A/N: I decided to stick in the Tifa 'n Vincent relationshipness. But, it's not like that. I think this pairing is really sweet and all, but I'm sticking with the Tifa 'n Cloud relationshipness. (dodges tomatoes) But, you can just ignore what I just said and stick to Tifa 'n Vincent if you'd like. (smiles big) I'll make it sound convincing. Not like that, though. (coughs)

Thankies for reviewing everyone! Don't worry, Vincent isn't that kind of uncle. (shudders) It's just that he's very close to her, even though he's not used to being around children. (makes awing noises) At first, I was going to have him wear a red yukata but… eehh. I know he wears red but… something inside told me that I had to pick blue. (shrug) I don't know why either. O.o Hehe, a katana and a wakizashi… I could just picture him with those in his belt.

Disclaimer: FF7 doesn't belong to me… but the Wutai festival thingy does. (victory pose)

My Little Star
Chapter Four

Don't Leave Me (Part 1)

"Tell me when it feels tight."

"…AH! Okay! I-It's tight enough…"

Tifa quickly loosened the obi belt around my waist and tucked it underneath. After I got plenty of rest, I was finally ready to try on my new yukata! Yuffie told Uncle Vincent that her dad would help him in his. I bet he was going to look really good in it. I couldn't wait to see! After Tifa straightened out my yukata, I twirled around and looked into the mirror. The red obi belt Yuffie gave me was incredibly pretty! It was really shiny, like it was brand new! I twirled around again and smiled to Tifa. She had her yukata on already, but her hair was up in a bun. I watched Yuffie help her with that. I wanted one, but my hair was too short. Oh well, I didn't really mind.

"Thanks, Tifa! I like it a lot!"

She smiled. "You should tell that to Yuffie. Oh, yes. Before I forget…" she handed me a pair of sandals. "These are yours."

"Ah! Sandals!" I immediately put them on and walked around in an adult-like manner. That made Tifa laugh. "Are we ready now?"

"We just have to wait until Vincent is done with his."

I nodded and left the room we were in. As we were walking through the house, I passed by a window. I gazed outside and saw that the festival was just about ready to begin. It was evening already and the lights outside were so pretty. I even spotted a few women dressed in fancy-looking yukatas. I wondered if they were hot in them? I continued walking through the house with Tifa when we heard a door slide open. Yuffie walked out with her yukata on and pouted inside the room.

"Alrighty, Vinnie! Enough stalling! The festival's about to start!"

"You don't have to yell, Yuffie," he responded with a sigh.

"Then, come out already!" Yuffie reached inside the room and pulled Uncle Vincent out.

I perked my head up at the sight of him. He looked… absolutely good in it! His dark blue yukata, with a matching obi belt, reached just over his ankles, and his sandals looked just like mine. I could still see his gold claw peeking through his long sleeves, but it was hardly noticeable. He was also holding something in that hand… it kind of looked like a small blue bag. Yuffie pulled Uncle Vincent to our direction and waved.

"Ya-ho! Wow, Marlene! You look really cute!"

I bowed. "Thank you, Yuffie!" I looked up at Uncle Vincent and smiled. "You look really good! You should wear stuff like that more often!"

He turned his head away from me and replied, "…thank you."

Tifa smiled to him. "Yes, you look really handsome!"

The girls snickered to themselves at that. He shouldn't be embarrassed at all! I know it was his first time wearing something fancy, but I did mean what I said before. He should wear things like that more often. I tilted my head and tugged Yuffie's sleeve.

"Are we ready now?"

"Yep! Let's go and see the opening for the festival!"

As soon as we walked out of the house, we were greeted by colorful streamers flying everywhere! I didn't know the opening was going to take place right here! (but, I should have known… seeing that this place was really big…) We headed straight to the big building in the back. Yuffie said that that was called a 'Pagoda'. Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods I believe. She didn't get into much detail with that though. Anyway, as we stopped in front of the building, lots of people were making their way inside. Pretty soon, it was really crowded. Luckily, we had the best seats in the house!

As soon as we settled in, smoke suddenly filled in front. Once it disappeared, the women I saw before suddenly appeared. Yuffie also mentioned that they were called 'kimonos'. The sound of drums suddenly sounded off, making the women step to the beat of it. I started to wonder how they could move in those big outfits.

Just then, the drums stopped playing and the women stopped dancing. They lifted their arms and released something sparkly into the sky. As it floated up, the sparkles exploded into pretty colors. Red, blue, yellow, anything you could think of! It felt like I could just grab them with my hands.

Our attention turned to the back of the crowd. A small path was created for Yuffie's dad. He walked up the stairs to the Pagoda and turned to the crowd. Everyone bowed their heads at that (Yuffie told me what I should do before). The man lifted his arms in the air and said,

"Thank you, friends, family, and people visiting Wutai. I am thankful to see people attend this special occasion. This festival is in honor of friends and families. I do hope everyone enjoys it this year as much as last year," he reached inside his sleeve and pulled out a small green ball. "Let the Wutai festival…" he stepped forward and tossed the ball high into the sky. It exploded into some symbols I couldn't read. "BEGIN!"

Loud cheers sounded off at that. I jumped up and down cheering as well. Everyone looked so high spirited and looked like they couldn't wait to start having fun. I couldn't wait either! Yuffie patted my head and leaned forward.

"You guys head on down. I'll catch up!"

I think the town seemed more packed than the Pagoda! There were kids running everywhere and people playing the games at the stands. I even spotted some people performing cool tricks! I tugged Uncle Vincent and Tifa's sleeves and said,

"Can we watch some of the performers?"

"Okay!" Tifa tugged us to one of the performers.

