Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Dreams ❯ Two Different Worlds ( Chapter 49 )

A/N: Written in a slightly different style than usual, but that’s just how I am. I like to explore. I hope you enjoy!

Mediaminer.org Reviews:

ChessyKat: Well, the triplets have been mentioned, but vaguely. I don’t refer to them by name. They don’t play a big part in Shattered Dreams. So yeah, they are basically on hold until Shattered Children. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they snuck their way into a brief appearance in Shattered Traditions. Thanks!

(Voice in mind)
‘Internal voice’

Chapter 49: Two Different Worlds

It was odd that she should feel nervous. Nanaki was her friend. She didn’t normally fear anything… or even feel anything anywhere close to anxious. She was the Great Ninja Yuffie; she had helped take down Sephiroth, although admittedly he came back to life, but still, she had no fear! Or maybe the coiling and twisting in her gut was because of the slight listing of the airship.

Ulp!

She couldn’t really be sure but at the moment, Yuffie was starting to turn a little green and her knees wobbled. She hated flying. The ninja moaned and leaned forward, laying her suddenly aching head on the door to Nanaki’s room with a slight thump, trying to quell the sudden spinning motion that had begun in her vision. All thoughts of knocking and going inside were banished to the back of her mind as she struggled to merely keep down her rather large lunch of choco nuggets and ketchup.

She had been attempting to speak to her friend before this sudden bout of accursed nausea. She and Nanaki were presently on their way to Wutai, courtesy of one somewhat aggravated Cid, though she hadn’t the slightest reason why. The ninja had teased the pilot for a while, and he had gruffly tried to cuff her before a bout of airsickness had assailed her. She never did learn why he was so pissed or why Vinny was nowhere to be found, though Yuffie had a guess that the two were related.

After an hour, her sickness had abated, and she had sought out Nanaki, hoping to put him in a cheery mood with the return of his necklace, at least before they got to Wutai.

Yuffie remembered clearly her conversation with Archer and knew in her heart that he was in effect right about nearly everything. What did it matter what Nanaki looked like? So long as they could continue to be friends everything should work out, even if she had to push aside her deeper feelings for him. There were some things that she could dwell on and forever long for, but at the present moment, there simply wasn’t time for her to brood and gripe. Not with the world in danger. And it wasn’t as if she had lost him completely. Besides, their little group was both lucky and unlucky in the same instance. There was a good chance he would be human again.

There was a startling sort of clear fear in that fact as well… because if he did became a human once more, she would again be facing the heart-rending truth that she still couldn’t be with him because of that damn engagement! She’d rather have Nanaki in his lion form than be with that Uryuu Douwe! Ugh, just the thought of him made her scowl deeper, which promptly made her stomach turn again. She choked down the rising nausea.

Gawd, that old man needed to pilot better.

Yuffie knew without a shadow of a doubt that somewhere along the way her feelings for her best friend had surpassed general friendliness and had driven into deeper, darker waters. What chance did they have after all? So what if he was the one who understood her? What could she do if he was the one that made her heart leap and her skin go all tingly? She was fated to marry someone else and spend the rest of her life in boring ignominy, rotting away as a lady over a country she wouldn’t really get to lead herself.

That just pissed her off.

And dammit if her dreams weren’t haunted by things that could never be. She wanted Nanaki, and she knew that much when every time he kissed her. She trembled every time she even thought about it. The only reason she had withdrawn was because she was afraid: of what her father would say, of what she might do… of what he might do. And in a way, it was the worst choice Yuffie knew she could have made. It had sent the entirely wrong message to her friend, and now, she was trying to make up for it by returning the broken but now repaired chain.

That was… as soon as the floor stopped moving and her stomach quit performing flip-flops, twisting into an undoable knot. Another moan escaped her lips as she closed her eyes and tried to relax. She attempted to pretend that she was on solid ground, fighting or sparring, something easy.

A brief click was her only warning, the sound barely registering in the back of her mind. The door suddenly swung inwards. Yuffie was caught off balance, as well as dizzy from being sick. Her arms pin wheeled, her eyes snapped open, and she tumbled inside… only to land on something warm, furry, and slightly squishy. A familiar scent engulfed her, and without thought, she snuggled down into the cushion that caught her fall. Her nausea seemed to abate some although in the back of her mind, she registered just what – who – she had landed on top of.

