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Chapter Three - Snow
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Yuffie felt like she had been walking forever. The snow was falling at its constant and heavy rate, and its growing depth did nothing to help speed her travel along. She cursed herself for not wearing boots as small amounts of snow slipped into her shoes with every step she took. Shivering, she tried to retreat farther into her peak coat, pulling the hood up to cover her snow-dampened hair. If she got sick, she was going to be really pissed.
“And speaking of pissed, what the hell was that all about with Vincent?” she asked herself aloud. She thought her voice sounded small and strange in the deserted city streets. The falling snow muffled everything and the sound of something so crisp and clear in the silence was almost startling.
It was not, however, nearly as startling as Vincent’s reaction to her questioning had been. It was the first time he had ever shown an emotion close to anger with her and to be honest it frightened her. She hadn’t been worried about her own safety, but his. Anger was a powerful emotion and one did things that one regretted after a violent bout of rage.
So why, after all this time, would the anger come so close to breaking that icy surface? she wondered, shivering again as she crossed the street and checked the street sign to get her bearings. Only twenty more blocks to go; not a bad haul. Though she had the frightening mental image of dropping dead two blocks from her house from frostbite or exposure or some such thing. Not a pleasant way to go. It made her think of the cold climates on the northern continent and the memories of her two visits there were ones that she didn’t want to dredge up. With a little effort, she managed to push them away and return her focus to what had forced her out into the snow that night.
The nightmares that Vincent had were things that Yuffie doubted very much that he would ever share with her. That was just the man that he was and she had to accept that. Only she was having trouble doing so. After all, if the man never said anything or vented about whatever he saw in those sleep-induced situations then they would never go away. Issues needed to be dealt with, that much was obvious, but she wondered what they were.
Lucrecia. There was an issue that she felt he probably still wrestled with. Admittedly, if she had been ShinRa’s top assassin, fallen in love with Professor Gast’s brightest assistant, been betrayed by her for a pencil pushing geek like Simon Hojo, and then given over for experimentation and a metal arm, she would be just a bit pissed off as well. You don’t just ‘get over’ something like that. In all fairness, Yuffie felt amazed that Vincent would even come out of hiding again, much less attempt at a social and romantic life. The fact that he was making said effort spoke to her, saying that Lucrecia was most likely not the problem.
Another possibility was that he had a problem with her. She was almost hoping for this option. At least then it would be something easily worked out. She would force him to talk it out with her. Small stuff like that didn’t bother her.
But there was a nagging feeling that she had in the depths of her thoughts. That his current condition wasn’t cause by Lucrecia or Hojo or even by her own sometimes-annoying company, but that it stemmed from something much more sinister. Something he never really spoke of. His past. Something he had done or had been ordered to do could be haunting him to that very day. And if something from so long ago could still reach out and touch his life so strongly.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
To say that Yuffie’s train of thought was interrupted would have been a severe understatement. She jumped at the blaring car horn, lost her footing and fell, landing hard on the snow-covered sidewalk. Pain shot up her right elbow when it connected with the cold sidewalk. “OW!” she cried, rolling onto her back and cradling her elbow with her other hand. “Damn it.”
“Are you all right?”
Yuffie looked over to see that the question had come from a nearby police car. Pushing herself to her feet she brushed the snow off, now more pissed than she had been earlier. “I am FINE, at least I was until you felt like being an ass and honking the goddamned horn at me. What the hell was that for?”
Cloud appeared from the driver’s side, jogging over through the snow to make sure the indignant ninja was indeed all right. Forcing her to hold still he checked her elbow. He made her straighten it and bend it again. “Well its not broken.”
“Thanks so much, Dr. Stupid,” she snapped, pulling away from him and nursing her bruised elbow. Her gaze traveled to the car, where she saw Cloud’s rather disgruntled looking partner. She wasn’t in the mood for his glares and she stuck out her tongue at him before turning back to Cloud. “What do you want?” she asked grudgingly.
“I got a call from Vincent. He said I should pick you up.”
Oh sure, send someone else to get me. Thanks Vincent, I’m feeling the love. Pushing the thoughts away, she glared at Cloud. “I don’t need to be ‘picked up’. I’m not a child anymore, I can take care of myself long enough to walk two miles through Midgar.”
Cloud crossed his arms over his chest, nodding to indicate the fact that she was covered with snow and nursing an injured elbow. “I can tell.”
“Shut up.”
Cloud studied her for a minute. He could tell she was hurt, and he didn’t mean her elbow. The only time Yuffie reverted to her arrogant and somewhat surly nature was when she was protecting herself. Damn it, Vincent. Cloud’s tone softened slightly when he spoke again. “Listen, Yuffie, all I want to do is give you a ride. If you stay out here you’ll catch your death of cold and then people will be pissed at me because I didn’t nip the whole thing in the bud when I saw you walking out in the cold.”
Yuffie looked as if she was about to argue with him, but then a shiver ran through her body and she gave a resigned sigh. “All right. But I don’t want to talk about anything. I just want to go home.”
He nodded in response, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Whatever you want. Come on.” He led her back to the patrol car and opened the back driver’s side door for her, closing it after she’d climbed in. He slid into the driver’s seat and put the car into gear, relieved when the snow tires gained traction on the slippery road.
Corey turned to peer into the back of the patrol car. “Hi, I’m Corey.”
Yuffie offered him a glance and for a moment considered just pretending that he didn’t exist. It’s not his fault you feel shitty. Be nice. “Hey. Yuffie,” she replied. It was the closest thing to polite that she could muster.
“So why are you wandering around the streets at this hour? Get into trouble?” asked Corey, sounding somewhat pleased with himself. Apparently he had her figured out. He turned to see his partner glaring daggers at him. “What?”
“Don’t be such an ass,” replied Cloud as he focused on the road.
“Yeah,” murmured Yuffie, leaning her head against the cold glass of her window. “What he said.”
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