Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII, Naruto, or InuYasha. I am simply taking some of the plot ideas, characters, and concepts and am twisting them for the mindless non-profit enjoyment of myself and others...in other words don't sue. I own none of this. I began working on this story many years ago and due to the craziness of life lost touch with it. I have recently found my muse again and thus this story is now under heavy revision hopefully for the better. You will notice some of the chapters have been deleted, replaced, or rearranged. I hope this doesn't not take away from your enjoyment. So here we go kiddies, lets hope my muse doesn't escape it's cage this time.
:: Two weeks after the evacuation of Midgar & the fall of Meteor::
The Inn was packed with people, the smell of food and booze wafted through the air. The music was loud but the steady hum of talking was even louder. Yuffie sat on a barstool grinning as she looked around the room.
'You have got to hand it to Tifa, I can't believe she pulled all this together in three days!'
Yuffie smiled to herself, brushing the wrinkles out of the sundress Tifa had forced her into. They had lived though it all, granted meteor had destroyed Midgar leaving nothing but scrap metal behind. Yuffie's smile faltered as her mind wandered to the weeks previous…
...They had watched the Meteor crash from the outskirts of Kalm, a whole crowd stood and watched as blinding light devoured the horizon. Tifa clung to Cloud's side crying into his chest. Barret held on to Marlene whispering to her that it was going to be okay.
Yuffie stood wide eyed in horror, praying to Leviathan that they had succeeded in getting everyone out before it hit. Holy had been summoned buffering the rest of the world from the blow, but Midgar had been totally annihilated. Never had Yuffie ever seen such destruction, and coming from someone who was born at the hight of the Shinra Wutai war that was saying something.
The next two weeks would be spent sifting through the ruins looking for survivors amongst those whom had not been evacuated, and finding mostly bodies. In retrospect some where bound to be left behind during the chaos...
(Flashback Two Weeks Prior : One day post meteor:)
"This is… unreal" Yuffie whispered in shock as she stood in amongst the destroyed metropolis. Tifa shook her head wrapping an arm around Marlene's shoulders as the little girl clung to her side. She had begged her father to let her come and help the night previous.
After much debate he had gave in placing her in Tifa and Yuffie's care while he helped Cid with the crane. Tifa and Yuffie had taken great care in shielding the small girl from the more horrifying sights and had placed the girl to work fetching water and helping take care of the refugees.
"Sadness… was the price to see it end" Tifa gazed out over the city.
"But we are still alive and for that we should be thankful." She whispered to the girl squeezing her shoulder gently, Yuffie nodded agreeing with Tifa.
"She is right Marlene… Always be thankful for what you have, because one day it might not be there." Marlene nodded her head still clinging to Tifa's skirt. Leaving Marlene with Tifa to care for the survivors Yuffie spent most of the day walking around the city looking for survivors, and helping excavation teams pull people from the rubble.
When the sun began to set Barret took a break to take Marlene back to Kalm. They continued all throughout the night looking and hoping to find some more alive. They had found hundreds of bodies, removing them from the wreckage and laying them out to be identified. A lot of people from Kalm had joined in with the search.
Yuffie brushed the hair and dirt out of her eyes as she glanced at the night sky, wiping her hands on her shorts she wondered idly just how long it had been since she showered let alone slept.
'Must have been sometime before the final battle' she thought bitterly to herself.
'Hardly matters at the moment I guess' she sighed heavily looking around herself silently assessing her next move.
Her and the others were beginning to lose hope, so far they had found a handful survivors. Most had hid in the sewer system, and there was one found in the rail yard, he had been crushed by a large pillar. Cid and Cloud were trying to free him right now, but his chances of living once the pillar was lifted were slim.
A few others had been found in the basement of the old church it seemed to Yuffie that they had a certain angle watching over them. Yuffie was yanked out of her morbid musings by shouting a few yards behind her.
"I THINK WE HAVE A LIVE ONE GET OVER HERE!... GUYS HELP I FOUND SOMEONE!" a young man from Kalm yelled. Both Barret and Yuffie herd him and ran over jumping over ruble and scrap to get to him.
"Listen you can hear something" The man whispered pointing at a pile a rumble behind him. Yuffie and Barret stopped moving, listening intently where the man had pointed. Sure enough you could hear faint banging and someone crying.
"Come on we have to get this shit out of here..." he grunted grabbing scrap and hurling it aside
"You run and get help! Yuffie help me move this!" Barret waved the guy off as he grabbed onto a large piece of scrap, picking it up with Yuffie's help and tossing it out of the way. After about twenty minutes with five other men helping they uncovered a most grizzly sight.
