Hey, everybody! I've finally gotten the next chapter written, so here it is! Thank you to the new faves, alerts, and reviews!
PhatesSilverEyes: Thank you so much! ^-^ I like the title, too ;)
Valkera: Thanks! I think that of Shelke, too ;)
Disclaimer: I do not profit from FanFiction. All rights go to the respective owners of FFVII, thanks! I also do not own The Twilight Zone.
Yuffie had one thing to say: This place would not be receiving five-stars and a thumbs-up on HotelGaialocity!.
Her bedroom, as it turned out, was nothing short of a behemoth breeding ground, complete with savage creatures foaming at the mouth. The list of complaints the ninja had been compiling since her arrival stretched from one end of the monster she was fighting (a particularly ugly thing with a scaly hide and rancid breath) to the other.
1. The air conditioning was out. When was the last time this guy had even had an electrician over? Oh, right, this house came straight from the dark ages.
2. The hospitality s-u-c-k-e-d. Sucked. Little Miss Icicle had quite literally thrown Yuffie into the nearest, most monster-infested room she could possibly find.
3. The manager was not normal. He stood over six feet tall, was covered in fur, and had eyes that changed from yellow to red. Oh! And let's not forget the fact that he went from a Mr. Valentine to Galian Beast. What was this, an episode of The Twilight Zone?
4. The place was a bio-hazard. When was the last time a health inspector had popped his head in? Considering, if he'd popped his head into what was currently Yuffie's room, he might not have ever popped his head back out. What had the behemoth eaten, anyways?
5. The place stunk. Like, seriously, Mr. Valentine, invest in some air fresheners for Leviathan's sake.
Dodging another well aimed snap from the large monster, Yuffie rolled over a board, the wood screeching in protest. As she laid on her back and held the creature's mouth away from her face, the ninja sent a little prayer upward that the board wouldn't choose now to give way.
And was that laughter she heard in the hall? The laughter that sounded full of dark amusement, the kind that made Yuffie's blood burn as she imagined the red-haired twit holding her stomach and guffawing at the sounds of the ninja's struggle.
But she had to have imagined it, she supposed. No way that little ice-pop could form any emotion other than blank, glassy vacancy. Ugh, how the heck was this place not just considered condemned and demolished?
Grumbling as she delivered a rather well-aimed toss of Conformer, Yuffie jumped to her feet and collapsed against a dresser, watching what had to have been the fourth monster keel over and die, its off-colored blood oozing out of it. The kunoichi glanced down at herself, sticking her tongue out and scrunching her nose up at the amount of creature gore that dripped off of her.
"Well, don't I look lovely!" Yuffie commented, a dry laugh escaping her. "I wonder if Mr. Morphs-a-Lot and Lady Apathy would like me to join them for dinner?"
Running her hands down her front and dispelling most of the chunky bits of the filth, the ninja stood and picked her shuriken up, inspecting it with narrowed steely eyes. After ensuring that it had succumbed to no damage, Yuffie packed it away in her bag and turned to examine the mess she had made of her room — or, rather, the expansion of a mess.
Dryly, she remarked, "They had better have continental breakfast."
When Yuffie had certified that she appeared at least as decent as she could manage under the circumstances (admittedly, not very), she strolled over to her door and turned the knob.
Or tried to.
With wide eyes, Yuffie grabbed the knob and twisted more forcefully, turning until her knuckles were white and the fold of skin between her first finger and thumb was red. Had that — that woman-child actually locked her in? What the heck did that accomplish?!
Appalled, the ninja banged her fists on the door, screeching, "Hey! Snow-Cone, let me out!"
A muffled scuffling noise drifted beneath the space under the door. "I'm afraid I cannot do that, Miss Yuffie. The master has retired for the night and wishes for no disturbances."
Rolling her eyes, Yuffie let go of the handle and crossed her arm, waiting for Shelke to continue. When she didn't, the kunoichi dropped to her knees silently, her eye pressed to the space beneath the threshold and her ear pressed to the floor. Whatever light that the servant-girl's candle had given off was gone now, signaling she'd left the area. With a triumphant grin, Yuffie stretched up, sitting on her knees so she was eye-level with the doorknob.
