-1Author's Note: So, yeah. I started this on Thanksgiving, and here it is… I gave the Ninja's of Wutai a darker image though, the ideal ninja, in my opinion, would be like the perfect soldiers. Takes orders, rigidly disciplined, lives to serve. But if you look at Yuffie, she isn't like that, so in this the title of ninja is what she wants, but she hates it because she knows what a good ninja is. Even though she would, technically, be the leader to a certain point she would have to follow the same rigid code. My views on this will probably piss somebody off, but no worries. I have a plan. And to make up for anyone I piss off with my ninja-views, there will, finally, be a kiss. WOOOH, it only took ten chapters. Once again, any offensiveness you find in this, I apologize for. But, without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist. Enjoy.
Reviewer Comments:
Tetsuya Shirashi: Hunny, that ain't the good part, that's the pre-show.
Sorceress Fujin: Sorry Fuji, but this one took me longer than I expected. But I hope you enjoy it!
Lady Sonora the Black-Rose: Yeah, that happens sometimes if I don't re-read it. And I was anxious about that chapter, my apologies. This one will probably be worse with spelling and grammar.
Chocobo Obsessed: I'm very honored you prefer reading my story over sleep, but… perhaps sleep would be the wiser choice. Please, enjoy the chapter!
Yurikitsune: heh… just wait.
Tyfusion Ishtar: Crazy, huh? I'd rather not experience that, here's your chapter.
Pepsilexxi: Well, thank you, it's always nice to hear how great I am… wow that was arrogant, I'm sorry. Enjoy.
IamAudrey: I wouldn't say hot and steamy, but the windows will certainly get a bit foggy: ).
ON WITH THE CHAPTER!
A Door Beyond Absolution
Chapter Ten: Wutai Nevermore
Yuffie stared at her reflection in the mirror, which hung about her bed in the room she had claimed for herself on the Highwind. Her eyes were red and puffy, from sobbing silently for the past four hours. She had thrown up twice from sheer nerves, because this was it; it was time to complete her mission. Nine hours prior Cid and Barret had returned with Tifa and Cloud nestled safely on the floor of the Tiny Bronco. Seven hours ago, the two had awoken and everyone gathered to listen to Cloud's profuse apologies and his explanation of what had happened. Six hours past, Tifa had urged them to hasten their search for Sephiroth, Cloud had stated his desire to take things slowly and not repeat the rush and tumble events of the past.
"It isn't smart to keep walkin' into the same trap," he told them all. Yuffie rolled her eyes, she had known that her whole life. They had decided to rest on the outskirts of Mideel, only so far from Wutai. Yuffie would have to do it now, or she would not do it at all.
Five hours ago, everyone had settled down for a night of undisturbed sleep. The first hour Yuffie sat recalling what kind of materia the group had, who had what materia combinations, and how she could get them without anyone catching on. Shortly after her mental checklists were compiled and logged away for future use, Yuffie merely burst into a fit of hysterics stemming from the knowledge that she was about to betray the only friends she had ever had. Hysteria had given way to sobbing, sobbing gave way to empty tears, which flowed soundlessly; and finally Yuffie had succumbed to the final measure of her anxiety; she'd drifted mechanically into her little bathroom, and vomited all of her emotional suffering into the porcelain bowl.
Her head was spinning as she tugged the black under-armor over her head and tugged it down to cover her tanned stomach, she picked up the black pants she'd nicked from a store in the Golden Saucer and tugged them over her legs, taking a few moments to disentangle them from the clasp of her leg brace. Yuffie removed her white bandana next, slipping it into the pocket of the tight pants, and replaced it with a black mask worn by the elders of Wutai during Halloween. The mask itself represented her ancestry, a line of descendents tracing back to the Leviathan-chosen clan of Wutain lore, it was a serpentine figure, with protruding points to look like dragon scales, and chiseled features. This Yuffie had stolen from her own home shortly after the brief… encounter… with her father.
Yuffie knew how shameful her career as a materia thief was, but that had never bothered her before. Now, it was an entirely different story. The people Yuffie had robbed in the past had always been nameless, and faceless, a shadow met only to be forgotten after their armlets were empty. However, AVALANCHE was different, she knew their names, their histories, she had fought beside them for the better part of two months now, and she was going to throw it all away for her father, for her country.
