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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
- 8
- 9
- 10
++++++++ Please see disclaimer & story notes in chapter one ++++++++
++++++++ chapter notes ++++++++
I fly beta-less. Please forgive the typos.
Many thanks to Miho for all her FFVII wisdom. :3
As always, thanks for reading!

+

Empress & Concubine

Chapter Nine

The Education of Vincent Valentine, Part III

+

“Oh my. Tifa, will you look at that?”
Cloud was sitting at a table on the banquet floor, sagging forward miserably.
Yuffie’s very successful First Jubilee was coming to a close after an afternoon of speeches and presentations, and an evening of great food and impressive entertainment. As with her wedding, Ginto Shinshuro was a complete and total no-show, making everyone’s night even happier.
All the invited friends showed up, though, as well as foreign dignitaries from The Gold Saucer, Nibelheim, Junon, Edge, even Costa Del Sol sent a representative. It was good to have outsiders see Wutai’s progress as well as their national pride.
Shera was indeed the size of a house, but she seemed very happy compared to Cid and his vacant expression. He never did know what to do with himself at a swanky party.
Reno found a few friends – all of them women, of course. Chekov made a point of sneaking up on him as often as she could, and eventually, the redhead actually asked her to dance.
In the past, Nanaki usually spent time with Godo when he came to Wutai, and he seemed a bit forlorn at the Emperor’s absence, but eventually he found a conversation partner in the form of Father Oleg. Sitting by one of the massive fireplaces in the banquet hall, the two of them quickly struck up an intelligent debate.
Marlene insisted on bringing her new boyfriend, the latest young man in a long line of boys, all referred to as He’s The One, Daddy. Barret tolerated the kid well enough, but he secretly wished he’d just dump his little girl, or preferably, die.
The Turks all came, as did Rufus, who was suspiciously dateless. Tseng and Elena were rumored to be living together, and a little forced handholding on Elena’s part made it more evident. Reeve, Shelke and some of their old colleagues from the WRO also came.
Yuffie and Vincent’s friends got to know Hiroyuki and Nadja, although they were a bit perplexed at the living arrangements. They accepted it as a Wutai tradition and kept their secret – even though Hiro was subjected to a bit of a grilling on Tifa’s part.
The energetic Neeri had pulled double duty, both as a tumbler and an acrobat, and during the demonstrations of ninja skills. Denzel, it seemed, was smitten with the cute young girl, but as he wasn’t a Wutai native, and Neeri was who she was, he didn’t stand a chance. That didn’t stop her from flirting with him, however.
The party wore on, and there was dancing all around – Yuffie even lured Vincent onto the floor for a subdued spin. Tifa and Reno noticed them from opposite sides of the dance floor, and they winked at each other.
A good time was had by all.
It was winding down in a hurry, though. The girlfriends continued to watch, fascinated, as Cloud’s head dipped lower and his eyes began to drift shut.
“Good Gods! I know our Wutai booze is strong stuff, but is he wasted or something?” Tifa shook her head, smirking back at her. “Tifa – you mean he’s falling asleep? Already?”
Tifa giggled behind her hand. “We made a deal, Yuffie.”
The Empress smirked and looked back at her girlfriend. “And what was that, may I ask?”
“While I was pregnant, my back hurt constantly. I was tired, I had to give up training, all that. So, Cloud was very generous to me. I know he was just being overly-diplomatic, but I decided to take advantage of it,” she smiled wickedly. “He said that since I had to carry the baby for nine months, he’d be the one to get up at night for the first nine months.”
“Oh, you sneaky thing, you! That was brilliant!”
“I know! Thank Gaia for breast pumps. Only I feel bad for Shera because Cid’s been paying attention to it. And my time is almost up here, too – but man it’s been good. I sleep all night long.”
Yuffie looked at Cloud again, whose head was nearly bent to the tablecloth. He started suddenly before it made contact. Sitting up, he rubbed his face and looked around the room to see if anyone had noticed.
“You are an evil, evil bitch, Lockheart.”
“It’s always the quiet ones,” she sighed.
Elise had taken a shine to her Aunty Empress, and she handed the little girl back to Tifa for the thirtieth time that night. Then she walked over to a small table where Tseng and Reno were talking with Vincent. The Turks and Avalanche mingled quite easily now – a little too easily, if you asked some, which brought about Yuffie’s next question.
“Hey you guys, what do you think of that?” she quipped casually, waving her drink in the direction of the bar, where Reeve – also dateless – and Rufus stood together. Alone. Talking. Smiling at each other.
A lot.
“Or am I imagining things?”
“Nope.” Reno smirked.
“The perfect couple,” Tseng offered placidly.
Yuffie had to cover her mouth to hide the grin. “I just wonder who’s in charge,” she finally blurted.
“Rufus.” All three of them, Vincent included, had said it simultaneously.
“Oh, I dunno about that,” Yuffie sneered, a bit tipsy. “Cuz if they ain’t trading off, my money’s on Reeve.”
Vincent narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“Cuz Rufus is all about the atonement now. So I can picture him wantin’ to be spanked.”
Yuffie stuck her tongue out rudely. All three men paled and decided not to touch that one.
The invited representatives of the Arms and Legs went home reluctantly, having made some new friends, and as typical of any Wutai they hated saying goodbye. Yuffie’s guests prepared to go up to their rooms for the night, and would have done just that – until someone yelled.
They all looked to the source of the noise, Shera, who had doubled over and was holding her stomach. A small puddle of clear liquid had pooled at her feet, and Cid was rapidly trying to pull her away from it out of fear that she might slip.
“Goddammit, Shera! I fuckin’ knew this was gonna happen! You just hadda come with, didn’t ya? What the fuck’re we gonna do now, huh? Shit!”
The other men in the room, and Shelke as well, remained frozen in place, staring at the fluid on the banquet floor as though it had a life of its own and might just attack them if provoked.
