Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Why Me? A Love Story For Manic Depressives ❯ Welcome To The Jungle ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: dusttraveller 
In which our hero a disturbing pragmatism, and our heroine is terminally annoyed with him
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.30.2004 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 237 | Status: Completed
In which our hero a disturbing pragmatism, and our heroine is terminally annoyed with him
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.30.2004 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 237 | Status: Completed
A/N: Apologies to anyone who read the first incarnation of this chapter... I reviewed it twice immediately after I wrote it and thought it looked fine, then read it again once I'd had eight hours of sleep, and saw a large number of stupid errors. So I went through and fixed them. A few people mentioned that there were possible pacing problems concerning the story, I considered these problems carefully and decided I was happy with the pace being set by the story. That being said, have faith in my abilities as a storyteller to keep track of and include every detail.
I do have a plan, people.
For those of you who think that Vincent is perhaps being overly cruel, this is my interpretation of Mr. Valentine. Remember that this man was an assassin, not to mention demonridden. I saw nothing in the game to change my opinion of him, and though I always saw him as on the right path, I think he's got a loooong way to go.
That being said, I hope I managed to capture his solitary and impossibly cool nature.
So, on with the show!
"You. You light up my whole day, whenever you're away. I'd like to think I've got you figured out- no way. If I get my hands on you I will make you do all the things I want you, bend your will to mine, never hear you whine. Everybody break out, it's enough- SHOUT! It's enough- SHOUT! It's enough, yeah it's enough. She's callin' we're brawlin', this is the hell that is my life. I'm laughin' she's cryin' this is the hell that is my, hell that is my life." -Zebrahead, Hell That is My Life
Time stood frozen for what seemed like centuries as the two former comrades stared at one another. Yuffie, ninja that she was, never the less found herself strangely indecisive in the face of this familiar stranger before her. Perhaps it was not so strange, really. Ninja are trained to react to an opponent's mindset, to hide themselves if the opponent seemed suspicious, to manipulate and catch an adversary offguard, strike in his moment of weakness. Unconsciously, a good ninja will use these principles when dealing with anyone, friend or foe, to give themselves a greater advantage... to know what words to use or what actions to take to receive the best advantage. Perhaps this might seem cold-hearted or manipulative, but then, what is a ninja, if not these things?
Yuffie was, despite her impulsiveness, a very good ninja.
This does not explain her indecisiveness when faced with Vincent, however.
The answer was simple. She was unable to read the enigmatic gunman, and didn't really know him all that well from her time with Avalanche. Because of this, she not only had no idea what he was thinking, she couldn't even guess based on any sort of past behavior he had exhibited. The extent of his interaction with her up to this point had been to either ignore her presence completely, or, when she inevitably forced him to recognize her existence, (usually by annoying the shit out of him) he inevitably had fixed her with a strange blank and yet disapproving sort of glance that made her feel... sad.
Yes, that was the word she was looking for... sad. As though he somehow expected better things of her, and she had let him down. Sad, because for some reason this always made her feel ashamed of herself, and Yuffie Kisaragi, ninja and notorious Materia Hunter, was not accustomed to feeling ashamed of herself, not on ANYONE'S account. No one else, not even her father, had been able to make her feel ashamed very often, and yet Vincent didn't even have to say anything to her, just fix her with that, despite her every attempt to get under his skin, completely unannoyed and yet disappointed gaze.
Every time he had done it, she'd stopped pestering him and bothered someone else, and every time, when she finally got up the nerve to ask Vincent what his problem was with her, she'd find him ignoring her again. This made her angry, because no one ignored her, at least if they knew what was good for them, so she'd try to annoy him again (the best way to get someone's attention, she had thought) and he'd give her that look that sent her elsewhere, once again ashamed and not entirely sure why. This viscous cycle had continued the entire time she'd known him, and as a consequence, she didn't really know much about the man, save that he was creepy and quiet. One thing she did know, however, after seeing him change into Chaos during the fight with Hojo, was that he had his limits. It was probably best that she had never pushed them beyond the breaking point. Then the journey had ended, and the members of Avalanche had gone their seperate ways, and Vincent had disappeared like the shadow he was.
Now he was here.
Looking at her.
"Me?" She chuckled weakly. "Why Vincent... heh heh... I had no idea I had that much effect on you." This was safer ground... teasing... this she was good at. She shifted into perky teenager mode.
"Still, I suppose I can't blame you... I am one FOX of a ninja girl. I hate to break it to you, Vinnie... but you aren't really my type."
Vincent stared down at her coldly, blinked once, very slowly, then cracked the cylinder of his revolver open and dumped the shells into his palm, and pocketed them in one smooth motion. The sudden, unexpected reaction to her taunting caused her to stop mid tease and blink at him, still leaning over while looking up at him, finger still raised.
She dropped it.
"Riiight... well Vinnie, its been... real. Seeing you again. I mean that. Really... yeah." She rubbed the back of her head. "I gotta move on... places to go, people to rob and all..."
He loaded new shells into the revolver and holstered it, turning towards the west, and the direction of the not-so-hidden bandit camp.
"We should move soon. There will be more of them." He muttered. He gave the impression that he was not talking to Yuffie, simply stating his preferences to the air.
Yuffie stared at him, still utterly confused. The confusion rapidly turned into annoyance. This... MAN! How the hell does someone ignore you and yet STILL manage to completely invalidate everything you'd just said? Infuriating... Dark... Guy! Suffer the wrath of POUTY IRRITATED TEENAGE NINJA GIRL, and her sidekick... SARCASM!!
