I'm glad I'm keeping y'all interested ;) But alas, this will be my last update until July, so thanks for all of the support and the patience!
6/5/13: Editing for minor errors.
Disclaimer: If I owned FFVII, I would afford to fix my damn laptop screen...
"Holy Leviathan," Yuffie murmured in disbelief, her heart rate skyrocketing. She pushed her sweaty bangs back, one hand flying to clutch at her thumping heart. Her blood had turned to ice in her veins, her dry lips parted as she sucked in lung-fulls of air, the sweet oxygen fleeing from her in heady gasps. Her shoulders quaked, yet no tears came, only the feeling of sinking into an abyss of uncertainty. "Pr-pr-pregnant?"
The word itself carried a desperate heartache that the ninja only knew within the darkest recesses of her soul. She felt numb, her ears deaf to the doctor's explanations of the tests he'd run and Shera's reassuring words and comforting pats. She watched her knuckles turn stark white as she clutched the sheets in her fist, feeling her nails bite into her soft flesh through the thin material. How could she be pregnant? Did fate truly hate her so much to take away Vincent after she found out she was pregnant again? Another baby, when she couldn't even take proper care of the first… She was far too broken to even begin to care for another. How could she endure this life-altering change without Vincent again!?
"I have to go," Yuffie stated, placing her bare feet on the freezing tile of the hospital room. Standing shakily, she floundered to the door, her balance compromised in her current state. She couldn't stay there another minute, listening to the doctor ramble on about information she couldn't stomach hearing anyway. She opened the door, ignoring the frantic protests of the medic. The kunoichi stumbled along the hallways, her hands grazing the walls as she supported herself on them, her knees wobbly. Nothing on Gaia felt right anymore, everything had slipped through the fingers of the ancestors and crumbled to ash. The world collapsed around the ninja, but she was deaf to the noise of her own destruction.
Vincent, why? Why did you have to die? I can't raise a kid on my own, not again. Not after last time…
"Miss? Miss, where are you going? Miss? Miss!" Yuffie ignored the lady sitting behind the check-in counter, keeping her eyes shut tight as she passed other patients' room and shoved open the double doors to hear the roaring sound of a peaceful looking waterfall, a paradoxical picture. Reflecting, Yuffie thought the idea of being at once blessed by a child, her last piece of Vincent, and cursed with responsibility of raising it without him was quite paradoxical, too. Life, as she often heard it said and could now say it to be, was certainly one big, screwed up paradox.
The piney smell of the trees that surrounded served as a reminder of the Nibel forests, and Yuffie took a moment to collect herself, padding out onto the bridge before her with soft footfalls. The aromatic scent of nature soothed her restless spirit, sweeping over her in a great wave. The Wutain in her reveled in the natural surroundings, feeling at home and peaceful. The painful throbbing of her heart now subsided to no more than a dull ache.
Yuffie swept her dark hair back and examined herself, ignoring her inner crisis. She felt grungy, as if she hadn't bathed in a week, though the doctor had said she'd only been there a day. Even so, she had been traveling on her chocobo to visit Reeve prior to that, and Leviathan knew that those creatures reeked. "Grossness, I smell like Cid on a good day."
Yuffie examined her bloody clothes, grateful that they seemed to have fared well even after the accident, but that was why she wore them — sturdy as an ox and just what a ninja needed. Yuffie took a few steps across the bridge, ducking under a rail on the walkway and carefully making her way to the bottom of a glorious waterfall. The abused clothing was stripped from Yuffie's body and placed across a rock, awaiting a thorough cleansing.
Shera came to check on her awhile later, and Yuffie eeped, ducking below the surface of the cold-as-Shiva water. Shera approached her, calling out, "Do you need soap, Yuffie? I don't think water alone is going to get those clean."
"Yeah, soap is much appreciated!" Yuffie replied, grinning. A warm breeze tussled her hair as the she drifted in the icy pool, begging to adjust to the temperature. She summoned her courage, gulped in a breath of air, and dunked herself, submersing her head. She popped up seconds later, crying, "Shiva, that's cold!"
Mirthful laughter filled the air, and the kunoichi glanced up to see Shera holding out what appeared to be a robe, towel, sponge, and soap. Yuffie set them on a smooth rock and started scrubbing her clothes with the sponge and suds, Shera leaving to let her have privacy. Yuffie scoured vigorously, putting her elbow into it as she washed the filth off her clothes and set them on a rock to dry in the sun. She proceeded to clean herself, taking extra time to shampoo her hair, finger combing as she went. She pulled herself out of the water after rinsing and wrapped the towel around herself, working to keep her body covered as she dried her it. She pulled the robe on and slipped the towel out from the bottom, sighing at the feeling of being clean again.
Sitting down on a rock, Yuffie stared into the cascading water as it sparkled in the sun, the waterfalls surrounding her with a feeling of harmony, though she supposed it was only the negative ions that filled the air around the cascades. She brushed her hand across her stomach, shutting her eyes and turning her face to the sun, remembering Vincent holding Rimmy the first time with that look of utter pride and amazement on his softened features. A sad smile crept onto Yuffie's face as she grazed the surface of the water and whispered, "You would have been a great dad..."
