Disclaimer: Don't pwn anything. But hey, the games' been pwn 5 times :P

This Chapter Is Dedicated To Beatrix Ravenclaw (See? I made it abit longer D)

-Chapter 4-

The moon shone brightly outside, its light fingering through the parting of the closed curtains, in the Shinobi's new room. Getting up from her sitting position on the bed, she moved over to the window across from the bed, and moved the curtain, to uncover the long windows, which ended at a point at the top. The dull beams of the moon, dimly lit her room. Leaning on the windowsill, she saw the empty streets of the city known as Nibelheim, which had apparently been burnt for over five years now. Time had passed too quickly, from when all the Avalanche members entered her already 'adventurous' life, defeated Sephiroth, and then, two years later, the three brothers, Kadaj, Loz and Yazzo came into her life's picture. And those events happened four years ago.

'I might act kind of immature for a 22 year old, but… No one realizes how much I've matured during those years. Getting to know everyone. Having all the wonderful, yet saddening memories with you.. No one knows. No one can see… The real me.' She thought, as she saw a young couple coming out of one of the newly built restaurants in the city, holding each other's hands, as if they would fall and never be able to get up if they let go. Looking down, she closed the curtains and walked over to her bag, where she had all her clothes in. Being too lazy to put her things away, she just kept them in her bag, which was placed on the dresser, covering a part of the wall, on the left of the bed.

'A bath is what I need.. I'll be able to relax abit,' she thought, grabbing a clean change of clothes from her bag, and moving towards the locked door.

Upon opening the door, she took a step back, seeing a figure sitting on the floor in front of her bedroom. Taking a step forward, she sighed when she recognized the figure.

"I see you finally decided to come back out," the figure said.

"I'm sure you had better things to do that wait for me to come out, Vinnie," she said, looking away, and placing her hands behind her back.

Vincent shook his head, and got up from his sitting position. "We need to talk," he finally said.

"Well, I have nothing to say," she said angrily, and started walking off towards the bathroom, but a hand circling round her wrist and pulling her back. The girl didn't look into the man's eyes, feeling guilty.

"Yuffie, look at me," he hissed. The girl looked into his deep pools of blood, and felt like she was drowning in them. "I know that there is something bothering you, and if you don't want to tell me what it is, then I understand." He paused for a brief moment, and sighed then continued, "But don't take your anger out on me."

"I-I'm sorry…" she said, and looked down. "I'm going to have a bath," she then chocked out, when she felt his grip loosening, and left for the bathroom.

'Now now, don't you think you where abit to harsh on the poor little girl?' A certain voice said.

"She's not young anymore. She's not going to be looked at as a little innocent child, when she has now grown into a young woman," the demon's host concluded. He turned on his heal, and walked over to his own room. Opening and closing the door behind him, he leaned on the now closed door, and looked around his room. He had only started staying in this room, from when Yuffie came barging in, in this place, that he now called a home.

Moving himself from the door, he walked over to his king-sized bed, and sat on the corner of it. Burying his face in his hand and claw, painful memories filled his weak mind. Memories of the beautiful, tall brunette, who also, once had to reside in this massive house, sleeping next to the man he despises the most.

"I failed you. And now I will also fail the poor fragile child, now residing in this house. Just as the saying says, 'Once a failure, always a failure'"The man muttered to himself.

After having a relaxing bath, and being ready dressed, the Ninja got a clean towel, off from a cupboard next to the sink, and ruffled her wet hair with it, to dampen her hair for it to dry abit quicker. Looking into the mirror, she smiled, noticing that she could now see all her face in it. When she first came into the house, when she was still sixteen, she could just see half of her face. Two years later, when going back to the mansion, since Tifa had insisted in having a get-together in this house, it was like the bottom of her lip and chin had been chopped off.

Flashback

She was just gussing up, to try and make herself pretty for the local party that there was that night in Nibelheim. Yes, it was indeed one of Tifa's plans, in making us all reunite, and know that everyone's still alive. The door was open, and without the girl even noticing, a tall man, clad in black, having a red cloak over his shoulders, his long ebony hair caressing his face and shoulders, and rubies for eyes, passed by. The girl standing on tip-toes in front of the mirror and trying to make herself pretty, caught his eye. Standing in the doorway, he looked at the girl, and noticed she was wearing a low-cut black dress, which stopped abit over her knees, and showing her slowly developing figure. She truly looked beautiful that evening. Noticing her struggle to keep her balance on her toes, he smiled.

"There's a small stool, in the cupboard under the sink," he finally said, startling the girl. She nearly lost her balance with the fright, and just stared at the man standing in the doorway. "It should help with your intention," he finished, and smiled to himself when he was the girl pout.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll need it. I'll be perfectly fine on my tip-toes. Now shoo!" she said, and shook her hands to show him her point.

The tall man had no other choice, but to leave. Though he left, knowing that, even though the girl was hard headed and wouldn't listen, she still took his advice. He heard her shuffling in the cupboard, trying to find the stool. His senses never deceived him. He smirked and went outside, leaving the girl to fend for herself.

End Flashback

She giggled at the memory. Though thinking of the man made her feel abit guilty of the tone of voice she had used earlier with him. She knows much better than to make him angry. Putting the dirty clothes in a basket, she opened the bathroom door, and closed it behind her. She walked over to Vincent's room, and was about to knock on the door, but stopped.

"What if he's angry at me, because of what happened earlier? What if he doesn't want me to stay here anymore, and kicks me out of the house?" she thought, and shuffled her feet, not knowing what to do.

On the other side of the door, the man sitting on the corner of his bed, still with his face in his hands, heard the sound of movement from outside his door, and knew that it was Yuffie.

