The room erupted as Lord Godo nodded gently and smirked. The cheers echoed throughout the halls of the Ancient Pagoda of Wutai, only inflating Yuffie's determination. She was the same Yuffie that that we have always known – defiant and spirited, a young woman who prided herself on her optimistic nature. One difference of note was that Yuffie was now seventeen - as of this very day in fact. It was the official coming of age in Wutain society when the gods would bestow upon their people the gifts of responsibility, honour and courage.
It was true to say that the ninja had matured – saving the world naturally merits a person a wider knowledge of things. She had decided some months ago to grow her hair longer, striving for a new look, a new Yuffie. The hair, as of this day had lengthened to just above her shoulders. She found combing her hair devilishly difficult and so the overall look was far from sophisticated. But with an assortment of dainty clips from here and there, one could much to admire in her handiwork. Across both her arms were various bangles, undoubtedly assembled from anything she could lay her fingers on. She was especially proud of the total mismatch of colours.
Yuffie's father was equally distinguished. He was a man of the battlefield, with a respect worthy of a legion of even the most valiant of soldiers. The Great War had chiselled Godo into a pitiless fighter and memories of Wutai's fall forgotten even to him, survived somewhere in his mind tainting his thoughts with the most cruel of attacks. Grey was his face as his eyes gazed upon his daughter. Impatient, he raised a hand to hush the crowd, confident in his authority over them. Yet, there was still at least one individual in Wutai who had yet to respect him fully….
"Yuffie Kisaragi" he began, enjoying the attention though trying not to reveal it.
"THE Yuffie Kisaragi. Legendary Yuffie Kisaragi! Yuffie the renowned materia hunter! Yes, that's me!"
She had rehearsed these lines over and over.
Lord Godo chuckled.
"Is that what they call you now? Someone ought to tell them…"
The apparent tension between father and daughter had not gone unnoticed by the assembly of old men. They had certainly heard of the bickering of Lord Godo and that girl of his for it was legendary in Wutai. Still, they were stunned to see it all, absorbing every moment with baited breath. Godo and Yuffie revelled in the response for a moment before continuing their battle of wit.
"Cram it, old man! You've passed your sell-by date"
"Have I indeed? How amusing it will be when the legend falls to a pensioner?"
"I'm laughing at the very suggestion of it"
Yuffie released a small, fake chortle and returned Godo's grin.
"Enough already! No more mindless banter kid. Last time we met, I held back. I felt pity for you! But no more! If this is what you want…"
Yuffie still had a million more comebacks to fire back at her father but as he assumed a battle stance she groaned and sighed,
"It really is…"
A serenade of "ooh"s and "ahh"s flourished from the circle of men, now huddled against the walls of the room, understandably concerned for their safety. Yuffie had taken out her fatal Conformer, a beautifully lavish golden wheel, laden with ancient ruby-coloured runes. She showed off her prize possession to the room, glossing her fingers over the sharp spires that grew from the centre of the weapon. She performed a familiar two leaps on the spot, followed by a perfected 360-degree pirouette. She swung the Conformer around randomly, simply to flaunt and taunt, again earning her a room full of whimpers. She paused briefly and declared "I'm ready, dad!"
"As am I" Godo replied smugly.
He paused for a few seconds. The room fell silent. On his subtle nod, two of Godo's juniors stood up and began to remove his long violet cloak, while a third ensured that his hair was firmly tightened. When he was content, he gave another nod and the juniors stood back in a line behind him, arms crossed and heads down. Godo stretched and following Yuffie's lead joined her in a very ritualistic encircling of the room as they glared at each other. However, after a few moments of this routine, Godo could delay no longer.
"Omni-Charge" he yelled, his bass voice booming across the walls and the ceiling.