Yuffie knelt down by three bodies, a man and a woman curled together holding a young boy between them. Reaching down Yuffie checked their pulses; shaking her head to the others standing behind her she knelt down to check the child holding her breath hoping, praying.
"OH MY GOD!" she gasped
"Barret! He's breathing!" Yuffie stood up moving out of Barret's way so he could move the kid, grabbing her phone out of her pocket she called Cloud.
She held her lip between her teeth waiting as it rang.
'pick up pick up pick up'...
"Cloud."...
"Cloud we found someone… A little boy… yeah he is pretty banged up… get a ambulance ready we are going to bring him out… we're in sector 4… hmm… yeah… okay hurry… bye" Yuffie hung up the phone and looked over at Barret who glanced up at her from his spot over the boy.
"An ambulance is on its way we are gonna take him to the hospital in Kalm." Barret nodded as he examine the young boy. Shaking him gently, the child stirred opening his eyes weakly.
"You are gonna be okay kid." The little boy looked up at him through glazed eyes; his brown hair was matted with mud and blood.
"Dad?... where's Mom?" The boy whispered with a weak horse voice, Barret grimaced how was he supposed to tell this kid that both his parents lie dead not more then three feet away. Barret's heart twisted in his chest thinking of his little girl back in Kalm
"What's your name son?" He asked gently brushing the hair out of the young boys face with a callused hand.
"Denzel…" the boy whispered hoarsely before losing consciousness once more. Yuffie shook her head turning away from the scene looking up at the ruins behind her, the sound of sirens approaching from the distance.
'Sadness is the price to see it end..' Yuffie thought sadly tears welling up in her eyes as she recalled Tifa's words from earlier. Barret stood up letting the ambulance crew do their work, walking over to Yuffie. Barret crossed his arms and looked out at the ruins that Yuffie had her eyes fixated on. Sighing she looked over at him.
"I really hate to say it Barret…" She whispered causing the big man to look over at her.
"But I don't think we are going to find anyone else… alive anyways… its been to long. It is a miracle anyone lived through this." Yuffie looked back at the city her lips quivering more tears welling up in her eyes but not spilling. Barret shifted his wight turning towards the small girl he had come to regard as a niece his eyes softening as he watched her take a deep breath and square her shoulders.
"But I don't think we should stop looking, these people deserve a proper burial." She finished her words steadier, Barret nodded at her patting her shoulder reassuringly.
"Your right Yuffie…" Yuffie rose and eyebrow glancing over at him, curious as to why he used her name instead of referring to her as "Brat", or any of the various tittles he had given her over the past months. Shrugging she choose to let it slid without calling him on it. They were all exhausted and they still had a long road ahead of them….
(End Flashback)
Yuffie shook her head, ridding her mind of thoughts about the last couple weeks. Today was supposed to be a happy day; everyone was here to celebrate having survived. She smiled to herself, the last two weeks had been one big funeral, today and the next few days to come they were going to relax and regroup. They still had a whole lot of work ahead of them in away the whole world had to be rebuilt. Sipping the daiquiri she had stolen from behind the bar she looked around the crowd. Cid stood in the corner with Shera laughing as they chatted with some people who were apparently interested in becoming apart of the air and space program they were planing on up taking upon their return to Rocket Town. Tifa stood behind the bar mixing drinks for everyone, Cloud sat on a stool right in front of her peeling the label of his beer as he watched Tifa.
"Tifa why don't you let the bartenders get that and sit down?" Tifa giggled and shrugged at Cloud's comment.
"I can't help it Cloud, I just like helping out… Maybe I could open another bar somewhere…" Tifa tossed a towel on her shoulder leaning against the bar she continued chatting with Cloud smiling. They were uncertain about what to do next but Yuffie was sure Tifa would drag Cloud with her wherever she was going. They were lost without each other, albeit they were the only ones who apparently didn't know it .
Over in the other corner Nanaki sat next to Vincent talking about something. Yuffie was surprised that even Vincent had joined in the festivities but had a sneaking suspicion her constant nagging had something to do with it. He leaned against the wall listening to Nanaki, swirling the contents of his wine glass every couple of minutes, only Vincent could make Nanaki seem like a chatter box. Yuffie arched an eyebrow, wondering if Nanaki knew Cait Sith was behind him, using his tail to light pieces of paper on fire.
