The Girl that Never Was
A/N: What's with all the kingdom hearts fanfiction you ask? I dunno, got that bug I suppose and Yuffie IS my favorite character of Kingdom Hearts next to some others.
Chapter One: Not good enough
Yuffie panted as she looked at her companion as she readied herself for his attack as she got into stance. Leon gripped the handle of his gunblade as the huge weapon rested along his shoulder as if it's weight didn't even bother him. He smirked, before he pulled it from his shoulder as he dashed towards Yuffie as he swung the blade. The girl jumped back as he came at her, as he swung back his blade to her as she jumped up in the air dodging it again, before it came up quickly to her. Yuffie barely dodging it as it cut her shirt, as she somersaulted back doing a number of backhand flips as Leon continued to come at her. His blade cutting across the air horizontally to her, as she quickly jumped up as she stood on his large blade before jumping from it as she dropped kicked the man in the side of his head. 'Hyahhhhh!' Leon was thrown back, before he stopped himself with his blade as he looked at Yuffie who sprinted to him. He growled, as he swung his blade in an attempt to trip her up, but she jumped at the last minute as her hand pushed against his shoulder as she vaulted off of him and turned around to kick him in the back of his head, but to her surprise he grabbed her by the foot.
"Too slow." Leon said, before he quickly spun the girl by her foot quickly before hurling her across the room as her back hit the stone wall of the bailey hard as rubble and dust fell down. Yuffie fell forward from the wall and onto the floor.
"Get up, Yuffie." Leon said, sternly as he looked at his young companion moving on the ground slightly.
Her hand balling up into a fist, as she tried to pull herself up from the ground as she pulled one leg up as she used her knee for support to lift herself up. She wobbled a little trying to keep her balance as she panted. Her clothes were dirty and she had scratches and marks on her skin; she narrowed her eyes as she reached behind her and chucked sharp shuriken's at Leon. He moved his blade in front of him as the throwing stars ricochet off of his weapon.
"Pathetic. You'll have to do better than tha.."
"Kyahhhh!"
As soon, as Leon moved his blade the petite ninja was above him about to drop kick him right into the ground.
"I don't think so." He said, before he swung it up at her, but she suddenly disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Leon was momentarily blinded and stunned by the move, that he didn't see the attack coming from behind as a boot came flying into his back and sending him forward. He turned around to attack, but she was gone again as smoke was just there. She appeared behind him as she swept kicked him from underneath his feet, before she disappeared again. Leon quickly got back up onto his feet, as his eyes darted back and forth for the moment waiting for her.
Where will she attack next...I got it.
He quickly threw his hand up in the air, as there was a small shriek as Yuffie had appeared at the spot he had predicted. She falling down as she hanged from his grasp upside down.
"You need to improve your technique to get me. I'll be able to know where you'll appear." He said, before the hilt of his gunblade burry itself into her abdomen, before he tossed her to the ground. She rolling onto her back, as the girl felt fatigue, exhaustion, and pain coursed through her body.
"Our warm up is over. Time for the real deal." He said, as he watched her struggle to get up as she could barely pull herself up.
Sweat ran down the side of her face, as she lifted her head up. Her knees buckling together as her legs shook as they ached in pain. She panted heavily, as she looked at Leon lower his blade as he looked at her.
"You're a mess. I didn't think you'd be so tired out after just a warm up." He ran a hand back through his hair, before he sheathed his blade to his side. "This warm up is over and our training session."
"No, it's not! I'm not finished." She snapped at him, as she found some energy to run to him as she held a kunai in her hand. She throwing her arm forward to attack him, but Leon merely stepped aside as he gave her a push to her back. She staggered forward before stopping, as her knees buckled back against one another before she fell to the ground to her knees. Her arms to her side, as her head lowered as she breathed raspy breaths in and out. Her hair was messy and unruly, as it covered the sides of her face.
"You're 'definitely' finished." He sighed, as he looked at her. "Just go get yourself clean up. We're done here."
He said, before he walked away from her as he left out of the bailey leaving Yuffie by herself on the ground. She squeezed her hands tightly into a fist, as she grimaced at the pathetic lost against Leon. It was so embarrassing. She thought she always use to keep up with Leon before and that's why she was his partner, but why is she starting to falter so badly now?