Before she knew it, Yuffie had to cartwheel left narrowly missing Godo's huge sword lunging at her. A roll to the side followed as he tried again, this time even closer to his target. Much to Yuffie's delight, his face tensed with frustration at Yuffie's evasion skills. Still, she could already feel the struggle and as much as she hated to admit it, Godo was good - very good. She suspected he had been training extra hard for this. The floorboard's creaked rowdily as their feet hammered across the room and Yuffie's soles screeched across the floorboards. Godo was still eager to use his mighty sword attack, missing her once more though almost striking several of the spectators who could barely keep up with the action. To follow up to her father's offence she showed off with a flashy back flip and no sooner had she had recovered her balance, his mighty blade pounced upon her. This time Godo succeeded…just. Yuffie was flung abruptly against the pagoda wall, soon after two of the viewers had dived to safety. The first exchange in combat ensued,
"Gorky sends his regards" he sniggered.
Yuffie ignored her father, gasping for breath. With a fearless disregard for her throbbing back, she leapt back to her feet, fuming.
"Gawd!" she mumbled.
Godo began to gleefully amuse himself by flaunting his sword skills to the crowd, weaving the weapon through his legs and above his head. In doing so, he was taken by great surprise as his daughter flew towards him. She returned his deed with a stab to the leg adding,
"Yeah, send the brat my love"
The crowd continued to watch in disbelief. A few tried to discreetly edge their way to the doorway. To Yuffie it was obvious that Godo had invited these respected seniors as a way to redeem his previous embarrassment. No less than seven months ago, she had overwhelmed him in battle and then went on to fight with Cloud. Everybody in Wutai knew – Yuffie had fought alongside Cloud. Yuffie's suspicions were not far at all from the truth. It was both bizarre and a little sad. Godo felt challenged by his daughter every day. After all, he was the Lord of the Pagoda. Far from being a proud parent, Godo took Yuffie's success and competitive spirit as a threat to his self-esteem. Blood is thicker than water but it would seem that nothing was as thick as Godo's stubbornness. As their brutal fight illustrated, their relationship had never really been an intimate one – not a conventional one anyway. After all, not many daughters could backchat as mercilessly as Yuffie and even fewer fathers challenge their daughters to a head-on-head assault.
"Trine my dear, trine!" Godo screeched, now visibly suffering from his slashed shins. He rotated his crimson head and a golden visage stared at Yuffie threateningly. It was the head's eyes – they did not blink and they would not stop staring at her.
"Grossness!" she squealed.
After the defeat of Sephiroth, Yuffie had felt rather awkward. The battle had been fought and won. Yet, despite what she used to think and used to say, Yuffie had changed forever. With Cloud, she could truthfully say that she had made friends, partners and allies. People who would protect her and people worth protecting. She had not wanted it to end.
"Haste! Prepare yourself for some Yuffie-esque ass kickin', goddit?" she proclaimed, as she opted for the speed approach.
As everyone went their separate ways, she herself had returned to the place that she had devoted her efforts to in the first place. The adventure was over and she was left in dismay. Miss. Kisaragi had indeed received a heroine's welcome, complete with complimentary gossip for a change and lavish celebrations at the Turtle Paradise. Wutai prospered from her success. Overlooked by the great elders carved in the ancient rock of the mountains, the small resort town seemed to be entering a new age beneath their very eyes and Yuffie had the biggest part to play in that. At her request, the gentle river that drifted through the main square was now abundant with large water-lilies that shimmered in the moonlight. Nearly every household in Wutai suddenly owned at least two cats. Kids in the street re-enacted 'The adventures of Yuffie' every afternoon. The whole place definitely felt a lot more vibrant, there were new houses popping up towards the north and scholars arrived everyday to the delight of local inns searching 'knowledge of this fascinating culture'. Yuffie was most pleased by this, reaffirming Wutai's reputation as the world's best supplier of ninja warriors. Sure, the town had benefited largely from tourism (much to the her irritation) but even she could not deny the joy that she felt when she heard the tourists refer to Wutai, "birthplace of Yuffie Kisaragi"
"Bah! Regeneration ought to squander your efforts" Godo insisted.
With arms flailing wildly, he cast regeneration and his grimace quickly turned into a mischievous grin. Yuffie gave a whimper but instantly took the opportunity for another bash at her father.
"Gee, you really are asking for it. Comet!"
