Like The Sun, Like The Moon

Chapter Ten

WHATEVER this was…

It was certainly not the realm Yuffie used to reside in.

Taking a look around, she could easily recognize the scenery of Wutai's outskirts surrounding her – that alone wasn't much of a dilemma, mind you. That she was currently supposed to be sleeping in a cosy inn in a cosy Costa Del Sol, she was completely aware of. But that she'd suddenly awake near her hometown wasn't all that unlikely – after all, she was travelling alongside the embodiment of impossibility – if you were around Mr. I'm-Full-Of-Surprises you had to expect everything.

However, man-sized vegetables with eyes and limbs walking about, chattering vividly in spite of their nonexistent mouths and ears were not necessarily included in this 'everything'.
At least not according to Yuffie's definition. And that's why, after an indeterminate span of time, she decided this had to be a dream indeed.

Well, it figured. The last thing she remembered was going to bed after all.

But on the other hand, whenever you were dreaming, weren't you supposed not to realize this very fact?

But how would she know? She rarely ever remembered what she had dreamt the night before – if she had dreamt anything at all.

So maybe, she had in fact noticed she had been dreaming several times before, but then she had simply forgotten it?

So this dream was destined to fade into oblivion as well? It would simply disappear as soon as she woke up in the morning?

Then why was she dreaming it in the first place?

Just what point did her mind see in creating some weird scenario, just to erase it a few hours later? Even if it did carry some kind of information – a hidden sort of hint on what she really felt or wanted or…something – this information wasn't of any value as she wouldn't be able to use it later on anyways. Everything left in the end would be a worthless, blurry shadow of what she was perceiving now.

Maybe, if she only tried hard enough to memorize it all, she might be able to remember this dream more clearly, even after awaking.

But…where was the point in it? What use was there in engraining the bizarre cucumber that was currently beaming and waving in her direction if she couldn't quite grasp its meaning?

Maybe…it meant that she was hungry.

Maybe it meant that she should eat more vegetables instead of raw meat?

Or maybe it was meant to be some kind of a reminder. A reminder of the hometown she had abandoned years ago. A reminder of all the things she had planned to improve its condition with – all the plans she had given up before even trying to carry them out.

What a pathetic realization.

But it was true.

And – what was even more stunning – she had just realized this dream was indeed offering her a message. And quite a meaningful one, at that.

Sheesh… Never had she imagined she'd ever be consciously trying to memorize what she was realizing while asleep. Not in her wildest dreams.

Although… how would she know? Hadn't she just come to realize she didn't remember her dreams anyway?

However, she couldn't afford losing the message of this particular dream – she had abandoned her hometown, but now that Sephiroth was back again, there was no reason for her not to finally carry out her plans, was there? She really had to take him to Wutai sometime soon. Really.

And, as luck would have it, this decision started fading slowly but surely into oblivion as soon as she'd made it; all her more or less significant thoughts slipped out of her grasp as wakefulness reclaimed her.

-----------------------------------------------

"Geez, Yuffie, wake up!" a female voice ringed in her ears.

Just WHO was fresh enough to wake her like that! Grumbling audibly, she forced herself to open her eyes.

Standing next to the bed with her hands on her hips, Tifa was staring at Yuffie in a rather reproach manner. "It's noon already, we've really got to go," she informed her and turned to leave.

Once again, Yuffie moaned. So she had overslept. Big deal. But being woken up like that really annoyed her. After all, she had grown accustomed to her own time table, which included getting up as soon as she felt like it. Furthermore, she had just come to an important realization.

About…

Umm…

Yeah.

That's why she liked being dragged out of bed so much more than having a chance to collect her thoughts before she was wandering groggily through a town she only relatively late recognized as Costa Del Sol.

"I've still got to stock up some supplies," Tifa chattered vividly as the reached the central square, "And I suggest you do that, as well." She nodded towards the gates and announce, "In half an hour we'll meet at the town's entrance to travel on. The others are already informed – it's only you who has slept so long." Yuffie frowned, Tifa smiled. "Well, have a nice shopping time!" the latter added with a wave as she turned around and jogged towards one of the stalls, leaving Yuffie somewhat dumbfounded.

