Hello, this is Tsjoat's Adventures in babysitting.
Beta & Editor: Blackaeronaut
Please enjoy, this is one of the few fanfics I started that I am taking seriously enough to post.
Summary:
Yuffie changes the course of history by getting on the wrong plane in her
little globe troding adventures, heading to Neibilhim on the day Cloud and Tifa
are stuck on the trail.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Cloud was
clutching her hand so hard that it would have been painful if it weren’t for
the adrenaline rush. She was a little
more concerned about the canyon under her.
She wasn’t
strong enough - even with the adrenaline rush - to lift herself up, but
amazingly Cloud did.
“You
alright?” Cloud asked her, but all she could do was cry into his chest from the
scare that happened.
Cloud
sighed, but Tifa didn’t notice. If she knew that Cloud was thinking then she
probably would have felt hopeless.
‘We’re trapped, and the only thing we can do is wait for help…I don’t
know what to do about this whole thing let alone a girl crying on me! What do I
DO!’
“HEY!
Whatcha’ doing down there?!” A voice asked from above.
“Were
stuck!” Cloud yelled looking up with hope, and then felt his heart sink. Tifa
on the otherhand was annoyed. Why couldn’t an adult find them?
It was a
little girl, no bigger than Tifa herself. What was SHE going to do to get them
out? Other than go get her daddy... Tifa
didn’t want that, but she knew it was going to happen anyway the moment her
friends ran off at the first sign of trouble. To top it all off, they would
likely blame Cloud since they didn’t like him to begin with.
“Here’s a
rope! Can ya climb?!” She yelled, and both Tifa and cloud nodded their heads.
“Alright, I
tied it to this REALLY big rock! Here ya go!” She yelled down to them, throwing
them the rope.
Cloud
grabbed it, and started tying it around Tifa's waist.
“Whaa…what
are you doing?”
“Putting it
around you, so when I get up there I can lift you up.” Cloud answered, and
started to climb, not noticing Tifa’s blush.
“I can
climb it myself!” She yelled at Cloud, but he was already half way up the rope.
She pouted,
but decided not to untie it. Instead, she tugged on it to make sure it was
fastened securely, and began to climb.
She only
managed to get a quarter of the way up before calling for help.
Cloud was
already at the top when he heard her crying out. He looked back and found that Tifa was
struggling futilely.
“Ok, let’s
pull her up!” he told the girl behind him.
The strange girl nodded as and started to pull together.
“Climb
girl, climb!” The girl behind him called out as they pulled.
Tifa
huffed, and tried to climb the rope again.
“Not the
rope! The wall! Grab the wall and start climbing!” the girl hollered. Tifa realized her mistake and began climbing
the wall instead. With Cloud and the
strange girl pulling from above, Tifa found she was going up faster than Cloud
managed on his own.
Once she
got up the wall, Cloud and the girl were already panting from exertion, while
Tifa was just a little sore where the rope was.
“Your not a
feather.” the girl grumped and Cloud laughed.
Tifa
blushed, and retorted, “Well you’re a little small for a seven year old!”
“I'm a five
year old, missy! And if I didn’t come around you would have been stuck down
there forever!”
Cloud
wisely stayed out of it, but was surprised when Tifa just huffed and thanked
her for helping them.
“So, what’s
your name?” Cloud asked.
“Yuffie
Kagasari! Princess of Wutai!" the girl announced with her chest puffed out
in pride. "And since I saved you’re lives from starving or being eaten by
a grand dragon or frogs or something, you're now my indentured servants!”
Silence.
“What?”
replied Tifa flatly. “Your not a princess! I’m more of a princess then you are!
I’m the Mayor's Daughter!”
Yufi
grinned like a card shark at amateur poker night. “Oh? How big is his region?”
“Two
thousand acres!” Tifa snapped hotly.
“Well, my daddy’s the Emperor of Wutai, and his
region is a whole continent! So HA! I’m a princess!” Yuffie then stuck her
toungue out and blew a raspberry at Tifa.
“Prove it!”
Tifa yelled, her face glowing red in outrage.
“Tada!” She
yelled, whipping out a scroll and unfurling it to reveal her legal birth
certificate.
Cloud
grabbed it and read closely.
“Holy…” he
began incredulously.
“Leviathan?”
Yufi finished for him, grinning mischievously.
“I was
going to say life stream,” he shot back.
“Bleh!”
said Yufi, gagging dramatically as only a princess could. “As my servents you
shall now worship Leviathan.”
“I am NOT
your servent!” Tifa yelled, and Cloud looked at Tifa worriedly.
“Tifa…I
know this might sound a little strange, but she’s the real deal. If we don’t do
this and word gets to her father, he could send people here to blow us up or
something.”
