Chapter 4
A Changing Situation...
The Nibelheim tavern usually bolted its doors at midnight sharp; lingering patrons would be booted out into the night, and anyone unlucky enough to be looking for lodgings at the time would be firmly turned away. But the tavern's profits were fueled by the local gossip, so whenever anything big happened in town, the innkeepers threw open the doors and welcomed the whole town for an all-night rumor exchange, complete with large discounts on alcohol. And, as Yuffie Kisaragi's rejection of Rufus Shinra was bigger than anything to happen since the doctor's wife's descent into madness nearly thirty years back, the windows of the tavern were blazing with light, and the sound of loud, enthusiastic chatter could be heard, even in the god-forsaken hours of the early morning.
Rufus had, very discreetly, slipped in through the back door, knowing that if he entered through the front, everyone would attempt to console him over his "loss". Dodging people with lowered eyes, he snuck over to the Turks' corner and explained the situation.
Reactions were less than favorable.
"Sir," Tseng began awkwardly,"…you must admit that Highwind's tale seems…well, to be blunt, sir, it's quite ludicrous."
"Yeah, and this is Highwind we're talking about, yo!" Reno chipped in loudly. Rude stamped on his foot and he lowered his voice. "Not a totally reliable source, is he?"
"I know, I know!" the vice president hissed through gritted teeth. "But–and don't ask me why, because I don't know either–somehow, I believe him. It…it sounds like something she would do."
Tseng, knowing his cousin, secretly agreed, but objected anyway. "That may be true, sir, but–"
"Either way, whether Cid's story is true or not, Yuffie is missing," Rufus quickly interrupted. "She's not in her house: I've checked. No person in their right mind is going to be on the mountain path at this hour; they'd be slaughtered by wolves. She's nowhere in town; people would have seen her by now. The last time anyone saw her was when she threw me out of her house. That was more than twenty hours ago! Isn't that enough of a cause for concern?"
The Turks exchanged weary expressions, simultaneously coming to the same conclusion. Their leader sighed and spoke. "Very well, sir. We'll search the mountain area, but it will have to wait until morning. As you said, the wolves are ferocious this time of night." He glanced outside. "Winds are picking up, sir. You'd best hurry back quickly, or you'll be caught in a blizzard."
Rufus nodded, barely concealing his gratitude. "Thank you." With that, he crept slowly out the window and headed toward his house.
Elena bit her lip worriedly. "Do you think the boss is alright?"
"Don't worry about him, 'lena!" Reno answered. "He's probably got a reason for wanting to help out Highwind, yo! Still, I think that old pilot's lost it this–"
"Ah, what's the man done this time?" The Turks all looked up at the arrival of the senior Shinra, followed by a handful of interested townspeople. "Come now!" he said at their stony expressions. "This ought to be a good story!"
Lying wasn't an option. "Miss Kisaragi is missing," Tseng explained, "and the pilot has come up with a rather…odd tale to explain her disappearance."
The roomful of people had gone uncharacteristically quiet with anticipation. Turks didn't usually contribute their findings to the town gossip, but when they did, the stories were guaranteed to fuel the rumor mill for a month, at the very least.
Tseng shifted uncomfortably. "He…apparently mentioned her being imprisoned by a demon."
There was a moment of bewildered silence before the crowd guffawed loudly, jeers and catcalls breaking out amongst them.
"That man with his rockets, what did you expect?"
"Always knew the man was a nut."
"All that tea's getting to him at last!"
The beginnings of dread began to settle in the Turks' minds as they saw President Shinra's expression. It was the frown he wore when he started plotting, and plotting always, without exception, meant trouble.
It only took a few moments for his plan to formulate. He stood and raised a hand for attention.
"The man is crazy, isn't he?" the president asked quietly, almost conversationally.
The crowd muttered their agreement.
The president frowned as if deep in thought. "Why, I can just barely remember the last time something like this happened! That was rather dreadful, wasn't it?"
A people broke in to hushed whispers as they recalled the incident.
"Burns all over her hands!"