Yuffie curled her lip at the mess. Neeri, Elena and Marlene looked scared. Chekov smiled happily, Tifa clasped her hands together and gasped, and Nadja, ever-practical, burst into action.
+
It was late at night before Cid finally drifted off to sleep, snoring away in a chair next to his wife’s bedside. Their healthy newborn son slept safely down the hall from Shera’s room in the tiny maternity ward of Wutai’s Royal Medical Facility. He held the dubious honor of being the tiny clinic’s very first delivery, as well the fact that he was, technically, a citizen of Wutai.
His birth was mercifully quick though far from painless. Determined not to call a doctor unless it was absolutely necessary, Nadja herself delivered the baby. Cid had been a mess, but he stayed by Shera’s side and saw it through, all the way. Little Charles Shane Highwind was welcomed into the world forty-two minutes past eleven p.m. on the first anniversary of Yuffie’s coronation, after slightly less than six hours of labor.
They had all stayed up to see the baby, with only Cloud dozing off now and then. Shera and Cid asked Father Oleg to perform a ceremony, any ceremony, in Wutai or otherwise, that would officially make Empress Yuffie godmother and Tired Cloud godfather to their child. Then the group of friends, exhausted but elated, headed off to their assigned rooms in the palace’s guest wing for a good night’s sleep before their departure the next morning, sans Shera and Cid and their baby, who were to remain an additional day under Nadja’s orders.
Charlie was not in his crib, however, as his Aunt Yuffie decided to sneak into the nursery and hold him for a little bit before she herself went up to bed. The night nurse made her scrub her hands and face, then lifted him out of his crib and placed him in her arms. His angry, pudgy little pink face peered out from a soft yellow blanket that was decorated with blue and pink baby Leviathans swimming around.
“He’s awake now, Empress, but talk quietly, or he’ll get startled,” the nurse said. She smiled down at Yuffie and then went back to her desk.
Yuffie gave the baby a soft smile. “Hi there. Let’s you and me have a nice chat now that all those tired old people have gone to bed.”
The baby looked up at her, all bright blue eyes and a dusting of dark blond hair, and frowned intensely.
“Yeah, yer Cid’s kid all right,” Yuffie said with a comforting tone. “No doubt about it. But you’re Wutai too, did you know that?” The baby stopped frowning and stared, listening to the sound of her gentle voice. “Which means you can come visit me anytime you want, and you can buy a nice piece of farm land here… maybe grow some Sencha for the old man, get him offa that black stuff. That’d be nice, hm?”
Charlie smiled and gurgled, and although Yuffie had never been fond of the idea of changing diapers and the grating noise of baby cries, this part wasn’t so bad.
“Plus, you are officially the godson of the Empress of Wutai. That’s me, by the way. And that means privileges galore.” Charlie cooed, then stuck a tiny fist in his perfect little mouth. “That’s right, I’m great, I know. You are welcome. And I fully expect you to take advantage of that fact as you grow up. Remind your dad of it every single chance you get.”
If Yuffie had not been so captivated by the look of wonder in her godson’s eyes, she might have noticed the two male figures lurking in the doorway at the back of the nursery, listening to her every word.
“Y’know, Valentine… she’s gonna need to make an heir eventually… right?” Reno whispered.
“Hn.”
+
“Not that this is an issue, Yuffie, but I am positive that none of our friends saw me entering your room tonight. If that concerns you.”
Yuffie punched her chocobo-feather pillow once, then stopped when she realized it was already pretty fluffy. She looked at Vincent queerly.
“No. Does that concern you, Vincent?”
“I am thinking of your privacy. That is all.”
She nodded.
“Thanks. For thinking of me.”
He had no response to that. He removed his sandals and his outer kosode, just as he always did, placing the footwear on the rug next to his chair, and draping the kosode over its stuffed back. Yuffie watched him as he took his place in the chair and opened his book.
The under kosode was a slightly darker shade of red than Vincent’s cape, but when exposed like that, it reminded her of the first time she had ever set eyes on him. She had been startled, and terrified that he was a vampire ready to drain them dry, of course… but she was never able to deny the fact that he was also the most beautiful thing she had ever seen – then, or since.
Prettier than blue materia.
“Did you want to leave?” she blurted out, trying to tamp down delicious thoughts of angry stares, alabaster skin and silky black hair.
He looked up from his book, tilting his head and studying her face.
“That is up to you. You don’t seem to be as fright–” he began, but thought better of his choice of words. “We aren’t as wary of an attack as we were that first night. Threats never die, but… There are other considerations. Should I leave, do you think?”
“Well, I just mean… maybe staying in here night after night is getting on your nerves, and you’re just to polite to say so?”
His jaw tilted up with just the barest hint of defensiveness.
“I never said that.”
She paused, looking down and pulling at a loose thread on her bedspread.
“Then… stay.”
Vincent looked at her a long time.
“As you wish.”
+
A long, unusually hot September passed through Wutai. Autumn started out dry that year, and no one was surprised when a few brush fires caught, but the Legs and Arms had proven, once again, just how resilient they were. The Empress and her staff assisted as the farmers and ranchers coordinated their efforts, dropping their petty but highly traditional property disputes and concentrating on what needed to be done. They herded animals away when the threat of fires loomed, and cut off scorched areas with dirt piles to try and contain the flames on smaller sections of land.
Through their combined work, they managed to save most of the crops and all of the livestock without outside help, large machinery or chemicals. The land that was sacrificed would be tilled and ready for farming or grazing by the next Spring.
Ginto Shinshuro and his followers were neither called upon nor did they offer their help. No one questioned their absence in this. To her great joy, everyone treated Yuffie like just another Wutai citizen as she donned her shorts and pitched in to help. Vincent tried not to appear too proud of her, but his heart was truly swelling. Watching her working and laughing with her people, it reminded him of their days in Avalanche, only now she was the one in charge.
