APPEARANCE Yuffie is a short, slender teen, standing no higher than a grand total of 160cm (5'2”). Her slight physique is emphasised by her distinct lack of curves - much to her disappointment, age did not grant her any extra cup sizes. Or hips. She makes up for that, though, with her wicked grin and deceptively well-toned muscles; her build fits her flighty nature perfectly, and she takes advantage of it every chance she gets. Her hair is black, and curls choppily around her jaw and brushes the nape of her neck. Her bangs are almost long enough to obscure her dark brown eyes.
HISTORY[μ]-εуλ1991/11/20 - Yuffie is born to Lord Godo and Lady Kasumi Kisaragi.
In these days, Wutai is a prosperous place; the land is fertile, the towns and villages full of people. Tradition is of incredible import to them; they worship Leviathan, the guardian deity of Wutai, and are rather xenophobic. Change, they believe, is neither needed nor desirable. At some point after Yuffie's birth, Kasumi dies of an illness. As an only child, she will one day succeed her father as the ruler of Wutai.
[μ]-εуλ1992/xx/xx - The beginning of the Wutai War
South of the capital, there is a area of fertile land known as the Materia Caves. ShinRa comes knocking; they wanted to build a Mako Reactor there. Needless to say, negotiations do not go well. Godo outright refuses, and when ShinRa keeps pushing, he leads his people into outright war.
[μ]-εуλ2000/11/xx - The fall of Fort Tamblin
Mt. Tamblin is home to one of Wutai's great strongholds, a veritable maze known as Fort Tamblin. Zack Fair, a young SOLDIER 2nd Class, succeeds in occupying the fortress single-handedly. Upon advancing to the central complex-in order to deal with a monster "kept for anti-SOLDIER purposes"-he comes across a nine year Yuffie. Naturally gifted in martial arts and brimming with a desire to defend her homeland, she challenges Zack, who plays along with her. This meeting is the first, but it definitely isn't the last.
[ν]-εуλ0001/02/xx - End of an Era
The Wutai War is officially declared to be over; Godo surrenders, banning the use of materia. Wutai begins its slow degradation into a mere tourist trap.
[ν]-εуλ0001/02/20 - AVALANCHE
In the aftermath of the war, a Wutai-based anti-ShinRa organization arises. They intensify their terrorist activities.
[ν]-εуλ0001/04/xx - Birth of the Treasure Princess
Already despising what Wutai was turning into, Yuffie begins seeking out ways to restore glory to her homeland. She receives confidential SOLDIER contact details from a 'blond man'. Thus armed with the ability to spam the hell out of her enemies, she hunts down potential treasures-hidden by ShinRa-across the globe, and enlists Zack to help her, since he's the only sucker unlucky enough to fall for her tricks. Unfortunately for Yuffie, most of these 'treasures' turn out to be tricks themselves; empty chests, receipts, porn magazines…
Between this point and [ν]-εуλ0002/09/22, the games continue. First as the Treasure Princess, then as Anonymous, and lastly under her own name; time goes by, and the treasures she hunts for gradually become more valuable, cumulating in the theft of a Bahamut Fury materia from inside one of Midgar's plates; unable to use it, she later sends it back to Zack. We learn that Yuffie has been infiltrating AVALANCHE bases and the likes; she hates ShinRa, but she views AVALANCHE as another unnecessary intrusion.
[ν]-εуλ0003/01/03 - Materia Revelation
Having discovered AVALANCHE's HQ in Wutai, the Turks go blow them up. Along the way, the Turk responsible for the operation runs into Yuffie, who's being pursued by grunts (because she hates AVALANCHE almost as much as she hates ShinRa). Various shenanigans ensue; Yuffie realizes that materia could be the key to her dreams; the Turk plants bombs all over the pagoda AVALANCHE was shacked up in; Yuffie, not knowing what it is, steals the detonator… and detonates it; In their bid to escape, they get chased by AVALANCHE some more; Yuffie demands one materia in return for guiding her new friend safely out of the pagoda; the Turk does battle to give Yuffie time to escape, which she does; Pagoda goes boom; Turk escapes. Yuffie then realizes that the Turk--who she'd actually been coming to like--is… well, a Turk. Turk means ShinRa. Upset, she kicks the Turk, accuses them of stuff, and runs off.
This marks the birth of Materia Hunter Yuffie. Soon after this incident, she leaves Wutai on her quest to gather enough of the stuff to revitalize her homeland.
[ν]-εуλ0003 to late December [ν]-εуλ0007 - Materia Hunting
Having failed to convince her father that he was going about this whole 'bawww Wutai lost' thing the wrong way, Yuffie takes its restoration upon her own shoulders. With Wutai's honor and glory at stake, she sets off for real into the wider world; she visits Wutai infrequently to check on her growing collection of cats and to argue with dear ol' dad.
