Streaked Crimson
Disclaimer:I do not own FFVII.
Summery: 48 hours with caffeine highs, bullet wounds, ridiculous insults, jail time, and frozen body parts can drive one up walls. RenoYuffie.
Frozen and Abused
&&&Through Yuffie's Eyes
Stunning. That was the only adjective that came to mind to describe the scenery. Absolutely stunning. The otherwise tortured landscape was covered in freshly fallen snow creating a sheet of white, luminous substance wherever one would have the pleasure of looking. The lush green forest was no longer perceptible; it faded into the sterilized background. Only rarely, if one were to looks hard enough, a few patches of green would jump out of the generally white picture. This phenomenon would create a silver green blend that would shock the accurate spectator due it being such an extraordinary sight.
The sun has already set and the dark sky claimed its domain. The silver crescent, suspended atop the peaceful surroundings of the Great Glacier, cast a ghostly glow on everything beneath it. As dark as the sky was, the darkness didn't quite reach the eyes of the poor soul who happened to be traveling at this hour. The poor soul being one Yuffie Kisaragi. That's right, Yuffie saw white, white, and only white. Did she notice the beauty of her surroundings? Certainly not. She was a bit preoccupied with the biting cold that she couldn't escape until she got to Icicle Lodge.
She wasn't too far, she knew as much. As for whether she'd be able to make it…that was a different question altogether. Her feet were steadily growing number as time went by. 'That stupid, spikey-headed jerk. When I get to that dumbass I'm going to find a nice place to stick my shuriken.' She thought sadistically as she found that the snow was slowly starting to fall again.
Her materia-stealing scheme didn't go unpunished. Cloud decided that he wanted her prove 'her loyalty' to the team, so he sent her on a side mission that mainly consisted of finding this Lunar Harp thing. Before you ask, yes that was back in Bone Village, but who ever said that Yuffie was good with directions? That's right, no one…because she wasn't. Apparently, not only guys have trouble asking for directions; proud, teenage ninjas have a problem with that too. She had no idea where to exit Bone Village to head South, but did she ask anyone for information on that? Of course not, she was Yuffie after all!
After heading deeper into the wintry terrain of the Northern continent, she found a few broken signs hidden under the heavy sheet of snow. They all read Icicle Lodge in scribbles that were half worn off due to their age. That didn't help her much with where to go exactly, but she figured out that if she was heading in the right direction she would see a wrecked pole every 200 or so feet. She was forced to retract her steps on a few occasions when that pattern was broken. The last sign that she ran across informed her that she had only 600 feet to go.
"That stupid blondie who's on PMS 24/7 with Ms. Check Out My Watermelon Boobs hanging off his arm and agreeing with everything the idiot says…just you wait 'till I get back!" She threatened under her breath. There were a few problems with speaking anything out loud in this setting though. Since her surrounding area was deserted with the exception of the encasing trees, the echo was rather loud and whispering tended to carry because of that fact. Since she was also the only source of noise, her whispered threat sounded much louder that she intended it to.
These might not have been problems if only for one insignificant detail. There were monsters in this area. Not particularly pleasant ones and definitely those that required you having a lot of supplies and equipment to come out victorious…a lot of supplies and equipment that Yuffie simply didn't possess at the current moment. Thus, you can imagine her utter 'distaste' (to say the least) when a woman, who strangely enough reminded Yuffie of Shiva, came gracefully floating out of the dense forest. Between her deathly calm demeanor and the wisps of ice circling her finger tips, she made for one dangerous-looking antagonist.
Yuffie, not having any fire materia on her, did the most logical thing she could after figuring out that the most predominant element for the beauty is ice…she ran. Her numb feet stinging harder with every passing step. Not that running was really helping her any. The blue-skinned woman waited until Yuffie got a nice head start, only to catch up to her within a matter of seconds. She pushed Yuffie, sending the ninja reeling forward and letting the surprised teenager skid to a halt in a pile of snow.
