NAME: Yuffie Kisaragi
SERIES: Final Fantasy VII
CANON POINT: Dirge of Cerberus: Midgar Assault (between chapters 7 & 8)

HISTORY.

Yuffie Kisaragi, daughter of Godo Kisaragi, is the princess of Wutai. Her childhood was hectic; not only was she a naturally precocious child, but the on-going war between her country and the ShinRa corporation threatened to tear apart everything she held dear. She spent her pre-teens causing as much trouble as possible, sneaking around in dangerous places and spamming ShinRa's SOLDIERS with emails and text messages. When she was ten years old, the fighting stopped…

… Yuffie did not.

To show his surrender, Godo had forbidden the use of materia and began the process of turning his country into a tourist trap. Disgusted and let down, Yuffie began to run off, stealing from travellers in the hopes of restoring the former glory of her country. It wasn't long before she grew sick and tired of her father's unwillingness to act - his refusal to stand back up and fight was the cause of a great rift between them, punctuated by vicious arguments and yelling matches. (Though we were never told exactly when Yuffie first left Wutai and began her self-appointed quest, I estimate that she set out into the wider world when she was about 12.)

She spent the next few years doing what she did best - surviving, and collecting as much materia as she could get her hands on. She grew used to relying only on herself, and using everybody and anybody else. When AVALANCHE, led by Cloud Strife, encountered her in a forest, sixteen year old Yuffie marked them as her next target. She got rather more than she'd bargained for. Several times they encountered her; several times, they defeated her, while losing plenty of Gil and items in the process. Eventually, Yuffie weaselled her way into the party… her intention, of course, being to grab their materia at the most opportune moment.

AVALANCHE's quest to defeat Sephiroth and save the planet didn't mean much to Yuffie, at least not at first. She helped them because if she didn't, she'd lose her big chance to snatch a large amount of powerful materia. She helped them because Wutai was on the planet; if the planet got blown up, there'd be no more Wutai for her to save.

Part way through their journey, AVALANCHE ended up in Wutai. Having finally gotten the party right where she wanted them, Yuffie moved in for the kill -- well, the materia. Leaving the people who had rapidly started to become friends to her to battle a group of ShinRa guards, she swiped their materia and ran for it. The chase lasted for a while, but unfortunately for Yuffie, the last laugh was on her. Soon enough, she found herself kidnapped by a pervert known as Don Corneo, and spent 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, came to the rescue. After this, Yuffie reconciled with the party, and forked the materia over.

Before they left Wutai, Yuffie undertook the challenge of the Five Mighty Gods; to ascend through the Pagoda, she had to defeat each warrior in turn. Upon reaching the top, she was shocked to find that Godo was the mightiest warrior in all of Wutai. The resulting battle was intense; neither of them held back, each giving their all. Afterwards, the two are seen to be flopped out on the floor, panting heavily… and then they began to laugh. After a brief discussion, Godo finally learned to see what Yuffie's true intentions were, learned to see that sitting idly wasn't going to get Wutai anywhere. Though she didn't really know it at the time, she'd also taken Godo's place as Wutai's Strongest Warrior and the Fifth Mighty God - it was later decided that Godo stand in her stead, until her journey with AVALANCHE was over, and until she was ready to take his place.

Yuffie was even determined to stick around for the final showdown with Sephiroth, in the depths of the Northern Crater. Sephiroth was defeated, but it seemed like all their efforts were in vain - he had still summoned Meteor, and they hadn't been able to summon Holy in time to launch an effective counterattack. Despite how hopeless it seemed, Yuffie and Vincent rushed to Midgar, where Meteor was predicted to land. Together, they helped to evacuate the city. The responsibility was huge, but Yuffie rose to the challenge. She even saved Vincent's life, after the Mako Cannon he was investigating got hit by lightning and began to collapse.

Amazingly, Meteor failed. The Lifestream rose out of the planet to destroy it, and though Midgar was left almost completely uninhabitable, Gaia on the whole had been saved.

After returning to the Forgotten City to pay their respects to Aerith, AVALANCHE collectively decided to separate in order to rebuild their lives. Yuffie fiercely contested this idea, wanting everybody to stay in touch - they had gone from being little more than a target to her, to being something approaching a surrogate family. A few well-spoken words placated her… until she remembered why she'd joined them in the first place. She asked for their materia, just some of it, so that she could use it to restore her homeland. The request was granted, but only in part; all of the materia would be hers in name, but Cloud would keep the vast majority of it with him.