Spending a good deal of time in forests across the world, Yuffie becomes adept at surviving. She preys on passing travellers, swiping their materia and often other goodies, including money. This is how she meets Cloud and the rest of the AVALANCHE posse; by trying to mug them in the forests near Junon. And then by forcing herself into their party. Awesome first impression, get!
Later December/Sometime in January [ν]-εуλ0008 - The Thief and the Wusheng
AVALANCHE end up in Wutai. Having finally gotten the party right where she wants them, Yuffie moves in for the kill. Leaving the people who had rapidly started to become friends to her to battle a group of ShinRa guards, she swipes their materia and runs for it. The chase lasts for a while, but unfortunately for Yuffie, the last laugh is on her. She's kidnapped by the pervert Don Corneo and his goons, and spends some not-so-quality time dangling off the side of the Da Chao mountains with fellow kidnap-victim, Elena of the Turks. Eventually, AVALANCHE, working in a very temporary 'alliance' with the Turks, comes to the rescue. Yuffie reconciles with the party, and forks the materia over.
Before they leave Wutai, Yuffie undertakes the challenge of the Five Mighty Gods (also known as the Wusheng wtf); to ascend through the Pagoda, she has to defeat each warrior in turn. Upon reaching the top, she's shocked to find that Godo is the mightiest warrior in all of Wutai. The resulting battle is intense; neither of them hold back, each giving their all. Afterwards, the two are seen to be flopped out on the floor, panting heavily… and then they begin to laugh. After a brief discussion, Godo finally learns to see what Yuffie's true intentions are, learns to see that sitting idly isn't going to get Wutai anywhere. Though she doesn't really know it at the time, she's also taken Godo's place as Wutai's Strongest Warrior and the Fifth Mighty God - it is later decided that Godo will stand in her stead, until her journey with AVALANCHE is over, and until she's ready to take his place.
[ν]-εуλ0008/01/21 - Meteorfall; the end of the Jenova War
After the battle with Sephiroth, Yuffie and Vincent rush off to help evacuate the citizens of Midgar. She and her team dig Rufus ShinRa out of the wreckage, saving his life. She also saves Vincent's life, when the Mako Cannon he was investigating is hit by lightning and begins to collapse.
When there's nothing more to be done, the two of them regroup with the rest of AVALANCHE. Amazingly enough, thanks to the combined efforts of Holy and the Lifestream, the Planet is saved - but at a massive cost; Midgar is destroyed, and the terrible disease known as Geostigma begins its reign of terror.
The group returns to the Forgotten City, where they pay their final respects to Aerith and decide to go their separate ways. Yuffie protests, but eventually comes to understand that it isn't such a bad thing. Until, after being unintentionally reminded by Barret, she remembers why she'd joined them in the first place. She requests their materia -- a request that Cloud grants, at least in part. She is given a portion, mostly healing materia, and the rest is left with Cloud for safekeeping (with the understanding that she call him if she feels she needs it).
Late January [ν]-εуλ0008 to ?? [ν]-εуλ0009 - The Aftermath
She returns to Wutai in good spirits, looking forward to a heroes welcome and a party. What she gets instead couldn't be more different.
Her hometown has been badly damaged by the Lifestream; buildings are cracked and crumbling, people are injured. Yuffie becomes a doctor of sorts, using her materia to treat the wounded.
When Geostigma-known to them as the "Midgar Illness"-begins to rip through her hometown, Yuffie is blamed, as she had been in Midgar during Meteorfall. The culprit is actually Yuri, a childhood friend who Yuffie has forgotten. She resolves not only to clear her name, but also to find some materia, somewhere, that can cure it. She spends the next two years alternating between scouring the world, and looking after those afflicted with the terrible illness. Two weeks for one, two weeks for the other. Nanaki, who has been on a quest of his own, occasionally tags along with her.*
December [ν]-εуλ009 - Advent Children
Children begin disappearing in Wutai. Wishing to investigate, Yuffie calls Cloud to request information - he doesn't pick up. Though she doesn't really understand what's going on, Yuffie hitches a ride in Cid's new airship; she's relatively sure that the answers would lie with Cloud, and she's also sure that Cloud's landed himself in trouble again. Along with the rest of her old AVALANCHE companions, Yuffie helps defeat the colossal 'Bahamut SIN' Summon. The Bahamut is from her collection, and she's none too pleased to learn that the 'bad guys' have been messing with her stuff.
Yuffie is persuaded to join the WRO (the World Regenesis Organization, formed by Reeve as a means to protect the Planet from further harm), and is catapulted to the head of Intelligence and Espionage. She spends the next year or so conducting various investigations across the globe. Though it's likely that she often works alone, she'd also help out across the board; training newbies, military issues, etc, as well as continuing her efforts to get Wutai properly back on its feet again.