Yuffie's clothes were not in the driest of states to begin with, by the end of that tumble she was soaked through. If she thought she was freezing before 'Ms. Ice Bitch' redefined the term 'cold.' Yuffie huffed indignantly, trying to keep her temper from flaring. That was hard to do, however when you were lying in the snow almost completely frozen and unable to move efficiently.
Yuffie scrambled to her feet with difficulty as her muscles protested the movements. Before she could take a step however, she was again flung into the nearest tree. Her shoulder suffered the full impact of the collision as she let out a muffled yelp of pain. This situation, disturbingly enough, felt as if a cat toying with a cornered mouse. Of course, in a way that was true. With frozen limbs, probably a dislocated shoulder, drained muscles, lack of proper materia and a heck of a headache, Yuffie didn't make for one very strong opposition.
Yuffie's opponent seemed to sense that as well, as she took her sweet time in torturing the aggravated ninja. As the woman flew towards Yuffie again, the ninja dodged, having regained some of her strength due to the adrenaline rush. She rolled in the snow to the left and after jumping to her feet started running again. This time, she really had no idea where she was going. She wasn't sure whether she was running in the same direction as before, back or to some other unidentified side.
Yuffie could sense that she pissed the woman off. That conjecture was only proven when the down time that the ninja got the first time she tried running away was cut dismally short. This time, however, Yuffie wasn't going to let herself be pushed around. If she was going down, it would be with a bang. Following that logic Yuffie stopped rather suddenly, throwing the perpetrator off guard, and whirled around with her shuriken already in hand. Not having recuperated from the earlier surprise due to Yuffie's sudden movements, the woman didn't have enough time to dance out of reach of the accurately thrown shuriken. Luck was not on the teenager's side, however. The shuriken did hit its mark, but due to Yuffie's throbbing head and progressively blurring vision it wasn't exactly anything more than a scratch on the woman's cheek. As opposed to being of any help, that only served to get the woman even more riled up.
'Oh shit!' Yuffie's eyes widened considerably as she saw the ice-blue eyes of her opponent narrow fractionally, assuming a manic glint. The ninja was rash, but no idiot. She knew exactly when cutting her cockiness would work to her favor…and this was one of those times. So she did something she was rather good at: she played dumb.
She widened her eyes, as if apologetically, and looked a few times from the cut on her opponent's cheek to her own shuriken.
"Did I…?" she left the question hanging. The woman's eyes narrowed further with a curt nod. "Oh wow…" Yuffie cut herself off again. Apparently, the innocent 'I had no idea what I was doing' act wasn't working as well as planned. So, she sighed and quirked an eyebrow. Maybe being herself will relax the opposition, because the woman seemed to have picked up on the earlier fakeness and tensed quite a bit. "So is this the part where you slaughter me ruthlessly?" Yuffie asked her opponent, meanwhile inching her hand towards the back of her belt. Yuffie's prayers were answered as the woman's gaze stopped following the ninja's every movement so intensely. Apparently, the earlier question signaled (at least to the barely clad antagonist) that Yuffie was giving up.
The woman nodded curtly again with a small sadistic smirk finding its way onto her flawless features. Despite her frozen limbs, a cold waver ran through Yuffie's entire frame. If it was possible, the tips of her fingers became even number than they were not three seconds ago. The ninja refused to let herself give up, however, and her hand kept steadily inching towards the materia hiding at the back of her broad belt.
"Don't I get any last words?" Yuffie asked with a small serene smile. The woman raised a delicate eyebrow. There was a moment of complete silence, during which Yuffie finally got hold of one of the materias closest to her hand. The woman's smirk deepened as she shook her head in the negative and launched at the teenager.
Before the icy-blue fingers could reach Yuffie's neck, the ninja used her last ounces of strength to jump back and flip herself over backwards finally freeing the blasted materia from the tight hold the belt had on it. She took a second to look at the glowing green ball, and to her utter relief it wasn't ice, it was lightning. She didn't have much more time as the infuriated female in front of her released a whirlwind of icicles swirling towards the ninja. Yuffie put up her hands, concentrating on the green ball as best she could. She cast the spell when the whirlwind of sharp, ice shards was mere centimeters away from her.
