The Great Ninja Yuffie - Chapter 4: The Da Chao Mountains
It was a dark and chilly morning in Wutai Village. There were winds whistling, raindrops drizzling, and the sky could not be seen with so many grey clouds covering it.
"You wait out here," Yuffie said to Yuri as she went inside to retrieve her stuff. Inside, she predicted correctly that her father was absent. She knew that he was often a busy man, but she also believed that he wondered where she was last night.
Yuri waited at the front steps of Yuffie's home, thinking how he had come well-prepared, as he wore two inner layers and a rain jacket. He even brought a bag of accessories with him in case of an emergency. When Yuffie came out, he was surprised to see her in her usual outfit: a pair of silver short-shorts and a blue strapless top which revealed her midriff.
He immediately questioned her choice of attire. "Don't you get cold?"
"Please," she shot back with a question of her own, "Didn't I tell you?"
"Tell what? Oh... you've climbed Gaea's Cliff," Yuri pondered for a moment, thinking how that was even remotely possible. Then he added, "That's not very smart of you."
Hearing his response, Yuffie stepped back and faked a punch, succeeding in making him flinch. "Two for flinching!" she yelled, punching him hard in the arm twice.
"N-not fair!" Yuri groaned as he skipped away from their radius.
"Why are you running away?" Yuffie shouted, slowly chasing him. "You scared?"
"No!" Yuri spat out, "I thought we were going to the mountains."
Yuffie and Yuri spent fifteen minutes walking to the famous Da Chao Statue. From there, they could see dozens of open caves along the mountain trails. When they finally arrived, a pair of small, spiky, plant-like monsters appeared in front of them.
"Razor Weeds!" Yuri pointed out.
"I'll take care of this," Yuffie stepped in, giving the monsters a chance to flee. However, the Razor Weeds responded aggressively and charged her, forcing her to throw the shuriken. As expected, the shuriken pierced through the Razor Weeds perfectly before returning to its user's hand. After moaning in agony for a few seconds, they collapsed on the ground and died.
"Nice shot," Yuri applauded, unsurprised by her skill.
"I know. This was how I fought to save the world. Next one we see, it's yours."
As they walked past Da Chao Statue, Yuffie paused momentarily as she had a flashback of when she was kidnapped and tied up to that exact sculpture. She remembered being on the verge of death, before being saved by her friends who she betrayed prior to the event. Since then, she had never stolen anything again.
Yuffie's flashback was suddenly interrupted by the piercing sound of a familiar weapon. Yuri had killed a Bizarre Bug with one shot of the shuriken. "Wow, I'm so in shock. Not bad," she teased, shaking her head as she regained consciousness.
"Pay attention," Yuri warned. But before he could hear Yuffie's response, heavier raindrops started splashing down and a massive lightning bolt appeared in the sky. Alerted by two thunder zaps, Yuffie gasped in shock before dashing off, leaving Yuri behind for a split-second.
"Hey!" Yuri screamed, having no choice but to follow her.
Hearing his call, Yuffie turned around and bellowed, "Run! To the cave!"
The weather became nastier every second as Yuffie sprinted and sprinted trying to find undercover shelter. But to her dismay, she and Yuri had climbed to an area where there were no caves around. As Yuri ran close behind her, he wasn't surprised to see that she was already twice as soaked as he was. His stamina had quickly started to deteriorate, but when he heard his friend sneeze, he rushed ahead and tossed her his spare raincoat. "Here, Yuffie!"
Yuffie caught the jacket and wrapped it around her neck, overtaking Yuri as she continued to sprint. It frustrated her that she couldn't spot a single cave, and more monsters had started chasing them the more they ran. After fleeing from countless battle encounters and about three miles of sprinting, Yuffie and Yuri ended up in shelter under a small, dark grotto. They collapsed on the ground at the same time, rolling around and panting wildly.
"That was... a lot of running..." Yuri huffed.
Yuffie was a silent panter, and when she quickly regained her stamina, she kneeled over to Yuri and threw him the raincoat. She was so drenched that her nipples could be seen through her top. "Well... I don't know how long we'll be in here."
"..." Yuri continued to throb on the ground when suddenly, another bang of thunder erupted, scaring him. The sudden noise from outside made Yuffie jump up and bark.
"So, uh, how far did we climb up?" asked Yuffie, who was now walking in circles.
"Dunno."
"Aaaaahhhhhhh..."
"I... told you it'll rain..."
Unhappy with his two responses, she yelled, "Get up, Yuri! We're gonna explore this cave."
The soaked ninja wasted no time and walked ahead, forcing her friend to tag along. "Hey..." he murmured, expecting her not to hear him. "It's dark... you can't see anything... Yuffie!," he shouted. "There's no light."
Swinging her arms around, Yuffie ignored his concern and said enthusiastically, "Then there must be treasure!"
"You're on your own then," Yuri stated but continued following her, and step by step he walked slower and slower.
"Fine by me. If I find the treasure, I won't be sharing any with you." Yuffie turned around and noticed the large gap between her and Yuri. "Come on, Yuri!"
There was a fork ahead and Yuffie took little time to decide which to take. She peaked both directions before turning left, but realizing the pitch-blackness that was ahead, she stopped and turned around. The other direction had absolutely no light either.
"This cave sucks," she concluded with a nervous laughter. "Let's head back."
Yuri let out sighs of relief as he made his way back to the cave exit. Although there was more light there, the sound of heavy raindrops from outside still made him feel anxious. He couldn't remember the last time it had rained this much, and he would have never guessed to be in this kind of situation twenty-four hours earlier. The predicament was being trapped inside a small cave with a friend who happened to be Yuffie Kisaragi, the hyperactive ninja and daughter of Wutai's Godo.
Yuri stood still by the cave exit, staring at the rainstorm outside. Yuffie pulled on his arm from behind, and in a calm and adorable voice, she asked him, "Wanna rest for a bit?"
"Sure"