HAZE

Chapter 1
'Closure'

He found her standing by the side of the road, shivering in the pouring rain. Despite her troubled condition, she greeted him in her usual, cheerful manner, or tried to, at least. It wasn't quite as convincing now that she was drenched in freezing cold water, looking down and out.

"H-hey Spikes. Long time, no see.." she said, looking up, rubbing her arms together in a vain attempt to keep warm.

"Yuffie? What are you doing out here?" Cloud asked, puzzled. There weren't many sane people who would be caught wandering around in the middle of nowhere during a storm like this one. At least, not without good reason..

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Yuffie replied.

"I was on my way back to Midgar," Cloud said. "You?"

"Oh, just wandering around, you know.." Yuffie replied, avoiding his questioning gaze. "Thought I'd stretch my legs, what with this wonderful weather we're having."

"Is that so?" Cloud asked, crossing his arms. It was evident that the young ninja did not wish to impart the real reason for her being out here. He hazarded a guess that she had run away from home again, but whatever the cause for her ill-timed perambulations, it was less important than getting out of this weather, he decided.

"So, uh..." Yuffie said. "Quite a coincidence, us running into each other out here, huh?"

"Right," Cloud replied. "Coincidence."

The look on his face told her that he was not convinced at all. She let out a nervous chuckle. "I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were stalking me or something.."

Cloud tilted his head slightly, indicating that it was time for her to give up the act and come clean.

She let out a ragged breath. "Okay... The truth is, I was coming down the hill. Saw you driving down the road. Thought I'd scoot over and say 'hi'."

A short pause.

"So... hi," Yuffie said.

Another pause.

"Well, I'll just be on my way now," she said, turning to leave. "Good seeing you again, Spikes. Take care."

Cloud sighed. He knew she was too proud and stubborn to ask first, even in her sorry state. He might as well make the first move.

"Don't be stupid, Yuffie," he said. "You'll catch your death of cold out here."

He patted the back of his motorcycle. Room enough for one passenger.

"Get on."

She turned away. The look on her face told him that she wanted to accept his offer, but something was holding her back from doing so.

"It's okay, really," Yuffie said, turning back to him. "I'll be fine."

Cloud shook his head, sighing again, then got off his bike. She was already a few paces ahead of him when he ran up to her and caught her by the arm. His grip was light, and she didn't resist it. When she turned around again, he began to notice the change that had come over his young friend. She looked glum, and more far more pale than usual. There was clearly something bothering her, but he decided not to press the matter. Not right away, at least.

"Come on," he said, the expression on his face softening as he tried to reason with her. "I'll take you home."

"I'm... not headed home," Yuffie said, still avoiding his gaze.

"Ran off again, huh?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah," Yuffie replied. "Kind of."

"Well, we can sort that out later," Cloud said. "Let's get out of this rain first, all right?"

Yuffie nodded, offering a weak smile as she looked up at him. "Great idea, Spikes," she said. "One of your best, in fact."

Cloud nodded as well, smiling back. "Okay, then," he said, guiding her back to his motorcycle. "Let's go."

Sitting down again, he revved up the engine. Yuffie got on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and they took off down the road, heading towards the city on the distant horizon.

Author's notes:

New story. Testing the waters to see what the reaction is, if any.

I had the idea to attempt something new. Updates are usually few and far between, because these chapters that I'm working on tend to spiral out of control in terms of length. So, I thought I'd try posting single chapters in multiple parts, which should allow me to update more frequently. It's easier to try this new format on a new story, rather than something like TTAOE or Crimson Fields, which almost by necessity have chapters that regularly grow much larger than I'd intended.

Anyway, the next part should be out soon. Thanks for reading. Stay tuned.

Addendum: I neglected to mention the time-frame in which this story takes place, which is some time after Dirge of Cerberus, i.e. at the tail end of the extended canon. I shan't be focusing on that so much, as this story will have more to do with events taking place before and after the original narrative.