Yuffie giggled as she took another sip of her daiquiri, everyone had showed up even the Turks and chocobo Billy whom currently sat about four seats away from her at the bar drunkenly trying to flirt with the bartender.
The Turks as much as Yuffie loathed to admit it had apparently turned over a new leaf. Lately they had proved to be a great help during the evacuation and rescue efforts. Thus, Tifa had demanded they be invited to the party regardless of how much Cid and Barret had argued otherwise.
"Well if it isn't the little mechanic…" Yuffie turned around startled by the sound of a man's voice. Standing behind her stood a man, dark brown hair with eyes to match and a neatly trimmed goatee. He wore dress pants and a button down business shirt. Although, his tie hung around his shoulders untied and the shirt was a bit wrinkled giving him a slightly rumpled appearance. The man watched her as she examined him, squinting her eyes trying to place the mans face with a name.
"Mechanic?..." Yuffie's eyes went wide as a grin broke out on her face. She suddenly pieced together who was standing before her.
"Mr. Tuesti I presume?" Reeve nodded grinning back down at her. Yuffie turned around and patted the empty bar stool next to her.
"Sit..Sit." Reeve sat down next to her and ordered a beer.
"You're late." Yuffie stated smiling as watching Reeve open his beer, he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, his lips curling into a smile around his beer as he drank.
"I apologize, I was held up at the hospital, I was checking in on a little boy someone rescued from the wreckage." He said as he sat his beer back on the counter, turning his stool so that he faced her he raised an eyebrow at her.
"How is he doing?" Yuffie asked as she played with the straw in her drink, her mind drifting back to the carnage and the little boy found amongst the wreckage her smile beginning to falter.
"He is doing well; he should be discharge this time next week. Besides some bad burns and a head injury he came out of it okay. The one worry we do have is where he is going to go after he is discharged… Tifa has shown interest in adopting him. So I think we are going to be seeing a lot of him". Yuffie nodded as she listened to him.
"Thats Tifa for you, den mother to us all" she laughed, she had talked to Tifa a lot about the little boy Denzel the past week she was well aware of her intentions.
'That girls got a big enough heart to house the world' she smiled to herself as she thought about the woman whom had taken her in like a big sister.
"But anyways, I wanted to thank you." Yuffie arched an eyebrow looking back at the older man.
"What for?" Yuffie asked confused watching Reeve flag down the bartender and buy another strawberry daiquiri having noticed that Yuffie's had run dry.
"For fixing Cait Sith for me." Reeve replied as he slid the drink across the bar to her smiling.
"A token of my gratitude." Yuffie snatched the drink off the counter and started sipping it, peering at him over the glass rim with an eyebrow arched.
"You know I am not old enough to drink right?" Yuffie giggled making sure she was holding the glass out of his reach as she said it. Reeve just shrugged smiling gently.
"So how did you get the first one then?" He asked leaning closer to her, intrigued when she gave and evil grin around her straw.
"I snuck behind the bar and made it myself of course, kunoichi don't need men to buy them drinks..." As if to prove her point she quickly looked around before leaning over the counter and snatching a bottle of rum, pouring some more in her drink before slipping it back behind the bar.
"Unless you purposely trying to get me drunk?" She smiled at him as she sat back in her stool stirring the new liquor into her drink with her straw. Reeve's eyebrows rose as a wide grin spread across his face.
"Wow, are my intentions that transparent?" He gasped faking shock, Yuffie started giggling again as she took another big gulp of her drink.
"I'll tell you what you buy my next two drinks and I promise I won't steal all your materia when you're not looking… Ninja's honor." Reeve laughed at her comment shaking his head.
"One... just how good is a Ninja's honor? And two... how do I know you aren't just looking for a reason to touch me." Yuffie's eyes went wide a blush creeping up her cheeks along with a wide grin.
"Wow, who would have thought you'd be such a pervert." Yuffie laughed Reeve just winked at her as he took a swig from his beer.
"Hey princess..." A smooth voice called out behind them, Reeve watched as her grin melted into a sneer.
"Speaking of perverts..." She muttered as Reno materialized from the crowd, Yuffie sighed and plastered on an obviously fake smile.
"Turkey Jerky... how are you? Here alone? where is your questionable hetero life mate?" Yuffie cooed turning around to speak to the redheaded turk standing behind her.
Reeve watched as her posture changed from relaxed to ridged, he had not spent to much time around either of them but it was obvious they had some sort of history, one which caused the young ninja to dislike the turk.
