Chapter 35

The Leviathan Festival

Yuffie suddenly had a strong urge to run screaming in the other direction. She swallowed hard as she stepped slowly into the town, leading the others. They all looked up and gasped as they heard an explosion above, but they saw that it was only fireworks.

"This is the Leviathan Festival… I was afraid of this…" Yuffie muttered. Kali looked up curiously.

"Leviathan Festival?"

"Yes," Yuffie sighed, walking through the crowded streets. "Our most important god is Leviathan. We hold a festival in his honor every year. Fireworks, dancing, feasts… this looks like the last day. It usually lasts for three."

"You okay?" Reno asked Yuffie as they walked towards the other side of town.

"What will he say?" she muttered to him. "What will daddy say when he sees you and I together? When he finds out I'm a vampire?"

"Everything will be fine Yuffie. I promise," he whispered reassuringly, holding her hand gently. She sighed and led the group to the house near the pagoda. Kali's heart sank. They were going to see Yuffie's father.

"Daddy?" she called as they walked in. Please be at the festival, please be at the festival, please be at the festival, she thought. A voice made her heart leap into her throat.

"Who is it?" he called. Kali watched as Godo came out, not unlike when Vincent had brought her here. Godo did a double take and stared at his daughter.

"Hi daddy," Yuffie said quietly after an awkward silence. Godo smiled as he looked from her to Reno.

"So… it's finally happened. You've come to your senses. Good girl!"

"No Godo sir," Reno interjected. "We came here to… er…"

"I'm coming back to look after Yuffie's house while they do something that should have been finished long ago," Rude explained. Yuffie sighed. Better that he explain than her…

"No. Yuffie stays here."

"What?" she gasped.

"When you went off to save the Planet twenty years ago, I was scared out of my mind. You are my daughter. I'm not going to watch you get yourself killed!"

"Daddy, I'm thirty-five years old, I can take care of myself!"

"I'm not watching you get killed!"

"Daddy, look at my neck!" she nearly screamed. She walked up to him in three steps and pulled the collar of her shirt down, revealing two perfectly round bite marks, still scarring. "Vincent Valentine came back a couple of months ago and bit me! I'm a vampire now! I can't die as easily as you seem to think!"

Kali felt herself shrink into the shadows a little. The tension that followed Yuffie's outburst was weighing heavily in the air, noticed by everyone except Yuffie and Godo. Kadaj even seemed to shrink with her.

"That bastard!" Godo suddenly yelled. Everyone jumped at his outburst. "How could that son of a bitch bite you? You said you love him and seem to think he loved you back! He isn't even here with you now! Yuffie, how could you be so stupid to trust a cowardly vamp-"

"Shut up!" she screeched, eyes filling with tears. "Just shut up dad!"

"Do not talk to m-"

"I'm not finished! How dare you call him a coward! He was brave! Do you know why he isn't here? It's because he died to protect us! He died saving our lives so we can keep her alive!" she yelled pointing to Kali, who shrunk farther at the attention placed on her. "That is the daughter of Sephiroth! She's the one who will keep the world from being destroyed by both Meteor and Holy! If Vincent hadn't died, we'd all have died weeks ago!"

The silence following the speech was so deafening, Kali found herself wishing that Yuffie were still yelling. All eyes were now turned to her, a few pairs glancing back at Yuffie and Godo for a moment before turning back. And all at once, the silence was so deafening, her head began feeling pressure against it and she barely heard when Godo said his reply to Yuffie, though his voice was loud and hard to block out. She laid her fingertips against her temples as she listened, feeling like she was underwater.

"Look, I'm sure in the long run, we'll all be proud of you. But must you have so many people? Surely you and Reno can settle down, doesn't she have a large enough- what's wrong with the kid?"

Kali had just dropped to her knees, hands covering her eyes, unconscious.

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"Kali come on! We have to get going!" Kadaj yelled. Kali hurriedly packed her bag and ran after him. The rest were already far ahead, and from the sounds of it they had already engaged in combat with the dragon.

"About time!" Yuffie called. She threw her shuriken hard at the monster before her, pure white and almost as large as the Sarasanila. Kali watched the shuriken cut across his wings and Cid's spear slice into the beast's chest.

"Kali!" Pradipa yelled, his knife in hand and cutting across the dragon's skull. "Contain him now!"

