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Yuffie Kisaragi, the self-proclaimed White Rose of Wutai, trained in an abandoned, partially demolished building that stood just outside of Edge in old Midgar. She was throwing her shurikens at targets posted in various places. She would constantly disappear and reappear, throwing the shurikens all the time, never missing a bull’s eye. Yuffie, once she landed on the ground, stood up and looked at all the targets: flawless accuracy.
“Oh, yeah!” she exclaimed, along with tightening her fist and spinning in a circle, “I’m the best there is!”
She threw one more shuriken at a target and hit it dead on.
“Yes!”
“Not bad,” a gruff voice echoed from, seemingly, nowhere.
Yuffie jumped back and turned to see the crimson cloaked Vincent Valentine, standing against a door frame with his arms folded.
“Whoa!” Yuffie said. “When did you get there?”
“Been here a while,” Vincent said. “Didn’t want to distract you. Your balance tends to get thrown off easily.”
Yuffie remembered the number of times she had fallen, most of those in front of Vincent, yet she still refuted Vincent’s claim. “Not a chance.”
Vincent sat down on the ground and leaned against a large, fallen concrete block. Yuffie stood against the block, next to him, and staring at him. She had always found Vincent to be very mysterious, private, maybe even a little creepy. But still quite intriguing, though Yuffie never used that word herself. These days, however, the creepy feeling she once got from him was gone. Yuffie couldn’t tell where, when, or why she no longer found him creepy, but she just knew that she did not anymore. Still, she also knew she wasn’t one of his favorite people to be around, so that made her wonder why he was there.
“What are you doing out here?” Yuffie asked. “I mean, you anywhere near Edge is weird for you… and this is a long way from Lucrecia’s crystal room.”
“I don’t go there as much anymore,” Vincent said. “All of that business with Deepground… got me thinking.”
Yuffie walked in front of him and bent down in front of him, “Thinking? Isn’t that all you do?”
“Guess so.”
Yuffie walked around the concrete block, talking all the while, “Well, it must be big for you to come tell me. I know I’m not your favorite person to talk to. Trying to figure out who is is an all day job.”
“Doubt that anyone has that role, really,” Vincent admitted.
Yuffie just sighed as she kept circling, “Mister serious. As always.” She sat down next to him, leaning against the block as well. “So, whacha been thinking about?”
“My life, if I can still call it that. I’ve been feeling… like I don’t belong anywhere anymore. I feel as though I’ve done all I’m supposed to do.”
Yuffie was surprised to hear him talk like this.
“I think there’s nothing for me to do anymore. I’ve reached the end of my own life… and, yet, I’m still alive.”
“Then that means there is still something left for you to do.”
Vincent looked at her. “You think it’s that simple?”
“Well, yeah! You wouldn’t still be here if there wasn’t a reason.”
Vincent looked up cracked ceiling of the building, admiring the small rays of sunshine coming through. “Wish I could believe that, Yuffie.”
At this, Yuffie hit a huge level of discouragement. It was then she realized how seriously Vincent was thinking about this. It wasn’t like his usual brooding; he was earnestly wondering what his next move should be or if he even had one. She knew Vincent had tendency to think too much but this was extreme, even for him.
But, as she looked at him, she was beginning to understand where he was coming from.
She looked down at the ground and started touching with a nearby pebble with her finger. “I… I think I understand.”
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
“You… think there’s nothing left for you to do because all that you had… is gone. All you fought to protect… Lucrecia and all that kind of stuff… it’s all gone. And, even though you found a little bit of peace and other things to fight for and protect… you realize that it was because everything else was already gone.”
Vincent was impressed. Yuffie was absolutely right.
“But… there’s still so much for you to do.”
He couldn’t think of anything. “Such as?”
She looked up at him. “There’s helping us in case Sephiroth ever returns.”
“Cloud can handle that.”
“What about Shelke?”
“She can take care of herself.”
“Yeah, right,” she said. “She looks up to you.”
“Don’t know why,” he replied.
“I do.”
He scoffed.
“And what if those Deepground guys come back?” she asked.
“They’ll have to deal with you again,” he answered. “I’m sure you’re more than enough for them.”
“No way! They’d’ve killed me hadn’t it been for you.”
Vincent scoffed again. “You saved me at the Shinra mansion.”
“Yeah, after you did all the hard work,” Yuffie argued. ‘Help me out, Vincent! I’m reaching here!’ she thought to herself. She nudged him, “We need you, Vincent. You’re our friend.”
He kept his gaze fixed on the ground.
“Why do you think we were all pushing you to get a phone so much?”