"Umm…thanks for the information then," the ninja mumbled after her waking escort before also trotting off to take a look at the vendors' offers. After all, as tempting acting like a spoilt brat in the middle of puberty seemed at the moment, getting some supplies was definitely a good idea. She hadn't exactly had a chance to do so before, since she had left Junon in a rush, only taking the most important of items with her, and she hadn't really been aware that a surprisingly long journey would be lying ahead of her.

So yes, she unquestionably needed some supplies as well as some useful equipment. Hopefully she had brought enough money, but in the worst case, she still had some allies to 'borrow' from, right? Right.

But before I do anything stupid, she mused as she absently checked the stalls, I might as well try to purchase something legally. She grimaced – for some strange reason, this very thought seemed weird, strangely unreal, to her. Stealing would be so much more fun…

She shook her head. Nono, you don't, she reprimanded herself, show Sephiroth you are a good girl.

As she strolled past a stall filled with particularly valuable goods, she noticed a shiny, highly developed piece of Cure materia lying temptingly on the counter.

Be a good girl.

Her eye twitched as she did her best to suppress the overwhelming urge to simply grab it and run off.

Be a good girl…

Catching a glimpse at the vendor, she noticed he was occupied sorting the contents of the shelf attached to the stall's back wall while whistling a rather unmelodic yet strangely captivating melody. As his back was currently facing her, he was practically ordering her to steal his goods.

…a good girl…?

But then again, if he was in fact ordering her to steal his good, being a good girl actually meant pilfering it instead of leaving it where it belonged, right?

But somehow I doubt he'll agree with this standpoint.

Peering at the vendor's back, Yuffie was having a hard time deciding whether to act the way she'd normally prefer or whether not to do just that.

It was strange – normally she wouldn't have those problems.

Normally, she would have been gone long ago, after grabbing the materia at first sight.

So what was it that hindered her?

…Sephiroth.

Great.

Just because he's somewhere around here, I get all upset and want to make a good impression on him, is that it?

Just great.

Since when had she allowed such things to affect her behaviour? Since when had she cared what others thought about her?

Certainly, Sephiroth was some kind of an exception in every resort she could think of.

But.

But!

She would certainly not become someone completely different just because she wanted him to like her.

He already did, anyways – or well, at least he seemed to like her somewhat. So why would she need to impress him?

Really, now more than ever, she had reason enough to simply be herself and steal that damn piece of materia.

"May I help you?"

Unfortunately, her decision-making had taken a tad too long – by now, the vendor had long noticed her presence and turned around to face her. "You seem to be interested in this shiny piece of materia," he stated helpfully as he gestured towards the green orb, "Why don't you take a closer look?"

Yuffie frowned. If he hadn't been daring her to steal the materia earlier, he was definitely doing it now. Was he truly this naïve?

…or maybe he wasn't naïve at all…

Either way, there was unquestionably something fishy about his behaviour, which is exactly why she preferred refusing his generous offer. "You know," she spoke only seemingly hesitantly, "I don't really want it…"

"Then what if I want you to want it?" he responded, almost cutting her off.

"Then you might want to give it to me as a present," she answered critically. Of course she didn't expect him not to take any money for such a valuable piece of materia, but what else was she supposed to answer? "Not interested, thank you" or "I was already considering whether to steal it…" wouldn't have helped at all anyway, especially with such an importunate – or was it helpful? – vendor who, which she was sure of, would stubbornly keep trying to persuade her in any case. After all, she had already dealt with him the night before and could therefore tell he wouldn't surrender easily. Hence, being utterly fresh would bring this conversation much earlier to an end than any other behaviour could.

However, what she had not included in her considerations was the tiny possibility of him indeed humouring her insolent offer – a mistake that soon became her doom.

"So then, milady," he said genially as he grabbed the Cure materia with one hand, took a speechless Yuffie's wrist with the other one and placed the green orb conveniently on her palm, "you're free to take it with you." And without any further words, he turned around to continue his activities in the back of the stall. What exactly he was doing, Yuffie wasn't paying any attention to – instead her gaze lay fixed on the gift he had just given her.

How could he!

The flirting and all, she still considered somewhat manageable. After all, she saw it as some kind of mutual mocking.

But!

How could he offer her something as valuable as a four star Cure materia! And, to top it all, he wasn't even really offering it to her – he was practically forcing it upon her!

Forcing!

