November

Yuffie Akagi: FEEL FREE TO SEND ME BACK TO PRISON PLEASE I'M SO SORRY I'M SO EMBARRASSED (08:34)

Yuffie may have cried from embarrassment, realizing she had texted a message meant for Tifa to Vincent. It was early, about 930 in the morning and Yuffie had tried to do anything to ignore the fact that Vincent had not messaged back.

Yuffie was sitting behind the counter, her phone playing music as she watched the newest music video by Y. R. P. The tune was catchy and it was may have been her fourth time listening to it, Cloud had already told her twice was enough but she waved him off as he left the building, dropping off a package in Sector 2.

The bell rang and Yuffie swiped her music off, standing to greet the customer before she froze. Standing in front of her was Heidegger, his suit finely pressed, as he smirked at her. Without breaking eye contact, she swiped her camera, intent on recording this meeting in case anything came of it. Her hand shook and she cursed herself. There was no reason to be afraid, she could take care of herself, but she noticed the gun tucked inside the holsters of his jacket.

"Heidegger."

"Yuffie." He made no move as they watched each other. Yuffie tried to look behind him without alerting him. There was no one here to help, if he tried anything, she could take him, but it would ultimately get her sent back to prison.

"You aren't supposed to be here."

"Actually, you aren't supposed to be anywhere near me, if I remember correctly, I am the victim of your crime." Her jaw clenched. He was being an asshole. He knew how much trouble she could get in. He was probably banking on her striking first, but she was trained for this, she would be just fine.

"I work here… you know that, they gave you the information."

"So they did."

He had reached the counter, Yuffie pushing her phone further away and out of sight below the counter.

"I'll keep this short, Ms. Kisaragi," Yuffie didn't flinch, didn't react to her correct surname, Heidegger staring at her intently.

"It's Akagi," She told him.

"Hn. Feel free to continue this charade, but know this, I will be forced to take action if you continue to meddle your way into my personal affairs. It has not escaped my notice the things you and your father have been up to. He's very brave, sending his only daughter and risking her life for crumbs. You'll never find anything and I will win this game of yours.

He placed a medallion on the counter, Yuffie dropping her gaze to look at it. Her heart pounded faster and she felt her stomach drop. It was Sonon's. She recognized it anywhere, her father and her having presented it to him the day of his eighteenth birthday.

"Have a great day Ms. Akagi."

"What did you do," she couldn't help it. When Sonon had agreed a month and a half ago to move out and get somewhere safe, Yuffie hadn't been able to confirm, the two having no contact after that.

He left without a backwards glance and Yuffie moved, calling the bar Miranda worked at.

"Brew Haven, Miranda speaking."

"Find Sonon," Yuffie hung up, moving to lock the doors while she called Cloud, telling him she had to return home, as she believed she left her stove on. He seemed unconcerned but told her to make sure she had locked up and he would be back soon.

Yuffie took the time to write a message to her father, leaving it with Miranda.

Heidegger knows. Sonon is compromised. I'll finish this.

She didn't return to work, Cloud calling her several times with her excuse being lady problems. He backed off quickly after that.

"Ms. Akagi, Cloud informs me you left work today with one excuse and when you failed to return you gave another."

"He's a snitch and not the good kind. I'm having period cramps." Vincent was unfazed, waiting for her to say more, and Yuffie grinded her teeth. Could he just be a guy for once and find this gross?

"Look, I'm home, I'm not anywhere I'm not supposed to be," She spun her phone, walking around her apartment, ignoring the papers spread out in front of her, courtesy of her neighbor. She knew there was minimal risk of Vincent coming by today, he had just searched her home the previous night.

"I don't believe you're being honest," She furrowed her eyebrows, incredulous he would actually challenge her on being home.

"You seriously don't think this is my apartment? I'll walk outside and show you the building."

"No, I don't think you're being honest about your excuse for leaving work today." Yuffie scoffed, laughing at him.

"I'm pretty sure the things happening in my pants are NONE of your business," She placed her phone on the table, her anger rising and the need to confirm whether Sonon was safe or not becoming overwhelming. She looked at the bottom of her door, waiting for her neighbor to slip an update under her doorway but it wouldn't be for a while longer, Yuffie knew this but she needed it now.