"Right!" she called back. She reached down her shirt and pulled out a necklace, a dull crystal pendant hanging on it. Without further ado, she ran up to where Cid was attacking the chest. "Cid, try to pry up the scales over his heart!"

"Okay! You remember the incantation?" he called over the roars as he attacked the scales over his heart.

"Don't worry, just get those scales up!"

"Okay, okay," he groaned.

A moment later, he had the scales pried up and off the dragon, but screamed as a blast of flame shot at him and Kali, the large front claws wrapping around the girl while the fire burned her arm. Everyone around her yelled as the dragon took off into the skies, the crystal clutched tightly in Kali's hand, her coat hanging from her right arm as her left blistered.

Clutching the crystal and not forgetting what she had to do, she dug it deep into his heart and said the words, voice barely a whisper. The instant the crystal pierced the dragon's heart, it released a pain filled scream. Kali closed her eyes to slits and watched the beast shimmer and become sucked into the crystal, the jewel now shining brightly. The beasts grip loosened and Kali felt herself falling, a glance down showing her nothing but white ground and pine trees, her burned arm stinging horribly as the air rushed past. She closed her eyes, the whiteness turning to utter darkness.

Sarasanila

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"Hmm…?" Kali moaned. Her hand patted the surface underneath her. It was soft and comfortable, and her hand going a few inches further away told her she was on a mat on the floor. Lying on her side, she opened her eyes and found her head resting on a cushion. A quick glance at her surroundings told her where she was: This was the very house in which Vincent had introduced her to Reno and Rude. Sure enough, Rude walked in a moment later carrying some clothes. Kali blinked to clear her eyes while she rubbed the arm that had been burned in her dream. Rude was out of his normal suit-and-tie, wearing dark blue robes in their place. Kali couldn't help noticing that he hadn't even bothered to slip on his sunglasses. He put the clothes next to her and smiled.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine…" she whispered, still rubbing her arm. The dragon she had dreamt about was the same one that had attacked them in Cosmo Canyon. She had dug a crystal into its heart and it vanished. She had said something, some sort of spell. What did it all mean…?

"… join us for- Kali, are you listening?"

"Huh?" she looked up at him and locked eyes for a second, guilt in hers that came from her not paying attention. She pulled back a little when Rude placed a hand on her forehead.

"You're sure you're okay? You feel a little warm. Maybe you should just rest here."

"No, really I'm fine," Kali said hurriedly. "What was it you said?"

"I said when you're ready, put your kimono on and join us for the last part of the celebration," he repeated, pointing to the clothes he'd brought her. "If you need help Yuffie's in the next room. She'll help you," he instructed. Kali stopped him when he turned to leave.

"Where am I sleeping tonight? I want to put my clothes there."

"You're sleeping right there tonight. There's only one bedroom. I'm sure Yuffie will want that."

"One bedroom? And you and Reno lived here together?" Kali asked accusingly yet teasingly. Rude couldn't help grinning.

"We had two beds, smart-ass. Now get your kimono on and get out there." And with that he was gone. Kali sighed and smiled at her joke, but as she picked up her kimono, she winced in pain. Looking down at her left arm, there was a nice, shiny burn across her lower arm, a small section of it starting to blister.

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"About time," Kadaj called a few minutes later. Kali walked out of Yuffie's house shakily, still growing used to the wooden sandals on her feet. She couldn't help blushing furiously as they all turned to stare at her hair done in a bun (Yuffie had insisted) and the flowing grey kimono around her. Yuffie walked past a moment later in a medium green kimono.

"Well, we might as well go join the celebrations. Come on then," she muttered. Yuffie wiped a few stray tears from her eyes as they walked towards the center of town.

"Kadaj, what happened? She wouldn't tell me anything in there," Kali hissed. Her brother lowered his eyes.

"Just after you passed out Godo banished her from the city. He's letting us stay the night, but we have to leave in the morning," he explained quietly. Kali's jaw nearly hit the ground.

"But… she's his daughter!"

"I know… but that's how it is I guess…"

"So what about Rude?" she inquired, glancing at her friend's back ahead of them. "Is he still staying?"

"Yeah, Godo said he can stay since he's really done nothing wrong," Kadaj said a little bitterly. Kali felt a small flame of anger rise in her. Yuffie hadn't done anything wrong either. She had fallen in love. Was that such a mistake?

