Chapter Five

"When you Love somebody, put them in a circle, never in a heart, for hearts can break but circles go on Forever."

Kicking and Screaming

The world makes you into a bitch, no matter how quietly you go, so you may as well go kicking and screaming.

Every eye in the room grew to the size of a dinner plate, and gasps filled the room. Tifa's hands had flown to her gaping mouth, as tears sprung to her eyes. Cloud looked as though he'd just been punched in the stomach. He was slumped against the couch with a far-away look, half-dazed. But no matter the reaction, no one could peel their eyes from Godo.

Like a firework on a quiet night, loud sob erupted from a distant corner of the room. Bursting from the stairwell, Marlene ran and leaped into her father's lap, arms twining around his neck. Tears poured down her cheeks, and her eyes were red and puffy. Her breaths were jagged and uneven as she cried. "Aunt Yuffie's…?" she managed to choke out, before burying her face in Barret's shoulder.

Godo himself was staring at the floor, eyes unblinking and full of pain. Those three words had taken him all the effort in the world to him; never had he spoken those words out loud before now. But he wouldn't put it any other way in front of these people. The people his daughter had tried so hard to hide from, the people she wouldn't speak to, just to preserve her dignity, because she refused to let them see her weak. She'd wanted these people to see her as strong, and with three words, all that had gone down the drain. Sorrow and admittance were weighting on his soul; but so was guilt. He felt as though he had betrayed his daughter, by relaying the secret she'd tried so hard to hide.

They all looked to him for explanations. He'd tried to prepare for this, but he'd soon found that impossible. Sighing, he lifted his head with great effort; it seemed to be full of lead. Gazing at them with weary eyes, he shifted in his chair to get more comfortable. Taking a sip of tea, he put it down, seeing the impatient eyes in front of him.

"Where to begin…?" he mused. "I suppose at the beginning. The problem is, I'm not sure if our beginning is the real beginning, or the beginning I should be telling you. However, this is where I'll start.

"About a year ago, give or take a little, Yuffie grew ill. She rarely grew sick, so it was a bit worrisome. But we all thought that we'd treat her and she'd grow better. Only…she didn't. She kept growing worse. At first it was just headaches. Then they grew more intense, until she'd start…throwing up. Migraines. Nothing worked, and she only grew worse. She began to get intensely dizzy, until she sat down and stopped everything all day. Color was drained from her face. …and then…then the fever came. A small fever, then it rose, and rose, until she was having some of the highest temperatures the doctor had seen. Temperatures that should have killed her. The headaches still came, just not as often as before. Perhaps they had to make room for all the other ailments.

"But it didn't stop there. Oh no. She started throwing up, and couldn't take food or liquid down. Of course, this resulted in dehydration. Dehydration so horrible she couldn't even stand. Her legs couldn't take her weight, and she'd collapse. Lifting a glass of water was difficult. Her veins had even begun to collapse.

"We got the best doctor there was to tend to her, and he was sworn to secrecy. He said she should go to a real hospital. We both said no; we brought the hospital to her. He tried using a needle that he used to give her food and water. It didn't work; her veins had collapsed. Eventually, as that bout of the sickness wore off, she began eating and standing and drinking. You see, the sickness would have times where she was completely and horribly sick. These are the times I'm telling you. However, it seemed to wax and wane. There would be times when she was just like normal, except a bit pale. But she would jump around, exercise. And these periods weren't regular; nothing was. Some horrible parts would be days; some would be weeks, some would be months, yet some were mere hours. The good periods worked the same way. But the next major thing in the sickness was the fainting spells. She'd grow dizzy and faint…and then…" Godo closed his eyes. This story took so much effort. "She started coughing up blood. Now, each of these different things of the sickness mix, and even during strong periods she'll have some problems.

"Somewhere during this time span of six months, Yuffie stopped responding to letters. I watched her while she read them. She would be obviously pained and miserable, but she just tucked them away. She tried to burn them, but couldn't. And – forgive me – I read some of them. Why? I'm getting to that. She also smashed her…what is it called? P…?"

"PHS." Cid supplied.

"Yes. Her PHS. She smashed it with a hammer, threw it in the goldfish pond, and then buried it. It was too great a temptation. She cut off all contact with all of you. She blocked all communication methods."

"But…why?" Cloud asked, blue eyes wide.

Godo's eyes pierced into Clouds. "She didn't want you to see her in the state she was in. She refused to let you see her as weak. She didn't like anyone thinking she was weak; it was difficult for her to accept help from the people I employed." Godo looked to the rest of the room again. "She's always been proud."