It saddened her immensely to know that she didn't really want this child. Of course, she'd never give her baby up – she was against that entirely. It only filled her with guilt to love the child with all her heart, and yet regret its existence all the while. She knew that in time she would come to treasure her child for the blessing it was. Once she had time to mourn Vincent's passing, she would be ready to accept her gift and adore the baby thoroughly. The idea of being pregnant once more was already beginning to grow on her. But maybe it was just the negative ions again...
Yuffie stood, brushing a lone tear from where it had collected on her eyelash. "Vinnie, what am I gonna name this one?"
"Yuffie?"
Yuffie spun around, finding Tifa standing there, a warm smile on her face.
"Teef! You're awake!" Yuffie cried, bouncing on her toes.
Laughing, Tifa replied, "I was just sleeping, Yuffie. A couple of cracked ribs are nothing compared to some things I've been through. A Cure3 took care of the worst of it."
"Thank Leviathan for materia!" Yuffie cheered, her eyes bright. Although materia topped her list of favorite material things - after Vincent's cloak, of course - she didn't really care about it at the moment, but she put on a show to divert Tifa from what she was really feeling.
It must have worked, because the martial artist smiled and sat on the rock Yuffie had previously been occupying. She tilted her head, maroon eyes calculating as she watched Yuffie.
"Are you really pregnant? I heard you talking, but I wasn't sure…."
Yuffie nodded, replying passively, "Doc said I was. Said women are really fertile after pregnancy or some other mumbo jumbo." Her face transformed into a blank canvas, much like her life. There was a splatter of color here or there, but the greater picture had yet to be created. The whole effect was rather sordid.
"How does that make you feel?" Tifa inquired, leaning forward. A warm hand grasped Yuffie's and squeezed, but the ninja pulled away.
Yuffie pouted, cocking her hip as she replied, "Now, Teef, don't go acting like the family psychiatrist. Reevey does enough of that."
"I'm sorry, Yu, but I just wanted to know." Tifa patted the spot next to her on the rock and motioned for Yuffie to sit. Yuffie obliged, letting Tifa draw her into a motherly hug. Ever since she'd joined AVALANCHE, Tifa had been Yuffie's surrogate mother. Aeris had been her sister back when she was alive, and Cid was forever the greatest father she could ask for. Her ragtag family was dysfunctional, but it sure as hell was a lot better than daddy-dearest.
Unfortunately, it was rather incomplete without her significant other.
"It's going to be fine, Yuffster. You survived the first time without him."
"But Rimmy died," Yuffie reminded dejectedly, her voice slow and deliberate. She pushed her toe into the dirt and dug a shallow hole, crumbling the soft soil easily as she watched it with sad eyes. "I let her die." A piece of her heart had died with her daughter.
"No, Yuffie. That wasn't your fault, and don't ever tell yourself it was." Tifa cupped Yuffie's chin, pulling her face up to stare hard into her chocolate eyes. "Did you hear me? I said Valencia's death was Not. Your. Fault."
"How can it not be?" Yuffie demanded, crossing her arms. The way she saw it, if she was such a good ninja, she should have been able to detect someone in her own daughter's nursery. Ergo, she was to blame.
"Her death is as much your fault as Vincent's was Lucrecia's!" Tifa exclaimed, frustration in her voice.
She had Yuffie at that. Sighing, Yuffie gave in, allowing Tifa to win their little argument, but it didn't mean she blamed herself any less. Rimmy was her daughter, barely three months old, and she was dead. What kind of mother allowed for that to happen?
Yuffie stood, holding her hand out to Tifa to help her up. The water at the foot of the cascades lapped soothingly against the rock, and the ninja gazed at the sight longingly, letting her mind soar far from where she was, joining Leviathan somewhere in the heavens. Wherever she traveled, it was free of the heartache she felt now.
"I hope Cloud and Cid are alright," Tifa whispered, her voice melancholy. Yuffie nodded.
"Yeah."
They made their way back to the lodge after Yuffie picked up her damp clothes. She entered, immediately being accosted by the doctors and nurses as they hissed things like, "You should really be more careful in your condition," and, "You are never to leave without permission, Miss Kisaragi!" Gritting her teeth, she fought the urge to bite, 'That's Valentine!'
It took a bit of convincing, but the kunoichi gathered her wits and shirked the doctors. She rolled her eyes and brushed past the group, calling back, "I'm Wutai's Super Ninja. I have more awesomeness in one square inch of me than you have in the entire medical staff combined, so don't rub your cooless-ness off on me, please."
She sashayed away, earning a few eye twitches and some hissed murmurs. Tifa repressed a smirk, following Yuffie and apologizing to numerous doctors along the way. She watched Yuffie open random doors with no observation of courtesy, shrugging when she confirmed them to not be Cid or Cloud's room. She earned a few shouts, a few cries, some more angry doctors chasing her with syringes, attempting to pump her full of tranquilizer. Three went down, the tranqs shoved into their skin in various places while Yuffie skipped along.
"Aha!" Yuffie cried, pumping her fist. "It's Chocobobutt!"
Tifa giggled, slipping into the room behind the giddy ninja. Yuffie plopped down in a chair beside Cloud and watched sadly as Tifa's face fell, the barmaid kneeling beside him and stroking the blonde hair back from his forehead.