"?reb mem eR .eka tsi mas iev oL .ilaK seY" Nanashi whispered to her. Kali lowered her eyes.

Let me guess… you're thinking of Devin and me, right? she thought. Nanashi chuckled.

"?ev olru oyn rute rehd diwo h'dnA .h'cu mosmi h'de volu oY ?esl eohW"

Just shut up Nanashi, she thought angrily. She stopped in the middle of the street, the others walking right past. She just closed her eyes and let a few tears drip down her face, her memories of him raping her starting to come back full force. A moment later, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her tear-stained face turned upwards to look into Rude's.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked as she hurriedly wiped away her tears.

"Yeah. I was just thinking is all. It really hurts, you know?" she added softly, eyes filling with tears again. Rude nodded. He didn't need her to say anything. He knew what she was talking about.

"He should never have done that. If he truly loved you and was your friend, he wouldn't have done that to you."

"But it still hurts…" Kali muttered. Her eyes went wide as Rude wrapped her into a hug. Slowly, Kali returned it and leaned against him.

"I know it does. It won't ever stop hurting either. But I'm here. Kadaj is here. All of us are here for you if you need us," he whispered into her ear. Kali nodded weakly and wiped away her tears. "Kali, would you like to stay at the house? I'll go with you and we can skip the party if you don't think you can sit through it."

"No… no I want to go. I might not get another chance."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't know how this battle will end. We don't know if Kadaj's dream will come true, tomorrow I could fight Devin and die. I might live until I face Zurine then she'll kill me. I just don't know."

"Don't talk like that. I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you from now on."

"How?" she whispered, a little bit of anger in her voice. "You're staying here, the rest of us leave tomorrow. How can you protect me if you're not with me?"

"Kali…" he began, but Kali already strode past him to join the others now gathered around a large bonfire. Rude sighed heavily and joined them a moment later.

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"That was so much fun!" Kali exclaimed as they walked back to the house a few hours later. In a considerably better mood than when they had started celebrating, Kali was struggling to keep from running up the path ahead of the others, who had eaten so much they were walking rather sluggishly.

"Tell me about it. I haven't eaten so much in years," Kadaj groaned, rubbing his stomach. "I swear if I hadn't loosened my obi I would've ripped this thing." Indeed, Kali swore his stomach was considerably larger.

"Maybe we should spend the night training and work off all this food," Cid chuckled, earning a laugh from everyone else except Shizuka, who hadn't understood a word.

"No thanks Cid. My legs are too sore," Kali replied when she stopped laughing. "Besides I think all that dancing burned off the food I ate. I'm still hungry."

"Well, I did manage to sneak a bit for later," Reno grinned, and from his sleeves produced several pieces of sushi, some rice balls, teriyaki, and some other foods Kali had no name for. She greedily took a piece of sushi and ate it in one bite.

"Well, I guess we should turn in. It's late and we have to leave early tomorrow," Yuffie yawned as they reached the steps to her house.

"I'll be in shortly," Rude called when the others went inside.

"Don't stay up too late. You have to say goodbye before we go," Reno said. Rude just nodded and disappeared behind the door.

"Where will we all sleep?" Kadaj muttered.

"I'm taking my old room," Yuffie said immediately. "I'll go bring some mattresses up for the rest of you." She disappeared into her room for a moment and came back with a mat and blanket for each of them.

"I think you forgot one," Kadaj pointed out when he saw that all the mats were taken except one. "What about you, Reno?"

"Well…" he only smiled at Yuffie. Kadaj stared at him a moment before narrowing his eyes and rolling onto his side to sleep.

"Forget I asked."

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"Sephiroth, time's growing thin. Kadaj and Kali must get to Her soon," Aeris said softly, standing over him.

"I know Aeris, I know…"

"She is going to get the White Materia soon and they need to find the Black again."

"I know. But everybody's sleeping so lightly I can't contact them," he groaned, stretched out on the grass and staring up at the sky.

"Sephiroth, please. Tonight, you have to tell them," she begged as she knelt next to him, brushing hair out of his eyes and rubbing his chest. "Please. Our futures and the futures of the living depend on your children."

"I know Aeris. But how many times must I tell you? They sleep too lightly anymore," he hissed as he sat up. Sephiroth sighed softly and looked into her eyes. "I promise, tonight I'll go tell the heaviest sleeper."

