Like The Sun, Like The Moon

Chapter Seven

He yawned.

And then…

He yawned again.

Endless boredom and an eternal fatigue were definitely not a good combination. At least not if you were a human spirit possessing an alien body that would run amok once you ever lost control over it, that is.

Thanks to Jenova's unique physique Sephiroth technically didn't need any sleep at all anymore. However, his mind was still used to a few hours of rest every day, which caused him to yawn repeatedly although he wasn't really tired.

Weird.

But he would acclimatize to it sooner or later. He had to – or else…

Scanning the lower deck in utter boredom, he wondered distantly what crimes Jenova might commit once let loose.

There were several crates standing all over the place in a rather inefficient arrangement. He guessed there had to be some useful goods inside, yet Jenova probably wouldn't even bother noticing them – crates weren't the most responsive of all victims. She liked making people suffer, not boxes.

Speaking of which, an amusing number of stowaways was currently lingering all over the lower deck. In fact, there were more people travelling illegally on this ship than those who didn't – he had to know, after all he had been observing all passengers thoroughly for at least two hours now.

Considering he had led the high society onto the ferry personally – in the disguise of a loyal servant, of course – he could be certain that Rufus as well as Heidegger were on board. Beyond that, he had made out two guards patrolling the decks and reckoned with another two of them he hadn't noticed yet.

This made a total of six people for ShinRa, whereas the number of the stowaways seemed to be increasing steadily. At first, he had only seen two of them – the puppet and the Cetra – but as the journey progressed, just about every member of avalanche seemed to drop by and talk to one of the others. And sometimes, they would even talk to him.

Speaking of the devil, the puppet was currently approaching him. Again.
Sephiroth, still in the red disguise of a ShinRa officer, sighed inaudibly and began glaring at the blond whose name he still couldn't and probably wouldn't ever remember. "Go back to work!" he barked in feigned annoyance. He didn't even bother trying to sound convincing in his anger. Nonetheless, the clone turned on his heels and was gone as soon as he had come.

Sighing once again, Sephiroth leant back against the crate behind him. Playing the role of an officer was actually rather exhausting, especially since those Avalanche guys kept coming to him and asking for information they didn't even expect him to provide.

Speaking of the devil, the puppet was currently approaching him. Again.
Sephiroth, still in the red disguise of a ShinRa officer, sighed inaudibly and began glaring at the blond whose name he couldn't and probably wouldn't ever remember. "Go back to work!" he barked in feigned annoyance. He didn't even bother trying to sound convincing in his anger. Nonetheless, the clone turned on his heels and was gone as soon as he had come.

Oh yes. Playing the role of an insignificant NPC was annoying. Granted, barking the same sentence again and again was just about the easiest task possible – and at the same time, it was the most difficult one.

If he made the tiniest mistake – be it a slightly differing choice of words, a yawn timed badly or simply a movement he hadn't done before – Avalanche might suspect he wasn't the useless NPC he claimed to be. And then they would pester him till the end of time.

Speaking of the devil, someone was currently approaching him. Again.
Sephiroth, still in the red disguise of a ShinRa officer, sighed inaudibly and began glaring at the offender whose name he didn't and wouldn't ever know. "Go back to work!" he barked in feigned annoyance. He didn't even bother trying to sound convincing in his anger.

And strangely enough, the person standing in front of him didn't turn on his heels and go.

He blinked and took a closer look at said person, who appeared to be a surprisingly short, elderly sailor, supposedly in his sixties. However, only his remarkably wrinkled face suggested this age – the rest of his body seemed rather bizarre. He wore a white uniform that was undoubtedly too large for his size; even his hat was too wide for him. But although the majority of his hair happened to be hidden underneath the white headpiece, a few tangled strands of a weirdly violet colour were clearly visible – and what as even stranger, they were long enough to fall onto his shoulders, leading to another, startling phenomenon: The part of the sailor's arms that was left uncovered by the uniform looked as though he was suffering from a nasty skin disease, whereas his hands seemed absolutely fine. In fact, his fingers were so delicate and feminine that they didn't match the image of an old man at all.

