Penance

©®™ Lt. Commander Richie

((Disclaimer: I always knew Naruto was the son of the Fourth... Namikaze Minato, you rock! You rock out loud! Oh, and before I forget: my Japanese translations suck.))
((Dedicated to: XVII-The Star, One of the few non-sue writers under Sky High, one of my favorite fiction genres.))

Chapter 13

"Mira, could hand me up that board?" Cloud stood on the second landing of the Foyer, leaning precariously over the railing as he reached down towards the six-year-old and stack of twenty-something foot boards next to her. The left half of his face was varying shades of purple in the shape of Tifa's hand, which he insisted to be left alone to heal. Below him, Mira gestured to the nearest board to her questioningly.

"This one?" She called up, picking up the corner closest to her with one hand. Cloud nodded, and the six-year-old put both hands on the end of the board, hefted it up off the stack and directed the opposite end to its recipient. The twenty foot board swung around and nearly hit Cloud in the face, but he reeled back fast enough that it only clipped the landing's rail. With one hand, the former SOLDIER pulled the board up over the rail and laid it down on the floor next to him. He leaned down over the rail, smiling.

"Thanks!" He called down, and Mira gave him a thumbs-up before running down one of the adjacent halls. All around him, the mansion was a hive of activity. Above, near the domed skylight, Yuffie sat with a scroll in front of her and a pile of sand next to her, trying to make sense of the instructions to turn the pile into a pane of glass for the broken window. Reeve had returned, and now stood in the kitchen, half in and half out of the cupboard that held the circuit breaker that had shorted during the storm that seemed so long ago. In reality, it had only been a few weeks.

"Hey Spike, hand me that saw." Cid gestured to the handsaw next to the swordsman's foot, and with a deft flick of his boot Cloud caught the saw in one hand and then tossed it to the pilot. With a nod, he began sawing at the end of the board Mira had handed up that was closest to him. "So, what made you come back?" He asked around one of the nails he had placed in his mouth for safekeeping.

"I knew everyone needed me." Cloud answered, pulling a hammer from his belt and a nail from the old coffee can on the rail. Without another word, he placed the nail in his mouth and picked up a board, placing it in a gap in the landing's handrail.

"C'mon, now, I know it was more than that." Cid said, spitting out the nail and pointing the saw at the swordsman. "You were all ready to go yesterday, even though you knew everyone needed you." Their conversation was cut suddenly short as a shout came from above them, followed by the shadow of a victory dance on the floor.

"Hah! Take that, you stupid scroll! I can read you!" Yuffie had finally figured out how to read the scroll in front of her, and with a few flickered movements of her hands, she turned to the pile of the sand. "Katon: Hyōkai Sado Mado no Jutsu!" A fireball spat from her mouth, and the heat caused the sand to melt into glass that she then shaped with a sweep of both hands. Below her, Cloud and Cid blanched; the nail fell from Cloud's mouth and bounced once before falling down to the Foyer floor.

"She can spit... Fireballs?" Cid finally said, setting down the saw and sitting on the floor.

"Apparently." Cloud agreed, fishing another nail from the coffee can and lining it up with the board. He brought the hammer down on the head, but the nail bent to a nearly ninety-degree angle. He muttered a curse, dropping the nail to the ground and fishing a new one out of the coffee can.

"Cid, is this thing in straight?" Yuffie yelled down from the skylight, where she was balancing with the one large pane of glass in both hands, positioned over the broken hole.

"From what I can see!" The pilot yelled, shaking from his stupor and picking the saw back up.

"But you can't see much, old man!" The Kunoichi yelled gleefully, and the pilot snarled a bit before hacking at the board in front of him with more gusto than he had before. "Cloud, how's it look?"

"Not too bad, Yuffie." Cloud said, putting one gloved hand above his eyes so as to see better. "Maybe a little to the-"

The swordsman's directions were cut short, as a shout came from the kitchen. "No, don't touch that!" Reeve yelled, and there was a sudden thudding sound. Mira had managed to get up on top of the old table she had sat at during the storm that seemed so long ago, and was giving in to her natural curiosity. In one hand she held the rickety old ceiling fan's pullcord; the other reaching far above her, just barely brushing the fan's blades. They made an odd thudding sound as they hit her fingers, every fourth sound a bit louder than the rest.

