Start Date: July 4, 2022
Windwillow
Reminder: The bolded text is Cloud's inner voice. Just wanted to bring it up again.
Final Fantasy VII
With Barret's Gun-arm both repaired and upgraded, and with the spunky ninja Yuffie in tow, Cloud and Barret depart for the port city of Junon. The rest of the party is waiting there, ready to continue the search for Sephiroth.
Will they find him? Or will there be a few... delays along the way?
Chapter Nineteen: Yuffie's Contribution and Saving Priscilla
Scene One
While Cloud and Barret were away, the rest of the party had set up shop at the local Inn. Their lodgings were more modest than Kalm, with only one room with three beds. So, with four people (and Red XIII), someone would have to sleep on the floor. Popular opinion was that Barret join Red XIII, but he naturally would disagree. Given that there wasn't much to do in Lower Junon, Tifa and Aerith spent most of their time resting in the Inn. Red XIII wandered out to the beach occasionally to look out at the water, though with its gigantic high voltage tower, the water was all there was to really look at.
"Okay, I hear you..." Tifa said into her cellphone, leaning against the wall of the bedroom. She had Cloud on the other end of the line, and was listening to him over Barret and Yuffie's bickering. "But we only have three beds. That means you and Barret will be sleeping on the floor... and yes, you will sleep on the floor! It's impolite to ask a lady to dirty herself like that! I don't care if you and Barret bitch about it, it's decided! Right... 'Kay, bye." She snapped the phone shut and turned to Aerith with a sigh. "Looks like we have a new member of the team."
"Really?!" asked Aerith excitedly, drawing her legs up to her chest on the bed. "What's he like?" As Tifa averted her eyes, Aerith lifted an eyebrow. "Oh-h-h... So it's like that? Poor Cloud... I was gonna give him the third bed... But he's a gentleman, so he won't mind. Barret will, but..." She giggled and stuck out her tongue. "We'll deal with him later."
"Has Cloud called yet?" Red XIII asked as he entered the room and stretched his legs, shaking off the rust. "I'm getting tired of watching some silly dolphin splash around..." Aerith smiled happily, which unnerved the beast. "I don't like that look," he moaned. "Is there something else you're going to tie me to now?"
"Uh-uh!" Aerith giggled with a wide smile. "We're gonna get a new girl friend!" Red XIII lifted an eyebrow as he circled the ground and laid down next to the bed. He silently wondered if she would be a third love interest. Cloud seemed to be amassing a harem of beautiful young women, without intending to... or perhaps without realizing it.
Oh, dear... How many girls are going to come after him? I wonder if she's pretty...
His answer came in a few hours, when the trio of Cloud, Barret, and Yuffie arrived at Junon. They dismounted and de-summoned their chocobos, and headed into town with Barret complaining as to the sleeping arrangements. Yuffie was amused by that, and she and Barret had been bickering back and forth the entire trip about it. Popular opinion was that Barret was losing.
Cloud and Barret entered Lower Junon with Yuffie in tow, Barret caressing his new arm and Cloud holding back from bonking him for bragging about it. Yuffie was even more insufferable, bickering with Barret during the few times he wasn't promoting his Gun-arm. Cloud stepped up to meet the rest of his friends, and started to introduce Yuffie.
"Her name is Yuffie Kisaragi," Cloud said as he gestured at his new friend. "She's from Wutai, and she has some serious skills. In fact, she KO'ed Barret the first time we met her..." As Barret seethed, Cloud waved his hand widely towards the party. "Yuffie, these are my friends."
"Hmm... Interesting..." Red XIII muttered, sitting down with an amused smile. She didn't seem to be fawning over him. "Doesn't look like she's old enough for you, Cloud." Tifa bonked him on the head, causing Red XIII to snarl at her. "What was that for?!" he gasped. "All I did was say-"
"You think this child is after Cloud?!" Tifa snapped as she put her hands on her hips and glared at Red XIII. "Get your mind out of the gutter!" Aerith folded her arms over her chest, silently sizing up Yuffie. Yuffie didn't take well to being called a child, as she clutched her fists and began to tremble.
"Oh, I don't think there's anything to worry about, Tifa..." giggled Aerith. "Cloud isn't into girls like this." Sensing blood lust from Tifa's glare, Aerith lifted her hands in surrender. "Sorry! Just... sorta came out! I mean, she is sort of cute..." she giggled. Her anger building, Yuffie started to petulantly stomp her foot on the ground.
