Disclaimer: Same as always! I still don't own a thing...

A/N: Nuu! I refuse to let this story die! The school semester was over so I had a bit of time where I needed to study for finals and move back home for the summer. Anyway, I won't bore you all with my life's details. Enjoy the newest chapter! Drink up me hearties, yo ho?

Yuffie reluctantly offered the fallen Turk a hand so he could get back to his feet. She still had a mighty smirk on her face despite the fact that she was trying her damndest to hide it. He took her hand and got to his feet, finishing by giving her arm a hard jerk, causing her to stumble into him. He snared her in an aggressive bear hug, not even giving her the room to do more than struggle weakly and scream muffled obscenities. The young ninja was soon freed with a mild but firm knee to Reno's family jewels.

Reno laughed in spite of the sharp pain and let her go. He hadn't had this much fun in what seemed to be an eternity; though truthfully, it was only since he had last been with her.

"Keep your grimy paws offa me! Gawd you reek!"

"You know you like my manliness!"

"Feh. Whatever."

Both of them reseated themselves at the table as a waitress came by with a tray of appetizers.

The silly banter and fun havoc was soon replaced by a slightly awkward silence. Reno didn't know where to go from here. He didn't know what to say. He had hoped that the song would have said for him anything worth saying, but by the silence he could tell that it had not. Did she think he was just kidding?

"So, uh...how was my singin'? I think I could be like the next Nibleheimian Idol or something! Damn I'm good!"

Yuffie turned to him and rolled her eyes.

"Well, you did sing pretty well...considering I didn't think you could sing at all. I figured all that boozing and smoking would have killed any chance of your singing being worth half the effort it would take to listen to it."

Reno was actually slightly hurt by this. Espescially after he had sung that song just for her.

"Aw, come on Princess, you know you were impressed. By the way, you still never answered my question."

"Whaaaaat?"

"What about being mine for life?"

"..."

"Look, Reeve told me all about it. How that jerk Vincent's been nothin' more than a royal prick to ya all weekend. And for what it's worth...well, I don't think a girl like you should hafta put up with that kind of bullshit, ya know? You're beautiful, you're funny, you're fierce and outgoing, you've got a helluva temper, but all of that is what makes you you! And I know more than I ever knew anything before that I..."

Reno never got the opportunity to finish his sentence as Rude's PHS blasted some obnoxious ringtone to interrupt what would have been a perfect speech. The redhead shot him a dirty look as he answered, but all he could do was shrug sheepishly. He needed the PHS to have been on to know when Reeve expected Yuffie to be back. Something was wrong, this was way too early for them to have to come back. It had only been about twenty minutes or so.

"Rude, this is Reeve. This is an emergency."

"What's the situation?"

"The Crown Prince is looking for the Princess, he said he wanted to apologize to her about all the things that have been going on this weekend. I told him that she left the mansion to go and do what she would, so he left and is on his way to look for her. You've got to find a way to split up and finish this later. He could catch you all and blow your cover! Moreover, he probably wouldn't appreciate seeing his would-be fiancee in the company of another man. Please, hurry and leave. I'll call you later."

With that Reeve hung up and left Rude to deliver the blow.

"Would you excuse us for a second?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure..."

Yuffie was half overjoyed and half disappointed at the speech. She couldn't believe that someone thought that she was perfect just the way she was! On the other hand, it would have been one of the most validating events of the weekend just to hear that last part. Just to hear what he would have said if he hadn't been interrupted. Would she finally have heard someone tell her they loved her?

"The Crown Prince is on the hunt for her...he wants to explain himself."
let out a muffled growl of frustration.

"Look, we don't have enough time to finish this, we have to bow out before he finds us and blows our cover or kills us for apprehending his guest. We have to go now, Reno."

The redhead looked ready to kill. He had finally gotten his opportunity to tell the girl how he truly felt and so many things were getting in the way. He didn't understand why alll of this had to come and hit him at once.

