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Empress & Concubine	By : tinkerheck Category: Final Fantasy VII > General Views: 1952 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII from the Final Fantasy Universe, or any of its forms or related media. I do not own these characters. I spent money to learn about this series, and I make no money in borrowing it.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
++++++++ Please see disclaimer & story notes in chapter one ++++++++
++++++++ chapter notes ++++++++
Do you recall the squicky medical happenings I mentioned in chapter one’s notes? Well, you have been warned. Twice now. :)
I fly beta-less. Please forgive the typos.
As always, thanks for reading!

+

Empress & Concubine

Chapter Six

~~Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines~~

err… I mean

~~The Miracles of Modern Science~~

um.

Marco! Hymen! Polo! Hymen!

+

True to his word, Vincent Valentine was the first person to step out of the Shinra helicopter that landed on the Palace’s landing pad the following morning. Also present was Rufus Shinra, corporate smile firmly in place and all the proper, albeit dishonest, papers in hand. One Turk and two members of the WRO stepped out, and they began conversing with Yuffie’s staff. Moving fast, they picked up luggage and other containers with traveling necessities and began loading everything on the helicopter.
A ninja dispatch was sent to the council – as nothing more than an act of good faith, considering they were all probably still asleep – with Rufus’ papers. With any luck, they’d all be in the air before Yuffie would be forced to confront a Council Elder or anyone else.
Yuffie hugged Vincent as soon as he was within her reach, and while the man was somewhat startled, Reno noticed he did no less than hug her back. The Turk was coming up behind them, having powered down the helicopter until everything was safely loaded. He hung back politely, more out of respect for giving Yuffie her moment with Vincent, rather than an act of obeying royal protocol.
Why start now?
He suppressed a grin, trying not to think about all the things he’d done to her lithe, fun little body, and how much he was going to miss that if Valentine continued to display such interest.
I can back off. I really should back off…
Yuffie thanked Vincent for relaying her message, and kissed his cheek. She thanked Rufus as well, who followed protocol to the letter, bowing before her. Yuffie smirked, outstretched her hand, and Reno’s boss kissed her knuckles politely, addressing her with her formal title and a sly smile on his handsome face. Reno rolled his eyes.
“Turk!” Yuffie yelped, the moment Reno stepped past Rufus and she saw him. She jumped towards him, and he caught her, picking her up off the ground and hugging her tight. He closed his eyes, grateful her head was still attached to her body.
But when he didn’t say anything, she pulled back to look at his face. “Reno?”
He set her back on down on her feet and gave her a pained look. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
“Oh, heh. Yeah…” Yuffie swallowed hard, and looked away from them all, cheeks turning pink. “About that…”
“Shiva’s tits, Yuffie!” Reno barked. “I coulda got you killed!”
“Reno.” The Turk looked over at Rufus, who was not pleased. “You and the Empress can talk about that later, yes?”
“Yes, as in when we are airborne. Let’s get moving,” Chekov barked, clearly anxious to get Yuffie in the air and on to whatever miracle it was that Reeve Tuetsi had to offer her. She turned away from them all to approach Shake, who was appeared to be standing guard at the platform’s doorway.
When Rufus gestured towards the helicopter, Yuffie nodded and took the arm he offered.
“So. What’s the big plan, Mr. Shinra?”
Rufus noticed how hard she was trying to make light of the situation. He heard the nervousness in her voice, though, as it was not very well hidden behind her usual mirth. He smiled down at her softly. “I’m afraid decorum prevents me from openly discussing such a thing with any lady, let alone you, Empress. I ask that you wait to get the details from Tuetsi.”
“Sounds pretty ominous, dude. Yer makin’ me nervous.”
He laughed lightly. “You have every right to be. But I assure you, we will solve your problem.”
Just as Reeve requested, Yuffie’s traveling companions consisted of one Wutai high priest, whose name was Oleg, and a ninja bodyguard. Shake selected him personally, a quiet and dependable man in his forties named Hiroyuki, who was one of his best and most experienced ninjas. They followed behind Yuffie closely, and Vincent and Reno followed behind them.
