Reno sat on the bench seat waiting for his skyway cab to arrive to take him from Midgar to Wutai.
Leaning lazily backward, his head rested uncomfortably back on the supporting bar. His flaming hair, pulled back into a loose ponytail with the exception of a few bangs falling over his face, was reasonably unkempt, but no worse for wear – at least for him, anyway. His dark suit was rumpled more than 'the usual', as was his collared shirt. He groaned inelegantly as a cable-car whistled by, and the all-too familiar sounds of the skyway station echoed around the small, roofless enclosure; his head pounded ferociously from drinking heavily the night before, and his dark sunglasses concealed tired, bloodshot eyes. He didn't waste the time or the energy to even bother trying to get comfortable, although his nightstick bit ferociously into his side.
As it were, outside of Reno's exhausted mind it was a fine day for the new Midgar. The sun, which the Turk cursed with every passing moment, warmly kissed the new schools, businesses, bars and houses. The cloudless sky stretched out in a brilliant blanket of azure blue, while the ocean to the north-west rippled softly in the fresh, mid-morning breeze, the waves breaking demurely against the warm sand in the distance. The bustle of the citizens was evident as cabs came and went noisily. Personally, Reno just wished the noise would just stop.
To add to the disquiet, a chime-like bell sounded, and Reno made further note to avoid sitting so close to the PA system in the future.
"Boarding call! Boarding call!" a woman's nasal voice sounded. "Sky-cab travelling from Midgar through to Wutai this morning has now arrived and is now boarding. Departure time: approximately forty minutes."
Reno groaned and tuned out the voice as the disturbance in the speaker's frequency squawked static sharply over the entire announcement. The sound spoke clearly of an old woman breathing heavily into the microphone, which little regard for the concerns or sensitive airs of those in the area.
As the lady continued her incessant yapping, Reno wished for the thousandth time he didn't have to be here. He would have rather treated his hangover the orthodox way – curled around the toilet bowl with a warm blanket around his shoulders, and a few Aspirin by his side. At least sleep at home would have allowed him the rest he needed. But no, surveillance was the way it was going to be for the next few days – a mission with little regard for his wellbeing. Sleepless nights, and even more sleepless days where being alert and gathering as much information was the way he had to go to keep Reeve happy. Perhaps he shouldn't have taken that rookie up in a drinking contest last night.
He would rather have Elena do this job, or even Rude, but just like everything that Fate chewed up and spat out in Reno's life, it wasn't meant to be. They were busy, and right now, he was supposed to be as well. Instead they would arrive in three or four days time, and meet up with him in order to take out their target.
The redhead scowled and rearranged his shades as a random pinpoint of light managed to squirm in behind his glasses. It was going to be a long, boring day, he thought - and not for the first time. He was bone-tired, and he knew he'd never get any sleep on the noisy sky-cab. The same would probably apply to the various stopovers they were going to have in between rides, too, if the places were anywhere as noisy as this. He groaned, not for the first time regretting drinking so heavily the night before such a mission. Another beam of light found its miserable way into his glasses, agreeing with him jovially as it pestered the fiery young man. Giving up on even trying to find a compromising position that would agree with him and his glasses, he rolled his head slowly to the left…
...Only to come face to face with a pair of unblinking, wide blue eyes.
The Turk sat up abruptly, putting a hand to his aching head as a wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm him. He glared at the offending blonde kid, and only just managed to smother a scowl. Biting back a yawn and a muffled curse, he continued his patent stare. The boy, unable to see through the black glass, grinned widely, too young, naive and nosy to be scared of him. Reno rolled his eyes, his fingers itching to whip out his night-stick and zap the kid into oblivion - though his mother, a very pregnant and sound-asleep woman even further to his left would probably have something to say about that. So, instead, he opted for the mature thing, and poked out his tongue.
When the kid only copied his gesture, Reno pushed his glasses onto the top of his head, sitting up from his previous slump in the seat and blinking away the morning sun's baleful glare. Last time he'd checked, he'd been alone in the seat. He'd rather it stayed that way.
Ten minutes later, after fifteen glares and four further doses of ignorance, the kid still hadn't looked away, and the 'mother' still hadn't noticed. After a sixteenth glare, the stupid grin that Reno had come to loathe rose again, and the Turk decided to give up. He would have moved away, if there had been anywhere else spare to sit. But there wasn't, and standing right now just wasn't an option.