He was forcing the Great Yuffie to do as he wished!

But if he honestly believed she'd put up with this, he was dead wrong!

Oh no, not with her!

She'd simply return the materia, that she would!

Right now!

…

At least that's what she intended to do.

But was her will strong enough to overpower her materia fetish?

Get a grip, girl! she scolded herself, Your pride is more important than some stupid…mateeeeeriaaa……………

For a long moment, she couldn't help but stare at the materia, studying its captivatingly shimmering, green surface while inwardly arguing with herself whether to keep it or not.

It was indeed not an easy decision.

Not at all.

Materia…

Self-esteem…

Materia…

Self-esteem…

Materia…

Self-esteem…

Materia…

Oh sheesh!

Yuffie sighed.

In times like these, she really wished there was some kind of flower in the nearness. It would make her decision so much easier.

But nooooo, she wasn't granted such luck this time.

So what now? Obviously, continuing her inner struggles wouldn't do – hence, she decided to simply imagine a flower.

One with five petals, so it wouldn't last too long.

Alrighty then…

Granted, the flowery mixture of a rose and an orchid she had just developed in her mind looked somewhat unnatural, but as besides her no one could see it anyway, she didn't exactly mind.

Self-esteem… Four petals left.

Materia… Three.

Self-esteem… Two.

Materia… One. Ouch, I already see where this is going…

Self-esteem.

…

Next time I should take a flower with six petals…

Sighing audibly, Yuffie shook her head. But I really can't let him get away with this.

Exactly!

The flower is right:
I certainly WON'T throw away my pride just because of a cheap piece of materia – What would I need it for anyway? My Enemy Skill is so much more useful!

The anger her thoughts were propelling her into was anything but unwelcome to her – on the contrary, this newfound fury gave her the mental strength to overcome the desire to simply keep the materia and finally put an end to her inner debate. Looking up after her seemingly eternal decision making, Yuffie spat without any further ado, "I don't need –"

And then she abruptly stopped. Her eyes widened, her brows knitted into a frown as she saw the smug way the vendor was watching her – which he'd probably been doing for a quite a while now.

"Hey!" she hissed in utter annoyance, "I don't want –"

"Oh, you do want it," he interrupted her calmly, not as kind as earlier but still strangely persistent, "And what you also want is…" And within a blink and a grin, he pulled something out of his sleeve that oddly resembled…

"A fan?" Yuffie asked incredulously.

"A weapon," he corrected as he placed the long, black item into her remaining, free hand, "The so called Wind Slash – especially for you."

"You serious?" she asked, mystified, as she opened the fan to observe it thoroughly. "It's really a weapon!" she finally exclaimed in excited disbelief, "I can't believe it!"

"And it's all yours now," the vendor added with a smirk.

This statement immediately redirected her attention to the vendor. "I can't take this, thank you," she announced as firmly as her current state of inner struggles allowed her to as she placed both fan and materia back onto the counter – with shaky hands, mind you, but at least she succeeded in overcoming her avarice somewhat, which was already a great accomplishment in itself.

"But if you don't want it, somebody else will buy it," the vendor went on smoothly, apparently undisturbed by her 'strict' refusal as he decided to simply try out another procedure, "and that somebody else might be someone not quite as skilled and worthy as you."

Eyeing him critically, Yuffie decided better not to respond to that.

Apparently, her response (or rather the lack thereof) had the desired effect – during all those many hours she had already known the vendor, she hadn't seen him sighing once. Up until now, that is: Exhaling deeply and somehow resigned, the man behind the counter seemed to finally accept his defeat. "Oh well," he spoke with an almost unperceivable kind of disappointment in his voice as he took both materia and fan from the counter, "If there's no way around it, then I assume I'll have to keep them."

If his sudden change of attitude had any effect on her, it was only making her more suspicious. "Just like that?" Yuffie asked with a frown.

"Just like that," he answered with a sigh.

And eventually, she allowed herself to let a grin spread on her face. "So you finally acknowledge I'm not that easy, huh?" she mocked him rather smugly.

"It's not that," he replied with a shrug, "I just came to the realization that this fan suits me so much better than you anyway." With that and a sly smirk, he grabbed a few further items from beneath the sales counter and stuffed them into his pockets. Only then he looked back at Yuffie, expectantly. "Are you ready yet?" he asked in that weird, confusingly nonchalant tone he had adapted only a moment ago.

