The FF7 Experience: (Chapter 10: Crazy Ninja Chick)
Author stuff: I’ve been forgetting to do this at the start of each chapter…I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or any or if characters.
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I rolled off to the side as the ball and chain struck the ground where I had been standing. Recovering, I spun with my scythe and slashed the blue monster’s arm off. It cried in pain as its arm fell along with its weapon.
After making it inside the Mythril Mines, we were quickly surrounded by monsters of various kinds. In the confusion of it all, much of the group had been split up.
I was presently fighting along side Barret. Several human sized dragonoid monsters stood before us. The monster I had just finished was a blue humanoid creature with a ball and chain attached to its arm.
Barret loaded his gun and pointed it at the dragons as he began opening fire with the assault gun.
Two of the dragons flew to the side to avoid the incoming bullets, and regrouped to attack again. The third flew over Barret and made a swoop at me.
I ducked underneath the monster and tried to slash at its chest, but it quickly swung its tail and batted me in the face.
I stumbled back then fell on my ass, but kept my hold on my scythe.
The dragon flew up and opened its mouth, inhaling deeply for a moment. My eyes widened as I realized what it was about to do.
I stood up quickly and leapt out of the way, taking cover behind a pillar of stone situated at my right.
A small stream of flames shot out from the dragon’s mouth and spread fire onto the ground near by. It was the enemy skill; “Flame Thrower”.
I sighed and peeked my head around the corner. The moment the dragonoid saw me, it breathed flames again. I quickly ducked behind the pillar once more and began devising strategies.
I turned around and looped around the side of the pillar, extending my arm out.
“Shadow Snake Hands!” I shouted.
I had two snakes shoot painfully from my arm and head towards the creature, but it flew nimbly out of my snake’s path and soared strait towards me.
Without the proper time to retract my snakes, I left them out in the open and swung my scythe at the approaching dragon.
The cut was mild, but stunned it for a moment. I used the opening to have my snakes latch on to the creature’s neck and put some poison into it. While they were attached and the dragon wreathed about, I slashed its chest diagonally. The deep cut plus the poison was enough to kill the monster. It sunk down to the ground limply, and I retracted my snakes.
I glanced in Barret’s direction and watched him finish the last of his enemies off with ‘Big Shot’. Once finished, he rubbed his gun arm proudly.
I spotted Tifa a bit further ahead fighting one of the blue monsters. She had the creature’s own chains wrapped around its neck as she strangled the life from it. Once it went limp, she dropped it and huffed.
“Yo, Teef! Over here!” Barret hollered, waving his arms around.
She ran over to us quickly, and Red was quick to follow, coming up behind us.
“Where the hell are Cloud and Aeris?” Barret grumbled, looking around and listening for any sounds of combat.
My Enemy Skill orb lit up after the death of the dragonish monsters. I had learned Flame Thrower. While it wasn’t nearly as powerful as Beta, it’d probably be a lot easier to use.
Barret began tapping his foot impatiently. “Yo! Cloud!” he shouted loudly.
Tifa smacked his shoulder, “That’s a good way to attract monsters.”
“Mr.Barret!” came a feminine and echoing voice.
We looked towards some steps that led up to some mythril. Cloud and Aeris strode down them together, returning their weapons to their idle positions.
As they drew closer Barret smirked crossed his arms. “Don’t call me ‘Mr.Barret’. It don’t sound right.”
“Sorry!” Aeris bowed.
“Is everyone okay?” Cloud asked, looking between us.
“I think we’re all okay.” Tifa answered. “Right?” she said, looking down at me.
It was nice of her, but also annoying. Just because I’m the youngest doesn’t mean I need to be pampered.
But when I looked deeper into her tone, the look, and all that, I found that she was more concerned about my exhaustion, and this was her way of finding out if I was okay without outright saying; “You’re a mess, are you sure you can go on”?
I smiled and nodded, “Yeah, I think everyone’s okay. I can’t wait to get out of here and set up camp though…woo.”
As we moved along, navigating through the mines, I spotted a treasure chest hidden in a corner of the mines. I pointed it out and ran towards it, finding that it contained a ‘Speed Source’. I immediately shouted; “Dibs!” so as to make the item mine and drank it down.
We continued through the glittering mines, seemingly devoid of any monsters at this point. As we traveled through one narrow hallway, we were surprised to find a man waiting for us on the other side.
Rude stood with his arms at his sides. The bald man’s face was devoid of any emotion and his eyes were hidden behind his dark shades. Once we entered his sight, he took a step forward, and very calmly, very blankly, said; “Hold on a minute.”
We stopped and turned, and upon seeing a Turk, the reaction was the same for everyone. We pulled our weapons and readied for the worst, like the walls exploding and hundreds of soldiers rushing down with machine guns. We were lucky though, it wasn’t quite like that.
