Final Fantasy VII 1. Raindrops

Katori: Augh this chapter was a pain to write, it started off in first person point of view but I found I was making her to childish and I didn't want to portray her as the brat I was making her. She's 20 in this fic for goodness sakes! Then I tried third person and I liked it, until I realized that she sounded too old and not like herself at all. THIS IS MY THIRD TRY AND IT'S THE BEST I CAN DO! So I think this is good; she's much more mature AND she still acts somewhat the same.

Another thing that pissed me off was how I started the fic, it's kind of confusing but I hope you read through because it gets MUCH, MUCH better about 10 paragraphs down. I wrote it from the first draft P.O.V so it made a bit more sense when Yuffie was thinking to herself.

I ALSO realized that Vincent is portrayed differently like many different people. My portrait of him as a lot to do with his DoC voice actor; if I can't see him saying that or doing it in my mind I think it's OOC. So you'll find him very cold towards Yuffie for the first little while until he warms up to her again. I'm not trying to rewrite FFVII but, I'm trying to draw off of Vincent's AC and DoC characters because I find it easier to write.

He's really nice to her though! Its DEFFINATLY **YUFFENTINE**! And I think all those who like Daredevil/Electra the movies would love this, though, neither of them die, and their relationship isn't based on sex so much…. So Yuffentine, and because I find it cute; Clouris (Cloud x Aeris, **you'll see why**!)

_Sin: Rated T for safety and Katori Tsubasa owns **NOTHING** except for the clothes on her back, the computer she's writing this on, and the characters that are new. OH and this fiction is Action/Adventure, Romance, Comedy!_

Katori: Oh, so YOU'RE back…

_Sin: Why I'm so upset! You think I'd let you go through a fanfiction without giving my expert opinion? The readers LOVE me!_

Katori: Yeah, like a kick in the ass they do…

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_I have given, I have given and got none_

_Still I'm driven by something I can't explain_

_It's not a cross, it is a choice_

_I cannot help but hear his voice_

_I only wish that I could listen without shame_

_Let it Rain_

_Amanda Marshall_

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Emotion:

_**Reflective**_

It was rather embarrassing for her to sit back and think of all the things she'd ever thought of or done with the vampiristic man. Not that she had, Leviathan forbid, ever had _sex_ with him or anything to the magnitude. It was just that looking back on the past four years and all the stupid things she had said made a blush rise to her cheeks. All the childish things she had grown out of, and the ones she knew she would never outgrow. Things she'd rather not remember; like how she had once tried pictured him in a duck suit then couldn't look him in the eye for a week without laughing. Where this had come from she'd never know; sometimes she wondered if a monster had hijacked her brain and made her think such ridiculous things, perhaps Chaos could jump minds? Oh God, she hoped not; Vincent once told her that Chaos was rather perverted…

"Geesh, listen to me, I sound like I'm 50…" Yuffie ran a hand through her now shoulder-length hair and sighed, "I just wish I could have gotten to help him instead of annoy him and make him think of me as a child…"

Yuffie Kisaragi smiled to herself, she touched the cold worn steps she was sitting on with her fingertips and then expelled a breath. "Funny," She mused, "It's been four years since the real death of Sephiroth and the fall of the ShinRa company," her eyes glazed over as she reminisced, "Two years since Kadaaj and his group of flunkies tried to resurrect Sephiroth and Geostigma was healed…" She trailed off suddenly, and when she did speak, her voice was small and distant, "And one year since Weiss tried to destroy the planet and Vincent finally gained control over Chaos……. Lets see, it's been seven months since any of us have seen Shelke…… three months since I've made contact with anyone from Avalanche… last but not least… Two weeks since I've seen heads or tails of Mr. Vincent Valentine…"

It was all true, Vincent went off after about the fourth month of his return, Yuffie couldn't blame him though, it was another reason for Cid and Barret to throw a plethora of parties that usually resulted in _someone_ getting drunk and making a fool of themselves.

Thinking of the man always stirred something deep within the Wutai Ninja, but she could never understand why. Sure, she knew she had this small crush thing for him when they were in Avalanche but anyone knew that Vincent would never let it grow beyond companionship. Yuffie had spent the past four years convincing herself that it was just puppy love, but the odd thing was, it never went away. Weren't these things just supposed to fade away, or was she feeling something more-?

'Oh, stupid thoughts girl, get a grip! Think about… the weather! Yeah!'

It was a warm but stormy night in which Yuffie Kisaragi sat on the worn wooden steps of the ShinRa mansion in seek of shelter. It was not that she was uncomfortable with the rain; in all truthfulness, she loved storms with a passion.

Yuffie had always thought that storms were magnificent, the rain was really soothing to her. She had loved when the lightning hit and counting the seconds until thunder fallowed. The way the whole sky lit up, that there is no pattern ever the same, the way the rain feels so cool against your skin. People had always called her weird because of this; when she was younger, her mother would take her out in the middle of the storm and she would swing Yuffie around in her arms… then her father would yell at her to get back inside before they caught pneumonia, her dad had always been a stick in the mud.

What she silently wouldn't give to go back to her childhood and relive the simple pleasures in life. Her dad changed after her mother died; every time she had tried to go out into the rain he would yell at her and drag her back under the roof. After that he wouldn't look at his daughter for a few days, never talk or make eye contact. He was in denial of his wife's death; he never wanted to be reminded whereas Yuffie always tried to remember. Deep inside, her biggest fear was forgetting her and not remembering her face; her laugh; her voice.

She sighed heavily, tucked her knees closer towards her chest and listened as the rain hit the stone steps in front of her. It was pleasantly warm out, which created a small bit of fog on the ground; not much just enough to swirl around your ankles. 'Why would anyone not love this weather; it's so refreshing and calming.' She thought to herself, lifting up her chin just so to hear the rain better. She wished she could go out into the water, but Tifa had taken her clothes to be cleaned and didn't tell Yuffie before she decided to leave the next morning. Her only clue to this was a message on her phone that said: 'Say Yufs, you missing something?'

When the rain started, she had been near the old house, so she called Vincent's cell to see if he was there on order to let her in, but as usual he didn't pick up. She had called him plenty of times after she had heard of him FINALLY getting a cell phone. But after a certain message he had given Cloud; she found it best to only phone when she absolutely needed to talk to him.

It wasn't like she was miraculously a sophisticated, highly thought of woman now; she was still the same hyper and bubbly girl she always was. She had just come across some changes in her life that she would rather not mention to anyone. Things that had certainly changed her from the teenager to the 20 year old she had become.

Yuffie reached into her pocket and pulled out a special materia, running her fingers over the smooth surface before clutching it into her palm. It was the white materia, the materia that Aeris had before she passed away. It had fallen into the depths of the water at the City of Ancients and Yuffie had to go diving to find it.

"I wonder," she spoke aloud to herself to keep herself company, "If maybe it's my turn, to think, me, lil' old Yuffie finally gets to be the star of the show…"

This was the first materia that she had ever gotten for a pure and honest reason; she hadn't killed or stolen this materia, and he knew that if Aeris was still alive she would have agreed to let her keep it.

It had all started two months ago when Yuffie had been traveling through the mountains of Da Chao in order to get away from Wutai. She had planned to go to Tifa's house to stay there for a while until her father cooled down.

Yuffie had been ambushed by a huge group of member from an organization that loved the color Blue. Every member had a form of weapon and had on a outfit much like those from an army.

The 'leader' had addressed her as Yuffie Kisaragi and told her to tell them where the white materia was. She had laughed in their faces and told him to go to hell before she sent them there. It was apparent that they were going to use it for some form of evil purpose and Yuffie would NEVER let them use Aeris' materia in vain.

She had fought them off and ran her way into the mountains and barely stopped for rest until she was safely on the other side and on her way to Tifa and Cloud's. Once there she quickly phoned Cid and told him to get her to the City of the Ancients as fast as his 'Old bucket of bolts' could take her. She didn't have time to explain why she needed to go, but everyone caught on to the importance when she stared at them with a serious face and told them she would be back for her things. She had even been surprised by her own maturity when it came down to this new threat and the White materia… she wondered what this stupid bunch of men wanted with it, but then quickly shook that idea away. She was going to make sure she didn't even get the chance to ask, she was used to traveling, and when it came down to the time of confrontation, she would be ready to kick some ass!

The trip there was uneventful until she had arrived in the city and jumped into the holy waters to grab it. Once she had emerged the troubles began to arouse, she had been attacked multiple times and in the process Cid had been injured. Not only that, they had fallowed her to Tifa's town and if she stayed there any longer she would be sure to put her friends in danger.

So here Yuffie was, constantly on the move from these freaks who hadn't even bothered to name themselves and simply left their name as the anonymous organization.

"This is getting me no where, I can't very well ask Tifa and Cloud for help either; they're too busy running the bar and the delivery service to uproot their lives just to help me with these trouble makers. Damnit, looks like it's just me on this one…"

With that thought settled in her mind, she once again began to look back at what had also been plaguing her mind as of late. With the illness and death of her father, to these strangers who were after Aeris' materia even to the thought of marriage was making Yuffie's head spin.

It was on that night as she listened to the raindrops, see the crack of lightning and wait for the thunder afterwards that it was hard for her to not reminisce. She was turning 20 in only a few months and so much had happened in her lifetime that she wasn't sure if she could handle settling down like her chief advisor had requested. She lived for the moment, and thrived on the challenges, trivial things life finding a husband and ruling Wutai just didn't appeal to her yet. It wasn't until she found the perfect man that she would even consider marriage.

'I don't want to yet, as soon as you do it stays that way for the rest of your life. I want someone who I can commit to and know that they aren't just marrying me for my title… oh who am I kidding? What kind of guy would be so selfless as that? I guess Vince but…'

Which brought her back to her thoughts of Vincent, she wasn't quite sure why her thoughts of marriage had abruptly brought her to thinking of him. All that she knew was that the man was nowhere to be found and she certainly wasn't going to go out looking for him.

She and Vincent had always seemed to be on different pages, only once or twice had they ever flipped to the same page at the same time. She wondered if it was because of their age difference, or their outlooks on life, it never stopped her from trying to get to know him. From the small things she did manage to annoy out of him; he seemed like a good person, and an interesting one as well.

Sometimes, when they were placed on watch duty together they would talk for a while, only a few words were exchanged until they lapsed into silence. It was odd; she normally would have been bored shitless if it was anyone else; and start to complain but when he was there, she felt like she should just keep her mouth shut, the silence felt _right_, it felt _perfect_ to her.

"Gods," She muttered aloud, "Why am I even here? This was a horrible idea, what if Vincent WAS here? It was just be awkward again, I mean I think he's a gentle person on the inside; he's suffered through so much and I want to help him… But he so stubborn! He won't let anyone in!" She stomped her foot on the steps for emphesis.

One of those few times where she had time to spend with him was during their 'mission' about a year ago, but even then she had been completely cast to the side for Shelke. She hated the thought of her actually being jealous of the girl, Shelke should have been 20 this year, same as her, but because of the mako infusion, her body had stopped aging around the age of 14 or 15. It had taken about 5 years for her body to begin to fully rely on Mako, and three months after she stopped taking it for her to be able to live everyday life without being weak. The thing that aggravated her the most was the fact that Yuffie had known Vincent for years, and then miss my-sister-just-died-for-me-and-I-don't-care waltzes in and gets Vincent to let his past go!

She couldn't sit anymore, some form of rage that had been building up in her needed release…. And that release was kicking the wooden door back off it's hinges. Whoever the hell said kicking the crap out of things didn't solve anything obviously didn't have to live HER life!

She stopped and gaped at the whole in which the door once stood.

"Why…. Why am I so mad….. am I really that jealous of her? Why? Shelke went to live with Red…and Vince… he… he left without caring…" Nothing but the sound of rain answered her, she placed her hand over her chest, "Maybe… it's just that… it only took her a week to accomplish what I did in three years… I must think of her as a threat. No!" She shook her head. "No! No! He's only a crush, why do you care so much, he doesn't matter to you, he's just a friend!... Or that's all he'll ever be…." Her hand fell to her side and she stared dejectedly at the ground.

The Ninja plopped back down to her former seat and blew the bangs out of her eyes, "This is just stupid…" She muttered to the rain, "I'm such a basket-case…" she smiled sadly and looked out across the stormy atmosphere, "Well, at least she'll never have _that_ memory…"

Sometimes when no one was watching Yuffie would go out on top of Tifa's bar and stand on the roof as it rained. Then after she'd sneak into the room she was given and change into dry clothes; her excuse was always that she had a shower. There was only one time when she wasn't alone, that was the time she walked up onto the roof to find a man clothed in a tattered crimson cloak, soaked to the bone. Upon further inspection; Yuffie found out it was Vincent; his face upturned as the rain poured onto his face; a serene expression adorned his features. He looked so relaxed, no muscle was tensed, the rain had washed everything away from him. In that instant Yuffie was sure that he felt the exact way she always did; like they was just regular people in the world without a care at all.

She just watched him; she didn't know what her expression presented, but on the inside her heart wanted to reach out to him; he used the rain as a let out as well. Something so small that no one, not even herself had never stopped to consider before; Vincent Valentine a.k.a vampiristic brooder, and Yuffie Kisaragi, the Ninja brat; had something in common.

She looked at him in a new light after that moment; he looked so approachable, he was just a guy and she was just a girl… well… a scrawny tomboy-ish girl anyways. It was that time, and those on guard duty, the missions they had together, they were like separate days of the year, ones only they shared.

She had walked another step onto the roof to alert him of her presence, his eyes snapped open and he fixed her with a dark look before he realized it was only her and not a threat.

He looked like he was about to ask her why she had come onto the roof; but trying to explain to him would be pointless. It's impossible to explain WHY she liked the rain, she just did. Like how some people don't like spiders, and how some liked a certain food and others hated it.

"It's nice," She told him, cutting him off before he could open his mouth, or maybe he already did, No one could see it with that high collar on his cape. "The rain, it's really calming isn't it?" He looked naturally surprised, which was a huge change for his usual stotic expression.

She had held out her palm and let the water hit it, feeling the cool drops wash over her and for a second it was as if he wasn't even there.

**(Flashback)**

"Do you come up here often?" It was her turn to be shocked, for the vampire-er _Vincent _had actually talked to her in what had seemed like years. Had it truly been that long since the defeat of Sephiroth… a year?

"Yes, I love it up here, I usually come up when it's raining or when the sky is clear." She did not know why she was telling him this, but the words just spilled out, "I love it when it was hot during the day and I come up here and see the stars, they look gorgeous, and I can see the constellations. I used to study them when I was back home…" She trailed off realizing that she was babbling then looked at him sheepishly, feeling a rare emotion bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She normally never apologized for over-talking, but then again, Vincent never told her to shut up like Cid did. "Sorry I got carried away," Yuffie apologized, like someone like him would care about something like the constellations…

"You and I must just miss each other then," He comments brought her from her thoughts, "I like to come up here as well…" he looked up into the sky once more, seeming to be lost in the rain again. She smiled, thinking that this is probably an indication that it's HIS turn to get the roof, she could catch the rain tomorrow; it was supposed to rain all weekend. A small part of her told her to ignore that fact and stay out with him, but her common sense told her to get the hell off the roof lest she make a bigger fool of herself.

"I guess I can go grab a few shows on the TV in the spare room before I fall asleep." Yuffie remembered thinking that.

Yuffie Kisaragi turned to leave him be, not that she wanted to, but she wasn't sure if she could make heads or tails of her new discovery. She decided that maybe she would meet up with him later when she wasn't in such a confused state of mind. She had just reached the fourth step when she heard the creak of the bars she was stepping on. She firmly grasped the handle bars and tried her weight on the steps again. Another groaning sound emitted from the steel and she began to worry that maybe the stupid rusty bars were finally going to give out. Tifa had been yelling at Cloud to fix them earlier that day.

Before Yuffie could even think to move back onto the roof, the step clamored down and she sank through the space she was once standing on. She smashed her knee as she fell through and felt the pain shoot up her leg and then as her head smacked the step behind her. She hissed out a string of curses that would make CID proud, grabbed the bar to stop her fall and then slowly climbed up onto the steps.

She felt a huge cut that the step had placed on her back and knew she was bleeding rather heavily. Yuffie grabbed the slippery railing and slowly got to her feet gritting her teeth together to try to ignore the pain that wracked through her body.

She cursed herself for not watching her step earlier, it was another stupid mistake, and if she had watched someone else fall down the stairs she probably would have laughed because no one _else_ fell down the stairs except her.

As she continued to make her way down the steps she felt her heart plummet into her stomach as she slipped down the fourth last stair. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impact only to have two arms wrap around her and then the rain was gone and replaced with a dry warmth. She slowly opened her eyes to find that she was in a room and that she had come though the window.

It took her a second to realize that Vincent was holding her and she was getting him all bloody and soaked. She inwardly groaned at how childish he must think of her now; she could handle being humiliated by Cid or Tifa but not _Vincent Valentine_. She choked out another apology, but all she got in response was the typical silence.

He set her down on his bed and left the room without a word. She supposed he was trying to let her have the last bit of her dignity by leaving her to herself.

She blinked, being light headed and confused, she paused a few moments to listen as voices were whispered downstairs, oh wonderful; she could just hear Cid and Barret now; 'She fell down the stairs AGAIN!' So she began the trek back to her room, which was diagonal to his down the hall. She sucked in a breath and gingerly tested her weight on her leg with the injured knee and found that it hurt. A LOT!

She knew Vincent wouldn't want her to get his carpet even more dirty so she limped over to the door and came face to face with the man who had just saved her life.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, ya'see I was getting up to leave and well I'm getting this room all wet, so I didn't want to upset you-" she tried to look for some excuse, but it all came out a jumbled mess because of the splitting headache she was experiencing "-I was just going over to my room to get cleaned up, I'll leave right away…" She made to step around him, thinking that enough damage was already done but was shocked to have him pick her up bridal style and walk over to the bed once more, she began to panic a little "Wait, what are you-"

He slowly lowered her down onto it and pulled out a gauze and ointment from his pocket, he ordered her to keep still as he bandaged her leg and placed the disinfectant on it.

Yuffie flinched as the gel began it's job; making her feel like it was eating her alive instead of healing her. She bit her lip and waited for it to pass over, her head was pounding with a splitting headache.

After he was done bandaging her leg he placed his hand behind her and slowly lifted her into a sitting position; careful of her wound.

"Cure 2…" He muttered underneath his breath and Yuffie felt the slit up her back slowly begin to close and that pounding between her eyes lessen. She stared at him; surprised that he had actually helped her and not told Tifa to do it.

"Thank You," She whispered meekly, her fingertips brushing against his human arm as he slowly let her go, she pretended not to notice as she looked into his eyes and grinned as childishly as she could.

"Lie down," He told her softly, retracting from her touch and standing up to become the cold man he usually was, "You need your rest," he walked over to the corner of the room and took a seat in a rather uncomfortable looking seat.

She obliged as she felt a drowsy sleepiness fall over her like a blanket. She slowly laid down to not reopen her wound and closed her weary eyes and snuggle into the warmth of the blankets.

The last thing Vincnet heard before she fell to sleep in his bed was; "You got the comfier pillows…"

Yuffie had woken up hours later to hear whispers voices in the room, she had distinguished Tifa's soft but lively tone along with Vincent's dark and throaty tenor. They were talking about how he had found her falling down the slippery steps just outside his window.

Yuffie groaned inwardly as Tifa stifled a giggle at how Yuffie had fallen down another set of stairs. She shifted slightly and hoped neither noticed, but her small hope was crushed when Vincent commented on her being awake.

"How are you feeling?" Asked Tifa worriedly as the young ninja moved her hand to brush her bangs out of her face.

"Fine I suppose…" She whispered hoarsely, blinking a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes, she noticed that the only light in the room was coming from a small candle on the bedside table. "What time is it?"

"Eleven," Vincent interjected, he turned to face the crippled woman, his arms crossed across his chest ad his eyes searching hers, "The electricity went out and hour ago." He decided to fill her in on this as well.

Yuffie made the shape of an 'O' with her mouth and slowly pulled the covers back and tried to get up from the bed. "Where are you going?" Asked Vincent tonelessly.

"T-to my room…" she told him like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "You need to sleep and I'm taking up your bed! You DON'T want to sleep on the couch, that thing is as hard as a _rock_, and that's only if you beat it first!" She sent an apologetic look at Tifa for this but the bar keeper knew it to be true and waved it off.

Vincent took the whole five steps to make it over to the side of his bed and lightly pushed her back into a lying position.

"You have a barely healed smashed knee to deal with, along with a slight concussion, and a barely closed wound up your back, all you will do is cause more inconvenience if you move around and reopen them." She flinched at the bluntness and truthfulness of his words, he always found a way to make her seem like a child, she crossed her arms across her chest and pouted to fit the part.

She reluctantly laid back down and she caught the amused look Tifa has sent her but she decided to ignore that for the time being. She heaved a huge sigh and reached up to untie her headband so the knot wouldn't dig into the back of her head.

