Am being threatened by my best friend to right this... Pray she doesn't kill me...

Softening of Stone

"How do you know? Are you sure Hojo has returned?" Cloud asked as calm as he could be. He was pacing the room even though he was exhausted. Vincent had woke him to tell the news. He remembered the experiments done to him with anguish.

"Y...Yes." Yuffie's voice croaked. She was sitting on Vincents lap curled up against his chest. He held on to her as if she were the only antidote to a poison that had been administered to him. And in a way, she was. She had cured the poison that kept his face emotionless and his heart mourning.

"How do you know?" Cloud repeated. He stopped pacing the room and sat besides Tifa who was worrying over her friend.

Vincent shifted Yuffie slightly and looked down at her. "Do you want me to tell them?" He asked her in a soft voice. Yuffie squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and took a wavering breath andbegan. "When I found her. She was in a cage." At this Tifa gasped. "There was a lab hidden underground in which she was in the back room. I thought I had killed the man that held her captive, but he was only a lackey. Yuffie explained to me that it was Hojo that..." He took a deep breath, looking down at Yuffie, who appeared to be asleep.

"That what?" Tifa asked quietly, her eyes leaking tears.

"He experimented on her. As what had happened to me... A demon now dwells within her as I have one in me." He finished and waited for their reaction. They were silent. "She told me that her demon wasn't trying to overtake her. And the only apparent side effect was her eyes. They are no longer her purple-gray."

"I had noticed eyes but... I didn't want to say anything..." Cloud said in a low voice.

"That's probably a good thing. I don't know how she's taking this." At the sound of Vincent voice, Yuffie stirred slightly."It's late..."

"I'm... I'm going to bed." Cloud said. He sounded agitated. Tifa got up and paused at the doorframe before following. She glanced back at the slim ninja on the gunslingers lap.

"You realize you the one closest to her heart now... And her herself." The martial artist was out the door before Vincent could react.

He didn't dwell on it and a moment later he stood, Yuffie's fragile body in his arms. He carried her carefully up to her room.

He bent and placed her sleeping form on the bed. He attempted to stand but, in her sleep, Yuffie clung to him. He lifted her up and walked back into the living room. He sat down on the couch and fell asleep.

X~x~X~x~X~x~X

Yuffie ran as fast as she could through the dark. In head of her, a pale light glowed. In the back of her mind she knew she was dreaming, but she didn't care. She wanted to get to the light as quick as possible.

She continued to run and was nearly breathless by the time she got to it. In the center of the light stood a beautiful... creature? Its skin was furry and pale purple. Long, raven black hair flowed down it's back to it's knees. A small white horn rose from above each temple. Its face seemed half human half feline. Dark violet vine-like designs creeped over its skin. It wore a white dress that cascaded down past it's knees.

"Destruction?" Yuffie asked.

The beast nodded. "This is what you will look like when you change into me." Destruction informed the ninja.

Yuffie smiled. "Cool!"

"Be careful if you ever do change. I am a demon that bases off emotions. Originally, I would have no emotion, but being concealed within your body, I now have faint emotions that are getting more apparent. They are all based off of your emotions." Destruction explained. "An example would be now. You are feeling, wether you know it or not, love. Vincent is still holding you in his arms."

Yuffie's eyes widened and she blushed. "He is?"

"Yes."

"Whoa. I didn't expect him to. I thought he'd put me back in my bed..."

Destructions feline-like face had a very small smile on it.

"Be careful with your emotions." Destruction said before Yuffie felt as if she was being pulled backwards. Her feet began to slip and the black enveloped her as her dreams dissapeared.

Sorry if its a bad chapter. Took a while to write. Edited alot. R&R