Naturally, his change in demeanour managed to baffle the ninja in front of him into a momentary speechlessness. "Excuse me?" she finally uttered with a disbelieving frown.

For a long and absurdly mystifying moment, his only reaction was a mere sigh. And, surprisingly, this particular moment unnerved Yuffie enough for her not to even get annoyed at his next words.

"I was asking whether you were ready yet, princess," he spoke somewhat mockingly, "the others are waiting."

Instead of getting angry, she happened to become rather grateful that he had given her an answer at all – which, for Yuffie, was both a confusing and untypical sensation, especially when it came to dealing with such an ordinary vendor...
In fact, there was only one person on this whole planet who could cause such a feeling of uneasiness, and, considering his last statement, she realized her intuition had to be right.

And that meant………

As he stepped out of the street stall, Yuffie couldn't see the vendor anymore – but instead a mostly indifferent Leon watching her attentively. "Come on, let's go," he said and stepped past her as he slowly trotted towards the town's entrance; wary to stress he wasn't willing to wait any longer, but careful not to let her stay behind at the same time.

And indeed, she kept gaping after him for several minutes before fully grasping the bitter truth – but when she finally did, an inescapable anger flamed up inside of her within an instant.

"How dare you!" she yelled as she stomped after her so called best friend, loudly enough for anybody within a radius of ten miles to hear her, "It's bad enough to be flirted with like that, but…but…BUT to find out it's YOU is the most HORRIBLE thing I could ever think of!" Obviously just to catch some breath, she made a tiny little pause. She did notice the smirk that was slowly creeping its way onto his face, but, frankly spoken, she could care less. Because right now, nothing – absolutely nothing! – was more important to her than teaching her best friend some manners. "You may have some GREAT and SPECIAL powers," she yelled on once she had finally caught up on him and placed herself demonstratively in front of Leon, "But that doesn't quite give you the right to deceive me and make fun of me and taunt me and – most awfully – spy on me like that!" In order to underline her anger, she made a meaningful pause before voicing her final words in one, furious yell. "How DARE you!"

What followed was a long, tensed moment of utter silence – save the noises of seagulls, waves and playing children, but neither Yuffie nor Leon really minded those.

For that, she was far too occupied staring him down.

For that, he was far too occupied concealing his amusement – granted, he was failing greatly, but at least he was trying not to smirk. This had to be worth something, too, didn't it?

"You were practically daring me to tease you, you know," he finally spoke once he had successfully subdued his urge to smirk, "After all, you decided to take a seat right on my sales counter. In my opinion, I have every right to do what I do."

Even after her jaw had hit the floor, Yuffie couldn't help but stare incredulously at the man who didn't seem to mind her wrath at all. "You have every right to do what you do!" she hissed in utter disbelief, "Since when have you been the one to define the law!"

Merely shaking his head with a small, surrendering smile, Sephiroth decided not to respond to the ninja's enraged ramblings, but to continue his way towards the town's gates wordlessly instead – which managed to infuriate the said ninja only further.

"You know what!" she snapped as she noisily stomped after him, once again catching the attention of just about everyone standing nearby in the process, "With that always distanced and oh so COOL attitude of yours, I'm not surprised you don't have many friends!"

Watching the girl that was currently trying to glare him down out of the corner of his eyes, Leon responded rather wearily, "And I am supposed to lament this fact? Not regarding the irony that you of all people happen to criticise my demeanour in such a way – if I intended to have many friends, I would have many friends, that much I guarantee you."

For the briefest of moments, his words rendered her speechless. His somewhat insulted tone wasn't only causing a guilty feeling in her stomach, but also making her aware just what she had just said. Offending him like that…it must have felt like a slap in the face. And yet, he had reacted calmly, a bit insulted maybe, but not really angry – and that's what worried her even more than an enraged Sephiroth would have.

"I didn't mean to offend you," she finally began in a strangely strangled voice as she struggled to find the right words, "But I just can't understand it…"

"Understand what?" he inquired after a further moment of silence.

"Understand that…" she began uneasily, "Understand that you never seem to care…"

He sighed.