That left Chekov, who was still talking with Shake. No longer trusting Yuffie’s safety to anyone, Vincent watched them closely out of the corner of his eyes. Chekov accepted a small wrapped package from Shake, who seemed to be looking at Reno. The leader of the Wutai ninja looked back at the councilwoman, and they shared a few more words. After nodding at each other with tight expressions, Chekov turned on her heel to make her way back to Yuffie’s group.
No sooner had Chekov started towards them when the ninja who was sent with Rufus’ travel papers burst through the door. Vincent stopped suddenly and pivoted, his hand going to Cerberus. Reno said “Hey,” just loud enough for them all to hear, and they turned as a group to watch the door.
“Dammit to hell,” Yuffie whispered.
Less than minute after the ninja, Ginto Shinshuro and one of the Council Elders appeared. They were both in their pajamas and robes, and the General looked none too happy.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Shinshuro said, his voice like steel.
“Reno, go get the bird fired up. Now.” Rufus said under his breath.
“You got it.”
As Reno walked casually towards the helicopter, not even looking back, the high priest and the ninja followed him without a word. Shake came astride Shinshuro, walking right next to the General as he stomped over to Yuffie and her guests. He glanced at Shake, and foolishly dismissed Yuffie’s Sensei out-of-hand.
“General Shinshuro,” Rufus beamed, stepping past Yuffie and in front of Vincent, hand outstretched, smiling that perfectly diplomatic smile of his. “How nice to see you again!” Shinshuro stopped short, eyeing the hand before him, until he took it and shook it once, then let go of it like it was an infectious germ.
“Empress, just where do you think you are going?” he barked, rudely looking past Rufus.
Vincent edged just enough to his right, placing himself in Shinshuro’s line of vision, blocking the man from looking at Yuffie. Shinshuro narrowed his eyes at the gunslinger.
“Did you not get the papers, sir? Everything is quite in order.” Rufus practically oozed tact.
“Give me those damn papers,” he hissed at the Elder. Shinshuro grabbed them from the Elder’s hand, and paused, looking them over. “Ah, yes. The Empress is invited to tour your… newly installed Grasslands Farming Co-Ops. What exactly is that and why should she see it?”
Yuffie pushed past Vincent and came around to stand in front of Rufus, clearly angry.
“Who the hell do you think you are?”
Behind them, the helicopter’s engines started. Shinshuro looked at the machine briefly, then back at Yuffie.
“I am General Ginto Shinshu–”
“You’re a soldier in Our army, that’s what you are!”
“Empress, I am only concerned for yo–”
“Insolence!” she bellowed in his face. Startled, he backed up a step, but she just kept coming at him. “You are here because you think you can tell Us what to do,” she said through her teeth, poking him hard in the chest, knowing how much that would piss him off.
But Yuffie knew she could get away with it, too. If Shinshuro so much as laid an unwanted fingertip on her, Shake and the other ninja would relieve him of the burden of his hand, and they’d be well within their rights to do so, General or not. He was overstepping his bounds with her, and they all knew it.
Dismembering his hand didn’t even come close to the thoughts Vincent Valentine was entertaining. Galian, who did not have much use for diplomacy, grew agitated.
Pull this insect’s spleen out through his mouth, already. You have my approval.
Clearly, Yuffie had had enough. She was getting tired of Shinshuro preying on her insecurities, and the arrival of her friends, prompt as promised, had bolstered her confidence.
“How dare you embarrass the Kisaragi house in front of Our guests! Do you always flirt so dangerously with such impertinence towards the crown, General?”
The Elder next to Shinshuro gasped and fell to one knee. Before he bowed his face, Yuffie recognized him as the last Elder to join the Movement’s side. Yuffie glanced at the nearly-prostrate man, then cocked an eyebrow at Shinshuro expectantly.
Never taking his shark-like eyes off of her face, Shinshuro lowered himself to one knee.
“My apologies, Empress. I was merely concerned for your safety, but I see now that I was truly out of line.”
She continued to glare at him, until, defeated, he dropped his eyes and looked at the ground.