"Hearing voices in her head!"
"Tried to kill her own husband!"
The president lifted a hand again. "Ah, yes. The old doctor's wife started hearing voices soon after her marriage. She then tried to kill her husband by burning the house down with some spare candlesticks!" He paused to let the story sink in, once again frowning in mock cogitation. "Well, she heard demons of some kind or another. Wait, but…Highwind is seeing his demons. I wonder what he'll do."
There were a few moments of horrified silence as the people took in his statement. A voice at the back of the crowd spoke up. "But we locked up Old Lucy, didn't we? So why not lock up the old pilot? That way we'll all be safe!"
The crowd cheered, clearly enthused by this plan of action. Shinra once again lifted a hand. "An excellent plan, my good man! I'm certain that a few days alone and a few draughts from the doctor will clear him right up! Why, we ought to go now!"
Raucous cheers erupted, and people started flooding out the door. After they were all gone, the president smirked, his plan accomplished. "Now," he said to the Turks, "Miss Kisaragi will not let her guardian be locked away so easily. I'm certain she'll accept Rufus's proposal when we present this as incentive." He strode out after the mob into the blistering cold.
Sitting alone in the abandoned tavern, the Turks exchanged looks of dread.
Yuffie coaxed Aura through the driving snow. "C'mon, girl!" she urged. "You can do this! It's not all that far!" She peered down the snowed-over path. There was no one following them, yet the mansion was still just barely in sight. They had made very little time. "C'mon, Aura!" she pleaded to the chocobo, who was still trying its best to trudge through the thick snow. "Run on top of the snow!You're the best gold chocobo ever! I know you can do it!"
The chocobo seemed encouraged by her words because it put on a sudden burst of speed and started to run, feet barely skimming the surface of the snow. Yuffie crowed in triumph. "Yes!" she cried. "Go Aura! That's the way you–!"
Aura suddenly jerked to a stop, head erect, listening for a sound the young princess had missed. "What is it, girl?" she asked. Then, she saw them.
A huge pack of Nibel wolves had prowled out of the trees and were blocking their path, their teeth bared and snarling. Yuffie's hand tightened on the reins, and Aura, taking that as a signal, turned around and shot in the other direction, leading the howling and snapping wolves with them. However, instead of heading back to the mansion, she rushed straight up the near mountain path.
Yuffie heaved a sigh of relief when the howls faded behind them. "Thank Gaia," she breathed, only to be jerked to a halt again. She stared in horror before her. The wolves hadn't fallen behind. They'd called for reinforcements. They were being ambushed from both sides by two separate packs of snarling, hungry canines.
Frantically, Yuffie grabbed a handful of rocks from the side of the mountain and chunked a large one at the nearest beast, hitting it straight between the eyes. "Ha! Take that!" she jeered.
Far from scaring the wolves away, as was intended, it only seemed to rile them further. They snapped their wicked jaws, prowling ever closer.
Yuffie took a step back. And another. And another.
Rocks crumbled beneath her feet. A chunk broke off the ledge. Her next step met open air.
And she was falling.
I'm going to die. Strange how calm she felt as the jagged rocks rushed toward her. In fact, this was probably better. Better to die free than live caged and all that. Yuffie closed her eyes.
And suddenly, she was rushing upward instead of downwards, arms held her to a warm body, and wings beat on either side of her. She registered the face of her rescuer in shock and squirmed in his hold. "Let go of me!"
The demon growled warningly and tightened his grasp. "Don't struggle. We're quite far up."
"Put me down!" she yelled. The demon sighed at this, but acquiesced, setting her down on a flat ledge. He watched passively as she steadied herself and caught her bearings. No doubt she was trying not to go into shock.
Finally, she acknowledged him, in her usual vehement manner. "Coming to take me back?" she snapped.
"Only if you want to."
Yuffie started at the demon's softly spoken answer. "Since when has my opinion mattered on anything?" she glowered.
He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud screech above them. The princess' head jerked up in horror. "Aura!" she cried.