“Please,
like that could ever happen. ShinRa corporation would stop them from even
getting over here.”
“Like they
stopped me?” Yuffie asked, batting her eyes oh-so-innocently. That made Tifa
stop and think for a moment.
“Cloud! We
have to beat her up!” Tifa announced, illiciting a startled squawk from Cloud.
“Just try
it!” Yuffie yelled, pulling out a green orb and a small paper fan with metal
edges. That in and of itself might not
have been as threatening, though, as the electricity that arced around her tiny
body.
There comes
a time where one realizes exactly the nature of the predator that one is
taunting. Tifa got such an epiphany and
darted behind Cloud's back.
Cloud
sighed. “I’m not going to fight her over
this. She would eventually tell her father about us beating her up.” Cloud
returned the Birth Certificate, and Yuffie cheered.
“Oh. Then
how do we stop this?” Tifa asked, not even realizing that what she suggested
earlier could have been taken as saying 'Let's kill Yuffie.' Unbeknownst to the
three, a single Wutai warrior was watching, ready to kill Tifa and Cloud if
they laid a finger on the princess.
On the
other hand, the warrior reflected, letting them beating her up might be a good
idea. She needed a good spanking, as she was behind on her dues with how much
crap she was pulling. However, he was
surprised at the line of thought of the boy. In fact, the boy didn't even
realize how right he was - that is if only Yuffie could ever sit still long
enough to tell her dad where to send a strike team or who the target was. With Yuffie’s ADHD, that just wasn’t going to
happen.
“We
don’t," stated Cloud grudgingly. "Alright Yuffie, what now?”
“I need a
place to crash for the night before we get going, know anywere cool?”
“There is
the ShinRa mansion.” Cloud answered.
“Cloud,
you’re GOING FOR THIS?” Tifa asked annoyed.
“Yeah, it’s
not like Wutai is our enemy or something, and this means that I get to leave
Nibleheim.” The poor boy didn’t realize that the Wutai-ShinRa Border was just a
spark away from catching fire.
“Fine!"
snapped Tifa. "I’ll go too, but I am NOT your servent!”
“Are too!”
Yuffie taunted.
“Are not!”
Tifa shot back angrily.
“are TOO!”
Yuffie yelled.
“ARE NOT!”
Tifa screamed.
“Are
too!" Yuffie finished primly. "That is, until you save my life or ten
years from now. Anyway!”
“Wait, all
I have to do it save your life?” Tifa asked.
“Yeah,”
Yuffie drawled out slowly, wondering what exactly Tifa was getting at.
“Oh, then I
should be free quickly,” Tifa said smugly.
Yuffie
blinked. “Oh?”
“You’re a
ninja princess," explained Tifa as though Yuffie didn't know. "You’re
going to be attacked by rival ninja clans or something sooner or later!”
“Nuuhh-uuhhhh!”
“Yea-huuuhh!”
“Who would
attack a little girl!”
“I would!”
Tifa growled, holding up a fist.
“You don’t
count!”
“Oh?! And
why’s that!”
“You’re a
little girl too!”
“Bigger
then you!”
“Not as
powerful!” Yuffie yelled right back, now crackling with electricity again.
Cloud was
at a loss for words, until a gust of wind reminded him about how cold it was
out here.
“Hey guy’s,
kinda cold here. Can we go home now?” Both Tifa and Yuffie looked at Cloud, and
blinked.
“Alright.”
Tifa said, and Yuffie nodded her head. “Show me this ShinRa Mansion.”
-0-0-0-0-0-
When Cloud,
Tifa, and a very well hidden Yuffie got to the town, they found Tifa’s father
and several men about to go find them.
“TIFA! My
baby, are you alright!” Tifa’s father, the mayor, yelled while running to her.
“I’m fine
daddy, I went exploring and got a little lost when Chad broke the bridge, we
were on the other side. He needs to lose weight! Him and the others went to go
help before I could tell them I found a way back.”
“And
this…boy?”
“Cloud
helped figure out how to get back, and didn’t leave me all alone like the other
boys.” At this, the mayor stiffened and walked to Cloud.
“Don’t go
near my daughter again.”
“But…”
“No! I told
you to stay away, and that is IT.”
“Why?” Tifa
asked, and the look of anger on her daddy’s face made her take a step back.
“You’re too
young to understand! Go home and get cleaned up for dinner. NOW!” He snapped,
and then just gave Cloud a disgusted look and walked off.
Cloud
looked down. It was always like that with him. But why?
Cloud
walked home, but heard the faint sounds of Yuffie following very discreetly.
When he
came in the door, Cloud announced he was home to his mother, who came out of
the kitchen.
“Oh, there
is my baby boy!” She gushed with a huge smile, then noticed Clouds sour look.
“Oh…what
happened?”