"A ninja always knows how to pick a lock!" Luckily, Yuffie kept a diverse array of lock-picking utensils tucked into her hair band. She pulled the ribbon, letting the band fall from its spot tied around her head. Flipping it over, she revealed the backside where she'd overlapped the material to create a flap to hide her mini-ninja-gadget-collection. With a victorious cheer, she tugged a slender piece of metal and one of its brethren from the sheath.
"Piece o' cake," she whispered, biting her lip as she slid the instruments into place and proceeded to move them around, waiting for the tell-tale click. After the lock snapped, she gently twisted the knob, sticking her grimy face around the door hesitantly. Nothing could be seen in the hall besides billowy curtains and shiny cobwebs. When she confirmed that the coast was clear, the ninja slipped out of her room and tip-toed across the wood floor.
No Shelke, no Vincent, no Galian! Yuffie sucked in her breath and crept down the hall, soaking in the details of the tattered drapes that hung from the darkened windows, the peeling paintings that might have been masterpieces in another time. Even the scratched-up wooden stand against the wall at the end of the corridor held a lonely, chipping vase that seemed to be lacquered in gold, and might've shone like Leviathan's scales had it been given the chance.
Frowning slightly, Yuffie brushed her hand over a gouge in the railing of the stairs, whispering to herself, "This place is so depressing. It's like... the house itself can't bear to live."
A clap of thunder shook the manor, causing the ninja to shriek and clasp the banister tighter. When she realized the amount of noise she'd made, Yuffie threw a hand over her mouth and spun around, waiting with raptured attention to see if the servant woman or her master would come running out to catch her sneaking out of her room.
Shuddering slightly, the runaway shook off the image of being burned at the stake, an expressionless Shelke blinking at her with just a hint of amusement in her ice-blue eyes.
"What was I thinking?" she breathed, creeping down the stairs and thanking Leviathan that remaining quiet when in risk of being caught was one of her stronger suits. Being quiet any other time? Forget it. "Why didn't I just sleep in a ditch?"
Right before she stepped down, Yuffie glanced at the steps below her, cringing at the rotted appearance. From the warped look, she knew that the next few steps were pitfalls waiting to happen. The ninja held her breath, squeezed her eyes tight, and jumped it, letting her breath out in relief as she landed silently on the first floor.
With renewed vigor, Yuffie padded across the floor, taking in the very spacious area that lead from the front door to the rest of the house. Moonlight filtered through broken windows, illuminating the dusty floorboards and faded rugs. The ninja shivered in the cold night air, crossing her arms as she let out a shaky breath.
Deciding she'd explored enough — though she simply wished to return to her room for fear of being caught snooping after hours — Yuffie spun on her heel and began to sneak back to her room. As she cleared the stairs and neared her door, her hip caught the edge of an end table, causing the piece of furniture to teeter.
Oh no, oh no, oh no! The ninja latched onto the edge of the table, throwing her leg out to stop it from toppling over. Using her thigh, she pushed the top of the table up and the stand forward, sighing a little as it righted itself.
With an audible, "Phew," Yuffie leaned her back against the stand, wiping a bead of nervous sweat from her hairline. Behind her, the table leaned in opposition to her weight, and an object crashed to the floor. With wide eyes, the ninja dropped to her knees and crawled into the corner, tugging on a ratty end of a drape for cover.
When the drape barely moved and her hand brushed against something fuzzy, all color drained from Yuffie's face.
Her eyes moved from the floor upwards, finding a peculiarly thick, warm, fur-covered table before her, and as she lifted her gaze, Yuffie became aware that in her hands was not a curtain, but the ends of a faded scrap of cloth that had been fastened around the waist of the one person she did not want to see right now.
"... Uh... Hey?"
Crossing his arms, the creature glared down at the ninja in disdain. Gulping a little, Yuffie scrambled to her feet, slinking into herself under the weight of the thing's stare. Twiddling her fingers, the runaway looked up at the animal-like demon, her lip stuck out in a pout.