“Do you know what the Turks do?” Rude asked simply.
Cloud blinked a few times but kept his stance. “Kidnap and murder?”
“To put it negatively, yes.” Rude replied like the rock he was. “But, there’s more to it then that…”
We waited for him to elaborate, but his words appeared to be trapped within his throat. A full minute went by and nothing had been said.
I looked up at a stone platform where Elena had made her appearance in the game, but she had yet to show up. I glanced back at Rude while I tried to figure out why.
“Don’t force it, Rude.” Came a familiar voice.
The voice was far to masculine to be Elena’s. From the exit to the mines behind Rude, Tseng stepped into view, holding his hands behind his back.
Rude remained silent and Tseng picked up the slack, addressing us all.
“The Turks originally were in charge of finding recruits for SOLDIER as well as performing a number of jobs for Shinra on the side. But now, we have a new objective.”
“And what’s that?” Cloud spat.
“To find Sephiroth.” He answered simply. “Our goals are much the same.”
Barret snorted, “Doubt that!”
I think I had figured it out by now. Elena wasn’t here because we didn’t give Reno a great big ass kicking. When we fought him, he was ready to fight us longer but Jesse had disabled the bomb and he ran off in decent shape. In the game, Elena had said that she got the promotion to Turks at that point because they were short. So, it’s still possible she’ll join, just not yet I suppose.
Tseng ignored Barret, and continued directing his comments towards Cloud.
“But even if our goals may be the same, I’d suggest you not get in our way.” The man warned.
“Get lost.” Cloud snarled, taking an aggressive stance forward.
Tseng smirked and gestured for Rude to follow as the two left the mines.
Once they were gone, Cloud sighed and placed his sword back on his back. The others loosened up a bit as well, and we all faced each other, forming a kind of ‘group huddle’.
“I don’t get it…why’d they just leave us be like that?” Tifa said.
“Perhaps they saw the strength in numbers we possessed?” Red offered.
Cloud crossed his arms and glanced over his shoulder at the exit. “They’re after Sephiroth too...” that much everyone had already gathered, but he decided to state the obvious anyways.
I looked around at the group and decided to throw in my own two cents.
“Junon…I think that’s where Sephiroth is going.” since Elena wasn’t here to spill the beans, I’d have to point us all in the right direction. With the group’s attention now on me, I explained. “If they’re after Sephiroth and they went that way, the only place is Junon. It has transportation to the sea, so where ever he’s going, it must be across the ocean.” And then seeing the look forming on Cloud’s face, I realized that this revelation might make him declare that we are to skip camping, so I added one last fact. “Of course, transportation isn’t available for a while because of the parade their having for Rufus tomorrow.”
“For Rufus? When is transportation available again, Grant?” Cloud asked.
“Well, Rufus is apparently crossing the ocean on a transport vessel, and then a day later, transportation opens to the public.”
I wasn’t completely making this up either. I had looked into the parade date and confirmed it as tomorrow.
“Sephiroth wouldn’t wait. He would sneak onto that vessel or possibly take it by force.” Cloud mused.
Collective nods of agreement followed.
“Wow, you really did your homework, Grant.” Aeris commented.
I nodded and watched as Cloud sorted everything out in his head.
“Alright. We’ll head out of the mines and travel for another hour or so before setting up camp. We’ll set up nightly watch then, and we’ll start early in the morning towards Junon.”
“Nooo…I wanna fall asleep now!” I whined.
“Go ahead.” Cloud replied as he strolled out of the cave.
I sighed and slumped my shoulders. “So cruel…”
“Come on boy, you’ll manage.” Barret said, slapping me on the back.
As Red slinked past me, I grinned. “Hey Red, can I ride you the rest of the way?”
“I am no chocobo.” He said, toneless.
The bright sun and nearly clear skies awaited me on the outside. I took a moment to breathe in the air and gauge my surroundings. Things tend to look a lot more…’vast’…when the concept of a world map does not exist.
Far along in the distance, I can see lines of greenery, north of a towering structure. The structure is Fort Condor, I believe. As for the forest, I’m pretty sure that’s where Yuffie is. Of course, she is in a number of forests in the game, so there’s no telling if she’s in this one at this point in time or not. Still worth a look tomorrow morning, I think.
I gaze to the left and try to see if I can spot Junon way off, but no such luck. From what I remember, it’s hidden behind a hill or something, west of the forest.
“Wait up!” I shout as I jog towards the group.
I catch up, but continue to linger at the back along with Red. Aeris turns herself around and begins walking backwards as she looks at me.
“Say Grant, I think you forgot something?” she says politely.
I raise an eyebrow. “Hm?” then I gasp, “Oh! Sorry!”
