:: Authors' Notes ::
LatteJazz: This fanfic is essentially a RP by myself, BondSlave, and Clay. Inspired by Cloud's mysterious gurk-mentioning in the original FFVII game. Enjoy!
The building was cold, dark, and seemingly haunted—or so many thought. But those ridiculous rumors did nothing to damper a certain SOLDIER's interest in the library that lay within the manor. The only sign of life in the haunted building was the slight glowing light that filtered out through the window from the second floor.
Yuffie skipped up to the darkened door to the Shinra building and peered in. She could see a dark figure inside. Taking a chance, she flung open the door and yelled a chipper hello. "Hey! That you Zack?"
Something Yuffie had failed to see was a dark figure lurking in the shadows. But the shadowy individual had seen her, and continued to survey her from a distance. He hesitated in following as the girl proceeded to open the door and yell. What was she doing here?
"HEY! That you Zack?"
Sephiroth's gaze hovered over towards the door at the sound of the sudden calling. His eyes narrowed--who would be stupid enough to enter the Shinra Building? I entered didn't I? He rolled his eyes before returning his gaze back to the book he had in hand. Whoever it is, they'll find me eventually. If they are trouble, it will be easily dealt with.
Yuffie stepped slowly into the ominous shadows of the building and carefully surveyed her surroundings. She was looking for the figure she had seen before. "Hello?" She knew that it couldn't be Zack or else he would have greeted her back. "Hey, come on, come out! You coward! Face me." Proudly, she paused listening to her own echo. She stepped around the next corner and ran right into the shadowy figure. "AAAAAAhhh…"
The mysterious man had succeeded in being stealthy thus far. He felt quite proud of himself for coming this far without outside protection. So much fun was he having with his independence that he clasped his hands together, fingers pointed upwards like a gun. Back pressed stealthily against a darkened wall in a darkened room, he peered around the corner with narrowed eyes. Where'd that girl go? She was nowhere to be seen. Hmm. Maybe he wasn't as good at this undercover stuff as he thought.
He made for the doorway to leave—almost tripping over a chair in the process—and peered around the corner. Coast clear! Smirking confidently, he darted into the open room—and right into Yuffie Kisagari.
"AAAAAAAAhhh…!" she screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!" he screamed back, in a higher pitch, utterly terrified.
Drat! How had he been caught off-guard by the very person he was supposed to be following?!
"Yuffie…Kisagari," Rufus Shinra said, trying to regain his poise. "What are you doing here?"
At the sound of loud screaming Sephiroth dropped the book upon the desk and darted out of the room and into the hall before listening intently to the voices farther down the passage, the darkness keeping them from his view. He quickly yet silently made his way farther down the hall before rounding the corner to come face to face with Rufus Shinra, and…
'Yuffie Kisagari?' He thought to himself cocking an eyebrow before dropping his guard for a more, relaxed appearance.
"Sir? What are you doing here?" he questioned, completely ignoring the royal Wutai.
"Well this is quite a gathering! What are you guys doing HERE….especially you!" Yuffie huffed at Rufus putting her hands on her hips. "You threw off my groove…"
The president glanced around nervously, wondering if unexpected company was lurking elsewhere. He had a start seeing the slightly demonic yet familiar form of Sephiroth emerge from the shadows. But, at least he was here. Perfect, he thought.
He cleared his throat. "Sephiroth…Yuffie," he addressed them, trying to sound composed and confident. "I've been searching for you for a while, Sephiroth. The same goes for this, er, girl, here. I have urgent business that pertains to the three of us in a most critical way…" He trailed off, wondering how to explain this the most persuasively.
"Yuffie—a royal from Wutai, a treasure hunter and—" Sephiroth's seemingly cold, cat-like green eyes turned to the young girl "—a thief." He turned his attention back to Rufus, though he said nothing due to a sudden outburst from the Wutai royal.
Yuffie whirled on Sephiroth, eyes burning defiance, "Hey, hot shot! Who you calling a thief?" She pretended to sulk for a second and then turned back to Rufus. "So what's this urgent business? And why does it critically involve me?"
Rufus ignored Sephiroth's degrading comment, and turned to Yuffie. "Thief or not, I need your help. This business of mine not only concerns myself, but you as well, so listen up. Should you refuse to cooperate, your health will be in danger…to put it nicely." He turned to Sephiroth. "You're included in this as well, so pay attention.