"Oh, Cloud," Tifa breathed, shaking her head. "You saved Yuffie and me – threw yourself in front of us. I love you, Cloud."
Yuffie sat quietly, knowing just what Tifa was feeling. She couldn't stand watching the ones she loved die, first her daughter, and then being told that Vincent had died. It was torture, pure, unadulterated torture.
When Tifa broke into tears, Yuffie slid from her chair, exiting the room to give her friend privacy and to collect herself. In passing, she caught whispering from the room across the hall, and ninja-crept closer, eavesdropping like a true ninja of Wutai.
"What do they know?" The voice was low and angry, tinged with urgency.
"I told the small one that the smaller guy was in a coma, and the bigger guy was in surgery."
"They have absolutely no idea?"
What were they talking about? Yuffie slid forward slightly, her eyes narrowing. Something in her gut was screaming to take off like a bat out of hell and tell the doctors that they could kiss her ass.
"No idea whatsoever."
"Then prepare for transport. Take out the ninja first – she proves a likely threat. Very perceptive, feisty, and acts on whim. Take the martial artist out next, she's proven herself to be dangerous when provoked, and impeccably strong. Take out the engineer last, she's given no reason to believe her to be dangerous."
What the hell!? Yuffie scrambled back to Cloud's room, slamming the door shut and locking it, dragging a tool cart to stick in front of the door to give her time to devise a plan. After jumping at Yuffie's sudden entrance, Tifa blinked in confusion.
"Yuffie, what's wr-"
"Where's Shera?" Yuffie demanded hurriedly. She had no time to explain things, and was acting purely on instinct and adrenaline. A fire sparked in her heart; the thought of the doctors harming her family filling her with such a murderous rage that she temporarily couldn't breathe.
"Out on the bridge. She wanted some air."
Yuffie ran her hands over her hair, pacing. "We've been set up, Tifa. The doctors are after us!"
Tifa scoffed, laughing at Yuffie. The ninja huffed, staring at the barmaid. The fact that her best friend wasn't taking her seriously pissed Yuffie off. And it wasn't like they had time to sit here and debate whether the doctors were nuts or not.
"Look, Yu, I know you're paranoid about doctors, but this is ridiculous." Tifa crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at Yuffie's antics. "Sure, Vincent had every reason to cower in fear, but the odds of another occurrence like his are slim to none."
First of all, thought Yuffie, that's not true - just look at Nanaki and Aerith!
"Tifa, I just overheard the doctors! They put Cloud in a medical induced coma and apparently, Cid isn't really in surgery, but I'm not so sure where he is! They said to take out me, then you, then Shera, then prepare us for transport."
Tifa grew very serious very quick, replying, "What does that mean?" The quietly dangerous tone in her voice spoke volumes of the hurt she planned to inflict.
"How the hell should I know? I'm not a mind reader, just a helluvan eavesdropper. Now come on, we gotta get Cloud, find Cid and Shera, and get the frick outta here before the Mako hits the fan!" Yuffie checked the door, helping Tifa to hoist Cloud out of the bed. Together, they carried him to the door, the pure muscle mass weighing them down, but fortunately, they weren't AVALANCHE girls for no reason. They could handle a muscular guy like Cloud.
Yuffie slipped her arm from under Cloud's shoulders and gripped the doorknob, opening the door in a heavy pull. She and Tifa fled, fire on their heels as they ran for the door and ignored the pain in their aching ribs.
"Hey! There they go, after them!"
Yuffie gulped, her eyes widening as a group of doctors raced toward them carrying various instruments of, what Yuffie was sure, torture. Oh gosh, she was going to find out firsthand what Vincent went through!
"Run!"
Tifa didn't have to be told twice. They took off, escaping the lobby just before a flock of vicious physicians descended on them, thundering down the walkway. Though they grew weary of carrying the pure-muscled Cloud, they showed no signs of slowing down.
"What's your brilliant plan now!?" Tifa screeched. Yuffie shrugged awkwardly, her lungs aching furiously as her heart thumped away.
"We need to find Shera and Cid – is that an airship!?" Yuffie gasped, watching a large ship descend beyond them, the letters 'W', 'R', and 'O' painted on the side. Yuffie almost cried in relief as W.R.O. officers jumped to the ground and sped to aid them, taking Cloud from their hands. Yuffie spun toward Tifa.
"You and I will go back for Shera and Cid! Come on!" She and Tifa ran back to the bridge, and more officers followed behind them. Yuffie threw the doors open, punching the first doctor that came after her in the gut. She flipped over another and slammed a nurse into the check-in desk, landing on a filing cabinet with ease before kicking another physician in the face and sending him tumbling. A computer crashed to the floor, the desk it had rested on following after, and the ninja took the opportunity to jump from it to another cabinet across the fairly large room.
"Go, Yuffie! I'll handle this!" Yuffie nodded at Tifa, the martial artist landing a roundhouse kick to an oncoming opponent. Yuffie took off down a random hall, reaching for Conformer before groaning as she remembered it was not on her person, but with her usual clothes in her hospital room. As she formulated a way to get her beloved weapon back, she threw open the door to a fire escape and went up a flight of stairs, taking them two at a time. She found a door marked 'Personnel Only' and opened it tentatively. The room was pitch black, no light filtering in.
