Disclaimer: I own Yuki, friend owns Faelo (Fay-low), Square-Enix owns everything else. And boy, I pay them a hell of a lot for it.
A/N: This is completely unedited, and when I say that I mean I haven't even re-read this chapter. So please forgive any grammatical and spelling errors (My English is the one from England therefore mummom etc.)
Chapter 7:
Blackout
The girl was nearing the end of her days in that green prison, although she did not know it. The only change she perceived was that the female scientist and the red-eyed bodyguard were long gone, and that Hojo was becoming more and more anxious, fiddling with the buttons on her tank frequently.
Deprived even of a catatonic state, she began to make the effort to think, and this was what troubled the scientist. She became aware that the temperature of the liquid was similar to that of a hot bath, that mostly she could smell burning rubber, that if she concentrated very hard, she could see herself staring back through the glass. If she managed to stick her tongue out she could taste a silky, creamy flavour, gone slightly wrong in an imperceptible way. She could hear the scientist speak, too.
'No… why is she reacting so violently?! I must suppress the cells within her…yes…she cannot be allowed to continue in this way…'
Her eyes had always been green, like her mother's. When she had first been imprisoned and injected, they had glowed a bright blue, with green around the edges, and had stared back at her, a stranger's eyes. Now, as the scientist muttered, pressing the life-changing buttons, she saw them change again, looking at her reflection in the glass.
These eyes did not glow back. They absorbed everything- pits of terror. These eyes were darker than midnight, because they were simple holes, gazing back at her.
Her feeling of awareness, however, did not vanish with the eyes as the professor had planned. It grew until she was able to burst out of her glass cage, welcoming back the ability to grow out of her child's body, stuck at ten years old.
She would have been. But the arrival of the new eyes came with something else- a dark, spreading stain all over her back, folding over her shoulder. It hurt like a bruise at first, and then came something else, an electricity burning, until she was screwed up inside her tank with pain, her blue-black blood seeping into the water…
A gentle droplet of rain tapped on Yuki's eyelids, and she opened them. The water, mixed with the shrill ringtone of her mobile lying nearby, had woken her. Instantly, her hand went to the ever-constant bruise on her back. It was protesting again, sparking like an electric wire while she gave a strangled gasp of pain at the sky. For a while, she remained motionless. Then, when she was certain the bruise would not flare up again, she turned her head stiffly to examine her surroundings.
She had fallen asleep in the graveyard- that would explain the dream. Lately, they had vanished, every time she slept in one of Seventh Heaven's rooms. It was beginning to rain, trickles of water running down her father's grave. She used it to support her as she got to her feet, picking up her phone as it rang for the third time.
'Hello?'
'Uh, Yuki, it's Tifa. Where are you?'
'Oh, right. We were meant to be buying a dress or something today, weren't we?'
'Yes!! And you didn't turn up for your shift either!'
Yuki shrugged. To be honest, the customers were probably better off without her, throwing plates like Frisbees onto their tables, not caring where the actual food landed as long as she did not have to get up and do any work herself. She was tired by the end of the day.
'I guess it doesn't matter,' Tifa sighed, echoing Yuki's thoughts.
'Sorry,' Yuki mumbled.
'That's alright. You'll try to make a bit more effort, won't you? Please?'
'Sure, Tifa.'
'That's good. But anyway, that's not important! What's important is that you have something to wear by tomorrow!'
'Tifa, I'm fine with jeans. I live in jeans. Really.' Well, that excluded the combat pants she often wore, but Tifa got the point.
'Uh-uh, you aren't getting away with it that easily! I've invited Yuffie.'
'Tifa…now's not a good time.' Yuki winced as her back gave her another little stab of pain, a reminder that she probably needed a hot bath and a sleep in a real bed. One that would not give her nightmares.
'You're at the graveyard, aren't you? I'll pick you up on our way there.'
'But Tifa—'
Hearing the dial tone, Yuki groaned and stuffed her phone back into her pocket, grabbing the huge, many-pocketed coat she had brought as the rain really started to fall.
She could smell the petrol burning as Tifa pulled up in a car. If Yuki had been asked to describe it, she would have said:
'Black. Medium-sized.'
She jumped into the back seat, shoving Yuffie into the next seat along. After their normal greetings, Tifa began to drive again, until she noticed Yuki's blue face.
'What's wrong?'
'Nnn-nothing. I don't like the cold.' Some understatement. Yuki had been stuck in a tank that was permanently at boiling point- she was used to being cooked. God knew how Hojo had stopped that from happening.
'OK,' Tifa said doubtfully, turning her eyes to the road once more. Yuffie giggled at some unknown hilarity, and the rest of the trip was spent listening to her easy chatter.
Yuki walked into a brand-new department stall, revelling in the warmth of the air conditioner. Tifa walked slightly ahead, her pace quick. Yuffie walked beside Yuki. She turned her head and winked.
'Wanna have some fun?' Yuffie asked in a conspiratorial voice.
'How… Oh.' Yuffie was indicating some people in the department that dripped with wealth. Yuki looked around. It seemed that every person in the place had cash to burn. She glanced casually at Yuffie, and tilted her head, very slightly, to indicate concession. It had been too long since her old pickpocket days.