“See to it that you remember your place the next time you feel so inclined to offer Us your counsel.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Vincent was grateful that his cloak, yet again, hid his smile.
Can we try kissing her later? Please?
Yuffie looked at Shake, who winked at her. She gave him a tiny, satisfied smile, and grabbed Rufus’ arm again, hauling him towards the helicopter. Shinshuro and the Elder remained kneeling, lest they break another rule, and they stayed like that until the helicopter was flying away from Wutai.
+
This was a Shinra diplomatic transport, and as such it had more seating room in the passenger area than their usual helicopters, but Yuffie could still see the weaponry stowed on board. It gave her an odd sense of comfort.
After they were all buckled in, Rufus, who sat next to their guest of honor, noticed the slightly wild look in Yuffie’s eyes and looked down to see that her hands were shaking. He leaned over and placed his palm, large and dry, on her thin, cold fingers.
“That was impressive,” he said into his head set, unconcerned that the entire transport could hear their conversation. “Are you all right?”
Yuffie shrugged, trying to blow off what she’d just done. “I just don’t like flying is all. Makes me puke.”
Rufus knew better, but he remained expectedly polite. “Of course, Empress,” he said, and handed her an airsickness bag.
+
They were now at the WRO HQ, talking in Reeve’s office. After explaining the plan to Yuffie and Chekov privately, Reno and Vincent were invited back into his office – prompting Reeve and the Councilwoman to leave quickly, so that Yuffie could be the one to pass the yucky details on to her friends.
Chicken shits, Yuffie thought bitterly. Could’ve used the support, Puppet-boy.
“I’m gonna ask you again, Yuffie. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“Calm down, Reno.” Vincent turned to look at Yuffie with his arms crossed. He was clearly pissed off. That fact that he cared so much was doing odd things to Yuffie’s stomach. Odd, nice things…
“Because I wasn’t about to let some long-forgotten, sexist royal expectation stop me, Reno,” she sighed. “I still intend to have a life, here – even if I am in charge of a nation.”
Reno sucked in a breath, intending to give her another piece of his mind, when Vincent put a hand on his arm and stopped him. Reno looked down at the gauntlet on his sleeve, curled his lip, then looked Vincent in the eyes. There was no malice there, thankfully, but the look on Vincent’s face was enough to make the Turk think better of his rant, so he shut up.
Letting go of the redhead’s arm, Vincent continued. “Yuffie, I have to agree with Reno. Every time you turn around, you’ve got more bad news about what Ginto Shinshuro has done or is planning to do to you. How do you expect to pass a purity test?”
Yuffie was about to answer when Reno interrupted again. “Yuffie, you said they can behead you for this! We banged each other almost non-stop for three months after your coronation!”
She tried not to notice how Vincent’s fists clenched when Reno had spoken. She tried, but oh gods she noticed. She took a few breaths and made sure Vincent was not about to start a fistfight before she offered her explanation.
“Telling you about it would not have changed a single thing,” she sighed. “Look, we knew this was a possibility… many of the ancient, outdated rules regarding royalty haven’t been addressed. Popular opinion in Wutai just became the norm, and some of the written laws were never officially overturned to reflect that. So these laws are, technically, still in place. Wutai’s been so caught up in dealing with Shinra the last few decades that we didn’t bother with internal debates on royal lineage rules. No one cared.”
She sat down, looking weary. “Godo believed that was probably when the Movement began taking shape. They saw it as an opening for their future. As long as you have the actual documentation, however old the paper or unpopular the ruling, you can still make it stick. This particular gem was held up as law, what, back when we were still carrying clubs around? Before we could even write it down, probably. Ironic isn’t it…” Yuffie paused, huffing bitterly. “Up until Godo, Wutai has always been led by Empresses, but long ago even they were still considered property. Anyhow… supposedly the scroll was lost for good and I really didn’t think Shinshuro’d find the fucking thing. But, he did.”