Odd, he told himself with a mental smirk as he kept glaring at the man, waiting for him to start speaking. Another moment later, the bizarre figure in front of him finally opened his mouth in order to say something. "Go back to work!" Sephiroth barked dutifully. After all, he had a reputation to maintain – that of an annoying NPC. And annoying NPCs tended to cut you off even before you started speaking. It was bothersome, but an effective way to keep his disguise intact.

Just as expected, the stranger's eyes narrowed immediately. "Do not be fresh, young man," he retorted in a voice that was as weird as his whole appearance. He sounded old, yet young. Tired, yet energetic. Ill, yet healthy.

Odd, Sephiroth told himself with a mental smirk as he kept glaring at the man, waiting for him to continue speaking. Another moment later, the bizarre figure in front of him finally opened his mouth in order to say something. "Go back to work!" Sephiroth barked dutifully. After all, he had a reputation to maintain – that of an annoying NPC.

The stranger grunted in annoyance and glared at the officer.

He glared back – the same way he had been glaring for hours now.

They kept staring at each other for a while. Yet eventually, the stranger forfeited and released his annoyance in a loud groan. "You are in charge of the lower deck, are you not?" he inquired in a now somewhat patient manner.

"Go back to work!" Sephiroth barked dutifully. After all, he had a reputation to maintain – that of an annoying NPC.

The stranger sighed and went on, "Obviously, you are."

"Go back to work!" Sephiroth barked dutifully.

The stranger heaved another sigh and stepped around the officer in order to lean against the crate next to him. "You are a stubborn one, are you not?" he asked in the vain attempt to strike up a conversation.

Obeying the rules of the guild of annoying NPCs, Sephiroth spun around to face the stranger directly, glared at him and barked once again, "Go back to work!"

The old sailor rolled his eyes. They mirrored the same discrepancy Sephiroth had noticed on the remaining features of the man: Old, yet young. Tired, yet energetic. Ill, yet healthy.

"I happen to have become a bit travelsick," the stranger went on with a rather suspect kind of patience, as he was watching the officer out of the corner of his eyes, "You do not accidentally possess a Tranquilizer, do you?"

"Go back to work!" Sephiroth barked dutifully.

"So you don't," the sailor concluded with a sigh. "Apparently, nobody does."

"Go back to work!" Sephiroth barked dutifully.

"But at least allow me to stay here," the stranger demanded rather good-naturedly, "Around you I do not feel as sick anymore."

"Go back to work!" Sephiroth barked dutifully. Yet he had already realized he was not going to be let alone anytime soon, causing him to sigh inwardly. This was going to be a longer day than he had presumed.

"I take it you do not mind," the stranger spoke conversationally and made himself comfortable by sitting down against the crate.

"Go back to work!" Sephiroth barked dutifully. When he only received a weirdly grateful smile but no real response from the sailor, he turned back to face the main hall.

Suddenly, his inner alarm clock rang.

Not because there were any dangers nearby, no – It simply reminded him that the ten minute interval had passed: it was time to release the yawn he had been suppressing for quite a while now, and he executed it rather thankfully.

Unfortunately Cloud, lingering on a crate nearby, took it as a sign and approached the fake officer once again. "Are you tired?" the blond asked curiously even before the man in front of him had a chance to cite his sentence, "I thought NPCs don't get tired?"

Sephiroth glared at him, and this time he actually meant it. It wasn't a nice experience to find the body you inhabited mocking you for your need of sleep to begin with. But finding the puppet – your own clone! – making fun of you was simply humiliating. "Go back to work!" he barked dutifully, only barely able to keep the annoyance he was showing at an adequate level.

Cloud nodded and turned to go.