Yuffie floundered around, her hand sliding along the wall to find a switch in the darkness. Finally, she felt the light switch and flicked the light on, gasping when she found Cid strapped to an examination table, a gag in his mouth. He stared at Yuffie, wide eyed. After a moment of their eying each other, he began ranting, his words muffled by the gag, but no doubt a string of profanities. Yuffie raced to his side, unbuckling him and ripping the gag out in a hurry.
Cid took a deep breath and cursed, "Damn, Yuffs, am I glad to see you."
"Yeah, old man, I'm pretty glad to see you, too! Now get your ass up, we're in trouble, if the gag wasn't an indicator." Yuffie helped Cid up and dragged him to the stairs hurriedly, pulling him down a flight. She backtracked when the first floor door swung open and a man in a white lab coat entered, shouting obscenities at her with his eyes narrowed. He flew at Yuffie, his fist clenched in a punch-ready form. She blocked his arm with her palm, ducked under his arm while performing a difficult contortion, and landed a fierce kick to his chest, sending him into the rail and tumbling down the stairs to the basement level. Yuffie and Cid ran down the stairs and entered the lobby, fists raised and ready to fight.
"Where's my wife?" Cid demanded, his voice grim as they fought off the horde of psycho-docs. The entire situation felt entirely too much like one of those awful horror movies she'd forced Vincent to watch with her. She'd done so purely out of malice, knowing how he hated doctors and scientist, but still doing it because he refused to let her eat the whole gallon of chocolate ice cream in one sitting. Now, she regretted it entirely.
"I think she's with Tifa," Yuffie replied. Spinning around and gauging the action, she added, "I need to get Conformer!" Cid nodded, and together they barreled through a line of surgeons and sped down the hall towards Yuffie's room. Skidding to a halt at the center, she snatched her precious shuriken off of the stand beside the table and waved it at the pilot, grinning.
With her weapon on hand, the ninja spun to look for a decent exit. "Here!" Yuffie cried. She wrapped her hands around the pole of an I.V. stand and slammed it into a window, she and Cid jumping out and taking off toward the airship. They neared the group and paused to catch their breath when they were a few yards away.
Gasping, Cid asked, "Where's Shera?"
Tifa turned, her face worried as she asked, "She wasn't with you?" The barmaid snapped her neck to look at Yuffie, who shrugged in return, although there was an obvious edge of worry in the movement.
Cid's frown pulled into an outright grimace as howled, "You mean to tell me that you don't know where my wife is!?"
Yuffie diffused, "Hey, it ain't our fault! We we're tryin' to save your asses, but that's cool, we don't need a thanks or anything!"
"Where's my wife, you damn brat!?" Cid snapped, his face shoved so close to hers that she could smell the cigarettes on his breath. A momentary stab of knee-buckling guilt hit Yuffie full force, bringing tears to her eyes as she took a step back. Vincent, Valencia, her mother, Aerith, and now Shera - she could never save them.
Startled, distressed, and hurt, Yuffie cried, "I'm so sorry, Cid! I... I don't know-"
The sound of a chopper cut Yuffie off, and she gazed up, hearing Cid curse beside her. The large machine hovered in the sky for a moment until the chopper door opened and a man appeared, a megaphone to his face as he leered at them. Fear pulsed in Yuffie's veins.
"AVALANCHE, this is your warning. Surrender, or lose the girl!" The man pushed Shera forward, her wrists bound together as she struggled against him. The resistance in her eyes seemed to unleash a fire within her husband as he trembled in rage.
"You let go of her!" Cid roared, shaking his fist. "Let go or I'll hunt you down and rip you to pieces, damn it!"
The man scoffed and shook his head unrepentantly, replying, "If only it were so easy for AVALANCHE this time around. You are, however, playing by our rules now, Cid Highwind. We have the upper-hand."
The man disappeared with Shera into the chopper as it took off and Cid let out a string of profanities, some of which not even Yuffie had heard before. Tifa and Yuffie eyed each other worriedly. Was he someone fromm the Tsviets? Had they really surged up from the ashes of Deepground and reorganized, coming back for the sole purpose of retaliating against AVALANCHE in the name of the former order?
Brushing the thought aside with a shiver, Yuffie boarded the airship, making her way to the deck to prepare to be sick again. She glanced at her stomach, brow furrowed. With all the fighting she'd been doing, it wasn't hard to imagine that she'd end up hurting her baby. If her child hadn't been harmed from the initial accident, all of her running around and landing blows would likely do the trick. She sat down on the deck, considering telling Reeve that she wanted to be put on maternity leave, if one could get maternity leave from being a member of AVALANCHE. Yuffie sighed, caressing her stomach gently.
"Vinnie, I miss you." She glanced at the sky, wondering if, wherever Vincent was, he was with their daughter. "I hope so, Vince. You always seemed like the father-type. You were meant to be a daddy."