It had taken her about a week to fully recover, and during that time Vincent had slept in the chair in the corner of the room. Yuffie had only awoken once to find him asleep and then turned to face his sleeping form. She remembered how tense he looked, she wasn't sure if she should wake him from his dream but decided against it.

"Sweet dreams…" She had whispered softly to him and then rolled over and closed her eyes once more.

Little did she know that he had heard her and after a few minutes of listening to her steady breathing he whispered it back to her, his expression unreadable in the dark.

It had been the next morning in which Tifa had come into the room to find Yuffie on her feet, tying back her hair with her headband and as chipper as her normal self.

Tifa sat on the edge of Vincent's bed and asked Yuffie exactly what had happened for her to fall down the stairs. Yuffie grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head in attempt to hide her embarrassment.

Vincent walked into the room with the PHS and gave it to Tifa without a word, in an instant the room was filled with the sound of Barrets loud voice.

"HEYA TIFS! SO HOW'S THE BRAT! I HEARD SHE FELL DOWN THE STAIRS **AGAIN**!" This was where his huge booming laughter came from the end of the receiver and Tifa had to hold it as far away from her ear as possible.

Yuffie gave Vincent a mortified look.

"You TOLD him!" She cried incredulously, forgetting all about her previous discomfort around him. "I can't BELIEVE you people, you WANT me to be ridiculed for the rest of my freaking life!" she threw her arms in the air for emphasis.

Tifa hurriedly whispered a goodbye to Barret and looked up to see Yuffie crossing her arms in a huff, and Vincent…. Well…. He didn't really have an expression on actually.

"Sorry, so you mind telling me what happened now?"

Yuffie sighed, "Well I was going to… check this creak up on the roof," She was lying so far, "And I saw it was nothing so I went to come back down on the catwalk, only problem was that the stair collapsed underneath me and I fell-"

"WHAT?" Tifa screeched, standing up and spinning around to stalk over to the door. "CLOUD STRIFE YOU GET YOUR ASS UP HERE THIS INSTANT!" She yelled down the stairs; anger very noticeable in her expression and voice.

Yuffie decided to stay very quiet until Cloud came up the stairs and then Tifa proceeded to yell his ear off about how it was HIS job to fix the stairs. "YUFFIE SMASHED HER KNEE FALLING THROUGH THEM!" Was her final sentence as Cloud cringed from the ringing in the air from her screaming.

"Heh, um…. I forgot?" Cloud tried to put on the most innocent face he could until Tifa decided it best to chase him out the room threatening to beat him over the head with her _frying pan_.

Yuffie blinked. Vincent blinked. Yuffie blinked again.

"That was…. Erm……. Interesting…." Yuffie managed to cough out.

"Indeed," Agreed Vincent, for the first time in a long time, the two shared an understanding, "Yuffie," His voice was warm as he turned towards her, she felt her cheeks reddening as he stared intently at her.

"Y-yeah?"

"Are you sure you're alright, I saw you fall through those stairs…"

Yuffie grinned, she was surprised, but at the same time, she was kind of glad that he actually cared about her.

"Yeah Vince, I'm just peachy… say…. And, uh….. thanks…" She was turning a rather interesting shade of pink, "For… for looking after me…"

**(End Flashback)**

Rather suddenly a presence alerted her that someone bloodthirsty was nearby, and that they had found her. She estimated around ten or fifteen men each with the intention of killing her.

"Oh well," She said aloud, getting up and stretching casually, "It's not like this mansion was useful for anything else…" She decided to lead them onto thinking that the materia was in the old ShinRa estate.

With that she bounded off in the opposite direction; knowing that there wasn't a chance of them fallowing her in the storm and her great hiding skills. "Catch me if you can suckers!" She threw that over her shoulder and smirked, knowing they couldn't hear her.

They watched as she ran off before one solitary man stepped forward and narrowed his eyes from the pelting raindrops. He waved his hand back to the others behind him and then turned towards a slightly taller man and nodding his acknowledgement.

"It's in the Mansion," He called back to his men and then turned towards the other; smirking slightly, "Soon Hiros, soon we will be able to test out our experiments on the Holy Materia."

There was a chorus of "Yes, Mr. Keith," And then they all began surveying the mansion grounds in order to find a way to get into the boarded up house.

The other man pulled out a small black capsule from his pocket and gazed down at it almost lovingly. Hiros seemed to ignore the other shadowed man's chit chat and focused his attention onto his precious black vile.

The dozen or so other men slowly entered the mansion and began riffling through the dark and decaying building.

"Do NOT touch the experiments or papers! Those are useful in our mission! Report all experimental findings to myself or Hiros!" Ordered their leader, Keith, dispatching their numbers throughout the mansion quickly, not wanting the neighborhood to be alerted of their presence.

Hiros put the black vile away and looked into the direction the ninja had escaped from, in the depths of his mind he could feel it. The Holy Materia wasn't in the Mansion, but useful information was and soon he would corner the brat and use his new experiment on her.

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_I have been a witness to the perfect crime_

_I Wipe the grin off of my face to hide the blame_

_It isn't worth the tears you cry_

_To have a perfect alibi_

_Now I'm beaten at the hands of my own game_

_Let it Rain_

_Amanda Marshall_

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Katori: Wow, first chapter done and second quickly to fallow! I want to get the first three chapters done before I post this. Well. R&R! MORE YUFFENTINE NEXT CHAPTER! I hope it's not too hard to fallow, I think maybe I should make it easier to understand…. It looks like you don't really get a chance to see what the story is about until the end of the chapter…. Hmn……I also was playing DoC and realized that Yuffie is MUCH more DRAMATIC!

_Sin: Ha, ha! You're going to have to re-write it! AGAIN!_

Katori: Gods, don't you have anything BETTER to do with your time then annoy me?

_Sin: I don't know about you, but your mind is a boring place, there isn't even a deck of cards in here, it's not like I could play solitaire or anything…_

Katori:………….Yeah…. Well….. whatever…

_Sin: You know, this is going to be your… what… fourth yuffentine?_

Katori: ah, but this one has a STORYLINE!

_Sin:…. Right…. So…. Listen here mortals, **Review** this stupid fic so we can get on with our lives!_


	2. Heartbeat

Katori: alright, right off the bat with the Second Chapter, this one is going to be all in the present….. well…. Yeah…There isn't much action this Chapter, so I promise a lot of action next! OH MY GOSH! VINCENT VALENTINE WARNING! This is where I put my true writing skills to the test by portraying him! Wish me luck!

_Sin: Yeah, you'll need it. So anyways, KatoriTsubasa is poor and does not own any characters or songs used in this fiction. Although she wishes she did… It's rather pathetic actually… oh and she pretty much FAINTED when she saw how many reviews she got on the FIRST chapter… so yeah… she thanks you… even though I don't know why you people think she's good…_

Katori: glare You know what? Go to Hell!

_Sin: I did, and I don't want to again; needs serious redecorating…._

Katori: grumble grumble Fine…. Let's just do this…. And I warn you all now, don't expect another chapter for a while… I'm going to be busy with school and my goal is to always be two chapters ahead…

grumbles about stupid evil sciences and math

††††††††††††

_Prison gates won't open up for me_

_On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'_

_Oh, I reach for you_

_Well I'm terrified of these four walls_

_These iron bars can't hold my soul in_

_All I need is you Come please I'm callin'_

_And oh I scream for you Hurry I'm fallin'_

Savin' Me

Nickelback

Emotion:

_**Anxious**_

Yuffie had checked into a hotel soon after she was sure she had out-run or lost track of the guys on her trail. Although the place wasn't anything noteworthy, it was dry, and that had been all the newly titled Ninja needed. She slipped out of her shoes and ventured into the small hotel room, walking past the bathroom, she went to stand in the middle of her one bedded room and sighed. She barely had enough gil to buy this room, she couldn't afford to have this kind of luxury every night. Unless she fought a lot of monsters on her way, if she did that then she would need to buy potions, antidotes, eye drops and all the other necessities.

When she had made her trek to the City of the Ancients she had stupidly been in a rush, and in doing so, forgot to buy healing items. This had cost her, every monster she had encountered was either ran away from or knocked out with one swipe. She could not let the fiends hurt her because too much was on the line.

She stopped before a small dresser that had a half length mirror attached and peered into it's reflection and observing the waterlogged girl it showed her.

Her outfit had changed since her days in Avalanche and even about a year ago when they had all joined forces to stop the threat known as Weiss and the Tsviets. Even the geostigma incident's clothing had been discarded. In all honesty it amazed her how three guys could cause such a rukus. Firstly with the kidnappings that had gotten Yuffie's attention, the destruction of Neo-Midgar, the highways, the Church, and even the temporary resurrection of Sephiroth.

She supposed that even though they had totaled over half the city and a few people were injured, a lot of good things came out of that endeavor. They had cured Geostigma and she had been able to see all of her old friends, if even for a little while.

Even though Cloud just HAD to go be the show-stealer and save all the real fun for himself, but Yuffie was just glad she had returned the children safely without her dad having a heart attack.

Then there was the other reunion that had happened a year ago, the mass murders, the abductions of those who were 'pure'. Even thinking about what had happened made her sick, that Rosso the Crimson… she wanted to bring her back to life just to send her back to hell again.

Water ran down the sides of her face, her hair plastered to her skin and neck and her outfit clung to her cool and damp skin. She picked a piece of her shirt away from her body and watched as it dripped more water to the dry carpet. She vaguely wondered if she should have a shower, not sure when the next time she could have one would be. She took off her kahaki green, t-shirt sleeve jacket, slipped it onto the dresser chair and then her black fingerless biker gloves, and dripping wet socks.

She unhooked her leg strap and pouch that held her kunai's, then her other leg's strap that held a small dagger in place just in case she needed to cut something. She shrugged off her small beige backpack and threw it on the edge of her bed, finally she untied and slipped off the small red ribbon that was on her left bicep, a small gift Tifa had insisted all AVALANCE members wear.

Last of all was the bandage around her left arm, it hadn't been a cut since long ago, but it was a great place to hide small pins or paper bombs in since no one bothered to un bandage an arm if it was going to bleed. It was something she kept on to add character and hide things away in, sometimes her cleverness amazed her.

She paused to move into the bathroom before she continued to get out of the rest of her clothes. She looked down at her dark green halter top and beige shorts that weren't too short, but easy to move around in. Underneath her halter top was a shirt that cut across her shoulders and was made of black Wutainese netting embedded with a kind of cloth that is fire resistant and can stop a lightly held knife drawn across it. It reached past the bottom of her top and covered another inch of her shorts.

Her once bob-styled haircut was now grown down to graze past her shoulders. Her eyes were still the same stormy grey, but her skin had tanned lightly and her once innocent and round eyes were giving a more adult look. She had grown slightly in height reaching the tallest she was certain she would get, a normal Wutai 5'4. Even though that was nothing compared to Vincent and Barret's 6 feet and over, she was rather tall for her Wutai roots. Not many Wutainese females reached over 5'5, but she was still proud of her little growth spurt. Her assets had matured a little bit more as well, filling out her top and shorts more womanly, not boyishly. Never as big as Tifa or Aeris', but Yuffie was glad she didn't have huge breasts getting in the way of her swift and agile movements.

It wasn't like Wutainese people were KNOWN for their bust sizes, they were known for their tradition, skills in the art of the Ninja, and their food.

She slid out of the rest of her clothes then turned on the tap to the shower, she quickly discovered which was hot and cold and created a hot but not scorching temperature before stepping into the shower and drawing the shower curtains close.

She let the hot water fall upon her tired and sore muscles and ran her fingers through her hair to get the tangles out. She then took some of the water into her hands to wash her face and rubbed her tired eyes. She hadn't really noticed how tired she was until the warm water hit her and lulled her to a dull state of mind.

It wasn't long before Yuffie could feel her mind begin to wander and her eyes begin to droop at the sound of the calming water drops. She shook her head and quickly washed her hair with her traveling shampoo before climbing out and wrapping a towel securely around herself.

She walked into the larger room and decided to put her outfit into a more orderly fashion so it would dry (or at least be a bit dryer) in the morning. She picked up her shirts, shorts, socks and her bandage to place them in the bathroom's bath side to drip.

She wandered out into the open space, making sure the curtains were securely closed before stripping off her towel and pulling out her pack contents, inside was a plastic bag she kept her extra clothes in so that if the bag got wet, her other clothes wouldn't. It was a small backpack with a strap that went diagonally across her front from her left shoulder to her right hip. It wasn't too big because she had to lug it around from place to place so she only took as much as she needed. She hadn't expected Tifa to take her OTHER clothes, so all she had was her change of underwear and a black tank top with a pair of soft grey short shorts. It was hardly anything to wear outside so she used it as her night clothes.

Yuffie slipped the white materia from her pocket that was usually on her leg, to in a hidden pouch on the folds of her bag.

It was barely before her head hit the pillow that she heard it; the rustle of people outside her door talking in hurried whispers. She could hardly make out what they were saying but she knew by the panic in their voices that it probably had something to do with her and the organization tailing her.

"What are we going to do if she puts up a fight? The whole hotel will wake up!" Breathlessly choked out one of the men loud enough for Yuffie's sensitive Ninja hearing to pick it up. He rolled her eyes and wordlessly decided that this guy was a wimp with a capital W.

"Then we get rid of the witnesses, don't we?"

Her eyes narrowed and she threw the covers back and silently crept across the contents of the room, grabbing all her stuff hurriedly and stuffing it into her bag. She worked silently and swiftly as the two numb sculls outside in the hallway chattered about how to make her hand 'it' over.

She walked over to the window and pulled it open, luckily there was no sound made in doing so, she was just about to leap out when she stopped abruptly. The idiots outside were STILL talking, she spun around on her heels and decided to take some soap from the bathroom and those complimentary slippers.

She quickly scribbled a note on the notepad and hid it beneath her pillow, hoping a maid would find it, she also left the gil she owed and then scampered to the window once more as she could hear the two picking open her door. Se rolled her eyes, these guys were idiots, they would have woken up a normal person, let alone an awesome Ninja like herself. She turned towards the window, heaved her backpack farther up her shoulder and jumped out into the rain once more. Cursing her bad luck.

She knew that there was probably more awaiting her outside, but it would be easier to fight them off in the open space rather then clamped up in a small room with no space to dodge attacks. She heard startled yelps from behind her as she bounded off the slippery rooftops in search for Tifa's bar which would no doubt be open. She hated resorting to this, but she needed a place to stay and the only one she knew was Tifa's place.

To her immediate surprise a gunshot went off quite close to her left and she ducked out and sped up. Pumping her legs as fast as they would go she heard another one go off to her right and muttered mild Wutainese curses underneath her breath. She needed to lead them away from Tifa's then double around when she knew she'd lost them. Yuffie pulled out the Conformer and whipped it ahead at two guys who had just jumped up to the roof in front of her. They scattered and she retrieved her weapon and spun around midair to aim and fire once more. One went down and the other seemed to have fallen off the first time.

She continued straight ahead and veered off course entering the slums and into the pitch black of the area of the city. She ventured down the darker alleyways, barely able to verify where she was in the darkness that consumed her.

Eyes flashed as she picked up on shouts far behind, she could have sworn that she heard 'she went into that alleyway' and with that she jumped out into an intersection of streets and dove to her left, hoping to drive them off of her trail. She weaved in and out of the dark streets and garbage cans, she wondered vaguely that the people she passed would give away her location, but none seemed to head her so she prayed that the idiots wouldn't stop to ask directions. She was actually impressed that they had found her so quickly. Then again, a bit of money and a willing customer for information went a long way in this world, she heaved in a deep breath in preparation for the next few minutes of running.

She was taught that if you took in deep breaths while running you could keep going farther then if you continued to take short small ones. It saved oxygen or something like that, she hadn't really paid attention when her teacher told her that.

She sped around the edge of the city and made her way in behind Tifa's Bar, she stopped when she reached the back door, listening for anything that would tell her someone had SOMEHOW tracked her. She heard nothing for a few tense moments and then carefully opened the door and slipped inside, this door was more like a cubby hole, but it opened to the second floor, which was the living quarters. This place served as a hotel, home, and bar all in one. People who needed a place to stay for the night (usually one of Avalanche or a friend) stayed one floor up in one of six rooms with two bathrooms.

The bottom floor was the Bar and she knew that Tifa was there right now, she tried to make herself presentable and looked down at her tank and shorts, she knew where Tifa's room was and ventured up the few steps to make it to the third floor. She didn't sense anything waiting for her at the end of the hall so she walked brusquely to the last door on the left and swung it open.

The room was simple with a bed in the corner to the left of the door when you entered, to your front was a desk that was like a bedside table for the bed as well. On it were a few scattered books, a new black laptop, a lamp, clock that read12:07 (Yuffie cringed), CD holder, pencils, pens and even a photograph that they had all taken in the Church. To Yuffie's immediate right was a large dresser and on the opposite wall of the bed was a closet.

She set down her backpack to the right of the door and trekked over to the closet, opening it wide and digging out some clothes that Tifa had leant her once before. It was nothing to special, but it sufficed.

A black T-shirt and a pair of soft grey capris.

She shrugged off her wet clothes and slid these on, careful to pull the drawstrings tight before venturing back down the stairs; obviously unable to sleep for a while longer.

When she was about to walk onto the base floor she stopped and hesitantly let her foot dangle on the next stair. She wondered if perhaps there was a man out there that would recognize her and tell his friends.

She hesitantly slipped out into the bar and was relieved to see Tifa cleaning glasses at her bar, Cloud sitting on a stool in front of her talking in whispers and only a few scrawny men that Yuffie recognized were regulars.

Tifa must have caught movement out of the corner of her eye and snapped her head in Yuffie's direction, Cloud's gaze fallowed and he nodded at her in acknowledgement.

"Yuffie," Started Tifa, placing down the wine glass and beckoning her over, "Hey what's up? You're soaking wet." The Ninja smiled sheepishly and had a seat beside the blonde swordsman, focusing her attention once more on the others in the room who didn't seem to notice her arrival.

"Heya Tifs," greeted the youngest, turning back to grin at her best friend and then turning towards her silent companion, "And Spikey, how are you guys?"

Tifa noted that Yuffie easily avoided her question but replied to hers anyways, she told Yuffie she was fine and Cloud was too. She also added that Denzel was asleep upstairs and Marlene was over as well, Barret had been away on business.

Life had been pretty quiet since the whole Vincent escapade, Tifa enjoyed her time just living a normal life with her friend and her adopted son. It had been three years since Denzel had entered her family and the little boy was growing up so fast, he was turning 13 in a few weeks. His birthday was close to Yuffie's they were only a few weeks apart so they had both their parties on the same day usually.

This year was different, Yuffie was turning the big 20 and Tifa really wanted to do something special for her closest friend out of their group.

The ninja had always taken time away from Wutai and her work to come and visit Tifa on a monthly basis, even if it was just for a few days. The martial artist secretly knew that Yuffie enjoyed the excitement on her journey, feeling like she was back in her Avalanche days.

But Yuffie had been suspiciously evasive this month, she stopped for a day and then disappeared the next morning dragging Cid off to the City of the Ancients and then never being heard from again until a week later today. Not only that but she didn't even offer a reason as to why she was in such a hurry.

Something she had said stroke Tifa as off, she had told her to keep living normally and she didn't want to disturb her again. The busty brunette was worried that her younger sister-like pal was in trouble and thought that she shouldn't involve people. She brought this up with Cloud and he did deem it possible, saying that Yuffie was right to assume no one wanted to uproot their lives to go on another misadventure. Everyone had their own responsibilities, and being the Princess she is the Wutainese girl knew the pain of leaving something comfortable to chase around ghosts or bad guys.

That was the ShinRa's job now, they had adopted a line of cleaning up after the mess their experiments and machines did to the earth. They also worked as a 'Peace-keeping' society, took down terrorists and helped the law enforcements. They had amalgamated with the WRO, or what was left of them, and together with Reeve they cleaned up the planet.

One of the more amazing things about the new and improved ShinRa company was the awe inspiring fact that RENO was the VICE-PRESEDENT and he was actually a good leader. He always stepped in for Rufus, and appeared to have completely forgotten his Turk days. But definitely not his 'charm' and easygoing attitude, the man still liked to go to bars and hang around Seventh Heaven to annoy the living daylights out of Tifa.

"You know," Tifa started up another conversation, "I forgot to mention, Barret wanted me to give you a message," This caught Yuffie's attention and she tilted her head slightly to the side, giving the bartender her full attention. "He told me to tell yah that he's been hearing something's going down in Wutai. It seems like they're mourning or something, all of the deliveries are pretty closed mouthed about it but-"

Yuffie suddenly jumped up as if she had been scolded by hot iron, she scurried off up the stairs and called back something about being really tired and getting up early tomorrow.

She wandered into the living area and sat down by the fire, there was no way in hell she was going to tell Tifa her father had passed away. A year ago she had been ranting about how her old man was saving Wutai from the attacks and now she was just gone. She couldn't worry about that now, Wutai wasn't the only place that needed her.

If she went back to Wutai to attend the funeral, no doubt those creeps would fallow her and assassinate the only remaining leader; Chekov. She just couldn't handle it if that happened; Yuffie had already been told that she had until she could find someone to marry her (they wanted Wutainese, but you can't be too picky these days) and produce an heir.

