A/N: It recently occurred to me that WuTai is kind of the Tibet of the FF7 world, which renewed my interest in WuTai and Yuffie, and brought me to finish this piece (although it has nothing to do with politics), which I started several years ago. Enjoy!
I don't know what people have against WuTaians! We pay our taxes, just like everyone else. We help people in need. We do our laundry regularly. We have an appointed leader – who happens to be my dad! – and he has lots of subordinates scurrying around in appropriately self-righteous manners, so, more or less, everything gets done that needs doing. You know what I mean? In every respect we're a perfectly normal, conforming, independently-governed-municipality.
But, for some reason, the rest of the world apparently still sees fit to treat us like dirt. Tourist trash, you know? I don't know what excuses people think of to belittle the cultural center of the world. I mean, the ShinRa can pump out electric power till they keel over and die, but they'll never understand the finer points of a geisha's arts or see a samurai's wall hung with the swords of less honorable enemies. And they'll definitely never understand a princess ready to shun her royal heritage and pretend to be a ninja to try to win back WuTai's former honor, a fraction of our former dignity.
The ShinRa don't know what honor is, what dignity is. They don't even know what WuTai is. Ha ha.
Take this ass we just picked up, for instance. Great, Cloud. Fabulous-wonderful. Only you could sneak into a dilapidated, abandoned mansion, searching for something as bstract as "answers" (whatever that means), and come out with something a little more concrete – a tall, pale, red-robed, raven-haired THING. I'm not sure WHAT this guy is. If I were a few years younger, I would have thought he was a goryo. Spit in his direction when he passed, always have salt in my pocket in case I met him on the road.
Of course, I'm older now, and obviously I realize he's human. Deep down. He's scary-looking, but come on. He couldn't be anything else. His appearance, however, is definitely unsettling; he's tall, taller than Cloud, taller than Cid actually, and his gaunt blanched body is built so small and sly that he looks even taller. Cloud and Cid both have some muscle on their frames, to even it out some, but this guy is all bone. He's so white, I don't know. Maybe it isn't skin. Maybe it's snow-colored bone I'm seeing. Goryo. I shiver in spite of myself.
Anyway, couple this formidable figure with fiery, blood-hued eyes, flickering with intensity; with long black lashes; with waist-length, silky hair; and, oh yeah, with a cape! I'm not kidding, the guy has a cape, a crimson robe billowing out behind him over ebony tunic and leggings. The collar of this cloak is so high that his mouth is obscured. He's more than frightening, he's a truly terrific sight, let me assure you.
And, when he and Cloud and Tifa came strolling very calmly out of the ShinRa Mansion, looking quite normal and contented, I glanced at Cid. The pilot spent time among the WuTaians, knew legends of the goryo, tales of the vampire-ghosts of aristocrats, who steal human's souls and puppeteer their bodies… "Goryo," I whisper to Cid, under my breath. He laughs.
Oh, that's comforting.
In the legends, the animated cadavers – the goryo's puppets – can't speak. I test my theory directly. "Cloud? Tifa?!" Tifa waves; Cloud nods. Nowhere near good enough! I run to them. "Tifa, come on, talk to me!"
She shoots me a worried look and says, "Are you all right, Yuffie?"
I huff a big sigh of relief, glancing back at Cid, who's rolling his eyes. I stick out my tongue in vengeance. It's not my fault I'm willing to ensure that our bestest buddies in the whole world aren't zombified, and he thinks he's too cool for that stuff. We'll see who the zombies go after first if we ever encounter a real goryo and, hint, it won't be me.
I turn back to Tifa, Cloud, and the not-goryo. "Who is this guy?" I demand. "Some kind of crazy vampire thing?" Vampires are a Junon legend, one I count on them to know.
"This is Vincent Valentine," Tifa replies.
"Not who is he," I sniff. "WHAT is he."
The answer to that question should be automatic, but Tifa glances at Cloud, hesitates. Way, way bad sign. "Well, Vincent…" Tifa shrugs. "Vincent's… a little hard to explain."
It's Vincent himself who speaks next, and his voice is a shock. Not the way it sounds, it's low and silky, simply that I didn't expect this silent entity to be capable of speech. He seemed too ethereal to give voice to a statement. But give voice he did, and, to my irritation, the stupid statement was "You're WuTaian."
I don't even try to hide my hackles rising. "Look, if you've got a problem – "
"No problem," he assures me, very quietly still. He's not even looking at me. "It's just been long since I've see a face from that place. Not here in Nibelheim."
That just pisses me off. "Glad to be of service," I spit. "Travelling ninja. Providing people with glimpses of exotic, faraway cultures with none of the travel fees. Guess what? I even walk and talk."
"Yuffie," Cloud says, rolling his eyes, "Spare us the theatrics."
"I'm allowed to engage in critiquing globalism if I want to. You can't stop me. I'm sticking it to the man."
Cloud blinks. "Critiquing? I'm surprised you even know that word."