The attack wasn't anything if not flashy. Five yellowish rays of light tore through the otherwise almost black sky above. One of those lightning streaks went through the whirlwind, busting up the structure and letting bluish shards of ice fly in all different directions. A few, to the ninja's dismay, scratched the parchment-white surface of her skin. Red lines of hot blood started forming on Yuffie's legs, as well as her cheek, almost immediately after the shards made contact with her skin. Her arms, miraculously, went unharmed…that is, unharmed if she didn't get frostbite.
Yuffie winced a bit at her newly acquired injuries, but stood still looking ahead. She kept the materia raised and in front of herself. The ninja knew that she didn't have enough energy to cast another spell, but having the warm ball in her hand somehow felt reassuring…not to mention warmed her numb fingers. She didn't need it however. When the snow mist from the earlier happenings settled down, she could clearly see the silhouette of the attacker lying not too far off at the edge of the forest. The woman didn't seem to have been breathing.
Yuffie let out a breath of relief at that realization. 'I'm not going to die.' She thought pseudo gleefully as it dawned on her exactly how much of a bind she just got herself out of. As happens, the adrenaline rush mostly blocked all rational thought from entering Yuffie's mind. Thus, the fact that she was about to die didn't quite register until just about now.
She blew a piece of hair out of her face as she stored away her 'favorite' materia—a newly received title for anyone who hasn't yet guessed. 'Where the heck am I supposed to go now?' she asked herself looking about the surrounding area. There weren't any signs anywhere around there. She huffed. Even if there were any they would be imperceptible due to the falling snow that increased the amount on the ground. Speaking of the snow, it was falling more rapidly than when Yuffie's near death experience began.
This was not good. This was not good at all. There was definitely no use in just standing around and doing nothing. So, Yuffie being the hyper active teenager that she was even when cold, decided that she had enough time standing in one place and started moving to the left. That was the path that had the least snow on it at the time. It would make for an easier walking route.
There was only one SMALL problem with that decision. The moment Yuffie took the first step and her foot hit the ground—or what she presumed to be ground—she heard a sickening crack underneath herself. She froze. The ninja knew that the sound came from beneath her, but she didn't want to look down…not in the least. Any unidentified noises never bode well for her. Especially when she was stuck in the middle of nowhere with almost all means to defend herself exhausted.
Nonetheless, curiosity got the better of her. If it was underneath her feet, it couldn't be that bad…right? Oh how horribly wrong she was. Upon glancing down to her feet she realized that the presumed ground she thought she was standing on was actually ice. Ice, that, apparently, covered a small lake off to the side of the forest. Yuffie was pretty sure her heart jumped to her throat. 'This is simply peachy.' She thought sarcastically. 'Maybe if I just stand still, nothing horrible will happen.' She continued hopefully. Far from it.
The moment the thought popped into her tired mind, it was gone due to another, louder, crack that came from the same direction as before. She saw a thin line branch out on the otherwise smooth surface of the ice traveling away from her foot towards the edge. Before she could as much as move a muscle the ice under gave way and the poor shinobi found herself floating in the freezing waters of the lake. Before she went under she let out one last startled yelp that echoed off the surrounding forest.
She tried moving her legs; she tried grabbing onto the bank of ice, but to no avail. Everything was stinging. Her legs refused to move and help her break the surface of the water that she was slowly drowning in. Her arms refused to fold themselves into fists or grasp anything. She could see red streaks color the otherwise blue water. 'My blood.' She thought with a start. She was slowly floating deeper and deeper into the abyss below. Her muscles gave up on her completely and her mind started doing the same. With the lack of oxygen entering the system and the unbearable pain in her lungs, her brain was pretty much doing her a favor.
She was tittering on the edge of unconsciousness. Just a bit more and she would have peacefully fallen into a blissful slumber, but something chose that moment to grasp her hand and yank the young ninja by it none too gently. She broke the surface of the waver and was flung onto the snow off to the side.
