Reason to Live

By mihoyonagi

Chapter 2

My body might heal faster than what is normal, but it still hurt like hell when Yuffie punched me square in the face. Tiny little fists of iron, she has.

I sat there on the cold, stone floor of the basement, gaping up at her, blood running freely from my nose. She stood over me, a surprising giant despite her smallness, with a look of such hurt on her face that all cognitive thought shifted out of my brain for a few moments.

Why couldn't I stop hurting those around me?

I wiped the blood from my face with the back of my gloved hand. "Yuffie-"

She stamped her foot, indicating that she wouldn't hear anything that fell from my lips.

"Do you have any idea how hurt we all were when Aerith died? You were there; you should know! Why would you put the rest of us through something like that again? You keep spitting this garbage about penance and how you need to 'redeem' yourself for all of your sins, but here you are right back where you started from!"

She crossed her arms, and I noticed for the first time that she was shaking. I realized that she was holding back tears.

"You wrong one person, thinking you've done right by another. You're running in circles, and you can't stop, and you sit there and bitch about how no one can help you."

Her hand came out, and she pointed an accusing finger directly at the center of my chest.

"But, goddamn you Vincent, you never even bothered to ask for help in the first place!"

I watched as the tears she was trying to hard to hold in began to roll down her cheeks in great waves. Her voice cracked as she dropped to her knees before me.

"I don't want it to hurt any more. I don't want to lose any more friends."

She cradled her hands in her face and let out a choking sob. Despite the tears on her face, she was trying to not to let herself completely break. Hunching over, she wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face against her legs.

We sat there like that, in complete silence, for what seemed like hours. When I noticed that she had finally stopped her quiet sobbing, I stood and sighed.

"I need ice for my face."

I don't know what compelled me to say it, but when Yuffie looked up at me with swollen eyes and puffy cheeks, I knew I said the right thing. She stared at me for a moment, bewilderment crossing her features, before moving to get up, then followed me, without a word, out the basement door, up the steps, and into the kitchen of the house.

The freezer was bare, save for the few obligatory trays of ice cubes jammed in the back. I took one out and held it to my face. While I knew the tissue was already healing itself, the idea of facial swelling was unappealing. The ice would help make it so I didn't bruise. In some ways, the semi-mutant body I was housed in did have its appealing aspects.

Yuffie was in the doorway of the kitchen, hands crossed across her chest. Her nose was red, her eyes somewhat bloodshot, and her cheeks were slightly pink.

"You look like you've been traveling for awhile." It was more of a statement than a question.

She shrugged in response. "When I found out you left, I knew you'd come here. Cloud and the others wouldn't turn the damn ship around, so I jumped off and went by foot."

I paused, closing the freezer door. I had left in the night nearly three days ago. I hadn't taken my time returning, so she must have been at my heels the entire time. Knowing I hadn't stopped to rest for more than a few hours, I cringed inwardly. Sleep wasn't something my body often craved, as a normal human body might. Though I still needed to sleep, the time my body needed to remain asleep was minor in comparison.

So I automatically knew she was tired and hungry.

I looked to her, holding an ice cube to my face with one hand, while motioning around the kitchen. "I have nothing to feed you."

Her body shuddered, most likely an after-effect of having cried so hard. "I'm more tired than I am hungry."

"You need to eat," I pressed. I could go days without consuming food, but I knew her body was most likely weak from malnutrition by now. She was thin as it was, and starving herself so she could chase after me was a terrible idea.

Then again, I was to blame.

"Would you like me to get you something to eat? You'll be able to rest easier once you're fed."

Yuffie shook her head. "You and I aren't going anywhere until we work something out."

I fought the childish urge to roll my eyes. "You need-"

"Don't tell me what I need, Valentine. Don't even start with me. I don't want to hear your excuses or your bullshit. You're not going anywhere, do you understand me? You're not leaving us. I'm not going to lose any more friends."

I bit my tongue. This far into the conversation, I knew there was little I could say to her that would change her mind or her heart. She was right, though.

Aerith's loss had been hard on everyone, even me. I thought I was past feeling that kind of remorse. Hell, I thought I had distanced myself far enough away from everyone that I wasn't susceptible to such heartache.

Apparently, I was fooling no one. Not even myself.

Yet, here I was, pretending that none of the others – my friends, or at least the closest thing I had to such – would even bat an eyelash once I were to leave them.

I couldn't see the truth, despite it sitting in front of my face.

No matter how much I owed Lucrecia, I still owed Cloud and the others at least a little more of my time. After all, my body was immortal. The planet was rid of Sephiroth, ShinRa was failing, Jenova was gone, and Hojo was dead. What was a few decades suffering the company of those I had already spent time with? It was a lot. But had the rest of eternity to sleep, once everyone else was gone.

"Promise me you won't go anywhere, Vincent."

"Yuffie, I don't think-"

"I know, and that's the problem."

Pausing, I took a deep breath.

Damn, she was blunt. Painfully blunt. But at least she meant well.

"I won't go anywhere."

My compliance seemed to stun her. She stood there for a moment, as if she were measuring me.

"Promise?"

"For now."

It was most likely not the answer she was looking for, but it was apparent that hunger and exhaustion was beginning to wear her farther than even she thought she could go. For a moment, it looked like she was going to argue. Her hesitation made me weary; I wasn't prepared to bicker any longer.

She let out a sigh, seemingly content with my partial answer. "What do you have to eat?"

I didn't smile, though I was feeling rather relieved she didn't push the matter further. "Nothing here," I replied. "But I can go into town and procure a few things for you. There is a room with clean bedding upstairs, if you'd like to nap."

Again, she hesitated.

"You're not going to disappear on me again, are you?"

I shook my head.

It was about time I stopped running from my problems.

"Good, because if you leave I'll hunt you down and kick your ass. And yeah, a nap sounds good. Can you get me some peaches?"

Ah, she had good taste in fruit.

"I'll get you some peaches. Go sleep. I'll wake you when I return."