"I... I, uh..." Cloud stammered, unsure how to react. Everyone seemed to be forgetting that he was here. "I mean... What the hell-" He clenched his teeth, his fists tightening. "What the heck are you all talking about?! I'm not interested in..." Pausing, he realized that he had to consider his next words very carefully. The glares from the three females put the heat on him hard.
Well, this is the worst scenario I've been in since Nibelheim... Um...
So, what was the play? If he said he wasn't interested in Tifa or Aerith, it would break their hearts... and he wasn't sure about who he was interested in anyway, if he was interested in either of them. Saying he wasn't interested in Yuffie may very well have been a death sentence with the blood lust she was radiating, and he distinctly remembered the fact that she nearly broke Barret's nose the first time they'd met. He slowly began to step backwards, hoping to save himself.
Dear God, I think I'm a dead man...
Barret was conflicted. On the one hand, the situation was sort of funny. On the other hand, Cloud's life hung in the balance. And on that note, he was close enough that he would become collateral damage. His best course of action, and the one he took, was to slowly inch away from the conflict. Better to keep out of the fight than die a violent death...
For Red XIII, half of him was terrified for Cloud, and half for himself. His big mouth had started all of this. Now he had three very irate women staring at Cloud like something somewhere between a sacrificial lamb and a piece of meat. Like Barret, he also steadily distanced himself from the situation. Even more so because he'd been the one to say it in the first place, so he would likely be first down.
"What the flying-" Yuffie sputtered, veins forming on her head, her fingers tensing. "I'm right here, y'know! I am not a child! And I am very pretty! What's so difficult to believe he'd be interested in me for?!" She paused, reconsidering the situation. "Wait, why the hell am I supposed to be interested in him?!" she screamed. Stomping her feet, Yuffie flicked off Tifa and Aerith with both hands. "And get ahold of yourselves! Aren't we supposed to be chasing this Sephiroth dude?!"
"I, uh..." Tifa shook her head, coming to her senses. "What's wrong with you, Cloud?! Look what you've done!" She angrily stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips. "You're an ass!" she screamed.
"What did I do?!" Cloud snapped, folding his arms. Whatever happened wasn't his problem. "I didn't even say anything!" he moaned.
"And that's the problem!" Aerith scolded, folding her arms and turning her head with a huff. "And here I thought you were a gentleman!"
"How in the world does that make me not a gentleman?!" Cloud asked, his courage returning. "And why are you fighting over me?! I've got feelings too!" Seeing the blood lust in the eyes of all three women, he began to shrink. "Okay, forget I said that..." he whimpered.
"Fine!" Tifa snapped as she stormed off. "I'll be at the Inn! Aerith, let's go!" Seeing Aerith's reluctance, she sighed repentantly. "Okay, maybe I overreacted. But either way, I'm tired. I'm gonna be at our room in the Inn." She turned to Cloud with an apologetic frown. "S-sorry, Cloud. I don't know what-"
"Me neither!" Aerith said with a soft giggle. "Let's just forget this all happened. I'm going to head back with Tifa." She turned to a mortified Barret and Red XIII. The shadow of death still hung in the air. "How 'bout you two?" Neither of them wanted to object, but neither did they want to run head first into the burning powder keg. Seeing this, she shook her head in frustration. "Oh, fine..." Aerith muttered. "You guys can stay out here."
"What the hell about me?!" Yuffie screamed, stomping her foot like an impatient child. "I am not going into an enclosed space with you two! Leave! Me! Alone!" Inwardly, her red hot fire began to cool and Yuffie's face stabilized. "Tch... I'm staying with the guys. You two are nuts." Seeing Cloud's horror, she lowered her head, ashamed, as she realized what had happened. "I, uh..." Turning to Cloud, she bowed politely. "Sorry, man."
None of the three males wanted to speak. Slowly, Red XIII led them down towards the shore. You know, where it was safe.
Well, it would have been safe except for what awaited them...