"Who Rude? oh he is off somewhere with Tseng and Elena. I just came over to ask you something...Hey Reeve whats up?" He nodded at Reeve as he stepped closer to Yuffie invading her personal space, she arched an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah?... and whats that ginger snap?" Yuffie growled trying to lean away from him pressing herself against the bar. The turk was oblivious to her disgust and just grinned.
"Well since we are both on the same side now I thought maybe I could give you the honor of allowing me to take you to dinn..." Yuffie's scowl grew darker as he spoke.
"Reno!..." The man stopped talking as Yuffie cut him off grinning as as she bat her eyelashes at him causing his cocky smile to grow.
" Reno listen vary carefully... because this is vary important..." She said slowly leaning closer to him
" Grasp your ears firmly..." She demonstrated pulling on her own.
" And pull your head out of your ass, I mean its so far up there, do you chew your food twice that way? or do you just like using stool as hair product? ..." Reno looked confused.
"No, no, and a thousand million times NO!. Now go away I am to busy to ignore you right now..." Reeve hid his grin in his drink taking another sip inside he was laughing hysterically as the girl next to him brutally shot down the turk.
"Oh you don't mean that princess..." Reno cooed at the girl having apparently completely ignored her comment.
"No seriously Reno the village just called..." Yuffie snapped at him holding her hand to her ear as if it were a phone.
"They said they were missing their idiot. I couldn't really understand them, but I'm pretty sure they were saying your name..." Reno frowned leaning back, Reeve snorted into his drink his shoulder shaking with silent laughter.
"If you want to play hard to get thats fine princess..." Reno laughed dryly briefly glancing at Reeve, Yuffie groaned slapping her palm against her forehead, before turning towards Reeve.
"The wheel is spinning, but the hamster died. He is living proof that man can live without a brain." She shook her head annoyed before turning back to Reno.
"Reno, go outside and play "Hide and go fuck yourself" I am NOT INTERESTED!" Yuffie growled through clenched teeth, Reno just rolled his eyes at her and shrugged.
"You'll change your mind princess, I'll see you later." With that he turned and left, leaving an amused Reeve and scowling Yuffie. Sighing she shook her head.
"How can one man be so dumb..." She muttered taking a large gulp of her drink, smiling over a Reeve.
"What was that all about anyways? He an ex or something?" Yuffie choked on her drink dribbling it down the front of her, Reeve slapped her back a few times before grabbing a napkin and handing it to her.
"God no!... no, he just thinks we had us a little moment when our group had run in with the turks back in Gongaga. Moron doesn't understand what 'I'd sooner perform seppuku with my conformer' means." Yuffie replied taking the napkins Reeve offered and wiping off the from of her sundress.
"You'd think he would get the idea, what with you declaring your everlasting love to him just now..." Reeve could not help but smile as she tossed the soiled napkins onto the bar and started laughing.
"You liked that did you?..." She tilted her head to the side grinning at the man sat at the bar next to her.
"Yes, lets just hope your not all bark and no bite..." Yuffie arched an eyebrow at him.
"I'll show you bite.." She muttered before grabbing her drink sipping from it once more, Reeve began laughing again.
"This cheek from the girl who accused ME of being a pervert with attempts to get her inebriated not five minutes ago... I'll have to keep on my toes around you obviously." Yuffie shrugged.
'It's like my grandmother used to say, "satan in a sunday hat" or I guess sunday dress in this case.' Reeve thought as he regarded the slip of a girl in front of him. She looked so out of place sitting there in a floral pattern sundress and flip flops, sipping her stolen daiquiri. Her choppy dark brown hair that looked like it was cut with a knife continually falling into her face.
"Is it a habit of yours to stare?" Yuffie asked having caught him watching her out of the corner of her eye.
"I..." Reeve stuttered, he was interrupted by the pitter patter of feet approaching fast. Cait Sith leapt out of nowhere and landed on the counter in front of them almost knocking over Reeves beer.
"Hey ya Yuffie...Reeve, Cloud wants to see ya." Cait Sith said in a sing song like voice as he played with Reeve's hair much to Reeve's annoyance. Reeve rose from his seat and took Yuffie's hand bringing it to his lips placing a kiss on the back of her hand.
"I am gonna go let the others know I am here, it was nice finally meeting you Yuffie, Id love to talk to you more later" Yuffie's mouth gapped blushing as he turned and walked away with Cait on his heels.