December [ν]-εуλ0010 - Deepground
Three years of (very) relative peace are shattered by a series of (very) unfortunate events, including the kidnap of 1200 people from Junon, and similar attacks on towns and cities across the world. Yuffie, leaving Wutai's defence to the Wusheng, hares off to help. The threat this time comes from Deepground; a group of elite SOLDIER that have lain hidden beneath Midgar for years, and their leaders - the elite amongst the elite, the Tsviets. Armed with names like 'Red the Red', retarded weapons like imitation lightsabers, and an emotionally failtarded ten year old (or is she?!), they reign dramatic terror across the land. Their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to rip the Protomateria-a plot device used to control a cosmic janitor Chaos-out of Vincent's chest (which they do), kill him (which they don't, because Yuffie is way ninja and saves his sorry butt at the last second), and summon Omega - the being that will, one day, carry all life on Gaia out into the cosmos for tea and biscuits.
Yuffie's role in this is relatively straightforward; providing comic relief* and being a foil for Vincent. She's also very invested in smearing Deepground into a sticky paste across whatever surface happens to be closest. Her most notable appearances are: saving Vincent in Nibelheim; bitch-slapping Emotionally Retarded Jailbait for demeaning the sacrifice of said Jailbait's older sister (who happens to be a WRO scientist and possibly a part-time hooker, if her outfit is anything to go by); enthusiastically throwing herself into battle during the final assault against Deepground (she and a number of Red Shirts act as the advance squad for the aerial corps); and sneaking into Deepground itself so that she can shut down Mako Reactor 0, kill more Deepground cannon fodder soldiers, and help Vincent assassinate the leader of the Tsviets, A.K.A White the Clean.
Just before they can complete that final objective, they hit a roadblock by the name of Black the Black; White the Clean's freaky brother, who takes his bondage fetish to a whole other level. Taking offence at the threat to his dearly beloved, he attempts to envelope our Dynamic Duo in his own personal darkness (which is Very Goth Indeed) - Yuffie finds herself floating in the Shadow Realm this pocket dimension, tormented and incredibly screwed.
A bright light begins to shine...
And she wakes up in Landel's. Talk about anticlimax.
Sarcasm aside:
Jailbait/Ten Year Old: Shelke Rui
WRO Scientist/Hooker: Shalua Rui
Red the Red: Rosso the Crimson
White the Clean: Weiss the Immaculate
Black the Black: Nero the Sable
Red Shirts: WRO troops
A quick note on Yuffie's mission objective after the initial assault on Midgar.
Cid (Japanese): "But those that are called Tsviet will definitely stand in the way, no? In that case, (of course) leave all the ordinary folks to Yuffie." (Meaning that Yuffie gets to play slice-n'-dice with the regular Deepground mooks before/during/after rockin' Reactor 0.)
After she knocks out the power, she meets up with Vincent just before he goes on to crash the Shirtless and Bondage convention.
* Because I am a horrible, horrible person, I'll be hand-waving some of the OTWTAS stuff. Namely: Yuffie being a physical wimp. 'Kay. I'll just say that she was still woozy from using so many healing spells in a relatively short space of time. Or something. GODDAMNIT SQUEENIX MAKE YOUR MIND UP ALREADY
* I'm sort of glossing over this little tidbit. BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING.
PERSONALITY Yuffie has a marked dislike for tradition, and she despises people who are unable to think and/or fight for themselves and their freedom. Though her headstrong and rebellious attitude has been somewhat tempered by her growing experience, those characteristics still provide a strong, underlying foundation for her character - she won't conform for anybody or anything, unless it suits her. This is most notable in her relationship with Wutai (and, by proxy, her father): Yuffie is incredibly loyal to her country, but she was disgusted by the Wutaian people's refusal to stand up for themselves.
Her confidence and pride in herself are immense - and they can also be her downfall. She doesn't like to admit it when she finds herself in over her head, instead pushing forward in an effort to prove that she can do whatever she puts her mind to. Although her peppy, upbeat attitude suggests that she's a complete extrovert, this is not entirely true - Yuffie doesn't forge bonds easily, and it can be difficult for people to penetrate her more superficial, self-centered front.
Despite this, she's remarkably loyal; when she truly befriends somebody, they tend to be stuck with her, and she doesn't like to let go. Even if separated by physical distance, her friends are hers. Nobody, according to Yuffie, is allowed to mess with what she considers hers without permission. When AVALANCHE parted ways after Meteorfall, Yuffie protested, striving to keep everyone in touch.
She loves praise and recognition, but quickly becomes uncomfortable and flustered when people thank her, especially if they sound genuine. Though highly adaptable, she prefers to twist and manipulate situations until they suit her instead of conforming to expectations - and as much as knocking other people off balance entertains her, she doesn't often appreciate it being turned back on her. Her superficial emotions can be very apparent, and she often neglects to think ahead, but Yuffie is a highly talented trickster and a great actor. She's more than capable of keeping her true thoughts and motivations close to her heart.