“Mom, why
does the Mayor hate me?”
“Baby, he
doesn’t hate you…he’s just jeleous. Tell me what happened.” And Cloud told her
everything, including what happened with Yuffie, who was uncharacteristically
helpful in revealing herself to Cloud's Mother.
“Oh my…You
do have to go with the princess,” She said, looking at the birth certificate.
“I figured
as much,” groaned Cloud
His mother
then sighed as a thought occured to her.
“The mayor would never let little Tifa go unless I tell him. I suppose I'll need to go and handle this
myself.”
The subject
broached again, Cloud seized on it.
“Mom, why does he hate me?”
“He doesn’t
hate you…”
“He’s
jealous, I know," said Cloud, rolling his eyes. "But why?”
His Mother
sighed, and deliberated with herself for a moment before going on.
“I don’t
expect you to understand just yet," she started, "but the mayor and I
were… together for a short while when we were younger. Then your father came around and swept me off
my feet… he was older, more mature looking, and quite wealthy.”
“He doesn’t
like me because I’m dad’s son?” said Cloud in disgust.
“He doesn’t
like you because I chose the wrong man," his Mother replied bluntly. Cloud felt like he'd been slapped in the
face. His mother went on, "I won’t
lie to you sweetheart, your father abandoned us, even though he could have
easily taken care of us.”
“I’m a
mistake?” Cloud asked, not sure of anything anymore.
“No son. I
had you on purpose to get your father to marry me. He just chose to ignore his
responsibilities.”
“Who is my
father?”
“His name
is Rufus. That’s all I can tell you.” She said, turning away from Cloud.
Cloud just
stood there for a moment.
“Mom, I
have to leave soon with Yuffie. I’m going to find dad one day, and ask him why
he left us.” Clouds mom gave Cloud a look of disappointment.
“Good luck
Son. Write back to me, ok?”
“I got
e-mail," said Yuffie suddenly.
"I can let Cloud send ya messages that way.”
“Thank you
princess of Wutai.” Miss Strife said, giving a light bow.
Yuffie
rolled her eyes, but gave a bow back.
“Alright
Cloud, get your stuff and take me to the mansion!” Cloud and Yuffie went to his
room as Miss Strife smiled.
She might
not marry a rich man, but her son might marry a rich princess one day.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
“Creepy,”
Cloud muttered, which Yuffie did not hear.
“COOL!”
Yuffie yelled, and slipped though the metal bars of the gate. Cloud managed to
squeeze through himself and ran to catch up with Yuffie.
Yufi got to
the doors and opened them before Cloud could.
Of course, Cloud was quick to realize they should have been locked.
“I thought
you said this was abandoned?” Yuffie said, walking though the doors.
The place
was a little messy, but there was absolutely no dust.
“I thought
it was,” Cloud said, the beginings of paranoia building in his gut.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Yuffie and
Cloud went to sleep on a HUGE bed.
Yuffie demanded that he spend the night. Cloud was nervous, this was his
first sleepover, and it was with his boss, not a friend.
They had
some fun with Yuffie telling stories about the Ninja of Wutai, her exploits,
and how she stole her father’s beard and wore it whenever her father wasn’t
looking.
They played
games of riddles, and he was able to beat her by figuring out her riddles, and
giving nothing but easy riddles. He out lasted her, she couldn’t think of one
that stumped him.
She taught
him about Materia and how cool it was. (Her favorite was the Steal Materia for
obvious reasons.)
They had a
pillow fight, and compared scars. (Yuffie won with a scar from tickling a
sleeping Grand Dragon.)
All and
all, as Cloud finally feel asleep, he was glad that his boss was now his
friend.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
When Cloud
woke up, he noticed a pen on his gut and a mirror right in front of him.
He sat up,
and looked at himself in the mirror
“Damn it
Yuffie.” Cloud muttered, and tried to rubout the ink on his face, then get his
hair out of those damn pigtails.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
“Yuffie!”
Cloud yelled, irritated. He had finally gotten rid of the Ink, and he was not
happy with the prank.
“Over here
Cloud, check it out!” Cloud heard from across the walkway.
They were
on the second level, and Cloud sighed and walked over, eventually finding the
annoying girl sliding a... wall... open and closed.
“Cool, huh?
Found it this morning!”
“A secret
door?” said Cloud in astonishment.
“Yeah!
Let’s go exploring!”
“I don’t
know, the last time I went exploring…” Cloud remembered that nasty fall from
yesterday. They were lucky that Tifa
didn’t die.
“The last
time you went exploring, you met me! So it went GREAT! Now, let’s go!” Yuffie
ran inside, and Cloud had ‘Wait for me.’ On his lips, but decided to not to say
anything and just followed, walking carefully down those steps.
