Author`s note: Been updating these chapters to reduce various errors. Thanks for all reviews so far, and to my beta VendettaSmiles. Please leave a review if you can :)

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII.

Chapter 1: The Delivery

Hell had frozen over; Yuffie Kisaragi, White Rose of Wutai, Materia Hunter Extraordinaire, Ninja and master of sneakiness, sexiness and all things generally cool was on Fenrir. That`s right: Cloud Strife`s beloved motorcycle. She relished the wind blowing through her short locks as she straddled the large seat with her tiny backside, a huge, smug grin plastered on her face. Now let`s rewind three hours…

"Tifa, I don`t need chamomile tea!"

"Stop it, Cloud. Besides, both Cid and Vincent swear by it. We need to bring your fever down." Tifa ignored Cloud`s swatting hand as she placed a cold, damp cloth on his forehead. She put the steaming mug down on the bedside table next to Cloud, who was wrapped up like a burrito in several layers of blankets. A barely audible giggle came from the doorway, and Cloud weakly turned his head towards the sound.

"Thanks for the flu, Marlene. Next time you`re sick, ask Yuffie for cuddles," Cloud croaked at the giggling girl. Tifa smiled as Marlene blew the swordsman a raspberry before scurrying off.

"If you don`t get better by the evening, we should consider phoning the client and let them know…" Tifa`s concerned voice trailed off as Cloud yanked his head up, only to groan in agony at the sudden movement.

"No. We can`t delay; they said they wanted it by tonight, and Reeve said it was a highly confidential and urgent delivery. We can`t be letting clients down, regardless of who they are."

"Well, I guess we can ask Yuffie to take it. She`s not busy today. She would probably have to take the bike though, since we don`t have any other means of getting all the way to Healin…" Tifa`s voice betrayed her uncertainty, and Cloud was quick to protest. Through a series of coughing fits that were either brought on by the illness or Tifa`s suggestion, he croaked out his objections.

"Yuffie take Fenrir?" Another coughing fit before he buried his head in the pillow.

"Well, Cloud, do you have a better idea? I`d like to hear it." Tifa stood up from his bedside and put her hands on her hips, looking nothing short of vexed. Cloud wanted the parcel delivered today, but did not want anyone else riding his Fenrir to do just that.

"Well?" Tifa still stood – hands firmly planted on her hips– and dared Cloud to answer. No answer, his eyes were closed and a trickle of drool escaped the corner of his mouth. The buxom brunette leaned in closer.

"Well?" She repeated. Cloud`s eyes snapped open, and he looked around bewildered.

"Y-yes…?" He muttered weakly.

"Great," she cheered. "I`ll let Yuffie know." Tifa smiled before striding out of the room, satisfied. Nearly comatose, Cloud stared after her.

"…Wait, what? Tifa?" Cloud called feebly after her and groaned at the thought of a clumsy kleptomaniac handling his cherished bike.

Yuffie pulled up outside Healin Lodge and proudly marched up the steps towards the Shinra cabin. She knew they were expecting Cloud to come marching in the front door, so why not have some fun, using her awesome stealthy Yuffie ways? Granted, she too could suffer from the occasional clumsy streak, but it wasn`t not for nothing that she was the youngest Shinobi ever to have successfully "climbed" the Pagoda and beat Godo Kisaragi at his own game. She certainly had some skills, which she could put to use exactly when it suited her.

She made sure to stomp extra hard up the first flight of stairs to make sure they heard her arrival, then ducked out of the way the moment she saw the curtains shift to the side.

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. She snuck around the back of the cabin, and squatted below a window. She saw a partially opened window on the floor above, and scaled the back wall with ease before squeezing herself through the gap of the opened window. Yuffie slid her long, awkward limbs inside and touched down on carpet flooring. She scanned the room: bedroom. Definitely a bedroom. One neatly made bed stood in the far right corner of the room, as far away from the door as possible. Along with a lamp, a wardrobe and a single chair, these were the only furnishings in the room. How depressing.

She edged into the hallway and heard raised voices from downstairs.

"His bike is out there, Rude. A grown man with a larger than life sword and hair like a chocobo`s ass has literally disappeared on our doorstep. If that`s not a portal to another dimension, then I don`t know what is." The voice went quiet for a second, and Yuffie tiptoed closer to the stairs and strained her ears.

"What do you mean 'playing a prank', Rude? Strife strike you as the kinda man who pranks people? Nope. Portal. Other dimension. I`m tellin' ya, partner…" the voice drawled on.

Nyuk, nyuk… she clucked to herself, as she listened intently to the bickering Turks downstairs. She barely heard the footsteps approaching behind her, and before she could turn around, a smooth, velvet voice spoke.

"I am not certain which I would rather believe: Cloud Strife pranking someone, or Cloud Strife lending someone his motorcycle, particularly you."

Yuffie snapped her head around, with her body following a second later, and came face to face with the impassive expression of former de facto president, Rufus Shinra. Handsome as ever, his face betrayed little emotion, except a trace of his usual arrogance as he surveyed the ninja before him through narrowed, icy blue eyes.

Author`s note: Thank you for reading!