Post by Amnesty Lazuli on May 6, 2008 8:59:29 GMT
Ami made her way around back of the inn to warm up. She'd been bedridden for days--
WHUMP.
She found herself staring up at her brother's boot, planted firmly on her chest. He smirked annoyingly. "You let your guard down again."
"*&^*&^&#@@!!!"
"Don't give me that attitude," he replied playfully. "You better find someone to spar with fast, or you'll lose your grip completely."
"Oh, yeah? You calling me out?"
"Not really." He glanced at a tree branch that seemed to be rustling a little too much.
The light came on. Ami opened her mouth to reply too late-- he was already gone again.
She pulled herself to her feet. "OK, Yuffie, I know you're up there."
Yuffie jumped down "darn how did you know I was there?" she asked pouting slightly.
"A little angel told me," she replied, putting her hands on her hips. "Or were you not paying attention? Your attention span leaves a little to be desired."
She glared "I'm insulted, for I am the Wutai princess, The Great Ninja Yuffie" she said grinning and doing a heroic pose.
Ami watched her blankly. She reached out with one finger... and tipped Yuffie over. "You ought to cut it out with the heroic poses. They throw off your center of gravity."
Yuffie stumbled but caught her balance "You want to prove that theory?" she challanged her.
She half-grinned. "I think I just did." She took defense pose. "I totally just owned you."
Yuffie took out the giant ninja star that rested behind on her back. She jumped and twirled throwing the weapon in Ami's direction.
Ami stood her ground, crossing her arms and slinging them out-- a lightning-fast motion that unsheathed her hidden gauntlet blades (and explained why her sleeves were sliced to ribbons).
She threw her right arm up in front of her face, deflecting the ninja star into a nearby tree in the nick of time. She smirked, her slate eyes full of mischief. "Tell that's not all you've got."
She sprang forward, sweeping a leg ferociously at Yuffie's ankles.
Yuffie jumped onto a tree branch, then taking out a few shuriken she threw them aiming at her shoulders. "That's definitely not all I have," she shouted, smirking back at her.
Ami twisted backwards towards Yuffie's voice, unwittingly sparing herself several sharp objects in the back. Two of the shuriken came dangerously close, one clipping a lock of her hair and the other scratching her cheek. She bolted to her feet, eyes wide in shock, and punched her feet into the earth.
Two craters were left as she soared into middle space, throwing her weight with a savage grunt into a double-fisted dive at Yuffie's ribcage.
Yuffie felt the impact as she flew through the air and hit a tree. She coughed up blood but quickly whipped the blood off with the back of her hand. she ran at Ami focusing her two hands raised ready to punch her. She focused all her chakra to her fist's and aimed a punch at Ami's stomach.
Ami doubled with a groan, but forced herself upright, trembling with fatigue and pain. She gritted her teeth and shook it off. She righted and posed to block, hands balled into fists before her face and heels dug into the grass.
Yuffie aim a kick under her feet to catch her off guard.
Ami jumped the kick, eyes flickering with red, malignant energy, and aimed a punch at Yuffie's exposed back, right at the vulnerable spot near the kidneys.
Yuffie felt her fist connect with her back. She jumped back, skidding to a short halt as she coughed up yet more blood. damn... for a girl who's small, she sure packs a hard punch, she thought, half-smirking at her own misjudgment.
Ami's knees were starting to shake. She was barely out of bed and already being forced to battle over her stupid Seraph pride... Great Aztar, I'm gonna kill that brother of mine next time I see him. She moved to circle her opponent, still holding her block. "Maybe this is a bad time, but I think we need to have a talk."
Yuffie who was panting slightly, looked at Ami curiously. "About what exactly?" she asked.
"About Vincent. He's your friend, right?"
"Um... y-yeah," she said, her face turning slightly red. Where's she going with this? the materia hunter thought quizzically.
Ami kept circling. "I've gotten... pretty attached to him lately. It's almost impossible to know what he thinks about me, but... what I'm getting at is, I wanna know what we're supposed to mean to each other."