“This is a
bad idea. These steps look like they are rotted, loose, and torn apart…it that
a termite?” Cloud asked, seeing a bug crawl into the railing.
He heard
Yuffie scream a moment later, and ran down the steps, forgetting his earlier
hesitation and fear.
Yuffie was
hanging onto one of those dammed termite eaten rails, that was barely connected
to the steps.
Cloud ran
down the steps to the bottom, and got underneath her.
“Alright!
Let go, I’ll catch you!” Cloud yelled, and Yuffie yelled.
“Yeah
right! You just wanna get out of being my servant!”
“You really
think that?” Cloud asked, dropping his arms, and Yuffie saw the clear look of
sadness on his face.
“I…no.
Look, it’s ok, I got this!” Yuffie said with determination. She started
swinging, and let go of the rail to land on the steps on the level below. Her
foot smashed though a step, but she got up quickly and ran down to cloud.
“See? I got
it!”
“Yuffie?
Are we friends?”
“Of course
silly! That’s why I’m NEVER gonna let you save my life, so I can drag you along
with me! That, and because Yuffie, the amazing ninja extraordinaire, never
needs saving!” Yuffie struck a pose, and Cloud smiled.
“Well? Come
on!” Yuffie said, now marching down the middle of the walk way. Cloud jogged up
next to her, but stopped.
“Yuffie?”
Cloud asked.
“Yeah?” She
asked.
“Door,” he
said, pointing to their left.
“RIGHT!”
She went over, and kicked the door.
Nothing
happened.
“Damn, that
always works in the storys,” she grumbled, then tried to open the door the
traditional way.
By taking
out a set of little slivers of metal.
“What’s
that?” Cloud asked.
“Lock
picks.” She answered like it was totally obvious.
“You’re
going to pick the lock?”
“No, I’m
examining the door’s ear,” she snarked as she rolled her eyes.
Cloud was
miffed, but stayed quiet as the sound of tumblers falling into place was heard,
then Yuffie twisted the lock and laughed.
“Got it!”
And then she took two steps back, and cleared her throat. “Heh heh
heh…HAAAYAAA!” She lept up and spun around, lashing out with her foot, kicking
the doors again, and this time Yuffie was not disappointed when they slammed
open quite dramatically.
“YES! I am
AWESOME!” She cheered.
“Err…Yuffie?”
“Yeah
Cloud?”
“The room
is full of coffins.”
“AWESOME!
Maybe we might find a vampire!”
“What’s a
vampire?” Then a Coffin slammed open, and Yuffie ran behind Cloud.
“That,” she
whimpered, watching as a man in black and red sat upright. He had sharp
features, long black hair, red eyes, and a golden metal gauntlet. He was
wearing black garb, and a red cape.
Cloud was quite sure that this being was not one to be trifled with.
“Kids?
Here? Whatever…it doesn’t matter. Just go home.” The Vampire said, and the
Coffin lid started to fly back.
“Hey! Are
you a vampire?” Cloud asked, feeling tense.
“What’s a
vampire?” the vampire that was apparently NOT a vampire asked.
“He’s not a
vampire?” Yuffie said, getting out from behind Cloud. "Damn."
“Why would
you go looking for a monster?” The Man asked, looking at the two children with
a hint of curiosity.
“It’s on my
bucket list,” Yuffie replied blithely.
“Bucket
list?”
“Yeah, a
list of things to do before you die, ‘Kick the bucket’. That’s why they call it
a Bucket list. The last thing to do before I die is ‘Call for Help.’” Yuffie
joked. Cloud looked mortified, and the man in the coffin just blinked.
“Oh come
on! That was funny!”
No one said
anything, and the coffin lid just closed.
Yuffie
sighed, and left the room along with Cloud.
“Why he
sleeps in a coffin when there’s that awesome bed upstairs I will never know.”
Yuffie grumbled.
“Did you
see the gun he had?” Cloud asked, remembering that tri-barreled gun.
“Wait. He
was armed?” Yuffie then look gleeful.
“Yeah….Yuffie?
What are you doing?”
“Stay here,
I got some shopping to do.” Yuffie was gone into the room, and came back a
moment later toting a tri-barreled pistol with three shiny materia.
“This is
AWESOME.”
She spun
the gun a few times, and put it in her pocket.
“How did
you fit that in there?” Cloud asked, his eye bugging out at the sight.
“I got it
expanded, don’t you know silly? Bags of holding are easy to make!”
“Wha?”
“Don’t
worry, space manipulation magic is…COOL!” Yuffie yelled, as they entered a
laboratory lined with books.
“But if we
can do that, why can’t we get rid of our trash?” Cloud asked to himself as
Yuffie ran ahead to look at large tubes of green liquid.