Reno flicked a stray lock of hair from his face and turned his gaze straight ahead, focussing on his travel-pack in order to distil his rising temper. He swore under his breath when the kid only leaned in closer, and in an effort to keep the him away, he hefted his bag onto the small amount of space to his left, slapping it with a fistful of meaning and raising a thin eyebrow.
The kid was not deterred for long. He picked at a loose string on the bag with a small hand.
His hangover momentarily forgotten - and annoyance rising in its place - Reno slapped the kid's hand away, realizing that not since Cloud and his crew had he faced a more persistently stupid opponent.
In an attempt to ignore the - in his opinion retarded - infant, Reno sifted through his pocket, pulling out a folded wad of paper and opening it to reveal his short, and very plain mission briefing. He grinned and a short laugh bubbled in his throat as he recognised Rude's writing scrawled hastily across the top of the page. 'Stay out of trouble, Reno,' it read. Short and as blunt as the briefing itself, it seemed even the bald Turk, with his simple ways, doubted that Reno could stay out of trouble for a few days.
Did 'trouble' include zapping a kid who was more annoying than Elena could be at times?
His feral grin widened as he read it again. Plain, simple, and home in four days - with luck, no strings attached. Keeping an eye on one person had never been easier. The way he saw it, trouble, no matter how clever it was in pursuing him, couldn't possibly rear it's ugly head in the next few days...
...Then of course, with his penchant for the unexpected, it wouldn't be that big a surprise. Even to himself. Reno shook his head, ignoring the kid that was again intent on tying the strings on his bags in a thick procession of granny knots, pushing out of his mind the things that could go wrong. 'Not going to happen,' he reminded himself, before focussing again on the document.
Forcing the creases out of his forehead as the kid began humming mundanely, Reno's cool aquamarine eyes flicked over the boring mission details, and through the personal files and records of man he was to watch. It was all pretty straightforward, the man's history being one of jealously, loss and bitterness. Seeing nothing of interest he skipped straight to the bottom: 'CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT: DESTROY AFTER BRIEFING.'
Reno shook his head, not even bothering this time to wonder why Reeve Davison, the new head of Shinra Inc. incessantly told them that every time. Destruction and improvisation with such matters was a Turk's specialty. End of story. So he had to destory the papers? No biggie. It would have been done normally. He could have simply pulled out his lighter and be done with it, but when the kid began to hum louder, a sudden smirk spread across his face as a rather appealing idea occurred to him. He had just found something more amusing than merely sitting and waiting for the next cab. Perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone…
As Reno swatted the kid's hand away from the clasp to his bag a second time he leaned over and then snatched the hefty item from the grasp of the young boy, pulling out a faintly glowing, emerald stone. As he did this, he squeezed the monotonous sheets of paper into a fist-sized projectile with his other hand, creating a small item that was compact enough to throw comfortably.
Reno smiled as warmly as he could under the situation, realizing that the child was to asinine to recognize the familiar glint in his eyes. "Hey kid, what's ya name?"
"Jay," the boy answered without question and the utmost trust.
"Jay, huh?" the Turk drawled, looking studiously to the left out of the corner of his eye. A faint and ethereal light reflected on the boy's face and his on eyes as he leaned forward, trying to get a better glimpse at the awesome, glowing stone. Unafraid before, a small spark of fear kindled in the child's huge eyes as the identity of the radiant matter revealed itself.
"Is... Is that-"
"Ye-up." Reno nodded, throwing the ball of paper up and down a couple of times. After a moment, when the object was again in midair, he swiped it out of the air unexpectedly in one smooth, practised motion. "It's called Materia, kid."
The boy's eyes widened as he sat back a little, disturbing his mother only a little. She grunted and shifted slightly, then settled back down. Reno watched as he gulped, his tiny Adam's-apple scraping against his throat in lieu of his fear. And it was then, when the sickly light shone on so clearly on his pale face, and his wide blue eyes opened even wider, that the Turk realized how much the kid looked like a an insect. A nice, squishable bug.