As if she was going to idly sit by and let some jerk rule her country and for her to be the baby machine. It would be a cold day in hell when Princess Kisaragi did as she as told without question and let someone else speak for her.

"Yuffie…?"

Her head snapped up to find Vincent Valentine standing in the doorway that lead to the bedroom stairs. His hand rested against the frame and he eyed her with a surprised expression, she blinked. As if confirming that she was, in fact, there and not a hologram, he walked over to the couch opposite of her and sat down. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh me? Just spending the night is all…"

His eyes narrowed as she danced around his actual question, her spending the night was obvious, but why was the question he had been getting at. He brought his knee up to the edge of the couch and rested his metal arm across it, surveying her. He switched tactics, she was obviously wet from being outside, perhaps she had news of the ShinRa Mansion.

"Yuffie," He caught her attention again, "An hour ago the ShinRa estate was brought to flames," Her eyes flashed and he caught her expression before she could mask it, it was proven, Yuffie was there before, "do you know of anything that might have caused this?"

She was silent, contemplating her answer, telling Vincent why the fire was lit, would involve telling him the whole reason why she was there and why the place had been broken into. But then again, that place was a sore spot for him, so many things had happened there, didn't he deserve to know if something happened to the experiment files he had suffered through? Sure, he had collected the Omega reports there, but there was still other valuable research contained there… perhaps a way to revert him to normal?

"It was broken into? Are you sure it wasn't some prank by the local kids?"

'**_The girl lies_**' hissed a low voice in Vincents mind, almost an un-catchable whisper, but the gunslinger heard him loud and clear.

'_I am aware of that Demon_' He replied, his eyes still fixed on Yuffie, '_but the question is if I should tell her I know that or not…_'

'**_Perhaps you can get more out of her if you aren't accusing her, she may bring fourth a reason as to why in order to deem herself innocent._**' There was a musing silence, '**_The girl, Yuffie Kisaragi, she has an aura of destruction about her._**'

This caught Vincent's attention, '_What do you mean? Speak demon!_'

Yuffie sighed impatiently, "You know Vince, could you stop starting a conversation with me then ending it with yourself, you are getting into a bad habit of that…"

The gunslinger snapped out of his chat with the demon and looked concerned, he never knew Yuffie could tell when he was speaking with his inner demons. As if reading his confusion, Yuffie felt the need to explain. "Well your eyes go dull, you stare right through me, I can see the conversation flying back and fourth in your eyes but I can't hear the words…" she grinned at her little accomplishment, "So, what was dear old Chaos chittering about today?"

'**_Did she just call me old? I am NOT old! A few thousand years in NOTHING for my kind I'll have you know!_**'

Vincent looked amused, 'I _do believe I sense some childish behavior from you,_'

'**_Psh, I am simply proving a point… and I am NOT that stupid Chaos_**…' muttered the demon in a rather immature manner. '**_Anyways, I would not ignore her, she'll grow suspicious…_**'

A shiver ran through Vincent, but he ignored the demons's comment and focused on Yuffie again.

"I was on my way here to speak with Cloud about some things and I came across the mansion in flames, from what I could tell, they were extracting data, before I could get close enough, they had already ran off…" He pulled out a piece of paper and put it on the table for her to see, "They left this behind. Do you have any idea as to what they might have been searching for, perhaps you can make sense of it?"

Something inside her told Yuffie that Vincent didn't believe her when she had faked innocence, but either way, she decided to play along, she picked up the paper and read over it's contents.

"Mako infusion processes with the tainted lifestream proved mildly successful, The materia in question could not stand the stress given to it under the circumstances that were presented." It was all jibberish to Yuffie, but she read on, "We've come to believe that the purer materia, such as a simple cure, had better wielding results but only for a few moments until the materia shattered into pieces. Other elemental materias like Fire and thunder, would not mix or the process would backfire completely. We used a simulated pure materia, with attributes similar to the………" Yuffie trailed off, the next two words sent her mind spinning… 'white materia…' She looked up at Vincent, he seemed to have a little more understanding about this then she did, but he beckoned her to continue.

"The tainted lifestream we created yielded great results with this simulation. By combining the white materia simulation with the tainted lifestream we created an all-use curse materia that can cast the effects of several incurable diseases. Unfortunately, it is uncertain which curse it would cast upon the victim, and not only that, but we must first obtain the original for this thesis to be correct… " Yuffie clutched her skull, everything was finally kicking in; they wanted to use the white materia to inflict incurable curses on people? Of what kind? Like darkness or sleep?

Or Geostigma….

Vincent's thoughts were along the same track, but his consisted of how they had received this 'tainted lifestream', he had vaguely heard of disappearances that had been occurring in the past year or so, could these people have something to do with it? What could they possibly want with Hojo's notes? There must have been more to this…

"From what I gather…" Yuffie tried to sound as if she had no idea what was going on, "These people, whoever they are, are trying to get some form of materia that can withstand their experiments… but, uh, maybe they want to inject this…power thing… into someone? Isn't that what Hojo was doing? Study of the human body and reactions to mako?" Her questions were timid, she didn't want to upset him with bad memories.

Vincent hardly noticed, Yuffie was playing dumb, she knew they were after the white materia, and he would bet his other arm she knew where it was. It was odd, something about the situation stroke him as wrong, since when did Yuffie avoid his questions? Or even have things to hide, she was usually so open with everyone, even when they didn't want her to be.

Where did the dramatic 'Ninja-hero-of-Wutai' go, and when was she replaced with the secretive woman before him?

Regardless of what anyone would say, he had found her optimism during their fight with Weiss refreshing, she made everything seem a little bit brighter. When he had turned into Chaos fighting the final battle, he could hear her voice the loudest, shouting out an encouraging 'Yeah!' She was that ray of sunshine that everyone could count on being the comic relief, no matter how random she was, he could find it in himself to be annoyed with her.

"Vincent…?" Her voice was reproachful, she tilted her head to the side, just so, and he couldn't help but be reminded of Lucrecia, "Is there something the matter?"

_I'm-…§…Vincent…§…Live.._

There she was again, that voice in his head that he could hear, it was just above a whisper and yet, he could never drown it out. She had pleaded with him to forgive her, and he finally settled things with her all those months ago. But now her pleads weren't of redemption, she was pleading with him for another reason, but he could never hear exactly what was said, even if he couldn't drown out her voice, half the words were muffled.

He wondered if it really was her, or if his mind was playing tricks on him, a year ago he would have given anything to hear her voice and be alone with his thoughts. But now, he felt as though he needed to stay out with people, to stop being the rock in the river of time. Yet, being there with Yuffie, it felt… strange… he didn't need Chaos or any of the other demons to tell him; something was going to happen.

And it involved Yuffie.

And she didn't want to involve anyone with it.

"Nothing is the matter with me Yuffie," His eyes locked with hers, and he felt that calm feeling whenever they had met gazes before. He would say it time and time again: There were only a few people who ever met his gaze unflinching… "However, I cannot let the thought pass that perhaps… something is bothering you?"

Yuffie Kisaragi was always one of those who met his gaze, except she always wore this quirky defying look, she was strong, maybe not just with her Shuriken, but in her mind. Perhaps that was what made anyone who met her feel a little more light hearted then they normally do.

Yuffie would be damned before she shied away from his crimson eyes, but she couldn't let him see her falter. His eyes bored into hers, he knew she was lying, but he respected her too much to accuse her of it. She knew that her expression was slipping, he would catch her, and she would tell him.

Why?

Why should she drag Vincent back into this!

He deserved a peaceful life, he deserved a life without more blood tainting his hands that convinced him he was even more of a monster then he really was. Yuffie would die if any of her friends killed for her; how could she drop this on any of them? It wasn't right; it wasn't fair.

"Vincent… we both know I have things I don't wish to discuss, I'd rather not lie to you, because that would only damage our rela-… friendship…" She caught herself just in time, and then grinned like her normal chipper self.

He was surprised at the sudden presence of maturity she had just shown, surely he had noticed all the growing up she had done in his presence, but sometimes he just couldn't shake that '16 year old' mold he had first met. Her first impression had been added to, but sometimes she did small things that were out of character to him… then he remembered she was 20, and all those things didn't seem so out of place to a normal 20 year old. But she was Yuffie, and regardless of how old she got, he was certain that Yuffie Kisaragi would stay a teen forever at heart.

"Yuffie," He sighed, knowing that even if he said this, it would get him no where, "I hope you realize that I respect your privacy, but you must know, that if this has anything to do with Cloud, the others or even myself, we deserve to know."

Yuffie stood up and stretched her tired limbs, she could feel that small nagging drowsiness at the back of her head. Now was the best time as any to go and catch some sleep until she was to leave in the morning.

"Don't worry Vince," She opted for the less childish nickname, Vince sounded much more… tolerable then her usual 'Vinnie', "As soon as this has anything to do with you, I'll let you know…" she paused at the doorway and turned around to face him, noticing his eyes on her, "Oh… um… and Vincent?"

"Yes?" His eyes fallowed her, a piece of stray hair falling across one eye. Damnit, why did she had to get all tongue tied when ever he looked at her like that? He was just so….. he was too damn attractive for his own good, that was for sure…

"… Can we… keep all of this a secret? I don't want to drag Tifa and Cloud all around the world and risk their necks again… they already have too much to think about… And you should… go visit Shelke," How it pained her to say that, "… I'm sure she misses you, and say 'hi' for me, ne?" Deciding that she needed to finish her little speech, she felt déjà vu kick in when she whispered, "Sweet dreams Vincent. Oyasumi Nasai."

She slipped from the room, already knowing that she could trust the gunslinger with anything, if she requested it, Yuffie knew he would travel with her and fight the group that wanted the White Materia. That was the thing she was scared of; she knew they all would, and sometimes, she wished that she hadn't gotten too attached to them.

Yuffie crawled into bed and when her head hit the pillow she realized the extent of her fatigue. She was out like a light in a matter of minutes, so she didn't hear the -chimes of the door below or the greetings Tifa, Cloud and two new guests exchanged.

----

"Wow, it's a storm out there!" Cried Reno, taking his and his friend's umbrella's and hanging them on the coat rack. "But its too hot to wear a rain jacket, say, you wet at all Rye?"

Reno turned towards the entrance to address his 'roommate', Tifa noted that they both looked a little waterlogged but decided not to comment on it. The other shrugged and grabbed their shirt and wrung it out a little, neither really minded the rain. "Say Tifa, you mind boiling up a cup of Coffee for us?"

Tifa stared at the vice-president as if she hadn't heard him correctly, normally the first thing out of his mouth was his need for a cold beer. Then again, it may have had something to do with his new companion.

"Oh, Coffee would be heaven right about now that is, of course, if you don't mind Miss Tifa?" Tifa grinned and set herself to work on preparing that pot of caffine, snapping out of her stupor.

"No problems, say Reno, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Oh geesh, where are my manners?-" He started as he sat down on one of the stools and then beckoned for his companion to have a seat beside him.

She swiftly cut him off, "-where your common sense is, no doubt," She grinned at him and then sat down leaning over Reno to shake Cloud's hand, "Ryona Koeya, pronounced 'Rye-oh-nah', I hate when people mess it up with 'Ree-oh-nah', pleased to finally meet you Mr. Cloud and Miss. Tifa; Reno never _shuts up_ about you guys."

It didn't take long for Tifa to realize just how well the two of them got along, Ryona wasn't afraid to tell people what she wanted, but she was also terribly polite.

Ryona was an average height of around 5'5 and had long beautiful dark blonde hair that reached down to her elbows in long silky strands ending in slight curls. Her hair was layered and cinnamon streaks in it, her shortest layer (as well as her bangs) cupped her chin, and the longest reached just past her elbows and almost to her waist. She had a pretty face, a oval shape, with a soft curve to the cheeks and a slightly rounded nose that wasn't too big. Her skin was flawless, no acne or blemishes crossed her skin, and she had quite a pretty smile. Her eyes were the most peculiar thing; swirled green and blue, so in one look they could be considered aqua.

She also had a similar body type to that of Tifa, although, not as graciously bestowed in the bust area but she had larger toned thighs, which gave her a more fighter look then that of a girlish appearance.

She extended her hand to Tifa and the bartender hand to wash her hands before clasping it in her own. "I hear you're a martial artist?"

Tifa grinned, sensing a slight challenge from that question.

"Yeah, I am,"

Ryona beamed, "Great! We can spar sometime! It's nice to meet another girl who takes fighting seriously, I also hear there's a ninja amongst you as well, perhaps I'll get the pleasure of meeting her as well?"

Cloud was impressed at how well Tifa and Ryona had gotten along, they instantly became friends, even though they had just met. Reno had been speaking of his new roommate that he shared his apartment with, but no one had ever seen her. The two only had a friendship, never anything more, or so Reno told everyone. He even once hinted that he should go out with her, considering the fact that they already did everything else together.

No one was too sure what tamed the once flirtatious, but dangerous red-head, perhaps it was his new job and responsibilities, or maybe it was his new friend. Either way, no one really knew that someone who seemed so insignificant could bring fourth such an impact on any of their lives…

††††††††††††

_Show me what it's like_

_To be the last one standing_

_And teach me wrong from right_

_And I'll show you what I can be_

_Say it for me, Say it to me_

_And I'll leave this life behind me_

_Say it if it's worth saving me_

_Saving Me_

_Nickelback_

††††††††††††

Katori: second done, whee… yes, I know, there's an OC, but bare with me OK? She's gonna grow on you guys, so please stay with me! She won't rule the story, this is still a Yuffie Vincent rule all thing!

_Sin:….. Ryona's too pretty, I was expecting someone… I don't know…. A little more bulky who plays her role…I also expected her to be brunette…_

Katori: Well you can't judge all by appearances… anyways, I do believe I deserve applause for the Vincent and Yuffie part. For all those who still have doubts about how Vincent should act, I advise you, PLAY Dirge of Cerberus before you judge me. I totally agree with how they portray him. HE IS NOT AN EMPTY SHELL! (As DND so perfectly pointed out in the plus side of insomnia) I also think that I got his personality very well portrayed in this chapter, I've played DoC, studied AC and played the game, I finally think I can get how he acts a year later. Notice how he's still secluded, but he speaks like a normal person? He's not from the mid evil era you know, HE USES TODAY'S GRAMMER CONCEPTS!

_Sin: Yeah, she re did that part…. Fifty times until she was positive it was perfect… I know the whole bloody scene off by heart now…._

Katori: This is going to be a long haul guys, you won't see much Yuffentine until… um.. ((/Looks up planning booklet…/))

_Sin: Yeah, she planned it all out, she's really serious about this one…_

Katori: Ah! Around Chapter 7!... PLEASE STAY WITH ME! I PROMISE THAT EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE ROMANCE YOU'LL LOVE THE STORYLINE!

YOU-WANT-TO-REVIEW-- YOU-WANT-TO-REVIEW-- YOU-WANT-TO-REVIEW-- YOU-WANT-TO-REVIEW-- YOU-WANT-TO-REVIEW--


	3. Whisper

Katori: Chapter three, wow, and this one is going to be fun, we're going to finally get some action happening here. So last chapter was all about getting the plot MOVING! Now it's going to start running, hopefully my loyal fans will come and read this one…

_Sin//Is thoroughly insulted// did you realize that one of your reviewers called me a GUY?! Since when do I came off as a GUY?!_

Katori: Really now? You seem like a pretty moody guy, don't you think?

_Sin: EXACTLY I MEAN-………HEY!_

Katori: Either way, yes Sin is a girl, and I am happy some old fans came back…

_Sin: Y'know, maybe it was best you came out with the Plus side of Insomnia first, you seem to have quite a bit of fans now…_

Katori:….. and you actually AGREE with that? Here I was thinking you'd be all upset about this one…

_Sin: Hey, we have some interesting things happening here, I'd like to see how you're going to pull this one off…._

Katori:…… aren't you going to tell everyone how I don't own FFVII or the song?

_Sin: Geesh, you'd think they'd know that by now…_

Katori:…….. true…..

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

_In the winding hours,_

_I let your heart down again,_

_(What did I do to make a scene so gory?)_

_(I'm no better than the ones before me)_

_Old habits die hard_

_I always end up hating the end_

_(What did I do to make a scene so gory?)_

_(I'm no better than the ones before me)_

_By the Way, Hinder_

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Emotion:

_**Confident**_

She concluded that the morning came way too soon, light poured into the room, perhaps not enough to announce 9 o'clock, but enough to wake her. She checked her watch and cringed slightly; it was nearing seven; which meant Tifa was getting up soon.

It wasn't as early as she would have wanted to wake up, but either way she was still tired as hell and knew she wouldn't be getting much sleep for the next little while. She pulled the crisp white covers back and threw her legs over the side of the bed, the floor was cold to the touch but she shrugged it off. Yuffie sluggishly pulled her socks on, then her boots and picked up her things before walking into the bathroom to quickly shower then change.

As soon as the water hit her she was wide awake; already scrubbing at her body and hurriedly washing her hair as her mind worked over her next destination. She knew that even though they could have heard her having a shower, they still wouldn't know exactly when she'd left. She pondered which was the place the group would least suspect, or be able to follow her.

'Hmn…Say, why not venture back to the City of the Ancients?' She hadn't really had time to pay her respects to Aeris while she was there and it was obvious that the organization didn't want anything to do with it. She had made it a fair distance in the Airship until they were assaulted from the ground. Where the group of scientists had come across such powerful guns was beyond Yuffie and she didn't want to find out either.

Besides, not many people even really acknowledged the fact that the ruins were there; what proof would the group even have that she was there? It was obvious that they didn't even think to look there for it, which would have been the first guess for many.

Either way, the trek there would be a pain; no doubt about that…

Yuffie cringed as she mentally mapped out the route to get there, it would have been much faster if she had the help of a Chocobo, but that would be another thing they could track her with. Unless, of course, she 'borrowed' one of Tifa's or Clouds… Her first instinctive was to march downstairs and ask Tifa for hers, but then it would cause unnecessary questions.

'Looks like I get to put my Ninja skills to the test, well… Roki always did like me and Tifa the best.' She mused to herself as she put on her traveling grab and then snuck out of the bathroom and back into her room.

It didn't take long for her to gather up her things, scribble a quick note for Tifa or Cloud to find and then high tail it out the window and onto the catwalk SOMEONE _finally_ fixed.

The trip to and from the Chocobo stables was uneventful, either Tifa had assumed her long gone, or she had really been as silent as she'd hoped. She entered into Roki's stall and the golden chocobo 'kweh'ed happily at the sight of her, she ruffled his feathers a little affectionately. She brought him out into the sunlight and then the two of them rode off to what Yuffie was sure the direction the City of the Ancients was.

"Damnit!" A hand slammed down onto the desk, papers and files scattered everywhere within the rage of the moment. The man hardly noticed, his gaze was fixed upon the tank before him, he stood up and stomped around the side of his desk to face it. "This is supposed to be flawless!" He exclaimed in an outraged fashion, digging in the pockets of his lab coat for a particular item.

As soon as he retrieved the vile of seemingly black liquid it was then that he quieted down and began tirelessly pacing back and fourth in front of the tank of liquid.

"No, no, no, the lifestream is so unstable we cannot even condense it into a materia, we're going to need that god forsaken white materia…" He slammed his other hand against the tank of swirling black and green liquid. "How can we have come this far only to be set back? Those notes were useless, even Dr. Crescent's were of no value, if only we could hack into the Shinra company database and salvage_ his_…" He trailed off and then began to continue his pacing and rant with a renewed vigor, "Yes, that doctor, his findings would be just what we needed. One of the original doctors to ever study the lifestream and it's effects with materia, we would only need one glance to find a way."

"It's a shame his only available records were those he wrote regarding the demon Chaos, even if he strayed off his normal path to help Crescent the original findings would be priceless…" He glanced down at the notes they had managed to retrieve at the ShinRa mansion and smirked slightly. "However… the infusions of Mako into the body we've studied are amazing, Dr. Hojo… You were useful for SOMETHING…"

He walked around his desk once more and then reached into a drawer, he pulled out a worn but still useable red disk and inserted it into the computer.

Information popped up before his eyes, he was lucky that he had made the encounter with Miss Rosso before she was killed by a Vincent Valentine.

Hiros Takyuka had been one of the original scientists that worked with Deepground to uncover a way to create a pure lifestream that Omega could absorb. He had always been intrigued by the effects that the lifestream had on the planet and on humans. He had researched grandly into the scientists before him that also shared the fixation. But he could have cared less for his actual job, he had been more interested in getting all the files he could on the lifestream and materia.

A few other scientists shared in his obsession as well, one being a Dr. Keith Granger. Together they had insisted that Rosso the Crimson infiltrate the new ShinRa base and find them the files on the one Doctor that had been interested in exactly what they wanted to know.

How to recreate the most powerful materia that could not only put the world and lifestream at their mercy, but this materia could heal or influence any illness, even revert the effects of death…

They would be able to draw a person back out of the lifestream. They had the materials, but they needed the procedure. That was something a Dr. Grismoire Valentine had looked into, perhaps not for the same purposes, but either way, his research was vital to their plans.

