Siyo makes his first appearance in this chapter, and I just want to let you know that Siyo is my own character so no swiping, you big meanies with plans to nick my people!

Late morning sunlight permeated the thin curtains of Vincent's room, illuminating the sleeping couple lying cuddled up in the bed. One particularly bright ray of sunshine fell across Vincent's face, making his eyes flicker open, only to have them squeezed shut as the brightness blinded him.

Vincent waited till the brightness had subsided before he opened his eyes again. He turned to look at the still sleeping Yuffie beside him. With a stab of memory he remembered what had happened the previous day. Smiling to himself, he kissed Yuffie's slightly flushed cheek. She shifted and turned over in her sleep, sighing heavily. Reaching over the side of the bed, Vincent retrieved his boxers and trousers, pulling them on first before climbing out of bed to pick up the rest of his clothing.

Carrying his cloak under his arm as he went downstairs, Vincent had just finished buttoning his shirt when he noticed two people outside, none of them native- but one of them he recognised. "Godo," Vincent growled, fastening his scarlet cloak and pulling open the door to confront him.

Standing just near the large well, and hearing the creak of the old mansion doors, Godo turned, seeing Vincent approaching him. "Ah, Valentine, just the man I was hoping to see!" he said loudly.

Vincent reached him and shook his outstretched hand. "Please, Godo, just Vincent will do," he said, letting go of his hand. He frowned at the other man with Godo; a man a little shorter than himself, with medium-length dark brown hair, spiked at the ends, the rest of his hair laced with midnight blue streaks. He could not have been more than twenty-one, and as Vincent's eyes met his deep brown ones, he realised who he was.

Godo looked from one to the other. "Ah yes, may I introduce you? Vincent, this is Gorki's son, Siyo."

Vincent nodded curtly at him. "What brings you two here?" he asked politely.

Godo's eyes narrowed. "My daughter, Vincent. I must find her at once."

"I was under the impression you said you had no daughter," Vincent said, with an air of coolness surrounding his words, then resolving to slap himself the next time he was alone. I should not have said that!

"She has told you, has she? So she is with you! I thought so, where else could she have been?" Godo gave Vincent a rather dirty look; this did not achieve the required effect as Vincent was around a foot taller than him. "I want to see her- now."

Siyo spoke for the first time. "My Lord, this is not necessary- if she did not wish to-"

"Silence, Siyo. Well, Vincent?"

"She happens to be asleep right now. I will wake her, but I want you to swear you will not harm her any more than you already have."

"I-"

"Godo, I mean it."

"I-I swear." Godo had known Vincent from his childhood, Vincent being half-Wutainese, though Vincent was a year older than him. He had always listened to him even then.

"It is settled then." Vincent beckoned, and the pair followed him back to the manor. Once in the hall, he stopped them. "Wait here, please. I will rouse Yuffie," he said, heading up the stairs.

Yuffie was still asleep in his room. Vincent sat beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yuffie..." he whispered. "Yuffie..."

Slowly, Yuffie opened her eyes. She turned, smiling, to Vincent, holding her covers to her chest. "Heya," she said, leaning forward, kissing his lips briefly.

"Morning. Yuffie, I am afraid you are going to be very angry with me for what I have done..."

"You mean-"

"No, not yesterday. I know you would not be angry at me for that. No, this is much more serious." He picked up her clothes from the floor and passed them to her. "Get dressed and come downstairs, Yuffie."

"Er...okay..." Confused, Yuffie pulled her clothes on and stood up, stretching. She followed Vincent downstairs, stopping abruptly when she saw her father in the hall. She clapped a hand to her mouth in shock, her eyes wide. "Dad?! What the hell are you doing here?!" She rounded on Vincent. "You damn right I'm mad at you!"

"Yuffie...please...just hear what he has to say...I don't know what that may be, though..."

Giving Vincent a reproachful look, she descended the remainder of the stairs and looked squarely at her father. "Found me at last, have you?" she said, folding her arms. "I'm surprised you decided to get off your own ass for once; am I really that important?"

"Yuffie, listen-"

"I wanna sit down at least before I hear whatever rubbish you have to say." She sat in the chair in the corner, scowling as she watched Godo seat himself on the sofa, Siyo waiting respectfully for Godo before sitting himself.

Vincent surveyed the tense scene before him. "This conversation is for your ears only; I will leave." He made for the door, but Godo held up an aged hand to stop him.

"No, Vincent, you may stay. I gather you had a hand in this anyway."

"Then do not let me interrupt." Vincent swept back, sitting on the lower stairs.

