Chapter Nine

Promises

"It'll just take a few minutes, I promise." Raven informed Yazoo quietly. He nodded,

"That's fine, but I'm coming with you." He whispered back. When she raised an eyebrow he continued, "What if…something happens? Or if they convince you to stay? I want you coming home with me…to us."

She smiled back and nodded, though she knew that nothing any of her friends said could keep her from going back with Yazoo. She crept forwards through the trees a bit and stopped, an idea forming in her mind. Her blue-green eyed companion watched her cautiously,

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing…" she shook her head and continued through the sparse forest, "I thought about just…taking us there with my power, but somebody could be in there. Don't know why they would be, but I don't want to take the chance." She heard him chuckle,

"Well aren't you clever…"

Ten minutes later Raven led him up the side of the house. They both easily scaled the ivy covered wall to a small platform by a second story window. When Yazoo opened his mouth to speak the violet-haired woman waved a hand dismissively. She turned to the window and held her hand out towards it. Black light formed around her thin hand and soon slowly appeared around the lock on the inside of the window. There was a soft click. Raven smiled triumphantly and lifted her hand slowly, the window rising with it.

"You continue to impress and amaze me." Yazoo murmured as he watched her climb gracefully through the open window. When he landed softly in the room he looked around, studying it as his companion rummaged around in various boxes on a dark dresser.

The room was black, immediately letting him know that it was Raven's room. The bed had no head or foot board and the comforter and blankets were black, just like the carpet. There was a deep purple and black loveseat on the opposite wall of the bed. He walked over and sat down on the plush loveseat to wait.

"Ah-ha!" Raven cried triumphantly about three minutes later. She took the small beaded bracelet she had found and slipped it onto her left wrist. Her right hand hovered over it as she whispered, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

"What was that for?" Yazoo asked.

"To keep it safe." She replied as she began to search through another box. "It was a gift from my mother. She said it will always help me. I can't believe I didn't bring it with me when I left. I spelled it so that I am the only one that can remove it and it also will not break."

"Raven, you are incredible." Yazoo chuckled quietly. She smiled back over her shoulder before turning back to her task.

"Found it." She grinned, pulling a silver ring out of one of the many boxes on her dresser. She walked over to Yazoo and plopped down beside him. She held out the ring for him to see. It was thin and large, most likely a mans ring. It was in the shape of a bird, the wings of the bird would wrap around the finger, forming the band,

"It was my father's. It's a raven." She smiled and slipped it onto her right index finger, the beak of the raven facing her fingertip. The eyes of the metal bird were a dark purple, almost black. "It's why they named me Raven. Because of my eyes. My mother got my father this ring when…she had to go."

"Go?"

"Yeah…they worked for Shinra." She said softly. Yazoo stiffened a bit and she continued, "Work called her away and she didn't know if she would be coming back. This was before they were married. They had been dating for a few months. Anyway, when she was leaving she gave the ring to him as a way to say 'I love you and I always will.'. The day my parents were murdered my father gave me this ring. I wasn't sure why at first, but now I'm sure it's because he had a vision of him and Mom…dying."

"Your parents had powers like you?" Yazoo asked. He opened his arms to her when he saw the sadness beginning to wash over her. She sighed and leaned against him, closing her eyes as she laid her head on his chest,

"Yeah." She curled up into a little ball and cuddled closer. "I'm a…mix of the two. My father wasn't as powerful as my mother though. He had visions and could control peoples' emotions. He could also sense them like I do, though with emotions. Hm…I wonder if he had a brother or some relative that was Aelita's father. Anyway, that was mostly all he could do. My mother could do almost everything I could. She controlled things with her mind, could 'teleport' herself and others, form barriers, and sense people like I do; by letting her power fan out around her or in a tendril. Her powers were more developed than mine, but that's just because she had more time to practice with them. Both my mother and father said I would be twice as powerful as her, if not more so, when I was her age."

"That's…interesting." Yazoo murmured as he frowned. 'So her parent's worked for Shinra…' he thought, '…that explains a lot.'. He glanced down at her, "Do you want to rest here for a while?"

"Yes please." She sighed, exhausted. He lifted her up in his arms and walked over to the bed. Balancing her in one arm, he pulled back the covers placed her on the bed. She smiled up at him as he pulled the covers up around her.

"Am I seven again?" she asked drowsily, smiling up at him with eyes half-closed.

"No." he replied. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead, "You just need to be babied sometimes. Sleep well."

"Thank you." She said, waving her hand at the door before closing her eyes. He saw black light form around the edges of the door and smiled as he curled up on the loveseat.

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Cloud ran his fingers through his messy blond hair and frowned in frustration,

"What are they up to?" he asked angrily.

"We don't know." Tifa sighed, "But whatever it is, it can't be good. That Loz character is…strange. Why would he lie about Raven to Reno?"