"If you don't, I'm going tomorrow," she replied softly, standing to leave.

"You won't have to. And you aren't just worried about the Planet and us."

"No. I'm not," she whispered after a moment's pause, keeping her gaze away from him.

"Nothing's going to happen to your daughter. Trust me. Kadaj will save her and our grandchild."

"Will he? You didn't see the dream Kali had the other night, did you?" Aeris whispered with tears in her eyes. Sephiroth hugged her gently and kissed her forehead softly.

"Of course I saw it. But it's just a dream She planted in Kali's head. Nothing will happen to them."

"Who do you think Kali will choose to go back?"

"Probably Kadaj and Vincent. Maybe Devin," Sephiroth replied, lowering his eyes.

"You truly think he's going to die?" she asked in amazement. "He's your son, surely he can't be killed easily."

"He's my son… but he isn't nearly as strong as I am. Besides, he's died in the past battles. Who's to say this one will be different?"

"Because this time he has a reason to survive the fight. This time he has child to live for," Aeris whispered. Sephiroth nodded.

"And that is why Sachiko will not die either."

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Kali stretched and looked around. Pradipa had changed from his brown kimono to his old vest and pants and was now curled into a ball in a nest he fashioned out of his blanket. She grinned; he may not look like a Tonberry anymore, but he still slept like one. He even clutched his dagger in his hand as he slept. Cid was wrapped up in his blanket seemingly asleep, but Kali managed to glimpse a photograph next to him and saw him wipe his face a couple times. From what she could tell, the photo must have been of Shera. Shizuka was sitting up on her bed, watching Kali. Their eyes met and Shizuka smiled a bit, causing a small shiver to go up Kali's spine, as she had never seen the ninja do so.

"You are a good dancer, Kali," Shizuka whispered to her slowly, pausing after each word to make sure she said it correctly. Kali smiled back and nodded.

"Thank you. So are you," she said just as slowly, but Shizuka only furrowed her brow and smiled, shrugging a bit embarrassedly. Kali smiled and pointed at Shizuka, repeated the word 'dancer,' gave her a thumbs-up, and put up two fingers. Shizuka smiled and shook her head.

"No. You are better," she whispered slowly, but she was blushing. "Goodnight, Kali."

"Goodnight, Shizuka," Kali muttered back as the woman rolled onto her other side and was soon asleep. Kali felt a hand on her arm and turned.

"You should be asleep. We leave early in the morning," Kadaj hissed, pulling her back onto her bed.

"I can sleep on The Sarasanila. Where's Rude?" she asked. His bed was still empty.

"I don't know. Probably still outside. Now go to sleep," he grunted. He rolled back over and closed his eyes.

Instead of doing the same, Kali stood and tiptoed out of the room. She stepped out the front door into the cool night air and slipped on her sandals. She didn't have to look long for Rude; she found him sitting and seeming to meditate on a bench just outside the house. She smiled and laid her hand on his shoulder from behind, making him jump and turn around quickly.

"Oh, it's just you. Why aren't you asleep?"

"Ever been right on the edge of sleep and then jerk back awake for no reason?" she smiled, sitting next to him. He smiled a little at her.

"Yeah I know what you mean," he muttered. Kali glanced up at the sky as another explosion broke the silence. Green fireworks covered the sky, followed by red and violet.

"We rarely had fireworks back home. It was said that they polluted the air. They're so beautiful."

"Yeah. Sort of like you," Rude said softly. Kali's stomach gave a jerk and she felt her face grow warm. She shifted her position a few inches to the side for fear of him feeling the warmth of her blushing. A shiver went up her spine when he brushed her now loose hair out of her eyes.

"Rude what are you talking about?" she asked, hoping he'd take the hint and stop.

"You said in Cosmo Canyon that I've been acting oddly. And I told you I'd explain when we arrive here."

"Well why have you-" she began, but he put his fingers to her mouth and turned her head to face him. Kali was rooted there at the sight of his face. His eyes were the softest she'd ever seen them and he had turned a little red.

"Kali, I… I think you're a very pretty young woman. And I… I love you," he said, his voice barely audible.