Tifa's watery eyes shut, and she shook her head. Opening them, she met Godo's eyes. "…Well, can't we go see her now?!" she demanded fiercely.

Godo sighed, smoothing his kimono. "That's…that's what I'm telling you now. You see.." he took a deep breath, and calm washed over him like a wave, his trembling limbs calming and his eyes unreadable. "…6 months ago, Yuffie…6 months…You see Yuffie…Well…"

"She what?!" Cid burst out, but glares from everyone silenced him.

"She left. …Yuffie ran away…" Godo stayed calm, from long practice. He sipped his tea.

"Holy fu-" Cid glanced at Marlene, and received a glare from Barret and Tifa. "What'd she do that for?"

Godo focused his attention onto Cid. "I was hoping you could tell me…I was hoping…hoping she'd be with you." Bitterness flashed across his face. "…She always said you were more of a family than I could ever be…"

Tifa's eyes filled with sympathy and she put a hand on the leader's shoulder, hesitantly as though she was violating some great taboo. When he didn't resist, he relax. "She didn't mean it, I'm sure." Tifa said softly, pouring him and others tea. "You two are more alike than either of you realize."

Cid snorted. "Though I'm not sure if you should take that as a compliment." Tifa glared at Cid, who recoiled. At that moment, they weren't all that sure that looks couldn't kill.

Godo made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort but covered it with a chuckle, the first happy emotion he'd expressed so far. "It's quite alright. However, I came to you to tell you this information. I felt I owed you an explanation; felt you had the right to know. But that is not the only reason I came to you today…" Godo looked up, his gaze piercing and face solemn. "I implore you; find my daughter."

The atmosphere of the room was heavy as everyone processed all they had been told. Marlene's sobs had quieted to an occasional sniffle, still clinging to Barret. Cloud ran fingers through his hair, leaning over with his elbows resting above his kneecaps. He could scarcely believe what he had been told. It seemed that any minute Yuffie would jump out from concealment, eyes bright as she began to laugh at them. It seemed that she would burst in dramatically; playing along until she could conceal laughter no longer and it was obvious it was a joke. But it wasn't; all of what Godo was saying made too much sense to be false. Not to mention he'd never seen the ruler like this. Godo was usually composed, but now he was a wreck, however he tried to hide it. Cloud grimaced; just like Yuffie, he hated admitting to weakness.

Finally mako blue eyes looked up at the rest of the group, his hands sliding down onto his cheeks, palms supporting his head. He surveyed the group. They all looked solemn, and most looked a bit upset. The Turks however, looked awkward even while sympathetic. He noted that Elena kept opening her eyes wide to keep them from watering with tears. With a sigh, he leaned back against the couch and looked to Godo. "Do you have any idea to where she might be?" Cloud asked desperately, though he was sure he knew the answer.

Godo shook his head. "I'm afraid not. In fact we can't even be sure…" Godo faltered, voice quavering. Clearing his throat, his voice was normal again. "We…we can't even be sure if she's alive or not…" He folded his hands in his lap "As I said, her sickness waxes and wanes. What I told you was only the extremes. However, most often she isn't bad nor well; she's in between. She's not as violently sick, and she'll suffer from some of the ailments, but will still be able to walk and function somewhat normally."

Reeve looked solemn yet thoughtful, and then looked at Godo, a troubled look in his eye. "What if she spreads it? If she's wandering about she could pass the disease along…imagine the panic…"

Godo's eyes flashed, and a shadow passed over his face, and his jaw clenched. "Do you honestly believe," Godo said darkly, eyes full of rage and voice poisonous, every soul in the room recoiling, "that she would leave if she was a risk to Wutai or anyone else? After her motivation for risking her life to join the quest to defeat Sephiroth was Wutai!? Surely you've seen her devotion to her people, and surely you don't think she would be so careless to leave when she could be putting her people in danger? I hope you don't believe my daughter is that selfish." Godo's tone was dark and ominous, warning Reeve. The outburst was quite unlike the leader or even most 'proper' Wutains, showing how much stress he was under.

Reeve looked sheepish for a moment, but grimaced and looked over to Godo. "…I'm sorry." He seemed to not want to say what came next, but brought himself to. "Wouldn't you ask the same if the roles were switched?"

Godo thought this over and nodded, with a grimace. "I would," he admitted, "Forgive me. The stress of this whole situation has gotten to me. I've barely gotten sleep between trying to hide this issue from the world and trying to locate where my daughter has fled to."