Yuffie tried rolling onto her hands and knees, but found that she still couldn't move. She simply coughed out her lungs, lying there in the snow on her side. She was still semi-conscious, but not as lucid as one would have hoped for. If she'll escape this experience with hypothermia she'll be one lucky shinobi.
"What the heck are you doing here, brat?" She heard a baritone voice above her. It was definitely male and by the faint rasp in it this male smoked…and probably drank. 'Wait…brat? Why does that sound so familiar?' She tried opening her eyes, but she found that she couldn't struggle anymore. Yuffie felt herself being picked up, but she didn't really care. All she wanted to do was sleep.
"Oh no you don't." She felt a callused hand hit her cheek lightly. "Don't you dare fall asleep, princess." Yuffie could feel cold wind biting at her skin. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she assumed that the person who got her out of the lake was currently running.
The duo came to a sudden halt not more than a minute post rescue. Yuffie then heard an obnoxious noise that sounded like an old door opening and closing. Her mind registered that the man had asked for her to stay awake again, but other than that the phrase didn't quite reach her grasp of understanding. Call it pure spite, stupidity or determination but she couldn't exactly take it anymore, she wanted sleep and she was getting it…now!
&&&Through Reno's Eyes
Reno sighed when he saw that the brat actually fell asleep. There was no use in trying to wake her up…if she would die, it would be her fault. He set her down on the couch and ran to his suitcase to try and find something to warm her with. The first thing that he got out was the fire materia that was hidden in one of the side pockets of the black bag. He concentrated on the spell, casting it onto the logs that were already neatly set up in the fireplace. After that he went back in search of a towel and some warm clothes to change her into.
He got up with a towel, sweater and a pair of sweatpants. She would drown in them, but he didn't exactly have any female clothes with him…unless you consider the frilly lingerie that he found in his suitcase (probably another failed attempt to get his attention form Scarlet) upon arrival at the Northern continent clothes. He proceeded to walk towards Yuffie and freeze in front of her. 'Oh shit…the damn brat is gonna scream my fucking head off for this.' He sighed narrowing his eyes. There was really no other way out of this.
He kneeled down in front of the couch making sure to be careful when taking the clothes off the petite figure. The cold from the wet clothing transferred to his hands and he had to keep himself from trying to warm them. He left her undergarments on her and started scrubbing her with the dry towel, trying to get any semblance of feeling into her limbs. He then did his best to put on the clothes that he picked out, proving his conjecture about her swimming in them.
Reno dragged her off the couch and put her in front of the fire. Walking back towards his suitcase he fished out a blanket and came back wrapping it around the ninja. Alright, it was about time to wake her up, in case she decided to go into a coma or something of the sort. Reno was not one for much science, but the persistent lectures from Hojo that the Turks got on different health preservation techniques in different climates taught him not to let a frozen or concussed person sleep…no matter how reluctant he was to listen to those lectures.
"Oi brat." He said squatting beside her and tapping her on the cheek. "Get yourself awake or I'm going to throw you back out. I don't need the extra hassle of having you hog MY blanket if you're going to die anyway." Yuffie stirred but didn't wake. Reno rolled his eyes. He might have just found a person just as damn lazy as he was. He set his knees down on the floor and leaned closer to her ear. "Princess!" he screamed loud enough for probably the whole surrounding area to hear.
&&&Straight Narration
Yuffie jerked up startled and disoriented. She was having a great dream about being back in Wutai with the WARM sun shining all around and then…she was rudely interrupted by an equally rude awakening. She was happy to find, however, that she could finally open her eyes. She looked around herself, still not noticing the Turk who was sitting behind her and giving the ninja an amused look. She saw the fire to the left of her and the couch to the right. She observed the empty wooden wall that served as the main view form her position. As far as she could tell, she was in some kind of a small house that reminded her strongly of one of those run down ski cottages that no one used for decades.