"Ms. Akagi…"

"Look, Vincent. I feel like shit, can we not do this? Why are you pushing this?" She was mid sentence when she heard the door turning, Yuffie stuffing the papers under the couch cushions as she pulled the blanket over her, Vincent standing in her doorway.

"Are you kidding me?!" Her voice was high pitched and Vincent closed his eyes at the volume of her voice.

Vincent hung up the call, her neighbor rushing up the stairs with a package in hand before making eye contact with Yuffie, smiling sheepishly, thanking Leviathan she kept up the act.

"So sorry to interrupt, neighbor. I got this package, looks like it was supposed to be delivered to you."

Vincent reached out, taking the package from the girl as he stepped into Yuffie's apartment, closing the door, not at all suspicious of the neighbor dropping something off. She eyed it, hoping he didn't open it. He didn't.

"Ms. Akagi, what is going on," he handed her the package and Yuffie felt bad for yelling at him, clearly he wasn't suspicious of her, he seemed worried, actually. She closed her eyes, counting backwards from ten as she rubbed her face.

"I am bleeding from my vagina, Mr. Valentine. Why aren't you believing me?!" She laid on the couch, the blanket coming over her head. She learned to be as blunt as she could when using her period as an example, most men backing off quickly.

"You're not due for your menstrual cycle for another two weeks."

"YOU'RE TRACKING MY CYCLE!?" The blanket came down as she stared at him, jaw nearly to the floor. She switched tactics, calling him a creep as she narrowed her eyes at him, her finger in his face. He shifted his weight, unbothered, nor thinking it was weird that he knew when she was on her period.

"I'm beginning to become suspicious of your behavior, what's going on?"

"Nothing. I want to be alone. My uterus is pissed and currently ripping itself to shreds!" He allowed her to yell at him but he crossed his arms and waited for her.

She needed to switch tactics, he wasn't falling for any of this. Yuffie had been taught that when you were about to be caught, it was better to play it as close to the truth as you could, she exhaled loudly, rubbing at her brow.

"Heidegger visited me today."

"What? Heidegger visited you? Where?"

"At Strife's… it's why I left so suddenly."

Yuffie grabbed her phone, moving to her videos and playing it for him. Vincent listened once before he took Yuffie's phone and she mentally cursed, she had cut it off before the actual threat, but Vincent was not convinced. He played it again, the remainder of the recording catching his attention. Yuffie refused to make eye contact with him but needed him to leave so she could open the package.

"Before I continue this discussion with you… I have to address the fact that Heidegger referred to you as Kisaragi… as in Yuffie Kisaragi, the supposed heir to the Wutai throne."

"Why does it matter what he referred to me as… he's attempting to sabotage my parole agreement by coming to my workplace. He knew what he was doing when he walked into that building."

"Why does he refer to you as Yuffie Kisaragi?"

"Why does that matter?! You know who I am, you've literally been responsible for every part of my life for the last four months."

"It matters because this conversation cannot continue if I know you are, in fact, a Kisaragi."

Yuffie narrowed her eyes at him, refusing to break eye contact. He had the upper hand here. She was wrapped in a blanket, on the couch and he was standing, his gun on his person. She didn't move, waiting for him.

"You don't want to do this," she warned him, her jaw clenched, the blanket tight around her.

"Take the blanket off, slowly." He pulled his gun out, not aiming it at her yet, but it was drawn and Yuffie wasn't sure if he had removed the safety. She unfisted the blanket, letting it fall around her, her hands raised still.

"Now stand up." She rose and he directed her toward the wall, Yuffie placing her hands against it as he gripped her wrist, his other hand coming down to search her. He was thorough, beginning at her chest, his hand patting down her torso before checking her pockets. He reached her waistline, his hand circling her and Yuffie turned slightly, Vincent ordering her to face forward before continuing his search.

"I hate to tell you this, Vince, but I will be leaving here." He pulled out his cuffs, securing her first wrist before she reacted, spinning around, her hand coming down on his torso, hard. He coughed, his hand falling away from her as she pushed him away, Vincent moving to draw his gun again. Yuffie moved accordingly, grabbing his wrist but he was prepared, spinning her into him, her back landing against him as he held the gun in front of them. Yuffie growled, throwing her head back and striking him in the nose.

With a curse he released her and Yuffie moved to grab the gun. Using his weight he was able to flip her over easily, Yuffie landing on her coffee table, the air knocked out of her. She breathed in deeply, Vincent standing above her with the gun, when suddenly, the door busted open.