Vincent nodded his head, listening intently to the information, but Reno continued to seethe until he burst. “Great, so the asshole’s got the option of diggin’ up every moldy Wutainian law that can even get a blood – no, excuse me, the blood royal’s head chopped off? You cannot pass this one, sweetheart. Or haven’t you noticed that you are no longer a virgin?!”
Everything went still in Reeve’s posh office before Vincent Valentine’s soft, dark voice finally broke the silence.
“Pink Rose. Still quite singular, but no longer white.”
Yuffie tried to laugh at Vincent’s joke, but between Reeve’s solution, the drama on the landing pad and the airsickness, she was already whipped. “That’s sweet, Vinnie. Really.” She looked up at him with a watery smile on her face. It was nearly imperceptible, but a look of affection crossed Vincent’s features while he stared back at her.
Reno fell uncharacteristically quiet then, noticing the silent exchange between the two.
Like a bucket of cold water tossed on his chest, he suddenly realized that despite the fact that he and Yuffie loved each other, and he had a working, intimate knowledge of her entire physical being, he was slightly jealous of Vincent Valentine. It wasn’t about sex, or even the romance thing… It was simply their relationship. He knew he’d never have the bond with Yuffie that Valentine had – has, actually, he reminded himself, because it was quite clear to him the connection was still there. And apparently no argument, separation, infidelity or time could ever touch it.
He was shook out of his reverie when Yuffie’s voice brought him back to the situation at hand.
“…whether I like it or not, okay? I’d rather just shove it in Ginto’s ugly mug that I’m not a virgin anymore, and go live with that ha ha you motherfucker. But… there’s that losing my head thing, y’know? Anyway… Reeve has a solution.” She cleared her throat. “Provided the damn council doesn’t go too overboard with their inspection, I will pass for a virgin.”
Reno winced.
Vincent narrowed his eyes at her. “How? It’s been awhile since Human Anatomy, but I do remember reading that a hymen cannot, does not grow back.”
“Not inside me, no. Not on my own. But they’ve taken a sample from me, and they are already growing a simulation in the lab here. It’ll be held in place with glue made from my own blood, so the chance of rejection is pretty small. As long as we time this right, it will even break like the real deal if Shinshuro decides to fuck me on our wedding night.”
Both men paled, glancing at each other when she mentioned the General having sex with her. They knew it could only happen by coercion.
“If he… Look, if I have to go that far, there will even be a little bit of blood. I’ll add in a few tortured cries, and I won’t even have to act the I’ve-never-done-this-before-and-I’m-not-having-fun part. It’ll be convincing.”
“And painful, too, no doubt. Very convincing,” Vincent drawled, clearly unhappy with the plan.
She pursed her lips and glared at him for being difficult. “Either way, I’ll pass.” Yuffie straightened her back and tilted her chin up, looking every bit the royal. “For the greater good of Wutai.”
After a moment, Vincent hn’d disgustedly and Reno palmed his face. “I’m going to throw up,” the redhead muttered.
“Reeve has arranged for it to be, ah… installed the day after tomorrow, which should be just enough time for things to gel down there and be perfectly intact when the purity test takes place. And, obviously, you and I will not be having any fun during my visit here, Reno.”
Vincent closed his eyes and shook his head.
“I’m going to throw up,” Reno repeated.
“You already said that. I may be joining you. Yuffie,” Vincent paused, grasping her wrist gently so that she’d look up at him. “This had better be worth it. Wutai had better be worth it.”
She bit her lower lip and stared at him, tears threatening. She glanced at Reno, who instantly felt guilty for having yelled at her.
“I can’t promise you that. All I know is that there are many miserable Wutai who love their country and are afraid of the Movement, just like me. They would want me to try.”
Summing up the situation as only he could, Reno spat, “This fucking sucks.”
+
Outside of his office, Reeve asked Chekov and the high priest if they were hungry after the trip, and informed them of the lovely meal he had planned for them all.
“Nothing like good food and wonderful company to lift one’s spirits,” he said, eyes twinkling.
Chekov looked at Oleg, who nodded.