After Deepground's plans were foiled, the small group of scientists relocated in the now deserted Edge, the place was in ruins after the attack on the city and they had taken base in one of the old universities. They boarded up the entrances and made sure that if anyone entered they would be killed, the place they were staying in was on the far side of the surrounding area and no one had been near it since. The building had been old anyways, and they were looking for a reason to build a new one, thankfully not a soul had been there to salvage the remaining goods.

If they _did_ come… there might be some unfortunate… accidents…

He grinned as he looked over at another container, but it was not what was inside the green sustaining liquid… but who…

"Man," Yuffie said aloud, talking more to herself then to the bird, "This place is so… surreal looking…" She jumped off the Chocobo and tied it's reins to a random tree just outside the forest. "Just peachy, nothing seems out of place here!"

As she made the way through the almost never-ending labyrinth Yuffie began to wonder… no… she began to doubt herself again. Sometimes, these bad feelings caught up with her, she wanted to act and be courageous but when she finally had time to sit down and think about her actions, the gloominess she felt surprised her.

Yuffie Kisaragi, no matter the age or talent, was still just one solitary person, or Ninja. Sure, she could take care of herself… but could she really save the lifestream like Cloud and Vincent before her? Yuffie had always taken a backseat to her friends, she hadn't really done anything remotely noteworthy, she'd always be just one of those on the side. She was no one's hero, not even those of Wutai could think of her as such because of her cowardly decision.

Maybe the reason why she needed to do this was also that she needed to prove to herself that she could handle it on her own. She had always been so outspokenly confident in herself and those around her she knew she could trust. She didn't want to drag anyone back into this, but what if she did and she ended up not being able to do what she set out for?

Yuffie had been taught from an early age that you had to depend on yourself, sometimes you could lean on others, but that could, in turn, be a bad mistake. It was nice to have friends, but Yuffie wasn't too sure if they all felt the same way. Sure Cid swore at her and called her a brat, but did he really care that much about her in order to risk his own life? Would she ever know someone like that, hell, could she ever have anyone truly love her enough to want to be with her?

Perhaps she was jus being a pessimist for a few moments, but she highly doubted she could find anyone like that for her.

Yuffie jumped as she heard a loud bass go off from her pocket and then the lyrics to the song she had programmed in for a certain someone. Now she cringed at the childishness of the song, it really was unfair for her to have this ring tone for someone whom she barely knew…

'_I'm on the outside and I'm looking in, I can see through you, see your true colors. 'Cause inside you're ugly, you're ugly like-_'

Yuffie flipped open the phone and brought it up to her ear, before she could open her mouth the voice on the other end tonelessly cut her off.

"Yuffie Kisaragi, I have been told to contact you and relieve a message…" That was Shelke for you, she always got straight to the point, and she talked very clipped when she addressed Yuffie. The Wutainese Ninja couldn't find out why, but the two of them never really established a relationship. It was like they simply could stand each other.

"Morning Shelke, how are you today?" Yuffie's tone was hopelessly fake and, if anything, sounded sarcastic.

Shelke ignored her question, "Miss. Tifa Lockheart has been trying to get a hold of you for quite some time, she says for you to phone her….." Shelke trailed off, her voice becoming a little more uncertain, "Are you doing something dangerous?"

Yuffie couldn't very well spill everything to Shelke, who would automatically tell Vincent, considering how much she trusted him. She wondered if Shelke was actually starting to care about her, if so, she decided to be a little more sincere to the girl.

"No, not particularly, I'll contact Tifa, thanks for the message… Bye Shelke," She waited to hear the response and after a few moments when she was sure Shelke had probably hung up she took the phone away from her ear.

"Good luck," Yuffie stared down at the phone, in a few seconds, it had gone dead, she blinked and went into her settings, still aimlessly walking on through the dark and rotted tunnels. Shelke was getting a better ringtone….

She closed the cell, put it in her pocket and then continued to the centre of the City, she gazed around the walls, taking in the odd symbols and characters carved there. She could phone Tifa later, as for right now, she needed to concentrate on not getting lost.

The trek to the holy waters and alter was an uneventful one, aside from some random monsters that had managed to sneak into the ruins, the place was rather dull. Something that was a very good sign to Yuffie, it meant that no one had upset the place since she had last been there.

She sat down at the waters edge, bending one leg to hug to her chest as the other lay flat against the ground. She looked to the alter where the Cetra once stood and couldn't help but remember the happy face she had graced Cloud with before she took her last breath. 'You came for me…' it was said, even without words.

_Yuffie…_

The Ninja's head snapped up and she looked around for the source of her discomfort. Why did she suddenly feel as if a set of eyes were fixed on her, and yet she couldn't see anyone?

_Open your Heart…_

She could hear something faint, she slowly pulled out her conformer and listened intently for any signs of another. She strained her ears and the silence was almost frightening, nothing moved, everything was as if time had stopped. It seemed like forever, but finally Yuffie's guard drooped a little, she couldn't hear anything else. Perhaps she merely was hallucinating, it was unlikely that she wouldn't hear someone walking into the room.

She shifted slightly her heart lifted as she heard the faint rustle of her clothing, but she could still feel those eyes on her back. She slowly turned her head, but saw nothing, she dispelled a pent up breath and felt like growling in annoyance. She was clearly going to go insane before she could save the world, but what was with that whisper… what did it say? It had been so small, it almost sounded like a breathless hiss…

_I'm right here_…

This time, Yuffie heard it clearly, it echoed across her mind so crisply that she was startled. She jumped to her feet, conformer in one hand and her eyes searched the silence around her. She definitely heard that one.

_Yuffie, it's me_…

The tenseness in her muscles drained away to leave a wobbly feeling, she dropped her Conformer and cringed as it's metal hit the ground with a loud thump. She knew that voice, who could forget the sweetest voice, the one that reminded her so much of her mothers kind tone?

"Aeris…" Yuffie's knees collapsed beneath her, but before she sunk to the ground a white light enveloped her and she had actually slumped into a field of beautiful white lilies.

_Finally… I was beginning to think your heart was unreachable…_

"Aeris, where are you?" Yuffie looked around for the source of the voice but all she could see was an endless field of white skies and flowers. "Am I supposed to be able to see you? Aeris?!" She began to panic.

A light laughter filled her ears and a warmth touched her cheek. Yuffie's eyes widened when a pair of two stunning green eyes appeared before her, slowly followed by the soft flesh of the unearthly beauty. Finally, Aeris was before her in a long trailing white gown that was strapless and covered in an amazing stitched lilly design on the skirts and lace delicately placed on the top layer.

"_Yuffie, it's been so long, four years since I've been able to speak with you.. now you're around the same age as I_."

"Aeris I-"

Aeris shook her head and the braid cascaded down her back, her smile grew brighter as Yuffie's expression turned to one of confusion.

"_Yuffie I know… but please, the lifestream can only handle touching the earth so many times, I need to tell you so much, and yet I know not where to start_." The Cetra gracefully stood and began to walk over to the flowers on the Ninja's left.

Her long gown trailed behind her, and it was then that Yuffie saw the two transparent wings sprouting from her back, she felt an overwhelming urge to cry. The tears stunk her eyes and she closed them so that the wetness would stay behind her eyelids. There was a shifting in material and then she felt a light warmness encircle her, she didn't need to open her eyes to know that Aeris was hugging her. "_You're wrong_…" her eyes snapped open and she regarded Aeris openly perplexed. "_You're going to need their strength Yuffie, all of it. You're going to need Cloud's, Tifa's, Nanaki's, Barret's, Cid's, Shelke's_…" she grinned as conflicting emotions flashed in her friend's eyes. "_You'll_ _even need Vincent's… you can rely on them, just like they relied on you_… _Yuffie… regardless of what you've done in the past, or even recently, you're going to need every ounce of the strength they can lend you for the upcoming trials_…" Aeris trailed off as if feeling she had spoken too much and opted to switch gears. "_The man you are facing has many followers, some of which you would never guess, I'm afraid I cannot help you in this battle, but Tifa can… Yuffie!" _Aeris was fading and now her voice was slightly panicked, "…_Tifa! Tell her and the others….Cloud….miss them… you can do this….have faith in you…. Trust Vincent… he…you_…"

_Yuffie believe in yourself!_

_Miss. Kisaragi… tell Vincent I'm still watching over him…_

"Aeris?!"

"THERE! I SEE HER! SURROUND HER IMMEDIATELY!" Yuffie cursed and stood up, she pulled out a couple materia and was ready to start casting. She ran for the exit, jumping up high over the heads of the few men that had come in to capture her and the materia.

Her legs pumped quickly as she ran around the bends in the path and came to the light she could faintly see at the end of the tunnel. She reached into her pocket and grabbed her cell phone, quickly dialing Tifa's number… Only a bit more until she was safe and could meet up with the bartender somewhere…

When Yuffie nearly stumbled out of the tunnel and into the light a horrid sight met her. Roki lay on the ground, the Chocobo was covered in it's own blood and wasn't breathing or moving. It's blood stained the ground around it and Yuffie could see that she had no chance in Hell of getting out of there without one hell of a battle.

She was surrounded by at least thirty or so men, each in that ridiculous uniform, holding guns and other unpleasant looking weapons. She took an unconscious step backwards, the phone was still ringing, but no one picked up, she scowled at Tifa's horrible timing and clicked the phone shut. She had just placed the phone back into her pocket when she heard the foot steps behind her stop.

She tried desperately to look for an escape route, but the best that she could see was to her right where there were only a few men. She knew that if she so much as shifted her leg that they would open fire.

'Damnit… I should never have stayed here so long, they had to have traced me somehow… Wait! What about Shelke's call?' "What do you want?" She demanded readying her shuriken for an attack and then her escape to her side.

"Well Miss. Kisaragi, we meet again… Do you remember me?" Asked one of the men, stepping forwards and bowed cockily in her direction. Yuffie swore that if he didn't have guns aimed at her head she would have sliced his right off….

"Who could forget the ugly uniforms and your pretty face?" She sneered, her eyes shifting to her side once more, happy to see the few men there were already looking off and not really paying attention.

The was trapped, a rat in a cage experiment, and she only had once chance to get the key…

§§§§§§§§§§§§

_I'm in the middle of a break down,_

_watching you scream,_

_In the middle of a break down,_

_screaming at me,_

§§§§§§§§§§§§

Katsu: Short chapter I know, Buty I was kicking myself in the ass for not updating. So I kind of cut one in half, sorry if it's disappointing. IT'S NOT OVER! I WILL FINISH THIS!  
_Sin: rolls eyes Then finish Insomnia first…  
_Katsu: Patience… I WILL do that too….

_Sin: Review. Or else Katsu won't update! _

to know people are going to read this, I really like it so far and I hope everyone does too.


	4. Warmth

Katsu: Right into the FOURTH CHAPTER! W00t!  
_Sin: Reviews, I'm AMAZED!  
_Katsu: You SHOULDN'T be, people actually ENJOY my writings thankyouverymuch!  
_Sin: knock on wood.  
_Katsu: does that no kidding . 

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

_Long ago sorrow flickers softly, Memories of conflict set in motion  
Always clinging to my eyes, The white scream froze  
_The wandering of the setting moon  
_My existance surely is here now, Waiting is...  
Not shead tears and such, Only the moment we embrace_

_Re-sublimity, Kotoko_

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

"Now, now Kisaragi, all we want is something you have, we must be able to come to… ah… _some_ form of agreement?" He licked his lips and grinned at her, watching gleefully as her snarl became more apparent with each passing second.

"Yeah, here's an agreement for you, you and your goon-squad take a hike and I won't kill the lot of you!"

"Feisty!" Keith Granger was now clapping his hands in mirth, "Well now, it seems we'll let Hiros have his fun then…" With that he stepped back and all of the men surrounding her cocked their guns. "Miss. Kisaragi, I'll ask you one more time, where is the White Materia, I know you have it, now tell us where it is and I won't send the icky order out to kill you."

Icky? Who _uses_ that word nowadays?

"No way in HELL!" Yelled Yuffie digging her heels into the ground for emphasis, and before their leader could even open his mouth she threw her Shuriken to her side and then ran towards the guards as they scattered from her weapon.

Gunshots rang out behind her, but she was glad to see that most of the men didn't contain any aim whatsoever. One went wizzing by her head and she sucked in a surprised breath. The shuriken came flying back to her hand, catching it and bounding off to what direction she had been certain she had came from.

More bullets came and grazed past her, at some points she was glad that she had changed directions so randomly. For with their bosses loud angered shouts she could feel their aim improving in dire needs to not piss off the man even more.

There were loud footfalls behind her and she twisted her body in mid stride to throw some of her attackers off course. Her eyes grew wide as a bullet went to hit her right in between the eyes, she easily deflected it and decided it safer to have the larger shield on hand. There was no way she was fast enough to out run a bullet, that was for certain.

She could see only twenty or so of the men, her mind raced with the possibilities of where the other thirty or so had disappeared off to. It had been sheer luck she'd made it out of the ring of guns without a scratch, but now was the worst time she could let down her guard, one bullet grazed her arm and she flinched, but didn't let her other arm to go grab the wound, so the blood flowed freely.

She deflected more fetal shots to her abdomen and skull then let a few smaller throwing stars fly, hitting about five or so of her pursuers but the wounds were not fetal. She ran as fast as her legs could bring her, she had always prided herself in her quick and agile movements but there was no way she could out run them forever.

In front of her Yuffie could faintly see a line of what she assumed was more soldiers, she cursed and ran off to her side, cutting down her chances for a surrounding like before. In an instant she was face to face with a bunch of heavy armored men, all carrying large metal swords and swinging blindly at her.

She felt hopelessness seize her, all around her there was gunfire, and now she was slowly being boxed in like as rabbit for hunt. She heaved in and out deep breaths, trying to catch her breath and still dance around the bullets.

'_Vincent and Cloud could do this! I've seen them take on at__ least__ this much!_' Even though her chances were nearing impossible, Yuffie threw out her Conformer with all her strength, taking down two of the bulky soldiers in the process. Her breath hitched as she saw an opening that she could slip through.

Her mind screamed for her to run, to run as fast and hard as she could through that tight little hole and into freedom, and she did. The only problem was that she didn't see the missal flying towards her feet from the other side, being too distracted with her chance for survival.

When it hit the ground at her feet she screamed as she fell forward onto the rocky gravel, when she pushed herself off the dirt floor and scrambled to her feet, her heart sank deep into her gut.

She was boxed in again, and behind her was a horde of Deepground soldiers.

'No! When the Hell did they survive!? We wiped out all of them from what I heard, how could this many have escaped?' Her eyed shifted to all her directions, trying to find another weak defense, but they were walking closer and closer and every time they did she could see their resolve thickening.

"Miss. Kisragi," Damn, he had an annoying voice, "You seem like the type for a little bargaining fun…" the man stepped forward again. "I'm willing to give you a chance to survive this, if you can simply defeat all those to your left…" he gestured to the twenty to her left, "and those on the right," the Deepgrounds… And they all had those missals but no guns, they contained swords and large guns, but if they could only shoot one and then re load like she'd encountered before then she still had a chance to dodge around them.

"And if I win?"

Keith chuckled, "Then little ninja, I let you free, but if you are knocked to your feet with a severe wound then I will take the White Materia from you…"

Yuffie needed to catch her breath still, and her wound was still bleeding slightly on her arm. She still needed a little more time to heal herself, already holding a potion in her hand, she casually clamped her hand over her wound. Healing it with the odd mixture and improving her chances of the battle she would be in.

"OK, but don't you find it rude that I you know my name and yet I don't know what to call you or your little battalion?"

"Ah, you must forgive me and my poor manners," He apologized, "My name is Keith Granger, and those around you are part of a nice little squad we'd like to call the N.W.O, with the help of some rogue Deepground Soldiers thrown in for the mix…"

Yuffie readied the conformer, equipping in some fire 3, thunder 2, and a full cure, the only other materia she had managed to bring out of her bag without a hassle.

"Alright, so you N.W.O freaks want the materia ne? Well you have to go through the Great Ninja Yuffie, warrior of the light!"

And so, the battle began.

Like Keith had said, the other men and woman with guns backed out of the small little ring and stood, waiting for their leaders orders. The others charged mercilessly firing a barrage of missals, ones that Yuffie miraculously managed to dodge, even though they were heat seeking. She threw out her Shuriken, noticing the scramble to re load and shoot again all at the same time, she ran forward while doing so, causing the Conformer to fly heavily through the crowd in front of her. She could feel a bunch of Swordsman on her back, charging in so the others would have time to regroup. Yuffie calculated that at least five to ten were injured from her Shuriken as it sped through their ranks, some jumping to the side to get out of her way.

Instead of catching it with her right arm like she normally did, she took five steps forward, allowing the boomerang-like weapon to race behind her, she heard a satisfied 'ough' as she had sliced down two more of the sword carrying men that had just jumped up to slash down at her. Her left hand caught it and she switched tactics, spinning around and casting a fire spell right in the middle of the wave that was nearly twenty feet away.

Instead of what she had hoped the men on the sides let their fallen comrades in the middle that had been hit fall to the ground and kept approaching. She cast another one, this time thunder, and to the side of the group, cutting down at least eight from the electric shock coursing through their bodies.

There weren't many more of the ground attackers, but she noticed that the launchers were already back into position. She took off running top speed towards the opposite side of the field, catching the soldiers off guard and she ran right through them. They ran after her, stopping to try and slash her but failing miserably, they just weren't fast enough to catch the best Ninja Wutai had to offer.

Another layer of mini-bomb like bullets rained down on her, she wasn't surprised to see that they had taken down their 'comrades' on the process. She heard the explosion behind her and knew that they had taken down her remaining pest problem.

She focused on diving out of the way for the other ones coming at her, feeling the ground shake underneath her feet as each bullet exploded near her. She felt clumsy as she twirled around and literally spun away from them, her luck was holding strong until one lucky one managed to catch the ground beneath her. She was blown into the air, falling heavily onto her newly healed shoulder, she jumped to her feet, pulling out a Hi-potion and pouring it into her damaged limb. She seethed out a hissed breath as the medicine kicked in and made a wave of pain course through her left arm, she gingerly flexed the appendage.

She once again readied a spell, sending off the shockwave towards those in front of her, her mind felt dizzy with happiness as she saw their numbers depleting before her eyes. Her legs pumped quickly and she threw out another handful of mini-shuriken, surprisingly hitting a man's gun and causing the ammunition in it to explode, taking him and the four around him to the lifestream.

She was hit squarely across the back with a blade-like weapon and she fell to her knees and threw herself out of the way, as she dodged/rolled out of the line of fire, she saw that the other side had come out on an all offensive and abandoned their shooting positions. All except for maybe ten were on the other side; she slammed her shuriken into the abdomen of the one who hit her killing him instantly. She then kicked off his chest and sent him stumbling into the two behind him, blood splattered all across the ground, hers and his.

She cast a full-cure, pleased as the shimmering light passed over her and closed up her wound, along with healing some of her fatigue.

It was probably the hardest fight she had ever done on her own, but so far she had them scrambling. She still had much further to go to wipe them out, but if they had thrown in the warning towel that early it meant they weren't underestimating her at all.

Keith clenched his fists angrily as she watched this child tare through his men, cutting them down by twos, it wasn't long until she was injured again, this time on her leg. She used the sword wound distraction to kick the man in the neck, snapping it and taking care of one more of his underlings. After she had ran off, even with the cut on her leg and the crimson liquid gushing out for all to see, she threw a potion on it, stopping the blood flow and continued her battle. Another wave of missals hit the area where she stood, but because of the soldiers around her, they took most of the hits, considering they were larger in size and held more body heat. She WAS thrown to the ground, however, and one of the few that had survived rushed forwards to finish her, Keith knew it was hopeless.

How could someone her size and shape take down _seventy _men all on her own, it would have been nearly impossible for even the best man he had in his army to kill off twenty other beings, let alone even more then that. He could only hope his trump card would be ready soon so he could unleash them onto this annoying Wutainese Flea.

She stood triumphantly after another half an hour of the grueling fight, she had finally taken care of the men on both sides and was casually walking out of the circle. She wiped a bit of blood from her face and began to part from the circle, when he had only been about ten feet away from the last spot she'd shot down a man on she heard a shout. Spinning around to catch what was happening, she saw Keith grinning, with ten other men and woman aiming their guns at her, maybe twenty-five or so feet away.

"I should have known that scum don't play fair," She spat out, feeling the adrenaline rushing from her body and leaving her weak and cold, "Son of a bitch," She added as an insult, feeling the anger well up inside of her.

"Now, now, I'm keeping MY promise, but I don't think _she _was a part of the deal….."

When Yuffie turned around to see what he'd meant, she saw a flash of red, and then she felt an intense pain across her chest. She went flying backwards, her blood seeping out of her chest wound, she tried to stand up again but she was punched so hard in her gut that she coughed up blood. As she began to fall back to the ground, she saw the red eyes and similarly colored hair of someone whom she considered a ghost.