Yuffie found herself grinning, imaging Vincent sitting down and having tea with a five year old Valencia as she served her little teddy bears and dolls, all dressed up in a princess costume with little flowers in her hair. She could see him tucking their daughter in at night and reading her bedtime stories, or telling her daring tales of AVALANCHE, and of crazy scientists who abducted little children if they didn't brush their teeth at night – okay, so maybe the last one was more her and not Vincent, but the point was moot. Vincent would have been a great father, and Yuffie was proud to say that she had chosen someone like him as the father of her children – no matter how unintentional that had been – and not someone like Godo as her mother had. She knew within her heart that Vincent Valentine was not at all a monster, but a wonderful, loving man who deserved love in return, whether he believed that or not.
"What are you thinking about, lassie?"
Yuffie turned her head, eyes widening in glee as she cried, "Cait! Where have you been?"
Cait Sith hobbled over to her, his whiskers twitching with glee. He sat in her lap and replied, "Oh, Reeve thought he'd send me here to check up with you after the accident. The Highwind went off the radar, and he managed to track you down to your nearest location. We sent the airship to Healen as soon as we could. Shera managed to find you first, but we weren't long after."
Yuffie nodded, commenting, "I knew there was something wrong there, but Tifa told me it was just me being paranoid."
Cait Sith laughed, replying, "You are paranoid, Yuffie."
Yuffie stuck her tongue out and protested, "Not all of the time!" She pouted, then added, "Only sometimes."
"Only on days that end in 'y'?" Cait Sith supplied, gaining an indignant cry from the ninja. She couldn't help but grin and ruffled the fur on the top of his head, though. Every time she saw her friends again after being separated for such a long time, none of her problems seemed to matter. It was only until she felt a telltale sign of nausea that she remembered how heavy her heart felt.
After a moment, Yuffie asked, "Where's Tifa? I need to talk to her."
Caith Sith shrugged and ambled away toward the opening to the deck, answering, "Not sure, lassie, but I'll tell her you're looking for her if I see her." He had a knowing look in his slender eyes, one that made Yuffie wonder if the animatronic cat was far more observant than she had ever given him credit for. After all, Reeve was his inventor, so it made sense.
"Thanks," Yuffie replied softly. She needed someone to talk to about her pregnancy, that is, anyone with estrogen. But who she really wanted to talk to more than anything, was Vincent.
She gazed out past the rail, smiling at the clear blue sky. For some odd reason, she didn't feel nauseous anymore, but she figured it had to do with the baby. What she didn't understand, however, was just how her child had survived the Highwind crashing, and if her child would suffer any complications later.
Footsteps alerted Yuffie to Tifa's presence. She turned her head to find the barmaid smiling at her softly, her dark hair falling from the messy ponytail she'd put it up in while the wind swept her bangs to and fro.
"Cait Sith said you were looking for me?" Tifa stated, smiling at her friend.
"No, I was sitting here letting Cait Sith look for you. I'm not gettin' up for no one."
"Anyone, Yuffie. You aren't getting up for anyone," corrected Tifa as she sat beside the kunoichi and drew her legs to her chest. She tilted her head. Tifa watched Yuffie stare at her hands, her eyes dull and lifeless, her usual smile missing from her face. In seconds, her friend went from joking and cheerful to downright upset and depressing. The ninja had been through so much, had her heart broken so many times, that Tifa didn't think it would take much else to send her off the deep end.
At sixteen, Yuffie had joined a group that traveled the world looking for Sephiroth with the intent to kill him, faced an event as horrifying as Meteor, and lost her friend in it. Then, she helped take down the Remnants, stand up to ridicule from her own people during the Geostigma, gone on to fight alongside Vincent during Deepground, and spend a week wondering if he had survived. On top of that, she'd lost her child, lost Vincent, and was pregnant again. How the kunoichi even managed to smile at all amazed Tifa.
"What's wrong?" the martial artist asked, placing a hand on Yuffie's shoulder. The ninja bit her lip as it trembled, a broken sob escaping her mouth as she buried her head in her hands, dark hair shielding her from view. Yuffie shook uncontrollably as she weeped, and Tifa was sure that she'd end up drowning in her own tears.
"Yuffie!? What's wrong? Yuffie!?" Tifa stood and pulled Yuffie into her arms, placing her chin atop the broken girl's head as the younger woman tangled one hand in her shirtfront, sobbing like someone had released a floodgate. "Yuffie, what's wrong?" It was obvious what was wrong, but Tifa needed to hear her speak, explain herself, anything but cry.
Yuffie tried to speak, but was trying too hard to just catch her breath, barely able to breathe through her tears and hiccups. She opened her mouth, but her voice shook, breaking before she could utter one word, and she finally gave up even attempting to speak. When her sobs subsided, she took a few shaky breaths and ran her hand across her bloodshot eyes.
"Th-the doctor t-t-t-old me I'm p-p-pr-pregnant again! I c-can't be preg-pregnant! Vinnie's g-gone!" Yuffie burst into tears again, doubling over and gripping the rail of the deck as she cried relentlessly. Like a glass rose, it seemed the ninja had finally shattered into pieces that were just to small to fit back together. "Gone, Tifa! Vincent's gone and I'm pregnant!"