Cloud and Reeve nodded, both understanding how the pressure of being a leader can affect one. There would be a million things to tend to with this case, even if it was just a normal child. But it wasn't just a normal child; it was his own daughter, and the sole heir to the Wutain throne.

Suddenly, Nanaki spoke. "The jungles." he said abruptly, heads swinging to his direction, "It would be wisest to begin the search in the jungles. After all, that is where we met her first. I can't see her going to any cities in the state she's in. Someone would be bound to inquire, not to mention in most cities she ran a risk of running into one of us; we're so spread out in many places. Reeve and the Turks are in Midgar, but all of them travel often. Cloud and Tifa" he nodded at them, "were in Kalm and now Gongaga, not that she would know that - but Zack's parents could have recognized her. Barret and Marlene in Corel – and they could easily go to the Gold Saucer, as well as any of us. Cid and Shera in Rocket Town, Vincent in Nibelheim and – of course – I'm in Cosmo Canyon. We could easily be traveling though any other town as well.

"Of course, as being part of AVALANCHE, she could easily be recognized, and since we went all around the globe, the risk of detection of high. While the people seeing her might not think it important enough to speak of, word could still spread. That makes jungles ideal places to hide. Concealing and large, and being who she is, Yuffie could easily hide and see us long before we see her and she'd flee. They're perfect.

"If for some reason she left the jungles and forests, isolated towns would be perfect. After all, most of the towns have one of us in them. Junon wouldn't be a good place, as is associated too much with Reeve's company, and he might easily be going back and forth from there to Midgar. Fort Condor is too small, and not even a real town. Costa de Sol is too populated. Even so, we might want to check those places, but not at first. Places like Mideel, Icicle Inn and Bone Village would be good because of their isolation. Actually, the whole Northern Continent, though she never was fond of the cold. The jungles, however, should be our first priority." Nanaki noted, and then added, "We should try to get in contact with Vincent, or wait for him in case he's just late or got delayed."

"Nanaki's right," Cloud nodded at the wise red beast. "But the toughest thing is that she'll be in constant motion, and knowing Yuffie, she'll leave little trace that she'd been there. We need a way to find out if she's been places without raising suspicion. A way to inquire that will seem so normal, the ones we ask won't even remember."

Others nodded in agreement, and everyone settled into their thoughts. Minutes dragged on, the thick uneasy silence making everyone fidget. Finally Tifa broke the silence with an angry noise. "If only we knew something more… Something…any clue to where she's been. But guess what? The last person she spoke to isn't even here!" Tifa growled, fist clenched. As she shook her head in frustration, tears that had clung to her eyelashes dropped off; she didn't bother to hide them. Her eyes turned up to Godo, and she sighed. Her fists unclenched and anger melted. Her eyes and her voice pleaded to the Wutain ruler. "Do you have any clue? Do you even have a vague idea of how she became sick…? Maybe it's genetic…?"

Godo head suddenly snapped up, and his eyes grew wide in such as fashion, it seemed he suddenly remembered something crucially important. Eyes wide and staring, not quite at anyone or anything in particular. He briskly put his teacup down and swept up from his chair. Everyone scrambled to their feet. "I'm afraid something has come up and I absolutely must leave you at this moment. I have to depart to Wutai, but I'll contact you if anything comes up."

Bowing, Godo turned to walk out the door, and he not taken one step outside before he was flanked by bodyguards. The door swung shut with a thump of wood, the noise seeming to echo in the room. Shock was slowly lifting from the room, leaving only grief in its wake. Tifa raised her head, rubbing her eyes. "Do you think she's sti-" her voice faltered. "Will we be able to find…?" her voice cracked once again.

Cloud's gaze shifted, and his eyes weren't filled with grief or shock. They were set in acceptance and fierce determination, a look they'd seen before. His eyes locked with those of the woman's across from him. "We will find her. …if it takes us to the end of the Planet, we will find Yuffie."

--

Vincent groggily opened his eyes. Rubbing his eyes with his good hand, the blurriness receded and he looked around. He was stretched out on a couch, where he'd spent most of the week he'd been here. He reached over to the coffee table that had been pushed close to the couch. He grabbed a glass of water and drank from it, ignoring the bottle of pills. They were merely headache medicine the doctor had left for him.