And he would have gone. If he hadn't noticed the tiny man sitting at the crate, watching the NPC officer intently.

Intrigued by the sudden appearance of this strange character, Cloud approached the sailor and addressed him straight away, "Since when have you been here?" He quickly glanced towards the back of the hall before turning back to the elderly man continuing, "Haven't you been somewhere back there before?" He pointed vaguely at some crates situated near the stairs.

"Urrrgh… This is why… I hate ships," the old man mumbled and gazed up at the blond, looking rather ill. "Hey, boy. You have any 'Tranquilizers'?"

Disappointed, Cloud answered with a simple "Nope."

"…unless it is an emergency get away from me…" the sailor mumbled and allowed his head to drop again.

For several long minutes, the ex-SOLDIER kept standing next to them, pouting. "How come you have moved away if you still say the same?" he exclaimed in frustration and left.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sephiroth could see the puppet confronting the Cetra girl about his current problem. She frowned at the blond's passionate words and eventually approached the two NPCs.

"I saw the two of you interacting a while ago," she stated matter-of-factly, "Which means, that at least one of you –"

"Go back to work!" Sephiroth barked dutifully.

Aeris frowned at him and continued a little less firmly, "…has got to be a real person." For a long moment, she eyed both the supposed NPCs, observing their appearances and actions warily.

Obviously, the barked "Go back to work!" had become some weird kind of a new reflex for him – Sephiroth didn't even realize he was hollering it as he was concentrating on the noises coming from the person sitting in a crouched position next to him. Not willing to blow his cover, he couldn't turn around to watch the sailor directly, but the sounds he perceived were convincing enough: Everything about the old man might be a lie, but not the fact that he was indeed travelsick. And his illness seemed to be deteriorating steadily.

However, although the two members of Avalanche seemed to be studying both fake NPCs thoroughly, they didn't seem to notice the sailor's poor health; they rather began to suspect he was simply pretending to be sick.

It was then that Aeris finally made a decision; stepping towards the elderly sailor, she crouched down in front of him and started staring him down. "Why do you pretend being an NPC?" she interrogated the man in utter confusion.

Yet as she still failed to acknowledge the sailor choking repeatedly, Sephiroth couldn't help but sigh. "Why don't you?" he asked her in a low whisper.

Immediately Aeris jumped up, staring after him wide-eyed, as he calmly made his way towards the medicine chest, which, as he had discovered during his earlier observation of the place, was located only a few metres away, near the passageway leading to the second storage room. He didn't take long to find what he needed and unhurriedly returned to the Avalanchers still gaping at him. "I mean, if you insist on dodging the fare," he told them while wordlessly offering some tranquilizer as well as a discreetly brown paper bag to the old sailor, "you might at least try not to be discovered."

Gratefully, the aged man took and used the items given to him, causing Aeris as well as Cloud to pale as they unintentionally watched him vomiting.

For a while Sephiroth simply studied their bewildered and therefore strangely fascinating expressions, yet when he realized nobody was about to start speaking anytime soon, he decided to break the silence himself. "You should go outside and watch the sea," he suggested as he turned his head to watch the sailor, "It's supposed to work rather well against motion sickness."

The old man looked up at him and chuckled resignedly. "Your concern honours me, lad," he spoke in a somewhat stained voice, "but frankly, I am not fond of exiting this ship before it arrives at Costal del Sol."

Sephiroth arched an eyebrow. "Whatever you say," he commented dryly before turning to the remaining two participants of this little conversation. "I don't mean to be rude," he stated after studying them for another minute of utter silence, "but unless you've got anything to say, I'd rather you left so we could resume our work."

"Work?" Cloud blurted out, "Standing around and playing NPC? That's what you call working?"

Feeling a tiny little bit offended, Sephiroth frowned at the blond's statement, but quite luckily, Aeris answered before him. "Cloud, don't be so impolite," she lectured her bodyguard, "I believe playing a convincing NPC must be quite a tough think to do."

