DISCLAIMED: (07/23/09)
EDITED: (09/16/09)
Characters: Cloud/Yuffie, Godo, mentions of Rufus, eventually all of AVALANCHE
Rating: M, simply because I don't do anything below that.
Summary: Cloud is on the road again, his inability to tell Tifa how he felt sending her into Reeve's arms. Now his only contact with the rest of the world is Rufus for a job and Yuffie, because she could. All games/movies compliant.
A/N: I decided to post early. Your questions about the mysteriously skipped chapter four is revealed. Yuffie, your tour guide, is here to explain.
Sorry if Cloud acts a little weirder than usual in this. His reflection time will come in the NEXT chapter, so just go with it;)
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-ЄөЦŕҐїŊģЭфΘμÐ-
Chapter 六
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Cloud catches up to Yuffie at Fort Condor, the place where he is to pick up his next 'package'. Yuffie has decided to take her fate into her own hands and wants to continue the quest on her own for herself. Cloud refuses to let her go until he gets some answers but Yuffie isn't ready to share her feelings.
"Tell me why Godo thinks I'm your--"
"Don't!" Yuffie jumped, covering his mouth with her fingers. Blushing as he stared at her, she removed her hand. "Just don't, okay?"
"Then I'm coming too."
She blinked. "What?"
"I'll go with you."
"But," Yuffie stuttered, at a loss. "Cloud, you can't. I mean, it's not your fight."
"Yuffie," he started, seeing her doleful grey eyes staring up at him. "Either you tell me what's going on with us, or I go with you."
She deflated, before giving him an angry look. "Fine. Just don't think you can order me around from now on."
He quirked a smile as he let his arms unfold. Stepping back, he said, "Are you ready?"
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Fort Condor Area :: Old Man Cave
Yuffie did not know how she ended up in this position. First there was a fight about them taking separate modes of transportation. Apparently, Cloud felt she was a flight risk. She'd taken his golden chocobo from her stables to travel on, but he wanted her to ride on his bike with him. She refused, knowing she'd get motion sickness on it. Chocobos for some reason, she could handle but motorbikes, no.
So Cloud, butt that he is, insisted on sharing the chocobo. So now she rode in front, holding onto the bird's neck for dear life as Cloud sat behind her. She had no problem riding alone, but now she was desperately trying not to smash herself against Cloud and the word was awkward. When they reached the Old Man's cave, Cloud slipped off easily. Yuffie simply sat there, clutching the bird as he warked unhappily. She felt hands on her waist and resisted, but that only made the bird wark louder, so she let go, afraid of getting bitten.
Cloud lifted her easily, her legs clearing the bird before he pulled her off and stood her next to him. Her legs shook and buckled. Cloud held her tighter as she sagged against him.
"Next time, you ride in back," he said, half amused half concerned.
Embarrassed, she regained her footing and stepped away from him. He released her, but kept his hands out as he watched her.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine," she said mulishly, hating that he saw her so weak.
Cloud nodded and moved away, looking up at the mountainside. He remembered after meeting Yuffie in the woods nearby that she'd told them the old man here was psychic or something. He knew how many battles exactly they'd engaged in and if they got the right amount when they visited him, he'd give them a prize.
It sounded stupid at the time, but Cloud was about keeping the peace. He knew if Barret had been the leader, he wouldn't have put up with any of it, but then his weakness was the wishes of suicidal men and tiny girls; he hated seeing them cry. Cloud had a weak spot for women, period – he couldn't say no, as evidenced by their side trip to Wutai even though it was out of the way, simply to help Yuffie regain her honor as a ninja warrior. Inwardly, he sighed. He knew he was here for more than that this time.
They entered the cave cautiously, Yuffie close on his heels. When they reached the old man's room, they found it was abandoned and dark. Cloud heard the unmistakable sound of materia being cast behind him before the area was lit with a flash. Turning, he saw Yuffie cupping a ball of fire, the flames sitting an inch above her skin. Her eyes rose to meet his and she smiled. He rolled his eyes and shook his head amused, before turning to look around.
"Where do you think that man went?" she asked.
Cloud shrugged. "He was pretty old..."
Her eyes widened as she looked at him. "Cloud!" she admonished. He gave her a smirk. Huffing, she tried not to let him see how it affected her as she turned away.
Walking around the cave, she noted the furniture was still there and intact. Peering at the back wall, she saw a patch lower down that didn't match the rest of the surface.
"Cloud?"
"What is it?"
She gasped and her ball of flame nearly went out as he spoke in her ear. His hands gripped her waist before that, or something worse could happen, catching her before she could turn around fully. The flames went out anyway. Suddenly, she was standing next to the man of her dreams, in the dark, and he was touching her. Well, kuso.
Cloud made a noise of amusement then, before she felt one of his hands lift and his bracer-light came on. She was standing sideways against him and turned her head as the glare hit her eyes.
