Chapter 13: On the Road Again
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or Vinnie-kun. But he owns yew. 0
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Yuffie dropped the piece of paper and watched it flutter to the floor. She cursed Ashton Talbot in her head over and over again. I…have to find Talbot and settle the score. She blindly shoved bandages and other items for road travel into her backpack. The ninja put on some clothes suitable for road travel, but where dark enough to wear to sneak out of her room. She found a black tank top, dark khaki short-shorts, a thin black sweater, a black head band and grey shoes. She would have been really hyped up about leaving at night like a true ninja but tonight was different; tonight Yuffie was leaving to kill the man that had murdered her father. One word repeated itself in her mind: revenge.
She crouched on her windowsill with Conformer in hand. Suddenly without her bidding, Vincent came into her mind. She remembered his words: you have me. They replayed themselves in her mind, almost blocking out thoughts of revenge. Should I ask Vinnie to come with me? No! If Vinnie comes, then Ashton might get his hands on the Chaos cells, and I can't let that happen. Now…which way is to Gongaga? Oh yeah, east! She leaned forward and pushed from the edge of the window with her heels and leaped onto a nearby housetop.
While leaping from roof to roof, Yuffie began to think: the Airship will arrive in Wutai tomorrow at noon. I wonder…if Vinnie will come after me. I mean, he knows that I'm heading to Gongaga to search for that Talbot guy, because he's not stupid. No, he's anything but dumb. He's even smarter than all the guys in AVALANCHE put together!
Yuffie jumped onto the wall of Wutai. I can't believe this! The Great Ninja Yuffie on her way to avenge her dad and Wutai can only think about a guy! Bad Yuffie, stop thinking about Vinnie!
The young female hurdled off of the wall and landed softly on her feet. Nyuk, Nyuk. Now all I have to do is find that boat! The last time I used it was escaping from Wutai before I found Cloud and the gang. I wonder what condition it is in…
Yuffie turned around a cove and found a weathered boat that was still in fairly good shape. She gently pushed it out onto the water and got in, picking up a pair of oars inside and rowing with them.
"Well, for now, it's just you and me again, old boat!"
While she rowed, the forged up a plan about how to get to Gongaga. "Let's see…I guess I'm going to have to stop off somewhere to eat and pilfer some supplies…. Ha-ha! Nibelhiem! But Reno and Rude are there…oh well. With my elite ninja skills, I can sneak past those two dumb butts!" She rowed a tad faster, confident in her plan.
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Vincent woke up in the morning with a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. I'm not hungry or ill…Yuffie! He jumped off of the futon and dressed hurriedly. Please…let everything be okay…
When he reached Yuffie's room, he decided to knock first. He did so, but there was no answer. He knocked again. "Yuffie, are you okay?" He opened the door, which surprisingly was not locked. He stepped inside the room. It was vacant. He looked around to see if anything was…not right. At first glance, the only things amiss would be that the bed was unmade and that there were clothes on the floor near the closet. This was to be expected in the room of Yuffie Kisaragi, but Vincent knew: she had packed and left, but why?
A shiny metal object on the bed caught his eye. He picked it up and examined it. A bullet with dried blood on it… The image of Lord Godo Kisaragi with the dressed wound on the side of his head flashed in his mind. This was the bullet that killed him. His gaze shifted to a piece of paper on the floor. He picked it up off of the floor and read it. He shook his head. "This is too cruel. She must have left to Gongaga in search of Talbot." He folded it and put it in his pocket under his cloak along with the bullet.
He looked at the clock on Yuffie's nightstand. It read 6:41 am.
Call Cloud.
Demon, my PHS is still broken from our previous venture.
Do you know where she is, host?
Possibly Gongaga, Chaos.
Not yet. Right now, the girl is near Nibelhiem.
She stopped off for supplies I guess, but why Nibelhiem?
She knows no one there. She does not want you involved.
Yuffie…she doesn't want him to have the Chaos cells.
Yes, she fears for your safety above all else. She wants to kill Talbot for her father's sake and for your own.
Vincent's hand gripped the Death Penalty. "Talbot…you have really done it this time."
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Yuffie tied up the boat onto a tree by the shore. Nibelhiem is just over that hill. She began to walk and then held her stomach. "Oh man oh man; I've got to get something to eat quickly. The sooner I get to Nibelhiem the sooner I can stuff my face!"
She loosened the grip on her stomach and bore with it as she moved towards the town in the distance. "I wonder what I'm going to do when I find Talbot. Yell at him? Call him every name in the book?" She shook her head.
"If Vinnie were here, he'd know what to do."
She giggled.
"He'd probably ask me if I were tired in his calm, soft voice. He would keep looking around for monsters while I talked his ear off. Or- oh!"
Yuffie stopped as she felt a tear roll down her face. Wow…I didn't even realize I was crying. She choked out a laugh. "If Vinnie were here…he would use his human hand to wipe my tears away."
She stopped talking when she saw smoke rising in the distance. "Oh, Leviathan!" She ran down the hill into the town. People were running around everywhere holding buckets of water and splashing them on a building she would have recognized instantly if it wasn't so charred and warped. "Ohmigawd, is that the Shin-Ra Mansion?"
Yuffie smiled. "This is the perfect timing to 'acquire' some supplies!" She looked around. No one had even noticed her presence. Yuffie peered inside the Item's Shop. Hehe, no one is home. She opened the door and snuck inside. The Hi-Potions, Ethers, and Tents were all unguarded. She stuffed at least fifty of each into her inventory and prepared to sneak back outside.
Her hand was almost on the doorknob when if flung open. She stood face to face with someone she had hoped she could sneak past. But there he was, right in front of her.
"Reno!"
Author's Note: You know, I'm not really superstitious or anything, but I kinda flipped when I realized that this was the thirteenth chapter and I finished it on the thirteenth of June. I was thinking the entire time: what if it sucks and gets no reviews or something? So, to be full proof, I read it over and over and over and over….and well…you get the picture, right? So excuse my senseless ramblings and review like mad!