"You owe me two drinks Reeve don't forget." She called out to his retreating back having pulled herself together. Yuffie smiled to herself as she turned back to the bar finishing off the rest of her drink.
'So that's the legendary Reeve? Defiantly not what I expected, and he kissed my hand whats up with that? He is kinda cute actually… cute? Whoa Yuffie were did that come from! Hehehehe maybe I am getting a bit tipsy, oh well it's a party right, '
The hours passed quickly as the night went on, many had returned home and with the exception of a few people only AVALANCHE remained. Yuffie once again sat at her spot at the bar after haveing spent a few hours running around talking to everyone.
Cid and Barret were wasted beyond reason, sitting at a table in the corner attempting to play poker with Cait and Vincent both of which were apparently sober as judges. Needless to say who was winning, Yuffie had a hard time containing her laughter as she watched Cait slide a cards into Cid's pocket only to point out said cards and accusing him of cheating .
Glancing over at Cloud and Tifa she smiled, they just sat together in silence nursing their drinks, talking quietly and enjoying the presence of one another.
'When are those two gonna wake up and see what they have sitting in front of them' Yuffie rolled her eyes and finished her drink. Looking at the empty glass she tried to remember just how many she had drank. She couldn't which explained why it was starting to feel really warm in the room. Careful as to not trip and fall on her face Yuffie slid off the stool, and made a point to walk in a perfectly straight line to the front door. Once outside the cool night air made her feel loads better.
In front of the inn's bar there was a beautiful patio made for people to come outside and sit, it was surrounded by bushes and hanging plants. Over in the far corner she spotted a bench swing nestled amongst a bunch of ivy that was growing up the brick walls of the Inn. Yuffie plopped down in the swing making herself comfortable. The cool night air helped sober her some as she swung slowly gazing up at the starry night sky .
She had been fascinated by the stars since she was a small child, her mother had once told her that her ancestors lived amongst the stars up in the heavens. A single tear slid down her cheek as she wondered if her mother and Aerith were up there watching over her. Her mother had often told her as a child that when she was in doubt to look to her ancestors for guidance.
"So what are we supposed to do next?" Yuffie whispered to the heavens, not expecting the response she got.
"Well for starters you could scoot over and let me sit down..." Yuffie's head shot over in surprise, looking over at her a couple feet away stood Reeve a familiar red drink in one hand and a beer in the other. Yuffie moved over letting him sit down, she couldn't help but feel a little peeved at the man, he had snuck up on her twice tonight, that was unheard of with her, no one snuck up in the great ninja Yuffie.
"And I also suppose I could give you that drink I supposedly owe you." Reeve handed her the strawberry daiquiri before opening his beer.
"You owe me two where is the other one?" Yuffie asked as she sipped her drink, she didn't remember where she had had her first but she absolutely loved them.
She couldn't help but suppress a giggle at what had happened earlier , the bartender couldn't seem to figure out where all her daiquiri mix and rum had gone, a wide grin spread out on her face. Reeve watched her silently for a moment.
"You do realize that when you walked out of the bar a couple minutes ago you were acting like you were walking on a tightrope, I think after this drink you have had enough." Yuffie's eyes went wide, a blush creeping up her face. Another thing she barely ever did that he had caused several times in one night, had she really acted like that she wondered.
"Fine then, you won't be getting this back." Yuffie pulled a blue "all" materia out her pocket and bounced it in her hand a couple times watching Reeve's face out of the corner of her eye.
"Keep it." Reeve watched her with a playful grin as she almost dropped the glowing blue orb in shock having not expected that answer. Yuffie sighed sticking it back into her pocket; Reeve was taking all the fun out of it.
"So what did you mean earlier when you asked what we're supposed to do next?" Reeve inquired leaning into the swing stretching out his legs in front of him. Yuffie turned her body so that it was facing him and brought her legs up Indian style on the swing and shrugged.
"Well, what does anyone do after they save the world? I mean we all have to start over in a way, I guess… I am gonna go back home and continue trying to fix Wutai." Yuffie sighed turning her gaze back to the stars, her eyes searching for a specific constellation.
"It's gonna be tough but... Along time ago I promised my mom I would one day return Wutai to its former greatness and... It's about time I really start working towards that promise…" Yuffie sighed shaking her head sadly before looking over at Reeve.
"What are you gonna do Reeve?" Reeve listened and watched her; he couldn't help but think how this girl seemed so much different then the one who was slipping open ketchup packets in Barret's pockets an hour ago.