He knew she missed her father and his confidence, but she had taken to her new role with a will power that had surprised them all. Much of the tenacity that marked Yuffie’s personality for so long had, seemingly, disappeared after Godo’s death. For Vincent, seeing her suffer with apprehension and fear had not been pleasant. It was as though Yuffie herself was gone, and some sort of zombie figurehead had taken her place.
Having him near had helped, and he’d sensed that… But she wasn’t just plain Yuffie anymore, she was their leader. She needed more than just his proverbial hand to hold. It had made Vincent all the more determined to do his job and build her forces, keeping her safe and formidable. Once she knew she had some backing, all that glorious Yuffie came back; the flirt, the comic, the heart of gold. Not to mention the stubbornness, the temper and the strength.
Well, some of the strength. Without more frequent visits to the dojo than she could currently afford, she’d never be the ninja she once was. But now, she was something else. She was the Empress of Wutai, with a scary right hook.
Armed with a few items in a large basket, they walked to the Kisaragi family graves together. She had been wandering them for nearly two hours now, leaving various offerings; incense, fruit, leaves – whatever that particular person was said to have enjoyed in life.
“This one is…?”
“My Great-Great Grandmother, Empress Kisaragi Tamafune.” She pointed to a gravesite behind that one, saying, “And that one’s her consort, Nikoli.”
He frowned. “But isn’t that her husband’s marker, there next to her?”
“Yes.”
He paused, thinking. “Nikoli fathered her children, didn’t he?”
She grinned, not looking at him. “Yup. He’s my Great-Great Grandfather. Concubines do not bring shame in Wutai. And if they are declared consort, they are enshrined next to their Empress.”
Vincent was surprised at how much the young woman actually knew about her royal lineage. She had never really discussed such things with Avalanche or himself – not to any real extent. They had to have known just how complicated her home life was, she was a princess after all – but, whether it was due to Yuffie having blown it off or their own apathy, none of them had ever shown any real interest.
Wutai’s was a fascinating history, rich with mythology and intrigue. The more Vincent learned about it, the more he wanted to watch Yuffie write herself into it.
He meant to keep his distance and give her some privacy at the graves, but she had engaged him in conversation at the front of each shrine, discussing which ancestor it was and how long they reigned and what they were known for. When she got to her mother’s shrine, she said little, leaving a little wedge of almond cake – “I don’t remember much, but that was her favorite” – and a few flowers, and said a short but heartfelt prayer.
At Godo’s shrine, however, she got a bit misty and fell quiet.
Vincent hung back, and watched as she cleaned it meticulously, removing the spent flowers, clearing dirt and leaves away. She removed a bottle of water and a stiff brush from the basket and got on her hands and knees to scrub away some bird droppings from the heavy stone marker where she’d interred the Emperor’s ashes.
Finished cleaning, she stood up and lit a small oil lamp hanging on an iron post next to the marker. Then she set some fresh flowers on the base, and kneeled to pray. They were bright yellow and smelled like sweet butter, and were actually weeds if Vincent wasn’t mistaken. But Yuffie knew that Godo liked them, and that was all that mattered.
Pulling her long tabi back up and over her knees, Yuffie brushed herself off and came to stand like a statue in front of her father’s shrine. She was thinking, or just maybe talking to Godo’s memory, Vincent didn’t know. He felt like a voyeur, but then again she hadn’t shooed him away, so maybe she wanted him there.
The sun was beginning to set. He loathed interrupting her, but darkness was not always their friend this far from the palace. Yuffie saved him the trouble when she turned around and gave him a cheerful smile. “Done! Lets mosey,” she said, picking up her basket and grabbing his arm. He reached across and took the basket from her hand. She looked up at him and smiled as she linked her arm around his.
They got halfway up the path out of the ancient field that housed the graves when they met with some of her ninjas, who escorted them back to the palace.
Vincent tried not to notice how the setting sun caught the violet sparks in her eyes as she chatted with her guards, or the way she bit her lower lip to keep from laughing too hard, or the way her soft hair drifted in the warm wind. He tried not to feel the warm anticipation he always felt when the sun went down, as he looked forward to another night of watching her while she slept.
He tried, and he failed.
+
“That may be, you ninny, but I think it’s something else. He must have found something that made him want to put his things away.”
“Oh, that’s just silly! He’s a man, and they aren’t one for sentimentality. I think he just didn’t know what to do without a woman telling him where to put what and so on. Maybe he just finally figured it out for himself.”
Yuffie ducked down further into back corner of her walk-in closet, hiding behind some of her long dress kimonos. She was late for breakfast, and had been rummaging around looking for an old belt when she heard the young maids come in to pick up her dirty clothes and what not, and strip and change her bed linens. They were already talking as they entered her room after clearing Vincent’s, and their conversation caught her by surprise.
For a moment, she held her breath, trying to remember whether Vincent had moved his chair and table back to their original places by the fire.
But he had, of course. He always remembered. It would have looked very odd if he’d left them front of her bed, and he never stopped thinking about such things.
Vincent had spent every night in her room since the incident at Yuffie’s first Jubilee, whether it had been necessary or not. Only the ninja and their closest allies knew about this, and they certainly weren’t going to blab it all over town. It would not have looked good, what with her being a married woman, so they weren’t taking any chances with staff members that they couldn’t trust with such information. The pagoda’s kitchen and laundry were staffed by young men and women, some still in their early teens. No matter how devoted to the Empress they were, and they were selected and screened very carefully for that, some teenagers just lived for gossip.
“I guess. Still it’s odd. He has so few possessions to his name, just showed up with that backpack. I can’t believe he’d been living out of it since he came here. You’re tellin’ me he’s just been trudging it from the bed to the desk to the bath, as he needed to?”
Yuffie went as quiet and a mouse and listened intently when she realized that these two girls were gossiping about Vincent.