The chocobo was pecking furiously at nearby wolves. However, the creatures would simply dodge her futile attacks and snap at her exposed legs. Several bite marks were visible, all of them bleeding profusely.
Yuffie searched in vain for a way up the mountain. "Aura! Hold on, girl, I'm coming!"
The demon stared at her incredulously. "You very nearly died at the hand of those wolves, and now you are running back into danger to save your chocobo." He shook his head in disbelief.
"Shut up!" she shouted. "I've had her since she was a baby! I'm not going to let her die!" She gripped the mountain face and tried to climb up, cursing vehemently when she fell.
The demon continued to watch her clumsy attempts to scale the mountainside, admiring her near-delusional determination. How odd she was, this girl that he was supposed to love. And how odd that, even though they never shared a single tender moment, this girl had managed to find a way into a heart that he'd thought was long broken.
He nodded imperceptibly to himself, knowing what to do.
Yuffie screeched as arms wrapped around her and she was swept into the air. "What are you doing?" she yelled as she twisted in the demon's grip.
He gave her no answer except to set her down higher up on the path. "Stay here," he commanded before flying away.
The ninja scowled at being ordered around. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Where're you–?" The rest of her sentence died in her throat, and her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw him dive into the pack of wolves and tear into the nearest one with his claws.
He was…saving Aura? For her?
The demon saw the chocobo leap past the wolves and dash towards Yuffie, and he breathed a sigh of relief when the pack didn't follow it. The wolves' hungry eyes were turned on him. They'd found a new target. He took a deep breath and braced himself.
They lunged.
Cid heard the mob long before they reached his door. He groaned. What was it this time? He'd just gotten back, so it couldn't be a noise complaint. Maybe someone found the wreck of one of the earlier rocket attempts in a field or something. With an annoyed sigh, he got up and opened the door.
To his surprise, the Turks stood at the head of the party. The loud redhead, the sunglasses guy, and what's-her-name seemed to be trying to restrain the mob. The leader stood at the door.
The pilot scowled. "What's all this shit about?"
Tseng looked uncomfortable. "Mr. Highwind," he muttered. "By majority vote of the town's citizens, you are to be taken in."
"Taken in?" Cid roared. "Where the fuck are you takin' me in?"
The Turk grimaced. "The asylum."
The pilot glared incredulously. "The fuck for? I ain't crazy!"
"You were saying stuff about demons!" yelled a person in the crowd.
He turned in their direction. "That was fuckin' real! The winged fucker has Yuffie!"
The mob jeered, and he only got more animated. "I'm telling you! Huge wings and these yellow eyes with these wicked fuckin' claws! And the fucking talkin' candles were real too!"
The crowd roared with laughter. Tseng put a hand on the pilot's shoulder. "Just go along with it. It'll be easier for everyone."
"The hell!" Cid spat. "I ain't goin' along with anythin'!" He moved to turn back into the house, but Tseng grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him, guiding him firmly towards a waiting carriage.
The pilot struggled in vain; the Turk had too strong a grip. "Fuck! Let go o' me!" he roared, but Tseng only met his eyes sadly. Then, for the second time in so many hours, he was thrown into a carriage, and the door slammed behind him.
Rufus watched the mob in horror from his bedroom window. There was no doubt in his mind as to who was behind it.
The front door opened.
Father.
Without a second thought, he dashed down the stairs and shouted, "What the fuck did you just do?!"
The Turks stared at him in shock. The president seemed nothing but calm. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me!" Rufus hissed. "You started that mob to get the pilot locked up! Why?!"
Shinra the elder narrowed his eyes. "Don't question my reasons, boy," he spat. "I'm doing all this for you!"
Comprehension dawned, and it served to make him all the more furious. "You think this is going to make Yuffie marry me?" he shouted disbelievingly. The triumphant expression on the old man's face made the answer apparent. "I don't want to marry her! And she sure as hell isn't going to marry me!"
The president glared. "You will marry her, and she will marry you, and that is final!" he roared.
"I won't," Rufus hissed defiantly, "and you can't make me."