'My country,' she thought, embittered by the words. 'I've only seen my country for weeks at a time before being pushed back out into the world…'
Yuffie inhaled deeply as she laid her hand to rest on the doorknob of her room. With an uttered prayer to Leviathan, in her native tongue, of course, Yuffie opened the door and crept, soundlessly, into the dark hall.
'First stop, Barret and Red.' She thought as she slipped into the first room, where Barret lay snoring on the bed as Red dozed in the corner. Barret's things lay, mercifully, in a pack to the right of the door. Yuffie grabbed the pack and swept it into the hall with her before closing the door. She rummaged through the messy bag, finding food wrappers, the remains of some small animal, and, finally, his bangle and detachable weapon head. Examining the dimly glowing orbs, Yuffie took each in turn, leaving only a Level One Restore, a Level One Bolt, and an un-mastered cover in his pack. She slipped the glowing orbs into her bag without a sound and rose to her feet.
Reopening the door, Yuffie returned the pack to its previous position and faced Red. The Wolf-ish creature was sleeping contentedly, snoring very little, and not moving at all. Yuffie removed every piece of Materia she could reach without disturbing him, and left those she could not, a Level Two Fire and a Level Three Choco-Mog.
Slipping out of the room, Yuffie removed her mask to wipe her face on her sleeve. Sweat dotted her brow in close nit beads that absorbed into the material quickly. She pushed the tremors of fear aside and crept towards Cid and Cait Sith room. Pushing open the door, the old man had forgotten to close it; Yuffie found herself facing a snoring blond man with a cylindrical line of ash hanging from between his fingers. Sighing she set to work, removing all the materia from Cid's weapon and armlet; and quickly moving on to do the same to the shutdown stuffed creature. This materia also vanished into the confines of Yuffie's bag, and was hidden away from the light.
Tifa's room was next, a true test of Yuffie's skill. Tifa was an unusually light sleeper, and tranquilizers had no effect on her because of a powerful immunity she had built up working in the bar. Yuffie let the bag rest on the ground outside the door and tiptoed into the room where Tifa lay. Tifa coughed in her sleep, Yuffie froze mid-step. The older woman turned her back to where Yuffie stood in terror, once Tifa had settled back into her fitful dream; Yuffie crept forward and grasped the leather glove Tifa had cast away before falling asleep. Slowly removing the precious orbs, Yuffie worked at silently as could be, barley breathing and moving only her wrists and fingers.
The task completed, Yuffie placed down the glove and reached for Tifa's Minerva band, which hung over one of the small protrusions of the headboard. The band was unsteady in her sweat-coated fingers, and Yuffie nearly dropped the thing, but her fingers clung to it and brought it towards her body.
Yuffie felt she had remained in the belly of the beast for too long and, taking the Minerva band with her, retreated from the room. Once she was safely back in her own room, Yuffie changed her clothes and tucked the backpack, with its Materia and single band, under her bed. She sat down, hands placed flat on her knees, and everything came rushing into her mind at once.
'What have I done?' she thought, staring at her pale hands. A gentle knock on the door startled Yuffie, and she jumped as the door opened. The long ebony hair that tumbled, constantly, over a red bandana, Vincent had entered her room.
"I heard your footfalls as I walked past," he explained softly. "I thought that something was wrong…"
"Nothing," Yuffie said, perhaps louder than she originally intended. She cleared her throat and shook her head, "I just got a glass of water…"
"Have you vomited recently?" Vincent asked, Yuffie nearly swallowed her own tongue.
"What?" She said softly, Vincent tapped the side of his nose.
"Heightened senses," he said quietly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "It smells as though you…"
"I did," she confessed, her hands twisting in her lap. "I…"
Yuffie bit her lip, knowing she could not come clean, but not wanting to lie to Vincent. He approached her bed and knelt before her, resting his human hand on her writhing hands.
"It is all right…," he said awkwardly, his fingers twitching as they grasped her own.
"I felt home sick," she said, closing her eyes tightly as she said the words. Tears pushed themselves from between the forced eyelids, onto her cheeks. "I miss it so much…"
"We were just…" Vincent fell silent watching her as the tears continued to pour.
"I've never been able to stay home for long, I've always been urged out to st…" She bit her lip. "To hone my ninja skills and attain the blessing of All Creation."