“I know, right? I barely had anything to clean in there since he arrived! It was like he showered, shaved, brushed his teeth, cleaned up after himself, and then put everything back in that pack. I swear I thought he was gonna bolt or something. But not now, though.” The girl sighed, and Yuffie heard her pull the laundry out of the hamper to dump it in a big cart. “I mean, it’s still neat, you know, organized – toiletries, hairbrushes, clothes… but it’s all where it should be, not stuffed in some travel bag. I remember it. It was the morning after the Empress’ first Jubilee. His stuff’s all over the place now. Looks normal, finally.”
That was the first night he stayed in my room!
“So you have to clean it now?”
“Yeah… whatever.”
“That’s weird. Your work finally started in there, and mine’s just about stopped.”
“Whaddya mean?”
“I mean his sheets. Fresh as a daisy. I still change ‘em and all, but they don’t ever need it.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, keep up, Sayuri. They are clean, as in, he isn’t using them.”
“Ooh! I wonder where he sleeps, then,” the one gathering the clothes squealed.
“Yeah! And with who!”
Yuffie winced.
The girls giggled as they finished their work, talking indecently about their boyfriends, then they left, shutting the door behind them.
Now alone in her chambers, Yuffie stepped out of her closet and sat down on the very chair that Vincent had sat in the night before. She felt odd, like she was floating.
“He never even unpacked, all that time? Then I get threatened again, and he suddenly does?”
She didn’t want to think about all the reasons as to why he had behaved that way, because every single one of them led back to her father’s voice, ringing in her head:
“No man gives a woman a birthday present like the one he gave you when there is not also the intent to get her frequenting his bed.”
“Nu-uh. No way,” she whispered, twisting in the chair to look back at the keepsakes hanging above her bed. Her eyes went to the hair wreath, and it stared back at her innocently.
+
When they were in public, or council meetings, or in the Throne Room receiving dignitaries and addressing Wutai’s people, he was three feet away. Protective, rarely touching, and forever right there.
But in private…
He saw to it that they ate supper together, just the two of them in her chambers, on the nights when she didn’t have a dinner engagement. He pulled chairs out for her and rested his hands on her shoulders for a beat after she sat down in them. He gave her his arm when going up stairs. He got books down off of tall shelves and handed them to her with a small smile. He walked right next to her when they strolled through the gardens, not three feet behind her. When she had the time to attend, he was her practice partner in the dojo – and if she asked, he agreed not to hold back, but he always did.
He offered encouraging words when she was scared or frustrated. He touched her cheek when she looked lost and alone. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her until the tears stopped.
He pulled her bedcovers back and fluffed her pillow before she got out of her bath, he stayed in her chambers until the sun came up, and he said ‘good morning, Yuffie’, before exiting to his room to clean up for the day.
She was confused. And she wasn’t able to cover it up.
He found this amusing, although the alien life inside did not.
+
One night while having supper together, Vincent watched as Yuffie was going over the minutes from a council meeting, humming her disapproval now and then and eating only small bits of her food.
“What’s troubling you?”
She looked across the small table at him, saying, “Pardon?”
“You’ve barely touched your meal and you sound distressed. What is troubling you, Yuffie?” This time he pointed at the papers strewn on the table.
“Oh, sorry.” She set a paper down. “I was reading my responses to the council’s debate on that squatting issue. Plus… I’m considering asking them to have a few cell towers and some generators installed. But I’m…” she winced. Shaking her head, she finally said, “Well, I’m not Godo.”
“The lack of cell towers in Wutai has been bothering me enormously, so I’m glad to hear it. But with regard to you not being Godo,” he paused, “I should hope not. He’d look ridiculous in those socks.”
She cocked her head at Vincent’s unexpected joke. He smiled that tiny smile of his and took a bite of grilled fish.
Is he teasing me? Vincent is teasing me?
She shook her head again to clear it. “I just meant that I can’t do the things Godo did. I don’t have it in me.”
“What kinds of things?”
She bit her lip. “When I was little, after Mama died, Godo had to take over. As the blood ruler, she was in charge, but when she died, it all became his responsibility. He used to take me to the council meetings, but in secret. I was so small he could hide me underneath the skirts of the chair the monarch sits in for council meetings. It’s not as big as the one in the throne room, but I could fit, and he’d put me in there before anyone else arrived. I listened in, and he’d test me on what I heard after. I wasn’t allowed to speak or make my presence known – he’d called it a ninja game, which he knew would get me interested,” she smirked. “But, until I took the crown, I had no idea why he really did it.”
Vincent gazed at her before responding. “He was familiarizing you to debate.”
“Right in one, Vinnie.”
He leaned back and looked at her squarely, a sure sign he was giving her his entire attention. She swallowed hard at the way his eyes glinted at her in the firelight.
“Here’s the thing. Daddy was a scary guy. Not because he was powerful, or because he was a good fighter. He was all those things, yeah. But when he got really mad, he was intimidating as all hell.” She pushed her cold plate aside, appetite for food gone. “This one time while I was hiding he got into it with two of the council members who were bickering shamelessly. He slammed his hands down on the table so hard the floor shook. They shut their mouths and he presented his solution. And then – and he only did this when he knew he was right – he pulled rank on them as Emperor. Debate over, case closed. You can do that as a royal, but the more often you do it, the worse your rep gets and you risk losing too much support.” She frowned. “I was a little scared of him after that meeting, yeah, but what’s more, I was impressed. My dad was top fucking dog in Wutai and I didn’t just know it, I knew why.”
Vincent smiled dark, his eyes hooded under long eyelashes. “He had a temper, and he knew when to hide it, and when not to.”
Yuffie swallowed a gasp. Before that very moment, the thought had never occurred to her as to why Godo had liked Vincent so much. They were kindred spirits.
“Yes,” she finally responded. “I inherited that to a degree, but I’m much more my mom in there, trying to keep the peace and keep attitudes light.”