"Oh yeah, I'm just gonna go wandering off into the woods with a guy who's probably spent more time contemplating his own navel then a quadraplegic. Sounds like a great idea." She snapped at him bitingly.
Vincent nodded shortly. "That's the plan."
She gritted her teeth. "I was being SARCASTIC!!"
Vincent cocked his head. "I know."
She blinked.
He jumped down off of the dead lizard's back.
"I wasn't." He said without turning around.
She followed him as he strode purposefully away, fuming at his irritating manner. This was worse than just being ignored. There was no cracking this nut, and nut he most certainly was. A cold, sociopathic, scary... unsalted nut. She didn't even get the impression that he was inwardly laughing at her... he was just empty.
Somehow that was worse.
"You still haven't answered my question, Vinnie." she said, switching tactics.
"Yes I did. You just weren't listening." He returned, stopping at the base of a large tree.
"Vincent, I don't know where you're from, but where I come from, answering a question like, why are you here generally can't be answered monosyllab- what ARE you doing?! Are you going to take a pi-"
In answer he sharply kicked the tree with his booted foot, causing the tree to vibrate violently. She gulped. There was alot more force in that kick then it looked. Maybe she'd better...
What was that whistling noise?
She glanced up in time to reflexively catch Conformer before it buried itself in her forehead.
"GAH!! VINNIE, YOU DICK!! YOU COULDA KILLED ME!!"
He glanced back at her. "You're welcome."
If it were physically possible, steam would have come shooting out of her ears.
***
Contrary to how it may have seemed, Yuffie was not completely clueless. She was well aware that she was being hunted. You don't get to be a ninja without realizing certain things. Sung had simply been lucky, catching up to her like that at the Golden Saucer. She'd sent him on his way with a little reminder that she didn't want to be found, but that was done more to irritate her father than with any expectation that he would call off the hunt. Yuffie had learned at a young age that her father was not a man to be easily swayed, and his plans for her were well known.
It had snuck up on her, turning eighteen. Time, true ninja that it was, had nailed her.
There was a time when she would have given anything for a word of praise from that old man. Pushing herself to become the best ninja... running around the globe hunting down Materia, all of it wasn't good enough. He'd made light of her accomplishments, teased her... all of this only pushed her to search harder for that elusive goal... that shining moment.
Just a benign smile. One without mockery tainting it. She never would have admitted it, not even to herself, but that would have made it all worth it.
She'd started the day with her usual routine, getting up "oh-my-god-what-are-you-doing-up" early to avoid the first few tours scheduled to gather about the home she steadfastly kept as her own, despite her father's none too subtle attempts to annoy her into moving into the palace. She cleaned up, dressed, ate, then set about the time consuming task of checking her various traps and snares, resetting the ones that had been tripped or looked slightly less than perfect. There were more traps than usual, (and far far more than necessity, and possibly sanity not to mention good taste dictated) her reaction to the tours, operating under the logic that if it became known that this area of the tour were more than a little dangerous, people would be less apt to poke their noses where it might get loped, crushed, yanked or burned off.
A guard was currently suspended in one of her more ingenious hanging traps, swaying slowly in the breeze.
She frowned.
"Ahem... hem." The guard cleared his throat and closed his eyes. "Milady Kisaragi. The Lord Kisaragi requests your presence." His officiousness was somewhat ruined by the fact that his ceremonial gorget was currently riding up about half the length of his face, despite his attempts to keep it down.
She narrowed her eyes. This was SO like him, lately. Nevermind the fact that it was still insanely early in the morning, she wasn't some damn servant he could just order around. She was his daughter, damn it?! Why couldn't he be nice for ONCE!!
"You can tell pops that I'll be there when I'm there, and if he wants to see me so bad, he can damn well come out here and get me himself."
The guard blinked, somewhat put off his game by her tone. This was, after all, a future lord of Wutai, not to mention a very dangerous ninja. "Er... as you wish, Lady Kisaragi... but, I can't give a message to anyone upside down like-"
WHAM!!
"Urk... thank you. Lady Kisaragi."
"Don't mention it." She replied sweetly, waving as she walked off.
***
"Ok old man, I'm here like you asked so what's the friggin' rush, already?" Where no Yuffie had been before, a very annoyed Yuffie now leaned in the doorway, arms crossed. She'd waited a few hours, not really doing anything, just making a point, then she'd finally showed up.
Lord Godo Kisaragi didn't acknowledge her presence. He simply continued signing documents, his eyes never raising from the table.
A vein popped out of Yuffie's forehead. "Fine. Got nothing better to do than wait here anyway. You might think you're annoying me, but I can be bigger than that."
Godo continued with his work serenely.
This state of events lasted approximately two and a half minutes.
She finally snapped away from the wall and snarled at him. "Fine. Screw this, I'm outta he-"
"Come in, and SIT DOWN." Godo said, looking up sternly. This action was so utterly out of character for him that she paled, jerked, then numbly did as he said.
He set down the pen and regarded her.
She frowned. "Is this about more Materia? I'm telling you pops, there ain't a whole lot more out there-"
"Yuffie, I know this is a difficult concept for you-"
"I mean, there might still be a few rare ones in the wreckage of Midgar, but I've picked through that place pretty well, and-"
"There are certain realities that you need to understand child, and-"
"I checked out the Crater pretty good, but that place gives me the creeps so it's possible that-"
"YUFFIE!" Godo thundered, slapping the desktop.