_____________
Veni, vidi, vici. [I came, I saw, I conquered
Quote from Julius Caesar
Beta & Editor: Blackaeronaut
Please enjoy, this is one of the few fanfics I started that I am taking seriously enough to post.
Summary:
Yuffie changes the course of history by getting on the wrong plane in her
little globe troding adventures, heading to Neibilhim on the day Cloud and Tifa
are stuck on the trail.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Cloud was
clutching her hand so hard that it would have been painful if it weren’t for
the adrenaline rush. She was a little
more concerned about the canyon under her.
She wasn’t
strong enough - even with the adrenaline rush - to lift herself up, but
amazingly Cloud did.
“You
alright?” Cloud asked her, but all she could do was cry into his chest from the
scare that happened.
Cloud
sighed, but Tifa didn’t notice. If she knew that Cloud was thinking then she
probably would have felt hopeless.
‘We’re trapped, and the only thing we can do is wait for help…I don’t
know what to do about this whole thing let alone a girl crying on me! What do I
DO!’
“HEY!
Whatcha’ doing down there?!” A voice asked from above.
“Were
stuck!” Cloud yelled looking up with hope, and then felt his heart sink. Tifa
on the otherhand was annoyed. Why couldn’t an adult find them?
It was a
little girl, no bigger than Tifa herself. What was SHE going to do to get them
out? Other than go get her daddy... Tifa
didn’t want that, but she knew it was going to happen anyway the moment her
friends ran off at the first sign of trouble. To top it all off, they would
likely blame Cloud since they didn’t like him to begin with.
“Here’s a
rope! Can ya climb?!” She yelled, and both Tifa and cloud nodded their heads.
“Alright, I
tied it to this REALLY big rock! Here ya go!” She yelled down to them, throwing
them the rope.
Cloud
grabbed it, and started tying it around Tifa's waist.
“Whaa…what
are you doing?”
“Putting it
around you, so when I get up there I can lift you up.” Cloud answered, and
started to climb, not noticing Tifa’s blush.
“I can
climb it myself!” She yelled at Cloud, but he was already half way up the rope.
She pouted,
but decided not to untie it. Instead, she tugged on it to make sure it was
fastened securely, and began to climb.
She only
managed to get a quarter of the way up before calling for help.
Cloud was
already at the top when he heard her crying out. He looked back and found that Tifa was
struggling futilely.
“Ok, let’s
pull her up!” he told the girl behind him.
The strange girl nodded as and started to pull together.
“Climb
girl, climb!” The girl behind him called out as they pulled.
Tifa
huffed, and tried to climb the rope again.
“Not the
rope! The wall! Grab the wall and start climbing!” the girl hollered. Tifa realized her mistake and began climbing
the wall instead. With Cloud and the
strange girl pulling from above, Tifa found she was going up faster than Cloud
managed on his own.
Once she
got up the wall, Cloud and the girl were already panting from exertion, while
Tifa was just a little sore where the rope was.
“Your not a
feather.” the girl grumped and Cloud laughed.
Tifa
blushed, and retorted, “Well you’re a little small for a seven year old!”
“I'm a five
year old, missy! And if I didn’t come around you would have been stuck down
there forever!”
Cloud
wisely stayed out of it, but was surprised when Tifa just huffed and thanked
her for helping them.
“So, what’s
your name?” Cloud asked.
“Yuffie
Kagasari! Princess of Wutai!" the girl announced with her chest puffed out
in pride. "And since I saved you’re lives from starving or being eaten by
a grand dragon or frogs or something, you're now my indentured servants!”
Silence.
“What?”
replied Tifa flatly. “Your not a princess! I’m more of a princess then you are!
I’m the Mayor's Daughter!”
Yufi
grinned like a card shark at amateur poker night. “Oh? How big is his region?”
“Two
thousand acres!” Tifa snapped hotly.
“Well, my daddy’s the Emperor of Wutai, and his
region is a whole continent! So HA! I’m a princess!” Yuffie then stuck her
toungue out and blew a raspberry at Tifa.
“Prove it!”
Tifa yelled, her face glowing red in outrage.
“Tada!” She
yelled, whipping out a scroll and unfurling it to reveal her legal birth
certificate.
Cloud
grabbed it and read closely.
“Holy…” he
began incredulously.
“Leviathan?”
Yufi finished for him, grinning mischievously.
“I was
going to say life stream,” he shot back.
“Bleh!”
said Yufi, gagging dramatically as only a princess could. “As my servents you
shall now worship Leviathan.”
“I am NOT
your servent!” Tifa yelled, and Cloud looked at Tifa worriedly.
“Tifa…I
know this might sound a little strange, but she’s the real deal. If we don’t do
this and word gets to her father, he could send people here to blow us up or
something.”
“Please,
like that could ever happen. ShinRa corporation would stop them from even
getting over here.”
