Hello my lovely readers!

First, I want to apologize for the wait (again). I've been really busy lately, and unfortunately I have to take care of my schoolwork before anything else gets done. I'm not happy about that, but it is what it is.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how this chapter has turned out, although I've only skimmed over it for typos so it probably has a few more mistakes than usual :( sorry about that.

I would also like to say that I have no intention of not finishing this story. It will get done, I promise you that! It's just going to take a bit longer than I was hoping it would. But this is the same thing that happened when I wrote Eyes Open, so sadly it was not unexpected.

And my search for a job has been a miserable fail, which led to frustration, mild depression, and a lack of inspiration for stories, unfortunately.

Alright, that's enough about me. On with the story! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 4

Oh, you tell me to hold on

Oh, you tell me to hold on

But innocence is gone

And what was right is wrong

The hospital in Edge was not somewhere that Vincent cared to be. Whitewashed walls, blinding lights, and a smell of disinfectant was more than unpleasant, it brought up memories that were better left buried. But this was where Yuffie was, and Vincent refused to stray far from her side. There was a fear (an irrational one, he knew), that if he were to let her out of his sight she would disappear again and no amount of searching would bring her back to him. That thought was enough to keep him in the chair in the corner of her room, keeping silent guard over the ninja and dozing lightly when his eyes refused to stay open.

Reeve stopped by once a day to check on Yuffie and give Vincent updates on what the WRO operatives were finding. Two days after Yuffie had been found, Reeve stood at Yuffie's side as he talked to Vincent. "I still can't believe that after two years without a single trace we have them back, and we still have no idea where they were," Reeve shook his head, staring at Yuffie laying motionless on the bed. "And that they have some form of amnesia, according to Zack. He's the one we found near Yuffie," Reeve added, knowing that Vincent hadn't taken the time to talk to the other man. He turned to Vincent, studying his friend through worried eyes. "You should get some rest, Vincent," Reeve interrupted his protest, "sleeping in that chair is not rest, and you know it. We could use your help-" Vincent's glare shocked Reeve, and he considered his next words carefully. "Yuffie and Tifa have been found, that only leaves Cloud."

"Tifa has gone to look for him." Vincent said shortly, daring the commissioner to suggest he leave Yuffie's side.

"Yes, I know. I sent some of the WRO soldiers with her, in case she needs help. I'm not sure how much she remembers, since she won't take the time to answer any of my questions."

"She will be fine." Vincent shifted in his chair, turning so that he faced Yuffie more directly. "Tifa is not the one that I am worried about." Vincent tried to keep his voice steady, but Reeve picked up on his anxiety.

"Yes, well, this isn't the worst thing that's ever happened to Yuffie." Reeve walked around the bed and put a hand on Vincent's shoulder. "Just give it some time, Vincent. She'll pull through." With that, Reeve left, pulling the door closed behind him.

Vincent closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the chair. His last memory of Yuffie from before her disappearance came to mind, and he reluctantly let it play out.

It had been only four days since Yuffie had left the Manor, trotting down the path with a grimace on her face at the thought of two weeks in Wutai with her father. Vincent had watched her go, smirking at the show she put on about having to leave. He had his own plans for the two weeks, and once he was sure that she was gone, he grabbed the traveling gear that he had left in one of the front rooms and locked the Manor door.

In two days he would be in Cosmo Canyon, were he would spend some time visiting Nanaki. From there, he would take a few days to travel to Edge, spend a day with Tifa and the children, and pick up some of the polish that Yuffie favored for use on Conformer. His next destination, Costa del Sol, would then be only a boat ride away, and he could buy a box of the saltwater taffy that Yuffie had mentioned a few weeks before. He would be back in Nibelheim a few days before Yuffie returned, and he could surprise her with the gifts. Her reaction would help him to decide what his next step would be, and if all went according to plan, he would tell her … he would finally admit … that he … Vincent cursed his inability to express his feelings for the ninja princess. If he didn't get this just right he knew that she would laugh at him, and that was the last thing that he needed.

Everything went smoothly, none of his friends questioned his sudden visit, and he was on his way back to Nibelheim exactly on schedule. As he walked up to the Manor, he allowed himself a small smile, imagining how Yuffie would be bouncing up the path in a few days time, all bright smiles and clumsiness. He had not expected to miss her this much over such a short period of time.

Vincent pushed the door open and flicked the light switch as he closed the door behind him. He was so caught up in imagining Yuffie's reaction as he set his gear down and hung his cloak near the door, that he didn't notice someone standing directly behind him until he turned around.