"Where the heck am I?" she asked no one in particular. Reno snorted form behind her. Yuffie was so enthralled in her surveillance that she didn't even realize that she wasn't the only person in the room.
"Turkey?" she asked incredulously. Reno quirked an eyebrow at that.
"In the flesh." he said, puffing out his chest artificially. Yuffie's eyes widened. She made a series of unintelligible noises that sounded like starts to questions, but finally settled on one in particular when she glanced down at herself.
"Where are my clothes?" she almost shrieked.
"And this is the thanks I get for saving your bratty ass." Reno said as he got up and walked towards the couch, proceeding to flop onto it stretching out his legs. "It's nice to know you have enough energy to scream though." He added sarcastically as an after thought, rubbing his temples for emphasis. Yuffie made a face at him.
"You were the one who got me out of the lake?" she asked with a dumbfounded expression on her face.
"I know hard to believe isn't it?" he drawled back.
"Yeah pretty damn hard." Was the immediate reply "A bit too noble for a grade A jerk." She mumbled loud enough for Reno to hear. He rolled his eyes. Remind him…why DID he save her? So she could grate on his nerves?
"Bitchy brat." He muttered under his breath. "What the heck are you doing here anyway?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. The Turk finally deemed it necessary to take off his coat, the sleeves of which were very much soaked through with ice water. He didn't exactly have the time to roll up his sleeves to pull Yuffie out of the lake. While Yuffie was opening and closing her mouth silently—trying to think of a fitting lie no doubt—he got up and discarded the black thing with wet sleeves onto the rack that stood itself in the corner. For some very odd reason whoever bought the furniture for this abandoned cabin decided that it was more important to have a rack rather than, let's say, a bed for example. Reno would have really liked one. Sleeping two nights in a row on the black couch was not a pleasant experience to say the least.
He walked back towards the couch, sitting back down and quirking an eyebrow at Yuffie.
"Well, brat? Conjured up a good enough excuse yet?" Yuffie glared at him, lying back down onto the floor and releasing an exasperated breath.
"No, for your information, I haven't." She answered back irritably. Reno smirked.
"That's because you don't have enough brain power to think fast enough, princess." He drawled lazily trying not to let his amusement show. The ninja rolled her eyes, not gracing the arrogant 'thing' with even a glance.
"I'd like to see you try and think of something after two near death experiences within the span of twenty minutes." Reno looked at her skeptically.
"You hit your head harder than I thought." He said carelessly. She gave him a questioning look. He only smirked in response "You know…counting almost drowning in the lake as TWO near death experiences. But then again I shouldn't be surprised it is YOU we're talking about. I have quite the amount of reason to believe you were born disheveled." Yuffie growled at the arrogant bastard and took her left hand out, from under the blanket, just long enough to give Reno the one fingered solute that he used oh-so-often.
"You, my bitchy friend, have been ill informed." Yuffie said, burying herself deeper under the black blanket. "I was fighting this ice woman thing…who by the way was very much scantily dressed." she gave him a lopsided, evil grin "Such a pervert as you would have a field day." She then redirected her attention back to the sealing. "That's exactly how I was careless enough to end up on the ice." Reno smirked.
"And the reason you were here to begin with?" Yuffie didn't respond, but she looked uneasy. The red-head chuckled and rolled his eyes. "You were lost, weren't you?" It was a masked statement. Yuffie didn't move and definitely didn't say a thing…even though her scowl did deepen considerably. Reno decided to drop it; with the way this conversation was going he'd end up with a shuriken up a very much cherished part of his anatomy in no time.
"And why make I ask is the infamous Turk stowed away in an abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere?" Yuffie asked in an almost amused tone of voice. Reno let his head drop and hit the back of the couch.
"Confidential." He said curtly. The shinobi snorted and opened her mouth to say something else, but Reno preceded her (knowing that she would start protesting in advance) "a.k.a. none of your business, kid." Yuffie turned her head slightly to the right, where the Turk was sitting, and stuck out her tongue in a very childish fashion. Reno having his head on the back of the couch and having his eyes closed missed the action.