Vincent watched her face, casually blank with tears cascading down in droves.
"Wutai has the most excellent weapons…," he said softly, Yuffie stared at him. "And Cloud does wish to see it. Perhaps I will ask him to redirect Cid in that direction?"
"Would you?" Yuffie asked her eyes wide with what Vincent thought was joy, but then, what did Vincent know about women.
"Of course," he said before standing up. "I will speak with him in the morning."
With that, Vincent swept from the room, and only when his steps had receded down the hall did Yuffie bury her face in her pillow and cry. She cried until there was nothing left.
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The morning dawned as bright and beautiful as any other in history, light radiated through the thick glass panes of the airship windows, and it was through one of these windows that the light touched the disheveled form.
Yuffie lay, sleeping, her face resting on her bent arm, her hair tousled in odd directions. There were dark circles under her eyes, and streaks of tears had dried on her cheeks, the telltale signs of crying oneself to sleep. When light touched Yuffie this morning, she cringed away, nearly falling off the bed. She moved into further shadow, curling her legs to her chest and embracing them tightly. Her eyes focused, blurrily, on the window.
"Today's the day," she whispered bracingly. Her jaw set firmly in place, her eyes turned away from the light, once more she walked in the grey area between right and wrong.
It was justice to obtain materia from a former soldier and Turk, it was justice that she restore her home, and it was justice that she force them both to absolve for their former allegiances. Today she would bring justice.
However, she did not believe that. It was not justice that brought her fingers to pluck Materia from her friend's weaponry. It was not
Absolution to steal from the people you befriended, this was nothing but cowardice. It was fear of a father, who had for so long done nothing but force his young daughter to grow into a thief, a shame to her family. This was no more justice than Hojo's sparing Vincent's life had been mercy.
A knock struck Yuffie's door, and her heart leapt into her throat.
"Yuffie!" Tifa called, and Yuffie thought, for a panicked moment, that she had been discovered.
"Yes?" She said softly, Tifa laughed.
"Still asleep?" She asked, "Well get up! We're going to Wutai!"
Yuffie heart plummeted through the airship floor, clear through the planet, and out into space. This was it.
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They started out in resolute silence, Vincent, Cloud and Yuffie. Every moment bringing them closer to the gates of Wutai, finally Yuffie could go no further.
"Wait," her voice cracked. "Wait, wait, wai----t!"
Cloud and Vincent stopped and looked back at her, her hands were at her sides, her palms flat on the sides of her thighs.
"What is it?" Vincent asked, his fingers nimbly removing his gun from its holster. "What happened?"
"Nothing…" Yuffie said, taking a deep breath she nodded to herself. "I know this area pretty well. It gets tough past here. We better get ready…"
"Are you serious?" Cloud asked, his eyebrow raising a millimeter in suspicion. Yuffie clasped one hand to her chest and gestured ahead.
"Yes!" She declared firmly, "it's REALLY tough…"
A gunshot struck just before her feet, Yuffie jumped as three Shinra soldiers rushed towards them.
"There they are, catch 'em!" One man hollered. Yuffie bolted towards Vincent and Cloud, neither man thought much of the motion.
"The Shinra!" Vincent growled, his claw hand clenching into a metallic fist.
"Hey, that's not them!" A second soldier shouted as they halted before them. "These are the other guys from before!"
"Yuffie," Cloud grumbled out of the corner of his mouth. "You're...!"
"I didn't know!" She said in a weak voice from somewhere behind him. "I have nothing to do with this one!"
"What do you mean 'this one'?" Vincent turned on her, his eyes dark. "You WERE planning something?"
"No, umm, uh…" Yuffie looked at her scuffed shoes for a few moments. The soldiers stared between them for a brief second.
"What should we do?" Asked one of the soldiers, his comrade lifted his gun into firing position.
"Get them!" The soldier said, "Grab them and ask questions later!"
The battle did not even last a few seconds. Yuffie ended one man's life with a flick of her wrist, Cloud took down another into large slashes, and Vincent merely shot one clean little hole into the final man's skull. Cloud washed the blood from his blade quickly, and Vincent examined his ammo supply, as he often did after any given battle. When both men looked up, Yuffie was gone, along with their materia.
"What the hell?" Cloud shouted, his eyes flicking over the empty slots. "All my materia's gone!"
