Chapter 11: Walking Tall
(Same tags apply as in Chapter 1)
After two hours of crossing the sea, a pair of gold Chocobos stepped onto the warm sands of the Wutain Coast. The two riders hopped off the Chocobos and sat on the sand to give the two winded birds a break.
Vincent reached into his pack and handed Yuffie a bottle of water. The young ninja looked slightly nervous about the task that she was about to undertake.
"Are you nervous, Yuffie?"
She took a long swig of the slightly warm water and looked out over the crystal clear waters. "Yeah, I am. A little bit anyway…"
Vincent took a long pull from his own bottle "Do not be nervous. I know that you will succeed in this trial. You were taught extremely well. You must believe that you will be victorious…I believe that you will."
"Thanks Vince…I-I just don't know. I know I can beat that little punk Shake and the others. I think I can defeat Godo but…I just keep getting this feeling that something will be different about this battle. I never had the chance to watch one of the challenges at the pagoda because of my job's 'extensive travel requirements.'" She said sarcastically, emphasizing the word 'job'.
Vincent had to smile at her remark. Despite the challenges that this young woman will face shortly, she remained level headed although she was nervous. She went to through her pack, digging deep and removed the Chocobo greens. His gaze followed her as she walked over to the birds. "Yuffie, you can not only 'think' that you can defeat Godo. You have the necessary skills, but you will have to push your self-doubt aside and know that you can do this.
"I know Vinnie, but it's kinda hard." She reached up to stroke Tiko's beak. "I know I probably already said this, but I am glad you came with me. I would be a lot worse off right now if I had come alone."
Vincent raised an elegant eyebrow. "How so?"
She walked over and sat in front of him with her legs folded beneath her. "I feel more at ease when I'm around you. It's almost like I can think more clearly 'round you. If I was alone right now, I'd probably be thinkin' of all the reasons why I SHOULDN'T be doing this yet. I would be trying to convince myself that I wasn't ready…" she trailed off.
He looked across to her and held her gaze and simply said, "You are ready."
She nodded and looked towards the sky, "I guess we should get this show on the road then…" she began to stand.
"Wait…"
She looked down at him curiously from her half standing position and sat back on the warm sand.
Vincent reached into his pocket and pulled out the pink orb and held it in the palm of his claw. "I want you to have this." He reached over and lightly grasped her small hand in his larger one and placed the mastered luck orb in her hand.
"Isn't this the materia you bought at Cosmo Canyon?" He nodded. "Vinnie, I can't take this from you, I-" she was cut off when she saw him shake his head.
"Yuffie I bought it for you, not for myself." He coaxed her hand to close around the orb "I know that you can do this. You are a strong, intelligent and a beautiful young woman." She scoffed at him calling her beautiful. "You will succeed if you want it enough. If there is ever a time where you feel like giving up or things do not look as if they are fairing well, remember that you have luck on your side."
"Thank you Vincent." She placed the orb into a slot of her Minerva band. "You are good to me…" she got to her knees and hugged him tightly as she whispered in his ear "I thank Leviathan that he has blessed me with someone like you. Cheesy, I know, but its true." Her heart was pounding, and she felt the color rise in her cheeks when he wrapped his arms around her.
His heart was thudding painfully in his chest as her warm breath kissed his ear as she spoke. 'Gods…' he thought. "I am lucky to have you as well Yuffie."
He watched as she stood and started to her Chocobo, who had wandered closer to the water. He took a few deep breaths, stood and started for Tiko. 'I think I do feel more than friendship for her…but, it's too soon…isn't it?' he asked himself then quickly shook that thought away. Right now he had to be there for her and could not follow that line of thinking quite yet. He had to focus on her.
She rode back to him as he was hopping on Tiko. "We should be there in about ten minutes. Well, lets mosey…" she said mocking Cloud and laughing. He laughed with her and they headed to the city that was off in the distance.
.::-o-::.
They rode through the city and went straight to the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods. Yuffie decided the sooner that this was over, the better. The pair dismounted their Chocobos and Vincent secured them to a nearby post.
