So, I thought I'd have a nosey through the numerous fics I've written but never uploaded, and came across this one from July 2012. It's been a blast from the past, reading through some of my old stuff! I've only made some tweaks here and there, but otherwise, this is as true as I wrote it all those years back.

Obligatory disclaimer that I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its intellectual property - that honour goes to Square Enix.

They had all seen the battle between Chaos and Omega, seen the crumbling remains of the monstrous WEAPON as it died, seen the falling red sparks that had been Chaos- or rather, Vincent.

Though it was upsetting for the party to admit, they assumed he must have died. Nobody had heard from the quiet gunman in a week, and no trace of him could be found anywhere.

But despite their reservations, nobody gave up. Cid patrolled the skies in the Shera with Tifa and Barret; Cloud and Nanaki scoured the land with the motorcycle Fenrir and Nanaki's keen nose; Reeve had his WRO scouts on lookout and patrolled anywhere they could be put safely. As a team leader within the WRO, Yuffie was part of this, and had been stationed around Midgar and Edge, where Vincent had last been. The day after the battle, Yuffie had clambered fervently up the ruined, rusting supports of Midgar to where she had seen the red sparks fall and fade. There, hooked on a broken bit of scaffolding, she had found the Cerberus charm that hung from the dirge of Vincent's pistol, also named Cerberus. Showing it to the party, this was what convinced them that he was gone.

But the one person that refused point-blank to lose hope was Shelke Rui, the former Tsviet, a young girl trapped in time, much like Vincent. Nineteen years old, in a body ten years younger, Shelke saw much of herself in Vincent, and had been struggling with the sudden change to normal life, and as such, Tifa had kindly let her stay and help out at her bar, to let her adjust at her own pace.

Currently, Tifa was out on her usual morning patrol of the skies, leaving Shelke on her own at Seventh Heaven. Figuring this was a good time to learn about day-to-day activities, the young girl cleaned the bar and attempted washing up, with rather disastrous results. I will never get the hang of this, she thought bitterly. Must it take so long to unlearn everything I was beaten into at Deepground?

A voice floated in from the next room rather suddenly, which no longer surprised Shelke. The other members of the party often dropped by on the times they allowed themselves a break. "Anyone here?"

Shelke looked round the kitchen door. It was Yuffie, in her usual blue top and yellow shorts. She looked tired, and her hair was mussed up. "Good morning, Yuffie," Shelke said, wiping her hands on a tea towel.

"Hey there," the ninja replied, then did a double-take. "Shelke, you have soap suds all up yourself! What the hell have you been doing?"

"Washing up," the girl said meekly. "I am afraid I have lost my womanly touch."

"Honestly..." Yuffie breezed into the kitchen, and smirked at the sink, which was full to the brim with bubbles. "Never mind. I'm sure Tifa can show you later. Come on, let's get you upstairs and into something dry." She took a half-hearted Shelke into Marlene's room (she and Denzel were at school at present), where she began riffling through the seven year old's wardrobe. "Hmmm...ah, here we go. She kept saying it was far too big anyway."

Shelke blinked at the pale pink dress with cream collar Yuffie held out to her. "You mean for me to wear this?"

"Anything's better than that odd Mako suit you're wearing now. And it's soaked! Just put it on, okay?"

Shelke took it from Yuffie, noting her agitation. She had taken the loss of Vincent harder than the others, and could go from cheerful to irritated to upset and back to cheerful in less than a minute. "Ugh..." Yuffie ran a hand through her hair. "I'll be downstairs." She left the room, leaving Shelke to struggle out of her grey and blue jumpsuit and put on the dress, which actually fitted her quite well. She tugged at the collar, not used to such additions to clothing. It will do, she thought to herself as she made her way back downstairs, and I might look a little more normal in conventional dress.

Yuffie, sat on a bar stool and swinging her legs, gave a little smile as Shelke reappeared. "Suits you," she remarked.

"Thank you." Shelke sat on a stool also. "What are you doing here, Yuffie? What has brought you away from the search?"

The ninja sighed. "I just don't think he's here." She pulled the Cerberus charm out of her pocket and frowned at it. She had been holding onto it ever since she found it. "Me and the WRO guys who were stationed with me have scoured every single part of Midgar and Edge. Nothing! If he's anywhere, it's not in this vicinity."

"You look tired."

"I'm exhausted. It's alright for Cid and Tifa and Barret, they're all holed up in the airship, but I'm running around and working my ass off! And for what? For that damn vampire to still be pulling his disappearing act!" Yuffie groaned, and put her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do..." she whispered.

Shelke felt as though she should comfort her, but had no idea how to go about it. Instead she asked quietly, "Do you need a drink? Tifa has been showing me how to mix them."

Yuffie lifted her head up. "I think I just need a coffee. Lots of sugar."

"I can do that." Sliding off her stool, Shelke went back into the kitchen, shaking her head at the mess she had made of the sink. She made a hot drink for Yuffie, and carried it back carefully. The ninja looked grateful as she passed it to her; in the few minutes Shelke had been in the kitchen Yuffie's eyes had taken on a red, sore look, as if she had been crying. "You do not look well, Yuffie," said Shelke. "Perhaps you need to rest. It is still early, after all, and we have many other people looking for Vincent."

