Chapter 23 The Many Trials of Yuffie

"I know you're mad… I'm sorry," Yuffie admitted morosely early the next day while she returned the stolen materia. "If it's any consolation… I learned the Magic Hammer Enemy Skill so you don't have to?" She ended on a questioning note, clasping and unclasping her fingers.

Aerith and Zack's glares decreased marginally while they traded their Adaman Bangles back to Gold Armlets but they didn't reply. Yuffie grimaced and finished re-distributing the materia. Whenever she found duplicate materia, she shrugged and gave them to whoever was closest. Upon reaching the pair of mastered Transform materia, she frowned weighing them in her palms.

Zack snatched the orbs, studying one closely, and then the other. After a few minutes, his face crumpled and he wailed, "I can't tell Alfonse from Alfonse Jr.!"

Cloud fought the urge to roll his eyes and held his hand out for the materia. His lower lip trembling, the taller man handed them over. Cloud ran his fingers across the smooth surfaces of the green orbs and paused when his fingers hit a rough spot on one. "This one is Alfonse Jr.," he announced holding it back and extending the other to Zack.

There was a bit more exchanging of materia before the group was satisfied. In order to increase their materia supplies, Cloud and some of the others decided to keep some of their mastered materia in storage and level up some of the newly birthed orbs.

"Whew!" Yuffie sighed, wiping her brow nervously. "That sure was a close situation yesterday. Normally I'd have whipped those ninja before they could grab me." She spun in a small circle mock punching invisible enemies.

Cloud rolled his eyes and tilted his head to the door. One by one the others slipped outside while the oblivious young woman continued bragging, "That Corneo guy was a real pain. I'd rather deal with my dad than that guy. You know, some of those Turks aren't so bad, for Shinra members anyway. Now let's continue our journey!" She turned around, a bright smile on her face and her arms opened wide. The room was empty.

Her expression fell into a pout. "Hey! Wait!" she cried, ducking behind the paper screens shielding her futon and digging around. "Oh okay, here, I'll give this to you guys."

She brandished the MP Absorb materia she stole at the item shop and dashed out the door shouting, "No matter what you think, I'm still going with you!"

She caught up with them at the door of her store room. "Damn that's a lot of cats," Barret exclaimed watching the dozen or so cats jump around the boxes and play on the stairs. "Why would anyone want that many cats?"

"What's wrong with cats?" Yuffie and Cait Sith asked together while Red XIII shot him a flat look.

Barret grimaced and waved his hand, "Ain't nothin' wrong with cats, that's just a lotta cats for one room!"

Aerith frowned at the multiple Bonsai trees on the top of some of the shelves, "Are those poor plants okay in here with all these cats?"

Yuffie grimaced and a pink flush crossed her cheeks. "The cats know better than to try eating those," she muttered.

Cloud descended the stairs in the back of the room and solemnly looked down at the materia in the young woman's hand and then slowly extended his arm. He curled his hand around the materia and her fingers, trapping her and forcing her to meet his eyes. "You know that if you rejoin us, something like this can't happen again," he murmured in a low voice, his mouth a firm line and his blue eyes flickering.

She averted her eyes first and nodded quietly. Cloud shifted his grip, releasing her fingers and taking the blue orb. Zack huffed, folded his arms, and looking down at her asked, "Does that mean you're going to lift the embargo on us buying stuff?"

Yuffie winced and nodded, "Yeah, the shops will sell to you now. Sorry about that."

Nodding quietly, they wove through the morning crowds to the weapon shop. The owner perked up when the group came in and he cried, "I have weapons! Lots of weapons! Will you be buying?"

"Show me your wares, and I will decide," Cloud answered, taking pity on the man who feared losing a considerable amount of money as a result of Yuffie's orders.

Cloud purchased new weapons for everyone save Red XIII, who decided to keep his Seraph Comb; Cid who got a much more powerful weapon from the cave on the Da-Chao statue; and Yuffie. He turned to her and solemnly said, "I have two conditions, you've already heard the first."

She nodded quietly, gnawing on her lower lip.