“Always did wonder about that.”
“So, we could keep in touch with you,” she declared. “Why else?”
He started lightly touching a pebble.
“You’re our friend, Vincent. We all care about you. If something were to happen to you, there’s no telling what we’d do. Cloud would have to go back to being the most moody one of the group, and we’re just starting to break him out of that.”
Vincent actually chuckled briefly. This Yuffie took as a personal victory.
“You laughed!” she said, happily. “I heard you laugh! I made you laugh! Yes! I got Vincent Valentine to laugh! Whoo! Victory!”
He shook his head. “Ever the cheerful person.”
“Always the rain on a parade.”
Vincent fell silent for a second. “Sorry.”
Yuffie felt bad. “Hey. Hey, I was just kidding.”
“But that’s just it. You’re trying to cheer me up… and I can’t thank you enough for that. I just wish… that it would work… that I would let it work.”
Yuffie jerked her head back. Vincent had never said anything like this to her before. The pure fact that he was confiding in her was definitely new territory for both of them.
He stood up and looked down at her, “Sorry, I bothered you, Yuffie. And thanks for trying. I’m sorry… I couldn’t just let it work.”
He started to walk off and she watched him for a few seconds. But those few seconds for Yuffie seemed like hours as her mind raced. Words ran by the thousands as she watched him walk. Words she had said, words she should have said.
Words she had wanted to say for a long time.
There had been something that she had wanted to say to Vincent for a while now but she never had the courage to say it. She never felt she had the right to. She never thought the timing was right.
Never thought it was right.
Now, she figured, was as a good as a time as any, and right and wrong were really hard to discern at this point, but they didn’t really matter.
Yuffie stood up, quickly, almost losing her footing. “Vincent, wait! There was one thing that I forgot to say!”
He stopped, not turning to face her.
“Maybe… you’re still here… because someone needs you here. Someone, in particular.”
“Like who?” he asked.
‘Time to go for it,’ she thought.
She took a deep breath. And exhaled. “Maybe someone who… doesn’t really have people to put up with her like you do.” She started walking toward him, “Maybe someone… who, even though she annoys you, you’re always there for her… and you saved her life.”
He turned and looked at her.
“Maybe… you’re still here… for… me.”
In a rare moment, Vincent was genuinely surprised. Even more surprising, Yuffie was causing that moment.
Yuffie walked up to him and took his hand. “Maybe… you’re still here because I want you to still be here. I need you to still be here.”
Vincent stared into her eyes. “Yuffie… you can’t mean that. You know what I am… what’s left of me… there’s no needing that. There’s nothing left to need… to want.”
“That’s not true. I know there is… I can see it. I know it because… I more than need you… more than want you… I…”
She looked away.
He looked over and asked, “What is it?”
She looked back, tears forming in her eyes, “I… I love you, Vincent.”
He gasped.
“I do, Vincent. Don’t know when it happened and, really, I don’t care. I just know it did. I know I can’t compete with Lucrecia… in no way… but… I don’t care. I just know that I love you… and that’s how I know that you’re still needed here.”
Vincent was at a loss for words. The possibility of anyone loving him wasn’t possible, probable, or any way, shape, or form ever going to happen again. What was even more shocking was that it was coming from Yuffie, of all people. He couldn’t picture a more perfect antithesis to his character. But, yet and still, here she was, admitting to him that she loved him.
Yuffie just sighed, wiping her eyes, “Here I am, admitting my feelings for you and you’re all quiet. I know that you’re the strong, silent type but can’t you at least say what you’re thinking? For once, tell what’s going on in your head. Just… say something… will ya?”
“Yuffie,” he said. “Why me? Why, out of all the people, me? There are plenty of men out there who aren’t like me. That don’t disappear without telling people for long periods of time and aren’t constantly alone. Plenty more who can relate to you… not push you out or keep you at a distance. Who can appreciate all you do… and not wonder if life is supposed to continue. So… why me?”
“I can’t argue any of that. You’re definitely moody, hard to approach, go missing a lot, and prefer to be alone. And I’ve met all the other types that you think would be a natural fit for me. Even dated a couple of them… but I don’t care about any of them, not like I do about you. Not even close.”
“But why?”
“Because…”
She paused and he looked at her, wondering what her reasons were, what they could possibly be.
Suddenly, she smiled. “Because you’re you.”
He just scoffed. “A simple answer. Once again.”
“Yep.”
“Guess that’s why I came to you. You can say the most meaningful things… in the fewest words.”
She shrugged. “That’s me, I guess. I don’t know about that meaningful part… but, I can’t be anyone but myself. ‘Sides, why waste time with too many words?”