Walking over to her, Vincent pulled out the small, leather pouch that contained her materia while she retrieved the materia she had purchased for Godo out of her bag. "Vinnie, can you hold these for me? They're the ones for Godo."
He nodded and exchanged bags with her. "Those are your materia for the battle. Is there anything else that you might need before we enter?"
She slid the last orb into her Conformer and tied the ribbon Vincent had allowed her to use in her short hair. She shook her head "I think I got everything. Lets do this." Her voice was laced with determination as they walked the up the stairs and to the first level of the pagoda.
.::-o-::.
They entered an empty room where four of the five guardians waited. One of the guardians stood and walked forward as the others were rising.
"Welcome back Yuffie. We are glad to see you are well." The woman said with a bow.
Yuffie bowed in return "Thank you Chekhov."
"Have you come to see Lord Godo?"
"No, I have come to challenge the Guardians."
Chekhov's eyebrow rose slightly. "Very well. Yuffie Kisaragi, Daughter of Lord Godo Kisaragi, you have come forth seeking to challenge the Guardians of the Pagoda. We accept your challenge. Your skills and endurance will be tested today in the first step to obtaining your ninja title. Are you prepared?"
"Yes."
Chekhov turned to Vincent. "Friends of the challenger are allowed to accompany them as they proceed in battle. However, I ask that you do not interfere in any way or you will be removed."
Vincent nodded. "I understand."
Chekhov, Staniv, and Shake walked to the stairs to wait on their floors when Shake turned around and smirked at Yuffie. "I am so gonna kick your butt Yuffie!" He stuck his tongue at her and blew her a raspberry.
"In your dreams you spoiled little brat!" She yelled back as he disappeared up the stairs.
Yuffie turned her attention to Gorky, who was now standing before her. "Shall we begin?" she nodded as they both were getting into their battle stances.
"Power Change." He said.
The challenge had begun.
.::-o-::.
Yuffie ran towards Staniv and brought her arm down in a diagonal swipe across his forearm. He collapsed to the ground.
The guardians fell one by one. It also pleased Yuffie to wipe that 'I am almighty' look off of Shake's face. 'Things look good so far…but a lot can happen in the last battle.' She thought to herself, winded as she walked to Vincent.
Vincent watched as she approached him. He saw the beginning of bruises on her legs and arms but she paid them no attention. He pulled out her water bottle and handed it to her. "You only have one opponent remaining. You are doing well Yuffie."
She downed the bottle of water and handed it back to him. "Thanks Vince. This battle is going to be tough…I can feel it."
He placed his human hand on her shoulder and looked down at her small form. "You will complete this task successfully."
She nodded as they headed to the fifth floor of the pagoda. She stopped at the top stair and placed her hand on her right wrist where her Minerva band was and ran her thumb over the luck materia Vincent gave to her.
The other guardians entered the room as she made her way to the center walking tall with her head held high. Her gaze was fixed on her father as he began to speak.
"Yuffie Kisaragi, you have defeated four of the guardians. You have brought this challenge in order to receive your ninja title. As the final guardian, I accept your challenge. However, know this, if you hold back in this battle, you will be killed." Vincent stiffened at this. "As a ninja, you are to use your skill to their full potential and no less…regardless of your opponent."
Her eyes were still fixed on his as she bowed slightly. "I understand and have no intention of holding back."
"Then, let us begin. OMNI-CHANGE!"
A bright light filled the top floor of the pagoda as Godo was enveloped in the glow. His body morphed under the energy that was showered around his body. Despite the intensity of the light, Yuffie and Vincent watched the change while the other observers brought their hands up to shield their eyes.
When the light faded, what stood before her was defiantly not Godo. What remained was a beast that stood nearly seven feet tall. It's large head had three sides, each wearing either a gold, red, or white mask and it wielded a sword in one of its for hands.
Yuffie focused her energy on the yellow orb contained in her Conformer and brought the weapon in front of her. "Big Guard" she murmured as a green flash filled the room. As the barrier formed before her, she dashed forward bringing her shuriken upward, slicing the torso of the beast.
The beast reeled back and brought its sword down on Yuffie, leaving a thin line of blood on her arm in its wake. Her barrier took the brunt of the attack. Its head spun to the white mask it wore and growled menacingly at her.