"My second condition is you have to talk to your father," Cloud declared. She squawked in protest and he raised a single finger for silence. "I'll wait," he said mildly and turned his attention to shifting materia from his Yoshiyuki to his new Murasame. Taking advantage of the additional materia slots, he traded some of his mastered materia for their newborn versions. Yuffie huffed, inflating her cheeks in a pout, and folded her arms.

Ignoring the young woman's theatrics, Cloud turned to Aerith and handed her the Edincoat Palmer dropped in Rocket Town. "Since you have some of the least linked materia and carry our only Revive, I'm giving you this one," he explained and then held her materia while she transferred things over.

She hummed at the four empty slots and asked, "Should I equip some of the spare materia?"

"No," Cloud shook his head. "Cid has a lot of empty slots too. Considering how this journey is going, I imagine we'll fill them up soon enough. We also haven't seen what kind of materia is for sale here."

Aerith nodded in understanding and went back to giving her new Aurora Rod a few experimental swings. Yuffie huffed and unfolded her arms. "Fine," she grumbled, "I'll do it, but why do you want me to talk to that old coot?"

Cait Sith spoke up before Cloud could, "The journey we're on is a dangerous one lass. Do ye really want what could be your last conversation with your father to be that nasty argument?"

Uneasy with the possibility of not making it home after their adventure, she gave another grudging nod of acceptance.

"Good," Cloud announced and then gingerly pulled the magic shuriken from his pouch. "So you have a choice here, get the Razor Ring," he inclined his head to the bladed ring on the counter and then to the deadly weapon in his hand, "or use this. This is more powerful, but you'll have to give up some of your materia since you won't have space for your current orbs with only three sockets."

Yuffie's eyes widened in horror and she locked her eyes on Aerith's Edincoat and slowly reasoned, "What if I got the new bracer? I'd have plenty of space then!"

Zack shook his head and replied, "You'd have to give up your Added Effect and All materia because with that combination you wouldn't have any linked slots."

"I'll go with the Razor Ring," Yuffie decided firmly. Any option that didn't cut down her materia was the better one.

After settling the bill at the weapon shop, they crossed two bridges to the materia shop. The instant Maiko spotted the party her face lit up and she cried out a cheery, "Welcome! Please come in and look at our high quality wares!"

Cloud looked over the selection of items and slightly stiffened, there was no materia in the display case. A creeping suspicion filled him but he refrained from remarking and asked for a dozen Tents and a few Fire Veils and Swift Bolts. At one point it looked like Barret was going to ask about the lack of materia but Vincent forestalled him with a sharp shake of his head. The earnest young woman eagerly filled his order and bid them a good day.

Once they were well down the path, Red XIII asked Vincent, "Why did you stop Barret from asking about the materia?"

"From what I've learned since I joined you, this country was defeated in a war not long ago," Vincent replied. "Considering Yuffie's obsession with materia, I suspect all save a few carefully hidden pieces were confiscated in the accords. Is this correct?" he asked Yuffie.

She nodded sadly and then looked gloomily up the staircase to her home. "I don't suppose we can do anything to put this off?" she asked weakly.

"The only other thing we have to do here is get the items from the chests in your shrine," Cloud replied shaking his head.

"Then let's do that first!" Yuffie chirped. "How about we take the long way?"

Before she could take more than a step to the shrine entrance Tifa coughed and admitted, "Um actually…" She pulled a Swift Bolt and an Elixir from her pouch. "Since the stairs were so narrow, we couldn't all fit. While I waited for my turn I picked up the items."

Yuffie drooped and then her eyes caught the tall pagoda across the large plaza. She perked up, "Wait! Before we talk to my dad, I want to challenge the five gods of the pagoda."

"You want to do what?" Zack asked, frowning down at her in confusion.

She shuffled nervously but gained more enthusiasm as she explained, "I want to challenge the five gods of the pagoda. They're not really gods, just five great warriors acting symbolically. But see, it is kind of like a rite of passage. If I can overcome the challenge then maybe my dad won't be crazily overprotective about me leaving with you guys."

Barret snorted, "Ain't nothin' gonna make a daddy stop worryin' 'bout his little girl! Suppose it might settle his mind a bit though," he admitted grudgingly.