He flinched away, eyes widening in surprise as he realized that it was Yuffie, and she did not look pleased.

"Yuffie?" he spoke her name tentatively, without meeting her eyes.

"Vincent." She crossed her arms, and he could feel her staring at him. This was not how it was supposed to go. Why was she back early?

"Is something wrong?" he glanced over his shoulder at his cloak, hanging out of reach, and regretted removing it. He felt exposed without it, and while he did want to open up more to Yuffie, he had a feeling that now was not the best time for that.

"No. Why would something be wrong?"

Oh, this was definitely not good. "You look upset…"

"I just don't understand why you're wasting your time."

"…" He kept his face turned away from her as much as possible, watching her out of the corner of his eye, and tried to find a reason for her to be upset with him. He could think of nothing, not a single thing. "Yuffie, what -"

"I don't understand why you're wasting your time on someone who never loved you. Someone who could never love you." Her voice was harsh, steely, and he felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the room. She really feels that way? But I thought… "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, Vincent."

Vincent flinched when she said his full name. Yuffie never used his full name unless something was very wrong. So that's it then, I misunderstood. She doesn't feel that way about me. "Yuffie…" he still couldn't breathe properly, and he ducked his head, letting his hair fall in front of his face. There was nothing he could say to make this situation better, so he stayed silent.

Yuffie took a step toward him, and Vincent shrank back. "Why do you insist on spending so much time with the Queen of the Popsicles when you have people who care about you?!" Vincent jerked to attention, still not daring to breathe, though he stared at her with wide eyes. What is she talking about? "You're so hung up on her, convinced that she loved you. Well, you know what? She never loved you. If you would just open your eyes, you would realize that. She never loved you. How could she, with the things she did to you? If you love someone, you would never put them through so much pain!" Vincent opened his mouth, breathing in sharply. He understood now what Yuffie thought had happened, and he tried to interrupt her. "Don't try to tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about! Because I do!" Vincent wanted to reach out to her, wipe the tears off of her face, but he hesitated, unsure of how she would react. "I would never hurt you the way that she did. Ever. You know why? Because I love you, Vincent Valentine!"

Yuffie threw the front door open and ran off into the woods. Vincent stood silently, dazed by her last comment. He had suspected for some time now that she had a crush on him, but it hadn't been until the past few months that he realized he felt anything romantic towards her. And in that time, he had never dreamed she would have come to care for him that much.

After several minutes of staring off into space, Vincent blinked and looked around. As he walked through the house, he realized that Yuffie must have returned home a few days ago, and when confronted with his unexpected absence, she assumed that he had gone to Lucrecia's cave. What she didn't know was that he had said his final goodbye to Lucrecia months ago, when he acknowledged his feelings for Yuffie. He sighed, pushing his hair back from his face, and wondered what he should do now. Yuffie would no doubt appreciate some space, and she was more likely to return to the Manor if she knew she would not have to confront him right away. He took the jar of weapon polish and the box of saltwater taffy up to her room, setting them on the nightstand beside her bed as a peace offering for when she returned, then went back downstairs, grabbing his cloak as he left. He would give her the rest of the night, and return in the morning. Then they would talk, and he would show her how wrong she was in thinking that he still loved Lucrecia.

Two weeks later, he would realize just how bad of a decision it had been.

When he returned in the morning, she was gone. She had packed her bag and left. Vincent took a deep breath, and went about his day like nothing was wrong. It was difficult, he kept expecting her to come running into the room yelling some nonsense and dragging him off to do something ridiculous. The next day he did the same thing, and the day after that, and the day after that. When she had been gone for six days, Vincent's phone rang, and he almost dropped it in his rush to answer. It was Cloud, mumbling something about asking Tifa out and complaining about Yuffie ruining the moment. Vincent let out a breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding now that he knew his ninja was safe. He told Cloud that if Yuffie was bothering him, he should send her back to Nibelheim. Cloud muttered some more before he hung up, and Vincent sat back to wait.

When Yuffie had been gone for a week and a half, he left Nibelheim again, this time making a beeline for Edge. It took him two and a half days of steady travel, and when he finally made it to Seventh Heaven, he found the bar deserted.

Vincent stood and slowly made his way to Yuffie's bedside. He knelt down and stared at her, willing her to open her eyes. Nothing changed.

"Yuffie," he whispered, ignoring how his voice sounded even rougher than usual, "you made me promise … never to leave you alone. I am sorry … I broke my promise, and now…" he trailed off, gritting his teeth and sighing in frustration at how he was still unable to tell her how he felt. "Please, Yuffie … please … come back to me…" He could feel tears in the corner of his eyes and shook his head sharply to get rid of them. "You were right … about everything." He thought about what she had said to him before he moved back to the Shinra Manor. "I was not being fair to you." He cleared his throat and stood, letting his eyes wander over the room. "Tifa has gone to look for Cloud, again. She wished me to tell you that she expects you to be awake by the time she returns."