I run ahead of Red and join her along with Cloud and Tifa in the front. I lift my arm up and take a look at my armlet, pulling out the poison materia I had borrowed from her. It DID originally belong to me and all, but I gave it away and it was allotted to her.
“Here.” I say, handing it to her. She accepted it, extending her own hand to take it and placing it in her own bangle. It was then that I noted a purple orb present…one she did not have before the mines. “What’s that?” I ask.
“This?” she points. I nod. “Long Range. Cloud and I found it in those mines while we were separated.”
“Ah.”
I believe I’ve mentioned before, the effect of long range differs greatly here. Due to the fact that neither our selves nor monsters take turns while trying to kill each other, there are no ‘front row’ and ‘back row’ formations. So, Long Range’s effect has been adapted so that when equipped, the range of magic spells increases.
“Oh yeah!” Barret blurts out.
We turn our heads to the side and listen as we continue walking.
“We found this thing at the chocobo ranch.” Barret said, lifting up his own armlet to showcase the red summon materia. “We were buyin’ some greens so them damn chocobos would stop runnin’ away, and all of a sudden all them things were dancin’ for no reason at all…and then this thing fell out from one of the birds feathers after it finished it’s lil jig.”
Cloud lifted an eyebrow. “…huh.”
“It was weird, but really cute. You should have seen it, Cloud!” Aeris giggled.
I rolled my eyes.
I glanced over at the forest once more, trying to think of some way to be able to wander around in there. I’ve come up with a few ideas thus far, but they all have issues.
The first is to just suggest that maybe Junon was past the forest. Of course, I know the only thing past there is a river and I’m pretty sure someone else besides me knows that too.
My second idea was to just say there was something vital to our journey in there. It’s not a lie, really. We could use all the help we could get, after all. The problem with this is that it would make little sense to them unless I explained it, and we all know I can’t do that.
So, my next idea was formed on the basis that no matter how I go about it, there is no way that they’d go into that forest. They have free will and think on their own instead of being guided by a controller, and as such, they’d all ascertain that entering the forest just to wander around would probably be a waste of time. That means I have to do it alone.
I think it’s time to get this thing started.
“Hey Cloud…” I say. “To get to Junon, we head in the direction of that forest.” I point towards it and he nods, waiting for me to continue. “Then, from there we go west and Junon will be behind a hilltop or whatever you wanna call it.”
“I know where Junon is.” Cloud replies.
Oh yeah, he was a Shinra soldier, after all. Not that he knows that.
“Oh yeah, you were in SOLDIER, after all.” I say.
A pause.
“So why don’t we get as close to that forest as we can before camping?” I offer hopefully.
Barret scratched behind his ears. “Thought ya wanted to camp, like real bad?”
“I do! I just…” I pause. “Think…” another pause.
“Yeah?”
“It’s best this way!” I finish, raising my voice to account for the fact that I have no reason to offer him.
Tifa raises a hand to her face and laughs. “You’re acting awful strange.”
“Blah.” was my retort as I stick my tongue out.
From there, I returned to the back of the group and was mostly silent as we traveled.
After a few hours, we branched off from our path north and began heading more north-west. If we continued this way in a strait line, camped, and then went the same direction in the morning, we’d reach Junon. Fortunately, the route would also leave me within a reasonable distance of the forest.
Before we got to far away, I started complaining about how tired I was and asked if we could camp. Cloud took a look at our surroundings and then nodded, apparently deciding we covered fair ground for the day. It came as a huge relief for me.
The area we were in was a rather wide open space, and fire at night would surely attract monsters, but Cloud had purchased a type of monster repellent that you throw in a fire. The result is a smell that most monsters would gag over, and thus, they stay away for the most part. However, there are instances where a monster will either ignore the scent or not have a strong enough sense of smell to even pick it up. For this reason, at least one person must always be on watch.
I should also say that although Cloud had the foresight to purchase this monster repellent, the ass wipe didn’t bother buying any sleeping bags and he only purchased a small portable tent capable of fitting like two, maybe three people. I guess carrying more would be a bit of a burden though.
I watched as Cloud pulled out a thick metal pole. He extended it outward, and the pole’s length steadily increased. Then, he threw it down and the whole thing just…popped into a tent. The one pole split into four thinner ones and the tent’s outer material stretched out as the four bars continued expanding.
“Tha’s one ghetto ass tent.” Barret commented.
“We can’t really carry anything bigger.” Cloud defended calmly.
“Yeah yeah. I’m gonna get some firewood.”
Tifa studied the tent’s interior and crossed her arms.
“Cloud? How are we going to work this? This tent looks like it can only fit three.”
“I do not require a tent. I am comfortable sleeping outdoors.” Red stated.
