The sounds of clocks ticking filled the atmosphere as Yuffie stood alone in a grassy field. She stood, trying to adjust her eyes to the light. It was like looking through a camera with the sun's glare blinding you, but instead of simply changing the camera's setting, or blocking the light, the light ceased to leave. But even so, it didn't hurt her eyes, and her migraine seemed to be gone, thankfully.
Yuffie walked forward, she felt weightless, each step just barely brushing the tips of the grass.
"Time is running out, Yuffie…" Yuffie turned around, the feeling gone, as she crashed down onto the field. The soft, high pitched voice continued.
"Run away, Yuffie, time is running out, Yuffie…" She sat alone in the field, searching her surroundings for the source of the voice, but instead found something else.
The grass began to grow taller, joined by beautiful white flowers and dandelions. Smiling, Yuffie picked up the small cotton flower weed, and brought it to her lips, blowing softly.
Each soft seed flew out in every direction, coming to land on the petals of flowers.
"No time to waist, Yuffie…" The voice came again, bringing Yuffie's attention back to searching for a source. Coming into view was a white porch swing, placed in the middle of thousands of flowers, all different colors. Sitting on the bench, was a small young girl with pale blonde hair. Yuffie walked towards her, feeling no fear. The girl simply smiled at her, motioning for Yuffie to join her on the swing.
Yuffie nodded, a smile placed upon her lips as she sat next to the girl. They began to swing, the warm touch of sun kissing Yuffie's bare shoulders. The girl wore a white, flowing dress that hugged her around the waist then released to fall around her knees, while Yuffie wore the same. Feeling at ease with the young girl, Yuffie closed her eyes, smiling.
As she opened her eyes, the glare of the sun was gone as clouds filled the sky. Yuffie looked around, her smile fading as she watched the field of flowers die. Turning to face the girl, Yuffie saw that she had changed.
Her smiling face was replaced by a scowl, as the young girl with pale blonde hair stood to her feet, seeming to be in slow motion. She turned to Yuffie, moving her mouth as if yelling.
Yuffie shook her head, she tried to speak, 'I can't hear you…', but no words came out.
"Time is running out, Yuffie…" The voice echoed through Yuffie's once perfect world, as the young girl continued to yell without a voice. Yuffie clasped her hands to her head, wanting to cry but finding no tears.
"Open your eyes, Yuffie…" the voice called again, still without a face to match.
Yuffie looked up, catching sight of crimson red in the distance. She stood up, and ran without thinking, as if a child afraid of their own imagination; she stumbled, managing to catch herself, and ran faster.
'Vincent!' She wanted to call his name, make him turn around and come to her aid, but she still found no voice.
"You're running towards the enemy, Yuffie…" The voice grew louder, but still remained calm.
Yuffie shook her head as she finally seemed to be closing the distance between her and the gunman.
She reached for him, brushing the fabric with her fingers before he disappeared; she stopped abruptly, falling to her knees, holding her hands out in front of her. Her eyes wide in distress, Yuffie began to sob.
"Turn around, Yuffie…" The voice commanded, and Yuffie did so, only to be answered with the single sound of a gunshot, and the piercing pain in her stomach.
/ / /
Yuffie shot up in her bed, clenching her side. Her breaths were quick and raspy as she looked franticly around her room.
No field, no girl, and no voice; she was back in the small, cold hotel room. She looked down at herself, realizing she had gone to bed without changing. Sighing, she turned her attention to the clock, filling with a slight rage as the clock blinked repeatedly, "12:00".
"Figures the clock wouldn't be set," she mumbled, slipping out of bed and onto the cold floor. The light outside was still dark, but she felt wide awake; probably due to her nap on the chocobo.
The soft knocking on her door made her jump violently, putting a bit of shame to her title as a ninja. She laughed bitterly as she walked to the door, standing on her tippy toes to find that the door had no peek hole.
She unlocked the bolt, leaving the chain lock in place, and opened the door as far as the small rusted chain would allow.
"Vincent?" She called, figuring she must have screamed in her sleep and alerted him or something.
But instead, she saw two men standing on the other side, smiling down at her.
"Sorry if we woke you, miss," the one to the right said, never losing his creepily kind smile, "but we're going around seeing if anyone wants to join us for a game of cards downstairs? We need a few more players, and we'd be real happy if you did." He seemed to suppress a laugh, alarming Yuffie even more.