Yuffie rolled over, landing on the floor, hoping it was the neighbor but she saw Vincent point the gun toward the person at the door, ordering them to drop their weapons. Yuffie couldn't see, but she knew the person had refused, Vincent's gun firing, the figure falling against the door, slumped to the ground.

Yuffie forced herself up, hoping it hadn't been the other Wutai operative, before she launched herself at Vincent, intent on taking his gun. They landed against the wall, falling to the ground, Vincent cursing. Yuffie had a hold of the gun, but Vincent held fast. Two more rounds fired off, Vincent's hand coming up to dislodge the magazine and remove the slide, the gun effectively useless as Yuffie had little knowledge of putting it back together.

"Son of a bitch."

She threw her arm back, her fist landing against his nose and Vincent cursed. Her fist came down again, but Vincent stopped her, spinning her around, his arms trapped her as they breathed heavily against one another.

"Enough, Yuffie."

"Let me go." She tugged again, trying to get him to loosen his hold, but he refused. He cursed behind her as they laid on the ground.

"I'm willing to let you go, if you're willing to talk about this."

"I don't believe you." His grip was like a vice and it was beginning to bruise her. Yuffie counted backwards from ten, trying to relax enough to get her head on straight.

"I don't trust you either, hence the pat down."

"Fine." She could feel Vincent staring down at her and she relaxed her hand, unclenching her fist as she waited for him to release her. Once he did, she scrambled away from him, her back landing against the wall adjacent to the one Vincent rested against, her knees drawn up against her. Vincent raised his hands in peace, showing her he had no hidden weapons.

Yuffie was looking for a weapon when Vincent spoke, the man keeping true to his word and not bothering to attack her.

"He's one of Heidegger's men."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"I used to work security for Heidegger."

"Liar."

Apparently he wasn't. Vincent had worked security when Yuffie was 'dating' Heidegger. She frowned, that meant he'd known her long before she even realized he was a real person. She wondered how he had left security and switched to parole officer status. Vincent had pulled in the body and closed the door, Yuffie grabbing different bags of vegetables to place on his torso and nose, the other for her head and wrist.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Shinra's wrong, the Midgar government needs an overhaul, with the right people in power." He was on the phone, his shirt open and the ice placed over his plain white t-shirt. His gun was set in front of him on her table and Yuffie had eyed it every time Vincent's hand moved over it. He'd looked at her and huffed, turning from it as he continued contacting other people.

"Who's the right people?"

"Unclear. But we are aware that Wutai is not the enemy."

"We?" She did them both a favor and moved the gun to the counter, one piece at a time to keep him calm. He groaned as he moved to lean on the table again and Yuffie crossed her arms as she waited for his answer.

"AVALANCHE."

Several hours later Zack and Cloud had come by, helping dispose of the body while Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie conferred on what was known about Heidegger, his associates, and the possibility of Sonon still being alive. Tifa and Aerith had believed they had enough evidence to present to the public, deciding not to go to the police first, needing Heidegger's public opinion to be destroyed before they tried to challenge him or Shinra.

Yuffie gave them what she had as well, but her concern was Sonon, informing the group she would be going to find where they were keeping him.

"How could you possibly know where he is," Cloud asked, looking over the documents she had, stating it wasn't obvious which property he could be at.

"It's likely he's being held at the lakefront property, just on the outside of town," Vincent spoke, Yuffie turning to him and nodding, moving to leave.

"Yuffie," Aerith tried stopping her, asking her to wait until they were better prepared to infiltrate. Yuffie opened the package she received earlier, her kunai and some more information on Heidegger, Yuffie handing it over to them, knowing they had copies if they tried to double cross her.

"No! I can't lose Sonon, you don't understand. I have to go now. I need to know he's safe."

"I'll go with her," Vincent said, his face set and Yuffie couldn't read what he was thinking. He stood and grabbed his gun and keys. Yuffie wouldn't be stopped and they seemed to realize that and thus let her and Vincent go.

The ride to the lakefront was fast, thanks to Vincent's driving, Yuffie thanking him multiple times over the forty minute drive. Nothing else was said and Yuffie didn't bother trying to make small talk, she had to save her best friend.

They arrived a half mile from the house and Vincent turned the lights off before pulling over on the side of the road, the car hidden from view.

