Chapter Four

Changes

Reno sighed as he stared at the gloomy sky. He missed Raven. He had wanted to go after her so badly, but knew what the cost would be when and if he did catch up with her. It wouldn't have been pretty. He, like all her other friends, would just have to trust that she would come back.

"Reno!"

"Hn?" He snapped out of his reverie to look at Tifa standing at the head of the table next to Cloud, "Wud I miss?"

"Everything, probably." Cloud replied, rolling his eyes, "What was the last thing you heard?"

"Um…" the red-head thought about it, then grinned sheepishly, "I think it was, 'Everyone comfortable?'"

All the people sitting at the table stared at him. Yuffie rolled her eyes,

"C'mon, red! Pay attention!"

"Hush." He snapped at his friend, "Now someone fill me in."

"I'm repeating this once." Tifa said, only continuing after he nodded,

"Kadaj and his gang are definitely up to something. Yuffie's lost some materia and he and his brothers were seen in her town around the same time it disappeared. Also, Aelita saw Yazoo at work the other day. Now, don't be alarmed, but he was looking for Raven."

"WHAT!?" Reno yelled, standing up.

"Hush." Tifa scolded, "None of us know where she is so neither do they. All he told her was that he was an old friend and needed to speak with her. When she couldn't tell him where she went, Yazoo left. We really need to know what these three are up to because whatever it is, it's bad. I don't know why they were looking for Raven but we need to know. If you, or anyone, can find one of them or their base we'd be set." Reno scowled at the table, trying to figure out why they were trying looking for Raven.

"Tifa." Came a small voice from the far end of the table. All eyes turned to the newest member of the 'team'.

"Yes, Aelita?" Tifa asked kindly.

"I'd…I would like to ask permission to go in search of this…Yazoo character." The girl asked, standing up and bowing her head respectfully. "I saw the direction he went and I'm a good tracker. I've already followed him a bit and he left the road. I think I could map out and maybe even pinpoint him or his home. Or location or base or whatever you want to call it."

"Aelita." Cloud said softly, standing up, "It's too dangerous. You're too young."

"Yeah," Yuffie added, "don't worry about it. We'll find them a different way." Aelita looked down at the table, her light brown hair falling around her face. All was silent for a few seconds as everyone watched her. Suddenly, she clenched her fist and slammed it on the table,

"NO!" she yelled. All of them stared at her sudden defiance,

"I'm sick of sitting around doing nothing." She said, once again calm, "You allowed me to join this and work for you, but so far I've sat around and done nothing but paper work and errands. I'm done with that. I'm strong. I'm smart. These men could have a connection to the murder of my family. I want…I need to do this." She raised her olive-colored eyes to meet Tifa's and everyone else's,

"Please."

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"Well done, brother." Kadaj congratulated Yazoo, smiling, "You did very well with getting her here. Now, how are you going to keep our lovely Raven with us?"

"I…thought ahead." Yazoo said slowly, staring into the water of the lake. He sat there with his two brothers, waiting for Raven to wake up, "When we were on her bike the first time, I bespelled her to get sick. Which she is. So, all we have to do is care for her. Especially me. She's already attracted to me, I can tell. She…showed me her power. Not intentionally though."

"What do you mean?" Loz asked.

"When I 'saved' her from that last monster, my shot accidentally severed an enormous tree. It was going to crush us so…going off of instinct I guess, she stopped it."

"…Stoped…it?" Kadaj raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. She raised her hands and chanted these words and this incredible power leapt from her hands and surrounded the tree. It stopped in the air inches above it. She…moved it with her mind or will or something. It was…awesome. And unexpected. The strength of her power and energy hit me so hard that it knocked me to my knees."

"Wow." Loz commented, eyes wide, "I'm glad she's on our side."

Kadaj snorted, "Not yet, brother."

"No…" Yazoo said softly, "But I believe she will be very soon. Raven is…happy that I didn't push her away or…call her a freak or anything after seeing her use her powers. Eventually I believe she will let you two know, and if you accept her, she will trust us. But that's just a theory." Kadaj nodded slowly, pleased with Yazoo. He smiled. Though he was older than Kadaj, Yazoo had always been the quietest of the three. Almost timid. He was glad that his older brother was opening up a bit. Maybe this 'project' would be good for him.

"I'm going in to check on her." Yazoo announced, standing up.

"What?" Loz asked, turning slowly to look up at his brother, "Are you really starting to care for her?"