Ahem. As you may have noticed, the Turks have been absent from duty as of late. This is due to a dangerous, volatile ex-SOLDIER—Strife. Cloud Strife, that is. He has taken the Turks into custody and is demanding a ransom for them. The object he desires is what I am searching for; it is what I need your aid in finding. " He paused to let the solemnity of his profound words sink in. "'What object?' you may be thinking. Well, friends…I am searching for…for a gurk."
Sephiroth remained silent through out the entire conversation until the President finally said what he was seeking. His eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms. "Let me get this straight, Sir….you are in search of a 'gurk'?" he questioned.
"That's ridiculous!" Yuffie exclaimed, hopping up and down. "To start with, what the heck is a gurk? and can you even find out?!" she turned to Sephiroth and whispered to him. "I personally think he's off his rocker." She muttered so only Sephiroth could hear. "So anyway, sorry, the gurk; let me get you right…if we don't find this for you, you're going to kill us? Why the heck do you need a gurk, and when you get to the gurk what are you doing to do with the gurk?" Yuffie slumped down to the floor and looked up at Sephiroth and Rufus.
"That's a lot of questions," Rufus said slowly. "But that's why I've come to you. Firstly, I'm not in search of the gurk—Cloud Strife is. Secondly, I'm not going to kill you if we don't obtain the gurk—Cloud Strife is. As to it's whereabouts and nature of existence… Well, that's why I was searching for you. Strife informed me that you, Yuffie Kisagari, are the only person who knows where to find the gurk. And when we find it we're going to give it to Strife, unless you have a death wish."
"Why would I have a clue!?" Yuffie snorted, bouncing onto her feet. "I don't know what the heck a gurk is! I think this is all a bad joke! Cloud is sending us on a wild goose chase. Where is this demented personage? I want to give him a piece of my mind!" Yuffie claimed, punching the invisible Cloud.
"Miss Kisagari," Rufus said quickly, "I am not a joking man. And I do not intend to take threats on both our lives lightly." His eyes narrowed. "I would suggest you telephone Strife yourself if you do not believe this, but...our last conversation did not go very well. He is highly volatile as of late, and increasingly dangerous." He paused to glance meaningfully at Sephiroth, and then turned back to Yuffie. "You are instrumental in this search, Miss Kisagari. Should you fail to comply with my orders... Well, I'd hate for it to come to that." He chuckled. "Sephiroth, you will no doubt accompany me?"
Sephiroth nodded, understanding, before turning to Yuffie, eyes narrowed, but not in a threatening way. "Rufus is right. You are a very vital key to this, and though I highly doubt that Strife could kill me, and I would let no harm come to the President, you, on the other hand, are far from fully protected. I highly recommend that you do not do anything stupid to put any of our lives in danger," he stated only slightly crossly.
Yuffie looked incredulously at Sephiroth. "Fine, but what do you purpose to do? Obviously, Cloud has lost his marbles—he's holding Turks hostage for a gurk! Are YOU going to go on a big quest for an imaginary gurk?" Turning to Rufus, she added hotly, "You still haven't answered my question about the gurk. What is it?"
The president looked Yuffie squarely in the eye and tilted his head, surprised. "Why, Strife said you yourself know what a gurk is. I was hoping you'd tell me...?" He raised an eyebrow, questioning.
"Well," said Sephiroth, "it seems none of us know what a gurk is. And as such, perhaps it is best we play along until we can get these matters under control. Yuffie I suggest you go, and 'begin' to search, even if it is just a wild goose chase. I will go and speak with Strife, merely because I don't want the President to be in harm's way. He should go with you," he stated uncrossing his arms, eyes beginning to glow a bit. How could something like this happen now? Now of all times? He wondered bitterly.
"Told you so." Yuffie slumped against the wall. "I have a feeling this is going to be the stupidest quest in my life. The Search for the Holy Gurk!" She shrugged her shoulders helplessly, "But if you're all so sure is a life-or-death situation, then onward I say!" She hopped away from the wall, eyes twinkling, straightened her shirt and struck the "brave conqueror" pose. A thoughtful look crossed her face and she slumped back against the wall. "We might invite Tifa into this erroneous errand. If anyone knows Cloud's mind its her. She just might know what this greatly-sought gurk is."