Overall, Yuffie is generally well-intentioned, even if her methods can leave more than a little to be desired. She's grown to be genuinely friendly and cheerful when caught in the right mood, though she'll never lose her smart-aleck streak, and she's as street-smart as they come. She usually knows what she's capable of (though she's prone to boasting, embellishments, and not thinking things through properly), loves the adrenaline rush of battle and the thrill of showing off, and is probably the least likely ninja ever known…
… Which, for her, is half the fun.
On a parting note, it's also important to note that Yuffie is a ninja. She has been a ninja all her life. Though she's frequently unorthodox, she is very good at what she does. She's perfectly capable, both physically and psychologically speaking, of taking lives, and even seems to be happy when on the battlefield. However, she doesn't ever kill just for fun, and wouldn't target innocents. As for theft, I do not believe her to be a kleptomaniac. She takes what she feels she needs, as and when she needs it, and it really, really doesn't bother her. Materia for Wutai, gil for survival, potions to patch herself up, secret files for her job at the W.R.O; that sort fo thing. However! If she feels she's owed something, or like she's been slighted? Then she'll have some fun.
CANON ABILITIES• Excellent reflexes, balance and sensory perception. Very good at judging distances, angles, etc. (Kinaesthetic learner, visual thinker, highly developed spatial awareness.)
o On the flipside, she has a tendency to get clumsy when she isn't really focusing.
• Resourceful with both terrain and weaponry. AKA she can kill monsters with origami as well as stupidly gigantic shuriken..
• Defies the laws of physics on a regular basis; can run up walls and buildings, jump easily over 50ft in any direction while performing elaborate gymnastic tricks and keeping track of her shuriken.
• Talented martial artist (hand-to-hand, close-range, and long-range); mastered her style at the age of sixteen. Particularly good at nailing enemies in critical areas and then getting the hell out of the way. Deadly accuracy even with moving targets. Speed, flexibility and dexterity are her best areas; can move faster than the eye can see, etc. High endurance compared with your average civilian, but lower-middle compared with the rest of AVALANCHE. Deceptively strong for her size.
• Limit Breaks (when the 'fighting spirit aligns with and emits from the body') and materia.
o Yuffie's magical defence sucks and she's one of the lower-middle spell-casters in AVALANCHE. Very good at coming up with combos and chains, though.
[
Close combat in Ehrgeiz 1] ❀ [
Close combat in Ehrgeiz 2] ❀ [
Close combat in Ehrgeiz 3] ❀ [
Close combat in Ehrgeiz 4] ❀ [
Limit Breaks; ignore the red glowy bits] ❀ [
Skip to 1:00 and watch through 1:24 for Yuffie's intro to AC. Then to 3:40 through to 3:43 to see a jump and a throw. Then 3:55 to 4:06 to see wall-running, a shuriken throw, some gymnastics, and a catch. Then from 6:29 through 6:33 to see some Cloud-tossing/gymnastics] ❀ [
Skip forward to 4:55 and watch through to approximately 5:06. An example of Yuffie's speed and her shuriken tricks.]
TWEAKED ABILITIES • Still has her skill in martial arts, acrobatics, and throwing. However, they have been weakened:
o She can no longer kill things with origami, but if she throws a pen at you it'll hurt more than you'd expect. Also has mad Frisbee skills.
o Still a little stronger than a girl her size and weight should be; can swing her shuriken (9kg) around with little to no trouble, but throwing will be limited (it's practically impossible in the hallways, anyway).
o Just a little faster than humanly possible.
o 10ft is her limit for a vertical jump. Gravity-defying acrobatics are limited, but with concentration she can still manage some of her tricks (think Parkour/Freerunning kicked up a notch).
• Still has access to her Level 1 Limits, Greased Lightning and Clear Tranquil. The requirement for accessing both is a degree of stimulus and/or desperation; the more excited, frustrated or angry she gets, the quicker she can unleash the Limit. Continuous frustration at being trapped means that she can access Clear Tranquil at the start of NS, but the after affects hit her harder.
o Greased Lightning: Quick dash forward. Heavy downward slash, starting above the head. Jumps back to a safe distance, holding shuriken in right hand (over to the left side of her body). Very quick, powerful throw. Catches as usual. Target doesn't actually feel anything until the second strike. Twice her usual strength in Damned; only time she can throw her shuriken as she does in canon. Max: 3 times per night.
o Clear Tranquil: Walks forward. Arms spread. Left arm drops down, right hand raises - slowly lowers weapon until its front of her face. Bows head; eyes close. Blue bubbles (somewhere between water and air) expand, and then burst. Max: 2 times per night. Effective on herself and up to two allies; completely heals small-to-medium wounds, larger wounds will be partially healed. Will be discussed at the time.