"I told you, _Wutai Flea_, I would have my revenge, now darling, where is the Holy Materia?" She was being held upright by the hand that clamped on her throat making her hover just an inch above the ground. The life sustaining liquid was leaking down the sides of her mouth and her eyes were hazy and unfocused.

"Go….back….to…H-hell!" Coughed out the Ninja, scratching weakly at the arm that held her air supply, she was thrown to the ground with a snarl, but before she was finished off a loud voice stopped her.

"NO! Retrieve the White Materia, this one shall be the first experiment to see if our research proves true!" Yelled another voice, and Yuffie spat out the blood in her mouth, heaving in as much air as she could raggedly, her chest feeling like it was on fire.

"As you wish," the crimson-clad woman replied, distaste clear in her voice as she grabbed Yuffie roughly and yanked off the backpack that was strapped onto her back. "If I had my way, you would be a part of the lifestream by now…" She whispered scathingly, then grinned. "But then again, perhaps your death will come soon, depending on the curse brought upon you…"

Yuffie was fading in and out of consciousness, she could see the woman digging through her belongings, she tried to life her hand to stop her, to grab her Conformer and slash at the bitch who was supposed to be dead. The most she could do with her body now was shift her hand slightly and tilt her head to the side, to let the blood leak from her mouth.

"Found it," Announced the woman casually, standing up and holding the white materia, Yuffie used all of her strength to sit up and reach for her Conformer, but she was caught and the woman kicked it behind her with one foot. As she handed it over to her superior Yuffie clutched her chest, her breathing coming in uneven and unbearable pain coursed through her petite body.

"Good….good…..now….use……..Ninja…" Was all she could make out as the pain lanced through her, she slowly looked up and saw him pouring a vile of foul black liquid onto the materia with gleeful hands.

The intense light was too much for Yuffie to take, her mind screamed for her to fight with all her remaining life to get back the materia, but her body refused to move. She was paralyzed from the grave wound that spilt warm blood from her chest. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of intense light, the glow faded away to show a swirled materia with black liquid not really mixing with it.

The man threw out his hand to point his palm at Yuffie, before she could register what was happening, a pain so intense came across her eyes that she could have sworn that she had been slashed across them too. She screamed out in agony and clutched her eyes, a blood redness filled her vision and then melted away, along with the pain in her head. When she looked up to sneer at them and tell them that their materia had backfired on them, she felt her eyesight dim, her eyes grew wide as she tried to focus, only to find that the light her eyes took in was a little less.

Dread wrapped around her like a suffocating hug, and the new man before her began to let out a horrid laugh that crashed through the silence around them. The spell that the white Materia had cast on her _had _been random, but both sides knew what the curse was, a curse of blindness… One that originated long ago.

….A Curse of blindness.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

_Unsaid...Unheard...Unseen...Just an illusion  
Traveling to the other side of time I become a lost child An unforgivable desire  
Only your voice...your fingers...the warmth near you..._

_Unspoken thoughts get tainted by the shredded night wind_

_Re-Sublimity, Kotoko_

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

Katori: Wow, that was one hell of a scene, I was almost feeling the heaviness of breath as I wrote it, I'm really glad that I'm Okay at righting fight scenes…

_Sin:….. So let me get this straight…. You didn't PLAN to have her come back from the dead… but what the hell are you going to do with R-_

Katori: AH//clamps hand over Sin's mouth// SPOLIERS!!! You aren't supposed to tell them who that is, they have to figure it out on their own.

_Sin//snorts// as if they DON'T know who it is! But anyways… yay… blood slaughter…. So… do you really think that Yuffie could have pulled that off in the game?_

Katori: You know what, I think she could, When I was playing DoC Vincent was ambushed by about fifty Deepground Soldiers in Midgar before, during, and after he was fighting the Dragonfly. If he could take on that many then, given the right amount of time and planning, Yuffe could as well. Yuffie also implied that Cloud and Vincent could do it easily, but I have a suspicion that they would have had as much trouble as she did.

_Sin: So, NOW what's going to happen?_

Katori: Simple… people are going to R&R & THEN they'll get the next chapter! I need to know people are going to read this, I really like it so far and I hope everyone does too.


	5. Further

Katori: Wow, chapter four

.Katori: Wow, chapter four! I'm really glad some people liked this!

_Sin:….. You totally left a cliffhanger for everyone last chapter!_

Katori: I know, and that's why I uploaded this one so …er….quickly!

_Sin: Katori Tsubasa owns nothing._

Katori:…….yeah….. as sad as that is….

_Sin: Well…. Wow, I don't really have anything to say…._

Katori: And the clouds opened up and God yelled down: I love you Katori!

Sin: /scowls/

_If you feel so empty, so used up, so let down_

_If you feel so angry, so ripped off, so stepped on_

_You're not the only one refusing to back down_

_You're not the only one so get up._

_-Riot_

_-Three Days Grace_

Emotion:

_**Underestimation**_

"Commencing data fragment link….Initiating Synaptic Net Dive in counting…3…2…1… Successfully uploaded…"

Shelke sat up on the terminal, careful not to hit any of the keys on the board as she subconsciously entered the world of the computer. All around her she could see the Data, as if there were screens that suspended in mid-air without wires. Her mind raced through the data so quickly that the screens before could barely keep up with her. They closed and opened with amazing warp-like speed and Shelke did this all without so much as batting an eyelash. She quickly dove into an radio-signal uplink and uploaded the information there, quickly mouthing the user and then pinpointed the location. Her job wasn't finished there, she quickly pulled the co-ordinates off of the hacked signal transmissions and pasted them onto one of her own creations.

As said before, this was all done in a matter of seconds, what normally would have taken someone twenty plus minutes took her less then twenty seconds.

"Vincent Valentine, I've managed to find out the position of Miss. Kisaragi, it appears that the signals her phone is outputting pinpoints her at _this_ location." She quickly uploaded the information onto Vincent's Cell phone and then proceeded to continue copying the Omega reports and Dr. Crescent's findings onto her computer.

"Thank you Shelke," Finally came the reply, and then there was a pause in which she knew he was looking over the location, "Are you certain that this is the place?"

Shelke felt indignant, her network hadn't failed her once and she most certainly had traced the signals from Yuffie Kisaragi's phone as soon as the conversation had started. She found her to be at THAT exact place, and even showed Nanaki, or Red XIII the place on a map, shortly after she had been told to phone Vincent and relay the news to him. After a short period in which Nanaki talked to the gunslinger, Shelke quickly uploaded her mind onto the network she'd created there and pinpointed it AGAIN just to make sure.

"Yes, I am positive that-…..what? Vincent, the signal just cut out… but that could only mean that either the phone was shut off or it's been broken." Vincent knew her hidden meaning, he had felt it too and cursed himself for not trying to catch up to her that morning; Yuffie was in trouble.

The hotel on the other side of the city had reported a break-in situated at around twelve o'clock last night, the room in question was broken into and immediately searched. When they came up with nothing and heard the commotion in the next room, they broke through their doors just after the woman had gotten off of the phone with the police. They injured the mother and the son was shoved into the closet while they searched that room as well for whatever they were looking for. This would have been a normal break in if it wasn't for the fact that they had released the name of the room they had originally broken into. The room was under the name of a certain Ninja; Yuffie Kisaragi.

"Thank you again Shelke, contact me as soon as that signal comes back on, I'm going to see if I can get there before Cid brings Tifa along."

The call ended and Shelke sighed in an annoyed manner, sometimes Vincent Valentine was rather one track minded. She heard a chuckle in front of her as fur brushed up against her leg, she sighed and absently ran her fingers across Red's mane.

"You don't need to worry, she's much to stubborn to die," She reminded her companion, scratching Nanaki's ears as she finished uploading the remaining files onto the hard drive.

Nanaki smiled as he watched the young girl before him slide off the helmet she'd created and looked down at him curiously. Shelke had been living with him for over seven months now, and he found that her presence was rather calming to him and the residents of Cosmo Canyon. Every morning she went out and helped at a breakfast place just down the street for a bit of gil that she used to pay Nanaki with. No matter how many times he told her that he was happy to have her she simply would not let him keep her there without taking the money in return.

"I know Shelke, but sometimes… you just can't help worrying about those you care for…"

"Worrying about…those you…care for?"

"Yes."

"Nanaki, do you worry about me?"

The Cosmo Canyon native laughed heartily, "Every day Shelke, every day…but for now why don't you catch your rest… you had a late night."

Shelke obediently marched into her room and laid down on the bed, she could feel the weariness that the SND had placed on her mind, it had been a while since she had last used that. She would have to start re-training her conscious to use it again even though Nanaki had assured her she would never have to do it again.

For some reason, she just didn't believe him, some may have called her paranoid but she knew that something was coming. Even my the tone of voice Vincent had used with her; she knew that he could feel it too and that made her a little more content as she slowly fell into a daze… but just a _little_ more…

...

It had taken all of her remaining strength to cast the Full Cure on herself, after she'd lain there for about an hour. She was breathing in slowly and catching her breath, she flexed her arm and winced as a wave of pain shot up it. She opened her eyes and saw that her sight had dimmed a little bit more, she couldn't quite remember how long the curse gave her until she was completely blind, but she estimated about a week. Everything hurt, it turn just to take in the air in order for her to survive and it hurt for her to move in any which way.

But dying wasn't an option, she would carry on, blindness or not. Perhaps this was fueled by the rage she felt in letting herself be beaten so easily and caught off guard by the woman she assumed was dead. Or perhaps she was still trying to prove to herself that she deserved to be an Avalanche member.

Or maybe it was the fact that Aeris still believed in her and that Yuffie didn't want to let the flower girl down. And in a small part of her mind she knew that she didn't want to die, and how it sickened her how the last real thought she had while being struck down was of someone she could care less about. Or so she thought.

The curse was one of ancient descent, it had started about the time that Wutai had first been founded. The curse was one like that of Geostigma, but instead of the final result as death, the person was blinded for the rest of their lives. The curse was known as the Namida, or Wutainese for tears and was known for it's effect on the eyes and the heart. Unlike the other ailments like petrifying that could be cured with a simple materia or remedy, this curse couldn't be healed. There was no known cure, and the only clue to it was the flower with a similar name and similar attributes.

As soon as enough pollen had made contact with the eyes, the person went through intense pain for 24 hours and wouldn't be able to see, after a few days this would subside, but the curse did not. Many said that this was a curse from Leviathan and the other Gods for those who sought only beauty and craved it. But no one could be sure as to who could come in contact with the curse for there were no cases that were ever the same. People from children to teens, to elderly could contradict the disease and would stay blind for the rest of their days.

But not even the flower was found during a regular day, it usually appeared to show great omen.

During the time of the curse, it had been said that Leviathan had been angered with the men on the outside of the village and those they traded to. They had been kidnapping beautiful girls and selling them across the seas on boats to that many would call a 'whore house'. So Leviathan ordered a powerful sorceress to came across them dressed as a beautiful woman, pretending to be a flower girl and offering them the flower known as the Namida. They kidnapped her and the day before they were to sell her they all were stricken ill by a searing pain in their eyes, all of those who touched the girls were cursed with it. They were cursed to walk blind, and all of their descendants would eventually gain the decease as well, not one of them knowing that the flower girl had touched their eyes.

The sorceress was distinguished as a Cetra in her day and her deeds were now known as folktale and legends. No one knew her story was real or the true hidden past of the long heirs of Wutai, known as the Kisaragi's.

In order for her deeds long, long ago the Cetra Yasashi Kisaragi was given an important title amongst the self-sufficient village of Wutai. However, because of her heritage there weren't many people she could trust with her secret so she was simply known as the village healer. When a man who claimed the throne was finally crowned and the royal bloodline started the woman warned him that if he took down the surrounding forest and contaminated the pure stream running along side it then there would be consequences.

But he didn't listen, and for it, the Cetra had to suffer the anguish of hearing as all the plants cried out in pain, it was from then on that the Cetra and the Royal bloodline became enemies. The Cetra cursed the heir to the thrown with the Namida, and they retaliated by banishing her out of the village. The original name of the royal line of Wutai was the Chinotori's and the Cetra's last name was Kisaragi; no one knew exactly what decade the male descendant from the Kisaragi's took the throne, but ever since then all of the heirs to the Kisaragi throne were female.

And because of the age long tradition; they had to marry to take the throne, which cause a lot of uproar among the more spirited Kisaragi females who were certain that they could rule alone. It was also proclaimed that all of the Kisaragi bloodline of Wutai would study under the art of the Ninja, or ninjitsu, therefore creating what was now known as the Wusheng. When the Kisaragi's and Chinotori's were still at war, the ninjitsu was passed down from mother to child.

No one knew of the tale of the Cetra, the story was lost in time, and the knowledge of the Kisaragi's holding Cetra blood was lost. According to the ancient scriptures, the Kisaragi's were always the heirs to the throne, and the Chinotori's were never heard of again.

It had been only in the last decade that the flowers had been spotted near the edge of the village, many believed that it was because Leviathan was once again angered with what the ruler of Wutai, Godo, had done with the town. The first person who had come across the curse had been put under quarantine, but had disappeared only a few weeks after.

According to her sensei, Yuffie knew that the disease created horrible scars across the person's eyes and not only made them blind, but it warped their eye's as well. Now, she held this curse, and because of the white materia casting it on her here was no telling how long she would have until all she saw was darkness, or how horrid the scars she would have.

She slowly reached for her cell phone, pulling it out of her pocket and looking for any damage obtained during the fight. Miraculously, the piece of technology wasn't even scratched after all that had happened. Yuffie smiled slightly and winced as she groggily turned to her side to look at the phone and punch in the number.

The phone beeped slightly as the call went through, it was dying, and she would only have about ten more minutes until it lost all the battery power. It rang once and then twice, after about the fifth ring she was going to give up, but a hurried voice picked up on the other line.

"Hello?! Yuffie?!" Cried Tifa's distressed voice from the other line, Yuffie's would-be grin turned more into a grimace as she heard her friend's tone. She wanted to tell Tifa that she was alright, that nothing was wrong and she was just checking in, but both would know it was a lie.

"I'm fine, I'm coming…there…don't…. come…" She didn't notice how much it hurt for her to speak, she had barely choked out those words and then clicked the phone shut, careful to save the battery power.

"Yuffie?! YUFFIE! Answer me, are you still there?! _Yuffie-" beeeeep…beeeeep…beeeeep…_ Tifa looked down at the phone as if she wasn't too sure if Yuffie had actually hung up on her. "Damnit Yuffie… I knew something was wrong…" Tifa glanced over at the television that showed what the camera's had captured in the hotel.

In the video, it showed Yuffie entering her hotel room at exactly 10:18 p.m and fast forward about an hour and a half later when two sketchy men snuck up to her door and stood there for about ten minutes, then broke in. Yuffie had been gone, and had left an appropriate amount of gil under her pillow, but now they assumed that she'd been kidnapped.

Tifa sighed, picked up the phone once more and dialed the only one who had made contact with Yuffie Kisaragi last night.

"Hello Tifa." Came a response after two rings.

"Where the _hell_ is she, Vincent."

"According to Shelke she's at the City of the Ancients, and then her phone signal cut out about a minute ago."

"Why didn't you- wait… a minute ago? I…. Oh my gosh, Vincent, what do you think happened? I just got a call from her, she told me that she was coming and not to follow her…"

There was silence on the other side, she waited with anticipation to see if he was perhaps planning something. She heard him dispel of his breath heavily and then there was a bit of static before he finally replied, but not telling Tifa what she wanted to hear in the least.

"Then we wait for her return…"

Click.

She had to move, she couldn't just lie there and wait to die, she had already made her decision to live, so it was now or never. She slowly lifted herself off of the ground and stumbled to her feet, already breathing heavily, she searched for the path she was treading before and then limped her way down it.

It was going to be a long walk home.

Her legs felt like lead weights and each step brought more heaviness onto her step, she thought of a mantra in her head 'just a few more steps' and after those 'steps' a couple more. To survive a trek like that you had to not think of the end, but the small steps before you, an impossible task became less and less if you slowly chipped away at it. She absently wiped a trail of blood away from her mouth and spit the metallic taste out of her mouth and onto the ground cringing at the sight of her own blood.

...

'_Just a few more steps, then I can rest…_' the five she managed to stumble slowly turned into ten, then twenty and finally around fifty, '_Just a few more…_'

"_**STOP! STOP! PLEASE JUST STOP; YOU'RE KILLING HIM! I'LL DO ANYTHING JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE**_!"

"No…." She moaned, curling up in the fetal position, tears running down her cheeks as the images flashed before her eyes. She felt the pain stabbing at her like a sharp knife, slicing through her chest and into her heart like a needle pulling thread. In and out the needle worked, until she felt herself on the bridge of insanity, she moaned louder, unable to wake from her nightmares.

"_**HOJO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE**_?!"

"_**NO**_!" Tears streamed down her face, "_**NO THIS IS NO EXPERIMENT! IT'S**_-"

"_**GIVE HIM BACK**_!" The pain… She just couldn't take it anymore, "_**GIVE MY SON BACK!**_"

"_**LET ME SEE HIM!**_"

"_**JUST ONCE**_!"

"_**I'm so sorry…..Vincent….. I'm…. Oh Gods please forgive me… I'M SO SORRY!**_"

"_**I've hurt you so, so much…"**_

"_**I can't take it anymore… I'm……………**_."

"_**I'm dying…**_"

"NOOOO!" She bolted upright bathed in sweat and her own tears, her short hair plastered to her face and neck. She pulled her knees to her chest, and even though she could have sworn that there were no more tears left to cry she grabbed her pillow and held on for dear life as sobs wracked her body. "Sh…Shalua….I wish…. I wish you were here…"

She could cry now, no one was watching…

_**"Someone… anyone… make this pain…make it go away…"**_

"Someone… anyone… make this pain…go away…"

Then she heard it, the faint music, she wiped away her tears and reached for it.

...

/Who… are you?/

She dragged on, stumbling and staggering across the barren landscape, soon she would reach the water and need to take an airship to the other side. Even though she hated them with a passion, she would need to in order to make it there alive, she was too wounded to walk the whole way.

/So where are we?/

Could she phone Tifa and get her to pick her up? Would she sacrifice all that she'd done so far to stop them from uprooting their lives just so she could sleep?

She took out her Cell phone and turned it on to find that the battery power was only a few minutes from death, she quickly dialed in the number and paused in her tracks so catch her breath. The phone picked up and she felt relief seep into the cold pit of her stomach as the voice on the other end said hello in her usual tone of voice.

"Could you come and pick me up? Bring Cid… not……augh…."

"Of course Yuffie."

Yuffie fell backwards and stared up at the sky breathing in calm and deep breaths, she flinched as her wound ached. The last thing she saw was the blood red seeping through her clothes as the cut re-opened, and sometime later on the roar of an engine entered her subconscious mind.

Images of what was happening around her flashed before her mind; she could hear Cid cursing and lifting her up with unbelievable ease, the next second Shelke was sitting beside her speaking in words that Yuffie couldn't make out, only a few more seconds after that she was being moved from the ship with a surprising gentleness. Then Tifa's voice entered her ears then all she saw was darkness, finally her mind and body could rest.

_If you feel so empty_

_So used up _

_So let down_

_If you feel so angry just get up…_

_Let's start a riot, a riot_

_Let's start a riot…_

_-Riot_

_-Three Days Grace_

Katori: wow… what a chapter, it's probably really confusing to a lot of you… I'll probably have to rewrite it when I'm of a sane mind… I'm really falling behind schedule, a lot more things were supposed to happen this chapter but it seems right to end it there. Yuffie needs time to regenerate and I think a fresh new chapter would be able to give the story enough time to process. This is my first real attempt to write a long intricate storyline and I think this could really go somewhere.

Actually, this is an FYI corner for those who want to learn mope about me but I'm getting into Naruto now, I read the manga up to 5 and then trailed off about five months after, I felt the story was getting no where and they were all too one-track minded. Considering Sakura and Ino's strong bond that is completely ruined by someone who is as annoying as _Sasuke, _I like Naruto more then I like that power-hungry pretty-boy.

After reading up until you actually meet Gaara I was uninterested… and then when I saw the battle between him and Lee I was AMAZED, so I completely ignore the anime, but damn, that fighting style is amazing and now Gaara and Rock Lee are my favorite characters…

So this is yet another storyline that proves it; manga is better then anime, the only anime that is better then the manga I think is Hellsing, simply because Hellsing is a sexy and dark anime and the manga kind of ruins that sexiness with all of their weird humor and gore.

Yeah…. That was my FYI corner, if this catches on I guess I could get requests for me to comment on other anime's…but I highly doubt people want to hear about what I like when they could formulate their own opinion… Actually Sin is asleep right now, it kind of scares me, she's actually dormant when I'm writing this!


	6. Throb

One of the last chapters uploading, so read profile for explanation. I am terribly sorry.

_Sin: Good luck love….I can't wait either_

_Stringing together stale words_

_Even so, all we want to do_

_Is to share simple thoughts_

_The tickling wind blowing through today_

_Is abandoning the ruins of yesterday_

_Laughing with you, now we're alive_

_-Seishun Kyousoukyku_

_-TiA_

Emotion:

_**Regret**_

The first thing that registered to her when she had finally awakened was the throb in her eyes and the dryness in her throat. She swallowed and felt that taste she always had if she didn't brush her teeth before going to bed and tiredly reached up to rub her eyes. They felt so dry and itchy like that bad eye infection she once had as a child, but she knew this probably appeared to be much more vulgar then a simple pinkness.