Scene Two
As Aerith and Tifa returned to the Inn and ruminated, the rest of the party joined Red XIII at his favorite spot on the beach. That is, if you could call it a beach. It was more of a small piece of shore surrounding a high voltage tower, built by Shinra long ago to provide power to Upper Junon. Red XIII had often watched the dolphin (singular) who lived here, it being the only interesting thing in the entire slum. The dolphin was there, yes, but there was also a young girl dancing in the water, a little brunette wearing a yellow swimsuit. Her name was Priscilla, a youth who lived with her grandfather in Lower Junon. She often visited the beach to watch the dolphin. In fact, she'd befriended it!
"Mr. Dolphin! Mr. Dolphin!" Priscilla sing-songed, doing a jolly dance in the shallow water, her eyes bright and sunny. "My name is Priscilla! Can you say it?!" The dolphin gave off a trilling sound, prompting Priscilla to dance harder. "That's right! Pri-scil-la! You're so smart!" she chirped.
"Who's the rugrat?" Yuffie asked as she folded her arms with a huff. "She's got some spunk in her..."
"Reminds me of you, Yuffie..." Red XIII muttered. After being bopped, he angrily bared his fangs. "What about that made you hit me?!" he screamed, stomping the ground with his paw. "Wasn't I giving you a compliment?" Bopped again, Red XIII snarled sharply. This was so not cool. "How can you possiblybe more violent than Tifa?!" he exclaimed.
"I am not a little punk like this girl!" Yuffie snapped, stomping her foot. "Can't you see that I am a proper lady?!"
"What flew up your butt?" Barret muttered as he picked his nose. Yuffie brutally whacked him over the head, sending his face into the sands. After recovering, he angrily shook his fist at Yuffie. "Hey! Why is it that everyone hits me?!" he pouted. "I used to be the leader of this whole group!"
"Note the words used to be..." Cloud sighed, holding his head in his hand to stifle his migraine, which was only getting worse. As Barret seethed, Cloud shifted his attention to Yuffie. "Aren't you overreacting?" he groaned, throwing his hands up in the air. "All he did was say..."
"I am not a child like this brat!" Yuffie shouted, again stomping her foot. "Look at me, look at her; I am not a rugrat!"
"Didn't you use that word yourself?" asked Red XIII with a sigh. He promptly dodged her next punch and bared his fangs. "Please stop doing that!" Red XIII pleaded. "Barret and I are not your punching bags!"
"Who are you weirdos?" Priscilla asked as she cocked her head. When Yuffie and Barret pointed at each other, Priscilla nodded (much to their fury). "Are you with Shinra? 'Cause if you are, go away!" Her eyes turned to Barret's Gun-arm, and after a brief pause she began to shriek. "It's a monster man!" she shouted, as she angrily waved her hands at Barret. "Go away!"
"Well, ain't you an ass!" Yuffie groaned, hands on her hips. "Can't take you anywhere!"
"Hey, I didn't even do anything!" Barret protested as he folded his arms. "What the hell did I do that makes me an ass?"
"Yeah, you did!" Yuffie snapped resolutely. "You scared the poor girl!"
"What, by existing?!" shouted Barret as he tapped his Gun-arm. "And it ain't just 'cause of this! You've been screaming your head off and scaring her more than I have!"
"Oh, you son of a..." Yuffie stomped her foot petulantly. "You want a fight with me, beetle arm?!"
"Who the hell're you calling beetle arm?!" Barret said as he shook his fist at Yuffie. "You're scaring her more than me!"
"No!" Yuffie shouted as she stomped her foot. "You're scaring her more than me! Get it right, idiot!"
"Y-you're both scary!" Priscilla muttered. Ignoring her, Barret and Yuffie continued to go back and forth. "You guys are freaking me out!" she whined as she began to cry.
"This ain't your fight, little girl!" Yuffie snapped as she assumed a fighting stance and pointed a defiant finger at Barret. "I gotta teach this meat head what's what!"
"Oh, so I'm a meat head?!" Barret shouted as he stomped his foot. "What does that make you, a cat burglar?! Or just a hot-headed little rugrat who can't even-" He narrowly dodged her next attack, stumbling and fumbling back into a standing position. "Aren't we supposed to be on the same side?!" Barret pouted.
"Shut up!" Yuffie said as she flailed her arms. "You ain't talkin' to me that way, jackass! Nuh-uh, you ain't!" As Mr. Dolphin's cries became louder, Yuffie turned to him with a snarl and a shaking fist. "What's with you, fish-face?" she growled, pointing an accusing finger at the dolphin. "What's your pro-" Seeing the source of his shrieking, Yuffie slowly began to back away. "Oh... crap..."
