Hey, thanks for all your reviews. I was pretty happy to see how many I had gotten. Sorry I haven't been able to write until now, but school is the bane of my existence and it takes up a lot of my time. By the way, in the underground part of the mansion…I went by Dirge of Cerberus to make it fit, but I twisted it a bit…

As I said before, and will say again, the idea was mine. Well please read, enjoy, and review!!!

-Persistence of Love-

Chapter Two-The Lost Ninja

Vincent groaned.

He was facing the window, trying to ignoring Yuffie's constant chatter, though that was proving impossible. She couldn't be quiet for a minute, even if her life depended on it. She would probably kill ANY opponent with her annoying and un-needed babble.

"…Yuffie." Said Vincent suddenly, not even looking at her.

"Yeah, Vincent?" piped up Yuffie, her eyes lighting up. She had finally gotten him to say something.

"Shut up."

Yuffie face-faulted. That wasn't what she had hoped he would say. Not at all…

"Aw, c'mon Vincent, that wasn't very nice."

"…I don't do nice."

Yuffie made another face. He was stubborn. She'd give him that. "Fine. Be a ball of mope for all I care." Yuffie huffed, jumping to her feet.

Vincent snorted, but gave her no comprehensible answer. Suddenly, he felt a tugging on his cloak.

"…Yuffie, what are you doing now?" asked Vincent. He felt like he was addressing a child who was misbehaving.

All he got for an answer was another tug on his cloak. He looked around, turning to face Yuffie, who had a fistful of the red material in her hand. She immediately dropped it, smiling sheepishly.

"You really need to get that sewed up, Vin." said Yuffie, looking at his cloak with a cocked brow. "You look like a hobo with all those tears and holes. Couldn't even carry materia."

"Yuffie..."

"What?"

Vincent stared at her and then turned back to the window, trying to ignore her, and when he did that this only increased her resolve to get some words from him. Though he was debating on whether those words should be curses…

"Vincent."

Silence.

"Vincent?"

More silence.

"VINNIE!!!"

This time, she yelled in his ear, catching him off guard, and making him jump. Annoying little ninja…

"…what now?" asked Vincent, his voice flat and controlled. Exactly the opposite of what he was feeling within. In reality, he wanted to strangle her.

Yuffie looked at him a little sadly, walking over and looking deep into his red eyes. She was so worried about him. He was so distant and all she wanted to do was talk with him.

"Y' know Vincent…all I want to do is talk to you. And…well, I'm hungry."

He avoided commenting on her first statement. "…there's no food in this house."

"What?! No food?" Yuffie's face blanched in horror.

The gunman had a feeling that Gaia was testing him by locking him in a house with the ninja like this.

"None." He replied, turning towards her. "The storm shouldn't last too long. You'll live."

Yuffie didn't seem to believe him.

"Then lets do something to pass the time!" suggested Yuffie suddenly. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"No."

"Aw, c'mon," said Yuffie, "there has to be something. Like about your parents, the past, what you're interested in…?"

Vincent had gotten up and moved away at this point. Yuffie was so loud. He wasn't sure if he could stand much more of her babbling.

"F-FINE!" yelled Yuffie after him. "GO BE BROODY FOR ALL I CARE! IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME Y-YOU STUPID MOPEY VAMPIRE!" And with that, Yuffie jumped off the couch and ran into the next room, watching his retreating back down a hallway. Fuming, Yuffie ran up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. And that's where she saw a doorway.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she headed over the doorway to find some rickety stairs that spiraled downward and into the darkness. What a strange place this was. It was just like Vincent; full of darkness and mystery. She snorted. That was a corny thought.

So what else could she do? Go down the damn steps of course! And with that she began the dissent downward.

The stairs creaked slightly as she made her way down them, and they made her a little nervous and afraid. It felt like they might fall out from under her. Managing to make it to the bottom, she found herself in a strange cave like area. Weird…she never expected something like this in a mansion.

Walking down the strange passage, she took a bunch of turns, not really paying attention to where she was going. Yuffie was so mad at Vincent that she didn't really think. That is, until she realized something very crucial. Yuffie, the White Rose of Wutai…was lost. Panicking, she ran around, trying to find her way back but ending up in a different place every time.

I hope Vincent comes looking for me soon, thought Yuffie desperately, though she was still mad at him.

Right now, she wouldn't mind seeing his tall lithe figure come striding into view. And she knew exactly what he would do. He'd give her a look of quiet annoyance, before motioning for her to follow him back with his usual grace. Yuffie really wished she had never even come down here. All it did was get her lost…and she was even hungrier than before. She frowned at that thought. Great…the reminder of her hunger only heightened the feeling.

Vincent! You had better find me soon!

A growl rippled through her ears suddenly, making her eyes widen. She turned and met a pair of glowing red eyes, both looking at her with an intent that she didn't really favor. Even in the darkness she could see its giant canines, dripping with saliva. Mottled fur was bristling with anticipation, and giant claws gleamed in the darkness. And it looked hungry…very hungry. And it was looking directly at her.

Oh well fuck…

Yuffie let out a high pitched scream and took off at a run, the beast letting out an ear splitting roar, charging after her with intense speed. Whimpering with fright, the ninja tried to throw her ninja star start at it, but she was so scared that she missed, though it was a narrow one at that. Having no time to go and retrieve her lost weapon, she kept running, a scream escaping again as she ran.

Meanwhile for Vincent…

Vincent had been walking quietly down the hall, about to go and apologize to Yuffie, when he heard a scream that made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. Yuffie…

Cursing, the crimson gunman followed the sound, drawing the Cerberus quickly, running toward the door and completely disregarding the stairs, jumping all the way down and landing in a crouch before taking off at a sprint.

Another scream reached his ears, and the roar of a monster followed. Damnit…Yuffie always had to get herself into a stupid pinch like this. And he, Vincent, had to bail her out. Cocking the Cerberus, he kept moving, measuring his breathing so that he wouldn't be too tired when he arrived on the scene.

Red cape billowing behind him, he skidded to a halt, sighting the creature quickly enough, as it had Yuffie pinned to ground as she vainly attempted to push it off of her. Vincent pulled the trigger without hesitation, sending three deadly bullets of lead its way. It turned, snarled, and then shot out of the way in a flash, barreling toward him, ready to tear him limb from limb.

Cocking the gun, Vincent prepared for a fight.