She stopped, stunned.
He sighed and massaged his forehead. "Yuffie... so help me, LISTEN to what I'm saying."
"You're not a Materia Hunter anymore."
She stared at him like he'd grown a second head.
"I haven't always been the best father to you, Yuffie. I admit that. Leviathan knows, I've pushed you hard. Maybe your mother would have disapproved, but she's been gone a long time, and I did the best I knew to do."
Yuffie blinked. This was completely unreal. Godo NEVER talked about mom. Ever. It was just one of those subjects they both avoided. A briar patch of misgivings and hurt feelings. Truthfully, Yuffie had always gotten the impression that her father blamed her somehow for her mother's death. The guilt that this caused is what pushed her to strive for his approval, to win his love.
Not that she realized that.
A vise began to form around her heart.
"I sent you out into the world with all the knowledge I could impart. I wanted you to experience things, get a little independance, a little self-reliance, before you had to accept your responsibilities. The Materia was never really what mattered... do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"
Oh she did. She understood perfectly. He'd sent her out there, sun or rain, heat or snow, again and again. When she was younger, she'd cried about it a little... but when your tears fall unnoticed by anyone but you, she'd learned, they were better left unshed. She'd thought she was making his precious Wutai strong again, getting the Materia that were so important to him. That made HER important to him, and she'd seek that anywhere... do anything for it.
It was all a lie.
The truth was, Materia was never important to him. Her LIFE wasn't important to him, everything she'd DONE for HIM, wasn't important to him. He was talking on, oblivious to her internal struggle...
Now she understood. He'd been passing the time, waiting until he could foist off HIS dreams on her... turning her into a perfect little ninja to run things HIS way.
She looked up, her face hardened into an uncharacteristic, cold mask.
He smiled slightly, mistaking this for a show of support, an acceptance of the burden ahead. She'd make a fine Lord of Wutai. Gods, he was so proud of her.
"Yuffie... tomorrow you reach your majority. It will give me great satisfaction to see you take your rightful place with your ancestors."
Yuffie was shocked, but she hid the reaction well. How had she forgotten that her birthday was coming so soon?! It didn't seem real, and yet it was...
How had it snuck up on her like that?
Lord of Wutai? Her?
Is that what he wanted her to become? Is THIS the only reason he acknowledged her? Some stupid NINJITSU technique? She'd friggin' learned that because Sephiroth scared the living PISS outta her... she'd needed an edge... and... and...
Screw that.
"I realize it's a shock, Yuffie, but you mustn't be anxious. The whole of Wutai is watching you. Make me proud."
"M-." She stuttered. Stopped. Took a deep breath.
-Compose yourself Yuffie... damn it. Just get out of this room. NOW. Before you kill him.- She thought.
"May I be... excused?"
Godo sighed. "Yes, daughter, you may. I understand it is a matter of extreme importance. Take the rest of the day to plan your future."
She nodded and left without a word.
She'd actually followed his advice too.
By the time the palace was alerted to anything being amiss, she was already puking her guts out stowed away aboard a departing freighter.
Her upset stomach did little to conceal the reality from her, but she hid her emotions very well, considering.
No one was going to use her like that, EVER again.
***
"No."
Vincent stopped at her single word and turned to look at her, sensing a difference in her tone.
"I know my father sent you, Vincent. I don't know why he sent YOU, but I know why you're here. I'm not going back there, and I don't want any part of HIS Wutai." She spat out the name of her country like a curse.
He turned slightly, half of his face concealed by shadow and regarded her with one inscrutable crimson eye.
"I don't care HOW scary you look Vinnie... I've made my decision. Him... you... you'll ALL just have to live with that!" She shouted this with her feet spread wide apart, her hands braced against her thighs.
He said nothing, simply regarded her quietly.
"Fuck you, Vincent. You know what I say?"
Vincent blinked. She'd gotten impossibly vulgar from her time spent with Avalanche. Apparently Cid had rubbed off on her more than anyone could have guessed. Well, at least she wasn't smoking.
"Catch me if you can, sucker!" She shouted, then turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
Just for the record, that's FAST.
Vincent closed his eyes, sighed quietly, then shifted his weight imperceptively and steadied himself.
Yuffie was a small speck getting smaller as it dodged around trees.
She WAS fast.
Just not fast enough.
A sudden crack and a hiss of displaced air tore into her senses like a rabid wolf. A sharp, numbing pain struck her high in the hamstring, where the leg meets the buttock. The force of impact spun her around and slammed her bodily into the base of a gnarled tree.
She doubled over and clutched her stomach, more from the sudden shock of betrayal then any actual damage from the impact with mother nature.
He'd... shot... her.
Vincent. Shot. Her.
A light crunching noise caught her attention and she looked up, blinking away tears. She followed the line of his dusty boots up, past the tattered red cloak slightly askew (yet still impossibly cool looking), covering his golden clawed hand. The still smoking revolver held lightly in his human hand. Still on up, impossibly high up to his impassive face, staring down at her, that damnable, disappointed expression faintly visable on his countenance.
"You... you shot me." She muttered.
"Yes, I did." He answered, calmly, cooly, like he'd just confirmed that he'd taken out the garbage, or done the dishes.