“Yes. Well. We have something else in mind that will lift our spirits considerably more, President Tuetsi.”
Chekov’s voice was quite stern, to Reeve’s surprise. Whenever Yuffie had mentioned her in the past, it was always about how kind she was to the young girl, practically a substitute mother. He had to keep reminding himself that circumstances in Wutai were changing fast, and not always for the best. The current threat to Yuffie’s head was making them all very tense.
“If there is anything I can offer you, Madame Chekov, you have simply to name it. And please, call me Reeve, would you?”
Chekov nodded, narrowing her eyes speculatively.
“Hiroyuki,” she said in Wutai, looking at the ninja that had accompanied them. “Stay put. You, or Valentine, or that Turk are always to be within reach of the Empress. Got it?”
The ninja simply nodded.
“Can the three of us speak privately somewhere, Presi- ah, Reeve?”
Reeve smiled at her. “Right this way.”
+
Reno stared down at Yuffie through the observation windows of the operating theater. She was laying on a gurney, just slightly woozy from the drugs in her IV, being prepped for hymenorrhaphy surgery. Hiroyuki was in the room, looking odd in scrubs instead of his ninja silks, but still perfectly in place as he stayed out of the medical staff’s way while remaining within ten feet of the Empress.
The Turk saw Yuffie’s head loll over to look up at the windows, where she saw everyone watching the proceedings, and smiled lazily.
Reno exhaled, closing his eyes and leaning on the thick glass.
“I’ll think about it Reeve, okay? That’s all I can promise you,” he said quietly.
“Well, think quickly.”
Reno exhaled again. “Yeah, yeah.”
Rufus stroked his chin with his finger thoughtfully. “If it’s your prominent position in the Turks that you are worried about, don’t be. Nothing will change. It will just be considered an especially long assignment.”
He eyed the both of them as they looked at him expectantly. Then he focused past them, down the circular hall to where Chekov was talking quietly with Oleg and Vincent. Reno scowled, his thoughts racing.
Fuck.
“Lemme go talk to Yuffie for a minute.”
+
Lightly stoned on really good drugs, Yuffie snickered rudely when she saw Reno leaning over her in the OR, wearing a surgical gown and holding a facemask to his mouth.
He rolled his eyes, and spoke to the other occupants of the room.
“She got some time yet?” he asked one of the nurses.
“Yes.”
“Give us a minute alone, willya? And turn off the damn mics in here.”
The nurses checked her vitals one last time, then switched off the microphones that connected the operating theater to the observatory above. Hiroyuki nodded once at Reno, then followed the surgeon and the nurses back into the scrub room.
When Reno was absolutely sure they were alone, he looked down at Yuffie.
“How you doin’ Yuffs?”
“Pffffft… I feel fine, Turkey.”
Reno smiled. “Yeah, I’ll just bet you do. Listen, I wanna ask you something.”
“Okay!”
She’s looped, which isn’t fair of me. But at least she won’t be able to lie.
“How do you feel about me?”
“I’m crazy about you. Yer just great.”
He nodded. “Feeling’s mutual, babe. And how do you feel about Valentine?”
“I’m in lo…” she began, then stopped. She gazed up at Reno. Apparently she wasn’t as stoned as he had hoped. “Whaz this, Reno?”
“He’s really concerned about you.”
“Yeah,” she said, blinking slowly. “So’s everybody. What’re you talkin’ bout?”
Reno shut his eyes tight for a second, then said, very carefully, “Just let me bow out gracefully, before I change my mind, okay?”
“Reno… What?”
“Nevermind, Yuffie. Everything’s gonna be all right, I promise.” Breaking the rules the nurses had barked at him when he’d first entered the operating room, Reno pulled his mask away just long enough to kiss Yuffie’s forehead quickly. Then he looked up at the observation windows, not at all surprised that everyone was scowling at him.
Yuffie’s voice sounded confused when she spoke again. “Hey… I love you. You know that Reno… right?”
Reno looked back down at her. “Of course I do, Yuffie. I love you, too.”
“So… I’ll seeya when I wake up? Right?”
He smiled softly at her, then left the room.
When he was back in the main hallway, Reno tore off the surgical gown and crammed it and the mask in a laundry bin, swearing under his breath. By the time he got back up to the observation deck, the nurses and the surgeon were back in the operating room. One of the nurses was cleaning Yuffie’s forehead off with an antiseptic towel. He pitched the towel when he was finished, then looked up to the windows with a disgusted expression directed at Reno.