"Um, sorry sirs, but do you have any idea who I am?" Yuffie growled, trying to sound threatening.
"Oh," the one on the left chirped, faking suspicion, "who?"
"I'm the strongest member of AVALANCHE, ya' know, defeaters of Sephiroth, saviors of the world? And waking me up this late really pisses me off." Yuffie seethed, bluffing slightly about being the strongest.
The two men laughed, "is that so?" the two said in unison.
"Well," spoke the one to the left again, "sorry to disturb you, miss AVALANCHE."
Yuffie slammed the door, a bit louder than she meant to, but something about the two of them unnerved her.
She made sure to bolt the door, considering putting a chair up against the knob but decided against it. Making her way over to her bed, she figured sleep would be best no matter how awake she was. Just as she grasped her blankets, about to slip into her bed, she heard the door knob refusing to turn as someone from the other side tried to open it.
Yuffie turned around, stricken by fear as she fell down onto the bed, staring at the doorknob as it turned shortly left and right. She repeatedly wished for it to be Vincent, as the feeling of doubt grew more and more each time she thought his name.
"Oh, miss AVALANCHE? Are you sure you won't join us? We'd really like you to." The one that had been on the right's voice came through the door, muffled by the wood.
Yuffie shook her head violently, coming to her senses.
'Great ninja Yuffie, great ninja Yuffie,' she chanted assurance in her head as she went for her shuriken. She could probably handle these guys in a matter of seconds, but still, the idea of their intention struck her with fear so hard she was shaking as she held her weapon up, getting into a fighting stance.
The door slammed open, as they both kicked it in, breaking the bolt through the wood and shattering the chain as the small rusted slivers flew about the room. They both walked in, smiles placed on their lips. They moved together, walking swiftly without a sound. Something about the way they moved and held themselves made Yuffie realize they weren't unskilled in battle.
She gulped, gripping her shuriken tighter, glancing swiftly to the open door, the light from the hall offering acceptance.
The one on the right pulled his hands out of his pockets, revealing an incredibly small knife. Yuffie smirked to herself, feeling her confidence return. In one swift movement, she lunged forward, striking him with her shuriken as he attempted to dodge, just barely making it out uninjured as a small red gash appeared on his shoulder, tearing away the threaded black fabric.
Yuffie smiled proudly, getting ready to attack when her nerve wavered as he smiled back. Before she could do anything, she felt a surge of electricity strike through her stomach; she slouched forward, catching glimpse of the small knife she had mocked, but now feared as she watched it pull from her, revealing blood and electricity emitting from the blade.
She coughed, taking a step back, grabbing her side.
She felt her muscles tighten then relax as the sharp pain surged through her whole body. Her knees began to shake as she fell to the floor, her eyes wide.
"Vin…cent…" she mumbled, feeling herself begin to fall forward, her conscious slipping, "Vincent!" She managed to scream out of sheer fear, as everything began to grow blurry through her vision. She felt a rough glove clasp her mouth as she was hoisted from the floor and thrown onto the very bed she had once found comfort in.
"Ugh, way to go; you got her all bloody before we even started." The one on the left's voice slipped past her unconscious guard, as she managed to open her eyes just barely, seeing the two standing above her, arguing.
"Fine, you hate it so much, I'll go first. I'll try to get some of the blood off while I'm at it, 'kay?" The other one spoke, as Yuffie's eyes began to water.
It was like she could feel her life slipping away. It happened so fast, she went into battle expecting it to be easy, and she learned from that horrible mistake. But not as much as she was about to learn now…
She jolted as she felt a clammy hand brush her wound, and heard a deep chuckle so close to her ear that she could feel the hot breath. The heavy weight of the strange man pressed her deeper into the covers, making her cry silently.
Another hand touched her neck, only to be ripped away within seconds. The weight left her with the hand, letting a rush of cold air hit her.
She forced herself to open her eyes; afraid it was simply a cruel way of playing with her, making her think there was hope. But a loud noise made her believe otherwise as her eyes shot open. The vision she saw made her cries become harder, as sobs escaped her mouth, cries of relief.
The man that had been on the left lay unconscious on the floor feet from her; to the right of the room stood Vincent with his hand around the other man's neck, holding him inches from the floor, the man's back against the wall. Vincent pulled out his gun, Cerberus, aiming it at the man with absolutely no expression.
