Lady Luck
"Sooo bored!!' Yuffie yelled out loud. She kicked the bed sheets and threw her pillow across the room in frustration. Bolting up in the dark, she sat on her bed with her legs curled up.
"Man, there's gotta be something here that I can do. It's what...?" She leaned over and checked the time. "Only eleven!?"
What is wrong with Cloud for sending us to bed this early and what's up with this wild goose chase for the keystone?
"Well obviously I ain't going to sleep this early."
She touched the small pouch beside her and grinned. Pulling out the contents, she smiled at her collection of materia. Then, an idea suddenly came to her.
"I know what I'm gonna do...nyuk nyuk nyuk..."
Putting away the pouch, she ran towards the door and silently crept out of her room. The halls of the Ghost Hotel were deserted except for the cheesy puppet host at the counter.
"Ugh, that thing is so fake!" She looked down the banister and found it lying limply on the desk.
Shaking her head, Yuffie moved down a few rooms until she spotted light coming out from a narrow crack underneath Cid's door. He ended up sharing a room with Red XIII and Vincent.
Cheap Cloud couldn't get individual rooms for all of us.
She was lucky that she got a room all to herself. Of course it took a whole lot of begging, whining, and screaming but at the end, she had managed to persuade the leader to get her a room all to herself. There was no way she was going to share a room and let the others see where she stored all her findings and valuables. She smiled when she recalled Cloud's fuming face. She was glad that Tifa stepped in and managed to cajole him.
Yup, that spikey headed jerk could create a ruckus if he's pissed!
Bringing her head to the floor, she tried to squint through the cracks to see what was going on. She spotted Cid lying lazily in bed with a cigarette dangling from his half opened mouth. Red XIII was resting on a soft rug near the window. The only person who was missing was Vincent.
"Where is he?" she muttered. "Oh well...whatever. The others look pretty out of it."
Checking her surroundings again, she made sure no one was around and then pulled out a thin wire from her pocket and started picking at the lock. Her tongue curled out to the right side of her mouth as she concentrated on breaking the confines. In a matter of moments, she heard a loud snap and grinned at her success. Slowly turning the knob, she took a deep breath and carefully tip toed into the room.
Scanning around, she found Cid's spear leaned against the wall next to the bed. Equipped within the slots were brimming stones. Yuffie eyed them viciously and quickly made her way over and extracted the small crystal balls from the weapon. Carefully tucking them in her pouch, her eyes wandered to the sleeping beast on the floor. His hairpin also contained materia. She noticed most of them were crimson.
Holy! Summon materia!! This must be my lucky day! Nyuk nyuk nyuk!
She crawled over and brought her shaky hands over the beast's head and plucked the materias from his barrette. She jumped back when his nose started to twitch. Her back bumped into a boot and it tipped over with a soft thud. Cid stirred on his bed.
"Mm...Vincent?"
Her gray eyes widened and she quickly made a run for the door not caring how much noise she made. Slamming the door behind her, she made a quick turn at the corridor.
"Whew, close call!" She turned around to make sure they didn't follow her out. She silent thanked Leviathan that neither Red XIII nor Cid came out of their room. Just as she was about to move again, she noticed a tall dark shadow was coming in her direction.
Jumping behind a pot of plant, she held her breath and squatted in her position behind the long, thick green leaves as Vincent Valentine made his way down the hall. They could never tell what he was feeling for half of his face was concealed. He walked by the pot of plant with his head down. His long cape whipped past her face as she inhaled a weird but sweet scent from the man. His pouch of materia strapped to the left side of his belt caught her eyes.
Hmm...he seems deep in thought. Maybe I can steal his materia without him noticing!
When he turned, the ninja came out of her hiding place and tip toed again towards the gunman. She was shocked out how quiet she was and almost proud at her moves.
Almost proud but not quite.
Vincent stopped dead in his tracks. Yuffie nearly lost her balance collapsed on him if she didn't refrain herself from taking another step.
"Yuffie. If you're thinking about taking my materia, then forget about it..." he said sternly.
Yuffie's jaw dropped.
Does this man have eyes in the back of his head or something!? There was no way he could have sensed me! What a freak!!
With a soft 'hmph', she backed away from him and trotted down the stairs, heading for the exit of the hotel. Vincent shook his head and brought his key card over his room. Sliding the card, he walked in and found Cid and Red searching through their armors and weapons.
"If you guys are looking for your materia, Yuffie took it. It's pointless to chase her now. You might as well demand it back from her tomorrow morning."
