Hooray, it's a new story! I'll still be updating "A Web of Destiny" but I wanted to try a kind of story that I've never seen in the Squffie section before, and so here it is.
Summary: Squall Leonhart is sick of his life. He's a lieutenant in the government organization called Shinra, which is in a war to eradicate the magicians of Avalanche who rebel against the emperor. With nothing but a bloody past behind him and an unhappy future ahead, Squall considers leaving it all behind, but what happens when he meets an Avalanche ninja who changes his view on everything? [AU Squffie]
My One-Time Disclaimer: I don't own anyone whose name you recognize; they all belong to Square, Disney, and other billion dollar companies that, sadly, aren't mine.
---
Heartscape
Chapter 1 – That Lonely Road
The canvas tent was stifling, heavy and humid with the night air. A fan hummed in the corner, churning the cigarette smoke in useless circles. In the center of the earthen floor stood a simple wooden table, covered with a cacophony of maps, scrolls, and typed paper.
The tent flap pushed open, revealing for a moment a sky encrusted with stars, before being blocked out by the figure of a man, his russet bangs partially screening stormy blue eyes and a thin scar.
"Ah, Lieutenant Leonhart…You're late."
"My apologies, sir." The newcomer lit a cigarette and took his place among the assembly of other high-ranking military officers.
"As I was saying," continued the general. "Avalanche's forces are weakened. Tomorrow, we'll move a quarter of our forces to attack at Wutai." He jabbed a red pin into the small dot that symbolized the village. "This is crucial to our control of the entire continent – the rebel leader Godo is residing there. The troops in tomorrow's attack will be Troop 543 Kramer, 735 Adam, 106 Jachi, 665 Valentine, and 982 Leonhart. The rest of you will be moving on towards Katakari." Sephiroth snapped his log shut, his icy gaze running over the heads of the other men like a December breeze. "Dismissed."
Squall was the first out of the stuffy tent. He strode away from the steady stream of generals and lieutenants exiting the makeshift headquarters until he could no longer hear their raucous laughter and meaningless conversation. The scar-faced lieutenant finally stopped on a hill, and surveyed the landscape. Grass spread out before him, a sea of green unblemished by trees, rippling in the breeze like a single entity. The ebony sky glittered with hundreds of stars, hanging in the twilight like effervescent diamonds. Far into the distance, the fire and lanterns of Wutai could be seen as a clump of yellowish light. He lit another cigarette, and stood serenely on the plain.
"Not like the city, is it?" Another man joined his thoughtful meditation, his blond hair sticking up like an abstract sculpture. The man wore a navy, sleeveless outfit, a huge blade hanging off of his back. He spoke with an accent different from Squall's, quietly but firmly through a red cape wrapped around his neck and hanging down his shoulders.
"No, it's not. There's no smoke, no garbage, no crowds."
The blond sat beside him, stretching out his long legs while running his mechanical hand slowly through the wispy grass. "So, how did the meeting go?"
"Cloud, don't ask stupid questions. You and I both know that Sephiroth has been eyeing Wutai for weeks now." Cloud shrugged and picked at the lawn with his sharp claws. Squall eyed the reclusive man, wondering what he was thinking. The mercenary had joined Shinra only recently, for reasons he didn't know of. The young man had quickly become his only friend here.
"Here's another stupid question," offered Cloud. "How's it going with Rinoa?"
Squall yanked the cigarette out of his mouth and snuffed it out with the heel of his boot. "Damn, you know I hate her. The clingy little whore won't leave me alone. I told her we were over, but she can't get anything through her thick skull."
Cloud shook his head, blond hair swaying. He could feel his friend's despair and bitterness, and his weakening grip on the good things in life. Unless something changed, Squall would soon be only the shell of a person, the life sucked out of him by his own unhappiness.
---
The brunette ninja crept through the long grass leading to the meeting place. For the fifth time during the short journey, she raised her head to look at the distance lights of the Shinra camp. Instinctively her hand touched the drawstrings of her shuriken pouch, the jangle of the sharp metal soothing her nerves.
She reached the clearing, a meadow splattered with shadow, moonlight beaming through the trees. Yuffie stepped forwards, before she sensed a powerful aura stalking behind the trunks. The shinobi swung up her conformer to block the attack of the enemy, claws clanking against metal. The silvery form of a wolf danced nimbly away from the girl, pausing in the pale light to regard her.
Yuffie allowed herself to slip out of her battle stance, smiling at the majestic blue-eyed beast before her. "Having fun, Riku?"
The wolf's black lips pulled back into a canine grin. Well, actually, I am. A cloud of white mist spiraled around the animal and receded, revealing a tall, silver haired boy with aquamarine eyes. He wore baggy navy pants and a skin tight yellow shirt that showed his powerful stomach muscles. He grinned and leaned back against the nearest tree, folding his arms over his chest.
Yuffie twirled a shuriken lazily around her index finger. "Riku, your transformations are getting better. You almost hit me that time, unlike the rest of your pathetic attempts at an ambush!"
He tossed his white hair over his shoulder with a snort. "Yeah? If you're so great at detection, how come you didn't notice Sora?"
The ninja spun around just in time to see the pounce of the chestnut wolf behind her. It easily knocked her down, sending her tumbling into the grass and fallen leaves with a shriek of surprise. The canine's momentum carried it over Yuffie, before it turned with a gleeful bark and became a grinning, red-clad boy. His azure eyes shone with innocent glee. "That's another point for me!" he laughed.
