Epilogue III
The first sight of Wutai from the airship made Yuffie's heart ache. The sun was setting behind the western mountains, its warm light glinting off the rivers and painting the statues of Da-chao in gold. The buildings of the capital threw long shadows across familiar streets, and she wanted to be down there walking them. The time it took the crew to anchor the Highwind felt like an eternity. Yuffie scrambled down the ladder, leaping from the last rungs.
More than four months since she'd left. The summer season had come and gone without her, and the colors of autumn now worked their way into the trees that grew along the riverbank, tracing the way into the city.
It was too late in the day to try to work out some meeting with Godo, and Yuffie didn't have anywhere to put up her friends for the night, so most of them had opted to stay aboard the Highwind. Nanaki alone had insisted on accompanying her, like he didn't want her returning to her own home by herself. It was weird... but she didn't mind, really. If she drew any surprised looks, she could blame it on the big cat, instead of the fact that she'd been gone so long that maybe people had stopped expecting her back.
"Your home is beautiful, Yuffie," Nanaki said.
"Yeah, I know," she said.
One of her cats was out--Kurumi, lounging on the steps up to her house in the last of the sunset light. The calico froze as she noticed them, and when they continued their approach, she turned and bolted.
Just scared of Nanaki, she told herself. They wouldn't have forgotten her, right?
"Anyway, this is my house," she said as they climbed the stairs. She unlocked the door and pushed it open.
The room was dim, only a little light coming through the paper windows facing west, but that just made it look lonelier than it would have already. After her time with AVALANCHE and one cramped sleeping situation after another, she was struck by how solitary her home was. Just one stool by the table, the other shoved into a corner, unused. The tiny stove, too small to accommodate cooking for guests anyway. The screen that divided off the sleeping area seemed silly now. Who was that for?
Nanaki gently pushed past her into the house, the light of his tail chasing off the deeper shadows. Yuffie ran a hand through her hair and followed.
"Like I said, it's not much," she said. She found the table lamp and lit it, spreading a steadier light.
"I don't require much," Nanaki replied. "What's downstairs?"
"Oh, that's the dojo. Y'know, for training."
"You make it sound as though all homes have one."
"It's kind of a big deal in my family. This house used to belong to my mom."
"I see. Then she was a warrior as well?"
"You bet your ass she was."
Nanaki sat on his haunches beside the table, waiting on her direction. Yuffie had never had a houseguest before. The old woman next door was the only other person she'd even allowed inside--not that anyone was lining up to visit.
"Uh, I'm gonna go change," Yuffie said, jerking a thumb towards the screen. "But I can probably make tea or something. Do you drink tea?"
"If you'd like. But don't trouble yourself over me. Take your time and settle in. I have some inkling of how you must be feeling."
"Yeah?" Yuffie wondered. She unslung her shuriken from her back and hung it on the wall, pausing a moment to look at the two measly materia she'd collected glinting in the slots. Then she sat down to unlace her boots. She thought everything else was as she'd left it, but... "Did you feel... weird at all, coming home?"
"Yes," said Nanaki. "Things had changed in my absence. I had changed in my absence. I had expected that everything would be as it was before, but that isn't quite the case. It's still home, but I feel I belong to it in a different way."
"Everybody was so glad to have you back though," she observed. "Must've felt good."
"Is there really no one who will be happy to see you've come home?"
Yuffie set her boots aside and stretched out her bare feet. "I doubt it. There's people who'll be respectful to my face, 'cause of my dad, but they talk about me different when they think I'm not around. Definitely nobody was upset when I said I was leaving."
"Well... That's their loss," said Nanaki.
Would it be any different now? she wondered. She doubted Wutai had changed much while she'd been gone, but she had, like Nanaki said. Would anybody notice that? Or would they still see her as just some bratty kid?
She'd never much cared for traditional clothes, but she changed into an old yukata, folding herself into cloth that smelled like home. Then she pulled her futon from the closet and arranged it on the floor. Would it feel weird to sleep in?
Yuffie shoved her feet into a pair of sandals and stepped out from behind the screen. "You know what? Let's take a walk. It's too early to be cooped up inside."