Reno lowered his eyes and began juggling the Materia and the paper in one hand, never one to miss the opportunity to show off. He leaned in closer to bug-eyes. "This is Fire Materia, Jay," he said matter-of-factly, catching both objects and holding the heavier one out for the boy to see. He leaned closer and leered when the boy finally moved away from him a little. "Do you know what people like me do with Fire Materia?"
Gulping, it was all Reno could do to hide his delight as Jay leaned back further, his face paling by the second. "W-hat? Wh-what do they do?" His eyes began to water, and though the Turk knew he deserved it for sticking his nose where it didn't belong, Reno began to feel a little sorry for the kid as he cowered against his slumbering mother.
Then, in a move both calculated and clever, the Turk stood abruptly, spinning to face the child who balked in new-found fright. As he moved he threw the balled paper high into the air, watching it with a devilish grin as it teetered at its zenith, before plummeting; falling down directly into Jay's range of vision...
Then, as it passed instantaneously in front of the boy's startled face, Reno winked and summoned a small fire spell just powerful enough to set such a small object alight. Right in front of the kid's nose - no further away than a foot - the paper lit briefly with a condensed inner glow, before exploding into a large ball of grey, used-up ash, and showering the boy in a spent black cloud.
Swiping up his bag Reno laughed at the sight, along with a small audience that had gathered nearby. Revenge was sweet, the Turk decided as he struggled to contain further laughter. Unhurt, but dazed by the frightful trick, the small child was covered from his sooty face to his feet in dirty black carbon - a filthy by-product of any fire spell. It clung to the kid's face in heavy waves while he sat rigid and shocked, wide-eyed and motionless except for small, rapid intakes of breath. His wide sapphire eyes, so vivid before in his pale face were now, again, the only distinguishable feature of his anatomy. His colourful clothes were rampant in fashionable shades of black and grey, blending like a chameleon into the dark metal of the seat he was perched on.
In a matter of taste Reno snorted, realizing that Bug-boy was no longer a problem. Right now, in fact, he looked more like a fried insect, albeit not a squished one. That was one problem dealt with.
"Much better," the Turk mumbled. And, in a much more agreeing mood than before, Reno turned to leave. Subconsciously he laughed at the reaction the people had to him, knowing that he wouldn't have any trouble finding a spare seat on this trip; the crowd of amused gatherers parted like a wave before him, scrambling to get out of his way should he have another trick up his sleeve. Placing the handy orb of Materia back into his bag, Reno flipped his sunglasses down over his eyes with a smirk of finality, and headed toward his destination.
As he boarded his Sky-cab and took his seat, a high-pitched female voice wrought like fingernails on a chalkboard through the crisp morning air. Catching the name 'Jay' mentioned in among the curses and shrieks, Reno laughed, hoping the kid had a good excuse for getting himself into such a mess. His mother would probably never believe the tale told to her, no matter the circumstance.
'Serves him right,'
Reno thought as he settled down in an entirely fruitless attempt to get some sleep. 'Nobody messes with a Turk.'~*~*~*~*~*~
Yuffie leaned back further in her corner of the soft sofa, slurping at a hot mug of Shera's famous tea, all the while worshipping the cup's distinctive warmth. She closed her ears to noise as outside the wind howled viscously, resounding fiercely against the timber panes of wood and whistling against the framed windows that quivered with every fresh burst of thunder. Rain, an accomplice to the terrible weather, pelted hard into the glass in fitful torrents, fogging it and making visibility poor, obscuring the view of the remaining parts of the town.
Turning back to the only thing that was keeping her warm - she was too distant from the fire for it to really have any effect - the girl took another sip, her large hazel eyes peering boredly over the mug to the people beyond.
Cloud and Tifa, to her left, were curled up on the remaining part of the couch, the lion's share of colourful blankets and quilts piled over their huddled forms. Red, his chest rising and falling slowly with every breath, slept on the large oriental rug in front of her, absorbing most of the fire's heat, his soft breathing barely audible over the roaring fire and hectic weather. Barret sat tall even whilst in a slouch as he stooped with a hand on Marlene's shoulder as the girl, too, slept. Cid and Shera, inseparable since their wedding only two weeks before - finally, three years after the fall of Sephiroth and after much fuss and bother - sat on a couch of their own, the blond-haired pilot's arm draped possessively over that of his wife's. The custom cigarettes that usually draped from the Highwind pilot's lips were instead moved permanently to behind his ears – only by Shera's prompting, of course.