I think there were some people throwing… something to a… something. I made a face and tried to tip toe. Why did there have to be such tall people? I couldn't see anything! Uncle Vincent lifted me off from the ground and let me sit in his arms. I smiled to him and leaned forward. I spotted the performers passing knives to each other. It looked really dangerous, but every time they passed, they would always catch them perfectly. I clapped at their neat tricks. They bowed and one of the men in a fox mask said,

"We now bring out our best performer, Godo's one and only daughter, Yuffie Kisaragi!"

I kicked my feet back and forth (not into Uncle Vincent). "Yuffie's going to perform?"

"I had a feeling," Tifa fake-coughed. I bet anything Yuffie told her before.

Yuffie made her way through the crowd wearing her ninja outfit. She had a huge knife in one hand and several small ones in the other. The two men helped her up on their hands and tossed her high in the sky. Yuffie twirled around and released all of her weapons. The bigger knife perfectly hit the big target while the small ones hit the smaller ones next to it. She landed on her feet and bowed. The crowd, including me, clapped loudly.

The next trick she was about to perform was something she only did once! I leaned back into Uncle Vincent's chest. I think he seemed a little nervous too, because he gripped me tighter than before. One of the men helped blindfold Yuffie and the other moved the big and small targets in a different position. Once they were ready, they helped Yuffie up on their hands and tossed her once again. In one twirl, she released them and they landed perfectly in their desired targets. The whole crowd cheered at that. I clapped my hands and cheered also.

Once the performers were finished with their tricks, we decided to get something to eat. There were so many selections! I wanted to try these small round black things with rice in them. I think they were called sushi? That reminded me of the squishy marshmallows back home. We sat underneath a tree and ate our food. One bite of that sushi made my face scrunch up. It was… good… and… weird-tasting at the same time. Tifa saw me and giggled.

"Marlene, how is it?"

I made a face. "It's… uhm… good? What's in this stuff?"

Tifa paused and smiled nervously. "It's… raw fish."

I paused and stared at my food. For raw fish… it didn't really taste raw at all. I think Tifa was expecting me to spit the stuff out. I giggled and sipped my orange drink. I may not like raw things, but I sure don't complain about it… a lot. I turned to Uncle Vincent who was busy eating his own sushi. He looked kind of bored. I tapped him on the shoulder, bringing his attention to me. I tilted my head.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, it's not that." He pulled out his small blue bag and balanced it in his hand. "I have to deal with this later on."

"What's in there?"

He didn't respond to that. I puffed my cheeks out and turned to Tifa. She just shrugged at that and continued eating her food. Something was fishy… and it was not the sushi. Uncle Vincent was hiding something… I wondered what…

After we finished eating, it was time for some games! There were games where you fish out your prize, tossing games, and the list goes on! I wanted to try one of the fishing games. It looked easy but when I actually tried… it was hard! My hook just fell off… and you only get one chance! Tifa tried and she easily caught a red balloon.

"Wow! That was really fast!"

"Hehe, well, I used to attend a festival and my Papa told me the trick to this."

"Aw! You could have told me that before!" I joked. That was okay. I wasn't really expecting to get anything. I just wanted to have some fun!

I turned to Uncle Vincent who was trying out the game as well. He tucked his sleeve behind and carefully dangled the hook above one of the balloons. And in one swoop, he easily caught one. I clapped my hands. I think I understood what you had to do. When I tried, I forgot to tuck my sleeves back. They got in the way. I rubbed the back of my head and grinned nervously.

"That was really n-" he handed the balloon to me. I blinked and looked up at him. "…eat…"

"For you," he simply said.

"T-Thanks," I smiled and squished my balloon around. He… didn't have to give me anything…

"Oh! Vincent!" Tifa tugged his arm. "You should try this game!"

She led us to one of the shooting games. I definitely couldn't try this game. Besides, I was too young anyway. After talking to the guy behind the stand, he handed Uncle Vincent one of those gun things. It looked much skinnier and much longer than Papa's. He looked like he knew what he was doing. He leaned forward and concentrated on the target ahead of him. He shot several bullets and hit his target perfectly. I don't know why… but my body felt weak at that. It was like I heard something similar to that noise before. I… didn't like it. Tifa looked excited about it though. How could… anyone like those kinds of things? I know it was just a game… but…

I stepped back. This meant that… Uncle Vincent… knew how to use those horrible things? After he won his prize (which was some stuffed bear), he and Tifa were eyeing another game. I frowned and sat underneath a tree. It looked like they were having fun with each other. I was glad for them! I was happy that Uncle Vincent could have a chance to have some fun for a change. But, did they have to do all that without me? I shrugged to myself and decided to walk around for a while. Maybe when I come back I'll find them still playing games or something.

I walked across one of the cross bridges and peeked inside one of the buildings. It kind of looked like they were trying out some costumes. Before I could enter, a boy, about my age, ran right into me. I fell back and groaned. He just stared at me and backed away.

"I-I'm sorry," he said softly.

"That's okay. Uhm… are you alone too?"

He nodded. "Yeah. My brother and his new 'friend' are spending so much time with each other. It's like I don't even exist anymore!"

I had to agree. "I know how you feel. They're spending too much time together… leaving you out."

"Yeah! Hey… you… wanna feed the Koi fish?"

"Okay!" At that, we headed straight for the riverbank. "What's your name? Mine's Marlene."

The boy smiled sweetly and answered, "Damian."

A/N: End of chapter four! Ah! I had to stick in an original character. Damian. Such a cutie name! This chapter definitely sounded like something a little kid would do. You know, feeling worried 'n scared and having the need to walk away from it? Man… I can totally relate… when… I was a kid. (cough) Anyways! Marlene and Damian spending time with each other? What does that mean? What's going to happen with Tifa and Vincent? Find out next chapter! Hope you enjoyed reading and please tell me how you thought of it!