As if on cue, the door to the house opened and the doctor's cheerful face was visible. Silver hair was plastered to his head and face, and a grin was spread on his face. He folded up the bright yellow umbrella he was carrying and shook his head side to side, reminding Vincent of a dog. Drops of water shook off of him, and he removed a rain coat and rain boots, all the same color yellow. Hanging up the coat, he walked from the door into the living room portion of the floor, separated from the other part by a step. The doctor came over, seeing Vincent was awake.

"Hello there, son!" the doctor greeted him cheerfully. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Vincent responded.

"Well, that's great! You're a quick healer; you'll soon be totally recovered."

"…we used Cure 3." Vincent shrugged.

"Did you?! Well, that must of cost a bit of money to get. But it came in handy, eh?" the doctor laughed.

"Where's-"

"The girl?" the doctor finished. "Ah, what did she say her name was? Maggie! That was it. Well, Maggie's upstairs. She usually is – for some reason I don't see her much. I guess he likes to keep to herself. But then again, Walt says she comes down when I'm not there…odd…very odd. Then again, he also says she sleeps a lot so perhaps it's just chance."

Vincent's eyebrows rose – Maggie? The doctor spoke truth though; Vincent hadn't seen her downstairs when he was awake, and the doctor hadn't allowed him to move around too much, or go upstairs. Sitting up, the doctor beamed and stood, walking into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Vincent then stood as well, and began to walk out of the small living room. Passing the table where the Weapon Seller (Walt) and Jim (the doctor) sat, he began to walk up the stairs. No one objected, and he didn't really care if they did.

Reaching the top of the steps, he walked the room where Yuffie was staying. Raising a hand, he knocked of the door, but he only knocked twice when the door was flung opened and Yuffie was standing behind it, grinning. She looked as if she just woke, despite the time, for the covers of her bed were thrust off and she was wearing an oversized T-shirt that advertised the weapon seller's weapons (Walt's Weapons – cheap and reliable!). "Vinnie!" she cried. "So you're better, right?"

"I'm fine…Maggie."

Yuffie's grin faded. "Oh. That. I just…" she looked up at him suddenly, sticking out her chin and crossing her arms over her chest. "…I don't have to explain myself."

Vincent shrugged.

Walking into her room, she plopped onto the bed. Vincent walked in and sat in a chair. "So Vinnie, how are you feeling?"

"Fine. The doctor said I would be fully recovered soon."

"Well that's good." Yuffie nodded. She turned to look out the window, where it was still raining. Sighing she turned back to Vincent. She looked tired, contrary to the doctor's claims of her getting lots of sleep. One stormy eye looked over and met Vincent's eye. "How much longer?"

Vincent shrugged. "I don't know." He suddenly grew suspicious, and narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Yuffie turned to him, looking surprised. "Is it such a sin to want to know when you'll be better?"

"From you it is." he muttered.

She laughed, and with a shock Vincent realized it was the first time since they'd met up again. That more than anything told him something was wrong with the ninja. "You haven't changed Vincent."

Vincent looked at her. That mere statement – the way she said it, seriously and in a normal tone of voice – and that she had called him 'Vincent' while saying it could reveal many things, if one looked hard enough. "You have."

Yuffie looked up, startled, stormy eyes full of alarm. Alarm was replaced by a puzzled look, raising her eyebrows. "What do you mean Vincent?"

"For one, you just called me Vincent two times in a row, being serious."

"Don't get used to it." Yuffie muttered.

"I wouldn't dare."

Yuffie looked at him oddly, a frown tugging at the corners of her lips. She looked as though she was regretting something, but she shook her head and smiled. In that moment she looked more like the Yuffie he knew, more like the Yuffie he'd traveled with on the journey to save the world. At the end of the journey, Vincent had realized an uncomfortable truth; he'd grown close to these people. He had intended to stay as detached as possible from the group, and he had. You can't go through something like that and not become close. Well, even if close for Vincent meant an inch closer than the usual distance he kept from others.

After a silence, Yuffie broke it. As usual. "So when were you supposed to be at Gongaga?"

"The 17th." Vincent replied.

Yuffie, raising her eyebrows, had a small look of triumph on her face. Vincent frowned. "What?"

"Do you know what today is?"

Vincent shook his head.

"It's the 19th." her eyes sparkled with laughter. There was a spark there that hadn't been there for a long time. A liveliness that was actually genuine. "They won't still be there."

"But if they are? I wouldn't know if I didn't go." Vincent raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever they were meeting for would be disbanded by now. I'm sure of it."

"Then there should be no problem in going. Then I'll find them." Vincent retorted.

