Yo, what's up? No, I didn't die. Summer's been pretty hectic so far. My church had vacation bible school for the past week, so I couldn't write as much as I wanted. However, through ten minute intervals a couple days a week, I managed to write the last chapter. :-) Read and enjoy.

Final Fantasy VII (c) ME!

-is tackled by men in suits-

Correction: Final Fantasy VII (c) Square-Enix (Squaresoft) -glares at evil men-

Lyrics - "Only One" by Yellowcard

Chapter Four: Redemption

-x-

broken this fragile thing now
and I can't, I can't pick up the pieces
and I've thrown my words all around
but I can't, I can't give you a reason

i feel so broken up and I give up
i just want to tell you so you know

here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you
you are my only one
i let go, there's just no one that gets me like you do
you are my only, my only one;;

-x-

Tears streamed down my face as I collapsed on my bed, dejected and feeling as though there was no point to living. How could my life have gone from utterly perfect to completely horrible? I rolled over, grabbed my pillow, and squeezed it hard, searching for comfort. The pillow was squishy and soft, but it couldn't help the pain in my soul now. Reno had given me up so I could be with Vincent, and Vincent had rejected me. I couldn't stand it. I loved Vincent, and even with Reno, I wouldn't have been happy. That part of me deep within that was still a hyperactive 16-year-old ninja couldn't let him go.

I stood up and pulled a big, old bag from my closet. Through my streaming eyes, I jerked my dresser draws open and began pulling out the long-hidden ninja garb I still had. I was going away for a bit. I needed to get away from this place. I stuffed a few pairs of shorts and some tank-tops in the bag, and my eyes fell on the rose on my nightstand. Walking over, I gently touched the petals. Vincent. He had hurt me so badly.

In a sudden fit of rage, I lashed out at the vase and knocked it to the ground. Glass flew everywhere, and water splashed over the carpet. The rose lay dejected among the ruins of its vase. There, Vincent. I'll leave you in your shattered brokenness, shall I?

My tears turned into dry anger. I felt as though any compassion had been burned from my soul, leaving nothing but white-hot hatred for the man that was now making my life a living hell. I had to go find Reno. He would take me back. Unlike Vincent, he loved me. The gunman had lied. He never had loved me.

The sky slowly began to grow lighter as I gathered necessary items. Opening my closet again, I dug into the very back. Out of sight, out of mind. On the floor was a little trapdoor. Under the trapdoor was a compartment. And in the compartment was all my Materia. I had managed to hide it from prying eyes, and now I wanted it. If I was leaving, I needed protection. Stuffing it into my bag, I reserved four for my armor slots and Conformer. Said weapon was held in a trunk in the closet. Farewell Empress, we'll miss you! Planet, make way for the return of the Great Ninja Yuffie!

Lifting the lid, I gently removed the weapon. Caressing the points as though it was a precious jewel, I tossed it to my other hand. It still felt perfectly balanced for my hands. The shinobi within me hadn't died.

In the semi-light of predawn, you could have seen the lithe form of a girl climbing from my window. Landing on the ground with cat-like grace, I slipped through shadows toward the border. Reno probably went back to the other Turks, so that's where I would start first.

By the time the sun had risen, I had left the country, following my one last shot at happiness.

The sun had just cracked the horizon when I reached her house. As soon as I entered, I knew I was too late. The presence she always had, that happy air about her, it had left. I had driven her away. Yet another sin I had committed, and one that appeared as though it would never be forgiven.

A maid approached me and questioned me. "What is your business here?"

"The Empress… is she here?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, she left before sunrise."

Nodding, I stood there, my thoughts spinning webs around me, rooting me to the spot. "Do you know where she went?"

She shook her head, bobbed a curtsy, and left, leaving me thinking about Yuffie. I could follow her, and try to apologize. But she wouldn't forgive me. I had treated her so horribly - she would never forgive me.

The faint morning sun caused the world to glow as I exited. A faint breeze blew a few petals from a blooming sakura tree. They swirled and danced in the early light, carefree. Free spirited, just like Yuffie. All of Wutai seemed to remind me of her.

The petals blew over her balcony, and through the open doors. Possessed by a sudden urge, I jumped up.

Her room seemed as it was four years ago when I had last come and left a small token for her. Why had I not waited then? If I had, and told her my feelings, this would never have happened. I had been too afraid, and too unsure. Now I would regret it for the rest of eternity.

Walking by her vanity, I could imagine her sitting there, brushing her dark, beautiful hair, laughter sparkling in her clear gray eyes. Reaching down, I touched the table with my gloved hand. Yuffie. What I wouldn't give for her to be back here right now.

There was a faint crunch under my feet. Looking down, I saw glass covering the carpet, reflecting the morning light in multi-colored splashes. A rose lay amongst the ruin. The sight of it pained me. It was a crystal-clear message of how she felt now.