I'm glad you've come to your senses, Miss Kisagari," Rufus commented wryly. "Let's hope you don't lose them again in the future. And, as to Tifa, to obtain her resourcefulness is a superb idea. I'd been thinking of that myself, actually." Actually, that thought hadn't crossed his mind but he wasn't going to let this fourteen-year-old oust him. Not publicly, anyway. He glanced at the SOLDIER beside him. "So, we have a start. As there is a change in plans, you and Miss Kisagari will accompany me to Mideel, where Strife currently resides, to procure Tifa."
Sephiroth groaned, shrugging his shoulders, before a slight creaking sound could be heard.
"What is all the noise?" The voice was deep, dark and seemingly tired. All three glanced towards a portrait that had been concealing a passageway where, at the moment, Vincent Valentine stood. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
Yuffie jumped at the startling appearance of the newcomer. "Well this IS getting to be a regular meeting place. A regular HQ." She giggled, although there was nothing extraordinarily funny about this dark and dismal meeting.
Rufus sighed, not surprised to see the ex-Turk here. "Is there something you want, Vincent?"
"Sleep, would be nice," he stated quietly before crossing his arms, auburn eyes settling on Sephiroth for a long moment before reverting back to Rufus. "What is this about a 'gurk?'" He questioned. Cloud is looking for a gurk? Gurk...that word...it seems...oddly...familiar...where and when and what...I remember it...'
"Cloud is demanding ransom for a gurk," Yuffie explained, showing her obvious displeasure. "You want to join us?" she added with effected peppiness.
"Yuffie," Rufus snapped irritably, looking over at Vincent. Oh well, too late now. He made a mental note to give Yuffie a lecture later. "We were discussing Turks as well, Vincent, one of which you are not. Therefore you are not included in this conversation." He couldn't imagine Vincent helping Shinra of all things, so why bother trying to explain their situation? Besides, Vincent wasn't the one being threatened.
Vincent's eyes narrowed slightly, but Sephiroth interjected before any hairs could fly. "No, perhaps it is a good idea we have him with us." He turned to the red-clad man standing not too far off, auburn eyes meeting green. "After all, he was an ex-Turk, is a master gunman, and a friend of this Strife, if only barely. And I'm betting Tifa would feel better to have more then just Yuffie around."
Vincent remained quiet for a while before nodding. "Fine, I'm only helping because 'gurk' sounds vaguely familiar...and the sooner it's figured out the sooner I can get back to sleep."
"Alright, let's go!" Yuffie sprang for the door. All this talking wasn't doing any good. The only way to find out what a gurk was, in her opinion, was to…well…to find it.
Rufus' frustration was similar to that of a child's upon being denied their way. "Hold it, kid. Sephiroth, you said Valentine's a friend of Cloud's, and that's true. But that's exactly why he's not coming with us. For all we know, he's been planted here by Strife himself to annihilate us once we make a false move!" He fumed silently.
"Don't think you know me, Shinra," Vincent said dangerously, his armored, gloved hand twitching slightly. Sephiroth stepped slightly between the two. "Vincent isn't the type to follow such schemes as this, and I would have heard him enter this building if he were to be 'planted' as you say. I have been here for three days, and I had a vague clue that Vincent was in the bowels of the manor," he stated.
Vincent simply glared at Rufus.
Yuffie listened to the men's prattle with growing impatience. "Alright, Alright!" she broke in, "Rufus, is this quest urgent or not? Vincent is in, cause I say he is, so there." Yuffi stuck out her tongue at Rufus for good measure. "Im out'a here! You guys can come or not. Bye, bye!" Shooting there parting words over her sholder, Yuffi finished her birdlike run out the door, banging it shut behind her.
Rufus returned the other's crimson gaze with equal opposition. He stared for a long minute, then finally let out an exasperated breath. "All right, you can come along. But only if you're going to be useful." He wheeled around and stalked out of the room, following Yuffie.
Vincent glared back at Rufus before turning to Sephiroth. "I'm going to go and talk to Cloud…see if I can shed any light on this 'gurk' business."
:: *Gaspeth* Anybody have a gurk theory? xD