"What, you scared of me now?! Like you ought to be!" Barret laughed as he flexed his arms, biceps bulging. Believing he'd won, he turned to end the argument. When Barret saw what had spooked Yuffie, though, his face dropped faster than an anchor. "Whoa!" he stammered, face tightening. "What the... whoa!"
It was a huge, serpentine beast with two wings on its back and two grotesque fins that looked more like mantis claws, a mutant created from the pollution of Shinra's filthy crimes against the Planet. The grotesque, blue-green scaled Bottomswell's jaws opened, a sickening slurping sound producing a stream of saliva that was blown into Yuffie's face and left it looking like she'd just been birthed.
"Oh, that is it!" Yuffie screeched, swiping the goo from her face with disgust. "Look what you did!" Her whole body shaking in revulsion, Yuffie snatched her shuriken from behind her back. "Cover me in fish snot, will ya?! You bastard!" As she narrowed her weapon at Bottomswell, Yuffie spat out a gob of his saliva to the side. It only seemed to make her angrier. "Get ready, you asshole! I, the great Yuffie, am gonna bust out a can of whoop-ass on you!"
"Oh, good grief..." Cloud groaned, his headache reaching critical. His arm quickly reached behind him and snatched up the Buster Sword, and while angling it he craned his neck towards Yuffie and scowled. "If I'd known you were like this, I never would've invited you!" he growled.
"What did you just say, punk?!" argued Yuffie as she stomped her foot. Trembling, she directed her shuriken at Cloud. "Say it again to my face, mother-" As she noticed Cloud had turned to glare at Barret, her fury was only fanned. "Hey! Look at me when I'm telling you off!" she screamed. "Be polite and listen to me telling you to go to hell!"
"And you!" Cloud snapped at Barret with a fierce scowl. Barret reacted with scorn, slowly replaced with shame. "Are you two done bickering yet?!" As a sheepish frown covered his face, Barret simply shook his head. "That's what I thought!" he shouted.
Scene Three
Barret and Yuffie's argument had ended in a monster attack, which oddly enough they seemed less angry about than they were at each other. As the monstrous Bottomswell emerged from the grim waters, the party finally united against their common foe. In Cloud's opinion, it was about time they did so, too!
"Oh, no!" Priscilla gasped, hands to her mouth. Ignoring logic, she rushed forward into the water. "Look out, Mr. Dolphin!" As she fought through the shallow waters, she began to swim frantically towards her aquatic ally. She waved over and over, trying to get Mr. Dolphin out of the way, with no success. "Go away, go away! It isn't safe!" she screamed over the rushing waters.
The vile mutant lashed its wings to and fro, kicking up the sea with tremendous force. One of the violent waves caused by Bottomswell's flailing hit hard, striking Priscilla in the gut and knocking the wind out of her. Priscilla, staggered, lifted her terrified eyes to find a set of fangs staring back. The sea serpent began to look at her like a piece of meat, its eyes glowing.
"Don't touch her!" Cloud shouted as he dashed forward. "Don't you dare hurt her!" As he stepped through the waves his progress was impeded, allowing the beast to slam him into the coast with one of its massive fins. Cloud bounced against the hard sands, quickly transitioning from his back to his feet. "Dirty son of a-"
Before he could finish, Bottomswell loosed a violent bellow that split the waters and unbalanced the party, with the notable side effect of hurling Priscilla into the sand. With tremendous force, the little girl was thrown like a rag doll, and as she finished rolling and bouncing along the ground, she slowly stopped moving. A common cause united the three warriors: Whether she was dead or unconscious... It had to pay.
"How dare you!" Cloud flexed his fingers, blood tightening his digits with fierce determination. From his hand a crackling force of power began to form a streak of lightning. "I'm gonna fry you, you son of a-" Suddenly, his words and body froze, and the thunderous energy dissipated: Mr. Dolphin was in the same waters Bottomswell was.
Dammit! I'd kill the dolphin if I-
Cloud's thoughts were silenced as Bottomswell dragged its fin along the water, sending a shockwave that he barely managed to block. Struggling, Cloud put all the strength he had into his movement and dispersed the attack. He lifted up his mighty blade and swung for all he was worth, sending a sharpened wave of pressure that cut like a blade. But, Bottomswell nimbly evaded it, succeeding only in angering it. Well, it angered Cloud too...