"YOU. SHOT. ME?!" She cried, trembling.
It was a good bet this was not from fear.
"Yes."
HOW COULD YOU FUCKING SHOOT ME?" She cried.
He crouched down and stared her in the eye.
"Because I had to."
She blinked. This statement was a little too far gone into the depths of psychotic-pragmatic-shit territory for her to even begin to guess what he had been thinking.
"WHAT THE HELL?!! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!!"
He raised an eyebrow. As though this thought had never occurred to him. He started to reach into his cloak for something.
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT EYEBROW.. THING!! YOU-YOU... PSYCHO!! What the hell could have possibly-"
"Rubber bullets." He said calmly, pulling out a length of rope.
"OF ALL THE INSANE... YOU... what?"
"I reloaded Peacemaker with rubber bullets." He said calmly.
It now occured to her to check a wound that was certain to be grievous and bloody, given the size of bullet normally loaded into Peacemaker. Upon inspection however, she noted that instead of a lethal hole torn into her leg, she instead had an ugly (and certainly sure to be painful) bruise marring her otherwise flawless skin.
She rounded on him like a snake.
"YOU THINK THAT MAKES IT ALL RIGHT? WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING OF YOU... YOU..." She stuttered, seeing red, and incidently, NOT seeing what was in his hands.
He looked up sharply. "Monster."
She stopped. "What?"
"It's what you're thinking isn't it?" He said calmly.
She cocked her head at him. "What? I... no! Asshole maybe, but... HEY!! What are you doing with that rope?!"
He did not answer her, but then, considering the situation, he didn't need to.
This did not sit with her well.
Not in the least.
***
"You do of course realize that I'm going to have to hurt you terribly. Quite possibly permenantly."
Plod. Plod. Plod.
"Yup. This is unforgivable. Completely justifiable homicide, really."
Plod. Plod. Plod.
"If you thought Hojo was bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet. I'm gonna make you wish you stayed in that nice, cozy coffin of yours. Yessiree. Lots of woe coming to you. Woe. Woe on you!"
Plod. Plod. Plod. SMACK!
"OW!! YOU ASSHOLE, THAT WAS MY FACE! YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!"
If Yuffie could have rubbed her head, she would have done so.
Two things prevented her from doing so. One, she was currently suspended a foot off the ground by an intractable, unforgivable wretch of a man, being carried away towards Leviathan only KNOWS where.
Second, her arms were currently tied very securely behind her back.
This state of events was intolerable, to say the least. To say that Yuffie was upset was something of an understatement. She could have very cheerfully contorted Vincent into many interesting shapes that the Gods had never intended for a three dimensional object, LET ALONE a tall, dark and creepy guy like Vincent. What made it worse was that he didn't even have the decency to carry her like a human being. he'd simply grabbed her around the waist and slung her under one arm like... like a newspaper or something. He was making his way through the underbrush, a piece of which had slapped her in the face as he pushed it aside.
It was the most embarassing thing she'd ever experienced.
Even if he DID smell kinda nice.
Like an old, quiet country shrine, a faint air of unidentifiable but pleasant incense, with just a little bit of dust.
Like a secret.
But that wasn't the point, damn it. Yuffie Kisaragi was no package to be carried and delivered like the day's mail.
She would have her revenge.
Ohhhhh yes.
Vincent stopped and looked downward, his eyes searching the gloom. She'd gotten quite a distance away from where he'd first spotted her in her headlong flight away from the rampaging bandits and their mounts. A long, curving chase that had ended up somewhat east and south of the camp itself, and dead east from Vincent's tethered Chocobo. If they were being pursued, Vincent figured it would follow the crushed underbrush left in the wake of the monsters, which meant that avoiding that trail was a necessity, if any more conflict was to be evaded. Vincent decided to simply make a straight line for his Chocobo, avoiding the trail for the most part. This seemed to be the best course.
Unfortunately, it was not. Hidden in the foliage in front of him, Vincent detected a steep drop off. You ran into these, sometimes, in the jungle... the excess of water... a natural cavern, all you needed for a ravine or a sinkhole. He wasn't sure what this was exactly, but it was deep, and wide.
-No help for it, then. Best to skirt it. It shouldn't be too much of a problem.- He thought to himself.
Unfortunately, Yuffie had other plans.
The time for revenge was nigh.
Unbenownst to Vincent, his stop to examine the hidden drop in front of him had afforded Yuffie an opportunity to make a nuisance of herself. She'd wrapped her legs around an nearby tree, for what purpose, Vincent couldn't even BEGIN to guess, having neither the experience nor the mindset to understand the thought processes of an extremely angry and hurt teenaged girl. However, this being said, he ALSO didn't have the forethought to PLAN for it, and was consequently caught by surprise, something that happens very seldomly to the ever wary Ex-Turk. The sudden shift of balance and jerking stop caused Vincent to misstep and stumble slightly, and as a reaction he increased his iron grip on the girl in responsible. She squeaked from the sudden change in abdominal pressure, and her grip on the tree slipped slightly, causing the rough bark to come in contact with the edge of the huge bruise on her leg.
She reacted by kicking wildly, wiggling like the proverbial cat on crack, and causing her to shift Vincent around until one leg slipped partially down the hillside (almost a cliff actually). He latched his golden claw deep into the bark of the very tree Yuffie had gripped earlier, catching the ninja girl by the rope restraining her arms and straining to keep her from falling into the void below her.