Kali's eyes went wide as he leaned close and kissed her. Her body went rigid as he held her arm gently but firmly. And a moment later, her eyes were closed and her own hands were on his arms, and she was slowly kissing him back. Rude pulled her closer and they sat for… seconds? Minutes…? Hours…? Neither of them knew how long it was, but they didn't care. Kali slowly blocked out everything except her friend, and at the same time he only thought of her. And as suddenly as he had pressed his lips to hers, Rude pulled away and was standing. Kali stared at him a moment, elbow propping her up against the seat of the bench, then felt a mild breeze. Her kimono was pulled open a little and her obi was loose, but she hardly noticed. All of her attention was on the face of her friend. Across his face she saw… fear? Shame?

"Rude? What's wrong?" Kali said softly.

"Goodnight Kal." was his only reply. He walked up to the door, opened it, and the next moment was gone. Kali stretched out on the bench and watched the fireworks for a few more minutes, fingertips on her lips and thinking of Rude.

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"Damn it… What did I do that for…?" Rude hissed at himself. He wiped the spit from his lips and rubbed his head agitatedly.

"What did you do?"

"Huh?" he jumped and looked up to see Kadaj yawning in the doorway.

"Let me guess. You kissed my sister."

"Perhaps…" Rude replied softly, but he felt his face redden as a dead giveaway.

"You better treat her better than that Devin did," Kadaj warned. Rude nodded.

"You know I would."

Kadaj only nodded, yawned, and went back to lie down. Rude followed a moment later and wrapped up on his bed to sleep. He didn't move when he heard Kali come in after a few minutes.

"Finally ready to come to bed?" Kadaj whispered.

"Yeah. I guess," she yawned. She pulled her bed a little closer to Rude and curled up, falling asleep almost immediately. Kadaj smiled at her and closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, Kadaj heard fabric moving against the floor. Another smile crossed his face as Rude pulled Kali's bed against his own and pulled her close to him, his arm wrapped tightly around her middle.

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"Mm…" Yuffie moaned in her sleep. A moment later she opened her eyes and stretched. "Reno? Reno wake up."

"Mm," he grunted. Yuffie rolled onto her side and poked the middle of his chest.

"Reno, wake up!" she hissed. He still refused to move, so she kissed him softly and didn't pull away until his arms wrapped around her.

"You want more huh?" Reno said softly.

"No. I want to tell you something."

"You aren't pregnant are you?" he joked.

"Vincent couldn't get anyone pregnant and there's no way I'd be pregnant by you and know about it."

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, holding her close. Yuffie sat up and wrapped a blanket around her. Reno pulled the blanket over his middle and sat up with her, an arm around her waist. She looked at him with a mix of fear and amazement in her eyes.

"It's about Zurine and Sachiko… the Black Materia is missing… it was lost somewhere in Ath Midgar… someone found it and took it away… none of the souls know where to… and Sachiko has the White Materia but Zurine's going to go after her…"

"When? When will Zurine reach Sachiko?" Reno pressed. Yuffie looked into his eyes and spoke breathlessly.

"She'll attack the Hitomi and Sachiko tomorrow night."

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NM: I'm not dead yet…! Sorry for the delay in an update. I've had no motivation over the summer, despite the fact I've had this part in mind for quite some time. Plus… I now have a boyfriend. So I've been talking to him a lot and have been neglecting my duties towards fanfics. I'm still in the process of the review pictures… I have 2 finished but I'm stuck on 1; it looks horrible and I'm still too new to Photoshop to try and redraw it in there. And please visit my page at DeviantArt, there are some decent pics of the characters here along with a few non-fanfic related works of art. Reviews:

RYU THE YOUKAI: LMFAO! I agree, Hojo is such an ass. I hope he's burning in Hell now.

LT. HAWKEYE: Well it wasn't soon… but I did update. And if last chapter was interesting, this one should have been more so.

MEDICINER: Just talking to you got me thinking of dream sequences. Thank you much ma'am! As for Pradipa's new form, I have a couple really poor sketches of him (not good at anthros) but I'll clean them up and post them. Eventually. Um… someday…?

VAMPYREVINNIE: ((hug)) I hope you're all better now. But… why did the doctor ask if it hurt if he wasn't going to stop?

NM: Well, school starts Tuesday, but hopefully my inspiration and motivation will come back. More time for daydreaming and since my BF gets home after I do I'll have time to write. We've been RPing a bit too much which is partly why updates have been slow ((sweat drop))

Signed,
Master of the Physical and Mystical,

NINJA MAGE