How much longer until she was completely blind? Or perhaps she had slept through her whole final period of light, the thought scared her so she opened her eyes just to check and gasped. All she saw was dark.

She tried to catch a grip and told herself that it was probably night time, considering the fact that so much had happened during that day… or maybe it was already the day after? She couldn't really get a jist of how long she had been out, by the feel of her body, though, she had to say she was asleep for quite a few hours. She moved her head this way and that then found a source of light; the crack underneath what she could assume was a door.

When she tried to stand up she regretted it instantly as everything came crashing down upon her; her injury throbbed violently and her stomach churned in an unpleasant manner. There was also the dizziness she was now suffering from and she could feel the weakness in her knees buckling underneath her. She felt so incredibly helpless as she sunk to the floor and could feel the strain of her heart pumping blood to the muscles unused for so long.

She took in a deep cleansing breath and grasped the side of the bed for support before using the strength left in her arms to shakily get to her feet. First one knee bent, then the other, and finally she could feel the muscles in her legs working to straighten her out even though they felt like jelly. She slowly shuffled her way over to the door and rested on the wall beside it heavily, panting and clutching her ripped diaphragm, it occurred to her now that there was a presence of bandages across her chest, legs, and even arms. The thought finally hit her that perhaps she wasn't presentable, but she could care less, she knew the one home would have already seen her naked anyways, why should she care now?

Slowly the light seeped into the darkness of the room and devoured it, the brightness startled her and when she turned around after opening the door only a few inches she could see the room completely. Even though it was still dark and shadowed she could see the bed that she had once rested on minutes before, a dresser in the other corner and a lamp placed upon it. It was not what she remembered from the last time she had been to Tifa's house, but she came to the conclusion that she was far too dazed to really remember what her old room looked like.

Voices drifted to her ears from down the stairs and Yuffie quickly assessed that she was in Vincent's old room, she frowned slightly and transferred her weight over to her left leg, the one that wasn't really that badly injured. Why would they place her in Vincent's room of all things…? Perhaps this was Tifa's way of getting back at her for something, Tifa was slightly humorous that way.

She hesitated, knowing that a long explanation on her part was to fallow the end of those stairs but she knew that it would be cowardly to prolong it. She cursed at her own weakness for being so easily defeated and caused such a situation to occur. The small part of her mind whispered to her to grab her things and run, the louder and much more obnoxious part screamed back: where the_hell_ is she going to go with _those_ injuries?

She gazed down at her bandages and noticed that someone had the decency to put her in a pair of shorts and a shirt. She sighed and slowly made her way down the hallway to the stairs, heavily relying on the wall for the support she needed. When she reached the top of those damned steps she could hear the melodiously soft tenor of the gunslinger and stopped, leaning forwards to listen.

"But we don't know why…"

He trailed off and there was a murmur of consent of some sort and Yuffie decided it best to hear what they were speaking of before she went barging in. She stepped to the first stair, then the second, and slowly sat down at the top of the stairs, leaning her head on the wall beside her and listening.

"But Vincent," It was Tifa. "Why else would Yuffie go to the City of the Ancient's twice, she obviously wanted to… see someone…" There was an awkward silence in the room, and she could just see Tifa eyeing Cloud and gauging his reaction before continuing.

"Possible," Commented the said blonde, "but why would she feel the need to just pack up and do so…? The girl exclaims _everything_ she's going to do…"

There was a couple chuckles from Cid and Barret, or what she could assume as much, but Yuffie felt a bit of hurt lay upon her chest at the rather mean thing he said; he didn't even sound like he was joking. "It leads me to think that she had some sort of hidden agenda, Yuffie always thinks she can handle this sort of stuff on her own, that's why she was hurt so badly."

How badly Yuffie wanted to march down those stairs and see the looks on everyone's faces when they saw her listening in. Maybe she would fake tears… or not… they seemed to be coming all on their own.

"All I wanted…" She whispered to the laughter that bounced up the stairs, "Was to prove that I could help… that you all could relax…"

"You're right…" The laughter died away instantly, "She most likely did want to do it on her own, but I don't think you like words being put in your _mouth_ Cloud." Ooh, someone sounded angry, at least she knew that she could trust someone. "I guess you never knew how it felt to want to do something on your own." Yuffie had never heard this voice before, "Whatever I'm out of here, when she wakes up, tell her I'd be happy to meet her."

There was shifting and then, a small goodbye from Tifa, finally the door slammed shut and everything was silent.

"What the hell is up with her, she doesn't even know the brat…" muttered Cid in a rather defensive manner, she could see him crossing his arms and looking dejected.

"We gave a poor example of ourselves… here we are talking about someone who she sees as our injured friend… and we talk about her like that…" There was a deep regret and sadness lacing through Tifa's words, "I guess it never occurred to us that our teasing was a bit extreme from the outside looking in…"

Yuffie felt like scoffing; '_teasing_?' she demanded crossly to herself, '_what the hell ELSE were you all saying?_'

She sighed, knowing that she probably would not get anything done that night, they had all erupted in whispers and she obviously could not let her presence be known or they'd know she was eavesdropping. She cringed as her sides protested in pain while she stood up and limped her way back to her room, stumbled across the floor and then fell into the bed.

She never noticed how much walking from the stairs and back could take out of her and didn't even realize the door had opened slightly. She curled up into a little ball and faced the wall, thinking about all that had happened to her in the past few weeks.

Was she a nuisance no matter what she did, did they all think of her as an attention-seeking childish thief? No one ever cared about her, she only had the memories of her mother; and even then she felt no comfort like she normally did. Why was it that everything she thought was real, ended up being fake and transparent like a mirage?

Her eyes widened when a slight pressure was applied to her shoulder, she shook her self-pity off and decided to act normally. The hand hesitated and then, after it was removed the weight of a body hit the bed, Yuffie could faintly make out the pretty sigh of Tifa Lockhart.

"I know you're awake, Yuffie-chan,"

"You're very observant Lockhart-san," The elder brunette flinched at the coldness in her voice and the name she had been referred to. She was used to hearing that from customers (and even then they mostly never called her such) but not from a friend she had known for four years. "Thank you for your hospitality, I'll take my leave in the morning."

Tifa looked hurt and alarmed, "Not with that wound you aren't!"

"As if you really care."

"Isn't that being a little childish?"

"You know _nothing_ of being alone," She accused warningly.

Tifa stared down at the icy form beside her, that voice wasn't the voice of the usually hyper and upbeat Yuffie Kisaragi she's grown to know over the past few years. She felt anger bubble up in her gut but she shoved it down and ignored it, not giving the ninja what she obviously wanted. It was true that Tifa may have had people who cared about her now, but when her father had died she thought she had lost the only hope of being loved.

All of that aside, when did being alone ever come up in their previous conversation, she wondered what the younger woman meant by this interjection. Was she expecting a response, or a certain reaction to her harsh and rather self-centered words? Tifa didn't know what to do or say to this, so she simply sat there contemplated it's meaning and after a few moments she decided to switch tactics.

"Yuffie, we were all worried about you, why don't you tell me what happened?" She cautiously rested her hand on the others shoulder and waited for something to happen. She waited for what seemed like an eternity, then finally the same harsh voice replied to her.

"Why do you need to know?" There was a pause in which Tifa opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off. "There is nothing for you to do, the world is not in danger and no one important has died."

Tifa frowned, obviously not liking where Yuffie was taking this, what reason did she need then the protection of her only real female companion?

"Yuffie," she sighed and turned her own back to the ninja, so that she was facing the cabinet, the light from the crack in the doorway illuminating the side of her face. "If we didn't care about you, don't you think we would have left you where you were lying to bleed to death?" There was a shift behind her, but no response. "I don't know how you feel about us, but every time we've been in trouble you were there for us, why can't we be there-"

"-Because," Yuffie sat bolt upright, angrily flaring her words at Tifa, "because I didn't think I would NEED any help, because I thought for once I wouldn't just be the side show. I'm so sorry for stepping into the spotlight, I know I'm a pathetic loser who can't do anything on their own…" The voice became so weak and fragile that Tifa's stomach flipped unpleasantly.

"I know I can't do anything to save the ones I love, damn it, I can't even help those who are already_ dead_. The final battle four years ago; I did nothing but watch as the fighting flew by me, a throw of the conformer here, a splatter of blood there… but Cloud did everything… Then a two years ago, once again it was Cloud and you, then Vincent… and just when I thought I was getting close to someone…" She trailed off pathetically, curling her knees up to her chest. "He ignores me…"

Tifa wasn't sure if she had meant Vincent by that or someone totally different, but the hurt was lacing through her words and Tifa suddenly felt bad. "I thought that I would actually be able to help you all without involving you…"

'So you took the weight of the new threat on your shoulders, is that it? Do you remember what happened to Cloud when he did that?"

"Psh, he still _succeeded_…"

"But at the cost of something precious to him, he knew he could rely on us, but he chose to fight alone, and now he's like a shadow of his former self…" She sighed deeply, "One no one will ever be able to revert…"

'Funny,' thought the younger girl sadly, 'that's all I ever was… a shadow to my father of what my mother could have been…'

"Yuffie, please… let us help you… no… let_ me _help you!"

Aeris' words came back to her {_You're going to need their strength Yuffie, all of it_}.

Yuffie smiled softly, maybe she was being rather childish about all of this, she would probably beat herself up for it later, but she was never one to think before she leapt head-first into trouble.

So she told her, everything she had learned so far, carefully leaving out the problems at home, such as the death and the marriage proposal. She told her all about the tainted white materia, why she had run to get it only to have it stolen once again and used against her. She explained all about the curse, it's effects on people and even how she had taken down all those soldiers by herself just to have the stupid woman almost kill her.

During her explanation, it occurred to her that it probably would have been smarter to tell them all of this from the beginning, then the organization wouldn't have the white materia. Her pride would have been damaged, and she would have hated to run back crying to her friends once more to save the world, but the truth still laid it out before her painfully clear. Because of her, things were worse as to when they started off.

But now she would fix it, even if it did cost her, her life.

Tifa listened intently, drinking in all of the newest information and trying to come up with a reasonable plan to get everything back to normal.

"Wow! That's so amazing, you did all that?"

Both girls turned their heads towards the door to see a blonde, poking her head though the crack in the doorway, Yuffie instantly recognized her voice as the girl from before. They watched her as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck and stepped into the room fully adorning a coat and a normal pair of jeans with a blue t-shirt. "Sorry, I forgot my coat and I came back to get it, they all said to come up here and talk to Tifa-san so…." Her eyes shimmered with childish delight, "Oh it's so nice to finally meet you Kisaragi-san!" She bowed respectfully.

Yuffie had never been shown such courtesy before and she was a little shell shocked to see a bouncy blond come running into their room. But the woman definitely looked to be a fighter with her well toned body and had managed to get up to the room without either girl hearing her.

"Yuffie is fine," She assured her finally, breaking into a small smile, "Nice to meet you…?" She fished around for a name, realizing that no one had mentioned this girl ever.

"Oh how rude of me! I'm Ryona," She bowed once more and then walked over to the both of them. "I'm very sorry about before Tifa-san but it irked me that someone Reno spoke so highly of was being trashed before my eyes."

Yuffie looked completely and utterly confused at the statement, since when did Reno ever even talk about her, let alone sing praises?

"Yeah well… I don't like seeing me trashed before my eyes either…Ryona-san, you're good friends with the letch- I mean…. Reno-san?"

Ryona laughed heartily and feeling more confident walked into the room and knelt on the floor beside the bed.

"Oh please, you don't have to act formal around me I know he's a ladies man, in fact I've seen if first hand…" She paused, pressing a slender finger to her chin in thought, "If I may, what you were talking about before…This curse placed on you, you said it was a curse of blindness… but isn't it possible that because this was the first try at the materia… could it have malfunctioned…?"

Tife pursed her lips, she looked towards her younger companion and then towards the slender blonde before her, "It's possible, but if you look at it logically, Yuffie is already showing signs of the curse… is there any way to test if the curse is going to just... go away?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes, "If I didn't already know I was losing my sight then I wouldn't be here… my vision is dimmed, it's like I'm looking through a tinted screen, I've estimated only a week until I'm completely blind…"

There was an awkward pause that drifted about the room, each girl lapsed into a silence that no one wanted to awkwardly break. Tifa nor Ryona knew if this would be a touchy subject for the Wutainese heir and didn't want to tread on landmines if they didn't have to. Yuffie gazed over into the blankness of the room, she suddenly jumped up and, ignoring her wounds, hobbled over to the dresser where a small handheld mirror was usually placed. She picked up the reflective surface and gazed into it, she feared the soon-to-be grotesque designs that would appear over her eyes, and she could see a hint of them forming at the corners of her pure grey orbs.

She slammed the mirror down onto the desk and could hear the startled gasps of the two girls behind her, at that point she really didn't care. She could feel the intense self hate that was swirling into the pits of her stomach, how could she be so careless? If only she had been a little bit faster, thought a little more ahead, listened more intently, then she wouldn't be stuck in a cage with no exit right now. She would surely loose her sight within less then a week, and here she was with absolutely nothing to do about it.

How the hell was she going to get the white materia back when she could barely see what was right in front of her rhetorically or normally speaking? There was so little time for her to formulate a plan of action, and she had to focus on her own problems as well, what could she do?

"Tifa," Her voice was rather testy, but it wasn't showing any signs of anger at anyone else but herself, "Get everyone down in the bar on the double, and if you can lock up for the night… please."

She heard the rustle of clothing and listened intently as the busty bar owner rushed to do as her friend had said, not even bothering to ask why. They all knew things were serious now, and Yuffie still had to explain everything to the others, if the ninja heir wanted to take charge, then she might as well, she knew the most (at least for now) about what was happening.

Once the door had clicked shut, Yuffie breathed in and exhaled, her shoulder drooped, losing all signs of tension. Ryona contemplated if she should go and offer the other young woman some moral support but decided just to give her some space. She didn't really know what exactly was going on, but she would rather not get in the way of these people. Although, even though they all seemed to be close, and she was the odd man out she still wanted to support them, they were the first friends she had had in a while.

"Yuffie-san, I'd like to help, I know we don't know each other very well but… well…" She trailed off, sincerely at a loss for words but the meaning still hung in that silence.

"Thanks," Came a soft reply, then Yuffie turned around with a forced smile gracing her face. Ryone was happy she was making a conscious effort to be positive when it would be much easier to sink into depression, "We should get going, I can't call a meeting and then not show up right?"

The light had long since faded from the sky, leaving nothing but starry skies and a swirling navy night. Yet young lips let out a slightly frustrated sigh, parting slightly and then setting into a straight line. She really didn't like it when her computer froze on her, and now was the time when she was needed the most and people were relying on her. She ignored her bodies pleas for energy, knowing full well what it wanted and refusing to rely on Mako any longer. She reached into a small container and took another cut up piece of carrot, biting a piece off into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. Her eyes trained on the screen and numbers flashed by her vision, her left hand flying across the keyboard and creating a series of clicking sounds as she input codes.

With both hands free she focused both on the task at hand, searching through the archives that had been left behind by Deepground, she had been extremely lucky to come across these data fragments when they were cleaning up all those months ago. They had been sitting neglected at the bottom of some boxes in Reeve's office, and it wasn't until recently that he had allowed her entrance into the secret files. To tell the truth, she was looking for nothing unparticular _originally_, but as she got further and further into the deepest parts of the memory data she couldn't help but think that she would have been so much better off knowing all of this from the start. This information would have really helped against the fight those months ago, if only she had paid more attention, if only she had seen the light sooner.

If only she could have saved Shalua.

She wasn't going to let her carelessness slip up again, besides, this information may prove useless, but if she knew all of this then it may help out somewhere down the line.

Her mind skipped back for a moment to remember something Reeve had said to her on their last transmission. She leaned back in her chair and slumped her shoulders forwards, eyes dancing with unspoken memories.

-**TWO MONTHS PREVIOUS**-

'_It's odd_,' the WRO leader said as his face flashed off and on to the video conversation, '_After we had safely raided the DeepGround head quarters a lot of the remaining members didn't put any resistance when we brought them in for interrogation_.' He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, '_as well… there was something odd about how many people we found, one would think there would still at least be a couple hundred hiding out somewhere in the building- even after Vincent had made his rounds. But we only found a rounded one-fifty, doesn't that strike you as odd_?'

"There were many more than that, according to my last briefing before I was captured by the WRO there were living quarters that were near the central complex that were only accessible from an elevator in the underground caverns. There were well over three hundred lying in wait there, but weren't to be dispatched unless a level five emergency occurred. Even when we attacked the head quarters and ultimately infiltrated the complex, it would have taken far too long for them to get assembled and given orders before Vincent Valentine defeated Omega." The Rui girl took a quick scan around the room she was in, looking for a data disk she had left on the table not too far away and making a mental note to look at that later. "I told you all of this before when you asked me for any extra information that may help with the mission… There wasn't any evidence that they were even told they were under attack." Replied Shelke in her normal mono tone but her voice held a kind of annoyed edge to it, as though she felt she was being accused of something.

'_And I believe you_,' he assured her quickly, '_we did check out these storage areas, but there were no soldiers to be found, we checked the other areas as well, a clean sweep from top to bottom and bottom to top, meeting in the middle_.' He looked seriously troubled by this, scratching his neck irritated. '_I can't help but feel like they were re-located… but there haven't been any attacks anywhere lately_…'

Shelke nodded in understanding, her mind already thinking a mile a minute as to what could have happened to these remaining members of the enemy organization. There WAS an escape route to get to above ground without being detected, but she had no idea where that would have led them. They had surrounded the area with a ten to twenty mile radius with even more scouts in other areas of the surrounding planes.

She resisted the urge to groan at the work placed before her, obviously they could have hid out anywhere by then, it had been at least nine or so months. They could also be plotting to try again, or now that they had a bone to pick with everyone in the WRO they COULD be staging a total wipe out.

"Reeve Tuesti, I request permission to go over the files you had gathered from the DeepGround headquarters, perhaps I can find something relevant there."  
This put the leader on the spot, he nervously looked around on his side of the line and then crossed his arms across his chest.  
'_I don't want to cause an alarm, and I'm glad you've decided to work for me with your computer and hacking skills but… we aren't even sure that they made it out, they could have been dispatched earlier and were wiped out_?' He was looking for a lifeline, but the blunt young amber-haired teen wouldn't give it to him.

"It's best to be safe then sorry, would you rather prefer another incident like a year ago popping up? You could get some more casualties…" She may not be the manipulative type normally, but she also knew exactly which buttons to press and how she could get her way with her new boss. She figured that Tuesti was the type of person who put his men first and attacking a point that had to do with them always ensured Shelke victory.

'_Oh… alright, I'll send them over, make sure to put them to good use, I just don't like giving these to you outside of work_…' He trailed off then waved the thought away, '_Anyways, be sure to write a detailed report of your findings, I'll want to read it_.'

"Alright…" She stopped awkwardly, not really knowing how to end the pleasantries, "Thank you for the computer, it helps a lot…"

'_You're very welcome Shelke_.'

"Um… Goodbye?"

'_Alright contact me soon, Tuesti out._'

-**BACK TO PRESENT**-

The ex-deepground member leaned back in her chair slightly she had been going at this for hours and still nothing of relevance popped up that would really help her out. As it was she was sending Reeve on a wild goose chase to find these missing members when his full focus could be on the reconstruction of the places after meteor had hit. But something deep inside her was telling her that she should keep looking, that eventually something was going to happen.

She heard the gentle patter of Nanaki's paws making their way towards her room from down the hallway. She inclined her head to look around the computer screen and waited for him to enter, giving her housemate her full attention. She respected him a lot, and in a way she knew that he was like the uncle she had never had, always looking out for her and treating her like a favored niece. It was a new pleasure that the computer girl really appreciated, and even though she hadn't known him before a year ago, that it felt like she had known him forever. He listened to her, and genuinely wanted to know her, not just as the shadow of Lucrecia's memories, but as a girl who had missed out on so many of life's good times and needed someone to show her them.

"Hello Nanaki," She tried to hide the yawn that she was suppressing, but his wise eyes bored right through hers. "I was just doing some work…" she added in an almost sheepish tone, inwardly realizing that no one had ever made her feel so liked, it made her feel good inside.

"Shelke, shouldn't you be getting some rest? It's getting late…" He reprimanded her softly, his soothing voice relaxing her and removing the stress that had been building up ever since she started looking at the data.

The auburn haired girl looked back to the computer and sighed in longing, she really wished that she could just find what she was looking for, but the information was so random and not ordered at all. They had to quickly upload all the documents and files before Omega had demolished the place, so they were in no specific order, and many of the files weren't named or were even corrupt.

"I wish I could, but I still have a lot more to go through," She paused and mentally battled with herself if she should ask him for help. The rational side argued that he didn't need to worry about it and it was her job to begin with, but that other part of her that had slowly been creeping out over the past little while was saying that she WAS only human and she could use someone else's opinion.