She sensed his lack of balance and the strain their position was putting on him, and fought with all her might to get free of him, not sensing (or possibly not CARING about) the drop she was suspended over.
Vincent's grip on her began to slip.
In that moment, he was forced to make a choice. A choice which, though he had no inkling at the time, would change his life forever, and have monumental consequences not only for himself and Yuffie, but the very world itself.
He let go.
Of the tree.
***
I do have a plan, people.
For those of you who think that Vincent is perhaps being overly cruel, this is my interpretation of Mr. Valentine. Remember that this man was an assassin, not to mention demonridden. I saw nothing in the game to change my opinion of him, and though I always saw him as on the right path, I think he's got a loooong way to go.
That being said, I hope I managed to capture his solitary and impossibly cool nature.
So, on with the show!
"You. You light up my whole day, whenever you're away. I'd like to think I've got you figured out- no way. If I get my hands on you I will make you do all the things I want you, bend your will to mine, never hear you whine. Everybody break out, it's enough- SHOUT! It's enough- SHOUT! It's enough, yeah it's enough. She's callin' we're brawlin', this is the hell that is my life. I'm laughin' she's cryin' this is the hell that is my, hell that is my life." -Zebrahead, Hell That is My Life
Time stood frozen for what seemed like centuries as the two former comrades stared at one another. Yuffie, ninja that she was, never the less found herself strangely indecisive in the face of this familiar stranger before her. Perhaps it was not so strange, really. Ninja are trained to react to an opponent's mindset, to hide themselves if the opponent seemed suspicious, to manipulate and catch an adversary offguard, strike in his moment of weakness. Unconsciously, a good ninja will use these principles when dealing with anyone, friend or foe, to give themselves a greater advantage... to know what words to use or what actions to take to receive the best advantage. Perhaps this might seem cold-hearted or manipulative, but then, what is a ninja, if not these things?
Yuffie was, despite her impulsiveness, a very good ninja.
This does not explain her indecisiveness when faced with Vincent, however.
The answer was simple. She was unable to read the enigmatic gunman, and didn't really know him all that well from her time with Avalanche. Because of this, she not only had no idea what he was thinking, she couldn't even guess based on any sort of past behavior he had exhibited. The extent of his interaction with her up to this point had been to either ignore her presence completely, or, when she inevitably forced him to recognize her existence, (usually by annoying the shit out of him) he inevitably had fixed her with a strange blank and yet disapproving sort of glance that made her feel... sad.
Yes, that was the word she was looking for... sad. As though he somehow expected better things of her, and she had let him down. Sad, because for some reason this always made her feel ashamed of herself, and Yuffie Kisaragi, ninja and notorious Materia Hunter, was not accustomed to feeling ashamed of herself, not on ANYONE'S account. No one else, not even her father, had been able to make her feel ashamed very often, and yet Vincent didn't even have to say anything to her, just fix her with that, despite her every attempt to get under his skin, completely unannoyed and yet disappointed gaze.
Every time he had done it, she'd stopped pestering him and bothered someone else, and every time, when she finally got up the nerve to ask Vincent what his problem was with her, she'd find him ignoring her again. This made her angry, because no one ignored her, at least if they knew what was good for them, so she'd try to annoy him again (the best way to get someone's attention, she had thought) and he'd give her that look that sent her elsewhere, once again ashamed and not entirely sure why. This viscous cycle had continued the entire time she'd known him, and as a consequence, she didn't really know much about the man, save that he was creepy and quiet. One thing she did know, however, after seeing him change into Chaos during the fight with Hojo, was that he had his limits. It was probably best that she had never pushed them beyond the breaking point. Then the journey had ended, and the members of Avalanche had gone their seperate ways, and Vincent had disappeared like the shadow he was.
Now he was here.
Looking at her.
"Me?" She chuckled weakly. "Why Vincent... heh heh... I had no idea I had that much effect on you." This was safer ground... teasing... this she was good at. She shifted into perky teenager mode.
"Still, I suppose I can't blame you... I am one FOX of a ninja girl. I hate to break it to you, Vinnie... but you aren't really my type."
Vincent stared down at her coldly, blinked once, very slowly, then cracked the cylinder of his revolver open and dumped the shells into his palm, and pocketed them in one smooth motion. The sudden, unexpected reaction to her taunting caused her to stop mid tease and blink at him, still leaning over while looking up at him, finger still raised.
She dropped it.
"Riiight... well Vinnie, its been... real. Seeing you again. I mean that. Really... yeah." She rubbed the back of her head. "I gotta move on... places to go, people to rob and all..."
He loaded new shells into the revolver and holstered it, turning towards the west, and the direction of the not-so-hidden bandit camp.
"We should move soon. There will be more of them." He muttered. He gave the impression that he was not talking to Yuffie, simply stating his preferences to the air.
Yuffie stared at him, still utterly confused. The confusion rapidly turned into annoyance. This... MAN! How the hell does someone ignore you and yet STILL manage to completely invalidate everything you'd just said? Infuriating... Dark... Guy! Suffer the wrath of POUTY IRRITATED TEENAGE NINJA GIRL, and her sidekick... SARCASM!!
"Oh yeah, I'm just gonna go wandering off into the woods with a guy who's probably spent more time contemplating his own navel then a quadraplegic. Sounds like a great idea." She snapped at him bitingly.
Vincent nodded shortly. "That's the plan."
