Bath House

Aya grabbed Kat's arm and pulled her along to the gardens. There was a small pool with many plants around it. pebbles were placed as a path with larger stepping stones in the pebble path. A bamboo fence that was about 9 feet high divided the area from the open air baths. Aya lead Kat farther along the path. They went around a bend where thick green stocks of bamboo blocked anyone from seeing what was in the next area. Kat looked on in amazement the stepping stones lead out in the middle of a lake. All around were cherry blossom trees in full bloom. A guest of wind went by pulling some of the light pink petals from the trees and letting them gently glide along with the breeze and gently land in the lake.

"You did all of this?" Kat asked still amazed.

"Yup. The cherry blossom trees took forever to get that full. The lake wasn't that hard we bought the area with the lake included."

Kat walked out into the lake taking care to stay on the stepping stones. The last stepping stone was much larger than the others. It was like a little platform that you could just sit on and watch the koi fish swim below.

"Aya this is beautiful." Kat said turning to look at Aya. She was gone.

"Aya?" Kat said again.

--Back inside--

Cloud was off looking at the gardens. He was the next person to be dragged out by Aya and left in an area.

"Sephiroth, you haven't once fought with Cloud since we were brought to this world. Why is that?"

"Its because of Kat. She brought us here because she needed someone, she needed a true friend. Before we came to this world, I didn't understand what it was really like being without anyone that you can call a true friend. Cloud and I haven't been fighting because she asked us not to." Sephiroth said looking out into the gardens. (Aya left the door open)

"True, I can understand what you are saying. Though Kat probably doesn't know it she brought us here, to this world using her own power."

"Yes I noticed it when we were first brought here. Kat isn't like the other people around here. She probably is the only person in this world that is like that."

"Yes, well in a way her powers feel like the same ones that Aerith had. Her powers are hidden in this world but they are the same as Aerith's I can sense it." Sephiroth said.

"So you plan to kill her as well?"

"Of coarse not. She is the only one that can send us back to our world. Plus she isn't trying to kill me like Aerith was."

Aya returned giggling as she grabbed Sephiroth's arm and dragged him off to some area in the gardens. Vincent looked out as Aya continued to pull Sephiroth farther into the gardens. Vincent smirked and said.

"You are right, she needs us."

--Back to the lake--

The sun was slowly sinking leaving a light golden glow around the lake. The water shone with the orange color of the setting sun.

"Aya!" Kat yelled out. Aya had lead her to this place then left her there. The pathways had turns and bends that Kat noticed only when she was trying to find her way back to the bath house. In short she was lost. Kat had taken her hair down and was fiddling with it the entire time. It was a bad habit that she had formed after moving to Tokyo. A rustling noise came from the lush green bamboo blockades that kept this area separate from the other parts of the garden. Cloud stumbled out of the bamboo his buster sword had gotten stuck and he was trying to pull it out.

"Cloud, wait a minute." Kat said walking over to Cloud. Looking in the bamboo hi sword was stuck between two thick stems of bamboo. Kat reached for the sword and began to push one of the bamboo stems back and freeing the buster sword. At this time Kat is leaning over Cloud to free the sword because it is still in the holsters that he carried it around in. Cloud fell forwards taking Kat with him. They hit the pebble path and Kat groaned.

"Cloud get off me."

"Sorry." he said standing up then helping Kat up.

"You are lost to?"

"Ya, Aya lead me out to a bamboo area and I wandered for a bit not finding her or the house."

"The bath house gardens are really very big. And if you aren't careful you can find your way into one of the open air baths."

"Well we should try and find our way back to the bath house. I don't want to get stuck out here all night."

"Ok, well you said you were in a bamboo area, we should start from where you were left."

" All right but we have to go through the bamboo again."

"As long as your sword doesn't get stuck then we should be fine."

"Alright lets go then."

Kat and Cloud made their way through the bamboo again. The farther they went the thicker and close together the bamboo became.

Kat was following behind Cloud in case his sword got stuck again.

"By the way, Aya said something about a fox around here at night, so if we don't get back to the house before nightfall then the only thing we have to worry about is a fox."

"Great." Kat said, stopping and looking at her leg. Then continuing on she couldn't see Cloud but she could hear him moving through the bamboo. After a short time she couldn't hear Cloud either.

"Cloud?" Kat said. She found her way out of the bamboo. She was in a clearing with a bench near a small pond with more koi fish in it. It was dark now and Kat being terrified of foxes she was getting pretty scared right now. She looked over her shoulder many times always expecting to see the fox that Aya had talked about.

"Cloud, Vincent, Sephiroth?" Kat called out hoping one of them would hear her. Some leaves crunched behind Kat. She turned to see the fox that Aya had described to Cloud. The fox started to walk towards Kat. She turned and ran her mind full of thoughts from when she was little and was bitten by a fox. She looked over her shoulder and saw the fox following her. She ran faster only to run into someone. They grabbed her shoulders as she cried. Vincent's voice came calmly and soft.

"What happened?" he asked. Kat grabbed Vincent's shirt still crying. Vincent looked up to see the fox that had followed her had stopped. It gave a huff to Vincent then turned and trotted off. Vincent stood there with Kat letting her cry. He gently stroked her hair with his human hand in an attempt to calm her down. She was trembling but her crying had stopped.

"Lets go back to the bathhouse. Aya is letting us stay for the nigh."

With Vincent's word Kat looked up at him still clutching his shirt and said with a shaky voice.

"I-I'm sorry-y."

"Its all right, everyone is afraid of something."

Vincent lead Kat back to the bath house where Cloud and Sephiroth were waiting.

"I found her." Vincent said walking in with Kat who wasn't crying anymore but still scared. Aya walked out from a room carrying some tan bath house kimonos. She distributed them and pulled Kat alone with her saying over her shoulder.

"You guys are staying in room 13."

"Alright." Sephiroth said. Aya pulled Kat into the room that she had come out of and closed the sliding door.

"Don't be mad at me Kat. I left you out there because of those three."

"What about them?"

"You haven't noticed? Cloud and Sephiroth haven't fought once since I brought you all here. Vincent is more friendly that he ever would have been in the final fantasy games. Don't you get it, its because of you. They all like you."

"How can that be?" Kat said wiping her cheeks with her sleeve.

"They have never talked about how they got here and they haven't left you at all. Isn't that proof enough?"

"I don't know."

"Why have you been crying? What happened?" Aya said concerned that something happened out in the gardens.

"That fox chased me. I'm terrified of foxes."

"I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you. I had no idea that you were scared of foxes."

"Its ok." Kat said looking at her kimono. It was covered with dust and there was a small tear at the bottom where she had stepped on it while running.

"Come on lets get you into something clean." Aya said pulling Kat along with her to a room up stairs. The room had no number over the door but Aya went in. The room was big and had a table in the middle with a bed rolled out near the glass doors to the balcony.

"This is my room, you can stay in here tonight. Aya went to the wall by the bed role and slid open the closet door. She pulled out a tan bath house kimono and handed it to Kat.

"The bath room is just in there." she said pointing to a door at the far end of the room.

"Thanks." Kat got changed when she walked out of the bath room Aya had put out another bed role.

Authors note! Peoples send me reviews. How can I make the fan fic better if no one tells me what they want in it!