“And that isn’t working for you.”
“Not with the council, no.” She grinned. “It worked on Godo, though.”
“You used to annoy him with all your antics, I remember that much.”
“Annoy? Are you kidding? I’m lucky I was born female or he would have stripped my hide for some of the stunts I pulled. I’d pout and bat my eyelashes at him and act all sheepish and he’d totally cave. He had a weakness for girls and I knew it.”
Vincent shook his head. “He didn’t forgive you because you are pretty, Yuffie.”
She had to bite her lip to keep from gaping at him, because Vincent Valentine had just called her pretty.
Is he kidding?
“You don’t believe me?” he asked, teasing.
She shook her head, staring at him, mystified.
See how she pays attention to you, Valentine? You should compliment her more often. Personally, I’d start with that adorable backside of hers, but discretion is the better part of valor at this point.
Vincent blinked, just once, getting his concentration back. “Godo forgave you because he loved you. And I can personally attest that it is difficult to stay mad at you for too long.”
She cleared her throat. “That’s very sweet, Vincent. But I still don’t know what to do about the council.”
“How about making your requests a bit more reasonable? Ask for limited cell service to be reinstated. Just a few towers here and there, and a few electric generators. Nothing over the top, just enough for people to stay connected to the outside world if they want, recharge batteries, light a bulb at night… and maybe the larger operations would like a tractor or some refrigeration, yes?” She did gape at him then, as he kept going. “You could even do things like invest in an old projector, and show some movies once every so often at that ancient playhouse in town. We can make a projection screen easily enough with some silk.”
“Movies, Vincent?”
“Yes. For the children. Nothing fancy. Everyone can bring food and drink, because we all know how wonderful Wutai’s parties are.”
Children… movies… parties?! Who in the hell is this man?
Yuffie blinked, clearing her head. “Electricity, though… Fossil fuel pollution? Eh, I dunno…”
“But look at how it happened, Yuffie. Shinshuro persuaded the council to have every cell tower and nearly all of the electric generators removed from Wutai simply because he wanted control over everything. You don’t want the electricity because of your position on returning to traditional life, which is popular with the Arms and Legs. Everyone admires the strength of your stance on Wutai’s environment, Yuffie. But a little technology would be good. And I am sure that Wutai hospital, not to mention Nadja’s clinic, would benefit from modernizing a bit.”
She tilted her head at him. “You’ve been thinking about this, haven’t you?”
“Of course I have been. I want you to succeed.” He sat up and continued. “We can get some generators from Shinra that run on bio-fuels, and we can grow the grasses for the fuel ourselves. In fact, I was talking about this with Rufus at the Jubilee. I imagine he would love to strike a deal with your farmers for switchgrass production. He would likely give you the equipment you want for free, buy your crops for making the bio-fuel, and then sell you back only as much fuel as you need. Rufus will have a new power source to peddle, Wutai farmers will still make a profit, the ranchers can sell the farmers more of their manure for the crops, and the Planet doesn’t have to be raped in the process. Everyone is happy.”
“That sounds like a really nice plan, actually, if we limit it. Something the people would get behind easily. Still…” she sighed, looking down, “I’d have to jump through millions of hoops to get Rufus Shinra open permission to come and go in Wutai while maintaining such a contract with us. Even though more of the council members are trying to distance themselves from Shinshuro, I’d have to really fight to get this one.”
“Yes, about that. I’ll make you a deal,” he offered, voice light for Vincent Valentine. “Instead of guarding the door in the hallway, I will attend you at the next council meeting.”
Yuffie smirked. “And?”
“As you ask to have these things in Wutai, I will glare at your enemies.”
Oh Gods, is he… flirting?
“You will have the tactical advantage. When you see them cower, make your move.”
“Vincent,” she laughed. “That’s… dirty.”
“Perhaps. But far less despicable than what Shinshuro has pulled in these meetings.”
“Gimply does suck putrid swamp water pretty hard, doesn’t he?”
“Hn. I find him a bit worse than that. You have drifted off with such notes all over your bed. I read them, occasionally, while I watch over you at night.” A thrill went up her spine at his words, and it took everything she had not to blush. “He is a quisling, Yuffie. I will never let him touch you again, but you must cut him off at the proverbial knees, or he will continue to walk all over you.”
“I don’t know if I can,” she said quietly.
She looked scared. Vincent reached out and stroked her knuckles with his fingertips, and she suppressed a shiver. “But I will not be hiding under your chair skirts during the next meeting. I will be at your side. Take my presence as insurance that you can do or say anything you want. You are the blood royal. Put him in his place and be the Empress we all know you are.”
Yuffie had no response to that. She stared at Vincent’s face, transfixed by his odd expression, tender and fierce all at once.
+
Yuffie was quiet over breakfast.
“Are you nervous about the council meeting?”
She looked up to see Vincent watching her. “No,” she answered, a bit too quickly. “Not yet, anyway.”
He hn’d and went back to reading the agenda for her day, making mental notes as to when she would be most vulnerable to an attack, just like every morning since the day he arrived in Wutai… only now he did it in her quarters over breakfast, with her.
She was more confused than ever after the things he had said and they way he had behaved with her the night before. Surely he couldn’t be interested in being more than friends now, not after all these years of that never-responding routine? And then there was that conversation on the back porch at Tifa’s bar, a conversation that was burned into her brain for life.
But there was also what her father had said, and what Tifa had said, and then Reno had always been claiming Vincent was jealous of him…
He can’t be interested. Can he?
The years after Deepground had been hard on her, just waiting for him to say something, anything, but he never did. Eventually logic had taken over, leading her to have that confrontation on the porch.
And logic was taking over now.
No. There is no way. And you’ve been meaning to apologize to him anyways, so get it out now before you lose your nerve.
“Vince?”
“Yes.” He didn’t even look up from the documents he was reading.
“I want… I need to say something, okay?”
That got his attention, and he set the papers down.
