Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Fragments ❯ Chapter Eleven ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
//Hope I didn't make you wait too long! Anyway, thanks for all the reviews. *grins bashfully* Um, oh yeah, I must assure you: This chapter is not the end.//

Chapter 11



"Cloud!" exclaimed Reeve irritably. "Tifa! Why didn't you guys tell me Yuff was better? Just because you're not looking at Cait Sith doesn't mean you're not looking at the same person!" He had driven straight to the Strife home after a call from Tifa, ending his conference abruptly.

Reno leaned toward Elena and Rude. "Did that make any sense to you?" he asked under his breath. Elena shook her head.

"We left a message with your secretary," said Tifa defensively, placing her gloved hands on her hips. "But I guess since you're always so busy, what with being the mayor of Midgar, you didn't have time to check your memos?"

Reeve smiled sheepishly, his bronze eyes shifting to the floor. "You know, you should feel lucky. You guys are the only ones allowed to talk to me like that."

"Anyway," said Cloud, rolling his eyes, "Yuffie's with Vincent now, if you want to go say hi."

"Aww, no, I couldn't do that," Reeve replied, winking. "I'm sure them folks need to work a few things out. Besides, I wouldn't want to interrupt them during something... you know... important."

"Reeve!" Tifa said indignantly. Forgetting her own strength, she punched him hard on the arm. The man winced, rubbing the rapidly forming bruise.

Suddenly the door burst open. Rufus Shin-ra strode in, followed by Barret and Cid. Rufus wore a baggy white shirt, most likely Cid's, for any of Barret's would have made the boy look like he was wearing a tent. All three wore fatigue in their faces, and their shoulders slumped considerably. In short, they looked exhausted.

Unfortunately, weariness was no match for deep-seated resentment toward the Turks and a large ex-mercenary's rage. "What the ^&*# are dem Turks doin' here!?" bellowed Barret angrily the second he came through the door. Reno and Elena glared at him irritably, but Rude simply stood tall and rock-like, oblivios to his outburst.

Ignoring Barret, Tifa ran up to Rufus, embracing him tightly. "Rufus!!" she cried, locking the boy in a deathgrip. Tears began streaming down her cheeks. "We were so worried about you! Thank God you're safe!"

Rufus smiled, squeezing his friend's arm. "Thanks, Teef. You didn't have to worry, I'm okay." He closed his eyes in shame. "But I didn't find Vincent."

"The Shin-ra mansion's completely gone," said Cid, uncharacteristically serious. "Burnt to the ground. No Vince."

"What are you guys talkin' about!?" said Reno, shaking his head. "Vampire Boy's upstairs with Kisaragi right now!"

Rufus's eyes widened. "What!?"



"What happened to you, Vinnie?"

Vincent raised himself to a sitting position on Rufus's bed, his brow creasing ever so slightly in pain. For a while he simply stared at Yuffie. "Chaos happened," he finally said in a low voice.

The young ninja blinked. "Chaos did *that* to you?"

"Yes," he replied, nodding. "He told me... in a way... that you were in danger. I left Nibelheim, determined to see you again. I walked the entire way."

"No wonder you're so exhausted!" she cried, taking his claw in her hands. She looked at it for a while, turning it back and forth. Finally she lifted her head to stare at him. "Why?" she simply asked.

His crimson gaze met her slate grey one, and he sighed. "Forgive me, Yuffie, it seemed like the only option at the time." He looked out the window, some undetectable emotion in his eyes. "I am not a good person, Yuffie. Lucrecia died because of me. You would be better off never having met me."

"You think I care?" said Yuffie, anger finally seeping into her voice. "Leaving was the worst thing you could have possibly done to me. I know that if anything happened to me, you would blame yourself. That's just who you are. But you shouldn't think like that!" Her grip tightened on his claw, even though she knew he could not feel it. "You need to stop feeling so guilty about things you haven't done," she said softly.