Tifa took a shaky breath, somehow knowing that that was what would be on Yuffie's mind. It had only been a couple hours earlier that she'd even found the news out, and she hadn't received much time to dwell on it – never did a member of AVALANCHE have time to digest anything before the next big event occurred, they all just took it in stride. Unfortunately, stride just wasn't cutting it this time.
When Yuffie released a heartbroken wail, the barmaid placed a hand over her mouth, her heart going out to the ninja. The poor girl was left, yet again, with a human inside of her and Vincent completely inaccessible. Tifa gripped the rail, shaking her head.
Initially, the martial artist thought that having another baby might be a good thing for Yuffie, for she'd have a final piece of Vincent, and she might mend her heartbreak from Rimmy's death. It seemed like a good step forward in the healing process. But now, as Tifa observed the trembling, despaired ninja, she thought otherwise.
Maybe… maybe Yuffie couldn't do this. Maybe she was better off not.
"What are you going to do?" Tifa asked, her voice concerned and quiet, and her eyes not meeting Yuffie's. The insinuation hung in the air, and Yuffie might have brushed it off as an innocent inquiry. However, with the almost guilt-ridden tone Tifa had used along with her blatant refusal to look Yuffie in the eyes, the ninja knew exactly what her question had alluded to. Immediately, the ninja went on the defensive.
"If you're implying that I get an abortion," Yuffie gritted, her voice callous, "then you can forget it! I'm not going to kill my child because I don't want to suffer. It's the last thing Vincent gave to me, anyways, and I'm keeping the baby no matter the cost!"
Tifa turned to her, crying, "Yuffie, you do realize that this baby is most likely going to be born with complications? The doctors can't be sure now if the fetus is healthy or not! Shiva, Yuffie! You're likely to have a miscarriage or to have a difficult delivery — you probably wouldn't even survive it!"
"It's a baby," Yuffie corrected, her voice small, "not a problem." She caressed her stomach and replied, "I don't care what happens to my baby, what issues or defects he or she might have, I'll love the child anyway." Even if I don't make it. It will be like atoning for the death of Valencia.
"But you're suffering – how can you expect to care for a child when you're positively broken up and depressed?" Tifa's face held a plea in it, her voice too dropping to a diminutive octave.
The ninja shrugged and glanced off into the sky, responding, "It doesn't matter if I'm suffering, Tifa. Mothers are supposed to put their own problems aside for their children, and that's just what I'm going to do. Besides, I'd suffer more someday knowing that I allowed some doctor to rip my baby from my womb with a clamp, the last precious gift that Vincent gave me. Sure, it will be tough, but I'm surrounded by people who care for me. The future's uncertain, but one thing is definite – I will not willing end the life of my child. In any case, Vincent would hate me for it, and that's for certain."
Yuffie left Tifa on the deck, entering the airship. She felt numb inside, wondering if she really could handle having another baby. It didn't matter, though – Yuffie was a firm believer in the idea that if you did the deed, you were deciding that you were capable to raise a child. In the case of rape, however, she believed that if the woman was forced upon, she shouldn't force abortion on her baby. And, if a woman really couldn't stand the idea of keeping the baby, adoption always served as an alternative. She didn't quite understand how women could willingly give up their own children, no matter what the reasons were. In Wutai, abortion was frowned upon, but many women went to places like Junon or Edge for back-alley abortions. Many suffered for it later.
Babies were a blessing, even if they came disguised as a curse, even if it took forever just to figure that out. Her mother had been given that option in secret, also, for Godo had wanted a firstborn male and demanded for Yuffie to be terminated due to her gender. Her mother, however, had been merciful and allowed Yuffie to live, even at the expense of a difficult pregnancy and problems afterwards. Her birth was the reason her mother was so weak and could not survive the pagoda's attack during the war, resulting in her death. But Yuffie was alive, and she would let her child live as well.
"Yuffie!"
The ninja turned, finding Tifa standing before her looking slightly awkward. "I didn't mean to offend you, but I just want you to consider what this could turn into. I wanted you to consider all your options."
Yuffie smiled at Tifa, but shook her head and replied, "There's nothing to consider, really. Abortion was never an option for me, just as it was not for my mama."
Tifa smiled and hugged Yuffie, whispering, "Well, I guess my arguments a little invalid now. Just - just be prepared, Yuff. This could be bad, so just be ready."
Yuffie nodded. "I am, Tifa. I am prepared for anything and everything, and I'm prepared to love my child unconditionally no matter what happens... But if this pregnancy does cause complications, and I don't make it, I know it's a lot to ask, but could you maybe-"
"Say no more," Tifa answered, her eyes shining with just a hint of tears. "I'll take care of the baby, all of AVALANCHE will."
Yuffie smiled and hugged Tifa even tighter, whispering, "Thank you! Thank you so much, Tifa!" They pulled apart and Yuffie wiped away her own tears that were forming in her eyes, grinning. "Let's go see what Chocobobutt's up to. I wonder if he's woken up yet."
Tifa pulled Yuffie by the wrist through the W.R.O. airship, searching for Cloud. They came across a crewman and asked for help, and he led them to the infirmary where onboard doctors were working to wake him up. Tifa stepped to his side, and Yuffie jumped up onto the cot, sitting at his feet.