"For what point? You don't know why you were going." Yuffie taunted.

Vincent looked at her.

"How do I know? Well gawd, I'm used to you not giving any detail, but I think that if it were something super important you'd be refusing to stay here and leaving in the Vincent-version of 'panic' which is more like 'haste.' Or even just more like 'haste with a side of grimace.' But anyway, I think I know how to read a person, or maybe I'm just psychic or-"

"Or you stole the note from my pocket." He finished.

She grinned, purely Yuffie again. "So it's not super important, since you actually gave yourself minimal time to heal since, you know."

"Actually-"

"Were you?" Yuffie grinned.

Vincent nodded. "Let's go."

"No."

"…"

"You see, my room is a mess. I need to pack up and tie up some loose ends."

Vincent shook his head. "You don't have a lot of things."

Yuffie narrowed her eyes. "Give me 2 hours."

Ridiculous. Yuffie was a speed packer, she'd said so herself, not to mention she packed light. "Half an hour."

"1 hour."

Vincent looked at her suspiciously, but nodded.

"Now Vin-Vin, I'mma going take a shower. Alrighty?"

Vincent nodded and stood, turning and walking out the door. Without glancing behind he walked downstairs, where Jim was waiting for him. He pulled a chair out for Vincent, who sat in it, and Jim pushed some food over towards him. Knowing protesting would get him nowhere; he simply ate the food in front of him in silence.

"So Maggie told us only a few things; I don't know if you remember, but she told us you two were hiking and tripped over a cliff. What took you two into the jungle?"

Vincent stared at Jim for a moment, before shaking his head. "I don't remember…what happened before we fell."

Jim raised his eyebrows. "Well sometimes temporary memory loss is to be expected, especially memory loss of what happened directly before or after the accident. Though I might have something to-"

However, he never got a chance to say what might help, for upstairs there was the sound of a thump, and then a shout. "Jim! You better get up here." Walt's voice came urgently.

Jim and Vincent both sprung from their chairs, Jim rushing up the stairs with Vincent just behind. They didn't have to go far to find the problem. Walt was standing in the hallway, holding the upper half of Yuffie. She was sweating and looked pale, and she seemed to have fainted. Jim started rapidly asking questions, as to the incident. "I always knew there was something off about her…bet she didn't even realize…"

"Maybe she just doesn't like doctors." Walt suggested.

"Well…that's not the problem right now. Get her into her room." Jim ordered.

Walt motioned to Vincent. "A little help?" he asked. Vincent nodded, inwardly alarmed at Yuffie's collapse.

A few tears had escaped from the ninja's eyes, but that wasn't why she stopped. She stopped because she had started to cough, hacking coughs that shook her whole body. Dots of blood covered her hand, and sweat was beading on her face. Her coughs grew more violent, and by now Vincent had rushed over, unsure of what to do.

Yuffie gasped, as if she was running out of air. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and her body went limp. Yuffie Kisaragi had fainted; right over the side of the cliff.

Vincent frowned, the bit of a memory flashing through his mind. Shaking it off he walked over to Yuffie, and without asking for help from Walt, scooped her up and took her into her room. Jim and Walt followed, anxious, as Vincent carefully put her down on her bed. Retreating to a corner of the room, he watched as Jim started examining her.

"You say that you heard violent coughing from her room, so you knocked?" Jim said, focusing on Yuffie.

Walt nodded. "It was rough, so I knocked on her door. The door flung open and she was in the doorframe, almost as if she was using it to support her. She tried to look casual, but she was flustered and sweat was on her face. She looked pale and drawn. So I asked her 'Are you alright?' She obviously wasn't. But Maggie just nodded her head and grinned. 'Fine!' she said. She was obviously trying to make her voice bright and normal; she did a good job, actually. 'I'm just going to go take a shower.' she said, but I'd heard her say the same thing to our guest over there a while ago, and she hadn't yet. She walked past me; actually, it was more as if she stumbled past me. I turned around but she insisted she was fine. Still I walked up next to her, for she had started coughing again. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted, right then and there, so I caught her."

Jim looked sharply over to Vincent. "She was fine when you were talking to her." It was more of a statement than a question.

Vincent nodded. Jim looked disturbed, and started looking around. At last he found what he was looking for, shoved under the bed. A blood spotted handkerchief. Jim looked at it, frowning and turned to Walt. "Now they have cures for tuberculosis…why wouldn't she get one?"

Walt shrugged. "Denial? Fear of doctors?"