If ever there were a time I might give into emotion and cry, this would be the closest I got. The anguish within me screamed for release, but years of Turk-training prevailed. Expressionless, I gently picked the rose up and placed it on the nightstand.

That was it, then. She didn't love me anymore. And I had no one but myself to blame for that.

Her closet was open, revealing multi-colored fabrics and kimonos. I remembered the night of the festival, four years ago. I had watched her all night. The creamy white of the kimono, coupled with her flowing gold obi had made her look like an angel on earth. The kimono was poking slightly from the closet. The gold thread shimmered in the light as though it was a precious metal.

A small crystalline shine came from the floor in her closet. I recognized it as Cure Materia. I reached for it, and realized it was in a compartment on the closet floor. I stepped back, not wanting to go searching through her closet. My mind, however, had ground back into motion. She had pulled out her Materia again? Why?

I accidentally kicked an old weathered trunk open. Swirling dust-clouds rose from the faded purple velvet. They sparkled in the sun like sequins. An impression had been left in it by what it had been holding for many years. I stooped. Nine years, to be exact. There was no mistaking the shape of the Conformer.

She had taken her Materia and her Conformer?

Of course. She was going after Reno. That was the only possible explanation. I had one shot at her. If I could get her to forgive me … I would have atoned for one of my sins.

Reno would have returned to ShinRa. I now knew where she was going. Leaping from the balcony, I began to search for her track. Faint at best, if I was lucky. She was a ninja, and very capable of covering her way. Apparently she hadn't tried very hard. I picked up her trail easily.

After an hour of tracking, I stopped. Cold fire flowed through me. Dropping to my knees, I began the transformation to Galian Beast. Claws grew from my hands, my teeth elongated, and my body took on the beast's characteristics. A roar rose to the sky. Only in this form did I stand a chance of catching up. I had forgotten how much faster I could travel like this. The ground flew by as the miles and hours passed.

Her scent grew stronger as I got nearer. As the sun was setting, my heightened vision spotted a camp. Stopping, I reversed the transformation and painfully returned to my true form. My breath came fast and my heartbeat had quickened. Approaching the camp, I became aware it was really Yuffie. Adrenaline rushed through me for the second time in two days.

I stood just outside the ring of firelight, watching her quick movements, getting food, and making up a bed. Everything she did was beautiful. I remained where I was, simply watching her, the way her hair fell across her eyes as she bent low over something, the way her body moved when she stretched and lay back on her bed, and the way her eyes seemed so pure and clear in the gathering twilight.

How on earth could I do this? I couldn't just walk up to talk to her as though nothing had happened.

Sitting up, she began to busy herself around the fire. I began to try to gather the nerve to approach her. Fearless as I normally was, I was almost too afraid to walk into a circle of firelight.

"What are you doing here?"

To my credit, I did not start with surprise. I hadn't realized she had known I was there. I was nearly invisible from the camp, and I had been completely quiet. Her ninja senses were no worse for wear after nine years.

"I came to talk to you. Or rather –"

She spun to face me, her face hard and angry. Steely gray eyes flashed dangerously as she snapped, "There's nothing further to discuss, Valentine! You made your feelings quite clear last night. I don't think we need to rehash THEM!"

Recoiling slightly, I lowered my eyes to the ground. "I came so you could talk, Yuffie."

She seemed to pause momentarily, and then her resolve flooded back. "We don't have anything to talk about, Valentine."

"Yuffie, we shall not be talking. I tried talking, and I ruined everything. You shall talk. You deserve a chance to explain yourself." As I finished, hopelessness spread through me. She hated me. If I managed to get her to talk to me, it would be a miracle.

Folding her arms, and not looking at me, she gave a resigned sigh. "Fine, but you have promise to leave afterward."

With a sad look at the woman, I nodded. "As you wish. After our conversation, I shall leave you."

Approaching the fire, I leaned against a tree. "Begin." I prompted.

"Well. That note wasn't a lie, Valentine. I did love you." There was something about the way she said "did" that proved again to me the extent of the changes to her feelings. "Nine years is a long time to make someone wait. When Reno first came into my life, I didn't want anything to do with him. I was waiting for you. But after seven years, I realized you weren't coming. So I pushed my feelings for you away." Her voice was rapidly losing the icy edge to it, and adopting a remorseful tone. "We had our first date, and my first kiss. That was when I realized there might be something there. And last night he confirmed it to me."

It was nearly impossible to listen to this. I had no idea how much I had hurt her by waiting so long. I had been trying to work up the courage to come to her, and all that time her heart had been aching more and more, until she finally gave up.