"All right," Nanaki agreed easily. "I would be glad to see more of Wutai."
They stepped out into the twilight, and though there weren't many lights burning, Nanaki's tail lit their way. Not that she would have needed it; she could walk these streets blindfolded.
"Y'know, I always wondered-- how come you invited me on that walk back in Cosmo Canyon?"
"When we first arrived?" he said. "I suppose... I didn't think you really wanted to be alone. Perhaps I didn't either. I wanted to share my homecoming with you all, but the others had their own reasons for being there."
"...I was kind of a jerk about it," said Yuffie, the closest she could bring herself to an apology.
Nanaki shrugged his tail. "We weren't quite friends, back then."
And she'd been really bad at it, she added mentally. But Nanaki was about the first person she trusted to be genuine with her; he might sometimes be disappointed in her behavior, but he'd never talk shit about her behind her back.
"Cosmo Canyon's not really my kind of place either," she went on. "It's so dry and dusty and full of nerds. But... I can see how it suits you. And it's not stuck in the past, you know? You guys all care about the future, too."
"Do you feel Wutai doesn't care about its future?"
"...yeah, I guess so. I guess that's it. It's like the Shinra beat us and everybody gave up."
"Perhaps they're waiting," Nanaki suggested.
Yuffie glanced at him, puzzled. "Waiting for what?"
He hesitated a step before he continued on at her side. "...when Hojo captured me, of course at first I attempted to escape. But I soon realized that I couldn't do it on my own. I had to turn my energy to enduring it. Then Tifa and the others came, and I had my chance."
Nanaki never talked about his time in captivity, and Yuffie wasn't sure if she was supposed to say anything about it. "Well, I hope you're right," she said, deciding against it. What would she have said anyway?
But she thought maybe he was right, at least about some people. Old Gorkii, always keeping up with his training even without anyone to fight. The blacksmith, filling his shop with weapons no tourist would ever buy. The woman down the street who'd go on about the old gods if she had even a little to drink. They were the ones she'd thought she might be able to sway from Godo's way of thinking, if she could come back strong enough.
The plan had been materia. That hadn't worked out so well, but... She was strong in allies now. She just wondered if her people would be willing to trust outsiders. People who'd once supported Shinra themselves.
She guessed she'd find out tomorrow.
Nanaki asked her about the places they passed: the shops and larger houses, the pagoda rising in the distance, Da-chao watching over the capital. His interest was genuine, and knowing every answer helped Yuffie chase away that feeling that she didn't really belong here. This was her turf. No matter how long she'd been gone.
They returned to her house when night fell. Nanaki slept on the mat beside her futon, and it actually wasn't so hard to fall asleep.
Yuffie woke the next morning with a weight on her chest, but she wasn't alarmed. She opened her eyes to make out a ball of white fur curled atop the covers. "Hey, Mochi," she said.
Mochi wasn't the only cat who'd come into the room overnight. She could feel another small warmth pressed against her side, and in the rafters above, she made out at least one dark shape. They hadn't forgotten her. Maybe they were just a little mad. They might've thought she'd forgotten them.
Of course, all three of them bolted when Nanaki stirred. She'd have to introduce them later.
She got dressed in regular clothes this time and sent Nanaki off to meet the others at the edge of town while she went to see old Gorkii. She found him sweeping the first floor of the pagoda, keeping it ready for the matches that never happened.
"Miss Yuffie!" he exclaimed, proper as ever. She'd never heard him talking about anybody behind their backs. "When did you get home?"
"Uh, just last night, actually."
"Well then, welcome home. Things have been quiet without you." Did he say that like a good thing or a bad thing? She wasn't sure.
"I was wondering about that," said Yuffie. "How much news've you guys gotten in the past week?"
"I suppose you mean from abroad? You should know it rarely reaches us so quickly."
"Yeah, I guess not..."
"Has something happened?"
"A lot of somethings," she said. "The gist of it is that Shinra's not looking so hot right now, and I'm in with the people who made that happen. If we could get Wutai to help, too, then we could push them even harder. We could put an end to Shinra."