Cloud nods. “Right and there will be two people on watch at all times, so the remaining three can use the tent. We’ll work on who takes what shift when Barret gets back with some firewood.”
“Oh, okay then.” Tifa smiled.
I noticed a slight pink tinge to Aeris’s cheeks. She fiddled with the fabric on her dress nervously as she scratched her cheek.
“Umm…so, I’ll be next to you at some point, then?”
“Yeah, most likely. Is that a problem?”
Her blush deepens, “No, no! Not at all!” she hastily replies.
Cloud snickers slightly. “No need to get flustered about it.”
Oh god, they're at it again.
“That’s it, I’m going to bed. Wake me up when it’s my shift!” I say as I move past them and enter the flap of the tent.
The fabric on the tent is rather thin and there are no blankets or pillows, but I don’t care. The moment I’m inside, I shuffle over to the right corner, lay down and close my eyes, to take a much needed rest. I was out like a light almost strait away.
Outside the tent, Cloud folded his arms.
“He’s not in good shape. I’ll cover his shift tonight.”
Tifa grinned and punched the mercenaries shoulder lightly.
“That’s nice of you! What happened to the Cloud that first joined AVALANCHE, huh?”
“Pfft. I refuse to answer that.” Cloud replied jokingly.
The sudden sound of wood clunking together made everyone turn around. Barret dropped a number of small wooden pieces into a circle.
“There’s the wood, spike ass.”
My sleep had been a peaceful one and went uninterrupted for once in a long while. I’m not entirely sure how long I had been asleep, but I felt too refreshed when I woke up.
My eyes fluttered open and I gazed at the tent ceiling. It was early in the morning based on the amount of light that I was seeing.
I rubbed my eyes and stared into space for a moment.
Now I needed to conduct part 2 of my plan. The first step was getting us as close to this forest as possible. Now, I’ll leave on my own before it’s time for us to head to Junon.
I turn to my left and find Tifa sleeping soundly. She’s practically curled up into a ball. She looks so comfortable and, I’d even say, adorable like that…so why the hell isn’t Cloud all over her?
I glance over to see who is sleeping to her left and find, guess who, Barret.
“Ugh.” I groan as I rub my forehead. Why am I not at all surprised? I bet Cloud went to sleep early so he could have this shift with her.
I stand up quietly and tip toe towards the tent’s flap, making sure to grab my stuff along the way, and exit the tent.
The fire’s still going, although it is no longer dark out. Perhaps it’s for warmth? Or maybe to add to ‘the mood’? Hell if I know. But I do know they’re sitting rather close to one another. So far it seems like my presence has gone unnoticed.
I stand for a moment, watching them talk.
“-hard sometimes…being an Ancient. I know I have my adoptive mother and all of you, but there are times when I feel like I’m alone.” Aeris sighed, looking down at the ground.
“I know that none of us are Ancient’s, so we can’t relate to what you’re going through…but you aren’t alone. We’re all here for you, and even if I may not understand you completely, it doesn’t mean I can’t try, right?” Cloud replies softly.
Aeris smiles and closes her eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
I closed my own eyes as something cold flowed through me. Sadness, perhaps. Aeris is a nice person; there is no doubt about that. Her and Cloud seem to make each other happy. And yet, she’s going to die. I could try and stop it, but I know it has to happen. I shake my head and try to distance myself from those thoughts.
Opening my eyes up, I take purposely loud steps so they’d be aware of my presence. Cloud and Aeris crane their heads back.
“Good morning!” Aeris greets.
I wave and walk past them.
“Where are you going?” Cloud asked.
I was still sleepy, even if I did feel better. I wasn’t quite functioning normally yet, and I had neglected to think of something to tell them, so I gave the first terrible excuse that came to mind.
“I’ve got some morning wood I need to walk off.” I winced the moment the words had escaped my mouth. Feeling the embarrassment, I picked up my pace significantly.
Cloud blinked in surprise. “Uh…yeah, sure. Just don’t wander too far and make sure you’re back soon. We’re leaving in a few hours.”
I gave a hand gesture of acknowledgment as I continued walking.
Aeris gazed at Cloud with a puzzled expression.
“What’s ‘morning wood’?”
I walk in a mental daze towards the forest. Knowing someone you like is going to die sucks some hard core arse. Maybe I shouldn’t have let myself grow fond of her after all.
After a little under 10 minutes, I stand just outside the forest and take a deep breath. The monsters in here are tough, based on what I remember from the game. Even at a decent level, they could do some serious damage when they attacked in groups. My hope is that they won’t stick together while I’m here or I won’t run into any altogether. I already have a crazy ninja chick to worry about.
I draw my scythe and hold it firmly as I step into the forest. The trees are towering above me, doing well in blocking the morning light. With so many bushes, branches, and other odds and ends, getting ambushed here would be easy.