"Of course, of course..." Godo turned sternly to Yuffie. "You caused quite a disturbance by your disappearing act, Yuffie. Naturally, knowing you best, I had expected nothing else, but how you hid yourself so well, I was clueless, I will admit. I was all for falling for your exceptional ninja skills yet again, as I have so many times. And here I find you cowering inside a derelict old manor, no use of your skill at all. I am almost ashamed of you, Yuffie-"

"So you should be!" Yuffie snapped. "I refuse to succeed you, refuse to marry this-" she gesticulated to Siyo "-guy, and I disappear on you! And why have I done all this? Because I believe I deserve better! Are you forgetting I saved the world when I was just sixteen?! Well, I did, lest your crumbling old brain forgets! After everything I have done for the world, you drag me back to Wutai, not listening to me whatsoever! Do I not have a say in anything? I am a princess, a princess who has fought with some of the best warriors on this planet, a princess whose best friend was murdered in cold blood! And I helped kill the murderer! For what? Nothing!

"A year ago, I was part of the WRO, and still am. It's still based at Wutai, you know. I helped track down the necessary information on Weiss, I helped with the Omega reports, I helped with just about everything that was to be done there! In a fashion, I helped save the world again, but still I get no acknowledgement for it! I'm sick of you stuffing your fingers in your ears, not heeding a thing! I don't wanna be known as the leader of Wutai! I wanna be known as who I am- a fighter, a ninja, a hero!" Yuffie glared at Godo, who had remained thoughtfully silent. She continued, "The only reason I 'cower' in here is the fact that I would apparently be killed if one of your goons found me. I value my life, as much as I don't act it, you know! Vince has taken real good care of me the whole time, even stayed at my side when I was hospitalised!"

"H-Hospitalised?!" Godo spluttered. "By Leviathan, what have you done to yourself this time?"

"Oh, now you care! I lost so much weight, and drank half a bottle of bleach if you must know, so I collapsed, and Vincent took me to Mideel. Had our relationship not been so rocky, Vince or the others might have told you, but knowing you, you would just strike me down while I was still comatose- yes, Dad, I was!" for Godo had yelped in shock. "My body just shut down. And Vincent was there the whole time for me. It shows someone cares! Someone understand all that is happening to me! He knows I don't wanna marry just yet, I'm way too young, and you know what? He totally understands why I don't want to. Vincent's from Wutai too, remember Dad, you grew up together. You both know the rules; if a woman has no wish to marry the man her father has found for her, she can make her own choice, though the man must be approved by her father. Had I got to know Siyo, maybe I would have married him, but the fact remains, I don't even know him!"

Breathing out heavily as if she had just talked all day, Yuffie fell silent. Godo twirled a finger in his greying beard for a moment. "I want my daughter to be happy," he said. "It is my fault Wutai is the way it is now; I had hoped, had you settled down with a good man and taken over the ruling, things would change for the better. If that will not happen, I shall have to make those changes myself. I am old, Yuffie, I cannot last much longer. When I die, where will Wutai turn to? She will be in eternal turmoil unless somebody steps in-"

"Why can't Gorki do it? Or Staniv, or Chekhov?"

"You know that the guardians of the Pagoda cannot do that job. I say nothing ill of your father, Siyo," Godo said, laying a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"No offence taken, My Lord." Siyo lowered his head.

"Good, good...Yuffie," Godo turned back to his stony-faced daughter, "I see it was wrong to disown you when it has made you suffer so. Even an old man has a heart, especially for a suffering child. Ever since I injured you, I have been plagued by regret, for I knew you would never return, and Wutai would descend into chaos eventually. I see your wounds have healed-" he indicated Yuffie's cheek, "I am glad; had I scarred you, my regret would have deepened further. Wutai is, and always will be, your home. If you wish to return, nobody will stop you. I am sure everyone will be happy to see you again." He sighed resignedly.

Yuffie's stony expression changed abruptly. She began to smile, her eyes sparkling like silver glitter. "Dad...you mean it?"

"Of course I do."

Yuffie stood up, and approached Godo, hands behind her back. "I will fulfil my duties as a princess. I will marry, by my choice, and when the time comes, I will rule." She grinned mischievously. "But things are gonna change with me in charge! Screw Shinra; if I want Materia in Wutai, then I'm having it! And I'm not staying holed up there forever, I want to be able to travel with my husband (when I find one). If Siyo here has no objection, I am happy for him to step in as advisor when I am absent."

Godo's face broke out into a true smile. "What say you, Siyo?"

Siyo rose, taking Yuffie's hand and kissing it. "An honourable offer, My Lady. I would be delighted to accept." He rubbed his smooth chin thoughtfully. "Also, I think it necessary to tell you that Father holds no grudge against your refusal to marry me. If anything, I should think him relieved- he said having you as a daughter-in-law would likely cost him his life!"

Both Siyo and Yuffie laughed. "You're a pretty cool guy, Siyo. Maybe I got the wrong impression of you- being raised by Corneo and all that."