Gorkii's vaguely pleasant expression grew serious, guarded. He hesitated. "Why are you talking to me about it?"
Yuffie drew in a breath, and she tried to speak carefully for once. "Godo wasn't talking to me when I left. I... thought you might be able to help. My friends want to meet with him."
"It's not like you to ask for help," Gorkii observed.
"Yeah, well... Guess I've changed a little. Can you set it up or not?"
Gorkii thought for a moment, glancing out the high window in the direction of her father's house. "I'll speak to him on your behalf," he decided, "but I can't guarantee he'll be agreeable to a meeting."
"I know. But you know I won't just leave it at that, if he says no. We can't just sit around when the whole balance of power in the world's about to change."
"Try to have some patience, Miss Yuffie."
"No way. This is not the time for patience."
"I mean," Gorkii said patiently, "at least wait to see what your father says before you make plans to defy him."
"Oh," said Yuffie. She scratched her head. "I can do that."
They left the pagoda together, and she watched him cross the square to Godo's house. The house she'd grown up in, its halls too big and empty for a little kid whose parents were away at war. She'd never really felt at home in it.
She met up with her friends outside of her house. Marlene squatted on the riverbank, staring at the fish, while Barret kept a watchful eye. Jessie and Aeris were looking up at Da-chao, and didn't notice her approach until Nanaki drew their attention.
Not all of her friends had come, but she hadn't expected anyone to come back with her at all. It felt funny to see them in this context now. Two totally different worlds crashing together.
Jessie and Aeris both exclaimed over how beautiful the capital was, and Yuffie's chest swelled with pride. She led them back across the river towards Godo's house, and with people out in the daylight, they were definitely drawing stares now. Yuffie held her head defiantly high; that's right, these were her weirdos.
Gorkii was waiting for them at the gate into the square, and to Yuffie's surprise, he said that Godo had already agreed to meet with them. But that might not be a good thing, she reminded herself; maybe he just wanted to get it over with and send them away, his mind already made up to turn down whatever request they made of him.
Barret left Marlene in Aeris's care and followed Gorkii's direction, leading the way into Godo's house. Jessie and Nanaki followed, and Yuffie ventured in after them. She directed them down the long hall to her father's study, but hung back from those doors.
"I'm gonna wait out here," she said. "I don't wanna mess up your chances."
"You sure?" Barret asked her.
Yuffie nodded, and made sure she stepped out of view before they slid the door open. She watched them file in and close it again behind them, and she leaned back against the wall, listening.
"So, you must be our visitors," came her father's voice. It still had a kind of authority in it, but he hadn't said anything important with it in a long time.
"That's right," said Barret, and he went on to introduce the three of them--himself, Jessie, and Nanaki. There was a pause while maybe her father wondered why he was introducing a 'pet,' but he at least demonstrated enough manners not to ask.
"Gorkii told me you've come to speak to me about the Shinra," he said instead. "My gut tells me I should ask you to leave, but I'll give you five minutes to persuade me otherwise."
"How much do you know about AVALANCHE?" Barret asked.
"I've heard of some rebels who've been bothering the Shinra lately. They bombed Midgar and assassinated the President."
"That's... only partly true," said Jessie. "We never assassinated anybody, and we only bombed one reactor."
"And you came here for what? My support? The war is over."
"I understand you haven't got the latest news," said Barret. "'bout a week ago, we struck a huge blow against Shinra. Midgar lost half its reactors, an' by all accounts Heidegger an' Scarlet are both dead. Rufus's retreated to Junon. Plus we got one of the other execs to turn whistleblower. People are finally startin' to turn against 'em."
Another pause. "I thought you said you didn't bomb any more of the city," said Godo.
"We didn't," Nanaki reiterated calmly. "We were able to accomplish this using a very old magic called Holy, which comes from the heart of the Planet itself. Shinra was warned... and chose not to listen."
Jessie went on, "Reeve, our whistleblower, was taking charge in Midgar last we heard. At least for the time being, Shinra's lost its main base. We came to you looking for an ally, to help us finish the fight."