Looking around for the ninth member of the crew that she also knew to be there, the ninja spotted him before a clouded window, still and solemn; unmoving and unobtrusive as always. That the ex-Turk could actually see anything other than condensated glass, Yuffie was dubious.
After another sip, a loud slurp alerted her to the fact that her warm cup had run dry. She leant forward and put it back down on the glass table. She winced as the porcelain clinked loudly on the pane of coloured glass, the small sound being the only noise made inside the room. Sitting back, she sighed loudly for the umpteenth time already that day, more than a little bored, and stretched, receiving a glare from Barret, who then looked down to check the slight girl by his side hadn't been woken up by the noise. The young thief merely raised a quizzical eyebrow and shrugged as the black man looked away.
It seemed that no matter what she did, she couldn't get comfortable again. Trying to settle back into the couch, she leaned back after another stretch, only to notice that Tifa's foot had snaked out and stolen most of her space. That explained the pain in her back. She wriggled fruitlessly trying to regain her territory, but as small as she was, it was still impossible for her to sit without waking the slumbering woman.
Yuffie frowned, then huffed as loud as she could. More than annoyed at losing her spot, she skulked down to the floor after noticing that her previous seat had been the last one left, deciding that since she was suffering, everyone else should too.
No one seemed to notice. Except for Barret, that was, who sent Yuffie another glower that clearly said, 'shut the hell up'. He pointed to the dozing Marlene then put a large finger to his puffy lips, his dark eyes emphatic. Reprimanded for making even so much as a small noise, the young ninja mock-pouted and poked out her tongue. Barret looked away, rolling his eyes. Immature, she knew, but she was bored and uncomfortable and cold. 'Take it up with Tifa, who stole all my room, Barret,' she thought, 'at least then I wouldn't be making any noise. Not my fault Shera wanted a timber floor in her new house.I would have chosen carpet, myself.'
But she held her tongue, instead preferring to think happily over the chaos she'd caused earlier in the morning. It wasn't her fault that she'd woken them all up after her usual exercise routine. And, even if it was (which it wasn't), that wasn't the point. The rain and horrible weather was no excuse to stay in bed, even after a party. Had she known that the wind would have slammed the door shut and that everyone was still sleeping then she wouldn't have charged into the house like the Energizer Bunny. Hell, she'd though everyone had been out or something, not still in bed.
And was it her fault that after that the temptation had been too hard to resist? Especially when the pots and pans used to cook the feast from the night before had been sitting on the drying rack on the bench? Hangover or not, 9:30 in the morning was no time for sleep. Not when there was more exciting stuff to do. Rain was no accomplice for extra rest - wasn't that what Staniv had always told her? 'So sue me if I was the only one smart enough to remain sober.'
Mischievously, she looked around at all the half-lidded eyes, remembering the boisterous broadcasting of curses and phrases that she had emitted that morning in an effort to get them to rise. It had worked well – better than she'd hoped – and the effect had been pleasantly disastrous. She grinned, muffling a laugh at the memory of Cid, clothed only in a haphazard blanket, throwing anything he could find down their stairs at the riotous thief as she created as much clamour as she could with all the pots and pans she could find. She looked up at the lazy pilot, who sat with droopy eyes in the corner of the couch to her right. That was certainly the most he'd moved in the hour and a half that he'd been up. Instantly, it seemed, after her masterful disturbance, everyone had just migrated to the couches, and Shera - the most composed of all the drinkers - had kindly handed out blankets; she was the only one taking pity on them.
Settling down for the moment, Yuffie frowned as she tried to get comfortable on the hardwood floor, wincing and shifting again as something bit into her finger while she moved.
"Damn it!" she said as she nursed the splinter in her finger. "Why the hell do I have to sit on the floor!"
"Shit Yuffie, give it a rest will ya?"
The ninja smirked, swiping a brunette bang from her eyes. The splinter momentarily forgotten, she found a small, roguish smile tugging at the corner of her lips. He did deserve it the rising comment, she convinced herself. No one threw hard objects at her and got away with it.
