A/N: Yup, it's under Yuffie and Vincent, but it's not Yuffentine. It's YuffiexOC (slightly) VincentxOC and just plain OC-centric. Vincent's going to be a very main character in this, but he's not in this chapter... meh... Enjoy the read!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story except (most of) the plot line, and my characters. I own the title, and it will be explained in the next chapter...
Thanks to my amazing Beta-Reader Lilypop8! Without her, most of you guys would probably leave in the middle of this chapter...
X^◘^X
From the sidelines watched a girl with long brown hair and peculiar yellow eyes. The man she had been following stopped to listen to his voicemail.
The man pulled his goggles down over his eyes again and rode off. She had already noticed several key items about this man; he had Geostigma, she was not the only one following him today, and she was pretty sure he was a member of AVALANCHE, and he went by the name Cloud Strife. She knew she couldn't lose track of him now, so ran after him, stretching out her long legs to keep pace with his bike, keeping out of sight if he should turn to look behind him.
After a few minutes of following Cloud in this hot-as-hell-desert, two out of the three who were following him caught up and attacked the unsuspecting motorcyclist without any known reason.
She ran up ahead so as to not get caught in the middle of all the violence. Though she could have totally kicked their bums to Albuquerque and back, the poor girl was exhausted. As she looked up, she couldn't help but notice the missing triplet was on a cliff, talking on his cell phone.
"Coward…" the 16 year old thought to herself. The man raised his hand and the rest of the trio came back almost instantly. Cloud had stopped a yard short of her little hiding spot.
She came up to him and spoke, "Most inappropriate times, right?"
He gave her a questioning look and she explained further, "The stigma, I noticed it acted up while you were fighting those two."
He just stared at her for a while then mumbled, "Who are you?"
"Oh! I'm Emi Makoto," She grinned sheepishly, "sorry for not mentioning earlier. So," she lowered her voice, "how does it feel to meet your stalker?" his eyes got really wide at this statement and she laughed out loud, "I've been following you for a couple hours because I got lost in this hellhole and you were my only hope to civilization." Her eyes fake-teared-upped as she spoke and her voice cracked. "I was just hoping to get to Edge—"
"How did you follow me without any bike or car?" How dare he interrupt a lady's sob story about how she's currently stalking you… wait… that doesn't sound like it goes together…
"Um, duh, I ran," She answered like the teenager her mind was currently stuck in. "Damn it, I hate talking like that, but it comes naturally" "But I was on a bike until it broke down then I found you, so I followed you."
"So, you're looking to go to Edge?" Emi nodded, "I could give you directions, wait, where I'm headed is along the way, why don't you hop on and I'll get off at Healin and you can find the rest of the way." He paused, thinking over his plan, "Sound good to you?"
"Yeah, thanks." So with that she hopped on the back of the bike-thing and they made their way toward Healin.
X^◘^X
Cloud slowed down as they approached Healin Lodge. He went to wake Emi up, but she was sleeping so peacefully that he just couldn't do it. "She looks like Aeris…" he noticed while he tried to push back the flooding memories of the night she died. Her eyes slowly peeled open and she yawned. It was only then that Cloud realized she had wrapped her long legs around him during the ride.
"Are we there?" she questioned, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah, Edge isn't too far away from here, so you should get there by sundown."
"I sure hope so, I'm tired of traveling." The young women prepared herself to run for a while. "Thanks again for the ride!" she yelled at Cloud, taking off. "She acts more like Yuffie, though. But just a little bit." He got out his sword and prepared for a spar with Reno.
X^◘^X
Emi hopped onto the Fenrir, ready to go. There were no proper footholds for her to use and she didn't want her boots to drag the ground, so as he took off she wrapped her legs around him and settled them on his lap. She pulled her arms around his waist and leaned her head in until it was rested comfortably on his back.
She had learned another thing about Cloud just by looking at him up close. Judging by the mako blue color of his eyes, he was once a member of SOLDIER. She had met several members, and all of them were good people. So she trusted him. Two of those people had been very dear to her. She didn't even want to think about what happened to the one she knew to be gone. Emi hadn't heard from the other, and was worried about him. They had literally known each other since birth. That's the whole reason she was out here. She was looking for two people. She knew Cloud could lead him to one, being a member of AVALANCHE and all.