"Mine as well," Vincent said softly as he gazed at his Winchester Rifle. "It appears we have been played for fools."
"We're going after her!" Cloud said firmly as he took off towards the distant gates of Wutai.
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Yuffie gasped as she leaned against the wall of the first building past the gates. Her breath came out in ragged gasps, her backpack was heavy with Materia, and her mind ached with the knowledge of what she had done. Now she was home free, safe, in Wutai.
"THIEF!" A voice shouted from behind her, whirling around she saw Cloud and Vincent racing towards her.
"Hey!" She cried indignantly. Then, realizing that they were after her, she turned and bolted as fast as she could in the direction of the pagoda. She lost the men easily enough when she neared her father's house, and wandering in she heard him mumbling about the Shinra.
"What's with you? You coward!" Yuffie growled as she dropped her backpack beside his bed.
"Yuffie...!" Her father said at once jerking into wakefulness. She kicked the backpack over to him, and he opened it as though he were receiving some precious gift.
"You scared of the Shinra? Then why don't you fall into line
and obey them, just like all of the other towns!" She growled at him, her voice strained in fury. "Those guys are the ones who are really fighting the Shinra!"
She gestured towards the bag he held, and Godo glowered up at her.
"Shut up!" He commanded as he rose to his feet. "What would you know about this?"
"You get beaten once, and then that's it!" She yelled, her fists clenched at her sides. "What happened to the mighty Wutai I used to know?"
"No kid like you is going to talk to me like that!" Godo shouted, slamming the back of his hand into her cheek. "You keep acting like that! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"
"I am ashamed of myself!" She shouted as she clasped one hand to her cheek. "And it's not my fault, it's all yours! Don't you try and dictate what I should do!"
"Dictate...?" He laughed lightly. "Throwin' around all those fancy words...
You're a miserable fighter!"
"And you're a sad excuse for a father!" She snapped back, grabbing the bag of materia from its resting place at his feet. Godo dove at her, but she side stepped him and swung the bag around to smack into the back of his head.
"I'll give you this materia when I think you deserve it," she snapped. "And I won't steal for you, not ever again!"
With that, Yuffie fled her home racing back towards town with her backpack tinkling with the tiny magic orbs. She watched Vincent enter the Materia shop, and a tiny idea formed in her mind.
Slipping in through the back door, Yuffie watched Cloud open a chest to find a piece of Materia tucked away within. Diving from the shadows, Yuffie grabbed the materia from his hands and darted out of the shop. Reeling around the corner, Yuffie dove into the huge pot outside Turtle's Paradise. Shifting slightly so as not to crush her precious treasures.
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Cloud watched Yuffie's sneaker vanish within the large pot. He approached cautiously, with Vincent standing back; ready to dart after her should she run. Cloud kicked the pot, and it toppled over, expelling Yuffie onto the ground. She rolled and bolted for the nearest street, Vincent met her there, grabbing her by the forearms and flinging her towards Cloud.
"You can't get away, Yuffie." Cloud stated, Yuffie stared up at him, struggling slightly.
"I know…" She breathed, tears forming in her large eyes. "I was wrong... You win. I'll give you back your materia…"
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"Before I was born, Wutai was a lot more crowded and more important…" Yuffie leaned against the wall of her father's home in shame, her head downcast, her eyes fixed on the floor. "You saw what it looks like now, right? ...JUST a resort town... After we lost the war, we got peace, but with that, we lost something else. Now look at Wutai... That's why... if I had lots of materia I could…"
"Listen, Yuffie." Cloud snapped at her, she flinched and pressed against the wall even harder. "I don't care about the history of Wutai or your feelings. You've got our materia and I want it back... now. If you give it back now, we'll drop the whole thing."
"I know." She lied, real tears filling her eyes. "I know... That... switch... the lever on the left... materia's... in there."
Cloud reached out and flicked the lever on the right, and Yuffie shook her head. A cage came slamming down, trapping Vincent in the center of the room. The gunslinger flung himself against the bars, towards Yuffie, growling. Yuffie looked away, her eyes misted with tears.
"You should've listened! The Materia's mine!" She said, forcing a little laugh now and then. "Tough!"
She fled the room, her sneakers vanishing up the stairs, but after a moment, her head peeked back in.
