A/N: I finally updated. Huzzah! Sorry for the wait, my computer kind of died and I had to perform CPR. Also I moved into a new apartment...so without further ado...there's the next chapter of Lost Girl
P.S. I don't have a beta, so if you find any boo boos I might have missed, please tell me. 3
Yuffie was lost to the dark abyss of a dreamless sleep. A damp, clammy cold pervaded through the thin layers of cotton that clad the young ninja. She shivered as she reached for a blanket only to feel tattered cloth. Opening her eyes Yuffie found herself surrounded by darkness. Her breath caught in her throat as brown orbs adjusted to the dark and saw the unfamilar shapes that littered the room. A room she did not recognize.
"Tifa?" She fumbled to find the lamp only to find herself not on a bed, but on a futon.
"Where am I?"
Yuffie carefully stood up, feeling her way through the room as a sense of dread filled her. "How did I get here? Was I sleepwalking?"
The air felt heavy in the small room and smelled stale, faint musty. She shuddered as she crawled off the rotting futon, wishing for a flashlight or her shuriken. She gingerly made her way forward, only to bump into a low table. Uttering a string of curses that would have made Cid blush, Yuffie kicked the offending table across the floor. She tried to slow her breathing and her racing heart as she fumbled towards the doorway. The floor was softer than it should be, it felt strange yet familiar.
Yuffie's eyes had adjusted to the murky gloom. It was easier to make out the shapes of the room. Except for the discarded furniture laying about the design of the room reminded her of the rooms in Wutai. Even the floor was made, not from wood, but tatami. The young ninja's brows knotted together in confusion. There where no Wutai style rooms at the Seventh Heaven or in Edge as far as Yuffie knew. A low anguished wail suddenly sounded from outside the room, causing a chill to run down her spine. The ninja slid open the door and hurried into the darkened hallway to find whoever was in so much pain.
"Hello? Is anybody out here?"
The end of the hall was swallowed by darkness making it impossible find the source of the noise.
"H-hello?" Yuffie shuddered as the sticky breeze kissed her clammy skin. The hallway seemed narrow and the floor sagged, causing the Yuffie to feel claustrophobic. Using her hands to feel her way along the tattered wall, she stumbled as she found an open room, with only one futon laying forlornly in the center of the room. The air was less stale as a cold wind blew in through a broken window. Through the window Yuffie could make out a small mist covered courtyard with a pond beneath the room. It seemed she was on the second floor of a house. Maybe if she were able to find her way outside into the misty night, she might be able to find someone to help her, since it seemed this house was abandoned. Through the fog, she could barely make out the outlines of other houses. The ninja felt the stirrings of panic deep in her stomach, everything about this place was unsettling. She had no idea how she got here, yet she knew she shouldn't be here. Yuffie saw movement out of the corner of her well trained eye. "Hello?"
She moved around the room, feeling her way around, yet found no one. Nothing was heard, except her own foot steps and heavy breathing. Shivering the young ninja found herself wishing for her shuriken as she slowly made her way back out of the room and down the hall.
"Ah!" Yuffie cried out in surprise as her foot made contact with something metallic, cylindrical. She bent down to retrieve the object. "A flashlight?"
With a flick of the switch, a weak beam of sickly yellow light cut through the gloom. Yuffie saw she was at the end of the hallway with a rickety set of stairs leading down into more darkness. She swung the light back down the hall looking at the stained walls before bringing the small patch of light back to the stairs. Yuffie saw no point in staying upstairs as she tested the first step to make sure it would hold her weight before cautiously making her way down. The narrow stairway lead to the main room. Yuffie cast the yellow beam around, taking in her surroundings.
Once beautiful fusuma partitions, grandly painted with legends of Wutai's past barely clung to there frame. The stories they told forever silenced as the paper peeled and the painted cracked. A few ornate cabinets lined the walls, most missing the shelving or doors. More moldy futons littered the floor. A shrine to Leviathan dominated a table set against the far wall. The Ninja carefully made her way towards the shrine, hoping in vain for something to help her get out, maybe some kind of Materia. The statue of the great protector was broken, many small cracks crisscrossed the beast and it seemed parts were even missing. Reaching out a hand Yuffie brushed her cold fingertips against the stone scales, only to quickly draw back as if burned. The statue was moist, warm. The young ninja let out a groan of despair. She'd had enough of this strange place as she flung her only light source with all her might. Her normally cheery voice was laced with anger and desperation.