Yuffie contemplated on asking about her clothes again, but decided her heart wouldn't be able to take the answer. At least she could still feel her drying undergarments intact…and on her.
They were both silent for a few moments, but as it usually happens with people who don't normally keep silent for very long one or the other was bound to break the silence very soon. As it turned out it was Yuffie.
"Fine!" she snapped at the red-head who lifted his head to look at her with a smirk engraved firmly into his features. Yuffie always wondered if that infuriating thing ever left his face. "If I tell you what happened, am I going to get the low down?" What? Don't look like that. She needed to complain about spikes to someone. Reno just happened to be the fist available ear. The Turks snorted.
"Most of it." Yuffie gave him a speculative side glance.
"Are you sure on that." Reno nodded and raised his right arm.
"Turk's honor." Yuffie rolled her eyes and settled back into her blanket.
"So, now that I know you're lying…" Yuffie faded off on that only to hear a soft growl escape the Turk's lips. She sighed, she did want to complain. "I was here for the Lunar Harp." Reno tensed. Wasn't that what Rude and Elena were sent to look for?
"And where is it now, pray tell?" he asked sitting up and giving Yuffie his full attention. She huffed indignantly.
"Mr. I'm leader so I have to be on PMS and rushed all the time requested that I send it to him, rather than deliver it in person because it would take that much more time." She folded her arms over her chest to the best of her ability under the covers. Reno could only assume that she was talking about that Strife character. He relaxed back into the couch. There was really not much more he could do now. "If you tell any of your Turk buddies…I will make sure PERSONALLY that you will not be able to reproduce." She threatened heatedly after her little confession.
"Don't worry brat. Your loud mouthed persona didn't screw over any of your already screwed up buddies." He said with a light snort. Yuffie nodded her agreement.
"For once we actually agree on something. They are screwed up, aren't they?" she asked not really talking to Reno as much as to herself. "Well your turn Turkey!" She said turning on to her side with difficulty and going into a small coughing fit in the process.
"I'm here on a mission." Yuffie rolled her eyes and gave him a warning to look that this better not be the end of his explanation. Reno chuckled at the wanna be intimidating expression.
"I need to retrieve a few video tapes from Icicle Lodge." Yuffie narrowed her eyes. 'What…' her thoughts were cut of by a finger wave from Reno.
"Don't even think about it, brat. We agreed no talkie talkie." She made a face at his talking to her as if she was toddler.
"I am 17!" she said in a mock threatening voice. The Turk snorted.
"Maybe if you didn't act 6 and didn't look 14 I'd treat you like a 17 year old." He countered conversationally. Yuffie's eyes widened into mock indignation.
"I do NOT act six OR look 14." She snapped back. Reno only smirked in response, that outburst definitely did not merit an answer. She scowled and waved her hand dismissively. She was NOT in the mood for his smartass comments.
"There is no place in the world I'd rather be right now." She said sarcastically diverting her attention, to keep from strangling the infuriating devil incarnate.
"On a 'soft' couch." Reno added trying to move into a comfortable position to keep his ass from hurting because in reality the couch was anything but soft.
"With great company." Yuffie shot Reno a death glare, which he returned with a scowl himself.
"Being worshiped and complimented by that same great company." A.k.a. 'Being tortured and degraded by the horrendous brat.'
"With beautiful sunny whether outside." Yuffie continued with a darkening expression at the fact that it was that exact 'sunny' whether that ended her up in this predicament.
Reno snorted. Oh yeah, the duo painted quite a wonderful picture. Not that either one had much of a choice of getting out of it. Yuffie, finally having the warmth seep into her body rejuvenating it, became a bit hot due to her close proximity to the fire. So she found in herself the energy to roll away from it, only working further on tightening the cocoon of blanket that Reno created. Actually, she was getting damn tired of lying around on the floor and really wanted to get up. Her back was starting to hurt…not to even mention her poor head.