"Loz, don't be stupid." Yazoo said as he turned and walked away, "I'm keeping up the appearance of caring."

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Raven groaned and turned over in her sleep, clutching her stomach. She felt a soft, cool hand on her forehead. She opened her eyes,

"Hey…" she muttered groggily.

"Hello." Yazoo replied with a smile, moving his hand to her cheek and placing his other one on her empty cheek, "How are you? You're burning up…"

"That feels good…" she sighed, "Your hands are cold…nice."

"Good." He whispered, leaving them there. He smiled a bit as he felt her power flare up.

Raven frowned as she let her healing power flow through her body. 'Where is this stupid illness?' she thought, 'Every time I get close it just…goes away.' She groaned and let her power sink back into her core as another wave of nausea over came her.

"Raven…"

"Hm?" she asked, breathing heavily.

"Can I…stay here for a while?" Yazoo asked quietly, "In case you need anything."

"Yes please." She sighed in response and soon drifted off to sleep again, though with a bad feeling. Soon, her nightmare vision begins…

A tall man stands on the edge of a cliff on the outskirts of the city, watching Edge and Midgar burn. Screams and moans rise into the air from the city. The view changes and swivels around to show Raven standing a few feet behind and to the right of the man. He turns around and walks back to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looks up into his grey-blue mako eyes, her own violet ones brimming over with tears. She turns away from his piercing gaze but he grabs her chin, forcing her to look at him as he leans down so all she can look at is his eyes. His long, silver hair that reaches almost to his knees falls forward over his shoulders and brushes against her cheeks and neck, causing her to shudder. A small smile plays across his lips,

"I'm proud of you, Raven." He whispers, leaning in even closer to brush his lips against hers before releasing her face roughly. She closes her eyes as tears fall freely, staining her pale cheeks. She clenches her fists at her sides, blue-green bands encircle each wrist and ankle. A single chain in the same color is wrapped around her forehead. Her long hair is unbound and blows gently around her. She is dressed in black leather shorts and a long sleeved leather top. Her feet are bare. She opens her violet eyes and glares at the man,

"I hate you." She whispers. He smiles.

"Really? Why…?" he murmurs, tilting his head to the side, "You should be hating yourself, seeing as you were the one to do all of this." He sweeps his hand out over the city. Raven shuts her eyes again, and falls to her knees sobbing,

"NOOOO!!"

Raven screamed on the top of her lungs and sat up, thrashing against the sheets that were now tangled around her legs. She closed her eyes, panting. She could sense Yazoo coming quickly from a good distance away. Soon she could hear his footfalls in the hall, followed by the door opening.

"Raven?" he asked, running over to kneel by the bed and take her hands. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes. The air felt cool to her, the illness gone from her body,

"How long have been out?" she asked quietly.

"Three days." He replied, reaching out to lay a hand on her forehead and then cheek, "Your fever broke."

"I need a pair of scissors." She announced. Yazoo stared at her like she'd lost it,

"Um…"

"Please, Yazoo." She turned to look at him, her violet eyes burning into his. He nodded dumbly and rose to his feet,

"I'll be right back." He said, before leaving. While she waited, Raven looked around her room.

It was fairly simple, but still pretty. It had obviously belonged to a woman. The walls and floor were the same white marble-like material. There were two doors; the one that Yazoo had used, and another that probably led to a bathroom. Glancing around, she saw that the room was sparsely furnished; there was a vanity and padded bench on the wall to her right and a large wardrobe on the one to her left. The door that led to the hall was a few feet farther down the wall form the vanity and the other door was across the room from her. The bed she lay on had white sheets and pillows. She grimaced at the color.

Soon Yazoo returned, a pair of thin, sharp scissors in hand. Raven gracefully stood and walked over to him at the door, taking the scissors,

"Thank you." She said. He watched as she walked over to the vanity and sat down, placing the scissors before her. Reaching back she undid her braid, or what was left of it, and shook her hair down. She glanced at him with a small smile before closing her eyes.

Yazoo felt her power before he saw it. She touched her hair and it slowly straightened. When she opened her eyes Raven looked more tired than before. He gasped, suddenly understanding what she was doing when she reached for the scissors. He was at her side in seconds, his hand covering hers,

"Raven…why are you cutting your hair?" he asked, confused, "It's so beautiful."

"I…just have to." She looked up into his eyes innocently, "Please just trust me." He watched her for a bit longer before nodding and stepping back to watch. She picked up the scissors and began to cut away her hair.

