Final Fantasy VII Advent Children 2

Chapter 13

" They've all been gone for like a day, what happened to them?" Yuffie whined, concerned for the absence of her friends. She was busy helping Barrett and Nanaki tend to the orphaned children upon the airship.

"Beats me. They coulda gone anywhere for all I know!" Barrett grumbled.

" Daddy, when will Tifa, Cloud, and the nice man come back? I really wanna see them... And Vincent and Cid too! Do you think the nice man will bring his brothers? I wanna meet them!" Marlene was restless, as were the other children, all anticipating Cloud's arrival.

A few children were playing with Nanaki, who would occasionally let the smaller ones ride on his back. He told them stories of his kind, and kept them thoroughly entertained for quite a while.

Yuffie tried her hardest to keep up with all of the children's pleas for food and such. They were all bored, and every one of the people on the High Wind at the moment was concerned for Cloud, Tifa, Cid and Vincent's safety.

Barrett paid attention to all of the children, not just Marlene. Though he seemed to direct the most attention to her, he played games with all of the children.

Trouble broke out very quickly though, as Barrett had managed to lose a watchful eye over his 'daughter' for a moment, and she snuck away as fast as she could. The man was in a panic over her absence and Yuffie and Nanaki tried to calm not only the frantic children, but their friend as well.

"I don't give a word what Cloud said for me to do! I'm goin' out there to find Marlene!" And without further discussion Barrett had left to find her, leaving Yuffie and Nanaki with a handful of panicking children.

" Should we... you know... go after him?" Yuffie asked the red creature in front of her, a dumbfounded expression on her face. She didn't look too much different now, just a bit older. Nanaki chuckled slightly, a low growling noise to anyone else. Her attitude hadn't changed much either; she was still as hyper and oblivious as always.

"No. We should let him go... He'll be back with the girl soon. She went to go find Yazoo, Tifa, and Cloud, whom I sense are fast approaching. We have to stay here and care for the little ones right now." He said simply. "Alright everyone!" His tail swished a bit as he spoke to the younger people around him. "It's about time you all got too sleep. It's late enough already!"

The ninja simply shrugged and went to work helping the handful of children get tucked in on the hard floor under some blankets they had brought.

Yazoo had been carrying Tifa for quite a while now, and though she was incredibly light, and it wasn't much of a burden, he decided to set her down and stop to sort the mixed up thoughts in his mind. The silver haired man laid her on the ground very gently, and sat down beside her cross-legged.

Tifa shivered slightly in her sleep, causing Yazoo to realise just how cold it was out. He sighed and took her into his arms once again, hoping that there would be enough heat from his body to keep her warm.

' It should not be too much farther until we reach her friends.' He thought. ' Still, all of these thoughts in my head, and this strange new feeling... I need to think things over carefully...' Yazoo was driven out of his train of thought as the woman in his arms stirred.

Tifa looked up at the expression on his face, and frowned. "What's the matter?" She asked groggily, placing her hand on her head slightly.

" Nothing, I simply stopped for a moment."

" Stopped? I thought we were..." Her dark eyes scanned the area around them and she realised it was different. "How did we get here?"

"I carried you. The sooner I get you home, the quicker I can leave." He muttered coldly.