To her horror, when she tried prying the black source of warmth off her, it didn't work. She tried doing it again, but the damn thing was wrapped around her so tightly, Yuffie couldn't remove her arms from under it. Reno regarded her coolly for a few seconds before getting up, making sure to emphasize himself stepping OVER the black ball of covers and walking towards the closet to find a comforter for himself. When his search came up futile he turned back to her.
"So how did you get yourself stuck under that damn thing?" he asked amusedly, walking towards the exasperated ninja and standing over her.
"For your information, Turk. I'm not 'stuck' as you so eloquently put it. I'm merely reluctant to move." Reno gave the shinobi a suspicious look and shook his head with an expression that clearly said 'Idiot'. Yuffie scowled at him.
"I'm enjoying the view of the beautifully blank white ceiling, Turkey." Yuffie grounded out meanwhile trying hard not to let him notice her struggling with the blanket. "You are ruining my scenery. I would really appreciate it if you took your stuck up, bratty self and moved out of my line of vision." Reno shook his head yet again.
"Trust me princess I would, considering that your company is not as pleasant as you would lead yourself to believe, but I, unfortunately, saved your pathetic self and it would be beneficial, not to me, that you move off the hardwood floor that transmits cold just as well as heat and not die." Yuffie growled lightly.
"You know what, red? Why don't you get on your marry little way to wherever the heck you were going BEFORE you decided to start torturing me." Reno snorted and gave her a mock puzzled look. Raising his voice about an octave higher he replied:
"Why bratty dear, why do you persist on staying under those covers? No one had any doubts that you'd marry your precious materia, but being wed to the blanket…which happens to be mine?" He tsked her, clearly trying to be as obnoxious as he possibly could. Yuffie seethed.
"Before I stick my shuriken up your ass, I suggest that you get on your bloody. merry. way. now." She started struggling feebly under the covers to free her hands again. Reno rolled his eyes.
"So you are stuck." He said with an affirmative nod.
"Do you not understand the word reluctance? You know…unwillingness, lack of enthusiasm, disinclination simply not wanting to do something. Being reluctant to get out form under the blanket, as I am, doesn't entail not being able to do it; it simply means not wanting to perform the action at the current point in time." Reno listened quietly to the outburst and then:
"You're stuck." He repeated. Damn! He was talking to her as if she was four again. Yuffie huffed.
"Get me the heck out of here, would you already?" She said dejectedly, not looking at the smirking Turk.
"Damsels in distress aren't my forte. Plus, what will I have out of this?" Reno replied back casually, inspecting his nails as if they were the most interesting things in the world. Yuffie's first instinct was to say 'a clear conscience', but that idea was squashed by the fact that it was Reno she was talking to. The ninja would be very much surprised if the man even had a conscience. Alright, maybe that wasn't the best question to wonder about…everyone did. But that didn't mean he visited his very often.
"What do you want? And I assume I'm only getting to get out form under these covers?" Yuffie growled out. Reno snorted.
"Maybe I could give you a bone for your tremendously believable growling as well." Yuffie sent him a death glare. Reno shook his head and started unraveling the blanket that knit itself so tightly around the petite ninja. When he was done Yuffie jumped to her wobbly feet and after steadying herself stretched happily. Reno shook his head at her antiques and went back to searching for the second comforter that he was hoping was lying somewhere around there.
Yuffie followed him into through the doorway, with a heavy looking door, to the next room. This one was completely empty with absolutely no furniture. There was only one particularly disturbing thing that Yuffie noticed though there was a tarantula look-alike standing not two feet from the riled teenager. For a young girl of 17 Yuffie was quite brave to say the least…but she had one weakness: she couldn't stand spiders. Not the 'couldn't stand' in the way that she hated them…it was more like she was terrified of those things.
She let out a nervous breath and started backing away slowly in the direction of where Reno was digging through the drawers.
"Um…Turkey?" she asked quietly as the spider started moving with her in the same direction. Yuffie's eyes widened. 'It wants to kill me.' She thought nervously as she took another step backwards.