“What is it?”
“I want to apologize.”
He blinked. “Whatever for?”
She exhaled.
Now or never, Yuffie.
“For that…” she closed her eyes, shaking her head back and forth minutely, as if trying to expunge an idea. “For that goddamn note,” she finally ground out.
“…Note?”
Oh, Valentine. That’s just mean. Do not play with the poor girl.
“For that note, where I asked you to… to date me!”
“You asked for a lot more than a date, Yuffie,” he said calmly, smirking just a little.
Ho-kaay, you are on your own with this one, pal.
“I know! I know! And I am… I was… okay, I still am, embarrassed about it!”
“Yuffie,” he began, almost laughing, but that only succeeded in annoying her so she interrupted him.
“No, I mean it! Just let me apologize, okay?! It was stupid, and childish, and I’m so grateful that you found it in your heart to come to Wutai and protect me, even though I put you on the spot all those times, and I was so silly–”
“Yuffie,” he said again, interrupting her with a bit more force this time.
She looked up from her plate to his face, and swallowed hard.
That damn, tiny, satisfied smirk was still playing about his lips, and it was making her angry, because she thought he might be making light of this, but then again he might not, and she really wanted to know why he was smiling–
“I still have it, you know.”
There was a long, extremely awkward pause on Yuffie’s part as she waited for Vincent to elaborate. Instead, he went back to reading her schedule, almost too causally. When it was clear he wasn’t going to say anything further, she tried to speak again.
“Um… what… do you have?”
“Your note. I still have it.”
Yuffie’s jaw hung open, and for once, she was left completely speechless.
Vincent let the silence stretch out a bit more, clearly enjoying it, then he spoke again as if nothing of significance had just passed between them.
“It’s going to be a lovely day today. Would you care to go for a walk before the council meeting? It will help to clear your head.”
He gazed at her for a moment, enjoying the fact that she was still stuck in a slower gear, then proceeded to slather his flat bread with cream cheese.
+
Yuffie was dressed in one of her formal kimonos with all the trimmings, and she and Vincent were in the back room of the council chambers. They were peeking into the meeting room and waiting for the rest of the council to arrive before she entered, this time with her bodyguard.
“Try to relax, Yuffie. You’re ready.”
Her hair had grown out some, and there was just enough to arrange it into a tiny upsweep. Some shorter tendrils had fallen free, however, and they were curling from the perspiration on the back of her neck. It was an enticing sight, and without even thinking, Vincent reached out and placed his human hand on the back of her neck.
She jumped at his touch, and he smiled at her, rubbing tiny circles on her neck with his thumb. “You are nervous. I can smell it.”
“You sayin’ I stink, Vincent?”
“To be honest, you smell like the cotton candy they sell at the Gold Saucer.”
Valentine, listen to me… you need to slow down.
Ignoring Galian, he removed his hand from her neck, but slowly. Vincent asked her another question, his voice quiet and gentle.
“Are you prepared to fight for several bars on your cell phone, Empress?”
“Yup. And I had a good dream last night.”
He didn’t answer, but she knew it was only because he was waiting for her to finish.
“It was Godo… I think. He came to me, gave me some advice. He told me to stop tryin’ to act like him, or like Mama, and start being myself. And he told me to bring up another topic today, as well.”
He paused, looking at her profile. Her head tilted up, and she looked very confident.
“Which is?”
“I want him the fuck out of my council meetings.”
She didn’t have to say who ‘he’ was. A laugh barely escaped Vincent’s lips. “Today is a good day for that, as well.”
“Shit!” she squeaked, tearing her face away from where she had been peeking through the door, and looked up at him.
“Shinshuro just walked in. Here we go, Vincent!”
“Good luck, Yuffie,” he said, and he kissed her cheek.
She froze in place, holding her breath, and the surprise on her face quite clear. Eventually she touched her cheek where his lips had just been.
Okay, that’s speeding up, not slowing down.
“Though you won’t need any luck,” he added, smiling softly.
Yuffie shook her head. Standing up straight, she pushed the door to the council room open. Vincent followed, exactly three paces behind her.
Shinshuro wasted no time in voicing his objections.
“Excuse me, Empress, but what is he doing here?”
“Good afternoon, everyone,” she said, smiling pleasantly. Most of the council returned her greeting. As she turned towards her chair, she cleared her throat and continued.
“Do you refer to Our bodyguard, General?”
“Yes–”
“His name is Vincent. Vincent Valentine. But you can call him Mr. Valentine. Or ‘sir’, that will be acceptable as well.”
Shinshuro blinked.
“He is here, General, because an attempt was made on Our life recently. An attempt to poison,” she said emphatically, looking directly at Shinshuro on the last word. Vincent gave her his left hand to balance with as he helped her into the antique chair at the head of the table, making sure they all got a good look at his menacingly shiny gauntlet.
Some gasps were heard around the table, and voices were raised in concern at her wellbeing. Still others made no sounds, but looked around the room cautiously.
“Calm yourselves. No one was harmed, all thanks to the dedication and quick-thinking of Our kitchen staff… and of course the work of the ninja in… apprehending the culprit. But as We are not taking any chances, Our bodyguard stays with Us. For now.”
After a few moments of silence, Shinshuro spoke up and tried to get the meeting started.
“We have a lot to cover today, so let’s ge–”
“Excuse Us, General, but what are you doing here?”
Crows could be heard, cawing in the distance outside the palace windows.
“Pardon, Highness?” he asked, and everyone could hear the conceit and humor in his voice.
She leaned back comfortably in her big chair, hands resting on the arms, a placid smile on her face. “We are questioning as to why a military advisor is present at every single council meeting even though, as of late, matters of war, or peacekeeping, or even national security are rarely discussed in these chambers.”
“I do not understand your question.”
