This chapter is dedicated to Magy and Setana.
Note: Spongebob Squarepants and co. do not belong to me.

Chapter Eleven: Morning

Burrowing snuggly into the bundle of clothes she had used as a bed,
Yuffie was quite unwilling to wake up. The various pokes on her waist
had her slapping off the irritating finger, curling into a tighter bun and
shifting further into the wardrobe cupboard to avoid it. Nevertheless,
the incessant poking did not stop and she frowned. Sitting up, she
rubbed her eyes as they were still foggy, adjusting to the little amount
of light coming from the…

(…front)

Sephiroth's silhouette had reached forward and pulled her out with
both arms before she could comprehend what was happening.
She groaned audibly and grumbled, "…What is it now?"
"Breakfast," he said and put her down.
Yuffie's eyes instantly brightened and she exclaimed, "Okay!"
"Go wash up, your clothes are in the bathroom," Sephiroth instructed
and she immediately sprinted to the bathroom.

The moment the door shut closed, he heard an agitated scream
"WHATTTTTTT!" and the next moment, the door had slammed open
and out walked a furious little girl (who seemed to be capable of all
nasty things). "CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT IS THE MEANING
OF THIS?" She hastily held up a uniform of black and black.
"WHY AM I SUPPOSED TO CHANGE INTO THIS?" she fumed.

Ah, the slamming of doors and anguish screams were so expected. It
was just like what he had predicted. Sephiroth grinned to himself
before putting on a straight face and turned his head from the television
(which was showing Spongebob Squarepants) and blinked blankly into
her face on purpose. The action only served to exaggerate his next
sentence which he shrugged nonchalantly, "Ain't it obvious enough?
You're coming training with me." Then he turned back to watch Patrick
Starfish and Spongebob dig out treasure in Bikini Bottom.

"WHAT!" Yuffie knew it. She knew it the moment she saw the uniform
hanging in the bathroom. She just needed a confirmation to strike her out
of her disbelief, her shock. It must be retribution, it must be. Why would
this happen to her! She cursed silently that she forgot to bring along her
Luck Plus material. Perhaps that was the answer. Spongebob Squarepants
had the cheek to comment, "Wow, you're really lucky." That was it! EVEN
THE CARTOONS WERE MOCKING HER. Her braincells screamed out
in agony as she stared at his back.

"Change up and eat your breakfast."
"BUT"
"No."
"Don't I…""No."
"…get any say in this?"
"No."
"FINE! LET'S DO IT YOUR WAY THEN."
And dear Yuffie headed to the bathroom to change sulkily.

And as she changed, she could just picture the scene of her death. Sephiroth
would ask her to fight with him politely and there was no way she could refuse.
Then he would slice her up and make it look like an accident. The floor would
be stained in her blood and no one would dare question the General's
slaughter. She would die with so many regrets like no having the Knights of the
Round Table materia, explore the …

"Eep!" She shrieked when a knock on the bathroom door struck her to the truth.
She was really going to die! The pictures in her mind would not go away.
Opening the door only to find herself looking up at the General, her horror
stricken face was undeniable.

The situation was comical. One moment she was sulking, and in the next, all life
seemed to have been drained out of her body. Sephiroth fought the urge to
laugh, taking in a deep breath; he placed his hand on her head only to cover
her whole face. "You're not going to die, stupid." With that, he kneeled down
and started fixing her tie which she had messed up in her stupor.

Upon hearing that statement, Yuffie relaxed a bit and instantly went back to her
fury self. Glaring at Sephiroth as he fixed her tie, their eyes met in that split second
before he stood up and made his way to switch off the television. It was in that
split second Yuffie saw a tint of softness in his eyes. She bowed her head and
looked at the neatly fixed tie and murmured, "I didn't say I was going to die."

"You looked like you were going to anyway," Sephiroth taunted.

This INSENSITIVE MORON! Couldn't he least be more subtle when he eavesdrops!

"Shut up," she said.

Yuffie glared at his back. Why was she even having this argument in the first place!
…ARGH, it was that DAMN training he made her go.

The next thing she knew, she was already at the dining table, served with cereal and milk.

Breakfast had a darkened atmosphere; it would have caused storms to hide in shame.
Yuffie stirred her cereal in milk repeatedly, starring at the repeated pattern it almost
made her calm. Sephiroth watched her as he ate and stated, "I would be forced to
feed you if you don't stop doing that."

Seeing that she gave no reaction, he reached for her jaw, forced it open and stabbed
into her mouth his fork full of grilled sausage goodness. "Awww aww awww… mmmm,
mmmm." She munched with a delightful expression on her face before realizing Sephiroth
was looking. Embarrassed, she gave him a dirty glare, then ignored him and ate mindlessly.
Sephiroth arched a playful eyebrow at her and smirked.

After they finished, Sephiroth plucked her from her seat immediately. She struggled
ferociously and whined, "Nooooo… AHHHHH, NOOOOOOO."
"Then I'll have to cut down your chocolate supplies," he deadpanned.
"WHAT? Noooooo." With that, she sprinted to the refrigerator and stuffed her
pockets with chocolate bars before heading out the door where Sephiroth was
waiting.
"Make sure you keep your part of the deal…" she grumbled before following him
obediently to the lift.

The silent atmosphere in the lift made Yuffie very uncomfortable. She took out a
chocolate bar and ate furiously while Sephiroth fought his inner urge to look at her.
Just before they reached their destination (basement 1), he knelt down to her height
and wiped her chocolate-coated mouth with his sleeve, surprising her slightly.
Cupping her cheek, he whispered into her ear, "I'll protect you." With that, the
doors opened as The General stood up and left a stunned Yuffie to step out later.

Note: Apologies to all out there who were anticipating this chapter.
School's been crazy. Bear with me, I do miss you people you know.