A sharp blow struck him on the side of his head, and he fell to the ground with a cry. His father loomed over him. "I can't make you, is it? Can't I, boy? Can't I?" He planted a foot on his son's already-broken wrist, making him writhe in pain. Elena let out an involuntary gasp.
The president was jerked back to reason, seeming to suddenly remember his audience. He shot a glare at the Turks. "Leave us," he spat.
They did, forcing themselves to look straight ahead so not to see the betrayal in their young master's eyes.
Pawed feet scattering…
Warm blood flowing…
Cold snow covering…
Panicked voice calling…
Endless darkness surrounding…
"Hey."
He frowned. Who was that? The voice sounded familiar. And worried. He didn't want this person to be worried.
"Hey, wake up!"
A female voice. A name flashed across his mind, accompanied by the usual racking sorrow.
"Huh?"
Had he spoken out loud? It wasn't her. Then who? And why did she sound relieved?
"Wake up, you!"
The demon dragged himself back into consciousness. A pair of chocolate brown eyes hovered in his vision.
"Finally!" the voice said exasperatedly. "Gaia, I thought you'd gone and croaked!"
He blinked. His bedroom swam into view.
Yuffie stood before him, hands on her hips, a smug grin on her face.
He tried sitting up, only to collapse again. His chest felt like it was torn to pieces. "What…happened?"
She scowled, but there was no venom in the expression. "I'll tell you what happened. You went and got yourself torn to pieces by those rabid mutts! I had to drag your sorry ass back down here!" She started pacing around the room, gesticulating wildly. "You were bleeding everywhere, and there was this gigantic hole in your chest, but before I could do anything, it just closed itself right up! Does that come with being a weird winged-fanged-whatever-the-hell-you-are? Don't answer that question! But you were unconscious for hours, and it's almost noon, and everyone thought you were gonna die!" The ninja heaved in a huge breath before turning back to face him. "Anyway, you're not moving anywhere for at least another week, demonic healing powers or not."
The demon glared. "I am fine. And you have no right to order me about my own home."
He expected her to go off on him like she usually did, but instead, Yuffie just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You owe me big time, mister, so you are going to do what I say."
He frowned incredulously. "I owe you? This would never have happened if you had not run away."
She scowled back. "And I wouldn't have run away if you hadn't fucking attacked me!"
"I specifically told you never to go in my room."
"Well, if you weren't such a secretive ass and actually gave me a reason for all the shit you put me through, maybe I'd be more compliant!"
The demon fell silent, and Yuffie smirked, sensing her victory. "Shera and the cups will be up with some tea and breakfast in a bit, and I'm sitting right here," she said, plopping herself down on the footstool, "to make sure you don't move."
They sat in silence, but the ninja kept shifting around. There was something she had to say. She was royal blood. She had manners. She had to say it, for honor's sake. If she didn't, she knew it would bother her for the rest of her life. Oh, to hell with it, she thought. If she was going to destroy her dignity, she might as well do it with some pride.
"By the way," she muttered awkwardly, staring down at a particularly nasty bloodstain on the carpet, "I…never thanked you."
The demon blinked. "For…?"
The princess managed to wrench her eyes away from the floor and angle her face in his direction, though she still didn't meet his gaze. "You…saved Aura. And you saved my life. So…" She fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well, thanks," she blurted out hurriedly before looking away and staring firmly back down at the carpet, blushing furiously. Thankfully, the demon said nothing.
Shera, mounted on Nanaki, whose back was laden with plates of eggs and bacon, peeked into the room to find a rather awkward scene. Yuffie seemed to be attempting to burn away a bloodstain on the carpet with her gaze while the demon seemed to be finding the plain black of his canopy very interesting. Each was very pointedly avoiding the other's gaze. The teapot and footstool shared knowing grins. It was progress.
"Brunch, dears!" she piped (no pun intended). The two seemed extremely relieved at her presence. Yuffie leaped up and carried the demon his tray of breakfast, setting it down on his lap. "Eat," she commanded firmly. She then turned to Shera. "Make sure he doesn't try to go anywhere."
