#wangst etc

The group continued walking in relative silence, crossing the long bridge separating the pagoda from the temple district's main concourse. There was a faint chill in the air, as well as the first hint of sakura blossoms drifting on the evening wind. A school of multicoloured fish lazily circled around the bridge's posts near them as they passed by.

"So... 'Lady Kisaragi', huh?" Tifa said, teasing Yuffie. "Is that how we should address you from now on?"

"Please don't," Yuffie said, a little embarrassed by all the pomp and circumstance surrounding her upbringing. "It's just a title."

She jumped up onto the nearest bannister, arms held out to either side as she maintained a precarious balance while they kept on walking. The others marvelled at the young girl's sheer vitality. Despite using up most of her stamina mere moments earlier, she was already back to her usual shenanigans.

"Speakin' of which..." Barret said. "What's all this mean, exactly? You're, like, the new head ninja or something?"

"Yep," Yuffie nodded, beaming with pride. "I mean, I always knew I was amazing. But it's totally official now."

She rushed on ahead, leaping on top of a tall stanchion near the middle of the bridge, darting a finger towards the setting sun. "I am Wutai's greatest contribution to ninja-dom. Suck it, dad!"

Her bratty antics made Cloud chuckle, something that was a rare enough occurrence that he immediately had her attention. Curious, she hopped back down to the ground, landing next to him. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Cloud said. "I just didn't expect the world's top ninja to be so..."

He trailed off for a second, causing her to grow flustered and self-conscious in spite of herself. "What?"

"Cute."

Yuffie grinned.

"... Shut up," she replied, giving Cloud a playful punch on the arm, before turning away from him in an effort to disguise how hard she was blushing.

Excerpt from "Dissolution", chapter 4:

"'When you die, you return to the planet'?" she said, repeating the words of the elders. "That has literally got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Once you die, that's that."

Cloud looked at her with genuine curiosity. "Why do you think that?"

"'cause I've seen plenty of death," Yuffie said. "Back in Wutai, I mean, during the war. There's nothing romantic or special about it. One minute you're breathing…"

Memories of her childhood flashed before her eyes. Of civilians being slaughtered in the streets by the unthinking, unfeeling machinery unleashed upon her people by Shinra. The damaged, malfunctioning automaton rampaging through the burning thoroughfare, all jagged spikes and twisted metal, frantically slashing away at anything in its path, tearing flesh from bone as it carved its way through the fleeing survivors. The screams intensifying throughout the crimson night. The way she, as a child, hid helplessly behind a rock, scared out of her wits, powerless to do anything but watch as the massacre unfolded, recoiling as another innocent bystander was cut down right in front of her, spraying warm blood across her face…

She shut her eyes for a moment, picking up a fistful of sand from the ground, letting the tiny grains slowly slip through her fingers. "The next, you're just… dirt in the ground. Fade to black. End of story."

Cloud simply nodded, noting her uncommonly gloomy disposition. She couldn't tell whether he agreed with her or not, but he seemed to at least be considering her point of view.

"So, if you get that, you get why I live every day like it's my last."

She leaned over the bannister, her slender fingers idly drumming a disjointed tattoo on the handrail while she let her thoughts wander. The Highwind burned on through the morning sky until the island vanished from sight altogether, leaving only the coruscant skyline.

Oh, that's right, that work thing. That pays my bills and rent and stuff.