“Like they
stopped me?” Yuffie asked, batting her eyes oh-so-innocently. That made Tifa
stop and think for a moment.
“Cloud! We
have to beat her up!” Tifa announced, illiciting a startled squawk from Cloud.
“Just try
it!” Yuffie yelled, pulling out a green orb and a small paper fan with metal
edges. That in and of itself might not
have been as threatening, though, as the electricity that arced around her tiny
body.
There comes
a time where one realizes exactly the nature of the predator that one is
taunting. Tifa got such an epiphany and
darted behind Cloud's back.
Cloud
sighed. “I’m not going to fight her over
this. She would eventually tell her father about us beating her up.” Cloud
returned the Birth Certificate, and Yuffie cheered.
“Oh. Then
how do we stop this?” Tifa asked, not even realizing that what she suggested
earlier could have been taken as saying 'Let's kill Yuffie.' Unbeknownst to the
three, a single Wutai warrior was watching, ready to kill Tifa and Cloud if
they laid a finger on the princess.
On the
other hand, the warrior reflected, letting them beating her up might be a good
idea. She needed a good spanking, as she was behind on her dues with how much
crap she was pulling. However, he was
surprised at the line of thought of the boy. In fact, the boy didn't even
realize how right he was - that is if only Yuffie could ever sit still long
enough to tell her dad where to send a strike team or who the target was. With Yuffie’s ADHD, that just wasn’t going to
happen.
“We
don’t," stated Cloud grudgingly. "Alright Yuffie, what now?”
“I need a
place to crash for the night before we get going, know anywere cool?”
“There is
the ShinRa mansion.” Cloud answered.
“Cloud,
you’re GOING FOR THIS?” Tifa asked annoyed.
“Yeah, it’s
not like Wutai is our enemy or something, and this means that I get to leave
Nibleheim.” The poor boy didn’t realize that the Wutai-ShinRa Border was just a
spark away from catching fire.
“Fine!"
snapped Tifa. "I’ll go too, but I am NOT your servent!”
“Are too!”
Yuffie taunted.
“Are not!”
Tifa shot back angrily.
“are TOO!”
Yuffie yelled.
“ARE NOT!”
Tifa screamed.
“Are
too!" Yuffie finished primly. "That is, until you save my life or ten
years from now. Anyway!”
“Wait, all
I have to do it save your life?” Tifa asked.
“Yeah,”
Yuffie drawled out slowly, wondering what exactly Tifa was getting at.
“Oh, then I
should be free quickly,” Tifa said smugly.
Yuffie
blinked. “Oh?”
“You’re a
ninja princess," explained Tifa as though Yuffie didn't know. "You’re
going to be attacked by rival ninja clans or something sooner or later!”
“Nuuhh-uuhhhh!”
“Yea-huuuhh!”
“Who would
attack a little girl!”
“I would!”
Tifa growled, holding up a fist.
“You don’t
count!”
“Oh?! And
why’s that!”
“You’re a
little girl too!”
“Bigger
then you!”
“Not as
powerful!” Yuffie yelled right back, now crackling with electricity again.
Cloud was
at a loss for words, until a gust of wind reminded him about how cold it was
out here.
“Hey guy’s,
kinda cold here. Can we go home now?” Both Tifa and Yuffie looked at Cloud, and
blinked.
“Alright.”
Tifa said, and Yuffie nodded her head. “Show me this ShinRa Mansion.”
-0-0-0-0-0-
When Cloud,
Tifa, and a very well hidden Yuffie got to the town, they found Tifa’s father
and several men about to go find them.
“TIFA! My
baby, are you alright!” Tifa’s father, the mayor, yelled while running to her.
“I’m fine
daddy, I went exploring and got a little lost when Chad broke the bridge, we
were on the other side. He needs to lose weight! Him and the others went to go
help before I could tell them I found a way back.”
“And
this…boy?”
“Cloud
helped figure out how to get back, and didn’t leave me all alone like the other
boys.” At this, the mayor stiffened and walked to Cloud.
“Don’t go
near my daughter again.”
“But…”
“No! I told
you to stay away, and that is IT.”
“Why?” Tifa
asked, and the look of anger on her daddy’s face made her take a step back.
“You’re too
young to understand! Go home and get cleaned up for dinner. NOW!” He snapped,
and then just gave Cloud a disgusted look and walked off.
Cloud
looked down. It was always like that with him. But why?
Cloud
walked home, but heard the faint sounds of Yuffie following very discreetly.
When he
came in the door, Cloud announced he was home to his mother, who came out of
the kitchen.
“Oh, there
is my baby boy!” She gushed with a huge smile, then noticed Clouds sour look.
“Oh…what
happened?”
“Mom, why
does the Mayor hate me?”