I stop and look around before forming a hand seal.
“Shadow Replication…!” I say, quieter then usual.
Once my clone forms into a solid being next to me, I have it follow me as I move, keeping some distance from me and staying hidden. If I am attacked, my clone will catch the attacker off guard hopefully. If my clone is attacked, I will spring into action.
I scan the area quickly as I move everything from above me in the trees to behind me and around me. As a result of such tedious searching, my progress through the forest is slow.
Yuffie had no materia other then ‘throw’ in the game, so I am operating under the assumption that the same is true here. I have no idea what exactly ‘throw’ would do in this world either. Any who, she is a long range fighter and she’ll be using that 4-point shuriken of hers. Her only available limit would be ‘Greased Lightning’. I should be okay. She is a young one after all.
Of course…so am I. In fact, I believe Yuffie is one year older than I am.
I shake my head and continue walking.
Still, even if she is a bit older, I do have a lot of experience by now.
…Of course, so does she. In fact, I imagine being able to travel all around and survive the various monsters she would meet is no easy task. Seeing as how she is a ninja, I’m sure she’s had a lot of training too…especially since she is heir to Wutai and all.
I stop dead in my tracks and grit my teeth.
“Shit…” I mumble. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea? Now that I think about it, I’m not entirely sure I’d be able to beat her.
I turn around and glance at the direction I had come from. Maybe I should go back and worry about finding her later? The only way she would possibly join is if someone kicked her ass…can I even do that?
My eyes narrow as I feel a certain resolve inside of me.
I have to do this. It would be an excellent measure of how far I’ve come. Plus, I do have techniques at my disposal. If I pull this off, it also means I’m on par with the others.
The sudden feel of something cold, metallic, and pointy on the back of my neck snaps me out of these thoughts. I had lowered my guard.
I remained frozen as the voice behind me spoke.
“You shouldn’t be traveling alone.” The feminine voice says confidently.
“…” I remain silent.
“If you don’t want to get hurt, drop your materia.”
She’s outright asking for it? I guess in the game since everyone was in a group, trying to hold them up for it wouldn’t work as well so she just attacked instead.
“…”
“Didn’t you hear me?” the voice said, sounding annoyed. “Give me your materia.”
“You must be in an awkward position.” I replied.
“Oh yeah? How do you figure?”
“Having to steal materia from travelers, I mean. But why materia? Don’t thieves usually go after gil?” I said with slight confidence in my voice. I doubted Yuffie was the type to just stab me with her shuriken because I pissed her off. I don’t see her as a murderer.
“Shut up! You’re not in any position to talk back, ya know!”
I was still motionless, but my shadow clone was slowly and quietly creeping closer. Yuffie was a ninja, which means she likely had finely tuned senses. If I rushed it, she’d hear my clone.
“Sorry.” I said. “You sound young. Why steal at such a young age?”
I felt the point press against the skin on my neck. Not enough to kill me or anything, but it did hurt a bit.
“I’m not here to talk! Give me your materia!”
“You don’t feel bad about taking it?”
“Pfft. You were the one stupid enough to be traveling in a place like this alone!” she snorted.
I was about to make a smug remark about how I wasn’t alone, when Yuffie suddenly spun around and threw her shuriken at my clone. I guess she heard it or sensed it…or something.
The shuriken flew through the air but only skimmed the clone on the side. If it had actually been a person, it wouldn’t have been fatal. However, the injury was enough to make my clone disappear.
Using the opening, I leapt back and got into a stance. As Yuffie’s weapon returned to her, she jumped back to make more distance between us and got into a stance herself, holding her large shuriken at the center.
I studies her closely for a moment.
Yuffie’s hair was short and black and her eyes a stormy grey. She was young, short, and sleek but her eyes looked intensely aggressive at the moment. She wore a green tank top and a pair of tan shorts. She had a pair of long yellow socks on as well and a forehead protector present on her head. In addition, she had some kind of strange guard on her left arm.
With her one hand she twirled the shuriken.
“Who are you?” she snarled.
I tilted my head.
“That was a ninja technique, and a very high level one from the looks of it!”
“Shadow Replication.” I clarify.
“You haven’t answered my question yet, stupid!”
She has quite the attitude. I couldn’t tell her even if I wanted to, really. How could I possibly explain it to her?
“I’m just a traveler. I’m no ninja.” I say honestly.
There’s lingering silence as she decides on how to proceed. She gives her weapon another twirl and speaks; “I still want that materia, you know.”
“Come and take it then.” And I really hope I don’t regret those words.
I run forward just as Yuffie does.
I need to close the distance so she can’t fight me at long range.
Yuffie hurled her shuriken towards me, aiming for a non lethal hit. I slide sideways as the weapon soars past towards a tree and I continue charging.