The teapot nodded and winked. "Will do, Miss Kisaragi." She glanced at Nanaki out of the corner of her eye and saw a matching expression of inner SQUEE.
The ninja nodded and started to make her way out of the room. Damn, I'm tired, she thought, fighting back yawns. Staying up all night probably wasn't the best idea. She probably looked like shit about now, what with tromping through snow and cleaning up blood. She needed some sleep.
"Yuffie."
She spun around, thoughts of slumber forgotten. "Huh?"
The demon kept his eyes firmly on his breakfast but managed to speak. "I never thanked you either," he murmured.
The princess blinked. "For…?"
He sighed. "You saved my life as well. So thank you."
Yuffie involuntarily smiled. "Heh, that's the first time you've said my name." Why did it feel so warm when he said it?
The demon blinked, thinking back. "So it is," he said.
"I don't suppose you have a name," she prodded. "I can't just keep calling you 'you', you know."
Shera and Nanaki glanced at each other with panicked eyes. Wrong question, wrong question, wrong question!
He remained silent. After a few moments, Yuffie shrugged. "I'll check back on you later," she muttered before leaving the room. She hadn't expected much anyway.
When she was halfway down the hall, she heard someone call after her. She whirled around and dashed back into the room. "Huh?"
The demon met her gaze this time, something of sadness and something of hope in his eyes. "Vincent."
The ninja blinked in confusion. "Huh?" she repeated.
The corner of his lips barely twitched. "My name. Vincent Valentine."
Comprehension dawned, and Yuffie grinned. "Well, nice to meet you, Vincent Valentine."
The candlestick trio hopped along beside her.
"How is he?" Cloud asked anxiously.
She grinned down at him. "He's fine."
Zack bounced forward as quickly as he could. "Did he say anything?"
Yuffie looked away, trying not to blush. "Well…uh…he told me his name was Vincent. That's pretty much the only important thing." She walked on. "So I'm thinking that since I'll have to stick around a little longer, I'm going to need some–" She paused. The candles had fallen several meters behind. "Uh…guys?"
The three stared at her with wide eyes. Cloud spoke up first. "He…told you his name?"
The princess blinked. "Um…yeah." She looked around at their surprised expressions. "Is that bad?"
"Bad?" said Zack, a goofy grin on his face. "It's great! It's the best news we've gotten since we heard that the old bitch got locked up!"
Yuffie cocked her head, confusion growing. "Why's it such a good thing that I know his name?"
Sephiroth answered. "He hasn't used his name in thirty years." The former hero seemed rather mystified.
She stared incredulously. "Why?"
The three candelabra exchanged glances. All three of them nodded and made to go into a side room. Cloud gestured for her to follow. "Come in and sit down. It's kind of a long story."
"I don't really know a lot about Vincent from before we met him," Cloud began uncomfortably. "His mother died in childbirth, and his father was really strict and never let him into town. Shera, she works here, so he grew up with just her really." He bit his lip, unsure where to go from there. "Well…his dad worked for ShinRa, so the Northerners killed him in their invasion. Vincent joined up to fight after that, and that's how we met him. He had to be the best shot in the army, that's for sure. He was great with spontaneous planning too. That thing with the dragon was his idea." Everyone shared a grin at the memory of the story. "Yeah, he got to know the mountains really well. They were, like, his only source of entertainment outside his house." Cloud paused and glanced at the other two for help. Zack took over.
"So, we had just won the Northern War, right? So we invited all our pals for a night on the town. Vincent was pretty overwhelmed. He was really different back then. I mean, he wasn't exactly talkative, but he did strike up conversations now and again, right? And he was really nice too, like helping-every-old-lady-on-our-path-pick-up-groceries kinda nice. He got to the tavern, and he was like a fish outta water. I don't think he'd ever seen so many people in one place, like, ever." The black candlestick sighed. "So, we had to get him somewhere else, 'cause he was kinda subtly freaking out in the corner, so we took him to the library, which was definitely more his thing. Big reader, Vincent is. So he was going through it and picking out books and stuff when he bumps into her."