If I can't hit it...
"Barret, you're up!" shouted Cloud. With a nod, Barret's Gun-arm opened its hatches to reveal its barrels, and he began to fire. But the nimble monster darted and weaved, avoiding the roughest shots, withstanding the rest, and slapping him away with its tail. He skidded against the ground and managed to right himself, but when he lifted up his Gun-arm to prepare the air cannon, his eyes snapped wide open as he watched Bottomswell stretch open its maw.
Red XIII, meanwhile, had carried Priscilla to safety, dragging her back towards the coast. Knowing that neither of his materia would be helpful, his only course of action, and the one he took, was to retreat and bring back Tifa and Aerith to aid them. From its toothy maw, Bottomswell loosed two thin beams of blue light, aimed at Cloud and Barret. The light broke open into a series of lines that surrounded the two of them, quickly forming a giant blue bubble around their entire bodies and sealing them in.
Cloud attempted to break free, but found his muscles couldn't overcome the water pressure created by the bubble. And if he used his Bolt materia, he'd just electrocute himself. Barret was in a similar situation, with the far greater issue that neither of them could breathe. The water filled their lungs as Cloud and Barret covered their mouths and tried to hold their breath. But it was a losing fight, one that neither of them could overcome. Inwardly they both cursed and swore, but saw no way out of what seemed like certain death.
"Oh, hell no!" Yuffie spat, dropping her shuriken into the sand. She lifted both hands and began to dash towards her teammates. "Lucky for you two jokers, you got me now!"
Scene Four
As Priscilla lay on the shore and Red XIII had retreated to fetch Tifa and Aerith (though what they could have added is anyone's guess), Cloud and Barret were trapped in two prisons of water that were slowly drowning them. Their muscles no longer worked, and they could feel the water rush into their lungs. Cloud's eyes slowly began to close, the pressure becoming unbearable.
This can't be it...
The bubble suddenly broke, and Cloud took a deep, gasping breath as he hit the ground and heaved up the water that had filled his lungs. He hacked, fluid spewing from his mouth, the intake of air a wonderful blessing. Turning, he saw Barret in a similar condition, writhing on the ground and struggling to breathe. Cloud's eyes widened as he watched Barret flail, before narrowing in shock.
What just happened?!
Turning his eyes upward, Cloud saw Yuffie with both arms outstretched and drenched in water. The water dipped and flowed, surrounding her wrists like a pair of dancing blue bracelets. Cloud noted that her hands were exactly where their water prisons had been, seemingly dissolving them to nothing.
"Yuffie?!" Cloud hacked, slamming his hands to the ground and dragging himself to his knees with significant struggle. His eyes wide, Cloud stared as Yuffie's arms became engulfed in what looked like whirlwinds of water.
"Like I said!" Yuffie snapped as she brought her arms to either side, the water swirling over her arms. "You got me now!" Slamming her hands to the ground, Yuffie's arms pushed off like a springboard, as from beneath her feet a massive column of water lifted her up high. Cloud noticed Yuffie flick her wrist, what looked like a clear shadow drawing her shuriken to her hand.
As she caught the shuriken and spun it like a pinwheel, Yuffie quickly stepped onto the water she'd brought herself up on. With several bounding steps, she rode the waves as if they were moving platforms, her shuriken spinning wildly as a thin ripple surrounded it. Bottomswell, just as baffled as Cloud, fired two rays of light at Yuffie, causing another bubble to form around her body. The bubble, however, seemed oddly unstable.
"Yuffie!" Cloud gasped. Desperate to act, Cloud forced himself to his feet, struggling to lift his blade even a little. Whatever he could do, he had to...
Before Cloud could react, the bubble broke open when Yuffie thrust her left hand through it, the water shattering like glass. Specks of water bounced from her face; like the air around it, it repelled the liquid before it hit. Bounding on the waves as if she were walking on solid ground, Yuffie drew her shuriken to her side, narrowed her eyes at Bottomswell, and slung it forward like a boomerang.
The air around her shuriken seemed to distort itself as it deftly severed Bottomswell's head in a single stroke. Bottomswell's body jerked suddenly as its head detached from its torso. As Yuffie she lifted her arm, caught the shuriken (again, like a boomerang), did a few spins, and landed gracefully to the ground just in time for Bottomswell to... well, sink to the bottom. Cloud, coughing and spitting up a bit of water, staggered to his feet, shocked by what had just occurred.