The young ninja's face fell. "Wha... what do you mean? Are you implying you like him more then a friend?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, yes, but probably not in the way you mean," Ami answered hesitantly, flushing a bit. "I was more referring to what kind of relationship you want with me. I understand why you would feel... that it's kind of complicated."
"With you? Well, friends would be nice....and you're blushing," she noted, pointing to Ami's slightly flushed face.
She flinched slightly, and an indignant look crossed her face. "I am not!"
"You are too!" she shouted back. "Besides, he probably would like you better," she admitted. "Maybe I do like him more then a friend... but you have to swear not to tell a living a soul!!!" she said, her cheeks tinged with pink.
Ami's guard dropped completely. Her jaw came unhinged. "Er..."
"You swear!" the young ninja said, quite embarrassed. "What?! Do I have something on my face or something? Quit staring!"
Ami shook her head. "I swear, but... you have me all wrong. Vincent and I, we could never be like that. We..." She bit her tongue.
"You what?" she asked, curiosity clearly in her voice, now that Ami had her attention.
Ami swallowed. "Well... I never said I wouldn't tell. But please, for his sake, don't tell anyone else. If you're his friend, you deserve to know." She motioned Yuffie closer.
Yuffie nodded and step closer putting a hand to her ear to hear better.
Amnesty leaned in, almost close enough for her mouth to touch Yuffie's ear, covering her lips with her hand.
Yuffie nearly choked as the young girl whispered her secret. "What?!" she nearly screamed but kept her voice low so that it came out as a loud whisper.
"She's right, you know."
Ami almost jumped out of her skin. Standing over her, just behind her shoulders, stood her youngest brother.
The mako blue eyes bored into her. "Leave me with her."
Ami opened her mouth to protest.
"Now."
Ami froze, then sprinted away.
Kadaj watched her leave; then, when convinced she was out of earshot, turned to Yuffie. The look on his face was not kind. "So. Now you know." A moment of silence. He sighed and brushed his hair out of his face. "Before, only a few people knew for certain. And they weren't talking."
Yuffie tried to calm down. "Wait... did you hear... our entire conversation?" she asked, eyeing him him suspiciously.
"Of course. I make a habit of prying into my sister's business. I broke into her diary and everything." He smirked wickedly.
"I know you have to be joking," she said, shaking her head and folding her arms across her chest.
"Oh, really?" he retorted sarcastically. He paced a few steps to the left, watching the sun go down. "The truth is... my sister is very much like a fledgling. Inexperienced. Naiive. Prone to accidents." Shadows crossed his face. "She doesn't know what to do with her own strength. And she has to figure it out pretty fast." He snorted with a mixture of impatience and disgust. "I'm sure Strife told you about the Migration."
"No, he didn't," she said, turning towards the sun to watch it go down.
He turned abruptly and leaned close to her, just close enough to make her nice and uncomfortable. "Ami is the last person in the Universe qualified for the job heading her way. But she is far from being remotely ready. As the last daughter of Jenova, she's got hundreds, maybe even thousands of orphans waiting to call her Mother. Scary thought, isn't it? And it doesn't help that she has no mother in living memory, and a father unwilling to claim her. Know why?"
"N-no, w-why?" she stuttered, her entire face turning red from the closeness.
"Because, claiming her would mean, by extension, claiming US. Me and both my brothers." He turned away bitterly. "And who the hell would want us?"
Yuffie looked sadly down. "I don't think that's true... you all seem so nice, I can't see why people wouldn't like you." She looked up. "I know I wouldn't mind having you three as my friends" she said, smiling some.
He turned back towards her... and even he couldn't hide the shock on his face. "What?" He shook his head. "These... these fabricated ears must be malfunctioning or something."
Yuffie gave him a goofy grin. "No, I don't think they are..." she said.
For once, he was without anything to say in return. "I... see." His eyes went to his feet, and the only sound left was the light wind moving down the mountain towards the sea.