She returned to Wutai in good spirits, looking forward to a heroes welcome and a party. What she got instead couldn't have been more different.

Her hometown had been badly damaged by the Lifestream; buildings were cracked and crumbling, people were injured. When Geostigma--known to them at the time as the "Midgar Illness"--began to rip through her hometown, Yuffie was blamed, as she had been in Midgar during Meteorfall. She resolved not only to clear her name, but also to find some materia, somewhere, that could cure it. She spent 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.

Two years after Meteorfall, children began disappearing in Wutai. Wishing to investigate, Yuffie called Cloud to request information -- he didn't pick up, his phone having sunk to the bottom of a lake. Though she didn't really understand what was going on, Yuffie hitched a ride in Cid's new airship; she was relatively sure that the answers would lie with Cloud, and she was also sure that Cloud had landed himself in trouble again. Along with the rest of her old AVALANCHE companions, Yuffie helped defeat the colossal 'Bahamut SIN' Summon. The Bahamut had come from her collection, and she was none too pleased to learn that the 'bad guys' had 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.

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 the Terminator 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.

She's on the way to Candy Mountain Deepground when she gets snatched by Valora.

---

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.)

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 find out just how much she cares. Though highly adaptable, she prefers to twist and manipulate situations until they suit her - 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 genuinely friendly and cheerful, though a bit of a smart-aleck, 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.

ABILITIES.

Yuffie has trained as a ninja practically since she was born, and she's ranked comfortably amongst the elite. She's strong (a bit stronger than a girl her size and age has any right to be) enough to throw a massive shuriken* around with ease (she still has her canonical throwing ability*), is well-versed in close combat as well as long-range fighting, and is a little too good at stealing.


*Her shuriken completely defies all laws of physics and logic. It's almost as though it's a separate entity, and Yuffie's a master of it. Please see the reference videos, and talk to me if you want to try deflecting it.

*Her taste in weaponry is eccentric, to say the least, but she makes up for it with sheer, deadly skill. Yuffie somehow manages to defy all known laws of the universe to (very effectively) pull off these babies. Please note the Wind Slash, the Pinwheel, the Superball, and the Oritsuru. Her ability to use such weapons is still with her in Conscripted.

She's also known to use daggers, smaller throwing stars, as well as smoke, stun and flash bombs. Likely has training with several other weapons (if her house in FFVII is anything to go by), but the aforementioned are her preferences.

I. Agility ❀ Think super gymnast on steroids. Agile as a mouse (and speedy enough that she can move faster than the eye can see), with a dash of gravity defying acrobatics on the side. Running up the side of a building and leaps of easily over fifty feet (need to find the screenshot that shows how high that building in AC/C was. 15 storeys, I think) in any direction are all completely natural to her.

II. Gauntlet ❀ Her opponents are caught in an expanding vortex of blue energy, which somehow hurts like hell. It also bypasses all defenses, such as shields. Effective against both single opponents or groups. (Autocritical and Piercing. Several times the strength of a standard physical hit.)

III. Doom of the Living ❀ An incredibly fast 15-strike combo. Yuffie moves around her opponent to attack them from all angles; though the slashes are slightly less powerful than her standard, she moves so quickly from place to place that it really is like she teleported. Each time a hit connects, there's a spark of purple energy and a flash like a miniature explosion. Again, effective against both single opponents or groups. (Can go critical.)

REFERENCES
[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.]

APPEARENCE.

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. She has short black hair (side part, with bangs swept to the right; at its longest, it brushes the nape of her neck) and dark grey eyes.

Asian-looking, stereotypically so; leans more on the Japanese side of things. Said to have a very "cute" face. Kinda long legs, very not curvy. Canonically, she likes short-shorts. A lot. She also likes to expose her midriff, wear very long socks, either sneakers or boots that resemble them, and avoids heels like the plague. Some form of arm-warmer and glove is also a staple, as is a headband. Bright colours are common, but so are more muted tones, particularly khaki and dark blues. Most of her clothes promote freedom of movement.