She fell asleep on his back while he listened to his voicemail once more. 'Sheesh! Why not answer the damn thing?'
He slowed to a stop and looked back. Emi was aware that it was the end of the ride, but was so comfortable like this that she didn't want to get up.
The girl reluctantly opened her eyes and stretched, "Are we there?" she yawned.
"Yeah, Edge isn't too far from here, so you should get there by sundown." He was nodding into the distance, but Emi was too distracted remembering the feel of his perfectly sculpted abs. 'Mmmm... He's fine...' she looked him up and down as he pulled out swords from the compartment of his Fenrir.
"I sure hope so, I'm tired of traveling," She ogled at him some more, then took off, "Thanks again for the ride!"
He looked a little too oblivious for the young woman's taste though. She liked a guy that knew things... No doubt he could teach her a few things... 'No! Bad Emi! Baaaaaaaad thoughts!' she scolded herself, 'besides, I can already tell I'm too young for him...' she sighed. Emi hated being a teenager. All the guys her age were douches. And she was too young to marry an older guy. She'd have to be the Princess of Wutai before she ever got married!
She sighed again. Wutai was her home, and she missed the sight of fireflies on a cool night beside the warm fire. But she hadn't been back there for over two years. Even though there was never anything to do there lately, it was her home nonetheless. Emi couldn't help but miss the place she grew up in, the people she grew up with. She knew that she was supposed to rendezvous there with her brother when she turned eighteen, but she had a strong feeling he was in Edge right now. But it could be his dead body she's been sensing.
Not wanting to think about such a thing, her thoughts turned back to Cloud, and his blond hair and impossibly blue eyes. Then she realized something, 'Yuck! He reminds me too much of my brother!' Shuddering, she stopped to glance around.
Her eyes softened as she watched the sunset, imagining an ocean instead of lush trees that set fire as the sun's dying rays reached them, painting the sky a strange blend of orange and green. She definitely liked sunsets over the ocean better. Although, looking at the full moon beat both of them any day. With all the stars twinkling around it, it was a beautiful sight to behold. Especially laying on top of Da Chao with your best friends, regretting staying up so late on a night before training.
She sighed and sat down on the ground, watching the sunset. She was almost to Edge, but she needed a quick rest. She subconsciously touched the spot where her old necklace is on her ankle, but remembered she was wearing knee-high boots. She wanted to touch that moon and star pendant that her mother gave her so long ago, but would have to wait until she got where she was going.
Gaining new-found motivation, she booked it the rest of the way to Edge, leaving a trail of dust behind her.
X^◘^X
The young man looked around, sensing he knew a few people around here. It was getting to be night time, but he wasn't about to head to an Inn, there was too much to behold here.
He walked to the center of the town, the monument Shin-Ra made his destination in mind. He closed his eyes as he sensed another presence. But he recognized that one, and didn't want her to know that he knew she was there yet. It was killing him, but he kept his cover down as he walked towards her.
'Just like I thought,' he smirked. The presence silently left him, and he walked back towards the bar he spotted earlier. He heaved a sigh, pushing on the door, but finding it locked.
He needed a drink, and fast. He was about to confront his worst fear—
A screech interrupted his thoughts, "!" he winced, recognizing the voice but not seeing the woman it belonged to.
Just then, a body jumped from the roof and landed on his back. She quickly covered his eyes and said, "Guess who?"
"OH MY GOD! A RAPIST!" he faked panic, "Oh, man! What was I supposed to do again! OH MY GOD I FORGOT HOW TO FIGHT!" he heard the girl giggle behind him.
"Don't worry; I won't rape you, if you buy me a drink, seeing as how no one would believe I'm eighteen."
"Okay, I'll bite. But you'll have to find another bar this one's closed." he finally turned around, shocking himself.
As he stared dumbfounded, she stared back worryingly, "What... what's wrong?"
"You haven't changed... at all. Literally." he paused to do an once-over, "You still look fourteen..."
She sighed, "I'll explain it later, there's people coming."
