A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update! This chapter is kind of short because I've been doing stuff all day, but I promise I'll be throwing more out there more often! I noticed there was barely any action going on with Cloud so I chose to speed things up a little bit which I'm a little upset about because Cloud's just slightly out of character toward the end. I tried my best to keep him in character so hopefully you guys don't kill me! R&R :3

Where am I? Ew, what is that foul stench? My leg hurts…

I sat up and looked around the room. I was back in my own bed in the bar and my leg wound was dressed…as well as my body. I vaguely remembered what happened and my blood began to boil. Before I moved I also remembered Cloud had seen my breast…that was awkward. I attempted to contain the blush as I slowly rose out of the bed and swung my legs over the edge. I exhaled deeply as I went to stand before I heard a grunt in the corner.

"Vincent." I said.

"You shouldn't be walking yet." He replied. I shrugged and stood up, it wasn't too bad. It was just a cut, after all.

"I'm fine, nothing is broken it was just a cut." I said with a smile. He rose and approached me, anchoring my clumsy form as I stood. "Where is he?" my tone darkened.

"He fled, but not before I had my way with him. He's bloodied up pretty badly, but I left him alive."

"And Odette?" I asked. I secretly hoped he had done the same to her.

"She disappeared, but she'll be back. Unfortunately she won't be gone forever." He said. I sighed and let go of him to stand on my own.

"I'm sorry about all of this, Vincent. I showed up and I brought so much…chaos with me." I said. He cringed at the word chaos and I looked at him curiously. He refused to make eye contact with me and I let it go for now.

I made a move to walk out the door and he followed right behind me in case I wiped out. I moved slowly down the stairs and when I finally made it to the bottom I let out a triumphant sigh.

"See? I can do things on my own!" I said. I went to spin around and fell over, but before I hit the ground I landed in a pair of arms. I looked up and was met with the eyes of Cloud. He made a small rumble in his throat and helped me stand back up.

"You should be more careful." He said.

"So I've been told." I smiled. "Want to fill me in on what's happened?" I asked. We went and sat at one of the low tables so I didn't have to hop on a bar stool. Tifa and Cid joined us with solemn expressions.

"We should have never let people like that into the bar. I didn't trust them from the first sight." Tifa said. Her brow furrowed and she looked away from me ashamed. "How's your leg?" she asked timidly. I smiled and patted my upper thigh.

"Functioning and ready! Quit worrying so much, I should have known better than to shower with the door unlocked knowing that guy was around. He's been stalking me since I lived at my old apartment." I said nonchalantly. At this Cloud, Vincent, and Cid's heads all jerked up.

"What did you just say?" they all said in unison. I raised my brow in confusion and looked between the three of them.

"He's been stalking me since I lived at my old apartment?" I said. They all exchanged glances and Cid was the first to speak,

"Why didn't you tell us about that sooner? You never said you recognized him or that he was a dern problem to ye! This whole thing coulda been prevented!" he said. I shrugged in response.

"I don't know, I had no idea he knew Odette", I scowled at her name, "so at the time it didn't really matter. But yes, he's horrifyingly creepy and I should have said something. But I didn't. What do we do now?" I asked.

"We find them and get some answers." Cloud said while standing. I stood up as well and he shot me a look. "Not you. You're not strong enough yet with that leg. They'll be waiting for you, too."

"You have to be kidding. This is going to be fine by tomorrow morning! Use me as bait, that's the only way they're going to even show their faces." I said. I felt my face turning red with anger and Tifa stood up next to me.

"But what about Kadaj and his gang? They'll be after her too." She turned to me, "it isn't safe, Kaylee."

"It's the only way." We heard a voice call out from the doorway of the bar. Yuffie was standing there, drenched—it must have been raining pretty hard.

"What?" Cid asked.

"The only way we're going to find these sickos is if we have Kaylee with us. There's something they want with her, and we have to find out what it is. Odette was using me to get to her. I want to know why." She said. She sounded hurt, Odette was actually much closer to her than she was to me since she "saved" Yuffie in the cave. I didn't want Yuffie to hurt anymore, she needed to be stopped.

"I have a strong intuition that Odette is also working with Kadaj's gang." I said. "They'll all be waiting."

"Then we'll leave tomorrow, if that's when you say your leg will be healed." Tifa said. I smiled at her and nodded once.

"I don't like this." Vincent said. Cloud shook his head in agreement beside him and I gave them a look of contempt.

"There are no other options." I said. We would leave tomorrow.

I walked over to the windowsill next to the staircase and stared out at the dark forest across from the bar. I couldn't sleep because I had been unconscious for God knows how long after the accident. I was also overeager to get my vengeance on that slime that cut me, and the bitch who's hunted me. I sighed audibly and jumped when I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I whipped around to see Cloud standing in the middle of the hall awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" I asked. I knew I couldn't have, I wasn't being loud in the least. He shook his head no and approached me slowly.

"I'm worried about this mission." He said. He stood right beside me and stared out the window. The way his face looked in the moonlight was absolutely breathtaking. His jawline stood out prominently and his eyes glistened so bright, they looked almost white.

"Why are you so worried? We're going to put an end to the evil that followed me here." I looked down. I felt guilty that I had brought so much pain and so much misery to these people; they were nothing but kind to me.

Cloud reached over and lifted my chin with his hand. He kept his hand there even after our eyes had met and I felt the blush creep onto my face. There was nothing I could do to hide it, he was staring at me. He looked confused about something, or like he was fighting an internal battle—I wanted to desperately to wrap him in my arms and promise everything would work out. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but I wish it never had stopped. He dropped his hand but we continued to stare into one another's eyes.

"I'm sorry to be such a burden on you all." I said. My heart was sad and my words were solemn; he moved closer.

"You are not a burden. You have brought light into our lives that wasn't there before and I…I'm thankful for it." He said. He still looked like he was fighting himself, and I wanted him to stop. I was always given a reputation for being bold…

I wrapped my arms around his waist and lay my head against his chest.

"You're not alone." I whispered. I could hear his heart beat one hundred times faster than regular, but he didn't push me away. After at least a minute of holding our bodies together, I pulled back. He looked as though he was blushing furiously, but I couldn't be sure—I couldn't see anything aside from the glow of his eyes.

"What time is it?" he asked. It was barely audible, but I heard him. I smiled slyly and turned to head back to my room. I glanced at him over my shoulder and winked.

"The time is now."