Cloud shrugged and sat down on the couch next to her. Dawn would be breaking in a few hours. When she leaned her head on his shoulder he rested his cheek on her black fragrant hair. He sighed, wanting to help Raven and Reno, and even Aelita but he didn't know how. She picked up her phone and glanced at the screen, hoping for a text from either of the missing women. She sat up quickly when she saw the missed call icon flashing. She quickly checked the number and cried out in excitement when she saw Aelita's number. She went to her voicemail and played the message from the young girl.

"Hey Tifa, it's Aelita. Everything is fine, so you can stop worrying and sending me twelve texts a day, ha ha. Don't ask where we are, I won't tell you. You said these men were bad but they aren't. You know I can sense emotions and I feel no hostility in any of them, so just lay off, okay? Kadaj is a very kind man, as are his brothers. We're okay." There was a pause and some harsh whispers were heard in the background before they heard her voice again, "We're safe and we're happy. I'll come visit some time though, okay? Don't know when, but I will. Later."

Tifa closed her phone and groaned in frustration. 'They seriously can't believe these men aren't up to something.' She thought, 'I know they're planning something bad.'.

"Oh…well." Cloud muttered. He stood up and held his hand out to Tifa. When she stood he pulled her into a hug and murmured into her hair, "Let's go to bed, alright? We may just have to trust them to come back sometime. There's no use in worrying too much."

Tifa nodded and trudged up the stairs of her house. She walked past Raven's old room and contemplated entering but then changed her mind. 'Raven wouldn't like that.' She thought, and continued on to her own bedroom. As she and Cloud drifted off to sleep, neither realized that Raven and Yazoo were just a couple yards away from them.

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When Raven woke she was very warm. Nightmares of Reno and Yuffie, as well as Yazoo plagued the first half of her sleep. Somewhere in the night, however, they had stopped and switched to pleasant dreams about her new found 'family'. As she lay in her old bed, eyes still closed, she realized someone was laying with her. She was laying on her side and somebody's right arm was draped over her waist, holding her tight to their chest, and their right arm was under her neck, wrapped around to rest on her shoulder as they spooned her body. She lifted her head a little and turned to glance behind her to see a bit of silver hair. She smiled and wondered why and when Yazoo had joined her. Not caring, she cuddled back closer, enjoying the warmth and odd fragrance coming from the man behind her. A few minutes later she felt him stir and knew he was awake,

"How'd you sleep?" she murmured over her shoulder.

"Well." He whispered his reply, "You?"

"I had several nightmares at first, but then they went away." She sighed, "Not that I mind, but when and why did you lay down with me?" He was silent for a while.

"Because," he said softly. She felt her hair move, tickling the back of her neck, and heard him inhale lightly, "I woke up and you where…upset. Shivering and jerking around a bit, obviously having bad dreams because you cried out occasionally. I just…had this feeling that if someone was with you it would be better. And a few minutes after I laid down you grew still."

"Thank you. That was very kind." They laid in silence for a few more minutes. Yazoo eventually cleared his throat and spoke,

"I think we should go home now."

"Alright." She replied as he slipped out of bed, though he didn't want to. She smiled ironically at his last statement, seeing as this house had been her home for two years. She shivered at the small wave of cold that washed over her after he left.

"No, come here." She said as he walked to the window. He came back to stand in front of her as she waved a hand at the door, the faintly glowing black light disappeared. She held out her hands and he placed his in hers, smiling. She closed her eyes,

"This may feel odd to you." She warned before promising, "But don't worry, I'm here and I won't let you go."

She closed her violet eyes and concentrated on the power deep in her core. She let part of it loose and a dark pool of it appeared beneath their feet. Slowly, the black grew up around them and began to spin. It closed over their heads in a dome and everything went black.

Immediately Yazoo felt deathly cold and frightened. He couldn't see or feel anything besides the warmth of Raven's hands. He felt claustrophobic and his fear grew as the darkness engulfed him. Somehow he knew that if he were to let go of Raven's hands he would be lost forever. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out deeply, only to cough at the sudden cold entering his lungs. He felt Raven release one of his hands and he began to panic. Then, almost as quickly as it started, the cold was gone and he felt solid earth slam into his feet. He stumbled forward a bit and opened his eyes as Raven caught him, allowing him to lean on her for a while to regain his strength.

"That was bizarre." He croaked, looking around. They were on the edge of the forest that led to the forgotten city, his bike was beside Raven, who rested a hand gently on it.

"Blah…" she said, stumbling when he released her, "That took more out of me than I thought it would."

"Well, I'll hold you as we drive back so you don't fall off." He said, glad to be out of wherever they had been. He quickly mounted his bike and leaned back to allow the violet-eyed woman to sit down in front of him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and sped off into the forest.