I can't believe I couldn't keep up with him. What's wrong with me?
Her head lowered in shame, as tears strained her eyes. Her hand lifted up as she rubbed at her eyes slowly, as she looked at the floor silently. Her teeth grinded together a little in anger, before she punched the ground with her fist.
The one thing I thought I was good at and I totally blew it. Leon probably thinks less of me now. The worst part is...I really gave it my all...why...?
Yuffie quietly sat there as she wondered what she was good for if she couldn't even keep up with Leon. She'd be useless in the Olympus Coliseum Tournaments and she didn't want Leon to lose because of her lacking in abilities.
"I'm nothing..."
'Do you really believe you are nothing?'
"Huh?" Yuffie lifted her head up as she looked around, she swore she could have heard someone speak to her just now, but she didn't see anyone.
'A nothing can always be a something...'
Yuffie pulled herself up from the ground, as she looked around for whoever it might have been talking to her. She bit her lip, as maybe she was hallucinating. Hallucinating enough to talk back to it.
"Who...are you?"
'I am someone that can help you. If you want it.'
"Help...me?" She held her arm, as she turned around and noticed a dark figure shrouded in black standing at the bailey door. They seemed transparent from what she could see, but Yuffie wasn't sure if he was real or a figment of her imagination. Maybe she hit her head too hard when Leon threw her.
'Yes, my dear. I can help you. You desire power is what you want right?'
"Power..." She limped over slowly to the figure near the door, as she stopped a few feet short to him. She couldn't see his face as it was shrouded by a hood. Was this a member of Organization XIII? It couldn't be. They're all gone. The figured offered his hand out to her as she looked at it quietly.
'Anything you want. You want to impress Leon, right? Show, him you're not weak and not useless.'
She subconsciously nodded, as her breathing became lighter. She wasn't sure how this man could help her, but she believed he might be able to help despite his appearance.
'I'll be back soon.'
Yuffie reached a hand out to him slowly, before he began to fade away into nothingness. She pulled her hand back as she looked at it.
"Was...he real?"
She frowned, as maybe she just needed to rest for awhile and was just seeing things. She sighed quietly before she limped out of the bailey.
'Soon...'
Yuffie sat there in the tub, as the shower rained the warm jets of water down onto her body as it washed away the dirt, blood, and grime off of her body. She noticed a few bruises on her body now, next to some old scars of hers. She didn't blame Leon for them though, if only she was as good as him it wouldn't have happened. She was sure that kick to Leon's head barely even fazed him at all. A hand came to her ribs as she winced in pain, as her ribs were feeling a bit funny.
"Crap, I think I broke one. I can't let Aerith find out or I won't be able to compete in the tournaments." She said, before she rubbed her face wiping the rest of the dirt away, before she reached up and turned the shower off. She literally crawled out of the tub, as she was so beat she could barely stand up, much less walk, but she couldn't let anyone else know that. Leon and her have been training for weeks. Ever since they gotten beat by Sora in the Pain and Panic Cup, they've been training harder ever since. Yuffie puts the blame on her, since she wasn't strong enough to defeat Sora, Donald, and Goofy. This would be the second lost to Sora and co.
She dried herself, as she put her clothes on. A black tank top that covered her mid-drift, a pair of white shorts and her usual knee high boots she wore. She didn't want anyone to see the injuries on her, as she had to put on a longer shirt.
Aerith was down at the bottom of the stairs as Yuffie came down. Yuffie put on a fake one, as she greeted the pink clad woman .
"There you are Yuffie, I thought you weren't going to join us for lunch." Aerith smiled brightly, as she watched her young companion walk past her to the kitchen where the dining table was.
"Oh, I was just taking a shower. Just a little dirty from training this morning with Leon is all."
She said, as she stopped short in the kitchen as Leon was already sitting at the table, though she was more surprised to see Cloud there as well.
"I didn't know Cloud came back..."
"Oh, I just found him early this morning when I went to the market. I asked him to join us for lunch so we could all talk."
"You mean force." He said dryly, as he lifted up his glass and drank his water. Leon said nothing, as he was looking at the newspaper. He seemed like he had also cleaned up, before he got here. He was wearing a clean white T-shirt and another pair of black leather pants.