“Yuffie?” Nanaki asked quizzically, nuzzling the suddenly motionless ninja with his nose. She made an unidentifiable noise.

“Mmm…. warm,” she murmured in response, a teasing grin trying to force its way onto her face, despite her efforts to remain impassive.

The lion wolf chuckled lightly and playfully flicked her with his tail, the fire giving her a startle but not leaving any harm. Yuffie yelped and leapt up, rubbing at her thigh and pretending to scowl at him.

“Nanaki,” she whined. “Ya didn’t have to burn me.”
He laughed again, sitting back on his haunches to look up at her. “You fell on me,” he accused simply. “Was there a reason you were sleeping on my door?”

To her horror and greater embarrassment, Yuffie felt a slight blush creep into her cheeks. Her hand unconsciously went to her pocket, patting the chain that seemed like it was trying to burn a hole through her nearly indecent shorts. Nanaki cocked his head to the side as he studied her, finding it slightly amusing to startle the ninja from her normally unshakable footing.

“Yes!” she answered quickly, perhaps a bit too much so. “There was, in fact, a reason I was at your door.” She nodded her head, flushing again at his amused stare as he waited for her to finish. “I wanted to give you something before we landed at Wutai.” She paused and put a finger to her chin. “If I remember correctly, Cid screamed something about it would be in a little over an hour or so… That was before he kicked me out of the cockpit. Something’s up with him.”

The lion wolf nodded intently as he rose and moved further into the room, away from the still open doorway and the prying ears of anyone else who would be listening. Yuffie followed his lead, closing the door behind her and again patting the necklace in her pocket.

“I am not certain which statement I want to tackle first.” Nanaki chuckled. “Hmm, a gift for me or Cid’s strange behavior?” His tail swished through the air, fire waving like a giant signal in front of her and momentarily distracting her. Yuffie’s mouth went suddenly dry.

“Let’s tackle that which has made the old man grumpy, first,” she expressed with a solid flare of her hand before appropriating the only chair in the room and planting herself down upon it. “You’d think now that he was finally getting some he wouldn’t be such of a moody old man!”

“Yuffie!” Nanaki admonished. “Such words from a child,” he teased before frowning as much as he was capable of doing. He leapt onto his bed, laying down slightly and putting his head on his paws as he regarded her. “Still, you are correct. Vincent is back, so why would Cid suddenly be all ‘frothed at the mouth’ so to speak?”

The ninja shrugged, idly twirling a hand about on the top of the table. “Maybe they had a fight? I don’t see Vinny around anywhere after all.” She frowned and kicked her legs out, trying to figure out what they had argued about. She sighed. “Stupid old men, always overcomplicating things.”

There was a quiet and manly chuckle in the back of her mind, and Barinthus was obviously amused by her statement. (Someone else I know likes to overcomplicate things,) he commented. (Such as your friendship with the Iyatokan.)

Yuffie cocked her head to the side without thinking, her brown eyes taking on a blue glow as she listened to Barinthus. ‘Iyatokan?’ she questioned, momentarily distracted from the original line of thought with the unfamiliar word.

Nanaki watched her intently curious but remained silent. He recognized the look in her eyes. Unlike the others, Yuffie hadn’t really got a hang of speaking to someone in her mind or carrying on an outward conversation as well. It was plainly obvious when Barinthus was speaking to her because she tended to forget she was talking to someone else as well. It was actually rather amusing.

Still, he wondered what the water god was saying.

(Yes,) Barinthus answered with a slight smile. (That is the name of Nanaki’s tribe. The Iyatoka… or did you not know?) He frowned when she shook her head, a motion that made Nanaki smile. (You should ask Suzaku more about this; she is more learned than I am. After all, she is their patron.) He paused, seeming to think for a moment before chuckling loudly. (I suppose she was too excited about her animum bond to even think that he did not know.)

“Wow!” Yuffie said aloud. She turned surprised eyes on her companions. “Iyatoka… that’s the name of your clan!” she exclaimed excitedly. “Barinthus said so.” She paused. “He also said for you to ask Suzaku; she’ll know more.”