"We'll have to walk the rest of the way, or risk being caught on our rescue mission," Yuffie agreed, patting her body for the kunai she had brought, Vincent checking his weapon again, a few extra magazines in his pocket, just in case.

"Stay behind me, I know the layout and I don't need you getting hurt," Yuffie rolled her eyes but followed him. If he believed she was Yuffie Kisaragi, he knew she could take care of herself.

Several minutes later, a house appeared in front of them, the building mostly windows. Just as Vincent had guessed, Sonon was tied to a chair in the center of the living room. Around him were four or five men that Yuffie could see and Vincent paused her before pointing out that Heidegger's car was parked in front. Yuffie took out her camera, mentally apologizing to Sonon, needing Heidegger on tape in order to incriminate him. He appeared quickly, coming around and questioning Sonon, who must have said something that angered him, the bulkier man back handing him before throwing a punch. Yuffie growled, turning the camera off as Heidegger walked out of the room and out of view.

"Don't do anything heroic. If you want to save your boyfriend, we'll need to keep our head's on straight. We have to play this right." He wasn't making eye contact with her, his brow furrowed as he double checked the slide and the magazine.

Yuffie smirked, "My boyfriend? Someone sounds jealous."

He didn't take the bait. She reached up to his shoulder to turn him to her, Vincent turned but he didn't seem to want to look at her.

"Mr. Valentine," She sing-songed, "We have to keep our head's on straight, remember?" He sighed heavily, looking at her as she peered up at him.

"We'll start at the back, I assume you can pick the lock. If we can see five, there's likely to be three more with Heidegger. Now I'm guessing once we enter those three will take Heidegger out of there, then we can handle the other five. Depending on how quickly we move, we should have Sonon back in less than 15 minutes." He was staring into her eyes now, his voice monotone, and Yuffie could see he was feeling dejected.

"Great. Now before we go in there with you pissed off at me, he's not my boyfriend."

"It doesn't matter."

She rolled her eyes, her hand moving up to his face, her palm turning him to look at her but he stared pointedly ahead of her.

"Vincent," her other hand came up to his shoulder, "He's not my boyfriend. I like older men, remember? The grandpa type, in their forties…" she was smiling at him and she swore she could see a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"What do I gotta do to prove it?" His eyes dropped down to her lips, Yuffie could feel her heart pounding in her ears, faster as he leaned down.

"Kiss me."

She smiled, pulling him down the rest of the way. Their lips met and Yuffie moaned softly. His hands came down, landing on her hips, one sliding under her shirt to feel the skin of her lower back, he pulled her closer to him and Yuffie wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her mouth opening to accept him.

The kiss wasn't long enough for her, his hand coming to her neck, his thumb brushing her cheek as he stopped them. Yuffie hummed as he placed one last kiss to her lips.

"Now do you believe me?" Her eyes were bright as he smiled at her.

"Yes. But I might need more convincing later."

"Noted. Now let's go save my best friend, who's like a brother to me."

It played out almost exactly as Vincent had predicted. The moment they entered the back and the men were alerted to their presence, two escorted Heidegger out while Yuffie and Vincent dealt with six men, Vincent handled three easily, Yuffie taking out two with her kunai before physically attacking the third and breaking his neck with her legs.

Sonon was alert, if just barely, his eyes were swollen and his lip was bleeding. There had been cuts on his chest and he was wheezing, Vincent guessing they had broken his ribs as Yuffie apologized to her friend profusely.

"There is one good thing from all this," Vincent said as they helped Sonon into the car, Yuffie having run out to get the car as Vincent waited with Sonon.

"Something good?" Sonon groaned as Yuffie apologized, sitting in the back with him as Vincent brought a first aid kit around to handle some of the cuts.

"Didn't we get him on tape requesting a hit for me," Sonon wheezed out, a smirk on his face before he groaned as Yuffie put some ice to his ribs.

"That is good," Yuffie said, a smile as Vincent drove them to the nearest hospital.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

April

"Will the defendant, Marcus Heidegger, rise for the reading of the verdict."

Heidegger stood, his finely pressed suit doing little to convince the jury he was a good man. Yuffie and the others were watching the tv in Tifa's bar, only the parole officers, AVALANCHE, and Yuffie's friends present as Tifa had closed the bar down.

