Author's Note: Part One takes place on the Highwind, soon after the final defeat of Sephiroth. Yuffie has left the celebration to rest in her room and Nanaki (Red XIII) is napping on the deck as the ship gently drifts in the clouds. I will be constantly switching between the two points of view for the first chapter, sorry if it gets confusing...
Yuffie:
The pain was still there.
Every hour, every moment, it got worse. Like a knife twisting in her gut, the sharp agony of loss twisted through her. As the minutes passed, she sat there in her bedroom, hands clasped around her knees and her face dropped to her chest. She had faced death and escaped it, confronted her inner demons and won. She had brought glory to her small town, and now her name – Yuffie – was whispered in reverence, as one would say the name of a God. She was a hero now, a legend, complete with her own epic tale. The world was not only different, but saved, all because of her.
Why, then, could she only think of the love she had lost?
Red XIII:
The sound of laughter woke him from his deep slumber. Rolling his eyes, he turned in place and tried to settle down again. He was exhausted, and it was hard enough to sleep on a hard deck, the wind whistling about him. For him, the celebration would come later. Right now, all he wanted to do was sleep. And dream. And forget.
Closing his eyes, he attempted yet again to push away the pressing weight of loneliness that always came at moments like this. As usual, he failed, and the flux of questions began.
What exactly am I? Where did I come from? Why did my parents never teach me of our past? Are there any others out there like me? What does my name…Nanaki…mean? Is that my name or the name of my race?
On and on they went, question after question. He was used to it by now; he knew the answers would never come. He was, and would always be…alone…
Yuffie:
She would always be alone.
She would…could grow to accept that over time, if she wished. Besides, what right did she have to complain? Cloud had lost his past. Barret, his wife and friends. Tifa, her family. Vincent had lost his freakin' humanity, for crying out loud. And…and they had all lost Aeris.
She sighed deeply and held back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her once again. Attempting to calm down, she reminded herself that at least she still had her Father…
Red XIII:
Father…he thought. Father, why did you have to leave…to die? I still have so many questions…I'm sorry for thinking you were a coward, sorry for thinking you abandoned Mother and I…please, please speak to me, Show me the way I need to go…
Silence.
He shook his head. What was he thinking? What did he expect, a magic voice to come floating by on the wind? I wish…
He stretched, looking remarkably like a human despite his catlike form. Mumbling to himself, he walked to the edge of the deck, sticking his head through the railing to stare mindlessly at the ground below.
…How will I ever be able to deal with this loneliness?
Yuffie:
I don't want to be alone anymore…She thought, her tears falling freely now. These people…they've been through so much together…what am I but an annoying tag-along?
Her breath catching, she buried her face in her hands and began to weep. She couldn't stand it…there they were just in the other room, a family. Friends. Kindred. And what was she? Nothing more then a bothersome thief, a wining child.
She loved him, but was brushed aside. Nothing she had done mattered to them…to him. Nothing at all.
That was it. She couldn't stand it anymore. Shaking in her grief, she ran up the stairs and burst onto the deck…
Red XIII:
The door to below-decks slammed open, suddenly interrupted Nanaki's pacing. His head snapped up just in time to see a white blur shoot his way. In the spilt-second before it collided with him, he had time for a few last words.
"Oh shi-"
But rather the beast was going to curse or make a speech on the virtues of shitake mushrooms was forever lost as he was tripped over, bowled over, and just generally trampled. The blur's right foot caught him just in front of his hind leg, and as he fell to his side the blue fell onto he hard deck just beyond him, nearly knocking it's head against the metal railing. In a brief moment of insanity, Nanaki wished that whoever the blur was - Most likely Tifa…he thought, as a small feminine yell escaped the blur's mouth – had taken a nice, long fall over the railing and to the ground. Then his sanity caught up with him, and he began to make plans to push said blur over the railing anyway. A murr of protest escaped his throat as he rolled back to all fours. He shook his head to clear it, then quickly suppressed the clawing and growls that would typically follow a situation like this. A nice swipe of my paw will be enough to clear the cobwebs from her head…
"Tifa, you overgrown, clumsy…"
The reply was somewhat muffled, but the speaker was still clear…"No…it's me…Yuffie."
He actually froze for a moment, then shook his head again and began to push himself back up on all fours. He flicked his tail and grunted as he pulled his bulk up, resuming various under-the-breath rants and threats. Yuffie?
"…Yuffie then. No matter. You still nearly…"
He stopped and twitched an ear. Was she…whimpering?
Yuffie:
She quickly squirmed on the deck and buried her face in the crook of her elbow. It wasn't just the pain from hitting the deck, but this…creature…dared talk to her like this? She would be chewed out now? Vaguely, she thought of scampering to her feet, of pitching herself over the railing, of falling far away from all these…these…
She thrust the thought out of her mind. She wasn't serious about it, anyway, but getting snapped at was the last thing she needed right now. She choked back the last of her sniffles and simply curled up on the deck, trying her best to look strong and unhurt…to not show any weakness. It was the way she was raised…
"…I'm sorry, Red…I just…needed to get away for a while…" She sighed, then lifted her head from the deck to look over at him. He looked a little more ruffled then she last remembered, perhaps from the wind constantly blowing his fur around. She couldn't help but smirk. The effect was almost comedic.
"…are you okay?"
She watched as he shook himself and twitched his nose. He held up a paw and stared at it, then rolled his one good eye and began to groom his fur. Seeing that made her smirk grow into a small smile. When they had first met, he would sometimes go the whole day without grooming, resisting the urge until they stopped for the night. Even then, he would find a cozy corner somewhere and double-check to make sure no one could see him. Guess you got used to us, huh Red?