In the end the humane part of her seemed to win out, she leaned her elbows on the desk right before the keyboard and offered her caretaker a small and awkward smile, "Would you mind helping me out?"

"Not at all, just tell me what to do," He quickly made his way over to her side and then sat back on his hunches, watching the screen with a critical gaze, his deep eyes scanning across the information sliding down the screen. "What are we looking at here? 'Genetic testing altered with the canine gene?'" He quoted, squinting slightly to finish the sentence and then looking at the younger girl for any ideas.

Her face clouded over with an unreadable expression, she too, looked at the words and then looked down and didn't bother to meet his gaze. After seeing the effects of what the scientists in DeepGround were doing, with a conscious it made her slightly queasy, after all she has seen the pile of rejected experiments. Nanaki was patiently waiting for her reply, but she felt like she could give none to justify what had happened. She supposed that she would just have to tell him the horrid things they had done to people in order to produce such mindless soldiers.

"They were a breed of controllable deepground soldier, they were a cross between a human and a canine, altered to create a warrior who could have the reactions, senses, and agility a dog had." She reached out and clicked the back button on her keyboard sending the screen back to the original file contents, "There were many human lives lost in order to create them…" She took a moment to close her eyes and rid herself of these thoughts, she couldn't get distracted now, "Either way, there are many things I haven't looked through yet, tell me if you see something that has anything to do with blueprints or secret passages."

"Will do,"

There was a deep intake of breath as everyone's eyes were trained on the Wutainese princess, "Which brings us to where we are today," She finally concluded, clasping her hands in front of herself as though it were simply a school speech and nothing to do with the fate of the world.

They had to give her credit, Yuffie was really trying to think of these things positively, there was so much they still didn't understand as to why this was suddenly happening. With DeepGround so fresh in their minds they were sure it was some connection to Omega, but no one had any evidence other than what their makeshift leader had decided to share with them. No one knew what this man needed the white materia for, and on top of that, what the hell he used to actually change it to blind instead of heal. The ninja girl of their team had decided that it was best that the whole group didn't know about her little encounter with Aeris, and as of that point she hadn't had much time to brood over it.

"So basically what you're tellin' us, is that some weird-o's are tryin' to put incurable diseases and shit on people for no reason?" Summed up the Highwind pilot, taking a long drag from his cigarette and then exhaling into a wisp of smoke. "Well, we've had people try to cleanse the planet, and now we got people trying to kill everyone from rampant curses, they got any STD'S in that thing?"

"CID!" Tifa nearly decked him right there, but the small chuckle from those around her stopped her from doing so, the man was only trying to keep everyone in light spirits. Despite the fact that, once again, they would be uprooted from their normal (or as normal as it could get) lives and were out chasing ghosts.

Reeve, who had been silent until then and had just arrived in time to get into the explanation, had his head tilted down and his troubled look on his face. Vincent looked over and studied him for a time and then quietly interrupted the small bit of turmoil to ask the WRO commander what was wrong.

The leader looked up, silencing everyone and making all eyes follow on him, he stood up and began pacing back and fourth, his chin in his hand, muttering thoughtfully. Finally he stopped and turned towards the group, revealing to them what he probably should have since his suspicions had first arisen. He told them all about how he and Shelke had been talking about the unaccounted for DeepGround men who could have escaped before they had captured the grounds and forced the army into submission.

"She's currently looking into it," He assured them, seeing the worried looks on all of their faces, "I have faith that she'll come through."

"That would explain it though, all the men that were there even after we had defeated Deepground, there must be a connection!" The Kisaragi heir stood abruptly, ignoring the intense pain that went shooting up her body from the sudden movement. She looked down, collecting her thoughts and then decided on a course of action, "Alright, I want you guys to bear with me, I think we need to look at this carefully and take all the steps to ensure the planet isn't in danger anymore…" She took Reeve's place as the centre of attention. Her eyes softened as she placed them on each Avalanche (and other) members of the room, "I'm so sorry, I placed this all on you now, I had promised myself that I would do this on my own and not try to drag you all back into this… But if we're going to fight again then we need to do it together, no more going on my own , I promise." She held up a hand and covered her heart in a mock vow.

"We're here for ya brat, we had to chase Spiky and Vampire boy over here, might as well let you drag us through the mud too!" Boomed Barret good-naturedly, crossing his arms across his chest and sending a cheeky grin over to where Cloud was sitting and sending a rather put-out stare.

"H-hey!" cried the twenty year old indignantly, "If it was up to me I wouldn't drag any of you through the mud but… I have a promise to keep to a couple people actually." Realization dawned on her as she said that, she sent a quick look over to the gunslinger of their group and then faced everyone once again.

She was still so reluctant to tell them everything, to bring them all back and throw them into the battle field once more. What had happened to Tifa's wish of a quiet life with her bar and Danzel, to Cloud's delivery service, to Barret and his daughter, to Cid and his wife, to Vincent and his quiet existence? Everything that she didn't want to happen was currently happening, and even though she felt horrible, a small part of her was happy to see them all again, and to know that they had her back if she needed it. God even Reeve and Reno were there, more as friends then armed support, and now Ryona was there lending a helping hand.

When had things turned around, when had she deserved such loyal friends?

It was time Yuffie Kisaragi took charge, it was time that she showed them just how mature and strong she could be. She was still the same person on the inside, but now wasn't the time for justice speeches, she could do those all she wanted later… but now was the time for action.

"Alright, I've pretty much narrowed down our search to the DeepGround old head quarters and Neibleheim, as well as other concentrated areas that the DeepGround liked to stay near. We should probably go in parties and see what we can dig up-"

"-Whoa! When the hell did YOU turn into a leader brat, you hiding a split personality in that hear of yers like Vampire boy over here?" Cut in Cid once more, leaning forwards and watching the youngest of their group with amusement.

"Oh I'm sorry, is a girl in charge hurting your manhood Cid?" Teased the bartender resting her elbows on the bar counter top, having being in that position for quite a while now.

Cid blanched, his cigarette almost falling out of his mouth, "That ain't-"

Yuffie could tell this wasn't getting them anywhere, she looked around at the remaining members of the room who weren't nit picking at each other. Reeve, Reno, Ryona, Barret and Cloud were all watching Tifa and Cid in amusement but when her eyes landed on Vincent she met crimson. He was watching her with a calculating gaze, she tilted her head slightly to the side and continued their little staring contest. He wasn't staring through her, which meant that he wasn't talking with his inner demons, and he was blinking, so he hadn't fallen asleep with his eyes open…

Realization dawned on her, she turned fully towards him and walked over slowly, everyone else was still focused on the other two. She bit her lip and he crossed his arms.

"I guess I owe you an apology, huh?" He didn't respond, but his eyes turned away from her, she knew that he wasn't mad, he never was, but she could see where he was coming from. "I didn't want to bother you, you know? You had just finished with your personal… problems, so… I just figured that you would like to be left alone for a while…" She bowed her head slightly, "I guess that backfired huh?"

"You don't owe me anything," Her head snapped up, and her eyes widened a fraction, "Yuffie, your eyes, you're growing blind and if only I would have gotten this out of you earlier-"

"Whoa! Whoa!" She cried, throwing up her arms and waving them franticly as her mind went into alarm, "You had nothing to do with this, it was my own stupidity!" She calmed down slightly closing her eyes to clear her thoughts and portray a calmness, "I know that I'm not amazing like you or Cloud, but this time it's my burden, and this may sound selfish, but I want you all to help me." She grinned cheekily, "You know, 'Justice never sleeps until it puts evil to rest', and I'm not about to stand around as this guy does this-" she pointed to her eyes for emphasis, "to everyone."

She spun around dramatically and punched her fist into the air, "So LET'S GET THESE GUYS QUICK!" Everyone in the room went silent and turned towards the new protagonist, "Okay guys down to business, we're going to need to contact Computer girl and Red to give them the scoop, they'll help out as a home base. As for everyone here I assume I have your full support, right?" The people before her nodded dumbly, not really understanding the whole personality switch, "Alright so we're going to break you guys off into teams of two, we all have Cell phones and we'll contact each other if we find anything. Unfortunately, I'm going to need to stay here for a week or so, but hopefully we can nip this in the butt before it gets any worse, got it?"

Cloud shrugged, and suddenly he was hit with the oddest urge to _say it_, so he did, and man did it feel good: "Alright people, let's mosey!"

BEEEEP! BEEEEP!

Reeve narrowed his eyes slightly, he walked over to his lap top and opened it, he took a step aback when Shelke's face came across the screen and her voice was unsteady and worried.

"Reeve Tuesti there is something wrong; I found where the hidden passage way led the DeepGround members to!" The WRO's face turned from surprised to serious, he looked grave as he nodded and waited for her to continue. "I know the reason why they haven't tried anything as well, and I have a vague idea as to what they may be up to…"

Everyone had trained their ears onto the video connection, Yuffie took a step forwards in anticipation, already dreading an answer. If this had the most calm member of their operation in a dither then she could only imagine what was running through her mind. Something bad was happening, and now Yuffie couldn't go back on her words.

"There was another organization that was held right underneath Weiss' nose," She spoke in a hurried rush, she was so anxious to get it out that she wasn't taking in much air either. "They were studying the effects of a tainted lifestream and they wanted to use it to inflict some sort of an epidemic on people, apparently they were trying to create a master race! They quickly diverted many DeepGround soldiers to their side and apparently they were planning on taking out the Tsviets with it as soon as they accomplished their goal."

"Wait slow down Shelke, you mean that there were people in that organization that had the materials to make these experiments?"

"YES! Thirteen months ago when the police went down into Midgar and were looking for the place that may have held the Shinra laboratories they were all taken hostage by Weiss, but soon after they were captured all of them went missing, even to us! It appears that the scientists were using them for experiments to create an impure lifestream that they could inject into materia's and then ultimately use to kill off millions of people in the form of diseases!" Yuffie began to feel sick to her stomach as the explanation went on.

"And I now know who their leader is and where those soldiers came up…"

"Well? Who was it?"

"A scientist who was the apprentice of Dr. Hojo and cousin to Lucrecia Crescent."

There was a sharp intake of breath coming from the gunslinger, his eyes flashed with a memory from over thirty years ago. An image to startlingly clear that he couldn't remember that he hadn't recalled that before, he should have known that Hojo had placed his morals and ideals down upon someone. And now he knew for sure, where the soldiers had managed to escape from without being detected.

"Keith Granger, and the hidden route led to-."

"_Shinra Manor_." Cut in Vincent, standing up so quickly that Yuffie could hardly track it.

"Oh _shit_." Whispered Yuffie, her hand flying to her mouth as every little thing fell together into place, it didn't take a genius to know one thing-

"We are _so_ **fucked**…"

_Just like that, leaving nothing behind_

_Just sharing with you_

_Soon we will realize that that was everything_

_The sadness going along the cheeks_

_Will only become a river of tears_

_Wavering thoughts will melt into_

_A strong swirl_

_-Seishun Kyousoukyku_

_-TiA_

Last chapters uploading soon.


	7. Echo

Probably the last or second-last chapter to be uploaded.

Sin: /bored/ and she'd like to thank all the reviwers…

Katsu: Alright, right into it!

_All the flowers are blooming on the road ahead?_

_When a path twists and turns this much_

_It's normal to get lost, isn't it?_

_My body and soul are trembling_

_I'm so nervous…_

_-Tsubomi_

_-Naruto third movie ending_

emotion:

_**Impatience**_

Nothing but the deep black was before her, she couldn't see anything or register any light, she reached up to touch the fabric over her eyes, already feeling the need to take it off. She reached behind her head with both hands and fastened the bandages that were across her eyes tighter then shakily stood up. Once her body left the warm confines of the sheets she felt cold and awkward. She took a few steps forward, wobbling a little and then stood in where she thought was the middle of the floor.

Alright, she had done this before, and she could do this again, all she needed to do was focus and she would be able to find her way.

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, hissing as she did so to relieve the tension building in her chest. All she could think about was the fact that she couldn't see and her mind screamed at her that she kind of NEEDED her eyes. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and took one more step towards the door. She heard her feet sink into the soft carpet and the slight creak because the floor boards were worn there.

The hum of the lights directly above her hit her ears first, she could hear the faint humming sound and could pinpoint their exact location.

'okay, using this sound I can deduce that I'm probably about seven to ten steps away from the door, and the handle is normally at my ribs, so if I just reach out my hand and-' Yuffie strode forward a bit confidently, hoping that this would be a good start to her training. She gave herself a little hi-five in her mind, as she carefully listened to her steps, counting silently in her head.

'Four, five six-' BANG!

"SHIT!" Yuffie grabbed her knee and hopped up and down on her other leg, what the hell was in front of the door? She angrily reached out to grab the offending item, but miscalculated and fell off balance smashing her forehead right into the wall. "OUCH! DAMNIT!"

She could only imagine what she looked like right now, and tried to calm herself down and put her aching knee back to it's rightful place. Yuffie was thankful that everyone was out at that moment, so no one could see her embarrassing little display of clumsiness. Once again she listened for the lights and found that they were behind her to her right, in her minds eye she planned out the contents of the room and realized that she had just walked into the side table that was beside the closet. She had gotten up from the bed and not faced the way to the door, then assumed that she would be in the right direction.

She cringed slightly as another throb of pain laced up her leg, she could only imagine how many more of these she was going to get before she started to get used to being blind. She tried again, but this time she tried to listen for anything else that may help her.

A plus side to this curse was that, apparently, it enhanced your other senses and if she could just learn how to use these things to her advantage she would be able to learn how to fight once again.

The ninja started to recall the last year of her training before she had turned fifteen and left in search of materia. A part of her final steps towards being considered a full fledged ninja was a task that no one had ever really succeeded at since the early traditions of the ninja were created. One was to live in darkness for three months and if they hadn't managed to get used to it before then they technically failed.

The problem was that so many people were failing that the Wusheng decided that they would take the practical exercise out of that part of the training, but the ninja in question could train on their own. They weren't allowed to take the blindfold off (unless extremely bad circumstances had risen) for TWO months instead of three, and they weren't expected to under go any real physical training.

Much to her chargin, her sensei had once told her that she expected Yuffie would be able to pass with flying colors and still be able to train. Her sensei was extremely old fashioned and didn't believe in watering things down, from the start Yuffie had chosen her to be her trainer because she knew she wouldn't be favored as because of her lineage. Yuffie had spent many nights outside in harsh conditions practicing her ninjutsu and perfecting the art of a silent killer. Although she complained constantly and always slacked off, her sensei was reluctant to admit that, unlike many others who had become ninja, Yuffie had a very natural talent since birth. She had her mother and father to thank for that since they had also been geniuses when it came to training.

Another reason why she had chosen Rikutsuya-Sensei or Riku-Sensei as the Wutain princess had always referred to her as, was because she had also trained her mother.

But now the great ninja Yuffie was cursing her own laziness, when Riku-sensei had told her about the final part of her 'exam' Yuffie had slacked off completely. She decided that she didn't care if she could have done three months, instead she opted for the two. Although she still trained, she whined if Riku-sensei would throw things at her since that was unfair and how could she expect her to dodge them.

_"What would happen if someone threw acid in your eyes and you were in danger? Would you whine at them and say it's not fair?"_ Scolded the harsh elder woman, throwing another shuriken, although a bit sloppier and slower this time.

Yuffie had dodged it easily.

But now, at least four years later she almost slapped herself for not practicing that art more, for months before her testing she had practiced listening and feeling even before her sight had been taken away from her. And for all those months her sensei had believed that Yuffie would finally succeed the rest of the population and take the old-fashioned test during her blind stage.

But Yuffie was Yuffie, and she didn't want to, she wanted to get it over with and get on her way to collect materia.

Now she had to re-learn what she had so effortlessly done all those years ago, she could barely remember how she had done it, she knew it had something to do with listening to the sounds, but she could no longer remember the feeling, the groove that she had been in. Effortlessly moving from one terrain to the next without taking those blindfolds off and checking to make sure.

Weren't you supposed to get wiser in time?

She tried again, focusing more and more on anything but the lights, trying to hear something else that could help her out. How would she ever manage to get back the white materia if she couldn't get past her bedroom door? She would have to focus everything on training herself, which mean that yesterday was her last ever day with eyesight. She would have to learn to depend on her other senses before her eyes gave away totally.

Come on Yuffie concentrate, you used to be able to do this, think of what is around you, focus!

Nothing came, and she began to get frustrated, how long had she been standing there for? She told herself that there was NO way she was going to crawl along the wall until she found the door frame, she was a ninja and if she couldn't do this one simple thing then she would simply have to give up her title.

And to hell if she was going to let Cloud and Vincent get all the glory again!

She began to feel the coolness in the air crawling up her skin, the heaviness in her legs, the tickle of her hair dancing on her shoulders. She felt the snug warmth of her clothes, the tough material of her shorts, the coarseness of her mesh undershirt, the paper-like texture of the bandages on her arm. Slowly things began to open up to her, she relaxed slightly and listened to herself breathe in and out.

Slowly the image of where she was appeared in her mind, her breath was extending from her body and hitting nothing but air so she knew that there was nothing within at least arms length of her. The sound waves, the knowledge was slowly coming back to her, the feeling as well.

"_When you focus everything onto these waves you will be able to create the same image that a bat uses to see_." Riku-sensei's words rang in her ears like a soft whisper, "_This is why we are ninja, we can move as agile as a cat, attack ferociously as a wolf, aim as correctly as a falcon and see as vividly as a bat in the dark_." Her words were fading, "_We are human, but this is what sets us apart from those we protect, if you must think of it with this analogy, we are the mother protecting the earth as it's young. You probably won't be able to understand this unless you fund someone you truly want to protect…but always remember this_…"

Then she heard it, faintly at first, but it became more and more prominent.

'Tick-tock, tick-tock'

The clock that was right beside the stairs, if she could get to it then…

This time she walked with a slight limp, but she managed to make her way towards there the sound was being blocked from, the dullness seemed to echo in the wood of the door, and then there was a small ring as it hit the metal of the door knob.

This was it, she realized, that feeling, the sound that created the waves and changed to sound as it hit certain things. She could barely make it out now, but she could start to see that small shimmering light that she was making her way towards.

She reached up and turned the door handle, amazed at the loudness of it, she would have to remember that it was hard to listen intently and ignore other sounds in the process. She stepped out into the hallway, listening once more to wait for the image to manifest itself in her mind, the clock was hitting the walls, stopping the sound from going through the wall behind it but coming down the halls and bouncing off of the opaque surfaces.

It was an inverted picture, where everything was dark except for her and the surroundings the sound bounced off of, she could barely make the clock stand out as much as it's sounds did. She simply hoped that this would slowly become easier and easier for her, as simple as this was in a house, it would be even harder out in the open air.

She made it to the stairs with no injuries, and just when she thought she had succeeded at something she realized one thing:

Now that she had made it to the clock she couldn't use it anymore…

She stood there for the longest time, the image slowly fading away from her inner eye and being replaced with that dull darkness that had been with her before. Some doubt crept into the back of her mind, gently prodding at the edges of her conscious, she forced it back down with a shaky breath.

She cursed herself slightly; why couldn't this just fall into place like it should for the protagonist? Was she going to be the AVALANCHE member who actually failed? How was she ever going to prove that she could be just as successful as Cloud and Vincent if she was stuck here at the top of twelve stairs?

Her thoughts were becoming repetitive, she would get a small advantage and then lose it in the blink of an eye. She needed to stay calm and learn to not jump around or take shortcuts… if she was going to do this it was going to be right…

The pain from her leg was nearly gone now and so it was easier to focus on that same train of thoughts, she stilled her body and listened to her breathing. Now it was like a map was laid out before her, the dark places before her were like the places on a map no one had ventured to yet. She could see the sound waves of the lights and clock mapping out the hallway behind her and some of the sound echoing down the stairs, but it wasn't enough…

Then it occurred to her, the stairs were wooden and weren't carpeted… Which meant that each step would release a wave of sounds, right? Certainly there was the possibility that she could make her own waves and form the image around her?

She took a another small stride to get to the first stair, and when her shoes made contact with the wooden solid a burst of sound ripples erupted from where she stood like a large rock dropped into a tranquil pond. She didn't exactly see the next stair in her mind's eye, but she could see that the waves hit the curved staircase wall and couldn't go any farther. She knew there were stairs there, but she tried to make it seem like this was a new place to her, and if the sound waves were right, then there was nothing below her shoe, so if she took another step down…

The same sensation hit the walls, the echo's now started to hit off the curved surface and enter into a sort of game. The sound began to hit off the wall and create a picture, of a spiraling staircase that faded after a few stairs… So her 'sight' ranged only to about two metres in front of her…

And somewhere in her mind she knew that number would increase in time…

Once she made it to the bottom of the stairs she resisted her initial thought to do a happy dance, she needed to keep her focus on the sounds… She began to tap her foot in a small little rhythm and watched as the room filled out before her, the chairs legs were metal and made a small 'twank' sound when they were hit and the wooden surfaces like the counter and table made a dull 'thunk' sound when the sound hit them. The glasses on the counters were ringing slightly and the lights still made that buzzing sound…

It was like listening to a symphony, trying to pick out each individual instrument and using their sounds to maneuver around the room. She decided that things were becoming a little easier now, she stopped her foot tapping and waited for a moment until the image faded from her mind, but now that she knew where everything was she would be able to get around… that inner map was growing…

Now, her mind reminded her, what are you going to do when there are too many sounds? Like in a subway or a forest?