"Well you came anyway. Yuffie go ahead and sit down. I made fried fish and a nice garden salad." She said as she led her over to a empty chair between Leon and Cloud as she sat her down in it. Aerith sitting on the other side of Leon before she picked up a fork.
"I told Cid we'd be having lunch and Merlin too. I hope they haven't forgotten."
"I'm sure Cid will come either way, if he isn't caught up in all his work." Leon mumbled, as he turned a page in the newspaper. Yuffie looked at him, as she wanted to apologize for slacking in their training, but the words couldn't form from her mouth. She sighed, as her fork just poked at the food on her plate, as Aerith was making her usual chatter as she wasn't paying much attention to what she was going on and on about. Her other hand rubbed her side, as it was feeling real painful as she could feel the bone moving back and forth as she shifted in her seat. Cloud looked from the corner of his eye, as he noticed this and the slight abnormal swelling of the girl's side.
"Yuffie, you've barely eaten anything. It's probably cold now."
"Huh?"
Aerith looked at her, as Yuffie looked back and then at her plate. She's been sitting there for 20 minutes as she hasn't touched a thing.
"Oh, I just don't have apatite."
"I hope you aren't getting sick. Maybe you should take something..."
"No, really Aerith. I'm fine. The great Yuffie never gets sick." She boasted, as this was all a lie of course.
Cloud narrowed his eyes, as his hand reached over and pushed a index finger into her side. The reaction made her jump up from her seat and scream. Of course Aerith looked at her in distress as Leon looked from his paper from her sudden outburst.
"I knew it." Cloud said, as he looked at Yuffie who winced as she looked back at the blonde man.
"What was that for?" She yelped, as she held her side.
"You have a broken rib Yuffie." Cloud said, as he watched her rub along her ribs gently.
"I do not! You just poked me real hard!" She retorted.
"Let us see then if it's not broken then." Cloud said, as Yuffied looked at him nervously. They'd know for sure if she did.
Oh man, I need to make a hasty exit and now.
"It's not, okay? Quit bugging me about it. What do you care anyway if I was? You're never around half the time anyhow!" She yelled at him, before she ran out of the kitchen and out of the house. Cloud sighed, as he looked over to Leon
"I didn't know, all right?" Leon said, as he placed the paper on the table as he looked back at the expressionless face of Cloud.
"She's your partner. You should know these things." He folded his arms along his stomach as he closed his eyes, "You should remember that she's also a female Leon. Females are more fragile than men."
"Why are you putting it as if it's all my fault? It's just our usual training." He said, as he didn't see anything as being his fault.
"Do you believe that? You sure you haven't just been pushing her harder than usual, due to you losing to Sora again?" Cloud looked at him sharply as did Leon looked back him the same way. Aerith felt uneasy in the room with the two men, as she hoped this wouldn't turn into a fight.
"You have no reason to say that. You lost to that kid as well."
"Hey, Leon just..." Aerith began to speak but was interrupted by Cloud.
"I did, but unlike you I can admit defeat. Also, I wouldn't be trying to push one of my friends into danger by heavy training. Don't be putting the blame just on her. A team consists of two or more people, not one."
"Cloud that's a little..."
"You're one to talk. You're the one that's been gone for the past couple of years and haven't attempted to find us. You just keep searching for..."
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Aerith's hands hit the kitchen table shaking it, as the two men looked at her in surprise by her loud outburst. She looked back at the two annoyed and upset as she stood up from her chair.
"This isn't making it any better by blaming one each other back and forth. I don't care who's fault it is or not. I'm more concerned about Yuffie and I"m going to go find her." She said, before she left the table as she angrily left the house. This was one of the few times Aerith would ever lose her temper. The two men looked at each other before giving a low sigh.
Yuffie had left the borough as she entered the square of the town. She looking down, as her body staggered a bit as she walked. Maybe she should have took a nap instead of coming down for lunch. It would only be a matter of time before they'd ask her about her ribs. Too be quite honest, she wasn't sure if she'd be in top shape for the tournaments at all.
Maybe I shouldn't enter, but what would Leon say?