Yuffie suddenly tugs her right arm back. I glance behind me and gasp as the shuriken is returning towards Yuffie. She must have wire attached to the hole in her weapon or something…
Now that she’s within attacking range, I swing my scythe but she jumps back and catches her weapon. I expect her to throw it again, but she surprises me when she runs at me, still holding her weapon.
She spins her shuriken and then swings it at me but I block with the shaft of my scythe. There’s a small opening after I block, but she’s on the attack again, gracefully spinning her weapon as I try and keep up with my blocking.
I miss several attacks and wince as several cuts open up on my arms and body. I swing my scythe again, but she ducks under it and kicks me hard in the gut before following up with a jumping spin kick.
I fly back and lose hold on my scythe as it slides away.
Yuffie lands acrobatically and continues the spinning of her shuriken.
“Geez, how can someone with such a high level technique suck so much.” She sneered, sticking her tongue out at me.
I grumble and roll over to my scythe, pick it up, and spring back up to my feet.
I slam my scythe into the ground and put my hands together. I’ve been considering healing the cuts, but she’d probably use the opening to attack, so instead…
“Shadow Replication!” I shout. When I get stronger and gain more stamina, I can make more clones without passing out.
As three clones appear in front of me, I have them charge while I pick up my weapon and hang back, waiting for an opening to form.
Yuffie smirks and leaps up into the air, landing on a tree branch behind. She throws her weapon at my clones and my eyes widen as she begins forming her own hand seals.
“Shadow Shuriken!” Yuffie shouted.
From the shadow of her single shuriken, another two appear. The three shuriken slice through each of my three shadow replications making them pop away into a thin grey smoke. The shuriken continue to fly and Yuffie’s original begins returning to her while the other two copies disappear in a similar grey smoke.
With her weapon back in her hands, Yuffie stands ready and awaiting my next move.
“What the fuck…” I mutter.
She can use techniques too? How many? Why? They were ninja techniques in the Naruto world, which is where they originate from. I suppose Walter adapted them to be ninja techniques used by Wutai ninja here?
“I think you should just give up now!” Yuffie taunts, “Weather it’s three or thirty, you’re just too damn slow to keep up with me!”
That’s not a lie either. In long range, she has a definite advantage. Even in short range, which isn’t her specialty, she has me beat. I don’t know who has the advantage in physical power, but she’s clearly proven that I can’t touch her with her reflexes and speed. I also don’t know the extent of her ninja techniques. She has no material…other then that yellow ‘throw’ she has equipped, but what does it do? Her weapon always returns to her too, all she has to do is tug her arm back and it returns. I’m sure now that there’s no string attached either.
…Yuffie’s armlet is on her right arm and that’s what her materia is equipped too. Maybe that’s what ‘throw’ does here. It makes something she throws return to her.
“Grrr…” I growl angrily.
The only advantage I have are my techniques. I haven’t really learned to use Flame Thrower yet. I’m sure it isn’t that hard, but trying it for the first time in the middle of battle would be risky.
At any rate, I need to take care of these cuts.
I extend my hands and murmur; “Healing Hands”
A faint green glow surrounds my hands and I place them on my body around the cuts. The green glow washes over the injuries, and the cuts begin closing.
Not wanting this to continue, Yuffie threw her weapon my way.
The weapon came alarmingly quick. My concentration quickly broke, and my injuries have not been entirely dealt with. The green faded away from my hands and I leapt out of the way, narrowly escaping the weapon.
Just as I looked up, Yuffie was upon me. She sent a fast jab at my face to further unbalance me and then proceeded to kick the living shit out of me with her legs.
As she threw the last kick, I managed to catch it with my hands and grip it firmly. I twist it forcefully and Yuffie falls to the ground, whimpering. Then I remember…
“The shuriken!” I gasp.
I turn and find it heading towards Yuffie, which inevitably puts my in it’s way. With no other choice, I release my grip and draw my scythe, swinging it at the large metal star.
Once it hits, Yuffie’s weapon flies off a ways, but Yuffie is far from helpless.
The ninja girl sprung back up with her hands and kicked me back with her feet. I stagger a bit but quickly clasp my hands together before she can pummel me again.
“Shadow Imitation!” I shout.
The girl had been preparing to rush again but quickly recoiled as my shadow trailed towards her quickly. She stopped and flipped back slightly. When she landed, she gathered momentum and pushed her self up with one mighty jump, landing once again on a near by tree branch.
My shadow could no longer reach her so I quickly retracted it.
I glanced over at her weapon cautiously. Could she still call it back to her?
“How is it that you know so many weird techniques, and yet you can’t even land a hit on me? Geez.” Yuffie pondered.
This is getting so very annoying. I’m being schooled by a girl.