"I agree," Sephiroth remarked, stifling a yawn.

"Me too," the sailor piped up in a much less ill manner than a mere five minutes before, "Citing the same lines over and over again can be quite distressing."

The appreciative smile Aeris was sending them suggested she actually knew the efforts connected to playing NPC from her own experience, which raised some interesting questions indeed. However, Sepiroth wasn't granted a chance to ask them when the flower girl resumed chattering conversationally. "It might be hard," she told them frankly, "Still I wish I had had that idea, as well. Although…" Pondering, she tilted her head to the side and eventually concluded with a wink at Sephiroth, "…I doubt I could have kept yawning every ten minutes."

He arched an eyebrow.

"You were quite convincing, you know," she added good-naturedly.

"I hadn't thought anyone would actually check the intervals," he replied in a rather indifferent manner.

"Oh, I hadn't planned to, either," the Cetra admitted with that cheerful smile that seemed to never ever leave her face, "But you are quite a fascinating fellow to look at, you know." She grinned at him. "I couldn't stop watching."

While he was deliberately ignoring the loud cough coming from the sailor, Sephiroth frowned at the girl. She wasn't really flirting with him, was she? Next to her, he could see the puppet grimacing faintly, when Aeris unexpectedly whirled around to scold her bodyguard once again. "Geez, Cloud!" she exclaimed in utter disapproval as she gestured towards the old sailor, "Even the he is more jealous than you! And I thought you wanted that date with me!"

The dumbstruck expression on the clone's face was priceless. Really. However, Sephiroth wasn't granted the chance to savour it as the Cetra soon turned back to him, the ever-present smile still plastered on her face. "So anyway," she began anew, "What has convinced the two of you to journey with ShinRa Travels on this wonderfully sunny day?"

After pondering just what might be the best answer, Sephiroth decided to let the sailor do the work when he heard the man clearing his throat.

"I am certain you can understand that we would feel a lot more secure if we knew your objectives before telling you about ours," the elder spoke wisely, earning an almost approving glance by Sephiroth.

Aeris, on the other hand, tensed visibly and cast a hesitant glance at Cloud.

His face had darkened dramatically. Nonetheless, the ex-SOLDIER decided to humour the two fake NPCs. Maybe he'd even be able to recruit them for their little gang? Thus, he cleared his throat and spoke meaningfully, "Sephiroth."

The sailor frowned in confusion, whereas his travel companion merely tilted his head a bit.

Cloud sighed. "He has been doing horrible things," he explained gloomily, apparently unsure how to express his thoughts, "That's why we are following him – we want to know why he's doing this…" He hesitated and stole a quick glance at Aeris before going on at a somewhat lower voice, "And we want to stop him, no matter how."

As he felt the piercing gaze of the sailor at his neck, the officer tilted his head again and returned Cloud's meaningful look. "Sephiroth…" he muttered, pretending to be deep in thought, "Wasn't that one of those guys with ShinRa?"

The blond nodded. "Actually, he's the former general."

After pondering for another moment, Sephiroth asked fake-unknowingly, "But isn't he supposed to be dead?"

Once again, the ex-SOLDIER nodded. "He is," Cloud confirmed earnestly, "But not anymore. He's come back, and he is even more evil now…"

Casting the sailor next to him a meaningful glance out of the corner of his eye, Sephiroth continued interrogating his favourite clone, "What do you mean with evil?"

Cloud shifted on his feet. "He has killed lots of people, he burnt my hometown," he mumbled quietly, "And he's up to something dreadful, I'm sure of it."

Sephiroth nodded in understanding when he suddenly heard some gurgling from beside him. Turning around, he discovered with a sigh that the sailor's condition was indeed aggravating again.
How bothersome.