Disgruntled, the ninja picked herself off of the ground, glaring promises of pain at Sora and Riku, who gave each other completely indiscreet high fives. Though the boys were two of her closest friends, nothing was worse than being upped by them. "If everyone's done jumping me, can we leave now? We were supposed to head off an hour ago. Godo's gonna chew us out if we don't get the info he needs!"
The two boys gave her a mock salute. "Yes ma'am!" they chorused like obedient schoolboys. She rolled her eyes and began the transformation
Smoke swirled around them. Where three shinobi once stood, there stood three wolves -- gleaming silver, magnificent sienna, and a lithe chocolate. On silent paws, they raced from the clearing and into the high, concealing grasses of the field.
They loped up the slope, away from the flickering fires of the village and towards the enemy camp, Yuffie leading the pack. The wolves slowed to a trot as the electric lights of the tents loomed closer, sniffing the winds for clues.
Stop! Yuffie cried telepathically. Riku and Sora came to a halt, crouching low and looking to her for commands. Look, she said, gesturing with her snout. Two men sat atop a hill, looking out towards Wutai. She quickly scanned them, assessing their clothes. One didn't wear the Shinra uniform -- a mercenary. The other wore the scarlet uniform of a lieutenant. With her sharp wolf eyes, she could see sapphire eyes through his long russet bangs. His rippling muscles and stony expression were a testament to his strength and hardships. The warrior carried a strong masculine smell -- something spicy and dangerous. Something about his aura pulled her, like the meeting of opposite magnets. Something alluring, powerfully so, and she lifted a paw to slink closer only to be stopped by a sharp hiss from Riku.
Yuffie snapped out of her daze, immediately feeling a mental flush of embarrassment for getting so distracted by a guy and being so easily read by Riku. With a huff and a last look at the mysterious man, she glided ghostlike towards the biggest tent, followed by her team.
They had a mission to accomplish.
---
An echoing gunshot sent Cloud and Squall scrambling down the hill towards camp. A chaotic scene met their eyes - collapsed tents, soldiers yelling, puddles of blood glistening in the grass, explosions taking fiery bites out of the ground, gun smoke hovering over everything.
"Enemy attack! We're under enemy attack!" screamed one man, holding his bleeding leg.
"Cease fire!" someone else yelled.
"Someone's stolen the attack plans!" squealed someone else.
"Lieutenant! Your weapon, sir!" The brown-haired man caught the cool steel handle of his Gunblade from one of the soldiers in his squadron.
"Aerith!" cried Cloud. He dashed off towards the medical tents, leaving Squall amid the disaster. Squall was about to follow when something burst from he nearest tent. Three figures raced away, heading towards Wutai. He chased after them, wielding his Gunblade at the ready as he moved. The lead form clutched what looked like a large scroll – the attack plans. I don't think so, he thought venomously .Carefully taking aim, he shot.
Yuffie howled in agony as a bullet ripped through her right hind leg. Stumbling, she collapsed in the grass, blood pooling out of the injured limb as the scroll rolled a few feet away. Sora and Riku came skidding to her side, panting and foaming at the mouth. You idiots, she screamed. Go!
Not without you! wailed Sora. He tried to squirm under her to haul her onto his back. Another shower bullet landed in the ground near his head, sending up a spray of dirt and shredded grass.
You don't have a choice. You can't cast Curaga -- there's no time! Leave him to me, I'll be fine! the female shinobi yelped. Riku hesitated even as yet another shot nearly killed him, looking at her with uncharacteristically mournful eyes. He's closing in and he's got reinforcements on the way, and it won't do us any good if we all get caught! GO!
The white wolf gave the slightest of nods, before clamping his jaws around the info. With a last painful look at their fallen comrade, the two wolves fled into the night, carrying the secrets of Shinra with them.
Squall halted, cursing as he watched the remaining two disappear into the twilight. A knife suddenly blazed by him, nearly slicing off an ear. She glared at him with furious sienna eyes, before flicking three more kunai at his face. The Gunblade wielder dodged easily to the left.
"It's just you and me now," he said smugly. "And there's not much you can do with a mangled limb, is there?"
"Shut up, Shinra trash!" The ninja rushed to attack with her huge shuriken, but Squall's sword flashed, and she was knocked aside by the flat of his blade.
"Where'd you friends run off to? They can't go far on foot," commented Squall, hefting his glowing Overdrive Gunblade over his shoulder.
"You dope, of course they're not running off on feet! They've gone off on paws – and your sucky little Shinra trucks can't catch two wolves in the forest." She flipped off of the grass, picking up her Conformer again.
"Your friends are wolves, huh? I don't believe in talking animals or transforming people, or any of your Avalanche garbage."
Yuffie wiped the blood that was dribbling out from underneath her silver headband. Her right leg awarded her with a pang of pain, and she collapsed again. She scowled at the handsome man in front of her, gripping the oozing wound with a gloved hand. What was so great about him before? He's nothing but a demon with a nice face!
A roar startled the two fighters. Heading towards them ripped a loud convoy of Shinra vehicles, destroying the tranquility of the nighttime plains.
They must've seen the light from his weapon! Yuffie's vision started to go fuzzy. I've lost too much blood already…She took a final glance at the night sky – the thousands of glittering eyes embedded in black face of the night sky.
Captured by the enemy…she thought as she passed out. What a great way to start the week.
---
Next chapter: Yuffie's been captured by Shinra: three guesses as to who her interrogator is!
Author's Note: Squall's Overdrive doesn't count as magic. Also, when people transform regular wounds heal, unless the injury involves bullets or something else that stays in the body, such as poison.
And now that you've read -- Review!