"The balance of the fan is all funny!" She said, sinking back down to flat feet and looking up at the ceiling fan. "One part is lower than the other ones."

The crusted old linoleum crunched lightly under Reeve's feet as he crossed the small space from the cupboard to the table, reaching up and picking the six-year-old up before setting her down on the floor. "I'll be sure to fix that." He nodded, and Mira grinned before running down the hallway from the kitchen that led deeper into the mansion.

"Young rider, ap'le-cheek'd one, com'ith'a riding," she sang one of her nursery rhymes lightly, her voice off key and warbling as she slowed to a walk. "On your bird so proud and golden, com'ith'a riding," Mira continued, spying a pair of double doors down a hallway that were slightly cracked open, and heading towards them. "No matter where I roam, Nibel Mount'ns are my home; Gonga-ga, Ju-non!" She finished, looking up at the small scrap of yellowed paper that was stuck to the door with a hand shuriken.

With a strain as she stood on her tip-toes, the six-year-old could almost reach the very bottom of the paper, but it wasn't the ancient page she was interested in. The slightly rusted but still sparkling shuriken was the little twig-like girl's true prize, but she just couldn't reach it. A hand reached over her, plucking the ninja weapon from the door and catching the piece of paper. Mira bent her head over backwards, getting an upside-down view of Tifa.

"I thought I heard you singing." The martial artist smiled warmly, only faltering slightly when she read what was on the paper. In one hand she held the metal throwing star, running gloved fingers over the dulled-by-age points. "What're you doing?"

"Can I have the star, Ms. Tifa?" Mira asked, absentmindedly pushing her ribbon back to the top of her head. With another smile, the woman took out a handkerchief and wrapped the throwing star in it, tucking the weapon into her pocket. But she didn't rid herself of the paper, and instead put it in the same pocket.

"Sorry Mira, but maybe you can get Yuffie to give you a newer one that isn't as sharp tonight, alright?" Tifa consoled the sniffling six-year-old, whose sudden hiccups at having the object of her interest taken away had shaken her ribbon back to her forehead.

"Alright..." The six-year-old trailed off, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. With her slightly faltering smile, the martial artist pulled Mira into her ams, balancing the tiny girl on one hip. The twig-like girl grabbed hold of one of the shoulders on Tifa's shirt, holding on for dear life and crinkling the leather with her white-knuckled fist.

"Yuffie, will you teach me how to use a star?" Mira's inquisitiveness never ceased for the rest of the day, and as Yuffie was packing up her bag of secret scrolls the six-year-old chose that time to ask. Behind her, Tifa shook her head.

"What kind?" Yuffie didn't heed the martial artist's warnings, instead she shoved her last two scrolls, both blue and white with the kanji for 'Lifestream' and 'Planet' clearly printed on one or the other, into her bag and zipped it shut. She turned around, crossing her legs into a lotus and leaning forward to look Mira in the eye.

"The shiny kind!" Mira crowed, and behind her, Cid rolled his eyes and took a drag from his cigarette. "Like the one I found, but Ms. Tifa took from me."

With a deft flick of her fingers, three shurkien appeared in Yuffie's hand, one between each finger. "You mean like these?" The Kunoichi asked, and Mira nodded frantically, reaching for one hesitantly. With another flick the Ninja had flipped the shuriken into the air and snatched them all into one hand. "Sorry, kiddo! No can do."

"Why not?" Mira asked, flopping onto the ground in front of her. Yuffie smiled, cocking her head to one side.

"Because, they're sharp on all four points and in between. That'd be kinda irresponsible." She paused for a moment, regarding Barret and Nanaki's glares for a moment. "Okay, really irresponsible. But since you're my little sister-dudette, I'm gonna be your Senpai! You can call me Yuffie-Senpai!" Nanaki buried his muzzle in his paws, groaning in doubt. Denzel idly poked the fire with a long stick, moving aside a large and red hot bolt that had come from an old piece of timber that had long since been burned. He watched, amused, as the Kunoichi whipped out three long and thin needles.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tifa asked, concerned. Yuffie looked up, perplexed.

"Yeah, why?" She asked, handing one of the needles to Mira. "Now, don't touch the ends, they're sharp. But the rest of it isn't. This is called a senbon."