~*~
"Yo Rude! Would you try to lighten up and have some fun? I mean, how many times do we get to come here and gamble?"
"Reno, you seem to forget that we are here on a mission here, not to gamble," his stoic friend replied.
Reno rolled his eyes and ripped up his betting ticket. It was the fifth chocobo racing game he lost for the night. Rude leaned against the wall beside him with his arms crossed. Even behind the black shades, Reno could tell he was on guard.
"Why don't you try your luck here? I mean, we're only here for backup. Let Tseng handle everything about the keystone."
Handing over some gil to the lady at the counter, Reno circled some numbers on his betting ticket. Just as he was about to focus on the Chocobo Racing screen, the doors behind him flew open and a short brunette girl tossed herself into the stadium.
Rude pulled Reno over and dragged him behind a corner.
"Hey, isn't she from AVALANCHE?" he whispered.
"Yeah no doubt she's from AVALANCHE. Damn!! Tseng better get the keystone and fast before they find out what we're up to."
"......" "I got an idea," the red hair Turk muttered.
"What's your brilliant scheme this time?"
"Look, you let me handle the girl. I'll try to distract her and get her out of Tseng's way. You go and warn the others. If this brat is here, who knows how many other AVALANCHE members are scattered throughout Gold Saucer."
Nodding, Rude exit through the back door. Sighing, Reno presented himself to the ninja who screamed at the sight of him. She went into her battle stance and pulled out her shuriken.
"TURK!! What the hell are YOU doing here?"
Waving his hand, the Turk took hold of the shuriken and lowered it. "Whoa whoa! Easy there now. I don't want unnecessary bloodshed."
Giving the angry girl a sweet smile, he playfully winked at her and touched her arms lightly.
"Get your filthy hands off of me you bastard!!" She turned around, getting ready to leave. "I'm gonna tell Cloud and the others that Shinra is here and are up to no good again."
"Wait!" he called desperately and dragged her back.
Yuffie brought her hands up; about to slap the man but he easily caught her wrist.
"Look, we're not up to anything! I swear! We're just here to kick back and relax a bit. Hey, don't forget that I saved your sorry ass back at Wutai!" he said defensively.
"Grrr! You didn't save me! You saved Elena!"
"Yeah well guess who would have ended up as squashed tomatoes if I hadn't stopped Corneo from pushing that switch so whether you like it or not, you owe me your life."
Gritting her teeth, she snatched her wrist out of his grasp. He was right. He did save her but that was no excuse to let him off the hook so easily. She had a gut feeling that they were up to something.
As if reading her mind, Reno calmly said, "Look, we mean no harm...honest! I know Cloud and I don't get along but hey, you're new! I haven't exactly build up a hatred for you YET unlike the rest of AVALANCHE. You seem a lot more fun, understandable, and feisty."
Yuffie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you trying to sweet talk me into something?" "I just wanna have some fun tonight. I mean, the Turks rarely get a break and this is my second vacation, the last being at Wutai. Why can't two drifters just get along FOR NOW and chill. I'll make a deal with you. I need some money and you need materia. I challenge you to all the attractions here and if you win, I'll give you these." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of multi colored orbs.
Yuffie's eyes widened at the sight. She reached over but Reno quickly squeezed his fingers over them and placed them back into his pocket. He grinned and shook his head.
"No can touch! You win, and it's all yours lady. So what do you say?"
Say no Yuffie! Say no! Report back to Cloud! Report back to Cloud!! Her head screamed.
"The materia Yuffie...the materia..."
His voice was so alluring. It was so tempting that she couldn't resist his offer. Finally after much debate, she gave in.
"Fine!! I'm only in it for the materia and one funny move from you and I'll KILL you right on the spot."
"You got nothing to worry about. So where you wanna head first sweetheart?"
"The Wonder Square!"
Nyuk nyuk nyuk! Before the night is over, the materia is gonna be all mine!!
Grinning, he bowed playfully at the ninja and opened the door her. The two left the racing arena. He kept his gaze on her the whole time they went down the stairs. He knew how sneaky and cunning the girl could be. Likewise, Yuffie would occasionally glance back at him from the corner of her eyes to make sure he wasn't pulling anything. Her fingers gripped the shuriken harder with each descending step.
Rude, Tseng...you guys better not be in the Wonder Square...
Author's Notes: Well that was chapter one! This idea just suddenly came to me and I felt I definitely had to write it. Hope you all enjoyed it! Thank you for reading.