Nanaki blinked in surprise. “That is… out of nowhere…” he commented before turning inwards.

‘Is that true, Suzaku?’

Instantly, the warm presence within him flared brighter. He could always feel her with him, but Suzaku often left him to his own business and privacy. She didn’t intrude on his thoughts. He enjoyed her company but was infinitely glad she was not as vocal as some of the others. Suzaku was very perceptive.

(Mmm,) the phoenix murmured, thinking deeply. He could just see her lazily stretching and ruffling her feathers. (Yes, my fire child. She is correct. I give you my apologies. With Balaam and the Conclave, I had forgotten.)

Yuffie shrugged, momentarily distracting him. “You know how my mind works… I jump from one topic to the next.” She peered at him for a moment. “What did the old fireball say?”

“I am Iyatokan,” he answered before pausing, speaking to his demi-goddess as well. ‘What else do you know of me?’

(You are not the last of your kind. There are others; they are just in hiding.)

Nanaki was stunned, to say the least. He had always wanted to believe that there were others and that he wasn’t alone. In the end, practicality had won out. Nevertheless, the truth was there now. Suzaku would not lie to him.

“D… do you know… where?” he asked breathlessly, not even realizing he had spoken aloud until Yuffie looked at him quizzically. His heart thudded loudly in his chest and he swore his tail wagged with expectation. He almost didn’t dare breathe.

Suzaku smiled softly, endeared by her animus’ emotion. (Yes, my fire child, I do.)

Such a simple statement… yet, it brought a powerful response. All at once Nanaki beamed and had to hold back tears of joy. He gulped loudly, blinking rapidly as emotion flooded through him, nearly too quick to tell. His tail thumped on the bed before he could control himself.

“Nanaki?” Yuffie questioned aloud, confused by the strange flurry of emotions that crossed across his lupine features. She moved from her chair to sit on the bed next to him, threading her fingers through his soft, reddish-orange hair. He angled his head nearer to her touch before turning his gentle, amber gaze on her.

“My clan… Suzaku knows where they are.”

For a moment, Yuffie stiffened, another awful truth striking her. He was so happy… she could see it. At the prospect of finding others, she had never seen him so excited. What use would he have for her then? What would he need her friendship for when he would no longer be alone? She stifled a sigh and forced a smile onto her face, knowing above all things that she should at least be happy for him.

“I… that’s great, Aki,” she said quietly, offering him up a small smile.

“I’m not alone anymore,” Nanaki nearly whispered with another toothy grin on his face. “I might have more family, more kin!”

(Patience, Nanaki. There is not yet time now to go chasing after them. It takes much time to get to their hidden home, and you must worry about Balaam now,) Suzaku whispered gently. (After the battle is through, I will take you to them.)

The demi-beast nodded. “Of course, Suzaku. I understand.” He heaved a sigh of relief, his whole body nearly trembling with his excitement. To think, for forty-eight years and especially after the death of his mother, he thought himself alone, the last of a dying breed. Although he was treated well by those at Cosmo Canyon and Bugenhagen had loved him dearly, he could never shake the feeling that he belonged somewhere else. But now… it was almost too much to absorb.

“Well, we had better go find them, shouldn’t we?” Yuffie suggested, not having heard Suzaku’s words. Her speech was almost hesitant, her heart sinking at Nanaki’s phrase: “I’m not alone anymore.” Then what was she? Did he always feel alone even when they were together? What of their friendship? Did that not matter as well?

The feeling that she was about to lose something important to her came back with full force, pushing angrily at her emotions. She knew she was probably blowing it way out of proportion, but it was as if her feelings were beyond her control.

Nanaki shook his head, seemingly oblivious to the turmoil inside his best friend. “Until after Balaam is defeated, I won’t go looking. Afterwards though, I will.” He looked up at her. “You will come with me?” he questioned with a grin. “I am certain the Great Ninja Yuffie would be quite helpful.”