Jim turned to Vincent. "You were traveling with her. You were with her, hiking right? Did she cough, faint, show any symptoms?"

Vincent paused, looking at Jim. Very subtly, almost unnoticeable, he looked past Jim to Yuffie. Then he noticed that there was a change. She was no longer limp, but stiff. Her muscles were tight and her fingers had curled into fists, jaw clenched. Yuffie had awakened; but Vincent was the only one who noticed. Her left eye twitched, and Vincent thought it opened if only a tiny bit. And she must have seen Vincent looking at her, for her head moved – very subtly, her head shook side to side. Only a tiny bit, and as if the clarify the message, her fist – the one visible to Vincent – uncurled to have her fore and middle finger together, tap against her thumb twice. The sign-language symbol for 'no.' And since her eyes were closed, and he needed the message, her other hand moved against the wall and suddenly taps were heard. To the other men it was just tapping, but Vincent – in a jolt – recognized it. Dash dot, dash dash dash. Vincent held in a chuckle. Morse code for – just guess – no.

Obeying, Vincent shook his head no. "She was fine." No doubt a lie, but Jim seemed to believe it and looked back to his charge, who became limp again. However, Yuffie found it time to 'wake' and blearily opened an eye. She still was pale and sweaty. She looked very tired and her eyes were glassy. The doctor, before she could protest, stuck a thermometer into her mouth. Yuffie's fist curled and her eyes flashed, as though she was considering punching the doctor and running. But she seemed to think it was too much effort. The thermometer beeped, and the doctor plucked it out and raised his eyebrows. "103? You're burning up, dear."

Yuffie looked as though she didn't care, but she feigned shock. The doctor grabbed his bag and pulled out some things, but Yuffie – with effort that Vincent realized was real, just exaggerated – raised her hand. "Please…" she croaked, closing her eyes. "Tomorrow? I'm just…too tired."

Jim seemed to be fighting an inner battle between his doctor self and his kind, cheery self. Finally, he caved to his compassion. "Alright, dear, but Maggie – we'll still be taking care of you."

Yuffie – or 'Maggie' as she was calling herself – seemed to know that Vincent hadn't yet given a name, and they hadn't yet asked for one. "That's alright…" she smiled meekly. "Finny here will take care of me. It's probably just a cold; I don't get sick often, but even a mere cold can give me a fever when I get one."

"Makes sense. You were in the rain for a long time." Walt nodded.

Jim turned to Vincent. "Finny? That's your name then. Funny, you don't look like a Finny"

Walt nodded. "I'm seeing more of a…'Vincent' type."

Vincent looked past the two to see Yuffie stifling laughter by turning into her pillow. "I get that a lot." Vincent said dryly.

"Well call us if you need anything. I'll probably come up to check a couple times." Jim nodded, grinning at the two. Yuffie smiled weakly and Vincent gave the tiniest of nods.

"Well I have to go out; I'm running low on food. That's the pain about not living in a town. With these storms, I might not be back for a day or so." Walt said.

Jim nodded. "I'll man the fort."

With that the two men left, and they didn't speak until they heard the door shut on Walt and the T.V. turn on. Yuffie turned to Vincent, looking exhausted. "I'll see you in the morning V-…Finny." she smiled weakly.

Vincent looked at her suspiciously but left the room, against his better judgment. Then he realized he had no place to sleep. So he went downstairs, where Jim was drifting off in front of the T.V. and nudged the doctor awake. Jim sleepily dragged himself up to his room, and Vincent sat on the couch. He wasn't very tired, but he didn't want this head injury to slow him down, so he reluctantly lay down, spreading across the couch and he went to sleep.

--

She had to leave. There was no way she could stay here, not with that doctor there. She was getting an outbreak, and she had to get out while it was in the beginning stages. She didn't care if she was lying in the jungle, as long as she wasn't here. The doctor had noticed something unusual, she knew he had. Vincent could stay here, he was still getting better, and he could go off and frolic with the rest of AVALANCHE. Yuffie smirked at the thought of Vincent frolicking; actually, with the thought of AVALANCHE frolicking. She could just see Barret, Cid, Vincent and Nanaki all frolicking in a meadow full of flowers. Her grin grew wider and she was about to laugh when she shut herself up. Noise was no good, and thinking of AVALANCHE would only bring pain.