"You want your materia? Then go find it yourself! Yeah that's right. And when you're looking for the materia, remember you gotta steel it." She laughed a hollow, painful sound. "Heh heh... steel... steel! Get it! C ya!"
Then, once more, she was gone. Cloud flicked the lever, releasing the enraged Vincent from his cage. Vincent sniffed the air once and hurtled up the stairs, Cloud followed several steps behind, just trying to keep up. Vincent burst from the house and sniffed the air on the street, muttering to himself.
"I can smell her…," he said softly, Cloud stared at him. The gunslinger approached a large, red structure across from the Kisaragi house. He kicked the wall and a door opened. Suddenly, scream erupted from the hidden room.
"Let go!" Yuffie screamed, "I SAID let GO!"
The two men hurtled down into the room where one man had hold of Yuffie around the waist. She was struggling like a cat in water, screaming, kicking and lashing out blindly.
"Hey! Who do you think you…?" The man cuffed her in the head. "OW! What're you doin'...? Jerk!"
A delighted chuckle sounded from the opposite set of stairs, where a fat, hideous man wearing lurid pinks and reds stood watching the struggling ninja.
"You...!" Cloud growled, the man looked at him and waved a bit.
"... ho...ho…" He chuckled as Yuffie was dragged closer to the stairs. Vincent started after her when two men, who had been previously hidden, burst directly into his path. "Hohi, hohi! Hohihi!"
"Corneo!" Cloud shouted, the fat man applauded his stubby hands together, gazing at Yuffie with evident desire.
"Hohi!" He chuckled again, "I've finally got a new chicky! Two for me, in fact! Hohi, hohi!"
"Two?" Cloud said, looking about the room in fear, a second guard appeared with a blonde haired woman cast over his shoulder, banging her fists on the mans back relentlessly.
"H...hey! Let go if me!" Elena screamed, her feet squirmed uselessly against the mans powerful arm, which held them flat against his chest. "You're gonna regret this!"
Yuffie and the man were finally at the top of the stairs and the five of them vanished out the door, Corneo laughing and Yuffie screeching all the way. Vincent acted first, bounding towards the bottom of the stairs and plunging halfway up before realization dawned on him.
"VINCENT!" Cloud shouted, the gunman froze, staring back blankly.
"She is in trouble," he stated flatly.
"She robbed us," Cloud told him, "robbed you."
Vincent stared at the floor at Cloud's feet, he knew this, inside him, and he knew what she had done. Yet part of him knew that she must have a good reason, he hoped she had good reason. And Cloud understood him without saying another word, he was right behind Vincent.
"We're wasting time." He said, Vincent almost smiled, almost.
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Yuffie struggled against the bountiful ropes holding her arms flat against the polished surface of the Dao Chao. Elena was tied beside her, screaming bodily as she tossed her head back and forth, unable to think of any other solution to the problem at hand. Yuffie tried, unsuccessfully, to weasel her hand inside the pouch on her belt to retrieve a small throwing star, but found the feat to great for her. Finally, her feminine nature kicked in, and Yuffie descended to Elena's level.
"LET…" She struggled, "ME…" she struggled some more. "GO!"
"Hmm!" Corneo ignored her, rubbing his grubby hands together and gazing at the two females with his lustful gaze. "Delicious... scrumptious! I think I've just found a new HOBBY!" He chuckled a bit, "which shall it be? Hmm... Hmm... Should I go... with HER?"
He looked fully at Elena, staring at her with his eyes. Elena cringed, trying to push her way inside the stone surface of the statue.
"H... hey, I'm one of the 'Turks'!" Yuffie scowled at her, wondering how that could possibly matter at this point. "Don't think you can get away
with this!"
"Or... maybe... HER?" Corneo ignored Elena and looked at Yuffie. For a brief moment, Yuffie entertained the idea of informing this mad man that she was the heir to the throne of Wutai, but then thought the better of it.
"Oh GAWD!" She covered her moment of thought in Yuffie fashion. "If I knew this was gonna happen, I would've taken rope lessons more seriously!"
"Hmm! I've made my choice!" Yuffie's heart plunged in terror, it was never good when they made up their minds right after you spoke. "My companion for the night will be… the cheerful one!"
"GROSS-NESS!" Yuffie screamed, her mind raced, her heart thundered in her chest and one thought kept popping into her mind. Vincent. "Don't mess with me old man! You don't even have any Materia!"