She was certain he didn’t mean it the way he said it, almost making her sound like a tool rather than his best friend. But although she was nearly positive he didn’t want to upset her, she was doing a good job of it on her own. She wanted to say no, to throw a tantrum and scream and yell about the unfairness of it all. She wanted to toss his words back in his face and break out into tears while fighting in a rage. Those emotions welled up so strongly inside of her, she was shocked at their intensity. But none of it came out. Instead, she smiled gently and nodded.

“Yeah. I wouldn’t let you down, Aki,” she assured him, again running her fingers through his hair.

He rumbled affectionately deep in his chest. “Didn’t you say you came here for a reason?” he questioned after a moment, finally switching their conversation back to her original visit.

Yuffie paused in her movements, staring at something unceasing as it seemed the necklace seemed to burn a hole in her pocket. She had nearly forgotten. With a slight sigh, the ninja stood to her feet, digging her hand deep into the pocket while Nanaki watched her curiously, immediately causing her to flush.

“Close your eyes,” she ordered, forcing a teasing note into her voice. “I want it to be a surprise.”

He gave her a baleful look before closing his eyes and obeying her. “You are so strange at times, Yuffie,” he commented with a shrug.

She ignored his comment, pulling out the newly fixed chain. It clinked in her hands, glinting prettily in the dim light from his room. The charm was bright and polished, the words on the back now plainly visible. For a moment, she felt foolish. The necklace was obviously a lover’s gift, and she was no lover… but she wouldn’t just throw it on the bed and walk out either. She might as well get it over with.

Taking a deep breath, she lifted up the amulet, placing it around his neck with her fingers lingering on the metal charm. It settled on his form with a faint weight before a light buzzing feeling worked from her fingers to her arm.

Yuffie frowned and cocked her head to the side in thought. “Strange,” she murmured as she pulled back.

He opened one eye. “Can I open them?” he said, then noticing her expression, changed his mind. “What is wrong?”

She shook her head. “Nothing,” Yuffie commented before gesturing towards the necklace. “So, what do you think?”

On cue, amber eyes turned downwards, recognizing the feel of the chain on his chest. He rose up on his haunches, using one of his fore legs to grasp the amulet and bring it up for inspection. But even as his gaze roamed over the newly polished charm… his entire body began to buzz and warm greatly, causing his limbs to tremble.

Yuffie’s eyes widened in surprise when he started to glow, the same reddish-white light that was so similar to his limit break… but not. She heard him gasp slightly moments before the light flared, becoming so bright she was forced to turn her head away lest she be blinded. The room was literally filled with the pressing of a light magic, buzzing about her tangibly. Something pulsed… once, twice until suddenly a surge of power echoed and the room went completely dark, even the lights snuffed out as effectively as if the switch had been thrown.

The ninja’s eyes flew open when she heard the sound of a thump, as if someone had fallen to the floor before the lights flickered and flared back to life. She turned and gasped, finding that instead of his Iyatokan form, Nanaki was now returned to his demi-human state, lying on the floor curled in a protective ball, seemingly unconscious.

It had to be… she was certain of it now. There was no other explanation. Yuffie was convinced that his transformations had to do with the amulet, though how it worked she had no clue.

Without wasting any time, she dropped to her knees, running her fingers lightly over the side of his face. Her irritation and sorrow from earlier vanished in light of her concern as he moaned lightly before opening his eyes, the startling bright golden orbs that she remembered glinting up at her. They were confused and a bit pained but infinitely clear, and she offered him up a nervous smile. His body twitched as he attempted to move, a realization striking him. His gaze turned to hers, questioning and she confirmed it with a nod.

“I think I understand it… partly,” Yuffie commented quietly as he struggled to a sitting position. It wasn’t easy shifting from one body to the next for him, and sometimes it could be quite painful. His bones either lengthened or shortened, depending on which, and he had to deal with the greater strength in his demi-human body, adjusting to the new attributes and abilities he could only access in that form as well.

He chuckled dryly, though his face had no humor. “At least one of us does then,” Nanaki commented, shaking his head. He ran a slightly trembling hand through his orangish-red locks as he propped himself on one hand, faintly taloned fingers catching on a few snags. It was then that both he and the ninja realized that she was still leaning over him, her hand on the side of his face.

Flushing brightly, they separated, Yuffie quickly retracting her disobedient hand. She glared at the appendage as if it had done so on its own accord. In fact, she seemed so serious that Nanaki couldn’t help but laugh, despite his irritation at having transformed again without understanding the cause.