"Sooo bored!!' Yuffie yelled out loud. She kicked the bed sheets and threw her pillow across the room in frustration. Bolting up in the dark, she sat on her bed with her legs curled up.
"Man, there's gotta be something here that I can do. It's what...?" She leaned over and checked the time. "Only eleven!?"
What is wrong with Cloud for sending us to bed this early and what's up with this wild goose chase for the keystone?
"Well obviously I ain't going to sleep this early."
She touched the small pouch beside her and grinned. Pulling out the contents, she smiled at her collection of materia. Then, an idea suddenly came to her.
"I know what I'm gonna do...nyuk nyuk nyuk..."
Putting away the pouch, she ran towards the door and silently crept out of her room. The halls of the Ghost Hotel were deserted except for the cheesy puppet host at the counter.
"Ugh, that thing is so fake!" She looked down the banister and found it lying limply on the desk.
Shaking her head, Yuffie moved down a few rooms until she spotted light coming out from a narrow crack underneath Cid's door. He ended up sharing a room with Red XIII and Vincent.
Cheap Cloud couldn't get individual rooms for all of us.
She was lucky that she got a room all to herself. Of course it took a whole lot of begging, whining, and screaming but at the end, she had managed to persuade the leader to get her a room all to herself. There was no way she was going to share a room and let the others see where she stored all her findings and valuables. She smiled when she recalled Cloud's fuming face. She was glad that Tifa stepped in and managed to cajole him.
Yup, that spikey headed jerk could create a ruckus if he's pissed!
Bringing her head to the floor, she tried to squint through the cracks to see what was going on. She spotted Cid lying lazily in bed with a cigarette dangling from his half opened mouth. Red XIII was resting on a soft rug near the window. The only person who was missing was Vincent.
"Where is he?" she muttered. "Oh well...whatever. The others look pretty out of it."
Checking her surroundings again, she made sure no one was around and then pulled out a thin wire from her pocket and started picking at the lock. Her tongue curled out to the right side of her mouth as she concentrated on breaking the confines. In a matter of moments, she heard a loud snap and grinned at her success. Slowly turning the knob, she took a deep breath and carefully tip toed into the room.
Scanning around, she found Cid's spear leaned against the wall next to the bed. Equipped within the slots were brimming stones. Yuffie eyed them viciously and quickly made her way over and extracted the small crystal balls from the weapon. Carefully tucking them in her pouch, her eyes wandered to the sleeping beast on the floor. His hairpin also contained materia. She noticed most of them were crimson.
Holy! Summon materia!! This must be my lucky day! Nyuk nyuk nyuk!
She crawled over and brought her shaky hands over the beast's head and plucked the materias from his barrette. She jumped back when his nose started to twitch. Her back bumped into a boot and it tipped over with a soft thud. Cid stirred on his bed.
"Mm...Vincent?"
Her gray eyes widened and she quickly made a run for the door not caring how much noise she made. Slamming the door behind her, she made a quick turn at the corridor.
"Whew, close call!" She turned around to make sure they didn't follow her out. She silent thanked Leviathan that neither Red XIII nor Cid came out of their room. Just as she was about to move again, she noticed a tall dark shadow was coming in her direction.
Jumping behind a pot of plant, she held her breath and squatted in her position behind the long, thick green leaves as Vincent Valentine made his way down the hall. They could never tell what he was feeling for half of his face was concealed. He walked by the pot of plant with his head down. His long cape whipped past her face as she inhaled a weird but sweet scent from the man. His pouch of materia strapped to the left side of his belt caught her eyes.
Hmm...he seems deep in thought. Maybe I can steal his materia without him noticing!
When he turned, the ninja came out of her hiding place and tip toed again towards the gunman. She was shocked out how quiet she was and almost proud at her moves.
Almost proud but not quite.
Vincent stopped dead in his tracks. Yuffie nearly lost her balance collapsed on him if she didn't refrain herself from taking another step.
"Yuffie. If you're thinking about taking my materia, then forget about it..." he said sternly.
Yuffie's jaw dropped.
Does this man have eyes in the back of his head or something!? There was no way he could have sensed me! What a freak!!
With a soft 'hmph', she backed away from him and trotted down the stairs, heading for the exit of the hotel. Vincent shook his head and brought his key card over his room. Sliding the card, he walked in and found Cid and Red searching through their armors and weapons.
"If you guys are looking for your materia, Yuffie took it. It's pointless to chase her now. You might as well demand it back from her tomorrow morning."