I stepped forward, grabbed her arms and spun her to face me. Leaning forward, I pressed my lips hard against hers. The love I had been hiding and denying for nine years showed. She stiffened, but did not pull away. I stepped back, watching her. Her eyes met mine, and she reached up and caressed my lips with a soft, gentle kiss. Moving forward, she pressed herself against me. I could feel every tremor of her trembling body as though we were one person; her heart raced rapidly against mine. The caress turned to a passionate kiss, our lips sealed together. For an immeasurable time we stood, locked in our lover's embrace. Suddenly breaking apart, she turned away, folding her arms across her body.

"I wish I could take all those years I wasted and give them to you, Yuffie." My voice was a horse whisper, trembling with the pain I felt from separation from her. "But I cannot. I have nothing but my love to give to you, as unworthy a gift as possible. I shall not ask for another chance, for I do not deserve one. This sin will haunt me for eternity. I only beg one thing. I beg forgiveness, however much I do not warrant or justify such an act of kindness."

She stared hard into the fire. Silence spiraled between us. I lowered my head, accepting defeat. "I understand." Turning away, I walked to the edge of the firelight. "Farewell, my love." I whispered, before leaving.

Reaching up, I touched my lips with my fingers. I had just kissed Vincent Valentine, and had thoroughly enjoyed it. Sitting down, I realized my rapid heart rate. I had feelings for him. After nine years, I had managed to convince myself of the opposite, but it had not changed. I may have pushed them away, but they had never ceased to exist.

Minutes passed as I watched the flames. They twisted, jumped and quieted. My thoughts mimicked them. As they leapt and died, a single idea formed from the embers.

Vincent.

Leaping to my feet, I kicked the fire out. Grabbing my stuff I jammed it together and shoved it into my pack. I began to run after the gunman.

He could be halfway to Nibelheim by now! I knew he had to be headed there. He had given up on life, and wanted peace. I needed to catch him.

I found him sitting on a craggy outcropping not more than three miles away. He was staring off at nothing.

"Vincent?" I queried nervously.

Standing, he turned to face me. His face was impassive and expressionless, but his eyes looked hurt and sad. "Miss Kisaragi."

I sighed and hung my head. "Please Vincent, I'm not 'Miss Kisaragi', I'm just Yuffie."

"Very well, Yuffie. How may I help you?"

Clasping my hands before me, I nervously kicked a pebble. "Um… how do I say this…?"

What could I say? "I forgive you" was just so … childish? Imagine a three year old saying, "Its owkay, I fowrgive yowu" and you'll see what I mean. "It's okay" seemed almost flippant. "Forget it" wasn't right either. So what could I do?

"I'm sorry."

Hey, it was something.

"Why are you apologizing? Don't you see, Yuffie, I'm the one who should apologize."

"But you don't have to! You didn't do anything wrong. You – I…" Trailing off, I shrugged in exasperation. I was okay with him. I just had to show him. Stepping forward I pulled the cowl of his cape down. With a quiet laugh, I kissed him. "I love you. You don't have to apologize."

Looking utterly shocked, Vincent gave a small smile. "You mean that. Impossibly, you mean that."

"Yeah." I said, laughing. Standing on tiptoe, I planted a kiss on his cheek. "I love you, and I mean it."

The moon shone above us, and the stars sparkled in the sky. We stood together, hands interlacing. A cool breath of air blew across the planes, spinning around us. Facing east, we watched the new moon rise on our new life together.

"Yuffie?"

"Yes Vincent?" I looked up at him. "What is it?"

"I will never leave you. I swear it."

"Neither will I. I'll be yours now and forever."

"Until eternity."

A falling star lit up the sky, sealing our vow.

We will be together infinitely. I have finally found my one love in this world. And he's found his. I guess stories can have happy endings.


THE END

3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

-confetti-

YAY FOR ME! My first story that I've ever finished! I need to actually post my stories to get them finished, otherwise I can't motivate myself.

Thank you so much, everyone! Thank you for all the faithful reviewers.

To everyone who wanted this to be Reffie : I'm really sorry, and I hope I haven't made any of you angry, but the more I thought about it, the less I wanted it to be Reffie. I just felt ridiculously bad for Vincent. Plus, majority wins, and the majority wanted Yuffietine. I did find out I am a pretty good Reffie writer, though, so a Reffie out of me at another time is not out of the question. Sorry! I hope you can still enjoy the story.

My special thanks go out to my sister (.skia.ex.to.astron.) for proofreading, and to my friends Tyra/Nekkyo (ShadowKusai) and Whisper (xLockedxHeartx) for all their support and suggestions! I couldn't have finished this without you guys.

Now I'll shut up, because I'm starting to sound like I just received an Oscar or something. So, go and review! Flame me for making a crappy ending - compliment me on my 'attempt' at real kiss description. Whatever. Tell me your favorite color. JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT:D