Tifa looked back at them.
'Come on,' she called, so innocent and noble. Putting on their most naïve masks, Yuki and Yuffie smiled and nodded at her. Then when her back was turned, the fun started.
Yuki's first target was a woman who wore diamonds on every finger. She decided to go with a classic, sashaying up to the woman and "accidentally" bumping into her.
'Watch where you're going!' the woman snapped. Her eyes travelled Yuki's worn and ragged clothes from top to bottom- obviously, Yuki was a good-for-nothing.
'I'm so sorry,' Yuki replied softly. Her fingers slid deftly into the woman's slim, open handbag as she gave a small bow, snagging the purse and pulling away. The woman turned back to her friends with a little sigh and a toss of her permed, coloured blond hair.
Yuffie was faster, less polite and more gung-ho, deftly hooking purses left-right and centre. Yuki grabbed her arm as she went to pickpocket a strict-looking man in his late fifties.
'Not him,' she muttered 'He's earned his money. And he's not showing off, and he's not from Shinra, believe me. Besides, he's too perceptive. You'll get caught.'
Yuffie looked at the man, who was indeed glaring at her, and sighed, letting her hand drop.
'The problem is, I'm too good,' she said sadly. 'It's all too easy now.'
'No wonder. You can pickpocket anybody you want, and they don't even have to be distracted. You've got the lightest fingers I've ever seen.'
For a while they continued, while Tifa was desperately trying to find the "dresses" section. Yuki managed to pickpocket another three people, checking first that they wouldn't miss the money. Yuffie did not count how many she had taken, and they lost count of how many purses she managed to pull out of Yuki's many-pocketed coat.
'Yuffie, this is too much,' Yuki whispered furiously as she felt the weight of yet another purse slide into her pocket. 'Come on, we're going to the toilets,'
With Tifa's consent, they ran towards the nearest toilets, locking themselves in a cubicle. Desperate not to be caught red-handed, Yuki started to shove the many purses into Yuffie's hands, while Yuffie pulled the money out and tossed the empty shell into the nearby bin.
'Yuffie, we didn't need this much,' Yuki snapped, her nerves fraying. Her ears were strained from trying to hear anybody else's footsteps.
'I know,' Yuffie breathed. 'I can't seem to stop, once I get going.'
'Well, no more, ok? You probably didn't even check those people out to see if they had enough…'
She held up one ragged purse, the inside of which held a pitiful amount of money. 'You really think this is the kind of person we steal from? Stealing from the poor just turns them into thieves, and then we have competition.'
Yuffie hung her energetic head, tracing circles in the floor with a pointed shoe.
'I'm sorry. In Wutai, it's so acceptable. I'm still getting used to it.'
Yuki softened a bit, realising that her friend had got the message. 'It's ok. I mean, its fine for now, but think about it next time.'
'I didn't steal any materia.'
'ok.'
'It's for you, anyway Yuki. I wanted you to have a nice dress.'
'Alright.'
'So, how much did we get, exactly?'
'Umm…'
'Yuffie? Are you in here?' Tifa's voice floated out from around the doorway, and they heard the soft tread of her shoes as she came around the corner into the bathroom. 'Yuk-'
'WOW!'
Tifa paused, hesitant.
'Um, was that you, Yuffie?' she asked softly
'I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! HOW MUCH MONEY DO THESE RICH GUYS CARRY AROUND WITH THEM ANYWAYS?!'
'Shut up Yuffie, someone might hear you,' another voice shushed.
Tifa turned to the nearest cubicle and pushed the door open. It swung freely, obviously unlocked.
Yuki and Yuffie stood, heads bowed, staring in awe and wonder at the huge amount of gil stuffed into their hands.
'Well,' Tifa said weakly 'I guess we can afford the upmarket shops, then.'
It took an hour of bickering and another hour of lunch before Yuki's dreaded dressing time came. Faelo, after finding excuse after excuse for her absence, finally showed up as they sat down to lunch, chatting easily with everyone. Tifa's anger towards their thievery had cooled somewhat, and they entered a promising-looking dress shop with the typically good-looking assistant, and crowds of other women. Faelo made a disgusted face at Yuki, and she smiled. Well, somebody was on her side.
'What's your favourite colour, Yuki?' Tifa asked, happier than Yuki believed was possible being in a dress shop.
'Black.'
'That's not a colour!' Yuffie objected. 'There are some really nice colours out there, like blue and red and green and…'
'It's fine, isn't it?' Faelo asked impatiently, looking as uncomfortable as Yuki felt.
'What about length?'
'Something long. Or, better yet, a skirt. Actually, let's go, right now, and grab some skirts, I think that's a much better idea…'
It was not an easy selection- although Yuki tried hard to make it as easy as possible. She agreed to each and every dress that did not expose her back, but unfortunately these were limited in variety and the only passable item was a black, uncomfortably strapless, straight affair. Well, at least it was nice and simple.
'Aw, what about this?' Yuffie asked, holding up a vivid red dress that had a looping design on the back.