Silently, as she had been trained, she gathered her few possessions. She had to pause more often than usual; but she refused to stop. Finally, all her things were packed up. She paused; should she steal Azrael? No. She wouldn't do that to the bird; and though she would never admit it, she probably couldn't do that to Vincent. AVALANCHE might have thought that her stealing from them was easy, but it hadn't been. Yuffie had been closer to AVALANCHE than most people in her life. She couldn't do it again; not to mention she highly doubted that Azrael would cooperate with her. However, her pride didn't allow her to consider such thoughts.

Gently she opened the window, and glanced out. It was still pouring, and she started getting quite wet, and the bed she was standing on was getting wet as well. She was on the second story, but there was a gutter right next to her. It would be easy enough to get down. However, she hadn't expected the sharp gust of wind to knock open the window – it was the sort that was split in two halves and latched at the middle, and opened outwardly. The window was thrust away and she grabbed them just in time. But one had hit the side, if very quietly.

She wasn't worried about Jim waking up. No, if he protested then she could easily silence him; she was a ninja after all. It was a certain dark haired ex-Turk sleeping downstairs she was worried about. For once she cursed whatever had enhanced his senses – Chaos? – and though it had helped in AVALANCHE, she cursed it now. She had to get out. Backpack on, she started climbing out the window and one hand reached to the gutter. Vincent hadn't seemed to notice, but the hairs on the back of her neck prickled anyway. So far so good. Half out of the window, she suddenly received an unpleasant surprise. The door was suddenly open, and a glance saw a tall man standing in the frame.

"Well shit." Yuffie said. Without another word she lithely jumped out the window. Vincent's eyes widened in surprise, if only for a moment. When he walked over to the window, he saw the ninja was going down the drainpipe. With an inward sigh he left the room, closing the door behind him.

So Vincent had turned back. Yuffie raised her eyebrows, quite confused. She was nearly to the bottom, and her limbs decided they were too weak to support her anymore. Releasing the drainpipe, she fell, the ground giving her bottom a sharp slap. She didn't mind that – she was used to being sore, but fate had decided to let her land in the middle of a growing mud puddle. Mud splashed up around her, coating her already dirty clothes and covering her skin. "Oh grossness." She muttered as she shook her hands, mud flecks flying off. And it wasn't as though she could wipe of her face – everything else was muddy. Sighing, she stood and began to walk towards the jungle, wishing she had a chocobo. A smart chocobo wouldn't be out in this weather, so she couldn't catch one, and hers was back in the jungle. Why hadn't she brought her chocobo? Oh yes; Vincent would have fallen off his.

So she began walking, grumpy, feverish and in no shape to walk all the way to the jungle. Plus, she had to pass the Gongaga jungles that surrounded the town (at a distance of course), and who knew if the group was traveling by now? However, as she rounded the house she was met by another surprise. Vincent was standing just around the corner, hair plastered to his face as he waited, Azrael beside him. He looked at her expectantly, raising his eyebrows. "You just won't give up will you?" Yuffie groaned.

"…Funny. That's what I used to think about you."

"Very funny." Yuffie stuck out her tongue.

"If you keep doing that, something will bite it off." Vincent muttered.

Yuffie raised her eyebrow. "Was that a…a…a joke?! Albeit, a very mild one, a little more than a chuckle, but a joke! From Vincent Valentine. This'll go down in history. And I was the witness. I'm honored." Yuffie feigned shock.

"…Don't give yourself a heart attack."

"By Leviathan another?! Pinch me I'm dreaming Vin, or else I will have that heart attack."

"…"

"Ah, I see. You've overdone yourself on talking; used up your words of like, the month I bet."

"…"

"I can just keep talking. You know that; we traveled together a lot. You know I can chatter on and on for hours and hours." Yuffie told him, though she wasn't up for such talking. No need to make herself seem any different than the Yuffie he knew. She – very subtly – moved towards the direction of the jungle. At first, Vincent didn't seem to notice, probably blocking her out and ignoring her, as was one of the few defenses against Yuffie-ism, but after they had gone a noticeable distance he stopped.

"What's wrong Vin?"

"You're going the wrong way." Vincent explained shortly. Yuffie looked up at him dully, seemingly tired.

"Listen Monster Man. I have a cold. I'm not in the mood for this. You go your way, I'll go mine. That's what you've always wanted right?" Her voice bit and was much sharper than it had been. But it was true; Vincent had always wanted to stay distant from the others, and to just part with them after his tasks were done. "It's what you've always wanted; have you suddenly changed your mind?"

