FicWad

After a long six weeks of searching for the source of a distress call that originated in almost the middle of nowhere, the small team was exhausted.

The two Turks, Elena and Reno, were ready to go back and see their coworkers, while everyone else was just ready to be rid of their trouble. The main problem though was Reno. He didn't know when to stop bothering people, and out of the six, the one he seemed to bother the most was the one who craved solitude most.

After hearing the reasons behind the groups' trek through the wilderness, Vincent Valentine had nearly declined to go in the first place. He thought that this objective didn't have anything to do with him and didn't want to intrude on the others' business. After the begging that proceeded from Yuffie Kisaragi though, he was convinced otherwise.

He was now starting to seriously regret that decision. Almost everything had been starting to get on his nerves, and out of that, especially Reno. After so many weeks of the constant annoyance that the one man was, he was ready to be alone. And be alone for a long while. He didn't feel that what they found had proven to be any benefit to him anyway.

He had a deep rooted hatred of all things Shinra, and what they had found was the prodigy of one of the largest Shinra based experiments. In fact, it had been one of the most recognized S.O.L.D.I.E.R. first classes that had been in their ranks. Zack Fair. All Vincent knew of him was that he had been one of Cloud's closest friends in the beginning of his S.O.L.D.I.E.R. career. And Also, that Cloud had watched that friend die, shot down by the very same people that he had devoted himself to for so long.

How this man was alive though was the real mystery to them all. When they set out they didn't expect that they would find anything closely resembling the long dead S.O.L.D.I.E.R. but when they got to the site of the distress signal, a abandoned site deep underground, they saw the lone figure sleeping on the cold floor.

At first Yuffie and Tifa had thought it was a dead man, but upon further investigation, they discovered he was just in a very sound sleep, and proceeded to awaken him. He said he didn't have any memory of what he had been doing for the past several years, or where he had been, but that he too was surprised to be down in an abandoned cavern.

Henceforth, the group decided they could set up camp in the mouth of the cave, figuring that if Zack could sleep in there for who knows how long, being totally unaware, there couldn't be anything too dangerous lurking inside.

Slowly they set their gear up. Everyone was tired from the long day, and all of them were ready to get back to Midgar, especially Tifa who had left behind Denzel and Marlene with Cloud. She hoped they were alright, she hadn't planned on the journey being so long, but she was sure that they, along with the occasional help from Barret, were fine.

Vincent would probably not be returning to Midgar. Everyone knew this in the back of their minds, but no one wanted to talk about it yet. He didn't like the noise of the large city. Even if he go into the city to meet up with everyone, it would be a very short stop for him, and he would be headed out, either to Nibleheim or somewhere else that even he wasn't sure of yet.

Once everyone had most of their things ready, they gathered together for dinner, however small it was. A few cans of beans, some bread, and a freshly killed rabbit, courtesy of Reno and Elena, was their dinner for the night. After each one got their food, except Vincent who seemed to skip meals more often than not, they split into their little groups. The Turks chose a spot not far from Tifa, Yuffie, and Zack, while Vincent moved closer to the entrance of the cave.

While the others talked, he half-listened to their conversation and stared out at the setting sun. He hated being stuck in this cave for the night, though he wasn't sure why. Something in it didn't feel right to him and he wanted to explore it more, but didn't want to stir up more trouble for the rest of the group. He decided he would just have to come back to it later, knowing there was something more to the cave where they had found Zack.

While he sat there, lost in thought, he heard footsteps approaching from behind. He looked over his shoulder and sees Reno approaching him. Out of the whole group, the one who gets on his nerves is that very person. Reno is the most noisy and rude person in their group, and frankly Vincent doesn't understand how he ever was recruited into the Turk program.

"Hey bud, penny for your thoughts." The redhead says loudly. Vincent's frown deepens and Reno seems perfectly content with that fact, seeming to smile even wider at the fact.

"It's none of your concern." Vincent replies shortly. He doesn't care for small talk and would be fine if Reno decided to walk away right now.

"Oh, come on. I know there is something on your mind, as there always seems to be. What's the big deal?" Reno replies back. He then sits right next to Vincent, who seems to tense up at the unexpected closeness.

"There is no deal." He replies shortly again. Vincent starts to stand, deciding to leave the cave and explore the nearby area, instead of having any more of the conversation with Reno.

