Chapter Four

The two men could only stare in horror as it approached. As townsfolk fled from the small village, they were rooted to the spot, unable to look away. What appeared to be a drunken, 9 foot tall Moogle was staggering towards to village, holding a 5 gallon bottle of… vodka?!

"Good Lord, help me," Barrett muttered, his eyes widening. He promptly whirled around and began yelling out to the townsfolk to clear out- like they weren't already.

Vincent scratched his head under his headband. His day had only begun a few hours ago, but he already wanted to be curled up, asleep and oblivious. A throbbing pain announced itself above his right temple, and his mood soured. This day was getting worse by the minute.

His former team member had already left the village, under the impression that Vincent had left with the rest of the evacuating town. Few villagers remained behind with Vincent, vainly attempting to banish the Moogle with pitiful cries of "shoo!" as they brandished swords at the creature. The Moogle burped and fell backwards, its backside crushing a half built house. An angry tirade of curse words erupted from a villager that rushed at the Moogle. Vincent slapped a hand to his face and groaned. He swept back his cloak and pulled out his battle materia. Sighing, he slipped them into his arm slots. There was clearly only one way to deal with this; swiftly and quietly.

Vincent slipped away from the tottering Moogle, scowling to himself. What did Yuffie think she was doing letting that thing loose on the small village. Weren't they having enough difficulty reestablishing themselves? Where did she even find a Moogle of such monstrous proportions?! The Moogle's attention was drawn to the angry villagers that were smacking it with whatever they could lay their hands on. Fascinated, the Moogle kept trying to swipe them, as if it were a game. However it was obviously drunk to the point of double vision, and had quite a bit of difficulty determining how many people there was or where they stood.

Scowling to himself, Vincent scoped out the small village. Yuffie had most certainly been the cause of all this and he was going to make her pay for ruining his quiet day. The materia in his arm slot glowed, as if sensing his anger. He twisted past tents and huts, peering into every nook and cranny. That's when he saw her.

Yuffie was perched in a tree on the outskirts of North Corel, laughing at the scene unfolding before her with unrivaled glee. Her attention was so focused on the havoc the drunken Moogle was created that she hadn't noticed Vincent was not among the villagers. Silently, he weaved his way toward her, keeping to the shadows cast by the makeshift homes until he stood beneath her tree.

"Hello, Yuffie," he called in his soft husky voice. Yuffie jumped and lost her seating. She plunged to the ground with a yelp. Before she could hit the ground, Vincent caught her in his arms. Yuffie squeaked in fright and began thrashing about in an attempt to escape his grip. Smirking, Vincent tightened his grip.

"You won't be escaping me, Princess Kisaragi," he chuckled darkly. Yuffie's eyes widened as he proceeded to laugh manically. Yuffie smiled to herself wickedly. She cleared her throat, causing Vincent to glance at her curiously.

"I love you Vincent!" Yuffie mumbled, blushing prettily. Vincent's laughing abruptly halted as he looked down at his captive with incredulous surprise. Yuffie smiled back, and snuggled up against his shoulder, her eyes sparkling with adoration. Bewildered, Vincent made his way to the tree and sat down, his back leant against it. No one had but Lucrecia had said anything like that to him before, and even that was many years ago. His stomach fluttered with butterflies as he glanced down at the young woman snuggled up in his arms. Is this why she'd been harassing him so? Had she been trying to clue him in to her feelings? And if so, what were his feelings for her?

His claw arm cradled her back, so Vincent lifted his normal hand to Yuffie's face and stroked it. Yuffie wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up in his lap. His grip was on her was now completely relaxed as his heart hammered in his chest. He could feel Yuffie's breath on her neck and watched as her lips part. He closed his eyes in anticipation, awaiting the taste of her soft lips on his own.

It never came. As soon as Yuffie saw his eyes were shut, she sprung to her feet and used her ice and fire materia to create a flood of cold water over Vincent. Spluttering, Vincent opened his eyes in shock. Yuffie laughed and stuck her tongue out at Vincent.

"No one can ever capture the great ninja Yuffie!" She cackled, before sprinting away. By the time that Vincent gathered his wits, she was long gone.

Deeply unsettled and embarrassed, Vincent got to his feet, his sodden clothing slapping against him. Humiliation burned deep with him as he trudged his way back into the village. Anger consumed him as he made his way back to the Moogle. How dare that little brat toy with him? And what had he been thinking? He didn't have feelings or a care for that immature child. She would learn not to mess with him.

"Sleep," he growled as he pointed toward the epically sized creature. Vincent's arm glowed and his materia flashed. Blinking stupidly, the Moogle curled up on the ground and promptly fell asleep, its snores causing the ground to rumble. Sweeping his cloak behind him, Vincent strode from the village as the inhabitants began to make their way back.

"What the #$% happened here?" Barrett yelled, firing his gun arm into the air. Vincent glanced behind him. North Corel was surrounded by broken timber, the half built houses and establishments destroyed. Several villagers fell to their knees sobbing. Shrugging, Vincent kept walking away. Barrett sprinted after him.

"Yo, you damn vampire, what the hell happened?" Barrett panted, waving his arms about as he caught up with the tall gunman. Vincent growled one word, "Yuffie."

AN: I'm sorry I haven't updated in quite some time and that the quality isn't the best. I've been running around like a headless chook trying to do a million things lately. I promise to be more consistent, I WILL see that this gets finished. Now, remember to R&R!!!

~Nacina~