Four days later.

The spring air was fading away as humidity set in. Lush grass that surrounded Wutai was slowly turning to a crisp brown and cracks appeared in the soil. The blossom had past its peak but odd petals still littered the floor, stained with dirt. Summer might have come, but it was hardly time to celebrate.

One girl sat alone in a garden. She sat with her knees tucked in as she stared at one spot. It may have been the hottest time of the day but that didn't deter her, she still sat looking. Looking at her mistake.

A tear dripped onto the soil that had been yearning water for so long. Memories flashed in her eyes but she never lost her focus. A screwed up note lay in one of her hands. She could hear footsteps approaching her right but she kept her eyes in the same place, she knew who it was anyway.

Vincent took a seat next to the ninja and stared at the grave in front of them. He didn't say anything, he didn't have to, he just sat with her.

"Anna's been told. She didn't cry on the phone, but I think it was just shock. She's going to stay with Tifa in Midgar." Her voice was monotonous and low. "I still can't believe it." She muttered, sniffing. "...When we killed all those Shinra soldiers I never really thought about it, about their families and friends. What have we done?"

Vincent didn't reply.

"..We didn't have to kill anyone." She finally broke contact with pale coloured grave stone and looked at the ground, sobbing quietly.

It was time for Vincent to speak up. "If you take the blame for their deaths it will eat you up inside. We had to kill them. It was for the sake of the Planet."

"For the Planet?" Yuffie screamed, staring at him with wild eyes. "We killed those people for a Planet that's already beyond recovery? All that's left is cracks across the world and a new disease that nearly wiped everyone out! How is that worth it?" Her voice cracked at the end and she fell into Vincent's chest whimpering.

He held her close and thought over her words, had it all been worth it?

Yuffie squeezed the paper in her hand. "I showed the note to my father."

Vincent looked down at her.

"The note that was with that soldier, ordering him to kidnap Anna..." Yuffie hesitated.

"Go on." He encouraged her.

"...It's real." She whispered, screwing it up for a final time. Her eyes were flared with sadness and hatred at the same time.

Vincent's face hardened and he looked over at the pagoda. He missed the war between Shinra and Wutai but he knew of the losses on both sides. Looking back at the hunched girl clutching on to him, he knew what he had to do...

The gun slinger pulled himself and let Yuffie fall out of his arms, hovering above her.

Yuffie tumbled onto the floor with a thump and looked up at the man who had thrown her. "Vincent?" She looked up at him in alarm.

"Come with me." He stated, walking away from the small grave and across the garden.

"V-Vincent!" Yuffie called after him, still a mess on the floor. After no answer, she uncurled herself and jogged after him, muttering quietly.

A cloaked figure hoisted his light body smoothly over a wooden fence and his golden boots fell upon the soft, green turf beyond. His coat was open and flapped viciously in the wind. The man walked five meters away from the fence and looked out at the view. He stood at the edge of a large cliff in Southern Wutai, beneath valleys and lakes twisted their way through the land which was green and ripe.

A girl soon followed, her breath unsteady and heavy. She heaved her body over the small fence and rested against it, her arms resting on her knees. "Vincent!" She rasped. "Why hell have you been running for so long?" She demanded.

A small smile played on the man's lips. "..To show you this." He replied, staring out at the landscape.

Yuffie frowned and looked up for the first time, stepping forwards to meet Vincent. Her breath caught as she stared out. "Whoa." She breathed.

It was hard to believe they were on the same continent as Wutai, now a humid, dry, parched town. The horizon bloomed in rich colours of green and blue, lakes and rivers intertwining through the view.

"There's still life..." She whispered, staring out.

"There's always life." Vincent stated.

Yuffie turned to him and to see he was looking straight at her. She blinked.

A moment passed between them before Vincent spoke. "...You made the right choice."

Yuffie broke eye contact and looked at the ground. "No I didn't, if I had just stayed out of his business he might still be alive..." Her voice was barely audible.

Vincent grabbed her waist and pulled her face up to meet his. "Listen to me, it wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could have done. If you blame yourself you will waste your life away, it's taken me thirty three years to see that." He looked deep into her sorrowful eyes, wishing her to hear his words.

But she was thinking nothing of the sort. Vincent had one hand still round her waist and his cool metal gauntlet resting on her cheek... Oh. My. Gawd...

He seemed to be confused by her surprised face and frowned. "...What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing!" She squeaked, trying to not to make eye contact again.

Something seemed to click in Vincent's mind and he pulled her face up again. His cloak still fluttered restlessly and encircled the couple.

The two stood there for a moment before Vincent pulled her face even closer and kissed her softly.

He made his choice.

A/N: Nearly a year's worth of work, thirteen chapters, twenty nine thousand, four hundred and forty five words, forty three reviews and counting, fifteen favourites, eighteen alerts and two thousand, six hundred and ten views.

Whoa.

That's pretty huge.

I've finally finished a story that means quite a lot to me, and I'm so happy with all the positive reviews! I wanna say a special thank you to a few people;

-TitanicPhan ~ When haven't you encouraged my writing? Never, I'm glad to call you a wonderful friend on fanfiction and on DeviantArt.

-MinnieMouse8990 ~ I don't know you at all but you've always left a review for each of my chapters and been an inspiration for me to keep going with this story.

-Asrialth ~ You have always given me positive feedback not just about the story but of my talent as a writer, and that is greatly appreciated! Plus half of this story came from your ideas so thank you so much!

-ikutoJS ~ You only found my story recently but you've been a wonderful reviewer and I really appreciate your support!

To everyone else who reviewed, or just put up with me for the past year and my sporadic updates, thank you so much! Being on fanfiction has boosted my self confidence as writer like nothing else- especially this story - and helped me with my English grades! I did the final exam a couple of weeks back and I'll be sure to tell you my final grade, though I received A*s in my coursework! I'm incredibly proud of this story and I hope you guys have enjoyed this as much as me.

I hope the ending was satisfactory, I might be adding an epilogue to the end, but don't expect that for a while!

If you would like to contact me I'll always reply to questions in reviews or if you send me a message! I won't be as active on fanfiction as I used to be but I'll always reply to those who ask about me! Plus, you can find me on DeviantArt and youtube as well, same username and all :)

If you enjoyed this story please look at my page for more Yuffentines! I'm overjoyed that Beneath The Cherry Blossom Tree has reached over four thousand hits! I've also started a new story titled 'Yuffie in Wonderland', in which I have interwoven my favourite game of all time with the classic tale of Alice. It's not a romance though.

On a final note, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

splodge82 x