"You... Uh... aren't gonna eat me, are you?"
Nothing could have prepared her for the creature's reaction. As soon as the words had left the ninja's mouth, the being tossed its furry head back, clutching its midsection as it howled in laughter. Yuffie's jaw dropped, and she watched the thing wipe away tears from its eyes.
Shaking its head, the creature answered, "You would not taste good enough, child."
Pouting, Yuffie questioned, "You're Galian, aren't you? No way that's Vincent right there."
Grinning at the ninja, the thing nodded and replied, "Observant, I see. Yes, it is I, Galian Beast."
Yuffie's shoulders slumped in relief as she smiled back at the towering Galian and threw her hands on her hips, cheering, "Oh, good! 'Cause I would've been dead for sure if it was Vincent!"
Galian raised an eyebrow at that, his snout still curled in a wicked grin. Patting the runaway's shoulder, the being steered the petite girl down the hall and toward her room. When they got to the door, he glanced down the corridor for a moment and then back at her.
"Be careful, Yuffie. You shouldn't go snooping around. And don't ever visit the East Wing. You might have been to the Master's basement once, but should you choose to go back, he will not be lenient. I must go now, goodnight."
Absorbing the information with a frown, Yuffie nodded at Galian. "Goodnight."
She watched him maneuver down the hall, her eyes glowing in a sort of fascination. Why was he treating her like a friend and not a prisoner? Not that she was a prisoner, but she was staying in his manor. And why would a…thing… like him even care?
"He's so different from Vincent…" Yuffie opened the door to her room and crossed the cold floor, sliding back into her squeaky bed. Glaring at the moonlight streaming through the window, the ninja wondered, What happened to Mr. Valentine?
By the time morning broke, Yuffie was up stretching in her room, running through her vigorous exercises as she pondered what she would do today. She didn't feel particularly inclined to hang around The House of Horrors, but she knew that venturing into town could be very stupid on her part. The last thing she wanted was to be caught and sent back to Wutai.
"I'd rather be stuck here for the rest of my life," she hissed, bending down to stretch her spine.
"No one is forcing you to stay," a voice spat, its tone venomous and cold. Immediately, Yuffie straightened up and stared dead ahead, not feeling too keen on facing the creature at her door.
Sucking her teeth, Yuffie finally turned and looked at the towering animal before her. Its eyes were blood red today, not the familiar yellow hue that she had grown to consider friendly in comparison to this. The ferocious being scowled at her, eyes narrowed as she nodded in greeting.
"Well, I'm certainly not staying because the host is welcoming," Yuffie retorted, brushing past the creature as she stepped into the hall. It grabbed onto her shoulder, its claws tearing into the skin there as it lowered its head and growled in fury. When Yuffie cried out at the pain of her flesh ripping, the thing — Vincent let go of her, stumbling back a bit as he watched the little streams of blood flow down from the lacerations.
"I… I—" He was struggling for words, his eyes wide in something akin to horror, ironically. A self-loathing emotion flickered across his face, and although the ninja wanted to slap the crap out of Vincent, she couldn't do it when he looked so utterly contrite.
"I'm sorry," Vincent finally managed, his animal-ish head hung in regret. With a tentative step forward, Yuffie placed her hand on his face, lifting his head by his furry chin. She offered him a small smile.
"It's cool. I'm a ninja. I've experienced worse, and besides, I was kind of asking for it." At this, her smile morphed into a grin, and the creature eyed her in confusion. Yuffie ruffled the fur on his head and then stepped back, stating, "Well, Vince, I gots to get!"
As she turned to leave, Vincent called, "You're leaving?" and she could have sworn she detected a hint of panic. Flashing the creature a brilliant smile, the ninja shook her head.
"Nope! Don't think you can get rid of me that easily." She winked and was gone.
So, not much in this chapter, it was basically filler :/ But how else am I going to show a gradual change from hatred to love? Yeah, it's going to be a couple of chapters...
I hope you all enjoyed! :D As always, I do love feedback and constructive criticism! Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time ^-^