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Reno sat on the roof of the building used as their headquarters, watching the sun set. He heard the trap door open and close, not saying anything when Yuffie came and sat down beside him. After a few moments of silence she laid a hand on his arm,

"Reno…I know you miss her…we all do. And…don't worry about Kadaj and his gang. She's strong, fast, and a great fighter. She knows how to take care of herself."

Reno turned to look down at her. She smiled cutely at him, but he couldn't return it. For some reason he felt that Raven's leaving was partially his fault, and he just couldn't shake that,

"Thank you…Yuffie." He said, closing his eyes. 'God, I'm tired…' he thought. He automatically leaned into Yuffie's comforting hug and laid his head on her shoulder as he fought back tears.

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Raven stared into the mirror, horrified at what she had just done. She couldn't care less that she'd just cut her hair, it was how she cut it that bothered her; short in the back and angled severely to be longer in the front, almost touching her shoulders. She studied her reflection as tears began to fall.

"Raven! Now what's wrong?" Yazoo asked, quickly sitting beside her and putting an arm around her shoulder,

"I-I didn't mean to cut my hair…like this." She said, sounding almost disgusted, "I just…sort of did…"

"What do you mean?" He asked, softly.

"Well…" Raven took a deep breath and closed her eyes as memories washed over her, "This is how my mother kept her hair styled. Two years ago she and my father were murdered. They worked for ShinRa. One…one day I was coming home with Reno and…my house was on fire. I broke away from his hold and ran inside, searching for my parents. I…I found them in their bedroom. Dead. They had been brutally murdered. That was just over two years ago. I…don't know who did it, but I would love to get my hands on them."

"Raven…" Yazoo whispered, genuinely sad for her. He pulled her into an embrace and watched her face in the mirror. Her eyes snapped open,

"Oh my…" she muttered, "I think I just figured out who killed them…"

"What?"

"They…had these strange glowing blue-green bands around their wrists, ankles, and foreheads." She sat up straight and stared at her own hands.

"And…?" he tilted his head to the side, still watching her relfection.

"My-my powers give me the ability to see into the future." Her voice was so quite Yazoo had to lean closer to hear, "Though, I can't see it when I want to. It just sort of…happens. And for the past couple months I've been having night-visions."

"Night-visions?"

"Yeah. They come in my dreams, which is better than when I'm awake because I know they're easier to change." She told him and then went on to explain the vision she kept having about the silver-haired man and her destroying the city. She also told him about the same glowing bands around her wrists, ankles, and forehead,

"That's why I left my home; I needed to try to change it. And…I cut my hair because I just had the vision again and every time I have long hair." She was then quiet.

"How do you know it won't happen in a few years when your hair grows out?" he asked.

"I can just tell." She looked up into his reflection. He actually looked a lot like the man in her vision, though Raven knew it wasn't him. Maybe a distant relative? And uncle or something, "I'm just hoping to see something soon to tell me that I've changed that future."

Yazoo nodded slowly, "Do you want to go outside and eat something."

"Yes please." She replied, suddenly noticing how hungry she was, "Is there…something else I could wear?" They both looked at her old, wrinkled black shirt and pants, both of which has tears and holes.

"Of course." He smiled, "I believe this room once belonged to a woman and that there are clothes in that wardrobe. I'll step out for a while. If you need to bathe there's a bathroom right there." He pointed to the other door. Raven nodded her thanks.

'What am I going to do?' she wondered as she rummaged through the dated clothing in the wardrobe, 'Should I stay, or leave? One or the other will change what I saw…' As she pulled out the only black garments in the wardrobe another vision hit her,

Raven walks towards Yazoo, who leans against a white tree, surrounded by other glowing trees. She sits down next to him and he puts his arm around her as she nestles against him. He wears his normal attire and she is in a form-fitting black dress. She closes her eyes and smiles as he leans down and kisses the top of her head.

The view changes to that of Raven's as she opens her eyes and looks over at the large shell-like structure on the same little island in the middle of the lake. Kadaj emerges with a girl and walks down the stairs towards them. He is smiling, as is the girl next to him. She is tall and slim with light brown hair that falls to her shoulder-blades. She is wearing a light green dress that almost matches her olive eyes.

"Kadaj. Aelita." She hears Yazoo greet them. Kadaj and the young girl nod as he takes her hand.

Raven stares down at the black fabric in her hands,

"Well that changes a lot." She murmurs to herself.

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Ehhh? So, what do you think?? I lerv reviews, so any you give will be welcomed!

Kitsune