Yuffie put a hand on his shoulder. "How come people don't like you and your two brothers? You'rr all so kind to Ami, and I think you're quite nice."
He jerked at her touch, pulling away abruptly. "I don't like being touched, for one," he replied, his perpetual anger instinctively coming to the fore. He paused for a deep breath. When he spoke, he spoke calmly and evenly. "We are kind to her because we owe her our lives. Look, I know you were there-- you saw us die, Yuffie. You know this world could've been destroyed, just because we were..." He gritted his teeth. "...stupid. I spend so much time worrying about the people that hate us for that... I guess I never have time to see the people who don't."
She sighed. "I did... and yet... I'm glad you're still standing right in front of me." She grinned.
He simply stared at her for a few moments. His head tilted slightly.
She blinked. "What?! Did I say something odd?" she said, her face turning red from embarrassment.
He shook his head. "No. I was trying to figure you out." The smirk started to crawl onto his face again. "I'm psychic, you know."
She gulped "R-really?"
"Oh, really. And what I mean by 'figure you out' is measure the approximate perameters of your mind." He snickered. "Makes me wonder how anyone can live in something that small."
She sighed. "Oh okay... heh," she smiled.
He started cracking up. "Your internal dialogue is more entertaining than satellite TV!"
She turned several shades of red. "Eh?!' She ducked her head, hiding her face.
He walked off, getting green in the face from mirth. "Just keep your mouth shut about Vincent, OK? I think we have the point across now." He kept giggling as he strolled away.
"As long as you keep your mind out of my mind and keep my thoughts about Vincent to yourself," she muttered, glaring after his back. "Grrrr," she growled, her fists clenching at her sides. "If he tells anyone, I'll personally make sure he never opens his mouth again."
"I'd like to see you try, ninja girl!" Kadaj taunted, his voice fading into the distance.
"Ninja girl?!" she said, going red in the face with anger. "For your information, I'm the great ninja Yuffie!" she shouted back, though not knowing if her heard her or not. She turned on her heel "I swear, I should have kept my thoughts to myself today," the young materia hunter complained out loud.
((co-written with Puritymiko2006))
WHUMP.
She found herself staring up at her brother's boot, planted firmly on her chest. He smirked annoyingly. "You let your guard down again."
"*&^*&^&#@@!!!"
"Don't give me that attitude," he replied playfully. "You better find someone to spar with fast, or you'll lose your grip completely."
"Oh, yeah? You calling me out?"
"Not really." He glanced at a tree branch that seemed to be rustling a little too much.
The light came on. Ami opened her mouth to reply too late-- he was already gone again.
She pulled herself to her feet. "OK, Yuffie, I know you're up there."
Yuffie jumped down "darn how did you know I was there?" she asked pouting slightly.
"A little angel told me," she replied, putting her hands on her hips. "Or were you not paying attention? Your attention span leaves a little to be desired."
She glared "I'm insulted, for I am the Wutai princess, The Great Ninja Yuffie" she said grinning and doing a heroic pose.
Ami watched her blankly. She reached out with one finger... and tipped Yuffie over. "You ought to cut it out with the heroic poses. They throw off your center of gravity."
Yuffie stumbled but caught her balance "You want to prove that theory?" she challanged her.
She half-grinned. "I think I just did." She took defense pose. "I totally just owned you."
Yuffie took out the giant ninja star that rested behind on her back. She jumped and twirled throwing the weapon in Ami's direction.
Ami stood her ground, crossing her arms and slinging them out-- a lightning-fast motion that unsheathed her hidden gauntlet blades (and explained why her sleeves were sliced to ribbons).
She threw her right arm up in front of her face, deflecting the ninja star into a nearby tree in the nick of time. She smirked, her slate eyes full of mischief. "Tell that's not all you've got."
She sprang forward, sweeping a leg ferociously at Yuffie's ankles.
Yuffie jumped onto a tree branch, then taking out a few shuriken she threw them aiming at her shoulders. "That's definitely not all I have," she shouted, smirking back at her.