Indeed there were. Two men in Turk uniforms were carrying people towards the bar. One was bald and carrying a woman in black leather with dark hair.
The other Turk was carrying... "Cloud!" Emi exclaimed, running up to the man the fiery Turk had over his shoulder, like a potato sack.
"Ah, so you know him?" he seemed to be leering at her, getting too close. "Here, take him off my back, he's too heavy." the man dropped him into her arms staggering under the weight.
Evan took the load from her arms, glaring at the man as he unlocked the door and walked in with his partner. 'First he ogles Emi, then he fuc-' a hand rested on his arm, dismembering his thoughts.
"Don't worry," he gasped at the voice, "Reno's always a jackass,"
He turned around, almost dropping the man called 'Cloud'. "Yu- Yuffie?" Evan couldn't believe his eyes, "Yuffie!"
"Evan!" she yelled back, mocking him. Evan would've hugged her, but he had an armful.
"Emi!" she exclaimed, hugging her. "Gawd, you haven't changed at all. And I haven't seen you since... oh, Gawd, I was probably fourteen..."
"Yuffie!" Emi yelled, "Oh, Gawds, I missed you!"
"Umm... this guy's getting kind of heavy," Evan interrupted the girl talk, "would either of you mind opening the door for me?"
"Oh! Sorry, Evan," Emi apologized, opening the door.
He took him upstairs and set him down on a bed in the room where he noticed everyone else was.
"Thanks, yo," the jackass called 'Reno' spoke. He glared at him and walked away, pushing past him coolly. "Yeesh! What's that guy's problem?"
"I think..." his partner started, "you were leering at his sister..."
X^◘^X
Yuffie and the siblings walked down streets of Edge, with no apparent destination in mind. At least, it wasn't apparent to Yuffie.
"So where are we going?" She piped up.
"I need to find a bar so Emi won't rape me," Evan stated.
"Wow. Nothing like kinky incest," Yuffie smirked, "but you do know that the drinking age in Edge is twenty-one, right?"
Both Evan and Emi outwardly groaned at the same time. It had always crept her out when they did things like that.
"Great, we'll have to go back to Wutai to get some good sake," Evan moaned.
Yuffie shuddered, "I'll never go back to Wutai," she stated, "not at least till I have to,"
"Well, me 'n Evan'll go, and you can stay here making a fake I.D!" Emi stated defiantly, "and we'll tell Lord Godo where you are!" Okay, now she was just pissing her off.
"If you do, I'll shove my shuriken so far up your ass it'll poke your eyeballs out," though she had meant it seriously, the two laughed at the comment. They had some sick minds if they thought dying like that was funny.
"Oh, Yuffs, yah know we're just teasing you," Evan said in a playful voice, his finger rubbing her cheek affectionately. "Hey, wait!" everyone stopped, "for some reason that reminds me, what happened to my bike, Emi?" Evan's brow was furrowed and he never looked more like Cloud in his whole life.
"Geez, what's up with the third-degree?" Emi defended herself, just stalling so she didn't have to answer.
"Never answer a question with a question, it's rude." Evan stood tall above her, enticing an answer from the small woman.
"I... umm..." she poked her fingers together, "I-kind-of-wrecked-it-around-Cosmo-Canyon!" she yelled in record time.
Yuffie winced. If that Fenrir couldn't be fixed, Emi might wake up with a snake in her bed, pigtails chopped off, hand in water finding she peed herself, and every other classic prank along with a few of Evan's specialties. He loved that Fenrir almost as much as he loved Emi. Almost.
The eighteen years old ninja felt a pang of jealousy. She knew Evan loved her, but as a sister of best friend. But Emi... he loved Emi more like she was his twin. Though she couldn't say that she wanted to be more than Evan's friend, or practically adopted sister.
Could she?
Evan's yell pierced through Yuffie's thoughts, "YOU WHAT?"
X^◘^X
A/N: Yup... so just review with nice words, if you want more... Also, I know what you did last summer... and if you don't review, I'll tell everyone! (Mwahahahaha black-mail solves everything!) Even con-crit is acceptable! Just PLEASE review!