“Baby, he
doesn’t hate you…he’s just jeleous. Tell me what happened.” And Cloud told her
everything, including what happened with Yuffie, who was uncharacteristically
helpful in revealing herself to Cloud's Mother.
“Oh my…You
do have to go with the princess,” She said, looking at the birth certificate.
“I figured
as much,” groaned Cloud
His mother
then sighed as a thought occured to her.
“The mayor would never let little Tifa go unless I tell him. I suppose I'll need to go and handle this
myself.”
The subject
broached again, Cloud seized on it.
“Mom, why does he hate me?”
“He doesn’t
hate you…”
“He’s
jealous, I know," said Cloud, rolling his eyes. "But why?”
His Mother
sighed, and deliberated with herself for a moment before going on.
“I don’t
expect you to understand just yet," she started, "but the mayor and I
were… together for a short while when we were younger. Then your father came around and swept me off
my feet… he was older, more mature looking, and quite wealthy.”
“He doesn’t
like me because I’m dad’s son?” said Cloud in disgust.
“He doesn’t
like you because I chose the wrong man," his Mother replied bluntly. Cloud felt like he'd been slapped in the
face. His mother went on, "I won’t
lie to you sweetheart, your father abandoned us, even though he could have
easily taken care of us.”
“I’m a
mistake?” Cloud asked, not sure of anything anymore.
“No son. I
had you on purpose to get your father to marry me. He just chose to ignore his
responsibilities.”
“Who is my
father?”
“His name
is Rufus. That’s all I can tell you.” She said, turning away from Cloud.
Cloud just
stood there for a moment.
“Mom, I
have to leave soon with Yuffie. I’m going to find dad one day, and ask him why
he left us.” Clouds mom gave Cloud a look of disappointment.
“Good luck
Son. Write back to me, ok?”
“I got
e-mail," said Yuffie suddenly.
"I can let Cloud send ya messages that way.”
“Thank you
princess of Wutai.” Miss Strife said, giving a light bow.
Yuffie
rolled her eyes, but gave a bow back.
“Alright
Cloud, get your stuff and take me to the mansion!” Cloud and Yuffie went to his
room as Miss Strife smiled.
She might
not marry a rich man, but her son might marry a rich princess one day.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
“Creepy,”
Cloud muttered, which Yuffie did not hear.
“COOL!”
Yuffie yelled, and slipped though the metal bars of the gate. Cloud managed to
squeeze through himself and ran to catch up with Yuffie.
Yufi got to
the doors and opened them before Cloud could.
Of course, Cloud was quick to realize they should have been locked.
“I thought
you said this was abandoned?” Yuffie said, walking though the doors.
The place
was a little messy, but there was absolutely no dust.
“I thought
it was,” Cloud said, the beginings of paranoia building in his gut.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Yuffie and
Cloud went to sleep on a HUGE bed.
Yuffie demanded that he spend the night. Cloud was nervous, this was his
first sleepover, and it was with his boss, not a friend.
They had
some fun with Yuffie telling stories about the Ninja of Wutai, her exploits,
and how she stole her father’s beard and wore it whenever her father wasn’t
looking.
They played
games of riddles, and he was able to beat her by figuring out her riddles, and
giving nothing but easy riddles. He out lasted her, she couldn’t think of one
that stumped him.
She taught
him about Materia and how cool it was. (Her favorite was the Steal Materia for
obvious reasons.)
They had a
pillow fight, and compared scars. (Yuffie won with a scar from tickling a
sleeping Grand Dragon.)
All and
all, as Cloud finally feel asleep, he was glad that his boss was now his
friend.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
When Cloud
woke up, he noticed a pen on his gut and a mirror right in front of him.
He sat up,
and looked at himself in the mirror
“Damn it
Yuffie.” Cloud muttered, and tried to rubout the ink on his face, then get his
hair out of those damn pigtails.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
“Yuffie!”
Cloud yelled, irritated. He had finally gotten rid of the Ink, and he was not
happy with the prank.
“Over here
Cloud, check it out!” Cloud heard from across the walkway.
They were
on the second level, and Cloud sighed and walked over, eventually finding the
annoying girl sliding a... wall... open and closed.
“Cool, huh?
Found it this morning!”
“A secret
door?” said Cloud in astonishment.
“Yeah!
Let’s go exploring!”
“I don’t
know, the last time I went exploring…” Cloud remembered that nasty fall from
yesterday. They were lucky that Tifa
didn’t die.
“The last
time you went exploring, you met me! So it went GREAT! Now, let’s go!” Yuffie
ran inside, and Cloud had ‘Wait for me.’ On his lips, but decided to not to say
anything and just followed, walking carefully down those steps.