"I can so think of a million ways to make fun of his ass about this when he wakes up!" Yuffie cheered, grinning devilishly. Tifa giggled.
"He's in a coma, Yuffie, and you're devising evil plans already?" Yuffie blinked at Tifa's comment, as if to say, 'And what of it?'
The older woman shook her head, chuckling at Yuffie as she climbed over Cloud and pulled his eyelids up, making random noises that somewhat resembled a chocobo with its head chopped off. She smirked impishly, eyeing Tifa and then looking back at Cloud. She pinched his nose and covered hisr mouth, Tifa's eyes widening in horror as she shrieked and lunged at Yuffie.
Yuffie cackled and rolled of the bed, pointing at Tifa. "Boobs, you so thought I was gonna do him in! I'm not crazy!"
Tifa raised an eyebrow, clearly thinking just the opposite. "You just tried to suffocate Cloud, how are you not crazy?"
Yuffie shrugged, answering in mirth, "I was only kidding. It was a joke."
"Which only adds to the crazy factor," Tifa replied, eyeing the ninja sprawled on the floor. Something seemed off, like some malevolent spark flickered in the ninja's eyes. Involuntarily, Tifa shivered. What was going on with Yuffie lately?
Yuffie held her upper body off the floor with her elbows, watching as Tifa's eyes darted from Cloud to the heart monitor and back to her. The air turned serious.
Tifa leaned over Cloud, her face close to his as she inspected him, inquiring, "Do you think he'll wake up?"
Yuffie hopped up and joined Tifa, her hands on her hips. She watched as Cloud's chest moved fractionally with his breaths, his face soft and expressionless. She shrugged and twirled, replying, "It's Cloud – he's gonna be just fine!"
Tifa turned her head to look at the dancing ninja, and commented, "We all thought that about Vincent, too."
Yuffie abruptly stopped spinning, her back to Tifa. The barmaid winced, wishing she'd not said that. How could she have been so stupid as to bring up Vincent's death? She could see the way Yuffie's shoulders slumped and her cheerful disposition vanished.
Only the profile of Yuffie's face was visible when she turned her head, but the menacing glare was clear. "Valentine wasn't sick or at the mercy of doctors, or even given a possibility of surviving. Cloud has a fighting chance."
Head hung low and fists clenched, Yuffie stormed out.
Tifa took a deep breath and turned back to Cloud, her eyelids fluttering closed as a tear dripped off her lashes, running down her cheek and hitting Cloud's. She traced his lips with a finger, her shoulders shaking. The bed creaked slightly when Tifa slipped in beside Cloud and rested her head on his chest, entwining their fingers.
"Cloud, when are you going to wake up?"
She watched Cloud for any reaction, even the briefest, most subtle flutter of eyelashes. She received only his steady breathing, pale eyelids still concealing the Mako-infused orbs from view. Tifa let out a sigh, resting her head on his chest and staring at the ceiling. The thought of ending up like Vincent and Yuffie devastated the barmaid.
Yuffie let out a lengthy breath, rubbing her arm as she gazed out over the edge of the airship, the W.R.O. building not far away now. She crossed her arms on the rail and placed her chin atop them, closing her eyes tightly as she remembered the feel of Vincent's lips on hers. A small smile formed on her face when she thought of the little family they might have had, had he and their daughter never been killed.
"It's just you and me now, little one."
Little one, Yuffie thought. She mouthed the word in Wutain, and the name slipped from her tongue easily, feeling natural. She let her mind envision her Rimmy and her little one, a male in her mind, running in the yard, Daddy Vincent chasing them while she slipped away to find where he'd hidden his materia. The scene in her head seemed almost too perfect, too real with the Nibelheim sky clear and sunny, the grass a deep emerald. Yuffie wanted to be there, in that perfect moment. She could see Vincent's loving smile, his caring eyes, his affectionate arms as he scooped up their children and tossed them in the air. She could just imagine how perfect her life would be…
The intercom came on and an officer reported their arrival at the W.R.O. facility. Her smile fell from her lips as she opened her eyes to the harsh reality that Vincent and Rimmy were dead, and she was not at home in the Shinra Manor playing with their children on a beautiful day. It was late evening, the sun was setting, she was cold, and Vincent was dead.
The ninja turned and made her way to the hatch, forcing a grin as she neared the group. She glanced at Tifa, said girl avoiding her eyes at all costs. Cid raised an eye at them, but Yuffie shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Are we gonna get the hell off the airship, or are we gonna wait for me to puke on someone?" Yuffie asked, cocking her hip.
Cid motioned for Yuffie to go and replied, "After you, brat."
Yuffie flipped backwards off the hatch, sticking the landing and pointing her tongue out at Cid. He muttered, "Show off," and hopped down, reaching to help Tifa.
Yuffie skipped along, racing up to the front steps. When she turned back, she caught sight of something in the distance, but she couldn't name what. Her brow furrowed as she shielded her eyes, squinting hard past the sun. It seemed to be a blur of red and purple. The sight caused Yuffie to raise one eyebrow much like Vincent did when he was concentrating.
"Hey, brat, you gon' stand there and make me stare at your ugly mug all day, or are you gonna move?"