Ami twisted backwards towards Yuffie's voice, unwittingly sparing herself several sharp objects in the back. Two of the shuriken came dangerously close, one clipping a lock of her hair and the other scratching her cheek. She bolted to her feet, eyes wide in shock, and punched her feet into the earth.
Two craters were left as she soared into middle space, throwing her weight with a savage grunt into a double-fisted dive at Yuffie's ribcage.
Yuffie felt the impact as she flew through the air and hit a tree. She coughed up blood but quickly whipped the blood off with the back of her hand. she ran at Ami focusing her two hands raised ready to punch her. She focused all her chakra to her fist's and aimed a punch at Ami's stomach.
Ami doubled with a groan, but forced herself upright, trembling with fatigue and pain. She gritted her teeth and shook it off. She righted and posed to block, hands balled into fists before her face and heels dug into the grass.
Yuffie aim a kick under her feet to catch her off guard.
Ami jumped the kick, eyes flickering with red, malignant energy, and aimed a punch at Yuffie's exposed back, right at the vulnerable spot near the kidneys.
Yuffie felt her fist connect with her back. She jumped back, skidding to a short halt as she coughed up yet more blood. damn... for a girl who's small, she sure packs a hard punch, she thought, half-smirking at her own misjudgment.
Ami's knees were starting to shake. She was barely out of bed and already being forced to battle over her stupid Seraph pride... Great Aztar, I'm gonna kill that brother of mine next time I see him. She moved to circle her opponent, still holding her block. "Maybe this is a bad time, but I think we need to have a talk."
Yuffie who was panting slightly, looked at Ami curiously. "About what exactly?" she asked.
"About Vincent. He's your friend, right?"
"Um... y-yeah," she said, her face turning slightly red. Where's she going with this? the materia hunter thought quizzically.
Ami kept circling. "I've gotten... pretty attached to him lately. It's almost impossible to know what he thinks about me, but... what I'm getting at is, I wanna know what we're supposed to mean to each other."
The young ninja's face fell. "Wha... what do you mean? Are you implying you like him more then a friend?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, yes, but probably not in the way you mean," Ami answered hesitantly, flushing a bit. "I was more referring to what kind of relationship you want with me. I understand why you would feel... that it's kind of complicated."
"With you? Well, friends would be nice....and you're blushing," she noted, pointing to Ami's slightly flushed face.
She flinched slightly, and an indignant look crossed her face. "I am not!"
"You are too!" she shouted back. "Besides, he probably would like you better," she admitted. "Maybe I do like him more then a friend... but you have to swear not to tell a living a soul!!!" she said, her cheeks tinged with pink.
Ami's guard dropped completely. Her jaw came unhinged. "Er..."
"You swear!" the young ninja said, quite embarrassed. "What?! Do I have something on my face or something? Quit staring!"
Ami shook her head. "I swear, but... you have me all wrong. Vincent and I, we could never be like that. We..." She bit her tongue.
"You what?" she asked, curiosity clearly in her voice, now that Ami had her attention.
Ami swallowed. "Well... I never said I wouldn't tell. But please, for his sake, don't tell anyone else. If you're his friend, you deserve to know." She motioned Yuffie closer.
Yuffie nodded and step closer putting a hand to her ear to hear better.
Amnesty leaned in, almost close enough for her mouth to touch Yuffie's ear, covering her lips with her hand.
Yuffie nearly choked as the young girl whispered her secret. "What?!" she nearly screamed but kept her voice low so that it came out as a loud whisper.
"She's right, you know."
Ami almost jumped out of her skin. Standing over her, just behind her shoulders, stood her youngest brother.
The mako blue eyes bored into her. "Leave me with her."
Ami opened her mouth to protest.
"Now."
Ami froze, then sprinted away.
Kadaj watched her leave; then, when convinced she was out of earshot, turned to Yuffie. The look on his face was not kind. "So. Now you know." A moment of silence. He sighed and brushed his hair out of his face. "Before, only a few people knew for certain. And they weren't talking."