“Yes, We can see that,” she said, heaving a bored sigh. “Hundreds of years of Wutai history has recorded the monarch, the council and the council elders be present at these meetings. Others only attend when they are needed. For instance, when a farmer and a rancher have a dispute they may want to address the council personally. Or a High Priest may grace us with their presence when requesting funds for an event or a charity. Someone like yourself… usually only attends council meetings when Wutai is at war… Similar, in fact, to when a bodyguard follows a sovereign around because her life is actively being threatened.”
Shinshuro chewed at the inside of his mouth, glaring at her. He sat rigid in his chair, angered, and was about to interject when his eyes drifted up to Vincent’s face.
There were no words to describe the chill that ran up Shinshuro’s spine. He’d seen that same look on animals, wolves mostly, when stalking prey. It wasn’t anger, or even a threat.
It was intent.
“We think perhaps you should leave, General. Right now would be preferable. The papers in your hands – those are last week’s minutes, yes?” He gave her an icy glare and refused to answer. “Leave them on the table, please. When We have need of military advice, you will be summoned.”
Shinshuro stood, pushing his chair out from behind him noisily, and stalked out of the room. Chekov smirked quietly as the heavy door to council chambers slammed shut with a deep, satisfying echo in his wake.
Yuffie sniffed nonchalantly, and her entire demeanor seemed to change right in front of their eyes. She leaned on one elbow and scratched the side of her neck, irritated by the fancy silk of her kimono.
“Wonderful, now if you’ll all–”
“Empress Kisaragi! Ginto Shinshuro has given us valuable advice in the past on–”
Vincent could barely contain his joy, for now he had a new person to glare at.
“Hey, not everyone in here agrees with that assessment, dude, and my decision on this is not debatable. That man is to be summoned by me, and only me, when, and only when, he is needed. Clear?”
A curt nod from the middle-aged man, a vocal Shinshuro supporter, was her only answer.
“Now then. This has been long overdue, and I apologize for that, but I’m gonna assume the duty of overseeing these proceedings… forthwith.”
The one that had objected to Shinshuro’s removal took a breath, and was about to object again, when he looked up at Vincent, then fell quiet. Yuffie eyed him for a moment as well, before saying, “This may be new to you, but I do understand that overseeing does not have the same definition as swaying. Governing is not controlling. Okay?”
When he nodded again, Yuffie’s eyes slid over to the council member who was seated next to where Shinshuro had been.
“In the nice tomato-colored blouse, what is your name again, please?”
The woman stood up, very nervous, and bowed her head saying, “Natalie Ulyanova, Empress. This is my sixth year on the council.” She did not look back up. Yuffie sighed, almost imperceptivity.
You’re rubbing off on her, Valentine.
Vincent repressed a smile.
“Natalie, yes, thank you. I’m really sorry to have forgotten your name. Please sit down, though, okay?” The woman, who was in her early thirties, lifted her head back up and took her seat again. “Um, as an actual member of this council, will you please manage the minutes from here on out?”
“Of course, Empress.” Natalie smiled, and reached over to gather the pile of papers Shinshuro had left, straightening them into an orderly stack in front of her.
“All right, before we get started, does anybody else have any questions?”
“I do,” said an open-faced young man. Yuffie felt a twinge when she looked at him, and realized he was just slightly older than Yuri.
“Izanagi, wasn’t it? Your mother is a tailor, right?”
“Yes ma’am!” He smiled with one of the most honest faces Yuffie had ever seen.
“Yay me, I remembered one! Natalie, after today’s meeting, can you please send me a list of everyone’s names here? That was terrible of me. I promise to memorize them all before next week.” There were still some sour faces in the room, but some of the others who had always been indecisive about the Movement were watching her with interest now.
“What did you want to ask me, Izanagi?”
“Well, not to be rude, Empress, but how come you stopped with the Our’s and We’s and Us’s, just now, and you’re back to my and I and me?”
She grinned, blushing slightly.
“Well, I only take the royal-speak out for a walk when on the throne, or when I’m dealing with someone who blatantly disregards protocol. I don’t enjoy being kowtowed to every five seconds. But… there’s a limit to how much disrespect to the Kisaragi line I’ll put up with.” She narrowed her eyes. “Either that, or they’re just pissing me the hell off.”
Several people in the room laughed quietly. Yuffie inhaled and exhaled slowly, and Vincent could feel her relax, even from three feet away.
“Madame Chekov, I’d like you to kick things off by presenting the first issue of the day.”
“Gladly, Empress. First up we have a few prominent members of the Arms and Legs waiting outside with a request…”
+
“You did that, didn’t you?” Yuffie fairly squealed as she clapped her hands quietly. “Sometime last night, right? After our supper together? You got Hiro or someone to get a bunch of Wutai in there, people that would love the idea, so that they could ask for the juice to get switched back on – didn’t you?!”
Vincent smiled faintly, walking next to her side in a long hall. They were on their way back to the royal section of the pagoda after what turned out to be a very successful council meeting. She’d put her foot down, very eloquently in fact, and was granted permission to open a dialogue with Rufus Shinra on the generators and the cell towers, and she obtained the right for Rufus, Reeve, or their people to enter Wutai at will to make it happen.
By the end of the meeting it appeared that over two-thirds of the council and the fourth elder were all grazing on her side on the pasture again, and they looked very relieved to be there. That was the biggest victory of the day. The repercussions of Shinshuro’s expulsion were yet to be felt, no doubt, but… Like Father Oleg kept telling them, they’d cross that bridge when they got to it.
Yuffie was downright gleeful, literally bouncing on her geta. Vincent didn’t want to crush her happiness with worry over things that might not even happen.
It occurred to him that Avalanche – he himself in particular – used to admonish her for being so giddy, too playful in the past. But in that moment, when she was finally behaving in a way that he thought he’d never again see in the little ninja, he realized just how much he had missed it. He’d been so concerned that she was falling into a depression, as everyone else around her was, but now he saw that there was more to it.