"Oooooh! And she's saucy, too!" He licked his lips, a gesture that created in upsurge of vomit in Yuffie throat. "Wheee! Wheee!"
"All right, that's it!" A voice shouted from the immediate path, Corneo stared around him in shock. As if a path out in the open were a concealed hide-a-way.
"Hee-haw. What…" He stared at Cloud without recognition, "what's goin' on! Who's there?"
"Oh man!" Yuffie almost cried she was so happy; Cloud glanced at her with anger in his eyes. "Cloud!"
"Weell…" Corneo said, scratching his multiple chins, "long time no see."
"Don't tell me you forgot…" Cloud said, almost discouraged by the thought. Vincent stood at his shoulder, and Yuffie eyes fell on him in relief.
'Vincent is going to save me!'
"I do not care what you are doing," he said flatly, "but the foolish way in which you are doing it."
Her heart plunged through the foot of the statue and shattered at the base. It was apparent in her face, the way her head hung after the words left his mouth. Vincent saw it, Cloud saw it, neither could believe the words had actually spilled from the mans mouth.
"Be quiet! None of you know how much I've suffer since then…" Corneo said, shielding his eyes with his hand. "It's a long story, but…"
"I cannot say that I care," Vincent said simply. "You will release your captives."
"Hmm... You guys are... serious...Good, good...this ain't
no time for me to be fooling around either…" Corneo's hands rung as though he were thinking painful thoughts. "Why did you kill my
little Aps? I'm gonna make you PLAY with my new pet, so you won't get
in the way of my search for a bride! RAPPS--- come here!"
RAPPS, as Corneo called it, was big and red. It had sharp claws and huge teeth, and it drooled more than a passed out Cid. Its breath smelled of rotting fish, it had one lazy eye, and appeared to have no real intelligence. The whole of the battle took three well-placed swings of Cloud's sword and six precisely aimed shots. Corneo was mortified.
"Wait... Just wait a second!" He was clutching his head, trying to understand how a second of his creatures had fallen to the group, and only two of them at that.
"SHUT UP!" Cloud said, wiping saliva from the blade of his sword.
"Just listen to me, it won't take long." Corneo was on his knees, reaching out to Vincent and Cloud with open hands. "Why do you think a bad
guy like me would swallow his pride and plead for his life?"
"Because he's sure to win?" Cloud said dully, Corneo grinned.
"RIGHT!" Corneo pulled a small device from his pocket and flipped one of three switches. Yuffie and Elena found themselves upside down, bound by ropes that felt only slightly looser.
"Eyaaaah...!" Elena began her screaming again, bloodcurdling shrieks of absolute terror filled the air. Yuffie resumed her struggles halfheartedly, unaware of why or how she found the strength to do so.
"Makes me so MAD...!" Was it the indignity of being upside down, or the pain of Vincent's words, she did not know.
"If I push this button, they'll fall upside down, and we'll have SQUASHED TOMATOES!" Corneo growled, Yuffie closed her eyes, preparing for the plummet.
"Damn...!" Cloud kicked a rock.
"…" Vincent was silent, either unwilling to speak or afraid to try. He watched Yuffie screw her eyes shut and bite her lower lip. He wondered briefly if she were praying, truly remorseful for her deeds, or merely agitated that she had been caught.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha! I guess I'm the one laughing last!" Corneo said, waving the controller about in the air.
"No, that would be us." Reno said from the higher path, where he and Rude stood watching in silent stoicism.
"Hee-haw. What... what is goin' on! Who's there?" Corneo squinted up at the two men, but was only barely able to make out the suits. "...The Turks!"
"You knew this was gonna happen ever since you leaked that secret." Reno said casually, loading his pistol without looking at it. "We're going to take care of you... Personally."
"DAMMIT!" He was like a child throwing a fit, and he gestured wildy towards Elena and Yuffie. "Then they're goin' with me!"
But it was not to be. For at that moment Rude leapt from his perch and tossed a flash bomb at Corneo's feet. The eruption of light caused Corneo to topple backwards, catching the ledge with one hand.
"Good timing, Rude." Reno said, joining his teammate before the frightened pervert.
"...Let's get to work…" Rude didn't look at Corneo, instead he focused on a blank bit of statue near Elena's left arm.