Yuffie blinked, surprised at the sudden vehemence in the normally-cheerful Zack's voice. The other two candlesticks wore similar expressions. "Who?" she asked.
Sephiroth spoke up. "A girl. They struck up a conversation over a book and became friends almost immediately." He shook his head. "To shorten things, he fell madly in love with her. He courted her for several months. Since, obviously, money was of no shortage, he bought her everything she could have wanted." He narrowed his eyes. "Evidently, it wasn't enough."
The princess frowned, absorbed in the story. "Whaddya mean?"
It was Zack who burst out angrily. "The bitch was already engaged the whole fucking time!"
Yuffie's eyes went wide as saucers. "And she never told him?" The dark expressions of the candelabra were the only answer she needed. A pang of sympathy shot through her. "How did he find out?"
"He proposed to her."
The ninja turned to Cloud in shock. "No!"
He nodded grimly. "Then she had the balls to invite him to the wedding."
She gasped angrily. "How could she do that? Did she know he loved her?"
Sephiroth chuckled coldly. "Did she know? He told her every day. She never told him a thing." He sighed. "Naturally, he was heartbroken."
"Heartbroken's an understatement, man," Zack said, eyes sad from the memory. "He was, like…dead." He shook his head. "She held the wedding outside in the courtyard. She probably felt guilty," he spat. "So we gathered all his buddies, all the guys he knew from the army and his friends from the town and then some, to try and make him feel better. Throw him a sorta party, right?" The candlestick shrugged. "So by a weird turn of events, we all ended up like this."
Yuffie narrowed her eyes, suspicion setting in. "What weird turn of events? You never told me how this all happened."
The three candelabra exchanged glances again, this time shaking their heads. "You'd better ask Vincent about that if you want to know," Cloud sighed. "It'd be a little…um…awkward…if we told you."
She sighed in annoyance but said nothing, giving the far wall a look that could kill.
Zack, unsurprisingly, was the first to break the silence. "But…this is good, you see? Way back when this all first happened, he made everyone stop using his name because he said it reminded him of the past. Of her." He frowned briefly, but when he continued, it was as animated as usual. "But he told you his name. He's using it again, which means he's getting over it! And you're helping him!" The black candle grinned with his signature cheerfulness.
Sephiroth smirked. "It would seem so, yes."
"We can't thank you enough," said Cloud.
Yuffie blinked. "Thank me? For what?"
The gold candle smiled. "He's our friend. You're helping him. A lot, in fact." He shrugged. "That deserves thanks, I think."
The princess fidgeted uncomfortably but smiled back. After a few moments, she muttered something about sleep and left the room.
The candlestick trio met eyes and grinned. Finally, some hope.
Up in the demon's room, while the candles rejoiced, while the teapot and footstool watched faithfully, and while the princess slept soundly, a petal of the rose fluttered slowly down to add to a growing stack on the table.
And so the fourth petal fell.
Vincent Valentine speaking. Erava is currently digging for fireworks under the bed, so she is rather unavailable to post this chapter. Therefore, she appointed, read: forced, me to post this for her. She gave me a long, sob-filled author's note to insert here, which I will attempt to shorten, as it is difficult to type with one hand.
She expresses deep apologies to someone named NeroGravity, to whom she apparently promised an update a week earlier.
She said something about dedicating the chapter, but I find it unnecessary. If I must, I suppose that all who read this get their fair share of dedication.
There was a rather long bit that included something about "loving you people so goddamn much" and "you all are the most awesome readers ever if you're still following this", but it was all rather repetitive. Needless to say, she adores the lot of you, though I am rather confused as to why, seeing as she has never met any of you.
She wishes everyone a Happy New Year and expresses hopes that it will be better than the last. That is all.
Also, she demands reviews and offers muffins to all who comply. To those who do not comply, she threatens to send Sephiroth's body parts, though I'm not sure where she would get them. Also, it would no doubt only encourage you people.