"Geez, Cloud. Warn a ninja, would you?" she said, not looking at him.
He continued to rest his hand on her waist and he didn't move away. In fact, he moved closer.
"Sorry," he spoke, dipping his head to her ear. "Didn't think ninjas needed any warning."
Yuffie's eyes widened, feeling the accompanying sensation of his gloved fingers caressing her skin. What was going on?
As with any time Cloud got, er, weird or made her uncomfortable, she changed the subject. Ducking down, she reached out to the wall.
"This part of the wall looks different," she said.
Yuffie listened to him sigh slightly as he shifted next to her before squatting down. His thigh and arm brushed hers as he pointed the beam of light at the section of wall in question. It was a three by three foot section and it was covered in a thick layer of dirt, but it definitely didn't match the rest of the wall.
Cloud reached out to brush some dirt off. It revealed ridges.
"Tally marks?" Yuffie said, turning her head to look at Cloud. All she could really see was his hair, lit from the glow of his flashlight.
Cloud frowned. Rubbing off more dirt, he saw she was right. Several sets of five marks covered the wall. By a quick count, he summed them up.
"Ninety-three."
Yuffie shifted next to him and he turned to look at her. The glow of the light was enough to tell him her eyes were wide.
"What is it?" he asked.
She gulped and shook her head. "I-I don't know. It's just. . .I think this is the number of warriors who've passed through here."
Cloud frowned. "That's it?"
"Actually, that's a lot. The tradition didn't start until my family came into power seven-hundred years ago. Only the most elite and back then, the high-ranking warriors would be considered. About fifteen warriors tried each generation to prove their worth. Less than that, though, if the firstborn was already male and there were no female children." Studying the marks, she turned her head when she still felt his eyes on her.
Uncomfortable, she continued. "Well, if there's a male heir, only he would be going through this test to prove he was worthy of the throne."
"But not necessarily worthy of his intended bride?" Cloud asked softly.
Yuffie blinked. "Er, it was supposed to be two-fold. No woman would have a potential ruler as her mate unless he completed his quest anyway."
"Really," Cloud murmured, his eyes still on her. "Is that how you feel?"
Her heart sped up and she shifted uneasily. She wasn't ready to have this conversation. She couldn't even process his strange behavior.
"I-I think a man needs to prove he has the balls to put up with me for the rest of our lives at least, yes." She cleared her throat. "What was the password for this one?"
He watched her for moment longer, before dropping his gaze. Cloud shifted, pulling out his cell. As he flipped it open, Yuffie watched him pull up his messages. The last four were from Rufus. The latest one said,
Sonkei.
Koi wa moumoku.
"Respect," Yuffie murmured.
Cloud frowned. "Son—"
"Matte!" Yuffie cut him off, slashing her arm out across his, knocking the phone from his hand. Unfortunately, she'd been squatting too long and her legs were starting to lose feeling and she fell sideways into him.
With an 'oof', Cloud fell sideways landing on his back as he took her weight. In a desperate attempt to avoid plastering herself over him, she pushed out with her legs, but it was just not happening. All it did was land her directly on top of him.
Her hands resting on either side of his head, she panted slightly as he stared up at her. She was amazingly aware of her current position between his legs and fought to ignore it. That couldn't be. . .no, no it wasn't. We are not thinking about that, Yuffie.
"I mean," she breathed, "Wait."
Cloud's face was the picture of surprise, his eyes searching hers in the offshoot of the bracer-light's glow. Annoyed, she covered the beam of light that obscured her vision. The glow lessened to illuminate his face, reflecting off her palm. She saw the question there.
She smiled. "One thing first." Her hand covering the light moved then and he saw her put it behind her back. He heard a distinctive snikt and saw the blade gleam in the light. His eyes widened slightly, causing her grin to grow.
However, she turned away, back to the wall. He sat up as she bent close to it, looking over her shoulder.
"Could ya point the light this way?"
He turned it to shine on the wall panel as she turned back. He watched as she dug her knife into the panel, scraping out a small line to match the rest engraved into the surface. She shifted to get comfortable as it took some time. The surface was old, but the stone was tough.
Cloud simply rested there, his leg stretched out behind her, the other bent at the knee, his arm resting along it. He saw her struggling and reached for his boot.
Yuffie paused when he nudged her arm. She turned to see a stout black blade, sturdier than hers. Glancing up at Cloud, she could barely see his eyes, which unnerved her as he was really still. Smiling nervously, she accepted the blade, putting hers away.
Cloud watched her a while, his eyes going elsewhere than her knife-work. He realized he was daydreaming when he suddenly noticed she had started on a new mark. Frowning he sat forward, crowding her.
"What are you doing?"
She rolled her eyes. "Now, you ask?"
"You already put one mark."
She smiled. "I know. But," she said in between breaths, "there are two of us. And," she worked on the mark, not speaking until it was finished. When she sat back, he moved back slightly. "Ninety-four is a bad number."