"That abomination of a man has no place in my heart, I can assure you, Lady Kisaragi. I have always been furious as to his treatment of innocent women. In fact, I have never had any desire to marry- I also think myself too young."

"Whew...I'm relieved!" Yuffie turned to Vincent, who had not moved from his place on the stairs. "I haven't left you out, Vince, I hope?"

Vincent opened his eyes. "Not at all...I am glad you have reconciled with your father; it is not good to be fighting constantly."

"Awww, thanks." Yuffie crossed the room and kissed his forehead. Vincent's hand brushed her cheek gently as he felt her lips make contact with him. Moving her mouth to his ear, Yuffie whispered, "Should we tell him?"

"If you wish to."

Godo was watching the pair with an expression of mingled amusement and wonder. "Is there something I have missed?"

Siyo tilted his blue-streaked head slightly to the side. "I should think them rather close friends, My Lord, or closer."

"You thought right!" Yuffie said gleefully. "I've found the guy for me! If I'm gonna marry, I hope it's gonna be Vince!"

"W-what?!" Vincent sputtered. "You-?"

"You and Vincent, together?! I never thought I'd see the day..." Godo mopped his brow with his sleeve. "However, if you are happy together, then I am happy. To think...I am going to have my childhood friend as a son-in-law! And Vincent is older than me..."

"Older, My Lord?" Siyo asked, puzzled. "To me, Mr. Valentine looks no older than thirty."

Getting over his previous shock, Vincent laughed softly. "Thirty four years ago, I was a Turk. However, I protested against a scientist's experiment on humans, and my reward was a bullet to the chest, and this body. I was put to sleep for thirty years; Yuffie and her friends found me." He paused for a moment to allow Yuffie to sit beside him. He slid his gauntlet-covered hand round her waist before he continued. "Before that, I lived in Wutai. My mother is pure blood Wutainese, my father is native to Midgar. I became friends with Godo when I was around nine; we never paid much attention to each other before that." Vincent gazed at the ceiling reminiscently. "My age is fixed at twenty seven, that is when I was shot. My actual age would be...sixty one, a year older than Godo."

"By Leviathan, I am sorry..." Siyo dipped his head apologetically. "I hope I do not cause offence to you, Mr. Valentine, but does this mean you will remain twenty seven forever?"

"I do not take offence, Siyo. It is likely I will stay the same age, yes, but I am sure there is some sort of remedy. I do not want to have my friends, and those I love, die while I live beyond them. It is something you would rather not think about, yet it creeps up on you like ivy. It is unpleasant..." He trailed off.

"I would imagine so..."

Godo pulled a watch from his inside pocket. "We should be going soon. I am pleased you have reconsidered, my child. That is, if you are still my child? You have matured, Yuffie, I cannot call you a child anymore." He stood up, brushing down his robe. "If you and Vincent wish to marry at some point in the future, then I will be behind you one hundred percent. I wish you luck."

"Thanks, Dad." She and Vincent crossed the room with Godo and Siyo. "I will visit again as soon as I can."

"I will be glad of it." Godo laid a hand on her shoulder. "My thoughts go with you."

"And I you." Hugging her father briefly, Yuffie turned to Siyo. "I'm hoping we can be good friends, Siyo."

Siyo bowed his head respectfully. "I daresay our friendship began a short while ago," he said, smiling. "I trust we will see both of you soon," he added, straightening up and shaking Vincent's hand.

Vincent nodded to him. "Goodbye," he said.

"Yes, yes...goodbye, Yuffie, Vincent..." Godo beckoned to Siyo, and the pair set off.

Yuffie watched after them with a bemused expression. Vincent stood beside her, slipping an arm round her shoulders. "Are you still angry at me for bringing him here?"

Yuffie snuggled closer to him, smiling contentedly. "No...if anything, I love you even more. You ensured me and Dad made up. And I can go back to Wutai!" She threw her arms round Vincent gleefully, laughing. Vincent, still keeping his arm round her shoulders, put his metal arm behind her knees, sweeping her off her feet, making her kick violently, laughing more.

"I knew everything would turn out fine in the end," he whispered, kissing her. He carried her to the sofa and sat down, sitting Yuffie on his lap.

"Hey, I'm not a dog, y'know?" Yuffie said, though she leant forward so her head was resting on his shoulder.

"I know...I want to be close to you..." His hand stroked her hair for a moment, thinking. "Is it true? You would marry me?"

"Of course I would...I want to be with you." Yuffie looked into Vincent's shining eyes. "I'll wait a while, though; it doesn't have to be now." She leaned forward, kissing him with renewed passion.

Vincent leant back into the sofa, his arms encircling Yuffie's small frame as he kissed her back. She must really love me," he thought. "Why else would she want to marry me of all people? He broke the kiss, stroking her flushed face. "I will give you time, my princess. When I believe the time is right, I will ask you."