Oh no he didn't! And worst of all, Vincent's eyes are flickering as though he's amused. Amused! "Indeed," he says. I smolder and hope my pretty WuTaian face is communicating my homicidal intent attractively.
Maybe it does. The corners of his ruby eyes – really, the only way to read this guy's expression – crowfoot a little, suggesting a frown. "I didn't intend to offend you, Miss…."
"She's not Miss," Cloud says bluntly, throwing a leg over his motorcycle. "She's just Yuffie." Cid chuckles.
I raise my eyebrows, quite ready to give a tongue-lashing to every male member of this group, old and new – but, in the interests of peace, love, and harmony, Aeris intervenes. "Miss Yuffie Kisaragi," she says softly, touching a flower twined into her hair. Vincent gives her the look all men give Aeris.
Whatever. I've got short hair and no boobs and chicken legs and a big, hungry smile, and I like it that way. Best defense a lone girl can have on the road, being a little homely. Look at it this way – the way I hear it, Aeris got smacked into a helicopter and almost mated with an alley cat. If those are the generous gifts of beauty, I'm happy to look like a hungry fox instead of a flower.
Still, I don't know what it's like to be looked at that way.
"I didn't mean to offend you, Miss Yuffie Kisaragi," Vincent says, and looks at me, and then suddenly I do.
And don't like it. It's like being an object. A pretty piece of art. I step closer to the rest of the party, away from Vincent. "Whatever."
"I hope you won't hold thoughtless words against a man who didn't mean them."
He's slick, I'll give him that. I feel my annoyance begin to melt away, in spite of myself. "Whatever," I say, but can't make it sound like I mean it. "Don't worry about it."
He extends a hand for me to shake in reconciliation. Without really looking, I reach out and take it. And that's when I get my second shock.
His hand is made of metal.
Ohmigod.
I jump and shriek and snatch my hand back, holding it like he's burned me, staring at this freak. Staring at his hand, which is not a hand at all – which is a metal claw. "Whaaaat is going ON?!" I yell. Aeris starts to say something and I trample in big spiked boots all over the soft flowers in her voice. "What the hell are you? What is with this guy?!"
Vincent calmly drops the claw to his side and pulls his sleeve over it. His voice says nothing. But his eyes are staring at me, and they are saying murder.
"Don't be a brat, Yuffie," Cloud warns me. He checks his watch. "Look… we're running out of time, guys. We've been here too long. Let's mosey."
"I am not moseying anywhere with this fine feathered goryo freak!" I'm starting to sound a little hysterical. Makes sense. I feel a lot hysterical. "You can't drag me!"
"You're more than welcome to leave," Cloud said dryly. "Vincent's a fighter and he's on our side. He stays."
"I'm sure we can all get along," Aeris says. Tifa nods adamantly. "There's no small disagreement we can't work through in the service of the greater good."
I hesitate.
Tifa's lip twitches and she murmurs something to Aeris, who giggles and nods. "Besides, Yuffie," Aeris says with a smile, "Can you imagine – no offense to you, Vincent – but can you imagine how many materia slots are in that arm?" Her voice is coaxing. "A sensible businesswoman like you knows better than to give up an opportunity to do field research in that department."
It's not like I don't get what Aeris is doing. She figures I spoke without thinking; she and Tifa are offering me an out, a way to save face. They figure now I can stay with the group without having to admit I was wrong. They probably figure I'm sorry and I shouldn't have to say it in order to stay.
Well, I'm NOT sorry and I WASN'T wrong and I DIDN'T speak without thinking. I meant what I said and I still mean it. This guy IS a freak, and he's a rude smooth-talker into the bargain. A goryo's body and a demon's arm and all the tact of a bar bum. I don't want this guy hanging around with us.
But I don't want to leave, either. Aeris and Tifa got that right. I'm fond of the vast quantities of materia these people carry with them. And – let's face it – I'm fond of these people, too.
So I sigh, swallow my pride a little, pretend to adopt one of my eager, sneaky stances, and say in a moderately convincing tone, "Well, I guess that puts a different spin on things." This is a very weird feeling. I'm a reluctant Yuffie pretending to be an eager, excited Yuffie pretending to be a reluctant Yuffie. That's three Yuffies. Count 'em. "You can probably come along for the ride, Vince," I say. "If you behave and all."
"Then we're settled," Cloud says, sliding his goggles down and throwing a leg over his motorcycle. "So, come on, let's roll."
And we rolled, and Vincent rolled too, and my day was thoroughly ruined.
Whatever. They all seem glad to have this guy. Cloud's always happy to have a fighter, and maybe he'll play second fiddle once either Aeris or Tifa wins that little catfight over Cloud. Cid can talk about stupid stuff like guns and rockets. Red XIII will be glad to have another freak around. Barret, Cait Sith, all of them. No one else in this party knows what's so obvious to me – not only is this Vincent guy a total ponce, he's not even human.