"I hope you don't mind us leaving you for a second," he told the two Avalanchers with a tiny hint of apology in his voice, "But gramps could really do with some fresh air." With that, he unceremoniously loaded the sailor onto his arms and walked towards the stairs, "We'll be back in a while."

And then he was gone, leaving Aeris and Cloud in utter surprise.

"What was that?" he asked her, scratching the back of his head.

"I believe they know more about this matter than they let on," she answered in slight confusion, "But that man really seemed ill." With that, she sighed and sat down on a crate nearby. "We should let them sort things out by themselves. Until then…" She grinned. "Why don't you teach me how to juggle with materia?"

For a moment, Cloud looked at her in bewilderment.
Yet once his surprise had subsided a few seconds later, his face lit up. "How did you know I'm a pro at this?" he inquired surprisingly enthusiastically as he took a few colourful orbs out of his bracelet while sitting down next to her.

"I've seen you juggling earlier," she answered with a sweet smile, "Can you show me how to do it?"

"You need to practice a lot, but beyond that it's not even that hard," he told her with the brightest beam she had ever seen on him as he arranged three pieces of materia in his hands. "The key is to have the right timing," he said as he threw the first orb into the air, then the second one, and finally the third one, and suddenly there was only a blur of yellow, red and green soaring through the air.

"It's awesome," Aeris spoke in genuine amazement, when suddenly a fire materia flew over her head, missing her only by a hair's breadth. Shocked, she stared at the offender.

"…and the second thing you need to remember is to contain the force you're using," Cloud informed her sheepishly as he went to retrieve the materia.

Watching his somewhat clumsy actions, Aeris couldn't help but shake her head.

And yet, she was smiling.

Meanwhile Sephiroth had carried the elderly sailor to the upped deck and placed him safely near the railing.

"You could have warned me, you know," the man mumbled shakily as he crouched, clinging to the railing as if his life depended on it – which it probably did.

Ignoring his companion's obvious fear completely, Sephiroth stated in his favourite, matter-of-fact tone, "Look at the sea and you'll get better." He nodded towards the cerulean ocean and added wryly, "Even without any further drugs."

Caught red-handed, the sailor grumpily stuffed the remaining Tranquilizer back into his pocket and complied with the fake officer's orders by staring at the sea, even though he was obviously not very fond of the idea.

"You know," Sephiroth informed him conversationally as he rested his forearms on the railing to watch scenery as well, "Getting rid of that hilarious disguise of yours might help improving your condition quite a lot." Watching the sailor out of the corner of his eye, he could see him flinching. Probably, he would be able to determine a blush as well if it wasn't for the mask the 'man' was wearing, but he couldn't be sure about that. What he was sure about, however, was the fact that the person crouching next to him was neither old, nor a man, but ironically the complete opposite.

"Since when have you known?" the 'sailor' asked once his shock had subsided.

"You should have clad yourself more carefully," he replied without really answering, "Your hands look far too young and your wig seems simply…" He glanced at the tangled, violet somethings poking out of 'his' hat. "…inappropriate."

Silence.

Sephiroth was already wondering whether he had insulted his companion, when the sailor suddenly began to laugh. Loudly, shrilly and in a voice that didn't match his appearance whatsoever. "Normally, my disguises are much more qualitative," he, or rather she, claimed in a surprisingly good mood as she took off her hat and removed the wig, "But this time I've really had no time for any real preparations, you see." Then she pulled the mask off her face, revealing the flawless features of a sixteen year old Wutainese girl. "Wow, this feels great!" she exclaimed happily as she got up and leaned over the railing to enjoy the chilly sea air. "This mask really got on my nerves. Good thing I finally got rid of it."

"And you aren't motion sick anymore, either," Sephiroth added with a wry smirk.

"Let's hope it'll last till the ship arrives," she said as she busied herself with peeling the fake skin off her arms.

While watching her rather nauseating yet mesmerizing action, Sephiroth began to wonder, "What was the disguise meant for in the first place?" He paused briefly. "I doubt anyone would have recognized you if you had omitted the mask."