"You see? That's what I mean," she 'interrupted' him in slight annoyance, gesticulating rather wildly. "Why do you never allow anything to reach you? No matter what I do – no matter what anyone does, for that matter – you only sigh, or don't react at all. Instead, you always keep your thoughts for yourself, and this way nobody knows what to do with you. Just how am I supposed to act around you if I don't know what's in your mind?"

And once again, he sighed. "Believe me, girl," he answered rather dryly, yet without the slightest hesitation, "if you knew just what's on my mind, you would have an even harder time deciding how to act around me."

Momentarily bewildered by her friend's words, Yuffie couldn't help but blink after him as he continued walking towards the town's gates, where she realized Cloud and his gang were already waiting. "Just what is this supposed to mean!" she finally exclaimed, exhausted by his permanent evasions. Why couldn't he simply tell her what she wanted to hear? It would make things so much easier for both of them.

Nonetheless he stayed stubborn. "I said exactly what I meant," he stated somewhat indignantly and eventually turned his attention to the five people waiting for them. The fact that three of them – the clone, the Cetra as well as the barely clothed girl – were currently occupied juggling materia did indeed cause his right eyebrow to creep upwards a bit, but beyond that, he decided not to comment on this rather unique hobby of theirs. Instead, he simply greeted them with a curt, nonchalant nod and asked, "Ready, everyone?"

Everything he received as an answer was five silent yet meaningful nods – as well as the shattering sound of two falling pieces of support materia.

Only when he had picked up his broken Elementals and eventually given up his vain attempts to fix them, Cloud noticed everyone's attention was focused on him. Scratching the back of his head with one hand while inconspicuously stuffing the whitish shards into his pockets with the other one, the ex-Soldier started laughing nervously. "Okay then," he eventually managed with a miraculously newfound zest for action, "let's mosey!"

Interrupting the polite silence of frowns and rolling eyes that followed their leader's…umm…let's call it…enthusiastic battle cry, Yuffie decided to express her criticism. "'scuce me, captain," she spoke in a rather doubtful tone, "but do we even have a heading yet?"

Shocked by her sudden complaint, Cloud eyed her as though she'd grown a second head.

"I mean, as far as I know, Sephiroth – the guy we seem to be after," Yuffie continued indignantly, "could still be in town." Here, she made a meaningful pause before continuing, "And who knows just how twisted his mind really is – maybe he's even here with us right now…"

Unlike said former General, who was currently eyeing her in an absurdly curious kind of disapproval, the others were frowning at her in utter confusion. To fully savour the pleasantly stunned silence caused by her mystifying speech, Yuffie paced gracefully through the little gang, whispering a halfway annoyed "That's what you get for annoying me like this." into her currently not-so-silver-haired friend's ear as she passed him to stand next to the wolfish beastie she had admittedly taken quite a fancy to.

As she then whirled back to face the rest of the group, she was a bit disappointed to see Leon's disapproving frown turning into another of his amused smirks. Although… did she really want to upset him to satisfy her thirst for revenge? No…not really. An encounter with a truly angry Sephiroth, she had to realize, would be one of the few things she'd prefer not to experience.

But on the other hand…annoying him might be the only way to make him loosen up a bit. Yet was she really willing to take this risk?

Naturally!

It wasn't really that much of a risk anyway, she figured. Certainly, she had heard awful stories about the way he had won his victories in battle, but ever since she had known him, she had never met his cruel side. If it even existed. Which she highly doubted anyway.

In fact, she knew him to be far nicer than he let on.

And that's why she decided that teasing him a bit more might improve his…social qualities.

Definitely.

But not right now.

Before daring any further pranks, Yuffie wanted to find out how Leon was going to wind his way out of this potential misery. She had given them a clue – a hint as broad as the ocean. Now they'd only have to put two and two together and then they'd find out…unless her dearly beloved Sephiroth prevented them from drawing any unwanted conclusions.

Nonetheless, he merely stood there.

Without doing anything.

And somehow, he apparently wasn't about to do anything, either.

Finally, the silence was broken. But strangely enough neither by Sephiroth nor Yuffie. It wasn't even Cloud or Aerith, but instead…

"No…" the big guy with the machine gun, ironically referred to as Barrett, finally mumbled with a hesitant shake of his head, "Sephiroth can't be among us. One of the sailors watched him leavin' town a few hours ago."