"Yuffie, what the-" he began, but quickly stopped. Ignoring her partner, turning to Cloud she gave him a thumbs-up and a toothy grin. Yuffie's smile widened as Cloud's face dropped, the stunning revelation of her strength giving way to mania. "You have got to be kidding me..." he groaned.
"Observe the great Yuffie in her natural habitat!" Yuffie cackled as she spun her weapon through the air and snatched it with a deft hand. She presented the shuriken to Cloud, and he saw the air around it ripple and quake as if it were floating in water. The wind seemed to be surrounding it, like an aura.
"What the hell!" choked Barret, as he coughed and hacked, falling to his seat. "What happened?!" he shouted. Red XIII and the two ladies rushed forward, having just arrived, sliding their feet into the sands as they skidded to a halt. Just as Aerith snapped her staff open, she closed it, and Tifa stood in complete silence at what she'd seen.
"Aerith, do you know-" Tifa started, but was silenced as Aerith simply shrugged. "What, even you don't know what happened?!" she shouted incredulously. Tifa turned her eyes to a cackling Yuffie, slowly narrowing them in frustration. "Okay, seriously. What the hell did you do?" Yuffie finally stopped laughing, her face slowly dropping as she noticed no one was cheering for her.
"Um... 'Kay..." Yuffie muttered with a shrug. "I've got two materia!" she chirped, holding up two fingers. "Aero and Aqua. Like the noble protector god of Wutai, Leviathan, I can control water and wind! With my Aqua materia..." She lifted her hand and a spiraling orb of water formed from her palm. "I can create and control water! And with my Aero materia..." The orb broke open to reveal what looked like a small typhoon. "I can create and control air vacuums! I know, I know, awesome, right?! Hehe... I am so freakin' cool!"
"Hey, guys, c'mon!" Yuffie snapped as she realized the party had turned to Priscilla. She petulantly began to stomp her foot. "I just saved your sorry asses! Pay attention to me, dammit!" Seeing them pay total attention to Priscilla, Yuffie's face dropped. "Fine, fine... Save the little girl, I guess..." she sighed as she kicked the sand with her foot.
Scene Five
Having ignored Yuffie's less than modest victory celebration, the party turned their full attention to the unconscious Priscilla. Cloud and Barret had cleared their lungs and now they huddled with the rest around the young girl.
"Is she breathing?" asked Tifa, kneeling to the ground. As she examined the little girl, she found no color in her face. "Aerith, can you..." As Aerith shook her head, Tifa narrowed her eyes. "Oh, come on. We all know you can heal people! Just do it!"
"I can't!" Aerith snapped as she examined Priscilla, frowning at Tifa. She lifted her face to her friend and scowled. "It's isn't just that she's injured, she's almost drowned! I can patch her up, but I can't clear her lungs!" She looked closely at the young girl, who wasn't moving. "I don't even know how to start..." muttered Aerith, her spirit dropping.
"Priscilla!" As a voice echoed, all eyes turned to the top of the shore, where Priscilla's grandfather hurried down the steps to the beach. He wore a pair of brown overalls and a fisherman's cap, each stride wider than the last. When he reached her, he cradled her in his arms with tears in his eyes. He turned frantically to Cloud, his eyes wide. "Quick! Give her mouth-to-mouth!" he pleaded.
"I, wait, what-" Cloud stammered, his eyes turning to Priscilla's limp body. His eyes scanned the girl, assessing her age and noting the fact she was freckled. "She's what, ten?!" he gasped. "I can't do that to a kid!"
"Oh, so he can clap his mouth over this little squirt, but I'm too young for him?!" Yuffie snapped haughtily. "Come on, I am way cuter than-" As Tifa whacked her hard on the head, her face sunk into the sand. "Hey! It's not like I was suggesting he do it to me, lady!" screamed Yuffie as she dug her sand-speckled face from the earth.
"I can show you how!" exclaimed her grandfather, turning to Yuffie, his mouth open wide. "I know exactly what to do!" he exclaimed. "Let me demonstrate on you, miss! You're about her size-" Before he could say anything else, Yuffie stabbed her fist into his gut, blowing the wind out of him and dropping him to his knees.