"Is it dangerous?" Aerith asked, flicking her eyes from the tower to Yuffie.

The young woman shifted and scratched the back of one calf with the top of her other foot. "I guess a bit? I mean it wouldn't really be a challenge if it weren't a little dangerous, right?"

"Sounds to me like you're hopin' ta get outta talkin' to your pops," Cid snorted, his fingers running over the unfamiliar surface of his Dragoon Lance.

Letting the conversation flow around him, Cloud peered up at the pagoda, his eyes locking on the top floor. A faint smirk curled the corner of his mouth and he interrupted, "All right. You can face the challenges, but then we need to travel on."

Yuffie jumped up and whooped then demurred, "Though if I'm too wiped out to talk to my dad-"

"Then we'll rest in the room your father mentioned and you'll speak to him in the morning," Aerith interrupted primly.

"Fiiiiine," Yuffie drawled, shoulders slumping and stomped over to the tower.

Zack sidled over to Cloud and asked, "She's not gonna run off in the night on us is she?"

The faint smirk still on his face, Cloud shook his head lightly, "She'll talk to her father and then we'll go on."

"But on to what?" Vincent asked, smoothly inserting himself in the conversation.

Cloud shrugged but didn't offer an answer, just offered a helpless smile. Zack groaned, "Oh man… Why did I never realize you were related to Kunsel? He did the same thing all the time!"

At the doorway to the pagoda, Yuffie clasped her hands in front of herself and opened her eyes wide. "Auntie Sakura coached me on what kind of challenges I'll face here and it would really help if I could borrow some accessories and materia? I promise I'll give them back when I'm done!"

"What do you need?" Tifa asked warily.

"Ummm," Yuffie dug a crumpled sheet of paper out of her hip pouch, squinted at the faded writing and replied, "An Enemy Skill, Cait Sith's Gravity materia, and Vincent's Gem Ring."

Zack exchanged a look with Aerith and she clutched her hand over her Enemy Skill. He sighed and popped the orb free, handing it to the young woman. "Here, you can hold on to my Mystify materia," she offered in return. Zack grimaced and slotted the materia so he wouldn't have to hold it in his hands.

Yuffie traded her Throw materia for Cait Sith's Gravity. When it came time for Vincent to offer the Gem Ring, she hesitated over her Star Pendant and said, "I'm going to keep mine because I'll need it for one of the enemies."

"That is fine,"Vincent replied smoothly, his voice sounding like silk against a blade. "I'm perfectly capable of tracking you down should you attempt to run off again."

"Then it's a good thing you won't need to," she laughed weakly.

Whatever notes were scribbled on Yuffie's ratty piece of paper and the experience she gained traveling with Cloud's party made the first four battles challenging but not overwhelming. While Barret and Cid were reeling over the humans taking on monster forms, Yuffie took great joy in using the Magic Hammer skill she learned on the transformed enemies. She took great care to return Vincent's Gem ring and give Cloud the Ice Ring she won after her battle with Checkov on the third floor.

When no one came from the top level to watch her fight Staniv, she was confused but pressed on. After the fight, Gorky came up the stairs and smiled at her. "Splendid work! You have definitely improved," The round man winked at her and stood in a staggered position behind Staniv. One by one the previous foes ascended and complimented her work and then went ahead of Yuffie and the party.

When the last of them vanished from view, Cloud turned to Yuffie and asked, "So, are you ready to talk to your father?"

Yuffie chugged the last of an ether and grimaced, "I'm getting there, maybe after I win this last one." Eager to avoid that line of questioning she waved the others towards the staircase. At the top chamber the previous four foes stood in each corner and Lord Godo stood in the place of her next opponent. "D-Dad?!" Yuffie spluttered when she spotted him. Cloud and the rest of the party silently lined up against the wall to watch.

Godo's expression was solemn and his clothing pristine. He peered down at his daughter and in his deep voice praised, "I'm glad you made it this far, Yuffie."

"Wh, why are you…" she trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Heh," Godo laughed and flexed his arms like a wrestler. "I'm more than up for the challenge. I'm eager for you to try your skills against me."