Godo didn't answer right away, and Yuffie held her breath. Would he...? For once, for once, would he actually let himself be persuaded to care?
"Even if I were to verify everything you're saying," Godo said slowly, "you're naive to think you're close to defeating Shinra. Wutai had its victories, too, but they meant nothing in the end."
"We ain't naive," said Barret. "We know there's still a hard fight comin.' But we done all that with just ten of us. If we had the power of Wutai on our side... Y'all held off the Shinra for nine years, an' that was them at their strongest. Think how it could be now, with them weaker, an' with other folks willin' to fight alongside you."
"Wutai was at its strongest in those days, too," said Godo. "How many of our warriors do you see now? You want me to pledge us again against the Shinra, but they're not as weak as you think they are. Junon's the seat of their military power, not Midgar, and your man in Midgar won't last anyway. Either he'll rethink his loyalties, or they'll get rid of him."
Of course, Yuffie thought, her jaw and fists clenching as bitter disappointment settled in the pit of her stomach. Of course that was his response. Wutai was no match for the might of Shinra, he said. Not anymore. Never had been, maybe.
"But you wouldn't be fighting them on your own," Jessie insisted.
"Your band is small," said Godo. "Ten people you said? No. I won't put my people through that again just for you. Leave Wutai, and take your ideas of fighting the Shinra with you."
Yuffie couldn't hold herself back. She threw open the door. "You coward!"
"Yuffie...!"
Too startled to pretend he'd never met her. Her friends turned in surprise, too.
"Shinra is crumbling, and you still won't get off your ass?" she demanded.
Godo bristled. "How dare you speak to me that way. You've never understood what the war cost us."
"And you've never paid any attention to what you still had! You and everybody else who survived the war just mopes around all day mourning how great things used to be, and you get mad at anybody younger who doesn't know the old traditions. Well, how could we? Whenever anybody Shinra is around, you shut right up about them like you're ashamed. Well, I'm not gonna be ashamed of doing things my way."
"I forbid it, Yuffie. You're not to get involved with these people."
Yuffie snorted. "You forbid it? Who d'you think brought 'em here? I'm a full-blown member of AVALANCHE, and I was at Midgar when all that shit went down. I've been fighting the Shinra for months. Or didn't you even notice I was gone?"
"You stupid child," said Godo, stepping past Jessie to approach her. "What if they were to realize who you are?"
"What? You worried I'll make you look bad? That I'll bring the Shinra down on your head? Maybe I should. Then you'd have to fight 'em, wouldn't you?"
"You're putting all of Wutai in danger."
"Look around! Wutai's already in danger--in danger of losing who we are. And it's all because you're cowering in here like a scared dog!"
"Why you...!" Godo's fists balled at his sides, and his voice rose with all that damn useless authority in it. "Get out. Get out of here right now."
Yuffie stood her ground. "No. Who are you to order me around? You won't stand up to the Shinra, you might as well be one of them."
Godo stepped forward, his arm drawing back, and Yuffie raised her hands reflexively.
Barret's fist crashed into the side of Godo's face, knocking him to the floor.
"The hell's wrong with you!?" he shouted.
Yuffie stared. Godo was pushing himself up on one arm, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Barret stood over him, planting himself between them like a shield.
Yuffie didn't know what to do. She turned and ran out into the hall.
Godo's voice carried, low and furious. "How dare you..."
"Me?" Barret interrupted. "How can you call yourself a father, treatin' her that way!?"
"She's insubordinate--"
"She ain't your subordinate, she's your daughter! Shit! I thought she might be exaggeratin,' some o' the stuff she told us about you, but she was holdin' back! Were you really gonna hit her? Your own daughter?"
"Barret..." Nanaki said softly.
"What? You think I'm wrong?"
"No, but..."
"I'll go check on her," said Jessie.
Yuffie hurriedly wiped her eyes and dashed down the hall to the shrine, but Jessie caught up to her inside.
"...you okay?" she asked.
Yuffie nodded, though it was a lie, and glanced past her out into the hall. No one else followed, and raised voices continued indistinctly. "...sorry I messed it up," she said.