"All right, Corneo." Reno gradually put pressure on Corneo's fingers as he leered down at the man. "This'll be over quick, so listen up. Why do you think we went to all the trouble of teaming up with those guys to get you...? 1. Because we were ready to die, 2. Because we were sure of victory, or 3. Because we were clueless."
"Two…" Corneo said swiftly, Reno smirked. "Number two?"
"All wrong." Reno applied more pressure to the fingers desperately clutching the rock surface.
"No...! Wait, sto...!" Corneo could no longer grasp the ledge and began the long plummet to the bottom. "Aaaaaaaaaa...p"
The sickening crunch caused Yuffie to flinch, her whole body tensing in fear and horror.
"The correct answer was…" Reno spit off the ledge as he turned to find a way to free Elena.
"..because it's our job." Rude finished, also turning away from the ledge. As they freed the two women, Elena began to babble mindlessly, tears gathering in her frightened eyes.
"Thank you very much…! I never expected you'd to come help…" She said mindlessly, Reno grimaced.
"Elena, don't act so weak." He almost smirked when her face fell, "you're a Turk!"
"Y…" She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Yes, sir!"
Cloud and Vincent turned away from the Turks as Reno answered a phone call from the agency. He disregarded the order, to hunt and kill Cloud and his group, insisting they were off duty. The two men stared at Yuffie, who glowered at them.
"Hey-- who cares about that?" She said, glaring at the two. "Get--me--down--!"
Vincent and Cloud untied her easily, and between the two of them placed her right side up on the safe, stone turf she was so familiar with. They marched her down the statue like a prisoner, all the way to her father's house, where she returned the materia without a word.
"Phew, perfect. Now the materia is back in its rightful place." She said softly, Cloud looked at her smugly.
"The placement of it is all messed up." He said, she sighed heavily.
"It'll be all right... Don't be so picky!" She huffed and got to her feet with an indignant air about her. "Anyways, that sure was close... Normally I would kick their butts, Boom, Bang!" Not even Yuffie could believe the mindless prattle pouring out of her mouth. "That Corneo guy's a real pain. I would rather deal with my dad than deal with that guy. Oh, by the way, some of those guys from the Turks are good, huh?" She played with her fingers awkwardly; the sound of her own voice was comforting. "At least, after all that, you got the materia back. Now come on everybody, let's continue our journey…" Cloud walked out of the house in silence, Vincent following three steps behind him. "Hey! Wait! Oh, all right. Here, I'll give this to you guys. Here, look, look!"
Desperately, Yuffie held out the MP Absorb materia to Vincent, who looked back with hollow eyes. He sneered at her, distaste evident in his scrutinizing gaze.
"...Come on, wait---!" Yuffie cried as Vincent turned away from her. "No matter what anyone says, I'm going with you!"
And she followed him, eagerly, pleadingly, trying to draw his gaze to her once more. But he refused to look at her, and, even on the airship, he remained silent.
---------------------------------
He retired early that evening, after an important meeting regarding Yuffie's actions, during which Yuffie said nothing, for not even she could justify her actions. There was a lot of cursing. Mostly from Cid and Barret, though even Red got a little heated near the end of the meeting. For the most part every one told her they were 'disappointed,' and maybe that was the worst part. Words like thief, and traitor, were used so often that Yuffie lost count, and, though Tifa was kind about it, Yuffie knew no one trusted her.
The icing on the cake was Cloud's stipulations on Yuffie's use of materia. Check-in with Cloud or Tifa once the group established camp, constant monitoring by Vincent or Red, the surrendering of her weapons after night fall, and, possibly the worse stipulation by far, she would no longer be aloud use of the Leviathan materia she had received from her father. At this point Yuffie had considered arguing, but when she opened her mouth, her eyes fell on the fluttering of a red cape as Vincent brushed into the hall.
Yuffie was alone, and she knew it. The only reason she would remain with them was because of her talents as a ninja and petty thief. She went to her room in absolute silence, once the doors closed, Yuffie's walls collapsed. She curled into a tight little ball, clutching the sleeveless tank top to hold herself together, and sobbed her heart into her pillow. Around nine, when the racking sobs had subsided, Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent entered the room.
"Yuffie," Cloud said firmly, telling her that he knew she knew he was there.