Yuffie rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Hold nothing back! Come at me as if you intend to kill me! If you don't…" Godo's eyes sharpened and his voice grew cold, "then I'll have to kill you."

Gone was the weak looking, lazy father. Only the unfeeling eyes of a killer. Yuffie waved a hand nervously and stammered, "H-hey…"

"That was your only warning," Godo snapped and then transformed into a four-faced, deity. He danced tauntingly before the young woman before leaping to the offense. She nimbly dodged a few strikes of his gleaming blade and scored several strikes with her Razor Ring.

"Haha, you're too slow!" she jeered, turning her back to him and slapping her bottom. Godo's head rotated to the crimson face and flickered with lightning before the attack engulfed the overconfident young woman.

Yuffie howled in agony, unable to dodge his Trine attack and for a few painful heartbeats she shuddered on the floor. Even though her limbs still spasmed from his Trine attack's lightning, she activated one of her borrowed materia, unleashing a Demi 2 attack on him slamming the massive figure to the ground. Using the creature's dazed state as a distraction, Yuffie staggered to her feet. When she unleashed her Gauntlet limit break, an aurora flashed around her.

The explosion shook the beast but he recovered faster than expected and he lunged at her with his massive sword. She tensed to spring out of the way, but a board damaged by her gravity attack caught the edge of her shoe. Instead of entirely avoiding the blade it opened a deep gash in her side. Yuffie hissed and clutched the wound, hopping out of range and smashing him to the floor with another Demi 2 spell.

She whimpered and fumbled for her Restore materia, blood running down her legs in thick, ominous ribbons. Vibrant purple motes of light from a Cure 2 spell drifted around her almost entirely sealing the wound and restoring a good portion of her strength. Her head shot up, afraid her companions had violated the rules to help and her jaw dropped. The spell had come from Godo.

She didn't have long to dwell on her shock as he clambered to his feet and charged at her again. Almost on reflex, she cast another Demi 2 and when the gravity spell smashed him this time, he didn't get up, the transformation vanishing in a flash of crimson. A book bound in olive leather with gold embossing thudded to her feet. She followed swiftly after, collapsing to her knees and then her side.

Across the room, Godo sprawled on his back from the gravity spell. Both of them breathed heavily. "N-not bad… for an old coot," Yuffie jabbed weakly.

"You've also improved," Godo wheezed between gasps for air. Yuffie giggled once. Godo snorted a laugh in response this set both of them off and they sprawled on the floor laughing like fools.

From the sidelines, Aerith clasped her hands and smiled at the pair, a shimmer of tears in her eyes. "Isn't it wonderful?" she cooed, "They're connecting!"

Vincent huffed and shook his head, "It is merely the natural reaction to the massive release of endorphins after a fight."

Aerith whirled on him, grabbing two fistfuls of his cape she yanked the tall man to her eye level, and growled, "Isn't. It. Wonderful?" Her eyes flashed with the hidden fury and madness the others learned to fear on the chocobo grasslands.

Vincent's crimson eyes widened and he rasped, "Yes… wonderful."

Aerith's murderous rage instantly vanished and she beamed up at him. Releasing his collar she patted his cheek before returning to cooing at the father and daughter. He shot a horrified look at Cloud and Zack and in a much higher pitch than he would ever admit to using asked, "What was that?"

Cloud suddenly found the ceiling captivating and Tifa winced before trying to avoid his eyes. Barret elbowed Zack in the back and growled, "Be a man and let 'im and Cid know. They pro'bly oughtta know so that doesn't happen again."

Zack scratched the back of his head and waved the two men closer and then in a low voice admitted, "I don't know what it is, I guess she's a touch… intense at times? I mean, you handled it perfectly Vincent. If she gets like that just agree with whatever she says and you should be okay."

"What if she pushes somethin' we don't wanna go with?" Cid asked, flicking a nervous look to the back of the Ancient's head.

Zack grimaced and shrugged, "Try a Tranquilizer?" Luckily for Zack, Aerith didn't hear the conversation and Yuffie and Godo climbing to their feet distracted them from his non-answer.