He turned back and watched her for a little bit more, then leaned down and gently kissed her on the forehead, before striding quickly out the door. He could feel himself crumbling, the emotional toll of the last two years finally crashing down on him, and he knew that he had to get away for a little while.

It took about fifteen minutes for him to walk to the apartment that he kept in Edge, and that was all the time he really needed to clear his head. He considered turning around, but he knew that if he returned to the hospital Reeve would make him leave again. With a heavy sigh he threw himself down in a chair and picked up the nearest book. He didn't expect to be able to concentrate, so he was surprised when he glanced up at the clock and found that three hours had passed. Setting the book down, he stood and stretched, then looked around the room for something else to pass the time. Nothing caught his interest, so he decided to go back to the hospital and see if there had been any change with Yuffie.

One week after they had found Yuffie, Vincent was once again making his way back to the hospital from his apartment. Reeve had finally convinced him to spend more time away from the hospital, and Vincent had reluctantly agreed, but only under the condition that they would call him immediately if anything changed in her condition. None of the hospital staff spoke to him as he made his way to her room, so he wasn't expecting her to be awake and talking to Reeve when he opened the door. He hesitated for a moment, his mind blank as he saw her storm gray eyes.

"Vincent," Reeve nodded as he walked by, leaving the two alone.

Vincent shifted uneasily in the doorway, unsure of what to do. Yuffie was staring at him wide-eyed and he could see a glimmer of forming tears. Less than a minute had passed, and things were already going wrong.

"Yuffie," he still didn't move, afraid of what her reaction to him might be.

"H-hey," she stuttered, her mouth opening and closing a few more times as she tried to think of something to say. He noticed how she shivered a little whenever their eyes met, and he tilted his head to the side to study her more closely. His smiled slightly when he realized that she was even more nervous than he was.

"Yuffie, are you all right? You seem to be hyperventilating…" he wondered if he should call a nurse to check on her, but decided that she would probably be better off if he left her for a little while. "Perhaps I should return when you are feeling better…" He took a step back and turned on his heel, the door swinging closed behind him.

The sun was setting as Vincent left the hospital, feeling more relaxed than he had in ages and knowing that he would finally be able to get a full night's sleep. He would talk to Yuffie in the morning, and everything would be fine.

Vincent woke to the sound of his phone ringing. A glance at the clock as he reached for the phone made him even more worried. It was 11:52pm, and the hospital was calling.

"Mr. Valentine, Ms. Kisaragi is gone. We've searched the hospital and there's no sign of her anywhere." Vincent was dressed, fully armed, and halfway out the door before they finished speaking. He didn't bother with a response, just closed his phone and stormed off down the street.

If someone had taken Yuffie away from him after he'd finally found her, they were going to find out just how creative he could be when it came to torture. And, gods help him, if Yuffie had left of her own free will then there was going to be hell to pay.

Once he reached the hospital, Vincent spoke briefly to the nurse who had discovered Yuffie's disappearance. It seemed that Yuffie had gone missing close to the same time that the man, Zack Fair, had left the hospital. Yuffie's clothes were also missing, which added to Vincent's growing suspicion that Yuffie had chosen to leave. From the hospital, he made increasingly wide circles through the streets of Edge, looking for any sign of the ninja. When he was near the ruins of Midgar, a small scrap of fabric caught his eye. A closer inspection revealed it to be from the shirt that Yuffie had been wearing. He studied his surroundings, and decided that Yuffie's destination was likely somewhere in Midgar. He could see a few tracks here and there that may have been hers alongside another person's, leading into the ruined city.

Following the trail that he had found, Vincent was surprised to find himself at Aerith's church. A brief inspection of the building did not give him any more information, but he did find more of a trail outside, this time leading out of the ruins. From what he could tell, there was now another set of tracks along with Yuffie's and what he could only guess were Zack's. He followed them out to the field west of Midgar, where they became more visible, and picked up his pace.

In less than an hour, he could see three figures walking ahead of him. He slowed to a brisk walk, and stayed far enough away that they wouldn't be able to see him in the darkness. Yuffie was stumbling along behind the other two in silence, and it would have been easy for him to swoop in and carry her off before anyone was the wiser. He toyed with the idea for a few minutes, eventually dismissing it and deciding to see where they were going instead.