She gritted her teeth. "I was being SARCASTIC!!"
Vincent cocked his head. "I know."
She blinked.
He jumped down off of the dead lizard's back.
"I wasn't." He said without turning around.
She followed him as he strode purposefully away, fuming at his irritating manner. This was worse than just being ignored. There was no cracking this nut, and nut he most certainly was. A cold, sociopathic, scary... unsalted nut. She didn't even get the impression that he was inwardly laughing at her... he was just empty.
Somehow that was worse.
"You still haven't answered my question, Vinnie." she said, switching tactics.
"Yes I did. You just weren't listening." He returned, stopping at the base of a large tree.
"Vincent, I don't know where you're from, but where I come from, answering a question like, why are you here generally can't be answered monosyllab- what ARE you doing?! Are you going to take a pi-"
In answer he sharply kicked the tree with his booted foot, causing the tree to vibrate violently. She gulped. There was alot more force in that kick then it looked. Maybe she'd better...
What was that whistling noise?
She glanced up in time to reflexively catch Conformer before it buried itself in her forehead.
"GAH!! VINNIE, YOU DICK!! YOU COULDA KILLED ME!!"
He glanced back at her. "You're welcome."
If it were physically possible, steam would have come shooting out of her ears.
***
Contrary to how it may have seemed, Yuffie was not completely clueless. She was well aware that she was being hunted. You don't get to be a ninja without realizing certain things. Sung had simply been lucky, catching up to her like that at the Golden Saucer. She'd sent him on his way with a little reminder that she didn't want to be found, but that was done more to irritate her father than with any expectation that he would call off the hunt. Yuffie had learned at a young age that her father was not a man to be easily swayed, and his plans for her were well known.
It had snuck up on her, turning eighteen. Time, true ninja that it was, had nailed her.
There was a time when she would have given anything for a word of praise from that old man. Pushing herself to become the best ninja... running around the globe hunting down Materia, all of it wasn't good enough. He'd made light of her accomplishments, teased her... all of this only pushed her to search harder for that elusive goal... that shining moment.
Just a benign smile. One without mockery tainting it. She never would have admitted it, not even to herself, but that would have made it all worth it.
She'd started the day with her usual routine, getting up "oh-my-god-what-are-you-doing-up" early to avoid the first few tours scheduled to gather about the home she steadfastly kept as her own, despite her father's none too subtle attempts to annoy her into moving into the palace. She cleaned up, dressed, ate, then set about the time consuming task of checking her various traps and snares, resetting the ones that had been tripped or looked slightly less than perfect. There were more traps than usual, (and far far more than necessity, and possibly sanity not to mention good taste dictated) her reaction to the tours, operating under the logic that if it became known that this area of the tour were more than a little dangerous, people would be less apt to poke their noses where it might get loped, crushed, yanked or burned off.
A guard was currently suspended in one of her more ingenious hanging traps, swaying slowly in the breeze.
She frowned.
"Ahem... hem." The guard cleared his throat and closed his eyes. "Milady Kisaragi. The Lord Kisaragi requests your presence." His officiousness was somewhat ruined by the fact that his ceremonial gorget was currently riding up about half the length of his face, despite his attempts to keep it down.
She narrowed her eyes. This was SO like him, lately. Nevermind the fact that it was still insanely early in the morning, she wasn't some damn servant he could just order around. She was his daughter, damn it?! Why couldn't he be nice for ONCE!!
"You can tell pops that I'll be there when I'm there, and if he wants to see me so bad, he can damn well come out here and get me himself."
The guard blinked, somewhat put off his game by her tone. This was, after all, a future lord of Wutai, not to mention a very dangerous ninja. "Er... as you wish, Lady Kisaragi... but, I can't give a message to anyone upside down like-"
WHAM!!
"Urk... thank you. Lady Kisaragi."
"Don't mention it." She replied sweetly, waving as she walked off.
***
"Ok old man, I'm here like you asked so what's the friggin' rush, already?" Where no Yuffie had been before, a very annoyed Yuffie now leaned in the doorway, arms crossed. She'd waited a few hours, not really doing anything, just making a point, then she'd finally showed up.
Lord Godo Kisaragi didn't acknowledge her presence. He simply continued signing documents, his eyes never raising from the table.
A vein popped out of Yuffie's forehead. "Fine. Got nothing better to do than wait here anyway. You might think you're annoying me, but I can be bigger than that."
Godo continued with his work serenely.
This state of events lasted approximately two and a half minutes.
She finally snapped away from the wall and snarled at him. "Fine. Screw this, I'm outta he-"
"Come in, and SIT DOWN." Godo said, looking up sternly. This action was so utterly out of character for him that she paled, jerked, then numbly did as he said.
He set down the pen and regarded her.
She frowned. "Is this about more Materia? I'm telling you pops, there ain't a whole lot more out there-"
"Yuffie, I know this is a difficult concept for you-"
"I mean, there might still be a few rare ones in the wreckage of Midgar, but I've picked through that place pretty well, and-"
"There are certain realities that you need to understand child, and-"
"I checked out the Crater pretty good, but that place gives me the creeps so it's possible that-"
"YUFFIE!" Godo thundered, slapping the desktop.
She stopped, stunned.
He sighed and massaged his forehead. "Yuffie... so help me, LISTEN to what I'm saying."
"You're not a Materia Hunter anymore."
She stared at him like he'd grown a second head.