“Healing hands!” I say again.
It didn’t take long for the green healing energy to finish tending my wounds. The cuts once present on my arms and body disappeared completely. The pain was gone too.
With my healing complete, I held my scythe out and watched the girl above.
“Why aren’t you calling your weapon back?”
“Cuz I can only call it back when it’s still moving from the throw I gave it.”
“Ah.”
She smirked. I think she’s actually enjoying her fight.
Yuffie leapt off the branch and came down at me, but she left her self completely open in the process. As long as she was still in the air, she was helpless.
I stuck my scythe into the ground and held out my hands.
“Shadow Snake Hands!”
Two snakes shot out of each arm and launched towards the ninja girl. I had no intention of poisoning her, but they could restrain her quite easily I imagine.
The smirk never left Yuffie’s face as they came towards her. She formed a quick series of seals, and as my snakes wrapped around her tightly, a veil of smoke surrounded her.
I watched as the smoke came towards me, and my eyes nearly bulged. My snakes lost their grip on ‘Yuffie’ as a large hunk of wood flew out of the smoke and right at me. I darted out of the way and recalled me snakes.
I turned quickly to where Yuffie’s weapon had been, and sure enough the girl stood with it ready in her hands, a devilish smile on her face.
“Replacement?” I questioned.
“You bet!” she replied proudly.
Replacement is a technique in Naruto where, so long as the ninja using it has better speed then their opponent and enough time to react, they can swap locations with themselves and a near by object. Yuffie is clearly faster then I and apparently had enough time, so she used the technique to switch positions with a hunk of wood near by.
“So what’s with you, huh?” Yuffie remarks.
“The snakes?” I reply.
She nods.
“I’m just crazy like that.”
I realize I’m talking casually, but on the inside, it’s quite different. I’m quickly losing strength. None of my techniques so far have worked and I’m seriously getting whooped here. I need to do something awesome and fast.
Morally, this may sound wrong, but I need to alter my goals. When I attack with the intention of only hurting her, I can’t accomplish anything. Right now she’s fighting me the same way, only winning. I need to attack with the intention of seriously fucking her up, and worry about healing her later. My healing technique can deal with some heavy shit if I there’s enough time, anyways.
I had been saving this since it would have been potentially lethal, but no need to worry about that now.
I felt red energy surround me as my rage swelled up inside. “Shooting Star!” I shouted.
With my limit in effect, my speed dramatically increased as I charged towards her. She gasped and threw her weapon, but I moved out of the way just as I swung my scythe.
With her notable reflexes, she backed up. Not enough for the swing to completely miss, but enough that something that would have nearly cut her in half at the waist now only gave a somewhat deep cut. But the attack didn’t end there.
The moment the attack landed, tremendous force erupted out of my weapon and launched her back where she painfully hit the trunk of a tree.
“Ugh!” she cried as she fell forward onto her hands and knees.
I felt guilty, but I would be tending to her injuries later on, anyways.
I sighed and stepped towards her slowly, thinking I had won when she stood back up and let out a piercing scream.
“Bastard!” she shrieked. She caught her returning weapon before she too was surrounded by red energy. “Greased Lightning!”
But instead of moving, she froze.
She froze and I smirked, feeling quite relieved.
“I’ll show you.” I said as I lowered my head to the ground. In turn, her head also lowered and she found my shadow connected to her own. “Shadow Imitation. You can only move as I do.”
“But…how? When?” she fumed.
“Right when you stood up and shouted ‘bastard’. I’m guessing your scream and rage combined prevented you from seeing it coming.”
“Pfft!” Yuffie sneered. “I’ve heard of ‘Shadow Imitation’ before. It’s a fight of wills, and someone as weak as you would never over power my will!” Yuffie declared with almost absolute certainty in your voice.
Sadly, I knew this was true. I wouldn’t be able to hold her for long. I kind of fudged up when I picked this as a technique.
Before she could attempt to break free, I threw my hand out, in turn making her throw her shuriken away. I then reached into my armlet and pulled the first orb out, which happened to be my ‘heal’. In response, she was forced to mimic the action and pull her ‘throw’.
My technique was beginning to slip as Yuffie struggled and squirmed in her stationary position. I felt a film of sweat form as I tried to keep her in position.
“Hey, with that cut you shouldn’t push yourself like this!” I urged her, for some reason thinking she would listen.
“Screw you!” she spat.
My magic power was draining like mad as the girl fought valiantly to break free. I was being overwhelmed. I’d hate to think what would be happening if she had been trying to seriously injure me from the start…
Before the technique could completely slip, I ran forward, making her mirror these actions reluctantly. I extended my arms out and canceled my shadow imitation before shouting;
“Shadow Snake Hands!”