"They don't even think he's alive," Yuffie muttered, warming her hands around her coffee. "But I know he is. The Vince I know doesn't just up and skip away after a big fight like that. He's immortal, for Leviathan's sake!"

The former Tsviet nodded. "I feel the same way, though I have not known him nearly as long as you." She pulled herself back onto her stool. "Tell me a little more about him, Yuffie. From what I have gathered you appear to have been the closest- no- are the closest to him out of everyone."

Yuffie smiled gently at Shelke's correction. Though they had not gotten along at first, their occasional conversations had caused them to become gradual friends. She sipped her drink, closing her eyes for a moment. "How much do you know?"

"I know his name, age, chronological age, parts of his personality, and the information gathered from Lucrecia Crescent and Professor Hojo's files. I know nothing of what others think of him. It would be...nice to know."

"Ever the pedantic. You're just like him, you know." Yuffie put her drink down and crossed her legs, leaning an elbow on the bar. Her face took on an almost rapturous expression as she began to speak."He used to be so quiet...he'd never speak unless you pressed him to. But when he did, he'd have something really important to say. We were all really surprised when he chose to return and fight Sephiroth, since he was distant with all of us...well, most of us. By that time I'd known him a few weeks, and he used to sit with me at night. Didn't say much, but it was those times, when we talked, that I saw him smile...it would make his face just light up. He used to say I made him feel at ease, because I let him be himself, and I didn't ask anything of him." The ninja smiled at the memories.

"You speak of him very highly."

"Well, he's a real nice guy once you get past the deadpan looks and the silent treatment."

"...Tell me about what happened after Sephiroth was defeated."

At this, Yuffie frowned. "There's not a lot I can say on that one. Me and him were evacuating citizens in Midgar when everyone else defeated Sephiroth, and once they returned to pick us up he stayed for a day or two, then just took off, saying his work was done. I think he felt guilty knowing that Lucrecia's son was dead. I know he was just awful, but whatever Sephiroth was, he was still the offspring of the only woman Vince ever loved. He might have thought there was another way to handle everything. I don't know...it's hard to tell with him."

Shelke considered this. Everything Yuffie said sounded exactly like Vincent; it was as if she knew everything about him, or at the very least just had a very good memory. "How do you feel about this, Yuffie?" she asked the ninja. "With Vincent gone- or missing, should I say, how does that make you feel? For I know you care for him very much."

"I..." Yuffie bit her lip, and looked away from Shelke's earnest blue eyes and questioning expression. "I don't know..."

She took a hurried gulp of coffee and gasped as it burned her throat. She coughed for a moment before resuming. "The whole party, they mean the world to me, of course, but it's not the same. Vince was my best friend out of all of them, even if he was the silent, brooding one who wouldn't answer any of my questions. Whenever Cid called me a brat, Vince used to glare at him like he wanted to kill him." The young ninja rubbed her hands over her arms, as if shivering. "He hugged me once, you know."

Seeing Shelke raise an eyebrow in surprise, she chuckled. "Yeah, doesn't sound like him, does it? It was after we'd finished evacuating everyone from Midgar, and I'd dragged his ass off that damn cannon. I was pretty scared, to tell you the truth. Shit was falling down all round us and Meteor was getting closer all the while, and there were people screaming...it was awful. And he just held me, and whispered to me, "I won't let you go." At that moment...I felt like nothing could hurt me..." She sniffed, blinking back tears. "Now he's not here, I guess I feel pretty empty."

Shelke went round the bar and pulled out a pack of tissues, which she offered to Yuffie before sitting back down. The ninja dabbed her eyes, clutching the Cerberus charm so hard it dug grooves in her palm. Shelke reached out and carefully pried her fingers off it slightly so she wouldn't hurt herself. "...You love him," she said quietly.

Choking back a sob, Yuffie closed her tired eyes. "Yeah," she murmured.

That confirmation was all Shelke needed to hear. "In that case, we shall double our efforts to find him." Yuffie looked at her in surprise, then jumped as her mobile started to ring in her pocket. Fishing it out, she flipped it open, set it on loudspeaker so Shelke could hear also, and put it on the bar. "Hi, Tifa," she said, trying hard not to sound choked up.

"Hey, Yufs!" Tifa sounded cheery. "Whereabouts are you?"

"In the bar, with Shelke."

"Good morning, Tifa," Shelke said.

"Hiya. Anyway...good news, we've found him."

Yuffie dropped her cup. It shattered on hitting the floor, but she ignored it as she leaned over her phone. "Is there bad news?"

"Hopefully not. He doesn't know we're here, so Barret's staying to keep an eye on the cave-"

"The cave?!" Yuffie exclaimed. "We checked that cave, like, five times! Lucrecia's cave?"

"That's the one. Looks like he went back to it. We're coming back now to get you. I've phoned Cloud, so he should be at the bar soon."

Yuffie smiled widely, and clasped her hands. "Oh my god, that's amazing! Okay, I'll see you soon!"

"Bye, you two!" Tifa put the phone down.

Yuffie squealed excitedly. "This is brilliant! But I'm going to kill him for not coming to us first!"

"Perhaps he was nearer the cave than Edge," shrugged Shelke. "Regardless, it is good to have him back."

It really is strange looking back on the past stuff I wrote. But it's about time I uploaded it anyway. Please let me know what you think.

Tia