Twenty minutes later Yazoo pulled around the front of their home and parked in the back. He walked Raven back to her room, wanting to see her reaction. When she opened the door she gasped,

"Yazoo! Somebody painted it…and got new stuff!" she walked around the room, gaping at her new décor.

"Yeah. I asked Kadaj, Aelita and Loz to fix it up while we were gone." His smile turned to a grimace and he added, "Of course now I owe them big time and Loz will always hold it over me…but you're worth it." He smiled again at the last part. She turned back to him and laughed,

"Thank you so much!" she ran over and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, "Why did you though?"

"Because," he answered when she pulled back to peer up at him, her arms still around him, "You said you couldn't sleep well at night because it was too dark."

"Oh…" she blushed, "You are too good to me."

"I'll always be here for you, Raven." He promised, "I'll always have your back and watch out for you."

"Thank you so much, you're such a great friend." She hugged him again. In her happiness Raven let her power wash out over the building. She felt Loz in a room down the hall sleeping and then Kadaj and Aelita above them-

"OH MY!" she cried out, pulling her power back in.

"What? What is it?" Yazoo looked at her blushing even more.

"Um…Kadaj and…Aelita are um…" her face turned even redder, "Doing…it."

"Doing what?" he asked, blinking.

"Oh God…you're so innocent." She said, shaking her head, "They're making love….having…sex."

"Oh." Yazoo said quietly. Then he laughed loudly, "Of course, my younger brother loses his virginity before me or Loz…at least I think Loz is a virgin."

"Um…okay." Raven said, her face bright red. She turned and went over to her bed and sat down on the crisp new black comforter and sheets, embarrassed that she had just felt them.

"Are…you?" Yazoo asked, walking over and sitting beside her.

"A what, a virgin?" she asked. When he nodded she answered with a grimace, "Sadly, no."

"Why do you say 'sadly'?"

"Because…I should have waited." She grimaced. "I gave it up to the man I thought I would spend the rest of my life with and now…now I know I won't."

"Oh…" he murmured as he realized she was talking about Reno.

"But it's okay, I guess." She continued. "I mean, how does one learn but through mistakes?"

"Mmhm." He watched her yawn, "You should get some more rest."

"Yeah, probably." She muttered. She stripped off her jacket and kicked off her boots before crawling under the covers. Yazoo stood to leave.

"Yazoo?" she asked drowsily.

"Yeah?" He turned back to her and smiled.

"Will you stay with me tonight…" she asked softly, "I don't…want the nightmares to come back."

"Of course." He pulled off his leather shirt-coat and crawled in beside her, then added in a whisper, "I'll stay for as long as you want."

"Promise?" she murmured as he pulled her against his chest.

"Promise." He sighed. With that, they drifted off to sleep.

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"Hey Tifa, it's Aelita." The brunette breathed into her phone. She lay under the light silver sheets next to Kadaj. His head rested on her bare chest as he inhaled her scent, "Everything is fine, so you can stop worrying and sending me twelve texts a day, ha ha. Don't ask where we are, I won't tell you. You said these men were bad but they aren't. You know I can sense emotions and I feel no hostility in any of them, so just lay off, okay? Kadaj is a very kind man, as are his brothers. We're okay."

"Hmmhmm…" Kadaj whispered and chuckled, "We're much better than okay."

"St-stop it Kadaj!" Aelita hissed, holding the phone away from them. She couldn't think straight, only gasp as he ran a finger down her breast-bone to the soft flesh a few inches below her navel. She grabbed his hand and shot an evil look at him, "Let me finish first!"

"Fine." Her muttered, pouting. Just to get on her nerves he nuzzled her breast. She slapped him on his silver-haired head to get him to stop.

"We're safe and we're happy." She continued into the phone, "I'll come visit some time though, okay? Don't know when, but I will. Later."

She hung up the phone and glared at Kadaj,

"You're terrible."

"That's not what you said a few minutes ago." He pointed out with a sly grin. She rolled her eyes. He suddenly frowned,

"Hey, Aelita love…" he asked as he stroked the inside of her forearm lightly, "What happens if…you…have a…"

"That won't happen." She said, already knowing what he was thinking. "I…for some reason I can't get pregnant. They don't think I ever will be able to. Some mutation in my uterus or whatever."

"Oh…" Kadaj held her closer, "Who's 'they'?"

"Doctors."

"Aelita..." the young man turned to face her, "Will you stay with me? As long as you are happy?"

"Of course." she murmured, kissing the top of his head, "I promise."

"Excellent." he sighed happily and laid his head back down. After a while he spoke again, "You're sure you can't get pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Ah…" they were both silent as they held each other. Kadaj smiled wickedly,

"Well in that case…"

Aelita giggled as she pulled him closer.

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Yay me! I finished this instead of my work for English class. :P You guys should love me. XD Juuuuuuust kiddin. Hope you're liking it so far.

Kitsune