Reno stood next to Vincent, looking down at Yuffie. The girl was smiling again, and she looked up at Reno for a moment before her dopey eyes slid to, and then settled on, Vincent Valentine. She was relaxed, which was because of the drugs, of course, but there was more to it than that. She looked downright unconcerned as her gaze lingered on Vincent. Reno glanced at Vincent, but the gunslinger’s eyes were locked to Yuffie’s.
“I have a proposition for you,” Reno said to him, voice tight but determined.
+
When Yuffie woke up from the anesthesia, she heard a woman’s voice asking her if she was all right. She immediately responded by asking for Reno.
“That the cute redhead? I’m sorry honey, but he’s not here. He asked me to tell you that he had to leave, something he had to do for Shinra.”
Before Yuffie could express her disappointment, the surgeon entered the room.
He was a young man in his mid-twenties, very manicured and handsome. He glanced at Hiroyuki, who was standing like a menacing stone swathed in black silk in the corner of Yuffie’s room. He stared right back at the surgeon, unblinking. The surgeon cleared his throat, then muttered something along the lines of went smoothly, success, be careful, best of luck, then he left as quickly as he’d entered.
“Isn’t he a fresh breeze?” the nurse quipped, looking at the door the surgeon had just exited through. “Genius, of course, but… no personality whatsoever.”
Yuffie lifted her head and looked down at herself, only to find she couldn’t move her torso. Or her legs.
“Uhh… Why am I strapped in?”
“Hmm? Oh, it’s all right. Don’t be upset, Empress.” Yuffie looked from her to Hiroyuki, who recognized his Empress’ anxiety and nodded at her confidently. Relieved, she put her head back down on the pillow and exhaled slowly.
“It’s just your friends said you get fidgety when you are bored, and we can’t have that right now. You need to remain immobile for this to work. So we took the liberty of restraining you. And now I’m gonna give you more pain meds, so you’ll go back to sleep.” She stroked Yuffie’s head in a comforting manner. “By the way, everything took perfect. All you need is a good night’s sleep and a day of rest, and your new hymen should stick.”
“So, yer in on it too?” Yuffie said, looking up at the middle-aged woman.
“Honey, I’m one-eighth Wutain. And I hate the fucking Movement. That’s enough, right?”
Yuffie felt the push as it entered her drip, and it was like the food of the Gods themselves. “One-eighth… mmm-hmm… thassanuff…” she paused. “So, as one a my peeps, do you think I did the right thing?
The nurse smiled down at her relaxed face. “Yeah, you did the right thing. We can’t have you getting beheaded, so you must pass the purity test, and you will, now… I’d just rather you didn’t let that bastard touch you, young lady. You are the Empress. There are still options. You don’t have to have relations with him, you know?”
“…I know it.”
“Besides… take heart. There is a group of rather impressive people outside this very room, right now, who aim to keep you safe.” The nurse adjusted the drip and pushed a little more.
“Oh fuck that feels good…”
The nurse tucked her in. “Nice, isn’t it?” She grinned, pushing the hair back from Yuffie’s forehead. “I’ll tell you what,” she whispered, “I’m considering getting a new cherry myself.” Yuffie snickered.
When the woman reached the door of Yuffie’s room, she turned. Bowing low, she spoke in hushed tones, in Wutai.
“It’s been an honor, Your Highness.”
Yuffie managed a sleepy, “Thank you,” then let the sweet darkness of Demerol take her again.
+
You do want to take it… Don’t you?
Galian sounded positively unsure of himself. While Vincent found that amusing, he didn’t answer.
He pushed open the door to Reeve’s office and strode in, brusque and unannounced. Chekov and Oleg were there, sitting on a comfortable-looking couch, but Vincent didn’t bother with pleasantries.
“The bodyguard position. I’ll be taking it.”
He turned and left the room.
Reeve’s mouth hung open for a moment, then he closed it pointedly. He looked at Chekov and smiled happily.
“Oh, good,” she said, sounding relieved. “I liked that Reno boy well enough, but that one scares me.”
+
“I, Vincent Valentine, do promise and swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Kisaragi Yuffie, Empress of all Wutai, and to her Royal House. I will also, with my life and blood, keep safe the Empress from bodily harm. This I promise, on my honor and conscience, so help me Leviathan.”
