EEK! Shooting and dying! Well here you go, probably the chapter ya'll have been waiting for... how Yuf gets hurt in the first place. We've hit the peak of the action, all the rest is wrap up... three chapters at least lol. I wanted to make it longer, but when I wrote it out, it was really really gory, so I opted for shorter and less blood. Hope you enjoy!

Doctor Lindemen came in and waved Vincent over, bringing him into the hall outside the waiting room as the rest of AVALANCHE started to arrive. "I've got the results of the tests we ran, I thought you'd want to know."

The gunman nodded, switching his weight to his other foot, one of the only ways anyone could tell he was nervous. He didn't know what he wanted to hear, but he definitely wasn't ready for what came out of the doctor's mouth.

"Miss Kisaragi is in perfect health, but the blood cultures we took, when compared with yours… she's taken on some of the properties that you hold."

Vincent frowned, "what exactly does that mean?"

"She will never grow old, or get sick… unless she is killed, she won't die naturally… exactly like you." The gunslinger's eyes flashed in anger for a moment, his hand balling up before he took a breath and let it out. "You said there would be no curse."

"There isn't, she's completely healthy and her stats say that she should be awake very soon."

"Living forever is a curse, Doctor."

"Maybe not, did you ever stop to consider her feelings? Maybe she doesn't see it as a curse." The gunman sighed a bit, "I will ask her then, before I come to my own conclusions." The doctor nodded, "You should go to her, I'm sure she'd be happy to see you when she first wakes up." Vincent nodded and started down the hall, silently slipping into her room and sitting down in the chair. He glided his hand into hers, "I am sorry Yuffie," he whispered.

"Why? I'm not dead am I?"

He blinked and opened his eyes, looking right into the lipid gray pools of Yuffie's. A smile came to his face, and another of those rare tears slipped down his cheek. Only this time it wasn't in sadness or anger… but in joy.

"No," he managed to whisper in a voice rougher then usual, "you are very much alive." The ninja smiled softly at him and reached up with her other hand, wiping the tear away, her own shinning in her eyes… "And so are you Vincent, so are you." He moved, gathering her up in his arms gently and giving her the purest kiss he'd ever bestowed. She was right; he was alive… Who knew that a tear could be such a powerful thing?

2 hours earlier…

Yuffie opened the door, the metal bulkheads sliding up and down, looking into the common area on the Shera. The ceiling was showing the blue sky above them, and only one person was in there at that time… and it happened to be exactly who she was looking for. Vincent was standing next to the console that crewmembers could use to place orders for supplies, though it made the ninja giggle a bit. She always thought that it looked like that old jukebox in Seventh Heaven. "Hey you sexy thing…" she grinned and walked in, wanting to drag him off to their chambers. She was actually having a relatively puke free ride, and she wanted to take advantage of it. The gunman opened his eyes, but other then that he didn't move. He was standing with his back against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, and one leg bent, his foot resting on a lip in the metal behind him. One look at him and she could tell he was brooding; he even still had his rifle strapped to his back… not that the ninja could say anything since she still had her shuriken. With these new weapons, for some reason she felt less willing to put it down. She felt safe, even with Vincent not next to her; it was still like he was…

"How can you call me sexy?" Vincent frowned a bit, even though the thing descriptor would probably be most accurate, he didn't see how she could find him attractive. The ninja just rolled her eyes and came forward a bit, her hands on her hips. "Please, you are one handsome man, and you know it… your eyes just add to it." She heard the door open behind her, and she wasn't going to pay it any mind, until she saw the look on Vincent's face. The gunman started to move toward her, and she turned to see who it was…

And there was a gunshot, followed by another, and Yuffie felt the slugs bury themselves into her belly. She cried out, and started to fall, as she heard the maniacal laugher that she recognized as Kieran's, and she turned her head to see Vincent doubled over in pain, but he ran up to her and caught her, his face twisted in pain and sadness, and he lowered the woman to the deck. The demonic fires inside him were burning, wanting to be unleashed, but he tried to keep them back until he stepped over Yuffie, to put himself between his fallen love and the insane gunman. The red head grinned, "I told you I'd make you suffer, you'll see her die before I do the same to you… and you will feel what it is like to watch your beloved mate die before you, in agony like you did to my mother… and then you will die un agony after her, like my father."