As the sky started to fade from inky black to a pinkish-gray, Vincent moved closer to Yuffie. She was still unaware of his presence, and began to jog slowly toward the other two, who had gotten farther ahead of her during the walk. Vincent grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him before she could go too far.

"Yuffie." He glared down at her, fighting back the wave of anger when he saw that she had chosen to walk across the continent when she was still in pain from her head wound.

"Uh, h-hey … Vince," she gave him a shaky smile that did nothing to calm him. "What's up?"

"Yuffie." Did she not realize how serious this was? Yuffie cringed and looked over her shoulder, no doubt trying to find a way to escape. His grip on her arm tightened marginally, and she turned her attention back to him.

"L-look, Vinny, I know you're mad. I mean, you probably went to see me at the hospital, and they must've been all freaking out because I left without permission when they said I had to stay," an understatement; the hospital staff had been frantic, knowing that they faced his wrath if she was not found, "but seriously, what was I supposed to do for another THREE days? I would have DIED of boredom! I can't do NOTHING for that long!" In any other situation, Vincent might have been amused by Yuffie's exaggerations, but this time they only frustrated him more. "I mean, come on, everyone knows that I get all fidgety when I have to sit still for more than five minutes, and I'm supposed to stay in a hospital for THREE DAYS? Whose bright idea was-"

"Yuffie." She needed to realize just how serious this was.

"Yes?" She gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

His voice was barely contained, cold fury when he spoke, "I received a phone call just before midnight, informing me that you were missing. Again." Yuffie's smile disappeared, and Vincent took a deep breath to calm himself, looking away from the ninja. When he did so, he saw the pair that she was traveling with over her shoulder, and his eyes widened slightly. Aerith Gainsborough walked beside Zack Fair, alive and healthy. Vincent turned his attention back to Yuffie, choosing to address any questions he had about Aerith later. "I …" he blushed slightly at his slip, now was not the time to bring that up, "we have spent the past two years looking for you. I had hoped that it would be some time before we had to search for you again."

Vincent released Yuffie's arm, and she closed her eyes and hung her head, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry, Vince," when she looked up at him through her bangs, he felt his anger melt away, and he nodded, glancing over her shoulder again. Zack and Aerith were close enough to hear their conversation now.

"Yuffie? Everything okay?" Zack asked, glancing back and forth between her and Vincent.

Yuffie grinned and bounced on her toes a few times, trying to act normally when she answered, "Sure! Everything's fine! We were just talking. Nothing to see here!" Vincent noticed how she grit her teeth slightly every time she moved her head and had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. She turned back to him and grinned. "We're on our way to Nibelheim, to see if we can find Cloud. You should come! If we run into any monsters you can totally kick their butts." He raised one eyebrow at this. Apparently she is feeling worse that I realized, if she is asking for help. "Not that I couldn't handle it, but it would be easier if you were with us." Ah, that sounds more like her. Never admitting to a weakness.

He stared at her for a moment, letting enough of his emotions show for her to see that she hadn't fooled him. "As you wish."

"Great," Zack gestured for them to follow him, "we still have a long walk, so let's go." He started walking without bothering to wait for the rest of them.

Vincent looked at Aerith and found the flower girl watching him. "It's good to see you again, Vincent," she said carefully.

"And you, as well, Miss Gainsborough." Perhaps this is one instance where answers aren't that important, he thought as he decided not to question her presence. Her answering smile told him that he had made the right decision. As Aerith ran to catch up with Zack, Vincent turned to Yuffie and watched her stare after their friends.

After a few moments, she sighed and said, "Come on. They've already left me behind once today." Vincent's smile was hidden behind his cloak as remembered how distracted she had seemed while he was following them.

They hadn't taken more than a few steps when Yuffie stumbled, righted herself, and continued walking as she massaged her temples with her eyes scrunched closed. Vincent sighed as he pulled out his Restore materia and held it in front of her face. When Yuffie opened her eyes, she looked back and forth between him and the materia several times before snatching it out of his hand.

"Why the heck didn't you use that before?" she demanded. Vincent watched as all of her tension disappeared when she cast cure on herself.

"We weren't sure how it would affect you, and healing naturally would have been better," he gave her an annoyed look meant to make her feel guilty, which she completely ignored.

"I don't know why you're so worried about me, Vince," she called over her shoulder as she skipped after Zack and Aerith. "Wasn't I always the one worrying over you?"

Vincent watched her run past the others and do a cartwheel, reveling in her loss of pain. I worried about you more than you knew…

'Cause I'm bleeding out

So if the last thing that I do

Is to bring you down

I'll bleed out for you