'Oh, that would look so good on you, Yuki!' Tifa said happily, holding it up to the light.
'No.' Yuki could feel her heart beginning to hammer, and her bruise beginning to play up. Why was it so bad, today of all days?
'Why not? It's nice and red and…' Yuffie prattled.
'You can get the black one if you want, but just try this one on once. For me?'
'She doesn't have to try it on if she doesn't want to…' Faelo trailed off, sensing defeat before the battle had even began. Tifa asked again and again, Yuki squirming as she denied every plea. She could feel her stress building, her back stinging.
'Leave it, OK?' she snapped. But then, Tifa and Yuffie's hurt faces loomed out at her, Faelo raised her eyebrows, and Yuki sighed, snatching the dress out of Tifa's hands. With luck, they would think she had a fall, and bruised herself.
She came out, feeling her stress push her to the limits. As she pulled the dress over her head, she realised the bruise was about to bleed, and ran out of the changing room.
'It's on, you've all seen it, I'm getting changed now,' she gasped, feeling faint. As she spun around on her heel, she heard the others gasp with astonishment at her obvious mutation, with more shock than she would have believed.
The room spun, and Yuki gave a small moan, before rolling to the floor, about to faint. She could hear Yuffie's voice, crying out in shock.
'Geostigma! She's got Geostigma!'
'Why aren't her eyes blue?'
She gazed up at them, seeing three faces peering back at her in distress. She could feel her blood seeping through the hard floor of the shop, the assistant fluttering around them, a multitude of other faces peering down at her.
'It seems like I've attracted a crowd,' she said, giggling to herself. The words came out as a mumble and she could have sworn the room was expanding.
'Cloud. I'll get Cloud. He'll know what to do.' That was from Tifa, already dialling a number on her phone. It was the last thing Yuki remembered before darkness invaded, and only blackness existed.
The next thing Yuki felt was steel underneath her and a gentle, wavelike motion as though she were lying on the deck of a boat. The only things that shattered this illusion was the warm, soothing breath of another human, just above her, and a leather-padded surface that she leaned on. It was settled, then. Somebody was carrying her, the steel being a pair of incredibly strong arms, the padded surface holding a small beat that she knew was a heart.
Instantly uncomfortable, and more than a little embarrassed, she jerked away instinctively from the warmth, feeling herself land on the hard gravel and the only warmth she could now feel was that of the blood that ran from a freshly grazed knee. She tried to open her eyes, struggling against the utter pain that kept them closed, and heard a sigh above her.
'Cloud, why didn't you catch her?' asked Tifa, owner of the sigh. Yuki could imagine the scene, even if she could not see it – Cloud, his head turned slightly away from her, equally embarrassed, and wishing he were anywhere but there.
She heard the rustle of his clothing as he kneeled down, gently attempting to pick her up again. She tried to lash out at him, knowing it was hopeless, knowing it was stupid. Her hand could barely twitch.
'Let me carry you,' Cloud murmured, and his voice was soft, lowered. She felt no pain as he lifted her up, trying to fall back asleep so that she could not protest or feel anything.
She opened her eyes as he seated her, trying to fight against the bleariness that invaded her mind as well as her senses. She could tell that she was sitting in a ruined church, beautiful flowers blooming out in a shaft of sunlight. She smiled, feeling oddly peaceful within that once-holy place, her pain temporarily banished.
Cloud walked around to face her, a bowl of water in his hands.
'I-I'm sorry,' he began, blushing, 'but I'm going to have to ask you to show me your back. Yuffie said that's where the Geostigma was.' Unable to quench the fog in her mind, Yuki obeyed, turning her back to him.
She realised that she was still wearing the hated red dress, and that her strange blood had disintegrated the back anyway. She felt the cooling water pour down her back and started as she saw the image of a beautiful woman, dressed in pink with her hair tied back, her lips curving up in a gracious smile.
So, we've finally met.
The voice that spoke was light and happy, and Yuki felt cured in its presence. Later on, she would convince herself that it was all a hallucination, brought on by her blackout and the strange water, which was obviously drugged to heal her.
She smiled as the Geostigma on her back sparkled with the energy of the Lifestream, tickling her.
Faelo walked into the church, giving a secret smile to herself as she faced Yuki and the careful Cloud.
'Come on, you, you're crashing at my house,' she declared, stabbing a thumb towards the door. Yuki nodded, holding her dress up as she walked towards the church doors. She knew the odd peace she was feeling would not last, and she wanted to be well away from Cloud by the time it faded.
Faelo grinned wolfishly at Cloud, before turning and following Yuki. At the door, Yuki paused. Embarrassing or no, she could at least be polite.
'Cloud?' She turned towards the entrance. He did not gaze out the window, as she was accustomed to. Instead, he looked straight at her, somehow more confident and yet more distant at the same time.
'Yeah?'
'Thank you.'
She would never faint like that again.
…
Sorry, Cloud might be out of character, I don't actually know because he's the hardest one to write about I'm sorry for all the sap, too. I feel like a fangirl right now, something I've always tried hard not to be!
So anyway, please enjoy + review!