"Yuffie, you can come in," he called to her.

A couple of seconds later, the man's bedroom door opened, and the now young woman, entered his room, closing the door shut behind her. He looked at the usually hyper and happy ninja, just to see her sulking.

"Sit down," he told her, looked away from her, and patted a spot next to him, on his bed.

The ninja nodded, walked over to the bed and sat where she was told to. She just looked down at her feet, and said nothing. The man next to her looked at her for a moment, expecting her to say something, but was wrong. He looked around his bedroom, and then out of the window, noticing the full moon.

This feeling had been troubling the young woman for quite some time now. Having the man next to her stare at her, made her nervous. Just looking at him, gave her butterflies in her stomach. But this wasn't the point of why she had come to talk to him. She wanted to apologize again, for the tone of voice she had used earlier, and why she had used it.

"I… I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for the tone of voice I used earlier," she started telling him. This startled the man next to her, and looked at her saddened face.

"You already have. There's no need for unnecessary apologies," he told her, and for a second, he though he saw her smile. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?" he then asked.

"Y-yes… Seeing that I'm staying here for a while, I thought.. That maybe you should know exactly why I'm here," she said, looking at him nervously.

"Very well then. I will listen," he told her, and looked back out the window.

"I have to warn you that it might take long.." she said, looking back down.

He looked at her, and smiled. "I have all the time you need, to spare you," he said.

She looked back at him, startled by his words. She smiled, and took a deep breath.

"Well, since I'm Princess of Wutai, I'm the successor of my Father. Being a woman, I can't really rule alone, when my dad will pass away. So, while he's still alive, and ruling, I have time to find myself a husband," she stopped for a while, and looked down, feeling abit embarrassed talking about this to the one she had a crush on for quite a while now. The man just kept looking at her.

"But, being Wutai the way it is now, I just think that it would be a total disgrace to rule that place. A stupid tourist resort town. My dad had brainwashed me, telling me that by finding loads of materia, we would restore Wutai. He never did anything with that materia. It's just locked up in a stupid cupboard in his bedroom –I know this because I snuck into his bedroom once- and I know that it won't be used anytime soon. So, you can call me mad for what I did next, but…" she continued telling him, but then stopped there. She was thinking of the many times her dad had insulted her during her teen days, and the many names Cid and Barret call her. Even after all these years, they're still mad at her because she had stolen their materia, and they just can't understand that she's changed. "No one can understand this.." she then thought to herself, and stared into space.

"Yuffie," she heard the man next to her say, "You don't need to continue if you don't feel comfortable," he said.

"No! No, you have to know.. Well, I had told my dad that.. That.. I didn't want to be the ruler of Wutai anymore. My dad was shocked, and just didn't want to believe what I had told him," she told him. Tears were threatening to fall, but she had to be strong, she couldn't just break in front of him. She couldn't. She had grown to be a woman. A strong woman.

"He then told me.. That I had no choice, if I wanted to be ruler or not. I had to be, and I still have to be. But some old coot like him isn't going to tell me what to do, because I can take my own decisions now," she started sobbing.

"Yuffie.." Vincent whispered, put his arm round her shoulder, and held her close to him.

"Please, don't misunderstand, but.. I think your father does have a point there," he stated, and closed his eyes, resting his head on hers.

His words shocked her. Without thinking twice, she pushed him away from her, but before she could get up and leave, he grabbed her wrists, to keep her put.

"I wasn't done," he gave her a glare. This scared her. She couldn't look into his eyes any longer, so she looked over to the door, which was right behind the man in front of her. "What I mean is that, everyone has their own destiny. A destiny which is already planned. A destiny is always planned. A future is not. It is why I do not believe in destiny. Because everyone makes their own choices and shape their own futures. For me, nothing such as destiny exists. Something cannot always go perfectly as it is planned. That is truly impossible," he said, and gave her one of his rare smiles. "Whether you become the next ruler of Wutai or not, it is your decision. Do not let your father plan your future and turn it into destiny," he concluded, and let go of her wrists.

"Does this mean…? Probably the only one person who can really understand. Just one. Just him." She thought, and looked into his pools of blood. Tears made a thin path down her cheeks, as she hugged the man again.

"You understand…" she sobbed, "You really do understand."

"One more thing," he told her, keeping her close to him, and resting his head on hers. The Shinobi just nodded in response to his statement. "Ignore Cid and Barret when they call you a little brat. Know that someone thinks that you have grown into a beautiful woman, and has matured," he finished.

The girl blushed and nodded, falling asleep in his arms.

'Hmm, she told you quite a lot about herself. Why not tell her some of your depressing history? You'd never know, it might magically all get out of your mind, and make me live happily ever after if you HAPPY mind' the heathen inside the man's head said.

"Why don't you just do us all a favor, and leave me alone? I might tell her something about me.. But not now. Her mind is too troubled. She doesn't need to know anything about me right now. It will only make the situation worse. Now buzz off." He said, picked the girl up, and started walking to her room.

AN: Hokay D this was chapter 4. Probably the best chapter I've written till now. It's been done for a couple of days, but my dearest (note the sarcasm) decided to take the internet off of my computer cos i didn't go to a computer lesson that I had at school (for the ECDL exam) yeah, but now i got it back, and I'm happy. My exams are finally over too yay D I'm surprised that i went quite well in my art exam, hopeI did well. Well, I think that's all i needed to say. Psshh i could have just done some kind of blog entry --; anyways, until next chapter D bye /sayonara (japanese) /ciao (italian) /caw (maltese) / au revoir (french) D

Special Thanks: Beatrix Ravenclaw & YuffieReincarnated