Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix and Disney.

A/N: This chapter is kind of short, but I have a barbeque I need to get ready for. Please review and tell me what you think!

Warnings this chapter: Nightmarish images, slight violence.

Chapter Three

When Yuffie opened her eyes again she was surrounded by darkness. She felt like she was falling, but no wind blew past and there were no noises whatsoever. The air around her felt cold, making her shiver as she tried to brush hair out of her face. With a silent yelp she felt water rush up around her. It was freezing cold and she could have sworn she felt chunks of ice brush against her bare skin.

As she sank in the cold, murky water she began to panic. She was running out of air fast and her head began to pound. She kicked violently, trying to swim back to the surface, but to no avail.

In horror, she felt a white-hot claw reach up from below her, wrapping itself around her ankle and searing the tender flesh. She opened her mouth to scream, but water rushed in, filling her lungs. She choked on the rush of water and writhed in pain. Adrenaline from her violent panic wracked her body and she struggled to free herself and swim to the surface. It finally became too much for her as she continued to be dragged under, and her vision faded as she blacked out.

xxxxxxx

She felt a hand stroking her forehead and turned to face it. She saw an image of Riku in her mind, smiling down at her again, but as she opened her eyes the soft image faded to be replaced by Leon's harsher features.

"Yuffie.." He sounded sad and she wondered why. It had been so long since he had acted like this in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I've been really unfair to you lately.. I put your life in danger yesterday, it was stupid and I just wanted to say.." He hesitated when her eyes slid closed. Leaning down he placed a soft kiss to her forehead and jumped up off the bed. "I'm sorry." He left the room as quickly as he could without looking rushed.

Yuffie's brow furrowed in confusion. Had that seriously just happened? She blushed. Rushing out of bed the took a quick shower in Aerith's bathroom and brushed her hair. She threw on her white shorts, purple tube top, knee high black socks and grey boots and was out the door.

She had been thinking about Riku all morning and she needed to talk to him. She was running as fast as she could through town, she felt like she would die if she didn't get there soon. Her muscles still ached from their abuse, but she couldn't care less. Turning a corner rather sharply she rammed head on into someone, sending them both tumbling backward head over tail. The next thing she knew she was staring straight down at Riku's black shirt and yellow vest, perched right on top of his chest.

"You're kind of clumsy for a ninja." he observed, staring up at her from the flat of his back.

"Oh god, I am so sorry!" She blushed furiously and scrambled off of him.

"So, uh, where were you headed?" She tried to change the subject.

"I was just going to see how you were doing, but I guess you're feeling much better." He pushed himself back onto his feet and brushed some dust from his clothes. "Plus I was going to talk to Leon about those punks down in the Dark Depths. Anyway, where were you going in such a reckless hurry?" He gave her an odd look that she couldn't quite interpret, but she tried to ignore it.

"No where, just out for my morning jog!" She smiled, fighting a blush and praying that he would buy it and drop the subject. He gave her a suspicious look, but started walking back toward Aerith's house. 'Chicken' Yuffie thought to herself, pouting slightly and watching him walk away.

He stopped several meters ahead when he realized she wasn't following him. "You coming?" He asked.

She looked up into his eyes and felt her blood run cold. A shiver raced up her back and she felt the blood rush out of her face. Not believing what she saw she blinked. No, just Riku. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Riku asked, staring back at her.

She forced a smile, "Yea, I'll see you later!" She turned and ran the opposite direction before he could stop her.

xxxxxxx

Yuffie sat in the window of the Bailey, watching the Great Maw change colors as the sun set. Sighing heavily she leaned back on her hands, feet swinging out into open air. Life was so complicated and everyone was acting so strange.

She really missed the good old days when they lived in Traverse Town and all she did all day was hang out around town and train in the third district. It seemed like life was slowing down, if it hadn't stopped in its tracks already. This whole deal with Riku and Leon was really starting to take a toll on her. A couple of years earlier she had a pretty bad crush on Leon, when he had been taking care of her and keeping her safe from the Heartless. He had never returned any kind of affection, though, so she swore she was never going to mess with love again.

But Riku was much different. She blushed at the very thought of him.

When she first met him she couldn't understand why Sora had been so desperate to find him. He didn't seem too special to her, just another cold, distant prick. But he must have just been shy or something, because he had certainly warmed up to her now.

She laughed out loud. What was she thinking? Riku didn't have a crush on her! What a dumb idea. He just had a serious sense of duty. He was probably gay. She always thought that Leon was gay since he ignored her so well, but then he had taken a friend of hers on a date. She wouldn't talk to him for a week. Besides, she wasn't pretty enough to get Riku's attention. She had seen hordes of beautiful girls swarm over him and he never even seemed to give any of them a second glance.

"Hey, Yuffs, what's wrong?" The strong voice behind her nearly sent her toppling out the window in surprise.

"God, Tifa! Don't sneak up on people, it's rude!" Yuffie held a hand over her chest as she panted and tried to calm down. Tifa just laughed.

"But you're supposed to be a great ninja, you should have known I was there." Why was everyone picking on her ninja skills? Plenty of ninjas out there were just as jumpy as her, if not worse! She thought about that for a few moments then just scowled at the older woman.

"So what's up?" Tifa asked, swinging her legs out the window and sitting down next to Yuffie. The young ninja put on a smile.

"Nothin'! Just watching the sunset." She didn't really know why she tried, Tifa always seemed to know everything about her.

"Oh, come on. You don't sit up here unless you're really thinking about something. Was it that nightmare thing again?" She leaned over as if some one was listening in on them.