"It's time I gave this to you Yuffie," Godo declared in a formal voice. "This is the Leviathan materia. Take it." He pulled a crimson orb from the inner pocket of his robe and tossed it to her. Yuffie's eyes widened and she clutched it to her chest.

"But Lord Godo!" Staniv protested. "The Leviathan materia is meant for the person who conquers and then takes responsibility for the pagoda. That's our custom…"

Yuffie rolled her eyes and huffed, "Custom, custom, custom… What good is such an amazing materia rotting away in a tower?"

"Silence, young Yuffie," Gorky chided her with a shake of his head.

Ignoring him she spoke up, "And what about the rest of you? With all your power are you satisfied with being cooped up in this tower?"

The four warriors shifted uneasily but didn't answer. "Yuffie," Godo called, a hint of warning in his voice.

She crossed the room to stand in front of him. "You too dad," she said in a softer voice. "Just because you lost the war didn't mean you had to turn Wutai into a place like this."

Checkov tilted her head questioningly and asked, "What do you mean?"

Yuffie rocked on her heels and rubbed her right upper arm nervously as she replied, "You turned Wutai into a cheesy resort town peddling to tourists." Her head shot up and she snapped, "How dare you? Da-Chao and the Leviathan would be ashamed!"

"Huh, guess she is still a kid," Shake snorted in derision.

"What did you say?" Balling her fists, Yuffie whirled on the tiny man, intent on repeating her victory over him.

"Yuffie!" Godo called sharply and in a softer voice continued, "Forgive me. It's all my fault…"

Gorky stepped forward, smoothing his hands over his large belly and protested, "What are you saying Lord Godo?"

Yuffie's father shook his head and sighed, "Losing the war, Wutai becoming like this… it is my fault."

"Lord Godo!" Checkov cried in denial.

"Silence," Godo snapped and the pair bowed their heads, stepping back. Godo turned back to Yuffie and continued. "Yuffie… I often find myself falling into the bad habits I held before the war. I thought the strength of my body and my goals were the only things that were important. After we lost, I became a shell of myself and wondered, was I using my strength to lord over others? Or just to show off? I became stuck in the thought that the most powerful ones should get their way and so after we were defeated, I caved to Shinra's demands."

He sighed and ran a hand through his graying hair. In a quieter voice he admitted, "When you left, those years ago, I sent men to watch over and protect you. I knew the way things changed after the war bothered you. I feared you would express your strong opinions to the wrong person and be smashed, as Wutai was, so rather than see you harmed by one of our conquerors, I let you go."

Yuffie gaped at her father in shock. Godo turned his back to her, hands clasped behind his back as he continued, " I knew you were looking for materia for the good of Wutai. But the reason I hide my strength now is also for the good of Wutai. If our foes knew of the innate ability of this tower, I feared horrible things and people would descend on our land once more and like crops in the face of a swarm of locusts we would be ruined. You were determined to save our country but had no strength to do so. I had the strength to bear our people up despite our defeat but lost my sight on what our country meant. Strength without determination means nothing, and determination without strength is equally useless!"

"Lord Godo…" Staniv breathed, his face creased with sorrow.

Godo raised his head and turned around, his sharp gray eyes locking on Cloud. "You there," he snapped. "Please take Yuffie with you, I perceive that you have both determination and strength. I hope at your side she will learn strength to match the determination inside."

"As if she gave us a choice," Barret muttered with a crooked smile. Cloud nodded quietly to Godo.

Lord Godo nodded sharply and pointed to the group. "Go, Yuffie! For the sake of Wutai. May you become the strong ruler I know you can grow to be."

"Dad…" Yuffie's voice quavered.

"I'll take care of the Five Sacred Gods until you return. Go, and come back alive!" The last line rang with command.

"Of-of course!" Yuffie stammered, her vision blurring. As a group, the rest of the observers quietly filed from the room to give the father and daughter time alone. Unfortunately, Yuffie didn't catch on to this and turned to follow the others down the stairs.

"Yuffie," Godo called. She stopped and turned back, head tilted to the side in a silent question. He shifted his eyes towards the stairs and then leaned over to cup his hands over her ear. "When their battle is over, do you think they'll still want all their materia?" he whispered greedily.