The man pleaded, apologizing in between cracked sobs. Yuffie continued to cry, trying to quiet her own sobs as she watched for the outcome. Vincent let out a scoff, replacing his gun in the holster before pulling the man back, only to slam his head hard into the wall to the point of knocking him out.
Without a second thought, he came over to Yuffie.
"Yuffie" he whispered, his eyes darting from her eyes to the blood streaming from her wound. He reached through his things, pulling out a heal materia. He summoned the green orb, not taking his eyes off of hers, waiting for life to come back to them.
The bleeding stopped, as Yuffie felt the pain finally cease, being replaced by the strange feeling of the wound healing slowly.
"Vincent…" She mumbled, looking up. Even with the wound healed, she couldn't bring herself to sit up. The electric charge really took its toll on her.
Vincent knelt down beside the bed, not seeming to have anything to say, at least, nothing he could put to words.
They sat in silence for a moment, as Yuffie contemplated what exactly had just happened. She felt her stomach where the wound had been, not even a scar left in its place.
"That was a high materia…" she pouted about the loss.
Vincent laughed quietly, a smile never escaping his lips, "I needed it to save your life, Yuffie…" he mumbled, his voice sounding a little hoarse.
"Still…" she mumbled, slowly sitting up on the bed, looking around herself, sourly admiring the dark red stains tainting her blankets and clothing.
Vincent adjusted himself, watching her steadily, in case she collapsed again. Just as she rose, letting the air catch hint of the blood, they both noticed the intense smell of rusty iron.
Yuffie stood up fast, feeling sick to her stomach immediately. Vincent watched, still keeping an eye on her in case her energy left her in an instant like it seemed it should.
"That's awful…" she mumbled.
Vincent stood, looking at her with a hint of curiosity.
She cocked her head, speaking weakly, "I'm fine, Vince. Thank you." She smiled.
He didn't look convinced, making Yuffie sigh.
They both stood quietly, Yuffie looking anywhere but at him, while he stared at her; trying to hide his concern.
"So, what about these dickwads," she hissed, kicking the one on the floor in the side, causing her to wince slightly in pain.
Vincent looked amused at her sudden choice of words, grasping her arm lightly, gesturing for her to follow him.
"Leave them; I'll go alert the clerk about what happened. You can sleep in my room." He lead her to his door that still stood ajar, gesturing with his hand for her to go inside.
"You sleep." He said simply, turning to go down the hall.
"Vincent…" Yuffie stumbled after him.
Turning to face her, Vincent didn't reply, instead he simply waited for her to speak again. But, to his surprise, she didn't say a thing; within seconds she was hugging him, her face buried in his chest, her hair brushing his chin softly.
He stood still for a moment, looking down at her. Her shoulders moved with her breaths as she cried into the fabric of his shirt. Vincent, a bit befuddled, placed his right hand on her shoulder for comfort.
They stood together for a few moments longer before Yuffie pulled back, looking up to smile at him.
Without a word once more, she walked into the room quietly, closing the door behind her. Vincent stared at the chipped wood of the door, taking in what happened before immediately brushing it off; placing it as a memory he should forget.
Yuffie stepped into the cold room, realizing she still wore her bloody clothes.
'My shorts are fine…it's just the over shirt…' she thought to herself, unclasping the orange strap, and the two black buckles that slung over her shoulders, and slipped the soft blue shirt off; leaving her with the simple dark gray fabric, wrinkled from being held up all the time.
She slipped into the bed, laying her head on the pillow hesitantly. The cloth's sent was a mix of cheap fabric softener and Vincent's own musky smell.
Although finding almost absolute comfort where she was, she knew better than to fall asleep.
Nightmares would surely haunt her through the night, and with Vincent most likely taking care of what happened with the clerk the rest of the time they were there, she would have no one to confide him; as much as one could confide in Vincent Valentine.
A/N: I got a lot of reviews for my last chapter. : 3
So, I decided since I had time today, I'd update early.
Hope you guys liked this one, I'm kinda bad at fight scenes, as small as that one was.
The story is still kinda preparing for the absolute take off into the plot, so I'll probably find writing longer chapters easier.
Thanks for reading!
~Mayune.