He was selfish, too. He wanted this Yuffie back – not at all times, that was impossible now… but at least when she was comfortable enough to go there.
And the fact that she was comfortably going there right now, with him as the only witness, well…
I have missed this.
And you were afraid to admit it.
Yes.
That’s good. But I think you ought–
She grabbed the silk of his sleeve, forcing him to stop, to turn and face her. “You did that so I wouldn’t look like I was taking over and demanding it for my own selfish ass, didn’t you?”
“Hn.”
“Oh, Vinnie! Thank you!”
Without warning, Yuffie got on her tip-toes to hug him around the neck. Vincent obliged as his arms went around her, just loosely. “I am glad you are happy. And I was most impressed when you used the word forthwith in a sentence.”
“Heh, yeah… well, sometimes, when I’m in the library, I actually read the dictionary.”
“Only to hide your comic books,” he chided.
“Oh! Lies!” She giggled in his ear, and he repressed a shiver. When she stood back down on her geta, she did not move to leave the circle of his arms. She looked up at him, and her eyes were glittering like dark jewels. He found he could not look away.
“Daddy, or whatever that dream was, helped. But having you next to me was what did the trick, Vincent.” Playfully, she hit his upper arm with her fist. “I’m really grateful you took this job, y’know?”
His arms were still around her, and she dropped her hands down under them to squeeze his elbows, just a friendly confirmation.
“It was good victory for Wutai today. And for you.”
She shook her head, looking like she still didn’t believe it had happened.
“Never thought that I, me, Yuffie Kisaragi, bratty thieving ninja princess, would have ever in a million years had the courage to do what I did in there today.”
“Ah, but you are not just a princess anymore. You are learning to be their leader, Yuffie, and a compassionate one at that. You are becoming a powerful Empress.”
“Me?” she asked quietly, looking up into his eyes. “Powerful? Really?”
“You have always had this power. Some just tried to make you think you didn’t.”
He was looking down at her face, straight into her eyes, and her smile faltered as she realized that this conversation was going in very different direction than where she’d first assumed. Yuffie was suddenly faced with the fact that Vincent Valentine was gazing at her like a woman, and not some girl that used to follow him around, texting him, annoying him. Her pulse began to race. Unaware of her own actions, she rested her palms on Vincent’s chest in an attempt to try to keep her knees from giving out.
He scanned the hallway again, making sure they were completely alone.
Hey, Valentine…
“You’re wielding a lot of power lately, Yuffie.” Vincent’s voice was dark and quiet, but so warm. “Power over your enemies, power over yourself, and…” he leaned down, even closer to her, his face just inches from her own, and placed his human hand on her cheek.
“Power over me.”
Shocked, Yuffie managed to take a breath, but before she could speak his mouth was on hers. He kissed her, soft and gentle at first, but the heat built up between them very quickly. He pushed at the small of her back with his left hand, so carefully, until she was pressed up against him.
Yuffie really wanted to enjoy what he was doing to her, but her thoughts became tangled. Vincent Valentine was kissing her, and not at all like a ‘comrade’.
She clutched at his clothing, desperate to find ground. She eventually got a hand around his neck and he felt as though she was holding onto him for dear life. She’d fisted her other hand into the v-neck of his kosode, grabbing the edge of the thick silk and squeezing it tight. She breathed in – strangled, passionate gasps through her nostrils that were uneven and sharp.
Good. I’m making her dizzy, he thought proudly. The silk of my uniform will be wrinkled and I’ll have a reminder of our first kiss.
Satisfied with his decision to kiss her and with her reaction, he broke contact with her lips and pulled back, expecting to see her smiling face, all he wanted–
But Yuffie was not smiling.
Yuffie looked shocked, in fact, maybe even a little bit frightened, which was certainly not the reaction Vincent was expecting. She pulled her hands away from him and clenched them into tight little fists under her chin, intentionally not touching him, her eyes wild.
They stared at each other, Yuffie slack-jawed and Vincent confused, for a long, heated moment. From deep within him he felt Galian’s irritation bubbling up and foolishly thought it was directed at her.
What…?
Everything around them seemed to push back and become clutter – background, out of focus. Time stopped, all was quiet, only their labored breathing could be heard. All the proper signs of a lover’s tryst. But none of this was proper.
It had seemed like the next logical step in their relationship. Everything was on track, just as he’d imagined it would be. But he couldn’t wrap his brain around her reaction.
Why isn’t she dazed? She doesn’t even look happy.
“Yuffie? Are you…” he started, now concerned at her apparent paralysis. “I thought…”
Suddenly, she scrambled to get out of his arms, and he offered no resistance, releasing her instantly. The last thing he wanted was to be accused of forcing himself on her. She tripped slightly in her pretty kimono, and when instinct told him to reach out to prevent her from getting hurt, she backed away from his hands fast, like a frightened cat.
Still unsteady on her feet, Yuffie stared at him for just a couple seconds more, then she turned and beat a path down the hallway, getas clicking noisily.
Vincent watched her retreating form, running away from him so fast she finally did catch her traditional footwear in her traditional clothing, and landed with a loud, clumsy thud on the palace floor. He winced; a fall like that was going to leave bruises. But as was typical of Yuffie, she ignored her pain and recovered quickly.
Struggling to get up, Yuffie hiked the fabric of her kimono up to her knees, and managed to stand. With a panicked huff, she kicked off her geta, and continued running down the hall in her tabi. She tried to turn at the next junction, but her thick socks slid on the polished wood surface and the momentum sent her sailing into the outside corner of the hall. She slammed into the wall and Vincent honestly thought she was going to go down again, but her rusty ninja instincts kicked in and she righted herself. Taking off again, she finally vanished from his sight.
She tastes like bubble gum.
Vincent stared at the empty hall and her abandoned geta, completely at a loss for words.

+

tbc

+
++++++++ notes ++++++++
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Empress & Concubine