"Rest, Cid?" she piped up. "That's what night-time is for, but I think you missed out on a little of that last night, huh? Tell me, Cid, are the walls really that unstable in your house? What time did you really go to sleep? Come on now, you can be honest with us!" She winked at Shera, who had moved her hand to conceal her laughter. Yuffie could see her shoulders shaking with mirth. Cid, not so pleased with what the wisecrack implied, jumped from his seat and raised an arm to lean forward and cuff the girl over the head.
...But to no avail. Too quick for the pilot's carelessly aimed flail, Yuffie rolled backwards and danced out of the pilot's clumsy reach as he leapt forward. Dodging another shot, she leapt behind the couch, rolling her eyes at the riled aviator.
"Night equals sleep, Cid," she chortled. "Not se-"
"Yuffie, please sit down."
Reluctantly, the energetic girl turned to Cloud, who nestled a napping Tifa in the crook of his arm. "Fine," she pouted, noticing that Tifa's long legs had at one stage taken leave of her spot. Leaping nimbly over the back of the couch, she plonked lazily back into her previous habitat before the brunette on the couch could so much as move, disturbing the two settled people that had been resting there the entire time.
Cloud glared, while Cid aimed the soft cuff around her head that he'd been planning all along. Yuffie yelped slightly at the shot, and satisfied, the Highwind's pilot nodded his head in acceptance of the punishment before returning to cuddle Shera, his weathered face red with something akin to embarrassment.
Yuffie laughed, waving off Cloud's glare as Tifa continued to sleep on soundly as if nothing at all had taken place. Cloud continued to glower. And so, for lack of anything better to do, the girl from Wutai raised a thin brow in amusement, and poked out her tongue. Nobody told her what to do and got away with it.
***
For the better part of an hour, not to mention the time before that, the group sat there, not uttering a word; either asleep of very close to it. That was until Vincent stirred by the window, his eagle-like eyes spotting a vague silhouette of a figure against the darkened streets. For all the time of day, the tall man noted, it may as well have been midnight on the dark of the moon.
The crimson-cloaked man watched the figure grow increasingly closer as it weaved across and back the small cobbled road, checking addresses against something tucked inside a thick parka. Then, decisively, the outline grew into the more definite shape of a lanky man as it seemed to agree with a final mailbox: Cid's. Vincent watched as the figure seemed to square it's shoulders, before heading up the path to Cid and Shera's home.
Vincent turned to Cid, his glowing ruby eyes as curious as they were going to get. "Someone's coming," he whispered.
It was the first sound uttered for nearly an hour, and though it was quiet, everyone still at least half-awake stirred. Those who weren't bogged down by another form, sat higher in their seats - or on their mat -, stretching limbs that had long fallen asleep. Curious, but not overly motivated to inquire as to who the person may be, they sat forward in an irresolute manner, trying to see through the murky window.
"Who is it?" Cid asked after a second. Shera's chocolate eyes warmed to those of motherly concern.
"A man. Older. Tall. I can't see much else. He's carrying something, but-"
"Oh the poor dear," Shera sighed, forgetting her tiredness and getting lightly to her feet. She moved over to the door. "What is he thinking out in this weather?"
"He can't be thinking a hell of a lot, if he's bloody crazy enough to be outside right now," Cid muttered, following his wife and wiping hastily at the hazy window. Squinting, the pilot tried to make out the identity of the figure heading up their path even as it again began to condensate. He cursed. "Can't see a damned thing!"
Shera, impatient out of curiosity and concern, pushed open the door. "Hello?" she called. Receiving no answer the woman stepped back and shook herself off as heavy gusts of wind forced the rain inside, onto the doormat and the entranceway.
"Hello?" she called again, though a little louder.
In answer a weather-beaten figure stepped forward, and the woman's face cracked into a grin as she surveyed the soaked man.
"Well there you are!" Shera laughed, shaking her head. "Never thought I'd see you out it weather like this!"
Yuffie, unable to see past Barret, jumped up from her seat and raced to the door, looking for something - anything - to cure her oppressive boredom, and any reason to stretch her legs or use her voice, which, in her humble opinion, had been severely neglected in the past few hours.
Reaching Cid and Shera's side, the young ninja rolled her eyes at the sight of Cid, who had pulled a cigarette from behind his ear, lit it, then replaced the one behind his empty ear with yet another of his seemingly endless supply. For someone supposed to be quitting, he was doing a bad job of it. Looking to the newcomer, she noticed the man was tall - much taller than Cid - and rather old, almost bald except for tufts of white hair around the tops of his ears. She'd seen him before around the town while she had been exploring, but she didn't know his name.
