Chapter two! I was forced to listen to T.A.T.U. as punishment for not writing this faster. My pain is indescribable. Onward, to the fic. Oh, and I know that the "current" party, i.e., Cloud, Barret and Red meet Yuffie and fight her, but I just can’t resist letting Aeris and Tifa meet her first! ^^ I’m sorry I’m altering the script slightly. ;_; Forgive me. ------------------------------ Aeris and Tifa walked toward Junon, and Tifa was immensely grateful that Aeris had stopped asking her questions. That was, until they ran into a battle. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Tifa quirked her eyebrow at what seemed to be a young girl dressed in a very unique outfit. She wore a midriff sleeveless green shirt, and khaki shorts that had one button undone at the top. On one arm, she had an enormous arm-guard, and in her hand, she held what looked like a huge steel pinwheel. A khaki-colored cloth covered the bottom half of her face, and Tifa surmised that the young girl fancied herself to be a ninja of some sort. "Give me your Materia, and you won’t get hurt!" The girl said, her brown eyes hardening. Tifa smiled a little, amused at the girl’s confidence. "Get hurt? Are you going to hurt us?" Even though her voice was confident, Tifa automatically tensed for battle, standing in front of Aeris protectively. She doubted the girl would be a match for her, but she certainly didn’t need Aeris to get taken hostage by the small ninja. "Yeah!" the girl proclaimed, her voice muffled by the cloth. "Is that so?" Aeris said. She stepped from behind Tifa, holding her staff in front of her. Tifa frowned slightly, but ignored her. "Yeah! I can kick your butts, you old hags!" Tifa twitched slightly, clenching her fists. She saw Aeris tighten her hold on her staff out of the corner of her eye. "Old hags? Big words for such a little girl." "Little girl?! Listen, you old broad, last time a guy said that to me, he got his ass whopped Shinobi style! You don’t want to mess with me!" "You shouldn’t talk that way, young lady, "Aeris said calmly, gazing at the ninja. "It’s not very becoming." "Listen. I don’t have time for any stupid speeches, so shut up and give me the Materia, ok? I don’t want to end up hurting anyone." She moved into a fighting position, glaring at the two women. Tifa scoffed, fed up with the girl’s arrogance. "We’re not afraid of you. Now please move, because we’re running late." She barely had time to finish her sentence when a shuriken flew toward her face. With her quick instincts, she moved toward the side in time, and the small weapon flew past her, embedding itself in a tree nearby. "Hey, you’re faster than I thought, you old fogey! Come on, you don’t want to break anything! Just give up!" A steady tic started to develop in Tifa’s jaw, and she got into a crouching position. "Since you’re such a tough kid, come at me. Let’s see what you can do." Aeris tapped Tifa on the shoulder. "Um Tifa?" "What?" "Do you think that’s...wise?" "She’s a kid, Aeris. How bad can she be?" "Famous last words..." Aeris said in a sing-song voice. Tifa shook her head, and stared over at the ninja, her wine-red eyes narrowing into slits. Sensei always said, ‘Keep your eyes on the enemy.’ Tune out everything around you Tif. Watch her... For a moment, the only sound was that of the wind whistling through the trees. Even Aeris was quiet for the time being, her eyes flickering over to Tifa. The ninja ran at Tifa and jumped, throwing her weapon at the martial artist. It whizzed through the air, and Tifa rolled to one side, dodging the projectile. Tifa heard the girl cry out, "Fire!" and she blanched, hopping to her feet. "Ice!" The two attacks hit each other full speed, and dissipated into steam, causing a veil of mist to obscure both of the fighters’ vision. A small shuriken whizzed through the air and nicked Tifa across the face, and others soon followed after, causing shallow cuts to appear against her pale skin. Find out where they’re coming from. Listen. Tifa grounded her heels into the dirt, listening carefully for any noises that betrayed the ninja’s location. She heard the barely audible rustle of cloth behind her turned around, preparing to knock the daylights out of the girl... ...And then she remembered something. It might be Aeris... I forgot she was here! I could call out for her, but then the kid will find out where I am...what should I do? I could wait for the mist to clear, but by that time, the kid will have turned me into ribbons...wait, what’s that noise? Tifa blinked and then jumped away from a yellow blur hurtling towards her. When she had gained her composure, she smiled slightly. I really should give Aeris more credit... ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ The ‘mystery ninja’ cocked her head when she heard what sounded like distant trotting from behind her. She spun around, and made a very un-ninja like squeal as a Chocobo with a small Mog jockey bounded into her, knocking her to her feet. As soon as she managed to get up, Tifa was on her, performing her Limit Break at the bat of an eyelid. "Beat Rush!" As she finished her Limit, she felt a rush of newfound energy, and finished the girl off with a whirling kick. "Somersault!" Needless to say, the ninja was out for the count. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Cloud, Red, and Barret had arrived shortly after Tifa had defeated of the ninja, and Cloud walked over to the rattled girl, nudging her with the tip of his boot. "Hey." The young woman, still slightly disorientated, glared up at Cloud and hopped to her feet quickly. "You spiky-headed jerk! One more time, let’s go one more time!" Cloud quirked an eyebrow at her and frowned, his Mako enhanced eyes darkening somewhat. "Not interested." The ninja gawked at him in disbelief, and then smirked, crossing her arms. "Thinkin’ of running away?" She stomped her foot in a childlike manner and huffed indignantly, her cheeks puffing slightly. "Stay and fight! FIGHT, I said!" Cloud shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes, turning his back on her. The small girl glared daggers at his retreating form. "C'mon... What's the matter? You're pretty scared of me, huh!?" Cloud tried, and succeeded, in not laughing at her. "Petrified..." he muttered sarcastically. The girl did not catch it. "Hmm, just as I thought. What do you expect with my skills? Good luck to you guys too! If you feel up to it, we can go another round. Later!" She started to walk away, and Cloud scratched his head, staring at Tifa. ‘Did you hit her too hard?’ he mouthed to her. Tifa bit down a giggle and shook her head. The ninja turned around to face them again. "I’m gonna leave! I mean it!" Cloud could have cared less, but Aeris tapped his shoulder. "Cloud?" "Hmm?" "She’s just a girl...but she might be useful...you think we should let her join?" Tifa blanched and rounded on Aeris, putting her hands on her hips. "Are you nuts? She tried to kill us!" Cloud looked up to the sky and gave Tifa a helpless look, and Tifa slumped her shoulders, sensing defeat. "Wait a second!" Cloud called out to the ninja. Tifa could’ve sworn she saw the girl’s eyes light up a little. Cloud motioned for the others to follow him, and they walked toward the ninja. The girl grinned, looking quite smug. "What is it; you still have somethin' for me? ...Hmmm. So is that it? I know you want my help because I'm so good! You want me to go with you?" Cloud kept himself from groaning. The girl was so arrogant, it was amazing. "That’s right," he mumbled, shaking his head a little when Tifa gave him a dark look. The girl closed her eyes, seeming pleased with herself. "Heh heh... thought so. You put me in a spot. Hmm, what should I do? But, if you want me that bad, I can't refuse. All right! I'll go with you!" Cloud looked relieved. "Let’s hurry." The others followed after them, and the ninja blinked. "Wait! I haven't even told you my name...I'm Yuffie! Good to meetcha!" Tifa heard the girl call for them and simply increased her pace. She felt a headache coming on. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Cloud yawned a little and looked up to the night sky before stretching his arms. They had decided to camp for the night, and a couple of tents had been put up around a modest fire. The others were seated around it, including the new girl, a ninja who went by the name of Yuffie Kisaragi. Tifa kept sneaking glances at Yuffie, watching her carefully. There was something...odd about her. Yuffie didn’t seem to notice however, and moved to sit next to Aeris, who had finally stopped fussing over the wounds Tifa had received in the battle. She has a mommy complex. And if she was so worried, she shouldn’t have convinced Cloud to let that kid join us! Tifa thought, cracking her knuckles. Yuffie glanced over at the disgruntled martial artist. "Y’know, you really shouldn’t do that. It sounds really gross." Tifa gave her a withering look, and Yuffie blanched, unconsciously moving closer to Aeris. "Gawd, sorry." Aeris giggled from beside her. "Tifa isn’t really mean. She just doesn’t quite trust you yet," she murmured to Yuffie. Tifa rolled her eyes and yelped when Yuffie punched her in the arm. "What? You little..." Yuffie raised her hands in defense. "Whoa, whoa! I was just tryin’ to get your attention! I want a rematch!" "...A rematch?" "Yeah!" The girl pumped her fist in the air energetically, and Tifa gave her a confused look. "Um...I don’t really...do rematches." Yuffie frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but Tifa raised her hand in the air before she could speak. "And it’s not because I’m afraid. What’s done...is done, ok? I don’t want any hard feelings." She saw Aeris smile at her from behind Yuffie’s back. Yuffie put her finger to her chin, seemingly contemplating what Tifa said. "Well...I still think you’re scared." Both Tifa and Aeris shook their heads. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ "Well," Cloud said, looking everyone over, "I think...that Yuffie should stay with Aeris and Tifa. You girls don’t mind right?" Aeris smiled and Tifa forced herself to do something other than frown. "That’s fine!" Aeris chirped. "Just us girls..." mumbled Tifa. "Alright, you two old ladies! Let’s head to Junon!" said Yuffie, spinning around a little. Cloud smiled weakly, gave Tifa a pitying look, and he, Red, and Barret walked off. "You’re in charge Tifa! Take care of yourself!" Tifa started to crack her knuckles again. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ End of chapter two Wee, everyone loves Miserable! Tifa. Right, right? I didn’t get to Junon in this chapter, but next chapter I will!
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