"Oh, come on man really? You're just gonna leave?" Reno calls after him. Vincent just nods and jumps down from the cave, since it's in a small cliffside. It's not a too much of a jump for him, just about fourteen ft. down to the forest floor, but anyone other than Vincent would probably have been injured from the fall.

He then quickly scans his surroundings, making sure there isn't anything lurking close by getting ready to attack him, and then headed deeper into the forest.

Yuffie

Yuffie, who had been watching from the other side of the cave since Reno headed Vincent's way, got up and headed over to Reno. He was talking to Vincent, who looked extremely uncomfortable, and she knew that Reno was probably up to no good.

As she gets closer to them, Vincent stands and jumps out of the cave. Alarmed, She runs to the edge and watches him stalk off into the forest.

"VINCENT! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" She yells after him. She waits to hear anything, but just as she expected she doesn't get an answer.

"What did you do now, asshole?!" She yells at Reno, who tries his best to look innocent. She wacks him on the head and then puts her hands on her hips glaring down at him.

"Nothing, I swear. You know how he is. Why do you always blame me when he gets all upset anyway." Reno stands up then and starts heading away from the entrance.

"Oh whatever Reno. Everyone knows you like to bug him, it's only common sense that you're the reason he left." She scolds him, following him back into the cave.

"Why do you always get defensive about him?" Reno asks. "Are you in love." He says, drawing out the last word with a mocking expression. Yuffie wacks him again.

"Of course not, you Idiot! Why do you always have to say stuff like that? That's why no one likes you." She then storms over to Tifa, who looks like she is barely holding in her laughter.

"Oh come on it's not funny, Tif. He is such an Idiot. I don't understand why he feels the need to annoy everyone so much, we're here because the Turks needed out help in the first place." She sighs, she gets so frustrated with Reno all the time.

"Oh, Yuffie. You just need to learn to let things go. Reno is just trying to get everyone worked up, don't you understand that?" Tifa tells her, and then laughs.

"I know, I know, but it's just so easy to get angry at him. You know me, I don't have much self control. I say what I'm thinking, even if he's baiting me to be angry at him." She says back. Sometimes, she did wish she would have more of a verbal filter, but where would the fun be in that? She enjoys being able to say what she wants, most of the time, but understands where Tifa is coming from.

"Yes, I know that." Tifa says. "And we all love the way you are, but I'm just giving you some advice. Because If you react to Reno, he will just keep going. I think Vincent knows that too, and that's why he decided to leave for a while." Yuffie shrugs and goes to her bag. She searches through all her stuff, trying to find a pair of semi-clean clothes, but has no luck.

That's another bad thing about this whole trip, they all ran out of clean clothes to wear, and now are wearing the same things over and over again, which is not a fun experience in the least.

"Well, It's getting late." She announces. "I need my beauty rest, I'll see you all in the morning!" She then lays onto her makeshift "bed" and slowly goes to sleep.

VINCENT

The forest seems very peaceful in the night, though Vincent knows just the opposite is true. He can hear a pack of Nibel Wolves prowling not far away, and all kinds of other things scavenging in the darkness.

He is sitting at the base of a large tree in a small clearing, and every so often he can hear the bushes to the left of him rustle, like there is a small animal climbing inside.

While most would be put off by the daunting environment, Vincent thrives in the darkness. His senses seem heightened by the darkness and he enjoys hearing the sounds of animals and monsters prowling through the night. He knows he should head back soon, and keep watch from the cave, but he hasn't had a second of solitude in so long and wants to stay for a little longer.

He also feels a little guilty for ignoring Yuffie's call earlier. She probably just wanted to make sure he wasn't leaving for long, and he didn't even give her the courtesy of a response. He knows she probably doesn't care at all, but there is guilt gnawing away at him for being so inconsiderate.

Finally, after sitting there for nearly three hours, he heads back to the cave. As he enters, he looks around at the group. All of them are asleep, except for Zack. His training makes him more alert than all of them, and he probably heard Vincent entering the cave. That or he was keeping watch for them all, something that only Vincent had done for the majority of the trip.

"You gonna keep watch?" Zack asks him. He nods in reply, and watches as Zack stands up from the stone perch he had been sitting on and lays down on borrowed items from the rest of the group.

Vincent then goes to the very edge of the cave, and hangs his legs of the cliff-side, watching the forest until the sun slowly coasts up into the sky.