Yuffie snapped her head to look at Cid, scrunching her face up as she cursed him. She turned back to the strange figure for another look, but there was nothing there. Damn it, Cid! You made me break concentration! Yuffie shrugged and opened the door to the headquarters, sighing at the air conditioning. A glorious smile graced her face as she smoother her hair down and greeted Reeve.
"We're alive, thanks for asking!" Yuffie piped, poking Reeve in the chest. She twirled around, spinning until a certain name plate on a window caught her attention. Her breath stopped as she stalked over to the office, peeking in. "This is where Vincent worked, huh?"
The hall felt colder, more morose as the commissioner watched the ninja trace the letters of the plaque with one finger. Reeve frowned and made his way over to her, peering in. "Yes. The few times that I required his assistance for missions and such, he worked out of here."
A questioning look came to Yuffie's face, and she turned to him. "Why'd you make me head of espionage and not him?"
Reeve laughed, shaking his head. "Because Valentine didn't like working with the W.R.O., and he was a Turk. Turks, whether they're former Turks or not, do not enjoy spying on people and covert operations. They like to go in guns blazing and take people by force. You are a kunoichi, therefore very skilled at espionage."
"Ah," Yuffie replied, and Reeve exited the office, leaving Yuffie to gaze around the room. She examined the walls, finding it to be extremely dull and not at all decorated, typical of the gunslinger. In fact, the entire place looked as if no one ever set foot in it. As she moved to turn off the lights and leave, Yuffie caught something hidden partially by the computer monitor and the modem. She stepped forward and leaned over, a gasp escaping her lips.
Yuffie picked up a picture frame, finding the photo to be one taken by Tifa during their time at Costa del Sol. The ninja happened to have been caught off guard at the time, as she was unaware that the picture had been taken. She was gazing out over the water, one hand shielding her eyes to the harsh glare, the rays of sunlight reflecting off her emerald bikini. Vincent was standing off to the side, and only by very close examination could Yuffie detect the hint of a smirk on his lips and the very slight course his eyes had taken.
Yuffie threw a hand to her mouth, almost laughing. In his office, Vincent had a picture of her in the same bikini that she'd teased him with the first time they'd been intimate. The picture had obviously been taken after that, or else he wouldn't have been smirking at her attire. Yuffie found the entire situation at once embarrassing, humorous, and incredibly sweet.
"Wow, Vinnie. Even when you were at work, you were thinking of me…" Yuffie brushed a tear from her eye and set the picture down, making sure to place it right where it had been before she picked it up. "I love you, Vincent."
Yuffie sat down in his office chair, drawing her knees up. She rested her cheek on her knees and sat silently, wondering how often he was at work. They'd only been together for a month or two before the event on the Highwind, when Vincent was scared off by Cid.
"Little Chocobo, your dad was pretty damn awesome. I wish you could meet him." Yuffie ran her hands down the arm of the chair, smiling at the thought of Vincent having been seated in the same exact spot. She leaned her head back and glanced up at the ceiling. "Yeah, things were pretty great with AVALANCHE before things got complicated – wait, who am I kidding? Things have always been complicated with AVALANCHE."
The door flew open and Yuffie jumped a mile high, clutching her heart. "Aunt Yuffie, Aunt Yuffie!"
Yuffie grinned at Marlene as she ran at the ninja, her brown curls swaying. Yuffie pulled the little girl up and sat her on her lap, crying, "Marlene! How's my little ninja in training?"
Marlene giggled, replying, "I stole one of Daddy's materia and hid it in my stuffed chocobo, just like you told me!"
"So it was you that's been teaching my little girl to steal? I shoulda known. Damn, guess I gotta apologize to Denzel now." Yuffie grinned at the muscular, gun-armed man standing in the doorway.
"Pfft. It could have been Denzel, too!"
Barret rolled his eyes and replied, "Yuffie? You're really going to try and get a little kid in trouble?"
Yuffie grinned, answering, "The boy ratted me out to Cloud when I crashed Fenrir. I don't get even, I get ahead."
Marlene giggled, adding, "I wanna be just like you, Aunt Yuffie!"
"No, no, no!" Barret hollered, scooping his daughter up and holding her at his hip. "We don't take lessons from Yuffie, baby."
"But-but," Marlene pouted, and Barret shook his head.
"Sorry, Marlene, but you can't be goin' around serving Yuffie. Damn brats probably got a horde of children she's teaching to follow her. Shit, we're gonna have a Generation Yuffie moving up."
"Chillax," Yuffie replied, dismissing the thought with a wave of her hand. "Marlene's just my test run. 'Sides, you're so old, you'll probably be dead by the time my technique is perfected and my child army overthrows the W.R.O."
Barret stared at her blankly. After a moment, he replied, "And the scariest thing about that is, I'm not completely sure you were joking." He turned and walked out with Marlene waving goodbye, and Yuffie winked at her as she left, mouthing, Eye on the prize!
When the door shut, she cackled and swiveled in the chair, declaring, "Vincent, I am just too good."
Okay, I hope you all enjoyed it! I feel like it's progressively getting more boring and with less of a plot, though I do have a set conflict and resolution? What do you think?
Thank you for reading, please tell me what you thought, and see you in July!