"What?" said Jessie, taken aback. "No way. Your dad is a grade A asshole. Besides, he'd already told us no."
Yuffie bit her lip and turned away. Ahead of her glittered the golden statue of Omni, the god who was meant to embody the best qualities of everything, a leader whose example was meant to inspire the rulers of Wutai. Godo was doing a crap job of emulating him, but was Yuffie really any better? Was she being reckless, putting Wutai in danger?
Jessie's hand came to rest on her shoulder. "He should be proud of you," she said. "Of everything you've accomplished with us. What happened in there, that's on him, not you."
"Even though I started it?"
"He's the adult. He's supposed to know better."
Yuffie frowned. "I'm not a kid."
"I know, I know... But he's supposed to be your father."
"Marlene is so lucky," Yuffie found herself saying, and then a panic swept over her. "Shit, don't tell Barret I said that."
"What? Why not? It's a compliment, he'd be thrilled."
Yuffie shook her head. "No, it's stupid. It's so stupid..."
Tears stung her eyes again, and she tried to pull away, but Jessie moved with her, her arms enveloping her.
"Hey, no, it's not," said Jessie, and her tone said that she'd figured it out. "It's not stupid at all. I'm the one who told you you could choose your family, remember?"
"Don't they have to choose you back?" Yuffie mumbled into her shoulder.
"You don't think he would? He just punched that jerk in the face for you, didn't he?"
"...yeah."
To hell with it, Yuffie thought. She lifted her arms to hug Jessie back, her fingers curling into her shirt. Was this what family was meant to be like, looking out for you and taking your side, even when you might be a little wrong?
There came a cautious knock on the doorframe. Yuffie hurriedly disentangled herself from Jessie's arms and scrubbed the back of her hand across her face.
"Yo," said Barret. He stood in the doorway with Nanaki at his heels. "Sorry about... makin' a scene in there."
"It's okay," said Yuffie. "Th- ... Thanks for sticking up for me."
Barret shrugged. "Don't mention it. Guy's a shitty excuse for a father. Doesn't realize what a great kid he's got."
Yuffie's voice stuck in her throat. She couldn't quite figure out what it was she wanted to say.
"But it would probably be best if we leave, after that," said Nanaki. "Perhaps we can talk to some others around town instead. Once you feel ready for it."
Yuffie nodded.
Jessie glanced at her. "Yuffie wanted a minute in the shrine," she said, walking to the doorway and nodding for Nanaki to join her. "We'll meet you two back outside, okay?"
"Huh?" said Barret, but then he caught a look from her and scratched his head. "Oh, uh. All right."
Nanaki followed Jessie out without question, leaving Yuffie alone in the shrine with Barret. She fidgeted, knowing exactly what Jessie hoped she might find the courage to say.
"...he ever hit you before?" Barret asked her.
Yuffie shook her head. "Just during training."
"Not sure that makes it okay."
"...did you really mean what you said?" she asked.
"Which part?"
"About... me being a great kid."
"Well, yeah," said Barret. "You can be a real brat, but y'know, I got my less than stellar moments, too. An' I've seen you grow up a lot in just the time we've known each other. If I were him, I'd be proud to call you my daughter."
"Would you?" Yuffie blurted, and then she quickly turned away again. "Never mind. Forget it!"
Barret was quiet for a long, mortifying moment, and Yuffie prayed that she would just sink right into the floor. What could he possibly make of a request like that? Sure, AVALANCHE went around calling each other family all the time, but most of them didn't have any otherwise. They were standing in Yuffie's house right now, in her town that nobody had burned to the ground with her dad that nobody had murdered probably still seething just down the hall.
"Well now..." Barret began carefully. "Figure we oughtta get Marlene's opinion, but I don't see as how she'd be against havin' a big sister."
"You can't be serious," Yuffie choked out.
"Weren't you serious?"
Yuffie didn't answer. She wasn't sure her voice would work right.
"Don't know how much parentin' you need," Barret went on, "bein' so grown up already, but it's nice havin' somebody you can go to. Whether you need advice or just shit like... rememberin' your birthday."