"But Rude, there's still so much I gotta say! I gotta tell her I love her. She has to know the truth before the night is out. She has to know that I'm not myself without her. She has to know the truth about everything. Including the fact that I'm not Rude Sparks, and that she should be Mrs. Reno Kobayashi-Kim. I need to tell her! I need to!"

"There will be time for that later! But right now you need to get your head in the game and make sure that this thing doesn't blow up in all of our faces! The stakes don't seem so high, but think about it. The Turks aren't a huge organization. In fact, we rely heavily on our reputation from other countries, world leaders and powerful figures to get the business that keeps us going. Do you know what making enemies of the King of Wutai and the Crown Prince of Nibelheim could do to not just us who are directly involved, but the entire organization as well? Do you want to be held accountable for the utter destruction of the entire Turks organization? I know that look on your face, you might think I'm blowing things way out of proportion, and I might be. But isn't it better to be safe than sorry? If you blow it now, you might never see her again."

The younger man knew he was right. Bowing his head dejectedly, Reno allowed himself to be escorted to the front to tell her that he had to leave her now.

"Look, Princess, there's a lot I still wanna say and all that, but for now I have to go. Word on the street is that that dope Valentine is lookin' for ya, and I don't think he's like it very much if he saw us together. Say you'll see me again."

"I will."

"I'm holding you to that."

Taking one last look at her, Reno walked out of the bar, feeling a strange mix of both hope and failure all at once. Still, he clung to that shred of hope tighter than the grip of despair tried to put his heart in a vice. She at least partly understood, and he was beginning to prove to her that his feelings were much more than simply some vulgar joke.

His blood raged inside of him as he saw his adversary entering the bar. Knowing better than to start something stupid at such a critical moment, both men bowed out gracefully, ducking into strategic nooks and crannies in order to avoid his gaze.

Vincent stuck out like a sore thumb; the whispers and stares grew and made him increasingly uneasy. He was dressed in a three-piece suit, definitely not bar attire, and towered over many of the bar's patrons. Girls gazed at him in awe and admiration, as the men glanced either enviously or preened themselves, clearly noting that every eye was on the handsome prince of the nation. Yuffie was still sitting at the table, looking a little dejected, but increasingly intoxicated, and hadn't noticed a thing.

The young Prince sat beside her and recieved the cold shoulder. She hadn't even bothered to look at him.

Taking up her glass and pouring himself a drink, he sat in silent awkwardness for a bit until he finally mustered up the courage to take her hand in his and speak.

"Miss Kisaragi...Yuffie. I don't know what to say."

Silence.

"...There is absolutely no excuse for my behavior towards you these past couple of days. There is no amount of words or reasons that I can provide in order to excuse the way I've been acting. There is no reason why anyone as beautiful and intellegent as yourself should have to deal with what I have been putting you through. I don't come here to offer you excuses, but I do want you to understand. Will you please come talk with me? Let me tell you a little bit about myself, and perhaps, gain a little of your trust and forgiveness in return?"

She bit her lip reluctantly, but nodded and followed him out.

Sitting at a park bench under a moonless and almost starless sky, he spoke to her.

"I served in a war, many years ago. My mother and father had two children, myself and my older brother Seth. Seth was supposed to become the next ruler of this country after the death of my parents. However, he went mad and ended up being killed in an incident in the northern quarters of the world. I was off serving in the war while my brother was going out of his mind. It was pure coincidence that not too soon after he had been dispatched, I was discharged from the army for losing an arm after saving one of my comrades from a back attack from one of our allies. My mother and father took very good care of me, seeing as how I was now the last hope to keep the Valentine name alive in the Royalty of Nibelheim. Dr.Saburo Hojo of the Shinra Lab Department was the man who performed an operation to attatch a new arm to my body. There was also a nurse there...whom of which did her best to see that I recovered fully."

Yuffie sat in silence, listening to him telling her things she already knew. It was only this last part that made her pay close attention, something told her that there was more to this story than met the eye.