“This is a
bad idea. These steps look like they are rotted, loose, and torn apart…it that
a termite?” Cloud asked, seeing a bug crawl into the railing.
He heard
Yuffie scream a moment later, and ran down the steps, forgetting his earlier
hesitation and fear.
Yuffie was
hanging onto one of those dammed termite eaten rails, that was barely connected
to the steps.
Cloud ran
down the steps to the bottom, and got underneath her.
“Alright!
Let go, I’ll catch you!” Cloud yelled, and Yuffie yelled.
“Yeah
right! You just wanna get out of being my servant!”
“You really
think that?” Cloud asked, dropping his arms, and Yuffie saw the clear look of
sadness on his face.
“I…no.
Look, it’s ok, I got this!” Yuffie said with determination. She started
swinging, and let go of the rail to land on the steps on the level below. Her
foot smashed though a step, but she got up quickly and ran down to cloud.
“See? I got
it!”
“Yuffie?
Are we friends?”
“Of course
silly! That’s why I’m NEVER gonna let you save my life, so I can drag you along
with me! That, and because Yuffie, the amazing ninja extraordinaire, never
needs saving!” Yuffie struck a pose, and Cloud smiled.
“Well? Come
on!” Yuffie said, now marching down the middle of the walk way. Cloud jogged up
next to her, but stopped.
“Yuffie?”
Cloud asked.
“Yeah?” She
asked.
“Door,” he
said, pointing to their left.
“RIGHT!”
She went over, and kicked the door.
Nothing
happened.
“Damn, that
always works in the storys,” she grumbled, then tried to open the door the
traditional way.
By taking
out a set of little slivers of metal.
“What’s
that?” Cloud asked.
“Lock
picks.” She answered like it was totally obvious.
“You’re
going to pick the lock?”
“No, I’m
examining the door’s ear,” she snarked as she rolled her eyes.
Cloud was
miffed, but stayed quiet as the sound of tumblers falling into place was heard,
then Yuffie twisted the lock and laughed.
“Got it!”
And then she took two steps back, and cleared her throat. “Heh heh
heh…HAAAYAAA!” She lept up and spun around, lashing out with her foot, kicking
the doors again, and this time Yuffie was not disappointed when they slammed
open quite dramatically.
“YES! I am
AWESOME!” She cheered.
“Err…Yuffie?”
“Yeah
Cloud?”
“The room
is full of coffins.”
“AWESOME!
Maybe we might find a vampire!”
“What’s a
vampire?” Then a Coffin slammed open, and Yuffie ran behind Cloud.
“That,” she
whimpered, watching as a man in black and red sat upright. He had sharp
features, long black hair, red eyes, and a golden metal gauntlet. He was
wearing black garb, and a red cape.
Cloud was quite sure that this being was not one to be trifled with.
“Kids?
Here? Whatever…it doesn’t matter. Just go home.” The Vampire said, and the
Coffin lid started to fly back.
“Hey! Are
you a vampire?” Cloud asked, feeling tense.
“What’s a
vampire?” the vampire that was apparently NOT a vampire asked.
“He’s not a
vampire?” Yuffie said, getting out from behind Cloud. "Damn."
“Why would
you go looking for a monster?” The Man asked, looking at the two children with
a hint of curiosity.
“It’s on my
bucket list,” Yuffie replied blithely.
“Bucket
list?”
“Yeah, a
list of things to do before you die, ‘Kick the bucket’. That’s why they call it
a Bucket list. The last thing to do before I die is ‘Call for Help.’” Yuffie
joked. Cloud looked mortified, and the man in the coffin just blinked.
“Oh come
on! That was funny!”
No one said
anything, and the coffin lid just closed.
Yuffie
sighed, and left the room along with Cloud.
“Why he
sleeps in a coffin when there’s that awesome bed upstairs I will never know.”
Yuffie grumbled.
“Did you
see the gun he had?” Cloud asked, remembering that tri-barreled gun.
“Wait. He
was armed?” Yuffie then look gleeful.
“Yeah….Yuffie?
What are you doing?”
“Stay here,
I got some shopping to do.” Yuffie was gone into the room, and came back a
moment later toting a tri-barreled pistol with three shiny materia.
“This is
AWESOME.”
She spun
the gun a few times, and put it in her pocket.
“How did
you fit that in there?” Cloud asked, his eye bugging out at the sight.
“I got it
expanded, don’t you know silly? Bags of holding are easy to make!”
“Wha?”
“Don’t
worry, space manipulation magic is…COOL!” Yuffie yelled, as they entered a
laboratory lined with books.
“But if we
can do that, why can’t we get rid of our trash?” Cloud asked to himself as
Yuffie ran ahead to look at large tubes of green liquid.
_____________
Veni, vidi, vici. [I came, I saw, I conquered
Quote from Julius Caesar