"Dad!" Yuffie cried, though a corner of her mouth twitched up in a restrained laugh.

"Go," he said softly in a much more serious tone. "Fight till the end, but come back… with the materia." He pointed sternly at her and then crossed his eyes.

Yuffie giggled, "You bet."

"Although, I have to admit," Godo spoke up a faint hint of guilt in his expression, "with your fear of ghosts, I thought you'd never take the challenge."

Yuffie shuddered and rubbed her arms briskly, "No kidding. When the ghost of Grandpa Mamoru scared me away from here when I was six I vowed to never set foot in this tower again."

Godo grimaced and sighed, "I have an apology and a confession to make Yuffie. That wasn't my father's ghost. When your great uncle Hiro saw how little you cared for responsibilities and your bragging about challenging the tower before you were ready he pretended to be Mamoru in a misguided attempt to set you straight."

Yuffie's jaw dropped and she stared at him for several long seconds before shrieking, "You mean you knew he was pretending to be a ghost and let me be scared of ghosts for that long?" She pounded his chest firmly but not as hard as she could. She huffed and admitted, "He was right to keep me away from here though, you guys would have creamed me back then. Heck, I wouldn't have made it through as easily without Auntie Sakura's training and advice."

Godo made a strange choked noise and gasped, "What?"

Yuffie tilted her head to the side and mused, "I know she died when I was just a toddler, so who was pretending to be her? I really ought to thank them by their real name." She looked up and frowned at her father's pale face. "Dad?"

"No one," Godo wheezed, shaking slightly. "No one was pretending to be my sister."

"So the story about the two of you defacing the Da-Chao statue when you were teenagers wasn't true?" her voice dripped with disappointment but her sharp gaze caught Godo's swiftly hidden grin of nostalgia.

"We never told anyone about that," he admitted in a low voice, gaze distant.

Yuffie's eyes widened, "So you're saying it really was Auntie Sakura? Wow…"

Blinking away some moisture from his eyes Godo frowned, "Why didn't a real ghost scare you when Uncle Hiro did?"

She shrugged and flipped her hands, palms up. "Auntie Sakura said most ghosts were trying to kill me and I should stay far away from them."

Godo snorted and shook his head, "It figures you would listen to my twin more than you'd listen to me."

Yuffie snickered and joked, "I think it would be weird at this point if I had a normal Aunt at this point. Auntie Sakura's a ghost, Auntie Umiko is...was? a mermaid…"

"Now hold on, Shizuka is normal!" Godo protested, defending his youngest sister.

"Auntie Shizuka moved to Icicle, where the seasons are quote 'snow, more snow, snow, and mud' end quote," Yuffie said flatly.

Godo deflated and rubbed his chin, "Ah, good point. Anyway, how about we call the family together to send you off?"

Yuffie shook her head, "We really should be going, I made them waste too much time already."

"I thought you'd say as much," Godo replied sadly, "So they'll meet you at the gates."

Her expression crumpled, "They're gonna embarrass me, aren't they?"

Godo laughed and with a slightly heartbroken smile for his deceased twin asked, "You know what Sakura would say about that?"

"'If your family isn't embarrassing you, they're not loving you enough'?" Yuffie asked.

"Exactly," Godo chuckled. "Go and make me even prouder of you than I already am."

Yuffie's lips quivered and she nodded sharply. Her hand rose to the red line on her bare midriff and she shot her father a silent look of gratitude before dashing down the stairs after Cloud and the others. When her swift steps faded, Godo looked up at the ceiling and huffed, "No wonder she had trouble respecting me considering all the stories you must have told her!" He shook his fist jokingly at the ceiling and for just a moment, he thought he heard the trill of familiar laughter.

After taking some time to clean up from her battles in the Pagoda of the Five Gods, it took a while for Cloud and his party to leave. Yuffie refused to let them go ahead and the various friends and family members refused to let her leave without taking a chance to give her advice and various gifts. For some reason, Tifa and Aerith kept shooting Yuffie's Aunt Umiko odd glances and repeatedly looked at her legs. Neither woman dared ask whatever question was burning in their minds though.

