lips burn from embarrassment as she did so. "Thank you," she whispered.

                                                                                                              ~*~

A much longer and much nicer chapter if I do say so myself. Squffiness has begun, and it will become thicker. Yea, I know, you've heard that song before, but this time I mean it! I have a date for them planned out and Squall is gonna go talk to Aerith because he's startin' to fall for this obnoxious little ninja girl that he thought he utterly despised. Ironies are so great, aren't they? *smile, smile; giggle, giggle* And in case you didn't notice, the Munny from the Shadow Heartless was kinda what got the Squffie going because she used it on a skirt to make him notice her. *shrugs* Somethin' unorthodox I guess. Please review!