She groaned, as her vision got a little blurry as she felt like she would collapse soon. Maybe she should have ate before she had left, her stomach felt pretty empty. Yuffie took a few more steps before her body started to give out on her. She fell forward as she had expected to hit the ground, but it never came as arms wrapped around her as someone had stopped her fall as she fell against them.
"Oh...I'm sorry. God, I'm just so exhausted..." She grunted, as she had her eyes closed before she heard a deep voice talk to her.
"No need to apologize. I'm glad I was here to catch you." He said, as he sounded pretty calm. "So are you all right?"
Yuffied sighed a little, as she opened her eyes slowly as she looked up at him, "I'm fine I'm just..."
She trailed off as stared at the man in some state of shock. He was tall, about Leon's height and he had long light blue hair that was pulled back behind his shoulders into a pony tail. He wore a thin pair of glasses that rested over the top of his nose. He had a pale skin complexion, but he had very handsome features. He was wearing a white dress shirt and pair of black pants.
Wow...who'd think I'd fall into the arms of such a hot guy? I should do this more often...
She felt the heat come to her face, as her cheeks began to turn pink. He smiled at her, before lifting her up in his arms as one was underneath her knees and the other behind her back.
"Hope you don't find this rude. I thought you might want to rest elsewhere and not be on your feet."
I could stay in your arms all day...
"N-n-no, not at all." She stuttered, as she felt like a dork as he carried her over to one of the tables near the large freezer, that also functioned as Scrooge McDuck's Ice-Cream shop. He put her down in one of the chairs, before placing her down in one. He sat across from her, as he looked at her.
"So, are you feeling all right Miss...?"
"Yuffie. I'm okay, I just need to go to take a power nap later is all." She rubbed the back of her head, as she was feeling as giddy as a school girl. Trying not to lose her cool. Her stomach suddenly made a loud growl, as she put her hands on it. He chuckled a little.
"Guess the only thing wrong is that you're hungry. Here, have this. I normally don't eat ice cream." He said, as he pushed a glass to her that was filled with vanilla ice cream and strawberries with chocolate on top.
Strange, I didn't see that there before. Well, I can't pass up free ice cream.
She happily obliged, by taking the spoon that was in it and eating it with great joy. He watched her as she ate, as his eyes never left her. After awhile of pigging out, Yuffie noticed this and got a little flustered. She never had a problem with pigging out in front of anyone, especially Leon and the others, but she felt a little shy around him.
"Um, ah, is something wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just admiring your features..." He said casually, as he leaned back in his chair.
She wasn't too sure what she meant by that. Was that mean he was checking her out or what? She looked down as she twiddled her fingers nervously.
"Don't take it the wrong way though. Oh, how rude of me. I haven't even introduced myself." He reached his hand out to her as he gave her a friendly smile, "My name is Xias. It's a pleasure to meet you Yuffie."
"Like wise." She shook his hand, as she suddenly felt a shiver run up her spine as she held his hand.
Where did 'that' come from? I suddenly got this uneasy feeling...
"You're the Yuffie of the Hollow Bastion Restoration committee aren't you? I'm very honored to have met you."
"Ha..ha, me? Well, I've never heard that before. You must be new in town."
"You could say that..." He looked back from the corner of his eye, before he looked back towards her. "I should get going. I have a lot of work to do, but I do hope we can have a more 'proper' engagement." He said, before he lifted her hand up and kissed the top of it. He got up from his seat and left, as Yuffie looked at her hand as she was in a daze.
"Yuffie?"
"Mm..."
"Hey, Yuffie are you okay?"
"Huh?" She lifted her head to see Aerith standing next to her with a look of concern on her face.
"I got worried about you and came to see if you're all right."
"Oh, I'm fine Aerith..."
"Really? Your face is all red..." She leaned down as she peered at the ninja's tinted rouge face, as she put a hand to her forehead. "..and pretty warm too. Maybe you're catching something..."
"I'm fine! I don't have a fever!" She said flustered, as she put her hands in her lap as she didn't want to tell the woman why she was really red.
"Well, either way I want to check your ribs. Come with me to the infirmary." She said, as she grabbed her hand and led her away from the table and back to the borough. Yuffie sighed quietly to herself, before she looked back over her shoulder.
Xias...
TBC
I guess this turned out how I wanted it to. I should have made it a tad longer, but the second installment will be better. Leave a good review if you like it.