"I...I fell in love with this woman. She was a Wutain - by birth anyway. I don't know where she grew up or any of that. Sometimes I even wonder if it was love and not just some kind of savior syndrome. She made me feel alive and human again in times where I never thought that things would be the same. I lost my brother and an arm to boot, and only gained the true love and acceptance from my parents out of some kind of pride in the family name. No matter how bitter and impatient, belligerent and unkind I was, she did her best to make me become something better, and try to recover. However, I didn't realize that she was Dr. Hojo's wife until it was too late.

Even then I stayed by her side. She was pregnant with Hojo's child. Hojo conducted experiments on them to test some kind of biological enhancement drugs. I disagreed with the whole thing, but I could only protest, not prevent. That is something I can't forgive myself for. In the end, she died giving birth. Saburo wasn't there, he was too busy conducting his silly research experiments to come to his wife's side as she labored to bring their son into the world. That is something I cannot forgive him for. You...remind me so much of her..."

"No."

Vincent was startled as the young ninja princess shook her head.

"I'm nothing like this girl from what you're telling me. Sure, we're both from Wutai, but if you knew a thing about me, you would see the differences."

"Yuffie, what are you talking about?"

"I'm not patient at all. I wouldn't bother trying to get some asshole to listen to me if it was for their own good and they didn't want to cooperate. I wouldn't let someone abandon me when I needed them most. I'd kick their ass from here to Midgar if they so much as disrespected me. Lastly, I would never marry someone who didn't seem to love me as much as I loved them. I can't spend forever wasting my time. I guess I've been so...awed and intimidated by you, these are things that I've forgotten about myself. Things I couldn't show you because I was afraid of scaring you away. But...I don't think I can pretend anymore without losing something precious to me - myself. And you, you need to let go of this girl in order to love someone else. If you can't, you'll just go on forever trying to find a substitute for something irreplaceable."

"...I never knew. Is this true? You've been playing some role in hopes of impressing me?"

"Go ahead and accuse me of being a liar if ya want. You can yell and scream and call me whatever, you can kick me out and tell me that I'm not suitable to be your wife or even a proper Wutain woman. I can't help who I am. I'm sorry I tried to be something I'm not. If you want, we can forget this whole thing and I can go home before I cause you any more trouble. Or we can start over and be who we really are. I won't hold back out of fear of chasing you away, and you won't pretend to see things that aren't really there. It's your call."

Vincent got up to stretch his long legs and pace around the bench as Yuffie sat there still, waiting to see what he would say. Part of her wanted him to tell her to go home, that he was sick of girls who couldn't be themselves around him and sucked up to him in order to try and get him to like them. Espescially knowing that there was someone out there who might love her exactly for what she was. On the other hand, she still secretly held some hope that he might say yes, that he wanted to get to know her; and maybe, just maybe, let her get to know him.

"I'm worried, Yuffie. I don't know if I can trust you if all this time you've been acting like someone you're not just to get in my good graces. There are so many who've done the exact same thing only to betray me in the end. On the other hand...from the strength you've tried to divulge to me tonight, I can plainly see that you've only done it because I intimidate you. Perhaps even because you truly feel something for me and want me to feel something for you in return. I can't make you any promises or guarantees, but I will vow that as long as you give me a few days of your honest personality, I will try to see you for you, and give you a part of myself in exchange. Can you agree to that?"

Yuffie smiled brightly as she nodded her head in excitement. She didn't need to hear his excuses or any pretty promises that would mean nothing the next day. She didn't even want to make up lies of her own to be what she couldn't. From this moment forward they were going to do their best to be themselves and see what came out of it.

Vincent extended an arm to her as though to escort her back to the mansion.

"I can walk just fine ya know."

He quickly withdrew, a bit stung but knowing she was just being herself. He was surprised to feel her slam herself into his side, grasping his hand and tugging him to a halt to make him look at her beaming smile.

"But holding your hand ain't a bad start."

He smiled down at her and led her back in the direction of the mansion.

She couldn't help but choke down a small wave of sad nausea as she thought about the red-haired man that led to help her become so strong, and wonder what choices she would make, whether they were wrong or right, and how long she could string along these two great men until she didn't stand a chance with any of them at all.