Vincent merely looked at her and turned back to Azrael, mounting the chocobo and reaching down to her. Yuffie, however, showed no sign of cooperating, standing stubbornly with her arms crossed over her chest and glaring up at Vincent. Vincent stared back, and they were caught in this contest for Leviathan knows how long. Their standoffs were famous, known to last for hours – Yuffie's impatience yielded only to her stubbornness, and Vincent could easily stand there staring. It was one of those moments when Yuffie didn't feel the need to break the silence; once again, her stubbornness won out.

"Bye Vincent." Yuffie said and walked off. Of course, the house was in such a place that the difference in walking to Gongaga and avoiding Gongaga was merely walking closer to the coast rather than going down the middle. Not that either would mention this. However, as she walked she felt her backpack being pulled back. Looking behind her she saw Vincent, who had slid off Azrael and was gripping her backpack.

"You're coming, Kisaragi." Vincent said, and Yuffie was surprised to notice the tiniest hint of a growl in his voice.

Recovering from her momentary surprise she snarled back, "What if I don't want to, Valentine?"

"…" he gave her a look that suggested that he didn't care.

"Well you'll have to carry me there, kicking and screaming." Yuffie snapped, sitting down and crossing arms over her chest. Without another word Vincent scooped her up, much to Yuffie's shock. "Hey, hey! It's a figure of speech!" she cried. Yet he still continued to walk towards Gongaga, alongside a curious Azrael. True to her word, Yuffie started kicking and lashing out against the much taller man, yet not being able to fight his iron grip. Not to mention she didn't want to gouge herself on that claw of his. "You put me down Vincent Valentine, or I swear that I will make your life a living hell!"

"You're too late for that Yuffie." Vincent stated, continuing to walk.

Yuffie was momentarily taken aback, but quickly resumed her endless tirade.

"Vincent! I'm all muddy and gross and now I'm getting your spotless red vampire cape dirty! Are you happy? Forgive me you're never happy! But now you're going to have icky mud stains on your vampire cape. I've never seen a muddy vampire Vincent! So put me down!

"Ug! You're so…so…inconceivable! Unbearable! In fact, you're…you're…Inconceivabearable! That's right. Inconceivabearable! There. You made me make up a new word to describe your horribleness. Happy? Oh wait we already discussed this! Put me down Vincent Vampire Valentine or I will lodge a throwing star in your ass! THAT'S NOT A HAPPY PLACE TO HAVE A THROWING STAR! Put. Me. Down."

There were certain buttons she didn't like to push, especially in the grip of a metal, pointy claw, but she pushed him anyway. After not speaking for a while, Yuffie pulled out her trump card. Well. Something like it.

"Now Vin…what would Lucrecia think of this particular situation?"

Yes, she always called Lucrecia 'that Lucy girl,' pretending not to know the name. But she knew the name; she'd been in the cave that day, when Vincent had blatantly lied to whatever was left of Lucrecia.

Vincent immediately stiffened at her name. He stopped, and Yuffie enjoyed being one of the people who could upset Vincent Valentine, the stone statue. His grip on her tightened slightly, and she let a smirk play on her lips, eyes glinting. But to her dismay, Vincent relaxed and started walking again. "…"

Yuffie sighed. She had nothing else; she could probably dig deeper, if she had more energy, but the fact was she was exhausted. "Lemme on the chocobo." Yuffie reluctantly said, and Vincent hoisted her up so she could mount the chocobo in a lazy way. She wrapped her arms around the wet chocobo's feathers and leaned against the neck. Her weary eyes shut and she allowed herself much needed sleep. "This isn't over…" she muttered.

"Of course it isn't Yuffie. It never is." Vincent mumbled.

--

A/N: Title and quote suck this chapter. The plot of this is moving slowly, but it is there, I promise.

Demeter1: Yup, edited this fic and took it down because I had a feeling no one would reread.

Yes, I'm trying to go with Yuffie hiding it in a selfless yet selfish way, if you get what I'm saying. She doesn't want them to suffer with her, but she also doesn't want them to see her weak. Also her pride in there.

Lord Maruka: Yes, they're both alive. And Chaos will be a big part of this fic; it's based solely off the original game, since I haven't even got a chance to play DoC. D

Kawaii Eyes: Yes, an OC. Aren't I evil? But I'm trying ot make her not a Sue, and not like Yuffie...overall, the fic does have her as a main character, but Yuffie as the main main.

Chibified Kitsunes: I meant to update this sooner but...busy bee:)

itachi fangirl: Well you're right about dramatics at the end - but the end isn't anywhere close.

ILoveYuffietine2719: Thanks for the review, glad you liked it.