The dueling pair circled each other, each sizing up their opponent's weaknesses. The beast launched into the air in an attempt to bring his weapon down on her once again but was stopped by Yuffie's Conformer.
She pushed its weapon away from her and stabbed a point of her Conformer deep into one of its arm pulling the weapon down its arm fiercely in an attempt to disable one of the arms.
.::-o-::.
Vincent watched as one of its arms dangled uselessly at its side. His heart felt as if it was beating out of his chest as he saw Yuffie nearly missed being sliced by the blade. He watched her as she made a graceful back flip and launch her Conformer at the beast and make a large gash in its leg.
.::-o-::.
The beast roared at Yuffie when her Conformer made contact with its leg. "Shit! I think I really pissed it off." She said to herself. Suddenly she felt pain course through her body and a yellowish light flashed in front of her eyes and enveloped her body in its glow. Her body fell back against the wall as she took a few quick deep breaths feeling deep lingering pain. 'I can't lose this fight!' she thought.
She pulled out a red orb from her band "Bahamut Zero!" The room went black once again then was filled with a eerie blue glow as Bahamut Zero sent a beam of pure energy from high above. The beast was consumed in the explosion it landed on the ground from the impact of the summon. Yuffie darted across the room, hitting it multiple times while it was still stunned.
A meaty hand was raised before it knocked her to the ground. It hopped to its feet, the numerous gashes oozing dark blood. The head spun once again to the golden mask. It raised its hand sending a spell towards the young ninja.
Yuffie felt the spell hit her as she was surrounded in a red mist. It was almost as if someone was sucking the life out of her body. It's head started spinning again and she took the opportunity to pull the potion she was given by Staniv when she defeated him.
She felt most of the pain leave her body just as the beasts' head stopped rotating and landed on the red mask. She saw it spinning another spell as she was sending hers out.
"Comet!" she shouted.
"Beast Sword!" It said in an inhuman voice.
The room grew dark then was filled with a red glow as the two contenders spells were cast. Yuffie's meteor slammed into the beast as a ball of red lightning sprouted from the ground under her feet, then consumed her. They were both thrown to the floor at the force of the two spells.
.::-o-::.
The five watching the battle gasped at the power behind the two attacks. Vincent watched helplessly as Yuffie crawled to her feet. 'Come on Yuffie, get up! You can do this!' His mind screamed.
.::-o-::.
Yuffie managed to pick herself and made it to her knees as the beast stood and sent another spell her way. A black orb shot from its hand and hit her in the chest. Gravity felt as if it were trying to tear her body apart. She cried out and was knocked back to the ground. Her body was wracked in pain.
As the head was spinning once again, she made it to her feet. She felt adrenalin dump into her system and anger flowed through her veins. She held her Conformer in her left hand as her right brushed over the band completely covering the luck materia. Her eyes were ablaze with black flames as her pupils dilated. "Lets end this!" She swung her Conformer in an elegant arch over her head.
She gave an evil grin at the beast whose head had landed on the white mask. "Doom of the living." She said in a silent but deadly whisper.
She ran at the beast so quickly, it didn't have time to dodge the attack. Her shuriken become a blur as she sliced and diced at it. Multiple hits were made and there was just no way that it could block the rapidly moving ninja's weapon.
She leapt into the air and the shuriken rose over her head as gravity pulled her back to the ground, she brought her Conformer down with incredible force. The beast flew against the opposite wall and did not get up. Yuffie fell to her knees, still injured and in great pain from the gravity attack.
The bright light filled the room once again and Godo lay on the ground, his breathing irregular from and exertion and the shock of the form reversion.
Yuffie pulled her body over to Godo and reached for her Conformer. She pulled out her cure materia and focused on it. She allowed her body to sink to the floor as placed her hand on Godo's chest and weakly whispered "Cure 3."
Green light flowed from the orb and surrounded his body. As the glow faded, his breathing became even once again and he sat up with help for Staniv and Gorky. Yuffie lay with her head on the cool floor as she focused her energy on the orb again. Her mind couldn't fully focus on the orb and was only able to produce a low-level cure spell.