Eventually the delay grated on Vincent to the point he scooped the girl in his arms and carried her out of the ring of well-wishers. Instead of flailing or getting angry, Yuffie laughed and waved a final farewell to the group. When they were nearly out of sight, Umiko asked her husband, "Who was that?"

Satoshi shook his head and shrugged.

"Whoever he is, he's quite handsome!" Lady Chio, Yuffie's grandmother cackled in appreciation. "Now if only he could get her to be more ladylike! She's so much like my wild little Sakura…"

"Thanks for the rescue Vincent," Yuffie sighed when they were out of sight of the crowd. She patted his shoulder and he obligingly lowered her to the ground.

Since they weren't hunting for any hint or sign of Yuffie's passage, the trip out of the capitol took much less time than the trip in. Yuffie huffed at the handful of little red pouches her family and friends pressed on her before leaving.

"What are those?" Red XIII asked curiously.

Yuffie smiled down at him and sighed, "They're Amulets, they increase your luck. One of my cousins makes them and exports them to some place near the Eastern Continent… Mid something. Anyway, it is almost a running joke for them to give them to me if they catch me before leaving."

"So what'ya do with them?" Cid asked curiously, leaning down to look at the delicate little pouches.

Yuffie laughed weakly, "I'd feel bad to throw them away so…" She peeled back the cloth armor cover on her left arm to reveal hundreds of Amulets shoved in between the protective layers.

Zack whistled at the amount and breathed, "No wonder you survived all the crazy stuff you got into when you were younger!"

Barret snorted and elbowed her gently, "Oughta take a run at a casino with that much luck."

"Hey wait," Tifa perked up. "Is that how you won all those prizes at the Gold Saucer?"

"No!" Yuffie stomps one foot. "That was all my skill. You've seen how good I am at tossing my weapon. The luck just helps me escape from monsters, Shinra, lava flows, collapsing caves..." Her voice gets quieter and slower as she remembers other various troubles, the eyes of the others regarding her in various degrees of horror.

"Ach lass," Cait Sith interjected with a laugh, "Are ye sure ye've got enough?"

Cid and Barret roared with laughter. "Guess we'll have to see," Yuffie hummed mysteriously and their laughter cut off with twin grimaces.

"You have so much family back there that obviously misses you," Aerith interjected roasting a Razor Weed with a Flamethrower attack without even looking.

Yuffie shook her head with a sigh and shrugged. "I love my relatives, don't get me wrong but… Most of my female relatives, especially Grandma Chio, are obsessed with trying to make me be more like a lady of the court." She shuddered and waved her hands, "They want me to wear dresses and raise flowers all day!"

Realizing she kind of just described Aerith, she back-pedaled a bit, "Not that there's anything wrong with being like that! I just like to run around and as for flowers… I have a black thumb." She shook her head ruefully. "They tried all sorts of hardy plants in an attempt to bring out 'the female nourishing nature'."

She grimaced and added, "The longest lasting one lived a day and it was only in the same room as me."

"Well, maybe it still wasn't the right kind of plant, or they hadn't watered it properly before giving it to you," Aerith reasoned, patting the young princess on the shoulder consolingly.

"It was a Cactuar," Yuffie said flatly.

A thick, stunned silence fell until Zack choked trying to hold in his laughter.

"What about all those plants in your storeroom?" Cait Sith asked in confusion.

She mumbled something, her head lowered.

"What was that?" Cid asked, cupping a hand to his ear.

"I said, 'Those were plastic' happy now?" she yelled dashing to the head of the group, the back of her neck red.

A/N: It was interesting to learn that when fighting Godo if you reach the latter half of the battle and Yuffie's HP drops below 20 percent Godo will heal her instead of himself. Thought it was a nice touch actually.

And seriously, go and watch the speech her dad gives her at the end. Huge sections of it made very little sense so trying to make something comprehensible out of that lost-in-translation jumble was a bear. (sigh)

If you're curious about the Umiko bit, it is in reference to one of the sections I cut from chapter 12. Published in a side-stories section titled: Shards of Green.