Vincent's breaths were coming in shortened gasps, his eyes were starting to glow an eerie gold, signaling he was loosing his grasp on the Galien Beast, "No," he growled, his voice taking on a hollow sound, "it was a clean kill, they didn't feel anything, you're insane and you just killed an innocent woman…" In his anguish he lost control and his form was obscured in a black ball of energy, and when it dispersed, the Beast stood there. Because of their connection through their weapons, Vincent has reached his limit because of Yuffie's injury.

A deafening growl shook the room and he launched into action, firing a fireball at Kieran, catching him in the chest and causing the ex soldier to fly into the bulkhead across the hall outside. The Beast followed, hitting him with his claws, over and over, ignoring the man's cries of pain. The hatred burned in his yellow eyes, and he seemed to be taking enjoyment in bathing in the blood of Yuffie's murderer. He didn't even realize that the light had faded from Kieran's eyes, he howled in rage and grief, and Vincent didn't even want to fight to push the Galien Beast back inside him…

Yuffie was in blinding pain, but she managed to stay conscious, and she started to call for Vincent, trying to get him to hear her through the haze of his limit. "I'm here Vince," she called, trying to pulled herself closer to him, the pain threatening to take her sense from her every agonizing moment, but she was a ninja, and knew how to push past the ache, to get what needed to be done finished. "I'm here Vincent… please…" her voice was nearly panicked, and the edges of her vision were starting to cloud, "Vinnie I need you," she whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

Deep inside his consciousness, Vincent perked up, and he started to push through the bloodlust and sorrow, he'd heard Yuffie calling for him, and she needed him. The black sphere overcame his form and he was the crimson gunslinger yet again, though his arms were covered in blood and ichors, but he pulled away from the mutilated corpse and moved to his beloved ninja. "Yuffie, don't talk…" He wanted her to save every shred of strength. He heard a string of curses erupted from the hall outside, Cid and Barret appeared in the doorway. They'd been alerted to the problem, and came fully ready for a fight. What they saw was far worse, as the bloody Valentine was hunched over the injured ninja, clutching her to his chest. "Shit Vincent, what th' hell happened!" The pilot ran over to them while Barret tried to get rid of the body. "She's been shot," he whispered, his voice heartbreakingly soft, and Cid frowned, looking at the wound. "Th' bullets are still inside, we can't heal her 'til we can git 'em out." The spearman motioned for Vincent to pick her up and they took her out of the room, down to the sickbay. Cid grabbed towels and brought them over as Vincent gently laid the barely conscious ninja on the bed. ""ere, stick these on th' wound, to stop th' bleedin'. We're 'most to Edge, Cloud an' Tif got that first aide room in th' bar. We should be able ta git th' bullet out, and heal 'er up." He looked down at the tiny woman and moved her hair out of her face, "hold on brat, we'll git ya to Cloud, he'll fix ya up."

Cid turned and hurried out, yelling at the top of his lungs, getting his crew in gear so they could get to Edge as soon as possible. Vincent stayed right next to his fallen lover, not wanting to get too far from her for fear that she'd die right there. If it came down to it, he'd find a potion and heal her, then they could deal with the bullet later, but being a gunman, he knew what havoc the metal in the slug could cause, and he didn't want her to get injured further. Yuffie's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at the tortured gunslinger, and she reached up and gently wiped some blood from his cheek. "Hey, it'll take more then this to kill me, you know that. I'm too stubborn." Vincent let out a shaky breath and nodded, knowing it could be worse… they still needed to hurry, or she could loose too much blood. "Relax," he whispered, kissing her forehead softly and running his gloved hand through her short hair. "You should save your strength, you'll need it all."

"I'm sorry Vince," she whispered to him, swallowing a bit, "I didn't want to make you worry."

"Shh," he looked down at her with sad eyes. "It will be alright, he's dead, and he won't bother us again." The little ninja nodded and closed her eyes, and Vincent shook her gently, "stay awake… I'm sorry Yuffie, this is my fault."

"Why are you sorry, I'm not dead yet, am I?" She gave him a small smile and tilted her head a bit, looking into his eyes. "And even if I was, it's not your fault, so I don't want you thinking that it is. These things happen when you fight a lot…" She winced and put her hand on her stomach to hold it to try and keep the pain down.

Vincent shook his head, "you are too forgiving Yuffie…"

"So what if I am… it'll be alright… trust me."

The gunman let out a sigh; he didn't really have any other choice. "Rest…" he whispered and moved so he could stay right next to her, to make sure she didn't get worse. He'd give his own life to insure she'd be all right… he wasn't going to loose her like he lost Lucrecia. This time, it would be different.