As the spell ended she made it to her feet. Her body screamed in protest but she would not allow her pain to surface show now.
Godo stood and looked at his daughter. 'Her skills have improved. I didn't think that she would be able to defeat me.' He thought as he met her gaze that was trained on him.
"Yuffie, you have proven yourself worthy of your title. The skills that you have demonstrated her have shown the five guardians that you are worthy. Though you still have one task to complete, it seems you are well on your way." He walked over to her and reached into a hidden pocket of his kimono.
"This is the manual for 'All Creation.' It is a very powerful attack and few can truly master it." He placed a scroll in her hand. "This is summon of our great god, Leviathan. May he always protect you."
She remained silent and bowed to him.
"Congratulations Yuffie." Chekhov said before leading Gorky, Shake and Staniv back downstairs.
.::-o-::.
Only Yuffie, Godo, and Vincent remained in the room. Yuffie and Godo remained in the center of the room, their eyes still locked.
Vincent had remained silent during this but felt a pride swell in his chest for his young friend. 'I knew she could do it.' He thought.
'She is truly skilled. The demon agreed.
.::-o-::.
Godo glanced at Vincent as if noticing him for the first time. "Do you mind leaving us for a moment, I need to speak to my daughter."
Vincent was about to leave when Yuffie stopped him. "No. He can stay. There isn't anything you can say to me that you can't say in his presence." She said in a voice that said there would be no negotiations.
"Very well Yuffie." He paused for a moment "Do you realize what today is?" not waiting for a reply, he continued. "Today is the twelfth day of November. You have eight days until your seventeenth birthday."
"I realize that father. I have brought you my last delivery of materia." She motioned for Vincent to come over; her body was still protesting the fact that she was even standing.
He handed her the satchel with the materia she had purchased and returned to the side of the room.
"Here." She tossed the bag at Godo. She could tell he was trying his hardest not to look in the bag. "I realize what is require of me during the time after my birthday. It's because of this task that I will not be returning to Wutai after my final visit to receive my title. After that will return here on the eve before my eighteenth birthday.
"I will give Chekhov my information in case there is ever an emergency and I need to be contacted. I know that she will not give this information out to anyone and I trust her."
Godo's eyes widened at this. "You do realize it will be harder for you to find a good Wutain male, don't you?"
She smirked at him. "Tradition doesn't say that it has to be a Wutain male. Tradition doesn't even say that you have to approve of my choice. But know this, the man I choose, or that chooses me will be more honorable, dedicated and loving than any man I could find here. If I were to stay here to choose, I would be hounded by every man in this city only because they seek power.
"I know the person that I choose will not be corrupted by power." She stated firmly.
Vincent watched this scene mesmerized by the way that Yuffie was standing up for herself and not allowing her future to be dictated by her father anymore than need be.
Godo sighed in defeat. "Very well Yuffie."
At that, Yuffie turned her protesting body and headed for the stairs as Godo sat on the floor. Vincent followed her and as the made it to the stairwell, her legs gave out on her from sheer exhaustion. She began to fall towards the stairs and closed her eyes waiting for the impact, but it never came. She felt Vincent's warm hand wrap around her waist and pull her against him to prevent her from going down the stairs the hard way.
He reached for her Conformer and pulled out the Cure materia, using the power of the orb to summon a cure spell for her. She felt the spell wash over her like cool water on her skin. She sighed in relief…even though the pain was still there; it was brought down to a more bearable level.
"Thank you Vincent…lets get out of here and contact the others." He nodded and helped her down the remaining flights of stairs.
.::-o-::.
They finally made their way outside and he sat her down near their waiting birds.
Yuffie groaned, "Ya know, that place could really use an elevator…"
Vincent gave a slight smile as he pulled out his PHS and pressed the white button to speed dial Tifa's number.
"Hello?" Tifa's cheery voice came over the line.
"Tifa."
"Vincent! How are you? Did you guy do what you needed to?"
"Yes, Yuffie successfully accomplished her task."
"Good! Tell her congratulation on whatever it is she had to do."