"The sailor mentioned Sephiroth was headed westwards," Aerith continued, "So I take it that's where we're headed to, either."

"Ah."

This was everything Yuffie managed to choke out after a moment of stunned silence. And, what was even worse than her current state of doubtfulness and utter confusion, she could practically feel Sephiroth's smirking gaze on her skin, even though she wasn't quite looking in his direction. Oh, it was simply unnerving! Just why where those guys dumb enough not to question anything of all the nonsense they were told!

While her annoyance was demanding the better part of her attention, their group finally began moseying its hard and strenuous way towards where they reckoned Sephiroth had gone to – which, of course, was complete nonsense considering they were currently travelling with him rather than after him.

But never mind that.

…

Just don't.

"Let me guess," Yuffie snarled as she eventually followed suit, joining the train right next to Sephiroth as one of the last to pace along, "You had three hours of sleep this night. At the very most."

He raised an eyebrow.

"With all the preparations you have undoubtedly…prepared," she went on, eyeing him somewhat reproachfully, "I bet you are prepared for just anything – but haven't slept much either."

"Yuffie…"

"You know, you really look tired," she mothered on, not minding his protest in the slightest, "You really ought to give yourself a break from time to time. With only those few hours of sleep –"

"This is none of your business," he informed her firmly.

"– it's no wonder you're always grumpy and…" Once his words had fully registered, Yuffie's speech came to an abrupt halt. Finally, her eyes narrowed. "All I do is caring about you," she whispered indignantly, "And that's your way of thanking me?"

"No," he countered as he skilfully pulled a certain fan out of his sleeve and offered it to her, "This is my way of thanking you."

Eyeing him in surprise, Yuffie opened her mouth.

And closed it again.

Eventually she snatched the fan out of his grasp and barked a "Thank you!" in his general direction before averting her face from him. Nonetheless, she kept watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"You really know when to play your aces, don't you…" she muttered in fake annoyance.

"And you really know how to be predictable," he responded with a chuckle.

"I don't!" she protested immediately, but suddenly she furrowed her eyebrows and corrected herself, "Err… I do!" Then, after clearing her throat, she added, "But I don't use that knowledge very often!"

"You are blushing," Sephiroth stated matter-of-factly, yet nonetheless with a small smile.

"I ain't!" she protested, which, of course, only caused her to flush further.

"No need to be flustered," he laughed.

…

"You know," she finally barked, "Let's just walk on." And all of the sudden, the back of Barret, who happened to be strolling right in front of her, seemed much more interesting than her current conversation.

"My thoughts exactly," Sephritoh agreed.

And so they walked in silence, watching the inhumanly broad back of one Barret in some kind of sick fascination all the while.

End of Chapter Ten

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A/N: Guess what? I'm still alive! (Hears a few people gasp in surprise) Yeah, I can't believe it myself: I actually managed to update xD

First things first: I've really got to apologize. I wish I hadn't taken half an eternity, but the chapter just didn't want to turn out the way I wanted it to. Now, after some time has passed, I consider it somewhat agreeable, and since any further editing won't help much either, I think it's as finished as it will ever get, so... Yeah. I still hope you liked it :D

So now, I'd like to thank all those kind people who took the time and effort to review this little fic of mine: Dark Plague of the Phoenix Souls, saharasfury, YUfFiE RoXs!yAy, Chaotic Rei, TOWTWUKER, SAMPSON12187, Sonicron, TerrisMoon, FuschiaFinn, SesshomaruKnight and RaincoatSammy - thanks for all the wonderful reviews!

And as we're already at it - special thanks go to saharasfury for waking me from the Naruto- and Silkroad-induced stupor otherwise referred to as "summer vacation". It's shocking how unproductive I've become, but hopefully I'll regain my ability to do anything besides "nothin in particular" once school starts again. Hopefully. Ahem.

Now, about the next chapter: Since, whenever I promised you to update soon, I didn't quite manage doing so, I shall simply omit the forecast this time, in the vain hope that I, if I don't promise anything, might be able to update relatively soon for once. Hopefully. Ahem.

So anyway, I'll do my best to update in time this time (coughs) - until then, you might want to voice your opinion about this chapter/story in form of a review! As you might have noticed, I'm alway grateful for those :D

Bye for now & Greetings,
Linnya