"Dunno," Yuffie simply answered, never averting her gaze from her arms, "I guess I just felt like it."

"Ah." With that, he left the girl to her work and turned back to watching the sea.

For a long while, the roll of the water and a faint scratching were the only sounds to be heard, establishing a somewhat weird but pleasant atmosphere.

Then the scratching died away.

Finally disposed of her disguise, Yuffie leaned next to Sephiroth against the railing, positioning herself in a fashion that resembled his current pose, as she, too, resumed watching the soothing sight the ocean provided.

Another minute of utter silence passed.

"Evil, huh?"

Sephiroth arched an impassionate eyebrow. Glancing rightwards, he noticed her watching him intently until she turned her head back towards the sea and went on in a rather earnest manner, "Did you ask them these questions to show me that you've really become such a terribly bad guy? Someone I shouldn't get involved with?"

It wasn't really a question, so Sephiroth left it unanswered.

"You want me to stay out of your business," she went on quietly, "That's why you are telling me those things, isn't it?"

No answer. He simply kept watching the waves below as he waited for her to continue.

"But, you know, telling me you're cruel and crazy and whatnot won't keep me away from you – it never has," she spoke and smiled at the memories, "It actually makes me want to know more about what's going on with you." Still holding on to the railing, she leaned back to stare at the sky. "And that means, I don't have much of another choice but to follow you around wherever you go."

Finally, Sephiroth showed a reaction; he tilted his head to the side. "Odd."

Taken by surprise, Yuffie frowned at him and inquired, "What's odd?"

"I have never seen it from that point of view, although it is so obvious," he admitted in a rather dispassionate voice as he returned her frown and shrugged, "I seem to be getting forgetful in my old age."

Yuffie's eyes widened. He was actually joking around her – not the run-of-the-mill kind of joking, but the deadpanning she had always loved him for; back when she had known him better, he had always managed to crack the best of jokes in an absolutely serious tone which made them hard to recognize, but therefore twice as entertaining.

Oh yes, back then he had used to joke a lot, and that he was apparently resuming this habit was such a great progress that it caused a grin to creep onto Yuffie's face. "Don't worry," she assured him, trying vainly to emulate his completely earnest tone of voice, "I doubt it's your age – I bet it's the wicked sea air causing us to overlook certain details."

"Possibly," he replied with a weary smirk that vanished as soon as it had come.

And once again, a peaceful silence settled between them.

Leaning onto the railing again, Yuffie started gazing at the waves breaking on the hull while pondering her next question. "And you're really him?" she eventually inquired in a gentle voice.

"Make up your own mind," he answered quite harshly, "You've already got my word on that matter."

"I see." Grimacing, Yuffie realized watching the waves break was not the best thing to do if you tended to motion sickness and thus looked up again. "But, you know, even if I've got your word on that matter, even if I've got lots of evidence…it's still hard to believe."

When he once gain preferred not to answer, she sighed and went on. "Five years ago," she told him, her voice saddening immediately, "you simply left me." She drew a breath. "And you never came back." As she remembered the unbearable, stinging pain she had felt in her chest once she had heard the rumours, tears formed in her eyes. "I've learned you had gone," she whispered as she tried to glimpse away her sadness, "But I've never known how – I've never known why you left." Closing her eyes, she swallowed. "Up until now."

Still, there was no answer. He hates to explain himself, Yuffie remembered bitterly, he always has.

Being the rather stubborn kind of person herself, she had used to acknowledge this certain quality of his. Yet right now, when she could really need some support from his side, such behaviour simply irritated her.

But no – she wouldn't let this hinder her. There was no way she wouldn't try her best. He meant so much to her, she'd give her right arm to reclaim his friendship. And that's what she intended to do. Not the part about the arm, mind you, but the one about regaining his trust. His lack of responses was just a tiny hindrance on her way to accomplishing this task. After all, there was a hilariously obvious method of overcoming this obstacle: She'd simply have to keep on talking. Sooner or later, he'd have to answer.