He smiled to himself as he remembered her almost rolling on the floor laughing when the drunken Barret started screaming "What the fuck my ass is bleeding!" He had watched the group these past months having lived vicariously through Cait and he thought he had a pretty good feel for everyone in the group.
He hadn't expected Yuffie to be capable of being so deep, she was normally the hyperactive one of the bunch. He sat and pondered over Yuffie's question for awhile. He seemed to be the last Shinra executive left alive, and the world had been ripped to shambles.
"Reeveie..poo...any one home?" Yuffie sang waving a hand in front of his face. Reeve turned and looked at her confused expression.
"You okay? You went all serious like, and got real quite… did you have like… an out of body experience?" Reeve started laughing there was the hyperactive girl he had been expecting.
"I was thinking about what you said, I am sorry." Reeve said shaking his head, Yuffie leaned in closer looking him in the eyes.
"Sooo...what's your answer then?" Reeve's smile widened as he reached up ruffling Yuffie's hair earning a few curses from the small ninja.
"I am going to rebuild what Shinra destroyed." Yuffie quickly fixed her hair with her fingers, allowing the gravity of his words to sink in.
"Reeve... how in the world are you going to do something like that… I mean thats a pretty big thing...like wow that's like huge…" Reeve nodded knowing all to well that it was true.
"This from the girl who plans to rebuild a whole country all on her own..." Reeve countered.
"Thats different Reeve those are my people, I have a responsibility to protect Wutai..." Yuffie's voice drifted off as she looked back up at the stars.
"The princesses thing right..." Yuffie shook her head putting her hand up in the air.
"I am not a princess Reeve, don't let the eastern misconceptions of Wutai's government confuse you..." Reeve's eyebrows rose into his hair, this serious side of her was new, as were the big words.
"I apologize, I thought your father was..." Yuffie nodded her head.
"He is... allow me to explain. Am I apart of the Kisaragi clan yes...however there is more to it then most foreigners realize. My father and I belong to the branch house..." Reeve relaxed into his seat with interest in what appeared to be an impromptu history lesson.
"Some of the older clans are split into different sections, one of the oldest the Kisaragi clan, my clan... is split in two; the main house and the branch house. For centuries it has always been the main house that rules and branch house's duty to support and protect the members of the main house..." Yuffie sighed softly returning her gaze to the stars.
"I don't know how much you know about the war between Shinra and Wutai,...I was still a small child when it hit its peak. My father was never meant to rule, he only took the throne so to speak after my uncle, his older brother Hashirama was assassinated by Shinra... he is merely leading until my cousin Shake is old enough to take his place as ruler...the little squirt." Yuffie could not help but smile at the thought of her younger cousin.
"I had no idea... I figured it was similar to the older monarchies we had back in the day..." Reeve mused quietly, Yuffie just shrugged.
"Don't worry about it, most outsiders know vary little about Wutai politics... we kinda like it that way. Besides it's not like we have an all mighty emperor or something, dads more like a board chairman... a board filled with stuffy old-fashioned clan elders..." Reeve arched an eyebrow.
"Do I sense some hostility?..." He asked, he had to admit he had always been curious about her culture, having always been immersed in Midgar's coming and goings he had had vary little exposure to the ways of her distant land.
"Please don't even get me started...one of the main reasons I have been abroad for so many years is because of those meddling old fools trying to pressure Godo into turning me into a "proper" lady, one that Wutai can be proud of..." She groaned pushing the hair out of her eyes.
"What do you mean?" He asked, turning his body to face hers.
"I may be a shinobi Reeve, and a damn good one, but that apparently doesn't mean I am exempt from settling down into some god forsaken arranged marriage... dear old dads been pretty cool about sabotaging the elders attempts so far... ah found it... look." She smiled brightly pointing to a collection of stars.
"What am I looking at..." Reeve asked leaning closer to look up the length of her arm, having noticed her attempt at changing the subject and allowed her.
"Do you see that chain of stars... there is four of them, thats his tail... those few there and there are the wings and his tail fin, and that collection right there... thats his head..." Yuffie whispered to him gesturing to each star.
"Thats the Sea King... Leviathan. Thats what I have been out here looking for, the lord of all waters is usually easier to find in the summer season, but he is always up there if you look hard enough..." Reeve watched her as she gazed up at the stars, there was defiantly more to her then what met the eye.
"My mother... she taught me all about the different constellations, and the stories behind them... she used to say that our ancestors where up there watching over us, guiding us... silly bed time stories really...hard to believe she has been gone ten years already" Yuffie looked away from the sky and cast her eyes to the ground trying to force the morbid thoughts to the back of her mind.