"What is going on? Where am I? Hello? Is anybody there? I heard you! Where are you?"
Yuffie lost her balance as she kicked at splintered cabinet causing her to fall into a heap on the decaying tatami. Howling, she pounded her fist in frustration on the moldy flooring as she fought the urge to cry. Running a hand through her hair Yuffie refused to give in to her fears. She'd survived through far worse than waking up in an odd house: Sephiroth, the end of the world, the Remnants. Yuffie decided to ignore the fact that she was with her friends for all of those events. Taking a few deep breaths she tried to center herself as she cast her eyes around the darkness, regretting the loss of her flashlight. She picked herself up off the floor, brushing off a liberal amount of dust before she began to hunt for her light. Scattered vases, picture frames and glass littered her path as she gingerly picked through the trash. The ninja let out an excited yelp as she found her literal ray of sunshine. She hugged the metal casing for a moment, but her relief was short lived.
Yuffie's breath caught in the back of her throat as she felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck. The ninja could feel someone in the room, watching. Slowly she stood, straining her brown eyes as she scanned the invading gloom. Sweeping the spotty blade of light around she made out a hint of white by a pillar. The deep weight of foreboding settled in the pit of her stomach as she realized it was a person in a robe standing by the pillar.
Yuffie took a deep breath. "Can you help me….I…I think I'm lost…"
The figure stood still for a moment as the temperature dropped further. In spite of her training, Yuffie had the urge to flee, to turn around and flee without looking back. The figure raised its head, its face obscured by long veils of black hair. Suddenly it rushed towards the young girl without moving its legs as if pulled by an invisible string. Yuffie screamed as she threw her hands up to block even though she shut her eyes, unable to look at the terrible figure. The cold, clamminess that pervaded the entire house seemed to press into her, squeezing her in an icy embrace as she heard a horrified scream and realized it was her own. The blackness pulled her down, the spiraling sensation made her dizzy as the cold turned into intense heat and a brilliant light flooded her vision.
"Yuffie! Wake up!"
Brown eyes opened as Yuffie jerked awake trying to fend off the stranger, trying to banish the darkness. Yet there was no darkness, no one trying to attack her. She was in the Seventh Heaven still, she was safe.
Yuffie gasped for breath as she struggled to make her sluggish body move. She'd never had this much trouble waking up. A wave of nausea hit her sending her scurrying for the bathroom, where she emptied her stomach.
"Are you alright?"
Yuffie gasped softly, raising her head from the toilet bowl. She nodded mutely as she looked at Marlene. The little girl was rubbing her forehead where a small bruise was forming. "You don't look alright, were you having a nightmare?"
Yuffie stared at Marlene as she let her head rest on the toilet seat, trying to comprehend what was happening as she heard someone hurrying up the stairs. "Did I hit you? I'm sorry."
"What happened?" Yuffie struggled to keep her eyes open as she heard Tifa's voice. From her position all she could see was part of Marlene and Tifa's bare feet.
"I think Yuffie had a bad dream. I heard her mumbling and went to check on her. She seemed really scared when she woke up, and accidentally smacked me."
Yuffie heard the other woman fussing over Marlene before she felt a cool hand touch her forehead. She wanted to pull away, insist that she was fine, but she could barely keep her eyes open.
"Yuffie, you're burning up. I think you're coming down with something."
The soft rush of water was heard as Tifa moistened a washcloth before wiping up the bit of sick that clung to the corners of Yuffie's check.
"You need to get back to bed."
"I'm fine…"Yuffie whispered as Tifa helped her up, half carrying her back to her room.
"I'm not ….sleepy...I don't want…to…go back to sleep…" Yuffie badly wanted to add that she was afraid of waking up again, alone in the dark house, but she had already fallen back asleep.