"We, the jury, find Marcus Heidegger, on the charge of solicitation of murder, guilty. On the charge of kidnapping, guilty. On the charge of assault, guilty. On three counts of weapons trafficking, guilty. On the charge of racketeering, guilty. On three charges of treason, guilty."

The courtroom erupted in chaos. Heidegger was pissed, slamming his hand down before jumping to attack his lawyer. The bailiffs jumped in, pulling the burly man off his fragile older lawyers. The judge was slamming his gavel demanding order. At some point Heidegger was tased, the man twitching but fighting the tase. They fired it again, more bailiffs jumping in to try to contain him.

Yuffie watched, her mouth dropped open in surprise before she began laughing at Heidegger's predicament. Tifa was heard hoping his lawyer was okay before she giggled at Heidegger's bright red face, screaming into the cameras how he would be filing a mistrial and appealing the decision before they pulled him out of the courtroom and into the cells below.

The other television was playing Rufus's trial. Both men's trials were running concurrently so one couldn't affect the other.

"We, the jury, find Rufus Shinra, on the charge of solicitation of murder, guilty. On five counts of weapons trafficking, guilty. On three charges of treason, guilty."

More celebration and Rufus had the maturity to take his charges with a straight face, leaning down to his lawyer to discuss how they would try to get him out of this. Reeve had been present at Rufus's trial, the reporters asking him what would come of Midgar now that the trial had revealed that Midgar had been aiding Icicle City extremists in their mission to take down the Wutai government.

"In light of the recent rulings and verdicts read today, I would like to express my sincere apology to the Wutai government and its citizens. We are actively working to meet and explore avenues that would help restore the faith Midgar's citizens have in their government while forming a positive relationship and addressing common threats with Wutai. We remain committed to upholding values of our nation and seek to protect our communities and future. There is no place for extremist views and beliefs in Midgar. I promise to seek justice swiftly and effectively against those who seek to divide our peaceful nations. Thank you."

Tifa got a round of shots for everyone, everyone toasting each other for a job well done, Reno ordering two more for everyone. Yuffie waved them off, having drunk enough but Reno wasn't taking it. Sonon convinced her to do one more before she promised to drink the third in a few minutes, AFTER she drank some water.

Vincent hadn't been present and Yuffie was trying to ignore the fact that she hadn't seen too much of him after rescuing Sonon. She understood, she herself had been whisked to Wutai for her and Sonon's safety shortly after AVALANCHE had released all of the information, tapes, videos, and files they had collected. They had texted and video called but Yuffie still missed him, it had been five months, after all.

The heir had texted him, telling him she would be at Tifa's bar today to watch the readings but Vincent had recently been hired to work security for Reeve, and Yuffie understood the predicament. Sonon looked at her, lost in her thoughts before he challenged her to a game of beer pong.

"Oh my gawd! How old are you?"

"I'm 22, but that doesn't mean we can't play, c'mon buttercup, let's play!"

Yuffie got the okay from Tifa and the two played, challenging Reno and Rude.

Yuffie headed back to her hotel room much later that night, Sonon and her singing loudly and off key as they got out of the cab. Yuffie giggled as she saw Miranda in the lobby, giving Sonon a smirk. They were definitely drunk, but not enough to lose their wits.

"Ohh looks like someone found a friend." Sonon blushed before trying to explain to Yuffie that it was just in the first stages of their relationship. She waved him off, telling him she was happy for him. She looked down at her phone, no text from Vincent yet. She frowned, but hugged Miranda as they entered the elevator together, Sonon continuing their song as Yuffie joined in, Miranda hitting the correct button, laughing.

Yuffie entered her room, wagging her eyebrows at Miranda and Sonon who blushed and flipped her off, respectively. Her phone vibrated then, a text.

Vincent Valentine: I apologize. With the guilty verdicts being read today Reeve's safety was of the utmost concern. How was your day? (0234)

Yuffie smiled, responding but disappointed it probably meant she wouldn't see him today or tomorrow. She was brushing her teeth and wiping her face of the makeup she had on.

Yuffie Kisaragi: It was okay. But I miss you. And being drunk doesn't help. ? ﾟﾘﾭ? (0234)

Vincent Valentine: What hotel are you staying at? (0235)

Yuffie Kisaragi: The Shera. Room 680. Does that mean you're coming over? ? ﾟﾘﾍ? (0235)

Vincent Valentine: Be there in 10 (0235)