Thus she cleared her throat and went on, "You've left – but now, you're back again." There was a tiny hint of hope in her voice that grew steadily until it overlapped her sadness. "At first I didn't know how to react, what to think of this, how to digest your actions. And to be honest, I'm still not sure about all this." As she paused, a somewhat strained yet genuine smile spread on her features. "But there is one thing I am sure about: I can't let you go." Finally, she turned her head leftwards to find him watching her out of the corner of his eye.

"Because I need you."

With that, she laughed pitifully. "You used to be there for me whenever I needed help. You used to be the only one I could look up to, the only one I ever felt comfortable around." Unable to suppress her tears anymore, she chuckled at her misery. "Without you, life has lost its colours. I should've been able to cope with it by now – but things have never returned to normal. They've only got worse." Once again, she laughed humourlessly. "Because I've lost you, I've stopped trying. I wish I could have gotten over it, but life has stopped meaning anything to me – and when I couldn't stand it anymore, I've run away from home…" Her laughter turned into sobs as she fell onto her knees, shaking uncontrollably. "And now you're back – and things should get back to normal. But they don't, because they can't and I told myself not to cry, but I do, and it's all because of you and…" She sobbed loudly and tried her best to calm down when she noticed Sephiroth bending down in front of her.

Granted, he didn't look like himself – for some strange reason, he was still wearing the mask of Leon – and still it was him. No one else could be so cold. No one else could be so intriguing. And no one else could tell a joke as seriously as though he actually meant it. No, the man in front of her had to be Sephiroth.

Anybody else might be staring her down, pitying her or even crying with her in this situation, but he was simply crouching in front of her, watching her with an expression that was far too impassionate to be called emotional. And yet it was far too emotional to be called impassionate.

There was only a hint of sympathy shimmering through his mask of indifference – and yet it was there.

"It is unfair to blame me for everything," he whispered as he gently wiped a tear off her face.

"But it is your fault," she replied, still sobbing silently.

He closed his eyes and allowed his face to betray only the tiniest traces of his own anguish as he lowered his head.

"I know, Yuffie, I know."

End Of Chapter Seven

A/N: Wow, now that was a monstrous chapter, wasn't it? 'Tis also why it took me so long. Actually, I had the text written by Saturday, but editing 5000+ words is the most annoying thing to do. Really.

But anyway, as this was such an extraordinarily long chapter, I'd be extraordinarily happy if I got extraordinarily many reviews for it! Especially now, that I've finally decided to shape the rest of the story a bit less dependent on the game's plot, ideas and suggestions are very welcome!

At this point, I'd like to thank the wonderful people who reviewed the last chapter: Chaotic Rei, saharasfury, Sonicron, ChasingEnlightenment and SAMPSON12187 – thanks! You guys are fantastic!

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for…

A few explanations concerning this chapter:

I forced Yuffie to disguise herself for several reasons: She wanted to show Seph that she, too, can 'transform' into someone else and is therefore worthy of his friendship/acquaintance. Furthermore, she seems more or less used to disguising herself. Throughout the game, she's had several appearances as someone else, p.e. as a reporter, a salesclerk or a sailor. And last but not least, there is still the possibility that some ShinRa guard or sailor would recognize her (even though the security precautions apparently aren't the best ones), thus masquerading seems to be a good choice.

About the whole NPC business – I guess you know what I'm talking about. They really do always say the same. Always. :p

Okay, so much for the explanations. I hope I haven't forgotten anything, but in case there are any questions left or if you have noticed any mistakes or something, tell me in a review! You know I always appreciate them greatly!

I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible – whatever this may mean. (Presumably it'll be up sometime next week, but as to when exactly, I don't have a clue.)

But anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing!

Greetings,
Linnya