"Stop talking my ear off brat." Reno said, not paying as much attention to her as the search. "I already had enough of your pleasantries for one evening." That moment the spider chose to make a jump towards Yuffie and with a loud screech the shinobi reached the shocked and already standing Reno starting to climb up him as if he were a tree. She ended up with her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, definitely restricting his breathing, one of her hands on top of his head and the other covering his eyes.
"What the fuck is going on?" He asked more than mildly agitated. He tried removing her hand from his eyes but to now avail. She set out an exasperated sigh. "Would you let me see already?" he asked tiredly.
"No! It's too scary to look at." Yuffie, eyes as wide as saucers, squeezed the poor Turk even harder, making him wince and finally rip her arm off his eyes none too gently. He looked around himself in alarm, but upon not spotting anything turned his head to glare at the petrified teenager.
"What is your problem?" He asked her. Yuffie looked at him as if he was blind and pointed to the spider that was still standing at the same place that it jumped onto after 'attacking' Yuffie. The Turk rolled his eyes.
"You mean that spider thing?" He asked with a small laugh. Yuffie hit the top of his head as if she was scolding him.
"Shhh. He might hear you." Reno looked at her bewildered.
"Who might hear me?" He asked agitated. Yuffie made a face and pointed at the spider again.
"Him." She whispered out. Reno sighed.
"Would you like me to kill it?" he started moving towards the spider, but stopped her he felt her legs tighten about his waist again.
"Don't bring me closer to it!" She screeched on the top of her lungs. Reno winced. 'Damn her legs and vocal chords.' He thought sadistically.
"Than what do you want me to do?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Kill it." She responded immediately.
"But you don't want me to bring you closer to it?" He asked amusement getting the better of his agitation. Yuffie shook her head in the negative. "And you don't want to get down?" Yuffie shook her head again. At that point Reno had to keep a tight hold on himself not to burst out laughing. The ridiculousness of the situation hit him full force and he couldn't help but be amused.
"Alright I'm going to slowly back out of the room." He said to the teenager, who was till hanging off him, with his voice cracking slightly under the wish to start laughing. He started backing away from the spider and towards the door with no protest. He went out into the make shift living room and closed the door slowly. "Now I am going to close the door and the poor guy can't get in here and eat you." He finished off as Yuffie started slowly sliding off him.
Once her feet hit the floor he ran towards the couch, climbing on it and keeping all her limbs as close to her as possible…and of course off the floor. Reno finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He burst out laughing and after a few attempts to stop because of the glaring Yuffie proved futile he stopped trying to be tactful altogether.
"Fine! See if I care!" Yuffie screamed at him, waving a small fist for emphasis. "But I get the blanket..." she nodded reaffirming her earlier statement "…and the couch." Reno shook his head.
"So how the heck, pray tell, am I supposed to sleep?" he asked agitatedly.
"You should have thought about it BEFORE making fun of me!" Yuffie huffed back with a dark look on her face. Reno sighed. He was getting soft.
He walked over to the rack and took off his already dry coat and dumped it on the floor. He then proceeded to fish out a sweater from his suitcase and create a pillow for himself to sleep on. Yuffie watched his actions with mild curiosity, more than a little surprised that he didn't protest to her ridiculous claims. He settled down on the floor, in front of the fire, turning away form the teenager and facing the fireplace.
"Night, kid." He said tiredly. Yuffie sat there for a few moments. Apparently, unlike Reno conscience, hers did remind her of its existence. She felt guilty. It was he who saved her after all. She huffed to herself and even tried settling onto the couch and fallings asleep, but simply couldn't accomplish that.
Finally, making up her mind she crawled quietly off the bed and onto the floor. Making sure that there were no spiders around. She crawled on her hands and knees and stopped next to Reno. She sat there for a few minutes before taking the blanket and covering the presumed sleeping Turk with it and getting under it herself. She moved closer to the red-head until they were lying back to back under that black blanket.
Hope you enjoyed. This was meant to be a one-shot, but my friend suggested that I make a story out of this. Please review and tell me what you think. Your comments would be really helpful. Thank you so much in advance.