"How are you, Shera? Cid?"
Ignoring the man's question, Shera shook her head again at the sight of the saturated man. "Donny!" she tutted. "Come in, you old fool. You're soaked! What brings you here in this weather? Would you like a cup of t-"
"Shera! Give the man a break, huh?" 'Donny' laughed at Cid's comment, shrugging off his heavy coat and hanging it on a hook next to the door. Shera merely smiled and nodded, scuttling into the kitchen, most likely to brew a fresh batch of tea. Cid watched her leave, then turned to Donny, clapping him on the back with a grin. "Fuck Donny, you're mad to be out in this!"
"It's not without reason," the man replied. Turning to his jacket, he reached into an inside pocket and pulled out a small white envelope. Cid squinted, straining to read the small print scrawled onto it.
Yuffie, more than a little curious, stood on tippy-toes, trying to see past the squinting pilot. In an effort to get him to move, she flicked a cigarette from behind his ear, before paying him back the blow he had dealt her earlier. "Cid, let me see!"
As the pilot moved aside a little, Donny closed the door behind him and held out the letter. Taking the small envelope, Yuffie frowned, recognizing her own name printed in slightly running black ink.
"Huh?" she vocalized inelegantly.
"It's for you, in case you haven't gathered." Donny frowned, pointing at the bolder word at the top. Yuffie sobered, noting the boldly-stamped letters also, boxed in by a thick, swarthy line. "It read urgent," he continued, shrugging. "So I brought it right over, otherwise it would have been left until the weather was cleared up, tomorrow maybe. I knew ya were here, so..."
"Thanks," she said, puzzled. Why would she have a letter now? Who would anyone need to contact her here? Wondering into the kitchen, Yuffie parked herself at the table as her thoughts raced on ahead of her.
"You given your address to everyone here, kid?" Cid asked, following closely behind with Donny trailing behind him. The shorter man butted out his cigarette on an ashtray in the centre of the table, then leaned back on the counter, a bushy eyebrow raised.
The ninja frowned, choosing to disregard the comment. Instead, she overturned the damp and still unopened envelope in her grasp. She had looked over the casing on her way to her seat, but had found nothing more than five words: 'Miss Yuffie, Rocket Town; URGENT'. "Miss Yuffie?" she whispered, querying no one in particular. There was only one person she knew that still called her by that title, and that was Staniv. A family friend as well as advisor to her father, the fellow ninja had been the only one apart from her father who she'd told where she was. But why would he send her anything? She read the bolder word again, realizing that the only reason Staniv would send her a letter would be if something bad had happened...
Her face paled at the possible implications, and she bit her lip as she tore open the flimsy paper. Shera, who had been humming a small tune while arranging pastries on a tray, stopped her work when the girl entered the kitchen. She turned, seeing the girl pale visibly while she peeled open the envelope with shaking fingers.
For her part, the girl skimmed over the message, her frown immediately growing into a look of immediate worry as she continued. Clueless, she drafted over it again. It didn't tell her what she feared, but she dreaded there was something that it didn't tell. Something that it couldn't in such an insecure method of delivery. In disbelief at the blunt discretion of the letter, after finishing it a second time, she read it again, not able to make much sense out of the note.
"Strange," she muttered. "How did you get this?"
Donny shrugged. "It's not well known here, because it ain't as common as PHS and all, but I'm the local Postmaster. When the occasion calls for it," he added.
"Oh." She fell silent, too worried at what the words meant to make any further comment.
"So... what does it say?" Taking note of the look of apprehension on the ninja's face, Cid leaned into the table and snatched away the sheet of waterlogged paper. Another lit cigar now hung out of the aviator's mouth as he muttered the content of the note aloud.
"Miss Yuffie," Cid began. "Wutai requires your immediate presence, and your safety. We await your arrival anxiously, as there are grave matters here that immediately await your return, and your authority. Do not travel alone. Hurry. Master Staniv." Cid turned to Yuffie, noting the date. He waved the paper in the air. "It was sent a day ago. What's this supposed to mean, anyway? It doesn't seem like much to fret over, except for the last bit. What could be so dangerous that you need to travel with an escort?"