"What happened to your mom?" Reeve whispered hoping his curiosity wasn't hurting her, but he couldn't help but want to know more about the girl sitting next to him.
"She was killed during the same attack that took my uncle, she died trying to protect him... her name was Michi, when literally translated it means... righteous...almost ironic really having a thief for a daughter" She smiled up at him as if to show him she refused to be sad.
"And what does your name mean if I may ask..." He prompted.
"Joy." She replied bluntly causing him to laugh.
"It fits,...I honestly haven't the slightest clue what my name means... never thought to look..." He offered, taking a swig of his drink.
"I'll have to look it up latter and let you know... you should have seen how Vinnie reacted when I lectured him about his names meaning... I really thought he was going to pull his gun on me the look he gave me..." She replied in between sips of her almost empty drink.
"I can imagine." Reeve laughed.
"So when are you returning to Wutai?" Yuffie shrugged, before stretching her legs out across Reeve's lap and relaxing into the side of the bench.
"Do you mind?..." Reeve shook his head.
"Good cause I wasn't moving anyways... I will probably head out tomorrow afternoon at some point. Might hitch a ride with potty mouth as much as I loath flying it would be fastest, maybe I can convince him to take me across the channel, if not I can always grab a chocobo." Reeve nodded, before gently placing the edge of his beer against her ankle, the cold bottle causing her leg to jerk. He chuckled at the scowl she sent at him.
"Jerk... so tell me about this plan to "fix" everything Shinra destroyed... which is pretty much... the world..." Yuffie made a grand gesture with her arms expressing her point, it was Reeve's turn to sigh and shrug.
"I honestly have no idea... you know I designed some of the Mako Reactors... I was in charge of urban development at Shinra...so many or my inventions and ideas have been twisted to evil ends...I just...I guess its guilt mostly but I want to fix what I inadvertently helped Shinra ruin..." Yuffie slipped her legs off of him and slid closer to him taking his hand in her smaller one.
"It's not your fault Reeve..." She whispered giving his hand a small squeeze, he looked down at their entwined hands at a loss for words. He was touched by the small gesture of comfort she was offering him.
"You're not the only one whose gifts where exploited...thats what Shinra did they took what other people did, what they created in hope of bettering mankind and corrupted it..." Reeve nodded squeezing her hand back.
"I still want to help...The worlds going to be a mess now that Shinra has been overthrown...someone needs to put the pieces back together...and I am an architect ya know..." Reeve chuckled dryly trying to break the tension of their conversation.
"Well… If you ever need help with this crazy plan let me know, the great ninja Yuffie will be more than glad to help." Yuffie yawned as she stretched her arms above her head.
"I appreciate the offer Yuffie..." He whispered to her as he draped an arm around her shoulders pulling her closer. She yawned again allowing him to move her, the cold night air beginning to chill her.
The two of them sat out there on the swing continuing to talk until the horizon began to lighting with the coming dawn. Yuffie had managed to worm another drink out of Reeve before falling asleep with her head on his shoulder. Reeve looked down at the young girl, brushing the hair out of her eyes as she slept.
'So this is the legendary Yuffie? Defiantly not what I expected. She is kind of pretty, …what am I thinking,don't be a pervy old man Reeve... It must be the beer...' Reeve stood from the bench stretching his arms above him and bending backwards slightly working the kinks out of his back.
'Guess I should take her up to bed...' Bending down he pulled the girl into his arms and carried her back into the inn bridal style. Looking around he took note of the mess greeting him. Cid and Barret both sat slouched in their chairs passed out, the only other souls present were a tired looking Tifa and the bartender. She was slowly gathering empty bottles and other trash helping the other young girl clean up. Turning around she spotted Reeve carrying Yuffie and smiled warmly.
"I was wondering when you two were going to come in, her room is the second door on the left, yours is the fourth... Can you take her up there for me, I will be up shortly to get her situated..." Tifa spoke quietly as she walked up to them.
"What about those two?" Reeve nodded towards the two men passed out in the corner.
"Unless you're offering to carry them up to bed as well... leave em, let it be a lesson to them not to get so drunk...grown men acting like frat boys its ridiculous." Tifa chuckled wiping her hands on her skirt.
"Alright Tifa, perhaps after I put her to bed I'll come back down and we can draw on their faces?" Tifa covered her smile with a hand her shoulders shaking with mirth.