With our distance so close, even Yuffie wasn’t fast enough to avoid the snakes. Two wrapped around her legs, binding them together, while the other two wrapped around her arms and kept them behind her back. She dropped to the ground, struggling and screaming.
“Grrggh!”
“Hey, calm down! You seriously need that cut looked at!”
“This cut is YOUR fault, stupid!” she yelled.
“I had to, or you’d have beaten my ass and taken my materia. I worked hard to get Beta, you know.” I said as calmly as I could.
I was breathing heavily, but kept the snakes wrapped around the sleek girl.
“Look, I beat you. Face it. Now will you let me help you out? I can heal shit, you saw.”
“You did NOT beat me! I can take you!” the ninja insisted.
“I know.” I nodded. “But that wasn’t the case here.”
I stepped closer and knelt down.
“Let me help?”
“…”
“Well?”
Please, for the love of god, let her agree before I run out of magic power and she beats me up.
“…Yeah, fine.” She sighs.
Her struggling ceases and she closes her eyes in defeat, waiting for me to release her.
My snakes nestle back inside my arms, and I grit my teeth as they finish settling and the openings close.
I walk towards the small ninja girl, who has yet to do anything. I kneel down by her and pull Ether from my item pouch. I don’t know why I said this next thing, but I did.
“You know, if you had waited like another 10 seconds, I would have been out of magic power and my snakes would have fled back inside my arms.” I said, almost like I were telling a humorous anecdote.
It didn’t play well with her. “Shut up.” She growled.
I drank the Ether down and tried to relax my muscles.
“Jeez, I feel like yesterday again.” I say sadly.
“What does that mean?” she asks with her eyes still closed.
“I get beat up a lot.”
“I’ll bet.” She says with a slight smirk.
I scowl and shake my head. “Be nice, I am helping someone that tried to rob me, ya know.”
I clasp my hands together and focus. “Healing Hands!”
As the usual green glow appears, I lightly roll Yuffie onto her back and examine the cut.
“It’s not too bad. I can fix this.” I say, trying to assure her.
“You’d better.”
I gently place my hand on her stomach and pump healing energy into her body, replacing some of the lost blood cells, easing the pain, and then closing the wound. The process itself is longer then normal restorative magic but it’s a far more through job. After a minute or so, I remove my hand and examine the wound.
“You should be okay.” I say exhaustedly as I stand up.
“…”
“No ‘thank you’?”
“I’m not getting up to pound you, that’s your ‘thanks’.” She said cheekily.
I shook my head and walked towards the heal materia I had dropped earlier and pick it up.
“You know, ninja person…” I begin, “If you want materia so badly, why don’t you just travel and look for it. That’s how we get ours.” I say. I’m intentionally saying this so she’ll ask who ‘we’ is.
“Who’s we?”
I smile. “AVALANCHE. I’m a member. Heard of us?”
Her brows furrow. “Yeah. You guys go against the Shinra.”
“I understand that the people of Wutai have a strong disliking of Shinra.”
“That’s an understatement!” Yuffie shouts angrily.
Yuffie stands up and brushes her self off, heading towards her materia and weapon. So far she hasn’t tried to beat me up or anything. I think I’m in the clear.
“So you all fight Shinra and collect a bunch of materia along the way?” she says with an unusual tone.
I’m sure she’s beginning to get the idea of following us so she can steal our materia at a later date.
“Yeah. Well, among other things, yes.” I answer.
With her weapon in hand, Yuffie grins and places it back on her back. She crosses her arms and leans against a tree, looking down at the ground.
“I bet you guys could use a super powerful sexy ninja, right?”
“My god, that’s exactly what we’ve been lacking!” I mock gasp.
Yuffie retains her grin and bobs her head side to side as though she is mentally deliberating something. She steps towards me and pats me on the shoulder.
“Well, you know what? I think I’ll help out. I mean, you could use me and I dislike Shinra and all…” she reasoned. Plus, a big difficult journey is a good way to sharpen my skills!”
I nod happily, “Yeah, exactly. So you really want to join?”
“Yep! Take me to the head honcho.”
My, how quickly things change. One minute we hate each other and now we’re semi-buddy buddy.
With this issue resolved, Yuffie and I head towards the forest’s exit to the south.
“By the way, I don’t know your name…” I say. I do, but I don’t ‘know’ it yet, if you get my drift.
“Great Ninja Yuffie!” she exclaims.
“Great Ninja Grant.” I reply.
Yuffie rolls her eyes. “Please. You’re no ninja.”
“I’m sorry, I think I’m feeling offended.”
Yuffie crossed her arms and ‘hmmed’. I was expecting her to either follow up with another witty remark or say sorry, but she did neither.
“Teach me some of your techniques.” She said bluntly.
“Bite me.”
---------------------------------END CHAPTER-------------------------