"You ain't putting your tongue in my mouth, you sick freak!" Yuffie shouted, stomping her foot. "Don't even think about-" As Aerith frantically tended to the old man, this time giving him the healing magic she couldn't give to Priscilla, Yuffie hung her head. "Uh... Okay, guess he didn't mean it like that. My bad..." she moaned.
"Fine, I'll just tell you!" gasped her grandfather, rubbing his wounded stomach. "Seal your mouth over hers, then blow steadily and hard into her mouth for a second! Make sure her chest rises! Give two rescue breaths," He took both hands and pushed his palms into the sands. "do thirty chest compressions, and repeat until she's back with us!"
"A-are you sure I should put my mouth over..." Cloud gasped, still resisting. "B-but, she's only..." Receiving Tifa's scowl, he gave up and leaned down by her face. Swallowing his apprehension, Cloud took a deep breath in and, clapping his mouth over Priscilla's, blew hard into her lungs. Having noticed her chest rise, he quickly switched to pushing his hands against her chest to clear the water.
Somehow this just doesn't feel right...
Despite his hesitation, Cloud continued to repeat first aid, alternating breathing into Priscilla's mouth and pushing the water from her chest. Finally, after several repetitions, Priscilla's eyes snapped wide open and she gasped desperately for air.
"Priscilla!" Priscilla's grandfather gasped as he cradled her in his arms, holding her tight as she returned to consciousness. "Oh, Priscilla!" he breathed. "Let me get you to safety!" He took her in both arms and lifted her up, hurrying up the stairs towards the village. Cloud turned his eyes to his friends, seeing both joy and an odd sense of horror. With a hard swallow, he lifted his hand towards the Inn.
"L-let's just go back..." Cloud moaned, hacking up more water. He wanted this to be over. "We can talk back at the Inn, so..." he pleaded, averting his eyes. "Before anyone says anything else, just come with me, okay?"
Scene Six
Once things had settled down, the party members rose to their feet. As they looked closely at each other, slowly, they began to file up from the shore. The journey to the Inn was punctuated by a series of petty arguments between Barret and Yuffie. Tifa's reply was to bonk them both, take them by the scruffs of their necks, and to hurl them inside their room.
"If you two will put a sock in it," snarled Tifa, silencing the two troublemakers, "I want to hear exactly what happened. Tell, me, Cloud: What the hell did we just see?" she asked sternly, her words shaking Cloud. What, indeed?
"Okay..." Cloud cleared his throat, sitting on the bed. It all began with the girls terrifying them all, but he didn't want to start there. "After we all... talked... we went down to the beach, and we met a little girl called Priscilla and her friend Mr. Dolphin. Then these two idiots-" he punctuated as he pointed his thumbs at a furious Yuffie and Barret "-started bickering, and they scared the poor girl. Then this big-ass sea monster came in and attacked."
"Priscilla was knocked unconscious," Red XIII added, "and I came and got you. By the time we'd arrived, Yuffie had killed the monster and... well, everyone was there for what happened next."
"You're very brave, Cloud!" Tifa beamed as she smiled at Cloud. Her hand extended, she met her fist with his to seal the deal. "You just saved that little girl's life!" she said.
"By giving mouth-to-mouth to a ten-year-old..." Aerith muttered absently. Receiving Tifa's glare, she lifted her hands in surrender. "Hey, just recapping!" she chirped.
"Can we please just forget that part?!" Cloud groaned as he nursed a migraine. He didn't want to dwell on it.
"That wrinkled freak tried to put his mouth over mine first!" Yuffie protested. Stomping her foot, she began to pout. "Sick old-" Before she could finish, Tifa brutally whacked her over the head, staggering her. "Okay, we can skip that part! Gawd!" she moaned, holding her head.
"Anyway!" Aerith chirped cheerfully, clapping her hands together, "What's done is done! Let's all settle in for the night!" Stepping past Cloud, she dropped to her seat on the bed. An odd smile crossed her face as she stared at a bewildered Cloud. "And you can get off the bed, now. It's Yuffie's!" she sing-songed.
"Hey... Hey!" Cloud protested, jumping to his feet. After all that, he was being kicked to the curb? "Weren't you just saying how brave I was?!" he stammered, backing down as Aerith's face tightened. He didn't want to force the issue...