“What?” she demanded, giving him a baleful glare.

He rolled his eyes at her. “Your hand does not have a mind of its own,” he teased gently. “I assure you, the control is all yours, even when it comes to nice and shiny orbs of materia.”

She flushed even deeper than, nearly to the roots of her hairs as she playfully punched him. “That’s not fair,” the ninja whined, not really sure what she was talking about. “And here I was trying to pretend nothing happened again.” The words slipped from her mouth faster than she could prevent them, her lips again preceding her thoughts. The mood instantly shifted from slightly playful to downright tense.

Nanaki immediately frowned, a slightly downcast and sorrowful looking taking over his features as his gaze dropped to the floor and he shifted his stance. He brought one knee up to his chest as he leaned forward on it, draping an arm across it as if he were protecting himself.

“Of course,” he commented.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” inserted Yuffie hastily, that disobedient hand of hers reaching out to lay itself gently on his arm. “I’m just--” Her mind, which usually causes her mouth to speak without thinking, for once could not come up with the proper words.

“--confused,” he finished for her, finally raising his eyes so that their gazes could lock. “I know,” admitted the demi-human. “I am, too. It was easy to say back then that we would just take it as it goes, but this damn thing…” He gestured vaguely towards his body referring to the transformations. “It just doesn’t even operate on the same wavelength as us.” He paused, and his gaze shifted to stare at the wall, cheeks coloring slightly as he considered what he was about to say, but Yuffie was his closest friend, the person he foremost trusted now that Bugenhagen was gone. Suzaku didn’t count; she was an entirely different matter. He was certain that the ninja wouldn’t laugh at him, though she would probably be just as embarrassed.
“I would get used to be a human, or near to one anyways. Enough so, that I would begin to think like one, to want like one…” It was hard for him to say, and he knew it would only make it more difficult if he locked eyes with her, so he remained staring at the plain whitewash wall, though his every instinct screamed for him to look into those brown orbs. “But then I changed again, and it all came crashing down… the truth of what I really was… and what could never be.”

Yuffie gulped over a lump in her throat, the pure sorrow in her friends tone and the way he refused to meet her eyes enough to cause her to feel as if she were going to cry. She bit back the sobs, however, as she struggled to find the words to say. Or perhaps it wasn’t in her to be that encouraging and tactful. Maybe it would be better if she was just herself and blurted out the nonsense.

“I was fooled, too,” she jumped in. “I… I started to believe the same things,” the ninja added in a much softer voice. “That’s why I kinda distanced myself from you for a little while there.” She rubbed a hand through her hair in a shame-faced manner. “The necklace was admittedly a ‘forgive me’ present.”

He smiled faintly, looking up at her with an unidentifiable emotion shining in his eyes. “You didn’t need to apologize,” he said. “I did the very same thing.” He lowered his gaze again, however, resisting the strange and sudden urge to kiss her. Something, he couldn’t do in his beast form. Well, he supposed that he could… but he didn’t even want to consider the dynamics of that. Still, perhaps it was just societal stigma, but he refused to force her to make that sort of decision.

There was a moment of silence between them, not really tense and uncomfortable, just quiet as both were caught in their internal musings considering the newest turn of events. It was brought to Yuffie’s attention that she still had not divulged her discovery.

“I think I know what’s causing the transformations,” suggested Yuffie. She furrowed her brow, reaching forward to rub her fingers over the charm on the flamel necklace, the soft and cool chains clinking in her touch. “It’s this.”

Nanaki raised a brow, using his free hand to take the amulet from her grasp as he considered it. “This?” questioned the demi-human, turning it over and over as he looked at it, finally noticing that the necklace was bright and shiny like it hadn’t been before.

The dirt had been cleaned off, and what was this? An inscription? He peered thoughtfully at it.

Yuffie nodded as he perused the necklace. “It’s the only connection. You changed to Iyatokan when it broke and back to a demi-human when you put it on again.” She put a hand to her chin in consideration as her mind began to run free. “The only thing I can’t figure is exactly what triggers it other than the amulet. Because, obviously, the first time you wore it, you didn’t change. Something had to have happened, but what? There is a missing link here, I am sure of it, but I just don’t know what it is.”
“Yuffie?”