"I'll see if I can find some markers..." She whispered back, Reeve grinned made his way to the back of the inn and up the stairs careful to avoid banging the young girls limbs against the walls of the narrow stairwell.
Pushing her door in gently with his foot he walked to the bed and gently laid her down on top of the covers. The small girl was defiantly not what he had been expecting when he came here this evening to finally meet the group face to face. Reaching down he brushed the hair out of her face tucking it behind her ear. He thought about how unfortunate it was he would probably be leaving before she woke. He had no idea when he would have the opportunity to see her again. She was leaving for Wutai in the morning, and he had to meet up with the turks and try and sift through the mess Shinra had left behind. Spotting a pad of paper and a pen on the bedside table which was common in most inns, he grabbed them and started righting. Once done he set the pad on top of her bag that was tossed in the corner, before leaving to find Tifa and some markers.
Yuffie woke up with a start the next day, rubbing her blurry eyes.
'What the hell is that noise..' Yuffie thought, noises where coming from downstairs. What sounded like yelling, and then stomping could be herd coming up the stairs.
"YUFFIE YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Her bedroom door flew open bouncing against the wall behind it, Yuffie jumped out of bed startled.
"Cid what the hell..." Yuffie began still waking up, looking at Cid who was soon joined by Barret her eyes went wide in shock then mirth.
"Oh my god guys what happened to your faces..." Yuffie started laughing uncontrollably.
"WHAT HAPPENED MY ASS! YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY!" Cid began screaming.
"THIS CRAP WONT COME OFF! YOU HAVE REALLY DONE IT THIS TIME YUFFIE..." Barret shouted.
"Whoa whoa calm down I had nothing to do with this, I have..." Yuffie, tried saying backing away from the two men. The last she knew she was outside talking with Reeve. Looking around the room she was in, her room, she tried to piece together what had happened. Somehow she had ended up in her room and in her pajamas, she honestly had no idea how Cid and Barret ended up with doodling all over their faces.
"A...Cid...are those cat whiskers?..." She asked giggling, only causing Cid's face to grow even redder.
"Lets see how you like it." Cid hissed through grit teeth pulling a black marker out of his pocket.
"Really guys I didn't do it!..." She whined shrilly before making a run for it only to have Cid grab her arm when she tried to dash past them, a struggle began Yuffie twisting trying to get away while Cid tried to draw on her face. Just as Cid was about to succeeded in making the first whisker Tifa walked up the stairs.
"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING!" Tifa hollered her hands going to her hips, looking vary much like mother yelling at two children.
"Pay back..." Cid laughed, drawing a whisker.
"She drew on our faces with marker last night while we slept, we are just returning the favor." Barret explained, Tifa's face went through a range of expressions from shock, to shame, to amused, then angry.
"Cid let her go, she didn't do it..." Cid rolled his eyes not releasing the ninja, instead drawing a second whisker Yuffie still squirming like mad.
"I SAID LET HER GO CID! SHE DIDN'T DO IT, I DID!" Tifa screamed this time, Cid let go of the girl shocked, he looked over at Tifa his mouth gapping.
"You did..." Cid whispered in awe, Tifa rolled her eyes.
"Yes I DID, after I got Yuffie situated in bed Reeve and I decided to teach you boys a lesson...why are you looking at me like that?" Cid and Barret where giving her the strangest evil looks.
"What do you think Barret?" Cid looked over at the doodle faced man next to him.
"Lets get her." Barret grinned, Tifa gasped and took off down the stairs, the two men hot on her heels. Yuffie just stood watching trying to wrap her head around what had just happened.
'And they say I need to grow up.' She glanced over at the clock beside the bed and noted that it was already past noon.
'Guess everyone decided to sleep in, not that I am surprised.' Grabbing her dirty clothes that were sitting in a chair in the corner she went to her bag to dig out clean ones. She stoped when her eyes caught a pad of paper sitting on top the bag. The pad had a note written on it..
"Yuffie,
I have to head to Junon this morning for business, so I won't have a chance to say goodbye. I think its a understatement to say we both have a lot of work ahead of us to reach the goals we talked about last night. If you ever need help with yours let me know. I really enjoyed finally getting to meet you, and I hope you feel the same. Stay in touch okay?
-Reeve Tuesti"
Beneath the note there was a phone number and email address. Yuffie tore the page off the pad and shoved it into the small pocket of her bag next to her phone. Smiling to herself she quickly changed into clean clothes and began packing.
'He's right there is a lot of work to do yet.'
TBC-