Yuffie's eyes widened at the mention of her distasteful dreams, but shook her head. "No, it's not that…" 'For once', she added silently.

"Oooh, I get it now. It's about a boy!" She crooned obnoxiously, then relaxed and leaned back, watching Yuffie like a big sister.

Yuffie turned bright red and refused to look at her. "The Great Ninja Yuffie does not date!" She threw her head in the air and crossed her arms.

"Yet!" Tifa added enthusiastically. "So let me guess, no, not Leon, he's not your type. Way too serious, that man wouldn't know fun if it bit him in the ass. It's not Sora, he's got a girlfriend."

"And he's way younger than me!" Yuffie scoffed at the idea of dating him, he was like a little kid!

"Riku's younger than you." Tifa said pointedly.

"What! I don't have a crush on Riku!" She cried, staring accusingly at the other woman. Tifa just rolled her eyes.

"It's so obvious even Leon knows about it!" She laughed.

"You were just pretending not to know, you're horrible!" The ninja yelled, scowling darkly through her blush.

"Does that mean you'll admit it?" Yuffie started to yell at her some more, but realized she was serious and put her face in her hands.

"Aw, Tifa, I've never been on a date in my life!" She shook her head in despair.

"Don't you think you're kind of over-reacting? I think it would be good for you." She got up and turned to leave. "Well, I'd stay, but I have a date with Cloud. Bye!" She waved and smiled before disappearing back into town.

Yuffie watched her go and stared at the entrance to the Bailey for a while. She'd known Tifa for years and she had never given her any bad advice, but she wasn't sure about this. She leaned back on the stone wall and pulled her knees up in front of her. The sun had almost set and it was getting pretty dark outside, but Yuffie hadn't been afraid of the dark since her parents died and left her with Leon. He wouldn't put up with the illogical fears of a little girl, and she had to outgrow them quickly.

'I know something you should be afraid of…' A thin, wispy voice rolled down the back of her neck, making her hair stand on end.

She sat up quickly and looked around her. It was dark in the Bailey, but she could tell that no one was there. However, she stood up.

'I wouldn't look if I were you…' She spun around as the voice whispered right in her ear.

"Who's there!" She tried to keep her voice calm, but it came out panicked anyway.

She realized that all sounds in the Bailey had faded, she couldn't heard the wind whistling along the stone or the constant creak of the castle ruins. Everything sounded dead.

'If you look, you might see something you don't want to…'

She spun around again when a pale figure appeared in the doorway of the Bailey. Her heart stopped and she could feel her blood drain from her face. The figure bent and twisted, standing nearly nine feet tall. A long arm twisted out and reached for her, long claws scraping the wall.

Yuffie screamed and fell backwards, slamming into the wall and sliding to the floor. Tears streamed down her face and she shook her head. She couldn't even hear herself scream, making her raise her voice even louder in terror. She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed until it hurt.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" She shrieked, pressing her back into the wall until it felt like she was crushing herself.

She felt the figure leering over her, and a white-hot claw reached down to her face, leaving a long scratch on her cheek. Blood dripped down onto her shirt and she shrieked and twisted away from it.

Two strong hands gripped her shoulders and shook her violently.

"Yuffie! Snap out of it!"

Her eyes flew open at the familiar voice, but she continue screaming and crying, throwing herself in his arms. He hugged her tightly as her body shook in terror. He patted her back gently and whispered in her ear soothingly.

"Oh god, I was awake.. Riku, I was awake!" She stopped screaming and her lungs ached from the strain.

"It's alright, I'm here now. Whatever it was, it's gone." She leapt to her feet and dragged him up with her.

"Please, let's go! Let's get out of here!" She pulled him roughly toward the doorway, panic rising up in her again when he stalled and tried to slow her down.

"Yuffie, wait!" he called, holding her arm tightly as she tried to drag him out of the Bailey. She didn't respond, so he sighed and followed her.

They practically ran all the way through town until they reached her apartment. She fumbled with the key, her hands still shaking, until Riku took it from her and opened the door. He ushered her inside and closed it behind them. Immediately, Yuffie ran around, throwing things out of her way in her panic to close all the blinds and lock the door. She threw herself in bed and hid under a pile of blankets.

Riku sighed and sat beside her. "Yuffie, we should talk." He patted the lump gently and she shifted to peek out from under it. When he offered her a gentle smile she sat up, but pulled the blankets around her tightly, looking out of them like a hood.

"Okay, now, what the hell was that?" He leaned over so he could look her straight in the eye.

She moved uncomfortably, "Nightmares. I have.. Traumatic nightmares. My doctor called it mild psychosis.. He said it was nothing and gave me some pills."

Riku slapped a hand to his face, "And I'm willing to bet you haven't talked to him about it recently."

Yuffie shook her head sadly. A thump in the house next door made her jump in fear and she practically leapt into Riku's lap.

"Yuffie…" She was making him kind of nervous, he wasn't really sure what to do. "How long has it been like this?" He asked quietly.

Her eyes welled up and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Almost a month. But the nightmares have only been this bad since my last mission." Her head was resting on his chest and he couldn't help but put an arm around her.

"Who else knows?"

"Just Tifa, she was the one that took me to the doctor. I didn't even tell Aerith, so please don't tell anyone!" He thought about it for a minute before he realized she was curled in his lap and hugging him. He petted her hair as her breathing evened out, hoping silently that she wouldn't dream tonight. He tried to move out from under her, but her grip tightened and she whimpered.

"Alright…"

End of Chapter Three