And with a word, the beams of the roof above began to vibrate violently and the whole pagoda, which was hardly the sturdiest of structures as it was, seemed to sway. A distant rumble grew to become a thunderous echo and above Yuffie's head, an opening was scorched away from the roof as hot sunbeams blinded Godo and a shower of blazing meteorites poured through the roof.
"Nasty, huh dad? Even I feel painful after that!" as she gazed breathlessly at the roof, singed charcoal black.
However more 'pleasant' life had become over the last few months, the world's number one materia hunter never lost her desire to brave the outside. Whenever she had a spare moment, she would roam the planes hunting and enjoying the fervour of the battlefield. The fight gave Yuffie confidence and an unrivalled feeling of superiority. The challenge was everything to her - it was partly due to this that she had dared accept Godo's request for this brawl, 'a true test' for her coming of age. He knew that she would accept - knowing well her lust for both battle and materia (he had even suggested that the Leviathan materia be returned should she lose).
Yet in spite of the pleasure that combat provided and the prosperity of her beloved Wutai, it was nothing in comparison. In these last few weeks especially, she was becoming obsessive. Roaming the world with her friends, even if she was forced to endure the harsh reality of motion sickness was what she craved. Travelling the world, saving the world, fighting for justice and fighting with friends. These longings invaded her dreams and the loneliness was unbearable.
"Eugh…this is worse than motion sickness" the young ninja squealed, turning paler by the second. Godo was delighted at the success of his poison casting,
"I can't believe you didn't prepare for that girl. Very, very sloppy"
By this time, even the most courageous of the gentlemen were cringing at the violence before their eyes. Yuffie remained motionless. Godo resumed his disdainful comments,
"After all those years of buying mufflers, I've finally wound a way to shut you…"
But he did not wrap up that sentence. He could not. Yuffie had performed an array of gymnastics and pounced on him, her face contorted with rage – Doom of the Living. Blink and you would have missed each strike of her Conformer tear through Godo's limbs. A cartwheel to the right later and she was exhausted, yet felt all the better for it. Her knees collapsed and she toppled over onto her back. Godo soon followed.
But how could she fight alongside her friends if there was nothing to fight? She had not had the courage to get in contact with any of them since they all went their separate ways. She could only guess where in the world they were anyway. And she would understand if they were not so enthusiastic or one hundred percent trusting of her. Any prospect that her days with them could be relived had faded.
"It's as you always said, grandpa. Strength without determination means nothing, and determination without strength is equally useless. Boring proverb number one or whatever" Yuffie panted, clutching her aching forehead, "I guess I must have them both".
As she hobbled to her feet, she could not help but smile. Godo moaned in pain, humiliated and all the while his associates looked on in awe. Two leaps and a sloppy pirouette ensued, followed by bows to every corner of the room.
"Loser dad! You're a loser!"
Later than evening, two storms brewed in Wutai. The sky was overcast. Leaves flew aimlessly in the streets and torrents of rain raced across the rooftops of the town. The lilies toppled helplessly under the downpour and everyone was sheltered in their cosy homes. Outside it was deafening.
Godo was infuriated. As Staniv attended his wounds, Yuffie took every opportunity to goad him. He avoided looking into her proud gaze and hung his head, pretending to be snoozing. The day had not played out as he had expected and he was probably more frustrated that he had arranged this thrashing in the first place. Staniv, as much as she respected Godo could not help but snigger behind a pillow that she wisely carried in her hand that evening in case she got the giggles.
Before long, Yuffie lost interest and retreated to her own residence, scurrying through puddles and squinting along the way. Despite the best efforts of her arms flapping over her head, she was damp from head to toe. The time-honoured kick to her door allowed Yuffie to reach shelter and let out a well-deserved shriek of satisfaction. At her call, eleven cats streamed from all directions to greet her, circling her feet and competing for her affection. She picked up a jet-black cat aptly named Shadow and brushed her fingers gently through his thick coat. There she stood for a moment, static and pensive, the victory replaying in her mind.
The door pulsated with a thud. Yuffie snapped out of her daze and turned. Not entirely pleased to be interrupted at this time of night, she gently released Shadow who joined the other cats herding behind her like bodyguards. She opened the door, the rain blowing into the entrance and brought her hand to her forehead,
"Barret!"