She reached up and pulled down the lower half of his cloak that covered his mouth.
“I’ve always liked…”
She pushed herself up on her toes to get closer to his face.
“…to take action.”
She pressed her lips to Vincent’s.
It was only a light kiss but Yuffie had wanted to do that for a long time. And, she thought, it was worth the wait.
She stood back level and looked him in the eyes as he looked back at her, completely stunned.
“You know?” she asked. “For a guy who spent a long time in a coffin, you’re nowhere near as cold as I thought you’d be… or as you make yourself out to be.”
“Y-Yuffie…” he stuttered out.
“Don’t care what you say, Vincent. You can say I’m crazy. You can say you hate me and never talk to me again. You can even say that you don’t feel the same way… but it won’t change how I feel. Not one bit.”
He stared at her. He could not think of anything else to do or say. But he could admit that to her. “Yuffie… I… really don’t what to say.”
She shook her head, “You don’t have to say anything.”
“It’s just that… I don’t know if I feel that way… the way you feel for me. And even if I did… I can’t… I can’t say those words. Not yet. It’s been so long that…”
“Vincent,” she interrupted as he sounded on the verge on panicking, “that’s fine. I wasn’t expecting you to go into a melodrama of how you love me back. I just know how I feel.”
“But I know that when someone says that,” he said, “they want to hear it back.”
“Well, yeah. I can’t lie and say that I don’t want you to say it back. It’d be nice to hear. But you and I are far from typical. You can’t say it because of your past and because you’re not sure if you do. I really do get it.”
“But…”
“Shhh,” Yuffie said, putting a finger to his lips. “For once, you’re talking too much. But, not so off base, you’re thinking too much.” She removed her finger, “You don’t have to say anything… all this was unexpected, I get that. Like I said, it’s not like I was expecting you to say it back and I’m not going to make you say it. But I’ll make it easy on you. I’ll give you two choices.”
Vincent looked at her, quizzically.
“If you want to leave and keep trying to find the answers somewhere else, just walk away and all this can stay between us. I won’t tell any of the others and I’ll never talk about it again. Wutai Promise.”
“What’s the other option?”
She smiled again, taking that as a good sign. She took hold of the hand that had the claw guard and put it around her waist before moving her remaining hand to his cheek. “You stay right here… with me… and we can both see where this goes. That’s it.”
Vincent regarded her for a while, not saying anything.
He was quiet so long that Yuffie started worry and her smile to fade away.
“Vincent?” she asked.
He gave a smile. “I didn’t leave, Yuffie.”
Yuffie beamed from ear to ear. She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed. In response, Vincent put his arms around her waist. Yuffie couldn’t have been more thrilled and Vincent felt a feeling that had been still very fleeting for him: happiness.
She released him and looked into his eyes and said, “So, I guess that means we’re what? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Dating? Two people who like each other? What?”
He put his right hand on Yuffie’s face and leaned in to kiss her.
As he kissed her, Yuffie became wide-eyed at this turn of events. She was almost didn’t realize it was happening. But, soon, she accepted the pleasure of the kiss, closing her eyes and kissing him back.
After a minute, Vincent ended the kiss and stood in front of Yuffie, keeping his hand on the side of her face and staring into her eyes. Yuffie smiled and lifted her hand up to grab hold of his.
“You talk too much,” Vincent said.
Yuffie giggled. “You’ll have to find ways to shut me up.”
Vincent chuckled.
“Two laughs in one day. I’d call that a good sign.”
“Yeah. But, now where do we go?”
Yuffie thought about it. “Hmm, we could…” She kept thinking then smiled, “Go on a date!”
Vincent rolled his eyes. “I’m in for a loud time, aren’t I?”
“You could always leave. First option’s still open.”
He shook his head. “It seems that first option… isn’t an option anymore.”
At this, she blushed and quickly turned away.
After a few seconds of blushing, she groaned, “Of all the guys, you would be only one to make me somewhat girly.” She turned back to him, “Rainy parade.”
“Noisy ninja.”
A witty comeback. A joke. From Vincent. Yuffie felt like she hit the materia lottery.
Vincent took her by the hand. “Thank you, Yuffie.”
Yuffie was going to make a smart remark but stopped herself from doing so and simply said, “You’re welcome, Vincent.”
They both walked off together. Neither of them knew where this new relationship would take them, but that made it even better. This was all new to them, leaving endless possibilities for the future. For Vincent, it meant that there was a future to walk to. With Yuffie next to him, it suddenly felt brighter than it had in a long time.