"I haven't always been the best father to you, Yuffie. I admit that. Leviathan knows, I've pushed you hard. Maybe your mother would have disapproved, but she's been gone a long time, and I did the best I knew to do."
Yuffie blinked. This was completely unreal. Godo NEVER talked about mom. Ever. It was just one of those subjects they both avoided. A briar patch of misgivings and hurt feelings. Truthfully, Yuffie had always gotten the impression that her father blamed her somehow for her mother's death. The guilt that this caused is what pushed her to strive for his approval, to win his love.
Not that she realized that.
A vise began to form around her heart.
"I sent you out into the world with all the knowledge I could impart. I wanted you to experience things, get a little independance, a little self-reliance, before you had to accept your responsibilities. The Materia was never really what mattered... do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"
Oh she did. She understood perfectly. He'd sent her out there, sun or rain, heat or snow, again and again. When she was younger, she'd cried about it a little... but when your tears fall unnoticed by anyone but you, she'd learned, they were better left unshed. She'd thought she was making his precious Wutai strong again, getting the Materia that were so important to him. That made HER important to him, and she'd seek that anywhere... do anything for it.
It was all a lie.
The truth was, Materia was never important to him. Her LIFE wasn't important to him, everything she'd DONE for HIM, wasn't important to him. He was talking on, oblivious to her internal struggle...
Now she understood. He'd been passing the time, waiting until he could foist off HIS dreams on her... turning her into a perfect little ninja to run things HIS way.
She looked up, her face hardened into an uncharacteristic, cold mask.
He smiled slightly, mistaking this for a show of support, an acceptance of the burden ahead. She'd make a fine Lord of Wutai. Gods, he was so proud of her.
"Yuffie... tomorrow you reach your majority. It will give me great satisfaction to see you take your rightful place with your ancestors."
Yuffie was shocked, but she hid the reaction well. How had she forgotten that her birthday was coming so soon?! It didn't seem real, and yet it was...
How had it snuck up on her like that?
Lord of Wutai? Her?
Is that what he wanted her to become? Is THIS the only reason he acknowledged her? Some stupid NINJITSU technique? She'd friggin' learned that because Sephiroth scared the living PISS outta her... she'd needed an edge... and... and...
Screw that.
"I realize it's a shock, Yuffie, but you mustn't be anxious. The whole of Wutai is watching you. Make me proud."
"M-." She stuttered. Stopped. Took a deep breath.
-Compose yourself Yuffie... damn it. Just get out of this room. NOW. Before you kill him.- She thought.
"May I be... excused?"
Godo sighed. "Yes, daughter, you may. I understand it is a matter of extreme importance. Take the rest of the day to plan your future."
She nodded and left without a word.
She'd actually followed his advice too.
By the time the palace was alerted to anything being amiss, she was already puking her guts out stowed away aboard a departing freighter.
Her upset stomach did little to conceal the reality from her, but she hid her emotions very well, considering.
No one was going to use her like that, EVER again.
***
"No."
Vincent stopped at her single word and turned to look at her, sensing a difference in her tone.
"I know my father sent you, Vincent. I don't know why he sent YOU, but I know why you're here. I'm not going back there, and I don't want any part of HIS Wutai." She spat out the name of her country like a curse.
He turned slightly, half of his face concealed by shadow and regarded her with one inscrutable crimson eye.
"I don't care HOW scary you look Vinnie... I've made my decision. Him... you... you'll ALL just have to live with that!" She shouted this with her feet spread wide apart, her hands braced against her thighs.
He said nothing, simply regarded her quietly.
"Fuck you, Vincent. You know what I say?"
Vincent blinked. She'd gotten impossibly vulgar from her time spent with Avalanche. Apparently Cid had rubbed off on her more than anyone could have guessed. Well, at least she wasn't smoking.
"Catch me if you can, sucker!" She shouted, then turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
Just for the record, that's FAST.
Vincent closed his eyes, sighed quietly, then shifted his weight imperceptively and steadied himself.
Yuffie was a small speck getting smaller as it dodged around trees.
She WAS fast.
Just not fast enough.
A sudden crack and a hiss of displaced air tore into her senses like a rabid wolf. A sharp, numbing pain struck her high in the hamstring, where the leg meets the buttock. The force of impact spun her around and slammed her bodily into the base of a gnarled tree.
She doubled over and clutched her stomach, more from the sudden shock of betrayal then any actual damage from the impact with mother nature.
He'd... shot... her.
Vincent. Shot. Her.
A light crunching noise caught her attention and she looked up, blinking away tears. She followed the line of his dusty boots up, past the tattered red cloak slightly askew (yet still impossibly cool looking), covering his golden clawed hand. The still smoking revolver held lightly in his human hand. Still on up, impossibly high up to his impassive face, staring down at her, that damnable, disappointed expression faintly visable on his countenance.
"You... you shot me." She muttered.
"Yes, I did." He answered, calmly, cooly, like he'd just confirmed that he'd taken out the garbage, or done the dishes.
"YOU. SHOT. ME?!" She cried, trembling.
It was a good bet this was not from fear.
"Yes."
HOW COULD YOU FUCKING SHOOT ME?" She cried.
He crouched down and stared her in the eye.
"Because I had to."
She blinked. This statement was a little too far gone into the depths of psychotic-pragmatic-shit territory for her to even begin to guess what he had been thinking.
"WHAT THE HELL?!! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!!"