Vincent suddenly turned back to face her. Gently, carefully, he slid his arms around her waist, pulling her next to him on the bed. "And you need to stop worrying about me," he whispered, giving her the full force of a genuine Vincent Valentine smile.

Yuffie stared dumbly at him, not knowing whether to kiss him or punch him in the face for breaking down her defenses with that flawless smile. Before she could decide, however, the smile faded, leaving only a melancholy expression on Vincent's alabaster features. "What's wrong?" she asked, frowning.

"I... I only wish I had never left, and spared you, and everyone else the pain." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I was so selfish."

Yuffie took a deep breath. "Rufus left, you know."

Vincent looked up at her sharply. "What?"

"He promised," she continued, her voice wavering, "that he'd find you, and b-bring you back to me. He said that... even if he didn't come back, I'd... I'd see you again. He did that for me."

"Then it is my fault he is gone," Vincent said quietly, hanging his head.

Yuffie shook her head. "No, it's my fault! I should have told him..." she trailed off, not daring to finish her sentence.

But Vincent knew what she had meant to say. He raised his eyes to look at her. They were filled with hurt, disappointment, and a dismal acceptance. "You should have told him... that you love him?"

Her lower lip began to tremble. She turned away, hiding the tears that began to flow down her flushed cheeks. "I don't know," she breathed, trying to wipe her cheeks dry. "I don't know what to feel anymore. It all started that snowy night last winter, when you... you almost kissed me. Then you just left, and all I wanted was to see you again. But..." She suddenly smiled through her tears. "But Rufus was there all along. He was right beside me, through all the pain, and I didn't even realize how much he cared. Until he left, too." She looked up at Vincent, fresh tears streaming from her eyes. "And now you're here, and I'm at a total loss! What should I feel, who should I feel it for? I just don't know!"

"&*#$!!" she suddenly shouted, punching Vincent in the chest. "Why did you have to love me?!"

He seized her wrist with his claw, stroking her fingers with his human hand. "Because you made it impossible for me not to," he whispered earnestly, drawing her close to him. "I am happy, Yuffie. I never thought I would say it, but it's true." He reached under his cape and pulled out the picture frame. The picture of a grinning ninja and a somber gunman, both soaked from the falling rain. "And not just happy on the inside," he added, smiling gently. "And it's all because of you."

After Vincent had set the picture carefully on the bedside, he lifted his right hand to caress Yuffie's cheek. The girl swallowed hard as the pale fingers traced down her nose, across her lips, and over to the nape of her neck. Shivers erupted from every inch of skin that came in contact with his graceful fingertips, and her breath caught in her throat as his hand came to rest on her back and pulled her against his hard chest. With his brass claw, he tilted her chin up slowly and leaned forward.

So that was what it felt like to kiss a monster. It was more enjoyable than Yuffie would have guessed.

Seconds seemed like hours as Vincent's warm lips pressed against hers. Though his claw buried its wicked digits in her hair, every movement had an astonishing tenderness. Yuffie felt powerless as he deepened the kiss, moaning almost inaudibly. She had never been kissed before, but she had a feeling that this was a very commendable one.

*No!* she thought wildly. *This isn't right! I can't do this to--*

She ended her frenzied thoughts abruptly as she heard a small, stifled sob. Vincent pulled away from her in shock, his crimson eyes wide.

There, in the doorway, trembling from head to toe, stood Rufus Shin-ra. He was holding his hands against his gaunt chest, fingering the collar of his pure white, oversized shirt. Tears shimmered in his endless sky-blue eyes, and he bit his shaking lip and looked down at the floor.

"And that's how it goes, I guess," he whispered, nodding in defeat. Slowly, he turned his back to them and walked out of the room.



//Sorry this is a bit shorter than the other ones. But I didn't want to go any further just yet, so I left it the way it is. *bursts into tears* My poor Rufie! Sparrow still loves you! Aaaagh, whoops, forget I said that. Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter!//