"I was braver!" Yuffie said proudly as she puffed out her chest. "It's 'cause of me you guys are still breathing!" she boasted. "Ol' big tits here didn't do squat!" Tifa brutally bonked her on the head, this time her glare prompting far more fear than irritation, causing Yuffie to slowly slink away. "'Kay. Night, guys..." Yuffie whimpered, putting as much distance between Tifa and herself as possible.
With minimal resistance from the boys (courtesy of Tifa), the party shuffled off to bed. While Barret and Red XIII shared the cold floor, Cloud instead chose to recline against the wall. Slowly, steadily, he began to drift off to sleep.
That reminds me...
Okay, who are you? I want to know. Now.
You'll find out soon. More importantly, remember Nibelheim?
What about it?
When you went with Sephiroth, your guide was Tifa, right?
Yeah, I said that already.
Why didn't you two spend some time alone? Wasn't this a great chance to get back together?
She was... Wait, what are you getting at?!
Why don't you ask Tifa?
"Cloud... Cloud!" Tifa's voice echoed and Cloud's eyes snapped open, finding Tifa's smiling countenance in front of him. "Wake up, sleepyhead!" she chided. "It's morning!" As Cloud averted his eyes, however, her confidence slowly faded. "Wh-what's wrong, Cloud?" she asked in a slow, reluctant murmur. Whatever he might have said next could have changed everything.
"Tifa, five years ago..." Cloud began as he hesitantly closed his eyes. He didn't know how to ask. "When Sephiroth and I were at Nibelheim, where were you?" A bead of sweat dropped down Tifa's face as she swallowed hard. She wasn't expecting that question.
He... He asked!
"W-we saw each other, d-didn't we?" Tifa stammered, eyes wandering. "I-I mean, we were both there, right?"
"Yeah, but why didn't we spend some time together?"asked Cloud "It had been a long time..." Cloud's words shook Tifa hard. This was just the kind of thing she was hoping he would never ask. Her heart began to beat harder and harder, reaching the intensity of a drum.
"Hey... What's that music outside?" asked Cloud as he turned to the door. It was, indeed, music (a bit gaudy, but music), and the volume was deafening. "We better go outside and find out what that's all about..."
Cloud passed by a shaken Tifa, the air brushing from his breath to her cheek. As the door slammed shut, Tifa closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled.
So, he doesn't remember after all...
Author's Notes
I have a couple things to say. First, I was right: writing Yuffie is a blast. Second, when I first wrote my notes on the chapter, I didn't think I'd put Cloud in that much of a bind. As I was writing it, I kept feeling worse and worse for him.
At this point, he's still uncertain about his feelings towards both Tifa and Aerith, who each have silently marked the other as competition for his heart... which he knows little to nothing about. He's a master warrior, but love isn't a martial discipline he's well versed in. The both of them are also unsure about how they feel for each other in relation to Cloud, and Yuffie entering the picture with Red XIII's mistaken innuendo fanned the flames. Well, it's more like it ignited them...
Just for reference, I'm using Tifa's appearance from the Remake as a base, so her... proportions... are more modest than the over exaggerated image she had originally. I just wanted to see Yuffie get punished. Kind of like Aerith being naughty, I can't help having her be... her. Sorry if I offended anyone. Consider her slightly more gifted than most.
I designed Yuffie to have her two materia be based on the guardian deity of Wutai, the Sea God Leviathan. When she returns to Wutai, I'll try to elaborate, but for now I just wanted to point that out. Her fighting style is going to emphasize agility and the sharpness of her wind vacuums, which incidentally is what she used to cut down a tree when she first appeared. It wasn't her shuriken; she used her Aero materia to slice through it with a vacuum wave. Same with the Formulas, she cut them with vacuums rather than her shuriken.
By the way, I've sort of taken to having all the materia worded as four letters. Fire, Bolt, Aqua, Aero, Gaea, etc. I have no idea why, but it's sort of like what I came up with for the cellphones. It's just a whim. Consider it like the original NES and SNES translations for the earlier games. For Blizzard materia, let's go with "Cold."
And God do I love writing Yuffie! She's just the breath of fresh air I needed to inject into the story. Well... whenever Tifa isn't hitting someone, Aerith isn't being naughty, Barret isn't getting injured, Red XIII isn't being tied to someone... Okay, so she's icing on the cake. ^_-
Next chapter, I'm going to post the answers to the cellphone puzzles. Anyone interested, stay tuned!