"My bangles and shuriken are by the door," she suppressed a sniffle by pretending to cough. Tifa came over and laid a motherly hand on her forehead.
"Are you alright?" She asked, concern tracing it's way into her voice.
"Just a cold," Yuffie muttered.
"Well if it gets worse, send Vincent for me okay?" Tifa said Yuffie sat up, blurry eyed and pale.
"Why Vincent?" She asked, Cloud rubbed his temples.
"You're not allowed to be alone, remember, and Tifa's on par with me and Barret tomorrow, she can't baby-sit you." Cloud said, Yuffie flinched a little and nodded.
"If he's staying, he can have my bed." She said quietly, shifting to get up. Vincent snorted derisively.
"I am baby-sitting you, not staying with you to ensure pleasant dreams. I require nothing. Cloud, Tifa: You may both leave." He snapped at them, and both bowed out, but not without first taking Yuffie's weapons and bangles.
Feeling even more miserable, Yuffie rolled over and hugged her pillow, not even bothering with blankets. She refused to cry, no matter how much she wanted to, not in front of Vincent, not anymore. Not when he sat there, a bold-faced liar pretending to be the martyr. Yuffie bit her lip, trying to keep the angry words from spilling forth, but, as all things, Yuffie could not control herself.
"You Promised!" She said loudly, Vincent looked up.
"Excuse me?" He said softly, as though he had not heard her.
"You promised me! You promised you'd forgive me!" Yuffie all but shouted, sitting up and glaring at Vincent accusingly.
"Had I known you were about to betray us, I would have thought better of such a promise." He said firmly, Yuffie stared at him.
"Betray?" She whispered, "betrayal would mean I gave your materia to Shinra, I didn't betray anybody! I was trying to save my country! Save myself!"
Vincent stared at her, comprehending very little of what she said, save the last two words. Save Myself.
"Do you think its easy looking like her? Do you think its great being an abused princess, exiled from her home, until she can come back with a big enough haul of Materia to buy forgiveness for looking like she did?" Yuffie's eyes filled with tears, her hands clasping her knees. "Do You?"
"A-" Vincent did not stutter, Yuffie stuttered, not Vincent. "Abused?"
"OH!" Yuffie said loudly, standing up. "Didn't you know? Yeah, the perfect little Ninja's are subject to ABUSE because they need to be so disciplined and NUMB."
Yuffie turned her back on him and headed for her bathroom.
"A True Ninja," she said, sarcasm heavy in her tone. "Knows nothing but the fight for which she is trained. A true ninja, doesn't fight; a true ninja echoes."
And then the door was closed. Vincent was struck dumb, his mind fumbling around with the concept she had just thrown into his lap. An abused princess, a mindless fighter, a ruined land. Somehow it made sense, and it made him feel more monster-like than ever.
When she needed him to know what had happened, he listened to that ninja, probably another of Godo's "imperfect" fighters. Hadn't he watched her as she mourned the loss of that beautiful country? Hadn't he seen enough abuse to know the signs? Hadn't he been expecting her to do something drastic to overthrow Godo?
Sure he had, he had pondered lots of things she could do, or might do, or might have been through. But, hadn't they just been a dream? Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi, hero's of avalanche, absolved sinners of the world, ruling Wutai, side by side. That was the dream, wasn't it? That dirty little secret Vincent hid, his own utopia. And now he was watching it fall apart.
The appeal of one so young and innocent is that they are un-jaded, uncorrupted, and pure. Yuffie was jaded and corrupted, by the man she called father, and would remain pure until Godo found a perfect husband to break her into a respectable Lady of Wutai.
The fear of a lover is to see harm come to the loved one.
The door opened and Yuffie, teary eyed and anxious, reentered the room in long pajama pants and a baggy shirt. Vincent moved without thinking, rising to his feet and stepping out in front of her. She flinched back, expecting a blow. He took her hands in his and drew her closer to him, staring down into her frightened and confused eyes.
"Forgive me?" he asked, his voice cracking. Yuffie swallowed in relief and smiled at him.
"Only if you'll forgive me…" She began, Vincent's head bowed towards her, his claw forcing her chin upwards. His lips pressed against hers with a gentle pressure, his human arm pulling her lithe body up against his. For her it was over all too soon, her breath was gone, her mind raced, and Vincent's voice filled her head.
"I already have…"
-----------------FIN-----------------