He raised an eyebrow. As though this thought had never occurred to him. He started to reach into his cloak for something.
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT EYEBROW.. THING!! YOU-YOU... PSYCHO!! What the hell could have possibly-"
"Rubber bullets." He said calmly, pulling out a length of rope.
"OF ALL THE INSANE... YOU... what?"
"I reloaded Peacemaker with rubber bullets." He said calmly.
It now occured to her to check a wound that was certain to be grievous and bloody, given the size of bullet normally loaded into Peacemaker. Upon inspection however, she noted that instead of a lethal hole torn into her leg, she instead had an ugly (and certainly sure to be painful) bruise marring her otherwise flawless skin.
She rounded on him like a snake.
"YOU THINK THAT MAKES IT ALL RIGHT? WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING OF YOU... YOU..." She stuttered, seeing red, and incidently, NOT seeing what was in his hands.
He looked up sharply. "Monster."
She stopped. "What?"
"It's what you're thinking isn't it?" He said calmly.
She cocked her head at him. "What? I... no! Asshole maybe, but... HEY!! What are you doing with that rope?!"
He did not answer her, but then, considering the situation, he didn't need to.
This did not sit with her well.
Not in the least.
***
"You do of course realize that I'm going to have to hurt you terribly. Quite possibly permenantly."
Plod. Plod. Plod.
"Yup. This is unforgivable. Completely justifiable homicide, really."
Plod. Plod. Plod.
"If you thought Hojo was bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet. I'm gonna make you wish you stayed in that nice, cozy coffin of yours. Yessiree. Lots of woe coming to you. Woe. Woe on you!"
Plod. Plod. Plod. SMACK!
"OW!! YOU ASSHOLE, THAT WAS MY FACE! YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!"
If Yuffie could have rubbed her head, she would have done so.
Two things prevented her from doing so. One, she was currently suspended a foot off the ground by an intractable, unforgivable wretch of a man, being carried away towards Leviathan only KNOWS where.
Second, her arms were currently tied very securely behind her back.
This state of events was intolerable, to say the least. To say that Yuffie was upset was something of an understatement. She could have very cheerfully contorted Vincent into many interesting shapes that the Gods had never intended for a three dimensional object, LET ALONE a tall, dark and creepy guy like Vincent. What made it worse was that he didn't even have the decency to carry her like a human being. he'd simply grabbed her around the waist and slung her under one arm like... like a newspaper or something. He was making his way through the underbrush, a piece of which had slapped her in the face as he pushed it aside.
It was the most embarassing thing she'd ever experienced.
Even if he DID smell kinda nice.
Like an old, quiet country shrine, a faint air of unidentifiable but pleasant incense, with just a little bit of dust.
Like a secret.
But that wasn't the point, damn it. Yuffie Kisaragi was no package to be carried and delivered like the day's mail.
She would have her revenge.
Ohhhhh yes.
Vincent stopped and looked downward, his eyes searching the gloom. She'd gotten quite a distance away from where he'd first spotted her in her headlong flight away from the rampaging bandits and their mounts. A long, curving chase that had ended up somewhat east and south of the camp itself, and dead east from Vincent's tethered Chocobo. If they were being pursued, Vincent figured it would follow the crushed underbrush left in the wake of the monsters, which meant that avoiding that trail was a necessity, if any more conflict was to be evaded. Vincent decided to simply make a straight line for his Chocobo, avoiding the trail for the most part. This seemed to be the best course.
Unfortunately, it was not. Hidden in the foliage in front of him, Vincent detected a steep drop off. You ran into these, sometimes, in the jungle... the excess of water... a natural cavern, all you needed for a ravine or a sinkhole. He wasn't sure what this was exactly, but it was deep, and wide.
-No help for it, then. Best to skirt it. It shouldn't be too much of a problem.- He thought to himself.
Unfortunately, Yuffie had other plans.
The time for revenge was nigh.
Unbenownst to Vincent, his stop to examine the hidden drop in front of him had afforded Yuffie an opportunity to make a nuisance of herself. She'd wrapped her legs around an nearby tree, for what purpose, Vincent couldn't even BEGIN to guess, having neither the experience nor the mindset to understand the thought processes of an extremely angry and hurt teenaged girl. However, this being said, he ALSO didn't have the forethought to PLAN for it, and was consequently caught by surprise, something that happens very seldomly to the ever wary Ex-Turk. The sudden shift of balance and jerking stop caused Vincent to misstep and stumble slightly, and as a reaction he increased his iron grip on the girl in responsible. She squeaked from the sudden change in abdominal pressure, and her grip on the tree slipped slightly, causing the rough bark to come in contact with the edge of the huge bruise on her leg.
She reacted by kicking wildly, wiggling like the proverbial cat on crack, and causing her to shift Vincent around until one leg slipped partially down the hillside (almost a cliff actually). He latched his golden claw deep into the bark of the very tree Yuffie had gripped earlier, catching the ninja girl by the rope restraining her arms and straining to keep her from falling into the void below her.
She sensed his lack of balance and the strain their position was putting on him, and fought with all her might to get free of him, not sensing (or possibly not CARING about) the drop she was suspended over.
Vincent's grip on her began to slip.
In that moment, he was forced to make a choice. A choice which, though he had no inkling at the time, would change his life forever, and have monumental consequences not only for himself and Yuffie, but the very world itself.
He let go.
Of the tree.
***