The girl shrugged, her brown eyes troubled. Her usually happy facade was now sober. "I've got no idea. I've never been called home before, from anything. My father is usually aided by supervisors - Staniv included - and if he is bogged down, then they help him. But if..." her voice trailed off.
"But what?" This came from Cloud, who'd filtered in with the others, clustering around the table.
"But," Yuffie continued. "If my father is sick, or," she gulped, "indisposed, then I am required by law as my father's heir, to step in. My father's advisors cannot do anything without an order. If anything happened, they'd have no leader. My father's aides, as well as mine, cannot carry out any orders without our express permission." She rolled her eyes, divesting her opinion.
"Stupid custom," Barret agreed. "And you have no idea what this is about?"
She sighed. "None. But Master Staniv wouldn't call me home unless I was needed for something, and even then, if I was required, then Godo would write and use his seal instead." She pointed to the paper that Cid held. "It does not have my father's seal, or his signature. I wouldn't know anyway, nothing like this has ever happened before, remember?"
"You're sure?"
She nodded.
"Well why didn't this Staniv guy just call you on PHS?" Yuffie, used to dealing with her father and ministers through letters, though not of this nature, shrugged.
"Let me guess," Cid piped up. "Another custom?"
"Yup." She frowned.
"So they'll deal with weapons, materia, and anything of gain, but not with a global PHS system?"
Yuffie shrugged. "Wutai is a society of warriors so full of pride that they often see what they want as what they need. To them, protecting themselves with their overload of weapons and materia is a way to not only protect them, but keep them busy. It is a trade, not a custom." She paused, her eyes slowly drifting from Cid's eyes down to the note he held in his hand. She shook her head, frowning at the tone she had just taken. "Anyway, it's nothing of worth. I'd better get my gear ready. Cid is there any way I can get to Wutai today?"
The pilot scratched his head, pulling at a loose strap on his flying goggles. His tone was meeker, and his eyes curious as he spoke. "Well, the Highwind's out of the question, I suppose. My pilots are taking more building shipments to Reeve in Midgar from Mideel, and it's docking there overnight before heading to Junon to refuel. There's no chocobos to be caught in this weather, either. The car's out, and so is the ferry. About the only thing you'll manage in this weather is-"
Yuffie snatched the circulating note back, placing it in her pocket. She raised a hand, halting the blabbering pilot with a wince. "So basically you're telling me that I'm gonna have to take the new skyway?"
Cid nodded, Yuffie and Cloud groaned. Barret, not one to be blind to the ninja's travel-sickness, swore, while Tifa placed a delicate gloved hand on her shoulder. Nanaki snorted.
"Oh great!" she moaned. "The sky-way is the only way?"
Vincent, who had just crept in, nodded in concurrence. "Not with winds that big. At least the skycabs are grounded on wires."
"Wires. Thin metal ones supporting a hefty craft that travels thirty metres about ground. And above water." She gulped and ran a hand through her hair. There was no doubt she needed to get to Wutai as soon as she could, even if it meant travelling in less than pleasurable circumstances.
Shera smiled softly at the girl's worried expression. A thought occurred to her, and she turned toward the stove and opened a cupboard just above it. She pulled out a small white box, and whatever was inside rattle slightly as she placed it on the table in front of the girl.
"What's this?"
Shera laughed lightly. "Just the thing you need, dear. Travel sickness pills. I don't need them anymore, and today I think you'll need your head and your stomach if matters are as they really sound." Then the woman frowned, and a motherly expression appeared almost instantly on her kind face. She pushed the item across the table and sat down in a spare seat in front of Yuffie. "And despite your customs, will you please take a PHS with you?"
Yuffie allowed a grin to light up her face. "Of course!" she said, momentarily forgetting her worry. "Rules are made to be broken."
________________________
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, my first chapter done. This chapter may have been boring - and I don't for a moment suspect that it wasn't, lol. It will pipe up next chapter, I promise, and there'll be a little bit of action, drama, humour. etc.
I'd like to know what you all think, so please review and comment on anything you think necessary: style, dialogue, characters, scenes, humour, drama, etc. Review if you think it's good, bad, shocking, okay, average, horrible, etc. ...
...BAH, you get the drift, lol. So please, just review anyway! ^_^
Thanks!