Yuffie sat dumbstruck, lower lip quivering with emotion, as Vincent stood back up and bowed to Oleg after repeating his words. The man bowed back, then took a package wrapped in black silk from Chekov’s hands, and handed it to Vincent with a satisfied smile. The gunslinger took it, recognizing it as the package that Shake had given Chekov on the landing pad before they left Wutai. He felt a surge of pride welling up from Galian. Vincent glanced back at Yuffie, who was beginning to cry.
Then every one of them, Vincent included, turned and bowed low to the Empress. Reeve decided that a little privacy was in order and ushered them all out of the Empress’ room, having to push the nurse out as she was grinning like mad while looking from Yuffie to Vincent and back again.
The moment they were alone Yuffie burst into tears.
Vincent wasted no time in setting the package down on the end of her bed and sitting next to her, pulling her against his chest.
“Yuffie, don’t cry, please.”
“Don’t cry? You idiot! Do you know what you’ve done?”
“Yes, I’m aware. I just pledged my life to your well-being.”
She shook her head violently. “But why?”
He tilted his head and answered her question like it was the most obvious thing on the planet. “Because I took the bodyguard position that Reeve’s been arranging for you?” After that she put her face in her hands and wailed his name, sputtering something about your freedom and my fucked-up existence, but he wasn’t really listening.
He didn’t know exactly why she’d cry over him, but attributing it to pent-up fear and frustration seemed logical. Rocking her slightly, Vincent held her to him with his gauntlet at her back, mindful of the thin fabric of her hospital gown. He pushed her hair back from her face with his human hand, absently noting that she had let it grow again. Yuffie sobbed a few times, then made a pitiful attempt at controlling her tears.
"Reno lied to me," he finally said, very quietly.
She paused, wiping off her wet eyes and runny nose on her forearm, smearing slimy fluids everywhere. As she glanced up at him, meeting his eyes with the most vulnerable look he had ever seen on her pretty face, Vincent felt his heart clench.
Never again will I abandon her to go through these trials alone.
“What do you mean, Vincent? Lied how?”
"Well… He said this would make you happy."
Yuffie covered her face again, laughing weakly as she leaned against black leather. But that only lasted a few seconds before she put her arms around his neck and began crying even harder.
“Asshole,” she finally spat, pounding a weak fist against his shoulder blade while hiccupping. Vincent honestly didn’t know if the name-calling was directed at Reno for being presumptuous, or if she’d meant him for something deeper.
Such as, ‘Vincent Valentine, you moron, what the hell kept you?’
He found he didn’t care to make the distinction. Being called an asshole was a small price to pay when it was clear that Yuffie still wanted him close after all the hard feelings. He’d been terribly worried about her, as they all had… But he hadn’t realized how much he actually missed her until that very moment.
“Gawd… Ain’t there any tissues in this fuckin’ room?” she wailed miserably.
Suppressing a laugh, he held her tighter. Empress Kisaragi’s regal tears and royal snot were getting all over his precious badass leather, and Vincent Valentine didn’t seem to mind one bit.

+

tbc

+

++++++++ notes ++++++++
I used a combo of the UK’s and Sweden's Oath of Allegiance as a model for Vincent's Oath of Fealty to Yuffie… because they were both pretty. :)
The idea of Yuffie getting a hymenorrhaphy to pass a purity test is not new. Bear in mind that what I’ve written here is kind of futuristic (it’s FFVII, after all), and would also be considered the more cosmetic version of this surgery.
But, if you really want your eyes opened about the kinds of horrors that are still being forced on women & little girls to this very day, don’t bother reading about hymen replacement. Go to Wikipedia and type FGM in the search field. I first learned about this a long time ago, when I was a teenager and it was still impolite to talk about such things. I have never looked at the rules that govern any culture’s definitions (including my own) as to what makes a ‘decent’ woman the same way since. You have been warned.
If you read it, **please** review it. Thanks!
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Empress & Concubine