Yuffie tried to calm down. "Wait... did you hear... our entire conversation?" she asked, eyeing him him suspiciously.
"Of course. I make a habit of prying into my sister's business. I broke into her diary and everything." He smirked wickedly.
"I know you have to be joking," she said, shaking her head and folding her arms across her chest.
"Oh, really?" he retorted sarcastically. He paced a few steps to the left, watching the sun go down. "The truth is... my sister is very much like a fledgling. Inexperienced. Naiive. Prone to accidents." Shadows crossed his face. "She doesn't know what to do with her own strength. And she has to figure it out pretty fast." He snorted with a mixture of impatience and disgust. "I'm sure Strife told you about the Migration."
"No, he didn't," she said, turning towards the sun to watch it go down.
He turned abruptly and leaned close to her, just close enough to make her nice and uncomfortable. "Ami is the last person in the Universe qualified for the job heading her way. But she is far from being remotely ready. As the last daughter of Jenova, she's got hundreds, maybe even thousands of orphans waiting to call her Mother. Scary thought, isn't it? And it doesn't help that she has no mother in living memory, and a father unwilling to claim her. Know why?"
"N-no, w-why?" she stuttered, her entire face turning red from the closeness.
"Because, claiming her would mean, by extension, claiming US. Me and both my brothers." He turned away bitterly. "And who the hell would want us?"
Yuffie looked sadly down. "I don't think that's true... you all seem so nice, I can't see why people wouldn't like you." She looked up. "I know I wouldn't mind having you three as my friends" she said, smiling some.
He turned back towards her... and even he couldn't hide the shock on his face. "What?" He shook his head. "These... these fabricated ears must be malfunctioning or something."
Yuffie gave him a goofy grin. "No, I don't think they are..." she said.
For once, he was without anything to say in return. "I... see." His eyes went to his feet, and the only sound left was the light wind moving down the mountain towards the sea.
Yuffie put a hand on his shoulder. "How come people don't like you and your two brothers? You'rr all so kind to Ami, and I think you're quite nice."
He jerked at her touch, pulling away abruptly. "I don't like being touched, for one," he replied, his perpetual anger instinctively coming to the fore. He paused for a deep breath. When he spoke, he spoke calmly and evenly. "We are kind to her because we owe her our lives. Look, I know you were there-- you saw us die, Yuffie. You know this world could've been destroyed, just because we were..." He gritted his teeth. "...stupid. I spend so much time worrying about the people that hate us for that... I guess I never have time to see the people who don't."
She sighed. "I did... and yet... I'm glad you're still standing right in front of me." She grinned.
He simply stared at her for a few moments. His head tilted slightly.
She blinked. "What?! Did I say something odd?" she said, her face turning red from embarrassment.
He shook his head. "No. I was trying to figure you out." The smirk started to crawl onto his face again. "I'm psychic, you know."
She gulped "R-really?"
"Oh, really. And what I mean by 'figure you out' is measure the approximate perameters of your mind." He snickered. "Makes me wonder how anyone can live in something that small."
She sighed. "Oh okay... heh," she smiled.
He started cracking up. "Your internal dialogue is more entertaining than satellite TV!"
She turned several shades of red. "Eh?!' She ducked her head, hiding her face.
He walked off, getting green in the face from mirth. "Just keep your mouth shut about Vincent, OK? I think we have the point across now." He kept giggling as he strolled away.
"As long as you keep your mind out of my mind and keep my thoughts about Vincent to yourself," she muttered, glaring after his back. "Grrrr," she growled, her fists clenching at her sides. "If he tells anyone, I'll personally make sure he never opens his mouth again."
"I'd like to see you try, ninja girl!" Kadaj taunted, his voice fading into the distance.
"Ninja girl?!" she said, going red in the face with anger. "For your information, I'm the great ninja Yuffie!" she shouted back, though not knowing if her heard her or not. She turned on her heel "I swear, I should have kept my thoughts to myself today," the young materia hunter complained out loud.
((co-written with Puritymiko2006))