Vincent turned to the young ninja, who was now lying next to Tiko, her head resting on his soft feathers. "Tifa says Congratulations."
Yuffie nodded and smiled, then closed her eyes.
"She says thank you Tifa. Did you defeat weapon yet?"
"Yep…we had to track it down a few times before we finally got rid of it, but the ship took some damage in our last battle."
Vincent's brow furrowed slightly "Was the damage major?"
She sighed. "No, but we are grounded until we get the problem fixed."
"Do you want us to come to you? How long will it take for repairs?"
"Let me check…"
Vincent could her Tifa calling to Cid through the phone. 'Hey Cid, how long till we're up again? Do you want them to come to us? …What? ….Okay.' He could hear Cid's garbled voice in the background.
"Sorry 'bout that Vincent. He says we will probably be running by late morning…were losing light over here so we'll have to stop repairs in a half hour or so. You guys stay put, well pick you up tomorrow. Do you have money to rent a room?"
"Just a moment Tifa."
Vincent covered the phone with his hand. "Yuffie, the Highwind took some damage so they will come and pick us up tomorrow. Is there somewhere we can stay for the night?"
She opened an eye to peek at the gunman. "Yeah, we can stay at my house. We'll have to stop to get some food on the way there…I'm my refrigerator is a little bare right now." She closed her eye again.
"We will be staying at Yuffie's house, Cloud and Cid both know where it is located. Call me a half hour before you arrive so we can be prepared."
"No problem Vince. I'll see you both tomorrow. Bye!"
"Goodbye Tifa."
Yuffie stirred and lifter her head off of Tiko's back with great effort. "Didya get everythin' sorted out Vinnie?
"Yes, they will call us in the morning."
"Okay then, lets drag my sorry carcass back to my place."
"Yuffie, you definitely are not sorry…you should ride Tiko, I know you must still be in a great deal of pain despite the cure spells. I will go into the market and choose something for us."
"Vinnie my boy, you will get no protests from me." At that, she pulled herself on Tiko's back as Vincent grabbed Kira's reins as they started for the market.
o-o-Author's Notes-o-o
Ok, one down one to go. It is extremely hard for me to write fight scenes and it took a while for me to write this one. I am glad that part is over. I had to play the Wutai side trip over again because I couldn't remember the attacks and I had to get a better feel for it.
I know some of you might not like the part where Vince is talking about the luck plus materia but ya know, I don't care. -Ezri dances around her room doing her newly patented 'I don't care dance'-
Reno: -alks into the room looking exhausted and collapses into a chair- Hey.
Ezri: -Smirking- how was your trip? -Walks over to the smoking heap that use to be her car.- Thanks a lot X…hmm, I wonder -Pulls out a Full Cure and cast it on the wreckage…her car reappears but the dent and scratches that were left after it was hit are still there-
Ez: -Sighs- Well at least I can drive it now.
Reno: I don't think I have ever been this tired before. I was constantly at Destiny's beck and call the entire time I was there!
Ezri: Well that's why I sent you! I was hoping she would put you to good use. -Picks up her cell and calls someone-
-Rude appears out of thin air-
Rude: … …You called?
Ez: Yup, you're on guard duty for a while, I need you to protect my car from people like X and the psycho drivers out on the roads. If they come closer than 3 feet, shoot them.
Rude: … … -Nods-
Ez: Reno, feel like doing the disclaimer?
Reno: Yeah, yeah…Ezri doesn't own final fantasy, yada yada yada Square-Enix does.
Ez: You're really that tired…-he nods- poor baby, lets get you to bed…-Waves at readers as she drags Reno into the other room- Till next time.
OH! -Ezri Runs back in- I will be a week or so before I will post again. In the mean time, please go read and review my story "Of Them All" It's a Cloud/Yuffie one shot. Its fluffy so all you fluff haters be warned. I am really proud of that story and hope you all like it. If ya don't, oh well. See ya!! -Walks back into the other room-
Ez: Reno put your clothes back on you perv, I thought you were tired! Go to sleep!
7/19/07
Edited because of change in formatting. Also re-numbering chapters. Minor content edits.