…She'd cross that bridge when she came to it….

BOOM! SLAM!

"**HI YUFFIE**!"

"AUGH!" The ninja girl threw her hands over her ears and nearly wanted to cry as the image was broken by Tifa's hello. When she was intoned with something so soft, hearing anything louder was like pounding on your skull.

"ARE YOU OKAY?" Tifa was talking in a regular tone, but to her it sounded like she was screaming…

"Yeah, I'm fine… keep talking…" She had to get used to it, she needed to start using voices to get the same reaction…

"Huh? What do you mean?" The image was appearing again, except with Tifa's voice as the cause of the sound waves. "Why should I keep talking, and why do you have a blindfold on?"

Yes, this was it, this was exactly it! As long as there was noise she could see everything…

"No, I'm just trying something out, anyways, so where did you go again?"

There was an impatient sigh as Tifa began walking towards the counter, her boots making clicking noises as they hit the floor. Yuffie followed quickly and sat down on a stool she knew was there beside the bar, it was almost like seeing… just with a few things left out…

"You know I went to my supplier, Jeez those people are crooks!" Yuffie began focusing on that her comrade was saying as compared to the image around her, she already knew where she was situated, all she needed now was to retain the information…

This was a serious amount of multitasking…

Tifa continued on woth her explanation about pricing and the such as Yuffie half-assed listened and tried to use her voice ripples to see the rest of the room. She growled softly in aggrivation whenever the sound cut off and she was no longer able to see. But it was done so quietly that the bartender never noticed and continued on for at least a few more minutes.

Finally after her explanation Tifa decided that a quiet Yuffie was extremely odd or even dangerous and turned her attention to the blind-folded ninja. She watched her eyebrows flex slightly in concentraton just above the black material that covered her eyes and the bridge of her nose. She paused to remember that the girl before had not answered her about the whole blindfold issue, but now she assumed that it had something to do with what had been explained the day before. Was this some sort of training that would help her hearing?

"Yuffie," She started cautiously as she slowly inched towards her closest female friend, "This is because of that curse, isn't it?"

The way her eyebrows jumped up slightly in surprise told Tifa she was right. She could only assume that in some way the ninja was trying to get used to being in the dark- so to speak- but how could she ever hope to fight without any sight?

"You aren't planning to fight without seeing, are you?"

The younger woman turned towards her with an expression on her face that she knew quite well. It was like the answer was so obvious that there was no opint in replying and solidifying Tifa's fear that the blindness was terrifyingly real and that no amount of magic would cure it. She didn't know how the Kisaragi heir was dealing with all of this so suddenly, and how she figured she would be able to actually attack and dodge weapons that could be coming faster then the speed of sound. Luck could only get her out of harm's way so many times.

And last time she checked, luck didn't like anyone in AVALANCHE very much...

"Tifa, I'm not going to sit around here twidling my thumbs while you all go get back the materia. I WILL learn to fight without my sight, I once had to do it for a couple months as training... I'm just trying to figure out HOW I did it..."

Tifa really didn't want to dampen the positivity and reassurance that Yuffie was telling her and herself, but there was no way in hell she could think of any logical way to fight without such a vital sense. How would she know if something was heading straight for her? Her hearing could only go so far...

Or could it reach even further then what Tifa expected?

"So, how are you going to do this, exactly...? Just walk around and expect that it will come to you?"

There was a sheepish grin, "In a way, yes and no... See, as the days go on the strength of my hearing progresses; it's a part of the human enstinct to survive combined with the curse. So I figured that as the curse gets stronger so will my hearing and the sonic sense I use to see..."

Tifa didn't know if this was true or not, and she wasn't sure what 'sonic sense' was, but she was sure it had something to do with the blindfold, so she left it at that.

"So where is everyone?"

She reached over and pulled out her cell phone from the bag on the bar, she checked her messages and saw Cloud was on his way back from WRO headquarters with information from Reeve. She also assumed that Cid and Barret were on their way back from their hometowns with the Sierra. The only member of the group that she couldn't account for was the gunslinger, but that wasn't any different from normal...

Both girls lapsed into a silence, and then the busty bartender busied herself with cleaning the neverending pile of glasses in the sink. With one look at Yuffie she knew conversation would have no effect on the reflective state she was in, so instead she went to her own thoughts. She didn't know when but she ended up humming to herself so gently that sometimes the notes were so soft that they were merely replaced with the sound of air movng out her nose. She didn't know what she was humming- something from her childhood perhaps- but she did know it was helping her concentration.

In a way, she had had her chance to do something about her life, especially a year or so ago when Cloud had to deal with the Geostigma. They had agreed to a family, a truce of some kind, in which they were raising a child but not exactly 'together'. Denzel was hers, and in a way Cloud was only a stand in for the random fatherly bits. It was hard to consider them anything more then house mates who threw the responsibility of the boy back and fourth like a hacky sac. Tifa would take all the schooling and 'motherly' things, and the blonde would take the motoecycle rides and talks about life and responsibilites as a guy.

Still, she wondered where the thought of the two of them 'getting closer' had gone to. They danced around the subject easily- it wasn't hard to ignore and neither brought it up. Yet, when it came down to all the technicalities like who his legal gaurdian was at school, and who the place of residence belonged to, the money... They all had to have names attached, and it was either Tifa Lockhart or Cloud Strife.

Never both, always seperate.

She wondered if she was just numb to the silent rejection by now, if maybe she was already moving on in her head and just stuck in a stalemate in getting out of her spiraling life. One life altering fight after the other, and in reality everyone else had grown closer. She had grown closer, he had, but not to each other... to everyone else.

Everyone- including her- had assumed that all these fights and moments of life or death would have caused both of them to snap out of it and ARRANGE something. But she kept silent in fear of rejecton, and she knew the moment she pushed it he'd be out the door muttering something about a delivery. Would she want to spend the rest of her life like this? Always hoping for something she knew would probably never happen? She was so focused on the future and he was so hung up on the past.

For the first time in her twenty four years of life she felt incredibly old.

She paused in her humming and started down at the soapy water, almost as if demanding it to tell her what to do.

She guessed that any woman would have probably realized this wasn't worth it and either pack up and leave or kick him out. But what could she do? She couldn't just stop him from seeing Denzel, and she had offered the bar/home as a resting place for everyone, so what could she possibly say? 'Everyone but Cloud can come over?'. Then there was the fact that she didn't WANT him to leave, because if she wasn't making sure he was still eating then who would? And at least she was a distinct PART of his life right now, they had no idea what the part was, but at least she was the one he went to for food and 'family obligations'.

Why couldn't things go back to the way they used to be when they were kids? When they were just friends and nothing was complicated, why couldn't Cloud have stayed instead of leaving at 15? Maybe if they had stayed they'd be married by now...

Or the world could have ended, but even then, they would be together... Wouldn't they?

There was no way she was going to even THINK about grazing over the thought of blaming Aeris for her weird relationship with the blonde. Aeris used to be her best friend, in the sense of it she still WAS. And she knew that Cloud probably still loved her, and with good reason too. Aeris had been everything she WASN'T. Gentle, kind, feminine...

The only thing she had going for her were assets she'd rather not have, a motherly personality, and she could take down a fully grown man with one punch. Those were things men admired, but she'd forever be 'that bartender with the knockers', and no one would ever get past that unless they were in AVALANCHE...

Or they were an incredibly arrogant redhead...

She snorted softly at that thought, her mouth twisting up into a half smile at the thought of the flirt. Reno had been, by far, one or her most interactive customers. He always wanted to talk to her- even if she was busy- and said the weirdest things when intoxicated. For a while there she had almost started enjoying the time they spent together at her bar, even when Rude was dragged along. She found it easy to forget when he was acting like any other guy- except with a distinct interest in her well being and opinions. In another life she could almost guarantee that they'd be really good friends.

She had always been a tomboy, it was well known that she always wrestled with the boys rather then play dress up with the girls. She never understood men; but if given a room full of boys and a room full of girls to interact with she'd defiantly pick the guys. Talking to them always seemed so simple; they just didn't care. It seemed like every time she was ignored or made fun of by girls she would always find a guy to talk to about it.

It was natural talking to them.

A lot like it was with Reno, when he sat down at the stool right in front of her she didn't remember he had once tried everything in his power to hinder their fight, and even tried to kill them at some points. During those moments he was a good friend who could give her an outsiders perspective and laugh about how nutty life was. He wasn't worried about anything but what was happening, he didn't need to know all of the intimate little details; he was just someone she could be blissfully unaware with.

He was simple, wild, and spontaneous.

Everything Cloud wasn't. It was like comparing their hair color; blonde was plain, but red was wild.

She stopped to analyze her thoughts; did she really just say Reno was more interesting than Cloud? That wasn't what she meant at all; perhaps she should stop this train of thought...

But it nagged at her, now her conscious was poking her brain going: 'excuse me, but just _whom_ is it you love?' She shook her head to clear that thought, and focused back on the original topic, Cloud was the person she had loved since she could remember, there was no way she was going to give up this fight that easily... Just because some guy had come around and made her smile didn't mean that she was going to hinder her fight for the swordsman one bit. She resolved to talk to him after this was all over and after Yuffie had her eye sight back. She'd tell him straight and plain 'what are we and do we need to pick together or alone?'.

It sounded so easy to say in her head, and then she went off into la-la land, thinking up all the possibilities and answers that she was sure he would say; and even some she knew he wouldn't but she still hoped for. She also openly admitted that in the back of her mind the redhead was in some of those scenarios.

XxX

A gentle breeze carried along the dust from the road. It twisted and danced in the air and up until this point it had kept his mind blissfully blank. He didn't want to thing at this point- all he wanted to do was walk and clear his frazzled mind. He didn't know what he wanted anymore, nor what he could do to change it. He was simply 'living', and in a strange way he figured that was worse then what he was doing before the incident with Deepground. At least he believed he had to live to suffer for his sins, now that he had come to terms with his past he found that it was nearly impossible to find something to live for.

Was it possible that he was unable to have a normal life? With all the hardships and battles he had been included in he didn't know if it was even worth thinking about settling down in a town and making a living. What could someone like him possibly do that was 'normal', when he barely knew what the term meant anymore? What he did know was the word never pertained to him, he was everything that 'ordinary' wasn't. So, it brought him in a full circle. How could he do something that wasn't in his genetic makeup? Even as a child he had been too different; too old for his age (although a little more humane back then) and instead of the typical upbringing he knew his origins were nothing ordinary.

His father had been a scientist, and when his mother had passed away he had immersed himself into his research. He had still found a way to father Vincent, coming home every day to at least one meal with him, and talk to him about trivial things. Yet in all retrospect, he was nothing like a father- or an ideal father- should be. But he was so close; he had once explained to a younger Vincent when asked about where he went every day, to this discovery that he could taste it. So in a way the ex-turk knew that he could never consider himself anything but 'original' to put it nicely. He couldn't say he came from a humble shop keeper's family, nor that his childhood had been a fulfilling one. He had just lived every day; growing with nothing but reasonable and sensible decisions; he never dreamed he would be some artist or a traveler who did what they want because it was something they loved. No, he joined the Shinra Company because he knew he had the talent and the influence to get in.

And for the first time in his life he felt like he was living for something... He had a reason.

It was Lucrecia... and it was Lucrecia who took his reason to live back away from him again...

Wasn't this just what he always did; focused on these battles just so that he had a temporary thing to latch onto, to focus on so he could ignore the fact that he needed to choose a lifestyle. He COULD continue on the road; but so much time away from civilization made him worried that, with the company of only the voices in his head, he would go crazy. Perhaps he could join the WRO again, this time just as a field agent- someone who could get rid of the monsters, someone like Yuffie...

He mentally smacked himself- he knew that he had just hit a landfill in his mind, he could no longer put off the topic that had been plaguing him since the day he saw Shinra Manor on fire. He had to fight again, didn't he? But would he be able to do it for good reasons or just for another distraction? He had to admit that he was more than worried about Yuffie and her eventual blindness, but what could someone like him possibly do when she had not trusted him with the truth in the first place? What other bits of information would she withhold from him?

_'It is as though you believe you did not deceive her once. Were there not things you have hidden from everyone but yourself?'_

"Those were different..." He muttered softly to the demon underneath his breath, even though it would have been just as easy to think them. "They were my burden to bear, and mine alone, I had to come to terms with my sins and no one but me could have-"

'_But you did need help; the Shinra Manor incident was all the proof of that. You cannot assume that others have no skeletons hidden, host_.' There was a pause in the faint hiss of words in his mind, '_perhaps the girl has sins of her own she must relinquish.'_

Yuffie... sins?

If that meant her kleptomaniac tendencies then he was sure she could easily redeem herself for that.

'_That is your problem, host, you are in firm belief that it is only __**you**__ with the problems and it is only __**you**__ who can solve them. When will you stop taking the burden of everyone else on yourself? It must be boring to watch for those around you.'_ The sarcasm dripped from the insides of his mind, and he wondered if this demon was the worst of them all- the one who didn't care about scarring his mind with twisted images or taunting him of death...

Out of all the demons that had once inhabited his head, this one, this Calamity- or so he had named himself- made the most sense.

And that is what made him all the more dangerous.

_'I am lucky, host,'_ Calamity said in an almost smug tone, and if Vincent could see him he could almost imagine him gesturing to the gunslinger as he spoke, ' _your mind, as crowded with thoughts as it is, is much more then what I could have hoped for. When I was lost in that tube of liquid-' _Vincent could only guess that Calamity was like Chaos in the way he was locked in a capsule until use. '_I was sure I would need to break free and absorb into the mind of the child in white.' _To this Vincent had no response because he could not think of someone who fit that description, perhaps he was referring to Weiss? Or a scientist?

The demon in his head merely lapsed into a silence, and the emotions he sent back to his host were blasé and a lacking concern for the person behind his description. It was almost as though Vincent could see the other part of him shrug in nonchalance and then proceed to preoccupy him with other matters.

'_I must admit, I was confused to find myself with no containment when you entered that lab and broke me free with a shot from your... quickly piercing weapon, the one that leaves holes?'_ He nudged the conscious of their mind, in order to silently ask for help on distinguishing the weapon he was describing.

"A gun?" Filled in Vincent helpfully, and with the confirmed feeling sent back he knew that was what Calamity had meant.

_'Yes, the 'gun', the hard piece of metal that went through that man and hit my tank_-' Vincent filled in the word 'bullet', _"- took me by surprise. It was luck that I made it out and found my way back to the feeling of that lifeform that had attacked me.'_

"You could feel your way back to me?" Cut in Vincent with an air or confusion about him, his eyebrows furrowed together trying to think about how a mass of liquid containing a soul could just slither its way towards something with any inch of direction.

Calamity scoffed, but with his snake like voice it sounded like a snarl, 'Vampires can catch the... I believe it is called 'frequency' of human minds, with Chaos and those others in you, yours was simple to draw myself to. I simply let you act as the magnet that was pulling me closer. When the moment came for Chaos to be extracted from your mind I struck and drove the other demons out.' He didn't know if he was appreciative for the fact that he only had ONE voice instead of four, but he wasn't about to admit that to something that would probably use it to its advantage.

_'Stop that,' _Snarled the vampire with anger obvious in his voice, _'I am no 'it', I am Calamity- once one of the most fierce of my kind! Do you know of whom you are referring to as an 'it'? I was not named as an attempt at mirth! I am most -certainly- a male of my species.' _The threat that was in the undercurrent of his mind lost its effect when he added, '_Chaos has __**nothing **__on my power._' in a whisper that almost sounded like a huff.

"You are most certainly one of the more 'emotional' of my demons, the others didn't know human tongue, and simply sent urges and images to my head." Replied Vincent with the sarcasm that was just ghostly there, and he wondered if Calamity would pick up on the notion of being 'emotional'. However, he was telling the truth, this was the first 'voice' in his head that was actually a voice. The other demons were just different presences that were always there trying to urge him to kill or do what they wanted. It was easy to ignore their demands when they had only images and cravings to haunt him with; but Calamity's needs were harder to ignore.

Especially when he was hungry, because he made Vincent feel starved even if he had just eaten _just_ so he could feel the burn of thirst to a vampire. It felt like no other hunger pain he had felt, it wasn't just a painful stomach and a scratchy 'can't swallow' feeling, this was a burn that licked like flames, spreading from his core to every inch of him skin. It made him feel half crazed, and suddenly he could hear the pulse of blood from every human in a two mile radius, and then the whispering began... '_That alleyway, no one would see you... and look; her neck is so inviting... Can you not hear it? The blood is begging you to taste it; does the smell not drive you crazed with thirst? It could be yours, if only you would let me...' _Or even worse, when he was angry or disgusted with someone's display of vulgarity, like finding a man who had just killed an innocent just to 'feel alive'. The vampiristic instinct just tagged right along with vengeance and fury, so when he REALLY wanted to rip someone's throat out, he was also tempted with taking a bite. '_They deserve to rot in hell, host, and now you will feel no remorse in clenching your thirst.'_

All it took was a reminder of his past sins to keep Calamity where he was- in his head. But he was good at tempting.

But now, on top of the need to fight the new nuisance that had presented himself, he also had to deal with Calamity wanting a bite of one wutai ninja, saying her blood sang for him. It made wanting to stay away from the spunky member of AVALANCHE all the more demanding, because the last thing he needed to hear was '_she is asleep, and blind; she will not know it is you until it's too late...' _or another taunt that was much more human then he wanted to be... Especially with Yuffie.

'_Perhaps my past persuasion should have been of a different approach?_' Taunted the demon with a sick chuckle right after that haunted Vincent for some time afterwards. He didn't let the demon say any more, and instead proceeded to block him out with thoughts of his decision to once again take part in a battle that would more than likely be life or death. He had no issue with dying, in fact, he guessed that with all his sins repaid he'd have to real qualms about it. He knew Calamity would put up a good fight if it came down to it. So it was not the fear of dying...

Perhaps it was the strange attachment he had with everyone, and feeling like he was constantly being drawn to them, feeling relieved when they were still breathing. He guessed he was starting to let the companionship get to him; and he knew that he would gladly fight for any one of them- even if they didn't want or need it. Shouldn't that be reason enough to turn back around right now and go agree to help? Then again, they all probably assumed he would have agreed automatically anyways, so his decision really was already made...

Did it have anything to do with Keith? Lucrecia's only remaining family? No, there was no way he felt any attachment to someone who had tortured people as Granger had.

So why was he hesitating?

Could it be the insane guilt that had washed over him as he arrived with Cid to carry a dying ninja onto the airship, trying hard not to scream from the mixture of horror, thirst (from the vampire in his head), and helplessness? He wasn't sure, even now, why he had felt that stab in his chest when he saw her bloodied on the ground and not moving. He hadn't expected it to affect him that badly, and for a moment he had to remember that Tifa could help her more then he could, and handed her over. He had received a stare from Cloud, but the blonde had never voiced whatever that fleeting look at been about. Vincent could only guess that the swordsman was gauging if he was going to blame himself and try and take vengeance by himself.

He had to admit, he had tried in the past.

_'Interesting choice in a mate...' _

He shuddered; it was impossible. Yuffie was not a child anymore, and she had blood on her hands, so it wasn't that in particular. It also wasn't the fact that she was too _innocent_ for him; it was the fact that there was no way he could ever love, or expect it in return, again. And Yuffie would expect, and deserve, what he could never give her. He also wasn't sure there was any attraction between them, or any gravity pulling them together, so it would be nothing more then a fleeting thought to both of them...

_''Gravity', is it? So does that explain why you're HERE?' _Calamity had a triumphant feel to him,_ 'Of course it could be a complete coincidence that you were thinking of her and your feet took you here...'_

Vincent looked up and hated Calamity with a passion for not telling him he was headed this way. He also knew why the demon had been silent for most of the trip- knowing where they were going before the body did. He had a feeling that the vampire was more then just a voice sharing his mind, he was connected to it and it's subconscious; so Calamity would know more about him then he cared to learn for himself.

But no one could deny that -or explain why- the topic of Yuffie had come up...

But standing in front of the entrance of Wutai made him wonder if he really was as 'uncaring about her problems' as he had originally assumed.

Or else why would he be here, and suddenly thinking that this was a good place to start asking about why Yuffie had left so abruptly, and why she had been at the City of the Aincents instead of visiting her friends...

Worried about a girl he had no 'feelings' for or 'emotional attachment' to?

_Never_...

"_I won't cry! I can do this! I'm not scared!"_

_I've told myself that a million times_

"_I won't cry! I can do this! I'm not scared!"_

_If I'm not aggressive I know I'll break down_

_-Tsubomi_

_-Naruto third movie ending_

Thanks for all the support and reviews. You guys are an inspiration.


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