But she ignored him, still hypothesizing aloud as her brow furrowed. He shook his head, thinking she looked just a bit cute in her ‘thinking’ mode.

“It’s strange if you think about the shape, you know a flamel? No one seems to know what they really stands for. Bugenhagen had said something about alimony… No, that’s not it. Architec- No, that’s not it, either.”

“Yuffie!” he said a bit louder.

She blinked owlishly before returning his gaze to her. “What?” asked the ninja innocently.

He laughed, waving a hand at her. “You went off on your own there for a minute, the idea of another quest making you forget all about me.”

Yuffie reddened again, the warm flush spreading across her cheeks. “Oops, sorry… were you trying to ask me something?”

Nanaki nodded, flipping the amulet around so that she could see the back of it and tapping the inscription with one clawed finger. “Have you seen this?”

“Yeah, when I asked Archie to fix it for me. He pointed it out. One of the names seems to be Wutaiian.”

“That’s what I noticed.” He sighed. “I wish I knew what it all meant.”

The ninja agreed heartily. “We’ll be landing in Wutai soon,” she idly commented, switching topics. When he hmm’ed in understanding, she uneasily broached the topic. “So…. are we alright now?”

All right? Nanaki couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever feel that way. His emotions were twirling and swirling inside of him. He wanted, but he couldn’t have. He desired, but it was beyond his reach. And now, they were headed for her home, where her father would coax and wheedle her once more. She would become stressed. They would argue, and she would possibly storm out again. Her fiancé was there, too.

Nanaki had to resist the urge to growl.

Yet, they were friends. Between them, they at least had that much.

“Yes,” he nodded. “We are.”

Yuffie smiled softly. Truth… smacking them always like some bitter taste to a sweet fruit or a train on a rush-hour day. She wanted to kiss him, too, though she wasn’t sure where that sudden desire came from. Still, seeing him in his demi-human form brought back all those feelings that she had struggled earlier to suppress. Archer’s words reverberated in her mind.

Well, not all adults were right. There were just some things that couldn’t be… no matter how much she wanted them. And having Nanaki as more than a friend was one of those.

“Good.”

Another moment of silence, soft ticking of the clock on the wall until Nanaki cleared his throat. “Hey, Yufs?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for the necklace.”

She blushed, unable to help it, considering what the inscription read. “You’re welcome, Aki. Anytime.”

***

Twenty minutes later found the two friends watching their ride fly away into the distance, surly and distempered pilot barely able to give away a farewell. Truthfully, it was more or less like they were dumped out onto the ground at Wutai with Cid barely putting the ship in hover-mode long enough for them to climb out safely. He hadn’t even seemed to notice that Nanaki had changed back.

But given his mood, Yuffie couldn’t even find it in her to tease him or call him “old man.” He was almost scary… kind of like Reeve when he got pissed off. The President was more dangerous than Sephiroth during those times and usually Reno got the brunt of it. Poor guy.

Exchanging glances, the ninja taking a deep and calming breath, the two companions began to head towards her home, the edges of the city not far. Even from the distance, they could still see the remains of the two attacks, a fact which made Yuffie feel slightly guilty that she had not been there to help.

Nanaki must have sensed her mood because he gave her a look from the corner of his eye. “It couldn’t be helped,” he commented.

She sighed. “Yeah, I know. Still, it’s my home.”

He nodded in understanding. He felt the same general emotion of helplessness when he had come across his own home, burned and destroyed. “What do you think you’re father’s going to say?” he questioned.

Yuffie frowned. “About what?”

“About everything, I suppose.” He shrugged, not sure himself.

“I’ll tell you what dear old father would say,” came a voice from behind the two, “He would say that he is disappointed the princess has yet to become a bride.”

Yuffie froze and narrowed her eyes, irritation immediately filling her to the brim. She knew that voice, unfortunately, and knew it all to well. It was her fiancé.

Uryuu Douwe.

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A/N: Ehn… somewhat of a short chapter. But then, if I added in all the other stuff it would be too long. Oh, well.

Review please!