~*~
"Yo Rude! Would you try to lighten up and have some fun? I mean, how many times do we get to come here and gamble?"
"Reno, you seem to forget that we are here on a mission here, not to gamble," his stoic friend replied.
Reno rolled his eyes and ripped up his betting ticket. It was the fifth chocobo racing game he lost for the night. Rude leaned against the wall beside him with his arms crossed. Even behind the black shades, Reno could tell he was on guard.
"Why don't you try your luck here? I mean, we're only here for backup. Let Tseng handle everything about the keystone."
Handing over some gil to the lady at the counter, Reno circled some numbers on his betting ticket. Just as he was about to focus on the Chocobo Racing screen, the doors behind him flew open and a short brunette girl tossed herself into the stadium.
Rude pulled Reno over and dragged him behind a corner.
"Hey, isn't she from AVALANCHE?" he whispered.
"Yeah no doubt she's from AVALANCHE. Damn!! Tseng better get the keystone and fast before they find out what we're up to."
"......" "I got an idea," the red hair Turk muttered.
"What's your brilliant scheme this time?"
"Look, you let me handle the girl. I'll try to distract her and get her out of Tseng's way. You go and warn the others. If this brat is here, who knows how many other AVALANCHE members are scattered throughout Gold Saucer."
Nodding, Rude exit through the back door. Sighing, Reno presented himself to the ninja who screamed at the sight of him. She went into her battle stance and pulled out her shuriken.
"TURK!! What the hell are YOU doing here?"
Waving his hand, the Turk took hold of the shuriken and lowered it. "Whoa whoa! Easy there now. I don't want unnecessary bloodshed."
Giving the angry girl a sweet smile, he playfully winked at her and touched her arms lightly.
"Get your filthy hands off of me you bastard!!" She turned around, getting ready to leave. "I'm gonna tell Cloud and the others that Shinra is here and are up to no good again."
"Wait!" he called desperately and dragged her back.
Yuffie brought her hands up; about to slap the man but he easily caught her wrist.
"Look, we're not up to anything! I swear! We're just here to kick back and relax a bit. Hey, don't forget that I saved your sorry ass back at Wutai!" he said defensively.
"Grrr! You didn't save me! You saved Elena!"
"Yeah well guess who would have ended up as squashed tomatoes if I hadn't stopped Corneo from pushing that switch so whether you like it or not, you owe me your life."
Gritting her teeth, she snatched her wrist out of his grasp. He was right. He did save her but that was no excuse to let him off the hook so easily. She had a gut feeling that they were up to something.
As if reading her mind, Reno calmly said, "Look, we mean no harm...honest! I know Cloud and I don't get along but hey, you're new! I haven't exactly build up a hatred for you YET unlike the rest of AVALANCHE. You seem a lot more fun, understandable, and feisty."
Yuffie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you trying to sweet talk me into something?" "I just wanna have some fun tonight. I mean, the Turks rarely get a break and this is my second vacation, the last being at Wutai. Why can't two drifters just get along FOR NOW and chill. I'll make a deal with you. I need some money and you need materia. I challenge you to all the attractions here and if you win, I'll give you these." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of multi colored orbs.
Yuffie's eyes widened at the sight. She reached over but Reno quickly squeezed his fingers over them and placed them back into his pocket. He grinned and shook his head.
"No can touch! You win, and it's all yours lady. So what do you say?"
Say no Yuffie! Say no! Report back to Cloud! Report back to Cloud!! Her head screamed.
"The materia Yuffie...the materia..."
His voice was so alluring. It was so tempting that she couldn't resist his offer. Finally after much debate, she gave in.
"Fine!! I'm only in it for the materia and one funny move from you and I'll KILL you right on the spot."
"You got nothing to worry about. So where you wanna head first sweetheart?"
"The Wonder Square!"
Nyuk nyuk nyuk! Before the night is over, the materia is gonna be all mine!!
Grinning, he bowed playfully at the ninja and opened the door her. The two left the racing arena. He kept his gaze on her the whole time they went down the stairs. He knew how sneaky and cunning the girl could be. Likewise, Yuffie would occasionally glance back at him from the corner of her eyes to make sure he wasn't pulling anything. Her fingers gripped the shuriken harder with each descending step.
Rude, Tseng...you guys better not be in the Wonder Square...
Author's Notes: Well that was chapter one! This idea just suddenly came to me and I felt I definitely had to write it. Hope you all enjoyed it! Thank you for reading.