He was really serious, wasn't he? Well, why not? He'd already adopted one kid. Was that what he was thinking? Yuffie swallowed down a sob and spun to hug him. He couldn't see her face if she was hugging him.
"...November 20th," she managed.
Barret's hand settled across her back. "Hell, that's just next month," he observed. "Gonna have to figure somethin' out."
"I like presents."
"I figured."
"I'm not gonna call you 'Dad.'"
"Up to you."
Yuffie held on for a while longer. Her image was totally ruined after today, wasn't it? But, maybe it wasn't so bad. They were a bunch of saps, so they wouldn't think any less of her for it, right?
Later she'd figure out how to broach the subject of how she wasn't sure she was really anyone's 'daughter.' But it was fine for now. It was fine, if he was proud to say it.
At length she pulled back, made sure her face was dry, and glanced up at Barret. What now?
"You wanna meet my cats?" she asked.
He looked amused, but gave a shrug. "Sure, I'm up for it. We could use a breather, an' you ain't shown the rest of us around town yet."
They left the shrine, Barret walking at her left-hand side so that as they passed Godo's study, he stood between her and the closed doors. They stepped out of the house into daylight, and Yuffie let out a breath she'd been holding.
"Are you okay?" Marlene was the first to ask, and Yuffie faltered, wondering exactly what they'd told her. Or was it really that obvious?
"Y-yeah," Yuffie said. "I'm okay now."
"I heard we didn't make any friends," Aeris said wryly. "I'm sorry, Yuffie."
Yuffie waved a hand, trying to brush off any more concern. "Yeah, well-- It's like I said, right? We weren't likely to get any help from him. We'll just have to figure something else out."
"But right now we got some cats to meet," said Barret, crouching down in front of Marlene.
"Kitties?" she said eagerly, and she put her arms around his neck as he lifted her up.
"Ten of 'em, I hear," said Jessie.
"I've only witnessed five so far," said Nanaki.
"They're a little shy," Yuffie said defensively. "Plus they've had the whole place to themselves for a while. You're gonna have to be patient."
"I know," said Marlene sagely. "You have to wait 'til they come."
"That's right," said Yuffie, managing a little smile. She'd never once in her life thought about having a sibling, but Marlene wasn't so bad. Apparently she was already a cat fan, and maybe Yuffie could be a good influence on her--a counterpoint to all the mushy stuff she got from Barret and Tifa.
"Anyway, c'mon," she said.
As expected, her cats scattered out of sight the moment they all came through the door, but Yuffie made her friends some tea, and after a while, a few of the braver ones ventured back out. Marlene was delighted, and the others were at least polite about it. It went worlds better than introducing them to her dad, she couldn't help pointing out.
She couldn't quite get that off her mind, and eventually, she told her friends she needed a little time alone. She left them in her house, and went to climb Da-chao.
It had been an almost daily ritual, before. Not a lot of people made the climb; the old folks didn't have the energy, and the kids younger than her didn't know enough about the gods to take an interest. That made it a good place to be alone, while still feeling connected to something.
Reaching one of the gods' outstretched hands, she settled herself in his palm, her feet dangling over empty air. The whole of the capital stretched out beneath her, buildings in miniature. Even the pagoda looked small from up here, and so did Godo's house beside it.
Even Yuffie couldn't fault his leadership during the war, and part of her could understand why he still had so much respect. He'd carried on the fight for nine long years, even after losing his wife, and a lot of people probably still remembered that Godo. But who he was now...
He was the one who was out of touch. Leviathan had come when she called, and it would never have done that if there weren't something worthy in her. It couldn't be wrong to fight for the things she cared about. Her friends, the Planet, Wutai...
Yuffie couldn't be the only one who wanted more for Wutai, right? Godo was just one person, and he was the wrong person. There were others who'd be waiting, like Nanaki said, and they'd know their moment when she brought it to them.
After all, she had people who believed in her now. She could convince a few more to stand with her--and then a few more than that, and it could be like an avalanche of her own, maybe. It might take a while... but if Yuffie was anything, she wasn't a quitter.
So, it was time to get to work.