"It's just... Yer a bit reckless when it comes t'fighting." Cid said, pulling out his cigarette and spitting into the fire. He swiped a thumb across his nose, grinning sheepishly. "But I'm just sayin' it. Don't spit a fireball at me, or whatever it is you do!"

"Don't worry!" Yuffie said, grinning; nobody was sure if it was for Mira or to reassure the rest of the group. With a sudden flick of her wrist, Mira sent the senbon flying past her new Senpai and into a tree outside the circle of the fire. "See? Nothing to worry about!"

"I got it!" Mira said, springing to her feet and running outside the circle, coming back moments later with the senbon clutched in one hand. On her way back with her prize, she tripped over one of the tent strings, pulling it from the ground and falling on her face. The senbon fell with a bit of a clatter onto one of the stones surrounding the fire. The little girl gave a wail of surprise, pulling at the string and only succeeding in pulling it tighter around her ankle. She screamed in exasperation, pulling as hard as she could until the string snapped. Cloud unzipped his tent, wiping sleep from his eyes as he looked around for the source of the noise. His eyes finally settled on Mira, and he pulled himself from his tent and stood over her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, sinking to one knee in front of her and reaching out to pick her up. Mira shook his hands away from her body, getting to her feet on her own and scrambling after her forgotten senbon.

"Mira, no!" Nanaki cried out, but it was too late. The six-year-old grabbed the metal senbon from its close range next to the fire with one hand, running to Yuffie and depositing it on the grass as though it wasn't hot. Taking no heed, the twig-like little girl plopped herself down on the grass and picked up the warm metal senbon once more, using one of the sharp tips to work at the tight knot around her ankle. Behind her, Barret let out a large snorting snore as he leaned against a tree next to his newly-erected tent.

"Yuffie-Senpai?" Mira asked, looking up from her work.

"Yeah, kiddo?" Yuffie countered, tousling the six-year-old's hair. She let out a cry of indignation, swiping at the hand. With the same hand, the twiggy girl pushed her ribbon back to the top of her head.

"Where's Mr. Vins'nt? I miss him." The Kunoichi's face turned from joyous to almost grievous in a heart beat, and behind the six-year-old Cloud frowned.

"Where is he, anyway? If he was going to sleep in the Mansion, he could've at least told us, right?" Denzel said, looking up at the bright mass of stars above them. A single green star shot across the sky, flying down and fizzling out.

"He wasn't around all day. If he was even still here, we would know." Nanaki frowned as well as he could as a lion, one good eye narrowing as he looked into the campfire. Mira turned around, offering her ankle to Cloud.

"Can you get this off, please?" She asked, and obligingly the blond knelt down and picked apart the frayed knot binding the six-year-old. When he was done, Mira tilted her head back, looking at the stars. Tifa sighed, tilting her head as she looked into the fire.

"Dilly-dally, shilly-shally. Well, it's no use looking for him in the dark, we would hardly be able to find him in the light. We'll have to wait until tomorrow." Mira began to tune her out, craning her neck farther backwards to look back at Yuffie. But instead of the Kunoichi's happy face, the six-year-old was met with the foreboding blackness of the woods.

"Yuffie-Senpai is gone too!" She chirped, looking back at Cloud; he had just finished pulling apart the knot at her ankle, and Mira could see an indent of the rope around her leg. Everyone's attention turned to where she had been before, Tifa putting her head in both hands and sighing again. Cid took another drag on the cigarette in his mouth before pulling it out and snuffing it in the ground. The pilot got up from his seat next to the fire, dog tags jingling lightly.

"I'll go find the kid." He volunteered, stepping carefully over the tent strings to pull his spear out of the ground and detach the tarp from one end of it. His former tent flopped down to the ground rather mournfully, exposing more of his old blue flannel sleeping bag. Without another word, he turned and walked into the forest behind where the Ninja had been sitting.

Well, it was a bit shorter than what you'd expect, but I've had it going for a while and just finally finished it when inspiration hit me. Then I finished chapter 14 right afterwards, and I'm starting on 16 right now. I'm finally back in my comfort zone! Good news is, this won't be done for a little while longer. Probably at least 25 chapters, I'm betting. Hell, probably way more way I'm going.

100th review gets a cameo!