She turned to look at him triumphantly. When she realized how close he was, her gaze grew wary. She started to shift away, but Cloud caught her. Yuffie glanced down at the gloved hand on her arm.
"Why is that?" he asked, causing her gaze to drift back up to his.
Yuffie swallowed with difficulty. He was really close. "It, uh…both nine and four are unlucky numbers in my culture. Nine, or kuu, means suffering while four, or shi, means death."
Cloud frowned. "Why would you make numbers that mean the same as suffering and death?"
Yuffie smiled wryly. "My ancestors thought it was weird too. So there's two different ways to say those numbers now. But the stigma still sticks. The number forty-three literally means stillbirth, so no Wutainese woman will birth her child in a room with that number."
Cloud lifted a brow. "Nine plus four. I take it thirteen isn't any luckier in your culture than the rest of the world."
She shook her head. "No, more things than not are unlucky in Wutai."
Her breath hitched then as his hand slid down her arm, his thumb moving methodically over her skin as he went.
"I guess it's a good thing you followed me here."
Yuffie blinked as what he said registered. Her mouth parted in disbelief. "Excuse me? You mean, good thing you followed me."
Cloud surprised her by nodding amiably. "Yeah," he said quietly. "That's what I meant."
Heat was slowly infusing her stomach and if she didn't put some space between them soon, she was simply going to melt all over him.
Clearing her throat, she handed him back his knife, which thankfully he took right away.
"Ready?" she asked.
Cloud hopped to his feet, coiling his legs under him before nodding.
Taking a shaky breath, Yuffie nodded too, turning to the door.
"Sonkei."
Yuffie shifted back as the door and thus the entire wall started to shake. Small rocks started to rain down like before. Cloud shifted back, pulling Yuffie with him. Pebbles and dust rained over him as he covered her. She tucked her head to his chest, for once not questioning his actions.
And then it was over. The earth shuddered to a halt. Cloud waited a moment for the remaining debris to lessen before lifting his head. Yuffie did the same. She couldn't see anything.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
She looked up at him. His light between them illuminated his face. He looked concerned and…something else. Yuffie nodded. Before he could do anything else, she pulled out of his arms and stood up, stretching her legs. She heard him sigh for some reason, before he turned and his light shone on the opening. For the panel and the marks were gone, having disappeared into the wall.
Yuffie bent down, picking up a rock. Cloud frowned at her, watching curiously as she flicked the rock through the dark opening. Nothing happened. Yuffie noticed him staring at her.
"What?" she said defensively. "I'm not about to crawl into a tiny hole without knowing if I'm going to be chopped in half or blown up."
Cloud lifted a brow.
"Don't you think you'd see the skeletons of the past warriors if so?"
Yuffie pursed her lips. "Okay, smarty pants. Did you think maybe the old man that used to live here might have cleared them out after they started to smell?"
Cloud tried not to grin. "How'd he get the password?"
"Duh. He's psychic."
"Says you."
Yuffie huffed. "Whatever. You're probably right anyway. My people didn't work with anything as sneaky as booby traps before they started mingling with your world, anyway."
Cloud lifted his eyebrows. "Okay one, that's a load of bull." He took a step towards her. "And two, my world?"
Yuffie shifted uncomfortably as she nodded.
"You mean the world you were so desperate to escape to as soon as you could?" he asked with a quirk of his lips.
She narrowed her gaze at him. "I didn't say your world didn't have merits."
"Oh, really?" Cloud cocked an eyebrow, stopping directly in front of her. "Like what?"
Yuffie blinked looking away. "I…"
"Come on, Yuffie." He said quietly, but earnestly. "Tell me."
She was shaking. "Don't, Cloud."
He stepped even closer, if possible. "Tell me."
She made to move away, but he gripped her arms. She was faster than him in a fight, but she was no match for his strength.
"Please…" she said, quietly, her voice tired. "What do you want me to say?"
He stood there staring down at her for the longest time before she heard him sigh. "Nothing. Let's go."
As he stepped away, Yuffie was left with strangest feeling of relief and feeling utterly bereft. Rubbing her arms to warm herself up, she turned to see Cloud crouched in front of the hole, peering inside.
He started inside without a word to her. Still unsteady, Yuffie dropped to her knees and followed.
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ЄөЦŕҐїŊģЭфΘμÐ
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A/N: Alright, so that was a little Japanese culture lesson and the reason I skipped making a chapter 4(shi) and went straight to 5(go);D Hope you like. Next chapter, we will see Cloud's reflection of his actions and some more action. It will be provocative, so be warned. So please review. I don't get many considering I like to write for the less popular couples in a different setting then people are used to seeing them, so every word counts.
Plus, I get a little sidetracked sometimes and totally forget I haven't updated in a LONG time. So your review – even months later - may be what kicks my butt into gear. And as I'm leaving on a weekend trip in the morning, I may just need that kick when I get back. Till then, jya ne ;D
